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Purple Dragon
2008-07-30, 02:12 PM
For an upcoming adventure, the party is on its way to a new city that I made up on the spot. I’ve now got the new city mostly fleshed out, but in the process I realized that I’ve somehow never actually made the PCs pay entry tariffs or taxes for any city. Ever. Since these are a major source of income for your average medieval town, I think I’d better start. Has anyone got suggestions on how much your average town is going to charge people to walk in the front gate?

I know there are to be varied amounts – merchants have to pay based on the type and amount of goods they’re bringing in, but traveling clerics, farmers, generic travelers, mercenaries, chartered adventuring companies, etc. will probably have set entry fees. (I remember reading a related bit in some fantasy novel that purposeless visitors had to show some form of gainful employment within a few days or they’d be forced to leave the city. I liked that, and I’ll probably incorporate it somehow.)

This is also a port city, so there will be a similar charge at the docks.

BRC
2008-07-30, 02:17 PM
It would probably be a negligible amount. If I remember correctly, the average Laborer earns a silver a day, for John Q commoner a gold piece is a substantial amount of money. For a PC a gold piece isn't much, but adventurers are supposed to be the exception to the rule.


This is the type of thing I wouldn't really bother with, it will just slow the game up to have the PC's walk in and the guard say "give me three silver, thank you".

Emperor Tippy
2008-07-30, 02:25 PM
It depends, what level is the party? When you can single handedly take out the whole guard force without breaking a sweat they don't tend to bother you.

Maybe a GP per person for adventurers.

Purple Dragon
2008-07-30, 03:09 PM
It depends, what level is the party? When you can single handedly take out the whole guard force without breaking a sweat they don't tend to bother you.

Maybe a GP per person for adventurers.

They're 4th level, on the average. They still have a long way to go before they can stop fearing the town cops. ;)

Clarification: This town is located in Cormyr. They've got pretty strict laws - especially on adventurers - and the party will have to get themselves a charter to be recognized as an officially sanctioned adventuring company. (I'm expecting that to be a hilariously fun bit of role-playing!)

mabriss lethe
2008-07-30, 03:14 PM
From a gaming perspective, it sounds pretty tedious.

the only way that charging a fee to gain entry to the city will really work is if you incorporate it into the action of the story. The PCs get robbed in the night and the thieves hightail it into the slums of the city. They have no money and no weapons to either pay or fight their way in. They're forced to pick up odd jobs outside of town for a day or so while the thieves' trail gets colder and colder. .... you get the drift.

You have to make it important, otherwise it just wastes everyone's time with nitpicking and penny counting.

arguskos
2008-07-30, 03:17 PM
Clarification: This town is located in Cormyr. They've got pretty strict laws - especially on adventurers - and the party will have to get themselves a charter to be recognized as an officially sanctioned adventuring company. (I'm expecting that to be a hilariously fun bit of role-playing!)
Considering this, why don't you have the Guards charter them right there, at the gate? They can then pay a down deposit at that city, that lets them enter X number of times w/o fees (as makes sense for adventurers). That way, you avoid the uber-tedious "3 silvers please, thanks" and get right to the interesting stuff "what's your group's name? Uh... give us a moment for that one please."

-argus