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About this mod
Adds a simple, game-ified 'supply and demand' economics system into the game, where duplicate items the player buys will become more expensive, and duplicate items they sell become less valuable. This also affects stealing, where stolen goods become more expensive. This reaches out to cover much of the game through keywords.
- Permissions and credits
Welcome to Supply and Demand! This mod adds a game-ified economy system based on quantity bought or sold.
Items you buy will become more expensive, and items you sell become less valuable.
Each item you buy or sell will change the market price of that same item by 2%. Buy ten lesser health potions and they will become 20% more expensive. Sell 50 iron daggers and their price will drop by 100%.
This applies to all items of the same base type. If you temper a weapon or enchant it, that will count as a separate base item and have its own price. This adds an incentive to temper or enchant common equipment before selling.
But most of all, it makes the economy more difficult. You'll feel this especially if you buy and sell large quantities of items, as their prices will become less advantageous to the player. Ingredients, soul gems, potions, arrows, and food are some of the item types that will become more expensive as you buy and consume them.
You'll feel like the economy is slowly closing in on you, Septim by Septim, as the items you like to sell become more in supply, and the items you need become more in demand.
STAY IN TOUCH
I post screenshots and mod teasers for the Skyrim community on my Twitter, and I sometimes stream the more exciting parts of modding on Twitch, including my level design work on various Ayleid dungeons, as well as Castle Bravil. I do want to do more of this work, and your support is greatly appreciated at my Patreon as well as just generally anywhere you do good deeds on our shared Earth. I also have some custom merch available on Teespring, to bring Skyrim modding into your home and everyday life.
WHAT'S THE DEAL
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This mod simulates a challenging supply-and-demand based economy, centered around the player.
Each time you buy or sell something, the price changes by 2% for each item. Buy ten ales, and they'll get 20% more expensive. Sell five pelts, and pelts of that kind will become worth 10% less.
Health potions, for example, rise in price if you buy them. Food and drinks will rise in price, unless you become self-sustaining somehow. The economy will constantly close in on you, charging you more for every purchase, and reward you less each time you sell something you've already sold before.
All-in-all, it adds depth to Skyrim's economy in a way that I think you'll find fun, challenging, and immersive.
Each time you buy or sell something, the price changes by 2% for each item. Buy ten ales, and they'll get 20% more expensive. Sell five pelts, and pelts of that kind will become worth 10% less.
Health potions, for example, rise in price if you buy them. Food and drinks will rise in price, unless you become self-sustaining somehow. The economy will constantly close in on you, charging you more for every purchase, and reward you less each time you sell something you've already sold before.
All-in-all, it adds depth to Skyrim's economy in a way that I think you'll find fun, challenging, and immersive.
IT'S COMPATIBLE!
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I'm proud to say this should be fully compatible with Trade and Barter, and you might consider them siblings. They do different things, but both operate around merchants. While Trade and Barter affects merchants' and players' barter skills, Supply and Demand affects the items' deeper base prices. They actually seem to work in a beautiful harmony.
Comparing the two, Supply and Demand sets the base price of items. Trade and Barter affects how much above that base price a merchant will charge you. So if your economy gets challenging due to this mod, its effects will be amplified by Trade and Barter.
I don't see them being overly difficult or getting ridiculously out of proportion if they are used together. They should play quite nicely and integrate deeply.
I also offer Faction Economy Complete, which causes items you sell to find their way into the hands of leveled NPCs, including bandits, Stormcloaks, Orcs, Dawnguard, vampires, Forsworn, and all the other humanoid factions. It's fully compatible and complementary to this mod.
Comparing the two, Supply and Demand sets the base price of items. Trade and Barter affects how much above that base price a merchant will charge you. So if your economy gets challenging due to this mod, its effects will be amplified by Trade and Barter.
I don't see them being overly difficult or getting ridiculously out of proportion if they are used together. They should play quite nicely and integrate deeply.
I also offer Faction Economy Complete, which causes items you sell to find their way into the hands of leveled NPCs, including bandits, Stormcloaks, Orcs, Dawnguard, vampires, Forsworn, and all the other humanoid factions. It's fully compatible and complementary to this mod.
GAMEPLAY
BATTLE THE MARKETSSpoiler:
battle the markets. When you sell 20 iron shields in a single transaction, you'll get the original value for that entire sale. Afterwards, the price will drop 40% on future sales. Show
Skyrim is in civil war, under attack from dragons, vampires, the Forsworn, and more. It's a difficult era, and this mod makes the economy reflect that. The economy will feel like it is gripped by scarcity, and that every contribution the player makes to the economy counts.
