Accounting of the Town Box and a Request

[Sswanson]

Adventurers!

With the fight with Hook behind us, and one of our own now risen to the position of King of a brand new country, winter is upon us. A time to regroup and prepare for the next Adventuring Season! The Town Box is sitting very healthy as can be seen below:

Coin​	Value​
Gold​	41​
Silver​	28​
Copper​	42​
Total​	44.22 Gold​

Type​	Quantity (Traveling)​
Cariosis	17 (5)
Fangtooth	6
Feyander	5
Jetsam	7
Ley Ore	7
Heartstone	3
Nightshade	0
Penna	2
Pyrotis	5
Truesilver	3

Crafting Reagent	Quantity	Profession
Black Ichor of a Greater Undead	1	Alchemy
Dust of a Jade Skeleton	2	Potions
Essence of the Hunter	2	Blacksmithing

Scroll Name	School	Quantity	Tied to the Lands? (Y/N)
Gift of Life	Earth	1	Y
Investiture/Divestiture	General	1	N
Whispering Winds	General	1	N

Magic Items​	Effects​
Crown of Viktor Hook	Reverse Life Force (Once Ever)
	Gift of Life (Once Ever)

I would like to take the general temperature of the Adventuring Community of Wayside in regards to spending of funds from the Town Box to replenish part of the supply of Enslavement Antidotes that was recently depleted. I would also like to know if there are any Alchemists willing to loan their skills to this endeavor.

Thank you for all you have done in the last year,

In Service,
Cup Bearer Beryl Bunchberry
In Service to Duchess Fairfax
Quartermaster of Fate's Pawns

 

[Mobius]

Cupbearer Bunchberry,


I have no particular issue with replenishing the Town Box with necessary supplies as long as the process is as open and transparent as possible. I would expect either the West Wayside Trading Company or the Venture Capitalists are the best resources for these equipment. While I would not expect them to do the work for free (artisans should be compensated for more than just materials), I would hope the Town Box would receive some kind of civil-service discount.

On the larger issue of the Town Box, would you please walk me through the particulars? I know you have been maintaining these assets for some time, but I have never seen a charter or outline for their handling. Centralized, common resources can be important, but mystery around how they are managed can lead to confusion. I think publishing the ongoing inventory in the Wayside Times is a good start, but I have a few other questions.

What is the process for petitioning reimbursement from the Town Box? Are you the sole keeper of these records and goods on behalf of Duchess Fairfax? How are decisions made to add or withdraw funds and assets and by whom? What is your maintenance or management compensation for supervising this unwieldly burden?

I am sure other folk have questions as well, so I thank you in advance for taking the time to explain the system.


Dramthin Hartsboon
Prademar University
Keeper of the Tainted Grove

 

[Sswanson]

At the time of my taking control of the box there was no system in place.

My intent is through the winter months to speak to the Adventuring Nobles as well as the Guild Leaders to work out a general plan of how the assets of the box are to be dolled out beyond a general consensus which is how the box has been being handled thus far.

As of right now, when cuts are done at loot split, we put in an additional split for the town box so that it can gain revenue and be able to start paying for the things that are given to it.

My hope is that the box will be handled as follows:

If a Scroll is deemed to be put into the box, a sum will be taken from the box in exchange and added to the loot split from which it is being taken out of circulation. Before you ask, no I have not figured out how to determine the exact amount yet, that is why I intend on working with the other Adventuring Nobles and Guild Leaders.

If a purchase is being made on behalf of the Adventuring Community that is under a certain threshold, it will be reported with the next update that I put out. If it is beyond that, and there is time to hear thoughts it will be posted here on the communication. If there is not time then as many of the Adventuring Nobles and a Representative from each of the Adventuring Guilds local to Wayside (Preferably the Guild Leader) will be spoken to and the determination made. In the second instance, it will be announced at the next auction as well as with the next update that is put forth.

