Helping with Adventurer Party Management - Chapter 3

“Okay, I’ll be your first customer!” Sarah exclaimed, enthusiastically sitting across from me. Her tied-up red hair bounced as she did.

“Alright, since you’re the first client, let’s make it a results-based consultation. One large copper coin… that’s too much. How about three small copper coins?”

The going rate varies, but you can live for about two weeks on one large copper coin. Three small copper coins would cover two or three days. There’s no point in squeezing money out of the poor.

“Hmm… is that really okay? It sounds good.”

“Well, if nothing comes of it, I won’t charge you. I know you’re broke.”

“Got it! Then please!”

For now, we made a verbal contract. We didn’t exchange any written agreements. Many adventurers can’t read, so written contracts might seem like a setup for deception and are therefore less trustworthy.

“So, what’s the issue?”

“It’s not me, it’s a friend of mine, another archer. She’s also struggling with money. The cost of arrows is really high, and her party doesn’t cover it. She’s thinking about quitting because she can’t earn anything.”

“There are two issues here. First, the cost of the arrows, which you were struggling with too. Buying arrowheads in bulk would help. In fact, if you buy them together, it’ll be even cheaper. Second, there’s no rule for splitting the costs of the quest. In larger parties, there’s usually a treasurer who handles the cost distribution properly, but that’s tough for newbies.”

“I understand. For the first issue, she can buy arrowheads together with me. What should I do about the second issue? She had mentioned before that arrows are expensive, but then the swordsman complained about sharpening costs and the mage said their catalysts were expensive too, and it all got brushed off. She can’t tell if their claims are legitimate or if the price is too high.”

“She could leave and find another party, but the same issue will likely follow her. Alright, I’ll make a price manual for you.”

“Isn’t that something the Adventurer’s Guild should do?”

“Do you really think those bureaucratic amateurs can handle that?” I scoffed.

This world also has an Adventurer’s Guild. However, their job is more like a modern temp agency. They recruit requests and allocate them to parties that seem capable. They verify the results and handle payments. They also manage adventurer registrations and deletions, as well as buy monster materials. But that’s about it.

They may provide various forms of support to high-ranking adventurers, but they don’t provide any support to rookie adventurers who are just getting started. It’s not like a game. There’s no support for newbies. Uneducated, desperate people come from the countryside, take on reckless requests, and either die or get so badly injured that they become crippled and retire without compensation.

Less than half of them last even a year. That’s the nature of this job.

To me, the Adventurer’s Guild seems like a feudal business dealing with amateurs. Even if they make a manual, it’s useless to distribute it to people who can’t read. It would be as useless as a picture of a rice cake.

How do I teach market sense and negotiation to uneducated, desperate beginners?

It’s quite a difficult problem.