Wanna build a merchant

[Atalas]

So, I've had it stuck in my head for a while now to make character that lives by the Ferengi rules of Acquisition from Star Trek. But, I cannot decide on what class and archetype would best work with such an idea. Any suggestions?

[Sexyshoeless]

Well nothing in the rules dictates how the character should be built or played. I’d suggest an artificer though - one who loans his wares out to his allies to ensure profit and more acquisitions!

[Chalkarts]

Have you considered a cleric that charges for services?

"Oh my, thats a nasty wound. I can have you fixed up in about 10 minutes for the low price of that Emerald ring we found in the last room."

[Atalas]

good idea, but after my last/current character, I have been banned from playing Artificer.

[carrdrivesyou]

A cleric of the Order Domain would make sense thematically, as would a Glamour Bard or anyone with the Guild Artisan background. Honestly been considering the idea myself. Solid character inspiration.

[micahaphone]

good idea, but after my last/current character, I have been banned from playing Artificer.

You can't drop that line without explaining why. Storytime?

[Atalas]

You can't drop that line without explaining why. Storytime?

well, current/last character was a Cleric. Arcana, servant of Mystra, currently sharing the powers of a Chosen with his wife, if he survives he'll ascend to be the god of magical technology, an intermediary between the Domains of Magic and Technology (I would say Mystra and Gond, but they may not be around after this fight). He's an alchemist. He has, so far in this campaign: accidentally created a potion of vulnerability that also causes bears to be sexually attracted to the drinker and seek them out, left an archdruid in a demiplane that is set in an everlasting winter and then had to kill them when using the place as a honeymoon spot. Blown up the castle of Silverymoon with a giant mechanical avatar of Gond. Commandeered a patchwork dog that can use its belly to store alchemical concoctions and vomit them out, mixed up, as an attack. And, as part of his backstory, set a room on fire that is still burning a few years later. And it turns out that said room is actually a repository of knowledge of all of the books that the fire burned up, but it only speaks Ignan. He also, as of last session, nuked Orcus with the help of another party member. And I mean, nuked him. Our DM views the statted Demon Lords as shown in official sources to be wimps, so he beefed them up. We took out 90% of his HP with one attack, and he still survived two high rolled sneak attacks from a level 20 Assassin.

but, perhaps most telling of all: the campaign is set in the Forgotten Realms, and my character is of Harpell blood. And boy has it shown.

Basically, the others in the group are worried i'll just make a 2.0 of my current character if I play an Artificer/

[blackjack50]

So, I've had it stuck in my head for a while now to make character that lives by the Ferengi rules of Acquisition from Star Trek. But, I cannot decide on what class and archetype would best work with such an idea. Any suggestions?

I am doing this myself. Lore Bard Half Elf. And look at this:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?490505-The-Social-God-A-guide-to-an-optimized-party-face

You can be the face man and negotiations. It really seems to work well. Not much combat utility though. A lot of flavor though. I suggest making sure you closely track business deals, and also make a habit of reading maps. You will want to always leverage your game to a money and shipping game. Depending on your alignment? Pulling basic cons from a list might be fun. :)

[opaopajr]

Merchant is essentially a Background, so asking for "the best" class/arch for such an idea is strange to me. :smallamused: So I say you should play a Purple Dragon Knight (Banneret), take Inspiring Leader whenever, and charge people for your Ferengi wisdom. The thought of Rules of Acquisition shouted out as a Battle Cry, let alone used as a 10 min. Inspiring Speech (*insert "Glengarry Glen Ross" quote here*) is hilarious! :smallcool::smalltongue:

"Only Closers Get Coffee!" :smallmad: "Charge!"

[stoutstien]

Screams mastermind rogue to me. Remember rule 31.

[Evaar]

So yeah you can play anything and be a merchant.

Now that the unhelpful part is over, let's consider some options that lean into the merchant flavor.

Bard is a good pick for the Charisma, obviously. A Lore Bard especially has a lot of skills you can use to produce whatever it is you're selling - Nature proficiency for herbs, Animal Handling for livestock, you get the point.

A Warlock also works, as they both focus on Charisma and making deals is part of the premise of the class. Maybe you're a Pact of the Chain Warlock and your familiar hangs out in the shop and watches for thieves or has a routine where it complements customers to butter them up.

