Maelstrom Campaign - The Trading Houses

There are some who claim that if the great powers of the Known World were able to trust each other, they might trade freely amongst themselves. Be that as it may, after centuries of conflict and wars there are now few prepared to trust a merchant who openly flies the flag of another land. As a result, the independent trading houses have grown in prominence. Honest in their dealings with all men, yet beholden to none, they handle all the trade that crosses borders and travels the open seas.

In theory, there are more than five trading houses; every land contains a proliferation of small independent establishments too numerous to mention here. But there are only five houses that have offices in every land and which are capable of handling cargo of any size or value. It is these five venerable institutions that folk commonly think of when they talk about the trading houses. Such is the common picture.

The astute merchant knows the truth, that whilst the five trading houses will all willingly handle any cargo they can see a profit in, each has inevitably developed its own area of expertise. In some cases this has been to the detriment of their ability to provide the very highest quality of service in other areas of their business.

All five of the major trading houses operate on a structure similar to the Alkonian Volery. They are run by an Archon, but this individual does not own the trading house in any real sense. Rather they are offered the position of leadership by the senior members of the house. These advisers are often older members who have made their fortunes and, having accumulated sufficient monies that they no longer need to work, they invest their wealth in the house. Thus the good and profitable running of the house is in their best interests. This is why they are trusted to select the Archon. Most Archons receive advice and assistance from the house advisers and will report regularly to them on progress and profits. It is rare but not unknown for an Archon to be removed if disastrous investments have been made.

Each trading house has individual operations in every land, based around their offices and warehouses, that are usually kept together where possible. In some lands a trading house will maintain offices in every major town and city, in others they will restrict their offices to the nation’s capital. Under normal circumstances, any member of the nation who meets the criteria set by an individual trading house may join. If they are successful in their application they will usually take up a position at the nearest office as most members prefer to remain in their own lands. Some though will take advantage of the opportunities for profit offered by the trading house and will take up residence with the house’s operations in another land, where local customs make this possible. The Archon will appoint a head for the operations in each land, who then appoints people to run the operations in individual towns and cities.

Exact rates vary between trading houses, but most tax their members one fifth of their profit on each deal conducted. This fifth is often viewed with contempt by those who choose not to join a house, but in practice it pays for the many benefits that members experience and the profits of house members are invariably superior to local craftsmen plying the same trade. Access to foreign trade alone provides better profits than most craftsmen operating locally can achieve. The support, preferential loans and protection offered by the backing of a major trading house is also significant. Precise tax rates vary as Archons often impose discretionary rates on activities where the house is seeking to expand their operations.

And so it began......

Dawn breaks, war looms, the evil Lord is gathering his armies to wage a campaign of destruction upon the free peoples of the world. It is up to I, Sir Maximilan Pegasus to stop him, with my trusted band of adventurers we must gather the enchanted sword of Tek, the Shield of Way-Lem and the amulet of Subsidence and together we shall slay this abomination! “TIME FREEZE” And bam, the fantasy world fades away, the enchanted sword of Tek in my hand is a rubber sword smothered in coloured ribbons with a laminated card cable tied to the hilt, I look down and I’m wearing plastic armour and unflattering heropants, and the magical world of my imagination washes away to reveal a field in Wigan, but you know what? It’s larp and I’m a larper, it’s what I do.
I started larping when I was 17, I’d never role-played before, I’d never played D&D or Warhammer, never played WoW or any form of online game, I’d never even read Lord of the Rings, I feel somewhat privileged that I hadn’t done any of those things, I think it gave me an untainted attitude towards what larp could be, I had no preconceptions about saving the maiden fair, slaying the dragon or smiting the liche, to me it was just a new thing to try.
It was cold, really cold, 10am on a September morning, the rain was battering down and I’d been given a faux fur tunic, a mouldy old sword and been pointed towards a man and told, “You’re monstering, there’s the ref he’ll tell you what to do.” I obeyed, I played wave after wave of zombies, orcs and various line monsters and to be honest, was cold, bored and hungry. That is, until lunchtime, the teams switched sides, I got into the kit I’d scrounged up, as with most first timers, a black trenchcoat. I took the mouldy old sword, stood with my fellow adventurers and it hit me, I’m a god damn hero!
Pow, there it was, a new larper was born.