Sunday 13 February 2011

Triffles (10) - A high denomination

Yesterday's Triffle made mention of loss and breakages, which might mean buying replacements, but if returning from an adventure loaded down with items of great value, it could be surprisingly difficult to get what we want. Thanks due here to Bartender, who in his comment under the last set my mind on the possibilities of the shopping trip.




 danger in storage                    sudden interest / 
     and transport                     new acquaintances

\             /

a high denomination

|

credit given freely, but
at inflated prices



To explain the thinking behind the last, credit given freely because it it might not be possible to give the change, and at inflated prices because the holder - the current holder if we take into account that sudden interest - is apparently a person of means.

Hard to work this into wargaming except as an objective to capture, possibly mobile. In roleplaying the attempt to make a purchase with an item of this value could be a whole adventure. In writing we're operating in interesting territory with regard to motivations.

Innovations also left a comment yesterday and set me thinking too, about whether songwriting could be covered. After all, money and love - those new acquaintances? - are common themes in music. Let's not forget "It's All About the Benjamins" and - as perhaps a more traditional approach - "Can't Buy Me Love".

So my suggestion for a song on romance and currency: "Love is Pegged to Love (And Fully Convertible)". Not really doing it for you? Try this then: "Back on the Love Standard (Don't Dig the Gold Diggers)". Feel free to write your own lyrics for these instant hits.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

For a starved stomach a plate of food looks more beautiful and fragrant than a fresh rose and its aroma.

Paul´s Bods said...

It all can be used in wargaming...it´s basically all trade offs.
For example..."if you go and kill/release/get this (whatever) I will give you...(whatever)".
The basic mission/quest common to most fairy tales. Barter.
Also...some things are expensive due to thier rarity, rings, spells, weapons. And sometimes a character can only use or obtain them if he/she/it has done something or obtained something else which gives the necessary ability.
Mostly the motivation to commit to a trade is based on a perception of the traded objects worth and that perception comes from two parties (mostly) What their perceptions are based on can be linked to
1,Thier experiences. How does the object compare to previous objects of similar "worth" usage/capability and how did these perform in the past scenarios?
2.The demands..what will they need and when
3.Thier thoughts...what does the other trading partner really want for this, is it prepared to go cheaper.
4. Imagined futue scenarios, the possible dangers and time that will be spent doing or not as the case may be.
Take these into account and on a balance this will give the worth of an object/mission.
Cheers
Paul

PS; you can eat rose petals. :-D

The Angry Lurker said...

I agree with Paul about the wargaming especially again the the sirmishing.When there is a lack of something it becomes precious/expensive and people are willing to pay more but if its water or medicine then the sky's the limit.

You can have anything as the precious item, in the movie Book of Eli it was a book even in a world gone to hell, in Mad Max it still was fuel we needed and in the future of disease's it will be a cure we will give anything for and some people will give or do anything and they will be exploited.

As for a song Gwen Guthrie sang "Ain't nothing going on but the rent" or Simply Red sang "Money's too tight to mention".

Porky said...

@ meandmythinkingcap - Very true. That could well be a lyric in one of my songs! It could even be taken as advice for Valentine's Day.

@ Paul's Bods - I was thinking more of in-game uses, in that exchanges of this kind would likely take place before or after the action, as a reason for the battle or a link to the next. Of course, some of this could be incorporated into the tabletop action, with discussions perhaps taking place as the battle carries on around, with the length of the battle dependent on the negotiations. Over the course of a campaign your ideas could even more easily come into play, and in that sense the campaign is the natural unit of wargaming, rather than the isolated battle; it gives context for what is taking place, and cause for greater variation in games, and also brings the game type far closer to what we usually think of as roleplaying.

@ The Angry Lurker - This is quite right, and really the point, assuming the value is astronomical. I switched from the 'items of great value' mentioned in the intro only to make the financial mechanisms clearer and play up the money theme. The items I had in mind were of the D&D type, but your comment gives a real sense of the potential. It could be a person even, with a fame, talent or knowledge, as in the movie The Jewel of the Nile to give a well-known example.

Paul´s Bods said...

They could theoretically be incorporated into the action ie; do I kill the character or take it captive..?? The exchange of death for life and a possible award from the captees family/boss/ master.
Cheers
paul

Porky said...

Another good idea. There are lots of options like this if we take the time to consider how they might work. Many games encourage this kind of thinking, and those that don't could easily with even a page or two of simple suggestions, if not optional extra rules.

The rules themselves needn't be overly detailed or limiting of course - in the case of taking a captive for example it could be a simple mechanism for making a non-lethal attack, and this could have a number of other applications.

Keep this stuff coming!