First National Bank of Faerûn

[Palanan]

Are there any real guidelines to banking services in the Forgotten Realms, or anywhere else?

I included a few basic elements in my last campaign (letters of credit, etc.) and now that I'm working on a city campaign I've been thinking about this a little more. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find too much, not in the Realms and very little elsewhere.

The 3.0 FRCS has exactly one mention of banking that I can find: a passing comment that the city of Ormpetarr serves as a banking center. There are a couple general mentions in the AD&D Cities of Mystery supplement, including "traveling characters who keep some of their treasure in local banks," but no guidelines on specific terms or services. The AD&D FRCS is completely silent on the matter.

The AD&D Forgotten Realms City System doesn't mention the concept at all, and the AD&D book on Waterdeep, City of Splendors, only lists a handful of leading families who include banking in their portfolios. The 3.5 sourcebook for Waterdeep lists two of those families (maybe the third went insolvent?) but again, no other information on banking and finance in what's supposed to be Faerûn's greatest commercial hub.

Information is pretty sparse in general sourcebooks as well--there are mentions of banking in the Stronghold Builder's Guide and the DMG II, and there's a city-building web enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20030719a) for the 3.5 DMG that briefly touches on a financial district. Oddly enough, I didn't see anything in Cityscape, which you'd think would be the perfect place for it.

Only in Eberron does banking seem to receive any real attention, where the dwarves are heavyweights in the financial industry, and this is mainly in descriptions of the dwarven House Kundarak. The ECS discusses letters of credit and the services provided by House Kundarak, which is also mentioned briefly in the books on Sharn and Stormreach. But again, no real details on financial systems or how characters could interact with them.

It's entirely possible I missed something, and if I have then I'd love to know about it. Is there anything more detailed on finance in the Realms, or elsewhere in the 3.5 rules?

[Honest Tiefling]

If you use online material, Sembia has a system of stock for merchant voyages. Closest thing I can think of. I'd probably just take the Eberron rules and stick one in Amn and Sembia and a few smaller cities.

[Palanan]

Hmm, thanks. Where can I find that Sembian stock system?

[CSeiberlin]

There might be something hidden in the latter 3.5 FR books... maybe the Heralds or somesuch help put another piece of a proto-banking system. Game designers and fluff writers as a rule generally don't spend too much time on the structure of financial institutions beyond very superficial details or don't quite realize what they are or what they do. And really it's not necessary since 99% of tabletop campaigns the players aren't going to worry about banks since murderhobos carry darn near all of their wealth on their person at all times. Nothing wrong with that since economic fiddly bits aren't necessary for the fun of bashing in orc brains.

I think the most detailed FR got on the economics side of things is probably found in a latter FR book called 'Power of Faerun'. IIRC it goes into merchant princes and trade campaigns for FR but it's not a huge treatment. The DMG II I think has business rules and guildhalls but to be honest I dunno if that's what you are looking for...

Offhand I'd just slide it in since FR does put in NPCs and groups that are essentially banks of one shape or another (and not slyly like the way the edited all brothels and whorehouses into 'festhalls' from Ed Greenwood's notes).

Mirt the Moneylender is a banker. Or any moneylender or even moneychanger for that matter.

Any goldsmith, jewelers quarter, or anything like that are essentially banks as well and probably providing vault space for rent as well (which is something Mirt may not provide). Instead of paying out interest, a goldsmith would charge a small fee to a depositor. And usually then turn around and lend money (on the security of what he had in his vault.... eventually depositors would get wind of this and then begin demanding 'interest').

Any established Trading Company, Coster, Noble 'banking' Family or the like (of which Faerun has scads in at least the 3.5 era and earlier) is another form of proto banking. Besides being able to buy 'shares' in caravan trips, seatrade, or even general expeditions they can be a source of paper letters of credit (checks). Basically promissory notes of payments signed over from one bearer to another until finally 'cashed in' at whatever factor office the slip of paper finds itself in.

Pilgramage isn't really covered overmuch in the FR setting from what I remember but proto-checks could exist with certain widespread temples (from Sembia to Amn). Basically make deposit in one city's temple (paying a fee or percentage for the privilege) and travel to a more distant city and present the note to get your spending money (which would make it harder for bandits\thieves to rob the pilgrim).

