Shipping costs

[Jakob]

Hi to all,

Let's say you want to send a tiger from Neblus to Sri Raji via merchant ship (with a mid-level animal trainer to keep it calm), ship departing from Martira Bay. How much would that cost to my players?
...
No, I'm not joking.

[brothersale]

A lot, and if you really want to be cruel you can have the tiger get sick on the way and present them with a decaying corpse and a large bill. If they are serious the best way would be to try the Vistani.

Why on earth are they trying to send a tiger back to Sri Rajia?

[Jakob]

A lot, and if you really want to be cruel you can have the tiger get sick on the way and present them with a decaying corpse and a large bill. If they are serious the best way would be to try the Vistani.

Hmmm... I was thinking about the Carlyle Shipping Company.
The problem is, it was the Vistani who brought the tiger (well, the tiger asked them to... A bit complicate ^_^).
About the "DOA": they won't be making the trip. Only the animal handler will.
They'll have to pay the handler for the trip (a lot), and pay the shipping for the tiger, with meat and water... A lot.
Around 1000 gp?

Why on earth are they trying to send a tiger back to Sri Rajia?

'Cause leaving it free to roam the forests of Darkon is not the most responsible thing to do, and the druid opposed the idea of killing it. They are currently leaving it in the zoo of Viaki (yes, there's a zoo in Viaki. There, near the Gallery of Horror... ) until they can find a boat to take the animal back to Sri Raji.

[Archedius]

I don't have resources handy to me but first find out how long the trip would take, how it's being transported, taxes, feed cost, handler fees, support fees and any other applicable costs. 1,000 seems like not quite enough to me.

[Jakob]

I don't have resources handy to me but first find out how long the trip would take, how it's being transported, taxes, feed cost, handler fees, support fees and any other applicable costs. 1,000 seems like not quite enough to me.

Really? 1000 gp is A LOT of money, especially from the perspective of a John Commoner.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

1000 gp is a lot, but a boat trip through the Mists with no guarantee of a return trip is a lot to ask of an animal handler. And a large, wild animal on a boat is a lot to ask of a ship captain and crew (on top of said boat trip.) I'd put it at more like 5000gp, ballpark.

[Isabella]

A banquet only costs 10 gp per person, so assuming that comparable to the price of meat and water for the tiger a two month trip would cost around 600 gp.

Still, an entire ship costs 10,000 gp, asking the players to fork over half of that for transport seems a little harsh, especially since normal ship transport is listed at 1 sp per mile. Given the Carlyle Trading company probably hits Sri Raji and Har Akir, it's likely this isn't even the strangest request they've taken. Then again, the ship can likely charge whatever it feels like for such an odd request.

[HuManBing]

Tsch, those pesky druids and their tree hugging morality, eh?

[DocBeard]

Yeah, I've got to agree-if it were a trip to somewhere that doesn't have, canonly, semi-regular contact with the Core, that would be a different thing.

What you might do, if you want the PCs to really /earn/ passage, is have the navigator be Vistani, and demand a service in exchange for the transportation; maybe getting certain herbs to make sure traveling with the tiger remains auspicious, or recovering a family relic stolen by a local band of bandits. That way, you make it work to get a ride, without tripping into the dangerous, dangerous waters of fantasy economics.

Heck, you can wring a bunch of adventures out of this. Maybe the tiger's the pet of a local noblewoman, or gets captured by a Kali cult looking for a worthy sacrafice; then, getting /back/ home involves having to help guard a cargo of tea, spices, and a few precious artifacts for the university...one of which, naturally, holds a terrible curse the PCs will have to best before returning home...

[NeoTiamat]

A banquet only costs 10 gp per person, so assuming that comparable to the price of meat and water for the tiger a two month trip would cost around 600 gp.

Still, an entire ship costs 10,000 gp, asking the players to fork over half of that for transport seems a little harsh, especially since normal ship transport is listed at 1 sp per mile. Given the Carlyle Trading company probably hits Sri Raji and Har Akir, it's likely this isn't even the strangest request they've taken. Then again, the ship can likely charge whatever it feels like for such an odd request.

Har'Akir doesn't have a coast, but other than that, I agree with everything you said.

