Trade System
A trade is an activity or hobby learned by a character. It may be how she sustains her livelihood, it may be how she spends her spare time, or it may be a familial profession passed down her line through generations of learning. Trades can be anything from tailoring to carpentry to cartography, and different trades produce different benefits.
Raw Materials, Commodities, and Service Contracts
Each type of trade produces one type of item: gathering trades yield raw materials, production trades yield commodities, and service trades yield service contracts. The three types of trade items are described below, and more information on the trade types is included in the following section.
Raw Materials
Raw materials are produced by gathering trades and are valued at one gold a piece. All raw materials fall into one of six categories: animal (such as meat, leather, milk, or fish), herbs (such as spices, salt, dyes, or other foraged plants), produce (such as fruit, vegetables, grain, or other farmed plants), stone (such as clay, gems, mortar, or tools), textiles (such as yarn, fabric, or thread), or wood (such as firewood, lumber, parchment, or tools). Raw materials may be used in the production of commodities or traded in to the bank for their gold piece value.
Commodities
Commodities are produced by production trades and are valued at a base price of four gold, increasing in value with the character’s trade level. A character with a production trade must use one of each raw material associated with their trade in order to create one commodity. When a character creates a commodity, they must fill out a standard item card with the name and value of the commodity, as well as including the word “commodity” somewhere on the card. A commodity should be related to the trade that produces it; for example, a tailor would produce sewn garments. Commodities may be used in the production of service contracts or traded in to the bank for their gold piece value.
Service Contracts
Service contracts are produced by service trades and are valued at fifteen gold a piece. A character with a service trade must use commodities valued at a total of twelve gold in order to create one service contract; however, the required value of commodities decreases as the character’s trade level increases. When a character creates a service contract, they must fill out a standard item card, including the word “contract” in the name, and list their character name, card number, and value of fifteen gold. A service contract may be used by any character except the character that created it to earn Lifestyle Build or turned in to the bank for its gold piece value.
Trade Types
There are three types of trades at Knight Realms: gathering trades, production trades, and service trades. Each trade type produces one type of item, described in the previous section.
Gathering Trades
A gathering trade is any profession that produces one type of raw material, selected by the character at the time of learning the trade. Examples of gathering trades might include farmers (produce), butchers (animal), hunters (animal), or miners (stone). A character with a gathering trade earns a base of six raw material cards at check in; if they learn the Trade Journeyman skill, they instead earn twelve raw material cards, and if they learn the Trade Master skill, they instead earn eighteen.
Production Trades
A production trade is any profession that creates commodities out of raw materials. Upon learning the trade, the character must choose two types of raw material that fit their trade. For example, a tailor might require textiles and herbs (dye), a cook might require animal and produce, or a cobbler might require animal (leather) and wood (tools). The specific raw materials used by a trade are not set in stone and might vary from character to character, even for the same profession.
A character with a production trade may take one of each of their chosen raw materials and combine them to create a commodity with a base value of four gold; if they learn the Trade Journeyman skill, the value is instead eight gold, and if they learn the Trade Master skill, the value is instead twelve gold.
Service Trades
A service trade is any profession that provides a service instead of producing an item. Service trades might include mercenaries, entertainers, fortune tellers, or carpenters. A character with a service trade may take twelve gold worth of commodities and turn them into a service contract; if they learn the Trade Journeyman skill, the required commodities are reduced to eight gold, and if they learn the Trade Master skill, the required commodities are further reduced to four gold. If the character uses commodities of higher value than is required, the excess is lost. However, one high value commodity may be used in the production of multiple contracts if they are made at the same time.
Lifestyle Build
Once per event, a character may turn a service contract in to Logistics to earn lifestyle Build. A character may not turn in a service contract that they created. The amount of lifestyle Build earned is determined by the level of the character using the contract and is equal to one Build per ten character levels. A character of under tenth level will always earn a minimum of one Build.
Trade Skills
The following skills will be added to the Common List at the specified cost and can be learned starting at this event.
Trade (Free)
This ability allows the character to learn a gathering, production, or service trade of her choice. Information on trades can be found in Codex A.
Passive
Trade Journeyman (5 Build)
This ability increases the yield of a character’s trade. A character with a gathering trade collects twelve raw material cards per event, a character with a production trade produces commodities valued at eight gold, or a character with a service trade requires only eight gold in commodities to create a contract.
Passive
Trade Master (10 Build)
This ability increases the yield of a character’s trade and requires the character to have Trade Journeyman. A character with a gathering trade collects eighteen raw material cards per event, a character with a production trade produces commodities valued at twelve gold, or a character with a service trade requires only four gold in commodities to create a contract.
Passive
Trade System Design and FAQ
Design Purpose
We had a main purpose when we set out to make a replacement Trade System. To allow all characters to create gold value, through picking from options of how they want to do so. The system allows all characters the ability to create wealth for no build cost, or greater wealth for a build cost. Each type of trade you would choose creates wealth with different levels of difficulty, involvement and parameters. If the system works its way through to the end, it creates lifestyle build as an item on the market that can be purchased by anyone. We designed it to allow player role-play creativity as well as some more in depth interactions between players.
FAQ
Q: I see an issue with the system, what do I do?!
A: Let it go for now and keep an eye on it. There are several elements and factors to be considered. Chances are that if you see a potential issue, we saw the same thing as well, but made a purposeful choice in a different direction as a result of looking at other elements and factors involved with the system. At the end of the day we made choices and there will be no way of telling which choices work well until after we see it in play for several months. We will absolutely solicit your feedback and ideas as we start trying it all out, but for now, just give it a try and if you really need to, privately send us a message.
Q: What if I want to overcharge and allow the supply and demand to dictate value?
A: Because we need all options to feel comparable in value, we need the values to be as stated in the rules describing the system. If you want to give stuff away for free that’s one thing, but don't overcharge any of these items. If you need an in-game explanation, trade laws could be cited as an excuse.
Q: How do I get started?
A: Choose what trade type you want, list any other applicable details. Write it on your card in the learned skills section. Example: Trade Chef - Production - Animal & Herbs. If you want to spend the build to get the jouneyman and or master trade, you can do so at the same time with no prereq limitation. Next event, collect your cards and start playing the system. This event you will likely find cards for this system as treasure, to use at next event as long as you remembered to learn this skills this weekend.
Q: Can I be any profession I want?
A: Yes, within reason. If your chosen profession does not fit within the fantasy genre or our PG-13 rating you will have to choose a new profession instead.
Q: Can I use a self-teach to have the skill for this event?
A: You can if you want to, but keep in mind since few people will have the skill you may not be able to fully utilize it.
Q: What if I already have a Trade skill?
A: You will automatically be refunded all the Build you have spent on Trades and may spend it starting at this event, even if the Trade skill is still listed on your card. Because the options are very different from the old system and it would be a lot of work on the card staff, we cannot automatically transfer everyone over to the new skills, so make sure to write it on your card if you wish to continue having a Trade in the new system.
- James C. Kimball Director, Knight Realms
