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| − | =The Art of Trading=
| + | Edmund is the trader in the family. He was heard to say "I thought I would try my hand as a trader. The constant go to a battle, wait for the takeover to finish, back to refit, on to the next battle was beginning to seem a little dull. I didn't have enough honor or prestige (or something) to become an infiltrator, and the realm didn't seem to need any beaurocrats." |
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| − | I thought I would try my hand as a trader. The constant go to a battle, wait for the takeover to finish, back to refit, on to the next battle was beginning to seem a little dull. I didn't have enough honor or prestige (or something) to become an infiltrator, and the realm didn't seem to need any beaurocrats.
| + | After being a trader for a week, he said "There must be some kind of trick to being a trader." |
| | + | And so, he wrote [[Greystoke Family/Edmund/The Art of Trading |The Art of Trading]]. |
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| − | It turns out there must be an art to being a trader that I haven't discovered, or the class needs serious work. Maybe I haven't learned all the tricks yet. I will impart what I have learned so far....
| + | Eventually, through the help of Ethiala's banker (Lord Jeselek, Baron of Lantzas), he was able to purchase 300 bushels of food at 5 gold per 100 bushels. Then, through the black market, he picked up another 100 bushels at 16/100. This caravan train he took to Nighthelm in th efar south. Sold all 4 caravans at 20/caravan. 80 - 13 = 67 profit. However, the trip took about 8 days or more. |
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| − | As a trader, you must consider several things --
| + | On his return, he found two new facts. One, the academy in Topenah has a class for traders! It works just like swordmanship. Only, we don't know how to see if his performance has improved or not. The second thing, is that due to recent region acquisitions, Ethiala did not have any more excess food to sell! |
| − | # Troops and Paraphenalia
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| − | # Gold and Commodities
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| − | # Trading Information
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| − | # Politics
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| − | ==Troops and Paraphenalia==
| + | After talking with the founder of the Mercator Conlegium guild (a trading guild), it was decided that Edmund be given enough power in the guild to utilize the guild to better help traders. The plans are still in progress. |
| − | At first I assumed that a trader should travel alone. This would arouse the least amount of suspicion when travelling in foreign realms. The manual states that when you buy caravans, they come with the men needed to work them.
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| − | However, a friend suggested that I might appear as an infiltrator that way. He said it might be best to retain about 7 men as guards. Without thinking too deeply on this subject, I decided to follow his advice.
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| − | You don't need a banner, but you do need caravans. I started out with the idea of needing many caravans, but decided to start small. It is well I did so, as I have yet to fill both of the ones I purchased. Each caravan holds 100 bushels of food.
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| − | ==Gold and Commodities==
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| − | A trader is different than a teamster, in that the trader buys the goods and sells them after transportation. A teamster is merely paid for the transportation. The game doesn't support teamsters, only traders. That means we must first buy the goods we want to sell. You will still collect taxes. In some realms you will collect less taxes than a Troop Leader because you don't have the men to support.
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| − | When it comes time to buy the goods, if you don't have enough gold, you can borrow from a bank. Ethiala on South East also has two trading guilds which I joined. They will each allow me to borrow from them.
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| − | It seems at first as if the world supports two commodities - food and wood. In practice, however, it appears as if wood is so plentiful and consumed so little as to make it nearly useless as a trading commodity. That leaves food. Perhaps I am wrong to do so, but I concentrate entirely on food as a commodity.
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| − | ==Trading Information==
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| − | As a trader, the idea is to buy low and sell high. I understand that the best way to do this is to buy in one realm and sell in another. I believe this is because a realms banker can readjust food as needed between regions within a realm, thus reducing the need for a trader.
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| − | So, to buy low and sell high, the most important tool for a trader is information concerning food selers and food buyers. The tools for finding this information are:
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| − | # Actions -> Chat with merchants
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| − | # Actions -> Trading
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| − | # Actions -> Visit the black market
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| − | # Orders -> Send out Scouts
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| − | # Information -> Trade Information
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| − | ===Chat with Merchants===
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| − | Chatting with local merchants will produce results such as those provided in the example below:
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| − | <pre>
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| − | Chatting forever with the local merchants in Talex, here is what you learn about some interesting deals:
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| − | Region Food Wood
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| − | avail Sell Buy notes avail Sell Buy
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| − | Talex 0 - 12 1170 - 3
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| − | Erahol 0 100
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| − | Isular 0 25 5 500 10 5
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| − | Lenamaziel 0 460
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| − | Anrimap 0 22 3 150 25 -
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| − | Upasael 0 25 5 0 10 5
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| − | Remton 0 - 25 1150 40 10
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| − | Tunozo 0 15 5 100 10 -
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| − | Pesol 40 - 12 420 - 3
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| − | The harvest will be in 2 days.