Now, you can either suffer through the scarcity, or take action and start to provide. Selling new items to the market is always an excellent idea. Since supplying many items causes those items' values to plummet, diversifying your goods will always be attractive.
Buying and selling in bulk will also help you
Now, you can either suffer through the scarcity, or take action and start to provide. Selling new items to the market is always an excellent idea. Since supplying many items causes those items' values to plummet, diversifying your goods will always be attractive.
Buying and selling in bulk will also help you
It's a good idea to collect common weapons to store away, and then enchant or temper them to fill new niches, or even sell them in bulk for maximum value.
STEALING CAUSES SCARCITY
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The mod works based on taking items from containers. A merchant is a container, and so is somebody's wardrobe. Buy something, and it will get more expensive. Steal something, and it will also get more expensive.
This happens only in civilized locations. You'll know that you're in a location with an active economy when you see the notification "Your economy is here" appear at the top-left of your screen. Taking items from containers here will be considered removing them from the economy, thus causing scarcity.
So, if you sneak around Skyrim stealing everybody's shoes... the shoes market will be a-booming! You can then sell those stolen shoes-ies to a fence for peak profits.
This does buff stealing, and does so in an interesting way!
This happens only in civilized locations. You'll know that you're in a location with an active economy when you see the notification "Your economy is here" appear at the top-left of your screen. Taking items from containers here will be considered removing them from the economy, thus causing scarcity.
So, if you sneak around Skyrim stealing everybody's shoes... the shoes market will be a-booming! You can then sell those stolen shoes-ies to a fence for peak profits.
This does buff stealing, and does so in an interesting way!
GIFTING INCREASES SUPPLY
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Likewise to stealing, giving items to NPCs or putting items into their containers will reduce the market price of that item. Now, no sensible champion of commerce would do this... This is the same as selling, but you don't get money for it. It's fun for roleplay, though!
This was a funny coincidence based on how I scripted the mod. But it's very very cool, and you may find a reason for it in-game. I personally notice that it causes me to stop taking items from corpses of townsfolk in town when they're killed by enemies, because I feel a little more guilty when I see the notification. Putting it back will restore the balance.
Of course, I've prevented anybody with the faction PlayerFollower from this working, so the items you give Lydia won't be considered to have entered back into the economy. I've also prevented locations that are owned by the PlayerFaction from being considered the economy, so when you put your gear back into your bedside chest, it won't change the price.
This was a funny coincidence based on how I scripted the mod. But it's very very cool, and you may find a reason for it in-game. I personally notice that it causes me to stop taking items from corpses of townsfolk in town when they're killed by enemies, because I feel a little more guilty when I see the notification. Putting it back will restore the balance.
Of course, I've prevented anybody with the faction PlayerFollower from this working, so the items you give Lydia won't be considered to have entered back into the economy. I've also prevented locations that are owned by the PlayerFaction from being considered the economy, so when you put your gear back into your bedside chest, it won't change the price.
THE DRAGONBORN ECONOMY
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The market here is 100% controlled by the player's actions, with no random price fluctuations or regional prices.
Play for long enough, and your economy will become a perfect trap, designed by your many purchases and sales to charge you the most for what you want, and pay you the least for what you have. Wait, we're still talking about Skyrim, right?
It's all about the relationship between the Dragonborn and the economy of Skyrim. What are you selling? What are you buying? How are you influencing supply and demand in Skyrim? Are you buying barrels of mead, or are you selling them? What kind of an influence are you making, economically, on the world of Skyrim?
Play for long enough, and your economy will become a perfect trap, designed by your many purchases and sales to charge you the most for what you want, and pay you the least for what you have. Wait, we're still talking about Skyrim, right?
It's all about the relationship between the Dragonborn and the economy of Skyrim. What are you selling? What are you buying? How are you influencing supply and demand in Skyrim? Are you buying barrels of mead, or are you selling them? What kind of an influence are you making, economically, on the world of Skyrim?
ECONOMIC HARDSHIP
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This intends to add realism to the Skyrim economy, and create a sense that Skyrim has a singular, connected economic system that is largely affected by the Dragonborn.
