Out Of Character

[mushgnome]

Hahahaha
A+ Beatles reference!

[Scottenkainen]

In answer to a recent OOC post about world-building and spending gold. I gave this a lot of thought for the campaign I'm currently running and put this together for it:

Carriages: While not faster than wagons, carriages are the first transportation to use suspension, from chains, to make the cabin ride more smoothly. To ride in one is a sign of status. They can be rented cheaply, but to own one costs 400 gp.

Ceremonial Armor: Chased with silver and decorated by an artisan, ceremonial armor is a sign of status for fighting men, typically reserved for myrmidon rank or higher (though not a hard and fast rule). Ceremonial armor is more for show than use, so it is treated as if one point of AC worse, if it cost x3 the normal cost of the armor. It has no loss of AC value if it cost x5 the normal cost of the armor.

Cogs: Small merchant ships that can be found on all the major rivers of the game setting (caravels are larger ships found on the seas and larger lakes). A typical cog 65’ in length, with a beam (width) of 21’, and a burthen of 190 tuns (it can hold up to 190 tuns of wine in cargo). Their flat bottoms allow them to settle on a level in harbor, making them easier to load and unload. Their high sides made them more difficult to board in a sea fight. An ordinary cog costs 500 gp and requires a crew of 19. A cog made from enchanted wood is harder to burn and can disrupt area effect spells (allowing saving throws if not normally one, or +4 to save otherwise). These special cogs cost 5,000 gp.

Compasses: Dry compasses have been around for about 200 years, but they can be notoriously unreliable in dungeons. An ordinary compass costs 20 gp, but one made of magic ore, so it functions normally in a dungeon, costs 200 gp.

Healing Spells: During downtime you might get sick and need a Remove Disease spell cast on you, and the Church usually asks for a donation of 300 gp per casting. Although you can heal from normal injuries during downtime slowly, you might want to speed things up and, if your party’s clerics are not around, the Church will cast Cure Light Wounds for you, for 50 gp.

Hippogriffs: Hippogriffs are fantastic creatures with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse. They have been domesticated and are used by the wealthy for status and transportation in the largest cities, as well as in the defense of those cities. A trained hippogriff costs 4,000 gp.

Longships: Long out of fashion in the Great Kingdom, but still found in many rural areas near wilderness on the campaign map. The ship's shallow draft allows navigation in waters only 3’ deep and is easily beached, while its relatively light weight enables it to be carried over portages or used bottom-up for shelter in camps. Longships are fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the boat, but also have a single mast and sail. The longship’s dimensions are 80’ in length, 12’ in beam (width), and 65’ tall at the mast. One can typically carry 40 people, or their equivalent in cargo. It has no cargo hold or lower level. A normal longship costs 250 gp. Like cogs, longships of enchanted wood are available, with the same benefits (though only +2 to saves, because there is less wood), and these cost 2,500 gp.

Magic Potions: Potions will cost only hundreds of gold pieces (perhaps thousands, but only for the really good ones), making them readily affordable even at lower levels. Availability is going to be very limited, though, even in a large city. Your referee will let you know what is available, if you spend your downtime searching through alchemist’s shops or contact the magic-users guilds.

Magic Scrolls: This was explained in Book I under Spells, but it is worth a reminder here that this is an available option for magic-users with extra money in their pockets.

Silver Weapons: Characters will quickly learn that some monsters – like werewolves and wights – are only affected by silver or magic weapons. To coat a weapon in enough silver that it will last through multiple combats multiplies its base cost by 30. So a silver dagger would cost 30 gp, as a dagger normally costs 1 gp.

Strong Bows: A normal bow gives no damage bonus based on Strength, no matter how strong the archer is. But a strong bow has increased draw weight and this allows for that Strength bonus. The cost for such a bow varies depending on its max damage bonus, as follows: +1 = 200 gp, +2 = 400 gp, +3 = 1,000 gp.

Thieves Tools: Some of the skills of the thief can be performed without any tools, but the tools of the trade for thieves typically include a small file, a set of lock picks, a small mirror mounted on a metal handle, a set of narrow-bladed scissors, and a pair of pliers. These items are necessary just to give a thief their normal chance at all skills, and cost 30 gp in total. There are more tools, and better quality tools, that can be acquired, that improve those chances; for every time you spend twice as much on tools, the thief’s skills all go up by 1 more percentage (so 60 gp for +1%, 120 gp for +2%, 240 gp for +3%, and so on).

[mgtremaine]

I stand corrected I don't have Thieves Tools. I'll have to work on that.

[mushgnome]

Very good stuff Scott!

In fact we have our very first suit of Ceremonial Armor already in progress. Great minds think alike!

Rules-as-written, Delving Deeper thieves do not use Thief's Tools. Perhaps the implication is, they use whatever improvised objects are at hand? I love the idea of varying tech levels of lockpicks. It would be especially fun for, say, a "bank heist" type of adventure: cracking the vault requires a special set of improved lockpicks, out of reach of the garden-variety footpad. I also like the idea that lockpicks can be made from fantasy materials like mithril or adamantine.

It's fine with me if you want Thieves' Tools (even if they aren't strictly necessary by the RAW). We can hand-wave that Kiplyn purchases a set off-screen, in-between adventures, because I don't think there's anyplace in Hornpipe that would sell that. It's a little cheesy, but maybe we can say, Frederick has a set in his lost-and-found, left behind by a previous adventurer?

[mushgnome]

I wonder what's involved in starting up or founding a new Burglar's Guild, in a town that doesn't have one?

[mushgnome]

One more for you Scott:

The party does have at least one source for commissioning potions & scrolls from an NPC druid. Scrolls are 100gp/spell level (and Beppo will be able to cast from scrolls someday) and potions are 250gp/spell level. The NPC druid in question is currently limited to 1st level spells. Talk to Willie about setting that up, when the time comes Beppo can afford it.

The only bummer is that, since play-by-post is so slow, it can take a looooooong time, waiting around a week for your commissioned potion to brew.

[ehiker133]

Very good stuff Scott!

In fact we have our very first suit of Ceremonial Armor already in progress. Great minds think alike!

Rules-as-written, Delving Deeper thieves do not use Thief's Tools. Perhaps the implication is, they use whatever improvised objects are at hand? I love the idea of varying tech levels of lockpicks. It would be especially fun for, say, a "bank heist" type of adventure: cracking the vault requires a special set of improved lockpicks, out of reach of the garden-variety footpad. I also like the idea that lockpicks can be made from fantasy materials like mithril or adamantine.

It's fine with me if you want Thieves' Tools (even if they aren't strictly necessary by the RAW). We can hand-wave that Kiplyn purchases a set off-screen, in-between adventures, because I don't think there's anyplace in Hornpipe that would sell that. It's a little cheesy, but maybe we can say, Frederick has a set in his lost-and-found, left behind by a previous adventurer?

Sooo... Dougal doesn't have thieves' tools in his inventory? Or... they just don't do anything?

[mushgnome]

I'm not going to tell you how to play a halfling thief!

That's a good question for the D&D historians: Which edition did thieves tools and lockpicks become a "thing"? Was it Holmes maybe?

[mgtremaine]

Err.. look at the google sheet

https://forum.immersiveink.com/viewtopi ... 896#p29896

You clearly have Lockpicks / Thieves Tool you sneaky rogue.

[ehiker133]

Err.. look at the google sheet

https://forum.immersiveink.com/viewtopi ... 896#p29896

You clearly have Lockpicks / Thieves Tool you sneaky rogue.

Well _I_ knew I had them. But its just that now it seems they don't do any good!