Quote from: Ian AbsentiaPersuade? I don't know.  Exhort?  Perhaps.  Seeing that there's no money behind the endeavor, I fear that virtue is its own reward.

Rather than a supplement, I've been expecting Book 2: Ships and the Sea to contain simple (but effective) trading rules like unto Traveller's rules from the LBBs.  I'll confess that I haven't even begun to approach those rules, though I have been working on a system for profiling seaports that mirrors the UWP.  The importance of the port profile is two-fold.  On one hand, it's a very simple means of sizing up potential roleplay activity -- how big is the port, who controls it, how strict are the local authorities, etc.  The second feature is the means for sizing it up for trade -- size of the port, access to regionally-produced goods, specific types of goods, legal controls on imports and exports, etc.

Perhaps I should clean up those notes a little and let you play around with them.

!i!

I'm not confident in my ability to make a playable TRPG ruleset, but I am confident that I can do some dry-as-dust research and post it for someone else to make into a fun, playable ruleset.

I live in the vicinity of some impressive seaports.  I've wanted an excuse to visit them.  However, I need to arrange a local translator, so while the information payoff is big, the starting requirements are rigorous.

I know some people I will talk to on Monday, though.  I'll put a little note in my calendar.  Note that I don't promise they'll have time soon.

Also, I might get more useful data by just talking to experienced folks than by visiting.

I enjoy visiting industrially significant installations, but that's just me...

Just doing that footwork would be fantastic. Thank you.

I've only gotten as far as organising the trade classification list from the US Department of Commerce as the foundation of a new trade table.  Of course, notably missing from those trade classifications are illicit goods.  I'm beginning to think that there needs to be two trade tables -- one for legitimate cargos, another for illegal trade, and a Law Level saving roll needs to be made for either.  Fail your LL roll on the legitimate trade table, and you're tangled in red tape.  Miss your roll on the illegal table, and you're in hot water, even for just inquiring after illicit goods.

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaJust doing that footwork would be fantastic. Thank you.

I've only gotten as far as organising the trade classification list from the US Department of Commerce as the foundation of a new trade table.  Of course, notably missing from those trade classifications are illicit goods.  I'm beginning to think that there needs to be two trade tables -- one for legitimate cargos, another for illegal trade, and a Law Level saving roll needs to be made for either.  Fail your LL roll on the legitimate trade table, and you're tangled in red tape.  Miss your roll on the illegal table, and you're in hot water, even for just inquiring after illicit goods.

!i!

I believe the U.N. has a trade classification for "extraterritorial" activity, including illegal trade, as part of ISIC.

You should probably work with ISIC for this game.

ISIC links include:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Industrial_Classification
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=27

ISIC headings include:
    * A - Agriculture, forestry and fishing
    * B - Mining and quarrying
    * C - Manufacturing
    * D - Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
    * E - Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
    * F - Construction
    * G - Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
    * H - Transportation and storage
    * I - Accommodation and food service activities
    * J - Information and communication
    * K - Financial and insurance activities
    * L - Real estate activities
    * M - Professional, scientific and technical activities
    * N - Administrative and support service activities
    * O - Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
    * P - Education
    * Q - Human health and social work activities
    * R - Arts, entertainment and recreation
    * S - Other service activities
    * T - Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use
    * U - Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies


Classification U includes crime, piracy, and messenger boys who brush up against the law because they have to eat, as in Black Lagoon.



I think ISIC is fascinating and everyone should know it, which really says something about the geekiness level of my personality.

Quote from: riprockI believe the U.N. has a trade classification for "extraterritorial" activity, including illegal trade, as part of ISIC.
...
Classification U includes crime, piracy, and messenger boys who brush up against the law because they have to eat, as in Black Lagoon.

No, wait ... I thought that U included crime, but when I look again, it seems I was mistaken.

Possibly someone wrote an article in which U included crime, but that's not how the UN uses it.

Quote from: riprockISIC headings include...

Holy cats, they're even already in alpha-numeric notation (except for the pesky I and O, which can be confused with one and zero).  I'll definitely be looking into this.

