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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jürgen Hubert" data-source="post: 3198013" data-attributes="member: 7177">Well, today's defense industries and associated government agencies are huge, sprawling affairs that it does indeed not make any sense to try to poach contracts from outside one's area of expertise.But Eberron functions on a smaller, more personal scale. Ultimately, only a few people in each kingdom decide on the focus of the defense spending for the next few years, instead of the massive bureaucracies in our own world - and it will be worth it to get these people on your side.Let's assume that Aundair is unhappy with the quality of its armed forces and wants to improve them. The guy in charge of the military (forgot his name) has a Very Large Amount of money to spend over the next three years. Let's say he has the following options:- Buy lots of advanced magic items (House Cannith).- Hire expert mercenary advisors who can train Aundair's forces - and possibly give them some insight into how the other armies work (House Deneith).- Commission several airships to give Aundair aerial superiority (House Lyrandar).- Improve your local infrastructure so that you can quickly move your troops to whichever border they need to go (House Orien).- Hire spies so that you know precisely what your neighbors can do and sabotage them (House Phiarlan or Thuranni).- Invest into cavalry with vastly superior steeds (House Vadalis).Now you have no less than seven Houses competing for the same resources - the treasuries of Aundair. Yes, the Houses have monopolies - but that doesn't mean they can't compete with each others for resources.Many people seem to think that in a market economy the demand for a certain product develops first and then producers attempt to meet that demand. But in many, if not most cases, it is actually the other way around - first someone comes up with a product, and then they attempt to sell it by creating the demand. The modern-day advertising industry depends on that, but this has really been a feature of the luxury trade throughout human history. Take gold, or spices, or gems and silk - most of them are quite unneccessary to human existence, and yet they became very valuable indeed. And the people selling these things took care to make them more interesting to their buyers to increase their profits.The Dragonmark Houses likewise won't wait until they are approached for their latest toys and inventions. No, they go out there and try to sell them. And in doing so, they compete with other sellers of expensive items - and that includes the other Houses.</blockquote>

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