I'm back baby! I'm older, I'm wiser, and my body has fewer rocks in its organs. *Factory mill grinding noises* Hello humans, my name is Dael Kingsmill I have a little bit of a worldbuilding video for you today. Could be used for D&D, doesn't have to be used for D&D. It is non-specific world building... For you. I've been thinking about black markets. So a little while ago, uh, people on twitter started talking about, in D&D the use of... of different denominations of coins in currency. The thing that caught my interest was, uh, was Henry Prince (who I believe watches these videos... Hi) Left- left a tweet in- in amongst the mix. People were talking about getting rid of electrum pieces because no one uses them, and And Henry said, "I use them because I've made it the only currency that will be accepted by magic stores and the black market" So those are the only places that- that electrum gets used and those places will also only use electrum and that I thought was a very interesting concept because you start to follow that that line of thought through, right? You think why would both and o- Look. These- Every time. Every time. *noise of effort* Flags! Get out of here! HuaAHH! Why would both and only magic stores and black markets use electrum? What do those two places have in common? And I started to come up with reasons for it, y'know Perhaps! Electrum as a currency was specifically put in place as a- as a method of restricting the purchase and the selling of powerful magic items So then the black market would have a very good reason for sellers to want to be paid in electrum coins That makes sense, doesn't it? And then the idea starts to spread because in addition to that, maybe some sellers are selling magic items for Non-electrum coins on the black market. Or even simpler, maybe the black market is somewhere that you can purchase stolen or counterfeit electrum coins, and then it becomes this shortcut for people who want to be able to buy magic items, but don't have electrum coins available to them. So then, if there is a deliberate restriction- a li- limitation on the movement of magical goods, then what does that tell us about this society? It seems like they want to discourage people from purchasing magical items Unless they really need to. 'Coz they haven't made the sale of magic items illegal... Just difficult. Possibly the thinking behind that is that magic items could be too dangerous in the wrong hands So then it becomes something that you need to regulate So at that point you can tell there are probably several hoops that someone would have to jump through Wouldn't they? In order to buy a magic item You'd have to apply for electrum exchange, which probably means, y'know, explaining in some form who you are How much you need, what do you need it for, what's the reason. Perhaps each store selling magical items needs to have a sale permit and keep a detailed registry of who bought what when! They might have to wait for an extended period of time between submitting for this magic item they want and when they're actually... Allowed to receive it. anyone in possession of an offensive magic item might need to carry a permit on them as- as they have it on them around the streets If THAT'S the case, then maybe the city guards have a means of casting detect magic to be able to suss out the Non-regulation magic items that are out and about. See? So now we're- now we're cookin'! Now we're thinkin' with portals! Because you can see how purely because of this connection with the black market We suddenly know quite a lot about the laws of this place and the enforcement of them And the ways in which the- the player characters might come to interact with those laws. A player who wishes to purchase magic items in the city now has a choice that they have to make. Do they follow a lengthy legal process which leaves a hell of a paper trail behind them if that m- magic item were ever to become Used in some untoward activities. Or even if it isn't! Someone could just be trying to track down the player characters! Or the players can visit the black market directly. They cut some corners, they get those magic items now without the paper trail, without the bureaucracy. But now they're taking a risk because they're directly engaging in some criminal behavior Now there's the risk that they could get caught! Now there are more avenues for how the players might wind up interacting with the city guard I mean, what happens when the party comes into town with a bunch of looted magic items that they just got from a dungeon They can't have receipts from those, they didn't buy them! Can you even get a permit to carry something that was obtained in such a suspect manner? What i'm getting at Is That by virtue of these things being sold on the black market You know, that marks them as "this is an illegal trade" and because you know that those things are illegal in some capacity It tells you something about the inverse. So if you have an idea of the- the sort of things that you want your players to be able to access via- there's a bug. There's a bug! Via the black market then you already know something about the laws of your city You just have to dig for it. Side note: I feel like I need to say, feel free to keep this light... rather than gritty and grim dark. You know, because in the real world things that count as like, shadow economy black market stuffs It stretches all the way from, like, horrible grizzly bads to, like, lemonade stands and Y'know, asking your cousin Arthur to cut your hair in his kitchen for thirty bucks. So there is really- There is no reason that you can't stick to wading in the shallows of this stuff. Because it's a fun fantasy game for fun with your friends. So! Lets! Think about what might... What- what could possibly Be included in a fantasy black market? What sort of things might be illicit? These are just some ideas I've had while pondering the question It is by no means an exhaustive list. High-grade weapons like crossbows. The idea that a weapon like this can only really be bought Illegally that might mean that only the guards have access to this sort of a weapon. Maybe crossbows are military standard issue and that makes the city guard very formidable to tangle with. Any weapons sold in large amounts. So blacksmiths already wouldn't be likely to be like Forging a bunch of swords ahead of time to display and, y'know, just have for sale (in a setting Interested in realism; your setting might not care about that at all) I mean, tell that to me in skyrim Just forging daggers by the thousands so I can get my skills up. But if you decide that the only way to get any, um Substantial amount of weapons or any high-grade weapons is from the black market Maybe that indicates that the ruler of this region Is wary of an uprising. That they've clamped down on the ability of everyday citizens to turn on them. Rare animal