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Econ Manual
I've updated parts of the Econ Manual to reflect
recent changes. Unfortunately, due to some technical
difficulties, we haven't been able to get it up on the
webpages yet. So I'm forwarding it onto this list.
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(10-17-99) | Dune III Economy Guide | Dune III 2.0
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Dune III Economic System
2.1 Overview
2.2 Sources of Income
2.2.1 CHOAM Fief Contracts
2.2.2 CHOAM Company Contracts
2.2.3 Obtaining a CHOAM Company Contract
2.2.4 CHOAM Shares
2.3 Sources of Expenses
2.3.1 Standard
2.3.2 Military
2.3.3 Property
2.3.4 Security
2.3.5 Human Resources
2.3.6 Imperial Tax
2.4 Economic Periods
2.5 Coded Economic Commands
3. CHOAM Directors & CHOAM Policy
3.1 Director's Duties
3.2 Obtaining a Directorship
3.3 Term Limits
3.4 CHOAM Policy
4. Guide to Being a CHOAM Director
4.1 Introduction
4.2 CHOAM Meetings
4.3 Assigning CHOAM Company Contracts
4.4 Performing a CHOAM Audit
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1. Introduction
This guide covers the economic system used on Dune III. It
describes its goals, theory, and the coded commands
available. Everyone who is a member of a Landsraad House is
encouraged to read through it at least once. House heads must
familiarize themselves completely with this document.
If you have any questions that are not sufficiently answered
within this guide, please e-mail to the Administration at
dune3-admin@fremen.org or +mail *admins online.
The current version of this guide can be found at the Dune III
web site under "Guides": http://www.fremen.org/muds/dune3/.
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2. Dune III Economic System
---------------------------------------------
2.1 Overview
All trade goes through CHOAM. CHOAM, which is an acronym for
Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, is the universal
development corporation controlled by the Emperor and the Great
Houses of the Landsraad.
Dune III uses a macro-based economy geared around CHOAM
Contracts. Each House has a contract with CHOAM to market their
homeworld goods. CHOAM in turn sees that each House's goods are
distributed and returns the profits generated by the sale (with a
small fee deducted, of course). In addition to selling the trade
goods of their homeworlds, Houses can vie for control of the
lucrative CHOAM Company Contracts. These are special contracts
that can greatly enhance a House's economic influence.
We are not concerned with economy based on an individual (micro)
level: weapons, clothes, hotel rooms, jewelry, etc. These are all
things which are best left to RP. As long as they fit in with how
you portray your character it's assumed you can get access to any
of these items. A soldier of a Great House should never want for
weapons, nor should a Siridar's family be without fine clothing
and jewelry.
The economic system on Dune III has been carefully designed to
promote and enhance RP among the Houses without tying them down
to monotonous routines. Each economic period varies in what
Houses comprise the CHOAM Directorship or what CHOAM Company
Contracts are available. It's the hope of the Admin that this
variance will keep the economic system fresh and exciting.
---------------------------------------------
2.2 Sources of Income
CHOAM Contracts are the primary sources of income for Great
Houses of the Landsraad. Two types of contracts exist within Dune
III: CHOAM Fief Contracts and CHOAM Company Contracts.
---------------------------------------------
2.2.1 CHOAM Fief Contracts
Fief Contracts are the basic irrevokable contracts each House
holds. They represent the House's surplus resources from all its
fiefs: minerals, luxury items, foodstuffs, or whatever else
serves as their primary goods of trade. Income generated from
pundi rice on Caladan would fall under the Fief Contract of House
Atreides.
Generally, the value from a Fief Contract is changeable to
a small degree, fluctuating as a normal economic system might.
Also, should the need arise to adjust the value to simulate
an RP situation, such as a natural disaster or damage to
goods due to a War of Assassins, the House head need only
contact an Admin to arrange for this.
---------------------------------------------
2.2.2 CHOAM Company Contracts
Befitting its status as the universal development corporation,
CHOAM holds the legal ownership over a large variety of economic
resources. These range from planets rich in minerals and
agricultural qualities to manufacturing operations to the
pleasure planet of Gamont and the coveted spice mining of
Arrakis. These resources are contracted out to the Great Houses
to exploit.
Along with a name and description, there are five basic
components that comprise a CHOAM Company Contract.
o Duration
The length of the contract in number of IC years. An IC
year is approximately 3 real-life months. To make things
a bit easier contracts go by what economic period it
is. An economic period lasts exactly one IC year.
o Average Profit
Fairly self-explanatory. A contract can be expected to
generate income around this amount each economic period
should the required resources be placed against it.
o Minimum Bid
CHOAM Company Contracts must be bid on (see section 2.2.3
for details). This is the minimum amount that a House can
bid on the contract for it to have any chance of being
awarded.
o Human Resources Required
Contracts require a certain level of resources to continue
to operate optimally. Human Resources (HR units) represent
the cost to maintain a unit of the overall resources required.
HR units can be mobilized as the House deems necessary to
maximize potential profit.
o CHOAM Percentage
CHOAM always gets its share. This is the minimum percentage of
profits from the contract that goes into the coffers of CHOAM.
