The Amazing Travels of goods and people part 2
by Francesco Defferrari from Threshold Magazine issue 29
Introduction
The first installment of this article has appeared in Threshold Magazine issue #28 which can be downloaded in the Vaults of Pandius: http://pandius.com/thrs_mag.html#28, with the html version here: (http://pandius.com/trvlgp1.html. In the voice of an unnamed Minrothaddan Prince of House Elsan teaching to young sea elves, it described the trade of various foods in the Known World and beyond. Now we’ll examine the trade of many other commodities. Therefore all the text outside the tables from now on is the in-world perspective of the Merchant Prince.
Beer, wines and spirits, tobacco, drugs
We could call this category the one of ‘mind-altering substances.’1 They likely existed since the dawn of intelligent races, each race or region having its own. And each culture tends to label the ones coming from other cultures as ‘foreign corruption,’ forgetting that the effects of their own substances are more or less the same. So the Thyatians frown upon the use of zzonga imported from Alphatia, but forget how many of them are addicted to and damaged by their wines and spirits. Elves of old times damned the recreational use of alcoholic beverages as ‘human corruption,’ but had no problem at all with the many plants, fermented beverages and fungi which were used among elves for medicinal purposes or to obtain all kinds of altered physical and mental states. The advantage of trading such things is that they are extremely profitable. But remember to check local laws, as many countries have rules prohibiting some substances and allowing others, often just for preposterous political or religious reasons.
Trade in Beer
Exported |
Imported |
Darokin City, Darokin (beer -2) Hockstein, Heldann
(beer -2) Luln, Karameikos (beer
-2) Serison, Thonia (beer
-3) Skyfyr, Esterhold (beer
-2) Tel Akbir, Thyatis (beer -2) |
Alinquin, Bellissaria (beer +1) Bluenose, Alphatia
(beer) Coppertown, Bellissaria (beer +3) Darokin City, Darokin
(beer) Thyatis City, Thyatis (beer) |
Beer2
Dwarves claim they have
invented beer, and halflings claim they have invented wine, while
elves claim they have invented spirits (originally for medicinal
purposes). Humans obviously claim they have invented all three, and
I’m quite sure such claims exist among many other intelligent
races.
True or not that dwarves invented it, beer had already
spread from eastern Brun to western Skothar, and all the lands
in-between, more than 8,000 years ago, along with grain and bread. As
sages believe the ‘invention’ of beer was rather easy, as
an involuntary consequence of the leavening of bread, it may well
have been invented in different places from different grains. In
fact, even if the most common beer is obtained with malted barley, a
yeast, and hops as flavoring, it is possible to obtain beer from any
grain and all kinds of flavoring can be used. Indeed the variety of
beer is impressive, and very good for trade as, in the same way as we
saw for foods during the previous lesson, all places which love beer
love exotic beers.
The greatest lovers of beer in the Known
World are most certainly Heldann, Glantri, the Northern Reaches and
Darokin, but there is a good consumption almost anywhere. On average
the southern and warmer countries consume less beer because they also
have a good production of wines, but it is not always so. Beer is
much appreciated in all the Savage Coast, Hule, Sind and Yavdlom,
both local and imported. In Alphatia and the Isle of Dawn consumption
is certainly higher in the north, but relevant also in the south. In
Norwold and some other northern nations beer is popular but there is
also a relevant competition from stronger spirits. The most common
categorization of beer is based on the color, from the ‘white’
beers popular in Heldann and Rockhome to the ‘black’ ones
developed in some regions of Glantri and in Bellayne.
Just to
give you a quick and partial bird’s view on world beers, I’ll
list the most popular types. The Pale Lager is a light yellow
to deep yellow beer which is common in a region going from Heldann to
northern Glantri, Rockhome and down to the region of Selenica in
Darokin and Threshold in Karameikos. Each City and town obviously has
its own local variety, and often more than one. The Pale Ale
is an amber beer, also called Blonde in Glantri, common also
in Darokin, Alphatia, Sind and the Savage Coast. The Amber and
the Bitter are variants used in Glantri, Darokin, Rockhome,
the Isle of Dawn and as far as Bellayne. The Brown Ale is
another darker variety common in Glantri, Darokin and Alphatia, also
called Dunkel in Heldann and southern Norwold. The Weiss
is a light yellow and aromatic beer made with wheat, common in
Glantri, Rockhome and Heldann. The Stout is a very dark beer
typical of the central and northern Isle of Dawn. Then there are many
more exotic beers, such as the ones made from rice in Ochalea and
Skothar, the ones made with sorghum and millet in northern Davania,
the Chicha made with maize in western Davania, or the Sahti
made in northern Norwold from fermented bread. Each corner of the
world has its own, just go and find it, then find someone who wishes
to buy them.
Trade in Wine and Spirits
Exported |
Imported |
Argevin, Thyatis (wine -2) Arcadiapolis, Thyatis
(wine -2) Selymbria, Thyatis
(wine -2) Vinton, Thyatis (wine,
spirits -3)
|
Aaslin, Bellissaria (wine +5) Akorros, Darokin (wine +2) Alchemos, Bellissaria
(wine +2) Alinquin, Bellissaria
(wine +2) Alpha, Norwold (wine +5) Aquas, Alphatia (wine,
spirits +3) Ciudad de León,
Torreón (wine +2) Glantri City, Glantri
(wine) Ionace, Nayce (wine,
spirits +3) Izmira, Emerond (wine,
spirits +4) Jahore, Sind
(wine) Redstone Castle, Isle
of Dawn (wine, spirits +2) Shkodar, Hojah (spirits
+2)
Starpoint, Alphatia (wine, spirits) |
Wines and spirits
Like beer, wine and
spirits are a cornerstone of local culture in many nations of the
world. Our human and halfling Minrothaddan countrymen produce several
wines and liquors, and Thyatis can well be considered one of the
world’s centers of wine production. The others are likely
Glantri and Renardie in the Savage Coast. But other nations are not
much far behind, like the Shires and Karameikos, the Savage Baronies,
Bellissaria, the southern Isle of Dawn, the Alatians, Minaea and
northern Davania. Wine was likely invented in ancient Bellissaria,
but soon spread to the whole Alphatian sea and in the old Milenian
Empire of Davania became almost a religion. So now all the nations
which were influenced or conquered by the Milenians, from Minaea to
Thyatis and beyond, are the biggest winemakers. We are speaking here
of wine as obtained from fermented grapes, while spirits are obtained
from all kinds of fruits, grains and vegetables.
But starting
with grape wine, Red Wine is obtained from dark-colored grapes
fermented with the skins. The most famous varieties in Thyatis are
Barbera, Corvina, Croatina, Dolcetto, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo,
Sangiovese, Aglianico, Avola and Negroamaro in southern Thyatis and
Minrothad. Some varieties are cultivated both in Glantri and in the
Savage Coast, such as Alicante, Bobal, Cabernet, Carménère,
Carignan, Cinsaut, Malbec, Douce Noir, Gamay, Grenache, Merlot,
Mourvèdre, Pinot, Syrah, Tempranillo, Verdot, or the Savage
Coast only, such as Castelao, Criolla, Marufo, Mencia, Tannat, Tinta
Barroca, Touriga and Trincadeira. Prokupac is typical of the Gulf of
Hule, Pinotage of Northern Davania, Saperavi in Bellissaria and
Minaea.
Cabernet and Muscat are common in Darokin and the
Shires, where also several Glantrian varieties are used. Pamid is
typical of Karameikos, where also some Thyatian varieties are used.
Blaufränkisch is a grape spread from northern Karameikos to
Darokin, Rockhome and the Northern Reaches. Zweigelt is cultivated in
Glantri, Rockhome and Soderfjord. Dornfelder is typical of Heldann
and Vestland. There are some Alphatian specific varieties, such as
Concord, Isabella, Ives and Zinfandel. In Northern Davania and Minaea
there are the many varieties developed by the Milenians, such as the
Agiorgitiko. Too many to list them all, and all highly seeked out as
wine lovers like to always taste new ones.
White wines
as well have several varieties. Chardonnay and Sauvignon have spread
from Glantri to Darokin and Alphatia, and to the Savage Coast. The
Principality of Averoigne in Glantri rules over white wines as over
the red ones, with varieties such as Chenin, Grenache blanc, Semillon
and Viognier. Related varieties exist also in far-off Renardie,
possibly brought there by Glantrian lupins, or the other way around.
Likewise the varieties of the Savage Coast, such as Airén and
Maccabeu, have been planted also in New Alvar in Glantri. The
Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Müller-Thurgau are varieties
from the region of Heldann and the Northern Reaches common also in
southern Norwold, Rockhome and beyond. Muscat is the most common
Thyatian variety, but not the only one, as there are many others,
such as Vermentino, Trebbiano and the Pinot gris. The Catarratto is a
typical Minrothaddan variety.
A special note must be added for
wines among halflings, elves, dwarves, Ierendians, Ylari, Atruaghins
and Sindhi. None of these cultures cultivated grapes originally, for
many different reasons. The halflings did not know them when they
lived in Davania, but eventually embraced wines enthusiastically,
mostly Thyatian and Glantrian varieties, even if I’d say beer
is still a bit more popular than wine in the Shires. Elves not only
did not know wine, but for many centuries looked down on intoxicating
beverages (even if admittedly we had no such qualms regarding plants
with similar effects, but that’s how cultural prejudice works).
In recent centuries however Elven wine became a thing in
almost all elven communities around the world. However the name
‘elven wine’ often indicates all kinds of spirits made
with fruits, rather than just ‘real’ grape wine. The
native Makai of Ierendi did not cultivate grapes, but later wine was
introduced by the Thyatians. However, it is still less popular than
beer and spirits in the islands. In Ylaruam, the coastal culture has
always produced wines, while the nomads of the interior and the oasis
prefer other beverages and, especially since al-Kalim’s
religion has spread, look down on intoxication and drunkenness. This
attitude limits the consumption of wine and liquors in the nation. In
Atruaghin, beers, wines and spirits were almost unknown in the past.
More recently they have been easily available from external trade,
but in general clans and families disapprove of such foreign customs.
Grapes have limited cultivation in Sind, and limited wine production,
mostly imported from Darokinian varieties, while beer and spirits are
much more common.
There are many other regions of the world
where grape wine is, if not unknown, quite rare, while there are
local varieties of wines and spirits. Many regions of western and
southern Davania for example do not cultivate grapes, nor central and
northern Skothar or northern Brun but, as said before, grapes have
their main range mostly in the temperate regions, not too far from
the sea.
Spirits are a whole different story, as a
spirit is simply a fermented beverage, also called liqueur if
aromatized with fruits or herbs. Well, it is possible to obtain
spirits more or less from any vegetable, grain or fruit, and there is
an enormous variety of herbs, spices and fruits with which to
aromatize them. So again I’m gonna list only the most famous
ones, but consider that any corner of the world has its own. Liqueur
specifically, also called Amaro in Thyatis, is normally a
descendant of herbal medicines made by clerics or elves, and it is
still commonly on sale in churches and monasteries to finance
religious activities. It is often a dark or colored spirit with a
strong herbal or fruity aroma. Minrothad alone has several specific
varieties. Advocaat is a regional liqueur made in Bergdhoven,
Glantri from eggs and sugar. A crème liqueur is a
liqueur that has a great deal of additional sugar added to the point
that it has a near-syrup consistency. A cream liqueur is
instead a liqueur that includes dairy cream. Both have several
varieties around the world. Rum is distilled sugarcane, and
has become a typical product of Yavdlom and Ierendi, but attempts
have been made to produce it also in Minrothad and Ochalea. It is a
growing market. Whisky is a beverage of distilled grains with
a very old history, probably developed by some ancient Neathar
populations which settled, among other places, in the Isle of Dawn,
Glantri, Central Brun and northern Davania. So nowadays many regional
varieties exist in Dunadale, Klantyre in Glantri, central and
northern Alphatia, Darokin, the Northern Reaches, and even Sind,
Minrothad, Ochalea and the Savage Coast. Brandy or Cognac is a
spirit obtained from wine and widespread from Glantri to Alphatia.
There are so many varieties in all corners of the Known World that it
is now very hard to pinpoint its origin, which could have been
Glantri or, some sages say, the Five Shires just a few centuries ago.
Pomace spirit is distilled by the residues of winemaking. It’s
also called Grappa in Thyatis and Marc or Orujo
in Glantri and the Savage Coast, which are the places where it is
more popular. It is often aromatized with all possible varieties of
herbs and fruits. Fruit spirits exist almost anywhere in the
world, as the process of obtaining alcohol from fruits is not too
hard. Rakia is a notorious Traladaran spirit made with all
kinds of fruits, Applejack is an Alphatian one. Cider
is the most famous spirit obtained from apples, a specialty of
Darokin and Glantri, which has spread elsewhere as in the Shires and
Alphatia. Most varieties are not as strong as other spirits but a bit
milder like beers and wines. Mead is obtained from honey and
can be mild as a light beer or strong as a strong wine, depending on
the variety. It is ubiquitous in the world, and local varieties exist
from Davania to Skothar, also called Hydromel in northern
Davania and Thyatis, or Medovina in Karameikos. A Topinambur
spirit is made in Heldann and Rockhome from the namesake tuber.
Vodka is a spirit obtained from distilled grains and potatoes,
whose origin again is difficult to pinpoint as it is widespread from
Karameikos to Rockhome, the Northern Reaches, Norwold and Alphatia,
and as far as western Brun. Akvavit is another spirit of
grains and potatoes popular especially in the Northern Reaches and
Norwold. Gentian is another liquor popular in Rockhome and
Heldann made with the roots of the gentian flower. Gin is a
popular spirit all over the Known World, made from juniper berries,
possibly invented in Glantri in remote times and now spread almost
everywhere but especially in Glantri, Darokin and Alphatia. Pastis,
Sambuca, Arak and Ouzo are all Anise-based spirits in the Savage
Coast, Thyatis, Ylaruam and northern Davania. The origin may be
Thothian or Milenian. Absinthe is a spirit which contains both
anise and other herbs, quite popular in Glantri and Darokin.
Maraschino
is a typical spirit made with special cherries which grow only in
some areas from northwestern Thyatis to Karameikos, Minrothad and the
Shires. Nocino
is a spirit made with green walnuts, possibly born in Darokin but now
popular also in the Shires, Thyatis and Alphatia. Sind too has its
special spirits, such as Mahuli
and Desi daru.
In Ierendi, Okolehao
is a typical spirit traditionally made in Makai villages. Tequila
is a spirit made in the Savage Coast with the agave plant, a sort of
cactus. Sake
or Huangjiu
is made in Ochalea and Skothar from fermented rice and other grains.
Baijiu
is made in Skothar from sorghum. Let me stress out I’ve just
touched the surface of spirits and liquors of the world. You will be
able to find hundreds of other varieties almost anywhere. Even the
Oltecs and all the population who descend from them, such as the
Atruaghins and many other people of Brun and Davania who, as said
before, did not know beer or wines, had a sort of spirit, Pulque,
obtained from the local agave plant, which they called maguey.
Originally it was consumed for religious purposes only, but in recent
times it is also consumed for recreational purposes and even sold to
outsiders in Atruaghin lands.
Trade in Tobacco
Exported |
Imported |
Atruaghin lands (tobacco -4) |
Aasla, Alphatia (tobacco) Azurun, Hule (tobacco) |
Tobacco
The Oltec people
invented tobacco. And they spread it to many places of the world.
