Economy

Bree - Ered Luin - Shire - Mithlond

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Economics is a keystone in the culture of Bree! Geographically, Bree stands at an old crossroads, and was historically a bustling center of trade and travel. Though this has dwindled somewhat with time, Bree still sees a great share of commerce, both among ourselves as well as with folks from far away.

Breefolk take great pride in their many different trades and crafts! To learn more about different topics concerning the economy of Bree, and how this might inform (or inspire!) your Role Playing, please read up on the following:

Jobs

Jobs are important in Bree -- we try to RP our jobs as much as possible. It adds variety to our RP and also gives us a new perspective on our characters. The following is a list of jobs for Breefolk to play. However, it is important to note that the Bree LAs are very open to other ideas - this is not a comprehensive list of professions, and we almost never turn a new idea for a job down, so if something you have in mind doesn't appear here, ask us about it anyway!

Jobs List

• Citizen (housewife/

husband, busybody, gossip, retired senior citizen, child)

• Craftsman (carpenter,

smith, woodworker, thatcher, mason, builder, glassmaker)

• Farmer
• Cook
• Hunter
• Messenger
• Stablehand
• Tinker
• Tailor
• Barber
• Butcher
• Shopkeeper
• Breeguard [1}
• Gardener
• Servant
• Lumberman/woodcutter
• Bookkeeper
• Healer
• Merchant
• Maid/janitor
• etc.

[1] Guardsman is usually a part-time non-paid public service position filled by folks who already have other jobs.

Keep in mind that when you choose your job, your RP is not restricted to your worklife. More often it simply comes up in conversation with others or as an excuse for having certain skills or other traits. Combat and travel is rare in Bree, even in jobs such as messenger, hunter or guardsman. But you will not miss out on fun TPs or RP if you choose a more mundane-seeming profession. Bree, being a small town, needs a good spread of jobs among citizens.

Certain positions within the town are not considered feature roles (although they may be held by an FC). These ones are the high-ranking jobs such as Head of the Towne Council, Head Breeguard, Master Merchant, etc. If a job title holds a certain amount of stature, chances are it will require some work to attain. Since responsibility goes hand-in-hand with the role, we would prefer that they be given to players who have demonstrated some dedication to their character.

If you would like to have a position like this and the role is unfilled, consider thinking of a plot for your character. For example, if you wanted to be the head of the council, suggest running an election TP. In all cases, promotion must have some IC reason behind it. Talk to BAD if you would like more details. Additionally, BAD will talk to you if they consider you a good candidate for such a role.

Frequently asked questions concerning professions:

• Is this list complete? Can't I be something else? Of course! Just talk to an LA to see if your idea is feasible.
• Are there any requirements for any of the jobs? Yes. In order to be in the Breeguard, you need to be combat-registered. See +breeinfo combat for more information. Healing can be enhanced by +heal abilities, but this is not necessary to enjoy RPing being a healer. If this is something you are interested in, +mail BAD and ask about it. This also requires combat registration.
• What about the town's more important roles? Can I be mayor? See +breeinfo promoted for information about promoted positions.
• As a merchant, what can I sell? It's likely that you'd make your own wares, so consider being an artisan or craftsman of some kind in addition to simply selling things.
• What about artists or performers? Can I be one of those? I don't see them on the list anywhere. Yes, you can, but the region isn't terribly prosperous and probably wouldn't be able to support art for its own sake. Consider having another job and being an amateur painter/musician/poet/author/etc. on the side or as a hobby.

Guilds

Guilds are a loose association of people with similar skills or jobs. In Bree, there are four: the Merchants Guild, the Craftsmans Guild, the Farmers Guild, and the Healer's Guild; and they wield political force as well as economic.

• The Merchants Guild includes shop owners and traders.
• The Craftsmans Guild is, as suggested by its name, composed of those who make things.
• The Farmers Guild applies to owners of farms either crops or animals, or both; as well as hunters, trappers and the like.
• The Healer's Guild is for healers.

If you feel that more than one guild might be appropriate for your character, choose the one that is your primary work. For instance, a carpenter might open a small shop to sell his own work: he would belong to the Craftsman Guild not the Merchants because his primary work is carpentry. He could be a carpenter without the shop.

Ranks

There are an unlimited number of apprentices and journeymen allowed in the Guilds, but only one master in each. These four Masters, along with Barliman Butterbur (as owner of the only Inn in town), the elected Head of the Council and the head of the Breeguard, make up the Town Council. (There are still apprentices among the people who do not belong to a guild, but no journeymen.)

