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Post by Wolfgar on Jul 27, 2012 14:03:09 GMT -5
What is the going rate for casting Identify?
How does one go about becoming a student (or visiting scholar) at the College of General & Applied Magicks?
Dan will provide the Create Water offering while in the city.
The party has 10,000 GP from the Ethereal Plane not including the pearls or the unknown items. Assuming a 1/10th goes to Paavo, that is only 1,000 GP. A tithe on that is 100 GP. If we can liquidate some of the magic items or get a better value for some of the items, Paavo will certainly give more to the Temple.
Paavo definitely takes the offer of holy oils and linens. Does the Lama feel that the Sainted Fizzi Finniini will definitely deign to raise our comrades? Do they have an idea of what this service might cost?
(To the party: If we have the funds currently, then Paavo and Dan could escort the bodies to the Holy City while everyone else stays behind to do what training and other activities they need to do.)
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Post by Ginger on Jul 27, 2012 14:14:10 GMT -5
If the DM would permit that to be done on the board, I'm obviously up for that. IIRC the going rate to bring back a dead character is 1000 GP per level, so we're looking at 16,000 GP. I'm assuming instead he'll ask for us to complete a task.
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Post by venger on Jul 27, 2012 16:30:40 GMT -5
Friedrich will go out and inquire as to where I could get trained in the 2/1 attack routine. I would love nothing more than to do gladiator fighting here. It is a chance of a lifetime for Friedrich to show off his martial prowess on the greatest stage in the world. Farouk gives general directions and the Fighting Pits are not difficult to find, being an extremely popular tourist attraction. Bright banners and pennants covered in foreign heraldry hang from the walls of an enormous arena; crescent moons, elaborate arabesques, curved daggers and all sorts of desert animals; jackals, lions, a snarling two-headed dog, etc. representing the various mercenary houses and fighting schools. The place is swarming with people of many races/creeds betting on fights, buying refreshments, trying to find seats, etc... Long ramps lead into the bowels of the arena, to where the gladiators train. Friedrich feels right at home, underground, surrounded by the stink of blood, sweat and death, the clash of weapons, shrieks of pain and the roars of the caged beasts & ferocious monsters sounding in the distance. How much time and money would be needed to train Friedrich? He learns from the Pitmaster, Urgos ap Ur-- 13 days and 3500GP- the cost is halved (1750GP) if Friedrich were to affiliate with one of the mercenary clans or fighting schools, which seem more like local sports teams than anything else. This would entail wearing their colors, sleeping in their dormitories, battling in the arena, 20% of any individual winnings and supporting them against any other rival clan/school. There's dozens of schools/clans/teams, some of the more popular: The Blessed Scholars of Pain The Blazing Suns The Devil Dogs The Lion Brotherhood The Legion of Ur'lok-sur Crescent Moon School Cobra Kai The Eternal Axe Three Winds School Yellow Chimerae Sisterhood The Iron Legion The Dogmen of Kresh The Taurien Alliance The Maraheel Raiders The Sultans of Swinging Swords Vimana Tigers The Knights of Frogtown Desert Sands School The Crimson Horde Knife Clan The Courageous Company Of course there are also many independent fighters, some of the most famed and successful were unaffiliated. What is the going rate for casting Identify? 500GP per casting and that does not include the 100GP pearl, assuming one can find a Diviner willing to do so. The spell is physically taxing and renders the magic-user helpless/useless for the rest of the day. How does one go about becoming a student (or visiting scholar) at the College of General & Applied Magicks? Present themselves before the Dean of Admissions, pass a rudimentary magical exam and pay 1000GP per annum. Paavo will certainly give more to the Temple. That was assuming the party got more money or sold items of significant value. Does the Lama feel that the Sainted Fizzi Finniini will definitely deign to raise our comrades? If the need is great and the cause is just? Do they have an idea of what this service might cost? A lifetime of good works? One really great work? No earthly sum can command a miracle of God. (To the party: If we have the funds currently, then Paavo and Dan could escort the bodies to the Holy City while everyone else stays behind to do what training and other activities they need to do.) Ingrid would go too.
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Post by venger on Jul 27, 2012 16:52:24 GMT -5
Friedrich also learns that there are special trainers which will allow him to change his specialization to a different weapon. Standard training rates apply. Present themselves before the Dean of Admissions, pass a rudimentary magical exam and pay 1000GP per annum. This grants access to the basic 1st and 2nd level spellbook and in addition, the common reagants room, the alchemist lab, the summoning chambers, etc. and limited access to the college faculty who are much more likely to consider training a magic-user in a new spell level than some random guy on Magician Street.
