|
So...what exactly do the Sczarni smuggle in Sandpoint? Alchohol is plentiful and legal, slavery isn't a problem, there's no mention of drug dens, the local house of leisure is progressive and protected by the sheriff and burglary seems relatively low.
I'm not sure what shady commodity is so lucrative that a criminal organization would focus operations in Sandpoint. What the heck are they selling?
|
Even if alcohol is plentiful and legal, that doesn't rule out smuggling. Perhaps there are taxes that the smugglers avoid, ensuring they can undercut legitimate sellers. Or maybe there are specific varieties that are illegal for some reason, in the way that absinthe was in many countries for much of the 20th century.
paz
So...what exactly do the Sczarni smuggle in Sandpoint? Alchohol is plentiful and legal, slavery isn't a problem, there's no mention of drug dens, the local house of leisure is progressive and protected by the sheriff and burglary seems relatively low.
I'm not sure what shady commodity is so lucrative that a criminal organization would focus operations in Sandpoint. What the heck are they selling?
Tax evasion. Also, four nobles families control every thing in Sandpoint. If you are not one of then, you have to found a way around.
|
|
Tax evasion is a subtle criminal enterprise, especially in D&D where thieves guilds tend to smuggle exotic spices, beautiful maidens and gold dipped heads, or something.
I like it though. Since the Sczarni and the town's poor (generally) are Varisian maybe there's some sort of commodity on which they have a cultural argument against paying taxes. Taxing hereditary nomads on land is bad enough: I wonder what Varisians would hate to pay taxes on enough to buy illegally?
Frankly, it sounds more like Sandpoint is a mid-way point - basically, a warehousing point along a transportation network from point of supply to final point of destination.
And of course, wabbits could be a rare thing in Varisia ... what with the kaiju and killer vorpal variants about ...
Or aphrodisiac properties, like real-world tiger and rhinocerous parts are supposed to have ?
I like owlbears ... too bad they've never done 'em in the D&D minis ... *sniffs*
This is indeed a dilemma, well.. For me anyway. So one take could be a smuggling of monster organs?? Perhaps... I need something more concrete and unfortunately nothing comes to mind.. There is the "contraband substances seller" so that's one angle, however, there needs to be activities where things could be a bit a more lucrative.. Unless, the Scarnzi have access to goods from pirating the sea lanes all up and down the coast (pirates probably avoid Magnimar as I assume that the city has its own naval forces).. Pirating looks like an angle to shoot for.
To further expound on this lemme take a look at a map in the Player's Guide. We're pretty certain that Riddleport has a pirate element.. So what if the Scarzni are a go-between with the pirates of Riddleport and the people in demand of their goods in Magnimar and the 3 towns to the west, Galduria, Nybor, and Wartle?
(Oops- maybe 4 towns- I forgot about Wolf's Ear.. Located where the Lampblack River runs into Ember Lake)
Sound plausible?
Or maybe banditry as well, the Scarzni could certainly resort to a highwaymen like mentality, they would know possible ambush points all along the Long Coast Road as it winds its west towards Ember Lake.
|
|
Aha! Once I reread a certain Sczarni rogue's entry in Burnt Offerings I have my questions answered. Reading's good.
They're thugs: grave robbers, highwaymen, scam artists and murderers. They just roll people, steal their crap and stick it in a hole until the heat's off. They must ship off the items that are too recognizable or suspicious in quantity to sell locally. Hooligans!
To add further paprika to the porridge, the building with the clearest - and perhaps only - view of the smuggler's cave entrance is Deverin Manor! I wonder what those doe eyed Deverins must think when they see laden figures skulking about the sandy shores below. Probably, "I better get me a cut of that". Even little Tippy Deverin is thinking it.
Don't let Kendra's Julie Andrews innocence fool you. Pure evil, that woman.
Don't let Kendra's Julie Andrews innocence fool you. Pure evil, that woman.
That would make for one helluva and potentially hazardous story arc. In fact, I rather like it.
I would think the Sczarni are the main source for bypassing the 800gp maximum. I also pegged Sandpoint as both a great smuggling mid-point to 1) ship elsewhere and 2) for clandestine trades in the city. Now with the recent goblin upswing, I'd certainly envision them disguising attacks with goblin evidence. I don't think they'd wear or use goblin gear per se, just that they'd stick an arrow in the back of some poor buggers after they've already been killed.
I also pictured the Mayor having two sides as any politician would. She may be good, but to survive, she has to at least "look the other way" under some circumstances.
