Ask Arkanis

[DM Nilbog]

What about Grape Ape?

[DM Arkanis]

I would like to know if this information from srd wiki is correct:

Crafting skill
Wealth and money

So, basically, according to this information... iron spear is worth 2 gp. For character with craftweapon of 15, it'll take less than a day to make such spear.

Masterwork iron spear (+1 AB, not +1 EB, can be enchanted) would be worth 302 g, and for the same char it would take from 5 to 13 weeks to forge one (worst case scenario - 302*10/(15*15) = 13.4 ).

At the same time a goat is worth 1 gp, sheep is worth 2 gp, and a cow is 3 gp.

That would basically mean two things:
1. Even level 1 adventurer is carrying ridiculous amount of wealth.
2. Everyone is ripping adventurers off, very hard.

Economy in the game has been simplified for play-purposes but yes does create some interesting conversations.

The way this was explained to me years and years ago and a GenCon is that all characters are "exceptional" in some way. This could be in their stats, in their feats, or even in their craft abilities. They are the stuff of legends and heroes. IRL or even in fantasy novels, there are not a planet full of heroes. We don't RP a lot of the mundane stuff (like eating, or proper healing times, etc) IG because it would take ages and we are focusing on the RP rather than trying to make things too realistic. If you figure there are only 75 players IG at any point in time, and BG proper has a population of thousands, and there are thousands more people that travel the roads and live in other areas on the server, then the ratio of heroic characters to average people fits better. Because we only RP with each others characters we tend to forget that we are exceptional when it comes to talents because basically everyone has something special about them.
With all characters being exceptional, rather than RPing out earning that first 3gp to buy a spear, etc. everyone is given some gold at the beginning of the game to kit themselves out, and then there are a number of quests and loot drops that augment that so better gear can be purchased. There would not be much point (or fun) if uber powerful gear was priced the same as the normal/regular stuff, and we do have a player driven economy with the auction house on line and IG which allows players to sell things at high prices. Yes, if we were to factor in the time it takes to create, the value of farm livestock vs gear, etc. then economies don't really balance out - I'm sure you could RP a background that explained your characters wealth or lack of it, but no one walks around IG in rags begging for money and has stats all under 10 points... Like watching most James Bond movies, at some point your belief has to be suspended if you are gonna get along with what is happening, and you just go with the fact that characters in our game are ridiculously wealthy, even at lower levels. My big question is... how do they walk around with tens of thousands of GP on them without being encumbered...?

[mireigi]

How widespread is the Bregan D'aerthe surface import/export trade network at this point in the timeline?

[DM Arkanis]

How widespread is the Bregan D'aerthe surface import/export trade network at this point in the timeline?

Earliest lore I can find about them has them being hired circa 1360 DR by House Xorlarrin to help protect the Lustrum mines.

http://www.menzoberranzan2.net/info/bregan-daerthe/ is a forum - they might have a better idea.

Ark

[mrm3ntalist]

What can one do, to treat hangovers from a night out?

[NegInfinity]

I would like to know if this information from srd wiki is correct:

Crafting skill
Wealth and money

So, basically, according to this information... iron spear is worth 2 gp. For character with craftweapon of 15, it'll take less than a day to make such spear.

Masterwork iron spear (+1 AB, not +1 EB, can be enchanted) would be worth 302 g, and for the same char it would take from 5 to 13 weeks to forge one (worst case scenario - 302*10/(15*15) = 13.4 ).

At the same time a goat is worth 1 gp, sheep is worth 2 gp, and a cow is 3 gp.

That would basically mean two things:
1. Even level 1 adventurer is carrying ridiculous amount of wealth.
2. Everyone is ripping adventurers off, very hard.

Economy in the game has been simplified for play-purposes but yes does create some interesting conversations.

