Name: Improving Adventurers and TradeSummary: In the game currently, apart from BT with the uber rare portal stone hunt "mini game", the main advie activities are hunting monsters/undead, gathering items, and occasionally finding/selling/repairing uniques. The only one which requires some level of interaction with the second/main layer of the game, nobles, is selling uniques. So I propose to increase interactions with smelly commoners, by adding the trading game for advies- adding to the multiplayer nature of BattleMaster.
Details:One the advie reaches a certain level of recommendations (or H/P), they unlock the merchant/trader sub class, and access to banks. They can't send gold to the family of course, but like traders, can travel around the world buying and selling grain in addition to regular advie stuff, and accessing markets further away. Adventurer-Merchants are taxed, and may have to spend gold on buying carts, guards, etc... They could be arrested by enemy realms and foods confiscated... Which generates potential for conflict.
With the 1 family per continent rule, this allows people to focus their noble characters on the meat of the game- war- While giving them a free advie character to engage in other activities. This also gives adventurers something to work towards, other than nobility- which isn't really always an option these days with the 1 noble rule.
I did a quick check of the trader class in the game currently:
There are a grand total of 6 traders between EC, Dwi, and BT. 1 trader on BT, 3 on Dwi, 2 on EC. This seems super niche, perhaps since it is forcing warriors currently to recruit about half their regular capacity- Most traders (4 or 5 of the 6) were courtiers. Trading also adds relatively little to the noble game, but it could be a game changer for experienced advies.
Benefits:- Increases interactions between advies and the main tier of the game- Gives advies interaction with other players besides selling uniques once every now and then.
- Gives adventurers something to work towards besides nobility- relevant in a 1 noble per continent game.
- Gives adventurers something different to do besides grinding inhumans and gathering.
- Does not force players to trade off (pardon the pun) between the trading and warrior game.
- Improves trade dynamics by creating a pool of characters that are interested in buying/selling food- More traders will mean that realms with shortages can send out advies to seek out and make deals at marketplaces further away.
- Increases the chance for conflict by allowing enemy realms to arrest/steal/execute from the merchant, possibly leading to diplomatic crises!
- Probably room in this feature to improve the banker game- the banker could order around his merchant fleet.
- It is also in line with SMA, since you wouldn't expect nobles to be carting around food- thats for those suspicious merchants that count silver. Rise of mercantilism!
Downsides:
- Probably difficult to code? Not enough dev time? I am essentially proposing that the trade game be ported to advies- so the code for trader class may just need to be added for Advies? I don't know how easily it could be done.
- It may also annoy the 6 players who are currently traders.
- Players could possibly break character/abuse this to make trade deals for their noble characters realm while belonging to an enemy realm- using their citizenship to get away with traveling in enemy lands? Possible, but can also be auto regulated by bankers/judges monitoring their movements... Advies can already be arrested anytime, so they are not in a strong position.