As well iirc Mystra magically curses wizards who attempt to forge other wizard's sigils. Pretty sure that was in 2e and under but it makes forgery of letters of credit even harder (and leading to all sorts of logical consequences that is never considered in FR fluff....secure paper money;-).

Anyway, if you need a bank it is pretty much there already even if the writers never quite realized it or spell it out....if you need a vault it's a trip to the local jeweler (which I assume is what most players would be looking for with a bank).

If you are looking for something that is a direct translation of our modern banking system, while small localized forms of it did exist various places in history (Venice, Genoa, a few other places with special circumstances) it didn't really function on a much wider scale until about the 17th century. There probably is a bit of degree of separation of what most people would think of what a 'Bank' is and how a bank would actually function in a roughly renaissance level civilizations pocketed up by vast wilderlands infested with extremely dangerous critters and essentially savage tribes (orcs, giants, or even elves who will take issue with 'trespassers').

[Honest Tiefling]

Hmm, thanks. Where can I find that Sembian stock system?

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rl/20050330a

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rl/20050427a

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rl/20050511a

There you go. The other bits might be helpful, but I think those are the ones you want.

[Bullet06320]

its something that the church of waukeen would be involved in, merchants, banking, commerce is in the portfolio

[unseenmage]

Could also check out the Power of Faerun book in the section on Merchants. Dungeon Master's Guide 2 also has some merchanting material.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
I think the most detailed FR got on the economics side of things is probably found in a latter FR book called 'Power of Faerun'. IIRC it goes into merchant princes and trade campaigns for FR but it's not a huge treatment.

Ah, yes--thanks to you and unseenmage for reminding me. It does focus more on the basics of setting up a trade enterprise (the very basics) but doesn't really have much on banking and investment per se.


Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
Besides being able to buy 'shares' in caravan trips, seatrade, or even general expeditions they can be a source of paper letters of credit (checks).

Indeed, especially purchasing shares in merchant voyages, which is something I'd like to include in some fashion. Ideally I'd like for characters to have the option of buying trade-shares or other investments, which would they could check on in periods of downtime.


Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
Basically make deposit in one city's temple (paying a fee or percentage for the privilege) and travel to a more distant city and present the note to get your spending money....

Interesting notion, thanks. As Bullet mentioned, this is something that's probably a given in temples to Waukeen, possibly even a small act of devotion.


Originally Posted by Honest Tiefling
*links to Sembian stock system*

Okay, thanks for those links, I appreciate it. I'm not a huge fan of Realmslore--it's like fan fiction of itself--but I'll comb through and see what's in there.


Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
If you are looking for something that is a direct translation of our modern banking system, while small localized forms of it did exist [in] various places in history (Venice, Genoa, a few other places with special circumstances) it didn't really function on a much wider scale until about the 17th century.

Yes, indeed--comparing Venice and London in 1545 will give you two very different financial environments. And I'm certainly not looking for exact equivalents of today's banking in quasi-medieval Faerûn. Rather I was wondering if there might be some basic rules about simple investments, letters of credit or trade-shares, but there don't seem to be.

Is there anything like this in the Pathfinder rules, or in third-party material?

.

[CSeiberlin]

Is there anything like this in the Pathfinder rules, or in third-party material?

.

Ultimate Campaign has some downtime mechanism on running businesses and other big concerns. I think that's pretty much it from paizo. There might be a PF 3rd party rules out there that has what you want but I haven't stumbled across any of that caught my eye.

Outside of Pathfinder specifically I'm sure I've seen a Banking oriented 3rd party pdf for 3e (or 3.5) that should be easily translatable.

<quick search>

from E.N. Publishing Banking Guild (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/19010/EN-Guilds--Banking-Guild?it=1).

A Magical Society: Silk Road (http://www.rpgnow.com/product/12185/A-Magical-Society-Silk-Road?it=1)might also be of interest on the trading end.

[Phelix-Mu]

In higher levels campaigns that I run, if there is reasonable off-plane travel, I usually have the mercane run a system of banks and money-changers in various planar metropolises. Might not be relevant, but it's even more plausible in a multiplanar setting than in Prime Material cities.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
Ultimate Campaign has some downtime mechanism on running businesses and other big concerns.

