The Merchant Prince of Darokin
by Ohad ShahamThe mysterious Darokinian traders have always been accused of possessing a sixth sense and other magical powers. How else could their success be so overwhelming?
It is true that for hundreds of years witches in the lands now known as the Republic of Darokin have penetrated the oldest and richest merchant houses and gave the rulers of those houses access to arcane powers. Today the Merchant Princes (and princesses!) of Darokin have perfected their art to such extent than they have become masters of most commerce held in the Known World.
The Merchant Prince of Darokin prestige class may not seem as attractive to players because of the lack of power it possesses in combat in comparison to other prestige classes. But to PC's and NPC's who take an interest in driving their caravan through the world, discovering the rarest of goods and forming their own business empire, this class is invaluable.
Hit Die: d4
Requirements:
Abilities: Charisma 12+, Wisdom 12+
Skills: Appraise 7 ranks
Special: be part of an established Darokinian merchant house and finding a sponsor within that house.
Note that you do not have to have an existing heroic character class in order to multiclass into Merchant Prince. Non-adventuring experts and nobles are the most common merchant princes.
Class Skills:
Appraise, Bluff, Craft, Diplomacy, Forgery, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Knowledge (Geography), Knowledge (Local), Knowledge (Finance), Perform, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Speak Language.
Skill ranks per level: 8 +int modifier
Class Features:
All of the following are features of the Merchant Prince of Darokin prestige class:
Weapon and Armour proficiency:
The Merchant Prince of Darokin gains proficiency with all light armour and simple weapons.
Spells:
The Merchant Prince gains arcane spells in much the same way as a wizard does. However the list of spells he can choose from is limited (see below). A Merchant Prince adds her charisma bonus to the DC of his spells but gains bonus spells according to her wisdom score. The minimum wisdom score needed to cast a spell is 10+ the level of the spell.
Bargainer: at 1st level a Merchant Prince of Darokin gets a +3 competence bonus to Diplomacy, Sense Motive and Bluff skill checks when applied to a business transaction. This competence bonus replaces (and does not stack with) feats such as Negotiator when appropriate.
Merchant's Knowledge: the Merchant Prince is as exposed to various titbits of information as a bard is. At 2nd level he gains the same special ability as Bardic Knowledge.
Loyal Employees: starting at 3rd level, the Merchant Prince of Darokin can attract 1 loyal employee per level that wants to work and learn from the famous trader. The Merchant Prince gains 30% of these junior traders income in exchange for tutoring in the various arts of the trade, most of the time she will have to pay them salaries. See more on cohorts in the Dungeon Master Guide.
Resist Mercantile Magic: starting at 5th level the Merchant Prince gains 50% magic resistance against magic used against her in any business transaction. This affects only magic that targets the Merchant Prince directly as with normal magic resistance (a magic missile shot at a draft horse to slow him down is not effected). At each level above 5th the Merchant Prince gains 10% more to her magic resistance until total immunity is reached at 10th level.
Master Bargainer: at 7th level the Merchant Prince skills of negotiation increase. The competence bonuses gained in Bargainer increase to +6.
Business Empathy: at 9th level the Merchant Prince of Darokin gains a marvellous sixth sense in regard to the business he/she owns. She gains an empathic note whenever something unusual happens to her property. For instance, thieves break into her vault back home, an employee has just lost 10,000 gp, a caravan was ambushed and so on. This supernatural ability is available constantly as long as the Merchant Prince and her property are on the same plane of existence.
The Merchant Prince of Darokin
| Level | Base Attack | Saves | Special | Spells per day | |||||
| For | Ref | Wil | lvl1 | lvl2 | lvl3 | Lvl4 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | Bargainer | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2 | +1 | 0 | 0 | +3 | Merchant's Knowledge | 2 | 1 | ||
| 3 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Loyal Employees | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| 4 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 5 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Resist mercantile magic | 5 | 3 | 1 | |
| 6 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| 7 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Master Bargainer | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | |
| 9 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Business Empathy | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 10 | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | |