I need a bit of help with Duskwalls economy. My crew of Shadows are espionage experts and they want to specialise in Industrial Espionage, I’m fairly familiar with the more underhand businesses like casinos, brothels, tattoo parlors and whatnot but we are more interested in the more legal industries. Basically what do the well to do citizens of Duskwall do to make their COIN legally…ish?
I need a bit of help with Duskwalls economy.
I need a bit of help with Duskwalls economy.
Leviathan oil. Compare the contemporary petro chemical industry and its vast political and industrial scope.
I suppose this would vary by district. If you take a look in that section of the book (don’t have it to hand right now, but it’s either just before or just after the faction write-ups), you’ll get loads of ideas for what citizens might do, who some of the big players are and what buildings are there. John Harper did a great job with that whole bit of the book.
Some people produce things, some sell things, some entertain. Some people probably own buildings and collect rent. I guess it really can be anything to scrape by.
At the end of the day though, with the amount of scoundrels and ill-gotten gains, I guess everyone’s second job is money laundering for someone (knowingly or not).
Duskwall was big with coal before Leviathan blood became a thing. It’s in decline now, but surely there are still a lot of steam engines around. And I imagine it’s still the main source for heating.
Also, iron works should be in heavy demand; Leviathan hunters and the railways need iron in spades.
Weapon manufacturers are usually also pretty wealthy, the world is quite hostile after all and a big war just ended.
The wealthy like to dress well, and someone has to produce cloth for the tailors.
I wonder how important newspaper publishers are. Ink Rakes are only tier 2 and the rulebook makes it sound as if there are only some printing presses in Ink Lane. But a well established newspaper is a powerful and fearsome thing, and more dangerous to scoundrels than the Bluecoats.
Maybe there’s a new Politician in Duskwall who’s promising to bring back Coal… 😀
The food industry in duskvol is both interesting and highly profitable. With most of the space in which food can be cultivated already being controlled by someone, innovations in food production have the potential to upset the entire social order. Just imagine someone figuring out how to mass produce fresh vegetables for the population. Or if someone discovers a new kind of produce, that circumvents the current food industry. Food is in rare supply in duskvol, especially for the poor and middle class citizens. There is a lot of money to be made here.
I’m under the impression that in addition to what’s already been said, Duskwall is also an extremely important trade port, linking Tycheros (and whatever exotic delights they export) to the rest of the Empire. Even in the case of Leviathan oil, most of the actual refining is done is Skovlan (Lockport, if I remember correctly), but Duskwall is the first safe port ship’s returning from sea are going to stop at on the way. And of course if you’re one of the people who owns those Skovlan refineries, you’re going to want to live near them, but not TOO near. A lot of the Dusk’s industry is going to be “middle class” – the accountants and bureaucrats and deal-makers – rather than the actual production. The shift from working-class coal town to middle-class trade center also goes a long way to explain the economic disparity and general prevalence of corruption and poverty right alongside unimaginable wealth.