This is a means of increasing one’s wealth by establishing an enduring economic relationship with another company. The Trade must be established with a company with a Treasure equal to one less or greater than the initiating Company’s Treasure. Participating in the trade route is a voluntary act by the trading partner, and might require role playing and diplomacy to encourage the prospective trade partner to enter into the relationship.

Roll: Influence + Treasure
Against: Influence + Treasure (Special: See Below)

The Roll:
There can only be one attempt to establish trade per month and with only one potential partner. Both potential partners roll Influence + Treasure to establish trade: both must each roll a success to establish a trade relationship.

Consequences:
Companies in a trade relationship have the following powers:

Offer/Accept Loans: Companies that have established a trade relationship can voluntarily loan a point of treasure to one another once per month, although the loaned Treasure is usually required to be paid back in the following month(s). This exchange does not exhaust the resources or Qualities of either party except for the single point of Treasure deducted from one and transferred to the other.

Cheat on Cartel/Trade Partner: Alternately, a Company can involuntarily drain one point of Treasure from its partner by taking advantage of the trade relationship: make an Influence + Treasure versus the partner’s Territory + Treasure and if successful they can temporarily lower their partner’s Treasure for the remainder of the month and increase their own temporarily for the remainder of the month. Regardless of the success, the trade relationship comes to an end automatically. This counts as a standard Company Action and exhausts the Qualities used by the Companies.

Once a company has established a number of trade partners that exceeds its current treasure, its Treasure increases by +1.

Due to the complexity and difficulty of establishing and manipulating trade, only one attempt may be made by a Company to either establish a route, receive or offer a loan, or to cheat on any of its trade partners.

Raises:
Diplomatic meetings, marriages, inducements of a personal nature, throwing grand parties, spying on trade partners, organizing workers, forming guilds, breaking up rival trade or labor groups, forming or destroying cooperatives or cartels, leading caravans or convoys, mapping and navigating, and bribing any interested parties.