Ultimate Campaign was my first guess, actually--I'll take a look.


Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
...from E.N. Publishing Banking Guild.

A Magical Society: Silk Road might also be of interest on the trading end.

Aha, thank you. The Venture Capitalist as a prestige class...but of course. :smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
In higher levels campaigns that I run, if there is reasonable off-plane travel, I usually have the mercane run a system of banks and money-changers in various planar metropolises.

Interesting, thanks. I tend not to get involved in planar mischief, so I'd never actually heard of the mercanes before. The Pathfinder version (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/additionalMonsters/mercane.html) is interesting and nicely done. (Not sure if I like the Paizo artwork on this one, but interesting concept.)

I'd wondered how even low-level magic might affect banking and stock trades, but really wouldn't know where to start. I'd think the cost of a Sending spell, for instance, would generally outweigh any advantage from its use. Rings of whispering, aspect mirrors, etc. would all be immensely expensive to set up in any sort of network. I'll stick with shares in merchant voyages for now.

[Fouredged Sword]

Divination makes investing interesting. One can cast augry to determine if an investment will turn a profit.

[TuggyNE]

Divination makes investing interesting. One can cast augry to determine if an investment will turn a profit.

Investor uses AUGURY! It's not very effective.
The augury can see into the future only about half an hour, so anything that might happen after that does not affect the result. Thus, the result might not take into account the long-term consequences of a contemplated action.

[Phelix-Mu]

Investor uses AUGURY! It's not very effective.

I know some stock traders who would trade their eye teeth for that ability.

That said, in-game, many divinations would be helpful in investing, but not particularly more than they would be helpful generally. If you know that the grain harvest will be plentiful, then maybe you should invest in wheat futures. But, if someone else knows that the wheat harvest won't be plentiful, they may plant something else, or they may take steps to save up wheat from the previous year. Or get a druid to cast plant growth.

In short, cheating on investment schemes is among the least ambitious uses of magic I can think of.

[Silentone98]

reminds me of my bank of glittergold.... founded by gnomes when I first started DM'ing and still going strong.

[TuggyNE]

I know some stock traders who would trade their eye teeth for that ability.

Well, sure, but the capacity to act on trades within the course of half an hour is a very very recent invention, compared to even semi-formal investment schemes. Decades at most compared to centuries at least.

[CSeiberlin]

Well, sure, but the capacity to act on trades within the course of half an hour is a very very recent invention, compared to even semi-formal investment schemes. Decades at most compared to centuries at least.

Computers have had an impact, but up to the minute trading (rather than second) existed on trade floors for a long time. Scale is the primary difference but as far as what the OP is looking for I don't think that's an issue.

These systems are a lot older than you think. The scale was of course different but speculation and futures trading would be up to the minute as the ships actually pulled up to harbor. Lloyd's of London for instance started as a coffee house in the 17th century where interested parties would hang out, buying and selling shares in cargoes that they held while they waited to hear the latest shipping news.

As far as futures, offhand as an example I think Tulip mania (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania) around 1637 is a classic example (and the boom\bust cycle). Complicated arrangements like derivatives (and a lot of other 'complicated' modern financial arrangements) primarily arose from the trade fairs of medieval Europe and roughly matured into their more modern forms (again much smaller scales) about in that 17th to early 18th century period. The Dojima Rice Exchange in feudal Japan is considered the world's first dedicated future's market and that was established about 1730.

Other things like money markets were on the wider stage around 1619-22, and were essentially brought about because of widespread coin debasement.

Just to point out any number of 'modern' financial tools are a lot older than most people assume and could exist (and probably logically would exist) in Faerun in states that in a number of ways are as advanced if not moreso than historical equivalents. It's just not something that is in the 'fun scope' of most DMs and players. Though to be honest things like Cormyr's 'adventuring charters' would be ripe for underwriters... paying for resurrections, expeditions, and miscellaneous expenses for a cut of the profits.

[TuggyNE]

Computers have had an impact, but up to the minute trading (rather than second) existed on trade floors for a long time. Scale is the primary difference but as far as what the OP is looking for I don't think that's an issue.

