View source for Creature Harvesting 6 (Source)

With the data coming in from the testing of the group harvesting bonus, I saw the opportunity to try to figure out how the game calculates the amount that is harvested every time a scout or ranger harvests a creature. I thought this might help explain why having twice the harvesting mod of a master scout doesn't translate to twice the amount harvested (notice, I said explain, not justify ). This is what I have so far.

There is a base number for each harvest type on each species. Since all the testing data so far are for meat, that is what I will deal with. That base number, I'll call it the harvesting factor, is equal to half of what a master ranger harvests (on average). Obviously there are other factors that affect the harvesting factor (skinny, medium or fat creatures, etc.), so connecting it to the CL of the creature would require much more data. The formula I have so far is:

Harvested amount = F*(1+hm/100)

Where:
F = creature's harvesting factor for that resource
hm = harvesting modifier

This means that a master scout will harvest 1.5 times the harvesting factor, while a master ranger harvests 2 times it. That gives a master scout 75% of a master ranger's harvesting results. Thinking of it in the other direction, a master ranger will harvest one third more than a master scout. The formula held true when I plugged in the numbers for a ranger with tracking 4 and a scout with hunting 4.

I suspect that there are at least 3 contributing factors to the harvesting factor; the CL of the creature, the 'health' of the creature, and a modifier for the type of resource.


Ok, I did a little more number crunching and figured out why a ranger with tracking 4 is outharvesting a master ranger when the two are grouped. If you use the formula from my first post, you'll see that a master ranger has a harvesting multiplier of 2.0, while the tracking 4 ranger has 1.9. With the 30% grouping bonus, the master ranger's multiplier becomes 2.60, but the tracking 4 ranger (with a 40% grouping bonus) gets an adjusted modifier of 2.66.

Just to clarify what I mean by harvesting multiplier, it's the (1+hm/100) part. That's the part of the harvesting equation that is determined by the character's skill level + any bonuses (food, grouping, etc.)

Note: I am not, in any way trying to defend the system. I am just attempting to decipher it.