Planetary Atlas

Just got the Mercury and Moon Atlases at my door today. I backed the original Mars Atlas kickstarter, and when I heard they were expanding to the moon and beyond, it was a no-brainer. So what follows are just some pretty pictures.

The Merchant Class

Go to the Delvers and Denizens Index

This is presented as a non-adventuring class; what that means is the character has no fighting ability more than a normal man and is generally treated as an npc class, though the standard multiclassing rules apply and a PC could choose to spend time advancing in this class. My sources of inspiration come from gaz 11, Dragon #62 Magic for Merchants on pg 56-60, Dragon 136 Taking Care of Business on pg 22-26 and the trader subclass from Darksun. This is a completely mundane non-spellcasting class, any spells I liked have been converted into class abilities. The class follows my format of base class with advanced specializations (Banker, Dealer, Smuggler, Merchant Prince) once name level is reached in the vein of the Companion Set.

The Merchant

Becoming a Merchant - the character must convince a of name level to take the character as an apprentice. This may involve becoming a member of a Merchant Guild; most guilds require a character to be sponsored by a current guild member and the payment of guild dues of 1,000 sp per year but may charge as high as 2,000 sp per year.  A merchant character must still undergo training as normal between levels(1-6 months).

Fighting Ability - as normal man; 1d6 HD(no more than the normal man); no weapon training

Prime Requisite - Charisma (5% XP bonus if 13-15, 10% if 16+; 10% penalty if 8-6, 20% if 5-3)

Secondary Requisite - Wisdom (3% XP bonus if 13-15, 5% if 16+; 5% penalty if 8-6, 10% if 5-3)

Tertiary Requisite - Intelligence (1% XP bonus if 13-15, 3% if 16+; 3% penalty if 8-6, 5% if 5-3)

XP - 1 point of experience is gained for every Silver Piece earned as profit (based on the silver standard, if using the gold standard, 1xp=1gp).

Languages - Trade Common

Level    XP            Appraisal        Haggle

1        0                   1d100 x2           -                

2        5000             1d100                -       

3        10,000          1d100 -5            -           

4        20,000          1d100 -10        +1

5        40,000          1d100 -15        +1

6        80,000          1d100 -20        +1

7        150,000        1d100 -25        +1

8        300,000        1d100 -30        +2

9        750,000        1d100 -35        +2

10      1,500,000     1d100 -40        +2

11      3,000,000     1d100 -45        +2

12      6,000,000     1d100 -50        +3

Appraisal - This ability can be used to quickly estimate the value of a pile of coins, a single item, or the contents of a container. When appraising an item % dice are rolled, and the final value (including any bonuses or penalties) gives a range of what the merchant believes the value of the item to be. If the merchant specializes in the class of item to be appraised they gain a -20 bonus. The DM may also apply bonuses or penalties as the situation requires. If the appraisal total is less than 50% then the presence of any enchantments will be discernible, but not their effects.

        For example, Billarsh the 6th level merchant is trying to determine the value of an ornate vase an adventurer is trying to sell him. he rolls % and gets a 81, add his level bonus(-20) and a small penalty applied by the dm for the dirty condition of the vase(+5) and he gets a total of 67%. The vase DM has determined the value of the vase at 35 sp, so Billarsh knows the vase is worth between  23 and 59 sp. Billarsh wants to buy the vase at a low value and sell it at a high value, so he offers the adventures 15 sp and after haggling they agree on 20; he later is able to sell it to a gullible noble for 50 sp, so he earns 30 sp in profit form that transaction and thus 30 xp.

Alarm - A merchant has the ability to set an alarm over a specified area (a door, a camp, a wagon) that will alert him of the presence of any creature by creating a loud noise. This requires the use of assorted objects necessary for the rigging of the alarm ( a bell, string, buckets, etc). Upon reaching 4th level a merchant can rig the alarm to be a repeating and not disabled after the first activation(a bell over a shop door).

Haggle - anyone can attempt to haggle, but merchants are trained in this art. Haggling is done using the standard reaction chart rolling a 2d6. There are 3 phases, the approach, the offer, and the counteroffer. The approach determines the attitude of each character toward each other and the result of any subsequent dealings, this may be determined by the DM or rolled for, and also may be modified by the initial price set for an item(if above or below appraisal value). Once an initial price is set, the PC makes an offer and may add any bonuses due to level or CHA to a 2d6 roll, the other party either accepts or refuses the offer. If they continue negotiating the PC must makes another counteroffer and roll again. this is the last roll which determines refusal, acceptance, or if the merchant settles for a price in the middle.

Approach                    Offer                                            Counter

2          Hostile, refuse to negotiate

3-5      Unfriendly        2-8    Refuse to negotiate

                                     9-12  Continue Negotiations    2-5    Refuse to negotiate

                                                                                      6-8    Settle

                                                                                      9-12  Accept offer

6-8      Indifferent        2-5    Refuse to negotiate

                                    6-8    Continue Negotiations    2-5    Refuse to negotiate

                                                                                      6-8    Settle

                                                                                      9-12  Accept offer

                                    9-12  Accept offer

9-11    Receptive        2-5    Continue Negotiations     2-5    Refuse to negotiate

                                                                                      6-8    Settle

                                                                                      9-12  Accept offer

                                   6-12  Accept offer

12       Friendly, accept offer