Building a town to serve adventurers

[Quasqueton]

Say a new dungeon is discovered several days travel west of the city. Adventurers start going out to the locale, exploring, then bringing their treasure back to the city. Some interprising NPC thinks, "If I could set up a store stocked with standard equipment closer to the dungeon, I could save the adventurers a lot of travel time, and I would be the first to get some of that gold their finding."

So the NPC decides to load up on the proper goods and goes west -- not too close to that dungeon, but close enough to serve the adventurers, and get first opportunity to make some gold.

My questions:

Who would do this? Surely he wouldn't be a 1st-level commoner. Might a retired adventurer undertake this opportunity?

How much would he need to take? Wagon train, or just a couple wagons?

How many people would come with? A single merchant with a couple guards? Or a dozen merchants all invested? Would families come?

What would be the first businesses set up? General store type thing? Tavern? Inn?

How quickly could this be set up on sight?

How soon before this spot becomes a full-fledged village (couple hundred people)?

The merchants might set up a magic broker who could "take orders" for a couple potions of cure light wounds, or a +1 sword, or a wand of fireballs and get them from the larger city for the adventurers. Heck, one order at a 5% profit (worked out with the producer, so as to cost the adventurers only the standard book price) could make the broker 100gp for that sword.

In general, what kind of people (NPCs) would start, come, support, and keep a village like this? How long would it take to become a boom town?

I know there are Real-World analogies (American wester frontier towns), but the D&D economy and people do not work like Real-World economies and people. How would all this work in D&D?

Quasqueton

 

[Hand of Evil]

Trading Post
House of pleasure
Tavern (burns down at least once a week)
Bandits everwhere

Think wild west and gold rushes, even coal mines and company stores. Demand for items (healing potions) would be extremly high. The roads from the ruins to the city would have a number of bandits, it is easier for some to do the hard work and then take from them. Note bandits may be working with trading post.

 

[diaglo]

a couple of adventures come to mind reading the title to this thread.

The Haunted Halls of Eveningstar

and i can't remember the other one.. but it had a wayside Inn with a gnome proprietor.... somewhere on the High Road... also in the FR. around 1989 or so....

 

[jmucchiello]

First of all, is this world known for multi-level, deep dungeons? If it isn't, how does he know there aren't just three rooms and a statue in this great new dungeon?

Second, by the rules, if he goes by himself, he'll found a thorpe and he won't be able to sell anything that costs more than 20 gp.

Third, he has to bring people with him.
* An inn is a must, so is a tavern but they can be the same place.
* A smithy, for weapon repair would be useful but his town won't be large enough to keep a smith busy enough to live there. Will the merchant subsidize the smith to attract him to the town?

Fourth, is there a reason there isn't already a town nearby? Perhaps there's a small farming village he can convince the town elders to expand?

 

[Hand of Evil]

I am going to put on my RAT BASTARD DM hat and also say a claims office/tax office. Any city/country/nation will want a share of that pie and so will the wizard guild and church (don't want any evil being released).

Things I see being issued:
Permit of Adventure
Permit of Use of Combat Magic
Acknowledgment of Risk

See gives that forger something to do!

 

[mmadsen]

Say a new dungeon is discovered several days travel west of the city. Adventurers start going out to the locale, exploring, then bringing their treasure back to the city. Some interprising NPC thinks, "If I could set up a store stocked with standard equipment closer to the dungeon, I could save the adventurers a lot of travel time, and I would be the first to get some of that gold their finding."

Unless there's some reason to think that the dungeon will provide a steady stream of gold (like a mine), I don't see how or why a boom town would grow. If there's an enemy with loot in a fortified position (i.e., a dungeon), then a quasi-military force might set up a base camp, wipe out the enemy, then spend the loot -- all in the course of a few weeks.