Darokin Merchant
by Troy Terrell"That cursed Linton! He never checks the entire cargo against the manifest - everyone knows that. But this time, this one time ... it's like he knew, before he got to the caravan, that something was up. I pay my wizards good coin to make sure these sorts of mistakes don't happen. Maybe it's true, what they say of Darokin Merchants, that they have some sixth sense." -- An anonymous Ierendi Merchant. [GAZ11, The Republic of Darokin]
In the Republic of Darokin, trading isn't just a job for most people; it is a way of life. No matter what a person's profession, every citizen must be skilled in the 'art of the deal.' Even adventurers visiting Darokin should hone their negotiating skills.
Most Darokin Merchants are experts in various professions and crafts who have risen to high positions among the merchant houses. Rogues and bards are among the adventuring classes which often pursue this career when their adventuring days are over, although some find a few levels of Darokin Merchant essential if they intend to operate at the highest levels of Republic society. Wizards occasionally choose to turn their arcane skills into a lucrative business, becoming Darokin Merchants of renowned skill.
NPC Darokin Merchants are the most powerful of business leaders in their communities. While they do not utilise blades or bows, they nonetheless frequently wage war with their enemies. Their weapons of choice: the daro or the dinar. Their lack of combat prowess in no way reduces the risk of making one an enemy, nor does it diminish their potential value as an ally.
Hit Die: d4
Requirements
Skills: Appraise 8 ranks, Bluff 4 ranks or Diplomacy 4 ranks, any one Craft, Perform, or Profession 4 ranks
Nation: The character must either hail from the Republic of Darokin or must have worked for a Darokin merchant house for at least two years.
Class Skills
The Darokin Merchant's class skills are Appraise, Bluff, Concentration, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Forgery, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (geography), Listen, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Spot.
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
THE DAROKIN MERCHANT
| Class Level | Base Att | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spells per Day | |||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Quick Counting, Bonus Feat | 0 | - | - | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Appraiser's Eye, Merchant's Knowledge | 1 | - | - | - |
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Efficient Travel | 1 | 0 | - | - |
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Rapid Inventory | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Bonus feat | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | |
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Smuggler's Guile | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Smoothing the Ride | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Bonus feat | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
Class Features
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Darokin Merchants gain no weapon or armour proficiencies.
Spells per day: A Darokin Merchant casts a limited number of arcane spells. To cast a spell, he must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the spell's level. Bonus spells are based on Intelligence, and saves against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell level + the merchant's Intelligence modifier. When he gets 0 spells of a given level, a he gets only bonus spells. A Darokin Merchant has access to any spell on the list (below) and can freely choose which to prepare.
Bonus feat: At 1st level, and every 4th level thereafter, a Darokin Merchant may select a feat from the following list: Alertness, Diligent, Lightning Reflexes, Negotiator, Persuasive, Skill Focus, Trustworthy, any Meta-magic. He must still meet all requirements for whatever feat he selects.
Quick Counting: Once per day for each class level, a Darokin Merchant can, as a full round action, determine the exact number of coins in a given pile or container. He must either run his hand through the pile or handle the container directly. If the coins are clearly visible, he can also determine what type of coins are present. At sixth level, he can do this as a standard action.
Appraiser's Eye: At 2nd level a Darokin Merchant is able to more accurately determine the market price of items he examines. He is also more likely to notice a forgery or hidden signs of poor workmanship. He may add his Merchant level to Appraise checks to determine an item's market price and to Spot checks to notice faked items.
Merchant's Knowledge: A Merchant's frequent travel exposes him to a great deal of diverse knowledge and lore. Starting at 2nd level, he can tap into this knowledge just as a bard does. This ability functions as bardic knowledge using the Merchant level instead of bard level. If the Merchant also has levels of bard, his Merchant levels instead stack with his bard level to determine the Knowledge bonus.
Efficient Travel: At 3rd level, a Darokin Merchant's skills at organising and running a travelling group streamline the usually time-consuming details. Any caravan or party with which the Merchant is travelling in a leadership or investor role moves at one mile per hour faster than normal.
Rapid Inventory: Once per day for each class level, a Darokin Merchant can, as a full round action, determine the exact contents of a 10 ft cube of merchandise. He must actually be able to see the merchandise to use this ability. At ninth level, he can do this as a standard action.
Smuggler's Guile: At 7th level a Darokin Merchant is able to apply his business acumen to concealing the more shady aspects of his operation or to detecting someone else's illicit conduct. He may add his Merchant level to Sleight of Hand or Hide checks to conceal an item and to Forgery checks to create faked documents. He may also apply his Merchant level to Spot or Search checks to locate hidden objects and to Forgery checks to detect falsified documents.
Smoothing the Ride: At 8th level, a Merchant's travel management skills help his team avoid many of the typical delays from difficult terrain and road conditions. Any caravan or party with which the Merchant is travelling in a leadership or investor role treats roads, trails, or lack thereof as one level better than the actual conditions. For example, a caravan of wagons travelling over a road calculates hourly and daily movement as if they were travelling over a highway. For details on overland movement modifiers, see page 164 of the Players Handbook.
Darokin Merchant Spell List
1st level - Alarm, Calm Animals, Detect Magic, Endure Elements, Know Direction, Light, Mending, Message
2nd level - Arcane Lock, Charm Animal, Charm Person, Eagle's Splendour, Fox's Cunning, Locate Object, Owl's Wisdom
3rd level - Darkvision, Find Traps, Glibness, Nondetection, Quench, Shrink Item
4th level - Detect Scrying, Freedom of Movement, Leomund's Secure Shelter, Sending