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[micelus]

We could prop up Drua as our main opponent to the SCTG, I mean she's the only one with a sizable business. Too bad she's off sailing with Locanil.

[Ardas]

Well that's the thing, save for Trubaldsome's chancellor/chambelain (Iituem's NPC) and potentally Erik, Hans is the only one that has the benefit of hindsight of what the SCTG can do, since he is a full member and draws on their credit.
When I get to Preston, I will probably have to talk to the city's current administrator (that is the Grandmaster) and tell him what the SCTG can do.

My main motivation by the way is not the concern for Elbreth, but the fact that the Guild is muscling in and ruining my chances of creating monopolies and a trade company of my own.

E: If Iituem said that my travel to Preston is an auto success, does it mean that I can start talking with Knave?

[Zako]

Well, it looks like I'm stuck in the industrial sector now. Shit. Why are service businesses more expensive anyway?

As for the SCTG, I would be absolutely TERRIFIED if the king of miring accepted their offer. We wouldn't stand a chance against those monsters! As it is, they are trying hard to muscle in on our economy, which is very concerning. If I were black, I would not accept their deal at all. Hell no, you can take your money and go home! I want to keep my soul and my house, thank you very much.

God help us if they actually get a foothold on our economy, they could probably buy out the whole damn thing in one go if they wanted to.

Also, don't forget that I am now part of the guild, under a false name. I could do something if we are desperate, but I wouldn't count on any acts of god.

[Iituem]

Well, it looks like I'm stuck in the industrial sector now. Shit. Why are service businesses more expensive anyway?

As for the SCTG, I would be absolutely TERRIFIED if the king of miring accepted their offer. We wouldn't stand a chance against those monsters! As it is, they are trying hard to muscle in on our economy, which is very concerning. If I were black, I would not accept their deal at all. Hell no, you can take your money and go home! I want to keep my soul and my house, thank you very much.

God help us if they actually get a foothold on our economy, they could probably buy out the whole damn thing in one go if they wanted to.

Also, don't forget that I am now part of the guild, under a false name. I could do something if we are desperate, but I wouldn't count on any acts of god.

You can change sectors since you just started, that's why I let it happen.  Service businesses are more expensive because I am a bastard and wanted to represent the increased outlay of starting up a business that relies entirely on professional skill rather than the production of goods or the provision of finance.  That said, if there's major player outcry I'll drop it down to 3 on par with the rest of the businesses.

Service sector does have some ancillary benefits to governments that make them worth sponsoring, though.  They improve town and market growth (the other sectors just improve one or the other), they are a valuable source of cheap Specialists and can extend past the base province limit (the SGCT's entire source of Specialists comes from the Shipwrights' Guild).

Service businesses are more useful to governments in terms of their special powers, whereas commercial businesses are better for traders and production businesses are better for those who want to extend their moneymaking ability (more often than not you'll make 2 increments of profit on a resource you produce even if it sells to the province market rather than being traded elsewhere).

Like I said, if there's enough support I'll drop the initial cost to 4.  Zako might just want to exploit his production business to earn a bit of extra cash and then convert it to a service business when he gets the extra ducat.

Ardas:  You may indeed begin talking with Knave.  Just assume a week has passed - the travel didn't take you into Summer so there isn't a mechanical penalty.

[micelus]

What exactly are the specialist types?

I know there are the

spy

sailor

and engineer

anymore?

[ashton1993]

I personally think the SCTG would be brilliant... for Miring, Elbreth not so much

[Ghazkull]

well crap...that was somehow not the thing i expected...sorry Dwarfinton...that was nothing personal or against your character( i actually liked him...), i actually expected you to kill McHale, so that the Position of Herse could be freed up for player characters...anyway, now i have that guy instead...but still a position as herse freed up XP

i hope you are not angry that it was my fault your character died...mea culpa.

[Iituem]

I thought he'd win too, but I had to make it a fair chance.  I was on the fence as to whether I should have given McHale 2hp instead of 3, but in the end I ruled that it was a fight to the death, after all.

Which reminds me.

Edit:  Added in that swordsmanship skill challenge I wanted to take care of.

