Who Are The Famous Brand Names and Merchants in Your Setting?

Polyhurdis hefted the steel, getting the balance of it. He held the blade up, looking down the edge and the flat to see how straight it was. He swung it, forehand and backhand, his wrist rolling and making the steel whistle through the air.

 

"And as you can see, Sir, it still has the mark of the Berthas forge there on the blade," the merchant said, smiling a wide, obsequious smile. "A fine weapon to sit on the hip of a warrior as skilled as yourself."

 

Polyhurdis thumped the blade with his finger, and held it to his ear. He sneered, and tossed the sword at the steel merchant, who fumbled to try to catch it.

 

"Polishing pig iron doesn't make it crucible steel, fool," Polyhurdis said, turning his back on the sword seller. "Save your lies for someone who can't tell the difference between a sword and a plowshare."

 

Try to cheat me again, and I'll split your skull with that dolled-up prybar.

Brand Names, Maker's Marks, Guilds, and Companies

World building is not an easy thing to do, and all too often we will just overlook or ignore parts of it that we don't find fun, useful, or immediate. However, if you're looking for a unique twist to put on your setting that will affect both the players' experience of your world, as well as how they think about everything from their weapons and armor to the brew they order down at the tavern, it really helps to consider merchants, guilds, and the idea of brand name products or services in your setting; because everyone is looking to protect their methods, their secrets, and their good name.

Yep, looks like this is genuine Arisban steel. That changes things.

 

Consider some of the following examples

 

- When your dwarven sellsword bellies up to the bar, does she just order an ale? Or does she ask if the keep has Red Mountain, bottled and sold by the Rolling Hill clan?

 

- When your swordsman is looking to upgrade to a masterwork blade, do they just want a +1 to hit, or do you give them a choice between weapons forged by the artisans at Garrus Foundry and the Crimson Mark Forge, each of which are considered some of the finest in weapon craft?

 

- If the wizard comes across a potent protective medallion in a dungeon is it just a magic item, or is there a mark on the inside lip bearing the sigil of the Averdius Acadamae, a school so famous for its craftsmanship that though it's a thousand years in the dust it is still considered the standard to which enchanters should aspire?

Brand names, company reputations, or even items that are manufactured only with a guild seal-of-approval can all add to your setting. Whether it's just a cool background detail, something used as a signifier of status, or a clue as to the origin of a particular piece of treasure, these make your game's world feel more organic.

 

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You Can Make It As Important As You Want

The thing with notable manufacturers, companies, brands, guilds, etc. is that you can make them as big of a deal (or not) as you want them to be. For example, in my post "Secrets of The Viking Sword" is a Documentary About How To Make a Masterwork Weapon, I talk about the Ulfbehrt swords. These were some of the highest quality swords ever wielded by Norsemen during the Viking age, and when compared to iron age blades they would have been seen as just this side of magical. As such they were a huge symbol of both status and prowess, and someone who carried an Ulfbehrt sword was, generally speaking, not someone you wanted to screw with.

I'm just saying... maybe we should try Diplomacy...

If all you want for your famous manufacturers and trusted brands to do is act as signs of quality while sitting in the background, you can leave it at that. However, you can take it a step further and use these brands as plot points, or even a way to outfit your party if you so desire.

As far as plot goes, let's return to the example of the Ulfbehrt sword. Only a select number of sword smiths knew the secret to making them, but there were a lot of individuals who were making knock-off blades that were average quality, but had a faux maker's mark on them. The Viking equivalent of that $10 Rolex you got from a guy selling stuff off a blanket in the Bronx. If there's a plague of knock-offs being sold and traded in the city, it could be eroding confidence in a particular foundry's name and product. As such, they'd make an ideal client for a party of investigators tasked with finding out who is creating this flood of substandard steel so they can be stopped.

