Mercantile Trade in Dungeons and Dragons, Fifth Edition

When my players were leaving Niole Dra, Captain Alot's player asked me if anyone had any cargo they needed to take to Saltmarsh. Ghosts of Saltmarsh didn't have any good rules for this so I just said "Sure. You get a cargo of.. something. You are paid an appropriate amount."

But I wasn't happy with that deflection. I wanted some simple rules with some random cargo tables. Nothing super complex that required a spreadsheet, but just- something. So I did some research and found that the Gazetteer supplements for D&D's Mystara setting had what I was looking for. So I went about adapting those rules to 5E.

The following rules are adapted to 5E from GAZ11- The Republic of Darokin

Broker Points

Broker points are unlike other skills acquired by characters. A broker point is a die roll modifier used in the mercantile trade system described in the following pages. It is used to reflect the difference that experience makes in the success of merchant trading ventures.

Broker points are awarded by the DM to characters and to NPCs according to the criteria given below. Once received. points are never used up and can be applied any time a modifier IS needed Each point counts as a + 1 modifier to a mercantile trade dice roll.

No character can ever have more than five broker points, which are normally gained only after years of game time and much trading experience, as detailed below. PCs may also receive them as rewards for good roleplaying or spectacular trading achievements. All awarded broker points are cumulative.

PCs and NPCs alike receive broker points when they meet the following criteria:

level 4 - 8 Merchant:	+1
level 9 - 12 Merchant:	+1
Every 4 additional levels of Merchant experience:	+1
Character level 10 - 20:	+1
Character level 21+:	+1
More than 5 years trading experience:	+1
More than 16 years trading experience:	+1
Character is proficient in both Insight and Persuasion:	+1

Buying and Selling Cargo

This procedure is used whenever a character wishes to buy or sell cargo.

Step 1. Determine city’s classification.

Population	Class
500,000 +	A
100,000-499,999	B
50,000-99,999	C
10,000-49,999	D
1001-9,999	E
0-1000	F

 

Step 2. Find the number of merchants and cargo Ioads available.

Use the table below to find the number of merchants and cargo loads in town. Broker points can be applied to rolls on this table.

The number of merchants does not show the total that are in a city, hut rather how many are interested in doing business with the PCs. “Cargo loads” is a convenient measure for quantities of goods and are further defined in the Trade Goods Table (p. 26). If PCs are buying, the number of loads shows how much cargo they can purchase. If they are selling, the number of loads shows how much of their cargo a merchant is interested in buying.

City Class	Merchants	Size of Transaction
A, B	1d6+2	3d8 loads
C, D	1d6+1	2d8 loads
E	1d6	2d6 loads
F	1d6-1	2d4 loads

The DM is free to modify results that conflict with what he knows about a given city. If, for example, the addition of broker points results in ten merchants in a class F village and the DM feels that is too many merchants for such an out-of-the way place, he can reduce the result to a reasonable number.

One half of the merchants indicated on the table appear the first week a caravan is in town (round fractions up). Another one quarter of them appear during the second week, and the rest trickle in at the rate of one per week until all the merchants rolled up have arrived.

For example, if there are eight merchants who will do business with the adventurers in a given town, four appear the first week, two the next, and one each in the third and fourth week. If the PCs want to deal with all of them, they’ll have to wait around for four weeks. If, after all the merchants have been dealt with, the adventurers want to wait around for more business, roll again on the table above, with a -1 modifier for each week the caravan has stayed in town.

Step 3. Determine types of cargo.

The Trade Goods Table lists specific types of goods that can be purchased or sold in a port. DMs are welcome to change items if they wish. For example, a result of “smoked fish” might become “smoked sausage” in one port, or “pickled hogs feet” in another.

The DM can select cargo from this list or settle on goods with a random die roll. If a random result is desired, broker points can be applied to the roll. The players can decide if the available cargo is all one type of commodity or split between various commodities.

If player characters are in search of a specific type of cargo, there is a base 20 percent chance that it will be available in a particular port. This percentage is increased by 5 percent for each broker point applied to the roll. Chances can also be increased or decreased by the DM to reflect how rare or common a type of merchandise might be in that town. For example, the chances of finding livestock for sale in a city near a prairie, or cloth in a city famous for its textiles, are much higher than normal - probably 90%. But if the DM decides that a certain cargo is not available at all, not even broker points can help locate the goods.