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Post by Wolfgar on Jul 27, 2012 17:04:41 GMT -5
Well since I leave for vacation in an hour (and won't have much access to a computer for the next week), having Paavo and Dan off for a couple of weeks make sense. They will hire a team to transport the bodies and their equipment to Entioch. They will take 1000 gp worth in coins and gems for possible expenses. They will leave behind all of the spell books and any unidentified magic items (except the Prayer Beads and Augury Sticks). Dan wants to see if he can also get a Commune to learn the function of the Prayer Beads.
I'll suggest while Paavo, Dan and Ingrid are away, Mary and/or Finn get admitted to the College. Once admitted they can get Identify and start going through magic items. Also doesn't Mary need training for 5th level? Maybe they can give her a discount, or Finn could do it but that would mean no one is identifying. But there is no rush to get training for Friedrich and Mary since Paavo, Trommer and Colby will need to be trained when they get back. If you don't need to sell items yet to cover expense please wait until the 5 of them return. That leaves Finn, Friedrich, Bolo, Nordel, Mary and Xiles. You will need only 3 rooms at the Inn. Make sure there are at least a couple of people to guard the rooms at all times. Try not to antagonize the Sultan, his army, the Temple, the Thieves' Guild or any of the Colleges of High Magic.
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Post by venger on Jul 27, 2012 17:43:14 GMT -5
Well since I leave for vacation in an hour (and won't have much access to a computer for the next week), having Paavo and Dan off for a couple of weeks make sense. Have a good time! They will hire a team to transport the bodies and their equipment to Entioch. There are pilgrims aplenty, with carts and camels, bound for Entioch who will assist out of a spirit of charity. Paavo is also warned to be careful- while the Fleshmonger's Guild isn't allowed to "recruit" within the walls of Barb-el-Shay, bands of slavers are known to capture/impress foreigners wandering alone outside the city... They will take 1000 gp worth in coins and gems for possible expenses. Not a problem, though Paavo is told there's nothing to buy in Entioch. Many of the pilgrims are unshod, all wear simple clothes. Some are lepers. Seems like a real rite of passage. Try not to antagonize the Sultan, his army, the Temple, the Thieves' Guild or any of the Colleges of High Magic. lol nice
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Post by venger on Jul 27, 2012 19:01:03 GMT -5
If the DM would permit that to be done on the board, I'm obviously up for that. We can skip ahead 8 days to Entioch if nobody is doing anything in Barb-el-Shay. I'll deduct the room costs and incidentals. Resurrection survival rolls would be needed. (92% for Colby)
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Post by Friedrich on Jul 27, 2012 21:15:49 GMT -5
Ok this is a lot to take in here but I have a basic idea. What if Friedrich stays here and trains, goes into the arena, cracks some heads open...receive $$$. Repeat as necessary. Friedrich would be willing to put his winning towards bringing back Colby and Trommer. They both have been loyal allies in virtually every fight he's ever been in.
Between having Dan, Ingrid and Mary casting pre-fight buffing spells and the (almost) 100HP dwarf being fully trained in the 2/1 attack routine, this could be quite the money maker. As far as changing WS from an axe to something else; I understand well enough that there are other 1 handed weapons that do slightly more damage but staying an axe specialist allows him to keep his bonus when throwing one. Plus a hand-axe could be an effective off-hand weapon if the right one should fall into his hands.
I haven't even begun to calculate how much money each PC/henchman should get but here are a few things I would like to do:
1) Have Mary pay the 1000 GP and take the entrance exam
2) Have Friedrich start reading the scorched exercise book. (does anybody object to Friedrich taking this?) If 3500 GP is available Friedrich will pay somebody to train him in the 2/1 attack routine.
3) Ask Ingrid to stay back with us. It would be good to have a cleric with the party especially since Friedrich is willing to put all of his winnings into a party fund to pay for training expenses, raise dead or whatever else.
4) Have Mary write haste.
5) Friedrich will go to the arena and look for a fight. If at all possible he is ready to fight that day. If Ingrid agrees to stay he will ask her to cast endure heat on him so he can wear his armor. If this is not an option he will put on the an electrum-coated ringmail shirt. Either way Friedrich is ready to fight anyone or anything ASAP.
