Because the resources available to the party in Farshore is such a big factor (and increasing the settlement's assets is such a large reward), I decided I needed some clarification on a mechanic I'd largely blurred over in the past.
When it says Farshore has an 800gp limit and assets of 9600gp, what exactly does that mean?
The PCs can't buy anything worth more than 800gp, right? And can't buy more than 9600gp worth of anything or sell more than 9600gp worth of loot, right?
Is that in a certain period of time? If the group sells 9600gp worth of gems, how long do they have to wait before they can sell more?
Is the asset limit only of specific items, meaning no more than 9600gp worth of any particular item? Could they sell 9600gp worth of gems AND 9600gp worth of magic items AND buy 9600gp worth of armor?
Thanks, rulesies.
The smaller number is the maximum value of a single item that the city will typically buy or sell. There might be an individual case where you can buy a more valuable item, or sell an item to a specific NPC, but these individual cases are specifically placed by either the module writer or the DM. Items under this value can possibly be available for purchase. The exact percentage chance of availability is up to the DM; a Potion of Cure Light Wounds is more likely to be available in this city than a Scroll of Death Knell, for instance. This number should be treated as a guideline, not a hard rule.
The larger number is the maximum combined value of all the not-yet-defined items that the community has for sale, and the maximum combined value of all the party loot the community is able to purchase. Again, the DM may have particular items or particular NPCs which are willing to buy or sell more valuable items that don't count against these values. Essentially, this value represents the rough limit of things the PCs can buy if they decide to go on a spending spree. When this limit runs out, there's nothing left to buy except for the stuff they've sold or passed over even if they did have money, and when they've sold this much stuff, the community is not able to afford buying any more unless the PCs are willing to practically give stuff away. Once again, this number is a guideline and not a hard rule.
The DMG does not define the interval required for a community to restock and refresh these numbers, allowing the PCs to buy and sell once again, but the Dungeon Savage Tide adventure path has defined that. Farshore refreshes its wealth stats when the PCs first open the trade routes with Sasserine, and each time the trading ship returns after that.