JohnB's Games

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====== Merchant and Marine ======


===== Overview =====

++++ The old Intro|
Merchants make a living buying goods cheaply in one place and selling them at a profit somewhere else. Some specialise in a specific commodity, but most merchants deal with whatever trade goods are available at the time.  You should note that transporting goods by land  has a slightly lower return that transporting them by water, but you can develop bases in more places - and to really win from these rules you need bases in many different locations.

Like all other businesses, You will need to seek permission from the Land Owner to build in their settlements, and they will ask you for a contribution to the Civic Development of the city before granting permission.  This is because they the Land Owner has to balance the Economic Value that you bring, by building developments that increase the Loyalty and Security values of their settlement ++Note|//(They have the most complex rules of all to play with)//++.  However, unlike other businesses, Merchants can buy boats, ships and mule trains without asking anyone's permission, and the Land Owners ++know that|//(after all these are publicly available rules)//++ - so they are likely to ask you for larger contributions than other businesses or ask you to commit to donating more civic buildings later.  You need top decide it that is appropriate for your  PC's personal goals, and good business for your company.  If not, it might be time to build elsewhere.

  * Note 1:  Jetties and Piers can only be built in settlements with a water border.
  * Note 2: A PC may only control one merchant base in a hex.  (although other merchant houses might also have bases in the same settlement / hex)

**IMPORTANT:  At some point I am going to re-balance the rules to do away with fractional Build points values.  When I do, the BP returns for Town and City bases will not be changed, which will effectively halve their value to your business. Think of it as currently receiving more than intended, rather than losing something when the rules change  :)**

++++

The Merchant Rules allow the PC to set up a network of trade ships or caravans to trade around the wider area.  This is the quickest way to get ++rich|(within the context of the kingdom rules.  It doesn’t give you extra cash to buy adventuring gear.)++ but the rules are fairly complicated and you have to work hard to negotiate permission to build your land based assets.  This gets more complicated when you try to move into foreign cities where you don’t have much influence.

Merchants start off small, often just bringing goods to town from the surrounding towns and villages.  Over time, you develop trade routes between local towns, but things really start to take off when you have a base in your local city and you start trading with towns and cities in other regions.

A Merchant House is one of the few businesses that will try to raise money from their business developments and use them to buy assets in different areas.  To do this you need to liquidate assets in your home region and use them to make your initial purchase in the new area.  Once you are established, you can use locally generated funds to build normally. 



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===== Local Merchant: =====
  
Local merchants are the life blood of a community, bringing produce from villages, farms and fisheries to their base and redistributing it as required.  Normally they are based around a jetty and a few fishing boats or a serai and mule trains – that operate over short (5-hex) trade routes.   It is a nice straightforward little business built around a single Village, Town or City, which gives you some local influence and generates a basic income. 
 
__**Local Base:**__
  * **Minimum Requirements are** 
  * Can be built in a Village, Town or City.
  * //Land//: A Serai and a Mule Train
  * //Water//:  A Jetty and  Fishing Boats.

  * //Benefit//: +1 Influence
 

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===== Merchant: =====

Most merchants make their money trading between different towns and cities across the region.  Medium length (10-hex) trade routes operated by Ox trains and Shallops support, or even replace, the local trade routes.   As the Merchant House becomes known across a wider area, so their influence increases.

__**Town Base**__

  * **Minimum Requirements are** 
  * Can be built in a Town or City.  (not in a village)
  * //Land//:  Merchant House, Warehouse, Serai and at least one Ox Train
  * //Water//:  Merchant House, Warehouse, Jetty and at least one Shallop.

  * //Benefits//: +2 Economy, +2 Stability, +2 Loyalty, +3 Influence  (for each town base)

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===== Great Merchant =====

If you want to be an important merchant you need to step your game up, and upgrade to larger premises (City Base) with better ways of moving goods around.  Caravans and larger trading vessels allow you to develop longer trading routes, and  allow you to control more of the goods coming through your city.  Your influence and reputation increases as your vessels and caravans pass through distant towns and cities.