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Post by venger on Jul 27, 2012 21:52:29 GMT -5
1) Have Mary pay the 1000 GP and take the entrance exam Mary has no trouble finding the Towers of Sorcery, their slender spires rise high above the city. There's a wall around the College, however, and where there should be a gate there is only more wall with some magical writing on it... 2) Have Friedrich start reading the scorched exercise book. (does anybody object to Friedrich taking this?) This will take 3-5 days. Is Friedrich going to read the book or is he asking permission to read the book? If 3500 GP is available Friedrich will pay somebody to train him in the 2/1 attack routine. Gems/jewelry will need to be liquidated as there is not enough cash on hand. Is Friedrich converting gems/jewelry and exchanging money in order to pay this 3500GP or is he questioning its availability? Training will take 13 days. (it's 1750GP if Friedrich joins a team) If you say Friedrich is doing it, it will happen. 3) Ask Ingrid to stay back with us. Ingrid must leave with Dan and Paavo for the Holy City, she cannot stay. It's a cleric thing. 4) Have Mary write haste. Finnious only has 1 unit of spell ink. More needs to be purchased. Is Mary purchasing spell ink? How much? 100GP/per. 5) Friedrich will go to the arena and look for a fight. If at all possible he is ready to fight that day. If Ingrid agrees to stay he will ask her to cast endure heat on him so he can wear his armor. If this is not an option he will put on the an electrum-coated ringmail shirt. Either way Friedrich is ready to fight anyone or anything ASAP. Urgos ap Ur, the Pitmaster, puts Friedrich through the paces in an attempt to determine his skill level. After a couple rounds of sparring the grizzled old gladiator doesn't seem all that impressed, but he's willing to give the dwarf a shot. He thinks Friedrich would do better with some training... Friedrich will have to work his way up through the lower ranks if he wants to win any substantial purses. He might get higher profile match-ups if he joins a team/clan/house just because of the affiliation. If Friedrich is willing to fight a bear, he can win 50 gold dinars right now.
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Post by Ginger on Jul 28, 2012 11:24:21 GMT -5
Friedrich should spend a day watching the fights first to get a sense of how they work. Are they typically to the death? What is the typical skill level. Keep in mind that there are tons of name level people in the city. Would Friedrich really want to go up against a 15th level fighter? Especially before he's even trained for extra attacks? Granted, there's literally no one present to give this advice, but it's something to consider.
Regarding the exercise book, I'd wait until it's identified. It's a little risky to crack it open and start reading before we know what it does.
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Post by Friedrich on Jul 28, 2012 18:38:58 GMT -5
We will liquidate some gems/jewels/whatever. I really don't care what we sell but I won't sell anything magical. If at all possible Friedrich would like NOT to have to hire a CPA to do this!! Friedrich and Mary will go together and sell what we have to in order to do the following things:
1. Buy 10 units of spell ink and 10 pearls. We will ask if we can get a discount on these items if we buy in bulk.
2. Have Friedrich join a team/clan and begin training for the 2/1 attack. Is there a clan where there are a lot of Dwarves present? If not I will join the The Eternal Axe . I know I will sleep in the barracks which is fine but I take it to mean that Friedrich will have time during the day to do other things and still be accessible should something arise. I will hold off on fighting the bear and instead follow Dave's advice and watch a few fights and see how things work
3. Have MT level up. Could you role for her on that website that you use? Mainly I hope to boost her int to 18 for purposes of making learn spell/write magic/pass test etc... checks. Right now she is at 17.XX (I think 35 or so). If it's OK with you then go ahead and roll HP and % and post it. Thanks
4. Mary will read the magical writing outside where the wall should be(after she has leveled and liquidated assets). Friedrich will help MT carry over the gold if encumbrance is an issue.
5. Assuming MT is able to get into the school and gain access to 1st and 2nd level spells she first will identify the book for Friedrich and at this point MT and Finn can start ID'ing items. I don't really care which. If somebody wants something identified we can assume MT will do it(Bolo's bow for example). If we need to sell stuff for pearls MT and Friedrich will do so.
6. Can Finn train MT for 3rd level spells?
7. Any suggestions on MT's level 6 spell?
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Post by Friedrich on Jul 28, 2012 18:44:16 GMT -5
Once the book is identified Friedrich will start reading it assuming it is what we think it is.
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Post by Ginger on Jul 29, 2012 8:10:42 GMT -5
10 spell inks sounds great, but we already have 1600 GP worth of pearls, so we can identify almost all of our items already. I'd hold off on buying them.
While making friends at your Fighter school, see if they have a quartermaster who might be interested in buying our fancy, but non-magical armor. Or if he knows good dealers he could refer us to. I'm sure he's got a guy who gives him a finder's fee for that stuff.
