Character sub-plot

[nothingpoetic]

I don't really know where to put this so the general thread seemed good.

I am playing a fighter who dual wields tridents. Brief history - Grew up on his Father's merchant fleet, consisting of three ships that always sailed together. Anyways, business partners betrayed the parents when he was coming of age, took 8 years but finally got revenge. Was sentenced to servitude to the knight order of the nation, and 8ish years later was given the chance to finally start anew.

The continent was fully populated with little room to spare, so they begin to branch out. Establishing new colonies was the answer. The knighthood offered any of those who had served a sentence of servitude the chance to start anew in these colonies (think colonizing Georgia or Austrilia).

Now my Fighter has spent a few weeks in this new colony, and has just found an island with access to the mainland that he is going to settle on. My question for you all is this, what do you think I should do with the land?

I am far enough from the colony that I probably should not start a real big business, though I would love to do so. Would the wilderness setting of my business effect something like a lumbermill? The island setting, and my characters background in sailoring would lend itself to something like shipping, import/export type. Also, I am not opposed to the pirateering way of life.

I am far enough away that I could also start hiring workers, with the effort of beginning a new settlement in the new country. Is that too impossible?

anyways, just wanting to know some other thoughts...

 

[Harmon]

To start I think hiring some lumber jacks, getting someone to get the purchasing going on the lumber that will be coming in the following years, and plan a little town or hamlet in a natural harbor might be in order.

Also and first of all you need a few trusted soldier types to make sure the island is clear of baddies and such. Take a couple boats and check it out with enough supplies and a few camp followers to keep things from being to barbaric.

Once the immediate area is cleared of danger, leave some guards, and explore the island, find that natural harbor I mentioned or a good place to have a village at the very least, and move your camp there, get the lumber jacks in and clear the land. Once cleared get a couple farmers in there and get things really going.

Good luck, hope some of that helped.

 

[Gilladian]

And really, what business beyond a lumbering operation you can start will depend entirely on what resources your island has.

Does it have clay beds? Peat bogs? Chalk or another useful mineral? Is there a place where you could do sea-salt harvesting? Are there rare plants to be harvested? Rare animals?

You need to get with your DM, too, and see what he has in mind for you. If you're going to be spending all your time fighting off monsters, you may not want to also manage a business. But if the pace of the game is slow enough, then setting up a little fief of your own becomes very do-able.

 

[el-remmen]

Excuse my digression: How does one dual-wield tridents?

 

[nothingpoetic]

Thanks for the ideas. I plan on getting with my DM in the next few days, because at the end of our last session, I took a week off adventuring (really we all did) so I could go scout out my the area where I want to settle. The cool thing, is the island is just big enough that I can make a homestead, but could also be used as a last defensive stand in the event of an attack.

Anyways, I appreciate the business contacts idea.. and I do think I am going to start a nice little hamlet, starting and centered on the lumber trade.

Here is another question, I would love for this character, through his lumber trade, to get to build a bigger ship. Is it possible to decrease the price of such a vessel if I have access to all the lumber I need?

 

[Peni Griffin]

That depends on how interested your DM is in economics. He might tell you that the cost in labor to harvest the lumber equals the cost of the lumber if you had to buy it (which is nonsense, but all D&D economics is) just so he doesn't have to figure out what the profit margin is. The lumber you get for the cost of labor, but if you don't have an ongoing shipping business - a dry dock, equipment, lots and lots and lots of nails, people manufacturing or importing chandlery items - it may take longer, or cost more in other areas, or something. If the DM doesn't find such questions intrinsically interesting, saying it all comes out the same is his easiest option.

First, explore your island. Then, decide what the next logical step is. If you (and the DM) read up on real-world colonies, you'll find lots of inspiration for adventures and challenges in this little project. Your first concern will be to make your settlement self-sufficient - unless they can generate local trade, people will have to eat what they produce or find themselves until the goods they produce can be delivered to market, and all kinds of hazards lurk along new market routes. Who knows what resources, friendly natives, interdimensional rifts, hideous monsters, etc., the DM already has planted on your homestead?

 

[moritheil]

Excuse my digression: How does one dual-wield tridents?

Very carefully.