Olympia: The Age of Gods PBEM (May 4 1999)
Usage: USE 9607 <good> Time to learn: 14 days. Time to use: 7 days.
By use of this skill, a merchant can decrease the supply of a trade good in a market. By encouraging artisans to produce other goods, by closing down supplies of the good, and similar means, the merchant will decrease the number available for trade by 15-33% of the normal monthly supply. In the case of goods that are produced only in small numbers, this becomes a chance to decrease the supply by one good. The supply decrease persists until something changes it.
This skill must be used in the market where <good> is being traded.
This skill can only be used on items sold or bought by the market itself, i.e., it cannot be used on nobles, and it only works if the good is currently being traded. For example, consider this interaction:
8: > use 9604 94 8: That good is not traded here.
[94] is the identifier for woven baskets. Why did this skill use fail? Although a city may be buying baskets on Day 1, by Day 8 someone may have sold the city all the baskets it requires. Consequently, the attempt to influence the market for baskets fails, because no baskets are being traded. (The city typically adds a new demand after the turn is over.)