Houses may offer a larger percentage when making their bids.
o CHOAM Shares
This is the level of influence a House has within the CHOAM.
It is related to the value or worth of the contracts in
terms of profit and required HR units.
---------------------------------------------
2.2.3 Obtaining A CHOAM Company Contract
With the exception of the Arrakis Contract, which is awarded by
the Emperor, the CHOAM Directors decide who gets what
contract. To make your House eligible for a contract you must
place a bid. There is a minimum bid amount associated with each
contract. This represents the amount of solaris it takes to take
over the operation and bring it up to speed. Houses may also
offer a higher percentage to CHOAM in their bid.
Approximately two weeks before the CHOAM shareholders meeting,
held once every IC year (~3 RL months), there will be an open
meeting with the CHOAM Directors. It's during this meeting that
Houses make their first official bids for contracts.
At the shareholder's meeting the Directors announce who the
contracts have been awarded to. They do not always have to award
the contract to who bid the most. Feel free to schmooze your
nearest Director before the shareholder's meeting.
---------------------------------------------
2.2.4 CHOAM Shares
Each House holds shares of interest in CHOAM. The number of
shares a House has determines the number of votes they possess
within CHOAM and the size of their dividends.
There is a standard allotment of shares that goes with each CHOAM
Fief Contract. The number of shares a House has can be increased
by acquiring CHOAM Company Contracts. Every contract conveys a
temporary amount of CHOAM Shares to its holder. As long as the
House holds the contract it gets the benefits of the shares in
it's voting power and dividend payments.
---------------------------------------------
2.3 Economic Expenses
The following is a list of periodic economic expenses. While
additional expenses might exist within the game (such as mentat
and warfare costs) only the following occur every economic
period.
---------------------------------------------
2.3.1 Standard
The standard expense is the same for all Houses. It reflects the
costs for normal House maintenace, a basic military allotment,
and an embassy on Kaitain.
Current standard expense is 12000 solaris per period.
---------------------------------------------
2.3.2 Military
Houses get a basic military allotment which is included in
every House's standard expenses. This represents a military
maintained during peace times, with little or no real
military actions. As activity and size of the force is
escalated, so too are the expenses.
The military ranks go from 1-5.
1 Standar troops, peace time, low military activity
2 Standard troops, peace time, medium military activity
3 Elite troups, peace time, combat readiness
4 Elite troops, war time, combat readiness
5 Sarduakar level troops
Note: Only the Corrino are allowed to attain Level 5 ranking
for their military.
Rank Cost per Period
---- ---------------
1 (default rank) Cost factored into standard expenses
2 20000
3 50000
4 75000
5 120000
---------------------------------------------
2.3.3 Property
If a House wishes to build an estate in the Kaitain countryside
or a penthouse at the Imperial Hotel they must pay an extra
periodic charge. These extra housings are for those Houses that
wish to display their wealth and stature by going beyond having
just a normal embassy.
Embassy: No charge
Penthouse: 2500 solaris/period
Estate: 7500 solaris/period
---------------------------------------------
2.3.4 Security
Security relates to the number and quality of guards around your
House compounds, special devices employed such as palm locks and
pru-doors, and the House's counter-espionage abilities (used in
the Mentat System).
The security ranks go from 1-5.
1 Standard troops, no special devices, minimal counter-espionage
2 Standard troops, a few special devices, avg counter-espionage
3 Standard troops, many special devices, good counter-espionage
4 Elite troops, many special devices, very good counter-espionage
5 Elite troops, a lot of special devices, excellent counter-espionage
To have a rank of 4 or 5 you must have elite level troops in your
military.
Rank Cost per Period
---- ---------------
1 (default rank) Cost factored into standard expenses
2 2500
3 5000
4 10000
5 20000
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2.3.5 Human Resources
All Houses have a set number of Human Resource (HR) units to
represent their available workforce.
The standard number or units is based on the population of the House's
fiefworld. Since it is not reasonable to deplete one's homeworld from
all resources, approximately half of the HRs of any given House will
remain with the planet, unless arranged differently through CHOAM.
They also acquire, through the contracts, a certain amount of workforce
that is resident to that planet.
Houses may chose to distribute their resources as they need to
maintain an overall stronger market. Contracts with less than the
minimal HRs may result in performance below the average cost.
Example:
House Hirado is from planet Shinto with a medium population
that yields they around 60 Human Resource (HR) units. They
are thus allowed to utilize approximately 30 HR Units in
their dealings with CHOAM Company Contracts. They
acquire a CHOAM Company Contract that requires 90 HRs to
to run and comes with 40 HR Units. In order to assure
the contract has a chance to perform at optimal levels,
House Hirado needs to find another House to contribute
an additional 20 HR Units OR purchage HR units from
CHOAM. House Hirado makes a deal to support House
Ludvoc in the upcoming Landsraad High Council election in
exchange for 15 HR units. In order to make up the
remaining HR units, House Hirado decides to purchase from
the "unbound" workforce directly at the current going rate.
Cost for "unbound" workforce will vary based on supply and demand.
