Difference between revisions of "Trade"

From BattleMaster Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(add screenshots. some other bits.)
 
(14 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
Trade is the business of buying and selling commodities. In the case of Battlemaster, those commodities are [[food]] and [[wood]], and sometimes assorted odds-and-ends type luxury goods.
+
This article describes the latest system currently deployed on all islands (as of 15/5/12). For the older and now obsolete article, please refer to [[Trade old]].
  
−
==Why Trade?==
 
  
−
To a noble, it's hard to understand the necessity of trade. After all, all nobles receive [[tax]] gold just by being members of the aristocratic ruling class, and merchants seem to be in it just to make gold. Why bother? Well, the fact is trade is not always about making profits in gold, and for a realm that doesn't produce enough food to keep all of its population from starving, trade is essential. In such realms, traders might not make any profits at all, instead performing a valuable service to the state.
+
Trade is the business of buying and selling commodities. In the case of Battlemaster, the only tradable commodity is [[food]]. Trading is all about creating offers and fulfilling them. It can be a buy offer or it can be a sell offer.
  
−
A region that receives gold from a [[Class#Trader|trader]], however, sees that same gold go into its coffers and ultimately, into taxes and distributed among all the nobles of the realm. So trade can make a realm wealthy.
+
Only Region Lords and their appointed stewards can create offers. Trading (creation and fulfilling of offers) can only be done in regions with a marketplace, or in the region you are lord or steward of (even if it has no marketplace).
  
−
==Why Not Trade?==
+
A character can only see offers that are within trading range at the marketplace. Lords and Stewards can get access to markets (ie.. without having to build one) when they are in their home region. Obviously that is off limits to other lords/stewards/traders who happen to pass by the region and trading opportunities might be lost if there isn't a marketplace nearby.
  
−
Trading itself is tedious and not very exciting. It usually requires monotonous record-keeping of items bought and sold, prices, supply and demand and other esoteric pieces of data.
 
  
−
And since foreign traders can supply a realm in need with food, and region lords and Bankers can send oxcarts to ship food within the realm, it is possible for a realm to need not ever field a single trader of it's own.
+
==Region Lords and Stewards==
 +
[[File:Lord_or_steward.png|thumb|Example screenshot of direct trade. Simply click trade in the desired row to buy or sell.]]
 +
Creating buy offers means you are advertising the fact that you are going to pay for a certain amount of food at a certain price to those with access to nearby marketplaces. You will also be putting in escrow the entire cost of the transaction in bonds (only) at the same time.  
  
−
As well, trading unwisely can deplete the gold and food of your realm. Worse, exporting food - even to an allied realm - may wind up ultimately seeing that same food be sold to your realm's enemies. Trade is a double-edged sword. Even peaceful realms can throw you in prison if they suspect a trader of illicit deals, and because of traders being harmless they can often be targeted for attacks under false suspicion.
+
Lords and Stewards can create offers in their home region or in any marketplace. Lords and Stewards in their home region, when their region does not have a marketplace and are not traders, have a maximum trading range of 200 miles. If they are in a marketplace, they have a maximum range of 400 miles.
  
−
==The Basics of Trade==
+
Creating sell offers means you are advertising the fact that you are going to sell a certain amount of food at a certain price to those with access to nearby marketplaces. The entire amount of food is put in escrow at the same time.
  
−
Most trade is concerned with food. Although wood is at this time another commodity, it is only needed by region lords to construct [[Buildings]] and to repair [[Fortifications]], and there are rarely any  crises where wood is needed but unavailable. On the other hand, regions without enough [[food]] face starvation and revolt, making food by far the more important good.
+
The amount of food to buy or sell is restricted to certain values for each trade, though you are free to create multiple offers.
  
−
However the following terms do apply to wood, and in fact anything that could conceivably be bought or sold.
+
The price per 100 bushels is also limited to a certain range (subject to change).
  
−
===Supply and Demand===
+
Offers expire after a limited time period which is set at offer creation--currently a maximum of 14 days.
  
−
Food is produced primarily in rural, agrarian regions. In economic terms this means rural regions tend to have a good ''supply'' of food. Similarly, food is consumed primarily by the larger populated areas like cities, so cities have what is called a higher ''demand'' for food. Ideally, this means that food is purchased in those rural regions and sold to the city regions.  
+
Fulfilling offers basically means you see an offer in the marketplace and you give orders to your underlings to deliver the food or pay for the food. You can only fulfil the order in whole.  
  
