My group of level 2s just finished clearing a dungeon and we got about 4K in gold and items but also found a statue in the dungeon worth 4K gold but it wieghs 800 lbs. Given that the completion of the dungeon took us from start of level 2 to nearly finishing it and the average loot amounts it would seem the statue is suppose to be part of our reward so our character's wealth is at the correct level.
The problem is we did not really have any way to haul it back to town. We ended up leaving it behind while we walked back with the rest of our stuff, which was thousands of coins and thus hundreds of pounds. Some of the party want to go back to retrieve it but we still lack the means to carry it.
Telser's Floating Disk was suggested but it only carries 100 lbs per level. The book has pricing guides on the services of mages so we would need to find a level 8 mage willing to transverse the wilderness and retrieve it with us. This was suggested near the end of the session but the GM seemed to indicate we would have trouble finding a level 8 mage willing to do it in the town as the session wrapped up.
So given that I'm looking for less magically means of hauling it back. We planned on buying horses so I figure we could potentially use them. The problem however is there is nothing to put the statue on while they pull it. The wieght limit on wagons, carts, and etc is all less than 800 lb. I don't have the book with me now but 600 lbs was the highest I remember seeing.
So my question is what options do we have for retrieving the statue and bringing it back to town?
I love these sort of things that greed overrides common sense.
If they find a level 8+ mage, then more issues occur:
The level 8 mage may charge a huge sum of gold for his service: 1. cost for spell cast each time 2. cost to travel to and back If the distance from statue site to town is a long distance, wizard might need to cast the tenser spell a few times...gets real expensive per spell cast.
If the party decides to melt it, how? Gold may be a soft metal but it takes more than a bonfire to melt the thing to liquid form.
If they manage to melt it into several pieces of lesser weight, what will they melt it in to make them smaller pieces?
They should be happy what they got and cut their losses on the statue.
How strong are your characters? Reading the SRD on lifting/carrying it would seem to me that a STR 14 human should be able to drag an 800 lb statue. It may not be fast but it should be doable. If multiple character do the pulling it should defintely be possible even with lower STR characters.
I also believe you are misreading the chart where it talks about Transports. The weights you see are the weight of the actual cart/wagon/carrage/ect. and NOT a limit on what they can carry. Now you'd add those weights to the total load that it pulled but when they have wheels they should make the overall load easier to pull. Generally, it should be assumed that you can load a wagon with as much stuff as the beasts up burden can pull. Your 800 pound statue should be no problem to pull in a cart anlthoughloading/lifting it could be a challenge.
The simplest solution may be the best here. Use a block and tackle to get it into a wagon, then take the wagon to market. Alternatively grab some rods (logs are the cheapest) and roll the statue over them.
This is in addition to StevenO's observations, which are right on point.
Finally, if the value of the statue is in its material instead of in its construction (i.e. is it 800lbs of saleable metal, or is it worth 4k because it's the work of a lost civilization?), you can just melt it down on the spot, although this would be difficult if it's made out of really tough metal.
These are NOT all my creations! The lead authors are identified as follows: [TS] Tempest Stormwind, [AR] Andarious Rosethorn, [RT] Radical Taoist, [SN] Sionnis, [DH] DisposableHero_, [SH] Seishi.