__**City Base**__
  * **Minimum Requirements are** 
  * City location
  * //Land//:  Merchant House, Large Warehouse, Caravanserai and at least one Caravan.
  * //Water//:  Merchant House, Large Warehouse, Pier and at least one Trade or Merchant ship (Keeler or Sailing Barge).

//Benefits//: +6 Influence and +4 economy, +4 Stability, +4 Loyalty,  (for every City Base that your business owns)

As you add bases in more places, you start to become a dominant player on the trade routes.   

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===== International Merchant =====


A Great Merchant House has bases in a number of different towns and cities, and can wield as much influence as many nobles houses may well be able to manage the flow of goods along a trade route. 

So far, the merchant has probably built and developed within their own community - but now they must expand into new areas.  The build points that the merchant has used to build warehouses or buy ships are a local currency made up of favours, services and all sorts, and don't transfer easily to a different area.  There are a number of different strategies the merchant can use to get a foothold in a new city -  but none of them are cheap or straightforward.




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===== Management Process =====


At the end of each  Campaign Turn  go through the following process to ascertain and document your expenditure.

**Income Phase** 

This is how many BP you generate from buildings and developments in your stronghold.  Every Campaign Rules Round you earn ...

  * +1BP for every 2 points of economy that your business owns. 
  * +1BP for every external trade route you connect to.  ++Stolen Lands Game | In The Stolen Land this means building a base in Pitax, Mivon, Restov or New Stetven ++

Acts of DM: Sometimes Kingdom Event Rolls, or other similar things, will affect income. Particularly good weather might mean that trade is boosted across the land, while a flood or famine might mean extra costs for everyone. It might just be one area, or it might be the whole region …

**Development Fund and Treasury**

To calculate how much you have to spend on new developments subtract the Consumption from Income + Treasury. Treasury is just BPs you own that haven't been spent yet. \\ 
Development Fund = (Income + Treasury) - Consumption

**Events Phase.**

This is when you change things, if you want to. Once everything is settled up for the turn, you know your BP balance for the next turn, so now you can do any or all of the following.

  * Build or Buy something

Any BP that you have left over can be kept in your 'treasury' for next time.
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===== Developments =====

To build one of these Mercantile Developments, you need the permission of the Land Owner.  These are the things that are most relevant to merchants, but there is nothing to stop you from choosing developments from any of the other Business lists - so long as you follow the same basic requirements as any other business person.  In  getting permission  to build things on this commercial list, you will be asked to contribute funds towards Civic or Defensive developments - these buildings pass into the control of the stronghold and have no direct affect on your holdings.

==== Standard Developments ====

These developments work in the same way as any other business developments -  you need the permission of the land owner to build them.  However, they are the the developments that allow you to make use of the Tax Free developments described below.


^**Classification**^**Name**^**Cost BP**^**Economy**^**Loyalty**^**Stability**^**Minor**^**Medium**^**Major**^**Value**^**Defence**^**Notes**|
|Merchant|Merchant House and Store (★★★)|  1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| |
| Merchant|Jetty|  1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| A Jetty can support up to 6bp worth of  [[pathfinder:off-the-shelf:ships_boats:ships_and_boats#basic_boatyard|vessels up to 30 feet in length.]]  |
| Merchant|Serai (★) |  1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| A Serai can support up to 5bp worth of Mule Trains |
| Merchant|Warehouse |  1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|  |
| Merchant|Caravanserai (★) |  2|2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|A Caravanserai can support up to 11bp worth of Mule Trains and caravans |
| Merchant| Pier |  2|2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| A Pier can support up to 13bp worth of [[pathfinder:off-the-shelf:ships_boats:ships_and_boats|vessels]] (any size) |
| Merchant|Warehouse {Large}|  2|2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0| | 
|Merchant|Mercenary Base (★★)|  2|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|1| Somewhere for your caravan/ship guards to stay. |
|Merchant|Sword School (★★)|  3|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|1| a sword school that trains your own mercenary unit or guards. |

==== Tax Free Developments ====

Mule trains, Vessels and Caravans do not count against a settlement's Economy value, so you can buy  them without permission from a land holder.  Settlements do not  gain from these investments, however, you must have the appropriate land based development to benefit from any of these investmnents -  so it is good to stay 'in favour' with the town, city or stronghold administration. 
 