−
===Prices===
+
It is possible to restrict the sale of food to your realm only, or only allied realms. Realms at war are not allowed to trade at all, so you never need to fear that your enemy will take advantage of good offers you are making.
  
−
The [[Banker]] of a realm set the prices for both selling food and buying it. To encourage traders to sell their food to a large city, the banker or duke will likely set the ''buying price'' in a city to a higher value than elsewhere. Similarly, a food-producing region will have excess food, and can thus afford to sell it, and often at lower prices. Thus, price is connected with supply and demand.
+
Offers can be cancelled by the noble who made the offer. He has to be at a marketplace within trading range of the home region. (Or at the home region.)
  
−
A trader seeks to make a profit by buying at a lower price than he later sells.
 
  
−
===Imports and Exports===
+
Stewards operate in the same way as region lords.
  
−
To import food means to buy it from somewhere else, to export it means to sell food to somewhere else. A trader is the middle-man between importing and exporting regions or realms: his job is one of transport.
+
Note that Dukes and Bankers cannot directly interfere with a region's granaries. The only people who can access the granaries are the Lord and the steward of the region. However, dukes and bankers do have an overview/information page where they can see open offers within their domain (duchy for the duke, whole realm for the banker).
  
−
===Production and Consumption===
 
  
−
Each realm and region ''produces'' a certain amount of food every day. This is basically synonymous with supply. Likewise, all regions and realms ''consume'' an amount of food (unless they have zero population!) each day, and this is the same as demand.  
+
==Traders==
 +
[[File:Trader.png|thumb|Example screenshot of brokerage. Tick the appropriate boxes to match up buy and sell offers, then click close deal.]]
 +
Traders must be at a marketplace to do business. Traders have a larger trading range than non-traders, depending on trading skill--500 to 700 miles from their current marketplace. Lord-Traders in their home region, if their home region does not have a marketplace, have a trading distance of half what it would be without a marketplace--so if they have a trade distance of 600 miles with a marketplace, their market-less home region trading distance is only 300 miles.
  
−
Put another way, a region that produces more food than it consumes can be characterized as a supply region (and can export what it doesn't consume), whereas one that consumes more food than it produces is a demand region (and will need to import what it doesn't produce).
+
Traders are the only class capable of brokering trades. To broker a trade, they must match up one or more buy offers with one or more sell offers in such a way that the quantity of food matches. In order to complete the trade, the trader must make a profit - 0 profit also works. Note that traders who are not also lords or stewards can only broker trades. They cannot just buy or sell anything, because they do not have access to granaries. Trader-Lords cannot broker trades with their own region.
  
−
==Markets==
 
  
−
The growth of markets historically lead to an increase in wealth, and it's not hard to see why.
+
==Production and Consumption==
  
−
In Battlemaster, a Marketplace is a building that allows traders to do deals directly with other traders. Thus a Marketplace acts as an intermediary between regions that trade food.
+
Each region ''produces'' a certain amount of food every day. This is basically synonymous with supply. Likewise, all regions ''consume'' an amount of food each day, with soldiers in the region consuming a greater amount than the same number of peasants, and this is the same as demand.  
  
−
This means that instead of traveling directly to a food-producing region, a trader can visit the closest Marketplace instead. Similarly, a trader in a food-rich realm can sell his food at a Marketplace instead of travelling all the way to the region which, ultimately, is in need of that food. This saves time for the traders, allowing them to make more trips and/or do other things besides traveling. It's also possible for a trader to buy and sell only at Marketplaces, never actually doing business with a food-producing or food-demanding region at all.
+
Put another way, a region that produces more food than it consumes can be characterized as a supply region (and can export what it doesn't consume), whereas one that consumes more food than it produces is a demand region (and will need to import what it doesn't produce).
−
 
 
−
This also tends to bypass the region lord. When you buy from a region, part of that gold goes directly to that region's tax. But when you buy from a Marketplace, the gold goes entirely into the hands of whichever trader sold the food.
 
−
 
 
−
A bonus for the trader is that trader can simply offload his food, and set the price he wants, and leave. The food will remain there until another trader comes along, sees the price and buys it. A very long time might pass in between, but it does mean that a trader doesn't have to depend solely on the whims of regional lords and bankers to establish a selling/buying price.
 
−
 
 
−
Hence, this is all known as a Trader-to-Trader Market.
 
