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Post by captaincrumbcake on Jun 25, 2017 12:34:03 GMT -5
I am not sure if the cost of such things was ever officially addressed in the SR or Dragon magazine or some forum Gygax visited; I would prefer citations from the 2 former sources if anyone can come up with them.
The inevitable question will be, how do you arrive at a cost for such things, and what is that based upon?
I think a simple formula could be to take the weight of the item (dagger =20; sword=50, etc.) and use that as a GP modifier to the item's normal cost.
That said, bladed items such as daggers, swords, axes, etc.(and arrow heads, for their small and delicateness) should probably run a risk of dulling out fairly quickly to the point of being a more or less useless [cylindrical object (as in blades) or blunted mass appearing more like a deformed hammer (axes)] weapon. Perhaps bits could be broken off and used a sling stones, so as to not be a total waste.
Thus, the traditional silver dagger--if it can be found in the locale frequented by the characters--would generally cost 60 GP; the standard silver sword, 500 GP. Does this seem too much?
2nd point: Silver armor.
Would this be feasible?
Would it benefit the wearer against attacks by creatures suffering Lycanthropy?--and how?
Would it cost more/less than standard armor? Have a lower/higher move rate?
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Post by The Red Baron on Jun 25, 2017 21:44:31 GMT -5
1 gold = 10 silver and 10 gp weigh a pound. The material cost is thus only 1 gp per pound of silver.
I don't see the point of silver armor. Silver is softer and heavier than steel, and I don't see why it would stop lycanthropes from attacking a character.
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Post by Admin Pete on Jun 26, 2017 6:47:54 GMT -5
I could see making silvered armor where a little silver is added in the forging process and ruling that the lycanthrope takes a small amount of damage when it bites into the armor, but it would not stop the attack from happening. But not something that would be very effective, a better armed party with silvered weapons is key and a better way to spend the money and access to remove curse. Now some call mithril True Silver and it is both lighter and stronger than steel. Now you could rule that that would repel lycanthropes, since it is rare and hard to obtain.
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Post by scottanderson on Jun 26, 2017 21:08:35 GMT -5
Red Baron is on to something. I think it's off by a factor of 2 or 3 because you have to find someone who is a silversmith who also makes weapons.
Silver weapons might be -1 to damage. In OD&D there are rarely bonuses or penalties to hit. Otherwise you could make it -1 to hit instead. Additionally it would break on a roll of 1.
I also see no reason to silver armor except that it would look really cool.
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Post by captaincrumbcake on Jun 27, 2017 11:24:13 GMT -5
1 gold = 10 silver and 10 gp weigh a pound. The material cost is thus only 1 gp per pound of silver. I don't see the point of silver armor. Silver is softer and heavier than steel, and I don't see why it would stop lycanthropes from attacking a character. Yeah, there is something enigmatic about the items table on p.14 (of Men & Magic). Your assessment of material cost for a silver dagger is, I assume, based on the mathematics given. If a standard dagger costs 3 GP, what is the material cost of the iron/steel used in its making? iron/steel is not even valued the same as copper. So, it is reasonable to assume that the cost of the dagger is based not on the raw material, as much as the getting it out of the ground, fashioning it into a desired item (shield, dagger, etc.) and letting the demand for such an item determine its value. In this light, a silver dagger (or other weapon) would unquestionably be in high demand, since the item has a specific affect on creatures suffering Lycanthropy. One could also grant, that such things as copper, silver and gold are in less quantity within the earth whereon the campaign occurs. It doesn't take much of a stretch, then, to see how anything made of such materials would generate higher costs and demand. In regards to silver armor, simply allowing the idea of such generates interesting possibilities and rulings. Perhaps silver chain mail or plate has a lower AC rating (by 1) than their normal versions, but against specific Undead (Wights, Spectres, etc.) they gain a bonus versus attacks from such creatures. Nothing should stop a referee from thinking beyond what is written in the books. |
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Post by The Red Baron on Jun 27, 2017 11:50:23 GMT -5
On the other hand, if you are running on a silver standard instead of a gold standard, a 2-4 pound weapon blade/head could be 20-40 coins more expensive than a normal weapon, which is a significant cost hike. It would certainly explain why silver items are not as common in a world where lycanthropes are the most common monsters (according to the wilderness monster tables). A silver arrow costing 5 silver coins is not completely unreasonable either, whereas a silver arrow costing 5 gold coins is absurd.
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Post by captaincrumbcake on Jun 27, 2017 12:47:53 GMT -5
On the other hand, if you are running on a silver standard instead of a gold standard, a 2-4 pound weapon blade/head could be 20-40 coins more expensive than a normal weapon, which is a significant cost hike. It would certainly explain why silver items are not as common in a world where lycanthropes are the most common monsters (according to the wilderness monster tables). A silver arrow costing 5 silver coins is not completely unreasonable either, whereas a silver arrow costing 5 gold coins is absurd. I've heard this concept discussed about on many forums. But it's usually misrepresented. Please correct me if you do not subscribe to the following. When one states that they run their campaign on the silver standard are they declaring that Silver replaces gold as the high end of the monetary chain? Does silver then become more rare and in demand than gold? Because that's how it would actually be. What I see being described in more cases than not, is the concept that silver is simply more abundant, used, rather than the gold unit. Referees tend to dole treasure out in silver, profusely, rather than gold. Which should actually devalue silver in the process if you think about it. If before, 10 silver was equal to 1 gold, what then does the value of both become, when the referee converts all GP to silver throughout his or her dungeons (and in already made adventures)? Regarding your comment. Yes, the Silver Tipped Arrow costs 5 GP according to the original 1974 rules; at least by my print. Further, a steel mirror costs 5 GP, where as a silver mirror (small) costs 15! A wooden cross costs 2 GP, whereas a silver cross costs 25! Clearly, items made of silver are very expensive in comparison to the standard version. I think the same (inflationary costs) should be true of weapons made of silver. |
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Post by Admin Pete on Jun 27, 2017 14:41:25 GMT -5
The way I would handle the Silver standard is that the buying power of silver is not reduced, but that the buying power of the very rare gold is greatly increased. While the value of silver compared to gold is reduced silver is not so common as to change its buying power. One could even go to a copper standard and make silver and gold both very rare and very valuable.
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Post by The Red Baron on Jun 27, 2017 18:55:11 GMT -5
I've heard this concept discussed about on many forums. But it's usually misrepresented. Please correct me if you do not subscribe to the following. When one states that they run their campaign on the silver standard are they declaring that Silver replaces gold as the high end of the monetary chain? Silver standard means that 1 exp = 1 sp, and that all prices on the equipment list are in sp rather than gp. |
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Post by captaincrumbcake on Jun 27, 2017 22:33:58 GMT -5
I've heard this concept discussed about on many forums. But it's usually misrepresented. Please correct me if you do not subscribe to the following. When one states that they run their campaign on the silver standard are they declaring that Silver replaces gold as the high end of the monetary chain? Silver standard means that 1 exp = 1 sp, and that all prices on the equipment list are in sp rather than gp. Now that is a nice HR. And yet doesn't devalue the actual monies at all. Why haven't I seen this explanation before?  |
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Post by Admin Pete on Jun 28, 2017 5:39:49 GMT -5
Silver standard means that 1 exp = 1 sp, and that all prices on the equipment list are in sp rather than gp. Now that is a nice HR. And yet doesn't devalue the actual monies at all. Why haven't I seen this explanation before? Just guessing, not paying attention?  |
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