Low-Tech Trading Rules

[Christopher R. Rice]

No, I'm not looking for said rules (I know where they are). I'm writing to expand them. I'm trying to see if I've covered all my bases. Anyone have any thoughts? Anything they'd like to see? It's going into a Pyramid submission if anyone is curious.

Edit: I should have stated this: but the article is very player-faced. It's essentially how PCs interact with trading, bartering, etc. - not the other way round. Essentially, it's more for a player than a GM. I'm trying to answer a question I see pop up a lot: "How do I play a merchant/trader/etc. and what traits would I need?"

[(E)]

Taxation, import duties, protectionism, customs and excise. Which leads to of course to smuggling.

Quality of port/dock facilities. Instances where a good is gathered rather than just purchased.

Losses through transport damage, spoilage, corruption. And how to avoid these. Relevant skills.

Knowing what to acquire. Fashion, rumours, open destinations vs familiar routes.

Effects of trade on the recipients. Economic benefits and costs.

Historic rates of change on supply and demand.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

No, I'm not looking for said rules (I know where they are). I'm writing to expand them. I'm trying to see if I've covered all my bases. Anyone have any thoughts? Anything they'd like to see? It's going into a Pyramid submission if anyone is curious.

I don't recall if LTC3 touches on this (I saw your page reference on Facebook), but the use of town walls to restrict the movement of goods to and from the market place?

People could in theory choose to conduct their trade somewhere outside of town, but the town offers shelter and law which you won't get out in the wilderness. Also there's the whole meeting hub thing. People know to go to town X on day Y of the lunar cycle, because then there'll be a lot of other traders, as per tradition, whereas other kinds of exchange of goods must be pre-arranged between the parties.

Town walls do provide some actual protection from... unpleasantness, but it's my impression that much more than that, they were about having the town surrounded by a structure permeable (by wagons) only at one or two checkpoints, where customs and tariffs could be extracted.

[The Colonel]

Might need a bit on pre-free market concepts of trade - ideas like guild privilege, laws against forestalling and attempts to prevent arbitrage... all things that are liable to be mystifying to anyone from the developed world, especially the US.
Possibly something on barter - and silent barter - and ideas of modelling lost value therefrom?

[Anders]

Merchant-adventurer templates. It's a niche that's strangely neglected.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Might need a bit on pre-free market concepts of trade - ideas like guild privilege, laws against forestalling and attempts to prevent arbitrage... all things that are liable to be mystifying to anyone from the developed world, especially the US.

Yes. Part of doing the time travel thing and havnig a campaign that's set in the actual past or in a world that is like the actual past, involves the complete removal of things that the players (and most other modernes) take completely for granted, to the point of assuming them to be universal across not only space but also time.

That said, some historical cultures had freer trades than others. Some also had enforced monopolies. One of the Viking Kings of Dublin enforced a monopoly on shoe-making in his area. I kid you not. Shoe-making.

In later time periods, being granted a monopoly, e.g. by the King, was a very valuable gift, since it gave opportunities for serious profit.

[cptbutton]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Might need a bit on pre-free market concepts of trade - ideas like guild privilege, laws against forestalling and attempts to prevent arbitrage... all things that are liable to be mystifying to anyone from the developed world, especially the US.
Possibly something on barter - and silent barter - and ideas of modelling lost value therefrom?

Possibly also price controls, and the effects and workarounds thereof.

[weby]

Taxes, dues and corruption.

Legally granted monopolies.

[lachimba]

Inflation (and while we are there deflation)

Wasn't there really not much money for most of history as there wasn't savings and investment as we think of? That's a big issue if you turn up with valuable items and there isn't demand to buy them (or if you can use the valuable item as barter) .

[lachimba]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

Possibly also price controls, and the effects and workarounds thereof.

Wow sounds like 1970s USA rather than low tech