User:Diarik/Trader Proposal

The essential idea of the Trader is someone who is able to manipulate the flow of money for the sake of personal profit. However, this concept has been sorely unpronounced and untouched.

One excellent, and existing, choice has been contract versus marketplace. Traders currently have the choice to either profit by selling goods or by ferrying them. While this is certainly good, it can clearly be made better, especially as in both cases skill becomes negligible and pointless except for blind circling for its own sake.

Instead, I would recommend two things. The first is simpler: an NPC market, where a Trader pits their Trading skill against varying difficulties of customers and, through a series of manuevers not unlike your standard combat, either achieves or fails to make a sale. There should be market areas, accessible by non-Traders, certainly, as ways to train appraisal, but more decidedly for Traders to gain Trading skill through action rather than pacing a caravan.

The second is more complex and broad. At 50th circle, I would suggest that Traders be granted permission to attempt to join an exclusive club with pronounced benefits: banks. Through a manipulation of NPCs, they may or may not be able to secure entrance into a bank and thus gain access to the ability to make investments, give loans, and make money through this. At 80th circle, they should be granted permission to do this on a provincial scale, conceivably affecting taxation, criminal charges, and exchange rates.

Credit or Credibility: The Health of an Economic Agent

---

NOTE: I may have missed a couple changes.

---

First, a would-be banker must worry about credibility. They have provincial level credibility that does not carry over into other provinces. A trader begins with no credibility (indeed, a trader under 50th circle has negative repute, in the banking system) and earns it through doing a series of deals with Trader Guild NPCs, most notably the guildleaders and commerce ministers.

You should never have an exact estimate of your provincial credibility. While the precise scale may vary from 0 to 1000, there would only be perhaps 4 or 5 actual messagings for an indicator. Perhaps 0-100, 100-300, 300-600, 600-900, 900-1000. However, differences of, say, 50 points would be significant. Furthermore, credibility should decay very rapidly without constantly being boosted. It is easier to boost it as a banker than as a potential banker, so there is little reason to take part in the system unless you are intending to join it.

Raising one's credibility, outside of the banking system, is done chiefly through determining which NPC is the best to bribe. That determination is by interacting with them, which uses a combination of Trading and Appraisal to understand how amenable they are to a bribe. It is also possible for an older Trader to endorse you by determining this for you and giving you the funds to make the bribe. It is also possible to raise credibility through the guildleader by accepting a special contract from him that has multiple unloading points.

Business as War: The Battleground of Trade

Okay, so the title's a little flamboyant, but DR's idea of a protagonist is flamboyant anyways, so c'est la vie.

The City as a Hunting Ground

Instead of developing new rooms for "trading areas", it would be more efficient, not to mention effective, to leverage existing cities. This permits the interesting side effect of synching city/town expansion to the expansion of hunting areas.

In Elanthia, we have two forms of municipality. We have the major cities: Crossing, Riverhaven, Shard, Ratha, Hibarnhvidar. And we also have minor cities and townships. The distinction with which I draw this is by the existence of districts, or neighborhoods: subsections of a city that differentiate itself from other parts.

The reason I mention this is because I want to point out that cities should be ideal for young traders as well as older ones. The absolute biggest and hardest deals are in the city, but so are the easiest and simplest. In the middle, of course, are the towns and smaller cities.

I envision difficulty rising like so:

• Easiest: Major city
• Easy: Towns
• Hard: Minor city
• Hardest: Major city

Business Tactics: Driving a Hard Bargain

So, how would you train Trading?

First, you must deal with shop owners. You need to buy a bulk load of wares (just "wares" from now on) from some shop owner. Second, you must deal with customers. You take these wares and sell them to either NPC customers or other shop owners. This is not unlike caravan leading, except that you have full discretion on what to buy and who to ship it to, and from such a barter, make experience and profit. It is also similar to commodity pits, in that you may be gambling what is necessary.

However, commodity pits are well-known to be fickle and difficult. Instead, it would be more effective to pit Trader charm against Customer skepticism. The price for which you acquire your wares are haggled through a series of speculative devaluations, whereas the price for which you sell it is achieved through overvaluation. As the commerce minister likes to say, "Therein lies profit."

