The Economy - Some Guy's Perspective

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Some Guy on Requiem
Posts: 30
Character: Milton Fields

The Economy - Some Guy's Perspective

Post by Some Guy on Requiem » August 29th, 2021, 10:45 pm

I'll preface this suggestion with what I feel to be a needed foreword. As one's intended tone can oftentimes be difficult to infer from text alone. It is not my aim to diminish the systems in place, or thought or work put into them; no matter how direct the writing which follows might be with its criticisms.


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Currently, we're in an age of plenty on the server, far as I've experienced. The welcoming atmosphere of Prae, abundance of coin and charity being a bit at odds with the desperate times outlined in the lore. Part of this, I feel, is due to the economy being 'upside down', where rather than skilled tradesmen and savvy merchants new gold gets brought into the server at the tip of the sword. Meaning warriors produce the wealth rather than crafters, this is less desirable than the other way around and I'd like to outline why:


1) You want dangerous people to be more pressured for coin than not, because that drives conflict. Conflict with those that can't protect themselves but also with those that would protect others. MOB's that drop coin should be far and few between, or such payouts placed in locked chests deep in somewhere potentially fatal. Better to bring back things crafters would have trouble getting themselves and thus be willing to pay for or look for a wage from a patron/faction

2) Having crafters generate the wealth would put them in more danger. That's a good thing! That's interaction and RP and other players seeking you out (for good or ill). Pay a bodyguard to hang around, or hire some toughs to rough up the competition while they're mugging you! Bribe some legionaires to bend the law a little in your favor, etc. etc.

3) Having less to go around is better than thinking up more and more goldsinks for what we already have. Individuals will clump up into factions and factions will butt heads over resources. That breeds diplomacy, drama and a tug-of-war between established powers. It'd be great if some of those on the fringes formed an uneasy alliance and started coming for Prae's nodes.


So, all in all, the way I'd do it is this:

Instead of how it is now, where crafters only really have a profitable market for their good stuff: the EO's, MW's, etc. And tend to throw out their 'merely exceptional' crafts. (Which is insane) Crafters would load their crafts up and take them outside the safety of the fort walls to sell at the checkpoint between the province and the wider world. (Times are desperate and they need every resource they can get. Especially when they can pay less than they would at home.)

This, I think, would be great because:

Having a known point A and point B gives both nefarious and lawful forces a place to patrol.

It's a known danger, meaning those with goods to sell would be encouraged to make the trip either in capable company, cautious stealth or contract a trusted group/faction to deliver it in their stead. Do you risk going alone with what you can carry? Or load everything up on a packhorse or two and travel in force? Do you set traps along the road, target the pack animals? Disguise yourself in the colors of a rival faction? There's so much more room for roleplay and development when the gold doesn't just fall out of zombie's pockets.



In summary. These changes encourage crafters to hire non-crafters and groups to come into conflict over wealth that will feel more precious.

Carpenter
Posts: 52
Character: Ines Carpintero

Re: The Economy - Some Guy's Perspective

Post by Carpenter » August 29th, 2021, 11:51 pm

One way to do this could be to involve factions in the cashing in mechanic.

What if factions had NPCs who issue a bulk order contract that is turned into a shipment of goods?

For example, you could get one contract per player per day.
The contract could be randomized between the player's crafting skills (or just given as a selection).
I imagine requiring 100 points in a craft would be a good baseline here, as to prevent people completing the contracts with just skill clothes.

A faction could then bring these [shipments of goods] on a caravan to a dangerous location that requires player protection to reach due to potential NPC and PC threats.

To further escalate conflict, the shipments could only be available on weekends. That would give potential gankers a smaller frame of time during which they have a cause to rally and wait for caravans.

Afterwards, the faction would reap in a bounty of coin it could use to A) pay wages and B) sustain functions.

Additionally, a faction would have a cause to set up a program for purchasing basically all crafting materials so that its crafters can keep generating more revenue by hitting their daily contract caps easily.

Ps. Even if we do not turn the economy around, something like this could be a fun weekly event that keeps people engaged. If the reward is not silver, it could be useful faction resources that allow factions to employ more abilities regularly / purchase favors.

Some Guy on Requiem
Posts: 30
Character: Milton Fields

Re: The Economy - Some Guy's Perspective

Post by Some Guy on Requiem » August 30th, 2021, 3:34 am

I would prefer to lean away from making it a faction exclusive feature, as to allow independent trades some room for riskier ventures.

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AsterHargreaves
Posts: 12
Character: Aster Hargreaves

Re: The Economy - Some Guy's Perspective

Post by AsterHargreaves » August 30th, 2021, 3:32 pm

Carpenter wrote: August 29th, 2021, 11:51 pm One way to do this could be to involve factions in the cashing in mechanic.

What if factions had NPCs who issue a bulk order contract that is turned into a shipment of goods?

For example, you could get one contract per player per day.
The contract could be randomized between the player's crafting skills (or just given as a selection).
I imagine requiring 100 points in a craft would be a good baseline here, as to prevent people completing the contracts with just skill clothes.

A faction could then bring these [shipments of goods] on a caravan to a dangerous location that requires player protection to reach due to potential NPC and PC threats.

To further escalate conflict, the shipments could only be available on weekends. That would give potential gankers a smaller frame of time during which they have a cause to rally and wait for caravans.

Afterwards, the faction would reap in a bounty of coin it could use to A) pay wages and B) sustain functions.

Additionally, a faction would have a cause to set up a program for purchasing basically all crafting materials so that its crafters can keep generating more revenue by hitting their daily contract caps easily.

Ps. Even if we do not turn the economy around, something like this could be a fun weekly event that keeps people engaged. If the reward is not silver, it could be useful faction resources that allow factions to employ more abilities regularly / purchase favors.
I really like this idea, even if its something that is fulfilled through an outpost like Bright Lantern or something.

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Glimmer
Posts: 140
Character: Theo Hanlon

Re: The Economy - Some Guy's Perspective

Post by Glimmer » August 30th, 2021, 9:29 pm

As a crafter who tries to get people to assign value and worth to the unavoidable time-sink that just being a crafter entails, I’ll chime in that the biggest issue is players undercutting the market and pricing things way too low, or even giving goods and services away for free. On top of that we have players who wheel and deal OOCly more often than they utilize ingame methods to manage such dealings. I should know, my postings go largely unanswered and I’m sure others do as well. Not to mention that so few players are willing to put in the hours of time and effort to gather materials outside of hunting so crafters basically have to be jacks of all trades and do it all themselves and that’s just a fast paced route to burn out.

Warriors do indeed produce the wealth as a new character can gather at least ten gold within their first week. Crafters are supposed to set the market and those of us who want a balanced economy are in the minority. It goes this way on nearly every shard I’ve ever participated in sadly.

It’s a hard one to tackle, and I’d love to see it happen.

Some Guy on Requiem
Posts: 30
Character: Milton Fields

Re: The Economy - Some Guy's Perspective

Post by Some Guy on Requiem » August 30th, 2021, 9:54 pm

Exactly why I feel taking the creation of wealth OUT of warrior's hands is the way to go here. Warriors should be reliant on crafters, yet its so often quite the opposite. Returning from hunting trips with the resources crafters need to fill out the orders they'll need to sell (And EOs / MWs being the cherry on top of, rather than the raison d'etre), instead of raw gold, forces interaction.

The best part is this makes crafters reliant on warriors for what warriors do best, instead of simple shop patronage. Because you can bet your bippy that someone whose only invested in tradeskills is going to start to feel vulnerable when the gold starts rolling in and the local toughs start to notice.

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