Had a question about Exotic Beast and Monstrosity Egg Prices. My players recently managed to secure some Roc eggs after some clever and resourceful playing on their part, after taking down the parents, and while they were excited to try and hatch them, the amount of care involved in raising up the babies did put a couple of them off the idea. Discussions have boiled down to either raising the babies or selling the eggs (cooking was an option, but no one has any proficiency to do so, and their characters aren't fond of chefs - long story). They're not short of cash, but they're talking about visiting a mage for more magic items, and don't seem to want to deal with raising three baby Roc's. I'm trying to find an alternative that can largely satisfy all involved.
It got me thinking, how much could they sell the eggs for, be it to a menagerie of some sort, or by contacting a Night Merchant friend of theirs. I've tried finding something online that would help determine the cost of such things, and tried to use other references as a basis, but I couldn't come up with a solid foundation for determining a cost. Things like creature type, Challenge Rating, and/or hit dice seem like they should be factors, but I can't be sure, much less find anything.
P.S. They have expressed interest in taking on exotic pets/mounts/companions, so I have no qualms if that's what they want. They've been pretty diligent about searching nests and dens for baby creatures or eggs. It's that they all discuss selling as an option if the creature is particularly difficult or expensive to bring up (or the expense of keeping it is much too high). Not asking about intelligent creatures (since the players I'm DMing for have settled for ransom or a "finder's fee" in previous campaigns). They want to keep adventuring, and don't want to haul around a massive baby creature that may or may not die by accident in their adventures, and that they have to constantly stay on top of for extended periods of time.
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Any help would be appreciated for determining this. If it just comes down to Homebrewing it myself, that's fine, but I wanted more professional opinions before I tried coming up with something myself. I would normally ask for just the clear-cut cost of a Roc egg, but like I said, my players are diligent in their searches (even finding/buying items to help them), and I have no doubt they are going to try and pick up more baby creatures and eggs along the way in their quest for companions.
That wasn't really part of the discussion. Like I said, they're thinking about selling so they can pay a wizard for either upgrading their magic items or buying new ones. Baiting other creatures wasn't part of the initial discussion, and even then, they don't have the method to keep three Roc eggs from spoiling or hatching in the mean time.
all good, just thought i would offer an alternative outside of trade since you mentioned something about "expressed interest in taking on exotic pets/mounts/companions"
the value of an egg would depend on your world and if theres a market for them, supply and demand, whether they are rare or not, the known uses for them, what the shell is made out of, if the egg has been fertilized or not, etc.... the egg could be worthless or it could be worth a fortune or any value inbetween
only suggestion i can give is dont set the price to high since it may affect the pricing of other creature eggs further down the line
anywho i hope you find a price that suits your world :)
Yeah, frankly my initial rule of thumb is just the loot you budget for an encounter is the loot they get. Some players really get into the idea of trying to scavenge and use monster parts and such, but it’s a headache to improv values or effects on the fly and can start to snowball on you. If players really want the immersion, then easiest thing is to do what’s suggested above and work it into the initial loot budget for the encounter.
In Ghosts of Saltmarsh there is a leather worker that buys the hides of “exotic” monsters (CR>/=3) for 100GP X CR. That would probably be a decent starting point for egg prices as well.
ive put the full description in a spoiler below to make it easier to review.
11. Kester’s Leather Goods
Kiorna Kester (LN female human commoner) runs this tannery, where she produces smooth, colorful leather for every purpose and sells both the cured hides and items she fashions from it. Kiorna is keenly interested in acquiring hides from exotic creatures to craft into expensive leather. She pays a fee in gold pieces equal to 100 times a creature’s challenge rating for the intact hide of any beast or monstrosity of challenge rating 3 or higher. Harvesting the hide from such a creature requires an intact carcass, an hour of work, and a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) or Wisdom (Survival) check to preserve it in top condition for Kiorna’s purposes. On a failed check, the hide does not meet Kiorna’s standards but can still be sold for a lesser price.
