Intrepid Merchant

Basic Information

The Intrepid Merchant is a character who will travel the world in search for profit. He doesn't go looking for hidden treasures, but all sorts of trade goods which he can buy, sell, and barter for.

Sources

Bibliography

1. TV Tropes Wiki entry

Game and Story Use

• A full-fledged merchant campaign can be an interesting variation - it gives the PCs a good excuse to visit one Adventure Town after another while still providing for an overarching plot. Throw in a wilderness adventure for variation, and such a campaign need never get boring.
  • This works especially well in science fiction campaigns where the player characters can take their own dwelling - their spaceship - with them.
    • This is the default assumption of the Traveller RPG.
  • Don't forget the opportunities and dangers of smuggling, if the PCs are desperate enough.
• If only one member of the party is a merchant, he will come up with some sort of justification why the other PCs are willing to wait for him making his deals and transporting his trade goods.
  • Perhaps he owns the vehicle the party is traveling in.
  • Perhaps he only trades in small, expensive, and easily transportable trade goods, such as gems or spices.
  • Perhaps he has some sort of magic item (or technological equivalent) which shrinks the trade goods, puts them into an extradimensional space, or something similar.