Tobacco was already common among the Oltecs and the Azcans before the
Great Rain of Fire. At the time, elves did not like at all the idea
of consuming a plant by burning it, and this diffidence is still
present among many elven communities of the world, except for us, the
elves of Minrothad, and those of the Savage Coast, who have developed
a sort of passion for rare varieties of tobacco. Still, many elves
prefer to consume it by chewing. Differently from elves, halflings
instead loved tobacco from the very first moment and nowadays it is
well known that the Shires have one of the best production of the
world. Among the other big producers are the cultures which descend
directly from the ancient Oltecs and Azcans or were in contact with
them, so nowadays Atruaghin lands, Sind, Hule, the Savage Coast and
the Yezchamenid Empire. Darokin has a true passion for tobacco,
initially importing it from the Atruaghins, but now with a relevant
home production. Alphatians did not know tobacco in their homeworld,
but developed a taste for it quite soon, and now there are huge
productions in Arogansa and Bellissaria. Thyatis also has a relevant
production of famous cigars in the region of Bridleton. In Ochalea
tobacco arrived much later, but it has now a relevant production too.
The tobacco of Tu’eth in the far western serpent kingdom of Cay
is a highly sought variety. The major common varieties of tobacco are
the Aromatic fire-cured, which is the most common pipe blend
in the Shires and is used also for the Thyatian cigars, the
Brightleaf, which is the milder Darokinian variety, the
Criollo used in the Savage Coast to make cigars, as the famous
Gargoñan ones, the Dokha of the Yezchamnid Empire, the
Oriental of Alphatia and Bellissaria, the Perique of
Glantri, the Shade and the Wild of Atruaghin lands, the
Hulean from the namesake country, the Latakia which is
a Milenian variety used in Davania and the Isle of Dawn.
The
biggest importers are all the big cities and all the places where the
habit of smoking is quite common. Most of these places do have their
own production of tobacco, but the internal demand is still much
greater than the internal offer, and here you, the trader, comes and
earns.
Trade in Drugs
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (zzonga) |
Ah’roog, Shazak (opium) Gulluvia, Adri Varma (all drugs) |
Drugs
This is a very
non-specific word, as in some places a certain substance is called a
drug, while in other places the same substance is called a medicine.
And the same substance may be permitted or simply ignored in a
country and vehemently prohibited and frowned upon in another
country. So you need to always know what you can sell and how. In
some countries for example you can sell some substances but the
import taxes are so high it’s not worth it. That’s
clearly a devious method to discourage imports of said substance
without actually prohibiting it. This problem basically stems from
the tendency of humans, and some humanoids, of abusing mind-altering
substances, from alcohol to medicines and drugs. This happens much
less among other races such as us elves, dwarves, halflings, lupins,
rakasta and others. Anyway you have been warned this trade can be
problematic, but as it is not small at all, we have to mention it.
The most traded ‘drugs’ of the world are probably zzonga,
opium, coca and cannabis. Zzonga is not native to Mystara, it
came from the homeworld of the Alphatians. It is a marvelous plant,
really, which produces a delicious pink fruit which has, however, a
sort of dangerous effect. A fruit or the equivalent in juice or jelly
is in fact enough to make one person feel happy and relaxed for one
to four days. So where’s the catch, you say? The catch is you
are so happy and relaxed you really do not bother to do anything at
all, barely eating and taking care of yourself. A parent under the
effect of zoonga may neglect his own children. A soldier will neglect
his duties. Yet the effect is so pleasant that humans get addicted
quite easily, and it can happen to other races too. The abuse of
zzonga has damaged many times the military capabilities of Alphatia
and Thyatis too, where it has been introduced in the past by the
Alphatians themselves to weaken Thyatian defenses. So selling zzonga
has been prohibited from time to time in Thyatis, but a certain
amount of trade is always present. Really the major obstacle to a
greater trade in zzonga is the fact that the plant only grows in
Alphatian greenhouses, so the production is always very limited.
Opium is instead a native Mystaran drug, obtained from a
variety of the common poppy flower, which grows basically in all the
temperate regions of the world from Skothar to Davania. It has been
used by many human agricultural cultures initially as a tea to induce
sleep or as a painkiller, but it has been soon discovered it can have
stronger relaxing and pleasant effects if smoked or if consumed in
any form in high concentration. Nowadays opium is quite popular and
cultivated in Ochalea, Jaibul, Sind, Minaea, the Yezchamenid Empire,
Herath and the northern Serpent Peninsula. The biggest customers are
in the great cities but as said before beware of the law and the
taxes on the imports of drugs which are often present. Needless to
say that smuggling is rampant in this trade, with all the risk
associated for those who engage in it.
Coca is a typical
Davanian drug, which comes from a leaf traditionally cultivated in
the mountains and forest of western Davania, especially the regions
of Pelatan, northern Izonda and Brasol, by several Oltec-descended
cultures. The locals consume it by chewing or as a tea to better
endure the thin air at high altitudes. The substance in fact has the
opposite effect of zzonga and opium, it gives energy and enthusiasm.
If abused, it gives too much of it, leading to underestimate risks
and dangers. Nowadays it can be easily bought in the Savage Coast and
the northern Serpent Peninsula.
Cannabis or hemp
is a very versatile plant which can be used also for cloth and ropes,
and it is extensively used in this way in all the Known World. The
dried flowers, consumed in teas, cakes or smoked, have a relaxing,
analgesic and sometimes exhilarating effect, more or less strong
depending on variety and concentration. Actually in many places this
plant is considered just like a sort of tobacco variety, for example
in the Shires, rather than a drug. It can be found in many places and
sold almost everywhere like tobacco without risks of heavy import
duties or strange laws.
There are many other less famous drugs
in the world. Elves for example always knew a lot of plants with all
kinds of effects, but they did not call them drugs. Knowing well the
tendency of humans to abuse them and create networks of smuggling,
violence and often ineffective laws against them, we normally refrain
from trading our traditional plants and even spreading too much
knowledge of them. Dwarves know a lot of mushrooms with all kinds of
effects, as do shadow elves and humanoids, and the underwater elves
have the same expertise on algae. Halflings know many leaves used in
what they call ‘pipesmoke’ with relaxing or
exciting effects. All these substances normally do not leave the
original cultures which use them. In Davania there are some mushrooms
growing above ground which have the effect of inducing dreams and
visions. Oltec-descended cultures and elves have used them for
millenia, but as they are consumed only for religious purposes, they
are not normally available for sale.
Fish
Fish is an important
food supply for many people and a great economic resource for all the
people living on the seasides and along big lakes and rivers. In our
specific case, even if we water elves do eat fish and other creatures
of the seas, we are not keen in making a trade of them, as we prefer
to defend our waters from exploitation. But the fish trade is quite
important for the other islands of Minrothad and for many other
nations. We do import some rare fish or some freshwater fish which do
not live in Alfeisle. The most traded fish are certainly the high
seas species such as sardines, anchovies, cods, hakes, tunas,
billfishes. The major trade hubs for these varieties are
certainly in Alphatia, Bellissaria, the Isle of Dawn, Norwold and the
Northern Reaches. Squids, octopuses, shrimps, prawns, crabs,
lobsters, clams, scallops, oysters, mussels, sea urchins are more
a specialty of the warmer seas, and so are mostly traded in Thyatis,
Minrothad, southern Alphatia, Thothia, Sind and Ierendi. In Ochalea
and Ierendi it is also common to fish sharks and rays. Some
regions, such as Minrothad, Thyatis and Karameikos are also
specialized in soles and coastal fish such as wrasses, moray eels
and mullets. Sea turtles, whales and dolphins are fished too, but
they are not fish so we’ll speak about them under meat later.
Several freshwater fish have important commercial value and volumes,
such as salmons, trouts, carps, eels and sturgeons, whose
major trade hubs are Norwold, Alphatia, Darokin, Glantri and many
other farthest countries such as Hule and Zuyevo.
Big cities
and interior cities, but not too far from the coast, tend to be the
major consumers of fish. For the places more distant from the sea,
you need some preservation. And there is a market for this too. Fish
can be preserved relatively easily with heat and smoke, dried, stored
under salt or oil. And there is also magic to keep it fresh, for the
most demanding and rich customers.
Trade in fish
Exported |
Imported |
Actius, Thyatis (fish -2) Akesoli, Darokin (fish
-3) Alinquin, Bellissaria (fish -3) Aquas, Alphatia (fish -3) Archport, Alphatia
(fish) Cairnport, Bellissaria
(fish -3) Dubrax, Robrenn (fish
-2) Norrvik, Vestland
(fish) Princetown, Bellissaria
(fish -2) Rock Harbour, Esterhold
(fish -3) Shiell, Alphatia
(fish) Tashgoun, Douzbakjian
(fish -3) Vorloi, Karameikos (fish) |
Aasla, Alphatia (fish +4) Ah’roog, Shazak
(fish) Citadel, Alphatia
(fish) Glantri City, Glantri
(fish) Jandak, Hule
(fish) Leominster, Bellayne
(fish) Raneshwar, Sind (fish
+3) Shireton, Five Shires (fish +3) Shraek, Alphatia
(fish) Sundsvall, Alphatia
(fish) Tothmeer, Five Shires (fish +3) |
Meat
Breeding animals in large numbers to consume their meat is quite a strange notion for us elves. Indeed elves of the southern continent consumed meat since ancient times, even if not a few clans are traditionally vegetarian, but such consumption was rather a by-product of the activity of obtaining furs and hides. Later it became also a way to control excessive animal populations in certain areas. But certainly, up to modern times, elves are not big consumers of meat, and generally they prefer to eat only venison or wild birds, in some cases found already dead of natural causes. It seems that historically the giants were the people who began to breed animals for furs, hides, milk and meat, beginning millenia ago. Dwarves and gnomes learned from them, but animal breeding remained relatively marginal in the dwarven economy for centuries. Nowadays dwarves and gnomes eat meat relatively often but with much more variety than humans, including meats that humans dislike such as snails, lizards, giant ferrets, giant rats, giant porcupines, giant shrews and giant weasels. So there is little meat trade coming and going from dwarven lands. Halflings eat meat as well but they usually have their sustenance home-produced and buy externally only special meats, due to their usual culinary curiosity. Therefore the main bulk of meat production and trade is among humans. Other races, such as giants and lupins, also have some meat production, but their territories are relatively small in the Known World and often they trade mostly through human intermediaries. The domestication of sheeps, goats, cattle, pigs, birds and horses began among humans about 10,000 years ago, many sages believe, probably in the region of southwestern Skothar. It spread quite soon and now it is common among all the human populations of the world, and other races too. Some indeed say that such domestications were already common among lupins and rakasta millennia before the humans started, but no one knows for sure. Anyway in modern times human nations and cultures are often specialized on one or two types of animals and so meat productions are often regional specialties. Beef is probably the most widespread meat but near us the major production centers are probably Darokin, Bellissaria, Norwold, Alphatia and Thyatis. The related but rarer Buffalo meat is consumed mostly in Skothar, Ochalea, Bellissaria, southern Alphatia, Thyatis, Sind and Hule. Bison meat is important among the Horse clan in Atruaghin but it is used also in other regions of central Brun. Pork is likely to be the next more popular one in our region of the world, with significant productions in Thyatis, Darokin, Heldann, Norwold, the Savage Coast, Bellissaria and northern Alphatia. Mutton and goat meat are traditional productions in many regions such as Ylaruam, the Alatians, Bellissaria, southern Alphatia, Hule and the Mileanian regions of Davania. Poultry, mostly chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and pigeons is common almost all over the world but especially in Darokin, Hule and the Savage Coast, the Alatians and northern Davania. It’s also the most common meat in all the places which do not have a lot of space available, such as islands. Eggs too are technically meat, but could be considered their own special category. Many people and races have consumed many types of birds’ eggs since ancient times. Considering how fragile eggs are, its trade it’s mostly local but there is a market for some special exotic eggs, such as the big ostrich’s eggs from Davania. Venison, which is mostly deers and some birds, is common where there are large forests, as in Norwold, central Alphatia and the western Savage Coast. Horse meat has a relevant market only in Norwold, but it is used and traded also in Thyatis, Ochalea, Darokin, Heldann and Glantri. In some regions and countries, however, such as in Kerendas, Vestland, some regions of the Isle of Dawn and Ylaruam, eating horse meat is disapproved. It is unclear if this happens because horses are considered too precious, sacred or too similar to pets. But the Ethengar and the Atruaghin, who certainly have an important relationship with their horses, have no problem eating them. Donkeys and mules are more rarely eaten but their meat is used and traded in Ochaela, the Alatians and Skothar. Camel meat is used in Ylaruam, Sind and Ethengar, but also in several regions of Skothar and northern Davania. Some animals which are almost universally considered pets, Dogs and Cats, are nevertheless eaten in some cultures, especially in Skothar. Dogs are commonly eaten also in Ochalea, Ierendi, Rockhome and Qeodhar. Cats are eaten in some regions of western Davania, Skothar and in a small area of northern Thyatis too. A big local species of rodent called Cavy is commonly eaten in western Davania and from there breeding of cavies has spread to other regions of Davania. Rabbits are a small trade more or less everywhere, even if they are originally from Skothar and Brun and so not always present in Davania. Whales and dolphins are consumed in all the Northern reaches and Norwold, Qeodhar and northern Alphatia and some regions of Skothar. Their meat is consumed also in Ierendi and among the Tiger and Turtle Clans in Atruaghin. Sea Turtles too are eaten in Ierendi and among the Turtle clan, and also in several regions of Skothar, where also some species of terrestrial turtles are eaten. As most of the animals mentioned above are native of Brun and Skothar, originally in western Davania the only common meat was turkey, duck, dog, cavy and llama, a local small relative of camels, while eastern Davania had also buffaloes, local varieties of pigs, chickens, donkeys and camels. However in more recent times poultry and rabbits have reached more or less all northern Davania, even if several kinds of meat common in the Known World remain rare in the continent. Much stranger animals are consumed all over the world, including monsters. As said above dwarves, humanoids and shadow elves eat all the giant animals which can be found in the Shadowdeep, such as giant lizards, giant toads, giant ferrets and weasels, and more. Well, humanoids really eat any animal they can find, but humans too eat quite a variety of animals. Spiders big and small are commonly eaten by humanoids but also by some human cultures of Davania and Skothar. Frogs are eaten not just in the Shadowdeep but also in some regions of Darokin and Glantri, and in Renardie. Slug and snails are eaten not only in the Shadowdeep and in Undersea, but also in some regions of Thyatis and the Shires. Locusts and giant insects are considered a delicacy in many regions of Skothar and Davania. Crocodiles and alligators are eaten basically everywhere there is an abundance of them, such as in southern Darokin and Yavdlom. Serpents and lizards are commonly eaten in all the Shadowdeep and by many cultures of all continents. Reptilians lay eggs as birds, and their eggs are consumed too by some cultures. Elephants are eaten in several regions of eastern Davania. Rats are eaten in Skothar and Davania and giant rats are bred for food by gnomes and dwarves. Consuming rat meat is not uncommon among humans too, even if it is often considered the last resort of the poor in many cultures. Monkeys and Apes are also eaten in some regions of Davania. And all exotic meats, as any other exotic product, can be usually sold at a good price in all the big cities of the Known World. In Glantri City, Darokin City, Thyatis City and Sundsvall, and in other places too, there are indeed some restaurants especially dedicated to exotic meat or monster meat. Just remember selling the meat of dragons or other intelligent creatures is not a good idea. Centuries ago a greedy Alphatian did that, and he perished with all his cargo, drivers, guards and some City blocks of Bluenose.
