Full Version: Critters
So I've got a player that wants to get a great cat. What do people charge for critters? Also can animals have cyber? IIRC there was a novel where there were some cybered up dogs, am I right or am I crazy?
animals can have cyber. they don't generally like it much, though. tends to have a negative effect on them mentally, iirc. the cyber would naturally have to be special animal cyber (probably i would say increase the availability by 2-4, and cost should be at least 50% more imo)
as far as what i would charge for an animal, well, the easiest way to handle that question is to have them do a run for the animal, imo
as far as what i would charge for an animal, well, the easiest way to handle that question is to have them do a run for the animal, imo
| QUOTE (odinson) |
| So I've got a player that wants to get a great cat. What do people charge for critters? Also can animals have cyber? IIRC there was a novel where there were some cybered up dogs, am I right or am I crazy? |
It's an endangered species. It would be easier by far to purchase a cockatrice.
Ground tiger bone sells on the open market for $1450 per pound. A Tiger is over 300 pounds, so you're looking at throwing down about $488,000 for a dead tiger. A live one would cost... more than that.
On the flip side, about one rooster in 100 turns into a cockatrice. At the factory farms, most birds are killed immediately when they change, but a normal live rooster will set you back less than Alexander Hamilton on a bad day. A fully functional cockatrice sells for like 2000
Scarcity is a powerful thing.
-Frank
was there any previous edition books that had prices for critters?
"Do you think I'd be working here, if I could afford a real snake?"
-Some stripper in Blade Runner.
I'd make exotic critters very difficult to buy. The best solution is to make the player(s) do a run for it. That way, the critter will be more valued and you don't find the player trying to buy lots of them later on. I see real pets being rare in an age where everyone just gets a more convenient robodog or whatever.
A baseline cost could be figured by comparing to drones of equivalent power, assuming that the critter will be filling a similar role in the team. That might not be realistic, but it will be balanced. And as GM, you can justify whatever price you like, really. A critter will be both better and worse than a drone. I wouldn't block a player from having one though if the player will really get a kick out of it. Be sure to stick in a few wide perimeter walls for prowling across and skylights suitable for leaping through so the player can enjoy seeing his great cat landing on security guards.
training a feral animal is a difficult thing to do as well, even if it's reared from birth.
plus, how many security gaurds are going to unload on an orange and black striped gigantic cat when they see it trying to move stealthily against the grey cityscape?
plus, how many security gaurds are going to unload on an orange and black striped gigantic cat when they see it trying to move stealthily against the grey cityscape?
Knasser: That wasn't "some stripper". It was Zura the replicant.
As far as the cost of a tiger, somebody somewhere in the world has a tiger for sale right now. Google it and change US dollars to nuyen.
As far as the cost of a tiger, somebody somewhere in the world has a tiger for sale right now. Google it and change US dollars to nuyen.
Would that be the tiger in a private zoo in Canada that just mauled a visitor to death? Hmmm.. 900 pounds and has a taste for human flesh. There's a good guard for your own "zero zone".
| QUOTE (FrankTrollman @ Jun 7 2007, 01:54 AM) |
| Ground tiger bone sells on the open market for $1450 per pound. |
That's kind of like saying that a car must cost $500,000 because the brake pads were $50, and they're a fraction of a percent of the weight.
In reality, things are always more expensive if you just want a piece of 'em.
Googling around a bit, there's a 1 year old bengal tiger for sale for $28,000. There are several animal rescue sites currently looking for people to rescue animals as well.
In this case, the cost of acquiring the animal is probably going to be less than the cost of upkeep. Remember what these things eat and the sort of quantities they eat. The lifestyle costs to keep a great cat alive and healthy in the Shadowrun world would definitely be higher than a middle lifestyle for a 'runner.
Edited to add:
From Earthtrust.org
| QUOTE |
| A typical slaughter brought in as much as NT300,000, or US$12,000 at today's exchange rate, after subtracting the animal's initial price tag of NT350,000 or US$14,000. The tiger's meat sold for US$32-40 per catty, bones for US$600 per catty, leg bones for US$240 per catty, 50 bottles of blood (about 2,000cc of blood per tiger) for US$80 per bottle, "head" for US$600, tail for US$240, and the tongue sold for US$60 (Anon. 1984a). One owner said he didn't want to kill his tiger but did so after it "had grown bad-tempered and savage." This tiger's penis was sold for US$2,400 (Anon. 1984c). |
Yes, but primarily due to the extremely fast rate that the Chinese are going through tigers, the price has risen considerably in the last 20 years. A 2004 Michigan Study had this to say:
| QUOTE |
| Selling one tiger in the black market can bring ten years’ worth of salary to the poacher. In Taiwan, a bowl of tiger penis soup (to boost virility) costs $320, and a pair of eyes (to fight malaria and epilepsy) costs $170. Powdered tiger bone (for ulcers, rheumatism, and typhoid) can cost as much as $1,450 per pound in Seoul. The Environmental Investigation Agency believes that at least one tiger is killed daily for its use in Chinese traditional medicines. |
As to a Bengal Tiger being offered for sale for $28,000 - I did find reference to that. But that was an unsuccessful sale in 1951 (dealers suggested that the appropriate price was only $4000 at the time).
That being said, I did over estimate the cost, because for some reason tiger bone costs way more than other tiger parts - who knew?
-Frank
| QUOTE (FrankTrollman) |
| who knew? |
we knew!
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.