how to build a merchant/trader

[flamewolf393]

In a king-maker-esque game I want to make a merchant that in the long run will be running a trade guild. It is *very* low magic, so no full caster classes, partial casters like bard are allowed. Any official, 3rd party, and some homebrew allowed.

What class build would make sense for this?

[Vhaidara]

Bard or Rogue

Bards are inherently social, so they have great skills for it. Also grab Appraise. Comes with some enchantments to help you get better deals, and possibly magic item crafting

Rogue is the no-magic way to go. Appraise to tell what it's worth, Disable Device to possibly recover things from traps that you can sell, Bluff/Diplomacy for getting good deals, etc.

[atemu1234]

Factotum. Just Factotum.

[Vhaidara]

Factotum. Just Factotum.

Pathfinder, atemu. Pathfinder :smalltongue:

[atemu1234]

Pathfinder, atemu. Pathfinder :smalltongue:

I didn't see a pathfinder tag, or am I just blind?

Edit: Blind. Very, very blind.

[jedipotter]

What class build would make sense for this?

Well, you might want to stay away from the normal classes. Rogue sounds good, but it's such a waste with horrible abilities like ''sneak attack'' that a merchant does not need or use. And bard are stuck with singing....

It would be really best to make a Merchant class, if you really wish to be a merchant.

The best really would be cleric or wizard, as unlike the mundane classes you can build them as non-combat no problem. But sadly, a rogue is just a ''striker'' in D&D, and not a cool skill monkey. Partial casters are worthless...that is why they are so liked.

Expert might be your best class choice....

[Honest Tiefling]

What do you sell? I could imagine a rogue type being a fence, who might need the sneak attack once in a while...Or someone who sells questionably acquired items that were acquired in dark alleys. Alchemist for Pathfinder is...Kinda non-magical? I would imagine there being a market for that.

[Baroncognito]

And bard are stuck with singing....

No they aren't. Not remotely.

An Archaeologist get luck instead of performance. They also get rogue talents, which would allow a bard to take Black Market Connections (which would be handy for a merchant). A Cat folk bard would also get a bonus to appraise jewelry. (as well as being +dex +cha, which is a good fit for a bard).

An Archivist gets a bonus to identify magic items at second level, which is also nice for a merchant, and while the class does keep performance, I think perform (oratory) is probably best suited for the flavour of the Archivist.

A Negotiator (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard/archetypes/paizo---bard-archetypes/negotiator) is... actually probably explicitly intended to be kind of a fast talking merchant. Honestly. At first level they get something that can make people people an object is worth 10% more or less than it actually is. And they get rogue talents.

No question here. You make a damn bard Negotiator.

[Fallenreality]

Partial casters are worthless...that is why they are so liked.

Expert might be your best class choice....

From the sounds of it, he wants to build a PC that can act as a merchant and trader for his kingdom. Not an NPC

Nothing particularly wrong with partial casters as well. All they do is bring casting down to T3, which is where most of the high end mundanes end up. Bards have a very solid spell list for versatility. You have a lot of control effects, but you also have many illusions, and don't forget healing. Partial casting is a good balance between completely martial and rewriting reality on a whim.

In general it depends on what you want to sell/do, a bard would be very good, as you can attract people to your booth with your performance. Keep in mind that perform isn't just singing or dancing, you can perform an advertising routine for your shop that fascinates all who hear it. As mentioned by Baroncognito, Negotiator would be VERY good for your idea.

Your other option would be Alchemist, but that leans farther from run of the mill grand merchant than it does towards specialized wares.

I would pick the Bard myself. It works well. Especially with negotiator. If you don't want negotiator, one option would be the Court Bard. The changes to your performances might not matter too much to you (Although insulting people to debuff them is hilarious) But it has this lovely ability that increases the range of your performances, which includes the abilities you would use to draw people to your wares. I would go with negotiator though.

[flamewolf393]

I like the idea of the negotiator bard, but I REALLY hate giving up the bardic knowledge. Anyway to keep that, or getting something like it with traits/feats?

[Fallenreality]

Not really from what I can tell. The archetype definitely changes the feel of the class a bit.

[Baroncognito]

If you want to keep Bardic Knowledge then perhaps go with Archaeologist (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/bard/archetypes/paizo---bard-archetypes/archaeologist).