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Hello all,
I have a question, I need to know how many minor/medium/major magic items a travelling merchant would carry to sell. I know settlements have a specific amount, but I would think a travelling merchant would have the same limitations. If anyone has any info or advice for me it would help, thank you.
Reality check this idea, magic items have a high cash value, how many gaurds does a sane merchant need to feel comfortable travelling with them? Why is someone of the wealth to deal in magic items and provide security to do it on the road taking the risk to do so?
Apart from a few potions being peddled by a gypsy type caravan I just don't see this.
Yep, most caravans or merchant peddlers won't carry much in the way of major magic items.
Treat your merchant as a travelling town. How many people does he travel with? If he's a lone merchant without guards, he'd have his NPC WBL plus a merchant inventory equal to that of a settlement of Thorpe size, being fewer than 20 people large. His merchant inventory would be a maximum of 50 gp value for any item he carries, with 1d4 minor magic items, and he'd only be able to buy up to 500 gp of stuff from the party.
If your merchant travels with a large caravan of guards, other merchants, their families and so forth, their total settlement wealth increases to whatever number of people are in the caravan.
It's best to handle it on a case-by-case basis, setting an "appropriate" level as determined by the individual merchant. For instance, a 5th level alchemist merchant could have magic items for sale as if a hamlet, but only in potions or similar items.
How about a mobile town that can up and fly away. It would have awesome defenses, and maybe even a teleport circle.
It could just be an insane goblin wandering around with infinite resources, heck WoW used it.
It sounds like you are caught in the WBL reality trap. Condolences, and hope you find a path you can accept.
Edit/Add
On the Mercane, if they will only trade for magic, where did they get their gold?
I agree that to have a travelling magic shop, the guy would absolutely have to have some clever trick to protect himself and his merchandise from danger. Something more than mere guards.
As far as inventory is concerned, I suggest using this: https://donjon.bin.sh/pathfinder/magic/shop.html
Adjust the size of the town until a satisfying result appears, then feel free to add or prune items. With most magic shop inventories, I declare some items always available: potions of healing, restoration, strength, invisibility and fly are a good start (the most popular with my players).
A traveling merchant will carry exactly the amount of gp in items that he can defend or stop others from taking ;) Oh he sold you that nice staff worth 60000gp? What do you think he kept for himself?!?!
Another option is to make him so likable that only that one rouge will try to steal from him
Secret Chests and the like are an option
In short traveling merchants for magic items make no practical sense but are fun to run so go for it. Just be prepared for the PCs to try and rob/murder him(as per usual)
Which is why traveling merchants are themselves casters. Preferably divine -- "Yes, you killed that poor man and stole all his stuff, when he merely wanted fair coin for it, but Nethys saw what you did. You'll need what you took, that's for sure!"
{Addition: I want to mention I agree with Ozy on two of his points:}
A merchant caravan does not represent a random town, it's a much more selective group, so it would punch far above its population with regard to goods for sale.
Another way to handle it would be to decide where the merchant is traveling from and/or two, and use a subset of the goods available in those locations to represent the transportation by the merchant.