Edit 2:  Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  But only if you qualify an engineer as a tinker, a missionary as a tailor (man of the cloth?) and a sailor as a soldier (which you can't, the two terms are deliberately separate).  So yeah; Engineer, Sailor, Missionary, Spy.  I haven't felt the need to add any more specialist types yet.

[Ardas]

SCTG is working precisely like East india Company or Hansa. They go in and offer short-term finacial benefit, but they plan ahead and seize all trade opportunites, directing all trade though their HQ and reaping taxes, tolls and goods for themselves.
There is a reason why places like Venice or Lubeck prospered and were able do wage wars against French and German kings.

[ashton1993]

At some point if I could find somebody skilled enough would I be able to modify my arm replacing crossbow? Maybe pay to have it self-reloading or have another entirely different tool which screws in and and out?

[Zako]

I personally think the SCTG would be brilliant... for Miring, Elbreth not so much

Basically, heres what I think the SCTG is doing, in simplified terms:

They lure you out into the open with money, probably going "LOOK! SHINIES!!" while jingling a purse.

Then when you go to grab it, they quietly sneak into your house, shut the door and lock all the windows and doors.

Then they laugh at you through a window while eating your cake. Those bastards...

Basically, they give you massive short term benefits, in return for the future of your country in the long term. Monopoly's fuck a countries shit up bad. Don't let it happen to you.

And I can make extra money with my production business? Dude...

[Iituem]

Vagel7 - You may only research or train in the same year.  Sorry if that wasn't clear.  So you may either train swordsmanship or research poisoning.

Ashton:  Technically an engineer like Mahtan could research a way to do it - it would take two steps.  Right now Elbreth is (except for gunpowder) technologically out of date compared to the rest of the world.  You'd first need the crossbow technology (which would also let you raise archer units with access to Low Quality Lumber and Iron rather than HQ Lumber) and then you'd need someone to research the repeating crossbow tech.  But if you had someone who knew both, they could upgrade your crossbow stock to a repeating one, yes.  Probably give you a free shot at the start of combat or something similar, I'd rule the effect closer to the time.

Edit:  Yes, you can produce any resource that's native to that province.  Which right now is admittedly just Wool, unless Elbreth invests in broadening its manufacturing base.  The good news there is that wool is both cheap, demanded and volatile - if you can ship it to a cloth manufacturer any time except summer (when a supply glut cheapens the good) you'll make a sizeable profit.  As an industrial business, you can produce wool at 4 increments below base - which in the case of wool means that you can produce it at its rock bottom price of 0.25d/tonne.  If you sold it to an equivalent of Vasir that was working in the Cloth trade, you'd be looking at sales of... 1.75d/tonne, so a return of 1.32d after their 10% sales tax.

You would also skip sales tax on your end, since you didn't go through the home market.  You can produce a max number of goods/season equal to your business' Size.

I might alter that even further to let you produce extra units with enough base resources (for manufactured goods) but that will wait until a later update.  Desperate rehearsal time today.

[vagel7]

Alright, edited.

[Yoink]

Swordsmanship Training

2.  The character must have slain an enemy in a mortal combat duel using only a sword.  Armour is allowed.  Poison is not.

Hey, does what I did to poor Feodair count...? Somehow I doubt it, but worth a shot...

[Iituem]

Also, sticking in a ruling that I've already applied invisibly:

Any Market Allowance left over at the end of a season will be taxed at half the normal sales tax rate automatically.

In other words, if merchants use up all the MA in your state, you'll get much more tax than otherwise (about 3-4x as much, potentially).  On the other hand...

The presence of an NPC Trade Guild in a province will halve the Market Allowance at the start of a season, but double the sales tax equivalent will go into the province coffers to represent trade that has already taken place.

Just to give governments a reason to actually want an NPC Trade Guild in place.  If you aren't otherwise trading, it will get you a little bit of guaranteed money.


Fakedit:  Sadly, no.  You didn't really kill him in a duel, you got him in one swift surprise attack that got resolved in a single roll.  =P  That wasn't really a duel, it was a perfectly executed assassination.

Realedit:  Added rules amendments to OP.