There was a time when Dungeons & Dragons was a game about killing monsters and taking their stuff. The game has since evolved into being more about roleplaying as a fantasy character than being a collector of powerful fantasy loot, but there’s no reason those two elements can’t come together in the form of a loot-selling D&D merchant character.
Trade has been an important part of human history, and the existence of entire civilizations has been linked to resources that exist in only certain parts of the world. The same is true of the fictional worlds of D&D campaigns, regardless of the presence of non-human races, magic, and monsters. Indeed, trade is the main reason many of D&D‘s races maintain relationships at all.
Before creating a merchant character, players should decide how far to go with the concept. Not all DMs want to go for a full, Yakuza: Like A Dragon-like business management system, unless they want a game focused around creating a fantasy trade empire, but a character who operates as a merchant during their downtime shouldn’t be too disruptive. Being a merchant also gives the player a number of different reasons to want to go adventuring in the first place: Maybe they’ve fallen into debt, and a quick treasure hunt will help turn their fortunes around, or a client has requested a rare magic item as part of a huge deal.
D&D’s Merchants – The Importance Of Charisma & Intelligence
The two most important stats for playing as a D&D merchant are Charisma and Intelligence. The former is necessary for dealing with people face to face, which is one of the most crucial aspects of running a business. The latter is needed for balancing books and making smart decisions. When it comes to choosing a race, the options from the Player’s Handbook that will boost these stats include high elves, drow, lightfoot halflings, humans, dragonborn, and gnomes, but half-elves and tieflings are probably the best in this regard – though the latter might face a negative response from their customers, due to the discrimination that many with fiendish blood face in the D&D campaign worlds.
It’s also possible to throw the racial ability modifier rules out of the window. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything introduced rules that let players switch up the racial modifiers on their characters so that players can chose whatever race they want, without feeling as if their character is underpowered.
D&D’s Bards – The Friendly Market Merchant
When it comes to front-facing businesses that involve direct interaction with the customer, there is no better option than D&D‘s Bard class. Charisma is Bards’ main stat, they get many skills and modifiers for skill checks, and they can take any helpful spells they want from other classes. The College of Lore will help Bard merchants even further, with yet more skill modifiers and spells. The best Background for this character would be the Guild Merchant variant, as it not only fits their role but gives some great skills and items. Bards are easily the best choice for a character who moonlights as a merchant, but then again, not all merchants operate out in the open.
D&D’s Rogues – The Black Market Runner
Not all sales take place in the warm light of day. There are some items that can only be acquired and sold through illegal means, and there are always people willing to provide these shady goods. Black market merchants are best played by Rogues, especially the ones who belong to the Thief archetype. Rogues are experts at knowing when they’re being conned, and no one is better at getting out of Dodge when a deal goes wrong or when the law comes knocking. The best Background for this D&D character would be the Criminal, as its special contacts feature will ensure the party always has access to items. The Charlatan is also a good choice of Background, as its false identity feature is great for keeping a low profile.
D&D’s Wizards – The Arcane Market Supplier
Magic items are some of the most expensive products in D&D – with good reason – which leads some spellcasters into the business world. Magic item stores exist in the biggest cities of D&D‘s campaign worlds, but there are also private traders who deal with arcane artifacts. These characters need little prompting to go on adventures, as the best items are hidden in the hoards of the nastiest monsters, and they will need all the hired muscle (aka, party members) they can get. D&D‘s Wizard is the best choice for kind of merchant, due to their wealth of knowledge and access to a vast array of spells for different situations. The best Arcane Tradition is the School of Abjuration, as its casters are loaded with spells that protect against thieves, as well as criminal mages. Finally, the Sage is a great Background choice for this Dungeons & Dragons merchant character, as knowledge of arcane lore would make them the Antique’s Roadshow specialists of the D&D world.