Trade in meat
Exported |
Imported |
Aaslin, Bellissaria (beef, pork -3) Alchemos, Bellissaria
(beef, mutton -3) Alpha, Norwold (beef, pork, venison, horse meat -3) Altendorf, Heldann (pork -2) Archport, Alphatia
(mutton, beef) Bluenose, Alphatia
(beef) Cirkara, Hule (beef,
mutton -2) Ciudad de León,
Torreón (mutton, pork -1) Farend, Qeodhar
(beef) Jehrom, Hule (mutton,
pork, goat meat) Richland, Yalu Bay
(beef, mutton, poultry) South Harbour, Bellissaria (beef, pork
-3) |
Ah’roog, Shazak (meat +2) Boyâzka, Hule
(meat +1) Ciudad Real, Gargoña
(meat +2) Darokin City, Darokin
(meat) Glantri City, Glantri
(meat) Hillcape, Thyatis (meat
+2) Khamrati, Sind (meat) Landfall, Norwold
(meat) Minrothad City,
Minrothad (meat) Redstone Castle, Isle
of Dawn (meat) Specularum, Karameikos
(meat) Wymar, Bellissaria (meat +3) Ylaruam City, Ylaruam
(meat)
|
Animals,
mounts and monsters
The trade of animals is often related to the trade of meat as most are traded to be raised for meat, but there isn’t always a perfect coincidence. Some animals are bought to produce milk and cheese or eggs, some to make textiles, hides or furs, some as work animals and some as mounts. Most are sold and bought for a combination of the above purposes, and the same may be valid also for monsters. As the trade of animals to produce milk and meat has already been covered under the previous topics and the trades of textiles and hides will be covered later, here I will focus instead on the trade of animals for other purposes, which are generally as pets, as help, as mounts and as ‘monsters.’
Trade in animals
Exported |
Imported |
Abbashan, Ylaruam (goats, sheep -2) Aegopoli, Aegos (sheep,
pigs -3) Angorit, Yavdlom
(birds, turtles, iguanas) Braastar, Glantri
(cattle, rabbits) Debredladany, Hule (cattle, sheep -3) Elstrich, Darokin
(cattle, rabbits -3) Hattias, Thyatis (pigs,
rabbits -3) Khamrati, Sind (sheep,
goats, poultry -2) Les Hiboux, Glantri
(cattle, geese, ducks) Raven Scarp,
Hinterlands (antelopes, parrots, elephants, great
felines) Specularum, Karameikos (cattle, sheep, donkeys, poultry -2) Starpoint, Alphatia
(sheep) Thanegioth (parrots, myna, ducks, reptiles) Thantabbar, Five Shires (rabbits, poultry
-2) |
Aasla, Alphatia (animals) Glantri City, Glantri
(animals) Karakandar, Sind (animals) Kerendas, Thyatis
(animals) Morlay, Glantri
(animals) Rainbow Park, Gaity (animals) Redstone Castle, Isle
of Dawn (animals) Zeaburg, Ostland (animals)
|
Animals as pets and helpers
Animals are not traded just to obtain meat, furs, hides or milk, but for other purposes too. We will cover their use as mounts or harness animals later, but there are many other important roles they may have: farm helpers in plowing, especially donkeys, mules, oxen and horses; guarding herds, flocks and farms, especially dogs; keeping pests at bay, especially dogs and cats; hunting, especially dogs, ferrets and birds of prey; searching for truffles and other mushrooms, especially pigs and dogs; fighting and military uses, especially roosters, dogs and other predators; and more generically as pets. So there is all over the Known World a thriving animal trade for a lot of different purposes. And of all the more common farm and pet animals there are a lot of different breeds which are moved from place to place. It would take books to describe all the different breeds of sheep, chicken, cat, dog and all the other common animals. Indeed there are several books on each species, and if you want to engage in this trade you will certainly need some of them. There are always requests for prized breeds of animals, the problem is not to sell them, the problem here is transporting them. Live animals require a lot of cargo space and special care, because dead animals cannot be sold or, in the best scenario, can be sold cheap as meat for its weight. This is especially true for the more expensive breeds or the exotic animals, which lose a lot of value if they die on the trip. Traders very specialized in this business may have an experienced breeder or even a cleric or a druid to be sure their precious cargo stays alive. The best destinations for the animal trade are big cities, trade hubs and islands. A metropolis like Thyatis City for example has always a huge import of farm animals for the countryside surrounding the capital, animals to be slaughtered for meat and for hides, pets for the rich, exotic animals for the coliseum and trained animals for the military, so it is an always hungry market. Elves specifically do not like to trade animals which are going to be killed or imprisoned, so most of us will generally avoid taking part in this trade.
Trade in mounts
Exported |
Imported |
Abbashan, Ylaruam (mounts -2) Baratpur, Sind (horses,
elephants -2) Ciudad Huelca,
Guadalante (horses -3) Debredladany, Hule
(horses -2) Erendyl, Glantri
(horses) Fort Merrelin, Bellissaria (horses -3) Iskilü, Hule
(horses -2) Jehrom, Hule (horses
-2) Khamrati, Sind (camels -2) Kiteng, Sardjikjian
(horses -2) Kobos, Ierendi (war horses -1) Kulnovo, Hule (horses -2) Lizzieni, Glantri (horses) |
Alpha, Norwold (horses) Deauvais, Renardie
(horses +2) Erdnidze Chengouch
(horses +2) Ierendi City, Ierendi
(mounts) Karakandar, Sind
(horses +3) Prijderel, Hule (horses
+2) Sambay, Sind (horses,
camels +2) Sundsvall, Alphatia
(horses) Ylaruam City, Ylaruam (horses)
|
Mounts
The undisputed kings of mount animals are obviously horses, which have been domesticated by humans for this purpose millenia ago. The elves and many other races did not use horses originally but nowadays many elven clans have developed their unique breeds of horses, highly prized among humans, such as the Callarii horses of Rifflian in Karameikos. Dwarves and halflings have developed their own breeds of ponies which are highly prized among rich human families for their children. Notoriously prized are the Atruaghin, Ethengarian and Ylari horses, and many other breeds around the world. The trade of mounts is less disapproved among us elves than the trade of animals for other purposes, as prized mounts are often treated better than other animals. Still often the elves sell their horses only to a limited number of approved buyers and it has happened in the past that some have been excluded from the trade due to proof of mistreatment. Horses are not the only ones used as mounts or harness animals. Camels are used in Sind, Ylaruam and other farthest places. Elephants in Sind, Minaea and Davania. Dire wolves and giant boars are notoriously used as mounts by humanoids, who however usually trade them only among themselves. Dwarves also use the giant Rockhome lizards, but only in the Shadowdeep as the creatures are too sensitive to sunlight. The Hinterlanders of Davania ride rhinos, and many other animals are used as mounts by other cultures and races. If an animal is big enough to be mounted there is likely a culture somewhere which uses it3. Even animals which normally refuse to be ridden, such as deers or the horse-like zebras of Davania, can be trained by certain cultures which possess special magic or unique expertise. And be sure that if you can buy such special mounts you can always sell them to adventurers where there are plenty of them. The problem with mounts is the same as with other animals: they need to arrive alive, so take good care of them. Winged mounts need to be treated separately with the other creatures commonly called ‘monsters.’
Trade in monsters
Exported |
Imported |
Ah’roog, Shazak (monsters -3) Erdnidze, Chengouch (monsters -2) Farend, Qeodhar (monsters) Fort Ballarat, Bellissaria (monsters -3) Glantri City, Glantri
(monsters -5) Itucuà, Jibarù (monsters) Izmira, Emerond
(monsters -3) Kendach, Isle of Dawn (monsters -2) Kishinev, Zuyevo
(monsters) Ragmata, Yezchamenid
(monsters) Richland, Yalu Bay
(monsters) Shahav, Herath
(monsters -2) Stahl, Rockhome (monsters -3) Surra-Man-Ra, Ylaruam (monsters -4) Thanegioth (monsters)
Tyjaret, Serpent Peninsula (monsters) |
Aasla, Alphatia (monsters +5) Alfleish, Alphatia (monsters) Athenos, Darokin (monsters +2) Azkoran, Azardjian
(monsters +2) Dunwick, Savage Coast
(monsters) Jandak, Hule (monsters
+2) Kobos, Ierendi (monsters +3) Leenz, Glantri
(monsters) Rardish, Alphatia (monsters) Retebius, Thyatis (monsters +4)
Sayr Ulan, Sind (monsters) |
Monsters
Monsters is a very generic and unspecific term which covers a lot of different creatures traded for a lot of different reasons: arena fights, magical components, riding, hunting, companionship and many others. Many elves around the world frown upon the trade of animals in general, as said before, so in our culture exploiting or enslaving other creatures is rather unusual. Our pets and mounts are normally free to wander as they like in our communities and we do not breed animals in large pens for meat or other purposes. Halflings, gnomes, dwarves, humanoids and other races do breed animals, but on a much smaller scale than humans. Indeed it could be argued that extensive animal husbandry and extensive farming, with enslaved animals and humans, are a significant factor in the massive growth of human countries and empires. But I think we elves will never accept such a model of development and I suppose in the long run humans too may come to see the error of their ways. Elves normally engage in the monsters’ trade only to rid themselves of some dangerous creatures without killing them, even if some object even to this, reasoning that imprisoning a free creature is worse than killing it. Or they trade only certain winged creatures which can be used as mounts with the same care with which they trade horses, i.e. trying to select only reliable customers. I will now treat only unintelligent creatures, as the trade of intelligent creatures will technically fall under the category of slavery, of which we’ll speak later. Obviously the very concept of ‘unintelligent creature’ is highly debatable but let’s say that in trade such are considered all creatures which have an animal-like behavior. Therefore creatures which do not have an organized society, an intelligible language and do not build tools and houses. Let’s start with oozes like the giant amoeba, the gelatinous cube, the gray ooze and so on. Such creatures seem rather unintelligent and driven by only one primal instinct, eat, so there are normally few qualms in capturing and trading them. They are typically traded as area guards or waste disposers. No one seems to care about their happiness in being so employed. They can also be ‘bred’ in a way, i.e. pushed to multiply themselves in certain conditions, as it seems they have an asexual reproduction. The use of such creatures as waste disposers, even in houses, is quite popular in Glantri and Alphatia, and other places too. Animated plants and fungi, such as the grab grass and the shrieker fungus, are typically employed as guardians and alarm systems. In fact, they can be trained to recognize their masters and the other ‘normal’ occupants of a place, and react only against intruders. But special caution should be taken to warn and protect temporary guests. Giant worms and slugs are traded again for pest or waste disposal, for gardening, as area guardians and arena fighters. Indeed they could be very efficient to clean weed from great areas, but some expertise is needed to keep them in check. Giant spiders and insects are generally traded as area guardians, arena fighters or exotic food. The latter in Glantri, Darokin, Rockhome, Thyatis and Alphatia also happens with giant slugs and some worms. It seems they are delicious when cooked, and indeed dwarves, gnomes and other inhabitants of the Shadowdeep have always used worms, slugs, insects and spiders as a source of meat. Many other kinds of giant animals exist in the world, which are traded for different purposes. Giant ferrets and weasels are trained as guardians, couriers or pets by the gnomes. Giant bats, giant boars and giant elks are used as mounts by some cultures. Giant marmoset monkeys, native of western Davania and southwestern Brun, are used as mounts and pets by some halflings of Brasol. Curiously enough, there is a small population of them also in the fairy City of Haven, in Karameikos. It’s not clear how they arrived there; they may also be a relic population from ancient times. Giant hawks and owls are used in hunting. The giant Rockhome lizards are used as mounts by the dwarves. Basically all giant animals can be used as area guardians or pets if trained, or in arena fighting. Then there are some other special giant animals, such as the big lizards which can be found in the Thanegioth archipelago or in remote regions of Davania. Such rare creatures are highly sought for arena fighting or even as area guardians in Thyatis and Alphatia, but I would judge very shameful for an elf to engage in such a trade. And they also pose quite a challenge to be transported. Giant fish and other aquatic animals are occasionally caught by fishing boats and certainly have a market as exotic food or simply as food given the quantity of meat that can be obtained from them. Rare animals of all kinds, especially those coming from other continents, can easily find a market in the big cities and trade hubs, as pets, guardians or again to fight in the arenas. Winged creatures of all kinds, and here I mean those big enough to transport people, have a florid market in the Known World and elsewhere. There are giant bats, giant flying lizards of various species, giant birds, griffons, hippogriffs, chimeras, manticores, pegasi, wyverns and many others. Some can be trained, easily or not. Others only if captured at a very young age. Elves ride such creatures too, but we usually breed them and do not trade them with others.
Trade in intelligent creatures and slavery
The trade of
intelligent creatures is slavery and ethically unjustifable. Despite
that, there are and there have been many humans, and not humans only,
who have profited from this awful trade. But there isn’t only
plain slavery, i.e. kidnap someone and bring him or her in chains
somewhere else, but a lot of other nuances which go all the way from
the hiring of free workers who consciously accept to be transported
away from home, to violent kidnapping. That’s to say that there
are a lot of ships around the Known World and beyond which transport
intelligent creatures from one place to another for a variety of
purposes, more or less legal and more or less ethical. There are
practises which are slavery in all but name, such as offering people
work in a far away place without specifying they will be bound to a
years-long contract which will be difficult to breach. Or deporting
people who have displeased some power to a far away and dangerous
colony. Or milder but deceitful behaviors like providing people a
transport to a place but not means to return home. There are indeed a
lot of ways to exploit intelligent creatures. If you want to remain a
good person and a just merchant you should be careful when
transporting people. If you are an accomplice of some unlawful or
unethical behavior, people will blame you too even if you are not the
one who gets the greatest profit from such an endeavor.
Intelligent
creatures are not just humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes.
There are many other intelligent peoples in the world: lupins,
rakasta, tortles, humanoids, giants, fairies, centaurs, dragons,
sphinxes and many more. Some people who would have scruples in
trading or deceiving humans or elves have less ethical concerns
trading creatures which are not so similar to them. So we have all
seen or at least heard of beholders, medusas, glaurants or planar
creatures imprisoned or enslaved to serve as area guardians or to be
forced in arena fights. What’s unethical if done to an elf like
you is equally unethical if done to an alien-looking kryst from the
plane of Earth, or to a werecreature. I warmly suggest you not to
engage in the trade of unwilling intelligent creatures. It’s
despicable and dangerous. All intelligent creatures in fact have
relatives and friends who will hate you and may seek revenge.
There
is even a trade of undead as tireless workers, or soldiers. Needless
to say no elf worth his or her heritage would engage in such an
abominable trade, and probably any elf who gets to know someone who
is doing such a thing, should immediately report it to proper
authorities, or clerics4.
Hides, furs, ivory
The trade of all material which can be obtained from living creatures to be used as clothing or decoration is as well problematic for an elf. Certainly in our history we have always used hides and furs, but we never made a trade of them, because the conservation of natural resources is very important to us, and overhunting some animal species to obtain furs is not something an elven community would do. Also elves do not breed animals in large numbers for this purpose. However a specific trade of some rare furs, generally obtained from dead animals or to contain specific populations, exists in elven lands too.