^**Classification**^**Name**^**Cost in BP**^**Economy**^**Loyalty**^**Stability**^**Minor**^**Medium**^**Major**^**Value**^**Defence**|
|Merchant|Fishing Boats (M) |  1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|
|Merchant|Mule Train (M) |  1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|
|Merchant|Ox Train (M) |  2|2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|
|Merchant|Trade Caravan (M) |  3|3|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|
|Merchant|Shallop (M) |  2|2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|
|Merchant|Keeler / River Boat (M) |  3|3|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|
|Merchant|Sailing Barge (M) |  4|4|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|
|Merchant|Town Base|  0|2|0|2|2|0|0|0|0|
|Merchant|City Base|  0|4|0|4|4|0|0|0|0|

**(M)** = Mobile.  Vessels, Pack Trains and Caravans can be moved between bases at no cost.
==== Descriptions ====

Descriptions might vary slightly from buildings in other sections of the rules.  But realistically, you can 'flavour' these however you like.

^**Classification**^**Name**^**Description**|
|Merchant|Merchant House and Store (★★★)| A home for you and an office for your business |
| Merchant|Jetty| A Jetty is used for loading and unloading small vessels and can support up to 6bp worth of Fishing Boats or other [[pathfinder:off-the-shelf:ships_boats:ships_and_boats#basic_boatyard|vessels up to 30 feet in length.]]  |
| Merchant|Serai (★) | A Serai consists of storage rooms and animal pens.  Merchants, their staff and travellers are allowed to sleep in the storage rooms, but no bedding is supplied.  The Office/Shop normally sells small items  (under 1sp)  and food items such as bottles of beer, dried fruit, sausage and pickles.  It can  support up to 5bp worth of Mule Trains |
| Merchant|Warehouse | Storage space with a small office.  |
| Merchant|Caravanserai (★) | A Caravanserai consists of storage areas (large and small) and animal pens.  Merchants, their staff and travellers are allowed to sleep in the storage areas, but no bedding is supplied.  The Office/Shop normally sells small items  (under 1sp)  and food items such as  bottles of beer, hard boiled eggs, sausage and pickles.  It can  support up to 11bp worth of Mule Trains and caravans |
| Merchant| Pier | A Pier is used for loading and unloading boats and ships and can support up to 13bp worth of [[pathfinder:off-the-shelf:ships_boats:ships_and_boats|vessels]] of any size.  |
| Merchant|Warehouse {Large}| Large storage space with a small office. |
|Merchant|Mercenary Barracks (★★)|Having your own barracks means you can put loyal guards on your ships and caravans - thus the economic increase. |
|Merchant|Sword School (★★)|You train  your own caravan / ship guards and they really know how to work together - thus the economic increase. |
^**Classification**^**Name**^**Description**|
|Merchant|Fishing Boats (M) |A pair of small fishing vessels that can also carry small amounts of cargo.  Requires a Jetty or Pier (Mobile)|
|Merchant|Mule Train (M) |Pack Oxen, a leader, a few guards and an animal handler or two.  Requires a Serai or Caravansarai (Mobile)|
|Merchant|OxTrain (M) |Pack Mules, a leader, a couple of guards and animal handlers.  Requires a Serai or Caravansarai (Mobile)|
|Merchant|Caravan (M) | Horse drawn wagons with teamsters, guards and a caravan master. Requires a  Caravansarai (Mobile)|
|Merchant|Shallop (M) |A simple vessel with an open hold that can be used for fishing or trade - but isn't much good for passengers. Requires a Jetty or Pier (Mobile)|
|Merchant|Keeler / River Boat (M) |Versatile vessels with enclosed holds, deck cargo space and a cabin for passengers. Requires a Pier (Mobile)|
|Merchant|Sailing Barge (M) | Larger  but slower than some of the other vessels available, the River Barge is the work horse of the Sellen. Requires a Pier (Mobile)|


**(M)** = Mobile.  Vessels, Mule Trains and Trade Caravans can be moved between bases at no cost.