A Wizard works nicely for specific kinds of merchants, like obviously anything to do with books. A Transmutation specialist could expand beyond that, maybe serving as a wandering tinker at low levels and a miracle maker at high levels. Perhaps your "wizard's tower" is a humble water mill by the river with a trail of smoke perpetually rising from the chimney.

Clerics can also work, particularly a cleric of a mercantile or traveler god like Waukeen or Shaundakul. I'd view a merchant like this as less of a wheeler-dealer and more someone with a quiet, confident knowledge of the value of things. Obviously Insight is your biggest skill synergy. If you're in Greyhawk, make sure to read LudicSavant's awesome writeup of Wee Jas. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?450352-Wee-Jas-the-First-Lich)

A Rogue can work the black market, and the more cerebral Mastermind types could be fences and have their fingers in everything. Maybe it's less about having your own set of wares to sell as it is about knowing the best place for anyone to sell any particular item. You can always find a buyer if you know where to look.

A Sorcerer could have a shop of oddities, a warehouse of knick knacks with no particular theme except that each item has a story or history or unique attribute requiring some explanation.

And finally a Monk can be a humble, wandering trader on the road with a backpack, maybe a mule, and whatever goods she makes, or her monastery or village produces. Monks get artisan tools as part of the base package, so crafting is part of your class if you want it. I see this as similar to the Cleric above; you walk to the market, find an empty spot, lay out your wares on a cloth, then sit quietly on the ground until a customer approaches.

Hope these ideas help.

[MustaKrakish]

Arcane trickster, rogues are a classic merchant IMO. A lot of skills and tricks.

Or, you can go Old One warlock and have your patron a real Ferengi who talks to you through a weird machine, he sent you a phaser (eldritch blast), and since you don't have gold-pressed latinum, you swore to serve him in return :P

[Lupine]

Or, you can go Old One warlock and have your patron a real Ferengi who talks to you through a weird machine, he sent you a phaser (eldritch blast), and since you don't have gold-pressed latinum, you swore to serve him in return :P

I'd be careful with this one. This might work ok for a beer and pretzels game, but would absolutely not be appropriate for my table.

[Atalas]

I'd be careful with this one. This might work ok for a beer and pretzels game, but would absolutely not be appropriate for my table.

what's sad is our group has a non-serious game that we dip into every now and then when certain players just cannot get the time to play. That idea would be perfect for the game.

[loki_ragnarock]

What type of merchant are you?

Are you the kind of merchant that sits in a shop and sells things? Or are you the kind of merchant who travels the silk road to the distant lands of the mysterious (direction here) with silver to exchange for fine spices you then provide to shopkeeps in your homeland, and other homelands along the way?

The first, a bard or a rogue can handle pretty well. And they can handle the second pretty well, too.

But the second guy could also be a ranger. Traveling the distant lands and braving terrain that others would shy away from, at home in the wilds where he spends most of his time. He could also have a draft animal as his companion, the better to carry the load of goods across the varied lands he trades in. Because, importantly, an animal you get as a class feature is free labor.

And I think that's what you need to lean into, in accordance with Rule of Acquisition Number 62:
The riskier the road, the greater the profit.

Or perhaps Rule of Acquisition Number 77:
Go where no Ferengi has gone before; where there is no reputation there is profit.

Ranger all the way, my man.

[Atalas]

What type of merchant are you?

Are you the kind of merchant that sits in a shop and sells things? Or are you the kind of merchant who travels the silk road to the distant lands of the mysterious (direction here) with silver to exchange for fine spices you then provide to shopkeeps in your homeland, and other homelands along the way?

The first, a bard or a rogue can handle pretty well. And they can handle the second pretty well, too.

But the second guy could also be a ranger. Traveling the distant lands and braving terrain that others would shy away from, at home in the wilds where he spends most of his time. He could also have a draft animal as his companion, the better to carry the load of goods across the varied lands he trades in. Because, importantly, an animal you get as a class feature is free labor.

And I think that's what you need to lean into, in accordance with Rule of Acquisition Number 62:
The riskier the road, the greater the profit.

Or perhaps Rule of Acquisition Number 77:
Go where no Ferengi has gone before; where there is no reputation there is profit.