These systems are a lot older than you think. The scale was of course different but speculation and futures trading would be up to the minute as the ships actually pulled up to harbor. Lloyd's of London for instance started as a coffee house in the 17th century where interested parties would hang out, buying and selling shares in cargoes that they held while they waited to hear the latest shipping news.

As far as futures, offhand as an example I think Tulip mania (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania) around 1637 is a classic example (and the boom\bust cycle). Complicated arrangements like derivatives (and a lot of other 'complicated' modern financial arrangements) primarily arose from the trade fairs of medieval Europe and roughly matured into their more modern forms (again much smaller scales) about in that 17th to early 18th century period. The Dojima Rice Exchange in feudal Japan is considered the world's first dedicated future's market and that was established about 1730.

Other things like money markets were on the wider stage around 1619-22, and were essentially brought about because of widespread coin debasement.

Just to point out any number of 'modern' financial tools are a lot older than most people assume and could exist (and probably logically would exist) in Faerun in states that in a number of ways are as advanced if not moreso than historical equivalents. It's just not something that is in the 'fun scope' of most DMs and players. Though to be honest things like Cormyr's 'adventuring charters' would be ripe for underwriters... paying for resurrections, expeditions, and miscellaneous expenses for a cut of the profits.

I'm aware of the existence of tulip mania and similar things, but what I am not convinced of is the practicality of routinely turning around transactions in less than half an hour. At the very peak of tulip mania, it is possible that contracts for a single bulb were traded as many as ten times in one day. But that's only about half as fast as you'd need for this to work, and that was only for a matter of a few days out of a period of some centuries.

If you have some more specific evidence of substantially, routinely faster trading, lay it on me. I like learning things. But I learned about the tulip bubble ten or twelve years ago.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
Though to be honest things like Cormyr's 'adventuring charters' would be ripe for underwriters... paying for resurrections, expeditions, and miscellaneous expenses for a cut of the profits.

Interesting, thanks. Do you remember offhand where those charters are mentioned? Sponsoring an adventuring group along the same lines as a trading voyage could be interesting, although probably better suited for very low levels.

[Wargamer]

If you want ideas on how to implement finance, then think simple. At its core, banking is about two things; the bank lending you money (which you pay back later with interest), and you lending the bank money (which they give you back when you want it, plus interest).

In a fantasy / medieval setting, banking is likely going to be out of reach of the common man, so for simplicity we can assume that only important or rich people bank.

Next, think about why they bank in the first place. My favourite example of a quick and simple "fantasy bank" is to apply a little venture capitalism. Say you have a boat that can carry 100,000 gold worth of cargo on board, and if it sails to Elf Land, sells the cargo and buys Elven Timber or whatever Elves sell it can come back to Porttown and sell them for 1,000,000 gold. Odds are the ship captain can't afford the initial 100,000 gold to fund the expedition - he likely can't even afford the ship! But let's assume he has the ship and no running costs (for simplicity). The "bank" would likely be a rich noble who would buy the goods for him, but would expect a big slice of the profits (plus his original investment) in return.

This is inherently risky, however. If that ship sinks or is pirated the money is all gone. So, instead, we have the bank do it. The bank loans the Captain 100,000 gold, but it got that gold from 20 different members of the ruling class who each pitched in 5,000 gold and expect a cut. If the ship goes down they only lose 5,000. If it comes home they might get 25,000+ back. By doing this across multiple ships they are ensuring a safe return - even if one ship is lost, the other 3-4 mean they still make profit.

If your players are going to use banks to fund their ventures, I suggest you make it clear that the bank expects a strong return. Say, 100% interest. In other words, if you lend 8,000 gold for a magic sword, the bank wants at least 16,000 gold back. The reason for this is that being able to "skip ahead" and acquire powerful items early can be potentially gamebreaking. If it's for more cosmetic elements, such as trying to buy their own house or fortress, then be more reasonable and maybe charge 10-20% interest. Justify these interest rates (if you need to) by risk - houses can always be repossessed if you don't meet payments, but if you die adventuring that magic sword is lost for good!

