Flagship Trading Company

Overview
Trade in Fryth Anvor is complicated by a few factors. The Whitecrest mountains split the continent vertically and create forbidding and treacherous passes which cannot sustain trade reliably by land. The Barbarian Courts of Qidir raid the high seas along the southern coastal route connecting Parnath to Tysdia, as well as menace the river trade that passes by Qidir for half of the Great River's length along the way to inland Tysdia. The northern routes are similarly forbidding, with few hospitable ports of call along the way and very little in the way of stations to replenish travel supplies. With such lucrative trades to be made between the East and the West of Fryth Anvor, however, there was a real need (and reward) for an organization which could provide reliable and stable trade along the way.

The Flagship Trading Company was formed to meet that need. Originally just a group of adventurers who risked the river trade from the ruined city of Calas on the coast to Tysdia inland, they began to invest in fortifications along the way, and then earn gold by charging other traders to use their ports of call as well. The enterprising adventurers saw an opportunity, and with a boon from the king of Tysdia back in the day, established their Trading House in Bremith Downs, the river city on the northwestern edge of Tysdia, along with letters of marque to begin assembling "a merchant military and navy as needed to ensure timely and reliable trade routes". And the Flagship Trading Company was born.

About 175 years old already, the FTC has secured warehouses and trading enclaves in every major city, and there are even rumors of a secret stronghold that Flagship established as its real center of military power on some small flyspeck island off of the southern coast of Qidir. Flagship employs all manner of traders, merchants, fighters, magic users, scribes, spies, and diplomats the world over now. They have a series of Trading Posts all throughout the lands, including food and lodging in secure spaces, warehouse storage of goods, healing and magical services, etc. They make almost as much profit out of empowering and supplying the traders who use their secure locations as they do in directly sourcing goods and moving them throughout the lands themselves.

Symbol
A three-masted caravel under white flag with a black 'X' upon it, riding a calm sea, facing east.

Goals
The Flagship Trading Company is primarily Lawful Neutral. Not that they hold to any given set of laws, but they understand that reliable trading requires reliable social situations, and therefore they tend to provide patronage to law enforcement locally wherever they go.

The goal of the founders remains the overarching goal for the Faction as a whole now, 'the accumulation of wealth and profits from trade'. Over time, however, the Faction has diversified its interests. It sees itself as inextricably linked with the Crown and culture of Tysdia, and so it strives to bring Tysdian culture and skew local laws to favor Tysdian trade at all costs. At first, the power given to the FTC brought it wealth, and then the FTC began to use its wealth to bring more power. The FTC is quite realistically the only 'foreign relations' currently running from Tysdia to the rest of the nations of Fryth Anvor beyond token diplomatic envoys.

The FTC now seeks to become indispensable to global trade, and in every new market and locale they use similar tactics. Find an ambitious local underling, manipulate them to lead the charge to make changes which enables Flagship to establish a foothold in the local marketplace. Utilize their broad reach to undermine the local economy, operate at a loss for a decade or two, support the underling's bid for power not only for themselves but for their next generation, and "own" the young lord from childhood on... When the youngster ascends to power, FTC makes a bid for more and more control over the local markets and trade, until the new government relies on the FTC completely. Then, raise prices to make profits back from the investment, and when the new ruler complains, bring him to heel through sanctions and 'trade mishaps'. Once the FTC is in a position of dominance, trade with the crown of Tysdia to gain concessions desired in exchange for flexing political power over the new marketplace.

The FTC also believes in speculative voyages of exploration, and frequently funds and rewards those who find new goods for trading, rewards members who open new trade routes, and it actively seeks to maintain its privileged position in the international economy.

They're not evil, they're pragmatic. And Lawful Neutral. Ish.

Beliefs
Trade is all important. Stability is important for trade. Tysdia is the pinnacle of human civilization, and therefore it is only right that we spread the culture, political influence, and economic power of Tysdia at all costs. If it isn't nailed down it's for sale, and if it can be pried loose then it isn't nailed down.

Law is all important... but only Tysdian law which naturally favors humans with western behavior and culture.

