3 Merchants to drop in to your RPG games

We all know what its like when your players arrive in a new town for a quick stop over before heading on to their next big adventure, they always want to do some shopping or have a look around town.

Here are 3 Merchants you can drop in to any town or city to give a bit of flavour to their shopping trips.

Turon is a filthy Old beggar Man with missing and blackened teeth. Does dodgy deals in dark back rooms or inside back alleys. Always looking out for the watch his eyes dart around and his head constantly moves from side to side as he keeps an eye put while he conducts his “business”. Sells from a dirty old canvas duffle bag and from his own special stash which he hides on hooks inside his dirty stained overcoat. Has many mundane adventuring items, torches, rope etc including some of the skill kits (disguise healing etc), although they are all poor quality. Unbeknownst to him, he does have an enchanted set of thieves’ tools for sale. They give advantage on any roll on any skill check made with them.

Fizzbings Amazing Artifices. - Traveling Merchant

Fizzbing A Gnome Tinker sells items from a small hand cart which has emblazoned on the side in bright letters Fizzbings Amazing Artifices. He sells all sorts of trinkets and small items like Mess kits, and clothing. He has any gear under 1gp on his cart. Each of the trinket he sells has an elaborate backstory, some of which might be embellished and changeable depending upon who he’s talking to. Two items he has of note, A Red Dragon Scale, the edge is broken and jagged, and would make a good Axe head. He also has a small Cameo, in the shape of a Lions head. This Cameo is actually a stylised figurine of wonderous power. Fizzbing is unaware of this fact, he just thinks it’s a cool piece of jewelry that he can make a bit of money on.

Burton’s Buns & Cakes - Fixed Position Market Stall

Burton is a Dwarf baker extraordinaire, or at least that’s what the sign in front of his market stall claims. Burton’s stall has various breads, cakes, buns, and other pastry delicacies for sale. There is a brick oven behind the stand that Burton uses to make all of his tasty treats. Burton likes to boast that his food is the best of its kind in the city. Burton actually doesn’t know how to cook. He buys all of his items in from another baker that works from a small bakery round the corner from Burtons Stand. They have a small portal in the over at Burton’s stall, that the mystery baker uses to swap out the uncooked food for cooked food, and it appears at the stall making it look like Burton is cooking the food.

There are more merchants and shops to come in later blog articles, but for now ill leave you with these three. As always if you do use them in your games, let me know how your players react to them.

See you on the Flipside

Andy @ DMB