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Daviot
Senior Scribe
USA
372 Posts |
 Posted - 30 Jul 2008 : 06:44:05
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To my fellow scribes,
It's 1370DR and one of my players in my online game is a Sembian adventurer and small merchant. He's already sold off his wares from Sembia and now that the party is deep into the Dales, he's looking for goods he can trade between the Dales. He has a few thousand gold max, a pack mule, and lots of leftover room in four riding horses' saddlebags.
Beyond the general import/export items (mostly bulk for the Dales) listed in the FRCS, what niche or easily transportable items might fit the bill?
Might the Abbey of the Sword need small items from Essembra, Battledale or vice-versa? Would Essembra or Mistledale, or any of the occupied Battledale holds have a market for Tempustian* weapons?
Likewise, the party wizard has the ability to craft magic weapons and armor; although the market for such in the Dales is going to be small, but who (the various Import/specialty shops scattered about the Dales?) would be most likely to purchase such magic weapons?
Thanks in advance. I'm open for ideas. 
*What exactly is the adjectival of "Tempus"?
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One usually has far more to fear from the soft-spoken wizard with a blade and well-worn boots than from the boisterous one in the ivory tower.
My Tabletop Writing CV. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31792 Posts |
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Daviot
Senior Scribe
USA
372 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2008 : 07:03:24
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| Interesting. Thanks, Sage. |
One usually has far more to fear from the soft-spoken wizard with a blade and well-worn boots than from the boisterous one in the ivory tower.
My Tabletop Writing CV. |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2008 : 07:09:22
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Yon merchant hath more coin than space, seeing as caravans seldom carry more than ten thousand ravens worth of trade goods. The wares he's looking for are likely to be the sort that many a canny traveller acquires where they're cheap and sells where they're dear, to pay for his ale on the road and more besides.
One thing that leaps to one's mind are trade goods that come equipped with four legs to carry themselves. Harrowdale breeds fine Chiontar mounts that sell as well in the other Dales as they do in the rest of the Heartlands, especially if yon merchant has the sense to buy fine breeding stock. If he makes Harrowdale his last stop in the Dales, the best mounts fetch high prices in Sembia or the lands across the Dragonreach.
You mention Essembra in your scroll. The House of Gond there will undoubtedly have the sort of small curiousities available that an enterprising merchant can peddle to people he meets with more coin in hand than wits in their skulls. The temple is, unfortunately, a tad snobbish and hidebound, for Gondsmen, at least. There's no telling how willing the priests might be to consider the possibilities of trading their goods outside Battledale, but no merchant of Sembia is worthy of the name if he can't find a way to turn clerical snobbishness to his advantage when striking a deal. 
The monks and priests of Chauntea Grainmother at the Abbey of the Golden Sheaf often sell seeds from the exotic plants they grow there, a lucrative business, I am given to understand. Yon merchant could undoubtedly buy some from them and sell them in another Dale or even further afield for more than he paid for them. If he knew about a place which had recently suffered crop shortages or droughts*, he could even multiply his investment by taking a few blessed seeds from the abbey there.
Other possibilities include locally brewed ale, which could prove popular over in the next Dale or settlement; the rare wine or two**; the work of any skillful local craftsman when heading for a town that lacks one of similar skills and all kinds of curiousities that look like they've come from far away.
The opportunities are endless and many more, but no merchant ever grew rich by blabbing secrets to potential competitors. Fair trading and Waukeen shower you with coins!
*Such as the fair kingdom of Cormyr, with its bountifull fields fallow now from the curses of the ghazneths.
**Dalesfolk aren't renowned as vintners, but rest assured, they do have their own wines. Hearty stuff, mostly, with none of the refined taste of far Nimphal or even nearby Sembia, but a decent mintwine or two from Deepingdale and a surprising selection from the High Dale (the influence of elven wayfarers). |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Edited by - Icelander on 30 Jul 2008 07:22:08 |
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Daviot
Senior Scribe
USA
372 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jul 2008 : 07:48:52
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quote:
Originally posted by Icelander
Yon merchant hath more coin than space, seeing as caravans seldom carry more than ten thousand ravens worth of trade goods. The wares he's looking for are likely to be the sort that many a canny traveller acquires where they're cheap and sells where they're dear, to pay for his ale on the road and more besides.
Indeed, that is his situation and his intent. Thanks for the suggestions. |
One usually has far more to fear from the soft-spoken wizard with a blade and well-worn boots than from the boisterous one in the ivory tower.
My Tabletop Writing CV. |
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Help on Dales Small Merchant Goods
