10-10-2017, 12:51 AM | #11 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia
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Re: Monetizing Giant-Spider Silk
Those domestic cultivated spiders need to be fed a regular diet of dungeon delvers.
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Compact Castles gives the gamer an instant portfolio of genuine, real-world castle floorplans to use in any historical, low-tech, or fantasy game setting. Last edited by DanHoward; 10-10-2017 at 12:55 AM. |
10-10-2017, 09:16 AM | #12 |
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Re: Monetizing Giant-Spider Silk
Farming large predators sounds expensive.
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10-10-2017, 11:45 AM | #13 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
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Re: Monetizing Giant-Spider Silk
It isn't just any giant spiders that yield the silk. Only the humongous species that inhabits the tunnels at the edges of the Kingdom of the Shadow Elves has webs strong enough for a DR 2 T-shirt and flexible enough not to cause a DX penalty. The webs of smaller spiders aren't strong enough, while those of humongous spiders from other regions aren't fine enough. Why do you think the shadow elves settled in the area all those millennia ago? They were spider-herders, of course!
You can't use webs strung in the caves. Those are full of dust, mineral residue from dripping stalactites, and creepy-crawlers ('pedes, regular-sized spiders, etc.). Generations of shadow elves have tried cleaning them up with magic, but spells ruin the webbing. You have to incapacitate or slay the spiders and then milk out the silk, which is a special IQ/Average skill that the shadow elves are reluctant to teach. That's a quest unto itself. You can't expect to sell dead spiders to the shadow elves. They consider killing the spiders to be sacrilege against the scantily clad spider goddess from Hell that they totally don't worship. You can get paid a regular herder's wage if you bring back a live spider, though. Call it $120 per spider, divvied up among the whole party. Basically, the whole thing is akin to enchanting items: Something NPCs do.
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Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
10-10-2017, 12:43 PM | #14 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
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Re: Monetizing Giant-Spider Silk
I guess that would explain why that nobody you picked a fight with in the bar kicked your adventurer butt. Level 25 Spider Wrangler NPC.
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Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
10-10-2017, 01:37 PM | #15 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Re: Monetizing Giant-Spider Silk
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10-10-2017, 03:26 PM | #16 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Monetizing Giant-Spider Silk
Come to think of it, in any world where you have spell granting gods of craftsmanship, there ought to be production processes that are basically are (clerical) enchanting. Perhaps successfully weaving Giant Spider silk fabric actually requires casting a spell bestowed only by She Who We Most Certainly Do Not Worship.
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10-10-2017, 05:50 PM | #17 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
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Re: Monetizing Giant-Spider Silk
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10-10-2017, 08:17 PM | #18 |
President and EIC
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Re: Monetizing Giant-Spider Silk
However, the weaker adhesive of other humongous species is ideal for the production of tape and sticky-notes, which is why She Whom We Etc. is also known as Our Lady of Office Supplies.
And many of her votaries are notaries. |
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