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Post by Ginger on Jul 29, 2012 8:32:21 GMT -5
There's dozens of schools/clans/teams, some of the more popular: The Blessed Scholars of Pain The Blazing Suns The Devil Dogs The Lion Brotherhood The Legion of Ur'lok-sur Crescent Moon School Cobra KaiThe Eternal Axe Three Winds School Yellow Chimerae Sisterhood The Iron Legion The Dogmen of Kresh The Taurien Alliance The Maraheel Raiders The Sultans of Swinging Swords Vimana Tigers The Knights of Frogtown Desert Sands School The Crimson Horde Knife Clan The Courageous Company Cobra Kai, Never Die!! youtu.be/4kr24G8jQpM
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Post by Bolo on Jul 29, 2012 11:27:37 GMT -5
We will liquidate some gems/jewels/whatever. I really don't care what we sell but I won't sell anything magical. Whoa there, slow down a bit. Two things: First, gems are highly desirable as a low-encumbrance store of value. Those of us who do not have 18/00 strength tend to buy them, paying a commission, to avoid carrying too much weight in gold. Since we have lots of other stuff that we plan to sell anyway while we're here, it makes no sense to start off by selling gems (paying a commission) only to later buy gems (paying a commission). Especially since the round-trip commission cost here in Barb appears to be exorbitant. There are a couple jewelers in the Foreign District. They'll purchase gems at a % of their value, between 80-85%. They'll sell gems at mark-up of 110-130%, depending on rarity. That's a round-trip loss of 23-38%. We should, at a minimum, see if we can find better rates outside the Foreign District. Second, we agreed when we were last in Devonshire that training costs are 50% party, 50% personal. We agreed that treasure found would be split 50/50 between the company and members. Training costs would be split 50/50 as well. Any shortfalls would have to be IOU's between party members. Pearls for identification of magic items are a party expense. Spell ink was a party expense this time. It was not clear if it would always be so. So if Friedrich needs 1750gp for training, we need to do the company-member split first, and only 875gp should come out of the company portion. Ditto for Mary and whoever else needs training. If we want to do the math on this later, so Friedrich and Mary can get started without delay, I'm fine with that, but we need to keep track via IOUs or whatever. If at all possible Friedrich would like NOT to have to hire a CPA to do this!! Sorry, man. :-)
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Post by venger on Jul 29, 2012 11:50:03 GMT -5
1. Buy 10 units of spell ink and 10 pearls. We will ask if we can get a discount on these items if we buy in bulk. Yes, there is a discount if purchased in bulk. Unfortunately bulk would mean 100+ units of ink. Pearls are not discounted. (-1000GP, subtotal 1207GP, 1SP) 10 spell inks sounds great, but we already have 1600 GP worth of pearls, so we can identify almost all of our items already. I'd hold off on buying them. Holding off on pearls for now. 2. Have Friedrich join a team/clan and begin training for the 2/1 attack. Is there a clan where there are a lot of Dwarves present? If not I will join the The Eternal Axe . There is no fighting clan with a lot of dwarves present, no. Dwarves seem few and far between in the desert, making Friedrich something of an oddity. The Order of the Eternal Axe welcomes him and he begins training. (-1750GP, subtotal 2957GP, 1SP) I know I will sleep in the barracks which is fine but I take it to mean that Friedrich will have time during the day to do other things and still be accessible should something arise. For 13 days Friedrich will eat, breathe and sleep the 2/1 attack routine. For 4 days after that Friedrich will read the book. That puts Friedrich on Day 18 before he can perform any other actions. I will hold off on fighting the bear and instead follow Dave's advice and watch a few fights and see how things work There are fights almost every day of the week, except on holy days which seem to be fairly frequent. Tickets cost 1/2 dinar. (-10SP, subtotal 2957GP, 11SP) They're all bloody spectacles-- the man vs. beast/monster all go to the death, there are many of these -- Friedrich watches a dozen men with spears get massacred by a "landshark", which takes forever to corrall. There are uneven matches, with men on chariots facing unarmed men on foot. The Fleshmonger's Guild delivers fresh slave fodder daily, most of them die horribly. Every fight is to the death or surrender. There are the Lords of the Pit, as they are called, who give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down at the end of each match (usually based on the crowd response). Thumbs-down means the victor must slay the defeated, regardless. Double thumbs-down, which is rare, means they release lions. :) The whole thing is really quite barbarous. 