A thief in my group wants to open a gambling den so now I have to figure out how to handle this…
I guess that would count as “Investing in a Business” [1] So for 1000 GP invested into his establishment he would gain 1d10-1d4 10 GP per month and the core book would even deliver a maximum amount of feasible investment size per city size with the Hideout rules!
What about the people working there? I think they are some kind of investment as well and as a true capitalist I count them as “Professional Slaves” per Core Rules for the investment amount: The standard worker in such a house would probably be a Carouser who expects 6 GP in wages per month, putting his worth at 633 ~= 200 GP (because I am very generous GM). THis kind of calculating makes it very easy to add other “services” there as well, using the secret ratio [2] to determine the wage or cost.
Example: If he builds a House worth 2000 GP and hires 5 shady gamblers he will gain 1D10-1D4 * 30 GP (an average of 90 GP per month) and has to pay 30 GP wages
What about Henchmen with the Gambling proficiency? I would calculate their “worth” according to the same level as a true profession (2533GP for an apprentice, 5033GP for a Licensed practicioner and 100*33 GP for a Master) instead of the 1D6 GP per proficiency per month because they play for the “House”.
So far so good… Did I miss something? Some questions remain:
Would that income generate XP when it gets over the threshold?
The above should also work for other, more legid, kind businesses so I feel there is still something missing, something that makes it different from a pure business deal. Something with more risk and a chance for a better payout… Like Hijinks but I am not sure how I could fit them in.
Any ideas?
For what it’s worth, I think you’re probably fine. The only thing that makes a gambling house seem different from a regular business is its history of being “sinful” and often illegal. And while there’s an element of high risk and reward for an individual gambler, the house itself has the power of math behind it, giving it a relatively steady income once all of the wins balance out the losses.
I am not an Autarch, but I believe the “Investing in a Business” cost includes labor costs. That seems the proper level of abstraction. I’m currently running under the assumption that a stronghold’s upkeep costs include the cost of the stronghold’s servants.
Would that income generate XP when it gets over the threshold?
APM: Id' say yes.
The above should also work for other, more legid, kind businesses so I feel there is still something missing, something that makes it different from a pure business deal. Something with more risk and a chance for a better payout... Like Hijinks but I am not sure how I could fit them in.
APM: As a general rule, illegal businesses are riskier; and higher risk tends to correlate with higher return. So consider having the rate of return be (1d12-1d4)%, which would yield an average (6.5-2.5) 4% rate of return instead of 3% rate of return. Then, in any month when the 1d12 turns up a natural 1, or that the rate of return is negative, the House gets raided by the authorities! Some random number of the staff are charged with drunkeness, outrage, and/or gambling (create a little chart to work this out randomly). These charges will likely just yield fines, of course, but it'll be fun.
Roll a d% to determine the percentage of determine the number of the staff that got busted.
Then determine charges with a 1d6 roll: outrage (1-4), gambling (5-6).
Not very creative but gets the job done I guess…
I also have an additional question about the threshold:
Do the monthly labor costs reduce the amount as well?
The arbitrage trading rules seem to indicate yes as only the profit counts.
The hijinks rules seem to indicate no as salary never gets mentioned…