EDRulebook: 16 Goods And Services

Of course I can help you, sir. Step right up and take a look at these wondrous treasures . . .
-- Garrn Devia, Dwarf Merchant of Bartertown Your character will need the right equipment to adventure successfully. As your character survives and prospers, his adventures likely will become more demanding and he will need better equipment. In addition to gear such as weapons, armor, and clothing, your character will need to obtain money, food, lodging, and transport for nearly every adventure. This section provides descriptions of the most common goods and services available in Barsaive, their prices, any restrictions on their use, and directions for purchasing them.

PURCHASING

After players have initially outfitted their characters (see Creating A Character) they must purchase any additional goods or services from merchants or other characters. To determine whether a merchant has the desired item and is willing to sell it, the gamemaster first assigns it an Availability Rating and a Difficulty Number. The Availability Ratings for Earthdawn goods and services are Everyday, Average, Unusual, Rare, and Very Rare. Most of the equipment listed in this section is of Average availability, though many of the magical goods, such as potions and magical clothing, are generally Unusual or Rare. Only very special items are Very Rare, including the most powerful potions. The gamemaster determines the Availability Rating of specific goods and services.

The Difficulty Number for an item of Average availability is equal to the step number of the merchant’s Haggle Skill. A different Availability Rating can either raise or lower the Difficulty Number. Consult the table below to add the appropriate modifier to the Haggle step number to determine the Difficulty Number.

To determine whether a merchant has an item on hand, the gamemaster makes a Haggle Test using the Difficulty Number determined by the item’s availability. A successful test result means the merchant has the item on hand and will sell it to the character.

AVAILABILITY DIFFICULTY TABLE

Availability Rating	Modifier
Everyday	–2
Average	+0
Unusual	+2
Rare	+5
Very Rare	+9

Farliv is preparing for an adventure and wants to purchase a Booster Potion. He visits Trelara, a local merchant, and asks for the potion, which the gamemaster has decided is an Unusual item. Because the potion is Unusual, he adds a +2 modifier to Trelara’s Haggle Step Number of 6, yielding a Difficulty Number of 8 for the test. If the gamemaster rolls a result of 8 or higher, the merchant has the potion and will sell it to Farliv.

TAKING EXTRA TIME

Sometimes a merchant will not have an item available when a character wants to buy it, but can procure it if given time. If a character is willing to wait a day or more for an item, the Difficulty Number for the Availability Test can be lowered. Simply reduce the Difficulty Number by 1 for each day the character waits.

Farliv is not planning to leave town for a few days and is willing to wait for Trelara to obtain his booster potion. This makes obtaining the potion easier for Trelara. Farliv gives the merchant 2 days, reducing the Difficulty Number from 8 to 6. Trelara now has a much better chance of obtaining the potion for Farliv.

When trying to obtain Rare and Very Rare items, the Difficulty Number can be reduced by a maximum of 3, regardless of how long a character is willing to wait. This limit reflects the rarity of some items in Barsaive.

QUALITY OF GOODS

Sometimes characters will want to purchase higher-quality goods than the usual fare. Most cities have items of higher quality available, but they are often considerably more expensive. For higher-quality items, increase the price by one-half the normal price, rounded up. For items of the “best” quality, the price should be double the normal price.

Me’gana wants to buy a decorative broadsword that will impress opponents when she draws it. She visits a weapons shop and finds two broadswords she likes. The first costs 38 silver pieces, and is of “better” quality than a standard broadsword, which costs 25 silver pieces. The second sword is the best the shop has to offer and costs 50 silver pieces. Me’gana chooses the “better” quality weapon and pays 38 silver pieces.

The guidelines above also apply to services rendered. If, for example, a character wants to hire the best scribe in the city, the scribe charges twice the standard fee.

CURRENCY

Though people still barter in some remote areas of the province, the vast majority of Barsaivians use the hexagonal coins of Throal or the round coins of Thera to conduct trade. The practical dwarfs of Throal have matched the weights of their coins to Theran legal tender, giving both currencies the same value. Though the moneychanger’s guild complained bitterly that the equal value of the two currencies deprived them of a fair profit, moneychangers still do a steady business converting old coins reclaimed from kaers or other lost treasure stores. Moneychangers usually pay 75 percent of the value of old coins, so if your character exchanges 1,000 old Landan silver pieces, he will receive 750 Throal silver pieces in exchange. Legends of cursed coins and false gold and silver make most merchants cautious about taking coin not minted by Thera or Throal.

[Money]

COMMON DENOMINATIONS

Barsaive uses an easy-to-follow decimal currency system, with each consecutive denomination worth ten times the previous denomination. Thus, ten copper pieces equal one silver piece, ten silver pieces equal one gold piece, and so on. Copper, silver, and gold pieces comprise the main currency of Barsaive, although other currencies are occasionally used. These are described later in this section.

The currency of the peasant and working classes and the most basic monetary denomination, copper coins are used in marketplaces across Barsaive. Throal’s hexagonal copper pieces bear a stylized hammer and pick on both sides and weigh half an ounce each. Thera does not mint copper pieces.

Merchants, adventurers, and travelers have made silver pieces the most common coin in Barsaive. Common laborers are often paid in silver pieces, most goods and services are priced in silver pieces, and almost all trade contracts are executed in terms of silver pieces. Theran silver pieces show the profile of a Theran guardsman, and Throalic silver pieces bear a likeness of Tav Korelsed, one of Throal’s founders. Each silver piece weighs one-fifth of an ounce.

Gold pieces are the coins of wealthy merchants, well-heeled travelers, and the Throal and Theran governments. Barsaivians rarely use gold in trade, reserving it for transactions involving sums in excess of 1,000 silver pieces. Many kaers and citadels still contain gold, which was a more common currency before the Scourge. Theran gold pieces carry the profile of the First Emperor of the Theran Empire. Throal gold pieces show the Merchant King Braza overlooking the Throal Mountains. Each gold piece weighs one-tenth of an ounce.

GEMS

In some cities in Barsaive, including the cities of Throal, the inhabitants occasionally use gems to limit the volume of currency in large transactions. Rubies, emeralds, and sapphires comprise the most common gem currencies, though on rare occasions amethysts and diamonds are used. These gems can be of virtually any size and value, generally expressed in silver pieces, or sometimes in gold. The most common values of gems are denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 silver pieces, though some people use gems of lesser value.

ELEMENTAL COINS

A third type of currency, the so-called elemental coins, is rarely used for common trade. Instead, Barsaivians reserve these pieces for special uses such as sealing long-term trade agreements, swearing blood oaths, or formalizing peace treaties between nations. See Adventuring in Earthdawn for a full description of elemental coins.