tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post4054119598819783578..comments2024-03-25T00:18:14.319-07:00Comments on Against The Wicked City: The sable gold of the taiga: adventures in the early modern fur tradeJoseph Manolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-66333498896360213582016-09-17T07:12:36.244-07:002016-09-17T07:12:36.244-07:00The difference between Siberian sable and you fant...The difference between Siberian sable and you fantasy setting is the latter may have nature spirits that make fur trappers' lives shorter for over harvesting, if not outright "poaching". Derek Hollandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-34395548566492505542016-09-15T18:13:08.385-07:002016-09-15T18:13:08.385-07:00This is good.
Plus I like to put dire weasels in ...This is good.<br /><br />Plus I like to put dire weasels in my games and now I can do so without feeling bad, because I'm sure they're worth a lot of money, -10% for every stabbing/slashing wound the sable takes.Arnold Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12603155377769597516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-40547024917722614372016-09-14T15:03:35.100-07:002016-09-14T15:03:35.100-07:00I did not know about the Beaver Wars. But now I do...I did not know about the Beaver Wars. But now I do.<br /><br />In the exact same years that the Cossacks were shooting Yakuts to get sable pelts in Siberia, the Iroquois were shooting Hurons to get beaver pelts in North America. All in the service of the same international fur trade. It's kind of awe-inspiring, actually. Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-73694563529445909282016-09-14T14:56:41.794-07:002016-09-14T14:56:41.794-07:00Yeah, good point. In North America, as in Siberia,...Yeah, good point. In North America, as in Siberia, the fur trappers were often the first people into new areas, because their trade was so infrastructure-light. Farms and fisheries and mines and lumber mills need all kinds of communication links before they can be profitable. Fur trappers just need traps and guns. <br /><br />I don't have the knowledge to answer intelligently about land reclamation. I doubt the soil and the climate would be good enough to make it commercially worthwhile, though, especially using 17th-century farming techniques... Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-81325028464415756332016-09-14T14:47:20.486-07:002016-09-14T14:47:20.486-07:00In reality? No, not really. But as I've mentio...In reality? No, not really. But as I've mentioned before, many Central Asian peoples had a habit of building elaborate secret tombs for their kings. It's not too far-fetched that some of them might have been built out in the Siberian taiga...<br /><br />(Here's the post: http://udan-adan.blogspot.com/2015/09/try-to-find-graves-of-our-fathers-only.html)Joseph Manolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387275537008858939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-64489098085245449442016-09-14T07:34:26.188-07:002016-09-14T07:34:26.188-07:00I agree regarding the Wild West - it is much more...I agree regarding the Wild West - it is much more ideal a location for everything adventuresome...except for the distinct lack of Roman ruins and ancient material culture. Did the Siberians have anything like that? My players seem to need dungeons.Ian Robothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131583390990219217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-27194400145107709872016-09-14T07:34:16.902-07:002016-09-14T07:34:16.902-07:00I agree regarding the Wild West - it is much more...I agree regarding the Wild West - it is much more ideal a location for everything adventuresome...except for the distinct lack of Roman ruins and ancient material culture. Did the Siberians have anything like that? My players seem to need dungeons.Ian Robothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131583390990219217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-19336379598432281292016-09-13T23:52:56.704-07:002016-09-13T23:52:56.704-07:00And by big deal we mean "Beaver Wars". P...And by big deal we mean "Beaver Wars". Plural.Yorahttp://spriggans-den.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-392427526916288536.post-86113491619737325082016-09-13T19:19:19.835-07:002016-09-13T19:19:19.835-07:00Good idea. New roads with chains of forts is a nic...Good idea. New roads with chains of forts is a nice visual.<br /><br />I'm not sure if you are aware, but the fur trade was also a big thing in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries in North America. Trappers and fur traders (and missionaries) visited new areas well ahead of the farmers, ranchers, and other settlers. The fur trade was a big part of the antebellum Wild West.<br /><br />I wonder if the PCs could import land reclamation technology from the Netherlands. Windmill driven pumps moving the water from bogs and swamps into reservoirs, fish bonds, and canals and leaving behind fertile farmland in their wake.<br /><br />I assume Siberia has a lot of wind for the windmills (though I could well be wrong about that). Gaston's Hathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06153032266563901843noreply@blogger.com