The core problem you have is that your eggs will only stay eggs for a moderate amount of time -- either they'll die because you don't preserve them properly, or they'll hatch. This means it's not enough to have someone potentially interested, you need someone who wants the eggs right now. Unless you line up a buyer ahead of time, usually there just won't be anyone like that, and if you line up a buyer ahead of time, it's a quest giver and has normal quest rewards.
Since the ultimate goal is just to have their weapons upgraded or get new ones, why not just have them trade out right for it? Have the party run into a traveling merchant or wizard. Have them tell the party that they have been looking for Roc eggs in particular for a spell component. They're willing to trade one upgrade/new weapon for each Roc egg. They can also tell the party that they might be willing to trade for other types of eggs, too.
In one of the various Arabian Nights tales, Aladdin or someone else who has a djinn at his beck and call, requested that the djinn procure the egg of a roc so that it could hung as an ornament in a certain palace.
The djinn angrily denounced Aladdin for asking such a stupid and vile thing, noting that the djinn considered the roc to be one of the djinn's true masters.
Thus, if your players are wondering what to do with the eggs of a roc, this might be an excellent chance for them to learn possibly the hard way that some 'treasures' are too expensive to possess.
No easy answer for that, it’s entirely campaign related.
Depending on how you run your economy, how common magical creatures are, what power level you have, does the setting have a few npcs who could pay a high price, or is it more feudal in nature where only the king might have funds to spare?
No easy answer for that, it’s entirely campaign related.
Depending on how you run your economy, how common magical creatures are, what power level you have, does the setting have a few npcs who could pay a high price, or is it more feudal in nature where only the king might have funds to spare?
Very true, it is entirely campaign based. However, even in the real world, some trinkets, some baubles are simply too expensive or too hazardous to play around with. Do you want to play around with the plutonium core of a hydrogen fusion bomb? Do you want to play around with a syringe filled with the polio virus?
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Hey guys,
Had a question about Exotic Beast and Monstrosity Egg Prices. My players recently managed to secure some Roc eggs after some clever and resourceful playing on their part, after taking down the parents, and while they were excited to try and hatch them, the amount of care involved in raising up the babies did put a couple of them off the idea. Discussions have boiled down to either raising the babies or selling the eggs (cooking was an option, but no one has any proficiency to do so, and their characters aren't fond of chefs - long story). They're not short of cash, but they're talking about visiting a mage for more magic items, and don't seem to want to deal with raising three baby Roc's. I'm trying to find an alternative that can largely satisfy all involved.
It got me thinking, how much could they sell the eggs for, be it to a menagerie of some sort, or by contacting a Night Merchant friend of theirs. I've tried finding something online that would help determine the cost of such things, and tried to use other references as a basis, but I couldn't come up with a solid foundation for determining a cost. Things like creature type, Challenge Rating, and/or hit dice seem like they should be factors, but I can't be sure, much less find anything.
P.S. They have expressed interest in taking on exotic pets/mounts/companions, so I have no qualms if that's what they want. They've been pretty diligent about searching nests and dens for baby creatures or eggs. It's that they all discuss selling as an option if the creature is particularly difficult or expensive to bring up (or the expense of keeping it is much too high). Not asking about intelligent creatures (since the players I'm DMing for have settled for ransom or a "finder's fee" in previous campaigns). They want to keep adventuring, and don't want to haul around a massive baby creature that may or may not die by accident in their adventures, and that they have to constantly stay on top of for extended periods of time.
.
Any help would be appreciated for determining this. If it just comes down to Homebrewing it myself, that's fine, but I wanted more professional opinions before I tried coming up with something myself. I would normally ask for just the clear-cut cost of a Roc egg, but like I said, my players are diligent in their searches (even finding/buying items to help them), and I have no doubt they are going to try and pick up more baby creatures and eggs along the way in their quest for companions.
could they use the Roc eggs as bait to lure in a different creature
That wasn't really part of the discussion. Like I said, they're thinking about selling so they can pay a wizard for either upgrading their magic items or buying new ones. Baiting other creatures wasn't part of the initial discussion, and even then, they don't have the method to keep three Roc eggs from spoiling or hatching in the mean time.