And as for outfitting your party? Well, as Factinate points out, ancient gladiators often endorsed products the same way that professional athletes do today. So if your party did a great service, or achieved celebrity in some way, then you could probably skip giving them gold in lieu of giving them gifts from noted brands, merchants, or guilds. If the PCs accomplished something very publicly, such as winning a tournament, or defending an important member of the gentry, they might even receive a uniquely commissioned gift from said guild, merchant house, etc. Or even if you were doing something smaller, such as taking on freelance jobs for a guild, part of the reward for service might be that they provide the party with an operating budget, giving them access to an armory, transportation, places to stay, access to guild facilities, etc.

This approach helps remove all the coin counting and hauling around huge amounts of gold, but without cutting into your adventuring budget. Additionally, for those who are looking for some premade additions to their game they can slot into the background, you may wish to check out the following supplements by yours truly:

- 100 Merchants to Encounter: This one is Electrum verging on Gold at time of writing, and while there are a lot of independent merchants and caravan drovers, there are more than a few franchise holders and larger businesses in here as well.

- 100 Fantasy Guilds: A Silver seller that was quite popular when it first dropped, these guilds cover a wide range of trades and manufacturing that might crop up in your game. From arms and armor, to spells, bookbinding, spices, mining, and more, it will save you a lot of work in plotting your setting's corporate influences!

 

Also, consider checking out an old favorite from Dungeon Keeper Radio... Vanguard Tower Shields!

 

 

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For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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4 Ways DMs Can Take The Commerce (And The Math) Out of Magic Items

With the holidays coming up, I'm reminded of a study I once read that said money is one of the best gifts you can give during the holiday season. However, in worlds of fantasy, I often find that massive piles of gold are just... eh. Sure, the party can liquidate their funds and do the math to buy whatever magic items they want, but doing that makes getting your hands on what should be major milestones that should leave you staring in awe feel like an almost purely mechanical exercise.

And the bigger the treasure budget you're handing over, the more ludicrous this whole thing becomes.

All right, that's 37,575 gold pieces. Enjoy your legendary armor, sir!

I've harped on this before in How To Keep Your Magic Items From Getting Mundane, as well as in Alternatives to Traditional Magic Weapons and Armor, but I figured this week I'd provide some specific examples for the DMs who want to keep their magic items feeling special, but who aren't sure where to start.

Method #1: Spoils of War

This is one most dungeon masters out there are probably familiar with. Whether the party is going through a dragon's hoard, they're exploring the ruins of the necromancer's tower, or they've defeated the bandit king, the idea is that they're going through the spoils of the battle to see what sort of loot can be found.

Holy crap! This guy had a Hell Globe just sitting around!

Most dungeon masters I've seen at this point just roll randomly for whatever loot is on the bodies, or in the chests... but this is your world! The stuff that's in there is the stuff you say is in there. So if your players are hitting that point where it's time to start upgrading their gear, put stuff there that suits them. The bandit leader managed to keep all those men under his command, maybe he has a headband that boosts his Charisma that would be ideal for the sorcerer, or the paladin. Maybe the risen bodyguard that protected the necromancer wielded a potent magical ax that would be right at home in the barbarian's hands. Perhaps the dragon kept a careful display of trophies taken from past heroes, allowing you to provide some options and choices for what your players take.

You should have a couple of valuables strewn around too, don't get me wrong... but more often than not the gold equivalent is geared to provide magic items to keep your party on the proper track to handle the threats coming their way. So just give them the cool stuff they'd buy anyway, make them feel like they earned it by winning it in a battle, and make sure you attach a bit of a story to the items in question.

That point goes for the rest of this list, as well. And if you have trouble coming up with stuff like that on the fly, then you might want to get your hands on 100 Histories and Legends For Fantasy Weapons. Trust me, it will make your players far more attached to their items.

#2: The Reward

Some adventurers perform their deeds out of a sense of duty, to defend their community, or to get revenge... but let's face it, a lot of them do it for the money. And just like with sacking an enemy's lair, actual coinage should be handed out as part of the reward... but if you know your party is going to spend the reward to get new equipment, why not just make that equipment part of the reward in the first place, and cut out the middle man?