How Guilds Work

• The guilds set the prices for their members' goods. These prices may be determined after much arguing in a Town Council meeting, or they may be set arbitrarily, but beware of rebellion. ;) They also set the level of quality that will be accepted for selling in their stores.

• The guilds assign masters of known quality to teach apprentices joining the guild.

• They choose which of their members will take on certain tasks; for instance: which merchant will be in charge of this year's trading caravan to the Shire.

• They collect fees for membership, in return guaranteeing guild-members a fair price for their goods, instruction from other, more advanced members, and some amount of assistance in the event of catastrophy. This pool of fees is also what is used in the event the Council decides some public work, such as repair of the Gates or upkeep of the Great Eastern Road, is necessary.

Named stores in Bree will be assumed to be owned by members of the Merchants Guild. Kiosks, or portable shops, such as the pipeweed wagon and Smokey Blackthorne; will be assumed to be freelance. Stores will have set prices, which are higher than wagon-shops; but may also be assumed to have a guaranteed quality. What you get at the shop will vary wildly. You may pay much less and get an excellent bargain, or you may go home with trash. Guilded stores can buy only from other guildmembers, and guildmembers can only sell to Guild-owned stores.)

General Pricing Guidelines

As a baseline, non-guildmembers selling an item may RP receiving half the posted price for that item shown in a shop. Apprentices of the guild receive 60% that price. Journeymen receive 75%. For guildmembers, half of the difference is given to the guild. Don't panic, you don't have to have a math degree to play this. ;) Something in the proper vicinity is just fine, we won't come hunt you down if you're off by a penny or two.

As an example: You are a farmer selling carrots. Apprentices and Journeymen of the Farmers Guild may sell to the General Store. Using the price currently on the menu (100 cp), an apprentice will receive 60% of that - or 60 cp. He will then pay 5 cp (half the difference between the 60 cp he got for being an apprentice, and the 50 cp a nonguildmember would presumably have received) to the guild and keep the rest. A Journeyman would receive 75%, or 75 cp; and pay 8 cp to the guild. These prices can't be changed except by the guildmaster.

If, however, you have chosen not to belong to the guild, you must sell your carrots either to one of the non-guild shop owners, or directly to the customer. If you sell to a shop, you receive a base price of half the posted price (50 cp), plus whatever you can bargain for. :) If you sell directly to the public, you get whatever you can con them into paying. And, of course, you pay no membership fee. So you may end up with more money that a guildmember, you may end up with less, or you may end up not being able to sell your crop at all.

Joining A Guild

If you want to join a guild, you may choose to be either an apprentice or a journeyman. This should be based on your character's age and skill. Generally, younger characters will be apprentices, and older ones will be journeymen. But this isn't set in stone. If you are older, but changing jobs, be an apprentice until you learn the ropes. Feel free to ask the LAs when you are submitting your history (or any other time) if you're not sure which to choose. You can either RP joining the guild, by RPing with any member who is a journeyman (or the master); or, if no one is available, you can simply +mail bad-bb asking to be titled appropriately. The titles look as follows: Jeweller, Apprentice Craftsman; or Baker, Journeyman Merchant, etc. If you join the guild as an apprentice, the guild will assign you a master who will teach you the trade you have chosen. And the guild will decide when your work is of appropriate quality to move up to journeyman

. If you decide not to join a guild, your title will simply be Jeweller's apprentice, or Baker, etc. Apprenticing is still the most common, indeed, almost only, way of learning a trade. Boys and girls apprentice themselves to someone more experienced. When they have learned all that their master can teach them, or their master feels they have reached a reasonable leve of skill, they are no longer an apprentice, and can either set up in business for themselves, or continue working for their old master, only for pay instead of knowledge. There is no particular test or standard that you must reach to end your apprenticeship, as there is in the Guilds.

Should I Join One?

You do not need to belong to a guild. There are both advantages and disadvantages to doing so. Here are some of each to help you in making up your mind.

• Advantage: Guildmembers are guaranteed a price for their goods.
• Disadvantage: The guild sets this price and you cannot change it.

• Advantage: The price guildmembers receive is generally higher than non-guildmembers.
• Disadvantage: Some portion of this increase must be given to the guild as a membership fee.