Look up how much money they would get for the encounter in the dmg, then adjust it by a factor of 2 or 3 if necessary.
all good, just thought i would offer an alternative outside of trade since you mentioned something about "expressed interest in taking on exotic pets/mounts/companions"
the value of an egg would depend on your world and if theres a market for them, supply and demand, whether they are rare or not, the known uses for them, what the shell is made out of, if the egg has been fertilized or not, etc.... the egg could be worthless or it could be worth a fortune or any value inbetween
only suggestion i can give is dont set the price to high since it may affect the pricing of other creature eggs further down the line
anywho i hope you find a price that suits your world :)
I’d also say something like this. Either the cash or magic items they would have gotten for the encounter. Keep it simple.
Yeah, frankly my initial rule of thumb is just the loot you budget for an encounter is the loot they get. Some players really get into the idea of trying to scavenge and use monster parts and such, but it’s a headache to improv values or effects on the fly and can start to snowball on you. If players really want the immersion, then easiest thing is to do what’s suggested above and work it into the initial loot budget for the encounter.
In Ghosts of Saltmarsh there is a leather worker that buys the hides of “exotic” monsters (CR>/=3) for 100GP X CR. That would probably be a decent starting point for egg prices as well.
ive put the full description in a spoiler below to make it easier to review.
11. Kester’s Leather Goods
Kiorna Kester (LN female human commoner) runs this tannery, where she produces smooth, colorful leather for every purpose and sells both the cured hides and items she fashions from it. Kiorna is keenly interested in acquiring hides from exotic creatures to craft into expensive leather. She pays a fee in gold pieces equal to 100 times a creature’s challenge rating for the intact hide of any beast or monstrosity of challenge rating 3 or higher. Harvesting the hide from such a creature requires an intact carcass, an hour of work, and a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) or Wisdom (Survival) check to preserve it in top condition for Kiorna’s purposes. On a failed check, the hide does not meet Kiorna’s standards but can still be sold for a lesser price.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
The core problem you have is that your eggs will only stay eggs for a moderate amount of time -- either they'll die because you don't preserve them properly, or they'll hatch. This means it's not enough to have someone potentially interested, you need someone who wants the eggs right now. Unless you line up a buyer ahead of time, usually there just won't be anyone like that, and if you line up a buyer ahead of time, it's a quest giver and has normal quest rewards.
Anyone need a Roc based portage between two major streams with a ridge between?
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Since the ultimate goal is just to have their weapons upgraded or get new ones, why not just have them trade out right for it? Have the party run into a traveling merchant or wizard. Have them tell the party that they have been looking for Roc eggs in particular for a spell component. They're willing to trade one upgrade/new weapon for each Roc egg. They can also tell the party that they might be willing to trade for other types of eggs, too.
In one of the various Arabian Nights tales, Aladdin or someone else who has a djinn at his beck and call, requested that the djinn procure the egg of a roc so that it could hung as an ornament in a certain palace.
The djinn angrily denounced Aladdin for asking such a stupid and vile thing, noting that the djinn considered the roc to be one of the djinn's true masters.
Thus, if your players are wondering what to do with the eggs of a roc, this might be an excellent chance for them to learn possibly the hard way that some 'treasures' are too expensive to possess.
No easy answer for that, it’s entirely campaign related.
Depending on how you run your economy, how common magical creatures are, what power level you have, does the setting have a few npcs who could pay a high price, or is it more feudal in nature where only the king might have funds to spare?
Very true, it is entirely campaign based. However, even in the real world, some trinkets, some baubles are simply too expensive or too hazardous to play around with. Do you want to play around with the plutonium core of a hydrogen fusion bomb? Do you want to play around with a syringe filled with the polio virus?