Member Traits
Some are greedy as sin. Others are defeated former enemies who got bought out and had to accept offers to come onto the Flagship company payroll just to keep surviving where before they thrived. Back in Tysdia the members are the rich and powerful, elite merchants and artisans, and even several noble families have sent second sons into Flagship to increase their family coffers and political reach, though the Company seems to never quite pay out as much as hoped for so that those nobles could break free entirely from the Company's interests.

Several of the members are adventurers seeking to make their way in the world, looking more for glory than gold, and believing the (mostly true for real value providers) promises of high ranking and paying positions in the Company for those who discover and expand new markets and run new trade routes for valuable goods.

Rank Names

 * 1) Clerk
 * 2) Agent
 * 3) Merchant
 * 4) Trader
 * 5) Partner

Special Faction Training Available (Rank 2+)
Proficiency with Cartography Tools, Navigator Tools, or any Vehicle(Land) or Vehicle(Water) are available as special training to Faction Agents and above. Cost is 125 downtime days cumulative (can pay in bits as you go) and 125gp in training fees paid to the Faction to earn the proficiency.

Special Faction Item Purchases Available (Rank 3+)
Merchantmen can order directly from the Faction to buy either a Cap of Water Breathing (50gp) or a Ring of Swimming (5,000gp). This equipment is frequently purchased by any Company member going on naval trade voyages of any kind. Shipwrecks are not considered to be valid excuses for the loss of precious metals and other water-resistant goods and treasures. You are literally expected to have bought your standard magic items and will use them to swim down together and haul the missing treasure back up, at least in shallower waters.

Other Factions
 The Gardeners  - Religious nuts, sell 'em whatever they ask for and don't ask too many questions. Be ready to capitalize on any bumper crops that come up though. Worth watching from a distance.

 Vanguard Brothers  - Mercenaries with honor. Use them as you need to, but watch the bottom line because they're expensive. But worth it... once bought, they stay bought for the term of the contract, and even fight to the death, which is worth the price sometimes. But rely on Flagship marines more if you can.

 Broken Crown  - Filthy thieves. Constantly undermining the Company pricing by running things on the black market. Suspected double-agents working within the Company should be hung on suspicion alone, if only the laws would allow it. Still, the Broken Crown can at least be negotiated with. Use them for Black Market insurance if the price is worth it, though beware their double-crosses since they are thieves first and foremost.

 Kingsguard  - A pitiful substitution for the might and influence of the Flagship Trading Company. Not certain why the current King felt the need to fund the Kingsguard and bring a new Faction onto the board of political players. All efforts to shut them down failed, not sure why. No real issue with them, just not sure why they even exist when the Company can provide all of the intelligence and diplomatic inroads that the Tysdian Crown requires.

 Court of Flowers  - Courtly intrigue is the real coin of these so-called "Beautiful People" and "Superstar Entertainers". Hedonism is only a mask for them so don't be fooled until you can guess at their true purpose. Tread more carefully with a Bouquet (slang for a member of the Court of Flowers on the street) than with the Broken Crown. The upper echelon of the Court consumes capital at a staggering pace, however, so we don't fear their maneuvering since without our goods and services they couldn't sustain their impossible illusion of a "courtly lifestyle" in the first place.

 Akashic Hammer  - Frustration through the roof. These are the premier artisans and Craftsmen in the land, they should be thanking us for our services to bring their goods and therefore fame to other lands, but they refuse to offer us the kinds of deals which makes moving their services profitable. Our sages are confused - the high price of these uber-artisans' goods should be too expensive for the market to bear, and yet the demand for their goods is through the roof. If only they would sell us their goods at a discount, we could make stellar profits. As it is, our markup is low compared to other goods for transport because the Akashic Hammer places too much damned pride in knowing what their goods are actually worth.

 Wyrd Hunters  - Mystics and sorcerers and warlocks and wizards, this furtive band normally wouldn't merit a second glance, except that they seem to have absolutely no regard whatsoever for notions of ownership or fair exchange. Wyrd Hunters seem to find an inexhaustible supply of magic items which would be quite lucrative in the right markets, but unfortunately, they seem to remove the items from circulation and consolidate their find in that Mystic Library of theirs. 100gp for a three day research pass is usury! Wish we'd thought of it.