3. Have MT level up. Could you role for her on that website that you use? Mainly I hope to boost her int to 18 for purposes of making learn spell/write magic/pass test etc... checks. Right now she is at 17.XX (I think 35 or so). If it's OK with you then go ahead and roll HP and % and post it. Thanks 1d4=1, 1d100=15Mary gains 1HP and 15% to intelligence. (ouch) 4. Mary will read the magical writing outside where the wall should be(after she has leveled and liquidated assets). Friedrich will help MT carry over the gold if encumbrance is an issue. (liquidating assets...) (-1000GP, subtotal 3957GP, 11SP) 5. Assuming MT is able to get into the school and gain access to 1st and 2nd level spells she first will identify the book for Friedrich The magical writing appears to be a permanent scroll variant of the Knock spell. Mary reads it, casts it and the wall swings open. Beyond are well-manicured lawns full of robed magi, studying and strolling the grounds. There are 4 ivory towers surrounding a large university building. at this point MT and Finn can start ID'ing items. I don't really care which. If somebody wants something identified we can assume MT will do it(Bolo's bow for example). If we need to sell stuff for pearls MT and Friedrich will do so. They can either do this or train Mary for 3rd level spells. 6. Can Finn train MT for 3rd level spells? They can either do this or identify items... 1d6+1=72d6=11Training Mary will cost 3500GP and take 16 days. (x2 ouch)
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Post by Bolo on Jul 29, 2012 12:05:27 GMT -5
Bolo goes shopping, accompanied by our 12-year-old guide and translator. First, he buys some clothes in the local style. Nothing fancy, just something so he doesn't stand out too obviously as a foreigner or anything else out of the ordinary (except for his inevitable, um, compactness). And of course, the clothes should be loose-fitting, etc., so he is not constricted or impeded in his professional activities. Second, he buys (a) some beeswax, enough to plug two halfling ears; (b) a few sheets of paper or a small notebook; and (c) a pencil. Third, he takes one of the "4 jeweled goblets (150GP each)" and the "jewel-hilted dagger (60GP)", shines them up nicely with his jewelry polish and polishing cloth, and visits several jewelers to see what offers he gets. He pays the 1sp to exit the Foreign District so he can access a wider range of shops. Can he find a place with a more reasonable commission rate? He is surprised that in this large metropolis, with high trade volume and presumably lots of competition, the commissions are so much higher than in Devonshire. Can he get any understanding of why that is? Are the Foreign District jewelers just ripping people off? Is the jeweler's guild running a cartel to fix prices? He mentions that he and his friends have more stuff they are also planning to sell, and that he may also be interested in buying some loose gems soon. After hearing this, are any of the jewelers interested in discounting their commission rates? Are their offers better on a trade-in basis, buying jeweled items and paying in loose gems? While making friends at your Fighter school, see if they have a quartermaster who might be interested in buying our fancy, but non-magical armor. Or if he knows good dealers he could refer us to. I'm sure he's got a guy who gives him a finder's fee for that stuff. I was going to add a fourth item, about looking for armor and weapon dealers. But this is a better idea. Basic Equipment & Supplies Costs in Barb-el-Shay Armor = 50% (no platemail available) Arms = 50% (no straight swords, ... ... There are jewelers and money-changers and almost every other service imaginable in the markets of the Foreign District, with one notable exception: do not sell weapons/armor beyond simple knives and padded armor. Does this mean that platemail, straight swords, etc., are unusual rarities here and therefore highly valued, assuming we can find someone who wants them? Or that there is no demand for them here, so selling them isn't going to get us much no matter what we do?
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Post by Ginger on Jul 29, 2012 14:01:32 GMT -5
Finn can train Mary for less, so I highly recommend doing that. I'd recommend they sit and identify items until we run out of pearls. That'll be 8 days, by my calculations. I recall you'd modified the rule so you can use a 200 GP pearl for 2 identifications. Does that work for cheaper pearls as well, ie 2 50 GP pearls gets one item?
How are the pit fighters armed and armored? Any wearing metal armor? Are they using foreign swords?
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Post by Friedrich on Jul 29, 2012 14:19:52 GMT -5
Mary and Finn will identify items at first. And I agree with Dave that having Finn or Colby train her is the right way to go.
1. What does to group want identified first? Whatever is suggested here, Mary will do.
2. Do the gladiators have spells cast on them before the fights? The main reason I am asking this is because I want to know if Friedrich will be able to wear his armor during fights if somebody casts endure heat on him.
3. Can Mary write spells in her book on days where she identifies items? If so she will write Mirror Image, invisibility, shield, and levitate in her book.
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Post by Ginger on Jul 29, 2012 15:16:55 GMT -5
We have 11 spell ink right now. Mary will need 3 of them for Haste, and Finn will need two for Invisibility. Those are spells in memory that we need to write before they're lost. That leaves 6 left. How about we avoid recopying spells we already have until we see what the magic college has to offer?