Trade in hides
Exported |
Imported |
Abbashan, Ylaruam (hides -2) Ah’roog, Shazak (hides -3) Akorros, Darokin (hides -3) Archport, Alphatia
(hides) Darokin City, Darokin
(hides -2) Draco, Alphatia
(hides) Errolyn, Alphatia
(hides) Grauenberg, Heldann
(hides -2) Hockstein, Heldann (hides -2) Itucuà, Jibarù
(feathers) Kishinev, Zuyevo
(hides) Landfall, Norwold
(hides -3) Le Vieux Carré, Nouvelle-Renardie (hides -1) Limn, Alphatia
(hides) Nova Svoga (hides -2) Oldsbury-Upon-Blythe, Bellayne (hides -2) Port Hatti, Thyatis (hides -2) Ragmata, Yezchamenid (hides) Raneshwar, Sind (hides -2) Rardish, Alphatia
(hides) Specularum, Karameikos (hides -3) Tanakumba, Yavdlom
(exotic hides, feathers) Vyonnes, Glantri (hides) |
Alfleish, Alphatia (hides) Cairnport, Bellissaria (hides +3) Corunglain, Darokin
(hides +2) Helskir, Isle of Dawn (hides +2) Ierendi City, Ierendi (hides) Mesembria, Thyatis (hides +2) Minrothad City,
Minrothad (hides) Newkirk, Isle of Dawn
(hides) Rardish, Alphatia
(hides) Sambay, Sind
(hides) Smokestone City, Cimarron (hides +2) Soderfjord, Soderfjord
(hides) Tenobar, Darokin (hides +2) Thyatis City, Thyatis
(hides +2)
|
Hides
Hides are generally obtained from the same farm animals which are used for meat, milk or wool, so mostly cattle, goats and sheep. Horses as well, and many other animals, such as alligators and crocodiles, whose skins are much appreciated, and other giant reptiles. Certain places are specialized in such skins, for example the Serpent Kingdoms of the far away western Savage Coast. Or in other specific skins, such as Farend in Qeodhar for sealskins. Others are specialized in all kinds of exotic ‘monsters’ skins, such as Limn in Alphatia or Vyonnes in Glantri. Bird feathers too are used to create dress, and there are some places specialized in bright feathers for this purpose, such as the Atruaghin lands, Thanegioth, Yavdlom or the remote Jibarù in the Savage Coast. The major import hubs of hides and similar materials are the big cities where clothing workshops are more numerous and the military cities where there is a significant production of leather armor.
Trade in furs
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (furs) Alinquin, Bellissaria
(furs -2) Greenwood, Alphatia (furs) Gundegard, Eusdria
(furs -2) Itucuà, Jibarù (furs) Kishinev, Zuyevo
(furs) Le Vieux Carré, Nouvelle-Renardie (furs -2) Nidzhman, Kyurdukstan (furs -2) Rafieltown, Aengmor
(rare furs -2) Serison, Thonia (rare furs -4) |
Braastar, Glantri (furs) Bridgeport, Bellissaria (furs +3) Cairnport, Bellissaria (furs +3) Darokin City, Darokin (furs) Freiburg, Heldann (furs) Glantri City, Glantri (furs) Lizzieni, Glantri (rare
furs) Norvik, Vestland (furs) Ragmata, Yezchamenid
(furs) Specularum, Karameikos (rare furs +4) Sundsvall, Alphatia
(rare furs)
|
Furs
Furs are normally obtained from ‘wild’ animals, even if there is some breeding of giant ferrets and weasels for furs in Alphatia. Furs are imported both for practical reasons, especially where the climate is very cold in winter, and for status reasons, as nobles and rich people love to have rare furs to show around. The rarest furs are those of exotic animals, such as lions from Davania or white bears from the far north, or snow leopards from Skothar. But the most expensive furs are those even rarer, such as mammoth wool from the more remote regions of Brun, or the furs of dangerous monsters like chimeras, nightmare creatures, displacer beasts, owl bears, seergars and so on, which are really the status symbol among the rich of the big cities. Of course obtaining the furs of such creatures is expensive and dangerous.
Trade in ivory
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (ivory -2) Archport, Alphatia
(ivory) Beitung, Ochalea
(ivory) Edairo, Thothia (ivory
-2) Putnabad, Sind
(ivory) Raven Scarp,
Hinterlands (ivory) Serison, Thonia (ivory -4) Stahl, Rockhome (ivory -3) Tanakumba, Yavdlom (ivory -2) Thanegioth (ivory) |
Alpha, Norwold (ivory +5) |
Ivory
Elephants are gentle and magnificent creatures and elves are historically opposed to killing them for ivory. It is however possible to have a harmless ivory trade buying it in places where elephants are used as mounts and help and the tusks are normally shortened or removed, such as in Sind and other nations. Alternatively, a certain quantity of ivory can be harvested from dead elephants and from other animals, such as mammoths, walruses, hippos, and warthogs. The kna of Undersea also trade ivory obtained from sperm whales, killer whales and narwhals. In Stahl, Rockhome and in Thonia there is a thriving ivory trade of material which comes from long-dead mammoths and elephants, whose bones can now be found buried under the earth. This ivory often is not white like regular ivory but has different shades of yellow, brown or even green and it’s considered rarest and precious. In Davania, vegetable ivory can be obtained from the dried fruit of a palm, and it was commonly used in the past by the elves of the southern continent. It is now very popular among the elves of Brun and Alphatia.
Cloth, textiles, silks
These are mostly the materials which dress intelligent creatures, as nowadays only a few isolated people use exclusively hides and furs to cover themselves.
Trade in cloth
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (cloth, ropes) Azurun, Hule (cloth -2,
carpets) Khuur, Hule (cloth -2) Kopstar, Glantri
(cloth) Markos, Minaea (cloth
-2) Nyra, Glantri (cloth) Port Tenobar, Darokin
(cloth -3, ropes) Richland, Yalu Bay
(cloth) Silverston, Glantri
(cloth) Tenobar, Darokin (cloth -4) Thyatis City, Thyatis
(cloth -3)
|
Aaslin, Bellissaria (cloth +2) Actius, Thyatis (cloth +3) Ah’roog, Shazak
(cloth) Alchemos, Bellissaria (cloth +2) Atruaghin (wool) Beitung, Ochalea (cloth +3) Bridgeport, Bellissaria (cloth +3) Bridleton, Thyatis (cloth +2) Broken lands
(cloth) Itucuà, Jibarù (cloth) Kastelios, Davania
(cloth +3) N’Goro, Yavdlom
(cloth +3) Ober’s Mimbur,
Five Shires (cloth +3) Seagirt, Pearl Islands (cloth +3) |
Cloth
As cloth here I mean
not the textiles raw materials of which we’ll speak later but
fabric which has been processed and cut. This includes both finished
clothes and all kinds of fabrics which are used to make dresses,
sheets, towels, tablecloths and so on. The places exporting cloth are
generally those who have a high density of weaving mills. The places
importing cloth often have a lot of weaving mills too, but they are
also local trade hubs and places where dresses are created and sold,
and so the local weaving is not enough to exhaust all the demand.
Velvet is a fabric made with a special loom, often with
silk and cotton or other fibers, particularly soft and appreciated.
It was originally made in Ylaruam and Sind (both countries claim to
have invented it) but nowadays is produced also in Glantri, Alphatia
and the Isle of Dawn. Lace is a special fabric made especially
in Thyatis, Darokin and Glantri, but now workshops have been
established also in Minrothad, the Shires and Heldann. Brocades
are richly decorated fabrics, often embroidered with gold or silver,
which may have their origin in Skothar but are now widespread in
Alphatia, Thyatis and Ochalea.
Carpets are a specific
item which is produced in original designs in specific places, such
as Ylaruam, Hule and the far away Yezchamenid Empire and it is now in
high demand in many big cities. But the so far almost untapped gold
mine of carpets is Skothar. Ropes are another specific item
made with many different fibers, such as hemp, flax, papyrus, date
palm or coconut fiber which is often produced in all the major ports
and trade hubs of the world, as ship rigging and wagon straps are one
of the main uses of ropes.
Trade in silk
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (spider silk) Ragmata, Yezchamenid (silk) Rainbow Park, Gaity (spider silk) |
Aasla, Alphatia (silk +5)
Ekto, Isle of Dawn (silk +3)
Izmira, Emerond (silk +3)
Spearpoint, Bellissaria (silk +4) |
Silk
Silk has to be treated
separately from other fabrics because it is so priced as to be a
category unto itself. Everyone wants silk, either the classic one
obtained from silkworms or the other one obtained from spiders, which
is a specialty of Alphatia and the mysterious nation of Herath in the
Savage Coast. In the Known World the major breeders of silkworms are
Braastar in Glantri, Ethengar, Vestland and Ochalea, but there is
also some production in Thyatis, Ylaruam and Sind. Other sources of
silk can be found in the far east of Skothar and in the far west of
Brun. Worth the trip, despite the distances, as a lot of places
around the world have mills which produce silk dresses and are always
hungry for the material. Silk is mostly a human passion. It exists
also among elves, dwarves, halflings and other races obviously but
there isn’t as much demand as in human lands. Maybe because
other races are able to produce very fine fabrics even without silk.
Taffeta is a special cloth made with silk mixed with
paper fibers or cotton which is made in some regions of Glantri and
Sind. Chiffon is a translucent fabric of silk made in Glantri,
Darokin and Alphatia.
Trade in textiles
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (wool, linen) Citadel, Alphatia
(wool) Ekiddu, Nimmur
(cotton) New Alvar, Glantri (lace, wool) Nidzhman, Kyurdukstan
(cotton -2) Shiell, Alphatia
(wool) Ylaruam City, Ylaruam (linen, cotton) Zeaburg, Ostland (wool -2) |
Aaslin, Bellissaria (textiles +2) |
Textiles
Textile fibers can be
obtained from many different materials, but mostly from animals and
plants. We have already treated silk, but the most important animal
source is certainly wool, the greatest part of which is sheep
wool. Sheep were domesticated in western Skothar by humans
millennia ago and then spread to the Alphatian Sea, Brun and Davania.
The domestic goat wool had more or less the same history.
There are many varieties of sheep and goats in all the regions where
they are common, for example the angora goat in Hule or the
cashmere goat in Sind, which produce especially fine wool. A
very soft wool can be obtained also from the angora rabbit,
which was first bred in the region of Hule too but has now spread to
Glantri and Alphatia. In western Davania the most common wool is
obtained from llama, alpacas and vicuñas, which are all
local varieties of camels. Camel hair is also used to produce
wool in Ylaruam, Thothia, eastern Davania and Skothar. Qiviut is
a wool obtained from the muskox, a species of ox which lives only in
northern Brun, Qeodhar and northern Skothar. A Skotharian ox, the
Yak, also produces a similar fiber. Dog hairs were used
as fibers by several Neathar and Oltec people of Brun, including the
Atruaghin, before sheep and goats became more common. Byssus
or sea silk is a very special fiber obtained from a mollusc, quite
rare and precious, which is traded by a few land-based people, such
as some regions of Davania and the Pearl Islands, and by the kna of
Undersea.
The list of fibers obtained from plants is much
larger. Cotton is probably the most widespread plant fiber. It
was domesticated by the Oltecs, probably in the area of Brun where
Sind now lies. It is still widely cultivated in Sind and in all
regions of southern Brun, but has later spread also to Ochalea, the
Isle of Dawn, Alphatia, Skothar and Davania. Linen was likely
first used in what are now Minaea and Bellissaria and later spread to
Thothia, Ylaruam, Thyatis and northeastern Davania. Jute too
was likely first cultivated in the ancient Oltec empire and Sind is
still one of the greatest producers. Hemp, already discussed
as a drug, is also a very versatile fiber for clothes, paper and
ropes, probably first domesticated in ancient Bellissaria but now
ubiquitous in all the temperate world. Many mixed fibers are also
used, the most common being cotton and silk or cotton and linen. Less
common fibers can be made with seaweed, bamboo, banana, straw
cereals, coconut, pineapple and many other plants in other
regions of the world. Some are useful only to make hats, ropes or
carpets as they are too rough to make clothes, but others are fine
enough to compete with cotton and linen.
Fibers can be made
also with many metals, but those are used normally for armors rather
than clothes. Alphatians have also developed some artificial
fibers with magical research, obtained from metal, glass, milk,
mineral oil, which are normally used for special armors, decorations
or clothes for the super rich.
Dyes, pigments, flowers, soaps, perfumes
I have grouped together all these items as they are basically all leisure products, not really essential to life but very much appreciated all over the world. You could say in fact that an intelligent species is such exactly because it makes and uses not only necessary items but leisure items too. And indeed there is always a booming market all over the world for these products, so it is worth it to risk long voyages to buy them.
Trade in dyes
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (dyes, lacquer) Alfleish, Alphatia (dyes) Altendorf, Heldann (dyes -2) Archport, Alphatia (dyes) Argevin, Thyatis (dyes -3) Atruaghin
(dyes) Cubia, Ylaruam (dyes
-4) Helskir, Isle of Dawn
(dyes -3) Julinius, Thyatis (dyes
-2) Kishinev, Zuyevo
(dyes) Leenz, Glantri
(dyes) Newkirk, Isle of Dawn
(dyes -5) Rainbow Park, Gaity
(dyes) Sol-Klor, Adri Varma (dyes) Sundsvall, Alphatia (lacquer) |
Aaslin, Bellissaria (dyes +3) Alpha, Norwold
(dyes) Kerendas, Thyatis (dyes
+2) Leenz, Glantri (dyes) Miriestiu, Hule (dyes
+2) Oceansend, Norwold (dyes +2) Sambay, Sind (dyes +2) |
Dyes and pigments
These substances seem
rather unessential to survival, but many would say this is exactly
why they are necessary, as for any intelligent creature to survive is
not enough. Indeed it can be observed that the dyeing of clothes is a
practice which goes a long way back in the history of civilizations.
Some sages say the brutemen or the giants started it, but we elves
know better and I can tell you it was not even invented by us, but by
more ancient people, the fairy folks and other races which lived in
the remote past of Mystara. So many plants can be used to obtain dyes
and pigments it is just impossible to list them all. Every region of
Mystara has its own and I’ll mention only a few of the most
precious ones by the color that can be obtained from them. They are
used mostly to dye clothes and fabrics, but also buildings and any
kind of items. Many of the plants used by the most plant-wise humans
are used by elves and halflings too, since centuries if not millennia
ago.
Reds are made with henna, a plant which grows in
Ylaruam, Thothia, Sind and Davania, the rubia plant which is
widespread in a vast area from Bellissaria to northern Sind and Brun,
the insect cochineal, used in western Brun and Davania, or the
bloodroot plant among the Atruaghin and in other regions of Brun.
Another insect, kermes, is used in the Alphatian Sea and the Isle of
Dawn, Thyatis and northeastern Davania. Oranges are made with
the same plants which make reds, or with some specific ones such as a
juniper of the Atruaghin plateau or the bark of the alder tree in all
the temperate world from Brun to Skothar. Yellows can be made
with saffron, grown in many places from Bellissaria to the
Yezchamenid Empire, pomegranate, turmeric, safflower, with weld, also
called reseda, in Brun, or with the fustic tree of the Savage Coast.
