Raw Materials and Gems

[green slime]

And so, because of an inability to deal with published costs for a pole and a ladder, nor the fact that a busted up ladder is not actually two poles (although, if you were lucky, may function as such in an emergency), you need lists of every known and imaginary substance, its relative cost and difficulty to obtain?

You cannot micromanage every detail. There is no point. Fact of life is, things change, well beyond the control of the players.

Player: Good morning shopkeep! Today I'd like to buy 10lbs of Newt liver.
Shopkeeper: 10lbs?!? Sorry, don't have that much. I do have a troglodyte's spleen...
Player: so how much do you have?
Shopkeeper: Spleen?
Player: No! Newt liver!
Shopkeeper: Oh, only ½ lb.
Player: only half? But I saw a wagonload arrive yesterday?
Shopkeeper: yeah, but the load was mostly spoiled due to the wagonmaster packing in together with some Virulian Tulips.
Player: Ok, never mind, give me the Newt Liver
Shopkeep: All of it?
Player: Yes!
Shopkeep: Should I put it on your tab, sir?
Player: Yeah, sure.
Shopkeep: Ok, sign here please.... *hands book*
Player: *Gasp* WTF! 100 gp for ½lb of Newt liver!!! That's daylight robbery!
Shopkeep: Its all that's left of the shipment, I'm afraid sir.
Player: But I could have bought 10lbs yesterday ago for 10gp!
Shopkeep: But that was before we realised it was spoiled, and I must recoup my losses. Your 10lbs yesterday would be worthless today, so you saved 10gp!

Two days later the kingdom passes a law protecting newts from the liver trade. Patrols start seizing shipments and the price increases dramatically from there.

 

[the Jester]

Ladder - 5 cp
Pole - 2 sp

You buy 20 ladders with a gp, you break them up and sell the 10 foot poles at half market value for 4 gp. You keep doing so until the town/city runs out of ladders or the price of poles decreases.

Well, here's your problem right here.

I have no problem with this scenario except for the bolded part. Breaking a ladder might give you a couple busted planks and a bunch of small sticks, but not two 10' poles.

Would you also allow a pc to gather armloads of sticks and sell them as 10' poles?

I would suggest that a 10' pole needs to be straight; needs to fit in the hand; can't be too heavy or too light; can't be too weak. You can pick up a stick in the woods any day, but a 10' pole must be crafted- the extra branches need smoothing, the whole thing has to be sanded and varnished, etc.

If you recognize this scenario is a problem but are unwilling to address it by changing prices... until you have a massive chart of everything... you have to own any problems that come from it. After all, the solution is obvious- change one of the prices!

I'm sorry if you don't like the answers you're getting here. I will repeat my suggestions of the DMG 1e and Arduin. Both discuss more than just gems. Add to that the 2.8e Players Option: Spells and Magic for things that are material components (in case you want an official price for colored sand or bat guano). And I'll echo the comments others have made that, when you post a thread on a discussion board, don't be shocked if you get some discussion outside of exactly what you asked. Getting frustrated by that won't help, it won't attract others to respond to your threads, and it won't encourage those of us that are trying to help to keep doing so.

As far as a master list of prices of everything, if it isn't explicitly for D&D (and I don't think you'll find one) you're going to have to go through and change it all anyway. It might honestly be easier just to start from scratch.

One final thing- you kind of made it sound like the "ladder/10' pole" issue is a common one with other dms, but I've never encountered it.

 

[Zenchi]

I think the point was missed, and then hit a bystander in the stands...

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I did the math in an attempt to prove you can't have a ladder of that length with the sides made out of planks and still have sufficient tensile strength. Turns out if the build used a narrow range of dimensions it would still be handy tool and not break in half when the 6' Barbarian put a foot on it (and I mean very narrow range). However, keeping the sides cylindrical ensure for a much much stronger ladder and if they are then the weights match up almost identically with 10 foot poles within a 6 inch margin of either the rungs or sides breaking depending on its use, and matching virtually perfectly if the parts of the ladder are balanced for optimal performance (closer than I thought possible). Honestly I never thought of a 10ft ladder being made out of planks before?

