The reason why Avanil and Diemed couldn't simply create a trade route from
every province to the Imperial City is simply because they can't. A trade
route has to start and end in two provinces that are different terrain types
(or different from different cultures, eg. Anuire - Khinasi). If you look at
a map showing the provinces in Avail and Diemed, Diemed only has one
province which could create a trade route with the Imperial City. Avanil has
a few more, but there also has to be roads to "carry" the trade and the cost
of building a road through a province is double its terrain cost, which is 2
for low mountains up to impassable for high mountains (except for dwarves).
I think the Seamist mountains would qualify at least as medium mountains so
that is 8 GB per province of medium mountains you want the road to travel
through. That's fairly cost prohibitive in my book. Sure you may make money
in the long run, but it will take a while to recoup your initial
expenditure.

Since large portions of the Heartlands and Southern Coast of Anuire are also
plains (which is what I would say the Imperial City is essentially sitting
on, using the province of Anuire), there are actually not that many
provinces which could have a trade route with the Imperial City. And
besides, I would be inclined to limit the number of trade routes coming into
a city to the same number as it can support going out, although I would have
an extra category for 10+ provinces - they can support 4 trade routes.

Peter "Dragon" Hodge
E-mail: dragon@uq.net.au
Website: Dragon's Lair (www.uq.net.au/~zzphodge)
ICQ: 2863795



> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-birthright@Phaser.ShowCase.MPGN.COM
> On Behalf Of Gary V.
> Foss
> Sent: Friday, 23 October 1998 2:27
> To: birthright@MPGN.COM
> Subject: Re: [BIRTHRIGHT] - Sea Trade Routes
>
>
> Jim Cooper wrote:
>
> > Well, because they have to go through Avan or Diemed to do it. That has
> > tariffs written all over it. I'm sure everybody wants to trade in the
> > big old city, but the tariffs are just too darn much!
> >
> > Otherwise, the sea has to be used, and few domains have seaport
> > provinces.
>
> Tariffs are an issue. The rulers of Avanil and Diemed, however,
> would not have to worry so much about that.... If there is not
> limit to the amount of trade
> routes possible going into a province, then wouldn't Avan have
> all his available provinces trading with the IC? Wouldn't Diem
> do the same? If there is not
> limit then trade would only occur to the highest possible
> provinces, and would earn considerably more GBs too.
>
> The only trade routes set up if there is no limit to the number
> that can go into a province would be ones to highly populated
> provinces. I admit, those trade
> routes would be the first to be set up, but I don't think there
> should be no limit on the number that can go into a single province.
>
> I think guilds are at a rather unfair advantage already when it
> comes to trade routes. They can potentially double, treble or
> quadruple their earning potential
> using them, plus thieves gain regency from trade routes based
> upon their GB earning potential. The number of guilders who
> actually have high enough bloodlines
> to earn the kind of RPs possible from even the smallest guild is
> pretty rare, but the point is that they can bring up their
> potential with ridiculous ease.
>
> Gary
>
> ************************************************** ****************
> *********
> To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com
> with the line
> 'unsubscribe birthright' as the body of the message.
>