Miscellany

The Wilderlands of Absalom

Monster Parts

According to the books monster parts are worth a number of gold equal to their XP. One load of monster parts weighs 5 stone and is worth 300 gp.

There are two options when it comes to selling monster parts: you can sell it direct to a magic-user, provided the mage is looking for those parts in particular. This sale is at the exact cost of the monster parts (so, if you find a mage who needs chimera spleens you could sell it to her right then for 1300 gp). You also don't run the risk of losing any money. The downside is finding a mage who wants the specific monster parts right then and there. You can also treat monster parts as part of mercantile exchange, in which case you have to wait a bit longer than if you had a buyer lined up, but the good news is that there are merchants out there who deal *just* in monster parts, so you don't need to worry about finding one mage who wants to buy ogre skulls and another who wants to buy wyvern stingers. On the plus side, you can also come out with more than the base price assuming market conditions are favorable.

Mercenaries

As per Domains at War (p. 12), mercenaries may be veterans. They are classed characters (usually fighters or explorers) and inflict an extra +1 damage and gain a +1 bonus to their morale score. Their base pay is increased by 12 gp, however. Note that due to the dangerous nature of the expedition (venturing into the unknown) all mercenaries and specialists (such as animal trainers, healers, etc.) are going to charge double their base price, unless garrisoned in cleared hexes.

Shields Shall Be Splintered

You can negate a physical attack against you by having your shield take the force of the blow.

Money Matters

• We are using standards of living (p. 39): 450 at 4th and 5th, 1225 at 6th. The adventurers begin with the 1st month already paid. Henchmen will use the table on p.51 for their monthly fee.
• There are no banks. I like the idea of you guys hauling around chests full of gold and jewels and trying to figure out what to do with it. Please note that your factor will be able to keep money for you (like, I'm assuming he has a big saferoom in his office like Scrooge McDuck).
• You guys have coinpurses that can hold up to 50 coins or their equivalent without adding to encumbrance
• Jewelry worn openly does not count towards encumbrance.
• There's no exchange rate or fees for gems. All those costs are baked into the Standards of Living costs. Spend 100 gold get a 100 gp gem.

Alchemist Lab

Posts here and here.