NPC's as loot?

[BRC]

So, I'm starting to put together a nautical campaign, the way my old group did treasure (Which I liked) was that the DM figured out how much gold each PC deserved, picked a few magic items of equivalent value, and let the players pick. Everybody who didn't get a magic item would get some gold. Well, for this nautical campaign I was considering adding a share for the Ship, occasionally they would find things to upgrade whatever ship they had. Well, in addition to the standard upgrades and magic items, I figured they could find and acquire skilled crew members, especially talented NPC's that would stay onboard the ship and help out. For example, a highly skilled Head Gunner that gives a boost to attack rolls and profession Siege Engineer checks for all the gun crews. Or a Carpenter who boosts the ships HP, ect. An Alchemist who can brew up potions for them on the cheap, ect. heck, maybe even a group of veteran Marines to help them with boarding actions.

So, my questions are as follows
1: Is there any reason this is not a good idea.
2: What ideas do people have for crewmembers my PC's could recruit.
3: How should I calculate the value of a crewmember, for the purpose of having appropriate loot?

[Crow]

You could just jack all 8 of the crew specialists from Sid Mieir's Pirates!

[Lycan 01]

So, I'm starting to put together a nautical campaign, the way my old group did treasure (Which I liked) was that the DM figured out how much gold each PC deserved, picked a few magic items of equivalent value, and let the players pick. Everybody who didn't get a magic item would get some gold. Well, for this nautical campaign I was considering adding a share for the Ship, occasionally they would find things to upgrade whatever ship they had. Well, in addition to the standard upgrades and magic items, I figured they could find and acquire skilled crew members, especially talented NPC's that would stay onboard the ship and help out. For example, a highly skilled Head Gunner that gives a boost to attack rolls and profession Siege Engineer checks for all the gun crews. Or a Carpenter who boosts the ships HP, ect. An Alchemist who can brew up potions for them on the cheap, ect. heck, maybe even a group of veteran Marines to help them with boarding actions.

So, my questions are as follows
1: Is there any reason this is not a good idea.
2: What ideas do people have for crewmembers my PC's could recruit.
3: How should I calculate the value of a crewmember, for the purpose of having appropriate loot?


I used to have this game for the X-Box caled Sid Meyier's Pirates! in which you could capture NPCs to use onboard your ship, just like this idea...

1: No. It'd be a bad idea NOT to do it.
2: Lemme name off what I recall from that Pirates! game...
-Gunnery Expert (boosts cannons)
-Carpenter (repairs/buffs ship's hull)
-Sailmaker (repairs/buffs ship's sails)
-Cook (makes better food/could double as an Alchemist in your game)
-Surgeon (heals hurt crewmembers)
-Quartermaster (keeps morale in check)
-Navigator (Increases ship's speed)
-um... BLAST!! I can't remember the 8th and final guy... :smallannoyed:
3: Hmm... I'd say they're worth how much they could be ransomed for if you didn't want to keep them as part of the crew, or how much the items/tools they have are worth if you kill them. A cook might be worth x GP if ransomed back to his family, and a Surgeon's kit may be worth x GP on the Black Market. How does that sound? :smallconfused:

[BRC]

\
3: Hmm... I'd say they're worth how much they could be ransomed for if you didn't want to keep them as part of the crew, or how much the items/tools they have are worth if you kill them. A cook might be worth x GP if ransomed back to his family, and a Surgeon's kit may be worth x GP on the Black Market. How does that sound? :smallconfused:
umm, not quite what I am looking for here. What I mean is so that the abilities of the special crewmembers stays appropriate for the PC's level. For example, if the PC's are level 8, they arn't going to get much use out of a 4th level expert helmsman, while a squad of 7th level Half-dragon Lizardman Fighter marines is a bit too much.

[Lycan 01]

Yeeeeeah, I can't help you there. :smalltongue:

I'd say just a few levels below the average level of the PCs or something... I don't know much about 3.5e, and I'm barely able to figure out 4e. I mostly play RPGs like Call of Cthulhu, where levels don't exist. That kinda puts me at a dissadvantage in most DnD related conversations... :smallannoyed:

[Dixieboy]

Carpenter, Cook, Cooper, Gunner, Navigator, Quartermaster, Sailmaker, Surgeon.

From Pirates!

So the one you Can't remember is the "Cooper"
Though I fail to remember what he does :smalltongue:

[shadzar]

1- slavery? really? people as property? :smalleek:

2- They could hire anybody they want. The previous crew may wish to stay on until they and the ship isn't needed anymore, and the crew takes the ship while the party leaves for more stable footing.