Examples of possible new SPECULATE abilities would be pondering on the prices available from other merchants, contemplating the pitiful state of the wares, and so on, while currently available abilities already increase its value in the eyes of the customer (though another to consider possible other buyers may be useful). Like combat commands, the trick is to unbalance your opponent and increase your own stability through effective combinations. You use a combination of your Trading and Appraisal skill to overwhelm the customer's Appraisal and fool them into buying what you have to sell.

Central Banking: The Pasttime of Investment

At 50th circle, Traders should be allowed to attempt to enter the banking system. Banks are currently located in 13 cities, most of which have their own complement of shops. (Those that do not should not be entered into this system.)

I'm first going to talk about getting into the system before I start talking about actually leveraging it.

There are three levels of banker: Associate Banker, Banker, and Bank Manager. There may be only one Bank Manager per bank, 5 Bankers, and 20 Associate Bankers. This creates a scarcity by which power may be granted while providing some possibility of entering and advancing in the system.

Credibility

---

NOTE: I may have missed a couple changes.

---

First, a would-be banker must worry about credibility. They have provincial level credibility that does not carry over into other provinces. A trader begins with no credibility (indeed, a trader under 50th circle has negative repute, in the banking system) and earns it through doing a series of deals with Trader Guild NPCs, most notably the guildleaders and commerce ministers.

You should never have an exact estimate of your provincial credibility. While the precise scale may vary from 0 to 1000, there would only be perhaps 4 or 5 actual messagings for an indicator. Perhaps 0-100, 100-300, 300-600, 600-900, 900-1000. However, differences of, say, 50 points would be significant. Furthermore, credibility should decay very rapidly without constantly being boosted. It is easier to boost it as a banker than as a potential banker, so there is little reason to take part in the system unless you are intending to join it.

Raising one's credibility, outside of the banking system, is done chiefly through determining which NPC is the best to bribe. That determination is by interacting with them, which uses a combination of Trading and Appraisal to understand how amenable they are to a bribe. It is also possible for an older Trader to endorse you by determining this for you and giving you the funds to make the bribe. It is also possible to raise credibility through the guildleader by accepting a special contract from him that has multiple unloading points.

Application

Second, a would-be banker must worry about application. Each level of banking first requires a minimum credibility. However, if all spots are filled, an applicant must displace another banker. This is done primarily by undermining a banker's credibility.

You see, in the banking system, credibility is a commodity just as it is in the marketplace. It can be speculated upon, and thus reinforced or belittled. This is generally anonymous, but information about who is affecting your credibility may be discovered through discreet bribes for information or by asking a Thief to perform espionage. Both methods are useful additionally for widdling away someone's credibility.

Actual Banking: Investment

So, what the heck does a banker actually DO? Well, associate bankers and bankers essentially do one thing: they invest money. The goal is to make money for the bank, and take a little extra for themselves at the same time (you know, that profit thing).

But, what's an investment? Essentially, you go around to NPCs and seed them with capital. The amount that you seed them with is limited by your Trading skill, and whether or not it's a good idea is determined by a skill check of Appraisal versus their Charisma. Or their Trading. The NPCs will primarily be shop owners, of course, but it's conceivable that the same customer critters can be used, based on how they end up being coded.

Now we take a departure from realism. Since there is no permanent effect due to your investment, then your Trading and Appraisal experience and your return should come back immediately.

The difference between a Banker and an Associate Banker is the degree to which you're allowed to use the bank's funds to seed your investments. An associate banker might have a cap of 5% of the bank's store, while a banker might have a 10%. A bank manager might have 20% available.

Of course, no matter how much you borrow to make your investment, you have to pay it all back, plus interest. While paying the interest itself would raise your credibility, paying an additional bonus on top of it (in other words, cutting into your profit) raises it even more. Thus, your profit is your discretion in whether you use it to aspire higher faster, or take your rise in coporate Elanthia slow and steady.

