With respect to the historical accuracy of the game, it would be nice if trading and starting enterprises were more interesting sources of income. Because of fluctuating prices for pretty much everything but velvet the player who wants 'set and forget' enterprises is forced to go with that since keeping other options supplied and/or selling off their goods at the most profitable locations is incredibly time-consuming. Trading around the map is fun but for many goods it seems like the best buying price is too close to the best selling price when the unpredictable variances in said prices occur. I keep seeing most of the goods available for prices too similar to bother with leaving iron and salt as the two most reliable goods: they are produced cheaply and consistently in certain places and consumed hungrily elsewhere. It's gotten to the point that I don't look at other goods when I come into a town trading.
In essence, IMHO, the commercial side of Warband consists entirely of setting up dyeworks everywhere but Jelkala, and trading in just a few goods in the same places. I have wandered the forum extensively and brought together here a whole bunch of ideas I like for fixing this issue.
For ease of reading I have provided a digest version of the ideas detailed in the Assemblage below. Some of it won't really make sense without the details but this is just to give the broad strokes of each concept. The '--->' symbol means that the next idea is dependent in some form on the idea above it, basically that the first idea carries over into the next one. The abbreviation 'PC' means 'player character.' I point this out because I refer to the player and the player character separately on purpose. This is to show what efforts the player has to go through in-game to achieve what benefits for their character. Each idea in this digest is linked to a separate thread to discuss that one idea.
In another thread is the Assemblage, the detailed collection of ideas that make up my personal vision for improving the economic system of M&B Warband. I have incorporated a number of other people's ideas and given them credit. Since it is MY PERSONAL VISION I will not be including ideas I do not like. If you have something new start a thread so it can be discussed properly, on its own, and post the link in a comment below, I'll take a look.
In essence, IMHO, the commercial side of Warband consists entirely of setting up dyeworks everywhere but Jelkala, and trading in just a few goods in the same places. I have wandered the forum extensively and brought together here a whole bunch of ideas I like for fixing this issue.
For ease of reading I have provided a digest version of the ideas detailed in the Assemblage below. Some of it won't really make sense without the details but this is just to give the broad strokes of each concept. The '--->' symbol means that the next idea is dependent in some form on the idea above it, basically that the first idea carries over into the next one. The abbreviation 'PC' means 'player character.' I point this out because I refer to the player and the player character separately on purpose. This is to show what efforts the player has to go through in-game to achieve what benefits for their character. Each idea in this digest is linked to a separate thread to discuss that one idea.
| Concept | Player Gives | Player Gets |
| Sir Smokey-inspired Town and Merchant Prosperity ---> Cities and merchants have a prosperity rating that can be affected by PC investments. | Investments in merchants | Better goods, more merchant money available, profit on caravans, more tax revenue, improved relation with city. |
| Guild Masters as Merchant Banks ---> Guild masters act as banks, holding money until the PC or a companion comes to get it. Too much money for too long in a city with poor relations to PC causes some to be lost. | Risk of having funds skimmed, interest on loans | Realism, access to loans of increasing size |
| Companion Caravans ---> Companions can be entrusted with caravans and given detailed instructions that include picking up coin from guild masters and making deliveries both to and from enterprises. | Goods, cash, time and effort spent studying prices and plotting a trade route, risks degrading city relations with too much success | Trade caravans that double as a personal courier service to deliver goods and coin |
| Traveling Merchant's Ledger ---> A book that allows a player to track goods prices, transactions, trade routes, and all the events of a companion caravan's journey. | Money to book merchant, traveling to towns | Ability to track all financial matters involved in, is required to plot instructions for and dispatch companion caravans. |
| Shifting Trade Patterns The economic conditions vary slightly - just like the politics already do - from game to game. With the Traveling Merchant's Ledger finding the primary producers of a good will not be too difficult but without it this is probably a wasted idea. | Always knowing from game to game what is produce where. | Realism, replayability. |
| Buying/Selling Arms, Armor, and Horses When a lord is raising troops demand for arms and armor goes up a little bit across all friendly cities but it's best to sell directly to him. | Money to merchants | Highly lucrative trade good when the correct (recently beaten) lord is found. |
| Trading outside Calradia PC may invest in royal trade expeditions to places unnamed for profit. | Invests in expedition | Cut of the profits and, barring the rare but unavoidable disaster, there are always profits. |
| Merchant of War Allows a player a wide range of tools to use wealth to manipulate and even destroy factions. | Countless large investments | The power to, through use of dastardly plots and a whole lot of money, crush the whole world in his/her palm. |
| Ingolifs-Inspired Village Rework Villages can be set the tasks of becoming richer or stronger or a combination of those two. | Numerous investments, some time and effort | Better recruits, more and better trade, more tax revenue. |
| City Investments Improve city prosperity and recruit quality. | Investments | More tax income, better city recruits, more soldiers during sieges. |
In another thread is the Assemblage, the detailed collection of ideas that make up my personal vision for improving the economic system of M&B Warband. I have incorporated a number of other people's ideas and given them credit. Since it is MY PERSONAL VISION I will not be including ideas I do not like. If you have something new start a thread so it can be discussed properly, on its own, and post the link in a comment below, I'll take a look.