Ranger all the way, my man.

Leaning towards some type of Rogue, or something martial because I'm been playing nothing but casters lately, and the one martial character I played was rather satisfying. Only so many ways to describe the casting of Sacred Flame or Guiding Bolt, but the flourish of melee? the precision of a dagger or rapier? So much more creativity that can be used.

Since I'm not sure what the scenario of the next campaign is gonna be I'm trying to stay flexible and ponder idea's. But a travelling merchant is probably the most flexible and easy to insert. Garner a reputation, or several. Like Silk from the Belgariad/Mallorean series. Largely live by the 9th rule of Acquisition: Opportunity, plus instinct, equals profit.

But, of course, also keeping in mind Rule of Acquisition 23: nothing is more important than your health. Except for your money.

[Temperjoke]

You'll also want to put some thought into what your wares will be. Unless the DM goes along with it, you won't have a cart or anything to carry bulky goods. Are you an established merchant, or just getting started? Getting started explains why you wouldn't have goods or a wagon to sell from yet, and would explain why you'd go adventuring. On the other hand, if you're at least semi-established, you have an easy explanation for your fellow party members, you hired them or some of them.

Something else to consider to go along with this is your background. The PHB has the Guild Artisan with a variant of Guild Merchant, but if your character is just getting started, then a different background might be better, to represent what your character did before becoming a merchant.

As for class, if your character has been a merchant a while, then they might not have a lot of special training implied by the subclasses. If that's the case, then it might be best to just be a Champion Fighter. If they did something else prior to deciding to become a merchant, then I'd pick something similar to their background. Like if you picked the Soldier background, then they could easily be Scout Rogue or Cavalier Fighter; or if a Criminal Background, then a Thief Rogue would make sense.

[GentlemanVoodoo]

You remind me of one game I was in a while back. A player wanted to be a merchant but as it was more "beer and pretzels" style of play the concept didn't work. The DM wasn't willing to plan out having the party own a stall, carts for hauling goods, employees, etc. Still she wouldn't give up the idea so she settled on being an information broker, trading key information and secrets for profit. Unless you are really wanting to deal with the exchange of physical goods, selling of services is also a valid form of mercantile trading.

[loki_ragnarock]

Leaning towards some type of Rogue, or something martial because I'm been playing nothing but casters lately, and the one martial character I played was rather satisfying. Only so many ways to describe the casting of Sacred Flame or Guiding Bolt, but the flourish of melee? the precision of a dagger or rapier? So much more creativity that can be used.

Since I'm not sure what the scenario of the next campaign is gonna be I'm trying to stay flexible and ponder idea's. But a travelling merchant is probably the most flexible and easy to insert. Garner a reputation, or several. Like Silk from the Belgariad/Mallorean series. Largely live by the 9th rule of Acquisition: Opportunity, plus instinct, equals profit.

But, of course, also keeping in mind Rule of Acquisition 23: nothing is more important than your health. Except for your money.
But keep in mind Rule of Acquisition 207: Never trust a hardworking employee.

Guides, pathfinders, caravan guards? You don't want to have to rely on any of those if you don't have to. As a ranger, you do the work yourself. Cheaper and more trustworthy.

But also keep in mind Rule of Acquisition 94: Beware of small expenses: a small leak will kill a ship.

Rations, maps, compasses, pack animals? Small expenses that will sink your ship. Instead, be a ranger and keep your ship healthy by obviating the need for all of these. Cut the costs of low hanging fruit!

But why not Rule of Acquisition 93: He's a fool who makes his doctor his heir.

Healing potions, clerics, druids? Who would rely on these things when you can rely on yourself as a ranger? And believe me, as an adventurer your "heir" is whoever can pick the pockets of your cooling corpse.

Then there's Rule of Acquisition 101: Never do something you can make someone do for you.

Healing potions, clerics, druids, caravan guard, etc? Some might point to this rule as the rule that you just let others do for you. Not so; it's never do something you can make someone do for you. It is not let others do for you those things you cannot do. HEED THE DISTINCTION! PLAY A RANGER!

[blackjack50]

It has been mentioned: but a lot of this is role play too of course. So I would say work in some watching of scenes from wolf of Wall Street, and the boiler room