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docs/economy/ECONOMY-ROMAN-0001.md

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+# ECONOMY-ROMAN-0001
+## Roman Money, Spending Power, and Economic Scale
+### Status: Canonical Economy Seed
+### Layer: OTIVM (Roman Merchant)
+### Purpose: Define how money is earned, accumulated, mobilized, and experienced in the Roman epoch; translate coin values into meaningful purchasing power
+### Repository Path: docs/economy/ECONOMY-ROMAN-0001.md
+
+---
+
+## 0. Design Intent
+
+Coins alone do not explain wealth.
+
+In Roman life, economic power came from a combination of:
+
+- coin in hand
+- goods in storage
+- debts owed to you
+- people willing to help you
+- rights you can enforce
+- tools and animals you control
+- reputation that opens doors
+- information received before others
+- land or productive assets
+
+This document prevents a false economy where all value is reduced to one wallet number.
+
+For OTIVM, money must mean **command over resources**.
+
+---
+
+## 1. Three Forms of Money
+
+## 1.1 Coin Stock
+
+Immediate currency held physically.
+
+- asses
+- sestertii
+- denarii
+- aurei
+
+Used for wages, purchases, tolls, lodging, food, and rapid deals.
+
+## 1.2 Purchasing Power
+
+What current holdings can actually buy **here and now**.
+
+Affected by:
+
+- local shortages
+- season
+- city congestion
+- military demand
+- rumors
+- transport cost
+
+One denarius in Ostia during abundance is different from one denarius during panic.
+
+## 1.3 Credit Capacity
+
+What value can be mobilized beyond current coins.
+
+Affected by:
+
+- AVCTORITAS
+- CLIENTELA
+- collateral
+- IVS_ACCESSVS
+- prior reliability
+
+A respected man with little coin may command more than a stranger with a purse.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Currency Ladder (Working Standard)
+
+Use as gameplay shorthand.
+
+| Unit | Relative Value |
+|---|---|
+| 1 aureus | 25 denarii |
+| 1 denarius | 4 sestertii |
+| 1 denarius | 16 asses |
+| 1 sestertius | 4 asses |
+
+Recommended internal storage unit: **as**
+
+Display unit should scale automatically.
+
+---
+
+## 3. How Money Is Created
+
+## 3.1 Lowest Labourer
+
+Creates money by selling time and strength.
+
+Examples:
+
+- porter
+- dock hand
+- hauler
+- cleaner
+- kiln worker
+- seasonal field hand
+
+Income fragile. Missed work means missed food.
+
+## 3.2 Skilled Worker
+
+Creates money by transforming inputs into higher-value outputs.
+
+Examples:
+
+- smith
+- carpenter
+- wheelwright
+- mason
+- scribe
+
+Skill creates premium over raw labour.
+
+## 3.3 Shopkeeper / Retail Trader
+
+Creates money through margin and turnover.
+
+- buys low
+- sells conveniently
+- profits from location and repeat custom
+
+## 3.4 Merchant (MERCATOR)
+
+Creates money through:
+
+- regional price differences
+- timing
+- transport
+- bulk purchasing
+- information advantage
+- risk selection
+
+This is the OTIVM core loop.
+
+## 3.5 Creditor / Investor
+
+Creates money through capital deployment.
+
+- FAENVS
+- partnership shares
+- debt purchase
+- rebuild finance
+- collateral capture
+
+Money earns without direct labour.
+
+## 3.6 Elite Asset Holder
+
+Creates money through ownership.
+
+- rents
+- estates
+- tax privileges
+- patronage leverage
+- monopolized access
+
+---
+
+## 4. Everyday Spending Power
+
+Working bands only. Use ranges.
+
+| Item | Range | Unit | Confidence |
+|---|---:|---|---|
+| cheap bread / snack | 0.25–1 | as | Low |
+| modest meal | 1–4 | asses | Low |
+| bath entry | 0.25–1 | as | Low |
+| cheap lodging | 1–4 | asses/night | Low |
+| lamp oil small amount | 0.5–2 | asses | Low |
+| sandals repair | 2–8 | asses | Low |
+
+Meaning:
+
+Small coin matters.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Daily Income Bands
+
+| Role | Working Daily Income |
+|---|---|
+| unskilled labourer | 4–12 asses |
+| porter in active port | 4–16 asses |
+| artisan | 8–24 asses |
+| trusted clerk | 12–32 asses |
+| factor / agent | variable + commission |
+
+Volatility matters as much as rate.