3- :smalleek:

[ericgrau]

For pricing them, in terms of balancing out treasure, you'll have to find a way to gauge how much of a benefit they provide compared to, say, another +1 on their weapons. How often do they rely on the ships cannons instead of their swords and how much does a +1 to hit help? Then compare to the cost of boosting weapons. It's gonna be a fairly rough estimate, but hopefully that'll help you at least make an educated guess.

[FoE]

1- slavery? really? people as property? :smalleek:

Slavery is such an ugly word. Think of it more as "indentured servitude." :smallbiggrin:

Go for it, BRC. But for the sake of ease, I would make these non-combat roles, meaning it's still up to your players to do the fighting.

In my mind, an Engineer to repair the boat/build weapons is a must. Along with a navigator and a cook (an absolute must for parties who want to bring along more than a day's food to shore!).

[shadzar]

Slavery is such an ugly word. Think of it more as "indentured servitude." :smallbiggrin:

Well then they would be free. :smallbiggrin:

:smallconfused: No wait, they wouldn't be....but they would have zero cost and value. :smallsmile:

[FoE]

They're not slaves. Call them "freedom challenged". :smalltongue:

[BRC]

It's not slavery, it's recruitment. And no, that's not a restatement of the same thing. The NPC's in question are perfectly capable of leaving, they just choose to stick around for various reasons. It's like "oh, you saved me from prison, and I don't have a ship right now, might as well join your crew".

[Lycan 01]

Carpenter, Cook, Cooper, Gunner, Navigator, Quartermaster, Sailmaker, Surgeon.

From Pirates!

So the one you Can't remember is the "Cooper"
Though I fail to remember what he does :smalltongue:


Ah, thank you. He made food supplies last longer, since he made better barrels to keep cargo from spoiling...

[Thatguyoverther]

I wouldn't do them as treasure, unless you treat the entire crew as treasure.

I imagine that your entire crew needs pay so why wouldn't you pay the special NPC types? If you want better marines/cooks/navigators/whatever you have to shell out the money to pay for a higher salary.

[Foryn Gilnith]

So the one you Can't remember is the "Cooper"
Though I fail to remember what he does :smalltongue:

Coopers make barrels. I had a Monk/Rogue gestalt type that was a Cooper before he got tired of the small-time life and followed an adventuring party out as a hireling. Game fell apart after the first adventure, though.


The value of a crewmember should be about the value of a magic item that grants a comparable benefit. If your Head Gunner gives a boost to Profession (siege engineer) checks, calculate treasure value as if he were a magic item giving that boost. If your carpenter repairs the ship, price him as a Wand of Repair Light Damage or something. Sure, they have roleplaying and combat utility - but unlike magic items, they can die.

[Keewatin]

Carpenter, Cook, Cooper, Gunner, Navigator, Quartermaster, Sailmaker, Surgeon.

From Pirates!

So the one you Can't remember is the "Cooper"
Though I fail to remember what he does :smalltongue:

A cooper makes and repairs barrels as well as minor carpentry

[Hallavast]

A cooper makes and repairs barrels as well as minor carpentry

Huzzah for more drunken sailor parties! Best. Loot. Ever.

[Kol Korran]

normal DMG loot is destined mostly to make fights and "normal" adventuring life easier. it rarely actually improves the nautical experience (though there are exceptions). this is why i suggest you don't mix nautical improvements (incuding crew), with adventuring loot.

instead i suggest you treat the ship, supplies and crew entirely seperatley. the additional exceptional crew members would just be nice bonuses, who helps in whatever "out of adventuring" capacitiy you'd like. realy, just wing it, don't calculate it. as to levels? well, you can use as a rough guide the leadership feat (to gauge the captain's influence and renown- the followers are the normal crew members, and you can use the cohort level for special crew members. and yes, there can be a few of those since they don't actually escort the captain on to real adventures, and most don't have PC class levels (or so i'd imagine?)

that's my suggestion at least. loot seperate. ship seperate.
hope that helps,
Kol.

[Lysander]

Good idea. Just don't treat them as objects.

The other thing to consider is that as you add crew members you need to give the PCs an increasing amount of gold. Why? Because the NPC crew will want a percentage of the loot (probably less than the PCs but still a percentage). And the PCs need to pay for their food.

[Telonius]

Slavery is such an ugly word. Think of it more as "indentured servitude." :smallbiggrin:

Or for an even better term, just explain that they're there because they're impressed!