Any indicator of price for lumber?

[supersonic29]

I have a player that wants to buy enough lumber to make a small, crude bridge in a certain spot, but I haven't been able to find anything pricing lumber anywhere. Is there anything from which to derive the price of lumber if its not directly given?

[Flickerdart]

Stronghold Builder's Guide might have something.

[Curmudgeon]

Bridge prices depend on the span. Anything more than 20' across isn't going to be bridgeable with something crude (2-3 large tree trunks partly split to make a semi-smooth surface, with planks nailed across). How long a bridge do you need?

[supersonic29]

Bridge prices depend on the span. Anything more than 20' across isn't going to be bridgeable with something crude (2-3 large tree trunks partly split to make a semi-smooth surface, with planks nailed across). How long a bridge do you need?

Exactly 20ft actually, something along the line of crude tree planks thrown across was what I think he had in mind. 5ft wide bridge probably.

Also I poked around stronghold builders and the only material costs I could find were for traps and walls, the wood walls factoring in things that I didn't know how to factor out.

[nolongerchaos]

I have a player that wants to buy enough lumber to make a small, crude bridge in a certain spot, but I haven't been able to find anything pricing lumber anywhere. Is there anything from which to derive the price of lumber if its not directly given?

Slings, clubs and quarterstaves are all free, so with an appropriate knowledge engineering or suitable profession check building a bridge is free!

More seriously though, a Feather Token Tree makes a suitable bridge that meets your specifications, so unless they're looking for something permanent I wouldn't make it cost more than the Token (400gp). (Or just toss him the Token)

[Curmudgeon]

a Feather Token Tree makes a suitable bridge that meets your specifications
No, it really doesn't. It makes a might oak tree rooted in the ground. Felling the tree, cutting off the branches, and sawing or adzing to make a walkable surface requires both tools and many days of labor.

[Templarkommando]

One option would be to build an earthen dam. Dirt is free, you'd just need something to get all the dirt that you need to the spot to be bridged. 20 ft isn't really river material, maybe a creek or a brook or something. You might be looking at a pond that would wash out the dam when it rains hard, but that's an option anyway. You can get dirt there with a bag of holding, a cart and a team of horses. There are spells that move earth that could make it simpler.

Where wood is concerned specifically, there might be a way to get someone else to make the bridge. A good diplomacy check might could convince the local noble that a bridge could be a good way to collect tolls, or streamline movement and productivity in his territory.

If you really want to do it the hard way, there are some ballpark estimates that you can make. Firewood costs 1 cp for a day of firewood. That unit weighs 20 lbs as per the PHB. One thing you need to understand is that wood used for building is of better quality than wood used for heat. So it's going to be at least a little more expensive. Find out what the ratio of cost is for firewood and building wood, and you'll have a good idea of how much 20 lbs of building wood costs. If you can then figure out how much wood you need for said bridge in weight it's a pretty simple equation.

Another ballpark would be the gatehouse from the Stronghold Builder's Guidebook (which is technically 3.0 I believe) a 1000 gp gatehouse comes with a drawbridge. I'd personally guess most of that cost comes from the engineering required for the drawbridge and the gatehouse in addition to the stone, not the actual wood needed for the drawbridge. If I was trying to do this quickly, I'd guesstimate it around 150-400 gold pieces for a stationary and crudely built wooden bridge and not worry any more about it.

I hope this helps.