Economic resources

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worsas
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Economic resources

Post by worsas »

And yet another list! These are all resources of major importance I can think of at the moment. Most of them are rather generic. Nords aren't as exotic as Dunmer, unfortunately, but maybe you have ideas for some more alien native products?


Minerals:
Silver - Skyrim features large silver depots that contribute to a modest wealth in the western holds of the province. Most silver mines are found in Haafinheim and the Reach and may often be under direct control of the Empire.
Quicksilver - A mysterious substance being of interest for alchemists aswell as advanced nord smiths that use them to create ornate weapons of unmatched hardness. One of the metals used for creating nord silver weapons.
Iron - The most commonly found metal. Excessive availability in some areas.

Orichalcum - A greenish metal once favoured by the Direnni only second to Adamantium and main metal of which orc armor is made today. Disposals of this metal are rare and most-seeked and exploited by orcs.
Ebony - Mined in small amounts in the Velothi Mountains. An ingredient for creating high-end nord armor.
Copper - Mined in small amounts in Falkreath and near the Hammerfell border. Of lesser importance.

Amber - Collected by locals and exported in modest number. Once used by the Direnni for creating a yellowish glass.
Rock Crystal - One of the few minerals I once arbitrarily added from TR_Data. Could be a frequent sight in caves of the Jerall mountains.
Aquamarine - A gem found in the icy mountain ranges near the northern coast? Could be used together with silver for embellishments of all kind.

Lumber:
Ironwood - a rare kind of wood, not receiving much attention outside of the province, but used by Nords to create extremely hard shields and durable wood constructions.
Pine wood - cheap wood collected across the whole province and exported in large numbers via Haafingars harbour.
Oak wood - a hard wood with moderate availability, collected in the southern part of the province and much demanded outside of the province.

Animal-based products:
Honey & mead
Leather
Pelts
Horns
Smoked meat
Troll bones

Products of nord craftmanship exported across the continent:
Anything made from silver: Kitchenware, embellishments and weapons fashioned after imperial design.
Wooden planks and posts with carvings after imperial fashion. Used extensively in imperial furniture.
Small and medium-sized ships.
Wooden kitchenware.

Human resources:
Nords offering themselves as mercenaries or ships crew.

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Infragris
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Post by Infragris »

Mammoth fur, ivory from mammoths and whales (?) in the Sea of Ghosts. Wasabi, maybe? And beef - if anybody on the continent has a sizable cattle industry, it would be the Nords.

One thing to consider in relation to this is where your major trade routes lie. For Cyrodiil, I find it very important to know what is being traded or manufactured here and there, and in which direction it would flow. Helps with designing cities and villages along the way. You should also consider what the Nords produce for their own markets, what they export, and what they import: for example, the Bosmer are said to import a lot of lumber, but it's not exactly clear what they offer in return. A more clear example would be trade over Pale Pass: the Nords can offer pelts, ivory and building materials, and take Imperial luxury goods (silk) in return.

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worsas
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Post by worsas »

Imperials could offer silk, colorful fabrics, gold, gems, Cyrodiillic beverages and even wool in exchange, as I imagine the nords not to have an extensive sheep economy (the spring may be too cold for sheep?). Also, moon sugar and skooma will probably come in largest amounts over the Cyrodiil border.

Ivory, beef and cheese again may be exported by Nords.

I have no idea which Valenwood goods may be of interest. They may have some extremely smooth kinds of leather, different gems or even their golden sap glass in offer. Colorful feathers, Human/elven hair or smooth hair of unborn animals would be possible aswell. Weird stuff like that. But showing all of this is something I didn't want to bother about necessarily. In theory we'd have to consider possible wares from Highrock and Hammerfell aswell. It also seems plausible to have sea trade between Skyrim ports and some ports in MW, like Old Ebonheart (ebony may be of interest for Skyrim).

I think it is mostly important to use these theoretical trade relations and economical powers to come up with characters and conflicts evolving around them: Imperials and nords fighting over mining rights or bosmer traders on their way in the southern province.

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worsas
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Post by worsas »

I completely forgot about Stalhrim in my listing above.

Stalhrim - not really an economic resource. Stalhrim is enchanted ice, created for the sealing of corpses and worthwhile goods by the Nords of the early eras. In TES V it only exists on Solstheim, but according to Bloodmoon dialogue, it might actually exist in the main province of Skyrim, aswell. How available the raw stalhrim or the weapons and armors created thereof are, is up for discussion. I personally don't mind seeing some samples found in nord tombs, as long as they are very rare.

I'm ashamed that i forgot about good old Stalhrim, as it is a very funny idea to have ice as top tier armor material, in the vein of glass for Dunmer and porcelain for Redguards.

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roerich
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Post by roerich »

A sketch of an economic overview of Skyrim

[hsimg=]http://i.imgur.com/nJr4Kng.jpg[/hsimg]

The colours represent the largest economy of the regions, not the only one.

Dark red is hunting (fur, meat, leather, horns, bones etc.)
Green is various forms of agriculture (both farming, cattle, herding etc.)
Blue is fishing and whaling (I just outlined the rivers for good measure, the fishing industry is only really significant by the coasts and larger lakes. Whaling is important near Dunstior.)
Brown is timber for shipbuilding, houses and export (all over Tamriel, especially Valenwood)
Grey represents both uninhabited mountain regions as well as mining (iron, silver, copper, orichalcum etc. etc.)

Important for planning exteriors as well as themes and stores, i.e. Haafingar is fed by fishing and hunting from its own regions, but mostly from imported food like grain from the Reach, Whiterun, High Rock etc. It doesn't have a sustainable farm region of its own, and it could be something that stands in the way of Thian's dreams of independence - he'd need to annex the Reach or another agriculture heavy region in order to have a steady supply of food, if the Empire should enforce trade embargos or freeze the food supply in other ways.
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Luxray
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Post by Luxray »

Cool map, and nicely done! What are the white bits for :P
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roerich
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Post by roerich »

Cheeky modder herding.
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worsas
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Post by worsas »

We should collect maps like these in a single place. Nobody will look up a thread like this to determine how a town and its inhabitants are going to look like later. A map of towns and regions would be practical or even a supreme master map for predefining every little detail in advance :ugeek:

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roerich
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Post by roerich »

I agree. Swiftwood did some terrific ones for TR, we should have something like that.
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Melchior Dahrk
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Post by Melchior Dahrk »

Is there a lore basis for aquamarine being in Skyrim? Just curious as I landed on putting aquamarine as a resource in Lyithdonea.

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worsas
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Post by worsas »

Melchior Dahrk wrote:Is there a lore basis for aquamarine being in Skyrim? Just curious as I landed on putting aquamarine as a resource in Lyithdonea.
We only happen to have an aquamarine gem in our data files. I don't mind eitherway. The above list was just a draft for possible resources.

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roerich
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Post by roerich »

Tbh we can just keep it as a gem being traded, like emerald and ruby in vanilla (I don't remember there being any mines with those on Vvardenfell). If we don't necessarily want it to have its origin in Skyrim, that is.
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