SYSTEM REFERENCE DOCUMENT 3.5

Sometimes the best solution for a problem is to hire someone else to take care of it.

Coach Cab: The price given is for a ride in a coach that transports people (and light cargo) between towns. For a ride in a cab that transports passengers within a city, 1 copper piece usually takes you anywhere you need to go.

Hireling, Trained: The amount given is the typical daily wage for mercenary warriors, masons, craftsmen, scribes, teamsters, and other trained hirelings. This value represents a minimum wage; many such hirelings require significantly higher pay.

Hireling, Untrained: The amount shown is the typical daily wage for laborers, porters, cooks, maids, and other menial workers.

Messenger: This entry includes horse-riding messengers and runners. Those willing to carry a message to a place they were going anyway may ask for only half the indicated amount.

Road or Gate Toll: A toll is sometimes charged to cross a well-trodden, well-kept, and well-guarded road to pay for patrols on it and for its upkeep. Occasionally, a large walled city charges a toll to enter or exit (or sometimes just to enter).

Ship’s Passage: Most ships do not specialize in passengers, but many have the capability to take a few along when transporting cargo. Double the given cost for creatures larger than Medium or creatures that are otherwise difficult to bring aboard a ship.

Spell: The indicated amount is how much it costs to get a spellcaster to cast a spell for you. This cost assumes that you can go to the spellcaster and have the spell cast at his or her convenience (generally at least 24 hours later, so that the spellcaster has time to prepare the spell in question). If you want to bring the spellcaster somewhere to cast a spell you need to negotiate with him or her, and the default answer is no.

The cost given is for a spell with no cost for a material component or focus component and no XP cost. If the spell includes a material component, add the cost of that component to the cost of the spell.

If the spell has a focus component (other than a divine focus), add 1/10 the cost of that focus to the cost of the spell. If the spell has an XP cost, add 5 gp per XP lost.

Furthermore, if a spell has dangerous consequences, the spellcaster will certainly require proof that you can and will pay for dealing with any such consequences (that is, assuming that the spellcaster even agrees to cast such a spell, which isn’t certain). In the case of spells that transport the caster and characters over a distance, you will likely have to pay for two castings of the spell, even if you aren’t returning with the caster.

In addition, not every town or village has a spellcaster of sufficient level to cast any spell. In general, you must travel to a small town (or larger settlement) to be reasonably assured of finding a spellcaster capable of casting 1st-level spells, a large town for 2nd-level spells, a small city for 3rd- or 4th-level spells, a large city for 5th- or 6th-level spells, and a metropolis for 7th- or 8th-level spells. Even a metropolis isn’t guaranteed to have a local spellcaster able to cast 9th-level spells.

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