PC's owning businesses

[Onysablet]

How could you resolve this?
Now I have a player that would like to start a bussiness... He wants to have an information net and traffic with secrets in a city (a metropolis, quite large) where they pass most of the time (well, more or less).
How can I handle it? It's a kind of tricky bussiness...
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks!
Bye!

 

[hammymchamham]

How could you resolve this?
Now I have a player that would like to start a bussiness... He wants to have an information net and traffic with secrets in a city (a metropolis, quite large) where they pass most of the time (well, more or less).
How can I handle it? It's a kind of tricky bussiness...
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks!
Bye!

This is not a business. You can handle him getting info with the Gather Information skill. At epic levels, you could be really good at gathering lots of info, some good, some crappy, some you could use. Now you could blackmail someone into giving you gold (Intemidate) or sell information about a rival Kingdom to the king or even info on the King to some of the lower nobility (Diplomacy). You could even use skills like Apraise to try to figure out how much the info might be worthwhile.

Selling information isn't really a legit business like farming, selling magic items, bartering, cooking, running an inn etc, which Craft and Profession are for.

Running an information net is more of a black market 'business,' which could be very profitable. Such activity will make the PC enemies (and that would be a fun charecter hook).

Right now I have a charecter that is running an information net in the major city. He's level 11, a deep gnome with charisma 4, and is horrible at getting information. But its still fun.

 

[demon_jr]

Being a player myself, I have always wondered about this, but never really spoke to my DM about it.

In our campaign, it would not be feasible to do such a thing. We have a party of very "individualistic" characters and we tend to go adventuring almost non-stop. One adventure after another. Whenever an adventure hook is dangled in front of us, we always bite. Since the characters are "individualistic" as well, I could hardly see them waiting around while another character tried to setup their business. In addition, it may be seen as hindrance to the party more than an advantage.

However, don't ge me wrong. I would love to be able to setup my own business/intelligence network, and micro-manage everything, from the design of the building, to hiring staff and followers. I would probably even work with my DM to create adventures that could revolve around my business/int network, like protecting it from being robbed, invaded, taken over, etc. or hunting for followers, or finding magical raw materials to make the building etc.

The thing is, the above would probably be centered around my character and would be hard to do with an entire adventuring group, who all want to do different things. The above my be possible in a solo-campaign, but next to impossible in a group-campaign, unless the entire party agrees to doing such a thing.

Still, I wouldn't mind having a business/spy network in my campaign. Maybe I will speak to my DM about it after all.

 

[bret]

GMs who wanted to run a campaign heavy on this could do a caravan campaign. The characters work for a trade company that sends caravans out.

The other likely prospect is a group hired by a wizard cooperative to gather materials. In this case, you should probably use the Power Components rule from the DMG (the XP for an item creation feat can come from certain undefined special components). This would look similiar to a normal quest campaign combined with political rivalry within the guild/cooperative. The group would most likely develope a better rapport with a few of the members.

Any PCs that wanted to set up an intelligence network could do well by founding bardic schools and/or taverns. Take the leadership feat to get the 'right sort of people' working at the establishments. The business aspect would only be a concern as far as making sure that it made a slight profit. Even if it broke even, this would not present too much of a problem.

From the GM perspective, there are always lots of plots that could center around this type of establishment. It also gives the villains a location to strike back at, if the PCs are continuously wiping out their hideouts. I can just see the PCs rushing back to the tavern in order to protect it against an attack they have just learned of.

As for how to run anything like this, I would suggest that you just fake it. Don't get bogged down in rules for landownership and profit vs. taxes and such. Decide what the PC can reasonably expect to get out of such a venture, adjust for how skilled the people doing the daily grind there are, and wing it.

The economics on 3E are inconsistent enough that if you tried to do precise rules, you would no doubt find all sorts of problems.

 

[dkilgo]

How could you resolve this?
Now I have a player that would like to start a bussiness... He wants to have an information net and traffic with secrets in a city (a metropolis, quite large) where they pass most of the time (well, more or less).
How can I handle it? It's a kind of tricky bussiness...
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks!
Bye!

The whole information gathering network would have to have a front to operate effectively. That is how the mob does all thier business when it comes to information that is for sale. You could own a butcher shop, and in the back you distribute information for a fee. People may solicit information form you, and you could price the information on how difficult it was to obtain. You definitly need a business front to properly operate this sort of venture. It is not impossible, but the mechanics of it are difficult to master. To proprerly add the right sort of spice to this element in the game I would suggest watching a few good mob movies, preferably the God Father series, to get the scope of the blanket of deciet that surrounds business ventures such as this. The role play involved in this idea would be extensive, and combat sessions few and far between.

Hope you like the idea, or just my take on this. Have a nice day.

 

[Onysablet]

Written by hammymchamham:

Running an information net is more of a black market 'business,' which could be very profitable. Such activity will make the PC enemies (and that would be a fun charecter hook). Right now I have a charecter that is running an information net in the major city. He's level 11, a deep gnome with charisma 4, and is horrible at getting information. But its still fun.

He will not have enemies because a net of information... he will have TONS of them, mainly because there is one in the city already, and it gives me some ideas, so it's good he wanted to start a "business" like this.
He is a sorcerer, so it won't have problems of charisma, and is way of a tricky player. Charisma 4... sure I think it's fun hehehe

Written by dkilgo:

The whole information gathering network would have to have a front to operate effectively. That is how the mob does all thier business when it comes to information that is for sale. You could own a butcher shop, and in the back you distribute information for a fee. People may solicit information form you, and you could price the information on how difficult it was to obtain. You definitly need a business front to properly operate this sort of venture. It is not impossible, but the mechanics of it are difficult to master. To proprerly add the right sort of spice to this element in the game I would suggest watching a few good mob movies, preferably the God Father series, to get the scope of the blanket of deciet that surrounds business ventures such as this. The role play involved in this idea would be extensive, and combat sessions few and far between.
Hope you like the idea, or just my take on this. Have a nice day.

I don't know for sure what he plans to do, but I think that he explained to me something like what you're saying, but I dont remember. I will give him that ideas, thanks for them I know it's a extensive role play involved, we usually like to do it that way!
Thanks!!!
Bye!

 

[hammymchamham]

Written by hammymchamham:

He will not have enemies because a net of information... he will have TONS of them, mainly because there is one in the city already, and it gives me some ideas, so it's good he wanted to start a "business" like this.
He is a sorcerer, so it won't have problems of charisma, and is way of a tricky player. Charisma 4... sure I think it's fun hehehe

I was thinking he would make enemies by what info he gets. And if he tries to blackmail someone, that would possibly make that person an enemy. And if he sold secrets about the king, the king very well could be an enemy.

Sounds like the gears are already turning for you. So enjoy!