I think this would depend on how your party and world feels about slavery and the sale of sentient creatures.
A pseudodragon stats are: STR 6 DEX 15 CON 13 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 10
A pseudodragon has an intelligence and wisdom higher than many characters. It is a sentient being. It isn't a pet. If your wizard wants to pick it up as a familiar ... I can't see the pseudodragon agreeing to willingly help a slave owner. You might want to consider some of the implications for your game world by including such a creature in an auction. In addition, some of your players may decide they don't like slavery and feel compelled to free the enslaved pseudodragon.
If the Wizard is actually rescuing the Pseudodragon and can befriend it by offering food and making sure it is healthy enough to survive on its own, it may decide to stay with him but he would have to be of a non evil alignment and offer the Pseudodragon freedom with no strings attached.
I think this would depend on how your party and world feels about slavery and the sale of sentient creatures.
A pseudodragon stats are: STR 6 DEX 15 CON 13 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 10
A pseudodragon has an intelligence and wisdom higher than many characters. It is a sentient being. It isn't a pet. If your wizard wants to pick it up as a familiar ... I can't see the pseudodragon agreeing to willingly help a slave owner. You might want to consider some of the implications for your game world by including such a creature in an auction. In addition, some of your players may decide they don't like slavery and feel compelled to free the enslaved pseudodragon.
I’m going to make it a moral quandary. Selling of magical creatures is acceptable in my world, but it’s seen as a bit of a gray area.
Im expecting my Druid to want to try REAL hard to set it free, but it needs to go up for auction first.
I would also 100% allow my Druid to gain it as a familiar.
It's pretty hard to set an exact price on something like this. A pseudodragon could serve a similar role as a pet hawk in that it could be a useful scout, with the significant advantages of being an intelligent creature with blindsight, limited telepathy, and a poisonous sting. However, that high intelligence is also a drawback, as there's no way it's going to be a willing slave. So unless the auctioneer can reasonably guarantee the pseudodragon will obey its new master, then the creature is only valuable by virtue of its exotic nature and rarity.
So in other words, the value depends on how rare and how prized pseudodragons are in your setting. But as a base price, I'd suggest around 500 gp. I'd increase this a bit if the auctioneer can somehow ensure the pseudodragon will obey.
I'd also expect this price could be driven higher by competing bids. This sort of auction seems like the kind of event that would draw in wealthy collectors and the like, so the pseudodragon could end up going for much more than that, depending on who's doing the bidding. This is also a way for you to make this a difficult decision for the PCs, as you can use the NPCs to drive up the price to whatever would be on the edge of "reasonable" for the party.
Having a particular collector as a rival bidder also seems like a great opportunity to introduce an enemy to this scenario. Perhaps the pseudodragon is bought by a well-connected noble, and the PCs end up having to spring it from the noble's mansion.
I would put it high (something along 10 -20,000 go) and actually set it up as a sort of slave auction for the extremely wealthy. As others have said, it is an intelligent creature. Maybe even make it to where the auctioneers don't "realize" it is intelligent.
Have the encounter go one of several ways, they try to explain that the creature isn't a pet and should be released and then maybe stage a rescue. At what point the psuedodragon could be greatful and offer a partnership as a companion.
Keep in mind familiars with actual creatures are more partnerships than theytregularly are with just casting Find Familiar. If the creature is unhappy or abused it can easily just up and leave. These types of familiars have their own motives and reasons for entering a partnership with a wizard.
When setting prices for things that don't have a price in the book, ask yourself these questions:
* What is the amount of supply? * What is the amount of demand? * What is the amount of supply for competitors?
Basically, if the creature is very common, then it shouldn't be priced too high no matter how many people want it. If the creature is very rare, and competitors are similarly very rare, then the price will likely be high. If the creature is very rare but reasonable competitors are very common, then it will be priced similarly to its competitors, meaning cheaply, unless the rarity itself is desirable.
You could reasonably price the pseudodragon at anything from ten gold (equivalent to approximately $200-$1000 USD circa 2019) to ten thousand gold (equivalent to approximately $200,000-$1,000,000 USD circa 2019).
To give you a price comparison, an average human slave in the US deep south in 1850 could be bought for the equivalent of $40,000 USD (2019), which is approximately equal to 400-2000 gold coins in D&D (one gold being roughly equivalent to $20 to $100 USD in 2019).
Would a pseudodragon be more desirable than a human as a slave? Maybe, but there's a good chance that the answer is 'no'. It'll probably depend a lot on your game's society, though.
The only problem I would have with that is that it’s less of a moral quandary.
Depending on if you go with the actual lore behind how a drake is made, a Drake egg only lasts about an hour after being made before hatching. Drakes are made using a dark arcane ritual where 10 lbs of fresh dragon scales and a large amount of fresh meat are combined in an iron cauldron and infused with arcane energy. Upon competition of the ritual, an egg is formed that hatches within the hour.
The only problem I would have with that is that it’s less of a moral quandary.
Depending on if you go with the actual lore behind how a drake is made, a Drake egg only lasts about an hour after being made before hatching. Drakes are made using a dark arcane ritual where 10 lbs of fresh dragon scales and a large amount of fresh meat are combined in an iron cauldron and infused with arcane energy. Upon competition of the ritual, an egg is formed that hatches within the hour.