• Advantage: The guild offers free instruction from more experienced members. Hence, you will likely learn more and faster.
• Disadvantage: Non-guildmembers are free to attempt to negotiate their price higher when selling.

• Advantage: You are guaranteed that your crops, or crafts will be sold.
• Disadvantage: You have to sell them only to stores which belong to the Merchants Guild.

• Advantage: People may be more inclined to buy from a Guildmember, knowing that the Guilds guarantee the quality of all work sold under their name.
• Disadvantage: You might be an apprentice for a long time, if you are a slow learner, or if someone in the Guild hates you and continually says your work isn't up to standard. Remember, this is political as well as economic. :)

• Advantage: You are guaranteed someone to teach you whose work is also of a certain quality.
• Disadvantage: You aren't allowed to choose your own master, and if you are assigned to someone whom you hate, you're stuck with them.

Money

While it is entirely fine to merely role-play the acquiring and exchange of money with your character, here in Bree, we also have a system in place that allows you to use +money as well, for an exhanced economic experience! If you do decide to use +money, below is a guide to how to effectively interact with the systems we have in place to make it a viable and fun experience for everyone.

+Money

First most important thing: RP. Everything we do here is to make RPing more fun. So get out there and do it! Next most important thing: Spend your money. ;) You will get more. Trust me on this one. Ok, now that's out of the way and you're waiting for me to get down to it and actually say something useful here. Here goes.

The 'bank' is in the Common House. You receive a 'payday' once a RL week, and you must be IC to collect it. At that rate, you will accumulate those pennies pretty quickly. Please spend them. :)

The command to give someone your money is: +give fred=9 cp (or GF or whatever you want to be giving Fred.)

The amounts given out by the bank are intended to reflect a character's job and status, but if you feel the amount isn't accurate, feel free to let BAD know. (It /will/ be lower than you would actually be making at that job in this time period in a culture similar to Bree's. This is because you can't log on every day and only RP buying food and getting new clothes. ;) Your salary is adjusted to reflect this.)

People who are playing children or destitute characters still receive an OOC 'salary'; consider it the allowance your parents might give you, or money you manage to get from begging.

• Incorporate buying things into your RP. Having a scene in the Market? Buy an apple pie from the bakery and treat your friends.
• Spend money between yourselves. If you and Elias have a bet on over when it will finally snow over 3 feet this winter, and he wins... +give him his winnings! If you RP picking someone's pocket and they don't notice, remind them to +give you what you stole. If Renulf the Rich hires you to watch over his horses (Sorry... that's MY job, you can't have it, this is just an example!), refuse in a huff until he actually pays you that money. And then be sure and go out and spend it again. :)
• NPC the clerk who waits on you. Think of going to an old-fashioned store; it's an interactive experience.
• Use the buy/sell messages that are pemited to you as part of your scene. If you buy potatoes for your mother to put into her special stew, and the clerk just hands you a bag to fill; RP hunting through the bin for the biggest ones and gloating over the bargain you're getting.
• Everyone needs to eat, drink, and have a place to sleep. If you live in your own home, you don't need to pay rent, but what if the roof springs a leak and you don't have any nails? What if your hammer breaks while you're pounding in the shingles? Maybe your wife wants new curtains and has sent you off to get her the material.
• Maybe you don't live at home, but instead are renting a room from a friend. (Here seems a good place to interject the following comment: if your character would ICly be spending more money than you can find places or people to actually +give it to, you can always ask OOCly for BAD to recycle it back into the bank. This is assuming that you are actually trying to make this thing work and not just hold enormous amounts of money that ICly would have been spent. ;) And we promise we won't use it to bribe several Nazgul to kill that pesky Strider... )
• Tools break, clothing wears out and needs patching (or replacing). RP having holes in your favorite dress and then RP arguing with the seamstress about how much it's going to cost to buy a new one. If you're feeling creative, hire her to actually sew you one... (the game will never know the difference and it will cost you the same number of pennies - just don't forget to BUY the finished dress.)
• People like presents. Buy them some. Girls are fond of ribbons and combs, I hear, and boys like pocketknives or whistles, among other things. Buy your mum a new cooking pot if you're feeling especially rich.

Once again, the single most important part of making all this work is to use it! Don't just log on, collect your salary and then spend the rest of the time counting how many pennies you have. Use the examples above and find even more creative fun ways to spend. :)

Diplomacy

See Culture.