What Should I Buy? What Should I Sell?

#1 · May 22, 2025, 4:32 pm

Quote from Chris Henson on May 22, 2025, 4:32 pm
I wanted to provide some insight into what you guys would know about trade, transporting goods, and making coin from it, so that you can roll into this next session with some idea of how things work.

So foundationally, the big burning questions are: What should we buy? And where should we sell it? And how do we know what's profitable?

These are great questions! And this is the fun of the RP experience -- you're being transported to a time and place before the internet, before there are charts and lists of what's hot, and what's the every day low Walmart price. You're being teleported to a time and place where towns and villages are being built, and even town names and locations are not readily common knowledge, though with the right kind of searches and connections, you might be able to put you hands on some of that information.

For years, I've played in a "perfect information" fantasy setting -- that is, published maps of every geographical region, information availble from books or sages on virtually every ancient civilization, trade routes established, stores stocked with known top sellers. The occasional mysterious ruin or wasteland, but overall, those are the exception, not the rule.

This campaign will be a departure from that. The world map that you have serves to show overall known geography (probably more than you would know, but for I'm just going to gloss that a little for sake of our modern aesthetics). But you'll notice that there are many dots on there without place names, and some areas dont even have a lot of that.

You are at the vanguard in a time in Narenfel history where trade routes are being forged. Those that do exist might be previous secrets, because knowledge = potential wealth. Likewise, knowledge of trade stuffs -- both mundane and artisan -- is something that you'll need to search out.

That said, you are not the only people thinking in this way. Towers and towns are being constructed, and people know there is money to be made if they can figure out the way to do it. Merchants are the adventurers of this campaign!

So what do people want? What do they need? Here's a "list" of what you know as aspiring merchants.

Food. Every place wants food. It's at the top of Maslowe's hierarchy for a reason. Towns can't grown without constantly feeding citizens, and people have to eat every single day. In general, towns and villages grow/forage/hunt/trade within a 2-3 day diameter of their center. Food items that can't be easily acquired within that radius will command higher prices. Things that can will still be attractive, but at a lower rate. The challenge with food is that it spoils easily -- transporting it over 10 days will be tricky unless it is heavily salted or preserved (like the salted fish you have). But, if you can find a way to get food that is not available in the 2-3 diameter to that place while the food is still fresh and viable, you will get good reward. The fresher, the more profitable.

Building materials. As I mentioned, there is a lot of construction that is happening at this time. Towers being built and/or fortified, inns being constructed, central streets being paved or needing wooden walkways, etc. So wood will be very important (and there are many types of wood, useful in different types of things), stone and clay (both for foundational needs, and for finish out (like marble). Bronze, copper, lead, tin and iron are important for this, as well as for other things, but even simple things like copper nails, lead pipes or clay bricks are big deals. You could transport unfinished (raw) materials (like iron ore), or find someplace that refines it into bars, or someplace that is actually turning it into pipes. The more refined, the higher the price you'll command, but also, the more niche the market. Nice thing about building materials is that they don’t spoil (like food), but they are bulky and take up a lot of space.

Furs, Cloth and Clothing. Like food, everyone needs to be clothed. And like building materials, the more refined things are, the more you can command. Raw wool can be used virtually everywhere, clothing requires higher levels of skill and design, and can command a lot of money -- to the right buyer with the right aesthetic. Fancy clothes will command the most money -- but only to very niche buyers, for high quality outfits. The same goes for leather or padded armors. There's definitely a market for it -- just have to get the goods there. Like building materials, they transport pretty easily too.

Artisan. Some things are just made in a specific locale, or by a very gifted artisan or guild. Items made of glass, or specific types of forged breastplates or blades can be incredibly popular. The artisans who make these kinds of things might need specific ingredients too -- like colored enamels for shields, specific types of paper or bone or shell, or intricate constructs, like clasps, hinges, etc. Some of these things are fragile or breakable, which will increase your sell price, but could also cause you to lose some on the road.

Collector items. You'll run across folks who are interested in elements from outside their geographical location, like mounted direwolves, or specific ingredients for particular spells. This might also be for gourmets who want very particular ingredients for their upcoming banquets. You would probably need a patron or patrons to specify exactly what you would be looking for. Or develop a network of contacts.

Rare and Valuable. Rare manuscripts and illuminations are like gold to the Maugtheni. Statues and art are symbols of status among the wealthy, and perfumes, ancient (nonmagical) relics, and religious elements are also highly prized. Of course, magical items if you find any. They are not super common. The challenge here is both finding and procuring these items, and then finding the right buyer who has the interest (and coin) to purchase them.

That’s a good amount to think about, so I’ll leave it here for initial discussion. In general though, as a group, you’ll want to figure out what kind of things you want to focus on acquiring and then figure out where you want to go to sell it, and then get there quickly and safely for maximum profit.

