*snrk* You clearly have not done anything like this and tried to get it right.
Actually, I
have. I know exactly how difficult it is. But I also know that you are over-thinking it. You don't need exact cost of these animals in real life. All you need to do is set a measuring bar, decide if a creature is more or less valuable than a Ford Americar and by how much. Then list availability accordingly. I understand there are additional costs and all this other stuff, but the beauty of the lifestyle system in Shadowrun is that you do not need to micromanage how many packs of Gum your troll eats in a month. Have creatures with a high body rating increase lifestyle cost and treat pets as a "life-style" purchase. It really is
that simple.
For example, a Dog costs 0 modification points for your lifestyle. While Anything with a body of say... 8 or higher (I would need to check the stats but I think 7-8ish is around where it starts) costs 1 and requires a nuyen cost or a lifestyle of High+.
Jack has shown what he can do in 20 minutes, that is all it would have taken. If the prices were a bit off (like "Dog" costing 100 nuyen, what about purebreds, etc.) that doesn't matter. Chalk it up to how easily available or how rare that critter is in the far-flung future of 2075.
As for what you said about "the assumption that this is all the freelance writers do" well, no. Actually, hard to believe, but I too am a freelance writer. I have been going on about 10 or so years now. It is my primary source of income. Gaming is my hobby. What I
assume (because its an expectation of myself) is a certain level of quality. This is
clearly an issue and an easy one to rectify no less.
Again, I am not looking to be an asshole. I'm sorry for the "tough love" but in this line of work the quality and standard of your work is more important than your resume. Fortunately, you're not going to be panned for charging 3000 nuyen for a tiger when
clearly it should be "15,000 nuyen" (said in his most pretentious voice) but you will cop criticism for something essential NOT being in the product.
Chrome Flesh needs to be the standard. The story content in it was better, the book was organized better and it was easy to navigate. I have not yet taken the time to check the crossover of the creative teams, but given the high quality of Chrome Flesh I was
surprised when
Howling Shadows had so many mistakes. I can overlook reprinting the same art asset a couple of times, but give us everything essential.
Blaming our anal retentive friend for wanting to "go by the book" isn't productive. He's not a bad dude.
In other news, I got this message:
Thanks for playing Shadowrun, and thanks for your passion for the game. I hope this response will be useful without being too long.
The first thing I need to say is that while I certainly would rather having people buy and play Shadowrun, I can't make changes simply because someone says they will stop buying products if I have a reason for doing what I did and keeping things the way they are. Which I do.
Before explaining that reason, I'll note that a small table with availability and costs of ten mundane critters has been inserted into the book; it should be put into an update for PDF users soon. It has a brief version of the more full explanation I'll offer here.
And that explanation is this: Including cost and availability for every critter goes against what I want a critter book to be. I do not think paranormal animals should be available for purchase. I realize there are people who disagree with me, but there it is. Look at it this way--how difficult is it, in our world, to get illegal guns? Or drugs? Neither is especially difficult, if you are willing to take a few risks. Now, how would you go about obtaining a lion? Are they commonly sold on street corners? Or anywhere?
Animals are much more of a nuisance than weapons when it comes to illegal deals. Animals need upkeep, leave messes, and are prone to attack when you don't expect it, all of which are things weapons don't do. Animals also tend to be larger than weapons and more difficult to transport. They are just plain way less marketable, even on the black market. Now take a hellhound, which is as sturdy as a lion, stronger, and breathes fire. If a lion is really hard to find--to the point of near-impossibility--then hellhounds and their ilk aren't going to be commonly sold.
But beyond that, there's the question of what I want the book to be. I want it to be a massive collection of plot hooks for player and GM alike, where the GM might send players on a critter hunt, or the players see a critter they would like and take the initiative to go get one. If the book turns into a shopping catalogue, then the missions can often be accomplished through calling a contact and being patient. Too many chances for adventure would be lost, and that's not how I wanted the book to be.
So that's why the book is the way it is. What you do with that book and my explanation is entirely up to you, but I hope that whatever you decide, you have fun in your gaming.
Jason H.
To which, I replied:
So, you think its perfectly reasonable to be able to buy an antibalastic missile... but you cannot buy a lion on the black market?
With all due respect, this should simply be covered by a high availability rating or making something F.
The fact that they are difficult to obtain means they are valuable. Especially things like lions, tigers and sharks, all of which are commonly seen as status symbols.
In fact, right now I can make a phone call and aquire a tiger cub if I wanted to own one. Maybe this is a bit different in the US (I am in Australia) but the illegal trafficking of exotic animals is a big part of the black market.
More to the point, if a group of players capture and sedate a paracritter, rather than just killing it without a price listing we cannot "fairly" judge how much it can be sold for.
My "complaint" is that I just spent $30 buying a book that my GM will not let us use because it does not have costs for the animals and has references for base cost modifiers.
I am glad to hear there will be at least 10 prices listed, but it should be noted that you are not only required to give us plot hooks but game statistics. The purpose of which is to resolve disputes at the gaming table. You are not a novelist, you are an RPG Writer and these statistics are important.
You can easily cover the "rarity" and difficulty to find these creatures with astoundingly high prices and extremely high availability ratings.
I think (and I am not trying to come off as a pretentious gamer asshole) but I honestly think you do not realize just how big the market for exotic animals really is. There is an entire subculture of people (wealthy people) who will buy a bear, people who would buy wild hellhounds (to breed them and raise their pups).
I'm not trying to bust your balls, it is just when I buy an RPG supplement, I am buying a tool. I do not need rules for people with different blood-types or obscure things, but the value of creatures in the game are important.
I'm not so fucked up as to want to know how much I can sell "Sally" the prepubescent elf to a pedophile ring, but if I can buy the Lurrsen Mobius, I'd like to be able to go full Noah and buy some Giraffes for it son. Or at least know how much I can sell a Giraffe for to a dealer or eco terrorists who want to "Buy back" the animal's freedom (something else which happens quite regularly).
Thank you to Jack Spade for his efforts. This is a game, its fun, and something as simple as what he "knocked together in 20 minutes" is all we are asking for. It does not need to be perfect or without fault. No one is going to judge anyone if the prices and availability are a bit wonky, so long as we don't end up with a situation like "Tiger, Availability 47, 37,500,000 nuyen."