You have some money, and it is burning a hole in your pocket! What might you spend it on now that you are in this bustling town with its vibrant market?
These ideas are adapted from the general lists in the core books. Larger amounts are enough to buy magic items and spell components, so some of those are included. They give descriptions of the kind of things available in the markets of towns and cities in addition to listing costs, thereby adding some flavor to the “everyday” items characters might be after.
Ready Reckoner – 1-2 cp gets you:
A “Thank you!” from a street bard as you tip them; a worked branch stout enough to be a walking stick but would break if used to strike something; five to 10 new sling bullets, or perhaps 20 that have been rejected for being poor quality; enough rush to make a basket; an old, small, dented bucket, or a slightly better one with a hole in it somewhere above halfway; a flask; a tankard; an ink pen; a jug or pitcher; one bent piton; a 2-foot pole, useable as a splint; a handful of nuts, enough for a snack; a sack or two; a bar of soap, or two mostly-used bars; a new whetstone, or two that have been used previously.
Ready Reckoner – 10 cp gets you:
Two darts; 50 sling bullets; one large or two standard buckets; ten candles; a box of chalk pieces; five flasks or pitchers; two new or three used pitons; two 10-foot or three six-foot poles; ten medium or five large sacks; two whistles; enough bars of soap for a party of five; enough tankards for a party of five; a dozen torches if bought together; enough quartz to make ten whetstones; a set of fair dice.
Ready Reckoner – 10 sp gets you:
A dozen clubs or half-a-dozen great clubs if bought at the same time; two new or three used javelins; five quarterstaffs; enough material for ten slings; a score or arrows or crossbow bolts; a large bag of ball bearings; two or three baskets depending on size; a bedroll or a couple of blankets; 20 standard or 12 large caltrops; two average sets of clothes or some good-quality robes; a good set of fishing tackle; a couple of lamps; cooking utensils or five mess kits; ten sheets of parchment or a scroll case to keep them in; ten new or 13 used iron spikes.
Ready Reckoner – 10 gp gets you:
Two new or three well-used hand axes; a flail or a shortsword; half-a-dozen barrels if taken away at the same time; a couple of sturdy chests; 20 feet of robust chain; enough crowbars or grappling hooks for a party of five; a bullseye lantern; six days of rations and a couple of iron pots in which to cook them; two or three portable rams depending on their weight; two matching signet rings; 50 feet of silk rope or 500 feet of hemp rope; a drum and two flutes; a set of carpentry and woodcarving tools plus wood; a cow; a donkey and feed for three weeks.
Ready Reckoner 100 gp/10 pp gets you:
Equipped with a greatsword, a rapier, a warhammer and a blowgun; enough halberds for a party of five; some alchemist’s fire and a couple of vials of acid; four flasks of holy water; a couple of potions of healing or a vial of poison; a spellbook and five journals; enough kit for a party of four to go mountain climbing; two lutes and a lyre to form a string trio; enough tools for a tinker, a glassblower and two potters to set up shop together; a couple of camels or draft horses; enough saddles for five cavalry riders; two wagons and two carts; a couple of rowboats; six or seven oxen, depending on their quality; enough food and fine wine for a party of five to enjoy a banquet.
Ready Reckoner – 1,000 gp/100 pp gets you:
Heavy weapons and 2,000 bolts for 18 crossbow archers; five elephants; horses, chariots, equipment and weapons for three charioteers; a warhorse, chainmail barding, exotic saddle, twenty lances and other equipment for a joust; a tenth share in a sailing ship; lodge and eat like an aristocrat for almost six months; food for a wedding banquet for 100 guests; barracks for five high-level officers in a wealthy inn for ten days; fees to have a party of five travel 2,000 miles by ship; employ a skilled hireling and their four unskilled apprentices for about a year; cover a 15-by-60-feet throne room wall in silk; the best possible spyglass; four vials of antitoxin each for a party of five; ring mail, shields and battle axes for a score of guards; fill a small four-shelf bookcase with ten books per shelf.
Ready Reckoner – 10,000 gp/1,000 pp gets you:
A longboat or a sailing ship; enough poison to debilitate a town; spyglasses for 10 generals or admirals; 200 flasks of alchemist’s fire, sufficient to try and take out an enemy fleet of up to 40 ships; funds for an aristocrat and two wealthy companions with a retinue of 10 staff to live, eat and drink in appropriate conditions, that is at least comfortable, for almost six months; funds to hire a skilled artisan and five apprentices for each of the 17 main artisanal crafts, to equip all of them and provide sufficient working materials, and to house and feed them modestly for three-to-four months; 25 warhorses suitable for a regent’s cavalry guard corps; six suits of plate mail and plenty of spare parts; equipment comprising a suit of chain mail, a greataxe, a mace, a shortsword and a battle field healer’s kit for 80 soldiers; a jeweled platinum ring and a platinum bracelet set with a sapphire; to build a trading post, stocking it, and maintaining it for a year; helping to establish a temple to your deity by covering 20% of the building costs; enough gold-embroidered silk to make 40 robes; a matching pair of perfect, translucent deep crimson rubies; payment to have a couple of rare magic items made for you.
Ready Reckoner – 100,000 gp/10,000 pp gets you:
A staff of thunder and lightning and 10 wands of lightning bolts for a squad of battle mages; three galleys equipped with a battering ram and extra protection on their sides; an abbey attached to a small castle; a ceremonial gold cup set with emeralds for you and each of your dozen governmental ministers; a very rare sword granting you the best possible chance to hit a creature, and a very rare shield ensuring the best additional chance to defend yourself against a foe; matching rings of regeneration for you and your closest loved one; the least-effective special components required for enough imprisonment spells intended to catch eight pit fiends; enough jacinths and silver bars for you and eight allies to project your astral bodies into the Astral Plane ten times; enough diamonds and storage vessels for a regent to clone their most trusted 30 or so elite guards; enough material components to provide magical symbols to protect 100 rooms in a ruler’s palace, so long as you do not miscast any of the spells; enough funds for a three-minute audience with an archdevil or demon lord; a hoard large enough to keep a young adult dragon ally happy; enough funds to make and repair 20-to-35 simulacra to act as guardians, depending on their strength; enough powdered gems to sequester away 20 items; enough metal to make 400 tuning forks suitable for plane shift spells (having the forks fashioned and tuned requires more funds).
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