Looking to get into RP as a traveling merchant

[Genévieve-argent-dawn]

Hello Argent Dawn!
Being a member of this server on and off for the past few years (also occasional forum stalker), I want to start giving Rp a try but have been left with a few questions which I hope some players could have answers to.

While the concept of a traveling merchant/prospector who goes around rooting into old ruins or busy market streets seems alot of fun to me. Which also has the added bonus of having a valid explanation why my character is absent if something IRL pops-up, as she would be traveling around and what not.

It occured to me that the prices at the auction house are vastly different compared to the ones in a regular store, in which copper bars are sold for 10 copper and the AH price for example is 3 gold.
So im uncertain which price range I should follow or what one could even consider to be ‘Rich’ in the Rp scene.

If I do trade a certain item, is actually selling it to a player a good way to Rp the trade deal or is emoting a better option?

Are healing potions frequently used in the ‘actual’ world?
The player taking on the role of a priest and being able to heal mortal wounds almost instantly throughout the game is a norm, which goes the same for healing potions.
But are such things considered the standard while Rp’ing or do they differ vastly from eachother?

I could probably find several more questions pretty much in the same range as the one above, but that would make this post way too long and no one would be willing to read that much.
So trying to keep it short I’ll ask: What is actually worth selling to other players?

Tips/advice on what is recommend or should be avoided is greatly appreciated!

[Greyspine-argent-dawn]

I always love the prospect of more “ordinary” characters such as merchants, town guards or craftsmen.
I did once roleplay a merchant where I actually sold potions and food ingame, but in the end I chose to just emote the whole buying/selling aspect of it, because I ended up with bags upon bags full of potions no one wanted to use.

As for the whole healing via magic or potions I’d like to think that you don’t stumble upon those really powerful healers very often, the ones that can fix a shattered spine in an instant, so my character usually keeps several healing potions handy.

Just my two cents.

[Nüying-argent-dawn]

In my experience with roleplaying a healer who uses potions, treat healing potions as a slow but effective way to heal people. The weaker the potion, the longer it takes to heal.
But the stronger the potion, the more expensive it is.
For example: A ‘minor’ health potion might only be really effective at mending cuts, slowly sealing them over time (in terms of out of combat roleplay).

That is something to keep in mind in terms of how valuable, rare and effective they are.

And, as Greyspine says, consider what people may need. Rations, for example, are the staple food of any guild who go marching out into the world.
Consider also items that are more ‘uncommon’ but could be very useful for people.
Jars of oil, for lighting lamps or soaking torches for light.
Rope for climbing.
Tools like pickaxes and hatchets.
Fishing rods.

The things you can sell are endless if you can find the right people.

[Nurglex-argent-dawn]

Some really good advice above.

If you’re a “general purposes” merchant. Some typical wares may be:

Flint and tinder
Fabrics/blankets
Rations
Waterskins
Containers and bags
Ropes or other binding materials
Oils and wicks
Paper and ink, quills
Small knives (for whittling) maybe basic hunter knives.

Most guilds that don’t have a supplier of the above in house will need these whenever they’re out and about for basic purposes.

You may also stock more specialty items too. You need to bear in mind how much your merchant can stock and carry (if they have a cart that’s a different matter):
Healing potions
Maps
Information
Reagents and plants
Gunpowder and casings
Wiring
Metals…

The list is endless.

I think the biggest issue for merchants is how much business they reasonably get. You need to travel locations where you’re likely to run into people “on the road” which can be difficult to manage in a genuinely spontaneous way.
Secondly your wares need to be useful. Many guilds or groups will have their stocks supplied by “off screen” sources so they don’t need to RP out stocking up for such things before they go adventuring, and it’s these groups who are your most likely customers.

It’s a really cool concept but like a lot of civvy concepts, you need to be really patient and prepared for periods of stagnation. Also you really need to put yourself out there as people will generally not seek you out just to roleplay out some bartering, but if you encounter them on the road in the middle of an expedition, they’re probably more likely to and you can really enhance their RP.

[Genévieve-argent-dawn]

Thank you all for the great responses and abundance of information you have given me! (Also apologies for the late reaction)

It is nice to see that people were willing to help me out so quickly and hopefully i will see you out there in the world soon

[Thuzar-argent-dawn (Thuzar)]

@Genévieve-argent-dawn

It occured to me that the prices at the auction house are vastly different compared to the ones in a regular store, in which copper bars are sold for 10 copper and the AH price for example is 3 gold.
So im uncertain which price range I should follow or what one could even consider to be ‘Rich’ in the Rp scene.

the economy is all over the place, you can’t trust the AH because it is crazy inflated, you can’t trust the npcs because the price is scaled to match the level, i mean you get like 1 gold coin per mob or two right now so in all blizzards wisdom they decided that ofc the same loaf of bread you could buy in starter town is now worth a 3 gold coins in end-content town because you have more gold.

I personally work around the issue by setting all my items to 1 gold, I ofc also trick people into buying cursed goods off of me so that explains that.
however my advice to you, from one merchant to another is this: every player have a different sense of value, some may consider 100 gold to be a life time of money others won’t bat an eye at the price, best you can do is be flexible, see if you can guess which kind of player you are dealing with before you mention a price. or be brave and decide on a price and just deal with the randomness that comes.

@Genévieve-argent-dawn

If I do trade a certain item, is actually selling it to a player a good way to Rp the trade deal or is emoting a better option?

That is up to you, I prefer to keep my items emote only, mainly because the things I sell don’t actually exist as an item, I think keeping your stock emote only allows you to have a large range of goods to sell, but if you feel it would add more to actually have items to give people, then by all means.

@Genévieve-argent-dawn

Are healing potions frequently used in the ‘actual’ world?
The player taking on the role of a priest and being able to heal mortal wounds almost instantly throughout the game is a norm, which goes the same for healing potions.
But are such things considered the standard while Rp’ing or do they differ vastly from eachother?

healing is a topic in of itself, but healing potions are quest-rewards some are sold my npcs, one of the first things you learn as an alchemist is healing and mana potions and how to combind the two, I would say healing potions are common item, however I always leave the effectiveness of the potions to the players who buy them off of me.