Money and Economy
Presented here are two systems designed to add some diversity and depth to the economy of your games. Of course, neither are necessary and if your group begin snoring when you roleplay a shopping excursion, it's probably best to ignore these and just go with the prices listed in the PHB. However, if your players enjoy the immersion of a more detailed economy, or may want to engage in a little bit of trading on the side, such systems should help to facilitate that.
In the case where a cost is listed for manufactured goods in addition to resources, such modifiers are cumulative. For example, in a place that has a -10% modifier for leather and a +10% modifier to armor, a side of leather would be cheaper, a suit of leather armor would be the same price as the PHB, and a suit of armor made of any other material would be 10% more expensive than its listed price. Such an area may have an abundance of livestock, but few people who possess the knowledge to create armor. For simplicity's sake, you should only apply cumulative costs for the resource from which the majority of a manufactured good is made. It is unnecessary, for example, to factor in the cost of thread, dyes, and metal for a suit of studded leather armor as such materials comprise only a small part of the total item's cost. For something that has a more even mixture, like say a dyed shirt, it may be appropriate to factor in the cost of both the fabrics and the dyes if you wish, but be careful of letting such attention to detail bog down the process.
Unless the shopkeeper has a particularly friendly or unfriendly relationship with the character, assume negotiations begin with the merchant asking for 10% more than the base cost of the item (after economy adjustments, if you're using that system). If the player is selling an item, assume the merchant is offering 10% less than what the players should be getting for it. For a merchant who begins with a friendly or unfriendly attitude toward the party, adjust the initial price up or down, accordingly. See the Dungeon Master's Guide for more information about NPC attitudes and diplomacy.
Haggling is done in a series of "rounds" where the player character and the merchant will roll opposed Persuasion rolls. If either roll exceeds the other by 5 or more, negotiations swing in their favor, adjusting the price by 10% of the initial cost in whichever direction the successful character would want. If the difference in rolls is more than 20, the price is adjusted by 15%. For this purpose a critical success is treated as a +10 bonus to the roll and a critical failure treated as a -10 penalty. This continues until the players choose to purchase the item at the current price, or until one party has succeeded three times, at which point the price is set and the merchant will engage in no further haggling.
Either character may attempt an Insight roll to determine a "weakness" in the other party; an angle they can exploit to swing negotiations in their favor. This can be done once before each Persuasion roll, except the initial roll. The DC of this roll is equal to 10+the target's Deception bonus. After each successful Insight roll, the difficulty increases by 4 as the player must find new angles to work. If successful, the next Persuasion roll the subject makes gains advantage. If the character fails their Insight roll by 10 or more, they incorrectly identify something about the other party and make a faux pas, granting them Disadvantage on their next Persuasion roll.
A character may alternatively make an Intimidation roll in order to shake up their opponent. A player may use their Strength modifier for this roll instead of their Charisma modifier, if they wish. This can be done once before each Persuasion roll. The DC of this roll is equal to 10+the target's Insight bonus. If successful, the next Persuasion roll the target makes suffers disadvantage. Be warned, most people do not appreciate such strong-arm tactics and a merchant may end up developing a more negative attitude toward the player character which will impact future negotiations. Furthermore, if a character does a particularly bad job of intimidating a merchant (they fail their roll by 10 or more), the merchant may terminate negotiations immediately, refusing to sell to a person who treats them in such a manner. A character may make either an Insight or an Intimidation roll before each Persuasion roll, but not both.
Characters may also make a Deception check to give themselves advantage in negotiations. A buyer may try to claim imaginary damage or feign knowledge enough to point out poor quality. A seller may oversell an item's quality or gloss over flaws. Because of the open-ended nature of this, however, it is best handled on a case-by-case basis and done before negotiations begin. A merchant trying to pass off bronze for gold would make a Deception check and, if the party does not catch them in their lie, would ask for a much higher initial price.
Round 1: The first round of negotiations begin, with Brogan rolling a total of 14 and the merchant rolling a total of 12. Because these numbers are so close, no change happens. The merchant and Brogan exchange some pleasantries and discuss the armor, but no real progress is made.
