Great work
Overview
A great work is any major economic investment which is sufficiently large in scope that it provides a benefit to the inhabitants of an entire territory. The return can take the form of money, herbs, materials for crafting items or mana crystals.
Great works do not normally result in the creation of an Imperial title, as most great works do not require an Imperial citizen be appointed to oversee them.
Senate Commissions
The Imperial Senate may pass a motion for the construction of infrastructure capable of improving the wealth generated by resources in a territory.
It is also possible for the Senate to pass a motion to upgrade a great work, increasing the benefits that it provides.
Benefits
Each great work is linked to a specific type of personal resource in a specific territory. Every member of that nation who attended the last event and who owns the appropriate personal resource in the territory gains the benefit.
The size and effectiveness of the great work sets the total size of the benefit that accrues to everyone in the territory - this benefit is divided equally between the affected players of that nation each season (in the setting there are wide reaching benefits to other NPCs but these are ignored when calculating returns for play balance reasons).
The type of benefits gained are determined by the nature of the great work, not the resource it applies to. For example, the Madruga Shipyard provides a benefit of money to all Freeborn fleets in Madruga.
Costs
- Materials: Variable (minimum 40 wains)
- Time: 3 months to construct per 50 wains of materials used
- Labour: 2 crowns per wain
- Upkeep: None
The more resources are devoted to constructing a great work, the greater the return. Under normal circumstances, the material required will be the one associated with upgrading an equivalent personal resource. For example, at least 40 wains of mithril is required to create a great work that produces mana crystals.
| Wains | Money | Ingots | Herbs | Mana Crystals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 900 rings | 50 | 75 | 37 |
| 56 | 1080 rings | 60 | 90 | 45 |
| 80 | 1300 rings | 72 | 108 | 54 |
| 100 | 1440 rings | 80 | 120 | 60 |
| 160 | 1800 rings | 100 | 150 | 75 |
| 280 | 2340 rings | 130 | 195 | 97 |
In addition to the wains required, it costs 2 crowns per wain to pay for labour and skills to complete the construction.
The table shows some standard costs and benefits for a range of great works. For example a greak work created by the Senate using 56 wains of mithril could produce 40 mana crystals each season. There is no upper limit on how many wains can be used to construct a great work; provided at least 40 wains are used, then any amount can be spent to build it.
Limitations
It is not possible to create a great work which boosts the production of military units. If the Senate wishes to spend significant sums to increase the military effectiveness of the Empire then they must do it by raising armies or constructing fortifications.
It is it not possible to create a great work which creates ilium, liao, mithril, weirwood, or white granite.
Great works are not affected by rituals that target personal resources. A ritual that increases the production of a green iron mine will not affect a great work that provides green iron nor one that benefits green iron mines.
Only members of a nation may benefit from a great work - a vast series of forges throughout Skarsind might provide a bonus to all Wintermark mines based in the territory - but Wintermark characters dwelling in other territories - and characters from other nations would not benefit from the great work.
Responsibility
The Senator for a territory is expected to be responsible for any problems that might beset the structures represented by a great work. For example, if Grendel corsairs are raiding the Madruga shipyards, then the Empire will expect the Madruga senator to deal with the problem.
Multiple Great Works
The Senate may commission a great work be upgraded - or create a second great work in a territory that is intended to benefit the same personal resource. For instance the Senate could authorize the creation of a vast rope works in Siroc in Madruga that would provide an income in crowns to all fleets based in the territory.
Because the new great work would benefit fleets in the Madruga, the same as the existing great work, the Madruga shipyard does, the effectiveness would be reduced. In effect the total benefit would then correspond to the total amount of wains spent constructing great works that benefit fleets in Madruga. The civil service can provide estimates on the total benefit that will accrue from the completion of a great work in a territory. These estimates are only valid for the current state of the territory.
A second great work in a territory that benefited owners with different personal resources would provide the full effect listed.
Recent Great Works
The list includes all great works which have been created or appointed in recent times.
- The Atalya Shipyards in Madruga are a specific type of great work, a shipyard. While they grant additional wealth to Freeborn fleets, they have additional powers related to the construction and maintenance of Imperial navies.
- The Towers of Anduz in Segura grant additional wealth to the onwers of Freeborn businesses.