In Atruaghin lands also black oak, butternut and yellow root are used
for this color. Greens are more difficult to obtain from
plants, despite the fact that’s the color of most plants, and
often the mixing of two different colors is needed, or the use of
iron, lichens or other substances. In Brun it is common to mix
greenweed, which really gives a yellow color, with woad, which gives
a blue one, despite both plants having yellow flowers. Blues
are mainly obtained from indigo plants, of which exist many species
in southern Sind, the Great Waste, Yavdlom and Thanegioth. It’s
considered a better blue than the one obtained from woad, which has
been for centuries the main source of blue in Brun and the Alphatian
Sea. Woad is still used anyway, but traders are always looking for
more sources of indigo plants in the tropical lands. Purples can
be obtained from the maple tree, as it was traditional in Atruaghin
and elven lands, or from other plants, such as the purple gromwell
from Ochalea to Skothar, or obviously by mixing reds and blues.
Several browns are made in Sind from acacia trees and palms,
while in Artuaghin lands the black walnut is used to make a dark
brown. Ochre has been used for shades of browns, yellows and
reds for millennia, an invention of ancient brutemen or of even more
ancient peoples. Lichens can be used to obtain a whole range
of colors, and they are indeed a traditional source in the Isle of
Dawn, Norwold, Bellissaria and eastern Davania. Fungi can be
used to produce a whole range of dyes, and they are indeed the main
source of dyes for dwarves and shadow elves, and both would not need
to buy other ones, even if some do out of curiosity and the
attraction for exotic merchandise. The most precious dyes of the
world are some rare one such as the Royal purple used by
Thyatian emperors, obtained from a sea snail, the purple dye murex,
which can be found in the southern Isle of Dawn, the Alatians,
eastern Davania and some other islands of the region. The Empire
maintains a strict monopoly of it in its territories and punishes
smuggling severely. The color is very precious not only because it is
rare, but because it does not fade with weathering and sunlight, but
becomes brighter. A rumor says there are colonies of giant murex in
Davania. A trader able to find them would become a rich trader quite
fast. The crimson and red obtained nowadays in Thyatis, Glantri and
the Savage Coast from the insect kermes and cochineal, already
mentioned above, have become precious almost as much as the royal
purple. In very recent years a fashion has started, I believe in
Glantri and Darokin, to use black as the most elegant color,
especially for the noble in formal occasions. In the past black was
produced by mixing multiple colors, but now Darokinian and Glantrian
dyers have discovered it can be made much faster using logwood and an
iron compound. Logwood is a tree originally from the Savage Coast,
but it has been recently introduced to Ierendi. Dwarves and gnomes
are masters of dyes made with metals and earths, which can be
used for clothes as well as for buildings. But some dyes obtained
from similar sources exist among all cultures and races of the world.
Trade in flowers, perfume and soap
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (perfumes) Beitung, Ochalea
(flowers, perfumes) Ciudad Real, Gargoña
(flowers, perfumes, soap) Dengar, Rockhome
(soap) Harbortown, Minrothad
(perfumes) Tu’eth, Cay (flowers) Vyonnes, Glantri (flowers, perfumes) |
Aasla, Alphatia (flowers, soap) |
Flowers, perfume and soaps
This is the category of
the substances, mostly vegetable ones, which are used to make the
world smell better. This is hardly a necessity in the clean and
spacious elven, halfling or dwarven communities, but it is very
useful in the crowded and often filthy human cities. Starting with
soap, it seems indeed it was a human invention in ancient
southern Skothar, before the times of Blackmoor. It was produced with
ashes, and later lye, combined with animal fats or vegetable oils.
Many other people and cultures used plants, clay, ashes or oils as
detergents before soap became common, and some still do. The soaptree
for example is common in Atruaghin lands and all western Brun.
Ancient Thothians had several recipes to make soap with oil or
plants, and the Alphatians as well. Ancient Milenians and Thyatians
instead used simple olive oil on the skin, later removing it
with a specific curved iron blade called strigil, but in modern
Thyatis soap production has grown much. Antalians and other peoples,
for example in the Isle of Dawn, used tallow and ashes to make
soap. Ancient Ochalea and Skothar used a mixture of pig pancreas and
ash, or a plant known as soap bean. Later in history soap
production became important in Ylaruam, Thyatis and Alphatia, mostly
done with olive oil. In northern Brun soap was and still partially is
produced with animal fats, but had a less pleasant smell. Nowadays
the most famous soaps of the Known World are the Ylari green soap,
made with olive oil and laurel, the Davanian black soap,
the White soap which is made in Thyatis, Thothia and the
Savage Coast and the light green Hard soap made with vegetable
oils and sea water which is popular from the Shires to Glantri. The
dwarves of Rockhome make a special Pumice soap which is very
effective to clean grease and dirt. The special Sailor’s
soap is made in Minrothad with potassium salts for better
solubility in saltwater. Soft shaving soap is made in Thyatis
and Darokin, while in Alphatia a shaving cream is made with
oils and soap. Many elven communities rarely use soaps, but rather
creams obtained from aromatic herbs for the same purpose. These
‘elven creams’ have a very limited trade but have
become relatively popular.
Many other soaps exist in the world
and indeed often each City or region has its own special one, which
always sells well as a curiosity elsewhere.
Cosmetics are
all the substances normally used around the world to enhance the
beauty of hair and skin—as expected very popular among the
rich. Their widespread use can be traced back historically to ancient
Thothians and Alphatians, but it is likely more ancient than them.
Again this is mostly a human production and trade, as most elves,
dwarves, gnomes and halflings, as well as other races, prefer a
minimal use of cosmetics. The most common sources of cosmetics are
vegetable oils, powders such as the kohl used in
Ylaruam and Thothia, beeswax, which is used in many cultures,
and mixtures of oils and perfumes, such as rose water,
traditionally produced in several nations, such as Thyatis,
Karameikos, Sind, Ochalea and many others. Face painting has and had
a lot of variation in history and by region. Chalk pastes and
other means to whiten skin have been popular for centuries in
Alphatia, where men and women used it to look more like ‘pure
Alphatians,’ and among women in Thyatis, Sind, Ochalea and
Darokin, where it was considered a sign of nobility. While this is
still true in Ochalea, nowadays ochre paste to make the skin
look tanned is more fashionable in Alphatia, Glantri, Darokin and
Thyatis. Red ochre is used to give a red tint to the cheeks of
men and women in Thothia, while it’s used only by women,
combined with a whitening paste on the rest of the face, in Ochalea.
Powders or pencils, often of mineral origin, are used to make eye
shadows and eye liners in various colors. It’s again
a use which can be traced back to ancient Thothia and Alphatia but
it’s now common among rich humans in many countries. From the
same region comes the use of black paint on eyelashes or
longer ones. Various types of dyes are used also for nail paints,
a use which came from Skothar and from Ochalea reached Alphatia,
Thyatis and many other regions, and it’s now widespread. Some
cosmetics have useful purposes, for example emollients,
normally vegetable oils or soaps, and sunscreens. Elves and
many other races have always used several vegetable substances, or
types of clay and mud, to protect the skin. Sind claim to have
invented shampoos, which are basically aromatized soaps for
hairs, while other people and races used oils, ashes and many
different plants for the same purpose. Oils have also been used by
many cultures as hair conditioners and gels made of
oils and resins were used to sculpt hair in any desired shape.
In
the modern world, and especially in Alphatia and Glantri, magic
is extensively used for cosmetic purposes. Lights, illusions,
polymorphs are just the most obvious spells, but there are many
others developed specifically for this, and often sold on scrolls.
Flowers are generally a local trade between the country and the cities, but exotic ones, traded as seeds or bulbs, are much requested in the major cities. Recently some flowers have become the latest trend of fashion, such as the orchids from the Savage Coast and the tulips from Alphatia. There is indeed now a significant export from the Savage Coast, Thyatis, Ochalea, Alphatia and Glantri. They are also one of the main ingredients for the production of perfumes, which however are produced also with herbs, spices, alcohol, bark, roots, resins, honeycombs, lichens and seaweed. All kinds of strange things are used for perfumes. For example, Ambergris is a substance produced by the digestion of sperm whales, and vomited by them, which is very important as a fixative for perfumes. There are also some other animal sources, such as Castoreum from beavers in Brun, Civet oil from an animal of Davania and Skothar, even excrements of the Davanian hyrax, and Musk from some animals like the musk deer of Skothar, the muskrat of Brun or the muskox of the far north. Myrrh is an especially famous and precious resin which can be found in Ylaruam, the southern Isle of Dawn and Davania. The major centers of perfume production nowadays are Alphatia, Ylaruam, Thyatis, Gargoña, Hule, Sind, Minrothad and some other places around the world. Incense sticks are resins which can be burned to produce a pleasant smell. They are traditionally used in Ylaruam, Thothia, Sind and Ochalea to perfume rooms and have become very popular all over the Known World and Alphatia in recent years. Elves generally prefer to plant live flowers to obtain the same effect, but the use of flowers, aromatic bark and resins and other vegetable material is traditional in elven society too. There is little trade of elven perfumes, and so they are very precious exactly for this reason. Dwarves and halflings tend to prefer delicate perfumes produced locally from flowers, resins and lichens, but obviously there is a growing interest in human cities also for their limited but high quality productions.
Pottery, glassware and porcelain
Ceramics are a great invention which goes back to ancient history, as it was likely invented by giants or even earlier races in times so far back there are no records of them. The process is basically to sculpt and cook some clay or earth-like material to make containers and various other items, but all intelligent races have gone well beyond this basic practical purpose, creating true works of art. Glassmaking is less ancient but still very ancient, and in the same way started for practical purposes but soon became a treasure trove of creativity and art.
Trade in Glassware
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (glassware -2) Alfleish, Alphatia (glassware) Athenos, Darokin
(glassware -3) Boyâzka, Hule (glassware -2) Dunwick, Savage Coast (glassware -2) Duzhar, Sardjikjian
(glassware -3) Freiburg, Heldann (glassware) Gulluvia, Adri Varma
(glassware) Jehrom, Hule (glassware
-3) Minrothad City,
Minrothad (glassware)
|
Aaslin, Bellissaria (glassware +3) Aegopoli, Aegos
(glassware +3) Alinquin, Bellissaria
(glassware +1) Darokin City, Darokin
(glassware) Feather Fall, Aeria
(glassware +2) Glantri City, Glantri
(glassware +3) Kantridae, Thyatis (glassware +2) Kastelios, Davania (glassware +4) Kishinev, Zuyevo
(glassware) Rainbow Park, Gaity
(glassware) Serison, Thonia (glassware +4) Shraek, Alphatia
(glassware) Sol-Klor, Adri Varma (glassware) Spearpoint, Bellissaria (glassware +3) Starpoint, Alphatia (glassware) |
Glass
Elves claim to have invented glass in ancient Davania, before the Great Rain of Fire, but honestly the invention could well be even more ancient. It soon spread to human cultures in Brun and the Alphatian Sea, and then to Skothar. The material was not much used by the Oltecs and it’s still relatively rare in western Brun and western Davania. Glass windows have become common only in later centuries, but are still quite expensive and so often the poor cannot afford them. Nowadays the major productions of glass are in Thyatis, Glantri, Heldann, Minrothad, Hule and some specific cities such as Athenos in Darokin, Baratpur in Sind, Jaboor in Ylaruam and Kelvin in Karameikos.
Trade in Pottery
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (pottery) Angorit, Yavdlom (pottery) Atruaghin (pottery) Beitung, Ochalea
(pottery) Dengar, Rockhome
(pottery) Kastelios, Davania
(pottery -2) Kishinev, Zuyevo
(pottery) Minaea City, Minaea (pottery -2) Port Tenobar, Darokin (pottery -5) Ragmata, Yezchamenid (pottery) Richland, Yalu Bay (pottery) Sayr-Ulan, Sind
(pottery) Sol-Klor, Adri Varma (pottery) Surra-Man-Ra, Ylaruam (pottery -2) Sundsvall, Alphatia (pottery) |
Alchemos, Bellissaria (pottery +1) Alinquin, Bellissaria
(pottery +1) Angorit, Yavdlom (pottery +3) Arcadiapolis, Thyatis (pottery) Castellan, Soderfjord (pottery +2) Corunglain, Darokin
(pottery +2) Deirdren, Isle of Dawn (pottery +2) Dubrax, Robrenn
(pottery +3) Eyf, Robrenn
(pottery) Garganin, Davania (pottery +3) Grey Bay, Thyatis (pottery +2) Helskir, Isle of Dawn
(pottery +2) Kantridae, Thyatis (pottery +2) Kerendas, Thyatis (pottery) Jahore, Sind (pottery) Lone Cove, Thyatis (pottery) Louvines, Renardie
(pottery) Norrvik, Vestland (pottery +3) Port Marlin, Esterhold
(pottery +2) Seahaven, Bellissaria
(pottery +3) Threshold, Karameikos
(pottery +2)
Uhuru, Yavdlom (pottery +3) |
Pottery
All the world and all the races make pottery, even humanoids. However there is still a lot of trade going back and forth. The greatest exporters are the places whose pottery is much appreciated around the world, or which have very efficient factories to make pottery in great quantities. The world’s capital, at least in our area of the world, is certainly Glantri City, followed by Port Tenobar in Darokin, but the productions of specific cities in Minaea, Davania, Thyatis, Minrothad, Karameikos, Sind, Ylaruam, Heldann, Atruaghin, Ochalea and Alphatia are much appreciated as well. The biggest importers of pottery are the places which use a lot of it for trade, for example Crownhaven in Bellissaria as it is one of the world’s major exporters of grains and cured meat. Many of these places also make their own fine pottery, but still have to import more containers as they need them for trade. The best pottery for trade is stoneware, cooked at high temperatures and therefore stronger and non porous to liquids, and the best is made in Alphatia, Thyatis, Heldann, Rockhome and Ochalea. As it happens with glass, pottery can be used to make true works of art. Milenian painted pottery, both ancient and modern, is notorious all over the world. Oltec pottery has a long tradition still alive in Atruaghin lands, western Brun and Davania. Thyatian and Glantrian painted ceramic, with flowery motives or true paintings, are appreciated everywhere. Alphatian painted tiles or Yezchamenid painted tiles are a must have in almost all the noble mansions of the world. Ochalean pottery and Sindhi pottery have many different traditions in different cities highly appreciated by collectors, and small specific productions exist also in many other places, such as the Pearl Islands, the Alatians, Ierendi and more.
Trade in Porcelain
Exported |
Imported |
Akesoli, Darokin (porcelain -2) Alfleish, Alphatia (porcelain) Beitung, Ochalea
(porcelain -3) Dunadale, Isle of Dawn (porcelain -2) Duzhar, Sardjikjian
(porcelain -2) Ragmata, Yezchamenid (porcelain) Sundsvall, Alphatia
(lacquered porcelain)
|
Aasla, Alphatia (porcelain) Athenos, Darokin
(porcelain +3) Cirkara, Hule
(porcelain +2) Izmira, Emerond
(porcelain +3) Rainbow Park, Gaity (porcelain) Richland, Yalu Bay
(porcelain) Sehaven, Bellissaria (porcelain +3) Serison, Thonia
(porcelain +5) Starpoint, Alphatia (porcelain) |
Porcelain
Porcelain is just a
specific type of ceramic made with some special earths and cooked at
high temperatures. It is of a pure white color and so very easy to
paint in many ways. It is treated separately from other pottery
because it is very much appreciated and it is a relatively difficult
and rare production, and therefore it reaches high prices and it is
extremely profitable to trade.
