Hello there, looking for some help/ideas for a possible reward for my players. Hopefully, someone is able to help me out :)
Background
My players have arrived in Yartar following up on a lead. They met with a leader of the Harpers, and received a lead on a Devastation Orb that is being auctioned off in town. The leader offered access to the Harpers teleportation network in exchange for the orb (The mage is harper). Upon leaving to retrieve the orb, the rogue is given a note that the Zhentarim are also interested in the orb, and to find them if he is able to retrieve it (The rogue is in Zhentarim ). Fast forward the party has retrieved the orb, specifically the rogue (Zhentarim member) has managed to run off with it, as the rest of the party attends to a different matter. He is heading toward the Zhentarim to see what they can offer. Leading to me to determine the best reward equivalent to what the Harpers have offered.
Idea
As the Zhentarim as known for power, and shady activities, my original idea was to put the rogue in charge of a shipping warehouse that the Zhentarim use as a front for smuggling. The would include a periodic stipend and the occasional issue that would need to be dealt with, money going missing, customer not honoring their agreement, difficult job that needs to be handled personally, etc.
Issue
After thinking about it, I think this is too large of a reward in comparison. The orb is worth roughly 1500+ gp if they were to find another seller. The harper network provides fast travel between points of interest. The warehouse would end up providing more gold, and the real estate alone would be worth a good amount. I'm now thinking about maybe just offering access to the Zhentarim smuggling and black market network, allowing them to get into places that are difficult to get into, and also a place to purchase rarer equipment and services.
To be helpful, I agree with you that the warehouse is a substantially larger reward than the 1500ish gold pieces he'd get for selling it. But remember, you're balancing it off of what the Harpers are offering: "The leader offered access to the Harpers teleportation network in exchange for the orb".
With that said, I think it's hard to put a price on the Harper's teleportation network because its value depends on the campaign. How much need for it is there for the players? Will they be using it frequently? Will it let them further their ambitions? Do *you* think it's worth more than 1500 gold pieces? I would say yes, it is, mostly because something like that would be priceless to me if I had ambitions that spanned a large area.
Returning to balancing the Black Network's reward to the Harper's reward, I think your idea with the black markets is on par with a fleshed out teleportation network. "I'm now thinking about maybe just offering access to the Zhentarim smuggling and black market network, allowing them to get into places that are difficult to get into, and also a place to purchase rarer equipment and services." What's nice about this reward for you is that you can totally tailor it as time goes on. It's a living, breathing reward that you can use to aid the players when they really need it. Are they totally stuck on finding person Z? Turns out Shady Mike in the Black Network heard a rumor that... Or are they looking for a rare reagent needed for a powerful ritual? Magic Mike has what they need if they can get to him in Skullport. He might even import it to them to where they are for an extra fee.
It's a gift that can be customized and tailored by you, so you would set the terms on how powerful of a reward it would be.
Hello there, looking for some help/ideas for a possible reward for my players. Hopefully, someone is able to help me out :)
Background
My players have arrived in Yartar following up on a lead. They met with a leader of the Harpers, and received a lead on a Devastation Orb that is being auctioned off in town. The leader offered access to the Harpers teleportation network in exchange for the orb (The mage is harper). Upon leaving to retrieve the orb, the rogue is given a note that the Zhentarim are also interested in the orb, and to find them if he is able to retrieve it (The rogue is in Zhentarim ). Fast forward the party has retrieved the orb, specifically the rogue (Zhentarim member) has managed to run off with it, as the rest of the party attends to a different matter. He is heading toward the Zhentarim to see what they can offer. Leading to me to determine the best reward equivalent to what the Harpers have offered.
Idea
As the Zhentarim as known for power, and shady activities, my original idea was to put the rogue in charge of a shipping warehouse that the Zhentarim use as a front for smuggling. The would include a periodic stipend and the occasional issue that would need to be dealt with, money going missing, customer not honoring their agreement, difficult job that needs to be handled personally, etc.
Issue
After thinking about it, I think this is too large of a reward in comparison. The orb is worth roughly 1500+ gp if they were to find another seller. The harper network provides fast travel between points of interest. The warehouse would end up providing more gold, and the real estate alone would be worth a good amount. I'm now thinking about maybe just offering access to the Zhentarim smuggling and black market network, allowing them to get into places that are difficult to get into, and also a place to purchase rarer equipment and services.
Summary
Hope that wasn't too long, thanks for any input that you can give :)
It's rogue, not rouge. Rouge is a type of makeup.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
fixed
To be helpful, I agree with you that the warehouse is a substantially larger reward than the 1500ish gold pieces he'd get for selling it. But remember, you're balancing it off of what the Harpers are offering: "The leader offered access to the Harpers teleportation network in exchange for the orb".
With that said, I think it's hard to put a price on the Harper's teleportation network because its value depends on the campaign. How much need for it is there for the players? Will they be using it frequently? Will it let them further their ambitions? Do *you* think it's worth more than 1500 gold pieces? I would say yes, it is, mostly because something like that would be priceless to me if I had ambitions that spanned a large area.
Returning to balancing the Black Network's reward to the Harper's reward, I think your idea with the black markets is on par with a fleshed out teleportation network. "I'm now thinking about maybe just offering access to the Zhentarim smuggling and black market network, allowing them to get into places that are difficult to get into, and also a place to purchase rarer equipment and services." What's nice about this reward for you is that you can totally tailor it as time goes on. It's a living, breathing reward that you can use to aid the players when they really need it. Are they totally stuck on finding person Z? Turns out Shady Mike in the Black Network heard a rumor that... Or are they looking for a rare reagent needed for a powerful ritual? Magic Mike has what they need if they can get to him in Skullport. He might even import it to them to where they are for an extra fee.
It's a gift that can be customized and tailored by you, so you would set the terms on how powerful of a reward it would be.
That was actually very helpful. Thank you for helping me out. I think i'm going to go the smuggling network route, and adjust it as the need arises.