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[Caz]

Currently when immigrants come to your fortress, there's a good chance they will come with giant cave spider silk clothing, which is outrageously valuable. I've seen the imported goods level go from 20k to 100k from a few immigrants, and killing off those dwarves can let you buy out trade caravans.

The proposal is to disable this. No more starting dwarves with giant cave spider silk clothing, and no immigrants with it either.

I don't know why they have it currently, it seems it should be rare seeing how vicious giant cave spiders are.   :roll:

[Grek]

The mountain homes have tame giant cave spiders.

[Caz]

Then why is cave spider silk worth so much if every peasant has silk mittens? ><

[Asheron2K]

Its just like the issue with synthetic and real diamonds... real diamonds are rare with flawless even rarer

dwarf nobles want the real thing and, because they are indistinguishable, the traders only care about where they got it from... not where it was originally created

But seriously... I'm with the op on this.

[nerdpride]

I think that the quality of the silk would be the same, realistically, but the amount produced would be much greater with the giant cave spiders.

Silk is silk.

[Zurai]

quote:Originally posted by nerdpride:
<STRONG>Silk is silk.</STRONG>

Incorrect. Spider silk and silkworm silk are very different. No reason to think that spider silk and giant frakking spider silk wouldn't also be different.

[Align]

Yeah, this always bothered me as well. Especially the part where you can buy everything a caravan holds with just a few pieces of clothing.
Nobles could wear it instead, maybe even require it so you have to request it from the dwarven caravans.

[Magnnus]

quote:Originally posted by nerdpride:
<STRONG>I think that the quality of the silk would be the same, realistically, but the amount produced would be much greater with the giant cave spiders.

Silk is silk.</STRONG>

Actually giant cave spider silk would have to be MUCH tougher in order to support the weight of one of those things, not to mention all the dwarves and camels that are hanging in it also.

[Align]

Could just be thicker strands, considering how strong spider silk is.

[Tamren]

what would make more sense is to link the quality of an immigrants posessions to his skill at crafts.

A highly skilled worker will earn more and own more expensive goods. The kind of low skilled "rabble" we usually get as immigrants would probably make due with less fancy stuff.

[Chaos]

quote:Originally posted by Tamren:
<STRONG>A highly skilled worker will earn more and own more expensive goods. The kind of low skilled "rabble" we usually get as immigrants would probably make due with less fancy stuff.</STRONG>

And, as has already been stated, nobles wold be more likely to wear it as well. Sounds logical.

Still, it would take a *really* skilled worker to earn enough for gigant cave spider silk, a skilled worker might be more likely to wear normal cave spider silk as opposed to normal plant fiber clothes.

[Aquillion]

quote:Originally posted by Asheron2K:
<STRONG>Its just like the issue with synthetic and real diamonds... real diamonds are rare with flawless even rarer</STRONG>

This is only partially true.  Real diamonds are not particularly rare, but DeBeers has taken control of most of the available sources, and have used this to artificially inflate their price.

This article, while old, is the classic examination of this.

[axus]

I think there are deeper issues.  Things should have different prices at different locations, depending on the supply and demand.  Immigrant clothing should depend on where they come froml: how rich they are, and what things cost over there.

The racial and regional factors that already play into clothing choice are cool, at some point the economy can be more detailed and then immigrant clothing can depend on it also.

[Tamren]

true, in that case every immigrant should have a wealth rating and his posessions should not exceed this.

So a moderatly skilled carpenter might have a very nice pair of boots, but all the rest of his stuff is mundane. If The King arrived he would be wearing masterwork everything and his possesions would take up multiple carts etc.

[Tyrion]

Why kill immigrants?  Goblin and kobold thieves give my fortress something like *9000 a year in designer duds.  A little ridiculous if you ask me - I barely have to worry about making trade goods.