I had actually heard that, they essentially acted as a "pilgrimage insurance and bodyguard," at least in theory. Their growing wealth may have had a lot to do with why they were excommunicated, tortured, and killed.

But here's what I was talking about " And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."
– Matthew 21:12-13

But basically any bank system would, I hope, try to appear more archaic in operation. The Vikings actually had a very robust trade system, so I wouldn't be surprised to find if they had money lenders and so forth. They would also chop coins into halves and fourths, which I think would make a lot of sense in game. For instance, a loaf of bread would cost a half or 4th a septim, and each loaf would actually constitute 3 items of "bread."

But in ES, when you die... you die.

*reload*

Yes!

Absolutely.

I considered banking mods essential for my Morrowind and Oblivion experience. It would be nice if Bethesda included them in their vanilla game.

Also:
- add gold weight, carrying 1 million gold coins around just doesn't make sence,
- add secure storage boxes to the banks,
- have the banks give interest, offer active acounts and savings accounts with varying interest levels,
- add a loan system to the banks, and perhaps even loan bailiff's to reclaim the loans when the player doesn't make his/her payments
- add loansharks
- add bank papers (like traveler's cheques) , which can be exchanged for cash at any bank or at some shops, or which can be used for payments with some merchants.

Since all of the above have been included in banking mods, I really don't see why Beth couldn't do it. It would imho add a lot to the gameplay economics of the game (versus just carrying around a big bag of gold).

But if Beth don't add a banking system, then I guess it's up to the community again.

Money is not the root of all evil - fiat banking is.

But based on that - yeah no banks. That is what real life is for (apparently).

This is interesting. I would like to store gold somewhere and a bank is a good place for that. Loans and such would be fun as well if the economy isn't as utterly broken as in any other RPG i have seen ( i haven't played all that many especially JRPG's so I can't vouch for them.) where the hero walks into town with a metric ton of loot which he/she then promptly sells the loot and makes any money they could ever need by repeating as necessary. Loansharks would be able to give you a some amount of cash quickly but with heavy interest and would send thugs after you ( free xp =)) and banks could give you large amounts of cash but in exchange of some sort of deposit. It would be fun to place containers in the gameworld, thus creating hidden stashes in the cities.

Yeah, the banks of Cyrodiil mod was one of my favorites in Oblivion, it is a much needed part of the game.

well I know I'm not going to follow this thread - so last words from me are that banks are not interesting plot devices for quests or roleplay - think on your own life - unless you own a bank how interesting is it really.

Barter system - now that could be interesting.

Otherwise you can have most things interesting in economy without banks:
Trade system
Barter
Loan sharks

I even think a non-centralized economy would be interesting. Coins worth much in this city aren't worth anything in another.

Makes more sense than carrying thousands of Septims are your body at all times. lol I like the idea.

What these 2 fine gentleman said.

Although I also kinda hate you now because I'll have to load up Daggerfall again!

Yes to banks! They were awesome in daggerfall. Also it would add diversity of the cities, so they would not feel so empty.

Also it would be good place to store your items too.

I like the idea of banks but it'd be pretty pointless if your coins didn't have weight. If Bethesda made the coins 0.1 lbs or something small like that, then banking would be a necessary system to have in the game. While it might frustrate some people, I'm very much in favour of the idea.

Eh, never really was interested in economic systems.

Although a bank or two would be good from a theif's point of view

No. I'd rather have less evidence of civilisation than more, and I have a hard time picturing a mighty hero striding out of the frozen wilds, sheathing his waraxe and throwing back his frost-rimed cloak of bear fur to place a sack of money on the counter before a weedy bespectacled clerk. "Excuse me, I'd like to make a deposit?"

Imagine that, in real life you'd feel demoralised if you did have to loot the dead to make a living.



Yeah, me too.

YEAH!

I should also be able to store actual items here, for a price, too. I shouldn't HAVE to pay back the loan, either. I would just get a bounty, if I didn't. Perhaps 1.5x the loan amount?

Would be pretty intresting to see them back

It would definitely add a new dynamic to the game. They should give out loans depending on your fame or whether a guild can vouch for you. Have different autonomous banks so if you keep putting your money into one sole bank the town it's in gets more affluent and shops offer better gear. Rob the bank and the town goes downhill.

Under the Roman Empire each legion had a bank for their use. Half of their pay was automatically deposited into their retirement fund, the other half was paid directly to them. This was done for a couple reasons: It made war cheaper to get started since you were starting out paying people half, and if you lose they'll be too dead to collect. If you win you'll have enough spoils to pay for the war, and then some. The other reason was that having half the soldier's money kept from him prevented a lot of desertion, as they would lose all that if they bolted.

I don`t imagine Skyrim as a place with banks...
so, boo NO!!! :thumbsdown:

I love the idea of having banks and loans. It would create a whole new dynamic at the very beginning of the game if you could have the choice of being poor, and having to work your way up slowly by earning your own money, or get a quick gold injection via a loan, but remain heavily indebted to other individuals. It would also be cool if loansharks would be willing to have you do their dirty work for them as a form of repayment.

Although I've never played MW I rather like the idea, and also it fits in with the lore. Read the section titled "economy": http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Skyrim

For those of you too lazy to click the link here's a snippet:

"There are also influences from Morrowind, such as in the city of Winterhold, Solitude's rival, since refugees from Morrowind escape there, bringing new ideas, cultures, and stimulating the economy."

Even without MW's influence the Nords aren't stupid, and they are described as traders so I'd think they'd have some form of banks or moneylenders. Also the option to rob a bank would be most welcome. Maybe even some caravans like in Fallout! It'd be nice to have at least some sense of an economy.

What do you mean you don't imagine Skyrim as a place with banks?

Alaska has banks for crying out loud!