Need some help determining price on something unique!

[Paul Griffith]

I am running a particular adventure path and my characters have looted a really interesting item. It is a 20 lbs mammoth tusk and carved into it are what are essentially 3 scrolls. They include Bull Strength, Ice Storm, and Phantom Steed. Now determining the price for the scrolls in and of itself is rather simple;
Bull Strength = 150 gp
Ice Storm = 700 gp
Phantom Steed = 375 gp
So they have a total in scroll value of 1225 gp. But then they still have 20 lbs of mammoth ivory all in one huge piece. I can not find an official source for how much this giant chunk of mammoth tusk should be worth, sans the scrolls. Can anyone provide me with a good suggestion at what the price should be or point me to an official source to tell me the price?

[Weirdo]

I'm not aware of an official price for ivory, but I'd expect it to be somewhere between marble (which costs 5gp/lb according to Ultimate Equipment's trade goods section) and gold (50gp/lb). That would mean that the tusk is worth 100-1000gp.

Bit of a shame the AP doesn't give you a specific value, but I'd choose something in that range according to how much wealth you think the party should be getting their hands on. Since Ice Storm is a 4th level spell I expect they're high enough level that giving a value on the higher end won't be too unbalancing - especially if they're putting some effort into transporting and selling the thing.

[_Ozy_]

Depending on the scarcity and demand, it could well be worth more than gold on a per/weight basis. But yeah, it's mostly about wealth balance for your party.

[Weirdo]

Well, yes. Ivory is actually worth a bit more than gold by weight at the moment IRL, but that's because of black market pricing.

I think the range given is plausible enough.

[Paul Griffith]

Thanks guy. The party is actually a little gold poor right now since the majority of places they have been exploring were not loot heavy. So I think that I will go with 1000 gp for the tusk alone. But I wonder if I should make it worth more if they sell it all as is with the scrolls intact since it is a really unique item. So how much over the 2225 gp do y'all think would be plausible for selling it as is?

[_Ozy_]

Paul Griffith wrote:

Thanks guy. The party is actually a little gold poor right now since the majority of places they have been exploring were not loot heavy. So I think that I will go with 1000 gp for the tusk alone. But I wonder if I should make it worth more if they sell it all as is with the scrolls intact since it is a really unique item. So how much over the 2225 gp do y'all think would be plausible for selling it as is?

Well, the easy answer is figure out how much the entire party is down based on the suggested WBL, roughly speaking, and use the item to bring them up to par (or as close as you like).

[Scott Wilhelm]

Weirdo wrote:

Well, yes. Ivory is actually worth a bit more than gold by weight at the moment IRL, but that's because of black market pricing.

I think the range given is plausible enough.

I wasn't able to find a price for ivory. I would guess that Paizo is reluctant to do that for political reasons. The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide put the value oat 1-20gp/pound depending on the quality.

I guess, split the difference: 10gp/pound, making the tusk itself worth 200gp? That puts ivory at the same cost as Darkwood.

[Scott Wilhelm]

_Ozy_ wrote:

Paul Griffith wrote:

Thanks guy. The party is actually a little gold poor right now since the majority of places they have been exploring were not loot heavy. So I think that I will go with 1000 gp for the tusk alone. But I wonder if I should make it worth more if they sell it all as is with the scrolls intact since it is a really unique item. So how much over the 2225 gp do y'all think would be plausible for selling it as is?

Well, the easy answer is figure out how much the entire party is down based on the suggested WBL, roughly speaking, and use the item to bring them up to par (or as close as you like).

I guess the other thing you could do is say the tusk has some kind of artwork on it that makes it extra valuable. Or you could use it as an adventure hook, like it was broken off a statue, and if you re-attach it, it will bring the statue back to life like in Conan the Destroyer. Or maybe it has historical/sentimental value, like it was a White Elephant gift from Sultan Watziz al Hizznayme as a wedding present, the care of it caused starvation and food riots, then started a war when the elephant died, succumbing to the climate, etc, etc...

I guess the tooth could always be more valuable if you wanted to throw the party a bone.