I've always wanted Skyrim to have a deeper economy, that does more than just throw gold at the player. Skyrim is in a period of Civil War, which is a terrible economic period for a country. Survival should be hard. This mod makes the markets feel starved by scarcity, with the items the player contributes having a large effect on helping the economy. Likewise, what they buy will drain the economy, eventually forcing them into other routes or to make increasingly bad trade-offs to pay the inflating costs.
I've always wanted Skyrim to have a deeper economy, that does more than just throw gold at the player. Skyrim is in a period of Civil War, which is a terrible economic period for a country. Survival should be hard. This mod makes the markets feel starved by scarcity, with the items the player contributes having a large effect on helping the economy. Likewise, what they buy will drain the economy, eventually forcing them into other routes or to make increasingly bad trade-offs to pay the inflating costs.
SELF-SUFFICIENCY
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This mod gives a buff to self-sufficiency, including any item you are able to produce without needing to buy anything to make it. If you can provide your own food - great! - that way you can shelter yourself from the punishment of this market.Show
You'll find this reaches out in ways you maybe didn't consider. If you're an enchanter, you mayfind that soul gems quickly become too expensive to purchase. However, I hear there is a way to make your own soul gems, deep below Skyrim...
If you're a ranger, you'll find arrows are especially susceptible to supply and demand, due to their quantity. You will likely want to supplement your arrows with ones you craft (or take from the dead), as buying them will fast become especially punishing.
If you are playing a survival mod, you'll find that crafting your own food gains a new level of challenge. I found that salt became a hot commodity in my game, as I relied on buying it. Salt became the essential component that added expense to any crafted meal, and I was always on the hunt for cheap salt!
LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS
HOW THE SCRIPT WORKS
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The script itself is placed on the player by quest alias, and is activated whenever an item is added to the player's container under certain conditions. When you move an item into or out of the player container, it is considered valid to change demand for that item, and the price will change.
I track the items you've sold on one table, and its value on another table. When you sell a new item, I add a new entry into the first empty space in the table. I currently support up to 3,840 unique item types max, but this can be increased if needed. Since vanilla Skyrim has about 1,100 unique weapon types in total, you're unlikely to pass this number unless you are an extremely hardcore crafter. After that, new items will no longer contribute to the system, but will buy and sell normally without issue.
I track the items you've sold on one table, and its value on another table. When you sell a new item, I add a new entry into the first empty space in the table. I currently support up to 3,840 unique item types max, but this can be increased if needed. Since vanilla Skyrim has about 1,100 unique weapon types in total, you're unlikely to pass this number unless you are an extremely hardcore crafter. After that, new items will no longer contribute to the system, but will buy and sell normally without issue.
EXCEPTION FOR CHEAP ITEMS
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Low-value items, such as bottles of ale, have a chance to change value by 1 full gold, with a chance proportionate to their value and quantity sold. Since all purchases or sales change item value by 2%, and values are rounded down to the nearest 1 gold, cheap items needed different behavior. Instead of always being rounded down to the same price, there is a chance to increase or decrease proportionate to the value changed and the quantity sold. This will not reduce an item's price below 1 gold.
For instance, if you buy one ale for 5 gold, there is a 10% chance for it to increase value by 1 gold. If you purchase five ales, then your chance is 50% that it will increase to 6 gold. Buying in bulk is still valuable for cheap goods, as it eliminates the chance of consecutive price increases.
For instance, if you buy one ale for 5 gold, there is a 10% chance for it to increase value by 1 gold. If you purchase five ales, then your chance is 50% that it will increase to 6 gold. Buying in bulk is still valuable for cheap goods, as it eliminates the chance of consecutive price increases.
COMPATIBILITY
OTHER ECONOMY MODS
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This mod is fully compatible with Trade and Barter. See the 'It's Compatible!' section above for more details on that mod.
This is compatible with mods that change the overall values of items, such as Pricier and Heavier Pelts and Hides. It will respect the value as set by that mod, and increase or decrease from there. Keep in mind that if you enable such a mod mid-game when Supply and Demand already has entries for those item types, then the effects of that mod will be overwritten in-game.
This is compatible with mods that change the overall values of items, such as Pricier and Heavier Pelts and Hides. It will respect the value as set by that mod, and increase or decrease from there. Keep in mind that if you enable such a mod mid-game when Supply and Demand already has entries for those item types, then the effects of that mod will be overwritten in-game.
MODDED MERCHANTS
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This mod should be fully compatible with modded merchants.
