Troll Lord Games

TRADER

notes: The design of this class assumes a medieval-like setting where only the clergy or very well educated (i.e. Clerics and Wizards) would normally be literate -- CK may need to modify as needed for their setting.

Giving credit where credit is due, this is loosely based on a trader class found here somewhere: http://gnba.netdemons.com/books/olik/index.html

I had been thinking about designing a Trader/merchant class for a while but wasn't sure where to start, and this got me going.

I dunno.

Does this look like any fun to play? Thanks for any feedback.

TRADER {edited 9/20/08}

Prime Attribute: CHARISMA

Hit Dice d6, at 11th level onward +1 hit point

BtH: as Rogue

EPP: as Rogue

Alignment: any

Weapons: knife, dagger, club, mace, shortsword, scimitar, light crossbow.

Armor: Leather, padded, chainmail, small and medium shields

Abilities:

@ 1st level: Literate, Decipher Script (as rogue), Gift of Gab (additional languages), Appraisal, Lay of the Land, Know Your Customer.

@ 2nd level: can understand and use Theive's Cant

@ 4th level: Gift of Gab (additional language)

@ 5th level: Fast Talk

@ 7th level: Gift of Gab (additional language)

@ 9th level: Read & use scrolls (Arcane only), Read (only) Divine scrolls

@10th levl: Gift of Gab (additional language)

Literate: Traders are literate in all languages choosen at character creation, as well as the math skills for ledgers and other mathmatics used in business (but not engineering formulae, for example).

Decipher Script (INT): as Rogue -- for all languages in which they are not already literate. All Decipher Script checks at made at +2.

Gift of Gab: Traders automatically pick up spoken languages in their travels and become proficient in another language each time they aquire the Gift of Gab. The CK will determine if this makes the Trader literate in said languages. The CK may require a Trader to use two Gift of Gab abilities to learn to speak and write one language, or the CK may allow a +4 bonus to a Decipher Script check for a language the Trader speaks. Traders can not learn the Druid secret language with this ability.

Appraisal (WIS):A Trader can determine the value of any item they inspect or service they evaluate. At the CKs option, it may take 1d6 rounds to determine a true value for something, and the CK may assign a higher CL if the merchant is in a truely foreign land/plane/ or situation, or a lower CL if it's a type of merchandise the trader is familiar with.

Lay of the Land (WIS):A direction sense, once a merchant has been somewhere, they can navigate back there easily. After spending several days in a town or city, they will know their way around if they spend time exploring it (CK ruling and common sense must prevail), and will easily learn caravan routes or other paths between cities. A Trader will learn the Lay of the Land in a small town more quickly than a large city, e.g. 1d3 days in a small town or 2d4 days in a huge city. The CK may allow a Trader to quickly become familiar with small sub-sections of a city if they don't travel through the whole city or it's walled into sections.

Know your Customer (CHA):This is the ability to sell and haggle. Best role-played, but if desired, CK can allow the merchant to persude a customer to buy (even with a markup) with a successful CHA check (CL=target's level or HD + WIS mod). Know your Customer also allows a merchant to haggle prices down when buying anything. A sucessful CHA check allows the merchant to purchase things at 1d20 % less than the standard price (round down). Alternately, they can haggle extra services or perks instead of a lower price.

Theive's Cant: With their knack for languages, merchants pick up enough thieve's cant to understand it when it's being used in thier presence.

Fast Talk (CHA): This is the ability to "sell ice to an Eskemo" or otherwise attempt to confuse or manipulate a person through overwhelming chatter using half truths, confusing circular logic, and other equivocation. Besides selling or buying, a Trader can, for example, attempt to talk his way past a guard or even convince hostile characters or humanoids to make business with the trader rather than attack him. With a successful CHA check (CL=target's level or HD + WIS mod) the Trader can sway or persuade the target. CK may rule that the target can only be swayed so far without magical intervention.

Scrolls (INT):at 9th level, a Trader's knowlege of languages allows them to attempt to read and cast magic scrolls. They can read and identify both arcane and divine scrolls of spells up to spell level 6 (a useful skill for determining their value), and with an additional INT check with a CL of 11 + the Spell Level (i.e. 12 to 14), can attempt to cast arcane spells of up to level 3. They can never cast divine scrolls.

This could be interesting, particularly in a city style campaign.

Though I need to get the Flim Flam Man song outta my head now...
_________________
The obvious will always trip you up FAR more than the obscure.

Baron Grignak Hammerhand of the Pacifica Provinces-

High Warden of the Castles & Crusades Society

Looks pretty good. I like it.

Perhaps an adventuring party could use a class like this to sell all the stuff they collect but don't need when they return to towns and such.

And the trader would be interested in finding/collecting relics and other valuables in the dungeon.

_________________
Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Good class. I could see a campaign centered around a somewhat unscrupulous Trader and his bodyguard (the other PCs), plundering ancient tombs and trying to sell off the booty. Playing out the process of finding buyers for their ill-gotten treasure, bribing officials to look the other way, and dealing with Thieves' Guild (who will want their cut) would be as much fun as actually looting dungeons.

My suggestions:

-- At 1st level, weapon proficiencies should be: dagger, staff, shortsword, hand-axe, and light crossbow.

-- At 3rd level, I would give a special ability such as: "Make Business Not War". This would be an ability to convince hostile humanoids (and at higher levels any intelligent creature) to make business with the character rather than attack him. Something along : "Well dudes, if you kill me you will get the few things I've got, and that's it, that is, not much. However, if you are willling to part from these useless gold coins (mostly useless for orc primitives living in the wilderness), I will later bring you these shiny weapons you crave for..."

-- Traders probably cannot be of LG alignment...
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Well, if nothing else this will make a great classed NPC.
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Turanil wrote:
My suggestions:

-- At 1st level, weapon proficiencies should be: dagger, staff, shortsword, hand-axe, and light crossbow.

