Trying to do an Apothecary with Labor Points

[gaapprime]

Hello all,

This should be pretty simple, but I wanted to make sure I am not out in left field. The Medicine (apothecary) skill allows one to produce medicines ... powders, slaves, tonics, what have you with:

INT+Medicine(apothecary)

Would the Labor Point system (City& Guild) use this as the LP formula?

So an apothecary with:
NT 3
Med 5 (apoth.)
Neither Poor nor Wealthy

would produce 3x(3+6)=27 LP per season worked. Is that right?

---

Also, the apothecary is currently without a practice ... moving to a new area. So how does starting a career in play work? I understand how to pre-gen a craftsman already working ... but in play my best guess is pure RP and the new business starts at some reasonable income level (maybe Minor as medicines are expensive)?

Thoughts and advice pls

[Ravenscroft]

This is from a Hero Games site.
Perhaps it might help clarify what you actually want to do.
(equipment is listed on the page also)

MEDIEVAL MERCANTILISM

[size=100]THE APOTHECARY
Mixing potions, concoctions, salves, and libations were all the product and craft of the Alchemist.
The Apothecary prepared and sold drugs, generally for use by a physician.
An Apothecary was a type of sub-physician who enjoyed a bit of the prestige of a doctor.
Apothecaries are the modern-day equivalent of a pharmacist, but with a natural remedy twist.

A Day in the Life
Apothecaries would often visit an herbalist,
in large towns where medicinal herbs were a rarity to cull from surrounding terrain.
Herbalists would get their herbs either on trips they made to the countryside, or through intermediaries.
Most of an apothecary's day was spent mixing medicinal remedies from scratch, for a needy physician.
Apothecaries would often send young apprentices as runners to deliver the medicine,
and also the apprentices would make rounds to physicians
or chirurgeons (Medieval surgeons), to see if any remedies were needed.

Daily Duties
Deliver Remedies, Find Herbs, Mix Medicinal Remedies (Salves, Ointments, Poultices, etc.),
Receive/Obtain Physicians' Orders, Trade for Herbs[/size]

[gaapprime]

Thanks ... that is very close to my current understanding of what the fellow will do in Role Play (IC) but my questions are more about the City&Guild rules - I can manage doing all the right things in RP.

I want to try using this neat looking but crazy Labor Point system. The apotecary clearly produces a product ... but I am fairly sure medicine would be the skill to use as (Craft: Apothecary) doesn't seem right at all.

Either way, the medicines, remedies, etc. are being produced. The first question is, what is the skill to use?

The second question, to restate, is how does one enter the income band system? To clarify I am asking about how to apply the rules to starting into a career in RP assuming you do all the right things IC.

[Ravenscroft]

Have you considered using Herbalism from ArM 04? (page 41)
It is a +01 virtue , so would be minor in 5th Ed.
David Chart has suggested that the number bonus given in the 4th Ed. write-up
could be translated directly to 5th Ed.
Poisons +05
Antidotes +05
Healing and Health +05
Hallucinogens +03
Herbalism can be improved as any other Ability.

Being an Apothecary , you probably need the
Social Status Virtue : Craftsmen (expensive goods).
This puts you in the Minor Income Band (page 37).
Wealthy or Poor only determine how much free time you have.

Labour Points (page 38 )
(Primary Characteristic + Craft) or (Communication + Profession)
Multiply by 03 if the character is average (wealth).
Medicine is an Academic Ability , so obviously , by the RAW ,
you cannot include the value in LP calculations.

But 27LP appears to be correct.

As for starting in a new area , this looks like RP and Story.
There are suggested LP values gained for stories on page 39.
(which i can post if you want)

Does the character have any contacts in the new area?
A positive Reputation related to being an Apothecary?
Something like Patients die less often.
Do you have testimonials from reputable Doctors of Medicine that have used your services?
Vouched for as person of good character from a Bishop?
(these people will probably be unknown in a wholly new area ,
but having references when looking for work always helps)

If you are starting a new business , Workshop Rules are on page 65.

It takes a season to build such a workshop ,
either starting one from scratch or converting an existing building.

It will cost 05 Mythic Pounds to construct one for expensive goods.

You will need Raw Materials , page 66.

Player characters automatically start with suitable raw materials ,
and only need worry about additional raw materials
if they want to improve their Workshop Total or start a new workshop.

Let me know if you want the actual figures , but you spend excess Labour Points to improve.

Spending Labour Points in this manner means that the character is searching for a new source of raw materials ,
negotiating a better contract with an existing supplier
or developing new techniques to purify incoming materials.