Signatures

[jorb]

Issues of vital macroeconomic importance are being discussed, and all you can think about is a computer game? The horror.

[Potjeh]

Hey, not having a better solution doesn't mean I can't attack the existing ones

But anyway, I think that signatures should be forgeable, but it should require certain skill. I'm mainly thinking one general skill to deal with stuff like signatures, map drawing and perhaps even art if we ever get that.

[Murazama]

This would be a decent skill to have. It allows you to etch your name into your arrows or any items you may own. That way it will show as: Bone Arrow (Murazama) or something along those lines.

This would help with hunting parties so arrows don't get mixed and to help identify possible stolen goods.

[CG62]

Arrows aren't exactly the kind of things most thieves are after... I mean, just use the bones from whatever you kill to make a fresh batch.

[Peter]

Seals and signatures are being considered... I don't know how likely they actually are.
What he means is (sorting out arrows) AND (identifying stolen goods). Not stolen arrows.

[Teh_Az]

This is an idea for a character to write signatures on parchment. I think this could be a great way for currency to appear, with Forgery as another possible black skill to be placed in use. Think of the parchment then as IOUs with the amount listed there in. People could then opt to destroy accomplished deals, or something.

[Jackard]

http://www.havenandhearth.com/forum/search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&keywords=signature*&fid[]=5

[ImpalerWrG]

I like Junk's basic premise to 'put authorship, decree, or agency onto an object', both signatures and wax seals could have their place in such a system. I could see a seal having security purposes as well, apply stamp to wax to make a seal, apply seal to written parchment to create a 'sealed envelope', a person can then read the seal but not the parchment unless they open the letter which destroys the seal, a simple but effective tampering prevention method.

If forgery is going to exist (I'm doubtful) it must be detectable like other crimes and generate scent.

[Teh_Az]

Instead of wax seals, why not boneglue? We'd actually, finally, have a use for the things other than walls and battering rams. And hey, why not bark as a form of currency? Authenticated bark that is.

[Peter]

Sometimes I wonder if the main inspiration for H&H was J&L lying around in their igloo or whatever it is they have in Sweden, and saying "Man, I like MMOs, but I'm tired of all the ones with fiat currency..."

As for the economics of it all, gold isn't really worth much for actual work. It's effectively a one-speed mint- outside of the fact that you can't change the rate (Or rather, the rate of production is on a fixed downward line), gold's not edible, and has only a few industrial uses, and is nearly totally useful as an intermediary. Industrially, it's probably as good as lead. That is, not useless, but not as useful as, say, aluminum or steel or uranium or carbon or hydrogen (whooo, definitely not hydrogen. I'd rather have a pound of H than Lg.)

I prefer a similar system, whereby $1 is worth a "basket" containing the average human being's daily needed calories, nutrition, clean water, and heat. Incidentally, a government using this system that can't provide for all of it's citizens would be effectively bankrupt because it would not have enough goods to back it's money.