Cost to maintain a Long Ship crew?

[killem2]

I'm thinking of using my 10,000gp reward on a long ship. Granted, that would just be the ship, What do you think the cost is to man it?

[Lightlawbliss]

that would depend on the quality of crew you are getting, how you get them, # of crew, campain.

one number that is easy to give is: oarsmen were historically a job for slaves or cheap labor IF you got them only for rowing. Likely paid as untrained Labor for your run of the mill oarsmen though a real nice team might be much more (they are effectively rolling profession checks)

[Forrestfire]

If you have gold to burn, a permanent animate objects spell is always fun.

[holywhippet]

The SRD says you need 50 people to man the ship - it can carry up to 120 soldiers as well or 50 tons of cargo.

For hirelings it costs 3 sp per day for someone who is trained and 1 sp per day for someone untrained. The longship has 40 oars so I'd say you need 40 untrained people and 10 trained = 70 sp per day.

That's just the cost of hiring them though, you need to feed them and provide medical supplies etc. The SRD says a common meal is 3 sp per day and you'd need to feed the crew fairly well since they'd be working hard presumably so say 150 sp per day to feed them. That may or may not be excessive since you are feeding them 3 times per day. A half pound of meat costs 3 sp though, a loaf of bread costs 2 cp and a chunk of cheese costs 1 sp. Ale costs 2 sp per gallon and you'd need to provide that for the crew to drink.

A healers kit costs 50 gold for 10 uses. That is designed for adventurers though, a ship's doctor might be able to get away with something cheaper.

[Flickerdart]

That's just the cost of hiring them though, you need to feed them and provide medical supplies etc.
Rowers aren't unionized, they don't get benefits. They want food and medicine, they take the cost out of their pay.

[otakumick]

skeletons... what pay?... what food?

[Lightlawbliss]

The SRD says you need 50 people to man the ship - it can carry up to 120 soldiers as well or 50 tons of cargo.

For hirelings it costs 3 sp per day for someone who is trained and 1 sp per day for someone untrained. The longship has 40 oars so I'd say you need 40 untrained people and 10 trained = 70 sp per day.

...

I find 40 people manning 40 oars to be unlikely for normal use, that would mean 1 shift. I dare say the 50 people, in realistic use, would be multiple small "shifts" for any kind of longer voyage.

also: 50 tons (100,000 lbs) of storage isn't much in the world of ships and a lot of people. A keg of beer, which you would likely use atleast 4 of a day for 50 men, is about 160lbs each(depending on the beer). you give 50 men a pound of meat a day and 2 pounds spread out among everything else (they will be hungry with that) is 150 lbs. That's already a third of a ton a day, and actually feeding men what they need to be at maximum efficiency is likely about 3/4 a ton just feeding them each day.

[killem2]

I *might* get my hands on a Large Golem. Could it be useful? :smallconfused:

Sadly, I'm a druid, so.. I don't really dig messing with the undead much.

[holywhippet]

Rowers aren't unionized, they don't get benefits. They want food and medicine, they take the cost out of their pay.

If you are stopping at a port somewhere several times a day that might work. But for a long trip they don't have the option to stop and buy food. For portable food the PHB has rations (not in the SRD for some reason) which costs 5 sp per day which is outside of what a unskilled laborer can afford.


skeletons... what pay?... what food?

Assuming you can actually control enough of them, what happens if you attack or are attacked by a ship with a cleric on board? If they turn undead you can expect your crew to explode or jump over the side. If they rebuke undead your crew might turn against you.

[Lightlawbliss]

I *might* get my hands on a Large Golem. Could it be useful? :smallconfused:

Sadly, I'm a druid, so.. I don't really dig messing with the undead much.

ignoring physics (like what forces wood can actually take), you might be able to rig things up so the golem can run multiple oars (good old dnd exponential effect of str to force applied)

and no undead does make the clasic undead crew impossible.

[Flickerdart]

If you are stopping at a port somewhere several times a day that might work. But for a long trip they don't have the option to stop and buy food. For portable food the PHB has rations (not in the SRD for some reason) which costs 5 sp per day which is outside of what a unskilled laborer can afford.
On a long trip, you bring food and dock the costs from their pay. Rowers and sailors have not historically eaten well; even giving them a "poor meal" is overkill, never mind full-fledged field rations.

[dgnslyr]

Assuming you can actually control enough of them, what happens if you attack or are attacked by a ship with a cleric on board? If they turn undead you can expect your crew to explode or jump over the side. If they rebuke undead your crew might turn against you.



Well, if someone dangerous gets into your galleys, you're going to lose rowers, whether you employ the living or dead. Turn/Rebuke Undead won't go through the deck, and by the time the enemy breaks through your soldiers and gets into your galleys, the fight's already gone pretty poorly.

So yes, a cleric breaking into your galleys and Turning/Rebuking your skeletons could be pretty disastrous, but so would a fighter or rogue breaking in and smacking/stabbing your rowers. If anything, having undead rowers would give you better protection against the mundane, namely ordinary soldiers with ordinary weapons.

[Deophaun]

8,000 gp gets you four field provision boxes (MIC) which will feed 60 people. 4 lbs of weight. Charge your sailors for the magic food. It'll take a few years, but they will pay for themselves eventually.

[Lightlawbliss]

8,000 gp gets you four field provision boxes (MIC) which will feed 60 people. 4 lbs of weight. Charge your sailors for the magic food. It'll take a few years, but they will pay for themselves eventually.
I have only one problem with this very well made and intelligent comment: you forgot the value of the weight, space, saved time (both from not having to load/unload supplies and reducing stops in port), and reduced risk. That could easily pay for itself in one trip if you transport the right cargo on a decent length route.