I'll be damned, you brought him in. Well, let me just unlock the case here.

One of the reasons that a lot of DMs avoid having just the right equipment in a villain's lair is that it can sometimes feel over-planned, or a little trite. After all, why would an enchanted monk's robe be in a bandit stronghold? Why would an enchantress have a magical greatsword in her bedchamber? You can find reasonable answers for these questions (the bandits sacked a monastery, the sorceress took it as a trophy, etc.), but sometimes it's just easier to decree that the items are a reward for a job well done. After all, a noble whose problem has been solved, a wizard the party has helped, or even a city that's been saved could produce unique items that are fitting for the character, and their deeds.

This is especially true if they have a noted reputation, which I refer to as The Small Legend.

For example, if the party's cavalier is little more than a hedge knight, then a noble patron might give them a unique banner for their symbol, or even an enchanted saddle or shoes like those given to his house's champions. Perhaps the wizard whose enemies the party slew passes on a staff of power to the magus, commenting that it was given to her by her teacher, and that she sees the same potential in this younger arcane caster. And so on, and so forth.

Since there's usually a bit of downtime between when the party completes a job, and starting the next one, this allows you to get the present ready. And if there's a celebration of any sort (as big problems often have), you can make a big deal out of the presentation. If you're looking for a bunch of potential patrons for this sort of scenario, then 100 Nobles To Encounter might be just up your alley.

#3: The Steward

Sometimes there are items that are either so massive in cost, or so specific in rarity, that it feels stupid to be able to just walk into a market and buy them (even if you can afford to do so). And even more "normal" magic items might feel too special for the party to just hand over a bunch of gold for them, if you've given the item a name, a backstory, and all of the associated goodness.

That's why another interesting approach is to declare a character the steward, or current bearer of a particular item.

Particularly if the item is kept under lock, key, and guard.

While this can be a serious provision of trust (the paladin is given a holy avenger from the church's vaults because he's proven himself worthy, the ranger is given the armor worn by one of the founders of his order, the wizard is granted the right to wear one of the circlets of the Council of Nine, etc.), it's important to remember that this can be done in a smaller sense, as well. In those cases characters might be loaned equipment for use on a mission, or given it as an advance as a way to help them complete a particularly difficult task. Items like endless decanters for exploring a ruin in the middle of the desert, wands, scrolls, etc. might be provided as part of the price of taking on the job.

If you've ever played Spycraft, this is very similar to how agents are given a mission budget, and then allowed to take the equipment they will need most to complete their upcoming task. They can still have their own, personal stuff, but they aren't expected to buy a tank with what they have saved up in their private fund.

Churches, guilds (good, neutral, and evil), along with other in-game organizations all tend to have potent items they hang onto in times of need. As long as the party has a benefactor, like some of the groups found in 100 Knightly Orders, then you have someone who could provide them the tools they need to see their adventure through. Or, in some cases, the individual may have to officially join an organization for the privilege of wielding the item... which can be a kind of reward in and of itself.

#4: The Special Merchant

I know the whole point of this post thus far has been to avoid trading magic items for straight gold, but note the term "special" in this title. Most merchants you find in town won't have magic items for sale, and if they do they'll be minor baubles at steep prices. But there should be a few folks that crop up time and again who are always willing to trade for something... unusual. Or, in some circumstances, for a favor.

What did you bring me today, darlings?

The special merchant can take many forms, and ask for many things. Maybe it's that shady dealer in the low quarter who always has something, "for his friends," as long as they don't ask where he got it, and they can pay him something quick. It might be the fey merchant the party finds in parts of the forest, asking strange or bizarre prices for items that would be priceless anywhere else. Or it might even be that tiefling who specializes in "slightly" cursed objects, whose problems make them ideal for certain party members (a sword that only comes alive in the hands of an orc, a bow that hates elves for the ranger who has them as his favored enemy, and so on, and so forth).