If there are resources left over from a split, IE there are 46 splits and after everything is laid out there is 1 gold left, that Gold would go into the box. Same for example with the last loot split where there were 5 Local Crafting Components that no one chose to purchase. The Guild Leaders and Adventuring Nobles handling the split opted to put it into the box to be available for purchase at a later time if an Adventurer decided they wanted to purchase them.

Additionally, if someone was missed in the counting of people for loot split, this is very rare but I have seen it happen once or twice, then the box would be able to provide that split so that the Adventurer is still compensated for their time and assistance.

Compensation beyond that I do not have a good feel for and as such have not determined a course of action I feel is most equitable.

As the winter months pass, I am sure the Adventuring Nobles and Guild Leaders will be able to better solidify how to best use this resource.

And, as ever, if someone has a very passionate opinion on this, please don't hesitate to reach out to me, another Adventuring Noble or one of the Wayside based Guild Leaders. We are a group who work together, we need to be able to communicate so that we can work together better as a community.

My door is always open and there are always fresh pastries if anyone wants to talk.

In Service,
Cup Bearer Beryl Bunchberry
In Service to Duchess Fairfax
Quartermaster of Fate's Pawns

 

[Shen [he/him]]

While a personal opinion, and not backed by any form of law or station.

The adventuring communities communal "town" resources are not a function of the Monarchy. "The Box" has never replaced donations and compensations from the Land or her people. It is however a resource for us to simply save odd and ends which are left over or items/resources which we know represent a communal need. Such as the holding of the Gift of Life and Reverse Life Force, ritual stores.

The saving of these odds and ends has been an endeavor I have been vocal and passionate about as other adventurers in other lands have great success with it. Through communal resources we interact, come together and build as a community. We determine there are some things in which any and every personal difference or desire to be compensated is simply set aside. Delivering antidotes to enslaved TribesPeople of Lenox in Wayside or Purify Potions to cure The Blight in Erabella are two notable events between here and our frequent visitors of Evodia.

A notable memory of why this would be nessecary... the Battle against one of the Olothian Generals, whom was simply immune to everything unless you first protected the General against the blow. The Protection magic twisting and warping to create vulnerability for the very next attack against them. That fight was succinctly made possible by contributions of the Scribes in attendance and the complete depletion of Life Storm's stockpile of Weapon Shield Battle Magic. To my knowledge, those involved received little more than appreciation, some not even that. Far too often can those who hold skill or mastery over the classic crafts are given much more than a "thank you" in many battles in which "throwing coin at the problem" has been a notable contributer to success, if not the outright reason.

These adventurers did these things and we are appreciative of their sacrafice... but they don't strictly speaking "need" to make that sacrafice as the first choice. Communal concerns could come from communal resources first, and good will second. Just as we crafters "save for a bad day" we the "town" can and should save for a bad day. Each city saves as they are able, in turn do their Barony, so to the Duchies and even The Crown. We have been able to call upon the land and her people to give us resources for the asking, because they save their odds and ends. They however never announce what they have because knowledge of a force's resources is information that is critical in conflict against that force.

I feel, under no circumstances should the contents of communication resources be put into the Univeristies News Paper Project. That is a information source that is distributed openly and not freely. Often times, they are discarded, dropped, or simply abandoned in public places or trails.

While I feel everyone should take the time to observe the wonderful art that the university collects for each edition
There is some information that need not be available to the non-adventuring public; let alone to forces which stand against us in our service to the land and her peoples.

A public accounting in a open but secure forum such as this is ideal. It is freely accessed, but restricted to specifically those we wish, and not those we don't. As far as frequency... the box collects resources very very slowly. Due to its limited savings it has not yet been able to contribute to larger community issues. Thus I would agree that unless specific or notable changes occur, it can continue to quietly collect random odds and ends, and an annual update is fine. That annual update could reflect a market-by-market account if needed or desired. But short of unique circumstances, market by market updates don't express a need or create added value, it simply doesn't change enough in a typical market to warrant such announcement.

-Shen
Apprentice Magistrate of HM Oliver Stillroot and Saturnian Apprentice of the Solar Guild.

<also the merchant guy who's helps often with town auctions and collects left over odds and ends to deliver to said box>