I've got a love for trophy collecting in games, and would like to run a taxidermist, and as much as I've read into the craft skill, I need some benchmarks to use for it.
I figure that 'Simple Item' would grab up fang necklaces and the like, 'Typical Item' would be things like mounting a kill's head. 'High-quality items' would be full body mountings, since they aren't as simple as just mounting a head, leaving 'Complex or Superior Items' as action poses or positions that aren't common, possibly even encompassing making a trophy from other sources, such as using a bear and giant owl to make an owlbear trophy.
All that is good and makes sense, my problem is how do you price these things? It's not like you can point and say, it's easier to stuff a bear than a cougar, since ease of construction would deal more with how good of a condition they are in.
I've been thinking of treating them as art objects, but there still doesn't seem to be a great deal of detail as to art value tables. Which brings me back to the initial question, how might one deal with the relative value of an art piece and decide on a value to use for crafting a trophy?
I've got a love for trophy collecting in games, and would like to run a taxidermist, and as much as I've read into the craft skill, I need some benchmarks to use for it.
I figure that 'Simple Item' would grab up fang necklaces and the like, 'Typical Item' would be things like mounting a kill's head. 'High-quality items' would be full body mountings, since they aren't as simple as just mounting a head, leaving 'Complex or Superior Items' as action poses or positions that aren't common, possibly even encompassing making a trophy from other sources, such as using a bear and giant owl to make an owlbear trophy.
All that is good and makes sense, my problem is how do you price these things? It's not like you can point and say, it's easier to stuff a bear than a cougar, since ease of construction would deal more with how good of a condition they are in.
I've been thinking of treating them as art objects, but there still doesn't seem to be a great deal of detail as to art value tables. Which brings me back to the initial question, how might one deal with the relative value of an art piece and decide on a value to use for crafting a trophy?
I think your take on the items is pretty good, as far as it goes. I think complex or superior might also encompass larger critters (more structure needs to be built), critters made out of unusual material or difficult material to work with (like say a bulette).
As for what they are worth, I think you are on the right track when considering them art objects. The trick with taxidermy, though, is that you have a very limited market that wants dead stuff sitting in their homes/castles. Generally your only customers are the folks who actually kill it. They want it for the memories it represents, rather than its actual value as art, and they'll probably pay pretty damn well for it, if they can afford to. Just stuffing and mounting critters for general sale probably isn;t going to net you much, though, and the prices would probably be pretty modest, in general.
I would think nobility and such would like to have exotic trophies and such as conversation pieces or demonstrations of the power in their realm...seems to me the market is about as big as other art pieces if not better. (why have a painting of the dragon that you wouldn't allow to live when you can have its head mounted above your throne?)
I would think nobility and such would like to have exotic trophies and such as conversation pieces or demonstrations of the power in their realm...seems to me the market is about as big as other art pieces if not better. (why have a painting of the dragon that you wouldn't allow to live when you can have its head mounted above your throne?)
Possibly, but then there is the possibility of humiliation from being called a poser because you didn't actually kill the thing, but bought it.
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GMing a CoT game I can tell you that there is definitely a market (In Golarion) for nobles, bureaucrats, and so forth for these things. You are going to have to spend the time actually making them and I don't assume that will take any short span of time but the profits could be quite worth it, just as long as you GM is willing to ignore the "Crafting for profit" rules, and come up with something that makes sense.