Ed Greenwood mentioned in the web site Q&A for Power of Faerun that he's always wanted to do a book on trade routes and mercantalism of the Realms.
Wizards might not have their eye on such a project, but I'd like to see that info, and I think Dragon can deliver it.
I'd like some of it to be re-usable in my setting of choice in terms of concepts, but I don't see why the series can't have a Realms spin to serve as the "core setting" of the material, so to speak.
For me, this would be be cooler than cities of the Realms (though I like that too, even though I don't play FR)
One of the things I always found interesting was the number of people that complained about the "Magic Wal-Mart" of the Thayan Enclaves when 3rd edition rolled around, but I thought it was both brilliant and logical for the Red Wizards to do. If you can take over the Realms by force, do so through trade.
Also, people look at the Zhentarim and think of Fzoul Chembryl and the strife between Banites/Cyricists/Xvimists, but they forget that the Zhentarim was started by Manshoon to control the Moonsea through merchants and trade. Again, follow the money! The Zhentarim is more like the mafia than people give it credit for. They own some legitimate trade interests on top of the nefarious things that they do.
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I disregard the Thayan enclaves because (a) it isn't possible, in my Realms, to make minor magic items easily enough to market them, (b) magic shops aren't genre- or setting-appropriate (remember, Fritz Leiber's original "Bazaar of the Bizarre" was a joke based on the notion's absurdity), and (c) I don't buy that all these towns are so stupid and naive about agents of Thay (especially given the existence of the Lords' Alliance, the Harpers and the Heralds).
I agree with a pre-poster, though:
Think about the Zhentarim and their widespread trading routes around the Moon Sea, across the Anauroch desert, and their constant fightings against the dales in their fight for (political and economic) dominance by all costs. This is a prime example.About the Red Wizards: of course they are being distrusted. But as long as my personal benefit from being able to trade in small magical items is bigger than my fears about being tricked/ endangered by them... I was just in eastern Austria in the state of "Burgenland" (i.e. literally castle land), called by all the medieval and renaissance castles dotting every second hill there. They were erected in order to defend against the osmanic army that was marching against the holy roman empire (or rather Austria right then). That conflict lasted for decades, thousands of people died, trade and especially the poor population suffered. Nevertheless people in other areas of Europe would have never traded with moslems?!
And today? People wouldn't drive cars with combustion engines if the environment was severely endangered by it, would they? ;-)
Günther
I'd love to see a book on trade in the FR. Personally I've always liked the Zents, with both the subtle and none too subtle ways they operate. Yeah, their evil. Oh, and they try to conquer the dales every other tenday. Well, and there is that part where they were founded by Manshoon, the 25th level archmage of whoop-death. And they have beholders. And their leader is the chosen of Bane. But hey, according to the alignment system out of the PH all greedy merchants are NE anyway. So are, by D&D alignment, almost all real world corporations (trust me, I work for one). But, you have to buy from someone.
I just picked up Mysteries of the Moonsea and have to say that I'm most impressed with the involvement of both the Zents and the Red Wizards. I'm also a big Thayan fan. I hope to combine Powers and Mysteries to create an interesting champaign focused around the Moonsea. A trade book would make it just that much better.