Glyphed Folded Freight (WIP)

[Ethan Ironhorse]

WIPBuisiness is based on development of character and game mechanics for Shielding and Glyphing. Current HD ticket has been ok that idea is acceptable, waiting on reply from Tarot. Apprentices can possibly take over shop, when PC wants to move on from Syliras and start another shop in a different city, or teach apprentices for two seasons and allow them to go to a new city. Shop is to start savings for additional activities but is meant to be handed over to help spread merchant caravans and trade.

Glyphed Folded Freight Business Type: Cargo Storage and Cargo Size Reduction Glyphed Folded Freight sits in the old husk of the Tooth and Claw (Need to RP getting permission to use location after Djed Storm of 512 AV). Set into a warehouse down by the Syliras docks the warehouse has seen better times. The Djed Storm of 512 AV destroyed the shop previous occupying the warehouse. However, surviving stray cats, dogs and occasional rat still live in the warehouse, requiring repairs and work to make the area clean and presentable to the local merchants. The new shop simply has a large banner hanging out front of the shop to notify people that it is in fact opened for business. Merchants entering the shop will find a large open area with a stairway leading off to their right and a door to their left that opens to the warehouse. The stairway leads to offices, and supply closets. While below the stairway the area is being cleared and a large scaffolding is being used to hold a canvas tarp with glyphs and sigils on it. A small ladder with a paint bucket and brush hanging from it shows that in fact the warehouse is opened. Currently very few people know of the business the shop owner Ethan Ironhorse has talked to Syliras merchants and the Knighthood about his services. (RP connections of Nobles and Knighthood) For those that do know of him and his shop, it is a marvel. Ethan specializes in Shielding cargo and then putting the cargo into a Glyphed scroll the size of a large tarp. The warehouse takes deliveries of a merchants goods and two to three men offload the cargo onto a tarp and wait as Ethan tedious Shields the Cargo and then places it in the giant scroll. In a bell, one wagon load is made into a 12 foot by 12 foot scroll that can be rolled into a tube (Probably need leather tube case for Huge). The scroll weighs no more than the material and can be loaded back on the wagon to be transported or stored in the warehouse till a later date. In order to make sure stray cats, dogs, rats and water or mildew don’t damage the scrolls, three segments of the warehouse have been repaired and large shelves of the scrolls are monitored for damage. As an additional precaution, Ethan Shielded each section against pests and stray animals, but nothing is every perfect and cracks and holes are still be found. (Need to confirm with Tarot on Game Mechanics… Need Competent Shielding for permanent shields and additional head count for security or scroll assessment.) Merchants are given tokens with lot numbers on them, and are allowed to store their cargo for thirty days before payment is required for an additional thirty days. If a longer stay is required, discounts are available. If a merchant fails to appear fifteen days after their contract time is due, the cargo is seized by the owner as payment rendered for services and sold. Three things are required to release the cargo back to the merchant or designee. The token, the name of the merchant or company leasing the space and a password put on the contract at time of storage. This is to allow merchants to trade cargo’s quickly, by giving each other token’s, names, and passwords. However, it is possible that the theft of cargo can occur, so it is the responsibility of the Merchant to keep his password safe and unique. If theft of the token occurs, the owner of the cargo may come down to the shop and provide his copy of the contract for an additional token. Once lost the number on the token is erased from the ledger and will not be used again for a significant time. If Merchants decide to only reduce the size of their cargo by having Ethan shrink the cargo into a tarp, there is a flat fee, and the scroll is given over to the merchant with instructions on how to activate the trigger. Services: Cargo Shrinkage (Need overall price for materials time and Labor) Cargo Storage (Need price to store per day, probably no more then cost of labor for clerk/guard and a couple of silver in addition too Cargo Shrinkage price) Token Replacement (Charge just to be sure that they take this seriously and don't lose tokens all the time) Base Income: Shielding/World Mage: 12 GM/day Skill Bonus: Competant Shielding: 6 GM/day Sales Bonus: N/A (????? Not sure yet about this) Total Income 18 GM/day (Seasonal? not much travel during winter) Assets: (3) Structure: Simple Storage Area (1200 sq feet) (750 GM) (7) Structure: Low Quality Storage Area (2800 sq feet) (1750 GM at 50% is 875 GM) (2) Structure: Simple Office (400 square feet) 400 gm Used structure -%25 (-506) Good Lock (5) 400 gm (for all doors) Total: 1919 GM Debt 1919 GM to the Syliras Knighthood On going costs, 3 Laborers 3 Clerks (days/nights rotation) 1 Scribe 2 Apprentices(?) Materials (Canvas Tarps, Paint, Brushes, repairs) Initially a Lawyer to draw up contract

[Gillar]

This is a fascinating idea however I do have a few initial concerns.