The way this was explained to me years and years ago and a GenCon is that all characters are "exceptional" in some way. This could be in their stats, in their feats, or even in their craft abilities. They are the stuff of legends and heroes. IRL or even in fantasy novels, there are not a planet full of heroes. We don't RP a lot of the mundane stuff (like eating, or proper healing times, etc) IG because it would take ages and we are focusing on the RP rather than trying to make things too realistic. If you figure there are only 75 players IG at any point in time, and BG proper has a population of thousands, and there are thousands more people that travel the roads and live in other areas on the server, then the ratio of heroic characters to average people fits better. Because we only RP with each others characters we tend to forget that we are exceptional when it comes to talents because basically everyone has something special about them.
With all characters being exceptional, rather than RPing out earning that first 3gp to buy a spear, etc. everyone is given some gold at the beginning of the game to kit themselves out, and then there are a number of quests and loot drops that augment that so better gear can be purchased. There would not be much point (or fun) if uber powerful gear was priced the same as the normal/regular stuff, and we do have a player driven economy with the auction house on line and IG which allows players to sell things at high prices. Yes, if we were to factor in the time it takes to create, the value of farm livestock vs gear, etc. then economies don't really balance out - I'm sure you could RP a background that explained your characters wealth or lack of it, but no one walks around IG in rags begging for money and has stats all under 10 points... Like watching most James Bond movies, at some point your belief has to be suspended if you are gonna get along with what is happening, and you just go with the fact that characters in our game are ridiculously wealthy, even at lower levels. My big question is... how do they walk around with tens of thousands of GP on them without being encumbered...?

That's not what I meant.

I wanted to know two things:
1. If my char decided to craft masterwork spear with craft weapon skill of 15, would it take many weeks to make one? (302*10/(15*10) = 20 weeks. Worst case scenario)
2. Are those prices and crafting times correct if applied to NPCs? Meaning that 2 golds is a significant portion of money for a non-adventurer, that it takes 1 day for thunderhammer to make simple weapon and that annoying kids from the docks apparently makes a good living from selling back anora's bracelet to overly kind strangers? (if cow is worth 2 golds and he gets 10 gold from every "transaction"...)

[DM Arkanis]

What can one do, to treat hangovers from a night out?

When I was a lot younger I found that after a night of drinking, a big sandwich right before bed usually prevented any sort of hangover. Now that I am significantly older, the big sandwich usually rebels in my stomach 2h after eating it and I have to take 450mg of acid reducer or I am toast...
McDonald's used to have a fountain orange drink that many of my friends claimed was a complete hangover remedy. Diet Coke was another one.
Clamatto juice mixed with a pint of beer also tends to help out especially if you are at the cottage or on the beach in say, I dunno, Holguin Cuba at Playa Coste Verde where the bar opens at 10am, and you plan on just continuing the party from the day before...
Bedrest, lots of water, and some sort of analgesic usually will fix you up. Too much water will force capilliaries in your brain open and you will most likely get a massive head ache. Sleep it out if you can, tough it out if you can't, and learn when the "one too many is" and avoid it in the future.

[TheKai]

What can one do, to treat hangovers from a night out?

I think I'm familiar with this one. I have found in my experience that a full stomach before bed greatly reduces hangovers. I prefer something with sodium and my go to is...wait for it: japanese ramen . Keeping yourself hydrated is essential as well. For every alcoholic beverage, drink a glass of water to balance it (took me years to get that discipline down and ignore the remarks from friends). The next morning, more water, some ibuprofen, ginger ale and a cold shower does wonders.

Of course, you could always have a bloody mary in the morning (that helps too) and keep the party rolling

[DM Arkanis]

I would like to know if this information from srd wiki is correct:

Crafting skill
Wealth and money

So, basically, according to this information... iron spear is worth 2 gp. For character with craftweapon of 15, it'll take less than a day to make such spear.

Masterwork iron spear (+1 AB, not +1 EB, can be enchanted) would be worth 302 g, and for the same char it would take from 5 to 13 weeks to forge one (worst case scenario - 302*10/(15*15) = 13.4 ).