If your players are on the other end and funding the bank, then make it a gamble. If the money is just sat still then have low interest (very low), but if they're making it work then have it backfire now and then - a merchant caravan gets robbed by bandits, the undead swarm their cargo ship, the construction project they're helping to finance gets attacked by Orcs, etc. If all else fails, have someone rob the bank - all of these not only keep the player's money in check (if they have too much, hit them with a loss!) but it also provides plot hooks; they'll be far more inclined to race to the aid of some random merchant when it's their money buying his wares!

[Fouredged Sword]

Another big things banks did was money making and changing. When gold is mined, it must be minted into coin, and the coin must be trusted. A coin stamped with a banks seal is more secure in it's purity so long as the bank has a good reputation. Money without a seal is worth less because it is assumed to be of lower purity, and determining the purity is expensive.

You run into forgery issues, but that is always a problem.

So, a noble with a gold mine take gold bullion to the bank and gets it cut into coin and bars (100 gold coins in a bar), all stamped with a third party assurance of purity. This makes his gold worth more than the bullion and he pays the bank a cut. The bank then lends this cut out as well as any deposits they collect. The noble also likely uses the bank to STORE the gold as well, using lines of credit to pay nearly everyone paid in coin. He makes gold coins after all, and likely pays people in silver and copper denominations.

Banks then communicate with each other to move coinage around to meet the needs of the communities. Copper, Silver, and Gold flow from the places they are mined to all over the countries, and much of the shipments are inter-bank transfers, trading gold for copper for silver. Merchants move some coin, but they prefer to haul goods whenever possible. Coin has little mark up between areas.

[Talya]

Mirt the Moneylender is a banker. Or any moneylender or even moneychanger for that matter.


Mirt the Moneylender, the fat secret Lord of Waterdeep, is, according to Ed Greenwood, his actual cameo in Faerun. If you believe Ed, Ed = Mirt, not Elminster.

So if you bank with Mirt, you're banking with the original setting designer!

[CSeiberlin]

Interesting, thanks. Do you remember offhand where those charters are mentioned? Sponsoring an adventuring group along the same lines as a trading voyage could be interesting, although probably better suited for very low levels.

Well high level adventurers would be more...heh...bankable. But on the other side of the coin underwriting less powerful adventures and building up a value (directly measurable by spellcaster power) would make speculation worthwhile as well.

Without digging through my collection (and boxes to find FR stuff), I think the most detail on costs and things for adventuring charters are in the volo's guide to cormyr. Other than that one of the Cormyr specific supplements (Cormyr 3rd hb or 2e) should have it or Four from Cormyr (2e).

[CSeiberlin]

I'm aware of the existence of tulip mania and similar things, but what I am not convinced of is the practicality of routinely turning around transactions in less than half an hour. At the very peak of tulip mania, it is possible that contracts for a single bulb were traded as many as ten times in one day. But that's only about half as fast as you'd need for this to work, and that was only for a matter of a few days out of a period of some centuries.

If you have some more specific evidence of substantially, routinely faster trading, lay it on me. I like learning things. But I learned about the tulip bubble ten or twelve years ago.

Ah, you mean buying one stock\future\whatnot and selling the same stock within the same minute? Or some stockholder miles+ away making orders with his broker and having it carried out in the minute?

I didn't mean to imply historical examples of spread traders or some guy sitting a hundred miles away making orders. The basics are the same (nothing new there) but day traders depend on Volume just as much as technology (there has to be enough players in the market to make it worthwhile to sell a stock for a quarter of a cent in a few seconds).

I'm referencing more of a Lloyd's coffee house situation.... the sailors, owners, and shareholders would sit around drinking their brew and wait on news of what was arriving the harbor. More hands on with the direct factors (owners and shareholders, not brokers and agents). They knew approximately when ships were due to return to port... and would get nervous as the date arrived or went overdue. You obviously wouldn't sell once the ship was spotted (and reports of a successful voyage) but up until that point shares could trade hands quickly (and trading floors are not loud places because brokers just like to yell;-).

Market panics can be fast and furious. Divinations with a half hour foresight would certainly be useful to determine buy\sell or even if you should sell to a particular person who secretly has been buying and working to manipulate a commodity market.

"Mighty Thor says Woe to sell gold to Mr. Gould."

Probably not a level of detail the OP wants.