While I'm not 100% on the limitations of Glyphing, I think that the creation of a scroll of the size you describe is something that would not be advised due to the high chance of damage to the scroll. The overall maintenance and care of such a scroll would be problematic I would imagine. That said, if you could find a way to construct something more stable and solid to bare the glyph yet remain mobile enough to transport, you may have a better chance. Either way, I would expect at least a strong Competent level in Glyphing to be able to pull it off.

As for the part about setting up different shops in various cities, if you leave your business in one city for your NPC's to run for the sake of starting up another elsewhere, you run a VERY high risk of losing income and potentially losing the business location itself. We tend to discourage trying to set up franchise businesses. The reasons for this include the fact that we would like PCs who have a business in a particular city to focus on that particular location. Also, due to the great distance between most cities in Mizahar, time spent traveling between cities makes effective managing of multiple business locations nearly impossible. Leaving a business in the hands of NPCs so that the PC can go start another business location in another city basically makes that first location an NPC location no longer controlled by the PC.

While PCs can travel around and do other things (adventuring and whatnot) while also owning a business, if they are gone too long their business can suffer and they could end up losing it.

Something else to consider is that you must pay the wages of all NPC's who work for you. Considering the number of employees you are planning, that would likely eliminate all income and then some. The business would not be possible then. With that though, you could start with a very small operation, build up your skills and develop the business so that you could afford to pay for more employees.

Otherwise, I find this whole idea quite interesting with potential though some kinks need to be worked out first.

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Gillar, I wanted to take the time to thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it. I state that because I wanted to talk about some of your points/concerns, and didn’t want to make you think that I didn’t care about your thoughts. I completely agreed with the strong Competent level in Glyphing, no question and I am working on it. As for your concern with the care for the scrolls. My initial thinking was to use Hemp Canvas Sails, very thick durable cloth that can withstand a great deal of abuse. Paint would soak up in the threads and as long as I use a heavy base paint the glyphs shouldn’t break when we roll it up. So the “scroll” can take abuse of being rolled up and thrown about. I was thinking that as part of my services, I would offer a waterproof boiled leather tube this would have added protection against water, critters, and general things that would tear holes in the scroll. Is it perfect? Probably not, and I do understand your concern about it, were you thinking perhaps large leather hides and using dyes to make the glyph? I guess I come up with the problem of, someone said that the Focus glyph needed to be as large as the smallest dimension of the object I am going to shield. So if someone wants to trade in tons of ore, they would need large crates that could store large amounts of ore in. Then I would need a large canvas to paint the focus glyph on. If I didn’t have that requirement, then I would just get steel dinner plates and spend a day or two engraving the glyphs on it and put the cargo into it. Alright enough of that… Setting up a franchise business…. Interesting. Actually, I know that I am going to lose the business when I hand it over to the apprentices. In all seriousness, I actually want that to happen. The last thing I really want to do is keep this idea in one city. Wind Reach would perhaps benefit from this so much, by putting a scroll, dinner plate, or whatever on an Endal and traveling to another city, they could become a trade capital. My goal is really spread this knowledge (if it’s a working concept) to other cities. The business is just to start advertising this new thing. Imagine Riverfall getting one wagon of goods from Syliras and its equivalent to ten or twelve wagon loads, wouldn’t as a merchant you be intrigue and want to learn how it was done? So as strange as it sounds… yeah I hope I do lose it to my apprentices and they spread the knowledge to others. Employee’s… your probably right need to start smaller and think it out. Really, I don’t want to become rich off of this, this is more of gift to merchant’s/tradesmen around the world. I guess I am trying to increase the standard of living, the idea that one city could be in famine, while another have an abundance of food but no way to trade with each other over grand distances… seems like a sink or swim for each city. With Endals… you could move goods across the Mizahar in a fraction of the time, or instead of sending large wagon trains from Syliras to Zeltiva one wagon load could do it. Which would be lot faster with less weight. Yet you have a great point, if it doesn’t make money… then merchants aren’t going to embrace it, and if my business fails because it costs too much, then the idea fails.