At the same time a goat is worth 1 gp, sheep is worth 2 gp, and a cow is 3 gp.

That would basically mean two things:
1. Even level 1 adventurer is carrying ridiculous amount of wealth.
2. Everyone is ripping adventurers off, very hard.

Economy in the game has been simplified for play-purposes but yes does create some interesting conversations.

The way this was explained to me years and years ago and a GenCon is that all characters are "exceptional" in some way. This could be in their stats, in their feats, or even in their craft abilities. They are the stuff of legends and heroes. IRL or even in fantasy novels, there are not a planet full of heroes. We don't RP a lot of the mundane stuff (like eating, or proper healing times, etc) IG because it would take ages and we are focusing on the RP rather than trying to make things too realistic. If you figure there are only 75 players IG at any point in time, and BG proper has a population of thousands, and there are thousands more people that travel the roads and live in other areas on the server, then the ratio of heroic characters to average people fits better. Because we only RP with each others characters we tend to forget that we are exceptional when it comes to talents because basically everyone has something special about them.
With all characters being exceptional, rather than RPing out earning that first 3gp to buy a spear, etc. everyone is given some gold at the beginning of the game to kit themselves out, and then there are a number of quests and loot drops that augment that so better gear can be purchased. There would not be much point (or fun) if uber powerful gear was priced the same as the normal/regular stuff, and we do have a player driven economy with the auction house on line and IG which allows players to sell things at high prices. Yes, if we were to factor in the time it takes to create, the value of farm livestock vs gear, etc. then economies don't really balance out - I'm sure you could RP a background that explained your characters wealth or lack of it, but no one walks around IG in rags begging for money and has stats all under 10 points... Like watching most James Bond movies, at some point your belief has to be suspended if you are gonna get along with what is happening, and you just go with the fact that characters in our game are ridiculously wealthy, even at lower levels. My big question is... how do they walk around with tens of thousands of GP on them without being encumbered...?

That's not what I meant.

I wanted to know two things:
1. If my char decided to craft masterwork spear with craft weapon skill of 15, would it take many weeks to make one? (302*10/(15*10) = 20 weeks. Worst case scenario)
2. Are those prices and crafting times correct if applied to NPCs? Meaning that 2 golds is a significant portion of money for a non-adventurer, that it takes 1 day for thunderhammer to make simple weapon and that annoying kids from the docks apparently makes a good living from selling back anora's bracelet to overly kind strangers? (if cow is worth 2 golds and he gets 10 gold from every "transaction"...)

*Ark takes out his reading glasses and adjusts his pants JUUUST below his ribcage...*

ok

1. If you have a craft weapon skill of 15 you are not new to crafting. You may still be an apprentice. You may be a small villages master crafter. Like a spider spends all its time making a web, you spend all of your time at the forge but it is relative to the background of the character. That said, the time it takes to make a master forged weapon is not strictly based on standing at an anvil and pounding metal for 5-13 weeks - you have to buy the right kind of metal, you may have been working on several other projects at the same time in order to pay the bills and you get to it between making horseshoes and framing nails, etc. Five weeks of procuring/working on other things, or whatever other reason is not really a lot of time considering the weapon is worth (in your scenario) 302gp at the end of it. Assuming the crafter could make one every five weeks, that is roughtly ten a year, or 3020gp on top of whatever else he is pounding out. Again, I am assuming here that this is not the only thing he does: 24h/day for 5-13 weeks is a lot of metal bashing... can't see it taking that long really. Assume an 8-10h day with other things thrown in and maybe he is only spending 2-4h/day on the mastercrafted weapon five weeks with seven working days at 2h a day is 70 hours. I did some RL sleuthing and found that a quality reproduction of a Samaurai sword (worth $15-$50k US dollars) could be made in the traditional way today in about "two-weeks to a month" of time. Again here we assume an 8h day, five days a week or 80-160 hours.
A "simple" weapon can be poured and honed usually in a day or two depending on the order and depending on the smithy's shop outlay, and at a few GP per weapon it is a fair price for what is being sold.