[TS] The Pinball Brothers: Large And In Charge (Melee, Lockdown, Charge, Juggling) [TS] Ashardalon Reborn: I Will Swallow Your Soul (Melee, Fear, Negative Levels, AoE, Theme) [AR] "A"-Game Paladin: Play That Funky Music, Knight Boy! (Team Support, Melee, Theme, Single-Class) [RT] Uncanny Trapsmith: Get in, make it look like an accident, get out. (Skillmonkey, Stealth/Scout/Infiltration, Unorthodox Methods, Theme) [AR] Wizsassin: *Everything* is permitted. (Spellcaster, Support, Sneak Attack, Utility) [TS] Phantom Rush: General Gish Gouda. (Gish, Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Early-Entry PrC) [TS] Storm Knight: Another kind of gish. (Melee/"Gish", Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Unorthodox Methods) [TS] Inevitable Nightmare: The weapon you only have to fire once. (Melee, "Unorthodox" Methods (no charging), Reliability) [AR] Captain Constitution: The number one threat to America. (Melee, TOUGHTOUGHTOUGH, Defense, Theme) [AR] Nuker: I casts the spells that makes the peoples fall down! (Spellcaster, damage, blasting, damage) [TS] Dread Lord of the Dead: Let the Reaping Begin! (NPC-only, Variable (combat/casting/leadership), Iconic Villain, Theme) [AR] Heavy Crusader: No Rest. No Mercy. No Matter What. (Melee, Damage (No charging), Variable, Theme). [TS] Gun Fu: It's bullet time (Ranged, THEORETICAL, Twin weapons, Theme) [RT] Face First: We should talk. (Psionic, social, mind-control, info-management) [SN] Chaingun Porcupine: Never Enuff Dakka. (Ranged, Skirmishing, Spike Damage, Incarnum) [RT] Always On Edge: The Mortal Draw deals death. (Melee, Generalist, Dungeoneering, Stunt) [AR] Feral Druid: Real feral taste. Zero druid calories. (Melee, offense, damage, murder) [RT] Rusty!: Man's Best Friend (Sentry, Support, Backup, Rearguard) [RT] The T3 (Tashalatora Triple Threat): My Kung Fu is More Powerful (Hybrid, Flex-Function, Melee, Caster) [RT] The #1 Snoipah: Boom. 'Eadshot. (Caster, Theme, Spike, Trapscout) [AR] Dreamblade: Rest in Pieces. (Melee, Damage, Single-Class, Combo/Momentum) [AR] Evasion Tank: “When fighting angry blind men, is best to stay out of the way.” (Melee, Tank, Unorthodox Methods (attack negation), Theme) [DH] Psycarnum Warrior: ↑↑↓↓←→←→BA Start (Melee, Tank, Psionics, Incarnum, 1337 h4x) [AR] Heavy Weapons Elf: WHO TOUCHED MY BOW? (Ranged, Cohort, Damage, Unorthodox Methods (ranged ToB)) [RT] Gnowhere Gnome: A little man who wasn't there (Caster, Stealth, Single-Class, Elusive) [AR] Uberflank: I got your back. (Melee, support, stunt, teamwork) [TS] Flip the Bird: Everyday I'm shuffling (Ranged, harrier, unorthodox methods (ranged ToB / off-turn movement), support) [DH] Eat Sleep Gank: Real Ultimate Power (Stealth, Assassination, Spike, Magic Versatility) [AR] Slash and Burn: Mind, Body, Blade, Flame / Aspects of a greater whole / which delivers death. (Melee, Theme (flex-style), Damage, Stunt) [RT] Edge of the Light: Cut, Fade to Black (Melee, Defense/Offense, Momentum, Tactical) [RT] Quiet Murder: Cut throats, not corners. (Melee, Stealth, Harrier, Tactical) [TS] Wand Overdrive: Say Hello to my little friends. (Caster, support/artillery/variable, wand specialist) [RT] God Hand: What did the five fingers say to the face? (Melee/Gish, Unarmed, SAD, Theme) [AR] Zero Buff Time Gish: Try to keep up! (Gish, Speed, Movement, Opportunity) [TS] Robo Tackle: I Am Iron Man. (Melee, setting-specific (Eberron), positioning, theme, stunt)
Alternately, you could hire a bunch of really stoned college students to prove that logs, block & tackles can be used to build pyramids and erect statues on Easter island, 800 miles from the quarry...
If your campaign has psionics, and it seems that doing the dragging and/or carry-by-wagon is too much of a hassle, then Skate is an option. Of course, this involves a third party which might steal the statue. Also, the duration of Skate is short.
If your campaign has psionics, and it seems that doing the dragging and/or carry-by-wagon is too much of a hassle, then Skate is an option. Of course, this involves a third party which might steal the statue. Also, the duration of Skate is short.
Skate is worse for this purpose than Tenser's because the power has the same weight limit and they're not high level enough to do it themselves.
These are NOT all my creations! The lead authors are identified as follows: [TS] Tempest Stormwind, [AR] Andarious Rosethorn, [RT] Radical Taoist, [SN] Sionnis, [DH] DisposableHero_, [SH] Seishi.