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Post by venger on Jul 29, 2012 16:44:32 GMT -5
Bolo goes shopping, accompanied by our 12-year-old guide and translator. Maroud is seeing a lot of action, so his services are purchased for another day. (-1SP = subtotal 3997GP, 12SP) First, he buys some clothes in the local style. Bolo is now attired in the flowing robes popular amongst the citizens of Barb-el-Shay. (-5GP, subtotal 4002GP, 12SP) Second, he buys (a) some beeswax, enough to plug two halfling ears; (b) a few sheets of paper or a small notebook; and (c) a pencil. (-3GP, subtotal 4005GP, 12SP) Third, he takes one of the "4 jeweled goblets (150GP each)" and the "jewel-hilted dagger (60GP)", shines them up nicely with his jewelry polish and polishing cloth, and visits several jewelers to see what offers he gets. He pays the 1sp to exit the Foreign District so he can access a wider range of shops. Can he find a place with a more reasonable commission rate? He is surprised that in this large metropolis, with high trade volume and presumably lots of competition, the commissions are so much higher than in Devonshire. Can he get any understanding of why that is? Are the Foreign District jewelers just ripping people off? Is the jeweler's guild running a cartel to fix prices? He mentions that he and his friends have more stuff they are also planning to sell, and that he may also be interested in buying some loose gems soon. After hearing this, are any of the jewelers interested in discounting their commission rates? Are their offers better on a trade-in basis, buying jeweled items and paying in loose gems? (leaving Foreign District...) (-1SP, subtotal 4005GP, 13SP) The merchants of Barb-el-Shay are extremely shrewd when compared to the backwater merchants of The Forest Kingdom. They bemoan the excessive taxes and tariffs levied by the Sultanate, they complain about their overabundant stock of whatever particular gem Bolo is interested in selling, they wheedle and whine about their hungry children who, even at these rates, might have to be sold to the Fleshmonger's Guild... Cost of living is higher here and the going exchange rate is 20%. And that 20% is assuming that Bolo knows the worth of what he has and haggles with the jewelers for their fair value. Sometimes he may get more, sometimes he may get less - but in general it comes out to 20% for the purposes of these type transactions. Since you want to break out what everyone is spending for IOU purposes, etc: Expenditures:Party: 60GP, 3SP (lodging day2, guide) Friedrich: 1750GP, 10SP (training, arena ticket) Paavo: 207GP (desert clothes, tithe) Mary: 2000GP (mage college tuition, 10 units of spell ink) Bolo: 8GP (desert clothes, wax, paper, pencil) (subtotal 4005GP, 13SP) While making friends at your Fighter school, see if they have a quartermaster who might be interested in buying our fancy, but non-magical armor. Or if he knows good dealers he could refer us to. I'm sure he's got a guy who gives him a finder's fee for that stuff. Assuming you wish to sell the following, the best offer you get is 160 gold dinars for the lot: Does this mean that platemail, straight swords, etc., are unusual rarities here and therefore highly valued, assuming we can find someone who wants them? Or that there is no demand for them here, so selling them isn't going to get us much no matter what we do? Platemail and heavier armors aren't worn because of the extreme heat, straight swords aren't fashionable. If you find someone who wants them, sure, they'll fetch a price but used equipment doesn't ever sell for more than 50% of the PHB cost. Finn can train Mary for less, so I highly recommend doing that. That is how much it will cost for Finn to train Mary. It was the worst possible roll on our training costs, 1d6+1x5=3500. Does that work for cheaper pearls as well, ie 2 50 GP pearls gets one item? No, they are of inferior grade and not suitable for spellcraft. How are the pit fighters armed and armored? Any wearing metal armor? Are they using foreign swords? They wear all kinds of crazy outfits. Some are armored, some unarmored. Lots of piece-meal armor. Some splintmail, chainmail, a breastplate here or there. Nothing heavy as platemail. They use every kind of weapon imaginable. Nets, tridents, exotic polearms, swords (curved, bent, straight), crossbows, whips, weird clawed-hands, axes, bolas, etc.
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Post by Bolo on Jul 29, 2012 16:46:11 GMT -5
Every fight is to the death or surrender. There are the Lords of the Pit, as they are called, who give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down at the end of each match (usually based on the crowd response). Thumbs-down means the victor must slay the defeated, regardless. Is that "to the death" as in you go below 0 HP, but your friends rush out and retrieve your body and bind your wounds and feed you healing potions etc. etc., and then you're okay? Or is that "to the death" as in they keep hacking on you until you're at minus 1000 HP, and there's no way back except resurrection? Just askin'.
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Post by venger on Jul 29, 2012 16:49:10 GMT -5
Mary and Finn will identify items at first. These are unidentified - (looks like 37 items?) a bardiche (m) a fauchard fork (m) a heavy iron helm (m) a silver helmet with sweeping horns (m) a wickedly-curved scimitar (m) a suit of green-lacquered splint-mail (m) an electrum-coated ringmail shirt (m) a steel shield with a lone tower (m) a suit of electric blue platemail fashioned from the carapace of a lobster (m) a sabre (m) gold ring (m) gold hookah (m) an ornate copper brazier (m) a gold hoop earring (m) a platinum band etched with stars (m) an oxidized copper crown (m) 4 golden apples (m) 3 silver apples (m) a torc of heavy iron discs (m) a sphere of polished chalcedony (m) a bottle of pixie mead (m) a sealed jar (m) 3 rose-colored potions (m) 1 pale blue potion (m) 1 scroll (m) a bronze knife (m) 1 shortbow, amazon (m) 20 arrows, amazon (m) scorched exercise book (m) Stormcaller Horn (m) some bright green (frog-skin) boots (m) a fine yew longbow with elven scrollwork (m) magic chainmail (m) a flanged mace (m) a filigreed bastard sword (silver-inlaid flowing script) (m) a longsword with an ivory grip (m) a longsword with a snarling lion pommel (m) Do the gladiators have spells cast on them before the fights? Not that Friedrich witnesses. Can Mary write spells in her book on days where she identifies items? No, Identify is a very difficult procedure.