2. This goes back to some things I said in the previous answer. Please allow me to elucidate:
In the case of Lady Adora's quest we have to assume in terms of RP that this is a stand-alone deal. Yes, I know we can run the quest over and over again, and that it can be done by multiple players, but the SPIRIT of the quest is that it is a one-time deal, and in reading through what you the player and the NPC Jeremy thief say, the idea is that the kid isn't going to steal again. Could he? Maybe. Adora WILL give you gold for its return (if you select that option) and offers you 200gp for it initially so a 10gp bribe/finders fee to the kid really isn't out of line. Is it more lucrative than raising livestock or bashing out basic weapons on your forge? For sure. Crime is ALWAYS more lucrative if you look at the outlay of work vs. gains. There is more RISK in theft, but the rewards are generally supposed to compensate for the risk. Is it fair/out of balance, I think is your question.

First of all and very fundamentally IRL a great deal of the world suffices on very little in terms of money. In our game it is much the same way - remember that being a character means you have some level of extraordinary abilities and are exceptional in some ways. The average-Joe master crafter would probably not be in the business of making very many masterworks in a given year. Who could afford it? (aside from Jeremy - ok JK) Unless you had a clientelle WILLING to pay for it. Think of it this way. What is the difference between a Chevy and a Ferrari? Chevy - $20k, Ferrari $250k. They both drive you to and from. They both require repairs/maintenance, they need gasoline, need to be washed, etc etc. Why is there such a difference in price? The argument is that the Ferrari is a finely tuned sportscar capable of high speeds and exceptional road handling. The Chevy is basic family transportation (sorry, I picked Chev to use as an example please don't get offended - I drove Corvettes for years...) and even though they share the same basic purpose, i.e. transportation, they are completely different cars. In our game the farmer selling cows for 2gp isn't buying 302gp masterwork spears, the same as IRL most of the worlds population don't own a Chevy, let alone a Ferrari.
The mechanics of the game we employ for economics make it so that characters get the maximum amount of loot in drops based on difficulty levels so that we can buy better gear. Does a snake really have a loot bag with 13gp and Thieves Tools +1 on it normally...? No, of course not. There is no doubt that there are some imbalances with respect to how much things cost vs. what they should "really" cost in terms of FR economics, but due to the nature of the game the fantasy levels are set at such a point as to make it possible for characters to buy/find wonderous items worth an incredible amount of gold. As we don't RP beggars/farmers or even poor Jeremy, it is difficult to compare the ecomonies of the adventurers vs. the regular ffolk. Is there a disparity of wealth? Yes, of course. Does it take away from the game? I suppose it depends on how 'real' your economies need to be in terms of its effect on your RP.

[mireigi]

What can one do, to treat hangovers from a night out?

Before you go to bed:

1. Eat something with lots of protein and salt (Pepperoni pizza slice or kebab are good sources)
2. Drink 0.5L of water
3. Take a warm bath
4. Drink another 0.5L of water
5. Use the toilet
6. Go to bed

When you wake up:

1. Use the toilet
2. Drink 0.5L of orange juice
3. Eat something with lots of protein and salt (eggs and bacon!)
4. Drink 0.5L of water
5. Go back to sleep for 1 hour
6. Use the toilet
7. Drink 0.5L of milk or yogurt

The protein and salt help to bind the alcohol in your stomach, preventing it from being absorbed into your bloodstream. Instead it goes into your bladder or #2.

The water helps to dilute the alcohol you have in your stomach, while also making sure you're hydrated.

The warm bath is relaxing and helps your brain wind down in preparation for sleep. It also opens the pores in your skin, allowing your body to sweat more and regulate its temperature, helping your metabolism, which is responsible for burning alcohol before it goes into your bloodstream.