Shoot. Forgot about the time thing.
In Volo’s it says “within a few hours.”
I will come up with something nonliving. I decided to make this auction house more reputable, and practically a monthly tourist attraction.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I’m working on an auction for my players, and I want the auctioneer to be selling (in addition to many magical wares) a pseudodragon.
What would be a good starting price for something like that? (Other items in the auction include a drift globe and a ring of spell storing)
I think this would depend on how your party and world feels about slavery and the sale of sentient creatures.
A pseudodragon stats are: STR 6 DEX 15 CON 13 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 10
A pseudodragon has an intelligence and wisdom higher than many characters. It is a sentient being. It isn't a pet. If your wizard wants to pick it up as a familiar ... I can't see the pseudodragon agreeing to willingly help a slave owner. You might want to consider some of the implications for your game world by including such a creature in an auction. In addition, some of your players may decide they don't like slavery and feel compelled to free the enslaved pseudodragon.
If the Wizard is actually rescuing the Pseudodragon and can befriend it by offering food and making sure it is healthy enough to survive on its own, it may decide to stay with him but he would have to be of a non evil alignment and offer the Pseudodragon freedom with no strings attached.
I’m going to make it a moral quandary. Selling of magical creatures is acceptable in my world, but it’s seen as a bit of a gray area.
Im expecting my Druid to want to try REAL hard to set it free, but it needs to go up for auction first.
I would also 100% allow my Druid to gain it as a familiar.
It's pretty hard to set an exact price on something like this. A pseudodragon could serve a similar role as a pet hawk in that it could be a useful scout, with the significant advantages of being an intelligent creature with blindsight, limited telepathy, and a poisonous sting. However, that high intelligence is also a drawback, as there's no way it's going to be a willing slave. So unless the auctioneer can reasonably guarantee the pseudodragon will obey its new master, then the creature is only valuable by virtue of its exotic nature and rarity.
So in other words, the value depends on how rare and how prized pseudodragons are in your setting. But as a base price, I'd suggest around 500 gp. I'd increase this a bit if the auctioneer can somehow ensure the pseudodragon will obey.
I'd also expect this price could be driven higher by competing bids. This sort of auction seems like the kind of event that would draw in wealthy collectors and the like, so the pseudodragon could end up going for much more than that, depending on who's doing the bidding. This is also a way for you to make this a difficult decision for the PCs, as you can use the NPCs to drive up the price to whatever would be on the edge of "reasonable" for the party.
Having a particular collector as a rival bidder also seems like a great opportunity to introduce an enemy to this scenario. Perhaps the pseudodragon is bought by a well-connected noble, and the PCs end up having to spring it from the noble's mansion.
I would put it high (something along 10 -20,000 go) and actually set it up as a sort of slave auction for the extremely wealthy. As others have said, it is an intelligent creature. Maybe even make it to where the auctioneers don't "realize" it is intelligent.
Have the encounter go one of several ways, they try to explain that the creature isn't a pet and should be released and then maybe stage a rescue. At what point the psuedodragon could be greatful and offer a partnership as a companion.
Keep in mind familiars with actual creatures are more partnerships than theytregularly are with just casting Find Familiar. If the creature is unhappy or abused it can easily just up and leave. These types of familiars have their own motives and reasons for entering a partnership with a wizard.
When setting prices for things that don't have a price in the book, ask yourself these questions:
* What is the amount of supply?
* What is the amount of demand?
* What is the amount of supply for competitors?
Basically, if the creature is very common, then it shouldn't be priced too high no matter how many people want it. If the creature is very rare, and competitors are similarly very rare, then the price will likely be high. If the creature is very rare but reasonable competitors are very common, then it will be priced similarly to its competitors, meaning cheaply, unless the rarity itself is desirable.
You could reasonably price the pseudodragon at anything from ten gold (equivalent to approximately $200-$1000 USD circa 2019) to ten thousand gold (equivalent to approximately $200,000-$1,000,000 USD circa 2019).
To give you a price comparison, an average human slave in the US deep south in 1850 could be bought for the equivalent of $40,000 USD (2019), which is approximately equal to 400-2000 gold coins in D&D (one gold being roughly equivalent to $20 to $100 USD in 2019).
Would a pseudodragon be more desirable than a human as a slave? Maybe, but there's a good chance that the answer is 'no'. It'll probably depend a lot on your game's society, though.
What if I did a guard drake egg instead?
The only problem I would have with that is that it’s less of a moral quandary.
Depending on if you go with the actual lore behind how a drake is made, a Drake egg only lasts about an hour after being made before hatching. Drakes are made using a dark arcane ritual where 10 lbs of fresh dragon scales and a large amount of fresh meat are combined in an iron cauldron and infused with arcane energy. Upon competition of the ritual, an egg is formed that hatches within the hour.
Shoot. Forgot about the time thing.
In Volo’s it says “within a few hours.”
I will come up with something nonliving. I decided to make this auction house more reputable, and practically a monthly tourist attraction.