Business in D&D [Archive] - Wizards Community

Business in D&D [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lednera
09-29-07, 12:13 AM Hi guys I just got my copy of DMG2 and Power of Faerun and I was wondering how would you guys work out the concept of a shipyard I know shipwrights are service business type but how about a shipyard itself is it a shop and if so would this type of business be two different ones one that makes them and one that sells the products? Any assistance or suggestions would help
Starcloud
09-29-07, 01:03 AM Shipwrights are not "service" business types, they're manufacturers. If you want a ship built, you go to a shipwright. If you want to buy a ship, you go to a shipwright. Shipwrights are naval engineers and construction foremen, all at the same time.

A shipyard is a manufacturing facility, the equivalent of a blacksmith's smithy, only employing a lot more people. Ships are expensive enough that it is very rare that a shipwright will build a ship just for the heck of it; every ship under construction is spoken for, usually.
Lednera
09-29-07, 01:11 AM thanks for the help, for practical terms with the rules of upgrading would you say each time I upgrade the shipyard i can build an additional ship at the same time for example.

New Shipyard can build up to 1 Medium type ship while an upgraded x3 can build up to 1 Large type ship or 4 medium types and so on. Feedback needed and welcomed. I know this is just for illustration not for core mechanics do to the profit checks.
Starcloud
09-29-07, 02:57 AM The game mechanics are abstract enough that you could try to do that. However...

The area where a ship is being built is called (more or less) a slip. The size of the slip determines the maximum size of the vessel that can be built, but you also have to consider the waterways around the slip. If your shipyard is on a river and not near the sea or an extremely large lake, there's no point in getting a slip large enough to build a galleon or battleship, since there's no way the river will be deep enough to permit the ship to get to the sea.

Only one ship can be built in a slip at any one time, so what you'd be doing is getting land/shoreline space enough to have five slips; one large ship and four medium ones. Then the number of people you employ would determine the number of ships that could be built at any one time.

Shipyards also take up a lot of space to store and season the wood, and the shaping rigs needed to form the planks for the hull and the ribs for the ship.

Boats, on the other hand, don't need all that much space, whether they're a longboat or a captain's gig, or a small fisherman's boat. Those are usually assembled entirely on land.
Lednera
09-29-07, 03:25 AM thanks again for the suggestions. I see I am going to have to acquire a large chunk of land to do what I want to do :) in an abstractish form how much surface area you think would be a good idea for a slip to take up and how deep of a water way would one need to build this ships of xyz sizes.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lednera 09-29-07, 12:13 AM	Hi guys I just got my copy of DMG2 and Power of Faerun and I was wondering how would you guys work out the concept of a shipyard I know shipwrights are service business type but how about a shipyard itself is it a shop and if so would this type of business be two different ones one that makes them and one that sells the products? Any assistance or suggestions would help
Starcloud 09-29-07, 01:03 AM	Shipwrights are not "service" business types, they're manufacturers. If you want a ship built, you go to a shipwright. If you want to buy a ship, you go to a shipwright. Shipwrights are naval engineers and construction foremen, all at the same time. A shipyard is a manufacturing facility, the equivalent of a blacksmith's smithy, only employing a lot more people. Ships are expensive enough that it is very rare that a shipwright will build a ship just for the heck of it; every ship under construction is spoken for, usually.
Lednera 09-29-07, 01:11 AM	thanks for the help, for practical terms with the rules of upgrading would you say each time I upgrade the shipyard i can build an additional ship at the same time for example. New Shipyard can build up to 1 Medium type ship while an upgraded x3 can build up to 1 Large type ship or 4 medium types and so on. Feedback needed and welcomed. I know this is just for illustration not for core mechanics do to the profit checks.
Starcloud 09-29-07, 02:57 AM	The game mechanics are abstract enough that you could try to do that. However... The area where a ship is being built is called (more or less) a slip. The size of the slip determines the maximum size of the vessel that can be built, but you also have to consider the waterways around the slip. If your shipyard is on a river and not near the sea or an extremely large lake, there's no point in getting a slip large enough to build a galleon or battleship, since there's no way the river will be deep enough to permit the ship to get to the sea. Only one ship can be built in a slip at any one time, so what you'd be doing is getting land/shoreline space enough to have five slips; one large ship and four medium ones. Then the number of people you employ would determine the number of ships that could be built at any one time. Shipyards also take up a lot of space to store and season the wood, and the shaping rigs needed to form the planks for the hull and the ribs for the ship. Boats, on the other hand, don't need all that much space, whether they're a longboat or a captain's gig, or a small fisherman's boat. Those are usually assembled entirely on land.
Lednera 09-29-07, 03:25 AM	thanks again for the suggestions. I see I am going to have to acquire a large chunk of land to do what I want to do :) in an abstractish form how much surface area you think would be a good idea for a slip to take up and how deep of a water way would one need to build this ships of xyz sizes.