Re: Re: Issaries

From: donald_at_...
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 14:21:39 GMT

In message <eahgju+42nj_at_...> "Jane Williams" writes:
>Rob Davis:
>> I was just looking over Issaries and at Raw Greed. I think that this
>> is too severe. Sure if the merchant is stealing, but for just
>> cheating? I mean what constitutes cheating? The typical merchant who
>> rips someone off may well argue that he was just getting 'best price'
>> due to his skill at negotiation.
>
>Just checked the write-up, and it does restrict this to "worshippers
>who cheat or steal from members of their community". Cheat and steal
>from outsiders all you want to! Just don't try that on the people
>you're meant to be representing. That's not getting a good deal, that's
>embezzlement and betrayal.

And that's a heortling slanted piece - a society where merchants typically represent a clan or tribe in their trading rather than operating for their own profit.

I would interpret cheating and stealing from customers pretty narrowly. Hard bargaining, pushing up prices because you know the customer is desperate, exaggerating the quality of the goods and such like is all part of why you get your clan merchant to bargain and check you're getting what you're promised. False weights, debased coinage and similar things are deceptions that attack the basis of trade and are signs of deliberate dishonesty. That sort of thing will invoke Raw Greed.

-- 
Donald Oddy
http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/