PC merchants, availability of goods

[Raona]

I had suggested a different approach to be added to the Waterdeep Civic Center:
viewtopic.php?f=72&t=9494&p=69030&hilit ... eep#p69030

Specifically, the idea was as follows:
* The Offer Message Post
* The Counteroffer Message Post
* The Contract Message Post
* Sign: OOC: If you have services or items available for sale, or something you want, post a notice to that effect on the Offer Message Post. If you see an offer there that you would like to take up, or make a counter-offer on, post a notice to that effect on the Counteroffer Message Post. If someone makes a counteroffer and you would like to take them up on it and sign a contract, copy the text of the counteroffer you are accepting into a new message, and post it on the Contract Message Post. If you want to continue to haggle, you can post another message on the Counteroffer post. Messages will be removed as needed to make room for new ones, so check back often, and if you have a standing service to offer, be prepared to re-post it from time to time (keep a copy of the offer text handy!)

This didn't incorporate a Merchant Guild, and offered less-instantaneous gratification, but might still be a good option for less-traded/rarer items, for which a "street price" had not been set. With an active merchant guild, what Dalvyn describes above sounds like a great approach...but it hinges on Merchant Guild players being relatively available. If they were, it would be a superb commodities market!

Can the quality of smelted metal be appraised? Another skill that could bolster merchants is a knack for determining the quality of things that normal folk can not.

[Skeas]

Anyone can be a merchant's guild member, for what, 15p? I don't think the availability of the members will be a problem. There could be a problem, however, with evil characters joining. I'm unsure, I don't play evil characters... often.

[Kirkus]

Why would it be a problem if an evil character joined?

[Elerian]

90% of the merchants in WD are probably evil anyway.

[Dalvyn]

By the way, when I mentioned "the Merchants' Guild", I was thinking of a player-based organisation, not the so-called Merchant's Guild of Waterdeep that you "join" when you complete a quest.

[Skeas]

I was talking about the one in Berdusk you just pay 15p to get into

[Dalvyn]

Ah, right ...

Hmmm maybe they should be renamed into "Trade houses", just like there are different trade houses in the Realms.

[Athglor]

I would like seeing the change, including the object that identifies you as member, and the possibility of getting another should you lose it, but mooore expensive.

Lorewise in Faerun, perhaps the Seven Suns Trading coster is the more similar to a global merchant guild, which most often these are limited to a particular area, but should any organization of this type be created it should be created something as well to do with their piles of platinum.

[Brodnur]

Over all, I wholly support the idea of "rarity" of items causing interaction between PC's. Though the items in question being nonexistant makes things somewhat difficult.All to often, it becomes easier as a character levels up higher and higher to simply go out, harvest the component/item in question on a solo mission. The strength behind FK is now, and always has been, the roleplay aspect. I admit, that sometimes, it just makes sense that a character would solo trip something, a devious plot's more subtle aspects, for example, would require few if any other people knowing of it. However, a plot of one is a plot doomed to failure. Some of my casters have bemoaned of late the lack of <insert component X here>, which caused them to gripe or whatever to other casters in the same boat. Which led them to arrive at different solutions to solve the lack, either a goodie char going hunting for this or that in a team effort, or a villain, going hunting a goodie that is reported to have several of the items in question. Good opportunities abound for the single most important component in Forgotten Kindgoms, interaction with other PC's.
My characters would be completely behind the plan of a neutral trade area, which allows all races, so long as they are there to shop, and not cause trouble. Or even making certain things available to only certain places, Waterdeep or Zhentil Keep for example. Which would require a go-between to obtain those important items. One of my characters has actually been saving up with the intention of purchasing a shop with a dwelling above it, and to hire a shopkeeper to run it when she is not available. But was told that it is either difficult in the extreme to obtain a shop, or impossible at this time, due to the discussions being held concerning the matter.

[Duranamir]

Trading company’s are a completely brilliant idea in lots of ways.

How i think a Trading coster could operate.

A group of players get together with the intention of forming a trading company. They agree the terms that they will operate it on. For example whether they will only deal in certain items, sell to certain groups or alignments and state this in there original charter. This will also detail how and when people will take a profit from the company. All the characters place a stake of money into the company to start it. This money is used to rent one or more rooms in warehouses around the realms. It is also used to acquire any initial stock. Each original member then gets a key to the warehouse room(s).

In operation a merchant can acquire items by buying them, manufacturing them or acquiring them though other means.

He can use the company’s money to pay for these items or the raw materials he uses to make them. A company might even subsidise an expedition to acquire certain items from the wild.

Once the items are acquired they then go to one of the warehouses and deposit the items.

At a later date another member of the company can remove them from that warehouse and transport them to another warehouse where they may be more needed. But the items belong to the company as a whole.

A member of the company can also remove items from the warehouse to sell them. He should then return the money to the warehouse.

This should result in the company gaining money that can be invested in more stock or distributed to the company members as profit. Presuming they can manage to run the company at a profit.

Company members as a group can decide when to take money out of the company funds and how much. For example a monthly amount of 25 % of the company fund split equally.

Company’s are self regulating, if they lose money and go out of business so be it, if a partner cheats it is up to the other partners to deal with that IC.

So what needs to be built, and added to the game.

Some warehouses with storage rooms that can be rented for a very large sum by a trading company.

A method of replicating keys for a cost to allow a company to add new members.

Some place to register the charter and membership of a trading company (at a cost of course).

I would suggest that the cost of establishing a trading company be high so that it is difficult to run single person companies and to encourage player cooperation.

Duranamir the merchant.