Originally, it seems, invented
in Skothar, it was an established production in Ochalea and Alphatia
already some centuries ago. However Alphatia was never able to make
enough to cover its internal demand, while some specific cities have
since established a porcelain tradition, such as Akesoli, Braastar,
Dunadale, Freiburg, several cities in Thyatis and Alphatia,
Kastelios, Ylaruam City and the far off Yezchamenid Empire and
Sardjikjian. Each place has its own specific porcelain, and new ones
are starting also in the Savage Coast, Glantri, Karameikos, Darokin
and Vestland. Still not enough, as the world demand is always high
and the trade of this fine material will certainly expand in the near
future.
Metals, common and precious, mineral oils
These are the precious substances which can be extracted from the earth. Metals are used not only for weapons, but also for all kinds of tools, items, buildings, ships and wagons. Mineral oil is used for light and heat but also as a weapon, mixed with other substances. Dwarves claim to have invented the workmanship of metals, but giants make the same claim, so it’s hard to tell who started. Elves of ancient times did not use metals at all, but now some clans have reached excellence in such workmanship.
Trade in common metals
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (common metals -3) Alpha, Norwold (common
metals) Azkoran, Azardjian (common metals -2) Biazzan, Thyatis
(common metals -3) Coppertown, Bellissaria
(common metals -4) Darokin City, Darokin
(common metals -2) Dengar, Rockhome
(common metals) Farend, Qeodhar (common
metals) Greenwood, Alphatia (common metals) Gulluvia, Adri Varma
(common metals) Highforge, Karameikos
(common metals -2) Limn, Alphatia (common
metals) Luln, Karameikos
(common metals -2) Morlay, Glantri (common
metals) Othmar, Eusdria (common metals -3) Penhaligon, Karameikos
(common metals -2) Rardish, Alphatia
(common metals) Rock Harbour, Esterhold
(common metals -3) Specularum, Karameikos
(common metals -2) Wymar, Bellissaria (common metals -4) |
Aaslin, Bellissaria (common metals +4) Ah’roog, Shazak
(common metals +3) Altendorf, Heldann (common metals +1) Aquas, Alphatia (common metals +2) Arcadiapolis, Thyatis
(commons metals +3) Azurun, Hule (common
metals +2) Blueside, Bellissaria
(common metals +1) Cirkara, Hule (common metals +1) Cove Harbor, Minrothad
(common metals +2) Elstrich, Darokin
(common metals +3) Eyf, Robrenn (common metals +3) Favaro, Darokin (common
metals +3) Jaibul City, Jaibul (common metals) Jehrom, Hule (common metals) Julinius, Thyatis
(common metals +2) Khuur, Hule (common
metals) Polakatsikes, Davania (common metals +3) Raedestos, Thyatis
(common metals +2) Raska, Zvornik (common metals +2) Redstone, Isle of Dawn
(common metals +2) Sablestone, Glantri
(common metals) Shahav, Herath (common
metals +3) Slagovich (common
metals +2) Stronghold, Minrothad (common metals +2) Tashgoun, Douzbakjian (common metals +2) |
Common metals
The so-called common
metals are the ones mostly used to produce tools. Even if most people
think of weapons and armors when thinking about the trade of common
metals, in truth most are used for other purposes, especially tools
and items of all kinds, coins, construction and vehicles. Copper
and Tin are likely the first metals which were used for tools,
as they are the easiest to mine and relatively soft. Bronze,
an alloy of copper and tin, was discovered later to be harder and
easiest to mold than its two components. They were all extensively
used by giants, dwarves, humans and many other races for tools,
weapons, armors, coins, jewelry, musical instruments and decorations.
Bronze was also used to make mirrors before glass was widespread, and
bronze mirrors are still used in Thothia and Ochalea. Lead too
has been used since ancient times, initially mostly for sling
bullets, coins and decoration, but later also for water pipes and
roof tiles, and stained glass. It is also used as a whitening in
cosmetics and for the newly invented printing press. Iron and
its direct scion, Steel, are easily considered the most
important common metals due to their widespread use and hardness.
Iron it’s also one of the most common metals, once you know how
to extract and work it. There is also meteoric iron, which
could be easiest to mine but difficult to find and work. It is
normally an alloy of iron and other minor metals, and so it is
considered especially valuable. Pure iron is quite soft, but it can
become a much harder steel once you add small quantities of carbon or
other minor metals to it. The process is too complicated to be
explained here, and each culture has its own technique, often
jealously guarded from outsiders, making local varieties, such as the
Belcadiz steel, or the Ochalean steel, and many others,
especially appreciated. Magnetite is actually a special kind
of iron very important for its use to make compasses for navigation.
An invention claimed by Ochalea, Alphatia and some other nations in
Skothar.
If steel and bronze are alloys, they are not the only
ones. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, extensively used
for expensive objects and decorations for its golden-like color.
Pewter is an alloy of mostly tin and some copper, lead or
other minor metals, appreciated for all kinds of vases and plates due
to its silvery color. Some other metals are less common or hard to
mold in pure form, and so used mostly only for alloys or coinage,
such as Nickel and Zinc. Many other metals exist. Most
of them cannot be used to make items and tools because they are too
soft, too brittle or too hard but you can be sure that either giants,
dwarves, gnomes or Alphatians have found a way to use them in some
form or alloy. Beryllium is used by dwarves and gnomes to make
lights, crystal and glasses. Cadmium is used for plating.
Chromium is used to make pigments and especially bright
armors. Alumen or Aluminum is a soft metal which has been used
as a mordant for dyeing since ancient times, in Thothia, Ylaruam and
elsewhere. Cobalt is used to color ceramics in shades of blue.
Manganese is used to make paints and also to add or remove
color from glass. Magnesium, mined in Theranderol and other
countries, can be used in alloys with aluminum to make resistant and
light armors and shields. Titanium is a metal traditionally
used by giants for special light armors, but it is used also by
dwarves and gnomes. The Mithril used by elves and dwarves
could be an alloy of steel and titanium, but no dwarven or elven
smith will be willing to reveal its exact formula. Quicksilver
is a liquid metal that dwarves and gnomes use to make mirrors,
thermometers and in some mining operations. Popular as a curiosity
among the rich, it is also poisonous and so has to be kept away from
skin. The division between common and precious metals is of course
mainly dependent on mining and trade, but also on fashion. In some
countries for example Aluminum, Quicksilver and Beryllium have been
so rare and expensive they would certainly qualify as precious
metals, and were used only for expensive cutlery, in the case of
Aluminum, or special items, in the case of the others. Nowadays
however there is enough trade of them to allow me to include them in
the common metals, even if relatively so, as they are still much more
expensive than iron or copper.
There are important mines in
many countries around the world, indeed almost every country has some
mines, at least of some common metals. Rockhome and Alphatia are
likely the nations with the major export, Rockhome due to the
dwarves’ and gnomes’ expertise in mining, and Alphatia
for its sheer size and variety of terrain and ores, and also due to
the abundance of magical means to make mining faster and easier.
Trade in precious metals
Exported |
Imported |
Alfleish, Alphatia (precious metals) Ciudad Tejillas,
Almarrón (precious metals -4) Faraway, Esterhold
(precious metals -3) Goldleaf, Thyatis
(precious metals -3) Highforge, Karameikos
(precious metals) Kishinev, Zuyevo
(precious metals) Jahore, Sind (precious
metals -2) Latehar, Sind (precious metals -2) Limn, Alphatia (precious metals) Lizzieni, Glantri (precious metals) Louvines, Renardie
(precious metals) Mkuba Mji, Yavdlom (precious metals -3) Morlay, Glantri (precious metals) New Alvar, Glantri
(precious metals) Rock Harbour, Esterhold
(precious metals -3) Sandapur, Sind
(precious metals) Smokestone City,
Cimarron (precious metals) Stahl, Rockhome (precious metals -4) Surra-Man-Ra, Ylaruam (precious metals
-4) |
Aasla, Alphatia (precious metals +6) Azurun, Hule (precious
metals) Cirkara, Hule (precious
metals +3) Foreston, Thyatis (precious metals +2) Glantri City, Glantri
(precious metals) Minrothad City,
Minrothad (precious metals +2) Othmar, Eusdria
(precious metals +2) Ragmata, Yezchamenid (precious metals) Rainbow Park, Gaity
(precious metals) Specularum, Karameikos
(precious metals) Tashgoun, Douzbakjian (precious metals +2) Tenobar, Darokin (precious metals +2) Threshold, Karameikos
(precious metals) Wendar City, Wendar (precious metals) Ylaruam City, Ylaruam (precious metals) |
Precious metals
Roughly precious metals are the ones which are so rare they are typically used only for jewelry, decoration and precious coins. There are also special metals which are really expensive and so could well be categorized as ‘precious,’ such as Cinnabryl, the magical red metal of the Savage Coast with which Red Steel is made5. But starting with the basics, obviously Gold is the king of precious metal, as more or less the standard of trade in the Known World. The nearest and biggest sources of gold are again Rockhome and Alphatia, but there are significant sources also in other countries and regions of the world, including western Brun, Skothar and Davania. Esterhold indeed has been for centuries one of the major Alphatian sources. Dwarves claim they were the first ones to mine gold, and it’s not clear if giants and Alphatians already knew it independently. Platinum is an even more rare and precious metal whose first mining is claimed both by Thothians and some Oltec cultures of western Brun and Davania. Those regions and Sind are still the most important current sources of the metal. Silver has been used for millennia and both dwarves, Thothians and Thonians claim to be the first ones to have spread it and used it in coinage. Glantri and Rockhome have long been the major producers in the Known World, but more recently the Savage Coast has conquered a big share of the silver trade. Electrum, traditionally used for coins in ancient Thothia, the Milenian Empire and many modern nations, is actually a natural alloy of gold and silver. Nowadays it is often produced on purpose by mixing the two metals. Iridium is a silvery-white metal used in Bettelyn, Alphatia6, mostly for weapons, appreciated for its shimmering color. Arcanium and Magnetite are mined in Arogansa, Alphatia7, to produce magical items. Glantrium is a silvery-gray metal used in Glantri and Alphatia8 for magical items, but also considered very poisonous if not handled properly. Other special and rare metals are very expensive and traded for specific uses. Rhodium is a platinum-like rare metal with exceptional resistance to corrosion, which has been used to make legendary armors and shields able to resist a black dragon’s breath. Another platinum-like mineral called Palladium is said to have the same properties against the green dragon’s breath. Rhenium is said to be able to resist a red or gold dragon’s breath, Ruthenium the blue dragon’s breath and Gallium the white dragon’s breath. All these rare metals would have been discovered by the ancient dwarves who fought against the mythic Draconic Empire9 from before the Great Rain of Fire and were allegedly named after the first dwarf or gnome who discovered, cast or used them. There are other special metals discovered by the dwarves, gnomes or giants. The lead-like Bismuth would be able to withstand magic. The silver-white Tellurium, mixed with steel, makes it easier to mold it in different shapes. Osmium would be the most precious metal as it is the rarest. Bluish-white, it is exceptionally hard and so perfect to make magical weapons, armors and shields. Gnomium10 is a special metal used mostly by gnomes, hence the name, for strange machinery as it is possible to mold it in very resistant wires. Lithium is used by the gnomes for glass, ceramics and lights. Thallium is used to produce infrared glasses, but its salts could also be used as poison. The tin-like Indium is used for alloys and glass. You can be sure dwarves and gnomes know some other metals I’ve forgotten to mention here.
Trade in mineral oil and other special substances
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (fireworks) Atruaghin (flint) Beitung, Ochalea
(mineral oil, saltpeter) Highforge, Karameikos
(mineral oil) Makrast, Thyatis (mineral oil) |
Aasla, Alphatia (mineral oil, sulfur) |
Trade in coal
Exported |
Imported |
Azurun, Hule (coal) Landfall, Norwold
(coal)
|
Aasla, Alphatia (coal) |
Mineral oil, coal and more
One more category I’ll discuss here with metals is a special one, composed mostly of substances which can be burned to obtain heat and power. Here is again a dominion of dwarves and gnomes mostly, even if giants and other races too have used such substances independently or even previously. Certainly I do not see elves as a race which would gladly use such smelly and dangerous substances, even if they do too, in some circumstances. Note that in the Known World the main source of heat and power is usually wood, but I will discuss it later, so here we’ll speak only of the substances which are actually alternatives to burning wood. Coal is basically ancient wood which deep under the earth has turned into a sort of fragile rock, which can be easily burned for heat. Even if it has been used since ancient times, it was made much more common by dwarven and gnomish miners in recent centuries. Mineral oil, also known as petroleum or rock oil, is a black oil which can be found under the earth and it is considered by dwarves and gnomes more efficient than coal and steam to produce heat and power. It has however several drawbacks: it has an unpleasant smell, it releases flammable volatile vapors and it can severely pollute waters. Dwarves say its smoke is still less dangerous and damaging than coal or wood smoke, but still in the Known World the substance is not much popular yet. Other peoples have used and still use mineral oil. The northern Adri Varma City of Sol-Klor11 has an abundance of petroleum and uses it also to pave roads, something dwarves and gnomes do too in their underground territories, and for heat, light and as a military weapon. This last use was also known by the Milenians, which used it so often to assault and burn enemy ships that this practice was called ‘The Milenian Fire,’ and was very effective to contain for many decades Alphatian power on the seas. The use of mineral oil mixed with sand to obtain a paste which under the sun becomes hard as a stone is common also in Ylaruam. This use exists also in Sind. Mineral oil is used for oil and heating also in Ochalea, among the Atruaghin Elk clan, in Heldann and Norwold. Sulfur, also known as Brimstone, is traded to make heat and light in the Savage Coast, Ochalea and Alphatia but it is also known and used by dwarves and gnomes and by shadow elves. It seems in fact it can be an excellent fertilizer. Saltpeter is used for the same purposes by dwarves and gnomes and also for fireworks in Ochalea. Flint is the stone historically used to start fires since the dawn of time and it is still widely used for all kinds of fire starters. I list it here only because it is often used together with the above-mentioned products, but it is also a very versatile stone which is used also in ceramics, as a building material and in jewelry.
Weapons, armor and tools
Every country of the world needs tools and almost everyone unfortunately needs weapons too. Even though commonly many think that weapons and armors are a big trade, actually tools of various kinds, mostly made with metals, are a much bigger trade. In fact, even if most people of the world have the capabilities to do their own tools, everyone seeks better blades to reap, better plows, better needles and so on, and the best places of production are relatively limited. Dwarves and gnomes are often the world’s leaders in this field, but there are excellent places of workmanship also among humans, elves and other races.
