"I can see you're a man of refined taste and a skilled haggler! My kids will only eat rice tonight, but it's yours for 105 rupees." -- Textile Merchant from Hitman
Defaults: IQ-5, Finance-6, or Market Analysis-4
Merchant (IQ/Average) is the skill of buying, selling, and trading retail and wholesale goods. It involves bargaining, salesmanship, and an understanding of trade practices. Merchant covers all types of merchandise, but can have an optional specialty.[1]
Uses[]
Merchant is the go-to skill for appraising an item--and of course, haggling. For appraisal, use the better of Merchant or an appropriate Connoisseur skill to tell the approximate value of the item.[2]
For haggling, use a Quick Contest between the buyer's and sellers' Merchant skills, the winner adding or subtracting 10% from the "standard" value of the item.
Big Haggling[]
In Dungeon Fantasy adventures, haggling should be a lot more "wobbly", allowing clever characters to haggle prices up or down at 30-40%. Note that merchants will also have the Merchant skill, and an adventuring party or character might develop a bad reputation for always driving a hard bargain.[3]
Defaults from Merchant[]
If you're using Merchant in a fantasy setting, it should be enough. In a more complex or white-collar setting, these defaults may come in handy.
- Accounting at Merchant-5
- Administration at Merchant-3
- Economics at Merchant-6
- Finance at Merchant-6
- Market Analysis at Merchant-4
- Propaganda at Merchant-5
Equipment[]
- To be added!
Modifiers[]
- -3 from Gullibility
- -3 for Low Empathy
- -1 t o-4 for Shyness
- -3 for illegal goods, unless you have Streetwise at 12+ or specialize in such goods
- -2 in an unfamiliar area (optional)
- -2 for Cultural Familiarity (optional)