I see 4e player characters the same as movie stars and rock stars. As the players level up they get more fame. As a replacement to crafting i would like to offer up the idea of business, something that makes a little more sense. A business is something the players can make money off of and still have other people do the work, they improve the business with their ideas and their own fame.
Letting players run their own business gives you the opportunity for new and exciting story arc's that affect the players at a personal level, and allow the players to have a sort of home inside the game world where they can feel comfortable and feel like the heroes they are.
Rule of Thumb
As a rule of thumb i would only allow a player to own one business per tier, and only starting after level 5. The gold they bring in would be tier times level per day.
Formula
The idea behind the formula is that the higher level tier you are the more exotic your business is and can bring in more money, and the level is equivalent to fame. The numer shows how much profit the business makes that the player can dip into, after everything has already been paid for.
Business Ideas
These are just some ideas of business a player can have at each tier, you'll see I've added a section for Investment, the amount of money a player needs to put down in advance. You being the DM might want to offer this as a reward for an adventure, or split a business between a party.
Pub
Invesement: Building, up to the DM for the cost
Teir: 1
Why it works: A pub works great beacuse idealy its in an area the players are known for, and this brings people to the location for a chance to see the player and hear stories of his adventures.
Farm
Invesement: Farm, again up to DM for cost, makes good story
Teir: 1
Why it works: A farm works beacuse it gives the player a home, and is something they can just get farmers to continue doing the work.
Arena
Invesement: Large Building, up to the DM for the cost
Teir: 2
Why it works: Having a fighting area with your name on it can bring a lot of attention, you'll find people wanting to prove themselves, and as a player you can capture monsters and bring them here.
Shipping Company
Invesement: Cost of ship
Teir: 2
Why it works: Having a shipping company works great, beacuse it allows the player to buy and own a ship without having to do much with it or worry about it later on. The player knows he has access to the ship at most times so why not make money on it. Any pirate knows the ship is proected and would have to be crazy to attack your ship.
Moneylending
Invesement: Money set aside up to DM
Teir: 3
Why it works: It works beacuse at epic level you have lots of money, you can setup a small team to run everything for you and slowly make money by helping people help themselves.
Other Ideas
Caravans - who would attack a caravan under your protection
School - Create a school to train ohers trained in your ways
Gang - Why not haves a theives gang, other players need not know
This realy comes down to a situation that lets the players roleplay more with the DM in creating the world around them, and as the DM i encourage you to lessen the gold at lower levels but at higher levels it might not make a diffrence. Or simply make something a group business.
This is Mike signing off from Las Angeles California, until next time keep your dice on the table.
Posts
Weren't there rules back in 2E somewhere about starting a business and having hirelings do the work for you? Unfortunately, my collection of 2E books has dwindled over the years, so I can't point to a specific location. I just remember using them. It might even have been in a Drag Mag issue. If you can find it, that might provide some inspiration for more business ideas.
ReplyDeleteGood ideas! I'm running a city-based campaign and so far, none of the players has been interested in any kind of investment opportunities, but then they have been sinking all their cash into equipment and rituals so far.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe someday!
This is a fantastic article. I once ran a camping that took place entirely in an exotic and extremely large hotel/resort. The PCs didn't own it, but it did provide an interesting backdrop. I've also thought a tavern or trading post on the edge of the frontier (like Quark's bar in ST:DS9) would be a great locale for PCs to spend some time. If they owned the place then that would make it all the more interesting.
ReplyDeleteMy players run a small shipping business. It's great because it gives them an excuse to travel and visit foreign lands and access to a ship. Plus they make at least as much money on their business as adventuring, but keep finding things they want to invest in to build the business. This has them constantly looking for ways to make more money (which leads to adventure hooks) without having to make them destitute and makes it easy to bleed off excess coin without them getting pick-pocketed.
ReplyDelete