Commerce runs the world. Today we trade all over our world. We trade raw resources such as minerals and fossil fuels along with finished goods like cars and clothing. I can go to Amazon and order a pair of shoes from China if I wish to do so.  I can buy German chocolate and Venetian glass. It is so easy!

But..that wasn’t always so.

Once upon a time, people usually made do with what was close to them. They traded with their neighbors…a chicken for a loaf of bread. They used the services of their neighbors when raising a barn or plowing fields.

Then one day, on the horizon, they saw a lone figure. He was carrying a huge pack on his back, items hanging off in all directions, clanking and clacking as he walked. A few curious villagers, probably children, ran to stare at this strange figure. The man grinned and waved at the kids. As he approached they could better see the precious goods he was wearing.

There were strings of colored glass beads, like nothing the children had seen before. Metal containers of all shapes and sizes gleamed in the sunlight. The man entered the village and spread out a beautiful blanket, woven with exotic designs. He pulled out an seemingly endless supply of strange and wonderful things…bottles of dried herbs, carefully crafted shoes, carved wooden pipes, a pair of eyeglasses, painted figurines made of clay…each item more amazing than the next.

The peddler came from far away, from a different culture, a place that spoke a different language. His skin was dark, his eyes black, and he wore strange clothing. Somehow, he was able to communicate to those in the village.

The people of the village descended on the peddler, digging their copper pennies from their pockets or offering wares of their own in trade.

Trade brought new discoveries to new places. Trade created the Silk Road, the spice trade, which was so important in our middle ages, and it brought new ideas and painted them all over the world. Many later inventions and innovations came about because trade brought people together. And many minds, brought together, can sometimes do amazing things.

So will it happen in Legends of Aryiure. Trade will not only bring new discoveries to the corners of the world, but will bring the world to the players.  The world will grow as trade grows.

Commerce is the center of the world. Everything in LoA will be wound around the concept of commerce, trade, and guilds.  Resource gatherers and farmers will sell raw goods which will travel to near and far villages, towns and cities. Crafters will create finished goods, either delivering them to distant places or selling them to Merchants who will put together grand caravans or fill magnificent ships full of supplies.

Guilds will bicker and negotiate for trade routes. Politicians will make promises that they will find ways to control trade for the benefits of their constituents.  Priests will use their influence to separate some of the wealth from these traders and use it to care for their flocks.

Wars will be fought over routes. Castles will be built to protect and then be taken by others to control trade. Caravans will be attacked, not only by highway men but also by competitors. Pirates will be hired to stop shipments from reaching their destinations. Smuggling will bring in goods to places where they are forbidden.

While most games center every single game mechanic, achievement, and development around combat, we will center ours around commerce, with a giant dose of role play, of course. 🙂

So..your mission, if you accept, is to discover a world through trade, commerce, and role play!