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I have a player who's character is a witch. He wants to buy apples to use as potions. I'm fine with this, its a twist and a good concept. But, I have no idea what to charge for the fruit. I was thinking of charging 2 gold pieces for a bushel. This would be about 4cp for one apple. Any thoughts? How about other fruits? I'm running them through the Kingmaker campaign, so the region is the River Kingdoms. Apples should be available, as would raspberries, blueberries, plums, and other northern fruits. But southern fruits would be hard to get.
Hmmm, a bushel = 4 pecks. That's a lot. :)
For those not into measuring in pecks, 1 peck = 2 gallons, so a bushel is 8 gallons (U.S. standards). So you're looking at ~42 pounds of apples, at roughly 3 average apples per pound, so that 146 apples. Ugly number that, so I would round it off to an even gross.
Ergo, a bushel of apples = a gross of apples = 144 apples. More or less.
So, how common are apples in your campaign?
If you're talking the Pacific Northwest (United States) then they're extremely common. More common than wheat or cheese. If you're talking other climates/regions, they're less common. I bet they're quite rare and costly in Norway.
But, if you're global ecology isn't quite so detailed, one fair comparison would be to compare them to cheese. I suggest cheese because it's actually in the price list in the rulebook. Looking at my local grocery store, cheese costs roughly double what apples cost, per pound.
Per RAW, 42 pounds of cheese costs 84 silver, so by that analysis, a bushel of apples should cost 42 silver.
More or less.
Adjust up or down for geographic availability and seasonal availability.
You could just roll it into the normal cost of making a potion. Brewing a potion of cure light wounds costs 50 gp, which includes the cost of the glass vial and the cork. Preparing an apple of cure light wounds costs 50 gp, which includes the cost of the apple.
I'd just hand-wave the cost. When you've reached the point of creating potions, where even the cheapest cost 12gp to create, a few sp for the apple is nothing.
If you're talking the Pacific Northwest (United States) then they're extremely common. More common than wheat or cheese. If you're talking other climates/regions, they're less common. I bet they're quite rare and costly in Norway.
Living in sweden on the same latitude as norway and less than 50 miles from the border, I can look out of my window now and see two apple trees heavy with fruit. If I go to the store, they're probably the cheapest fruit there is. We even have wild apples, though those are smaller, sourer and harder than commercial apples are.
Since this is a potion, I think handwaving the cost is the best idea. The apple is just one of the many ingredients it takes to brew the potion, and if you're not charging a regular potion maker a recycling fee for the glass vial (1 GP by the PFSRD rules), you shouldn't be charging the witch for the apple.
If the witch goes traveling to the southern lands where they don't have apples so readily available, let the southern witches tell her "Apples, dearie? How quaint. We use pomegranates here."
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If the witch goes traveling to the southern lands where they don't have apples so readily available, let the southern witches tell her "Apples, dearie? How quaint. We use pomegranates here."
I would have to say however. I would be DAMN impressed if someone could consume a pomegranate as a standard action!
The magic's always in the first bite.
I'd just hand-wave the cost. When you've reached the point of creating potions, where even the cheapest cost 12gp to create, a few sp for the apple is nothing.
Living in sweden on the same latitude as norway and less than 50 miles from the border, I can look out of my window now and see two apple trees heavy with fruit. If I go to the store, they're probably the cheapest fruit there is. We even have wild apples, though those are smaller, sourer and harder than commercial apples are.
If you're talking the Pacific Northwest (United States) then they're extremely common. More common than wheat or cheese. If you're talking other climates/regions, they're less common. I bet they're quite rare and costly in Norway.
Ah, well, then I would have lost that bet.