I would guess that it'd cost 600 gp to feed the tiger, probably another 400 gp to get an animal trainer to go there and back (part hiring the trainer, part getting him aboard as a passenger on two trips, part convincing the trainer), then there's also actual shipping cost, which would undoubtedly include considerable hazard pay for the captain.

So I'd say 2k is about right. This is of course for a small caravel thats already going in that direction. If the PCs want a well-defended craft captained by a Captain of the Mist (like Captain Serina Grey of the CTC), that's likely to be another 500-1000 gold.

Something to keep in mind is that the tiger is a big cargo, both in terms of the animal and in terms of what it eats, and a passenger, so it has to be worth more to the CTC to transport the animal than it would to transport the kitty than an equivalent cargo of spices or worked goods or whatnot. Then theres hazard pay to consider, since while transporting an animal is one thing, transporting an animal that might decide you're breakfast is something else entirely.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

It really depends on how reliable/safe mistway travel is in your version of Ravenloft. If ships make regular runs to Sri Raji, (and usually come back alive) obviously it will be substantially cheaper. But it's hard to put a per mile price on travel through featureless, non-Euclidean mist that can sometimes dump your ship in the middle of the desert. (i.e. The Jackal's Ruse). That's not to mention the danger involved in skirting around Saragoss. If Mistways aren't quite trustworthy, I don't think 5000gp is out of line. (at least as initial offer point for negotiation).

Yes, they could buy a ship for 10,000gp, but to paraphrase the immortal Han Solo, "yeah, but who's gonna sail it, kid? you?"

[JinnTolser]

Yes, they could buy a ship for 10,000gp, but to paraphrase the immortal Han Solo, "yeah, but who's gonna sail it, kid? you?"

Gah! You beat me to it.

Okay, I think I'm looking at this from a different perspective than everyone else.

First, is this a major plot point, or did the PCs just find themselves in control of a tiger as a side-effect of one of their adventures, and decide to do the humane, responsible thing instead of the easy way out that most players would take (i.e., killing it)? If your players are just trying to do something nice, then smacking them with a big expensive bill for it is not only unfair, but a good way to make sure your players don't do this sort of thing in the future.

Now, if it's important to your adventure that this tiger go to Sri Raji, then sure, high costs, even as high as nearly half a ship's actual cost, are not out of line. After all, a ship needs a skilled crew to get to its destination, especially in the Land of Mists where there's no guarantee you'll get where you think you're going. In this scenario, 5,000 gp or so is reasonable at least as a starting point for negotiation.

But again, if it's not really important and it's just the players trying to let the tiger get back to its home, then you really shouldn't make them pay a bunch of money to do that. Maybe let the PCs find a benefactor who's willing to finance the trip or something.

[Jakob]

I would guess that it'd cost 600 gp to feed the tiger, probably another 400 gp to get an animal trainer to go there and back (part hiring the trainer, part getting him aboard as a passenger on two trips, part convincing the trainer), then there's also actual shipping cost, which would undoubtedly include considerable hazard pay for the captain.

So I'd say 2k is about right. This is of course for a small caravel thats already going in that direction. If the PCs want a well-defended craft captained by a Captain of the Mist (like Captain Serina Grey of the CTC), that's likely to be another 500-1000 gold.

Something to keep in mind is that the tiger is a big cargo, both in terms of the animal and in terms of what it eats, and a passenger, so it has to be worth more to the CTC to transport the animal than it would to transport the kitty than an equivalent cargo of spices or worked goods or whatnot. Then theres hazard pay to consider, since while transporting an animal is one thing, transporting an animal that might decide you're breakfast is something else entirely.

Completely agree. 2000-3000 is the best choice.
And yes, I was thinking about a Captain of the Mists.

EDIT: BTW, I have another problem in another topic, I need some advice there too. ^_^

[Catman Jim]

Markovia is not that far out from Martira Bay, I'll bet Markov would PAY them for the tiger, and might even let the ship go afterwards if they could promise to be a source of new "raw materials".

[Archedius]

Har'Akir may not have a coast but it has rivers- I always thought that mistways would often drop ships into the rivers with the occasional beaching on the dunes. If I'm wrong and most commerce is doen with caravans from Har'Akir to the Core- well it doesn't matter; coffee and mummies are still going to be expensive