UPOTW: Social Classes

[Anonymous]

The problem with that is, whoever decides to come down on Nenyuk risks just as much. If you think about it, Nenyuk is probably the richest of the Houses, both Noble and Merchant.

Do you really, honestly believe that Tektolnes let's the balance of economic power lie with commoners who aren't necessarily affiliated with his regime?  Ditto that granola bunny Utep?

Is Nenyuk richer than Allanak, which controls the mines, or are they just a storehouse for the little people's money?

[mansa]

From the history file:
http://www.armageddon.org/cgi-bin/help_index/timeline.cgi



1232
Sixteenth Age ends.
1300
Mercantilism grows extremely rapidly. By 1301, almost all of the economy is in the hands of Merchant Houses.


So, to answer this question:

Do you really, honestly believe that Tektolnes let's the balance of economic power lie with commoners who aren't necessarily affiliated with his regime? Ditto that granola bunny Utep?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Is owning the economy the same thing as controlling the sid?  If so I am pwned.

[Barzalene]

Merchant houses weild a great deal of political clout. However, like most things political,in both Armageddon and Real Life, this power is not without its limitations, nuances and gray areas. Nenyuk, Salarr and Kadius could punish a city state if it came to it, but at a cost. They gain little by flexing their muscle and profit by cloaking said muscle in velvet. (Metaphoric velvet. I think velvet clothing on a desert planet is STUPID. Velvet trim on the other hand is acceptable.)

[Sanvean]

Quote:
Piss off a Nenyuk, and risk a hefty "interest fee" and no money to pay your employees, or buy your silks, or weapons, or armor.  


Never in a million years. The senate and Templarate would come down like you wouldn't believe on a commoner organization that censured a noble.

This is not true. It's quite possible that a noble harassing a merchant house might find him or herself beset with all sorts of woes, from losing records - which would be restored, eventually, but would be a long and tedious structure - to finding that his or her special orders don't come in, or are "inadvertently" botched, or that he or she seems to be paying more for their kalan wine that usual - all of which would be explained away as "the fault of the aritsans" or "we had a caravan disappear to raiders, so we had additional costs". It's quite possible for a merchant house to UNOFFICIALLY censure someone who pissed them off. Not officially, not with a boycott or anything like that, but by hitting them with surcharges and additional expenses and the like out the wazoo.

Is that something a junior merchant could engage in? No. It's something that higher-ups could though - and possibly would in answer to overt attacks by nobility or templars, such as killing or stealing servants, levying additional taxes, etc, etc. Both codified (legally defined) and informal power sturcutres exist on Zalanthas, and need to be taken into account by politicking PCs.

[chinwa]

A commoner is a commoner is a commoner. I believe that covers it.

And so far as I know, I have never seen documentation stating that merchant families are exempt from the literacy laws of Allanak.

[Anonymous]

It's quite possible for a merchant house to UNOFFICIALLY censure someone who pissed them off. Not officially, not with a boycott or anything like that, but by hitting them with surcharges and additional expenses and the like out the wazoo.

When I first read Cindy Lou's post I was focusing on the 'no money' part and, after some PM's, realize that she was not talking about Nenyuk seizing a Templar's funds.

I agree and appreciate that merchant houses have many unofficial and sneaky means to deal with troublesome nobles/templars.

But am I wrong in thinking that a merchant house head moving against a templar in a blatant and official manner would be viewed as a threatening stance by all nobles or templars?

BTW, thanks for chiming in on this thread, Sanvean.  I'd rather know for sure that I was wrong and adjust my play/expectations rather than have debates involving the actions of NPCs and VNPCs which I don't know the full story on.