The item always affects the economy if it is traded with a container that is explicitly owned by a faction. This is true for all merchant containers by default, as merchant containers must have a services faction to determine who sells the items, and what item types are available.
The item always affects the economy if it is traded with a container that is explicitly owned by a faction. This is true for all merchant containers by default, as merchant containers must have a services faction to determine who sells the items, and what item types are available.
MODDED LOCATIONS
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This mod is highly compatible with modded locations. Locations will be opted into the system if they make use of the following keywords:
- LocTypeDwelling
- LocTypeHouse
- LocTypeHabitation
- LocTypeInn
- LocTypeSettlement
- LocTypeStore
- LocTypeFarm
- LocSetMilitaryCamp
- LocTypeMilitaryCamp
- LocTypeTown
- LocTypeTemple
- LocTypeCastle
- LocTypeGuild
- LocSetMilitaryFort
- LocTypeOrcStronghold
- LocTypeJail
- LocTypeBarracks
- LocTypeStewardsDwelling
- LocTypeLumberMill
- LocTypeMine
Player home containers that are set to have their owning faction as 'PlayerFaction' will work correctly. This is true for all containers in base game houses, and should be true for modded player houses. When you store or take items from chests in your home, that will not affect economy prices.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
PERSONAL REMARKS
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This is quite different from some other economics mods, which usually try to make the economy regional. I skipped that, because Skyrim is a small enough and well-connected enough place to have healthy local supply routes already. In this mod, there is one economy. It is a hero's economy! It reflects the player character's relationship to the economy of Skyrim.
This mod starts to hit harder as you enter mid-game, and will make items you haven't previously encountered especially enticing, as they will seem more valuable in comparison to items you've repeatedly sold.
I think it's really neat and deep. It's fundamentally very simple, but affects the game in multiple interesting ways.
I hope you have a pleasant, challenging, and immersive experience from it, and if you do, consider contributing to my ongoing public work Skyrim modding at Patreon. I tend to maintain my mods for multiple years.
This mod starts to hit harder as you enter mid-game, and will make items you haven't previously encountered especially enticing, as they will seem more valuable in comparison to items you've repeatedly sold.
I think it's really neat and deep. It's fundamentally very simple, but affects the game in multiple interesting ways.
I hope you have a pleasant, challenging, and immersive experience from it, and if you do, consider contributing to my ongoing public work Skyrim modding at Patreon. I tend to maintain my mods for multiple years.
THE SCRIPTS IN DETAIL
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Whenever the player loads a cell, the economy updates from its arrays to ensure values are applied. This is more than necessary, but ensures local values are always updated. It adds no perceptible load time.
Whenever the player obtains an item to their inventory, if that item is from a container that belongs to a faction, the value of that item will increase. In-game, this represents both purchased and stolen goods, and scarcity. This takes about 8 seconds for the ol' clunker to calculate sometimes, which is helpful when you're buying three items one-by-one in rapid succession.
Whenever the player removes an item from their inventory, if that item goes into another container that belongs to a faction, and that faction is not the player faction, the item will reduce prices. In-game, this represents items sold to NPCs, and adding supply of that item to the economy.
Keywords, (Custom Locations and Vendors)
There are positive and negative overrides which include or dis-include locations with keywords, applying to towns, cities, ruins and dungeons to enable or disable items taken from containers affecting the economy. Locations that have any of the keywords will be either applied to or not applied to, causing their containers to be considered part of 'the economy'. Taking or giving items from containers in positive keyword locations will increase or decrease values. This is forbidden in negative keyword locations.
Positive Keywords
LocTypeDwelling, LocTypeHouse, LocTypeHabitation, LocTypeMilitaryFort, LocTypeInn, LocTypeSettlement, LocTypeStore, LocTypeCity, LocTypeFarm, LocTypeMilitaryCamp, LocSetMilitaryCamp, LocTypeTown, LocTypeTemple, LocTypeCastle, LocTypeGuild, LocSetMilitaryFort, LocTypeOrcStronghold, LocTypeJail, LocTypeBarracks, LocTypeStewardsDwelling, LocTypeLumberMill, LocTypeMine
Negative Keywords
LocSetCave, LocSetDwarvenRuin, LocSetNordicRuin, LocTypeDraugrCrypt, LocTypeDungeon, LocTypeBanditCamp, LocTypeForswornCamp, LocTypeVampireLair, LocTypeGiantCamp