I wanted to provide some insight into what you guys would know about trade, transporting goods, and making coin from it, so that you can roll into this next session with some idea of how things work.

So foundationally, the big burning questions are: What should we buy? And where should we sell it? And how do we know what's profitable?

These are great questions! And this is the fun of the RP experience -- you're being transported to a time and place before the internet, before there are charts and lists of what's hot, and what's the every day low Walmart price. You're being teleported to a time and place where towns and villages are being built, and even town names and locations are not readily common knowledge, though with the right kind of searches and connections, you might be able to put you hands on some of that information.

For years, I've played in a "perfect information" fantasy setting -- that is, published maps of every geographical region, information availble from books or sages on virtually every ancient civilization, trade routes established, stores stocked with known top sellers. The occasional mysterious ruin or wasteland, but overall, those are the exception, not the rule.

This campaign will be a departure from that. The world map that you have serves to show overall known geography (probably more than you would know, but for I'm just going to gloss that a little for sake of our modern aesthetics). But you'll notice that there are many dots on there without place names, and some areas dont even have a lot of that.

You are at the vanguard in a time in Narenfel history where trade routes are being forged. Those that do exist might be previous secrets, because knowledge = potential wealth. Likewise, knowledge of trade stuffs -- both mundane and artisan -- is something that you'll need to search out.

That said, you are not the only people thinking in this way. Towers and towns are being constructed, and people know there is money to be made if they can figure out the way to do it. Merchants are the adventurers of this campaign!

So what do people want? What do they need? Here's a "list" of what you know as aspiring merchants.

Food. Every place wants food. It's at the top of Maslowe's hierarchy for a reason. Towns can't grown without constantly feeding citizens, and people have to eat every single day. In general, towns and villages grow/forage/hunt/trade within a 2-3 day diameter of their center. Food items that can't be easily acquired within that radius will command higher prices. Things that can will still be attractive, but at a lower rate. The challenge with food is that it spoils easily -- transporting it over 10 days will be tricky unless it is heavily salted or preserved (like the salted fish you have). But, if you can find a way to get food that is not available in the 2-3 diameter to that place while the food is still fresh and viable, you will get good reward. The fresher, the more profitable.
Building materials. As I mentioned, there is a lot of construction that is happening at this time. Towers being built and/or fortified, inns being constructed, central streets being paved or needing wooden walkways, etc. So wood will be very important (and there are many types of wood, useful in different types of things), stone and clay (both for foundational needs, and for finish out (like marble). Bronze, copper, lead, tin and iron are important for this, as well as for other things, but even simple things like copper nails, lead pipes or clay bricks are big deals. You could transport unfinished (raw) materials (like iron ore), or find someplace that refines it into bars, or someplace that is actually turning it into pipes. The more refined, the higher the price you'll command, but also, the more niche the market. Nice thing about building materials is that they don’t spoil (like food), but they are bulky and take up a lot of space.
Furs, Cloth and Clothing. Like food, everyone needs to be clothed. And like building materials, the more refined things are, the more you can command. Raw wool can be used virtually everywhere, clothing requires higher levels of skill and design, and can command a lot of money -- to the right buyer with the right aesthetic. Fancy clothes will command the most money -- but only to very niche buyers, for high quality outfits. The same goes for leather or padded armors. There's definitely a market for it -- just have to get the goods there. Like building materials, they transport pretty easily too.
Artisan. Some things are just made in a specific locale, or by a very gifted artisan or guild. Items made of glass, or specific types of forged breastplates or blades can be incredibly popular. The artisans who make these kinds of things might need specific ingredients too -- like colored enamels for shields, specific types of paper or bone or shell, or intricate constructs, like clasps, hinges, etc. Some of these things are fragile or breakable, which will increase your sell price, but could also cause you to lose some on the road.
Collector items. You'll run across folks who are interested in elements from outside their geographical location, like mounted direwolves, or specific ingredients for particular spells. This might also be for gourmets who want very particular ingredients for their upcoming banquets. You would probably need a patron or patrons to specify exactly what you would be looking for. Or develop a network of contacts.
Rare and Valuable. Rare manuscripts and illuminations are like gold to the Maugtheni. Statues and art are symbols of status among the wealthy, and perfumes, ancient (nonmagical) relics, and religious elements are also highly prized. Of course, magical items if you find any. They are not super common. The challenge here is both finding and procuring these items, and then finding the right buyer who has the interest (and coin) to purchase them.

That’s a good amount to think about, so I’ll leave it here for initial discussion. In general though, as a group, you’ll want to figure out what kind of things you want to focus on acquiring and then figure out where you want to go to sell it, and then get there quickly and safely for maximum profit.