I think the main dynamic behind the Sczarni is that they are the Varisian criminal undergraound who operate in an area that is 70% Chelaxian by birth, with 100% Chelaxian nobility and nearly 100% of the businesses being Chelaxian.
They probably avoid messing with fellow Varisians too much, unless they "get in the way".
So they spend their time trying to "blend in" while skimming off of the Chelaxians and Chelaxian owned businesses. There's only two dozen of them in the town according to the description for Fat Man's feedbag. So they don't need to steal that much to live well. Unlike PCs, they don't have to support a serious magic item habit. Better profit margins and lower captial improvement costs! Sorry, I've got a degree in finance ;)
Selk: I'm pretty sure you can't see the smuggler's cave from the mayor's house, or anywhere else in town. The smugglers tunnel winds a "lazy" 1,750 feet northeast of the glassworks before you hit the secret door and the cave. My calculations put the cave just off the upper right edge of the map, outside of town. Makes more sense for smugglers.
Dark Art: So I doubt the NG mayor is on the take. But it's possible you could use the smugglers to get stuff that was over the 800 gp limit. But you'd have to be desperate, because Magnimar isn't that far and the smugglers would probably over-charge by as much as 100%.
The smugglers probably smuggle raw materials and finished goods stolen from the Lumber Mill, Grain Mill, Shipyard and Glassworks. Plus stolen goods that could be easily identified. They can take it and sell it in Magnimar.
Better profit margins and lower captial improvement costs! Sorry, I've got a degree in finance ;)
Hey no worries, your insights can help us (who are financially retarded) run games that seem more plausible from an economic standpoint anyway : ) Thanks for the input. Wow that was crap for grammar, run on sentences and what not.. Oh well.
Hey no worries, your insights can help us (who are financially retarded) run games that seem more plausible from an economic standpoint anyway : ) Thanks for the input. Wow that was crap for grammar, run on sentences and what not.. Oh well.
I promise I won't tell my wife the Lit major.
|
|
Selk: I'm pretty sure you can't see the smuggler's cave from the mayor's house, or anywhere else in town. The smugglers tunnel winds a "lazy" 1,750 feet northeast of the glassworks before you hit the secret door and the cave. My calculations put the cave just off the upper right edge of the map, outside of town. Makes more sense for smugglers.
Huh. I thought it winds 1,750 feet northeast to the glassworks, putting the entrance at the southwest cliffs. Well, there goes that conspiracy theory. Thank Densa I have more. Did you know that there's a halfling at the Pixie's Kitten that can...
Did you know that there's a halfling at the Pixie's Kitten that can...
OOO, do tell!
Lumber and grain are unlikely candidates for smuggling.
Lumber is bulky and hard to move through smugglers' tunnels--if you were going to smuggle lumber, it would be because you were cutting timber illegally somewhere (say the King's forest) and are trying to avoid getting caught. Your smuggling route would probably avoid a place like Sandpoint, which has a concentration of local authorities--you'd find a river that empties into an unused cove up the coast somewhere. Then you float timber from the King's Forest (or for this area some forest that some bigwig in Magnimar owns the rights to), collect it at the cove and put it onboard a vessel for transport to Riddleport or Korvosa, since you'll be questioned if you try to offload it in Magnimar and you'll eat up your profits with ground transport costs if you offload it in a smuggler's cove ten miles away. No railroads or semitrucks means water transport is the only efficient way to move lumber for any distance.
Grain is generally one of the cheapest commodities. Unless there is a grain shortage coupled with a high tax on imported grain, your profit will be non-existent by the time you pay the labor costs to move it from "smuggler's cove" through the tunnels and into the market place.
While illicit goods are profitable to smuggle, any high value low bulk good that has a significant customs tax is worth smuggling in to town. Almost any luxury goods will do: perfume, silk, wine or liquor (but probably not beer, and only if local distilleries are taxed less than importers), magic items, spices, etc.
Another common good to be smuggled is salt. Before 1800 it was relatively expensive per unit of weight, and most people couldn't make their own, but needed it to preserve meat and other foods (before refrigeration) so it was one of the few widely purchased consumer goods. It is fairly easy to control sources of production, since only certain coastal areas and inland saline aquifers or deposits are suitable sites of production, thus it is easy to tax. But if the government raises taxes enough, people find ways to smuggle it and sell it for a tidy profit while undercutting the government price or evading the tax collection points. This happened in China, British India, and ancien regime France, and probably other places as well.
