What's For Sale: Marketplace Offerings

The scene is a classic: the party, fresh off of an adventure, decides to cash in their loot and buy some new items. But what does the local marketplace offer? The smallest hamlet probably doesn't have an expert smith or magic items, and the biggest city likely has so many businesses that the players might be surprised by what's available. Getting this balance right is not the most difficult part of GMing, but you would do well to have that information already determined so that you can focus your efforts on the rest of the game. Read on for a full breakdown of what can be purchased in the full range of settlements. 

The biggest deciding factor in what a settlement's marketplace has to offer is the size of the settlement. In the guide that follows, there are four different levels of settlement as well as the corresponding details for what kinds of goods can be purchased. The four levels are hamlet, village, town, and city, in ascending order of population. These settlements, at least for the most part, are driven to keep trade in a kind of balance--too much trade and the settlement can't support itself with the bare necessities, but not enough trade and the settlement will not be able to rise above the bare necessities. That means a balance must be struck. The following section shows the ratio of population to number of businesses: 

• Hamlet: ~100 people, 5-10 businesses; ratio ~8%
• Village: 200-2,000 people, 20-80 businesses; ratio ~15%
• Town: 10,000-50,000 people, 2,000-8,000 businesses; ratio ~20%
• City: 60,000-150,000 people, 15,000-35,000 businesses; ratio ~25%

You may notice that the ratio of businesses to other methods of financially supporting oneself grows higher the greater the population. This is because a great deal of the non-business households in settlements are agricultural in nature. And just as happened with the Agricultural Revolution in real life, better specialization and the cooperation of businesses with farmers mean that the settlement can produce overall more goods. As a result of this dynamic, the most talented tradespeople and expert craftspeople often migrate to cities, where it is more likely that they will be able to survive off their trade. This is an in-game explanation of why hamlets don't have powerful mages and expert smiths, which can create narrative for your game--if the players want a specific rare item, they'll have to travel to the big city to get it, where you can introduce all the storylines you could want. 

Let's get into the actual marketplace offerings of each level of settlement, beginning with the humble hamlet. We only get at most 10 businesses (I'll create 6) in the hamlet, and we don't have much of a realistic chance of having more than one of any businesses in the same industry. So let's just brainstorm a few businesses, starting with the industry and moving toward greater detail. (And check out varying descriptions of multiple common items for shops.) 

• Smithy -> Specialty blacksmithing common items and tools, can make simple weapons -> Bertrand's Smithy, owned and operated by Bertrand Ogilvy, a kind but simple man -> Moderate prices, good quality
• Clothing shop -> Wide variety of common clothing and extra stock of current elven fashions -> Sew What?, owned and operated by Willien Nerostin, a slightly pretentious elven woman -> Slightly high prices, high quality
• Grocer's -> Wholesaler of the crops grown in the community, discounts for farmers -> Green Grocer Goods, owned and operated by Shiloh Westerman, a community-minded entrepreneur -> Low prices, good quality
• General Store -> Wholesaler of the common goods made in the community -> Lohman's General Store, owned and operated by Obadiah Lohman, a very private man -> Average prices, average quality
• Lumber -> Seller and shipper of lumber from the area around the hamlet, particularly oak and maple -> Treetop Lumber, owned and operated by Cynthia Bergstrom, a creative young entrepreneur -> Slightly high prices, average quality
• Bricks and stone -> Miner, cutter, and seller of clay bricks and stonework, particularly slate -> Solid Masonry, owned and operated by Bedelia Xintian, an outspoken woman with plans to expand her business -> Slightly low prices, high quality

As you can see, the hamlet businesses are diverse and do not duplicate the industry of other businesses, which reflects how hard it would be for two smiths to succeed in a small town at the same time. The quality of items versus their prices are generally pretty well-matched; it's hard for a small town businesses to get away with charging disproportionately for their goods. So when your players are in a hamlet, their shopping options should be restricted to suit the settlement. If they want finer goods, they'll have to go to a bigger settlement. Which brings us to villages--I will again provide six businesses, but this time with more choices for each business: 