  
−
==Trading Bankers==
 
  
−
Bankers have the ultimate advantages when it comes to being a trader. Not only do they control the prices in their own realm, they have access to detailed economic data that lets them play the market for their own gains. See the [[Embezzlement_and_Money_Laundering|Guide to Embezzlement and Money Laundering]] for more info.
+
This [http://forum.battlemaster.org/index.php/topic,1902.0.html link] takes you to the forum article regarding concepts of the system.
  
  
 
[[Category: Economy]]
 
[[Category: Economy]]

Latest revision as of 19:25, 16 August 2012

This article describes the latest system currently deployed on all islands (as of 15/5/12). For the older and now obsolete article, please refer to Trade old.


Trade is the business of buying and selling commodities. In the case of Battlemaster, the only tradable commodity is food. Trading is all about creating offers and fulfilling them. It can be a buy offer or it can be a sell offer.

Only Region Lords and their appointed stewards can create offers. Trading (creation and fulfilling of offers) can only be done in regions with a marketplace, or in the region you are lord or steward of (even if it has no marketplace).

A character can only see offers that are within trading range at the marketplace. Lords and Stewards can get access to markets (ie.. without having to build one) when they are in their home region. Obviously that is off limits to other lords/stewards/traders who happen to pass by the region and trading opportunities might be lost if there isn't a marketplace nearby.


Region Lords and Stewards

Example screenshot of direct trade. Simply click trade in the desired row to buy or sell.

Creating buy offers means you are advertising the fact that you are going to pay for a certain amount of food at a certain price to those with access to nearby marketplaces. You will also be putting in escrow the entire cost of the transaction in bonds (only) at the same time.

Lords and Stewards can create offers in their home region or in any marketplace. Lords and Stewards in their home region, when their region does not have a marketplace and are not traders, have a maximum trading range of 200 miles. If they are in a marketplace, they have a maximum range of 400 miles.

Creating sell offers means you are advertising the fact that you are going to sell a certain amount of food at a certain price to those with access to nearby marketplaces. The entire amount of food is put in escrow at the same time.

The amount of food to buy or sell is restricted to certain values for each trade, though you are free to create multiple offers.

The price per 100 bushels is also limited to a certain range (subject to change).

Offers expire after a limited time period which is set at offer creation--currently a maximum of 14 days.

Fulfilling offers basically means you see an offer in the marketplace and you give orders to your underlings to deliver the food or pay for the food. You can only fulfil the order in whole.

It is possible to restrict the sale of food to your realm only, or only allied realms. Realms at war are not allowed to trade at all, so you never need to fear that your enemy will take advantage of good offers you are making.

Offers can be cancelled by the noble who made the offer. He has to be at a marketplace within trading range of the home region. (Or at the home region.)


Stewards operate in the same way as region lords.

Note that Dukes and Bankers cannot directly interfere with a region's granaries. The only people who can access the granaries are the Lord and the steward of the region. However, dukes and bankers do have an overview/information page where they can see open offers within their domain (duchy for the duke, whole realm for the banker).


Traders

Example screenshot of brokerage. Tick the appropriate boxes to match up buy and sell offers, then click close deal.

Traders must be at a marketplace to do business. Traders have a larger trading range than non-traders, depending on trading skill--500 to 700 miles from their current marketplace. Lord-Traders in their home region, if their home region does not have a marketplace, have a trading distance of half what it would be without a marketplace--so if they have a trade distance of 600 miles with a marketplace, their market-less home region trading distance is only 300 miles.

Traders are the only class capable of brokering trades. To broker a trade, they must match up one or more buy offers with one or more sell offers in such a way that the quantity of food matches. In order to complete the trade, the trader must make a profit - 0 profit also works. Note that traders who are not also lords or stewards can only broker trades. They cannot just buy or sell anything, because they do not have access to granaries. Trader-Lords cannot broker trades with their own region.


Production and Consumption

Each region produces a certain amount of food every day. This is basically synonymous with supply. Likewise, all regions consume an amount of food each day, with soldiers in the region consuming a greater amount than the same number of peasants, and this is the same as demand.

Put another way, a region that produces more food than it consumes can be characterized as a supply region (and can export what it doesn't consume), whereas one that consumes more food than it produces is a demand region (and will need to import what it doesn't produce).


This link takes you to the forum article regarding concepts of the system.

Retrieved from "https://wiki.battlemaster.org/index.php?title=Trade&oldid=165210"