[HoE] Observations on bartering

[Steve Crow <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

This kinda bounces back to what we were discussing on the "saleability" of 
kevlar vests, the economic system of HoE, etc.

Also, Gus or someone was going to send me a copy of his prototype 
bartering/value chart (or whatever it was), but I never received it.  So 
bear with me as I discuss this in terms of what is actually in the rulebook 
and the manner in which it is presented therein.

Our Posse is in the Middle West, near Minnesota.  Needless to say, Mall of 
America (as described in the HoE Wasted West Companion) is big on their list 
of places to visit.

Now first of all, there is an admission fee of "20" to gain entrance.  If 
nothing is a set value, it seems odd that you there is a "set amount" (and 
although I don't have the book here in front of me, I believe Jo refers to 
it by a specific "cash" value of 20, rather than, say, "a milrat will get 
you admission").  Since this may not be a set fee under a bartering-type 
financial system, are we to assume that the admission guys at the door 
barter and dicker with each person trying to get into the Mall.  And if you 
have a pistol worth "100," do the guys at the door give change?

But okay, moving right along...

Now, the Mall consists of a series of individual shops.  They are 
(presumably) run by people specializing in what each shop sells.  Someone 
running the food store ain't going to be a motorcycle mechanic, or an 
armorer, or a gunsmith.

So you'd think _they're_ not going to be able to accurately dicker.  If you 
want to buy some Dr. Pepper, and you hauled in a used motorcycle, the food 
salesman is not going to have idea one of what that motorcycle is worth, or 
how much Dr. Pepper it can be bartered for.

(Well, they might have an idea, but the assumption here seems to be that 
everyone knows the value of everything in every field of expertise, although 
apparently no one thinks in terms of "dollar value" as stated in the 
rulebook.  Does this make sense?)

Now, since Mall of America doesn't want folks hauling motorcycles in, my 
assumption as a Marshall (and hopefully not an unreasonable one) is that 
there is some sort of "assessment agent" who buyers take their stuff to upon 
entry.  He assesses it (in this case, this guy _is_ a jack-of-all-trades 
know-the-value-of-everything sort of guy, but that's his profession), and 
gives them a chit for credit.  Which they can take to the necessary 
store(s).  This doesn't seem unreasonable.

But...what is the assessment agent writing down on the chit?!?  There's a 
lot of stuff at the Mall, and browsing is encouraged.  Yeah, if the players 
_tell_ the agent, "We're going to buy milrats - how many is this motorcycle 
worth?" he could write this down.  But if they then decide to buy ammo 
instead, they got to go back, have him do _another_ conversion (or maybe a 
partial one), etc., etc.

Needless to say, _any_ kind of bartering system slows this whole process 
down to a crawl.  I have no objection to such a system when it enhances 
role-playing, and the occasional, "I need a part for our truck - the only 
thing you want for it is surrounded by Black hats - no problem" 
role-playing/adventure kind of hook is fine.

While some folks (rather stridently) earlier decried a simple cash/value 
system, I'm not sure how else this can function in any reasonable way.  When 
you factor in gluts, shortages, whatever, while this may work for a 
particular item (like in our kevlar discussion earlier), trying to keep 
track of them in an area where the players frequent and purchase/sell stuff, 
this can be a logistical nightmare.  Or so it seems.

What have other folks found to be the case?  Some folks have triumphed the 
merits of bartering, but how do they handle stuff like the above?  Or am I 
better off using the "cash" system and glossing over the constant underlying 
fact that the "30" they got in change is actually a Milrat and 10 bullets.  
Which may be worth a lot less in the next town you go to ("Hah, that "30" 
change - it's now worth "20"!") if a bartering system is used.

Does that make sense?  It just seems simpler to treat "cash" as cash for 
almost all practical purposes.  The Marshall has a constant to draw on, the 
Posse has a constant to rely on, and everyone is (seemingly) happy.


---

Steve Crow

"Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/


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