Merchant

The group sits at the ornate dining table of a noble, whose home is decorated with ornate tapestries, incredible sculptures and paintings which must have been the life's work of a masterful artist. After a social faux pax by a less cultured ally, the gnome strokes his beard and says, "If I might interject, would you like to make a deal?"

After raising a toast to the enacted treaty between two outlander tribes, a shout is heard from the agogi sitting a table away. The wine the diplomat's table was about to consume had too sluggish a viscosity to be the grog his tribe had traded so often. His insight thwarts an assassin's attempt at instilling hostility between two tribes and leading to war.

Whether they be an appraiser of rare Old World items, a peddler of illicit goods, or a bookkeeper for a noble, merchants are masters of exchange. They may invest in their allies to strengthen them or push coin to make sure the object of their ire has every skeleton dragged out of their closet for all to see.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the merchant class, you must met these prerequisites: Charisma 13 and Intelligence 13.

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the merchant class, you gain the following proficiencies: one skill of your choice and one tool of your choice.

Wager

Starting at 2nd level, you can place binary bets against fate to try and gain advantages. You gain a number of Bet Dice equal to your proficiency bonus. A Bet Die is the same size as your Deal Die. You regain all expended Bet Dice after a short or long rest.

When a creature you can see within 60 feet makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you may use your reaction and expend one Bet Die after seeing the d20 but before the result is resolved. Only one Wager can affect a roll.

Choose one:

• Invest. Add the die to a Business Partner’s roll.
• Undercut. Subtract the die from the roll of a hostile creature if the roll directly affects you or one of your Business Partners.

If your Wager changes the outcome, one Business Partner of your choice within 60 feet gains temporary hit points equal to the number rolled.

First Impressions

Also at 2nd level, you have a knack for making an impression even in combat. When initiative is rolled, roll your Deal Die. Add the result to your initiative and to the initiative of one willing creature you can see within 30 feet.

If this would move both of you to the same initiative, you decide which of you acts first.

Merchant Guild

At 3rd level you join or develop a merchant association, or guild, to have access to more goods and specialize in your services more efficiently. Choose from the Apothecaries, Carocrafters, Ministerial, Weaponsmiths, and Thieves Guild. Your guild choice grants you features at 3rd level and then again at 6th, 10th, and 18th level.

Inventory

When you reach 3rd level, you gain a special magical signet ring called a guild ring. Your guild ring grants access to the Traditorum, including its merchants, warehouses, appraisers, couriers, and extradimensional storage offices.

As part of an Use an Object action, you may access the Traditorum using conjuration summae to perform one of the following:

• Appraise. By examining an object for 10 minutes, you can submit it to the Traditorum and learn the information normally provided by identify. Beginning at 9th level, you may spend one Inventory Credit and conduct a 1-hour investigation to learn its approximate history, previous owners, and major events associated with it, similar to a limited legend lore effect.

• Deposit. Your guild ring opens a personal extradimensional storage space called an Item Box, functioning as a bag of holding. Only you can normally open it. No one else can access this storage dimension unless they have the ability to plane shift and are able to locate your specific storage plane. Certain creatures and organizations with powerful magics may be able to access your storage plane through invasive evocation rituals, often involving attacking your mental fortitude. You and your associated guild know your full Inventory list at all times, but you only know the value of items if properly appraised, magically or otherwise. You can project this Inventory list as an image (as per minor image).

• Inventory Credit. Your maximum Inventory Credit equals your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus, with a minimum equal to your proficiency bonus. You recover all Inventory Credit after a long rest, or after spending at least 1 hour conducting business at a suitable guildhall. Credit represents stock, favors, warehousing, guild loans, courier capacity, and reciprocal obligations. It does not require the player to pay the class’s daily operating costs from the party treasury.

• Requisition. As an action, you may spend Inventory Credit to retrieve an object from your Item Box. You may immediately use it or hand it to a creature within 5 feet as a bonus action.

An ordinary item from an approved guild list requires no roll. For illegal, highly specific, experimental, or locally unavailable goods, make an Intelligence check using your proficiency bonus against a DC determined by the GM, normally 12 plus twice the item’s rank. Failure spends no Credit, but you cannot attempt to requisition that specific item again until completing a long rest.

Additionally, requisitioned objects have the following contractual stipulations:

• They cannot be sold or used as collateral.
• Are visibly and magically marked as Traditorum property.
• Return to the network at the end of your next long rest if not consumed or destroyed.
• Cannot ordinarily include living creatures, unique artifacts, land, vehicles too large for the local portal, or objects unavailable anywhere in the Traditorum.

Utilizing the Traditorum in Your Setting

As a merchant, you have the ability to suddenly produce a variety of items from the Traditorum extradimensional trade network, individually tailored to the situation your adventuring party is currently in.
In Seronia, the Traditorum has shaped its economy and trade structure. Dropping this into a setting that isn't designed around that sort of system can be world breaking and would likely lead to a powerful organization kidnapping someone who can use such a power. We suggest instead to have the Traditorum simply refer to a known extradimensional warehouse plane made up of Item Boxes tied to each individual user.