Round 2: Before the next roll, Brogan attempts an Insight check, which succeeds. Brogan notices the woman's obvious discipline and rather stiff stance suggest a military history and he decides to work that angle. The two make another round of Persuasion rolls. Brogan rolls with advantage, complimenting the merchant's obvious experience with armor, and assuring her it will be well-maintained and see real use again rather than languishing as a decorative piece in the parlor of some rich noble who's never seen a battlefield and cannot appreciate the armor's real value. The merchant rolls a total of 13 and Brogan rolls a total of 12 and 19. Because 19 is surpasses the merchant's roll by more than 5, Brogan has made some headway in negotiations, and the merchant has agreed to drop the price by 10%, for a current price of 250gp.
Round 3: Before the next roll, both parties are going to attempt an Insight check. Brogan's check now has its DC increased by 4, as he must find a new angle to work; he has gotten everything he can out of appealing the woman's military background. However, he succeeds and can see that the woman finds him attractive and he hopes to use flattery to advance his negotiations. The merchant, meanwhile, also succeeds and can see that Brogan is someone who will pay good money to project an air of power. Both parties roll with advantage. Brogan rolling a final total of 12 and the merchant rolling a 17 (after taking their advantage into account). Brogan's attempt to charm the merchant falls flat and she counters that a truly powerful adventurer should have plenty of money to pay full price. The price increases by 10%, returning it to the original value of 275gp.
Round 4: Brogan now attempts to Intimidate the merchant, but fails to do so. Both sides roll their Persuasion again; Brogan rolling a 13 and the merchant rolling a 19. She is insulted that Brogan thought he could strong-arm her and the price increases by another 10%, for a current value of 300gp.
Round 5: At this point, Brogan has failed two rolls, if he fails by over 5 again, negotiations have ended. Both sides roll their Persuasion. The merchant rolls a 12, but Brogan rolls a 1, critically failing his roll and resulting in a -8 total. Brogan has failed his roll and has done so by 20 or more, meaning the price increases again, this time by 15%. Brogan lets slip that he could pay twice the asking price of this armor and still have money to spare. The merchant is fed up with Brogan's hollow compliments and posturing and is through negotiating. She demands he pay the price of 337gp (300 + 15% of the original price) if he has so much money or leave.
Economy
Something I've tried to do to both give more immersion and add something as a "side quest" for players is to incorporate some basic economic elements into the world. In real life, goods do not have a fixed price point you can look up in a handbook. Different areas buy and sell various goods for differing prices based on available resources and other factors. If you want to add that level of variety to your game, you can use the tables provided in each nation's entry. These tables list all goods and resources with higher or lower prices than those listed in the Player's Handbook. It also lists anything that is simply not available at all. The table lists prices for rural, urban, and port locations. The DM may opt to adjust these prices even further based on individual cities, but these tables provide a general overview of each nation's economy. Price modifiers listed apply for both buying and selling. So, a place which a +10% modifier to metal means that metal (and goods manufactured primarily out of metal) would cost the player 10% more to buy, but could be sold for 10% more as well.In the case where a cost is listed for manufactured goods in addition to resources, such modifiers are cumulative. For example, in a place that has a -10% modifier for leather and a +10% modifier to armor, a side of leather would be cheaper, a suit of leather armor would be the same price as the PHB, and a suit of armor made of any other material would be 10% more expensive than its listed price. Such an area may have an abundance of livestock, but few people who possess the knowledge to create armor. For simplicity's sake, you should only apply cumulative costs for the resource from which the majority of a manufactured good is made. It is unnecessary, for example, to factor in the cost of thread, dyes, and metal for a suit of studded leather armor as such materials comprise only a small part of the total item's cost. For something that has a more even mixture, like say a dyed shirt, it may be appropriate to factor in the cost of both the fabrics and the dyes if you wish, but be careful of letting such attention to detail bog down the process.
Haggling
Haggling is an activity that many players engage in and many enjoy the roleplay and rewards that it can bring. Like the other rules on this page, these rules can be ignored for faster, smoother play. Your group may not be interested in haggling at least, not all the time. Sometimes a character may want to just buy things at the listed price and move on.Unless the shopkeeper has a particularly friendly or unfriendly relationship with the character, assume negotiations begin with the merchant asking for 10% more than the base cost of the item (after economy adjustments, if you're using that system). If the player is selling an item, assume the merchant is offering 10% less than what the players should be getting for it. For a merchant who begins with a friendly or unfriendly attitude toward the party, adjust the initial price up or down, accordingly. See the Dungeon Master's Guide for more information about NPC attitudes and diplomacy.