Also, while liquor is plentiful, maybe there is some stronger drug that is proscribed as a danger to society. Something like opium or hashish, perhaps. It may only be consumed by a fraction of the population (say 10-20%) but still be profitable.
Weapons might be another commonly smuggled good--but probably only under certain conditions. The weapons would need to be something the buyers can't make for themselves but can afford to buy, and the customers would have to be a threat to those who control the port, so that they can't obtain them legally. The goblins seem to be the main local threat, but they make their own weapons from Sandpoints rubbish, so weapon smuggling probably isn't very widespread.
Smuggling goods out of town is probably unnecessary, since few governments levy export taxes. The only reason to have export taxes would be if a good is scarce and you want to discourage its export without driving up the domestic price. So outbound smuggling would only exist for stolen or illegal goods, not as a form of tax evasion.
Lumber and grain are unlikely candidates for smuggling.
Maybe the Glass factory is only a facade. They have use the magma ovens to mold metal weapons, arrows points, alchemical fire vial and the like... It is illegal since the main client is a Shoanti barbarian clan (thru an agent in Riddelport) that plans to unite the various tribes under its ruler ship and then claim Varisia as his kingdom (à la Charlemagne).
I like owlbears ... too bad they've never done 'em in the D&D minis ... *sniffs*They have!
Bastiches ... and I bet they are no longer available ...
|
Bastiches ... and I bet they are no longer available ...I like owlbears ... too bad they've never done 'em in the D&D minis ... *sniffs*They have!
There is a second one "Owlbear Rager" in Blood War expansion as well. that one admittingly looks more like a Scooby-Doo owl-ghost villain to me than what I picture an Owlbear to look like, but its there.
There is a second one "Owlbear Rager" in Blood War expansion as well. that one admittingly looks more like a Scooby-Doo owl-ghost villain to me than what I picture an Owlbear to look like, but its there.Bastiches ... and I bet they are no longer available ...I like owlbears ... too bad they've never done 'em in the D&D minis ... *sniffs*They have!
I bought a handful of those boosters, not one stinkin' semi-owlbear in the batch. Some interesting minis to be sure (large chaos beast I think was my favorite acquisition), but no owlbears.
Back on topic, Riddleport is/has been described as being a pirate haven and Sandpoint, conveniently enough, lies between Riddleport and Magnimar. It is conceivable that pirates from Riddleport raid sea-going merchant ships en route to Magnimar and employ the Sczarni as fences. The Sczarni then smuggle the stolen goods into Magnimar, via Sandpoint, and resell the goods on the black market for a substantial mark up.
From the background materials included in RoRL #1, it seems that the city-states of Korvosa and Magnimar are not on friendly terms, so Sandpoint could also work as a stagging ground for getting goods from Korvosa into Magnimar (or vice versa) while avoiding duties/taxes or import/export restrictions (such as items from the Golemworks in Magnimar.)
|
There are all kinds of things for smugglers to do in Sandpoint. While it is probably a mid-point for smuggling to a larger city, I am sure some of the product is bought and sold in Sandpoint.
They have alcohol, ladies of negotiable affection, and just about anything you might want legally (btw are all those ladies of negotiable affection local, or were a few smuggled into Sandpoint from somewhere else). Unless you are into buying exotic dwarven crafted weapons, or elven spell supplies. There might be a decent market for orcish whiskey.
Now they also have a fairly thriving market. But they seem to have only two industries, logging and ship building. Elven oak goods are probably illegal if not taxed heavily, and ship supplies from other lands are also probably frowned upon. I expect there is a thriving farming community around Sandpoint as well, so veggies and such are probably a protected item, resulting in high taxes or fines for importing other foods. I saw only one general goods store (yes more can surely exist that are not mentioned- but what if they don't). So, what if that general store charges just a tad bit more than usual since it is the only one. People are going to want their supplies anyway, and will pay under the table to get them cheaper and when they need them.
Just like in the U.S., you can buy movies and books and dvds all you want, but that doesn't mean there is not a thriving smuggling operation bringing in cheap chinese knockoffs illegally.
Now, we can also turn it around, and Sandpoint is the source of the smuggling, exporting cheap wood crafts as elven "masterwork" goods. They might make cheap fast ships or parts that they sell to other countries that have limited access to lumber. Their farms might be so good that they export their extra supply to other cities illegally to get around high taxes. Their blacksmith might make "dwarven masterwork" axes or something else that is sold elsewhere.
So, in essence, Sandpoint looks like a hotbed of smuggling and all sorts of illegal activity.
