"In this town, the merchants who speculate in the coal trade keep the whole economy moving along - we don't get visitors from down south just to meet with our fishmongers. Those southerners have less forest than we do, in some parts I hear they have no green at all. So, they buy all the black rock we care to sell to them, to run their forges, heat their homes. For that you my boy get to enjoy fine silks, exotic spices, and wonderful tapestries."

Senior Member of the Lenipol Coal Trader's Guild, Ruta Ivanovitch

Mercantile Experience

While there are parts of the world in which organized systems of resource sharing and labor collaboration take place, in the vast number of populated areas in Adra, some kind of mercantile economy remains as the status quo. For any such economy, a whole host of merchants, traders, caravanners, negotiators, shop keeps, and money changers are needed to keep the life blood of the system moving from person to person. These various middlemen negotiate with buyers and sellers, and position themselves to make money off of goods or services which they themselves never created - from the humble costermonger, to the commercial banking house, acquiring mercantile experience involves learning the innerworkings of the feudal economy, the handling and investing of money, and at all costs, making a profit.

          The mercantile world is defined largely by the reputation of those working within it. Therefore, if others hear a character dipped their toes in such a world, their sentiment towards that character is likely to be fairly neutral, at least at first glance. In small towns, the one or two merchants are often respected for their hard work in sourcing rare trade goods for the locals. In cities, the fast-paced markets leave many people wary of charlatans and money grubbers. The scale of the work also affects ones reputation. The common folk tend to respect small scale businesses and traders, and tend to hold great disdain for the large scale trading companies and banking houses.

          Those who have had mercantile experience often learn well to live by the margins. While many adventurers are obsessed with the next legendary score which will ensure their early retirement, for those who have actually worked with money before, each job is an opportunity to reinvest in one's future success. Further still, nobody understands the abstract purchasing power of wealth than those translate that power into concrete terms for their profession. Why fight a tough guy when he can be easily paid off? So long as they know their investment can be recouped, former merchants turned adventurers are not afraid to see coin leave their fingertips.

If you choose Mercantile Experience, you gain the following:

~A +1 to one of the following Ability Scores of your choice: Charisma, Dexterity, Intelligence~

~A Skill Proficiency in either Persuasion or Deception~

~Either Calligrapher's Supplies or a Forgery Kit as a Tool Proficiency~

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