Trade Goods Table

Roll	Merchandise	1 load	Encumbrance per Load (ton)	Base Price
01-04	Wood, common	1 cord1	4	50 gp
05-08	Oil	5 jars	1.5	100 gp
09-12	Textiles2	4 bags	1	100 gp
13-16	Salt	150 bricks	3.75	100 gp
17-20	Beer, Ale	I barrel	0.4	100 gp
21-26	Grain and Vegetables	20 bags	4	150 gp
27-30	Fish, preserved	10 barrels	4	110 gp
31-31	Hides, Furs	10 bundles	2	150 gp
36-39	Tea, coffee, tobacco	2 bags	0.5	150 gp
40-43	Animals	See Animal table
44-47	Ceramics	2 crates	0.5	200 gp
48-51	Wine, spirits	1 barrel	0.4	200 gp
52-54	Meat preserved	10 barrels	4	200 gp
55-60	Metals. common	200 ingots	5	200 gp
61-63	Dye and pigments	5 jars	1.25	250 gp
64-68	Cloth	20 rolls	4	200 gp
69-73	Weapons, tools	1 crate	0.5	varies4
74-75	Monsters	1 monster	varies5	varies5
76-80	Glassware	2 crates 3	0.5	400 gp
81-85	Semiprecious stones6	1 box	0.5	200 gp
86-00	Roll on Precious Merchandise table

The Precious Merchandise Table

Roll	Merchandise	1 Load	Encumbrance per Load (tons)	Base Price
01·10	Mounts7	See AnimaIs Table
11-21	Wood. precious	1 cord	4	500 gp
22-33	Porcelain, fine	2 Crates	0.5	1.000 gp
34-41	Books. Rare	I box	0.15	1,000 gp
42-43	Armor3	1 crate	0.5	varies 4
44-61	lvory	1 tusk	0.5	800 gp
62·67	Spices	1 jar	0.30	800 gp
68-75	Silk	1 roll	1	1000 gp
76-85	Furs, rare	1 bundle	0.25	500 gp
86-94	Metals, precious	2 ingots	0.20	600 gp
95-00	Gems	1 box	0.05	3,000 gp

Animals Table:

Roll	Animal	1 Load	Encumbrance per Load (tons)	Fodder cost per Load	Base Price
1	Rabbit, hen	100	2.5	20 gp/wk.	25 gp
2	Goat, hound	20	5	20 gp/wk.	100 gp
3	Pig	10	5	20 gp/wk.	100 gp
4	Cow	5	5	20 gp/wk.	125 gp,
5	Horse	2	15	20 gp/wk.	200 gp
6	Bull	2	15	20 gp/wk.	200 gp
7	Warhorse	2	20	30 gp/wk.	1,000 gp
8	Elephant	1	50	20 gp/wk.	100 gp

 

Notes on the previous charts:

¹ A cord contains either: 15 12’- diameter. 10’-long logs, or: 400 board-feet of 2” by 6” planks.

² Textiles include rope, sacking, and any woven goods other than cloth.

³ The encumbrance of a crate is 0.1 tons. To find the quantity of goods contained within it, divide the remaining encumbrance (0.4 tons) by the weapon or armor weight given in the rules. Round the number down; any remaining fraction is part of the crate and packing weight.

⁴ Use prices given in the rules multiplied by the quantity in the crate. Quantity is calculated as explained in Note ³.

⁵ A monster’s weight is set by the DM. To determine the GP value of a monster, roll randomly on the Individual Treasure table in the Dungeon Master’s Guide appropriate to the monster’s Challenge Rating. Monsters worth 1,000 gp or more are considered precious merchandise. Fodder must also be carried to feed live monsters.

⁶ Semiprecious stones include amber, turquoise, alabaster, agate, geodes, and so on.

⁷ The mounts are either warhorses (80 percent chance) or DM’s choice of exotic mount (20 percent), such as an elephant, camel, mule, or even a domesticated monster. The larger animals, of course, are rarely carried overland. Instead, they are driven down the road in herds. Smaller animals and those prone to escape, such as chickens, rabbits, turkeys, and the like, are transported in cages

Step 4. Find the adjusted price of cargo.

Once the nature of a cargo load has been determined, use its base price to derive its adjusted price. The base price is an arbitrary relative value placed on an item before its value is adjusted for supply, demand, and random economic and political factors. These factors are modeled with a simple system of die rolls and situational modifiers that lead to the adjusted price - the "real" value of the goods at a specific place and time. The adjusted price must be determined before cargo negotiations can begin.

§  Find the cargo's base price on the Trade Goods Table (or the Precious Merchandise Table, if appropriate).

