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Post by marhawkman on Oct 16, 2009 9:08:52 GMT -5
I do like the idea that a Merchant increases the value of their goods. i.e. Buy cheap, sell high. That was part of my original concept for Merchants, but it meant turning Pirates into a trading game rather than fightin', sailin', lootin', boozin' an wenching, Arr! you left out "smugglin'".
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 16, 2009 10:47:50 GMT -5
Doh! an smugglin'
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Post by marhawkman on Oct 17, 2009 11:57:07 GMT -5
Smuggling is in some ways similar to "trading" except it involves things that are less legal than what most merchants do.
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Post by lord_denton on Oct 18, 2009 21:14:39 GMT -5
Merchant trading would be a excellent, untapped scenario, and is a very good idea. However, as a official ruling it would be very difficult to manage. CC Mike has a nice convoy scenario, not much to do with trading, though.
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 19, 2009 3:26:06 GMT -5
Merchants are intended as a scenario. They may need some home rules to make Merchants work within the scenario.
Mainly, I would like to see how or if they actually work. If Merchants do work within Pirates then it's another way of keeping the game alive.
Nic
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 20, 2009 10:28:34 GMT -5
In a campaign setting or longer game, Merchants could pick up new cargo when they dock, then ship it somewhere else and sell it for a profit. I still quite like the idea of randomly assigning cargo and destinations at each port. Maybe draw cards for new cargo each turn. A Merchant could choose which cargo to take or not.
Nic
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Post by Commodore Vendari on Oct 20, 2009 14:06:19 GMT -5
Just an idea:
There could be cargo tokens, such as sugar, tobacco, and silk. Each item could have some sort of different value. Opens up some possibilities for scenarios. And if anybody's ever played Tradewinds, it also opens up a campaign style identical to that game for Pirates.
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 22, 2009 3:24:14 GMT -5
I was working along those lines a few posts back, before I realised I was reinventing the wheel. Ideally, Merchants could become a keyword like Sea Monster with their own rules within the Pirates game. There is a board game called Merchants and Marauders in development. This looks to have a lot of potential: www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25292
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 23, 2009 4:59:55 GMT -5
One initial set up for Merchants assumes they start with cargo worth gold up to the points value of the Merchant Ship. When they sell (unload) their cargo they make a profit on top of their starting stake. Any Profit goes in the bank (on their home island?).
The Merchant can then load a new cargo up to their points value and sail to another island to unload and make more profit. They don't have to pay for their new cargo in Gold. (It's already paid for from the Merchant's credit).
Except: If the Merchant loses cargo to Pirates, monsters, etc. Replacement Cargo can be bought with Gold, or the Merchant could sail with a reduced cargo.
For Example: A Merchant worth 9 points sails with four cargo; 2, 3, 3, 1. If they arrive safely at their destination they get 9 gold when they unload their cargo. They can then load new cargo worth up to 9 Gold and sail again. They don't pay Gold for the new cargo.
If they lose a 3 and a 1 to Pirates on this voyage. They only get 5 gold profit when they unload. They have to pay up to 4 gold to replace the lost cargo, or sail again with cargo worth no more than 5 gold. (The Merchant's credit rating is reduced until they replace the lost cargo.)
If a Merchant Ship is lost at sea, (sunk or captured). The Merchant player gets half the value of the lost cargo. (Merchants always have insurance).
I see Merchants being more useful in a setting that allows you to spend gold to improve your fleet, rather than just hoarding it.
Clearly a successful Merchant can pay for themselves in one voyage! You could use the profit to buy another ship and set sail for more profit or go Pirate huntin'! ;D
Nic
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Post by marhawkman on Oct 25, 2009 12:38:28 GMT -5
Yeah, merchants would work nicely as part of a campaign. Um the penalty for lost cargo doesn't mak much sense though. In your example you'd get a total profit of only one gold.
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 26, 2009 5:48:27 GMT -5
>> Yeah, merchants would work nicely as part of a campaign. Um the penalty for lost cargo doesn't mak much sense though. In your example you'd get a total profit of only one gold. >> Most of my ideas here are untested, I tend to throw them on the water and see what floats. Then I refine them or ditch them and try something else. I may have missed a step or two in this set... If you pay nine points for a merchant in your initial setup, it starts loaded with cargo worth 9 gold. This is the Merchant's 'Credit'. When you unload the Merchant, you get the face value of it's cargo in Gold as profit. You still have 9 gold credit to load new cargo with. If a merchant loses cargo, their Credit rating is damaged and has to be repaired. For Example: A Merchant worth 9 points sails with four cargo; 2, 3, 3, 1. If they arrive safely at their destination they get 9 gold when they unload their cargo. They can then load new cargo worth up to 9 Gold and sail again. They don't pay Gold for the new cargo.
If they lose a 3 and a 1 to Pirates on this voyage. They only get 5 gold profit when they unload. They have to pay up to 4 gold to replace the lost cargo, or sail again with cargo worth no more than 5 gold. (The Merchant's credit rating is reduced until they replace the lost cargo.)The looted Merchant makes a profit of 5 gold instead of 9 Gold, but their 'Credit' falls from 9 to 5 as well. They can load up to 5 gold (the Merchant's Credit rating) without paying for it. If they want to load more cargo, they have to repair their credit by buying Cargo with Gold (from the player's hoard). Nic
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 26, 2009 6:19:13 GMT -5
Further thoughts...
If you invest set-up points in a merchant, maybe they should be armed ? Possibly, A Merchant may only be given a shoot action, after it is fired on by an enemy ship. The Merchant may only shoot at a ship that fired at it .
Nic
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Post by marhawkman on Oct 26, 2009 20:19:00 GMT -5
that makes sense. (both posts)
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 27, 2009 10:19:25 GMT -5
Yet another version. This is a simpler approach, I think.
Merchants cost nothing to set up. Each player has two Merchant ships in addition to their fighting fleet. Players alternate in placing each of their Merchant ships at wild islands furthest from their home island. No wild Island may have more than one Merchant ship starting at it (unless all WI's already have a Merchant docked at it.) On their first turn Merchant ships load as much gold as they can carry from the WI. When they unload their cargo at their home island, the Merchant gets plus one gold for each cargo unloaded.
Merchants may not be given Shoot/Fire Actions or use special abilities. A merchant may be captured by a successful boarding action. The Capturing player must leave a 'Prize Crew' aboard and may sail it home. Captured Merchants do not become part of the captor's fleet until they are unloaded at the captor's home Island. Crew aboard a Merchant may not use special abilities. This includes Prize crew aboard a captured Merchant.
The game finishes when all the Merchants are unloaded, sunk or captured.
Nic
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Post by Swift Nic on Oct 27, 2009 11:52:44 GMT -5
It's tempting to suggest that the fighting fleet be three masted or less and the Merchants be three masted or larger... Shiver me timbers! Nic
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