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| − | </pre>
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| − | The example provided has several points of interest. The purpose of the "chat" (as can be seen from the example) is to provide the trader with rumors of the selling and buying prices in a random selection of regions. It will also provide the availability of the resource.
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| − | First, to buy some food you need a food source. If you were armed with only the report provided as an example, you would see that only Pesol has any food available. Unfortunately, (as can also be seen) the dash means they are not selling any. This fact seems to be extremely common in the game. No food sources!
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| − | Next, who could you sell food to? In the example shown above, only Remton will pay higher than any of the other regions selling prices. This is also an extremely common situation in the game. No regions will pay enough to make it worth your while to transport the food. Even a 1 gold difference would make 100 gold per caravan! Yet all I've found is regions where the buying price is much lower than the selling price!
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| − | Beware, the conditions found in this report are very short-lived. In most cases the deal viewed in the report is gone by the time you get to the region!
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| − | Your Caravans
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| − | You own 2 caravans, currently loaded with 10 bushels of food.
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| − | (free capacity: 190 units)
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| − | ===Trading===
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| − | <pre>
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| − | The Ornaz Warehouses
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| − | Good Stored Reserve buying for selling for buy... sell...
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| − | Food 63 250 (not trading) (not trading) (N/A) (N/A)
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| − | Wood 109 (not trading) (not trading) (N/A) (N/A)
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| − | </pre>
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| − | <pre>
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| − | All prices are per 100 units. Remember that the prices are from the regions perspective, e.g. what
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| − | they are selling you food for when you buy some. Also note that prices are always rounded in
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| − | the warehouse's favour.
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| − | </pre>
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| − | ===Scouting===
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| − | <pre>
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| − | Trade Postings
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| − | Good ca. stored Buying for Selling for
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| − | Food 50 units 12 gold (not trading)
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| − | </pre>
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| − | ===Trade Information===
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| − | Using the Informtion -> Trde Information report produces a report similar to that shown below:
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| − | <pre>
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| − | Food and Harvest Information:
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| − | * It is Summer. The weather (harvest in 7 days):
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| − | East Coast: Average
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| − | Trade Postings in Larmebsi
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| − | Good ca. stored Buying for Selling for
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| − | Food 250 units 12 gold (not trading)
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| − | Wood 300 units 3 gold (not trading)
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| − | </pre>
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| − | Of course, the info shown will be for the region you are currently in. The informtion provided in this exmple indicates that Larmebsi has 250 food units (bushels), but is not interested in selling any. If you have food, they will pay 12 gold for each bushel that you have. Or is it each 100 bushels?
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| − | ==Politics==
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| − | To further complicate matters, if you do find a seller or buyer, there is a good chance they will be in an enemy realm. Now that politics are involved in your trading you will probably need permissions from the governments of both realms to travel between them. Your own government might not want you helping an enemy, even if you are making a profit on the transfer.
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Edmund is the trader in the family. He was heard to say "I thought I would try my hand as a trader. The constant go to a battle, wait for the takeover to finish, back to refit, on to the next battle was beginning to seem a little dull. I didn't have enough honor or prestige (or something) to become an infiltrator, and the realm didn't seem to need any beaurocrats."
After being a trader for a week, he said "There must be some kind of trick to being a trader."
And so, he wrote The Art of Trading.
Eventually, through the help of Ethiala's banker (Lord Jeselek, Baron of Lantzas), he was able to purchase 300 bushels of food at 5 gold per 100 bushels. Then, through the black market, he picked up another 100 bushels at 16/100. This caravan train he took to Nighthelm in th efar south. Sold all 4 caravans at 20/caravan. 80 - 13 = 67 profit. However, the trip took about 8 days or more.
On his return, he found two new facts. One, the academy in Topenah has a class for traders! It works just like swordmanship. Only, we don't know how to see if his performance has improved or not. The second thing, is that due to recent region acquisitions, Ethiala did not have any more excess food to sell!
After talking with the founder of the Mercator Conlegium guild (a trading guild), it was decided that Edmund be given enough power in the guild to utilize the guild to better help traders. The plans are still in progress.
