Favor as currency
This article is meant to help you quickly navigate what would be mostly common knowledge in the setting.
Favor: a combination of promises of future goods or services, how well you are liked, and what powerful person supports you.
There are many factors to consider when thinking about favor and what if can get you. The size of your location, how long you've been there, what sort of ethnicity rules the area; all of these things can change how favor is handled.
Basic Favor Usage
You can use these things to leverage for the trades of other goods or services, as well as more favor.
Services and goods can be traded for favor or other services or items. And favor to them is partly how much they like you, what you have that they want, what you can do for them, promises of future help/items/services, and the mood they happen to be in on a given day.
Villages (Generally)
Villages on both planets are very small, a few hundred people at most. Everyone knows everyone else and whose lawn their moth shits on.
For Locals
If you're a local you can basically just get what you need.
Need some food? Just go to the community food storage and take what you need.
Need a new table? Ask the person who makes tables to make it/fix your old one, and you'll eventually get a table.
If you're a good weaver you'll likely be fixing everyone's baskets. It's just expected that you will, because they'll do their thing for you whenever.
It's very chill and helps the whole community to know things will get fixed/built/stored when needed so they can self sustain and such.
If you somehow betray the trust of your village they will banish you. Usually that means you're starting from scratch in the favor department.
For Strangers
Most villages use basic favor for strangers.
Lord Ciwn (Vondren)
Lord Ciwn is ruled by factions, be they industrial or entertainment based. Lordtown, the entertainment district, is run by Syndicates; while Ciwn, the industrial district, is run by corporations. They are basically the same thing with different names.
With a Faction
If you are part of a faction, and are in their good graces, then anything that faction provides is basically free to you. in return you follow their rules, codes, and instructions. If that faction has turned on you, you now owe them for everything and more, as being in a faction provides you with more than just things; it comes with favor in other factions, power, and prestige.
if you are not in a faction that is on good terms with a different faction, then you have access to the services they provide based on how strong the connections between the two are. Basically, you are spending your faction's favor to purchase what you need, instead of your own favor. Meaning you have a lot more purchasing power than a single person normally would.
On the flip side though, if your faction is at odds with another, you shouldn't even seek out their services. For one, they likely wouldn't provide them. But more importantly, your faction might consider you a traitor and you would fall out of their good graces, now owing them for every kindness you've ever received.
If your faction is on neutral terms with another, you spend your faction's favor, but your choices are limited and it can effect the relationship of the factions.
As an Unaligned
People from out of town, or choosing not to align with a faction use the basic style for trading.
Trading in favor will quickly get you associated or loosely aligned with a faction though, weather you want to be or not. So tread carefully if you don't have anything of value to barter with. Most of the favor will involve you performing a task prior to receiving your desired item or service.
If you get a service or item before doing a task for the faction, you've messed up. A favor owed hanging over your head will wind up much more difficult/unpleasant/dangerous than one provided up front. And will loosely tie you to that faction. A faction you are very loosely associated with may try to give you things for free, this should be avoided if you want to stay unaligned, as it's the first step into becoming part of said faction. Nothing is truly free in Lord Cwin.
Bhcu Cuhcil (Vondren)
In Bhcu Cuhcil what you can get and how you can get it will depend on what ring of the city you are in. If you're in the...
Upper Ring
This is the agricultural ring.
If you don't work in a farm here then you have no business hanging around or asking for things. Please leave.
If you do work at a farm then what you need for work will be provided to you when you decide you want to work that day. You work as much as you like, leave and return as you like, and take days off as you see fit.
Middle Ring
This is the housing ring. You can expect each neighborhood to work similarly to a small village. The family in charge of the water is the head of village and can ask things of the government on behalf of the village. The village's favor as a whole with the other villages and the ruling body of the city is more important that an individual's favor.
Lower Ring
This is the heart of the city. Mostly eateries, repair shops, hospitals, and schools. If you have a business in Bhcu Cuhcil, this is where it's located.
Personal favor is meaningless in Cuhcil, unless you are disliked. As long as you are polite and properly formal here, anything you want you can get.
Anything you want is obtainable through manners alone.
If you do not act properly, you will be turned away and that is that.
Eacner Jredde (Vondren)
Eacner Jredde is split into two areas. Not only do they work differently, but if you're from one don't expect to be on friendly terms with the other.
Surface Level
The upper level of Jredde is mostly a vacation/tourist attraction. People come in by train, stay a few days, and leave. Mostly upper-class important people from Lord Ciwn. Heads of factions, their staff, and people they want to impress or entertain. Its like a giant ski resort with faction owned lodges. Faction rules apply here as they do in Lord Ciwn.