Endless Supply

Starting at 15th level, your experience adventuring has taught you which suppliers to work with. Once per turn when a consumable requisitioned through Inventory is used, roll your Deal Die.

If the result is within the highest quarter of the die (e.g. 7 or 8 on a d8, or 9 or 10 on a d10), you regain one Inventory Credit, up to your normal maximum, representing a duplicate shipment, incredible quality to value ratio, or was replaced by an eager supplier.

Recurring Business

Beginning at 17th level, Whenever initiative is rolled, choose one to regain:

• One expended use of Business Partners.
• One expended Bet Die.

Guildmaster

Starting at 20th level, you gain the following benefits:

• Your Charisma and Intelligence scores each increase by 2, to a maximum of 22. Additionally:
• When initiative is rolled, you may establish Business Partners without using a bonus action or expending a use.
• The first Wager during each round that changes the outcome of a roll does not expend its Bet Die.
• Your maximum Inventory Credit increases by 5.
• Your guild recognizes any permanent guildhall you establish as a full Traditorum office.

Merchant Guilds

The network of merchants within a guild act as a source of education, supplies, and security in the dangerous business of trade- from both competitors and the monsters that cause economic turmoil.

Emergency Dose

At 10th level, you may maintain four active pomanders. Each pomander also holds one emergency dose.

At the beginning of its bearer’s turn, the bearer may expend that dose to choose themselves or another creature within the pomander’s aura who is:

• Charmed
• Frightened
• Poisoned

The chosen creature immediately repeats its saving throw against one effect causing that condition and adds your Deal Die to the result. On a success, that effect ends.

Each pomander contains one emergency dose whenever you establish Business Partners. Expending the dose does not end the pomander’s other benefits.

Protective Reagents

Beginning at 18th level, your Alchemical Pomander becomes infused with powerful abjuration magics.

When you establish Business Partners, choose one creature type:

• Aberrations
• Celestials
• Elementals
• Fey
• Fiends
• Undead

Every active pomander is treated with a protective reagent against that type. A pomander bearer gains the following benefits against creatures of the selected type:

• Such creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls against the bearer.
• The bearer cannot be charmed, frightened, or possessed by them.

Other creatures within the pomander’s aura gain +2 on saving throws against effects created by creatures of the selected type.

Carocrafters Guild

Carocrafters are also known as "blood merchants," traders of biological materials from Old World creatures. They are trained in harvesting these materials for crafters dealing in mediums ranging from exotic leather, luxurious meats, and bizarre enhancements.

Art of Cutting

Starting at 10th level, your arcane butchery techniques has improved your sharpening skills. When an augmented Business Partner takes the Attack action, you may use your reaction and expend one Bet Die. That partner may use their reaction to make one additional weapon attack, adding the expended Bet Die to the attack’s damage on a hit.

Hearty Cuts

Beginning at 18th level, your carocrafted materials sustains your party's health. Once per round when an augmented Business Partner deals damage, choose a Business Partner within 30 feet. That creature regains hit points equal to your Deal Die plus your Charisma modifier.

Weaponsmith's Guild

Merchants of the Weaponsmith's Guild serve as the party’s equipment and combat coordinator. Whether specializing in traditional arms or firearms, a Weaponsmith turns preparation and superior gear into the party's key to success.

Tradecraft Mastery

When you reach 10th level, you gain one of the following benefits:

Armsmith. Once per round, when a creature misses one of your Business Partners with a melee attack, a different Business Partner who can see the attacker and is wielding a commissioned weapon may use their reaction to move up to half their speed toward the attacker. If they end this movement within their commissioned weapon’s reach, they may make one attack with it.

Gunnesmith. As a bonus action, mark a creature you can see within 120 feet. Until the beginning of your next turn, firearm attacks made by Business Partners against it ignore long-range disadvantage and three-quarters cover. The first partner to hit it grants advantage to the next Business Partner who attacks it.

Encoded Entries

Also at 6th level, you may permanently apply illusory script to writing you create without providing its material component. You may also cast sending through your ledger once per long rest. The recipient’s reply appears as writing in the ledger.

Ledgermain

Starting at 10th level, your ability to parse magical data makes you a master at using spell scrolls. You may cast recorded cantrips without spending Inventory Credit.

Additionally, you may use spell scrolls even when their spells do not appear in your ledger, using Intelligence for the required check. Once per long rest, you may cast one recorded spell of 3rd level or lower without spending Inventory Credit.

Arcane Assets

At 18th level, you have achieved such mastery over certain spells that you can cast them at will.

Choose one recorded 1st-level spell and one recorded 2nd-level spell. You gain the following benefits:

• You may cast the 1st-level spell at will at its lowest level.
• You may cast the 2nd-level spell once per short or long rest without spending Inventory Credit.

You may replace either selection after 8 hours of study.

Thieves Guild

Merchant members of Thieves Guilds are trained not just in smuggling, but how to direct their group in coordinated ambushes and shakedowns. They create openings through deception, positioning, and misdirection, helping the group exploit a target’s weaknesses.