The Merchant Campaign
"The Carpet Merchant" - Jean-Leon Gerome
Merchants are common characters in RPGs. We need folks who have just the right item, for (slightly more than) just the right price. From barkeepers and armorers to alchemists and enchanters, merchants are vital.
But when a player says, "Can I be a merchant?" we might be tempted to stutter through an explanation of "Well that's... uh.. a neat idea, but... economics." Shame on us.
For some odd reason we have this idea that adventurers should be poor and desperate, and it's not "balanced" to allow them to be trading large amounts of wealth and goods. If they had all that money, they could just buy whatever they wanted!
True, but is that bad? They can afford Masterwork Weapons, Armors that are just as much works of art as they are impenetrable shells, potions by the bucket, and—through a very generous donation—may even gain access to the miracles of the temples! These are powerful people!
But with all that wealth comes a plethora of trouble. And it isn't gained without hard work, cunning, and patience.
Personally, I think it makes for a very interesting campaign.
Trade Goods
A Trade Good can be any item purchasable in large quantities. When purchasing trade goods, a minimum of 3 slots worth of the good must be purchased, otherwise you can stop wasting the Merchant's time and visit a shop. A single unit of a trade good has only 1 important number.
Standard Cost: How many GP does a Slot of this Trade Good cost, on average?
Sample Trade Goods
- Food, 10 GP, Smoked meats, sealed cheeses, seasonal fruits, wines, etc.
- Ore, 25 GP, Iron for the smelters.
- Herbs, 50 GP, A variety of potent plants a skilled alchemist would find incredibly useful.
- Tools, 50 GP, Sturdy crafters' tools for a variety of intricate jobs.
- Spice, 100 GP, Cinnamon, Saffron, and a Multitude of other Wondrous Flavors
- Luxuries, 200 GP, Beautiful Clothes, Fine Jewelry, etc.
The Market
Each major city has a "Market" where Trade Goods are bought and sold. For each trade good in your game, set its "Value" from 50% to 150%. You could use a table something like this:
Roll 2d6:
- 2-3, Very Low, 50%
- 4-5, Low, 75%
- 6-8, Normal, 100%
- 9-10, High, 125%
- 11-12, Very High, 150%
Market Movements:
Whenever the party enters a town, you may choose a random Trade Good and roll a d6. On a 1, it decreases in value 1 step. On a 6, it increases in value 1 step.
In addition, if a merchant sells a large quantity of goods at a city's market, adjust the price down 1 step for 1d6 weeks. If they purchase a large quantity of goods, increase the price 1 step for 1d6 weeks.
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Just that would be enough to run a merchant campaign. Roll up some markets, and watch as your players start purchasing elephants and donkeys, loading them up with Saffron, and marching them 3 weeks on the open road in order to make a killing.
But let's not make it too easy.
Bandits: More than just high-way robbers, individuals hauling massive amounts of Trade Goods should expect full bandit raids and prepare accordingly.
Of course, there's more than one way to deal with bandits, and a cunning merchant might just decide to bribe them to leave their own assets alone, and attack those of a rival.
Rivals: Speaking of Rivals, other merchants just might start to feel threatened by a Merchant Party and might start taking hostile actions, such as "selling cheap" when the party comes to town, in order to lower the prices, or "buying up" to increase the cost of a particular good when the party thought they could get it for cheap.
Like bandits, there's no limit to how the party can deal with rivals. I'm sure a thriving band of adventurers can think of several appropriate solutions.
Monstrosities: Often, adventurers are hired by merchants to drive off whatever nightmare has been attacking roads like the one between Westhamshire and Blockwood. What will your party do when they ARE the merchants, and their prize elephant has just been eaten by a Red Tyrant, and there are 3 tons of cinnamon just lying on the side of the road?
Banking: Will your party carry all their massive wealth with them? Or will they put it in safer, but less lucrative, banks? What then if the bank is robbed while they were away?
Payment: How will the party manage their money? If one player is the merchant, do they have a contract with the others as "Bodyguards"?
Piracy: If the party wants to be "Pirates", how will they off load their stolen goods? What arm of the law will come after them?
Taxes: What if certain cities had a higher tax rate on transactions than others? Might the party attempt to smuggle the goods in? Or could they lead a revolution against the town's leaders to drop the high taxes?
Limitation: All the money in the world won't buy you an elephant if there are no elephants to be bought.
Luxury: When the party is decked out in fine armor and bejeweled swords, what is there left to buy? Will they build a fortress? Commission a temple? Raise an army of mercenaries to wage war upon the Wight Queen and her Hoard of Undead Giants? Money may be the immediate goal, but at the end of the day it is a means to an end. What ends await the fabulously wealthy of our campaign worlds?
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As you can see, a merchant campaign is full of interesting ideas and is—I think—a relatively easy idea to implement.
If a party thinks it would be fun, you might introduce an NPC to explain the "rules of the market" to them in character.
If you're interested in playing a character dedicated to being a merchant, here's a GLoG class from Skerples that seems quite good: The Merchant.
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If you would like these rules in a one-page print out, grab it here.
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