Lumber and grain are unlikely candidates for smuggling.
Yeah, I see your point there. Smuggling bags of flour is a bit silly, unless some sort of famine is going on somewhere. But crooks will scoop up anthing that isn't nailed down and try to sell it. Like copper from live power cables (ouch).
Really, the poplulation of potential smugglers (the "nearly two dozen" Sczarni in town)isn't that big to begin with. So they don't need a huge volume of products to move, since they engage in all sorts of other opportunistic crimes.
(Even grave robbing! Seriously, for what? Necromantic spell components? Who in their right mind is going to bury cool grave goods in a world crawling with ADVENTURERS? Unless you can bind a CR 15+ Outsider to guard it, you're just fooling yourself.)
Also, some of the motivation for building the tunnels was to spring folks out of jail. And these guys aren't master tunnelers, since their route towards the river collapsed.
And finally, if they were using the tunnels that much, you'd think they would have maybe noticed the goblins living there?
Now they also have a fairly thriving market. But they seem to have only two industries, logging and ship building...I saw only one general goods store
Well, until Tsuto and his goblins get crazy, they also have the glassmaking industry. And they'll burn a corpse beyond recognition for you in a pinch, which is nice of them, really.
Although there is only the one general store, there are a number of other merchants, so I don't think the general store can get away with overly high prices.
There's a butcher, a baker, a fishmarket, and a "grocer's hall" that also sells farming supplies, etc. There's a weekly farmer's market and out of town merchants from the cities also show up once a week. There's also a book store, a map store, a few potion makers, a cloting store, multiple blacksmiths and weapons makers, a "boutique" that sells all sorts of stuff and a "store" owned by an eccnetric retired adventuring wizard.
One of the potion makers does poisons. If the locals can find the raw materials for a very deadly one, it would be worth smuggling to the nasties in the big city.
|
|
Thanks. Obviously my post wasn't perfect :) I forgot the Glassmaker. And while there would not likely be a market for flour :) there may be an exotic (to someone else) herb or something that grows locally that is much sought after. Chocolate when exported by french and spanish conquerors was much sought after in Europe, so was coffee and tobacco. But for the natives it was mundane. Perhaps the region around Sandpoint is known for an exotic herb, spice or treat like that.
Basically, there is plenty of opportunity for some smuggling operations.
And yeah, they are probably not very active, nor very many of them, but active enough and with enough support that it is worth noting.
The Glass works and the theater come immediately to mind for places that would be great supporters of smuggling.
In essence what we know is that there is a smuggling enterprise going on. Until we learn more about that, which I am not sure it will feature in future installments, then it is up to us as good DMs to figure out what, in our version of Sandpoint, is really going on. Which could be quite fun actually. The more I think about it, Sandpoint looses its nice shiny luster of goodness and wholesomeness, and looks more like a double dealing, backstabbing kind of place coated in a shiny veneer of innocence.
The bastards! We need to get some smiting going on here!
:)
hmm; the only thing worth buying and selling is souls; yes souls; why do you think they burned the church; it is the constant battle of good vs evil and souls are the bartered exhange; everything else is immaterial and dross. Well, at least that is this Efreeti's viewpoint because there doesnt seem to be any manufacturing; no plantations of things like tobacco, grapes or any other cash crop; beer is not transported because it is to easy make; no mention of a distillery ie manufacturing; the only thing here is people and their agendas...well, so far anyhow. Surely you dont think they are smuggling fish :)
|
|
I bought a handful of those boosters, not one stinkin' semi-owlbear in the batch. Some interesting minis to be sure (large chaos beast I think was my favorite acquisition), but no owlbears.(off-topic)
Turin,
That is all.
:)
-cos
Or, for a cheaper Owlbear Fix Auggie's the Best
(/off-topic)
I was looking over things, and I noticed that it says that the smugglers tunnels are decades old, and were bricked up 34 years ago by Lonjiku's more virtuous father. But Lonjiku is currently involved with the Sczarni, because that's how Tsuto blackmailed him. (I wonder how Tsuto found out?)
But, yeah, they don't really go into a lot of detail about what current schemes run through the tunnels.
It's all up in the air, though, because if the PCs rescue Ameiko, she inherits it all. She's unlikely to allow any shady business to continue. But that's the topic of another thread...
Avoiding the profit sharing would probably be a good motivation for smuggling out of Sandpoint. And it states that the glassworks are the most profitable business in town. So if they could move some of their most valuable products on the sly, the Kaijistus would stand to make a lot of extra money.