Civilized Places

[Skarg]

I'm interested in economic observations, but I don't get why you keep stating economic ideas as absolute forcing functions.

Originally Posted by hcobb

Reliable and secure gate networks must be cheap to use.

Why? No idea what you mean, seems false.

Originally Posted by hcobb

If you don't want to get stranded without warning then you need hubs that are constantly monitored by persons skilled enough to fix things up.

That's only one very limited way to relate to gates - being fearful that a gate you went through may not be working if/when you might want to go back with it.

For gates that someone really needs to continue to be available and are unwilling to risk having go down, then they can take a few approaches, such as:
* Don't let anyone else use the gate till they get back.
* Have a way to re-establish a new gate if/when needed.
* Have maintenance staff ready to stabilize during times when the gates are in use.

Only gates that both must never go down and must constantly be used need constant maintenance crews on standby.

And, there are many other mindsets besides needing to be dependent on gates. I tend to think gates being available, especially for constant public use, would tend to rather be the exception than the rule. And I tend to prefer it that way unless I want that as a conspicuous feature of the world, as easy available gates tend to be one type of "convenience magic" that removes a major interesting element from the game situation - namely, the terrain and the situations it creates.

Originally Posted by hcobb

These people need the incentive of getting paid to study up that much and show up for work everyday.

Again, that's just one pedestrian type of motivation, and hopefully not the only one. Also I tend to think it's probably not sufficient. If I were an IQ 15 wizard, I doubt a regular wage would be anything like enough to convince me to spend much of my life sitting around stabilizing gates, unless it were the lifeline of my city or temple or something.

Originally Posted by hcobb

This requires an income stream to pay them and constant use to hone their skills.

If you say so. Again, that's just one model for how things work or not.

Originally Posted by hcobb

Fare prices need to be low enough so that the traffic can afford to pay these fares.

I fail to see why.
The model we used worked well enough to pay people. I.e. You charge enough that it's worth a wizard's effort to occasionally make gates as he travels around from place to place, and the fee pays him, occasional repair staff when available, and makes a bit of profit, and maybe you don't really mind all that much if occasionally a gate breaks down. The more you charge, the more you make per gate, unless you charge so much that no one bothers, but the value of a gate passage can be huge, since it allows someone to safely and instantly travel to a distant place with no need for food, guards, risks, etc. Many people will pay $100 to avoid several days of travel. That's an average of $21,600 per gate! Or charge $46 and average $10,000 per gate - not bad at all. The creator's cut should be plenty of incentive for travelling wizards to bother to set up gate ends as they go about. And you only get the better class of people who can afford that, and fewer of them (which is good for guild hall security and manageability, and less concern for local authorities wondering who is blinking in and out of their towns from where).

Originally Posted by hcobb

For example Amtrak is $12 to get to the nearest station in a population whose median income is $83 a day. (Two trips a day is 29% of income.)

My gate network is two silvers per one-way trip in a population whose median income is ten silvers a day. (Two trips a day is 40% of income.)

Ok. If you like that model, enjoy it. It just seems like you overstate the necessity of it.