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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mlund" data-source="post: 4220643" data-attributes="member: 50304">Don't underestimate Banditry either.A "points of Light" setting just means that islands of civilization tend to be isolated. That doesn't mean that the dark places on the map are inhabited only by monsters. Uncivilized humanoid groups such as barbaric tribesmen or fugitive bandits often control the dark areas along trade routes.The idea that bandits and barbarians are natural enemies of merchant caravans is only a half-truth. While these groups can pose a threat to travelers, they stand to obtain much greater profit through reaching an accord with merchants. Bandits regularly exact "protection money" from merchants that patronize "their" territory. Even xenophobic tribal groups welcome the outsider who trades goods they can not produce themselves. Making these sorts of arrangements can be quite profitable for a merchant and the uncivilized people. Making them exclusive also provides market security that neither rampant pillaging nor complete peace provides. Potential rivals find themselves ruined by the original merchant's uncivilized trading partners in short order, while the merchant returns regularly to let the uncivilized reap the benefits of civilization.The Traveling Merchant in a Points of Light world is not some fat, helpless fop that needs to be rescued every fifteen seconds by the heroes. To the contrary, he is often the hub of trade on the borderlands and one of the most influential people in the region. A truly unscrupulous merchant might very well turn out to be your Heroic campaign's most memorable villain.- Marty Lund</blockquote>

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