• Armorsmith -> Some mid-quality weapons, but primarily armor from padded to plate mail -> Norris' Armor, owned and operated by Norris Anvilcatcher, a reserved but confident man -> Average prices, above average quality
• Blacksmith -> All range of non-weapon smithing goods from hardware to complex tools -> Old Town Blacksmith, owned and operated by Trina Derwiniel, a helpful and charming woman -> Slightly low prices, moderately high quality
• Poor clothing -> A wide variety of clothing of all styles, but made cheaply -> Discount Apparel, owned and operated by Poshtin Backerel, an enterprising but calculating man -> Low prices, low quality
• Fine clothing -> A selection of the newest fashions in the land, focusing on formal attire -> The Packed Closet, owned and operated by Candace Rutherford, a pretentious and artistic woman -> High prices, high quality
• General Store -> All the most common goods are sold here; there is little variety or options, but nearly any good is represented -> Horace's Goods, owned and operated by Horace Jenkins, an unpredictable young man -> Low prices, slightly low quality
• Expanded General Store -> Any basic good can be found here in multiple levels of quality, allowing the customer to have more choices in shopping -> Everything Under the Sun, owned and operated by Peggy Burton, a devout woman -> Average prices, varying qualities

In the village, there is now enough of a division of labor that businesses with common industries can simultaneously succeed thanks to their variation in service. Citizens of the village as well as visitors can decide on the shopping experience they want to a great extent. This trend will continue as we increase the size of the settlement; in the next step, the town, we will see even more options available for players to shop, and in a way that makes shopping more complex and satisfying. The town: 

• Armorsmith -> Complete specialization in armor with no other metalworked goods sold -> Tortoiseshell Armor, owned and operated by Wanda Trenchcutter, a studious woman -> Above average prices, above average quality
• Weaponsmith -> Complete specialization in weapons with no other metalworked goods sold -> The Slick Whetstone, owned and operated by Gerald Nesbit, a jokester -> Above average prices, fairly high quality
• Blacksmith -> All manner of common goods ranging from hardware to tool as well as custom smithing -> The Bubbling Forge, owned and operated by Hester Dorner, a feisty young woman -> Average prices, good quality
• Poor Clothing -> A reseller of used clothing for the financially struggling -> Clothing Exchange, owned and operated by Jessa Trombull, a compassionate organizer -> Low prices, somewhat low quality
• Moderate Clothing -> A seller of quickly and cheaply made clothing in the styles of fashionable apparel -> Bargain Threadworks, owned and operated by Burton Scepter, an irritable man -> Average prices, average quality
• Fine Clothing -> Finely-made high end fashion as well as custom clothing -> The Infinite Loom, owned and operated by Georgia Dunder, a very friendly woman -> Very high prices, high quality

In the town, we can see increasingly diversified business types. Where in the hamlet, we could only justify one smithy, the village can support far more than the three listed above; in fact, there would be many such smithies, and these three are simply a representation of the variety offered. You may notice that the potential quality of smithing goods has risen over the last few steps up to more populous settlements--this will complicate the players' quests to obtain the best items and introduce them to a variety of people and items before they make their choice. And choice is at its greatest possibility in the largest settlements: cities. 

• Heavy Armorsmith -> Complete specialization in heavy armor, from the heaviest medium armor to the heaviest heavy armor -> Heavy Plate, owned by Harriet Thatcher and operated by Boris Leafgrower, a devoted man -> Somewhat high prices, very high quality
• Light Armorsmith -> Complete specialization in light armor, from the lightest medium armor to the lightest light armor -> Float Like a Butterfly, owned and operated by Francis Copperplate, an irritable man -> High prices, high quality
• Ranged Weaponsmith -> Complete specialization in bows and crossbows -> The Arrow's Path, owned by Thomas Redfield and operated by Gwen Bluebottle, a cautious woman -> Somewhat high prices, high quality
• Melee Weaponsmith -> Complete specialization in blades and bludgeoning weapons -> The Keen Edge, owned and operated by Sam Willnor, a perpetually worried young woman -> Average prices, good quality
• Tools Blacksmith -> Complete specialization in tools, from farming implements to construction tools -> Owned and operated by Reginald Quillbearer, a foolish old man -> Slightly high prices, good quality
• Hardware Blacksmith -> Complete specialization in hardware, particularly nails, hinges, and locks -> Owned by Trisha Pollard and operated by Quincy Dursbury, a talkative man -> Average prices, high quality