These merchants will still ask a price, of course, but it might be something more in-keeping with the resources the party has. Taking their old weapon in trade as something that's tasted the blood of a dragon, perhaps. The skull of an orc champion. A cursed item that's useless to the party, but extremely valuable to the merchant. Hearing the tales of a certain battle firsthand so they know the full truth, along with a small stack of platinum coins. Maybe even the vintage gold found in an old vault, as the coins themselves are more valuable as items of history than for their weight in gold.

You'll find a few NPCs who fit this bill in 100 Merchants to Encounter, should you need a place to start looking.

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That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you've used run these kinds of games before, leave us a comment to let us know what worked for you!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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What Is Your Character's Everyday Carry? (And What Does It Say About Them?)

Whether you think about it or not, you have an everyday carry allotment. For those days when you're just walking around, you have your phone, your keys, your vape, some chapstick, and a couple of bills in your money clip in case you need to pick up something small and you don't want to futz with your debit card. If you're going to work then you'll have your ID, a box cutter, the necessary thumb drives to hold and transport data, and maybe a half pack of caffeinated gum to get you through the day on top of all that other stuff.

Now, ask yourself if you would bring all your camping essentials with you if you were just going into town to do some shopping. Since the answer was probably no, ask why your RPG characters often do.

Where am I going? Just down to the tavern for a few drinks... why?

Think About What You're Carrying (And How)

While not every game has encumberance penalties (and not every group who plays games that do give them much attention), there comes a point where you should look at your inventory and ask how the hell your character is hauling around all this stuff. And, more importantly, you should ask why that character is bringing everything with them.

Sometimes this is an easy question to answer. Your party is on deployment in enemy territory, so they have a full complement of field gear including weapons, armor, healer's kit, field alchemy kit, spell components, ammunition, rations, and all the other things you need when you're far from civilization and surrounded by potential threats. But what if you're not? What if you're on a well-traveled road just going from one town to another on a day trip? Or if you're in a major city where someone clanking around in full plate who is not either part of a military parade or a tourney is going to get a lot of strange looks?

What? You guys don't do casual Fridays?

No one wants to get caught off-guard without their armor, shield, or weapons, but it's a good idea to put together two or three different equipment sets so you can easily do record-keeping for different situations. The first set is for when your adventurer is loaded for bear, and they look like one of the iconic Pathfinder characters (which is to say epic as hell, just don't ask how hard it is to sword fight with a bow over your back). The second is their casual carry, or their walking-around look. Because while Hervath Brightblade might feel most comfortable in a hundred pounds of steel atop his trusty charger, he makes do with a short sword, a chain shirt under his tunic, a Ring of Protection, and a Ring of Force Shield when he's just walking around town, or making deals with merchants. And the third sheet is for when you're going to an event where you're supposed to be on your best behavior. The kind of event where you'll be wearing silk instead of wool, and where even wearing a belt knife could be seen as offensive behavior.

Creighton Broadhurst had more thoughts about this in What's in An Adventurer's EDC? if you want to do further reading on the subject.

The Details Can Lead To Character Development

On the one hand, the idea of everyday carry might look like a way to make player characters vulnerable. After all, if they're not rocking their full bonuses, or carrying their deadliest weapons, then that means they're swinging at less than full-strength if the bad guys choose to show up with their whole crew to make a move on them.

This happens fairly frequently, too, since plots where characters have to blend in at the opera, or attend a ball being thrown by the duke, tend to use exactly this limited equipment ploy to make encounters more difficult. On the other hand, though, by making players remember that their equipment exists beyond numbers on their sheet, and bonuses to their attack and defense, you can end up making important character decisions.

I shall go bare-chested. That will make them think twice about attacking me.

