Murray Fife's Blog, page 10

Tracking Time the Faerûnian Way: Financial Periods with the Harptos Calendar in Dynamics 365

In a world where regional identity matters as much in governance as in business, aligning your financial operations to the local calendar of record is more than a cultural gesture—it’s good operational practice. For companies trading across Faerûn, like the Waterdeep Trading Company, that means organizing time not by “January” or “March,” but by Hammer, Ches, and Eleint.

Within Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, configuring and referencing financial periods by their Harptos names—complete wit...

Calculating the Full Cost of Caravan Transportation in Faerûn: Waterdeep to Dagger Falls

In the complex and often perilous world of Faerûn, overland trade remains one of the lifelines of regional commerce. Understanding the costs, risks, and logistics of transporting goods between cities is crucial for trading companies, merchant guilds, and caravan operators alike. This article examines the full cost breakdown of transporting goods via horse-drawn caravan from Waterdeep to Dagger Falls, following the more direct and strategic route through Secomber, Loudwater, Llorkh, and the Black...

Scaling Magical Manufacturing: How the Waterdeep Trading Company Tracks Its Arcane Distillery Expansion in Dynamics 365

The bustling wards of Waterdeep hum with trade, alchemy, and ambition. Among the city’s most respected guilds, the Waterdeep Trading Company (WDTC) stands out for blending economic savvy with magical expertise. To meet a surge in demand for enchanted elixirs and arcane reagents, WDTC is expanding its production capacity by building a second distillation wing in the North Ward.

But in a city governed as much by guild charters as it is by gravity, managing construction isn’t just a matter of br...

Tracking Trade in the Realms: Faerûn Price Indexes

In the cities and farmlands of Faerûn, trade flows like water through the continent—vital, ever-changing, and affected by forces both natural and magical. To help traders, governments, and guilds make sense of this dynamic economy, the Faerûnian Commodities Exchange (FCEX) and its regional partners maintain a set of Faerûn Price Indexes (FPIs)—standardized benchmarks that track the value of common goods across the continent.

Whether you’re a merchant prince in Calimport or a dwarven brewer in...

Beyond Coin: Managing Livestock Currency in Faerûn

In Faerûn, wealth isn’t just held in coin—it bleats, moos, and occasionally tries to escape from the back of a cart. While cities like Waterdeep rely heavily on minted currency, rural economies and frontier settlements often prefer bartering with livestock, especially sheep and cows, as their primary medium of exchange. In these markets, currency management goes far beyond decimal places and exchange rates—it’s measured in hooves and wool.

Trading Livestock: The Art of the Barter Deal

Shee...

Grievances, Guilds, and Grumbling Goblins: Solving Faerûn’s HR Problems with Dynamics 365

In the bustling streets of Waterdeep, the steaming forges of Mithral Hall, and the drifting markets of Calimport, one universal truth binds all enterprises together: people problems.

Whether you’re managing a trade guild, a distillery, or an adventuring company, HR headaches in Faerûn are as abundant as kobolds in a cave. Disputes, misfiled contracts, guild violations, magical misconduct, and improper planar onboarding can bring even the most powerful organization to its knees.

Thankfully,...

Of Rods, Barrels, and Castings: Units of Measure in Faerûn

When adventurers in Faerûn tally their loot, when merchants count their wares in the bustling streets of Waterdeep, or when a dwarven stillmaster measures out moonshine in the Underdark—there’s one thing they all rely on: units of measure. But unlike our modern world of liters, kilograms, and miles per hour, Faerûn’s systems are delightfully inconsistent, hyper-regional, and infused with centuries of tradition, trade, and even magic.

Let’s take a tour through the wonderfully eclectic system o...

Long-Distance Communication in Faerûn: Arcane Messages and Mundane Missives

In the vast and diverse realms of Faerûn, long-distance communication is as varied as its landscapes—from the bustling trade roads of Waterdeep to the planar corridors of Sigil. Unlike the predictable flow of email or phone calls in our world, sending a message across Faerûn could involve a raven, a wizard, or a mirror infused with ancient magic. This article explores the rich tapestry of communication methods used across the Forgotten Realms—and how these can be modeled within systems like Dyna...

Contracting with Beholders: Trade Agreements and Price Management in D365

If you’ve ever tried to negotiate pricing with a Beholder, you know two things:

They see everything, andThey demand exact terms—preferably in writing and reinforced with anti-mind-control clauses.

That’s why, in the world of Advanced Dungeons & Dynamics 365, we rely on Trade Agreements and Price Management to tame the chaos of deals across Faerûn. Whether you’re bartering with the Arcane Brotherhood or setting bulk discounts for taverns in Neverwinter, Dynamics 365 gives you the tool...

Upscaling Formulations in Faerûn: From Potion Lab to Production Line with Advanced Dungeons & Dynamics 365

So, your alchemist’s apprentice finally brewed a mana potion that doesn’t explode. Great! Now what?

In Advanced Dungeons & Dynamics 365, inventing a magical formulation is just the first step. The real challenge comes when the Waterdeep Trading Company needs to scale that formula from a single cauldron to a full-blown manufacturing process across multiple guild-operated facilities.

Let’s talk about Upscaling Formulations in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management—and how a little configuratio...