Saturday, November 13, 2010

+1 Crowbar and Arandish Messenger Service

Two interesting tidbits from recent sessions:


1.  Two sessions ago -- Arandish Campaign 2010 Session 20 -- the party left Stonehell to re-provision and re-equip in the nearby Minochian town of Fortinbras.  One of the PCs (I forget who - possibly Yor the Dwarf?) asked if the local Enchanters' Guild could imbue a crowbar with magical properties -- in other words, could the party buy a +1 Crowbar?  Of course I said yes, charging the PC in question 202gp and a 2-day wait for the privilege of obtaining this custom item.  The +1 Crowbar gets a +1 bonus to certain tasks, like prying open doors and treasure chests, and functions as a +1 club in melee combat.

2.  Messenger / Courier Service in Ara:  Around the same time that Yor the Dwarf was buying his magic crowbar, another PC made an inquiry regarding the availability and cost of messenger service in the lands of Ara. The party's cleric, Innominus, wanted to get a message back to his Order, the Followers of Endra, about recent hobgoblin troop buildup activities in the area of Stonehell.  I ruled that since his Order, whose main temple is located in the distant Western Lands, must have at least a small shrine or sub-chapter in the nearby Free City of Kaladar (since everything can be found in Kaladar!), his request would only necessitate a courier willing to travel approximately 7-8 days from Fortinbras to Kaladar along well-traveled, well-patrolled roads.  I reasoned that such a service could be had at a rate of 2gp per travel day for the courier.  That rate would go up to 8-10gp per day if the route were through a monster-infested wilderness area, a war zone, or some other particularly dangerous region.

Does that sound reasonable?  Have any other DM's / Labyrinth Lords out there ever worked out a rate schedule for this type of service in your own campaigns?  I assume these charges are for the courier only, NOT for any armed guards/mercs to accompany the messenger.  I also assume the rate would go up significantly if the courier were asked to convey anything more heavy and /or valuable than a written (or verbal) message.

In Innominus' case, I assumed that he only needed to pay to have his note delivered as far as the shrine of the Followers of Endra in Kaladar -- his brethren in Kaladar could subsequently be counted on to relay his message onward to his parish in the Western Lands at no charge, kind of like free inter-office mail for clerics.

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