§  The DM must judge whether there is an unusually high or low demand for this commodity at the city in question. The DM may assign a modifier ranging from -4 for very low demand to +4 for very high demand.

§  If the city is class A or B, there is a + 1 modifier. If the town is class E or F, there is a -1 modifier.

§  Roll 3d6, adding or subtracting modifiers for supply and demand and city class, and consult the Base Price Adjustment Table. Players can also modify the roll with broker points. If characters are selling, adding Broker Points results in a higher sale price; if they are buying, subtracting broker Points results in a lower sale price.

§  Multiply the cargo's base price by the adjustment percentage to arrive at the adjusted price.

§  The adjusted price represents the true value of the goods in that particular market. When broker points are applied to result also reflects the benefits of canny business dealings.

The adjusted price is calculated when a cargo load is bought and again when it is sold in a different city. If several merchants buy or sell the same type of goods in the same place, the adjusted price is calculated only once.

Base Price Adjustment Table

Roll 3d6	Percentage
3	30 percent
4	40 percent
5	50 percent
6	60 percent
7	70 percent
8	80 percent
9	90 percent
10	100 percent (no change)
11	110 percent
12	120 percent
13	130 percent
14	140 percent
15	150 percent
16	160 percent
17	180 percent
18	200 percent
19	300 percent
20	400 percent

Step 5. Haggle (optional).

Sellers may attempt to make an opposed Persuasion or Deception check vs. the buyer’s Insight. Success increases the sale price by an additional 10-40 percent. Failure decreases the sale price by an additional 10-40 percent. Sellers and buyers may apply Broker Points to the skill check. Either buyer or seller may cancel the transaction at any time before the exchange of goods.

Step 6. Exchange goods.

Goods exchange hands after the final price is agreed upon and paid. The merchant selling the goods must set aside one-half percent of the final price for the Merchant's Guild, if he is a member. Caravan crews usually handle the loading and unloading of cargo as part of their regular duties.

Shipping Freight

If a ship’s captain does not wish to purchase the goods for sale, they can instead be hired by a merchant to transport a commodity to a market.

Securing a shipment of freight follows the same procedure as buying and selling cargo above. The difference lies in finding a cargo buying and selling the cargo.

Hauling freight requires the ship’s captain to be going where the freight needs to go. If the captain has no planned itinerary and is willing to go to a random city to deliver the freight to its destination, then the standard rules for finding a cargo apply.

However, if the captain has a planned itinerary, finding a cargo of freight that happens to be going to the captain’s next planned destination is much less common. As a result, divide the number of loads available in Step 3 above by six. A captain may have to wait several weeks before a merchant happens to have a cargo that needs to be shipped to the captain’s next planned destination.

Instead of buying the cargo and selling it at the destination for a profit, the captain is paid a flat fee of 5 copper pieces per mile traveled per ton of cargo, up to half the base price of the commodity.

The captain is typically paid half the agreed upon price up front before leaving port and the remaining half upon arrival. If the cost of transport exceeds the potential sale price of the commodity, the merchant cancels the transaction and the captain may have to wait several more weeks before another cargo is available. The merchant, or a designated agent, will accompany the cargo to its destination. The passage of the merchant or agent is free and is included in the price of the shipment. However, the merchant would have pay separately for each additional passenger.  

Passengers

At the player or DM’s discretion, one “load” of available freight can be substituted with a passenger. Passengers pay 5 silver pieces per day for a hammock in a shared cabin or 2 gold pieces per day for a private cabin. Note that passengers must also be included in the expenses

Expenses

The ship’s quartermaster is responsible for feeding, paying, and otherwise keeping a crew of sailors and passengers alive while at sea. These supplies must be purchased prior to setting sail and subtracted from the ship’s stores during the voyage.  

Slaves with wretched accommodations: free, daily crew morale check DC 30

Poorly treated sailors with squalid accommodations: 1 sp per day, daily crew morale check DC 25

Unskilled sailor with poor accommodations, passengers paying for a hammock: 2 sp per day, daily crew morale check DC 20

Experienced sailor with modest accommodations, passengers paying for a private cabin: 1 gp per day, daily crew morale check DC 15

Skilled sailors, officers, and craftsmen with comfortable accommodations: 2 gp per day, daily crew morale check DC 10

A ship might incur additional expenses while at port such as docking fees, tariffs, taxes, barnacle removal, repairs, etc. Individual expenses are beyond the scope these rules. The DMG suggests 20 gold pieces per hit point repaired.