However, magic has a number of applications that would make it very worthwhile for trading companies to have spellcasters on retainer (not paying the inflated phb price of npc spellcasting prices). Sending to keep track of ship captains, scrying to check markets in other cities (prices, shortages), basic detections, weather control, plant growth..etc.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Fouredged Sword
Another big things banks did was money making and changing. When gold is mined, it must be minted into coin, and the coin must be trusted. A coin stamped with a banks seal is more secure in it's purity so long as the bank has a good reputation.

Moneychanging, yes, but I'm not so sure about minting their own coin. When Venice first began minting gold ducats in 1284, it was the Republic that produced and guaranteed the currency, not a private financial institution. The minting of money is usually a state prerogative.


Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
Well high level adventurers would be more...heh...bankable. But on the other side of the coin underwriting less powerful adventures and building up a value (directly measurable by spellcaster power) would make speculation worthwhile as well.

I was thinking more that depending on the players, higher-level characters might not be so...tractable.


DM: "Lord Aspron has contacted you a third time, asking for a return on his investment."
Arcane Hierophant: "I summon dire thoqquas on his [censored]."


Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
However, magic has a number of applications that would make it very worthwhile for trading companies to have spellcasters on retainer (not paying the inflated phb price of npc spellcasting prices). Sending to keep track of ship captains, scrying to check markets in other cities (prices, shortages), basic detections, weather control, plant growth..etc.

The high price of spellcasting is one issue, although you'd think competition would have some effect.

In theory, I could see a trading house with branches in several cities using some form of long-distance contact--Sending or aspect mirrors--to link all of its offices and keep track of commerce and trends across a large area. Aspect mirrors would be far better, since there's no set limit on message length.

The question is whether a trading house would have the resources to set up that kind of network in the first place. A single aspect mirror is 4000 gp, and you need at least two of them to get started, so that's a minimum 8000 gp up front. That's almost as much as a small ship, which is a substantial expense. Hard to see how anyone would experiment with that setup before it was proven to give enough of an advantage to turn a steady profit.

But then, maybe that's where the divinations come in.

:smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Phelix-Mu
In short, cheating on investment schemes is among the least ambitious uses of magic I can think of.

Yes, but not everyone has such vision.

:smallbiggrin:

.

[CSeiberlin]

I was thinking more that depending on the players, higher-level characters might not be so...tractable.


Well besides swag the party drags out of a dungeon there is the swag they leave behind.

A long infested (but now cleared) dwarven mine for instance. Claimable property. That dungeon with the magic fountain or dead magic zone. Not to mention adventuring sites are usually in proximity of something interesting ... a road, pass, holds a strategic position, or a locale specific unique resource...

Returning to the swag, I find often a party doesn't quite realize they are leaving behind or doesn't have the manpower\time to exploit, that's something a full blown company could with a follow-up (of teamsters and workmen). Most players leave behind furnishings, solid metal doors, gold veined marble walls\floors\pillars, disarmed but intact trap mechanisms (that can be extremely expensive), heh masterwork locks. It can add up quickly.

At the low levels instead of helping Farmer Jones find his lost sheep, they could be hired to help deal with a small goblin tribe raiding local farms. The players may balk at giving the company their share of the lewt but the trade off is having an bit of insurance if they need a rezz or equipment replaced.

Granted most PCs will probably wouldn't be fans at employer\employee style of relationship and most probably won't think past the murderhobo style of play. However, if they don't have the cash to buy a legal charter at 1st level... or lack horses, or something else that would make life easier... they could form create a 'company', create 100 shares for their particular 'expedition' and sell a few for the cash they need. If they see another group of npc adventurers pulling something along those lines (and rolling in gold) they may get the idea.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
Granted most PCs will probably wouldn't be fans at employer\employee style of relationship and most probably won't think past the murderhobo style of play.

So true, so sadly true.


Originally Posted by CSeiberlin
...I find often a party doesn't quite realize they are leaving behind or doesn't have the manpower\time to exploit, that's something a full blown company could with a follow-up (of teamsters and workmen).

Interesting, yes, depending on the location and how it's outfitted. A lot of adventuring groups are on the prowl for a good base of operations, though, so to a degree they're in competition with a company looking to refurbish a site.

But certainly worth considering, especially if a company hires another party of adventurers to dislodge the first group.

:smalltongue: