The Verdian Triangle Trade
Hello Friends,
War, no matter how it is fought, is a costly endeavor. Literally. It requires massive investments of resources to wage war on an ongoing basis, both in terms of men and material. How, then, have the western realms of Verd managed to maintain their ongoing struggle against the daemon for hundreds of years without succumbing to economic implosion? The answer: war IS the economy of the west.
In 316 CR, nearly every aspect of society and the economy is geared towards supporting the war effort in some way. At the heart of this military industrial complex is a triangle trade network linking the three western realms inextricably together. This flow of trade is what makes fighting the war possible and without it the Bahenian Line would almost assuredly collapse. Given the importance of this commercial web and the impacts it has had on each nation involved, I thought it would be fun and informative to dedicate a blog post to discussing it.
But first, a sacrifice to the gods of administration. Here's an outline of what I am planning to upload in October (it is a shorter schedule this time around, since I will be on vacation during the latter half of the month):
October 5th: The City Guide to Galience. Come and explore the Volanician capital of Galience with a brand-new city guide! For far longer than I’d like to admit, I’ve been drawing a city map for Galience and, since that is nearing completion, I thought I would write some materials to go along with it. This guide will describe each of the major districts dividing the city, as well as notable locations found in each.
October 12th: A pocket adventure set in the frozen north of the Ostenrealm tentatively titled ‘the Pit of Despair’. I decided to try something a little bit different with this second pocket adventure, which I think should result in a fun one-off quest. Instead of being a fully self-contained adventure The Pit of Despair is written to be a dungeon meant to kick off a larger legend of the reader’s design. Imagine one of those writing prompts exercises, but for a quest. Does this technically disqualify it from being a true pocket adventure? I dunno, but I’m calling it that anyways.
October 19th & 26th: Nothing! I will be out of the country during these two weeks, and so will not be uploading the normal Anabosis chapter or blog post. I may do a special blog entry upon my return to schedule uploads for November, but I also might not.
So, international trade in the Verdian Tales.
I’ll be honest, I may be the only one who enjoys reading about fantasy economics, but in my opinion, economic systems are a great basis for understanding how any given world works. Even in a primitive setting, knowing that Og is a hunter and trades bone to Grog the carver for tools gives us a good basic idea of Og and Grogs’ place in society and how that community works. By understanding even just a little about the economy of a world, it can become far more believable in the mind of the reader/player.
Like the bone trade of Og and Grog (if not quite as simple), the three western realms of Verd have developed an intricate web of commercial ties to one another that both enriches their populations and ensures the engine of war keeps humming. Because of how important this interdependence is for the nations involved, each realm’s contributions to the triangle trade network will be examined. Given that this interconnectedness has also had a great deal of influence in shaping the national character of each realm, by diving deeper here we can also develop a better understanding of the nations themselves and how they view one another.
Let’s start with Bahenia.
It would be easy to say that Bahenia is simply a consumer of the goods and materials produced by Urbania and Ancondi, but that would not be entirely fair. On the international stage Bahenia provides an invaluable service to its sister nations, protecting them and bearing the brunt of daemon aggression year in and year out. Paying the blood price that is the cost of sharing a border with daemon country could be considered a fair contribution on its own, but it is not the entirety of the Bastion Kingdom’s share of the triangle trade.
Vast quantities of ore and stone are stripped from the Bragenhost Mountains each year, much of which is bound for processing in Urbania or used to repair fortifications along the line. At the same time, most of the nation’s once bountiful forestlands were cut down so that the lumber might be used to build Urbania’s navy. Supplementing these, Bahenia has also taken on the burden of supporting the many Ancondi and Urbanian military personnel stationed within its borders; no small expense for an already strained nation.
Moving on to Urbania, it is safe to think of the island nation as being the workshop of Verd. Urbanians produce very few raw materials themselves, and instead have made the manufacturing of complex products their specialty. Boatload upon boatload of lumber, ore, stone, and animal products arrive on Urbanian shores each day, and just as many shiploads of finished product leave them bound for Bahenia or Ancondi. Generally, most of these materials are imported from Ancondi while the majority of finished goods are bound for Bahenia.
This specialization in manufacturing has contributed to the Urbanian self-image of being both more industrious and skillful than their peers- an attitude that has not engendered them on the world stage. Many consider the islanders to be profiteering off of the struggle while not having to put much on the line themselves. To this, Urbanians will often point out that it is they who guard the seas and ensure trade can happen in the first place, meaning everyone else should just mind their own business.
Then comes Ancondi, which provides both men and raw materials in ample quantities to the war. Lacking the industrial prowess of Urbania, Ancondi fills a supplier’s role in international trade, being more than capable of providing the base goods needed to fuel the manufacturies of war. As such, trade fleets ferrying cargoes of raw materials set sail from dozens of Ancondi ports each day bound for the guilds and factory houses of Urbania.
To Bahenia, Ancondi sends men and food. All along the Bahenian line one can find Ancondi battalions, often volunteers led by minor nobility, supporting local defensive forces. Given the strong historical bonds the two realms share, Ancondi is more than happy to send soldiers to aid her sister to the north; aid which has proven invaluable to the continued defense of the realm. Perhaps even more helpful, however, are the wagon trains of provisions sent north from Ancondi to Bahenia along the old trade roads. Without this support, the Bastion would no doubt collapse from famine (and then subsequently be overrun by daemon hordes).
As could be expected, Ancondians see themselves as being extremely charitable in their support of the war. Many even feel that they have gotten the raw end of the deal from their island partners, though most would keep this sentiment private. All in all, the war has done a lot to exacerbate that famous Ancondian tradition of self-aggrandizement.
And there you have it, a little bit more on international trade relations in the Verdian Tales. I’ve elected to omit the eastern tribes from this discussion as they are neither cohesive states, nor maintain any significant trade with the west. Perhaps, however, tribal relations with one another could be a topic for discussion another day, if there is any interest. In any case, let me know if you have any questions or thoughts in the comments!
Best,
Eric
