Merchants and Vendors

[SRJR]

I'm sure this topic is covered somewhere, but I did a few searches and couldn't find a thread for it.

What types of vendors can we expect in the game?
- If the game can fit them, a big variety is nice. There's no reason that one vendor should sell every type of item, or even every type of weapon. I think cheap and expensive armors should be sold by different merchants. It would be great to see a big marketplace (nice place for a battle, too).

What kind of unique vendors could there be in the game?
- How can SG break the mould for RPG vendors? The system has always been the same- weapons dealer, armor dealer, magic dealer, innkeeper. Sometimes simplicity is nice, but it's still great to have useful variety. Backpack/luggage/wallet shop? Gems? Illegal goods? Slavers?

How realistic will the vendor system be?
- I can't think of any game where the player could loot an entire store if they had slain the merchant (a lame fix for wealthy, unprotected merchants). I read that SG will have a supply/demand system and I think that's great. Will there be banking (can you access your savings from a different bank)?

More thoughts below, to keep this open-ended.

 

[SRJR]

I'm glad coins will have real weight. This was the case in early Everquest, and high-level players ingeniously overcame it by carrying around valuable gemstones (normally used for crafting but could be sold for 95% of the cost) and by doing large trades at the bank.

Item storage will likely be an issue- if there are multiple banks, perhaps you can have an item brought to a different town by courier. Just a small fee, and the item is delivered to your town within a few game hours.

Designing healthy MMORPG in-game economies is one of my favorite subjects to talk about since it's never been done perfectly, but I think we should stay away from the subject here, since multiplayer is only a distant possibility for SG.

 

[Bibidibop]

How about having town markets where there are bunches of stalls. This way, you could have traders who carry around fine arms and armor, and local farmers bringing various goods to market, as well as more specialized craftsmen, such as coblers, silversmiths, tanners, and lots of other things I can't think of. The reverse could be the local blacksmith who isn't an arms or armor guy at all, but if you need a weapon in a pinch, he could forge a crappy iron sword, and he could be willing to buy loot for use as scrap. So, the worst, but most convenient deals could be at these local guys, or you can risk your ass carrying a bundle of loot.

I hope there is banking, but based on my very minimal knowledge of banking history, it should probably be more like a money lender system. If you want the most bank like money lender system, then the game might need an extended money lender family to whom you can go to any member and collect by using family notes of collection. Perhaps loans should be possible, and when you don't pay, bounty hunters, and, later on, assassins get sent for you!