!i!

[Edit: Ah.  The ISIC bears great resemblance to the US SIC, which is what I had found some months ago through the US Dept. of Commerce website.  I prefer the more international feel.]

And in the interest of providing further light reading, here is the UN Standard Industrial Trade Classifications for goods.  This is much closer to what I had found previously on the DoC site.

!i!

My contacts report that there are some fascinating seaports on the South China Sea.  Most of the contacts are concerned with the environmental impact of the seaports.  Pollution is a serious problem, and because the fishermen whose livelihoods are threatened by the ports are lower class, there are a lot of social-justice tensions within the countries concerned.

Oddly enough, rail does not seem to be widely used in minor seaports.  Trucks are the order of the day.

One slight complication in data collection is that my contacts are not interested in or receptive to the notion of gaming.  So far as they are concerned, my interest is legitimate only as an environmental, social, or geographical curiosity.

Therefore, Google Maps and similar sources are going to be necessary to fill in a lot of gaps.

Though you guy might find this article interesting.

U.S. Navy challenges pirates off Somalia's coast

NAIROBI, Kenya - The U.S. Navy on Friday kept its eye on a Japanese tanker taken over by pirates off Somalia's coast, while a top U.S. official said that piracy remains a "very serious security problem" in the region.

Earlier this week, a North Korean tanker overrun by pirates was taken back after crew members overpowered the hijackers in a bloody fight. The hijackers were being held aboard the ship until they can be handed over for prosecution at a port.

After the clash, Navy personnel boarded the North Korean boat to treat the wounded. The U.S. efforts came despite its hostile relations with the communist country over its nuclear program.

"You'll always find our Navy prepared to help any ship in distress and certainly any ship that is confronting pirates," said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the top American envoy to six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

"This is a very serious security problem on the African coast. These are not pirates who will remind you of Johnny Depp. These are quite different kinds of pirates," Hill told reporters in Seoul, South Korea.

"So, I think we were pleased to be able to help in this regard and I hope the (North) understands that we did this out of the sense of goodwill that we have on this," he said.

The U.S. Navy's guided missile destroyer USS Porter came to the aid of the Japanese chemical tanker this week, at one point opening fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to it. On Thursday, the U.S. Navy said that it intended to remove the pirates from the Japanese tanker.

The pirates have demanded a navy ship close to the hijacked vessel move away, said Tess Villanueva, wife of the crew's foreman, Laureano. It was unclear whether the Porter, which is part of the coalition force in the area, is the ship closest to the Golden Nori.

"Apparently the navy ship was getting closer to them," she told The Associated Press in the Philippines. "The good news would be if they (pirates) leave the ship."

Negotiations under way
Negotiations have started for the release of the tanker, anchored in Somali waters with 23 crew members from the Philippines, South Korea and Myanmar, said Josefina Villanueva, Laureano's sister.

Josefina Villanueva said there had been no ransom demand from the pirates. "The talks are just starting. I think the pirates will later on demand something," she said.

On Friday, Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said the captain of the ship contacted the Japanese company that owns the vessel the day before and reported that the crew was fine.

There has been no direct contact between the Philippine government and the pirates, he added.

"The problem is there is no central government in control (in Somalia)," he said.

The Golden Nori was carrying a load of benzene when the USS Porter fired on two pirate boats tied to the chemical tanker Sunday, sinking both. Benzene, an industrial solvent, is both highly flammable and can be fatal if too much is inhaled. The U.S. military said it was aware of what was onboard when it fired at the skiffs.

Somali pirates are trained fighters, in some cases linked to powerful Somali clans, outfitted with sophisticated arms and equipment, including GPS satellite instruments. They have seized merchant ships, ships carrying aid, and once even a cruise ship.

The United States also has supported efforts to quell an Islamic insurgency in Somalia.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then turned on each other. The current government was formed in 2004, but has struggled to assert any real control.

Link to original story (including pic of burning pirate vessel.)

Curious to what became of the project?