Worldbuilding Weekly Prompt
Kingdoms
Daily Prompt
What fuels your society's economy?
What are the common trade goods?
Who do they trade with?
Is there any illicit trade or smuggling?
What fuels the economies of Apandi?
I have a mildly simple format that shows how the trade and economies of Apandi work. It's exaggerated in its simplicity, and of course it would be a lot more nuanced to practice in a real-world, but I feel like the major economies of each kingdom are as follows.
Dwarves mine gold and gems to sell.
Elves buy the gold and gems to make enchanted jewellery and weapons
Gnomes mine iron, tin, copper etc and craft steam and coal powered machines
Hill Dwarves mine iron and steel and craft durable weapons and armor
Humans farm, and not just in Glednumbria. Human farmers are in every territory.
Wood Elves manage the majority of the timber.
Like I mentioned above, this is not set in stone thing. Dwarves still craft their own jewellery and do their own enchanting, but the Elves make more money doing it. Humans are capable of building their own armor, but Hill Dwarf axes last longer. The Gnomes.... Well they managed to carve out a niche all their own, and given another couple of hundred years we may see Apandi at Earth tech!
What are the common trade goods?
No too different from our own medieval trade goods! Iron, beer, wood, wine, cloth, beer, shelf-stable produce, wine, beer, and of course wine!
Who do they trade with?
Well, I guess this was covered in the above economy breakdown, but the way I see it there every race and kingdom freely trades with every other race EXCEPT for the Dark Elves. Nobody trades with the Dark Elves because they are extremely hostile to anyone who approaches their territory, the blackened territory around the massive volcano, Kaneznuba in the central west of the continent. Hopefully one day, Oblivion gives me a good prompt to explore my Dark Elves further. They're a lot like the R A Salvatore Dark Elves, except patriarchial instead of being run by a matriarch. And their home city, a vast cavern system is underneath a massive active volcano, both named Kaneznuba
Is there any illicit trade or smuggling?
Oh, of course! Someone's always looking to make a killing by selling contraband. The two most commonly smuggled goods in Glednumbria are Beer and Wine. Brewing is a strictly regulated practice to ensure the safety and quality of the drink. But that doesn't stop those just looking for a buzz from making their own. And it doesn't stop those that are looking to profit from selling to those who can't make their own.
What helps make it one of the most smuggled products is that it doubles as a bribe paid to the local port authorities when it reaches a port. Most guardsmen are willing to overlook a few barrels of unstamped wine if a small keg were to suddenly fall on the ground at their feet.
Find my artwork for sale exclusively on NFTShowroom.com
Find my photographs of Nunavut scenery and Wildlife on Lensy.io
Follow me on twitter here: Hive Related Account / Photography and Art Account
I am also on Instagram: But only Photography and Art
More art on DeviantArt at: Ice-O-Lated
Hive Divider provided by @thepeakstudio
