The center piece of the evening was a three-way battle for the dragon hoard. A tribe of bugbears had discovered the dragon lair and were in process of claiming it as their own when a bulette showed up looking for a meal (I love random encounter tables). The battle was such that some of the higher level characters could wade into the midst of the melee while the lower level characters were able to be tactically significant by raining down missile fire at areas not currently occupied by party members (never underestimate the value of concentrated missile fire — it can be devastating).
Once the treasure was loaded into several wagons procured to transport the hoard, and subsequently divvied up among the party, the players spent the rest of the evening spending it. As I've said before, I find the house rule attributed to Arneson of 1 gp spent = 1 xp quite useful. Here are several capital investments that occurred during this session:
- Hamlen contracted workers to start building a dojo-like sword fighting school.
- Ahkmed began excavation for his underground home.
- Dn. Goram got some monastics to start on the elvish illuminated text of Scripture.
- Several party members pooled resources to hire workers to repair the bridge destroyed several sessions ago by a possessed cloud giant.
These last two happened in the environs of the main human city in my campaign, Trisagia. The party set about getting several pieces of equipment unavailable in Headwaters and then hired a ship to take them back to the elf lands. It seems as if they are interested in playing politics…we'll see.
I forget where, but someone in the blogosphere wondered what would happen to a local economy if a party of adventurers started throwing around bunch of gold. Would there be a lot of inflation? Would it destroy the local economy? etc.
If a lot of money were being poured into the same products in the same economic space, this would increase demand and therefore result in a price hike. My players, however, have been careful how they have spent their money. They have spread out their purchases across a broad landscape, both physically and economically.
As a result, they have attracted workers, created jobs and encouraged economic growth. They have started businesses (a cheese factory, a winery and a tavern). They have created new opportunities for NPCs and workers (by continuing to have building projects). The bridge that is being repaired is being fixed in order to restore the flow of trade between Trisagia and Headwaters.
All in all, the only impact my players have had on the economy, that I can justify, is a positive one. Headwaters is growing because of it.
Moments like these are as interesting to me as battle reports (but then I'm odd :) ). How did you determine costs for these projects, such as gathering monks, since I doubt many of them are in Holmes and Cook?
ReplyDelete@Anthony
ReplyDeleteMost of these projects were negotiated at the table based on numbers provided for building strongholds (which can be found in both Cook and LL). On my map, I placed a monastery outside Trisagia, so the monks were already gathered. Dn. Goram went to the bishop to get the project going. As far as price, we negotiated a price per page, depending on how elaborate the party wanted the illumination to be. We settled on 10gp, which seemed to satisfy everybody. What I like about this is the irony of a book of Scripture being more valuable than the building made to house it because it is counterinuitively correct.
They have created new opportunities for NPCs and workers (by continuing to have building projects).
ReplyDeleteThis raises interesting economic possibilities. Tending to infrastructure improves employment and ostensibly attracts settlers, trade, and commerce. Overall, this will bring more cash into the area, creating hyperinflation as you note. But it's possible that it decreases demand in the long run, as available cash makes commodities more accessible.
Subtle thing: more available cash will lower interest rates (IOW, when money is in great supply, it's less expensive to borrow). This will impact moneychangers and lenders, but also those in your campaign who carry debt (fixed interest rates didn't exist).
The converse is also true: a dearth of cash raises rates and will strain those who carry debt (usually people who control non-portable, non-liquid assets, like land, ships, industrial facilities).
So when PCs start spending their cash, they might actually be helping out Farmer Joe, who struggles to make his rents, or Merchant Steve, who's paying off the new trading cog.
@Erin Not to get off-topic, but hyperinflation is a pretty specific phenomenon, and it is hard to see it arising in a GP-based society. Inflation is a different thing. I'm just guessing, but there is probably no paper currency in this setting. Maybe trade acceptances?
ReplyDeleteThis brings up another question due to the centrality of the Church in FrDave's world. FrDave, how are usury and interest handled in this society?
hyperinflation is a pretty specific phenomenon, and it is hard to see it arising in a GP-based society.
ReplyDeleteAh, too true. I meant drastically-higher-than-normal-inflation. You raise an interesting point: without fiat currency, is it possible to establish an inflation cap?
@Brendan
ReplyDeleteThis brings up another question due to the centrality of the Church in FrDave's world. FrDave, how are usury and interest handled in this society?
To be perfectly honest, it has never come up. Since you ask, however, I would tend to follow the historic church. Though usury is frowned upon and is considered theft, the canons are more concerned about clergy conduct than the conduct of the laity. Therefore, clerics would find themselves censured and punished but the ordinary Joe would most likely only get badmouthed by his neighbors.
@Erin I think so, until some alchemist discovers the philosopher's stone and in one swell foop overturns the monetary basis of the society. :-)
ReplyDeleteActually, some people think that the influx of bullion from the new world caused significant inflation in Europe at the time (search for "price revolution") though that was far from hyperinflation.
Here is a paper about an alternative theory.