[TS] The Pinball Brothers: Large And In Charge (Melee, Lockdown, Charge, Juggling) [TS] Ashardalon Reborn: I Will Swallow Your Soul (Melee, Fear, Negative Levels, AoE, Theme) [AR] "A"-Game Paladin: Play That Funky Music, Knight Boy! (Team Support, Melee, Theme, Single-Class) [RT] Uncanny Trapsmith: Get in, make it look like an accident, get out. (Skillmonkey, Stealth/Scout/Infiltration, Unorthodox Methods, Theme) [AR] Wizsassin: *Everything* is permitted. (Spellcaster, Support, Sneak Attack, Utility) [TS] Phantom Rush: General Gish Gouda. (Gish, Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Early-Entry PrC) [TS] Storm Knight: Another kind of gish. (Melee/"Gish", Theme, Setting-Specific(Eberron), Unorthodox Methods) [TS] Inevitable Nightmare: The weapon you only have to fire once. (Melee, "Unorthodox" Methods (no charging), Reliability) [AR] Captain Constitution: The number one threat to America. (Melee, TOUGHTOUGHTOUGH, Defense, Theme) [AR] Nuker: I casts the spells that makes the peoples fall down! (Spellcaster, damage, blasting, damage) [TS] Dread Lord of the Dead: Let the Reaping Begin! (NPC-only, Variable (combat/casting/leadership), Iconic Villain, Theme) [AR] Heavy Crusader: No Rest. No Mercy. No Matter What. (Melee, Damage (No charging), Variable, Theme). [TS] Gun Fu: It's bullet time (Ranged, THEORETICAL, Twin weapons, Theme) [RT] Face First: We should talk. (Psionic, social, mind-control, info-management) [SN] Chaingun Porcupine: Never Enuff Dakka. (Ranged, Skirmishing, Spike Damage, Incarnum) [RT] Always On Edge: The Mortal Draw deals death. (Melee, Generalist, Dungeoneering, Stunt) [AR] Feral Druid: Real feral taste. Zero druid calories. (Melee, offense, damage, murder) [RT] Rusty!: Man's Best Friend (Sentry, Support, Backup, Rearguard) [RT] The T3 (Tashalatora Triple Threat): My Kung Fu is More Powerful (Hybrid, Flex-Function, Melee, Caster) [RT] The #1 Snoipah: Boom. 'Eadshot. (Caster, Theme, Spike, Trapscout) [AR] Dreamblade: Rest in Pieces. (Melee, Damage, Single-Class, Combo/Momentum) [AR] Evasion Tank: “When fighting angry blind men, is best to stay out of the way.” (Melee, Tank, Unorthodox Methods (attack negation), Theme) [DH] Psycarnum Warrior: ↑↑↓↓←→←→BA Start (Melee, Tank, Psionics, Incarnum, 1337 h4x) [AR] Heavy Weapons Elf: WHO TOUCHED MY BOW? (Ranged, Cohort, Damage, Unorthodox Methods (ranged ToB)) [RT] Gnowhere Gnome: A little man who wasn't there (Caster, Stealth, Single-Class, Elusive) [AR] Uberflank: I got your back. (Melee, support, stunt, teamwork) [TS] Flip the Bird: Everyday I'm shuffling (Ranged, harrier, unorthodox methods (ranged ToB / off-turn movement), support) [DH] Eat Sleep Gank: Real Ultimate Power (Stealth, Assassination, Spike, Magic Versatility) [AR] Slash and Burn: Mind, Body, Blade, Flame / Aspects of a greater whole / which delivers death. (Melee, Theme (flex-style), Damage, Stunt) [RT] Edge of the Light: Cut, Fade to Black (Melee, Defense/Offense, Momentum, Tactical) [RT] Quiet Murder: Cut throats, not corners. (Melee, Stealth, Harrier, Tactical) [TS] Wand Overdrive: Say Hello to my little friends. (Caster, support/artillery/variable, wand specialist) [RT] God Hand: What did the five fingers say to the face? (Melee/Gish, Unarmed, SAD, Theme) [AR] Zero Buff Time Gish: Try to keep up! (Gish, Speed, Movement, Opportunity) [TS] Robo Tackle: I Am Iron Man. (Melee, setting-specific (Eberron), positioning, theme, stunt)
New idea, see if you can 'rent' a type III bag of holding or a portable hole!
Although it may seem like a lot 800 lbs. isn't all that much weight to move and if you consider what ancient Humans could do it should be really easy to in a fantasy setting.
1. Walk back to town with all of this loot. 2. Store it with some "trusting" person. 3. Buy a wagon, maybe some hired hands, and go back. 4. Meanwhile, hostile mobs may have returned from patrol or wandering mobs may have moved in. 5. Trusting person watching the characters' wealth decides to skip town with the wealth after the players leave town with wagon. 6. If the party did not heal up from battle wounds after leaving the dungeon, they may encounter some ambushing mobs while the unsuspecting wounded PCs busy themselves with the statue. 7. Manage to get statue on to wagon if survived the ambush. 8. Return back to town. 9. Need to find who will buy an 800 lb statue. 10. It is an oddity. 11. May need to pay someone to melt it down to ingots to sale.
Greedy players, greedy townfolk. Gold is indeed a hard mistress to keep.
Use the sunder rules to smash it into manageable bits. Sure you destroyed the artistic value, but the raw gold material has to be worth something.
Or just push it onto a sled, and drag the sled back to town as a team.
5e comments and thoughts all in one place. Check it out to provide feedback, mock, or steal ideas. http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/28835423/Krusks_5e_Design_Goals?sdb=1
