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It has come to my attention that I’ve been reblogging stuff here lately. Was not my intent, but uh...that’s a thing.

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sorry what

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Worldbuilding: Economy

Money makes the world go around and economics of a region makes it flourish or flop. Money and trade are important aspects of any world and you must pay attention to what your kingdom produces or lacks in resources.

Resources and Goods

Though we may touch on this again with another post. Your land must produce something. Even if it is a barren wasteland, your land must produce something in order to survive. It can produce items in categories.

Food: Food is a great way to make money. A seafaring kingdom might produce fish. A landlocked kingdom with fertile soil will produce wheat, barley, rye and other things. All of this can be sold either in the kingdom or abroad, a portion of the trade of course going to the government’s treasury. Food is always a good trade scheme but be mindful that it is something that can falter or be easily destroyed.

Materials: Kingdoms will produce some semblance of a material. It could be stone for building, gold for decoration, sulphur to make gunpowder or flax for making clothes. Materials are always desired at home and abroad and if your kingdom produces the best or most of a certain material it will be famous for it. Like Sheffield steel or Italian leather.

Skill: Sometimes people can be traded or their skills at least. A kingdom that sells a skill will be prized. Think of Sparta and their warriors, Athens and its wise men, Florence and its sculptors and painter or Japan and its software developers. A skill will enhance prestige on the world stage and give them a reputation.

Markets, Plazas and Agoras

When we talk about buying or selling, we often forget where this occurs. Every great city has a marketplace and every major town will have them. When you pinpoint where a character lives or where the story takes place, you should think of it’s economical value and status. Questions to ask yourself.

Home: Which city has the most power in the economy? Which costal areas are the major ports? Which city is the richest? How far do people have to travel to sell goods or buy them?

Abroad: Is there a trading route like the Silk Road? Which kingdom is the richest or poorest? What kingdom is hardest to travel to? Or the closest trading partner? Are there any countries that have been banned as trading partners?

Money or barter

There are two common types of payment for a good. You can pay with money or swap it for something else. Money of course can be in coin of note form. Look at my Fantasy Guide to Currency for more of this. Barter is easier in some cases. You have a goat and you want a small row boat. Is the goat worth the boat? Will all the milk the goat produces match or make more money that the fish the boatman catches? Do nobility use one system and the poor use others? When the tenants of a land pay rent is it in coin or barter? If they can’t pay in coin is bartering a common alternative?

Banking

All the world runs on the backs of banks. Pushing all the bad shit aside, banks are there to loan money or to store it. Banks give out loans for businesses or for projects. Most banks would expect some kind of repayment. In Renaissance times, a bank that did this was slandered as usurers. Banks have often wielded power. The Medici bank brought the owners up to the status of first family in Florence, Grand Dukes of Tuscany and even Pope. What do people think of the banks? Are they hated for their biting rates? Are they respected for their fair dealings with the people? What does the bank own? What are their relationship with the people, nobles and royalty?

Transportation and cost

To sell anything will cost you. You must calculate how much it would cost to make a good, transport it and sell it to a buyer. If you were selling something across the sea, how much will shipping cost you? If you were to have items brought to your home from another city, how would you do it?

Here is a problem for you to practice with: If a poor farmer wants to sell a cow in the capital and he lives fifty miles away beside a major road and river, with no wagon or horses and no money for passage on the river, how does he get there?

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Wanna know which other song is about 20 seconds long?

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One thing I find frustrating about Covid 19 is how many people believe that social distancing is 1) short term and 2) perfectly fine to subvert whenever it feels inconvenient. This is going to last for months and possibly a year or more. And social distancing doesn't mean "oh you hang out at friend's houses instead of restaurants" or "you can still visit your SO at their house". It means you don't leave your home, period, for anything except necessity. Goodbye to in-person meetups. PERIOD

Though social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t leave the house, anon. It means if there are other people you have to keep 2 metres apart. Go for a walk, just don’t hang out with your friends or go to a busy mall or social place with others close by.

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Preparing for trouble ✨

✦Twitter

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Been a while since I’ve loaded anything...So I drew some JSAB fan art. 

#JSAB #fanart #JSAB fanart #Just Shapes and Beats

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I finally got a personal printer/scanner for my room, so here’s a sketch dump from my notebook. 

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First bit of art I’ve done in a while. Portrait of Gnoll Skald I’ll hopefully be able to play in a play-by-post game

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It has come to my attention I’ve been reblogging to the wrong place.

...Whoops

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i ordered a wall tapestry from wish and the picture to choose the design from was super small 

it came in the mail today and i put it up

my blind ass took a picture of my wall like ay wow my wall looks completed!! and it full on took me two hours actually LOOK at the thing because i suddenly realized

ITS MADE 

OF PUGS