I threatened a merchant...

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...who had the deeds to the farms in nalias keep. he ran away and now i'm worried about what might happen as i've never done this before.was it a bad idea?

 

Well, he'll go through with his threat and take the money from the people, and they'll like you less but that's about it. (Unless you count the XP you missed.) Fortunately, there are plenty more opportunities to prove your worth to them, and they won't revolt just because of one bad decision.

 

Heck here I thought they would revolte after one mistake...

 

Heh. No, they aren't a bunch of cut-throats looking to revolt at the slightest mistake from their lord.

Just make sure that from now on, you do the best possible thing for them.

 

However, that's not one of them you want to do the "wrong" way. Almost all of the decisions you will make are going to cost you some money for the "good" decision, and the first one is rather cheap. The merchant asks for 1000 gp, but if you have a high charisma you can convince him to accept 500 gp.

 

You made the right decision roleplay wise.
Only naive do gooders or LE XP greeders would accept his claim.
I wouldn't like having my government wasting money for him.
Next time he would probably want money for getting wet because it rained when he crossed your country.

 

I prefer to buy the debts from him, for the full thousand, and am forced to just imagine the curt and insulting way I dismiss him. I want NOONE able to threaten my people, and if he does come back again with some other imagined slight, he'll die for ever attempting it in the first place.

With the debts, he's got the power. You threaten him, he'll take it out on your people. But if you buy the debts away from him, he no longer has any power. Then you can smack him around like a pimp.

[ July 18, 2006, 18:00: Message edited by: Felinoid ]

 

It doesn't feel right to me.

Borrow money from a merchant and your government pays it back. Great !
But why have people who borrowed money from someone else to pay it back themselves ?
On the other hand you have taxes collected from everyone.
Fairness is important for a ruler.

The merchant blackmails you and you let him get away 1000 GP richer. Guess what his merchant friends or others will do in the future.
A hint: Citizen from a country which is known to pay high ransoms are more likely to get kidnapped than others.

 

Eh? Buying the debts from the merchant doesn't necessarily mean your people are free and clear. It means that you own the debts now. Sure, you could just dust your hands and tell them they're in the clear, but I prefer to hold them to what they owe. Not that you can actually get the money in-game, but somewhere down the line as the continuing ruler of the de'Arnise lands they'll gradually pay it off. To put it simply, you become the bank.

Um, no. He was already owed that money, having lent it to the people. He's not getting a cent more than he should. And you're not losing anything by taking the immediate payment onto yourself, either. Eventually they'll have to pay it back, with interest if you've a mind to do that.

 

ffft
Factoring Swordcoast style. They are an inventive lot, they are.