They don't really want to deal with the miners, but, if they must, it's your basic style of trade.
Lower Levels
The lower levels are where the miners work and live.
If you're a miner, other miners will look out for you. Mostly basic style and village style mixed together.
And if you're not a miner, you're at the the mercy of the havocbreakers and Lord Ciwn factions that run most of the commerce here. So, basically, you're at a disadvantage.
Ocuv Ana (Vondren)
Locals
For Ocuv Anna Locals, the work they put in gets them all the basic necessities, and also they can take defective or unwanted stock without much fuss and trade it amongst themselves.
Outsiders
As far as outsiders go though, there's two types. Important people and everyone else.
Important people typically own the things here and are just passing through. Favor is carried over and traded as it would be in Lord Ciwn.
For everyone else it's the basic style trading at the market, and everything is free on Agada's Day.
Vullavual Laud (Vondren)
Each area is run by a 'HavocLord', a sort of king pirate of the area who has say over how things are done and attracts different sorts or people.
If you're on neutral ground it's a free for all and anything goes.
In HavocLord territories, it really depends on the Lord in question, but using basic trading will definitely also work. Owing a HavocLord is in some ways safer than owing a cartel or syndicate. Like most pirates, if they don't like you they'd have killed you long before you got to the trading.
Duam, Ncia, & Coldol (Jaumun)
Duam and Ncia are small enough that they work similar to villages. And Coldol is a collection of very very small villages (aside from the longtail island, then you're on HavocBreaker rules). There are a few minor differences though.
Daum
Daum is considered a part of Ciarn, despite the distance. So if you are a high ranking person in the Ciarn government, or doing something for someone like that, you basically count as a local.
Ncia
Ncia is very snooty about outsiders. If you aren't a guest of the royalty, you likely won't get into the city proper. They'll stop you at the little market outside the gates or send you back to where you came from at the entrance instead of trading with you. Trading at the market uses basic trading rules.
If you are a guest you'll be considered part of the family of whoever invited you. They'll be responsible for your actions but you're pretty much free to whatever resource you like. (Though you may get dirty looks from the common folk behind your back.)
Coldol
Coldol Villages tend to be the same as any other village, but if you're from a different Coldol village you're more likely to be treated like a local. Trading is more often done between villages of the empire than with individual people, and if you're an outsider they do not trust you and may chase you out of the village.
Most outsiders do their trading at the capitol, which is just a glorified marketplace that trades in goods. It runs on barter alone, no favor accepted. They do not trust you.
Ciarn (Jaumun)
Ciarn is a megacity. Each district is bigger than the combined size of all other cities on the planet.
Needless to say, there is no village-like hospitality anywhere to be seen.
Ciarn Proper
Ciarn is a complicated beast of a place.
There are public services that are free if you're already in the city. Transit, housing, food, entertainment, information and package delivery; there are publicly accessible versions of all these things and more. The public versions are run by the companies that govern each section and are subject to the rules they set. But if you don't mind following those rules trading for favor isn't needed.
There are also private versions of all these things with laxer rules, wider possible reach, and more customizable options. Mostly your basic style of favor trade.
The main thing to keep in mind when trading in Ciarn is to be ready to haggle. There's always more people with better offers just around the corner. Being polite can't hurt either.
The more someone knows you, the better or worse your dealings with them can get. Go to parties and interact positively with the people you wanna trade with most often to raise your chances of a good offer.
The Border District
Expect basic style trading, but you're likely getting cheated or overcharged in some way.
Also there are 'taxes', which you 'pay' to the boss who's area you live in.
That is to say, if they want something from you at any time, you best give it or promise to give it once you have it, and then go acquire it as soon as possible. Unlike most places, where the punishment for not having favor is not getting something, if you don't do what a boss wants they will kill you or send others to do so. Running is your best option, but they will likely pay havocbreakers to come find you.
The bosses all have standing with each other, if you're from one territory and want something from another, your favor will do you no good if the two bosses are on bad terms or at war. Even passing through may not be safe. There are people who's whole job is to keep track of who passes through the territory and if they are an 'enemy' or not.
Otherwise whatever you can trade for normally or win through brute force is yours, until its not.
Working directly for a boss can get you that bosses favor as a currency you can spend, but best be careful not to overspend or you will be made to pay it out of your own hide.
If you know a place and it's not listed its either basic style or village style.
Some examples to help you figure it out:
- Zavi and Vida use basic
- Aeance uses village
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