Murray Fife's Blog, page 2

Acres, Leagues, and the Common Measures of Faerûn

In the bustling markets of Faerûn, coin is not the only currency of trust, measurement is. From the wheat fields of the Dalelands to the shipyards of Luskan, merchants, nobles, and adventurers depend upon a shared language of land, distance, weight, and volume. Without these measures, contracts could not be enforced, caravans would falter, and harvests would be sold with suspicion rather than certainty.

The common measures of Faerûn, acres, leagues, rods, fathoms, and more, did not arise from...

Longswords in Faerûn: Why Prices Differ, With Full Bills of Materials

In the markets of Waterdeep and beyond, a sword is never just steel. It is ore, labor, enchantment, guild sanction, and risk bundled into an item that must survive battle and audit alike. The Waterdeep Trading Company prices longswords according to their total cost of creation, adding premiums for scarcity, magical risk, and service guarantees. A mundane blade carries the costs of metal and craft. A +3 blade carries all of that plus rare reagents, arcane labor, failed attempts, and planar licens...

Perishable and Luxury Goods in Trade: Time, Distance, Transportation, and Scale in Faerûn

The Waterdeep Trading Company knows that profit is not only what is carried, but how, when, and in what quantity it is delivered. Perishable goods demand speed, luxury goods reward distance, and transportation—whether caravan, ship, or portal—carries its own costs. Scale, the merchant’s hidden lever, can turn a marginal route into a fortune.

Perishables: Fighting Spoilage

Perishable goods—food, drink, herbs, potions, and livestock—lose value with time. Every week of travel cuts into margin...

Faerûn Currency Systems: Standards, Shillings, Pound Notes, and Street Coins

In Faerûn, wealth flows in two forms: the clean decimals of the guildhall and the jangling coins of the marketplace. The Waterdeep Trading Company unites both under a dual system of Financial Currency (FSD) and Coinage Currency. To better support large-scale trade, a new instrument has been added to the ledger ,  the Faerûn Pound Note,  bridging noble contracts and inter-kingdom finance with trust and paper.

Financial Currency: The Faerûn Standard Dollar and Pound

The Faerûn Standard Dolla...

The Economics of Magic: Designing Realistic Currency Systems for Fantasy Worlds

Fantasy worlds demand more than simple copper-silver-gold progressions. As campaigns evolve beyond dungeon crawling into politics, trade, and nation-building, game masters need sophisticated monetary systems that can handle everything from a tavern meal to financing a war. The challenge lies in creating currencies that feel both authentically medieval and practically usable at the gaming table.

The Dual Currency Solution

Modern fantasy economics benefit from dual currency systems that sepa...

Outsourced Manufacturing in Faerûn: Service Steps for the Waterdeep Trading Company

Across Faerûn, not every product can or should be made within one’s own walls. The Waterdeep Trading Company often partners with allied guilds, artisan workshops, and subcontracted enchanters to meet demand. This practice—outsourced manufacturing—allows the company to expand capacity, gain access to specialized skills, and fulfill orders more swiftly across regions.

Outsourcing is not a matter of trust alone. It is a structured process, involving contracts, service postings, inspections, and ...

Inline and Continuous Item Sampling in Production Lines

In the bustling workshops and enchanted forges of Faerûn, the reputation of the Waterdeep Trading Company rests on the quality of its goods. From rune-etched cauldrons to barrels of ale, consistency is key. To maintain that standard, the company employs structured methods of inline and continuous item sampling during production. These practices ensure that defects are caught early, magical anomalies are corrected, and customers across the Sword Coast receive only the finest merchandise.

What ...

Arcane Intelligence in Faerûn: How the Waterdeep Trading Company Harnesses Enchanted

In Faerûn, knowledge is coin, and foresight is power. The Waterdeep Trading Company does not rely solely on ledgers, contracts, or merchant intuition. It has embraced Arcane Intelligence (AI), a realm of enchanted constructs, bound spirits, and predictive augury that performs the same role as artificial intelligence in other lands.

Arcane Intelligence transforms raw scrolls of data into living insight. From enchanted ledgers that predict shortages to runic dashboards that expose inefficiencie...

Cross-Planar Manufacturing Risks: Managing Trade and Production Beyond the Prime

In the bustling markets of Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate, and Calimport, merchants haggle over spices, steel, and spellscrolls. Yet a new frontier of commerce has emerged, one that stretches far beyond caravans and cargo ships. This is the realm of cross-planar manufacturing, the bold attempt to establish supply chains, workshops, and resource hubs across planes of existence.

The City of Brass, Mechanus, Feywild, and even the Shadowfell beckon with their rare resources and unique production condit...

Fair Reviews in Faerûn, A Complete Rating and Evaluation Guide for the Waterdeep Trading Company

In the wards of Waterdeep, work begins before dawn and ends when the last cart clears the gate. Foremen count crates, baristas tune grindstones, and clerks balance ledgers by lantern light. The Waterdeep Trading Company thrives when each role is measured with clarity and coached with purpose. This article gathers the company rating models, anchors, and prompts into one reusable guide. It turns scattered checklists into a single practice that is fair, fast, and ready for audit in every city of th...