In the biggest of settlements, merchants are able to offer increasingly specific goods since other merchants are covering their own specific niches. Where in the hamlet, only one smith could sustain itself, a city offers the opportunity for the players to shop at the most specialized businesses and get exactly what they're looking for. These six smithies and not the only smiths in the city; with at least 15,000 businesses in a city, there are going to be far more smithies than your players will ever need. That's why it's important to specialize certain merchants--that way, the players can access the best shops for their shopping desires. You'll also notice that not all of the business operators own their businesses in cities--that's because in bigger cities, the wealthiest of people can make money from their businesses even when someone else needs to get paid to make the business run. We're unlikely to see this in smaller towns, but in places where business can be more profitable like big cities, it can be common. 

So why make it so that players can only find the best goods in big cities? Well, I'm not advocating for that per se. It should be easier to find great merchants in big cities, but that doesn't mean that there isn't an expert craftsperson living in a small town. In fact, it could be an interesting storyline to have the players journey to a small town in order to work with a specific craftsperson. But in general, having your players need to find specific merchants does away with one of my least favorite narrative elements of the game. By this, I mean that having the party walk into a small general store in a tiny hamlet and finding the best quality of an exotic weapon doesn't make a lot of sense to me. There might be one legendary item important to a settlement's history, but this is unlikely to be something the town wants to sell. Hamlets probably don't have magic item shops, either--how many notable magic items would really end up in a town that doesn't even appear on most maps? 

This approach solves that problem. As players arrive in smaller or larger towns, your description of those places should match the size of the settlement. Small towns with only a few shops might offer high quality items, but big city boons and problems shouldn't be present here--no massive crowds, no range of choices for shops, no massive marketplaces. But in big cities, food of all sorts, goods of every industry, and specialized services should abound. This is less a restriction on your players and more a way to make the settlements in your game feel unique and appropriate to the world. 

My examples above indicate the increasing range and specialization of marketplaces in gameworlds, but they don't tell you exactly what you can find in each kind of marketplace. Here's a breakdown of what kinds of industries appear as the settlements get larger:

• Hamlets: Basic goods--any necessities and perhaps one or two luxury goods like nicer clothing, finer goods like glasswork, or perhaps an apothecary or healer. The craftspeople who work in these tiny settlements may produce the occasional rare good, but they make their living off of simple work that can serve the masses. There must be a grocer or agricultural marketplace in order to allow the settlement to survive, but beyond that, any combination of basic goods will work fine. 
• Villages: A variety of basic goods--all bare necessities and a handful of luxury goods like fragrances and artwork, though at a much lower rate than simple goods. If hamlets are just getting by, villages are just beginning to get ahead. The average quality of items should be above average, but not by much. A village may contain a business or two which caters to travelers, such as an inn or a stable, but most of the focus on business is on the villagers themselves. The range of businesses here should attend more to variety of items rather than variety within a specific category; by this I mean that there should be one of each businesses rather than a collection of businesses that perform similar functions; the specialization that is associated with bigger settlements is just being developed in villages. 
• Towns: All basic goods as well as a variety of luxury goods--anything you would find in a village is here, but with the addition of specialty shops. This is where settlements begin to have shops that sell magic items, masterwork weaponry, and luxury services like fortune-telling. There should be both common and poor versions of popular goods for the masses as well as upscale versions of those goods for the wealthy. The goods and services found in villages should be expanded and diversified; for instance, the party should have a handful of options for inns in a town. Specialization is at work here; the quality of goods and their prices should be broader in towns than in smaller settlements. 
• Cities: Almost anything should be available here--common goods should be stocked in many tiers of quality across a number of stores. Specific goods, particularly luxury items, are easiest to find in cities; these settlements can offer choices between expert craftspeople, allowing the players to decide on which business to buy from based on a variety of factors unrelated to the business itself, which gives the players agency to play as they wish. With so many people in a city, at least one person is likely to be trying their hand at a particular business venture, so you can easily drop a specific businessperson into a city and have them fit quite naturally. In a city, finding the right item is more a matter of patience than a matter of whether or not that business exists. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: why storytelling and roleplaying are the height of TRPGs, how to build a player stronghold, and a one-shot based on The Big Lebowski. Until next time, happy gaming!

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