Chunk of Meat

[takasi]

A half a pound of meat is worth 3 silver pieces. The DMG does not say if this is cooked or raw/rare, but considering that it's in the Meals sections it's probably cooked with the profession cooking skill factored in for cost.

Here's the situation. A group of adventurers near Rel Astra in Greyhawk killed three dire rats. They have taken the rats to a small town (Oakhurst) and try to find someone who will buy the meat.

In your opinion how much is the meat of a dead animal worth? The rats are not diseased.

The rats are about as large as pigs that usually sell for 3 gold pieces each.

Most of the people in the town have never seen rats this large. How do you think they would react?

Would the fur or hide have any value?

And in general, when adventurers kill wild game do they have any special value?

Hackmaster, IMO, does a good job of providing the value of creatures. Are there any good 3PP supplements for appraising dead d20 monsters and animals?

 

[frankthedm]

A half a pound of meat is worth 3 silver pieces. The DMG does not say if this is cooked or raw/rare, but considering that it's in the Meals sections it's probably cooked with the profession cooking skill factored in for cost.

Here's the situation. A group of adventurers near Rel Astra in Greyhawk killed three dire rats. They have taken the rats to a small town (Oakhurst) and try to find someone who will buy the meat.

Uhm, it kinda sounds like the players are saying. "We are too poor."

The rats are not diseased.

GFL convincing the buyer of that! Even without diseased bites, the meat is likely loaded with parasites and such. Purify Food and Drink would take care of the actual problem, but others still would perceive rat meat as tainted.

Most of the people in the town have never seen rats this large. How do you think they would react?

"Keep that that filthy carcass away you daft fools!", "Begone plaugebearers!", "Are they mad?!".

Would the fur or hide have any value?

To a copper-less begger, yes.

And in general, when adventurers kill wild game do they have any special value?

Hackmaster, IMO, does a good job of providing the value of creatures. Are there any good 3PP supplements for appraising dead d20 monsters and animals?

Sadly 3E does not have this. Whats worse I suspect personal biases were involved in the decision not to include this. Using a portion / fraction of the Average treasure value may work well enough, though modifications for how the critter is killed should also be a factor.

There is a nice thread on this called critter bits and magical recipes around these parts.

 

[Delta]

LOL. (@ Frank's replies.)

 

[Shin Okada]

Ask your players if this look delicious.

 

[krupintupple]

i'd rule consistent with the previous poster, that no one is going to want to buy some rat carcasses - especially ones the size of small swine!

at best, maybe a group of sailors plan to use them as bait or chum or something of the like? for that, i'd allow a mere pittance, say, 1sp for the lot of them?

 

[frankthedm]

http://www.enworld.org/forum/861179-post50.html

Now if the rats were alive and / or diseased, then the party might find more interested buyers, such as Plaugepriests or those who want something a bit meaner than a guard dog.
EDIT

Ask your players if this look delicious.

[IMaGel]http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/2541/giantrat1vd6.jpg[/IMaGel]While the bonespur look of official D&D dire animals may be going too far IMHO, dire rats should not be pretty. This Halloween decoration i think sums up how ugly a dire rat ought to be.

 

[Imp]

I'd imagine you'd have to be in a pretty dystopian setting to get any scratch for rat meat.

 

[calighis]

This is a great opportunity for you as a DM to lay the smack down on players acting retarded. Why would they be et with anything other shock and disgust. I imagine they would be kicked out of the market place and maybe even fined for disturbing the public by publicly presenting potentially diseased monstrous rat corpses.
That being said, if I were you I would think long and hard as to whether or not this desperate ploy on the part of your players is an indication of your impoverishment of their characters, or then they might be broke because of their ow stupidity. either way, give it some thought.

 

[Starbuck_II]

Ask your players if this look delicious.

Yes, that does look delicious.

In the real world people eat cows. You telling me they look delicious? No, they are disgusting creatures, but make wonderful burgers.

 

[calighis]

Yes, that does look delicious.

In the real world people eat cows. You telling me they look delicious? No, they are disgusting creatures, but make wonderful burgers.

People eat livestock, but in general those that consume vermin live in the backwaters and the swamps, (although I will attest to the fact that raccoons and squirrels are quite delicious) and people that eat rats in particular usually do so as a preventative to total starvation. At that point though, they'll even eat other humans to stay alive.
So the comparison to cows is just outrageous.
The idea that they would even try to sell rat meat at market is more outrageous still.
The only way I could see it happening is if they were willing to grind it up and make some bluff checks.
Otherwise hilarity ensues as characters are chased out of town by angry rolling pin bearing merchants for bringing giant rat carcasses into the open food court at the local markets.