Pro & Con of the NLS

Okay, here's more boring thoughts about the NLS. - So if you don't have to deal with the Nutri Life System, then you don't have to read this. :-)

In theory it would be really nice, although it still has some weak-points. One of the weak-points is, that some of the "roles" you can chose in the hud, don't have any special skills. Or at least I haven't figured them out. Like for instance I don't know, what my special skills as "trader" would be. Or a warrior, or a builder, or an initiate... - While an ironworker seems to be the most important role as he can handle the forge and make tools, a healer can make medicine, and slaves seem to be multi-talented anyways, the other roles seem to be worthless. I don't even understand, why in the beginning a high caste role gets more coins in his hud then a trader, as in the books the merchants and slavers ALWAYS been the really rich people (therefore my groupname "Gold knows no caste") and therefore the ones with power and influence.

Another weak-point - as Misha already mentioned in the comment to the last article - is that it is all in German. For me of course no problem, but for otheres there is. Especially they seem to confuse the currency, so the prices for goods are very, very different on the certain markets. - So, here's some words about the money-system:

1 GT = 1 Gold Tarn = 100 ST

1 ST = 1 Silver Tarsk = 100 KT

1 KT = 1 Copper Tarsk = 100 TS

1 TS = 1 Copper Tarsk bit (bit!!!)

I wrote a while ago about the money-system in Gor and also about the problem, that John Norman wasn't logical (as so often) when he wrote about that. Like once mentioned, for 1 KT you get a paga + a slave girl for the night in the taverne. In another book mentioned, that for 5 KT you get a whole meal in a taverne. On another page mentioned, that a simple worker earned about 5-7 KT per day. But then again in another book mentioned, that boys in one of the oasises in the tahari got 1 KT for every customer they brought to the taverne. - So, we can't really rely on John Norman in this.

Maybe the easiest would be to relate 1 KT = 1 U$. After all John Norman started to write the books in the 60s and there's propably inflation on Gor too? So for a cup of paga you would easily pay 3-4 KT?

Now the problem is, that I know places - from the creator of the HUD-sytem himself, where you can SELL paga for 3 KT. Which is way too much, I guess. The economy would only work like this: A farmer grows suls and sa-tarna. He sells it to a brewer (or a trader who then sells it to the brewer). The brewer would make paga from it and sell it to a trader. A trader would sell it to the taverne-keepers. The taverne-keepers sell it to their guests. - And each of them make a bit of profit.

That's basics. But it will not work. Cause slaves just make some paga themselves.. because they can (OOC)... and put it in the taverne, where it is given out for free. And because the sources are endless. Everybody can go and harvest Sa-tarna, Sul, Larma, milk a bosk, hunt a tarsk... I think that's another weak-point of the NLS. If a Sa-Tarna field would take some time before it can be harvested - and if it was just 24 hours - then the peasant who would be responsible for it - would have a better eye on it. The warriors would need to protect the fields, so nobody actually steals from them and only the authorized people (the peasant in this case) can harvest it. Things like that.

Yesterday I heard the slaver has a lot of black wine beans. Fine. So why the heck does a slaver have black wine beans which only grow in the city of Thentis and are more valuable then gold? Did he travel? Did he RP? I don't think so. - Well, I don't blame or judge him. It's just an example why the system will not work.

Another point is, that it would be a lot of work. Traders have to RP trading. Farmers have to RP harvesting and selling their goods. Bakers have to RP baking. Brewers have to brew. Physicians would have to take money for their service. And tavern-keepers for their paga and meals. Then there had to be scribes as taxmen who collect taxes from the farmers, traders, bakers, brewers, physicians, tavernkeepers... From these taxes  the warriors would be paid to protect the city/village.

THAT would be a fine system, but it would be a lot of RP and work. But people are people. We were willing to do it. We were RPing traveling, trading, I BOUGHT most of the goods, sold them somewhere else with profit, bought more... But I think me and my boys are the only ones who take it really serious. "It's just a game!", you may say, but: If you don't take it serious, then why use the system at all? If you don't make the best out of it, then it is just a waste of time.