Trade in weapons and armors
Exported |
Imported |
Beitung, Ochalea (weapons, armor) Draco, Alphatia (weapons) Dunadale, Isle of Dawn
(weapons -4) Ekto, Isle of Dawn (weapons, tools -3) Errolyn, Alphatia (weapons, armor, tools) Evermur, Rockhome
(weapons, tools -2) Miriestiu, Hule (weapons, armor -2) New Alvar, Glantri
(weapons, armor) Norrvik, Vestland (weapons -2) Othmar, Eusdria
(weapons -2) Redstone, Isle of Dawn
(weapons, armor tools -2) Rardish, Alphatia (weapons, armor, tools) Risilvar, Wallara (weapons -2) |
Abbashan, Ylaruam (weapons, armor +3) Aegopoli, Aegos
(weapons +5) Alpha, Norwold (armor
+5, weapons +4) Angorit, Yavdlom (weapons, tools +3) Asgamoth, Herath
(weapons +3) Ciudad León, Torreón (smokepowder +2) Ciudad Tejillas, Almarrón (weapons, firearms +3) Coppertown, Bellissaria (weapons, tools +3) Corunglain, Darokin
(weapons, tools +3) Darokin City, Darokin (weapons +2) Deauvais, Renardie (weapons +2) Dolos, Darokin (weapons, tools +3) Duzhar, Sardjikjian (weapons, armor +3) Ekiddu, Nimmur
(weapons, armor) Freiburg, Heldann (weapons +3, armor +2) Garganin, Davania (weapons, tools) Glantri City, Glantri
(weapons +2) Grauenberg, Heldann
(weapons, armor +2) Ilioloosti, Davania
(weapons +2) Jaboor, Ylaruam
(weapons +1) Kishinev, Zuyevo
(weapons, armor) Les Hiboux, Glantri
(weapons) Louvines, Renardie
(smokepowder +2) Markos, Minaea
(weapons, armor, tools +3) Skyfyr, Esterhold
(weapons, armor +3) Smolini, Grouzhina
(weapons, armor +3) Sol-Klor, Adri Varma (weapons, armor) South Harbour,
Bellissaria (weapons, armor tools +3) Surra-Man-Ra, Ylaruam (weapons +3) Tameronikas, Ylarauam (weapons, armor +2) Terentias, Thyatis
(weapons, tools +2) Ylaruam City, Ylaruam (weapons, armor +2) |
Weapons
The variety of weapons invented by various intelligent people to harm other intelligent people is infinite and a bit despairing. I will not even try to list them all here. Actually most of them were usually invented as tools, or as hunting weapons, and only later became war weapons. A basic categorization divides them into melee weapons and missile weapons, the latter also requiring ammunition. Each one has a subcategory of magical weapons and missile weapons also have the special category of firearms. There are some cities specialized in certain weapons and famous to make the finest ones, for example for swords Beitung in Ochalea, or Thyatis City. Elves too make excellent swords but normally they do not like to trade weapons, even if some do. There is a limited trade of special shell weapons and armor in Seahome for example, and the Belcadiz swords of New Alvar are considered the finest of the world, and it’s not easy to acquire one. The trade of magical weapons is extremely profitable but also extremely costly and dangerous. To lose a cargo of such items would be the ruin of the most rich traders, and beside that such a cargo attracts powerful thieves and requires powerful guards. The merchants who engage in such trade tend to do it as secretly as possible and with limited quantities moved. Firearms actually exist in two very different kinds. Many people think they are a sort of magical wand but they really are mechanical contraptions which throw bullets of lead at high speed, fast enough to pierce people and damage armor. They were invented by dwarves centuries ago, and use the explosion of a substance called blackpowder to throw the bullet. Dwarves and gnomes normally do not trade their firearms and even go to great length to punish whoever does it and retrieve the merchandise. But there are always unscrupulous subjects even among them, so a minimal amount of black market exists. The matter is different in the Savage Coast, where the local variant obtained from red steel, called smokepowder, and the firearms powered with it, are freely traded by dwarves, gnomes and everyone else. The extensive use of firearms has certainly given some advantages to Savage Coast armies against Hule and to Savage Coast captains against other traders, but in truth the advantage could be greatly reduced by a good company of archers or crossbowmen. It is indeed historically well known that Alphatian boltmen have been more than once defeated by Thyatian archers and crossbowmen. Still the use of firearms is somewhat of a fashion in many countries of the Savage Coast, especially Cimarron country, and not there only.
Siege equipment
These are the big weapons used to batter and destroy fortresses and castles. As they are extremely costly to make and bulky, countries tend to have a monopoly on them. Still there are minor examples of such equipment mounted on most of the world’s ships and freely traded. And all the minor landlords or mercenary leaders of the world worthy of their name want at least a small catapult or ballista for their tower or castle. There are also sort of catapults powered by blackpowder or smokepowder, called bombards or cannons. It is highly debatable if they can be more useful than a catapult, a ballista or a wizard, but there is some trade in them too.
Armors and shields
Armors and shields are the opposite side of weapons, meant to defend people, animals, wagons, ships and properties from weapons. The point of armor is to be as resistant and as light as possible, while maintaining an acceptable cost, so the materials used and their availability is very important, as well as the workmanship. We have already discussed some special metals which can be used for this purpose previously, but about workmanship, probably the Rockhome, Thyatian and Ochalean one are among the best in the world. Excellent armors however are made also in Glantri, Darokin, Heldann and many other places, and indeed almost every nation has its own specialized production which can easily find a market somewhere else. As armors are built for defensive purposes, elves are more likely to trade it than weapons, and notoriously the elven mithril armors are considered the best in the world. But any dwarf would certainly say that dwarven mithril armor is the only original one and obviously the very best you can find. Alphatians and Glantrians also do all sorts of magical amors, for which is valid all that was said about magical weapons: extremely precious and extremely risky to move around.
Gems, semiprecious stones and building materials
This category includes all kinds of stones and crystals which are used for decoration and construction. Most are mined from the depths of the earth, but some from the depths of the sea. Their use and trade goes so far back in time that it’s hard to say who started using them. Dwarves, gnomes and giants all claim to have been the first ones to use gemstones. Certainly giants are likely the first people who extensively used various kinds of stones to build their communities. Gems and semiprecious stones are the ideal cargo, as they are worth a lot and weigh so little relatively to their value. But the risk of theft or losing a lot of value in shipwrecks or disaster is obviously very high. Building material instead is the heaviest cargo you can carry, yet if sold in the appropriate places it can give a lot of profit to the wise trader.
Trade in gems
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (gems -5) Anchorage, Esterhold (gems -2) Angorit, Yavdlom (gems -3) Aquas, Alphatia (gems -3) Archport, Alphatia (gems) Athenos, Darokin (gems -2) Ayskudag, Hule (gems -2) Azurun, Hule (gems
-2) Boyâzka, Hule
(gems -2) Corunglain, Darokin
(gems -3) Evermur, Rockhome (gems -3) Faraway, Esterhold (gems -3) Farend, Qeodhar (gems) Floating Ar, Alphatia
(gems) Seagirt, Pearl Islands
(gems -3) Skyfyr, Esterhold (gems
-3) Thanasis, Minaea (gems -3) |
Alfheim City, Alfheim (gems) |
Gems
The stones which are
commonly called gems or gemstones are just crystals, but especially
rare ones and appreciated for their color and hardness. They are used
almost exclusively for decoration of people, clothes, items and
buildings, but some also have a minor practical use as teeth in saws
or tips in mining equipment, due to their extreme hardness. Most of
the world’s production comes from dwarven and gnomish lands,
Alphatia, Esterhold, Sind, the Savage Coast and some places in
Davania. In the Savage Coast the major gem trading nation is by far
Texeiras. Chrysoberyl is considered extremely precious for its
particular characteristic of changing color under different lights,
normally greenish blue in daylight to reddish purple under magical
lights and other special lights. It’s considered highly magical
and so very much sought out by wizards. Aquamarine is a blue
or cyan gem so called for its color but actually coming mostly from
earth mines, even if there is indeed some production also coming from
Undersea. Diamonds are likely the most famous gems and also
the most common ones. They also have practical applications in mining
and magical applications, so there is a significant trade of them. A
lot of them come from the Savage Coast, the Serpent Peninsula and
Esterhold, but there are likely untapped sources (at least by our
traders) in Skothar and Davania too. Emeralds are green
crystals very appreciated by elves, also because Davania is still a
major source of them, even if some also come from Sind, Alphatia and
the Savage Coast. Opals are stones and not crystals, but are
still much appreciated because of their multiform and changing
colors. Important sources are in Alphatia, the Savage Coast and
Davania. Pearls are stones produced by some mollusks under the
sea and found inside their shells. The main sources are in the Pearl
Islands, but there are some also in Ierendi, Minrothad, the Alatians,
Ochalea, Sind and Ylaruam. Rubies are red crystals, almost as
hard as diamonds and very precious. The major nearest source is
probably Sind, but there are other major ones in Davania, Skothar and
western Brun. Sapphires are blue crystal, but they may also
have different colors from cyan to purple and more. There are also
star sapphires, which are blue stones which seem to contain a white
star inside, and are much appreciated. The sources are more or less
the same as rubies. Spinels are crystal-like gems which come
in various colors, from red to black and more. The most beautiful
ones can reach prices as high as other major gems. They are a sort of
Sindhi specialty, but there are other sources too in the world.
Topazes are usually light blue, orange or brown crystals, but
may have all sorts of colors. It’s one of the most widespread
gemstones, but probably Texeiras and the Savage Coast have the major
supply.
The most famous gemstones of the world have
personality and history. Texeiras claims to have the biggest
aquamarine of the world, while supposedly the biggest diamond is
mounted on the crown of Bellayne, and the biggest chrysoberyl would
be in the crown jewels of the Empire of Zuyevo. The biggest emerald
would be either in Atruaghin lands, Ylaruam or Alphatia, depending on
whom you ask. A famous big opal of changing colors is in Herath. The
world’s largest pearl would be in Ochalea. The biggest rubies
are in Alphatia and Sind. The biggest sapphire and spinel are among
the crown jewels of Sind. The biggest topaz is a yellow gem in the
crown jewels of Alphatia. All these gems are often mounted in jewels
if not in magical objects or artifacts, so are heavily guarded. But
in history, some have been stolen, and not all have been retrieved.
Trade in semiprecious stones
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (semiprecious stones) Beitung, Ochalea
(jade) Castellan, Soderfjord (semiprecious stones -3) Citadel, Alphatia
(semiprecious stones) Corunglain, Darokin (semiprecious stones -3) Deirdren, Isle of Dawn
(semiprecious stones -2) Gulluvia, Adri Varma
(semiprecious stones) Ragmata, Yezchamenid (semiprecious stones) Rainbow Park, Gaity
(corals, pearls) Thanasis, Minaea
(semiprecious stones -4) Tyjaret, Serpent Peninsula (semiprecious
stones) |
Ah’roog, Shazak (semiprecious stones) Alfleish, Alphatia (semiprecious stones) Alfheim City, Alfheim
(semiprecious stones) Bayville, Thyatis (semiprecious stones +2) Ciudad de León,
Torreón (semiprecious stones) Darokin City, Darokin
(semiprecious stones) Julinius, Thyatis
(semiprecious stones +2) Lizzieni, Glantri (semiprecious stones) Louvines, Renardie (semiprecious stones) Mahasabad, Sind
(semiprecious stones +2) Tashgoun, Douzbakjian (semiprecious
stones) |
Semiprecious stones
This is a really vast category which includes a lot of stones, and crystals too, which are just not as precious as the ones mentioned above among the gems, but still sought and appreciated for jewels and all kinds of decorations. I will start with some substances which aren’t really mineral, but we can say they fall in this type of trade. Coral is a sort of rock-like material built under the sea by tiny animals which looks a bit like small flowers or octopuses. It comes in all varieties of colors and it’s traded especially in Ierendi, Minrothad, the Pearl Islands, the Alatians and other islands which have a good supply of it. Amber is the resin of some conifer trees, hardened centuries if not millennia ago and now found as a mineral in the earth or even in rivers. While coral is a typical product of warm countries, as it does not grow in cold seas, amber is the most typical semiprecious stone of the northern countries, especially Norwold, the Northern Reaches, northern Alphatia and the Isle of Dawn. However it is possible to find it also in warmer countries, for example there are varieties from Yavdlom and the Savage Coast, even from Thyatis. Often it contains small insects, leaves or flowers inside, trapped in the ancient resin, and its color varies from light green to yellow to orange and brown. There are many other proper semiprecious stones. Quartz is probably the most common crystal. It is often transparent or pink but comes in all varieties of colors and it is possible to find pieces big enough to make cups and jugs with them. It has been historically a big production of Rockhome, the Northern Reaches and the Isle of Dawn, but it is found in many other places too. Jade is another notorious stone, usually green or light green, which can be used to make all kinds of objects, used especially in Ochalea and the Savage Coast, but also in Alphatia and other regions of the world. Turquoise is usually blue to green, common and appreciated in all Brun from Alphatia to the Yezchamenid Empire. Lapis lazuli is a blue-gold precious stone common in Ylaruam, Rockhome, Sind and other inland regions of Brun. Carnelian is a brownish-red stone used since ancient times in Karameikos, Thyatis, Ylaruam. Jasper is a usually red, but also yellow and green stone, also traditionally used all over the Known World. Agate is a stone of multiform colors which can be found in many nations, such as Thyatis, Ierendi, Minrothad and Sind. Heliotrope, a deep green stone usually with red dots, hence also known as bloodstone, is another appreciated stone which can be found in Karameikos, the Isle of Dawn, Thyatis, Alphatia and the Savage Coast. Onyx is a red or black stone used traditionally in Ylaruam and Thyatis, a use which comes from ancient Thothia and Milenia. Hematite is a black, silvery and red shiny stone found also in Minrothad, Thyatis and many other countries. Obsidian is a black volcanic glass, used in the past to make tools in all the regions with active volcanoes, and now mostly for jewels and figurines. Tourmaline is an appreciated crystalline gem found in Davania, the Savage Coast and Esterhold, with various colors, often orange, green and yellow, sometimes mixed together. Tiger’s eye is a rock with a golden to red-brown color, found in many countries but especially in Sind, Alphatia and Skothar. Pyrite is a lustrous golden rock which can also be used as a fire starter. Malachite is a green gemstone historically mined in Glantri, Bellissaria and other countries. Amethyst is really a violet form of quartz, historically used as a luck charm by Milenians and Thyatians and as a magic enhancer by Alphatians, and so it’s one of the most sought out semiprecious stones. The most important mines are in Esterhold, Sind and in the Savage Coast. Apatite, mined in Bettellyn, can be used as a gemstone, usually blue, or also as a pigment for ceramics. Graphite is a stone used to make pencils, mined in Glantri, Rockhome, Randel and other places. Alphatia also has some special and magical gems, such as the Night Stones of Eadrin12, the Cloudstones13 of Floating Ar, and the Brightstones, Firestones and Darkstones14 of Stoutfellow, known also by dwarves and gnomes elsewhere. Simple colored Glass is also commonly used in many places to produce beads and all kinds of decorative stones for jewels.
