While in a settlement, player characters will often need to replenish their items and upgrade their equipment, which means that they will need to visit merchants. The following section will outline how to create merchants to add to the game world that players can buy goods and services from, including extensive guides for generating new ones at the appropriate tier for the players. GMs are not obligated to follow any of the guidelines here, but making bespoke item arrays for each storekeeper can be very time-consuming, and so it is recommended that they make extensive use of the framework in this section as they create their worlds.
It is advised that the GM not create merchants totally on the fly, but rather do so during preparation for their game. In addition to merchants they place in particular settlements, they can also create a few merchants to have in their back pocket in case players go looking in unexpected places or encounter one on the road. When generating a new merchant with the rules in this section, GMs need to choose their theme, which is the type of vendor they are, and their rating, which is a number from 1-6 that determines how rare their goods are. They should then consult the merchant themes listed in this section and the rules for item generation in the Battle Items section to determine which items the merchant sells. If they would like to add more variety, they may also add a few other items to the merchant’s inventory to create a stronger sense of differentiation in addition to giving players the opportunity to buy items they will need on their quest. In general, merchants ought to stock items that players can afford, although it can often be interesting to deliberately include a few items that players cannot afford yet as a way to pique their interest. In gameplay terms, merchants of rating 1-2 are balanced for characters of tier 1-4, merchants of rating 3-4 are balanced for characters of tier 5-7, and merchants of rating 5-6 are balanced for characters of tier 8-10.
GMs who are feeling intrepid can come up with their own themes, but by default there are six varieties of specialized merchant that players will encounter on their journey:
| Rating | Items |
|---|---|
| 1 | At least one Mundane piece of every type of armor and weapon, 1d4 Mundane pieces of upgraded equipment, 1d4 accessories that are either Lucky or Mystical, 1d4 total Mundane Physical Damage items with varying upgrades if desired. |
| 2 | At least one Mundane piece of every type of armor and weapon, 1d6 Mundane pieces of upgraded equipment, 1d6 accessories that are either Lucky or Mystical, 1d6 total Mundane Physical Damage items if desired. |
| 3 | At least one Mundane piece and one Rare piece of every type of armor and weapon, 1d4 Mundane and 1d4 Rare pieces of upgraded equipment, 1d4 accessories that are either Lucky or Mystical and 1d4 Lucky or Mystical accessories with an upgrade, 2d4 total Rare Physical Damage items with varying upgrades if desired. |
| 4 | At least one Mundane piece and one Rare piece of every type of armor and weapon, 1d6 Rare pieces of upgraded equipment, 1d6 Lucky or Mystical accessories with an upgrade, 2d6 total Rare Physical Damage items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 Block Physical Damage items. |
| 5 | At least one Mundane, one Rare, and one Expert piece of every type of armor and weapon, 1d4 Rare and 1d4 Expert pieces of upgraded equipment, 1d4 Lucky or Mystical accessories with an upgrade and 1d4 unique accessories, 1d12 total Rare Physical Damage items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d6 Block Physical Damage items. |
| 6 | At least one Mundane, one Rare, and one Expert piece of every type of armor and weapon, 1d6 Expert pieces of upgraded equipment, 1d6 unique accessories, 1d12 total Rare Physical Damage items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d6 Block Physical Damage items. |
| Rating | Items |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1d4 varieties of Mundane Special Damage items, 1d4 Mundane Restore MP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 varieties of Mundane Buff items, 5 units of Fuel for the player’s vehicle if they have one, 1d4 varieties of Mundane Inflict Status items. |
| 2 | 1d6 varieties of Mundane Special Damage items, 1d6 Mundane and 1d4 Rare Restore MP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d6 varieties of Mundane Buff items, 10 units of Fuel for the player’s vehicle if they have one, 1d6 varieties of Mundane Inflict Status items. |
| 3 | 1d4 varieties of Mundane and 1d4 varieties of Rare Special Damage items, 1d8 Mundane, 1d6 Rare, and 1d4 Expert Restore MP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 varieties of Mundane and 1d4 varieties of Rare Buff items, 15 units of Fuel for the player’s vehicle if they have one, 1d4 varieties of Mundane and 1d4 varieties of Rare Inflict Status items. |
| 4 | 1d4 varieties of Mundane and 1d6 varieties of Rare Special Damage items, 1d10 Mundane, 1d8 Rare, and 1d6 Expert Restore MP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d6 varieties of Rare Buff items, 20 units of Fuel for the player’s vehicle if they have one, 1d4 varieties of Mundane and 1d6 varieties of Rare Inflict Status items. |
| 5 | 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d4 varieties of Expert Special Damage items, 1d12 Mundane, 1d10 Rare, and 1d8 Expert Restore MP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d4 varieties of Expert Buff items, 25 units of Fuel for the player’s vehicle if they have one, 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d4 varieties of Expert Inflict Status items. |