Using the toilet is to empty your bladder of waste products, allowing for more urin to be produced, which contains salt that have alcohol bound to it.

Orange juice contains Vit-C and sugar. Vit-C helps against headaches. After a night of drinking, with only water to drink before going to bed, as well as a heavy dose of protein and salt, the chemical balance in your body is off, and you need to restore it.

Milk and yogurt contain enzymes that help stabilize your stomach. It will reduce the likelyhood of puking and also help alleviate stomach-cramps.

The one hour of sleep the day after is to help your body process the food and bind any remaining alcohol in your stomach to waste products.



Question time for Arkanis!!
I've seen Captain Deudermont a few times in the BG Docks district. IIRC he should be terrorizing the pirates along the Sword Coast at this point in time, patrolling the waters aboard his beloved Sea Sprite.

How influential is he in the waters near Roarinshore, Ulgoth's Beard and Baldur's Gate in our custom timeline, and how come he haven't taken an interest in the ghost ship at Ulgoth's Beard? Such problems should be something he involves himself with.

Also, is Drizzt sailing with him now, or isn't that until after the ToT? If he is, then what is the Dukes stance on this, seeing that Drizzt wouldn't let himself be confined to the Sea Sprite during its stay in Baldur's Gate?

[Hoihe]

How would the priest in the Temple of Kossuth of Gullykin valley react to a tall human male and a short moon elven female dancing in the fire pit? Neither would be harmed by the fire. (At least, mechanically, both has the reflex save and feats needed to avoid the fire damage )

[finneas]

Dear DM Arkanis:

This humble reader has a small query for you. Could you explain what it is exactly that makes a gelatinous cube cube-shaped? Thank you ever so much.

Sincerely,

The Copper Fox

[Valkyrie]

Do our characters In Game realize the cosmos is a 'balance of Good & Evil, Law & Chaos' across two axis? And know which planes/creatures fall into these categories?

Usually, I would assume that was all OOC knowledge, but have been corrected by multiple characters that it is 'obvious' all people & beings are a combination of the two axis.

[DM Arkanis]

Question time for Arkanis!!
I've seen Captain Deudermont a few times in the BG Docks district. IIRC he should be terrorizing the pirates along the Sword Coast at this point in time, patrolling the waters aboard his beloved Sea Sprite.

How influential is he in the waters near Roarinshore, Ulgoth's Beard and Baldur's Gate in our custom timeline, and how come he haven't taken an interest in the ghost ship at Ulgoth's Beard? Such problems should be something he involves himself with.

Also, is Drizzt sailing with him now, or isn't that until after the ToT? If he is, then what is the Dukes stance on this, seeing that Drizzt wouldn't let himself be confined to the Sea Sprite during its stay in Baldur's Gate?[/quote]

Deudermont's fame is really earned about 20 years in the future from our game time, although he would be a known NPC for sure. I think at the moment in terms of our own server (lore) that any DM RP using him would be at the DM's discretion.

Drizzt doesn't sail with him for a long time yet and I am sure that he is not all that well known on the surface in our time line either.

[DM Arkanis]

How would the priest in the Temple of Kossuth of Gullykin valley react to a tall human male and a short moon elven female dancing in the fire pit? Neither would be harmed by the fire. (At least, mechanically, both has the reflex save and feats needed to avoid the fire damage )

Hard to answer.

1. Does the priest already know these two?
2. Is the fire pit known to be magical?
3. Have others danced in the pit before?
4. Were the two dancing doing anything that could be considered hostile?
5. Saves aside, were the two demonstrating anything that would give a bystander the impression that they a) didn't want to be there, and b) were being injured by the flames?
6. Did the two intend to dance in the pit i.e. RP/emote doing it, or was it a walkmesh thing that they just looked like they were dancing in the fire when they really (RP wise) weren't?