As a quick for-instance, let's revisit Hervath. He's used to heavy armor, a mace, a sword, and a shield, but he was trained for war. He recognizes that showing up in full battle dress can send the wrong message if he's among the civilian populace. Not only that, but it's just cumbersome and awkward eating a sandwich in full armor.

The decisions he makes next say things about him, as a character, though.

For instance, has Hervath's experience taught him that there is no such thing as true safety, so while he foregoes his full plate and heavy shield, he still keeps enough magic and weapons on his person to fight his way free of any ambush? Alternatively, does he trust in the city's walls and the presence of a respected town guard to ensure his safety while he goes to the tavern, so he only takes the minimal precaution of wearing a long dagger, and keeping his ring and amulet on for protection? Or is he so confident in himself that he foregoes protections, not because he trusts the city to be safe, but because he expects his reputation to armor him? And if that is the case does he carry his signature sword, prominently display his crest, or make some other effort to announce to those who catch sight of him just who he is, and why they shouldn't fool about with him?

Does your character feel naked without their field gear, or do they feel relieved? Do they feel out-of-place if they are unarmed, or unarmored, even if they aren't worried about their safety? Do they behave differently when they have a tower shield strapped to their arm, and a morningstar in hand, than when they're facing down a crowd of braggarts on a street corner, or dealing with an unexpected assassin at court?

The answers to all of these questions might change over time, as characters gain in experience, and learn new habits both good and bad. Pheanor Hardchilde may have been unsure about expending any of her arcane energies unless she was sure she, or others, were in danger when she was a fresh-faced academy graduate, but after her adventure in the Crannoch Chasm, she always has several protective magics active on her person no matter how safe her surroundings are. On the other hand, Brenden Blaze was touchy enough that he'd kill a man for speaking out of turn to him. After looking into too many sets of wide, staring eyes, though, he leaves his guns at home when he goes to town, and only carries a dagger. He can make it all kinds of lethal, if he needs to, but he always uses his mouth before he reaches for a weapon whenever he has the chance.

What equipment your character carries says a lot about them. When they carry it, and what they refuse to leave behind, says even more. So think about what stays on their person, and what they leave in their room at the inn the next time you're at the table.

Also, since we're talking about gear, take a listed to Razor Jack's top five pieces of overlooked adventuring gear for Pathfinder. It's an entertaining little episode, if you haven't checked out Dungeon Keeper Radio yet.

That's all for this week's Fluff post. If you liked it, and want more of my content, why not check out my archive over at Gamers? It's growing a little every month! If you want to stay on top of all my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to help me keep Improved Initiative going, then head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today! All I ask is $1 a month, and as a thank you I'll send some books your way!

Heckler & Koch Design Real-Life Boba Fett Armor

Boba Fett is remembered as one of the biggest badasses in sci-fi history, despite his complete failure to deliver on his reputation (check this list at Cracked for some of the others). There's just something about him as a character, from the nervous silence his presence causes, to the battle-worn look he boasts. If Star Wars taught us nothing else, it taught us that anyone hard enough to wear Mandalorian armor is not someone to be fucked with.

Which may be why you can now buy your very own set of ballistic armor, inspired by one of film's most infamous bounty hunters.

Wait till they get a load of me.

That isn't a prop test that got scrapped for a different design, either. According to Tribunist, that is real ballistic armor from firearms giant Heckler & Koch. H&K teamed up with AR500, SOG knives, artist Ryan Flowers, Armasight, and several other companies to create a field-ready suit of Mandalorian ballistic armor. The plates are contoured for comfort and protection, the helmet-mounted flip sight is a night vision monocle, and the suit will protect the wearer from handgun and rifle rounds. At time of writing there has been no word regarding the development of a jet pack to go with it.

If we needed any more proof that geeks have won the culture war, this is it. A big-name gun manufacturer is creating body armor based on a science fiction character. Now quit whining, strap on, and charge for the glory of Mandalor!

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