Economics and Trade on Duria
Trade is the very lifeblood of Duria. Though trade was extremely difficult and dangerous during the Dark Times, over the last six decades old trade routes were re-established and new trade routes have been forged across the continent. Though trade with Aurea and Gallorea is still fraught with danger (particularly from Tamerish pirates), some large and hardy ships have been putting in at the larger port cities along the Inner Coast to sell their wares.
Nomadic
Nomadic hunter-gatherers and pastoralists can be found throughout Duria, though they are typically composed of monstrous humanoid and goblinoid races. Usually, these creatures are scavengers and raiders, taking crafted items from more civilized travelers or even the odd remote hamlet.
There are some human family groups that are essentially nomadic traders, but they do not form a cohesive society and are generally considered with suspicion in remote rural areas.
Rural
Much of the land on Duria, particularly in human societies, is divided into manorial estates where peasants work fields for subsistence and trade. These estates are ruled over by a noble, a representative of a noble or, in some, by an elected governor or mayor. Most of these people practice some form of communal agrarianism, where herds of livestock or land is held in common among all of the people of the area (or by their lord) and each person is required to assist in maintaining it. Unless some unique resource exists nearby (such as timberlands or a quarry) manorial estates rarely produce substantially more than they and their lord requires. In more fertile regions, certainly, agrarians are able to generate much more than they need for subsistence, but the difficulty in transporting fresh foodstuffs usually limits the range that they can make a profit on what they produce.
Urban
Even the smallest village is essentially a central market where local people come to buy and trade for goods that require materials they do not have access to or skills to create themselves. Even a small fort built purely for a military purpose rarely stands for long before merchants begin to settle near or within its walls.
Cities tend to be where skilled craftsmen congregate to manufacture goods using materials farmed, gathered and mined in more rural areas. They, in turn, sell those manufactured goods to one another and back to the agrarians who produced the raw materials in the first place. Of course, this buying and selling does not take place in person… merchant caravans move raw materials from rural areas into cities and then return to rural areas to sell the manufactured goods that those people need.
The largest cities on Duria are not only centers of trade and highly defensible, but often a place where disparate cultures meet and mingle. Most of these cities have found reason in the past to ensure their own native culture is not completely dominated by a foreign culture, so ‘foreign quarters’ (like Neptaris’ Castaway Hill) are a fairly common feature of large urban centers where foreign merchants must sell their goods. In some lands these settlements are temporary in nature, dependent upon seasonal arrival of merchants. Because native merchants don’t tend to enjoy the competition, these foreign settlements are often the target of pogroms or increased taxation by the local merchant class or nobility. Conversely, when one city begins to tax its foreign merchants too harshly, another nearby city usually will begin to relax their own laws and therefore draw these foreign merchants to trade with them. Such activities are what trade wars are all about.
The vast majority of urban economies on Duria are dominated to one degree or another by a myriad of trade guilds that often set prices for goods, purchase raw materials in bulk, regulate the quality of goods produced and establish which craftsmen are considered “Masters” and thus enabled to establish their own shop and train Apprentices of their own. In some countries, such as Lun Dorak and Kamara, these trade guilds are heavily regulated and even sometimes incorporated into the government itself. The port towns of the Pirate Isles, of course, take the opposite approach… guilds are relatively rare and most craftsmen are free to set their own prices and employ who they wish. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the places where trade guilds have the most independence (such as the Freecity of Neptaris) tend to produce the highest quality goods.
The largest cities tend to not only be port cities but the capitals of powerful nations. Noviozeta, Paeldain, Balderstein, Terregos, Trias and Zelos City are all major port cities as well as national capitals. Neptaris, arguably the largest and wealthiest city on Duria (comparable only to Paeldain in the size of its population), is an independent Freecity, despite attempts by others to conquer the wealthy city over the millennia. Davalor, though the hub of trade in Lun Dorak, is located high on an extremely defensible mountain peak and has only gained prominence due to the Dorakian’s highly structured society.
Trade Routes
Though every road and even most paths are technically trade routes, there are a few major trade routes criss-crossing Duria through more civilized lands. The High Road is the longest trade route overland, stretching from Caladon in Malvetia in the south to Lar Rentoris in western Koramia. Though substantially slower than travel by sea, the High Road tends to be relatively easier to patrol and, therefore, a much safer choice for transporting goods.
Overland routes into the interior of the continent tend to be difficult and fraught with danger. There are two major passes in the Divian Mountains leading from Koramia to Norlund that are relatively secure. The Durian Road from Neptaris northward is the main trade route for the dwarves of the Cambrecian Mountains. Most merchants looking to transport goods between the Maroshan Sea and the Sea of Blades tend to follow the river into Nagos, then take goods overland to Terregos or Utherios.
In the Betshaban Ocean (including the Maroshan Sea), most merchant vessels hug close to the Inner Coast, travelling from Danas to Ciritasnia while attempting to avoid discovery by the wicked Tamerish pirate ships that prowl the waters looking for easy prey. The Sea of Blades also sees no small amount of trade, particularly between Dakra, Pelusia, Nagos and Enesia. Despite the instability of Stenoa and the xenophobia of Lun Dorak, some brave merchants even travel east of the Mistwood looking for profit. Very few, however, are willing to brave the Maraudine, lest they be captured by Dorakian war vessels on patrol or sunk by orcish raiders.