Naturally, if a number of bankers make pitiful investments all the time, they may begin to have less money available in the bank than needs to be withdrawn by a player. While this really should never happen, it can either be hacked around by giving a bank an infinite store to withdraw from (but not to invest from), or player accounts should begin to have less money in them. A banker's credibility will quickly plummet and his own financial stores will be plundered if such a scenario occurs in order to restore the bank's store.

Oh, and by the way, this system also makes it possible for a player account to gain interest from depositing in a bank.

Actual Banking: Exchange Rates

There are two key functions of banks in Elanthia: to store money and to exchange foreign currency for local. While the above system of investment makes it possible for players to accrue interest, this is not a stated function.

A bank manager, in addition to standard investment, is capable of affecting both the exchange fee and the rate itself. This action requires the spending of a significant amount of credibility, but becomes permanent until another bank manager makes a change.

In general, it is expected that this ability will be used sparingly, since its impact is not that significant and its cost is high.

Provinces and Cities: Economic Strategy

---

NOTE: I'm not really happy with the below sections. It feels artificial and poorly conceived, but I'm leaving it in because it IS a set of ideas that I'm airing and really, why not.

---

In the upper echelons of banking, you have the councils that rule provinces. There are, of course, a mere five of these, each of which consist of a number of financial directors for that province. Into this system, one must be of 80th circle or higher, and significant provincial credibility (most likely gained as a banker).

Like the banking system, the economic council has more than one level to it. While the Provincial Directors are the top dogs (or fat cats, if you prefer), underneath them are a number of Municipal Directors, Sector Directors and aspiring Assistant Directors.

Economic Strategy: Taxation

The ability to tax comes once every 25 RL days, or 2.5 Elanthian months. If a Director does not submit a decision on the amount by which he changes the tax, he automatically steps down. The payment, also, comes at the end of this 25 day period at the Director must be online and in a position to receive it. What is paid is discussed below.

Provincial Directors have direct control over citizen, housing, and stabling taxes (and anything else to be thought of...). Affecting the tax rate requires an investment of credibility. (Indeed, even if you do not change the tax rate, you still invest your credibility in non-action.) For profit, they receive 1% of all purchases in their province.

A Sector Director has sway over actual market sectors in a province. Suggested sectors are weapons & armor, clothing & jewelry, and several others. (The Shopping Catalog has a number of categories that make excellent suggestions and rapidly lays out ways to allocate stores within a province to a sector.

A director has the ability to increase or decrease the tax on his sector. Doing so will cause the prices for all shops to rise and fall. The director is directly affected by his decision as he receives as a salary 1% of all purchases in his sector. Thus, increasing prices will make him wealthier, but at the potential cost of fewer purchases; decreases prices will net a lower gain, but may increase purchases. As a note, these taxes will affect entrepreneurial traders: those who purchase bulk wares for selling around town.

Oh, and a director might be... persuaded... to lower the prices lest he become the target for assassination. =)

Municipal Directors are identical to Sector Directors except that they control the tax to all stores in a city. Thus, they might counteract a Sector Director's decision to raise the tax on weapons by lowering their city's tax to match. Their city would then be ideal for buying weapons. For profit, they receive 1% of all purchases in their town.

What is missing from all of this is a way to convince players to buy from stores at all. Generally speaking, we all know that storebought items are largely inferior to well-made player-crafted items. Thus, the job of a Director becomes one of convincing people to make purchases so that they can profit. Additionally, Directors in different provinces might vie for festivals and merchants to come to their area that they might receive profit by their sales.

Counterweights: Assistant Directors

Assistant Directors are unable to tax and receive no profit. In fact, they essentially have no powers at all, except perhaps a title. Their positions are interim: they are required to be Assistants before becoming full directors. As such, their purpose is to displace the current directors by undermining their credibility or preventing them from submitting decisions or receiving payment, all of which eventually lead to their retirement.

Unfortunately, I don't know how many 80+ Traders there are, and how many are even vaguely active. Without enough Traders to fill these positions and permit anyone to become an Assistant Director, it becomes increasingly difficult to counterweight full directors from within the system.

However, one existing counterweight is the upkeep of credibility. Because taxation necessarily lowers one's credibility, it must be maintained by continual bribes or the director will be removed from his position by the guild and civic leaders.