Resources & Trade Goods
By Connors
This generator was created to help determine what a kingdom or realm's exports were. However it can be used for a community, a tribe or even an area. Rolls on this table reflect physical resources, not services, though some of the items may be crafted goods.
Resources rolled could simply be an indication of an abundance of said material or the realm may be well known for its crafting or use of the materials. In any case the realm has plenty of the resource and is in the position to trade it.
I suggest rolling 1d6 resources for a given realm. Add two for very large realms and another two for wealthy realms. For communities, simply apply the Community Modifier (same as the one in Core Rulebook II p137 and that which appeared in the 3rd GM Tools article).
Each entry has several suggestions for particular items. Choose the most relevant one for the realm you have in mind or (as I love to do) just roll random. In many cases you may wish to restrict the resource even further. This is more logical in communities. For example, on a roll of 'Armor', the GM then selects hide armors. There is then a 50% chance this is narrowed to a specific armor, such as leather or rhino-hide armor.
Many entries also have 'exotic' as an option. Be creative here and think of a resource that may be found in the realm and possibly nowhere else. This is where GMs can bring in items made from special substances such as bronzewood and cold iron.
Comments and additions to this table are welcome. J
Resources Table (d100)
| d100 | Resources |
| 01-05 | Animal Products: meat, parchment/vellum, seafood, wool, hide, furs, horn, ivory, oil, fats, pearls, leather goods, dairy (milk, cheese), feathers/down, fish, venom, eggs, honey, bones, exotic parts (teeth, stings, scales) |
| 06-08 | Armor: light, medium, heavy, shields, wood, hide/leather, metal, exotic (carapace, shell, cord) |
| 09-10 | Artworks: paintings, beads, wood carvings, sculptures, tapestries, silverware, jewelry, headware, masks, ancient artifacts |
| 11-16 | Cloth: silk, cotton, linen, canvas, hemp, wool, clothing, raffia |
| 17-20 | Drinks: spring water, mineral water, wine, juices, ales, meads, strong spirits, milk, beer |
| 21-23 | Foods: bread, sweets, iron rations, dried goods, spiced |
| 24-27 | Gems:(use the gem table from Core Rulebook II or SRD) |
| 28-36 | Livestock: pigs, goats, cattle, sheep, poultry, deer, exotic |
| 37-38 | Magical Paraphernalia: potions, scrolls, wands, wondrous items, components, alchemical items |
| 39-44 | Manufactured substances: perfumes, drugs, alchemical items, inks, dyes, poisons, ravages, vinegar, paints, wax |
| 45-52 | Metals: bronze, brass, tin, iron, copper, lead, zinc, exotic (red iron, etc) |
| 53-55 | Minerals & naturally occurring substances: salt, incense, sulphur, carbon, pitch, coal, ambergris, amber |
| 56-58 | Miscellaneous Small crafts: books, paper, parchment/vellum, pottery, rope, metalwork expensive (lanterns, jewelry etc), metalwork mundane (chains, stirrups etc), woven goods |
| 59-60 | Miscellaneous crafts: shipping supplies, farming implements, cookware, glassware, barrels & crates, tools, instruments, luxury goods (fine clothes, cushions, mirrors), furniture, rugs |
| 61-62 | Miscellaneous Large crafts: ships, wagons, siege engines, building supplies (doors etc) |
| 63-65 | Plant Products: herbs, spices, pipeweed, poisons, tea leaves, coffee beans, olives, sugar, nuts, oils, drugs |
| 66-71 | Precious Metals: silver, gold, platinum, electrum, mithril |
| 72-80 | Produce: grain crops, vegetables, fruit, hay, corn, chickpeas, lentils |
| 81 | Sentient: slaves, mercenaries, specialists (sages, scouts, engineers etc), exotic |
| 82-87 | Stone: strong building (eg: bluestone), common building (granite, sandstone), expensive (marble), exotic (obsidian), precious (jade, crystal), useful (flint, chalk, soapstone) |
| 88-89 | Trained Animals/Beasts: horses, dogs, cats, birds, exotic: large (elephants, etc) |
| 90-94 | Weapons: martial, exotic, simple, primitive, hafted, double, blades, polearms, masterwork, special material, bows, crossbows, (in our house rules we use Weapon Groups - roll one of these if narrowing down) |
| 95-00 | Wood: building timber, hardwoods, exotic, thatching, rare |
Re: Resources & Trade Goods
No worries.
This is a table I have been wanting myself for a long time. It was going to be one of the first. Has taken me a while to get around to it ;)
Suggestions for future article welcome :) as are additions to the tables presented.
Connors
Re: Resources & Trade Goods
Thanks Paul,
I'll use this table myself to add some colour when the players start to work as caravan/warehouse guards or when they rescue a caravan tyhat has been raided. It also provides some useful ideas for some new types of shops besides the standard old leatherworker, blacksmith etc.
Good, useful stuff.
Cheers
Baz
Re: Resources & Trade Goods
Bam! Good stuff, and just what I've been needing. I have lots of trouble dreaming up imports and exports for the kingdoms in my homebrew world, and this is perfect! Thanks!