Trading House Campaign.

Discussion on game mastering Earthdawn. May contain spoilers; caution is recommended!
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w_socrates
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Joined:Wed Dec 05, 2018 8:20 pm
Trading House Campaign.

Post by w_socrates » Wed Jun 19, 2019 2:59 pm

I just started a new campaign where the players are ex caravan guards looking to make a name for themselves by forming their own trading house. I know I can do the standard guard your own caravan missions, but I feel that will get too boring after a while. So I am asking what other missions would be a good idea to have them do?

Belenus
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Re: Trading House Campaign.

Post by Belenus » Wed Jun 19, 2019 4:01 pm

One of my groups formed a trading house too.
We are now traveling to the far north east outside of Barsaive where we happen to stumble upon some of the legends surrounding Vasgothia and try to establish trade agreements with foreign cultures.
But ofc we aren't circle 1 anymore ^^

What goods does your group want to specialize on? If it's artifacts etc. you could still go for Parlainth, Kaers and other legends :D
You also can go for missions for other trade companies like Omasus'. No Caravan quests but other favors to establish a partnership.
Last edited by Belenus on Wed Jun 19, 2019 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

JetBlackJoe
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Re: Trading House Campaign.

Post by JetBlackJoe » Wed Jun 19, 2019 4:22 pm

- Guard a caravan
- Ambush a rival caravan
- Scout out a new trading route through unknown territory
- Negotiate trading agreements with another house / a nearby settlement / a foreign culture
- Gather rare resources (True elements, plants, animal parts etc) for crafting trading goods
- Lots of social conflicts with other houses and authorities
- Negotiate protection from Thera / Throal / Travar etc
- Build your own stronghold
"Mind over Body. Body over Mind."
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ChrisDDickey
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Re: Trading House Campaign.

Post by ChrisDDickey » Wed Jun 19, 2019 4:42 pm

They could become specialists in obtaining rare or unique items. And why buy the items when you can find them in the wild.

They could do the standard explore/loot a kaer, but have the haulage capability to really clean the place out, and instead of just unloading all the loot at the nearest place where they can find somebody willing to give them 3 copper to the SP, they should start developing the knowledge to know where exactly each item can be sold for it's greatest value. Some items might need to be hauled halfway across the Province before you can get the best price for it.

I really like the idea of scouting new trade routes through unknown territory. Find two markets without a good route, explore a trail between them, then build a warehouse and hire a factor in each one, and set hirelings up to travel between the two.

Telarus
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Re: Trading House Campaign.

Post by Telarus » Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:40 pm

Get them involved in the politics of the larger trading houses by giving them one or more patrons. People who find back-channel connections to smaller trading companies.... 'useful'. ;D

Reference Throal: The Dwarf Kingdom (ED1) p.33.

Tattered Rags
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Re: Trading House Campaign.

Post by Tattered Rags » Wed Jun 26, 2019 1:14 am

Scouting a new trade route is great. A new trade route that specifically undercuts another trading house is better. Nothing like making enemies!

Even betterer, part of the new trade route (or all of it) is actually in secret use by another trading company to give them an edge.


Oh, and look, you set up a nice, lucrative business? Shame if somebody started raiding it...exclusively. Who's targeting you and why? Did you step on somebody's toes or maybe you're getting close to discovering a secret? But first you have to stop the raiding, or nobody will want to work for you.


Hey, kaer raiding...er...liberating is really cost-effective. Hey, why are all the one's you visit suddenly harder than your research suggests? And filled with so many horror constructs? Seems like someone or something has noticed your activity.
Or that kaer was a bit on the easy side with this awesome artifact. Too bad the family you sold it to died horribly in a murder suicide a few months later. And so did one of the people who inherited their belongings. Did they inherit that artifact you sold? Nah, probably not. No way you would sell a cursed item, amirite?
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Avanti
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Re: Trading House Campaign.

Post by Avanti » Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:18 pm

You already have nice adventure hooks above. Let me throw a random list at you:

1. Secure abandoned mine -> find workers -> escort them -> escort caravan with ore -> sell it good and hire a mercenary company to do escort duty from now on
2. Your trade route happens to go through Ork scorcher territory -> find them and negotiate "protection"
3. Scout a potnetial market for what would sell best -> make deals on delivery -> try to deliver on time
4. Suddenly your contract partners wriggle out of deals, one after the other. You end up with lots of goods to sell. Or... find out what happens
5. Someone reported you to regional law-keepers as smugglers.
6. Someone else approached you with a VERY lucrative deal to smuggle something (slaves? moonshine?) -> it might turn out as a set-up. Or not
7. Still someone else has some goods he recently "acquired" and needs to sell them quick and make sure they are sold ELSEWHERE. That someone was definitely not from Kratas. Definitely.

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