components, that's a fun one. By including rare animal components in your black market you're insinuating that there is some form of legal protections in place for those animals But then you get to start to think about it more; are they doing it in defence of those animals? does this Society have a- a sort of a connection with nature? Are those creatures endangered? Is- is that creature the main food source Of this particular town or city? And so maybe this legal restriction is in place because they don't want to over-hunt They don't want to wipe out the creatures that are their food source. Or do the laws actually not have anything to do with the animals at all? Are those laws in place to protect the hunters? Like- like maybe there's a guild! Maybe there's a powerful hunters guild in the city and they're the only ones with the right to hunt in this region And so anyone who is hunting these creatures and selling parts of them, these rare animal components Those people would effectively be stealing work from the guild. Maybe that's why those laws were put in place See, you got- there's a couple different angles you can take with it! OooOOh! Poisons and unlicensed potions dealers. If there are potions that are illegal to sell Then that indicates that the legit stuff Needs to pass some kind of an approval process FDA style. Potions are probably cheaper on the black market! Y'know, that that's part of the draw. That's- You're taking the risk Of this potion not being quite up to code so they have to lure you in with some kind of a better deal Poisons! Those are- those are basically a no-brainer. I feel like most dramatic fantasy poisons Any- any that have been like concentrated into an actual useful, potent form... I feel like those would be pretty strictly not purchasable in a city that cares about murder. If you wanted to buy poison legally I suspect it would have to come in the form of like a jar of rat poison. But if you want something that dissolves in drinks, that- that... You can't taste, maybe something that's a poison that poisons someone on contact, y'know, The- the goo- the high-grade poison stuff? For like assassins and jack? That fancy good stuff, you gotta go to the black market. Consider! Illegal gaming and sporting events. The- the implications of maybe a professional athletes guild, who would Bristle at the concept of some guy making money on the side by fighting in an unofficial pit brawl. Sumptuary laws. These are fun. Think of it this way: maybe in your mind's eye, in the eye of your mind you- you picture a black market stall that's overflowing with colourful fabrics But if this is the black market, then that means that that fabric, the sale of it here, is illegal in some capacity. What? Why? What's illicit about fabric!? Sumptuary laws ensured that only, like, the upper class or the Nobility were able to access certain goods So like specific foods or, in this case, you know Maybe only royalty are allowed to wear purple or only the nobility are allowed to wear silk. It became a way of differentiating the nobility from the common folk. And so then that might come with its own plot hook, almost. If the party has to infiltrate or blend in with a fancy high-society banquet of some kind, they'll need to buy silk clothing. But they can't do that legally, so off they trot to the black market to commit some civil disobedience! Oooh! Consider map makers and historians and, like, secret copies of classified records. Texts written in or translated from forbidden languages, or books that escaped burnings. If those are available on the black market then perhaps the ruler is trying to suppress this information trying to keep these things from public access. Forgers and counterfeiters who can get you fake documents or currency in order to get people around these bureaucratic permits that you've just discovered must exist within your setting. But keep in mind they probably know that you need them! So hiring someone who's good at it, that's going to set you back a pretty penny. And there's a question again Is- is that worth it to your players? Get that magic item faster but at a premium, or wait it out for the legal long haul... Choices, choices, choices. Back alley resurrections! That! That is a cool concept. So if resurrections are available on the black market then what does that say about the legal alternative? Does this city straight-up not allow resurrections? Do they think that it's unnatural? Or does the church keep this Or does the church keep the practice a really closely guarded secret? So they're the only ones who know and they can charge whatever they like for it. Or is the city pretty standard in its treatment of resurrections, which means that then the back alley version is probably a little bit more like potions. Maybe they're cheaper but more liable to go wrong somehow. Like they use a cubic zirconia or whatever and- and so you have a chance of coming back to life But without any of your memories or something. The point is that a fantasy black market is already such a juicy prospect, so I suggest that you juice it some more so that you can find out even more about your setting! Start by thinking about, um, what will be available to your players on the black market- I've said players the whole way through- I started this video by saying "this isn't D&D specific" And I've used "players" the whole way through. Well! Showin' m' true colours I s'pose. What sort of things are they selling on the black market? What is available for your players to buy there? And now think, "why is it for sale there?" What does that tell me about the other side of the coin? How might this information be used to create interesting plot hooks and interesting choices. Also keep in mind that the choice itself, that might not be the- the key interesting thing. So like, wait three weeks and fill out a bunch of paperwork or else pay a lot of money now for that necklace of fireballs That's not a choice that's necessarily all that exciting on its own but you can use that choice to lead the players somewhere exciting Who do they meet and what do they encounter if they take the law abiding route versus the underbelly one? What NPCs do they form connections with? What plot threads do they pick up and follow while they're there? And this is how you can use the very existence of black market trade in itself as an exercise in worldbuilding! I know for sure that there's something that I haven't remembered to include *groans* I may or may not have included a clip from later today that I record when I remember a thing What are you including in your fantasy black market? Leave a comment down below! *Laughs* But apart from that, I do believe that's it, i'm done, email this to your grandma... and I will see you some other time! *Laser gun shot noises* [Vaguely ominous music] Oh! I remembered it! I remembered what it was as I was off camera. *laughs*
