Question: Buying property in Pathfinder

[Calemyr]

A new game is starting up in my neck of the woods, using the Hell's Rebels adventures. I haven't read any more than Player's Guide, so I don't know the actual campaign, but I've got the gist of it. And an idea I think would be awfully fun to try out. The question is if it works. Since I can't get in touch with the DM until the game starts, I was wondering if you guys could help me out with one part of it.

The character I'm considering playing is a bard, and I would like to have him be the owner of a small pub. Nothing fancy, just a place for people to drink their working woes away and allow me to gather intelligence and network, possibly also to act as the headquarters to the party's little rebellion (or at least one of them) as things develop.

So here's the question: how much would a humble shop cost? If I took the Rich Parents trait, boosting my starting coin to 900g, would I be able to afford it? I'm not looking to game the system, here, mind you. Just want to play a spymaster-type bard who has taken Weapon Specialization(Pub). (Think Varric from the Dragon Age games, if you like, only making active use of his talents.)

[Recherché]

Building price rules are here (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateCampaign/downtime/buildingsAndOrganizations.html). Your basic Inn is about 1400gp so you might be able to afford a really small bar I'd you work at it. Alternatively have you considered being a co-owner and having an NPC business parter who can run the pub when you're out adventuring? Having two owners would also reduce your share of the price to around 700gp.

[Luckmann]

Since I can't get in touch with the DM until the game starts ...

I don't know the circumstances, so I might be wrong, maybe you've known the DM for years, etc., but this is a huge red flag for me. The DM not being available during character creation, not even for simple questions of "is X ok?" or "is it OK if I Y?" is (to me) an enormous no-no, because the main function of a DM is to arbitrate, make calls on rules, and make sure everything fits together.

Even owning property at all may be something that's not at all appropriate for the game that is going to be run. Maybe it's a perfect fit, and could be a great starting point. Personally, I think the idea sounds great, and I wouldn't even quibble over a mere ~500gp difference. Maybe some other player would make the perfect partner?

And how would this all come together in terms of income? How would this affect the group? How angry will you as a player be if the pub burns to the ground, however reasonable?

I don't mean to put you off the idea, I think it sounds great. I'm just saying that an absentee DM all the way up to game start is usually a recipe for a disaster, with very mixed and possibly competing expectations for the game. It is very rare that I can even make a character I like without at least reasonable "May I..."- questions, and when theorycrafting characters I often write "Assumptions" for the character in lieu of a DM, such as "Extra Spell works as written, not as per FAQ" and/or "Prereqs. work as intended by writer, clarified <link> rather than per RAW".

This way, I can simply ask those questions to a DM if that character ever gets a chance of being played. However, that STILL assumes I'll have a chance to talk to the DM before the game, even a little.

My suggestion, if you are still going to play under the circumstances I have assumed, is the following: Write down a list of assumptions, and for this character, that could be "Can have a little bit of extra cash to start with a pub, or that the DM is fine with engineering a partner", with some quick notes on who or what that partner could be.

Then, make a backup character in case the answer, come game time, is no. Actually, make TWO backup characters, and make sure you're fine with playing any of the three. If necessary, make a similar list of "Assumptions" for each, even if it's just "Can take aasimar (11 RP) as a race" or anything like that.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Recherché
Alternatively have you considered being a co-owner and having an NPC business parter who can run the pub when you're out adventuring? Having two owners would also reduce your share of the price to around 700gp.

Really excellent suggestions here.

I was going to suggest asking the DM if this could be part of the character’s backstory, perhaps inherited from an uncle or something like that, on condition that the character receives no significant income from the pub’s operation. Essentially you break even and only derive the informational benefit.

That would be my approach, but I really like the suggestion to have an NPC co-owner, since that makes it affordable with Rich Parents and keeps the pub open while you’re out adventuring.


Originally Posted by Luckmann
The DM not being available during character creation….

…could be for a thousand different reasons, all of them reasonable in context. Since the OP doesn’t seem concerned about it, it’s probably not worth worrying over.

[Florian]

Oooookay.

For a Bard, consider the Argent Voice archetype (because that is tailor-made for that AP) and at least a dip into the Argent Dramature PrC (for the same reason).

This AP already uses the Downtime and Team rules, so no big deal to use the Manage a Company rules and get the sample Tavern (Ultimate Campaign, Downtime section). It´s cheap and a lot of fun, especially since this AP can support stuff like that.

Edit: Huh?! Damn Necromancers!