Cost of sea (ocean) travel

[hkokko]

My players are considering traveling by sea from island (let's say in the vicinity of Loral) to somewhere else in Fonrit and then maybe across the ocean at some point. Provided they can find the possible rare ship how much should it cost for them to travel. This is probably not very affordable if you want to be just a passenger. Are there any figures you have used, any sources. I want this to be something they need to strive for not something that they take as self evident or easy...

[Joerg]

You can always take a ship to Fonrit as human cargo, but it wouldn't be an enjoyable trip...

The reasonable price for a ship passage is better than the expected profit for the amount of cargo you and your food and luggage displace. If there is any risk involved in getting to your point of departure (say near an island like Loral), you'll have to compensate for a potential loss of cargo and the ship, too, to make it worth for the owner to risk his ship.

Basically, if your travel is along a route for a high profit cargo, the price for a passenger space will be high. You will have to have some insurance against being sold off into slavery in Fonrit (which is a lousy travel destination in this regard).

You can make your players paranoid about accepting an offer that sounds too good to be true.

[M Helsdon]

1 hour ago, hkokko said:

My players are considering traveling by sea from island (let's say in the vicinity of Loral) to somewhere else in Fonrit and then maybe across the ocean at some point. Provided they can find the possible rare ship how much should it cost for them to travel. This is probably not very affordable if you want to be just a passenger. Are there any figures you have used, any sources. I want this to be something they need to strive for not something that they take as self evident or easy...

No ships will be dedicated to providing a passenger service, as was the case in the Ancient World. So a traveler has to either take advantage of a ship which has free cargo space, or pay a trader to make room for them and their supplies amongst his cargo. So the first question to ask is what cargo a trader is likely to be transporting, and how expensive it is, or, how much cargo space is free? If the ship is 'full' then any passenger is going to pay a rate based on what they are replacing; if the ship isn't full, then the price is going to be subject to barter.

Note that the passenger is going to have to provide their own food, or pay a premium to partake of the crew's rations... And there aren't going to be any free cabins, unless you pay the captain or one of the officers to make room for you, as a distinct transaction - sleeping on deck is the most likely outcome unless you have a deep purse - and they may not be a wise thing to advertise. On many ships even the captain's 'cabin' may effectively be a tent on deck.

And note that in the Ancient World, passengers might carry some things like gold or silver necklaces, so that if anything bad happens, if their body is washed ashore after a storm anyone finding it would at least give it a basic funeral.

Edited October 4, 2017 by M Helsdon

[Yelm's Light]

There's always the possibility of signing on to a vessel as crew or marines, especially in case of high-risk/value cargo runs.  Many RP possibilities, including getting the captain to trust the PC's, interactions with the crew, etc.