11-24-2015, 05:42 PM | #51 | |
Aluminated
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: East of the moon, west of the stars, close to buses and shopping
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
Quote:
Also, it's my first published GURPS article. It's the sort of thing I might not write these days because I'm painfully aware of how incomplete it is.
__________________
I've been making pointlessly shiny things, and I've got some gaming-related stuff as well as 3d printing designs. Buy my Warehouse 23 stuff, dammit! |
|
11-24-2015, 06:04 PM | #52 | |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
Quote:
For instance in our society there is gift-giving for several ceremonial purposes(religious and political rituals, mating, etc), gambling, trade in various kinds of things, speculation, investment, and other forms of exchange all acceptable in their place and considered vulgar outside-which is why people complain about the "commercialization" of Christmas. Tribute is not considered acceptable except in the form of taxation, but in other societies it was. Likewise there is no heroic hospitality code; instead we have a fairly efficient system of professional providers of shelter.
__________________
"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison Last edited by jason taylor; 11-24-2015 at 06:08 PM. |
|
11-24-2015, 06:11 PM | #53 |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Portland, Oregon
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
There might be a Peripatatic culture in a Low-tech system that dominates trade and has sort of an ambiguous relationship with the rest of society. Much like Irish Travellers handled the metalworking and the rest handled the food producing.
__________________
"The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison |
11-24-2015, 06:12 PM | #54 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
Quote:
__________________
My Twitter My w23 Stuff My Blog Latest GURPS Book: Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Thieves Latest TFT Book: The Sunken Library Become a Patron! |
|
11-24-2015, 11:08 PM | #55 |
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: New Zealand.
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
Just got home from a Ram sale. Which led to the thought "wouldn't a large percentage of low tech trading involve livestock"
__________________
Waiting for inspiration to strike...... And spending too much time thinking about farming for RPGs Contributor to Citadel at Nordvörn |
11-25-2015, 12:31 AM | #56 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
A coste per weight per distance formula seems tp me to be very useful.
While it would be hard to make it super accurate it does fit the stuff of adventure. Take value for above and modify it by a value for perishability (at that TL) and by another value for TL and another for Seasonal or Market type. The Roll 1d6+- mods like complimentary skills, weather, war, LC, etc and multiply that by a % for your final shipping costs. Now you have something playable that can be used at various TL and include magic and other factors.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more! My GURPS fan contribution and blog: REFPLace GURPS Landing Page My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items) My GURPS Wiki entries |
11-25-2015, 04:16 AM | #57 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
What you do is you kill the livestock and cast the Zombie spell on them. Saves on feed while you're transporting them... :)
__________________
“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius |
11-25-2015, 08:12 AM | #58 | |
Join Date: Jun 2013
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
Quote:
That said, certainly magic can be used in a variety of ways to reduce transport costs. Zombies have no real upkeep cost (aside from keeping a necromancer on the crew) and can replace any number of brute laborers or beasts of burden. Preserve Food allows you to slaughter animals and only transport the meat, delivering fresh food at reduced tonnage and without needing to deal with handling and feeding the animals (note this is most useful for over water transport). Various actual transportation spells, like Flight, can allow you to reach locations faster or more safely. It would ultimately be a balancing act - is the reduced cost associated with reducing upkeep, time, or risk of transport worth the increased cost of hiring mages to cast and maintain the spells? |
|
11-25-2015, 08:53 AM | #59 |
Join Date: Jul 2006
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
Zombies would certainly help with the cost of powered transport (galleys, treadmill paddle ships, rickshaws...) for anyone that doesn't mind the smell - and likely the speed and range as well.
|
11-25-2015, 09:07 AM | #60 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Europe
|
Re: Low-Tech Trading Rules
Given that the fundamental currency of a low-tech setting is food calories, and not any kind of valuable metal or paper, that's not a problem. In all cases, in a low-tech setting, when you need to have some kind of work performed, whether a scribe copying a book or an ox turning the axle of a mill, the primary question is whether you actually have a sufficient quantity of food to feed the person or creature who is to perform the work.
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|