Thief Kit: Merchant
Description
The Merchant's role is as old as civilization
itself: to make money. Be it through legitimate or shady
dealings, high-risk adventuring or high-stress marketplace
haggling, the Merchant strives to make money and use that money
to make more money, all the while managing a lifestyle
proportional to the profits. Since Merchants make a living
dealing with people and working out profitable deals on the
spot, a PC must have a minimum of a 13 Charisma and a 13
Intelligence in addition to the normal thief requirements.
The character of Silk in David Eddings' The Mallorean is
an excellent example of a thief Merchant.
Role
The Merchant is an unusual type of thief (or a very common
one, depending on whom you ask) in the sense that the
Merchant has an income from a legitimate source (trading,
shipping, etc.). A thief Merchant will have either started
out as a thief, eventually building up enough capital to enter
the commercial arena, or he robs for fun, not out of necessity,
much like the stereotypical upper-class thief. The Merchant is
at least a member of the lower middle class, and commands at
least some respect. The ceiling to the stature a Merchant
can eventually attain is virtually limitless -- more money
equals more status. The only bar to prestige at the uppermost
levels is lack of a noble title, but even this can sometimes be
acquired with enough money. A Merchant is rarely neutral to the
local thieves' guild. He either exploits it, using his money
and influence to rise quickly to power within its ranks, or he
is vehemently opposed to it, since the presence of thieves eats
into his profits. The former case is rare, since few Merchants
who boast the capital to accomplish guild rulership are willing
to risk that money by involving themselves in the criminal
underworld.
Legal Penalties
The Merchant is served and protected by the
law, since he and those of his profession are essential to the
economic health of any nation. For those Merchants that
choose to involve themselves in shady dealings or even
directly with the criminal element, the law is a double- edged
sword: it both threatens the guilty Merchant, but protects
his legitimate interests from the depredations of other
thieves.
Secondary Skills
The PC Merchant may choose from Trader/Barterer, Scribe, and Navigator
Weapon Proficiencies
Merchants may learn any weapon available to
the thief class, but most prefer lighter weapons that may be
worn openly, usually weapons from the Fencing Blades tight group
(rapier, sabre, main-gauche, dagger, stiletto).
Nonweapon Proficiencies
The Merchant receives the Appraising and
Reading/Writing proficiencies for free. The Reading/Writing
is for the trade language used most commonly around the
Merchant's native area (usually Common, but not always).
Recommended proficiencies include: Etiquette, Fast-Talking,
Forgery, Gaming, Gem Cutting, Local History, Modern Languages,
Reading/Writing. Merchants may purchase Reading/Writing
proficiencies for one slot instead of two.
Skill Progression
Merchants don't rely as heavily on their
thieving skills as other thieves do. When they do develop their
skills, however, Merchants tend to work on the less overt
skills: Read Languages, Pick Pockets, and Open Locks.
Other, full-body skills like Climb Walls tend to be of
little use to most Merchants, but PC's rarely fit the norm.
Equipment
Merchants cannot conduct business successfully if
they look slovenly or poor in appearance. Therefore, a
Merchant will always pay more for clothing and personal
items, including any weapons which they wear openly (rapiers,
etc.). This increase is usually about 50% more than normal
price, and it reflects the extra ornamentation that puts the
Merchant closer to the height of fashion than other, less
cultured thieves. Equipment not used in the normal course
of business, however (like armor and other adventuring
equipment) can be of as great a quality as the Merchant
desires, since it doesn't reflect on him publicly.
Special Benefits
A Merchant must have wares to sell. A PC
Merchant begins play with 1d6 units of cargo, relevant to the
PC's area of business (wines, fabrics, weapons, etc.). each
unit takes up one ton of space on a ship (for the purposes
of spelljamming), but can be smaller or larger, depending on
the actual nature of the cargo. Every time the Merchant
arrives in a new port or city, he may trade with his cargo,
gaining 1d10gp for each unit of cargo he owns. Also, the
Merchant may trade in the same city once per week (doing so
more often would glut the market). Each unit is worth about
50gp, and the Merchant may add to his total at any city that
is capable of supplying the required goods. Conversely, the
Merchant may sell off one unit each week for 1d10+50gp. If
the Merchant needs to rapidly liquidate cargo, he may sell
any number of units for 1d6x10gp per unit. Finally, a
Merchant's constant exposure to foreign cultures in the form
of other merchants makes him by nature more cosmopolitan, giving
him a +10% bonus to his Read Languages skill.
Special Hindrances
While Merchants and their activities are
essential to any nation's economy, the general populace often
sees them as greedy bloodsuckers, and tends to distrust them.
This manifests itself as a -2 penalty to reaction rolls when
dealing with commoners. Merchants do not usually learn
Thieves' Cant, but may spend a proficiency slot to do so at first
level only.
Races
Humans usually make the best Merchants, since they are
most likely to satisfy their profit motive by engaging in
mercantile activities. However, all races field Merchants of
some type, and racial stereotypes tend to break down in the
cosmopolitan atmosphere of the marketplace. Any race that can
be a thief can be a Merchant with no penalties.
Notes
Merchants have different followers than other thieves.
Instead of attracting a band of cutthroats and fences, the
Merchant's followers are usually of a higher class. They all
know etiquette and how to read and write, and all have some
mercantile ability of their own. When the Merchant gains
these followers, he may dispatch them to open and operate an
office in city other than the Merchant's base of operations.
This requires a start-up cost of 1000gp for one office, but
within six months, the follower will start making a profit for
the Merchant, usually to the tune of 1d12x100gp per quarter
(every three months). This profit assumes the follower has
already taken his share from the money. Also, having a office
in a city gives the Merchant some influence there, and the
follower can often get the Merchant information he would not
otherwise be privy to.