Merchants

[Wrentia]

How are merchants going to work in Arcanity? Will it be possible to buy any item on a merchant or only the top 20 items in their list (like in EQ). I would also like to see some items sold to vendors not show up for sale (quest items that have value for instance).

Perhaps merchants will only purchase items they care about (Bladed weapon dealers only buy bladed weapons). Perhaps shops are only open at certain times, but that rouge down the alley will buy during off hours, but doesn't give as much for an item as a regular vendor.

Perhaps when ever a character deals with a merchant for a first time he rolls on a "first impression" table. If the merchant likes you, better prices. Then any faction (eq term) hits that deal with that merchant are based off the original impression...

Any other idea's for merchants?

-Wrentia

[Paladin]

I like the first impression idea. Also modify it by player reputation and how often player deals with this specific merchant. Merchants could even sponsor caravans to move goods to and from more profitable areas. Would allow for hiring of caravan guards and raiding by players and disreputable NPCs.
Might alter the buying of items by having a small overlap. A bladed weapons dealer might buy other types but, at a lower price and vice versa.

[Cynycal]

it'd be cool if the items you bought from a merchant were based on where he was from...etc...and like there were merchants that traveled the roads n' such with a cart full of goods...it'd also be cool to be able to kill the merchant and take his stuff (i'm sure they'd have bodyguards and be fairly wise themselves...as well as well armored)...

[Slitherrr]

That'd also be dependant on the merchant, some random little tinkerer wandering around in his bare clothes from town to town would be an easy kill for little reward (and possibly much that would be bad, AKA trouble with the city watch). No more merchies that can take out the guards of a city (!!) with ease, like some game I won't mention.

[Wrentia]

Another thing I'd like to see is a faction type of system that makes sense....If I'm skulking about a city at night, and murder a peasant in some blind alley for a bit of cash, and no one saw it I don't see why I should take any faction hits (also I don't think I should see that these factions went up and these went down either....) However, lets say an NPC saw the murder....perhaps the NPC reports it....perhaps not...If they do, there would be some percentage change that the "Law" could link the murder back to me and put out a rewarad of some type.....All kinds of possibilites here....

-Wrentia

[toray]

City guards should be low level warriors. It's perfectly reasonable for a high level PC to be able to whack them one on one. Militias have always been poorly trained weekend warriors... they rely on numbers to overcome opposition.

If someone attacks a town guard, the first thing that should happen is that the town guard should call for help, and all town guards in the immediate vicinity arrive immediately. Kill a guard and someone raises the alarm, sending piles more guards into the area...

As to what some people are calling faction, I assume you mean reputation... reputation should be based on individual city-states or whatever... there's no reason I can't be beloved in an Ack community but hated in some big city somewhere... And that reputation should affect the prices I pay for goods bought and the price I get for goods sold in that city, etc... if my reputation is low enough in a city, I could be ejected by the town guards (and given the option to resist, of course).

A good thorough treatment of reputation will go a long way to getting rid of grief players...

[Slitherrr]

Score one for Toray and Wrentia, I think that the reputation hits should be very localized unless you do something extremely noteworthy (good or bad). None of this "yo dood im killin gobs on this continent for some faction with elves on the other side of the world," and you definitely shouldn't see that you've changed reputation outright, you should only see it by the actions of the NPC's and PC's around you. And of course, some societies (and it should vary for NPC's within a society also) will be more likely to accept a person they have never met before than others.

[Cynycal]

it would also be nice to change your "reputation" by doing good things that have nothing to do with combat, or bad...and it'd be nice for the NPC that saw u murder somebody to have to report it...(you could always kill the witness)...

[Slitherrr]

Or tip em of, or intimidate them, or something similar.

[Lordosis]

You guys are pretty much thinking the same way we are on this. But I'm too tired to say anything else tonight. must.... sleep.....