Anyways, thank you Vespucci for your meaningful input, I will skip trying to save hours of work and find everything completely on my own.

 

[Vespucci]

Anyways, thank you Vespucci for your meaningful input, I will skip trying to save hours of work and find everything completely on my own.

Happy to help!

 

[Jon_Dahl]

I hope this is OT, but if we want to about pricing in D&D please check the following trap:
Doorknob Smeared with Contact Poison


Also while your at it, please calculate how long does the crafting (smearing the poison on the doorknob) take.

Please carry on.

 

[Aeolius]

"The Many Facets of Gems" in Dragon #83 comes to mind, though good luck in tracking that one down.

I have begun a similar journey myself regarding the value of various pearls, bezoars, snake stones, and the like.

 

[Zenchi]

Thanks,

BTW, I'm also open for random things like...dragon horns, or ogre dung. Odd stuff that you might have come up with prices before in a campaign, and possibly any reasoning behind said price so I can make note of it.

 

[nijineko]

hmmmm, you remind me of the resource maps in the forgotten realms campaign setting book. there are also such real world maps in pretty much any decent set of encyclopedias.

here is one online example: Natural Resources Maps

here's a search that turned up an interesting timeline of natural resources, perhaps useful to you?

natural resources map history - Google Search



i don't typically have lists of magical resources... though aurora's whole realms catalog has lots of interesting things priced out, 2nd ed, but extremely useful for any campaign of any edition.


*edit - went and dug out my copy...*

glancing through my copy, i note that it lists individual spell components by cost and weight and shape for both priests (lots of natural components) and wizards (lots of arcane components, though they tend to be of the more mundane sorts... no dragon's teeth, etc.,) and laborers (lots of bulk and commodity type items).

also found are lists of common use items for inns and taverns, a comprehensive list of foodstuffs both mundane and exotic including lists of wines, cheeses, breads, and other rarities.

this book is where i've always turned to for guidance whenever something of this nature (needing a price for something specific) comes up in my games.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Auroras-Whole-Realms-Catalog-Forgotten/dp/1560763272"]Amazon.com: Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog (AD&D/Forgotten Realms) (9781560763277): Anne B. Brown, J. Robert King: Books[/ame]

 

[El Mahdi]

Despite a seeming inability to control expressions of frustration on forums, and generally presenting a brusque and snarky face towards those who are only trying to help or participate in the conversation, I felt compelled to help you anyways...


All the following are from RPGNow.com:


Elemental_Metals_-_from_Bards_&_Sages
Elemental_Gems_-_from_Bards_&_Sages


Gemerator_-_Tangent_Games
Gem_Cards:_Set_One_-_Tangent_Games
Gem_Cards:_Set_Two_-_Tangent_Games
Gem_Cards:_Set_Three_-_Tangent_Games


Gems_-_Faster_Monkey_Games
Jewels_-_Faster_Monkey_Games


Kaiser's_Bazaar:_The_Jeweler's_Exchange_-_Mad_Kaiser_Games
Kaiser's_Bazaar:_Book_C_(covering_metal_brokers)_-_Mad_Kaiser_Games

City_Guide:_Coffer_of_Coins_(also_covering_metal_brokers)_-_Dark_Quest_Games


In my experience, I've found ENWorld to be an awesome source of information, ideas, and assistance - and as an added bonus found it to be a friendly community of like minded people. I've also found that assistance is usually more forthcoming and efficient when one clearly understands what they want, efficiently communicates those desires, and interacts in a genial and courteous manner.

I hope you find this list helpful, and I hope you find ENWorld to be as enjoyable and useful site as I have.

 

[Zenchi]

Great help both of you. I wasn't planning on spending money, but it looks like a couple of those booklets have some really good stuff in them.

And Yes, I have personal issues when interacting with people who don't see the larger picture of things. What we don't understand...