so, let the ideas keep flowing, this time perhaps one event-oriented part.
Chapter 9 - The Trans-Saharan trade and its merchants.
First of all, the Trans-Saharan trade route should have at least 2 main branches. One of them from West Africa propper - the gold-bearing regions to Sijilmasa and the Mediterrean ports, and the other in the central part of the continent from Kanem-Bornu region through Kawar and Fezzan to the coast - this one's main trade article should be slaves.
As you can see the western route would have 2 main branches. One, the original and less dangerous from Bambuk via Adrad and Draa valley,
the other comes from the north through Taghaza salt mines and then forks into western part which goes all the way to Bambuk, Malian gold fields, and the eastern going through Timbuktu to Jenne.
- As you can see the trade routes will make the region very rich, so perhaps adding more provinces would serve the refion a favour in having higher percentage of provinces which don't have trade route in them.
The trade could be carried out by merchant class from both Maghreb and West Africa, who could operate as Inland merchant republics, but even if there are not these Inland merchant republics, these trade routes would bring some events and special mechanics. (If Inland republics would be to emerge, they'd probably need more interesting stuff, which I will suggest later).
Here are some
events and event chains which could be connected to Trans-Saharan trade routes
1)
Muslim merchants in pagan lands
- event chain tied to the fact that there were muslim communities in the countries not belonging under the power of muslim rulers and therefore with lesser chance to execute rule islamic law.
Can be viewn from perspective of the pagan ruler, muslim ruler on the other side of the route or the merchant (Inland republic).
here are few instances of what could happen:
- wealthy muslim merchant died - what to do with his body - bury him according to islamic law soon, but on pagan land (perhaps even without an imam). What to do with his property (his rightfull heir is /if there's any/ on the other side of desert) - the pagan ruler can confiscate it, possibly triggering anger among muslim merchants, some merchant may offer to protect it and take it to his rightfull heir and either take it for himself or do his religious duty. The muslim ruler on the other side of the desert may be asked to send his emissaries to protect the muslims on the other side of desrt - a costy adventure with high risk of failiure... but providing him piety and potentialy a base for military expansion southwards
- the merchant community may ask the pagan ruler to establish their own religious court with their own judge-qadi - may risk establishment of more independent community and potentialy more interested being asserted by muslim rulers on the other side of Sahara... or the demand to establish the court could be made to the muslim ruler and he could accept or refuse... both with relevant consequences on his power and piety, relations with pagans and other muslims.
2)
The Caravan event chain
- also this could have few perspectives - of a ruler in the route's terminus, the merchant who is organizing it, or a merchant who can eventually join it.
- it should be to some aspect similar to setting up adventurer's army for conquest (if you are the organizer) - the merchants are collected and at a certain point the caravan's journey starts and comes to cross the desert with vatious events:
-
fata morgana - you have seen something in the desert and may follow it, you may get lost... and then be found by somebody who could become your friend, or you can owe him a favour... or you can find out that one member of the caravana has disappeared and search for him, gaining a friend and/or a favour.
-
the guide/s get/s lost/ill and somebody has to take the lead instead - will you do it, or nominate somebody else, whom? An experienced merchant? Go back to the previous destination risking the failiure of the whole business?
-
A crucial well en-route has dried out or has been buried under sand. Will you dig deep into it? (to find out there's no water? Dig elswhere? Or try to sacrifice somebody and continue on trip risking deaths of mates and camels?
-
Attack by desert tribes - the guides may get killed, some (your) property has been lost... the caravana now have to follow their leadership, but pay heavy price.
- You've met an interesting stranger. You can make a new/good trade deal (get some trade goods, see below), or you can learn technology, or just find a friend and learn some skill.
-
Explore salt mine - on the way across the desert there are salt mines where the caravana stops. You can search around and find an unknown salt mine, get the trade good, make a new trade contract, sell the mine for money, you can settle there to found a new life).
-
Alone in the desert - you can experience a mystic moment, giving you additional learing skills. If you have good traits, you can even become holy man or even end up establishing a religious order.
-
A merchants' argument - they argue that one has taken goods from another (you can be one of them, or by-stander, or as the organizer of the caravana bring them to a judge or judge them yourself)
-
Strange illness among camels - with adequately terrible consequences
- End of journey - you have reached the destination, so you can do various things: - set up a trade outpost if there isn't any /as the organizer of the caravan/, you can prepare a journey back, again either as the organizer, or as just a normal merchant. Or you can stay in the target province and create a town there.
3) the
gold diggers of the Wangara
- based on famous stories of gold diggers in the secret gold fields in Bambuk and Bure which location was unknown to everybody except the diggers and Wangara merchants. There were legends about diggers being kidnapped and then bribed or even tortured to reveal the secret locations, but they rather died than to unveil the secret.
- the event would have 3 types depending on who you play as: a) Wangara version, b) local ruler version, c) Trade route merchant's version (other than Wangara)
a) First part would be "There are rumours that somebody is trying to kidnap some of your gold diggers and find out the location of the gold mines. We should prevent this."
and options could be :
- set up a secret spy/guard around the gold diggers' villages
- lock all the gold-diggers and keep them on secret place (might trigger one of them running away and eventually revealing the secret as another triggered event)
- take the diggers' families as hostages so they won't tell anyone, or you'd kill them (possible another triggered event when eventualy some of the diggers reveals the secret - so you'd have to kill the family hostages)
- motivate them positively - offer them wealth and good conditions for their families, give their children edication so they could become one of the Wangara merchants when they grow up.
- and another events connected to failiure of preventive measures: the digger revealed the secret - you can kill/torture him ni revenge, do another preventive measures - kill the one who got the information immediately/bribe him...
b) and c) would be very similar, but with different wordings perhaps:
you learned that the Wangara keep the location of their gold fields in secret, but you have found one of their gold-diggers so you might try to get the information from him:
- offer him fortune of gold for him and his family
- if he refuses (or directly) - torture him to reveal this information -> can eventually lead to his death.
- if you manage to be successfull (the chance should be relatively low), you could then either send there soldiers (if you're a ruler) and try to occupy the place (risk of false position being revealed) which triggers negative relations with the Wangara and potentially end of good trading conditions, or could end up in open war and resulting in loss of all gold income. The merchants, but also the rulers may then try to renegotiate the conditions with the Wangara to get gold cheaper -> more income from the trade route.
4) Then there is stuff like calling for a search for new wells in the desert (mainly for those who are on the westernmost branch of the route) etc.
There could of course be some more events and other stuff tied to this trade route. Some sugestions were made by
@Damarrocarion in his own thread. Some could follow...
And now, let's move to some basic mechanics about:
Inland republics
- The Inland republics merchants would build trade outposts (like MRs), but only on trade routes, but they could also trade with those Outposts. Unlike feudal rulers, they would not be limited to territories they own, but only to the trade route they're in.
- If they have built a Trade outpost in some province, they should also be able to build there a town and assign there a mayor, but the city would be politicaly subordinated to the province's ruler. The succession, however, would follow the republic's rules
- they could introduce basic trade goods such as gold, slaves, salt (particulary important for Trans-Saharan trade), and then some basic stuff like silk, spices, cloth, silver and others (up to discussion what else would make sense without diverting the game too much into economy-based game, though that might be welcome by many, including me), and these goods would be sought by Inland republics' merchants. Getting access to each trade good would give them special prestige (and of course money) and could unlock them special buildings in their palaces.