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Post by venger on Jul 29, 2012 16:51:49 GMT -5
Is that "to the death" as in you go below 0 HP, but your friends rush out and retrieve your body and bind your wounds and feed you healing potions etc. etc., and then you're okay? Or is that "to the death" as in they keep hacking on you until you're at minus 1000 HP, and there's no way back except resurrection? Just askin'. Either 0, death's door or dead. With everyone having a multiple attack routine, going to 0 usually means the next attack will kill. Thumbs-down from the Pit Lords is for real death.
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Post by venger on Jul 29, 2012 16:54:08 GMT -5
We have 11 spell ink right now. Mary will need 3 of them for Haste, and Finn will need two for Invisibility. Those are spells in memory that we need to write before they're lost. That leaves 6 left. How about we avoid recopying spells we already have until we see what the magic college has to offer? Mary pays 1000GP to the Dean of Admissions, Azul-azrad, at the College of General & Applied Magicks in Barb-el-Shay. She is given unlimited access to the summoning rooms (permanent protection from evil/good 10' radius circle as well as more complex thaumaturgical pentagrams), the alchemy lab (equipped with alchemist) and the spell library (containing multiple copies of all non-named 1st & 2nd level PHB spells).
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Post by Bolo on Jul 29, 2012 18:24:57 GMT -5
Here is my take on how we should handle the loot.
Monetary Treasure. We should spend from this category first, until we agree on what to do with the rest.
Pearls. We should not sell these. We know we are always needing pearls for identifying magic items. Even if we don't plan to use them all right now, we should hang on to them for the future. There's no point in losing 20% to convert pearls into cash now, and then losing another 20% to convert cash back into pearls at some point in the future.
Other Gems, Jewelry, and Objets d'Art of Known Value. This is really two categories: (a) loose gems and (b) jewelry and objets. We appear to need cash, so we might as well sell the jewelry and objets, even though the 20% conversion cost is not a very good rate. In contrast, we should sell as few of the gems as we possibly can, since they are very easy to transport and we can convert them (if we want to) at a better rate when we get back to Devonshire.
In particular, when we calculate everything out and Bolo gets his share, whatever that turns out to be, he's going to want to carry most of it in gems. And if we've sold gems, losing 20% of value, so that Bolo gets his share in cash and has to buy gems, losing another 20% of value, well, that would be really annoying.
Jewelry and Objets d'Art of Uncertain Value. We should sell these, but I am uncertain about the best approach. Have all the characters with appraising abilities already taken a crack at them? Would it make sense to hire an expert appraiser? Is this something Dwelb Abuyalm, the sage, could help us with? Or should Bolo just shop the items around to a bunch of jewelers and take the best offer he can get?
Miscellanous Nonmagical Weaponry. We have been offered 160gp for this collection. Unless someone objects, let's take that offer and move on.
Other Nonmagical Items. We've been carrying these around for a while. IMHO they are not worth the encumbrance. Unless someone objects, this seems like a good time to sell them. Although I would suggest waiting until the Entioch expedition returns, so that Colby can take the lead on selling the floating toad bottles, Blathwort's book, the magnifying glass, and the displacer beast pelts; and the team of Paavo and Trommer can take the lead on selling the mega-crossbow.
Magical Items. We tend to hold on to too many random, not very useful magical items. Once we have identified stuff, we should figure out what we're actually likely to use, and what we can carry without encumbering ourselves ridiculously, and then we should SELL EVERYTHING ELSE. We are in a giant metropolis with multiple schools of magic and many high-level magic users and a fabulously wealthy sultan with his court of fabulously wealthy princes and lords. We are never going to find ourselves anywhere with a better market for selling magic items. Although I would again suggest waiting for the Entioch group to get back, so that Colby can take the lead on this.
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Post by venger on Jul 29, 2012 18:41:15 GMT -5
He mentions that he and his friends have more stuff they are also planning to sell, and that he may also be interested in buying some loose gems soon. After hearing this, are any of the jewelers interested in discounting their commission rates? They would have to be considerably more impressive than the items Bolo has brought with him. The markets of Barb-el-Shay receive caravans laden with gems & jewels from the boundless mines of Vimana every few weeks, even with that recent bandit activity... Are their offers better on a trade-in basis, buying jeweled items and paying in loose gems? If Bolo is using gems to purchase jewelry he can find an exchange rate of 85% as opposed to 80% on gems for cash.
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Post by venger on Jul 29, 2012 18:52:29 GMT -5
In particular, when we calculate everything out and Bolo gets his share... I would recommend Bolo taking whatever he considers his share before it's gone. 4005GP has been spent so far. That is all the monetary treasure (3466.15) converted at 3% and 650GP worth of jewelry/gems liquidated converted at 20%. Leaving 6133GP in jewelry/gems unconverted, 3 gold dinars, 19 silver centimes and 3 nearly worthless brass coins that the Innkeeper Farouk identifies as dirham. At 40GP/night the current lodgings will cost another 816GP in gems (when converted at 20%) for the next 17 days (Mary's training and time Friedrich has already committed).
