Post by DM Hawk on Dec 9, 2018 0:07:03 GMT -5
FRC Merchant Rules
FRC's merchant system has In Character (IC) and Out of Character (OOC) reasons for its existence. Please read these key points if you plan to have your character become a merchant.
1. Player Character Merchant Definition - A merchant PC is a character engaging in mercantile activity in Cormyr. If you are engaged in letting folks know you have items for sale, you are engaging in merchanting.
If two characters in the course of ordinary conversation realize they have items to sell to each other and do so, that is not mercantile activity. A group of adventurers who come back into town and split their loot are not engaged in mercantile activity, even if a nearby character, overhearing the discussion, jumps up and makes an offer on an item.
Displaying goods, calling out that items are available for sale, or approaching other characters and making inquiries are all examples for characters who need a license.
It is possible to hire people. People are not merchandise. Unless they're slaves, and the slave trade is illegal in Cormyr!
2. Player Character Merchant License - PC merchants are required by Cormyrean Law to purchase a Cormyrean Merchant License. If your PC merchant does not buy a license and gets caught, they will face in character consequences for breaking the laws including fines, jail time, and banishment!
Cormyrean Law does not extend to Thay or the Thayan Enclave. Selling on Thayan soil does not currently require a license.
To purchase a Cormyrean Merchant's License please contact a DM.
3. Minimum Prices - There are minimum prices for any PC-to-PC transactions, whether with a merchant license or not. For convenience, the Merchant License details set minimum prices for many common item types.
The minimum prices do not specify the extra profit you can charge for an item above and beyond these rates, only the minimum pricing. Though if your price seems like an excuse for twinking by having a wealthy friend buy crap at very high prices that will still be addressed.
Apply First: the "50% formula" - If a PC wants to sell something to another PC, the item must be sold for a minimum of 50% of what the item would cost if a PC was to buy it from a NPC shopkeeper / merchant.
Apply Second: the "2.5x formula" - If the item is not sold by an NPC shop-keeper / merchant, only THEN can the PC Merchant offer to instead set a selling price (to another PC) of a minimum of 2.5 times (250%) of the value at which a NPC shop-keeper / merchant would offer to buy the item. This only applies for items that can't be found in a store, it is not an excuse not to check stores nor a work-around to undercut the 50% price-point.
Crafted Items - Crafted items have a base crafting cost so things shouldn't be sold for less than this. Ideally there should be some mark-up as well, e.g. the 50% formula. In some cases, such as scrolls, crafting an item costs more than it costs to buy it so there's no good uniform formula for crafted items.
Traps - There is no minimum prices for PC merchants to sell traps. Traps generally can't be resold to NPC merchants for "real" profit either. Traps are a craftable item with no direct crafting cost. Some traps are more valuable than others for their raw materials, but in the end they are generally more valuable as traps, which don't have much value.
4. Do not sell - Paladins may not craft and sell Bless Weapons scrolls. They may be crafted for personal use only.
Please ask a DM if there are any questions about FRC Merchant Rules or share your question in the DM Q&A section here:
frc.proboards.com/board/27/dm-answers
With these rules in hand, good business to you and happy merchanting!
Thank you,
The FRC Staff