---------------------------------------------
2.3.6 Imperial Tax
The Imperial House has the ability to tax its subjects to support
its bureaucratic workings. The Imperial Tax expense represents
the effective rate of taxation. Under the Great Convention, all
Houses must be taxed at the same rate. However, it is not
uncommon for the Imperial Auditors to find loopholes for favored
Houses reducing the amount that is collected. The less favored
Houses could find every document scrutinized in an effort to
realize the maximum amount of taxation.
For the purposes of Dune III the Imperial Standard Rate of
Taxation is 7%. The amount listed under a House's Imperial Tax
percent is how much is actually collected. This number can never
be higher than 7%.
---------------------------------------------
2.4 Economic Periods
An economic period lasts one IC year (approximately 3 RL
months). At the end of the economic period profits and expenses
are calculated for each House, a CHOAM shareholders meeting is
held and dividends are dispursed.
The approximate time a period ends will be posted about a month
beforehand on the global BBS.
---------------------------------------------
2.5 Coded Economic Commands
Help topics for the economic related commands on Dune III can be
found under '+choam/help'.
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3. CHOAM Directors & CHOAM Policy
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3.1 Duties
The three members of the CHOAM Board are responsible for
conducting shareholder meetings, assigning Company Contracts,
performing audits on Contracts, and ensuring the solaris keep
flowing into CHOAM coffers. A more detailed explanation of
Director's duties are explained in Section 4: Guide to Being a
Choam Director.
---------------------------------------------
3.2 Obtaining a Directorship
There are two ways in which a House can gain a position on the
CHOAM Board of Directors. The first is to be awarded the Arrakis
CHOAM Company Contract. Unlike the other Company Contracts,
Arrakis is awarded solely by the Emperor and conveys a
Directorship to the contract holder. The second way to a
Directorship is to be elected by the CHOAM members. The two
remaining seats come available at regular intervals.
---------------------------------------------
3.3 Term Limits
The positions for the CHOAM Directorship have a term limit of 6
IC years (approximately 18 RL months). The positions are
staggered so that every other IC year a Director's seat will be
open, either through a general election or by being awarded the
Arrakis Contract.
Players can hold a Directorship any number of consecutive terms.
There is no limit on how many times they can be re-elected or
hold the Arrakis Contract.
In the event that a Directorship is revoked, by a 2/3 majority
vote of all active CHOAM shares, an immediate replacement is
elected to carry out the remainder of the term.
---------------------------------------------
3.4 CHOAM Policy
There is an online file which describes the policies of CHOAM
which applies to all members, including the Directors. This
information is completely IC and can be found under 'ICinfo
Choam-Policy'.
Thanks to Alexander, Cesare, and Nils for putting it together!
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4. Guide to Being a CHOAM Director
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4.1 Overview
Much has been done to minimize the need for the admin to
supervise the economic system. Except for the initial economic
settings, the admin will have little influence within the
system. The Econ Sphere admins will be available to answer any
questions and address problems, but the IC operation of the
system is left to the Houses, particularly those that make up the
CHOAM Directorship.
CHOAM Directorships are associated with a House more than they
are with the Siridar. Any player from a House on the CHOAM board
can make decisions provided they are on that House's CHOAM
authorization list. The only exception is that it takes a head to
award contracts.
---------------------------------------------
4.2 CHOAM Meetings
There are two official CHOAM Meetings near the end of every IC
year. The first is primarily for the Directors. An agenda for the
shareholder's meeting can be set, and Houses can make their bids
for contracts which will open up the next economic period.
Approximately two weeks after the first meeting there is a CHOAM
Shareholder's meeting. It's near the end of this meeting that the
economic period ends and profits are handed out. All open
contracts are awarded immediately before the meeting closes.
The admin will help with the settings of the times of the
meetings to ensure there's an even flow. However, it is the
responsibilities of the CHOAM Directors to run all meetings.
The CHOAM Directors may have as many closed sessions as they wish
at any time.
---------------------------------------------
4.3 Assigning CHOAM Company Contracts
There will be 2-3 Company Contracts up for bid every economic
period. At the shareholder's meeting the Directors must award
each open contract to one of the contract's bidders.
The high bidder does not always have to be awarded the
contract. The number and income of other contracts they hold may
be taken into account. Each House should get one CHOAM Company
Contract at least, provided they make a bid.
While political motivations will undoubtedly play a part in some
decisions the first duty of a Director is to CHOAM. Rampant abuse
of power in awarding contracts can lead to the Directorship being
revoked if a vote totals 2/3 of the active CHOAM shares.
---------------------------------------------
4.4 Performing a CHOAM Audit
An audit is a comparison of the contract's previous income
history versus it's current income. If there is a significant
drop-off in money being generated by a contract it may be revoked
from the holder and re-assigned.
If a House does not have enough Human Resource (HR) units to come
within 20% of the required HRs for its contracts the contract
productivity will suffer. The CHOAM Directors can monitor this at
the end of every economic period by viewing the profit history of
the contract. If the profit dips lower than 20% from the average
profit the contract may be revoked and assigned to another House
who will carry out the duration of the contract.
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