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Post by Bolo on Jul 29, 2012 23:01:11 GMT -5
I would recommend Bolo taking whatever he considers his share before it's gone. OK, let me take a stab at this. Stop me if I make a mistake, and please check my math. We have agreed to a 50-50 split between party funds and personal funds. In dividing the personal funds, I believe our practice is that each party member, PC or NPC, regardless of level or anything else, gets an equal share. Right so far? By my count there are 10 party members, assuming that Trommer and Colby both come back alive: (1) Trommer, (2) Colby, (3) Paavo, (4) Dan, (5) Friedrich, (6) Mary, (7) Nordel, (8) Bolo, (9) Finn, and (10) Ingrid. Am I missing anyone? If all of the above is correct, then the party share is 50%, and each member's personal share is 5%. Nice easy math. A party of 10 is very convenient. Before we did any conversion, we started with: - 3573.35gp in foreign coinage. We have apparently already converted all of this to local currency, paying a 3% commission, to get 3466.15gp in local currency.
- 6783gp in gems, jewelry, and objets d'art (GJO), not counting pearls or items of unknown value. We have apparently already converted 650gp worth of this, paying a 20% commission, to get 520gp in local currency and 6133gp still in GJO.
- Some valuable items of unknown value, some nonmagical items, and some magical items. Can I assume that we have sold that list of nonmagical weaponry? If so, that nets us 160gp in local currency. Everything else, let's set on one side to be dealt with later.
- 1625gp in pearls. I'm going to assume that we're not dividing these up according to the 50-50 rule, because we're going to use them all for identification of magic items, either now or eventually. Is everyone okay with this?
So after conversions and the sale of the weaponry, we had: - The pearls, and the stuff we have set aside to deal with later.
- 6133gp in unconverted GJO.
- 4146.15gp in local currency.
For convenience, I'm going to do all the allocation math in local currency and then convert back at the end. The local currency converted value of the unconverted GJO is 4906.4gp, so with that and the actual currency, we have 9052.55gp to allocate. The party, collectively, is entitled to 4526.27gp, and each individual is entitled to 452.63gp. But we have had some expenses: - Party: 60.15gp (lodging and guide)
- Friedrich: 1750gp (training) and 0.5gp (arena ticket). We have agreed that the party pays half of the cost of training.
- Paavo: 207gp (desert clothes and tithe)
- Mary: 1000gp (mage college tuition) and 1000gp (10 units of spell ink). Assuming that tuition is the equivalent of training, the party pays half the cost of that. Let's assume for now that the party also pays all the cost of spell ink. OK?
- Bolo: 8gp (desert clothes, wax, paper, pencil)
This supposedly adds up to 4005.65gp, but I get 4025.65gp. Please point out my error and I will correct it. In the mean time, reallocating the expenses that are to be paid by the party, we have spent: - Party: 2435.15gp
- Friedrich: 875.5gp
- Paavo: 207gp
- Mary: 500gp
- Bolo: 8gp
Subtracting this from the amount each person is entitled to, I get balances (expressed in local currency) of: - Party: 2091.12gp
- Friedrich: -422.87gp
- Paavo: 245.63gp
- Mary: -47.37gp
- Bolo: 444.63gp
- Everyone else: 452.63gp each
In converting back, I'm going to assume that IOUs are denominated in local currency, and all actual local currency stays in the party kitty for future expenses. Any objections? If not, I get this final allocation: - Unallocated: the valuable items of unknown value, some nonmagical items (but not the weaponry we sold), and some magical items, all of which we have set aside to deal with later.
- Party: all the pearls, 1875.5gp in unconverted GJO, 120.5gp in local currency, Friedrich's IOU for 422.87gp (local), and Mary's IOU for 47.37gp (local).
- Friedrich and Mary: in debt to the party
- Paavo: 307.03gp in unconverted GJO
- Bolo: 555.78gp in unconverted GJO
- Everyone else: 565.78gp in unconverted GJO each
I have all this in a spreadsheet, so if anyone sees a mistake or disagrees with how I've done something, I am happy to fix it. For his share, Bolo proposes to take the star-shaped diamond (400gp) and three of the pale green peridots (50gp each). If everyone is okay with this, he'll donate the extra 5.78gp gem value to Friedrich's account with the party, which buys down Friedrich's IOU to 418.25gp (local).
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Post by Friedrich on Jul 29, 2012 23:21:52 GMT -5
I have no problem with Bolo taking what has been suggested. So if I understand this correctly; is MT able to write down any 1st or 2nd level spell she wants and, theory, could share it with Colby or Finn?
I will hold off and writing spells after MT has written Mirror Image and Shield. She needs to train for 3rd level spells in order to write haste which she has not done.
Friedrich will eat, sleep and breathe his training regimen. After that he will read the book. By this time MT should have identified it.
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