[Wrentia]

Now we have to wait a few more hours for Arcanity...What are you thinking? :)

-Wrentia

[Cynycal]

may i suggest RC-Edge cola...alot o' energy in that drink

[Slitherrr]

I personally suggest Surge... The only problem with it is that it has gone out of favor in our area (damn rednecks and their Dr. Pepper addictions). I have to travel 60+ miles just to buy a 20 oz bottle of the wonderful green stuff. :*-(

[Cynycal]

surge is good and all..it has a better taste than RC-Edge but Edge will keep you awake far longer

[Lordosis]

OK, I got 2 night's sleep, I should be OK now :) We're still working out the details on merchants. It's going to work a little differently than other MMORPGs I've seen. For one thing, the "look and feel" will be much different. You'll walk into a merchant's shop and you'll see 3D items on the shelves. You won't click on the merchant and get a list of 2D icons of stuff he sells. So if you've played Zelda for N64 it will be something like that.

The merchant wlil put what he believes to be the most "high demand" items on the shelf. The rest of his stuff will be "behind the counter" and you'd have to ask for it. Some merchants will make things, like a blacksmith, so he'll keep a certain number of swords in stock. If people are buying a lot of swords, he'll make more. But no merchant will have an infinite supply of anything.

You're alignment and the merchant's alignment will affect the prices he offers you. I'm not sure regional factions will affect prices. After all, the merchant is in business to make money, and with some exceptions, most merchants will sell to anyone willing to pay. Money talks, bull$h!t walks.

[Cynycal]

thats an awesome idea!

[gilgamesh]

Hi everyone...

I realise that this is an older thread, but I had something to tack on anyhow.

It would also be interesting for certain towns to become known for their merchants of a particular type. Toledo and Damascus has their swordsmiths, some of the Hanseatic league were known for their armours, why not make town X a place to visit to pick up a high quality sword? It would be tedious if you took this to an extreme where you could only buy half decent swords in X... but if you really want that high quality special sword, it'd be interesting to hunt down the master sword smith. This would also work well with the caravan idea that was put up earlier.

anyhow... just my thoughts

gilgamesh

[BelDragos]

That's a good idea that would be nice to have incorperated into the game. China was a major importer of silk and spices through the trade routs. Unfortunetly it was a monopoly. Thats the reason the ships were sent around Africa to establish alternet trate routs. Things like these would make the game seem more realistic. Everyone would want better items from the places that are known to produce them in quality. Today we are still falling for the name brand scam.

[Urborg]

I like the idea of using the character's and merchant's alignment to determine prices. I doubt a human would sell something to an Ogre for the same price. And i like the idea of merchants running out of items. The localized factions are a nice idea too.

I don't like the idea of players being able to buy items that the merchant didn't originally have. If someone goes clear across the world, buys something, brings it back and sells it, and then another person creates a new character and is given enough money, he shouldn't be able to buy the hard to obtain item. Sure it's not realistic, but it limits laziness.

I heard all items will be available at merchants. This sounds like a bad idea because with enough money, everyone could have the same things and it takes away their individuality. Money flows like water later on in RPGs, so there should be at least some restriction so that people actually have to earn their stuff.

True, this game seems to be centered more around character development, but item obtaining adds to the challenge.

[BelDragos]

Thats an interesting idea. Could a rich character send for an item through a merchant by payiny extra? It would be like mail-order and it would be limited to certain items. He could pay a group of adventurers to search for an item.

[Edited by BelDragos on 11-02-2000 at 04:43 PM]

[Dyson]

On the topic of merchants and sailing half-way-around the world

Why not have actual shipping schedules and the like implemented? This way, when you place an order for an Item, the merchant has to physically travel to the source, pick it up from their counterpart "supplier" merchant, then come back. This would make obtaining rare items actually tough to manage (as they would have to be there when the merchant comes back or arrange a delivery) rather then merely expensive. It's surely encorage those of more economical bent to travel on their own, rather then pay someone else to do it.
Hm... maybe this could relate to a whole "ship thread."