+
+---
+
+## 6. Merchant Scale Bands
+
+| Liquid Capital | Meaning |
+|---|---|
+| under 1 denarius | survival stress |
+| 1–5 denarii | petty trading possible |
+| 5–20 denarii | small speculation |
+| 20–100 denarii | credible merchant action |
+| 100–500 denarii | multi-venture operator |
+| 500–2,000 denarii | financier-merchant |
+| 2,000+ denarii | city-shaping actor |
+
+Gameplay bands, not census classes.
+
+---
+
+## 7. Why Some Men Are Richer Than Their Purse
+
+## Reputation Wealth
+
+High AVCTORITAS grants:
+
+- trust
+- deferred payment
+- introductions
+- better contract terms
+
+## Network Wealth
+
+Strong CLIENTELA grants:
+
+- early information
+- labour on request
+- witness access
+- temporary liquidity
+
+## Asset Wealth
+
+Low coin but owns:
+
+- cart
+- mule
+- tools
+- storage rights
+- workshop share
+- inventory
+
+## Household Wealth
+
+Multiple disciplined earners can outperform a careless rich man.
+
+---
+
+## 8. Why Some Men Are Poorer Than Their Purse
+
+Coin leaks through:
+
+- debt
+- rent
+- dependents
+- status display
+- bribes / fees
+- losses in transit
+- idle inventory
+- bad habits
+
+A Noble Younger Son with 50 denarii may be weaker than a Freedman Trader with 15.
+
+---
+
+## 9. Scenario Meaning of Money
+
+## Bronze Forge Fire
+
+10 denarii of tools may matter more than 100 denarii of furniture.
+
+## Timber Yard Fire
+
+Cheap planks missing can raise many prices.
+
+## FAENVS Offer
+
+50 denarii lent well may outperform 50 denarii traded badly.
+
+---
+
+## 10. Dynamic Pricing Rule
+
+Avoid static prices.
+
+Use:
+
+```text
+price = base_price × city_modifier × season_modifier × scenario_modifier × urgency_modifier
+```
+
+Examples:
+
+- fire raises tools
+- dock congestion raises porter wages
+- shortage raises grain
+- panic lowers distressed asset prices
+
+---
+
+## 11. Recommended Parameters
+
+| Token | Meaning |
+|---|---|
+| coin_stock | coin held |
+| liquiditas | deployable value |
+| purchasing_power_index | local buying strength |
+| credit_capacity | borrowable / commandable value |
+| burn_rate_daily | unavoidable expenses |
+| venture_threshold | minimum viable capital |
+| status_cost_index | cost of appearances |
+| household_support_load | dependents burden |
+| idle_inventory_drag | trapped capital |
+
+---
+
+## 12. Player Experience Rule
+
+Early game:
+
+every as matters.
+
+Mid game:
+
+every denarius matters.
+
+Late game:
+
+reputation and access matter more than coins alone.
+
+The economy should mature with the actor.
+
+---
+
+## 13. Confidence Notes
+
+Roman prices vary by:
+
+- century
+- region
+- legal status
+- source quality
+- war conditions
+- harvest conditions
+
+Use ranges and uncertainty tags.
+
+Never imply modern payroll precision.
+
+---
+
+## 14. Repository Use
+
+Internal simulation substrate. Not player-facing text.
+
+Use to support:
+
+- starting funds
+- wages
+- venture balancing
+- city modifiers
+- scenario rewards
+- lending scale
+- actor asymmetry
+
+---
+
+## 15. Canonical Success Condition
+
+If the participant stops asking:
+
+“How many coins do I have?”
+
+and starts asking:
+
+“What can these coins command here, today, through me?”
+
+then this document is functioning correctly.