I've never played a druid or wizard.. but people really tip 3 plat for a port? When I first started out, and had no money, or not much money, I never even asked for a port (unless it was for a corpse recovery). Until now, I've pretty much played casters who don't have much strength, so I couldn't carry much platinum on me. But I ALWAYS had peridots, sky/hate stones, or some sort of other gems from OOT, Sebilis, ect.. and I kept them on me just for the purpose of paying people for quicky favors like ports, corpse summons, buffs, anything. Now that I'm playing a monk I suppose I will do the same because of the weight limit.
It seems that most porters advertise as "porting for donations", which isn't really a donation after that being asked. And I remember after Kunark's release on this server porters were advertising "ports to DL! 50pp a seat!".. That was understandable I suppose for the time period.. You could either fork over the scratch, or sit on the ferry boat patiently.
Porters just need to advertise as "porting for a small portion of your money" or something like that. Then just blacklist the 45+ players or twinks that try to donate 3pp. I don't mean just remember their name, but make a post for all porters to record this information. That way they will know to collect their "donation" before casting the spell.
There's my 3pp on the situation. Either throw in on gas money, or crawl home.
Edit: Another smart idea. If you see a low level druid or wizard struggling, throw him a bone. Help him for a few minutes, let him have a little plat for his upcoming spells, maybe even just sit and chat. I could almost bet that he or she would be forever greatful and "owe you one" if you ever needed a port for an emergency. Karma.
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