Worldbuilding Day 8: Economics and Resources

Today's exercise was basically addressed earlier. I am to take five minutes noting places on the map that are rich in specific resources. I note these down on the map with green rectangles in the ocean for rich fishing grounds, along the western valley and interior with gold squares for gold placer deposits, and purple circles for the unobtanium that the western empire needs to fuel their magi-industrial growth. This region is not the only source of this resource, but the deposits are more easily mined here and there are no other great powers contesting their control of the region so it is very valuable to them.

The resources that the western empire needs to fuel its magi-industry is very limited and has a defined source, but I am uncertain as to whether I want to reveal the source to the players or leave it as a mystery. It is not a diabolical or evil process, but I suppose it could be considered cliche, and sometimes revealing a cliche that is not commonly used in a genre can be a little jarring and colour the expectations of the players.

Either way, some of the magic items available that come from contemporary sources will be almost mechanistic in appearance and will rely on the unobtanium to power their function. This is a different way of expressing charges, at least mechanically, but I feel that it will offer a different flavor to the setting and will function as another resource players have to manage. After all, dungeon crawls are often just an exercise in resource management.