Books about trading/merchant activities?

[Silveras]

Anyone know of d20 books about trading/merchant activities? Or should I write my own?

joe b.

Also, Fantasy Flight Games has a Dragonstar supplement "Smuggler's Run" scheduled for imminent release (according to their web site). It is supposed to contain the rules for running a free trader in the Dragonstar (d20) universe.

FFG is very good about making their rules content just about all OGC. It should not be hard to adapt that to a more pure-Fantasy setting.

 

[diaglo]

you could try and convert the 2ed stuff:

9358 Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog

or 9459 Caravans

 

[Limper]

Dude write your own. Your last work rocked and I trust you can do it again... then I can purchase your quality research.

 

[Arnwyn]

Anyone know of d20 books about trading/merchant activities? Or should I write my own?

Gah! Someone has brought up one of my pet peeves again! It has been almost 30 years of D&D, and there has yet to be a good comprehensive trading/merchant book available (that's PC-centric, and useable for gameplay).

As you can tell from the responses above - no, there is no d20 trading/merchant book, but there has been some scattering of info (Mongoose's Seas of Blood has made the most valiant attempt so far at a useable trading system that can be used by PCs during gameplay). It's still not very detailed, though.

It would be nice to have a fairly detailed, comprehensive (yet modular) trading/merchant system that can be used by PCs during gameplay. It should also cover the entire gamut of what PC adventurers would likely do when trading, including:

- rules for PC privateers/pirates/those who own a ship and are travelling from one adventure location to another, and want to carry cargo with them for trade (since they're travelling anyways). What should they buy? For what cost? How much is available? What premium do they get if they're buying an "export" for shipment? How much cargo space/weight does it take? How much can they sell it for at the destination? What premium do they get if it's an "import"?

- rules for caravans: setting one up (see ships, above), travel costs, etc. Also useful for when the PCs are hired as caravan guards, and everyone gets wiped out except them. Now they have this caravan laden with good that they can sell.

- rules for PCs owning inns and taverns. Building costs? If x features are added in x location (add baths in the city's "Noble Ward", or darkened booths in the Dock Ward), what's the additional income? How much does the hired help cost? Supply costs? Etc.

Now, I'm not necessarily saying that this type of a book may sell (sadly, more D&D players seem to be interested in a D&D sex book ), but it's something I would pay a rather large sum to have.

 

[Silveras]

Gah! Someone has brought up one of my pet peeves again! It has been almost 30 years of D&D, and there has yet to be a good comprehensive trading/merchant book available (that's PC-centric, and useable for gameplay).

-- Snip --

It would be nice to have a fairly detailed, comprehensive (yet modular) trading/merchant system that can be used by PCs during gameplay. It should also cover the entire gamut of what PC adventurers would likely do when trading, including:

- rules for PC privateers/pirates/ -- snip --
- rules for caravans -- snip --
- rules for PCs owning inns and taverns. -- snip --

Now, I'm not necessarily saying that this type of a book may sell (sadly, more D&D players seem to be interested in a D&D sex book ), but it's something I would pay a rather large sum to have.

Ok, I have to point out something. It won't sell enough to justify the costs of putting it together. Why ? Because adventurers are people who don't have steady jobs (merchants, innkeepers, etc.). You can make being a merchant (or innkeeper, or whatever) a part of the hook that gets the PC into the adventure, but, by-and-large, the two are almost completely incompatible.

A PC-centric system will appeal to a few, but only to a few.

DM Perspective:
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As a DM & worldbuilder, sure, I'd love to see a detailed system. I'd also love to see an abstract system that comes down to a couple of dice rolls, too, because the level of detail requried for a "PC-centric" system is too much to manage as a DM for (potentially) dozens of NPCs.

Look to Birthright for some guidance here. People (myself included) have long wanted realm-management rules for PCs. But, when you add them at that levelof detail , it can quickly become a second spin-off game (I played in and ran a few Birthright play-by-e-mail games) that requires just as much prep work (or more) as a regular rpg session. A quick-resolution abstract system is needed to put this kind of thing "back in the background" for people who do not want to get that involved in it.

Player perspective:
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I am currently playing in a Dragonstar campaign where we are "free traders". The Trade rules in use are the DM's own house rules. We spend very little time on the trade matters; just enough to make ends meet, really. Why ? Because being a merchant is (mostly) dull and predictable grunt work, with a lot of worry over how we're going to afford to re-charge our starcaster (or, to rephrase for a more fantasy setting, if we can afford a new wagon after this trip).

 

[goodmangames]

- rules for PCs owning inns and taverns. Building costs? If x features are added in x location (add baths in the city's "Noble Ward", or darkened booths in the Dock Ward), what's the additional income? How much does the hired help cost? Supply costs? Etc.

There were some great articles on this in Christian Walker's d20 zine Scrollworks/Iron Rations, if I recall correctly. I forget the exact issue, but http://www.christianjwalker.com/ probably has the info.