Post by (The) Herald on May 25, 2012 22:49:19 GMT -5
~ e c o n o m i c s
I N T R O D U C T I O N
If you have formerly been a member of a semi-realistic animal roleplay, you have probably been exposed to the concept of "scarcity." Scarcity of food, water, shelter, and territory are often central motifs incorporated into the more realistic animal roleplays out there, because the fact about any society (human, animal, or not), is that these laws of scarcity apply in every situation and in every scenario.
Studiers of prehistoric World History will recognize the statistic that human hunter-gather societies are small in number (10-50 individuals), and cover a total territory at a population density of less than one person per square mile. Former canine RP roleplayers will also recognize the statistic that wolf packs (5-11 individuals) cover a territory of 12-100+ square miles, depending on the fertility of the land.
In these kinds of communities and societies mentioned above, it is impossible to have urbanization or the formation of state societies. In a hunter-gatherer economy where all individuals are responsible for foraging their daily meals, it is flatly illogical to pretend that crowding a significant number of individuals into an urban center (such as the City Kosov on Himaryn), will produce any kind of result other than widespread hunger due to intrinsic scarcities in resources.
The reason we Himaryn Staff have taken the time to write an economics thread, is to explain in a reasonable fashion how a society such as the one here in the Kingdom of Himaryn might function, and how such a complicated civilization may have been arisen from Himaryn's own prehistory (which we shall assume was also hunter-gatherer-esque), from a scientific historian's perspective.
D E V E L O P M E N T
Assuming that all Himaryns were originally hunter-gatherers (like those on all other semi-realistic animal roleplays), our goal is to produce a reasonable theory as to how pack hunting animals and grazers may have found the reason to conglomerate into urban settlements, and ultimately take permanent residence in a certain location, such as Nairsov or Kosov (ignoring Himaryn's origin myths, which are in fact, myths and legends).
Our general consensus has led us to into hypothetical suppositions about our ridiculously intelligent Seir, and why they might have settled. For example, pack hunters may have initially found a dead-end gully where a panicked herd could be driven, and then slaughtered in a feast. Repetition of such events could probably produce popular sites (where killed-meat is abundant to the excess) may attract all sorts of visitors. Intelligent pack hunters may also have found ways to intentionally drive herds in controllable directions, thus rendering it less necessary to frequently move territories.
All sorts of agricultural innovations (for herbivores, it could possibly involve some early animal-like form of farming), which encourage the concentration of animals in a single location rather than across large territorial expanses.
Agricultural revolution, in any society, is always the first step. It means the capacity to produce large amounts of food, and later on, also the ability to transport food to areas of high resource demand (such as urban centers).
In the Kingdom of Himaryn in particular, note the purpose of the different districts in an economic light. For example, the farmlands surrounding City Kosov are the site of abundant cultivated farmlands where farmers, utilizing a combination of magic (Terra Elemental, for example) and techniques such as natural fertilizer and seeding planting, can rapidly increase the efficiency and the growth of food, which can then be transported into the urban center (lacking fields or grazing land) to sell to the urban masses.
The same applies to Hashira, which is the region where better crops in greater variety such as fruits and corn come from. And the same applies to the Sehali, where hunting organizations used advanced hunting techniques to take down more prey then ever, yet also responsibly encourage the replenishment of the herd populations. Simple advancements such as sun-drying meat or preserving food can allow products from the Sehali to again be transported with spoiling to urban centers where prey may be over-hunted and in severe lack.
The laws of supply and demand drive this direction of economics. The existence of an urban center (be it originally a religious center, a political center, or a convenient location) with a concentration of individuals always exhausts the local resources and creates demand. The existence of demand drives the creation of supplying areas (where a certain product may be in excess relative to the population), and individuals, merchants, and traders to sell to urban populations for benefits.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
If you have formerly been a member of a semi-realistic animal roleplay, you have probably been exposed to the concept of "scarcity." Scarcity of food, water, shelter, and territory are often central motifs incorporated into the more realistic animal roleplays out there, because the fact about any society (human, animal, or not), is that these laws of scarcity apply in every situation and in every scenario.
Studiers of prehistoric World History will recognize the statistic that human hunter-gather societies are small in number (10-50 individuals), and cover a total territory at a population density of less than one person per square mile. Former canine RP roleplayers will also recognize the statistic that wolf packs (5-11 individuals) cover a territory of 12-100+ square miles, depending on the fertility of the land.
In these kinds of communities and societies mentioned above, it is impossible to have urbanization or the formation of state societies. In a hunter-gatherer economy where all individuals are responsible for foraging their daily meals, it is flatly illogical to pretend that crowding a significant number of individuals into an urban center (such as the City Kosov on Himaryn), will produce any kind of result other than widespread hunger due to intrinsic scarcities in resources.
The reason we Himaryn Staff have taken the time to write an economics thread, is to explain in a reasonable fashion how a society such as the one here in the Kingdom of Himaryn might function, and how such a complicated civilization may have been arisen from Himaryn's own prehistory (which we shall assume was also hunter-gatherer-esque), from a scientific historian's perspective.
D E V E L O P M E N T
Assuming that all Himaryns were originally hunter-gatherers (like those on all other semi-realistic animal roleplays), our goal is to produce a reasonable theory as to how pack hunting animals and grazers may have found the reason to conglomerate into urban settlements, and ultimately take permanent residence in a certain location, such as Nairsov or Kosov (ignoring Himaryn's origin myths, which are in fact, myths and legends).
