Crafters, Merchants and Hunters OH MY!

One aspect of "True Persistence" is the ability to have player-controlled merchant stores. These stores are controlled and run by players and allow them to stock items which can be sold to other players or purchased by NPCs via the Economy and Loot & Treasure Sub-systems. While most Persistent Worlds either ignore this functionality or create a very limited and restrictive form of it, the Tabula Rasa NWN2 PW Template will not only embrace it, but also turn it into a viable aspect of role-playing which has not been done to this extent previously from what I can tell.

The Crafter's Perspective

While not getting into the specifics of crafting, the crafter is the first part of this economic cycle. Components are either collected, extracted, created, or purchased and then used to craft useful items. These items are created because the crafter perceives a "demand" for them. At this point there is nothing stopping the crafter from entering into direct negotiations with a customer to purchase the item, however this can become time consuming and ultimately "hit and miss" for the crafter who is more interested in spending time in the workshop honing his skills than he is roaming around the city looking for potential customers (Something the local guards would not take kindly to without a license).

This is where the second phase of the cycle comes in, and a crafter can approach a merchant or store and attempt to set up a trade deal to supply items in return for gold. This is good for the crafter because it provides a consistent place through which to sell their items and gives an instant injection of funds to be used for other crafts, while leaving the merchant to have an outlay of cash and to wait the time necessary to sell the item.

There is of course nothing stopping a crafter from obtaining his own store or business (Providing there is a need for it, the city approves the request, and the crafter has the funds to set it up and keep it going) and selling his items directly to customers, but this is a bigger undertaking which requires him to pay for someone to manage the store while he is off crafting and requires him to split his time between crafting and managing. Thus the crafter has to weigh up the benefits of bypassing the merchants profit margin, with the detriments of having a higher running cost and management need.

The Merchant Perspective

If crafting isn't your thing, but you have a good eye for goods and a knack for business, then you may choose instead to become a merchant. As a merchant you have basically purchased a business and have a license to trade through a store or shop. You are free to put whatever items you want in the store and these can be obtained by any means that are available to you.

It could mean that your store is a "General Store" where all of your looted items can be sold, or a "Rarity Store" where only rare and unique items are sold, a bookstore, or just about any purpose you can think of. You are not however restricted to stocking the store yourself, and you may either seek other adventurers, offering to purchase their trinkets and baubles, you may enter into agreements with crafters to supply you with crafted items, or you can instruct the manager/assistant of your store to put up a notice board of items that you are prepared to buy.

This last options allows you to set up a list of items (Including quantity and price) which you are interested in obtaining, and have the shop itself manage the collection of those items. Once your quantities are reached, the store will no longer accept that item and new items can be added at any time. Special arrangements can also be made with hunters to maintain their loyalty to your shop and encourage them to supply you instead of your competition, or any common adventurer that is browsing your business may find that they just happen to have something you want.

There are several interesting features which are available to all merchants, which are designed to allow them to create their own economic strategies in order to compete with other merchants. The ability to configure and run every aspect of the business is available through a web interface which interfaces directly with the database and reduces the need for the server to handle a large amount of processing that it simply does not need to do.

Firstly, the merchant has available to them 3 separate stores, which can each be configured differently and have different mark ups to allow the merchant to arrange their goods effectively. Each of these stores can be named as the merchant sees fit and the name should generally reflect the purpose it will be used for. Whether this is for Premium products, or a clearance bin, or a reduced markup for best selling items, this gives the merchant enough flexibility to sell the items at the right price, while allowing customers more options in buying items or trying to find the best deal.

Secondly, merchants are able to hire staff to run the store as well as set up security to protect the items from theft or robbery, both while the store is open and to protect the stock at night when the store is closed. This provides another aspect to role-playing which pits the intelligence and resourcefulness of the merchants against that of local thieves. A range of options will be available, from trying to use deception or concealment, brute force, dangerous traps, or by paying off the local thieves guild to leave you alone. There will however be rules in place to stop griefing or exploitation from occurring, but security should be considered a necessary cost of running a store and any merchant who ignores it, does so at their own peril.

Thirdly, merchants are able to set up arrangements with various other people, from crafters to supply items, hunters to supply components, and even customers to give them a discount for repeated business. Arrangements can also be made for specific guilds or groups as well as racial types. These options allow merchants to market their items to customers in a variety of ways.

Lastly, merchants may establish trade agreements with merchants at other locations based on the need for certain goods in these places. These then require transportation to deliver those goods which in itself generates a quest that other players may undertake as part of their adventuring.

The Hunter Perspective

While it is perfectly natural for an adventurer to make their way in the world to seek fame and fortune, more often than not adventurers head out into the world to put their skills to good use in retrieving items that are valued or sequestered by other. This then makes them "Hunters" who see a profit in hard to get supplies or components which are dangerous to come across (Usually because some poor creature has to die to provide it). This becomes quite a lucrative lifestyle which fits in nicely with the roaming nature of some adventurers, allowing them to travel and seek adventure, while knowing someone needs the items you are bringing back and will pay handsomely for your services in retrieving it.

Of course there is nothing stopping the hunter from trying to sell such items himself, but again he faces the same problems as the crafter in getting a reliable and consistent means of turning their hard earned gains into gold in order to fund the next trip. As with the crafter, there is nothing stopping the hunter from setting up their own business and trying to cut out the middle man by selling their items directly to the public, but the same problems occur again in having to split your time between managing the business and being out in the world chasing down the stock and not being able to pass on instructions to your staff back home.

Thus it becomes more reasonable for the hunter to either work freelance and browse the merchants and crafters looking someone who wants their goods, or to set up trade agreements with them based on a mutually beneficial set of terms. This could include a discount to the store which allows them to purchase items to take with them on the hunt, to an agreed price for the number of items that are brought back.

Economic Strategy and Counter Strategy

All of this functionality is designed in line with the Template Philosophies and is built specifically to entertain a different style of play for those who want viable alternatives to combat that still provide a richness of options and role-playing opportunities as well as interaction between players in a less aggressive and confrontational way. With the tools at the players discretion, they are able to set up a strategy for maximizing their profits and cornering the market in the area they have chosen to specialize in. Other players may counter these strategies with ones of their own, and thus competition is created and the end customer is rewarded with a large range of items available for the best possible price given the supply and demand of such items.

This not only interacts with the economy and trade of the world, but it provides an additional source for adventurers to find things to do, as well as give them an interaction which is not controlled by the computer and thus static and structured.