Coinage
Coinage throughout Duria tends to be minted in the “common” precious metals, including (in increasing order of worth) copper, silver, gold and, rarely, platinum and electrum. The ability to mint coinage is considered the hallmark of a stable nation, so most human and dwarven nations mint their own coinage of varying degrees of purity and worth.
The most common coins in circulation internationally are Koramian, Neptaran and, to a lesser degree, Imperial coins.
The BUC
To make conversion between different coinages easier, each coin is assigned a BUC (Basic Unit of Currency) value. This value exists only as a means for players and Dungeon Masters to convert coinage… no moneylender in Duria actually uses this terminology when converting coinage.
Generally, 1 BUC = 1 silver coin, except in regions where the standard silver coin is heavily debased.
When converting from the prices in the Pathfinder rules, 1 BUC = 1 gp. Gold is relatively rare in Feyworld, so most places are on a silver standard (essentially, all prices given in the Pathfinder rules are actually 1/10 of their given value in Feyworld).
Imperial Coinage
- 1 copper semi = 0.05 BUC
- 1 copper as = 2 semissis; 0.10 BUC
- 1 bronze dupondius = 2 asses; 0.20 BUC
- 1 silver sestertius = 2.5 asses; 0.25 BUC
- 1 silver denarius = 4 sestertiae; 1.00 BUC
- 1 gold aureus = 25 denari; 25.00 BUC
- 1 platinum solidus = 4 aurei; 100.00 BUC
Silver Denarius Standard
1/100 solidus = 1/25 aureus = 1 denarius = 4 sestertiae = 5 dupondi = 10 asses = 20 semissis
Imperial Coin Weights
One pound of coins is equal to:
- 200 copper semissis
- 100 copper asses
- 100 bronze dupondius
- 100 silver sestertius
- 50 silver denari
- 40 gold aurei
- 100 platinum solidus
Koramian Coinage
- 1 copper farthing = 0.004 BUC
- 1 copper penny = 4 copper farthings; 0.017 BUC
- 1 silver shilling = 12 pence; 0.20 BUC
- 1 silver crown = 5 shillings; 1.00 BUC
- 1 gold pound = 4 crowns; 4.00 BUC
- 1 platinum noble = 20 pounds; 80.00 BUC
Silver Crown Standard
1/80 noble = 1/4 pound = 1 crown = 5 shillings = 60 pence = 240 farthings
Koramian Coin Weights
One pound of coins is equal to:
- 100 copper pennies
- 200 silver shillings
- 100 silver crowns
- 50 silver pounds
- 50 gold nobles
Neptaran Coinage
- 1 copper obelisk = 0.004 BUC
- 1 bronze obol = 20 obelisks; 0.083 BUC
- 1 silver drachma = 6 oboli; 0.50 BUC
- 1 gold mina = 50 drachma; 25.00 BUC
- 1 platinum talent = 10 minae; 250.00 BUC
Silver Drachma Standard
1/250 talent = 1/50 mina = 1 drachma = 6 oboli = 120 obelisks
Neptaran Coin Weights
One pound of coins is equal to:
- 50 platinum talents
- 40 gold mina
- 40 silver drachma
- 240 silver obol
- 200 copper obelisks
Average Incomes
Incomes across Duria tend to range wildly. For example, a guilded craftsman in Neptaris can expect to be paid five or six times as much as a craftsman of equal skill in Danas and all of his earnings would go to his master if he were a slave in Lun Dorak. Needless to say, the standard of living for each class varies from region to region, but the incomes below assume an average throughout Duria:
Lower Class Lower class incomes generally range from no significant income (slaves, rural beggars) to about 0.25 BUCs a day. Obviously, for much of the lower class, income varies wildly: a common prostitute may pull in as much as 2-3 BUC a night during a major local festival, but none in the off-season and a farmer might only get paid when the seasonal harvest comes in.
Middle Class The Middle Class is composed primarily of skilled laborers, craftsmen, merchants and specialized soldiers. Their income tends to be a bit steadier, but varies wildly depending on the rarity or importance of the skills they provide. Of course, professions that rely on shipping large amounts of goods tend to only receive income when those goods are delivered.
Middle class incomes range from about 0.50 BUCs a day to as much as 50 BUCs a day.
Upper Class The Upper Class in Duria is composed primarily of nobility and merchant barons who have amassed wealth far beyond their peers. Upper Class begins at 50 BUCs a day and averages around 100 to 125 BUCs a day in most regions. In some areas, particularly Lun Dorak, a sizeable lower class is not permitted to own property and even the poorest of the upper class is able to earn as much as two to five times more a day.
| This article is part of the Player's Guide to Duria | |
|
Introduction · Economics and Trade · Legends and History · Religion · Regions and Realms | |
| Economics and Trade on Duria | |
|
Nomadic · Rural · Urban · Trade Routes · Coinage · Average Incomes |