Trade in building materials
Exported |
Imported15 |
Atruaghin lands (limestone) Darokin City, Darokin
(bricks) Draco, Alphatia (slate,
tiles) Sayr Ulan, Sind (granite, porphyry) |
Aasla, Alphatia
Dunwick, Savage Coast
Sayr Ulan, Sind
Thyatis City, Thyatis |
Building materials
Some regions are specialized in sourcing specific building materials, and some, such as Thyatis City, have an important production of several building materials but still import many others for the never ending demand of the big City. Some Concrete was already used by ancient Thothians and Oltecs, but certainly the Thyatians have become masters of this material. Clay, mostly in the form of fire bricks or clay blocks, has been used in Sind and Thothia since ancient times, and later was adopted by Thyatians and many others. Halflings traditionally used rough stones to make foundations and walls and then cob and sod to cover them. A basic technique used also by many other peoples, as many ancient inhabitants of southern Brun and the Isle of Dawn. Dwarves and giants claim to have started cutting various types of rocks into building blocks, such as Limestone, Tuff (also traditional in Thyatis and Minrothad), Slate, Flint, Granite (also typically used by the Thothians) and many others. Some building materials are specially precious, such as Marble, used already by ancient dwarves, Milenians and Sindhi, and other cultures too, and now often associated with Thyatian monuments. Other building materials are even more precious and rare, such as Alabaster or Porphyry, and so used mostly for decoration or small construction elements, like statues and columns. Plaster is a mixture of clay normally used for decoration. Alphatians, Thyatians and Glantrians all claim to have invented it. Tiles are thin, square or rectangular covers for roofs, walls or floors, made normally with ceramics but also metal, glass or other materials. Alphatians claim to have invented them, but really they were already used by the natives before their arrival. Some people who live in regions where there are no forests or mountains, such as the Ethengarians, use as building materials other substances, such as brush, thatch, mud or animal bones and skins. Some cultures living in the far north, as well as frost giants, use ice. Some coastal people even use seaweed, as do underwater cultures, who anyway also use rocks and corals. Elves and many northern cultures where trees are abundant use predominantly wood as building material, which we’ll discuss right now.
Wood, coal, ships and wagons
Timber is easier to source and work than stones, so it has always been one of the favorite materials for all cultures and races. We’ll divide wood in common and precious, and then we’ll speak of two of the most important things which can be made with wood, at least for us traders, which are wagons and ships.
Trade in common wood
Exported |
Imported |
Alchemos, Bellissaria (common wood -3) Alpha, Norwold (common
wood) Debredladany, Hule
(common wood -2) Khamrati, Sind (common
wood) Sol-Klor, Adri Varma (common wood) Sorodh, Herath (common
wood -3) Stahl, Rockhome (common
wood) Wendar City, Wendar (common wood -3) |
Actius, Thyatis (common wood +3) Aquas, Alphatia (common wood +2) Archport, Alphatia (common wood) |
Trade in precious wood
Exported |
Imported |
Ah’roog, Shazak (precious wood -2) Alfheim City, Alfheim (precious wood -2) Alfleish, Alphatia
(precious wood) Atruaghin (precious
wood) Glauqnor, Emerond
(precious wood -4) Izmira, Emerond
(precious wood -4) Ragmata, Yezchamenid (precious wood) Raven Scarp,
Hinterlands (precious wood -3) Shraek, Alphatia
(precious wood)
Verdun, Minrothad (precious wood -2) |
Argevin, Thyatis (precious wood +2)
Rainbow Park, Gaity (precious wood) Torion, Thyatis (precious wood +3) |
Common and precious wood
The category of common wood is obviously rather arbitrary depending on the region of the world in which you live, as what’s common in a region probably isn’t in another region. Among the most traded wood there are Pine, Spruce, Larch, Juniper, Aspen, Hornbeam, Birch, Alder, Beech, Oak, Elm, Cherry, Apple, Pear, Maple, Linden and Ash, some considered harder than others and more expensive. Wood is used for heat, construction, furniture, utensils, art and paper and we will soon address some of these categories. The cities importing great quantities of common wood are usually those which have shipbuilding facilities or significant industries of wagons, furniture and utensils. Wood for heat is normally sourced locally, using woods which cannot be put to other uses. Wood often is categorized between hard and soft, or by color. In Brun the traditionally most precious wood is probably Walnut, including the Black Walnut of Atruaghin lands and western Brun. Some types of oaks such as the Sessile Oak and the Chestnut tree are also considered especially fine woods. Some woods, such as the Hazel or the Elder, are not much useful for the most common uses but are traditionally used for magical wands and staves. Other precious woods are Ebony, a black wood found mostly in Davania, Skothar and Yavdlom, Mahogany, found mostly in the Savage Coast and Western Brun, Iroko, found in central Davania and southern Skothar, Teak, which grows in Ochalea, Pearl Islands and Skothar, Cedar, which grows only in Bellissaria and southern Alphatia, Rosewood, of which there are at least two main origins, one in Cestia and eastern Davania and the other in Texeiras and the Savage Coast. In each region there are many more precious trees, too many indeed to list them all. Elves obviously have a lot of precious woods, often just subspecies of more common trees, but we trade them with care as we do not want to impoverish our forests. This obviously makes them more precious, and occasionally there are episodes of illegal logging in Alfeisle and other elven lands, which as you can imagine, are persecuted harshly.
Trade in ships, wagons and furniture
I’m not going to
show you a list of places importing and exporting ships and
wagons because you actually have already seen it. In fact the
cities exporting ships and wagons are simply the same cities which
import common wood, with just a few notable exceptions. For example
Boa Mansão in Texeiras exports wood as it’s a major
trade hub of the material, but it also has shipbuilding facilities.
Its shipbuilding industry however is nothing as big as the one of
nearby Porto Preto in Vilaverde. Darokin City exports wood, as it
gathers a lot of it from all the country, but it also has a big
industry of wagons building. All coastal cities who export wood also
have some shipbuilding, while not as much as the cities who have to
import it due to the amount they use for ships and wagons. All major
trade cities also have a relevant industry of wagon building. There
isn’t a list of cities importing ships and wagons because it’s
not how this trade works. The countries and traders who need ships
and wagons go buying them in the place where they are built or they
order them from far away and receive them at home. Skyships
are a special case. They are built in Alphatian mainland and in
Feather Fall, Aeria, but Alphatians refuse to sell them to traders as
they fear they could be used in war. Nevertheless other people, such
as gnomes, have built notorious flying vehicles, and elves have their
lightships. But such special ships are normally used only in times of
need or for very important diplomatic missions, not for common trade.
The cities which import precious wood are also the ones who
normally have a high number of artisans specialized in producing
furniture. Obviously all communities in the world, even the
smallest village, have at least a carpenter and so most trade of
furniture is local, but the most precious one, which only rich
traders and nobles can afford, is often exported through long
distances as the richest ones seek the best there is in the world.
Some pieces made by especially appreciated artisans or with very
precious materials may well fall into the category of art, which
we’ll discuss now.
Paper, books, art, machines and gadgets
This is a category of the special luxurious items which are likely the most expensive in the world after gems and magic. The market for such things is typically thriving in all the big cities. Several big cities also produce relevant quantities of such items, but still import the ones they do not produce. Art is obviously a very broad category which includes paintings, statues and figurines in all kinds of materials, ceramics, tapestries and carpets. Such items with added magical illusions and lights are very popular in Alphatia and Glantri. We have mentioned some of these items already in the previous categories. Obviously the same thing could be a common item when it’s made of simple materials and art when it’s made with special material or special workmanship.
Trade in paper, books, art and gadgets
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (magical paintings, books, astronomical
gadgets) Alfleish, Alphatia (jewelry, woodworkings) Asgamoth, Herath (rare
books -4) Darokin City, Darokin
(paper, books, crystals, jewels) Harbortown, Minrothad
(books, navigation gadgets) Leenz, Glantri
(books) Rafielton, Aengmor
(rare books -2) Raven Scarp,
Hinterlands (rare books) Vyonnes, Glantri (tapestries, paintings) |
Aasla, Alphatia (books +5, various) Aegopoli, Aegos
(books) Alfleish, Alphatia
(rare books) Biazzan, Thyatis (rare
books +2) Feather Fall, Aeria
(rare books +2) Glantri City, Glantri
(various) Gundegard, Eusdria
(books +2, various) Mahasabad, Sind (books
+3) Specularum, Karameikos
(various) Vyonnes, Glantri (various, books) |
Paper and books
Paper is an important industry in many places of the world. You may think most paper is made for books, but there is a noteworthy use also among traders, in bureaucracy, churches, schools and among specific professions such as architects and painters. Since gnomes have invented a printing machine, in several big cities are now appearing ‘gazetteers’ and ‘sea bulletins’ containing various news which are of great interest for important people and traders, even if not always accurate. Most places with a flourishing paper industry also produce books, but rare and magical books also come from cities which have an ancient history or maybe are nearby ancient ruins. It is indeed quite common that wizards send groups of adventurers to search for books in a specific place. Whatever the way they have been obtained, precious books, especially those containing spells, are a very profitable cargo, relatively easy to carry, and for which it’s not difficult to find buyers. The cities importing books are often those which contain important universities, schools and libraries. Some of them also end up having a local industry of paper to cater for the internal demand. It’s not uncommon that these cities both import and export books.
Art
Of art we have already said a bit before. Some cities, like Aasla in Alphatia, Ierendi City, but also Glantri City and Sundsvall, have an insatiable hunger for all new art, but the market is strong in all the big cities of the world. Some specialized traders host auctions for the most sought out pieces and artists, which often reach incredible bids. Art indeed is not only appreciated by a fair number of rich people as a symbol of high status, but also a safe investment, as famous pieces of art never lose value, unless they are damaged or destroyed. Elven art reaches high quotation, as you can imagine, and by the way most adult elves have proficiency in some art, but the real challenge for the art dealer is to have the artist finish his or her work, or even produce multiple pieces, in the short span of human life. Also some elves do not like to sell their art to humans, as they think art should be available to all, and not stored in the houses of the rich. There are also pieces of art produced for governments, especially statues or paintings in public spaces, which are rarely sold unless some disasters occur. Dwarves are universally considered the best sculptors of minerals and metals, gnomes the best jewelers, elves the best painters and woodworkers, and halflings experts in many so-called ‘minor’ arts, such as embroidery, glass making, ceramics, mosaics, miniature book painting. Obviously this is not always true and there are humans who excel in all these arts. Sometimes a trader may have to move artists instead of art. Not only sculptors and painters, and many other artists, may travel abroad for commissions or even tours, but there are whole classes of artists, such as musicians, dancers, circus performers, playwrights and actors, who typically travel long distances to showcase their work. I know some Minrothaddan captains whose ships are often hired by companies of traveling artists for long tours among the major ports of the world.
Machines and gadgets
This is a very special
category dominated by dwarves, gnomes, and a few specific places,
such as Ciudad Matacán in Saragón and some cities who
have technical universities, like Aasla or Starpoint in Alphatia for
astronomical gadgets, or Harbortown in Minrothad for navigation
gadgets, like astrolabes. Many people do not trust such things
much, but there are indeed incredible machines and gadgets which have
been built by gnomes and humans. Not all of them are on sale, and
gnomes especially do not like to sell anything that could have
dangerous military applications. However, several types of mining
machines and siege equipment can still be found for sale. Then there
are many more innocent gadgets which can be sold as curiosities in
many places, even if their practical applications could be doubtful.
Gnomish and dwarven mechanical clocks are probably the most
common and widespread of such items. It’s impossible to list
here all the strange things gnomes invented, but I assure you there
are a lot of them!16
Medicine, herbs and magic
This too is one of the most profitable trades of the world, as all the cities with magical universities and schools, or a sizable population of wizards or clerics, are always in need of magical ingredients. With them they produce scrolls, potions and other magical items which can always be sold with great profit in the major cities and in all the military cities and strongholds. Medical herbs and rare herbs are sold both to clerics, to make healing potions, and to herbalists. Several plants indeed have medical properties known by elves, by halflings, by the clerics of certain churches, and by herbalists and alchemists. The latter two are often cheaper and more common than clerics, so they are always present in towns and cities where people seek them out to cure all kinds of minor ailments.
Trade in magic and herbs
Exported |
Imported |
Aasla, Alphatia (magical items and potions) Alchemos, Bellissaria
(potions) Atruaghin (rare
herbs) Azurun, Hule (clerical
potions) Greenwood, Alphatia
(herbs, magical ingredients) Izmira, Emerond
(magical ingredients, rare herbs) Risilvar, Wallara
(magical ingredients) Shraek, Alphatia (rare
herbs) Sorodh, Herath (magical
items) Um-Shedu, Eshu (clerical potions) |
Aasla, Alphatia (magical ingredients) Krakatos, Karameikos
(magical ingredients) Ragmata, Yezchamenid (magical items) |
Conclusion
That’s all, students, I think we have covered all the main categories of world trade. That doesn’t mean we have spoken of all the world’s possible trades and products. Indeed many things which are traded nowadays, such as cocoa, some exotic woods and many other examples, were completely unknown a few centuries ago or just a few years ago. So remember you could be the next merchant who will find a new, previously undiscovered product that will make your fortune! It takes bravery and curiosity, and everything is possible.
1Obviously this is written as an ‘in-character’ perspective of an inhabitant of a fantasy world, devoid of any modern scientific knowledge and any modern awareness about the risk of alcohol and substance abuse. It is not to be considered in any way an invite to consume alcohol, drugs or similar substances.
2On beers, wines and spirits also check ‘99 Bottles of Mystaran Beer on the Wall’: http://pandius.com/99bottle.html and ‘Mystaran Drinks’: http://pandius.com/drinks.html by several authors in the Vaults, and ‘A New Dimension to Taverns: Optional Rules for Alcohol and Intoxication’ by Geoff Gander http://pandius.com/tome/tomevol2/bender.html
3See also Obscure Draft or Riding animals by Robin in the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/obscride.html
4But obviously not everyone has such qualms, as you can read in ‘5 markets to sell and buy undead in the Known World’ by Pol Ginés (Khuzd) in this same issue!
5About Red Steel see also The Curse and the Legacies in the Savage Coast Campaign Book by Tim Beach http://pandius.com/curseleg.html or also the previous version by Bruce Heard in Dragon Magazine #171 summarized here on The Piazza https://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?t=22216 with further details also here https://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?t=18897
6See Bettellyn: Land of Farmers, Devouts, and Warriors -- Pt. I by Bruce Heard in his blog https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2012/09/bettellyn-land-of-farmers-devouts-and.html
7See The Alphatian Province of Arogansa by Bruce Heard in his blog https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-alphatian-province-of-arogansa.html
8That would be Uranium, see notes under The Alphatian Province of Theranderol by Bruce Heard in his blog https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2012/07/alphatian-province-of-theranderol.html
9See also The Age of Blackmoor by James Mishler http://pandius.com/ageblack.html in the Vaults of Pandius.
10That would be the real one Germanium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanium
11See also Sol-Klor by Gilles Leblanc http://pandius.com/solklor.html in the Vaults of Pandius.
12See The Alphatian Province of Eadrin by Bruce Heard https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-alphatian-province-of-eadrin_8590.html
13See The Alphatian Province of Ar by Bruce Heard https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2013/01/Ar01.html
14See Lower Stoutfellow -- Alphatia’s Underworld by Bruce Heard https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2012/06/lower-stoutfellow-alphatias-underworld.html
15All the big and medium cities of the world basically import all kinds of building materials. Here are listed only the ones importing major volumes.
16Check Gazetter 6 The Dwarves of Rockhome https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16999/GAZ6-The-Dwarves-of-Rockhome-Basic, AC11 The Book of Wondrous Inventions https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16978/AC11-The-Book-of-Wondrous-Inventions-Basic, or PC2 Top Ballista https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16983/PC2-Creature-Crucible-Top-Ballista-Basic for more details about dwarven and gnomish inventions in Mystara.