pc's and the money

[Inconsequenti-AL]

I think this could be a lot of fun... The players will be earning some extra cash of their own backs, which is always fun for them. I think it leads to more involvement in the campaign?

Personally, I'd let them roll with it. After a few sessions with some rather profitable business, I'd start throwing some problems at them:

Like a lot of people have said - taxes, guilds and racketeers all make for interesting challenges.

Mix in a few problem clients:

That guy they raised, no questions asked. He was a high level assasin - it took a large party of paladins and clerics to put him down the first time around.

An outbreak of plague in the poor quarter. They're really ill, but have no money to pay for cures... perhaps mobs of them would picket the clerics place of business. If they don't help, god might get angry. If they do help, their reputation will improve - likely they'll be a local hero, perhaps even a phrophecy fulfilling messiah. How would the other churches like that?

That group you teleported - foreign spies fleeing from justice?

Bad guys find out the PCs are selling services - it's a good route to mess with them?


Figure the trick is to let things start easy - get them used to the extra side cash they're making. Then throw in some fun problems. Gives you a ton of interesting plot hooks to play with?

Another good thing might be to try and involve the non caster PCs - sure there's stuff they can do on the business side of things...

 

[irdeggman]

Doesnt the Players Handbook have a standardized listing cost for casting spells?

10gp x spell level x caster level + (5gp x XP point cost).

It's in the Equipment section under "Spellcasting and Services"

Editted to add: Wouldn't a Player character get to charge the same amount?

Generally, yes.

As has been pointed out there could be expenses involved, especially if this was a long term thing vice an individual spell (and as the thread started it seemed to indicate this was ongoing).

It should also be pointed out that the assumption of the DMG is that the PCs are rich and can afford these kinds of things.That is rich in relation to the average commoner who has much less than the average amount of gp a PC has. So while a PC can earn that price per spell sold he needs to find someone willing (or capable of) buying the spell in the first place. Readily churning out cure spells is not necessarily the way things work, most commoners (or even experts) (which are the great majority of NPC in a town) do not have the coin required to purchase spells at the ratelisted. They may (and most probably would) barter for a spell. They might trade food stuffs or other services for a spell.

Going back to the original issue, IMO if a player wants to run his PC as a money maker and generate income on a continous basis he should be using the profession skill since that is what it reflects.

If one player wishes to stay in town and generate income while the others go off adventuring (the original question didn't address the circumstances) then the trade off is that the one staying in town earns no exp nor does he "find" any more treasure. See the other comment about not being able to readily sell spell services.

 

[Vlos]

I had asked a similar question a while back how much could a character make. Now I am not suggesting setting up shop, but more of a contractor collecting things, natural resources.

I mean there are gold mines out there right? So, what if you summon an earth elemental or spirt to go and seek out gold or other mineral, then using other spells to quickly mine it. Even selling the info(contracting out) to the local miners guild of where the vein is located should be worth something. Or I assume an earth elemental could mine it for you bringing it to the surface. Or get an umber hulk to dig for you once you know where it is.

Or collecting herbs, or other spell casting components from nature or monsters?

How much can one make. Now I know the rules say using your skills you make "X gp" per week, and that they have a rule for casting a spell gets "Y", but combining these skills and casting a lot of spells? How much is a reasonable amount one can make?



How much would a mining guild pay for knowing the exact location of a large vein of minerals?

How much are monster parts worth for spell componets? (is there an public list?) Or better yet a Formula?