I was on the fence with this, why make this the only class that gains weapons later? I like this change, adding crossbow at 1st level, but will keep the one hand weapons.... probably: knife, dagger, club, mace, shortsword, scimitar, light crossbow. (This is off the top of my head without looking at a weapon table in the book) These are all pretty simple poking or clubbing weapons. (except scimitar. but I like scimitars so they're on the list ;p )

Turanil wrote:
-- At 3rd level, I would give a special ability such as: "Make Business Not War"...."

I like how you're thinking here, but I'd consider this to be part of the Fast talk at 5th level. This is where good flavor text comes in.

do you think that should start earlier? 3rd or 4th level?

Turanil wrote:
-- Traders probably cannot be of LG alignment...

Maybe. It's like GTA4. While you CAN steal cars and murder cops, you don't have to. It's all about choices. So I can totally buy (pun intended) a lawful Trader (especially if the kingdom is strict and fair about taxes).

How do you all like the scrolls ability?

Relaxo wrote:
I like how you're thinking here, but I'd consider this to be part of the Fast talk at 5th level. This is where good flavor text comes in.

do you think that should start earlier? 3rd or 4th level?

Well, a suggestion could be : begins at 3rd level, but working only against humanoids, then at 5th level includes any intelligent mortal creature, then at 7th level includes extraplanar beings, etc.
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Homebrews Wiki a list of campaign settings on the web.

Oh yeah, that's good.

I think I'd start it with humans and demi-humand though, and work outward/ more alien from there....

yummy... food for thought.

If anyone's curious: changes to Fast Talk, Know your Customer, a few other tweaks.

TRADER {Final edit 12/16/08}

Prime Attribute: Charisma

Hit Dice: d6, at 11th level onward +1 hit point

BtH: as Rogue

EPP: as Rogue

Alignment: any.

Weapons: knife, dagger, dirk, club, mace, short sword, scimitar, light crossbow.

Armor: Padded, Leather Coat, Leather Armor, Laminar Leather, Ring Mail, Studded Leather, Mail Shirt, Bronze Breastplate, Steel Breastplate: Small and Medium Shields.

Abilities: Literate, Decipher Script (as Rogue), Gift of Gab (additional languages at several levels), Appraisal, Lay of the Land, Know Your Customer, Thieves Cant, Fast Talk (improves as trader advances), Read and Use Magic Scrolls.

Literate: Traders are literate in all languages chosen at character creation, as well as the math skills for ledgers and other mathematics used in business (but not engineering formulae, for example).

Decipher Script (INT): as Rogue, for all languages in which they are not already literate. All Decipher Script checks at made at +2.

Gift of Gab: Traders automatically pick up spoken languages in their travels and become proficient in another language each time they acquire the Gift of Gab at 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th levels. The CK will determine if this makes the Trader literate in said languages. The CK may require a Trader to use two Gift of Gab abilities to learn to speak and write one language, or the CK may allow a +4 bonus to a Decipher Script check for a language the Trader speaks. Traders cannot learn the Druid secret language with this ability.

Appraisal (WIS): A Trader can determine the value of any item they inspect or service they evaluate. At the CKs option, it may take 1d6 rounds to determine a true value for something, and the CK may assign a higher CL if the merchant is in a truly foreign land/plane/ or situation, or a lower CL if it's a type of merchandise the trader is familiar with.

Lay of the Land (WIS): A direction sense, once a Trader has been somewhere, they can navigate back there easily. After spending several days in a town or city, they will know their way around if they spend time exploring it (CK ruling and common sense must prevail), and will easily learn caravan routes or other paths between cities. A Trader will learn the Lay of the Land in a small town more quickly than a large city, e.g. 1d3 days in a small town or 2d4 days in a huge city. The CK may allow a Trader to become familiar with small sub-sections of a city if they do not travel through the whole city or it is walled into sections.

Know your Customer (CHA): This is the ability to sell and haggle. Best role-played, but if desired, CK can allow the merchant to persuade a customer to buy (even with a markup) with a successful CHA check (CL=target's level or HD + WIS mod). Know your Customer also allows a merchant to haggle prices down when buying anything. A successful CHA check allows the merchant to purchase things at 1d3x10 percent less than the standard price (round down). Alternately, they can haggle for extra services or perks instead of a lower price.

Thieves Cant: With their knack for languages, merchants learn to use thieves cant at 2nd level.

Fast Talk (CHA): This is the ability to "sell ice to an Eskimo" or otherwise attempt to confuse or manipulate a person through overwhelming chatter using half-truths, confusing circular logic, and other equivocation. Besides selling or buying, a Trader can attempt, for example, to talk his way past a guard or even convince hostile characters or humanoids to make business with the trader rather than attack him. With a successful CHA check (CL=target's level or HD + WIS mod) the Trader can sway or persuade the target. CK may rule that a hostile target can only be swayed so far without magical intervention.

At 3rd level, the Trader can use this ability on all the Player Character races.

At 5th level, they can use this ability on humanoids, giants, and other intelligent monsters such as (but not limited to) ogres, trolls, minotaurs and nagas.

At 8th level, the Trader may attempt to Fast Talk any intelligent being, even those of alien or superior intelligence including but not limited to dragons, outsiders, aberrations, elementals and genies.

Scrolls (INT): at 9th level, a Trader's knowledge of languages allows them to attempt to read and cast magic scrolls. They can read and identify both arcane and divine scrolls of spells up to spell level 6 (a useful skill for determining their value), and with an additional INT check can attempt to cast arcane spells of up to level 3 with a CL of 11 + the Spell Level (i.e. 12 to 14). They can never cast divine scrolls.