Dynamic Merchants!

[Urborg]

How about every now and then, the developers release a patch to change items in the merchant's shops? This would add diversity, antiquity, prestige, and create a sense of fads and fashions. Even if the only difference in the items were the names, it'd still be interesting. Sure that'd mean more work for the developers, but if they'd spend more time on extra perks than satisfying the crybabies that rant about class A doing 2 points more damage per hit than class B (EQ), they'd find plenty of time i think.

In case ya missed my rant in the Merchants topic, i suggested that players couldn't buy items from a merchant that a person sold to the merchant. This would add a challenge of going to a certain merchant across the world to get an item, rather than just pick it up anywhere.

[Tachyon]

Traveling merchants would be great. (gypsies in eq never moved..hmm) Lets say that there is a demand for a certain type of armor in an area. An aspiring merchant would make his way to the area of most demand.

Lets say a Goblin camp starting gain power near an established town. Less business for the merchants with the lesser amount of travelers, so perhaps after a few months(not RL) of bad business they decide to move on.'

Little touches like that is what would make this game great.

*Hey look is Grim the Tailor..hmm what is he doing on this side of the Shardling Forest...what what? Orc invasion?*

Little things like that.

Thanks

[Kymeri mac An Iolar]

Aye, In the merchants thread we talked about having wandering merchants. It is a nice idea that would add dimension to the game.

[Wrentia]

After being out adventuring for awhile I have some things to sell. Things like: 3 rusty swords, a pair of leather gloves, 4 chunks of meat, 2 small rubies, and a small bottle of perfume.

Now, a weapons shop will pay top dollar for my rusty swords, but probably wouldn't be interested in anything else except the rubies. However, I could sell the rubies at the jewler's shop for a little more than to the weapons shop. A merchant that deals in general types of items will buy the meat and perfume, while the armour shop buys the gloves. Now the general merchant WILL buy everything, but most things at a lower price than specialist shops.

Now, I would also like to see some things decay over time. I shouldn't really be able to carry raw meat in my backpack for 2 weeks before selling it. Now if I cook the meat, or sell it and buy rations, then those will last longer.

Just some thoughts...

-Wrentia

[fredrick]

Traveling merchants sounds great.... maybe have fairs at various times when they gather outside a city and sell for lower prices. (Beating the prices of their friends at the fair) Bard players find they can put out a hat, and make some decent change... of course, that would require bards actualy to make noise in the game which may/may-not happen.
Also, a merchant could bring news of what's happening in the town he just left, and along the roads he just traveled. Maybe every now and then a merchant gets waylaid by a band of goblins, and suddenly the goblins are better equiped. Come across a merchant who's wagon wheel broke.. not wanting to leave his merchandise, he tips you to go get a replacement for him.

And hey, merchants don't necissarily need to leave an area because a band of goblins has moved in... the goblins gold is as good as anyone elses. (Of course the merchant would have to be both burley and shifty to risk selling to goblins.)

Sounds like fun... merchants could become a spare-time pet project.. to have them do different interesting stuff.

Maybe as the game is doing time-evolution, after merchants are on the road for a while and make some money, they decide to move into a town and open a shop.. or retire. Of course, if the tide of monsters in that area gets overwhelming, they come in and ransack the town, residing in the buildings until it becomes too delapidated.

Of course, there are infinite cool things that could happen in a RPG... the trick is to have the programers to make them all happen.

[Kymeri mac An Iolar]

I think I might like being a traveling mechant myself

[BelDragos]

We could set up a shipping company. All we need is a ship and cargo. There is the merchant again but on another terrain. It could be done.

[Slitherrr]

Yup, you guys have pretty much hit the basis of Arcanity on the head there. According to the programmers, pretty much NOTHING will be static, because it only makes sense. Wandering merchants and changing fads are going to be a large part of this game, I can almost guarantee it.

[BelDragos]

Variety, the spice of life!!

If my guild doesn't work out I might try to build a trading empire.

[Dyson]

Trading is always a pretty solid bet.
Has anyone here read the book "Life in a Medivial City?" It details the Summer and Winter fairs of province in France during the dark ages. A lot of interesting insights; it follows the general trend of this thread.

[Kymeri mac An Iolar]

I have read that book, many years ago.