Our general consensus has led us to into hypothetical suppositions about our ridiculously intelligent Seir, and why they might have settled. For example, pack hunters may have initially found a dead-end gully where a panicked herd could be driven, and then slaughtered in a feast. Repetition of such events could probably produce popular sites (where killed-meat is abundant to the excess) may attract all sorts of visitors. Intelligent pack hunters may also have found ways to intentionally drive herds in controllable directions, thus rendering it less necessary to frequently move territories.
All sorts of agricultural innovations (for herbivores, it could possibly involve some early animal-like form of farming), which encourage the concentration of animals in a single location rather than across large territorial expanses.
Agricultural revolution, in any society, is always the first step. It means the capacity to produce large amounts of food, and later on, also the ability to transport food to areas of high resource demand (such as urban centers).
In the Kingdom of Himaryn in particular, note the purpose of the different districts in an economic light. For example, the farmlands surrounding City Kosov are the site of abundant cultivated farmlands where farmers, utilizing a combination of magic (Terra Elemental, for example) and techniques such as natural fertilizer and seeding planting, can rapidly increase the efficiency and the growth of food, which can then be transported into the urban center (lacking fields or grazing land) to sell to the urban masses.
The same applies to Hashira, which is the region where better crops in greater variety such as fruits and corn come from. And the same applies to the Sehali, where hunting organizations used advanced hunting techniques to take down more prey then ever, yet also responsibly encourage the replenishment of the herd populations. Simple advancements such as sun-drying meat or preserving food can allow products from the Sehali to again be transported with spoiling to urban centers where prey may be over-hunted and in severe lack.
The laws of supply and demand drive this direction of economics. The existence of an urban center (be it originally a religious center, a political center, or a convenient location) with a concentration of individuals always exhausts the local resources and creates demand. The existence of demand drives the creation of supplying areas (where a certain product may be in excess relative to the population), and individuals, merchants, and traders to sell to urban populations for benefits.
~ c u r r e n c y
In the Kingdom of Himaryn, the official currency is the Talc. Unlike the coins and paper money of our world, the Himaryn Talc is in fact not even physical. It is a magical currency that is largely transparent, intangible, yet easily stored and manipulated by any character regardless of size or physical build.
By appearance, the Himaryn Talc are a series of levitating, glowing balls of different colors (much like the Spirit Points of Okami or the gems from Legend of Zelda). Each color is a different denomination of a Himaryn Talc. Only a minimal amount of magical energy is necessary to manipulate the floating balls—it is thus very easy to telekinetically handle talcs, in a hands-free fashion (without the clumsy need of paws or jaws).
Upon closer examination of these "Talcs," one will notice that they are watermarked by complex designs of the Imperial Emblem of Himaryn. These "Talcs" are issued by Empire-employed Sages in the Department of the Treasury, and they create watermarked talcs to combat counterfeit currency. These Sages are the ones who pre-program the talcs to be able to perform normally energy-taxing functions without next to no effort required at all.
Storage of Talcs is very simple. They are compressible by magic, thus a small degree of concentration is all it takes to "stack them" and conceal them in a less obvious place (which can range from virtually anywhere, from inside bodies and mouths, to in stones, rocks, items, etc). Simple non-elemental telekinesis is all it takes to decompress the stack of Talcs, and and pass it to others.
Talcs automatically recognize an "owner", so generally they are telekinetically manipulable only by one individual at a time, until it is officially passed to someone else by either formal or informal understanding. This generally makes it difficult to pickpocket Talcs. However, there are specific spells and items that are geared to stealing Talcs.
In the Kingdom of Himaryn, the official currency is the Talc. Unlike the coins and paper money of our world, the Himaryn Talc is in fact not even physical. It is a magical currency that is largely transparent, intangible, yet easily stored and manipulated by any character regardless of size or physical build.
By appearance, the Himaryn Talc are a series of levitating, glowing balls of different colors (much like the Spirit Points of Okami or the gems from Legend of Zelda). Each color is a different denomination of a Himaryn Talc. Only a minimal amount of magical energy is necessary to manipulate the floating balls—it is thus very easy to telekinetically handle talcs, in a hands-free fashion (without the clumsy need of paws or jaws).
Upon closer examination of these "Talcs," one will notice that they are watermarked by complex designs of the Imperial Emblem of Himaryn. These "Talcs" are issued by Empire-employed Sages in the Department of the Treasury, and they create watermarked talcs to combat counterfeit currency. These Sages are the ones who pre-program the talcs to be able to perform normally energy-taxing functions without next to no effort required at all.
Storage of Talcs is very simple. They are compressible by magic, thus a small degree of concentration is all it takes to "stack them" and conceal them in a less obvious place (which can range from virtually anywhere, from inside bodies and mouths, to in stones, rocks, items, etc). Simple non-elemental telekinesis is all it takes to decompress the stack of Talcs, and and pass it to others.
Talcs automatically recognize an "owner", so generally they are telekinetically manipulable only by one individual at a time, until it is officially passed to someone else by either formal or informal understanding. This generally makes it difficult to pickpocket Talcs. However, there are specific spells and items that are geared to stealing Talcs.