| 6 | 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d6 varieties of Expert Special Damage items, 1d20 Mundane, 1d12 Rare, and 1d10 Expert Restore MP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d6 varieties of Expert Buff items, 30 units of Fuel for the player’s vehicle if they have one, 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d6 varieties of Expert Inflict Status items. |
| Rating | Items |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1d4 Mundane Restore HP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 Mundane Revive items with varying upgrades if desired, 5 Remove Debuffs items, 1d4 varieties of Remove Status items, 1d4 Poultices. |
| 2 | 1d6 Mundane and 1d4 Rare Restore HP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d6 Mundane Revive items with varying upgrades if desired, 10 Remove Debuffs items, 1d4 varieties of Remove Status items, 1d6 Poultices. |
| 3 | 1d8 Mundane, 1d6 Rare, and 1d4 Expert Restore HP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 Mundane and 1d4 Rare Revive items with varying upgrades if desired, 15 Remove Debuffs items, 1d6 varieties of Remove Status items, 2d4 Poultices. |
| 4 | 1d10 Mundane, 1d8 Rare, and 1d6 Expert Restore HP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 Mundane and 1d6 Rare Revive items with varying upgrades if desired, 20 Remove Debuffs items, 1d6 varieties of Remove Status items, 2d6 Poultices. |
| 5 | 1d12 Mundane, 1d10 Rare, and 1d8 Expert Restore HP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 Rare and 1d4 Expert Revive items with varying upgrades if desired, 25 Remove Debuffs items, 1d8 varieties of Remove Status items, 1d12 Poultices. |
| 6 | 1d20 Mundane, 1d12 Rare, and 1d10 Expert Restore HP items with varying upgrades if desired, 1d4 Rare and 1d6 Expert Revive items with varying upgrades if desired, 30 Remove Debuffs items, 1d8 varieties of Remove Status items, 2d12 Poultices. |
| Rating | Items |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1d4 Scan items, all varieties of Mundane Cloak, Mundane Bags. |
| 2 | 1d6 Scan items, all varieties of Mundane Cloak, Mundane Bags. |
| 3 | 2d4 Scan items, all varieties of Mundane and Rare Cloak, Mundane and Rare Bags. |
| 4 | 2d6 Scan items, 1d4 Slow items, all varieties of Mundane and Rare Cloak, Mundane and Rare Bags. |
| 5 | 1d12 Scan items, 1d6 Slow items, all varieties of Mundane, Rare, and Expert Cloak, Mundane, Rare, and Expert Bags, 1d4 Negate Resistances items. |
| 6 | 2d12 Scan items, 1d8 Slow items, all varieties of Mundane, Rare, and Expert Cloak, Mundane, Rare, and Expert Bags, 1d6 Negate Resistances items. |
| Rating | Items |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1d4 Mundane Magical Damage items, 1d4 varieties of Mundane Elemental Damage items, 1d4 Mundane varieties of Debuff items. |
| 2 | 1d6 Mundane Magical Damage items, 1d6 varieties of Mundane Elemental Damage items, 1d6 Mundane varieties of Debuff items. |
| 3 | 1d4 Mundane and 1d4 Rare Magical Damage items, 1d4 varieties of Mundane and 1d4 varieties of Rare Elemental Damage Items, 1d4 varieties of Mundane and 1d4 varieties of Rare Debuff items. |
| 4 | 1d6 Rare Magical Damage items, 1d6 varieties of Rare Elemental Damage items, 1d4 varieties of Mundane and 1d6 varieties of Rare Debuff items, 1d4 Haste items. |
| 5 | 1d4 Rare and 1d4 Expert Magical Damage items, 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d4 varieties of Expert Elemental Damage items, 1d4 Block Magical Damage items, 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d4 varieties of Expert Debuff items, 1d6 Haste items. |
| 6 | 1d4 Rare and 1d6 Expert Magical Damage items, 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d6 varieties of Expert Elemental Damage items, 1d6 Block Magical Damage items, 1d4 varieties of Rare and 1d6 varieties of Expert Debuff items, 1d8 Haste items. |
| Rating | Items |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5 Supplies, Mundane maps of local paths. |
| 2 | 10 Supplies, Mundane maps of local paths. |
| 3 | 15 Supplies, Rare and Mundane maps of local paths, 1d4 varieties of Scrolls. |
| 4 | 20 Supplies, Rare and Mundane maps of local paths, 1d4 varieties of Scrolls. |
| 5 | 25 Supplies, Expert, Rare, and Mundane maps of local paths, 1d4 Summon Creature items, 1d6 varieties of Scrolls, 1d4 Disable Attacks items. |
| 6 | 30 Supplies, Expert, Rare, and Mundane maps of local paths, 1d6 Summon Creature items, 1d6 varieties of Scrolls, 1d6 Disable Attacks items. |
The vast majority of merchants will have storefronts where there are potential customers. Most villages will have a blacksmith, an apothecary, and possibly a ranger, while most towns and all cities will have markets in addition to at least one of each type of merchant. To add flavor, GMs can create merchant themes that do not follow the typical types outlined above. Here are some suggestions:
Not every item needs to be sold by a specialist. In particular, Supplies and Fuel are usually sold in taverns and at any rest stations the players encounter on the road. Some towns and most cities and metropoli will also have a local market, where merchants can unload any goods they think the locals might buy. Markets have a broad variety of items whose availability is less restrictive than those sold by shopkeepers. To generate a marketplace, the GM can generate or create by hand 1d20 random items that might be available to players when they stop by. GMs can change the availability of items at the market if they want to create a more realistic and dynamic feel. Finding truly rare or unique items might even be the subject of an investigation roll, in which case the resulting questions the players can ask are replaced by a list of rare items they can buy in addition to the items that the GM already generated.
To generate a new merchant, the GM should walk through the following steps: