A merchant prince doesn't follow the rules in the DMG.
Why shouldn't he?
A merchant prince doesn't follow the rules in the DMG.
Because, like I stated in my last post, he is an NPC who's fortunes rise and fall based on the DM's whim. The rules in the DMG are a guideline for PCs to run a side business in addition to adventuring. Those rules can be extrapolated for a PC to become a merchant prince, but I don't think any player would be ok with their fortunes coming down to a few dice rolls. At that point were talking about a major sub-module. The Merchants & Masters add-on may be a great ad-on for your campaign, but it's not what the rules in the DMG are there for.Why shouldn't he?
I do wonder, though, about the flat cost of "owning" a shop. A merchant prince can't possibly actually be making money, every store they own costs them additional money and doesn't bring in more revenue.
So why can't the PCs do the same?In fairness, on DMG pg 127 under Businesses, it specifically calls out that these are rules for an "adventurer-owned business".
Still, it could work if you simply allow the merchant prince to hire a manager for each store he opens. These managers handle the actual day-to-day running of each shop while sharing the profits with the merchant prince. With enough shops, that merchant prince could easily rake in the gp.
So why can't the PCs do the same?
Boring answer: the vast majority of medieval farmers didn't make much, if any, money; it wasn't really a cash economy for them. They hoped to produce enough food to feed themselves and, if they were lucky, have a bit left over to sell. This doesn't explain why innkeepers or shopkeepers - or any town-based tradespeople - wouldn't make money, though.
As stated, the rules for making money are for PCs only. So, according to the RAW, NPCs can never make money by owning land, a business, or whatever.
Not that this is an actual complaint, mind you. As a home brewer from way back, I'm well aware of how easy it is to miss something simple like this. My real question is, did they leave out a line somewhere due to space limitations, or did they just not notice? (Or not care.)
Also, as others have pointed out, its something that the GM can 'fix' at his/her convenience, should the matter come up.
Not that this is an actual complaint, mind you. As a home brewer from way back, I'm well aware of how easy it is to miss something simple like this. My real question is, did they leave out a line somewhere due to space limitations, or did they just not notice? (Or not care.)