Haggling is done in a series of "rounds" where the player character and the merchant will roll opposed Persuasion rolls. If either roll exceeds the other by 5 or more, negotiations swing in their favor, adjusting the price by 10% of the initial cost in whichever direction the successful character would want. If the difference in rolls is more than 20, the price is adjusted by 15%. For this purpose a critical success is treated as a +10 bonus to the roll and a critical failure treated as a -10 penalty. This continues until the players choose to purchase the item at the current price, or until one party has succeeded three times, at which point the price is set and the merchant will engage in no further haggling.
Either character may attempt an Insight roll to determine a "weakness" in the other party; an angle they can exploit to swing negotiations in their favor. This can be done once before each Persuasion roll, except the initial roll. The DC of this roll is equal to 10+the target's Deception bonus. After each successful Insight roll, the difficulty increases by 4 as the player must find new angles to work. If successful, the next Persuasion roll the subject makes gains advantage. If the character fails their Insight roll by 10 or more, they incorrectly identify something about the other party and make a faux pas, granting them Disadvantage on their next Persuasion roll.
A character may alternatively make an Intimidation roll in order to shake up their opponent. A player may use their Strength modifier for this roll instead of their Charisma modifier, if they wish. This can be done once before each Persuasion roll. The DC of this roll is equal to 10+the target's Insight bonus. If successful, the next Persuasion roll the target makes suffers disadvantage. Be warned, most people do not appreciate such strong-arm tactics and a merchant may end up developing a more negative attitude toward the player character which will impact future negotiations. Furthermore, if a character does a particularly bad job of intimidating a merchant (they fail their roll by 10 or more), the merchant may terminate negotiations immediately, refusing to sell to a person who treats them in such a manner. A character may make either an Insight or an Intimidation roll before each Persuasion roll, but not both.
Characters may also make a Deception check to give themselves advantage in negotiations. A buyer may try to claim imaginary damage or feign knowledge enough to point out poor quality. A seller may oversell an item's quality or gloss over flaws. Because of the open-ended nature of this, however, it is best handled on a case-by-case basis and done before negotiations begin. A merchant trying to pass off bronze for gold would make a Deception check and, if the party does not catch them in their lie, would ask for a much higher initial price.
Extended Haggling Example
Brogan is looking for a new suit of armor. He finds a suit of splint armor in an armorsmith's shop that he likes. However, the town he is shopping in is from a swampy area with virtually no natural deposits of metal, necessitating the costly importation of metal from other settlements. As such, if you are using the economy rules above, this would increase the price of metal, and by extension predominantly metal armor such as splint mail, by 25%. The PHB lists Splint Mail's value at 200gp. So, if you are using the Economy rules above, the value of this splint mail would be 250gp. Because the merchant has never met Brogan before, there is no established relationship and negotiations will start with the value of 275gp.Round 1: The first round of negotiations begin, with Brogan rolling a total of 14 and the merchant rolling a total of 12. Because these numbers are so close, no change happens. The merchant and Brogan exchange some pleasantries and discuss the armor, but no real progress is made.
Round 2: Before the next roll, Brogan attempts an Insight check, which succeeds. Brogan notices the woman's obvious discipline and rather stiff stance suggest a military history and he decides to work that angle. The two make another round of Persuasion rolls. Brogan rolls with advantage, complimenting the merchant's obvious experience with armor, and assuring her it will be well-maintained and see real use again rather than languishing as a decorative piece in the parlor of some rich noble who's never seen a battlefield and cannot appreciate the armor's real value. The merchant rolls a total of 13 and Brogan rolls a total of 12 and 19. Because 19 is surpasses the merchant's roll by more than 5, Brogan has made some headway in negotiations, and the merchant has agreed to drop the price by 10%, for a current price of 250gp.
Round 3: Before the next roll, both parties are going to attempt an Insight check. Brogan's check now has its DC increased by 4, as he must find a new angle to work; he has gotten everything he can out of appealing the woman's military background. However, he succeeds and can see that the woman finds him attractive and he hopes to use flattery to advance his negotiations. The merchant, meanwhile, also succeeds and can see that Brogan is someone who will pay good money to project an air of power. Both parties roll with advantage. Brogan rolling a final total of 12 and the merchant rolling a 17 (after taking their advantage into account). Brogan's attempt to charm the merchant falls flat and she counters that a truly powerful adventurer should have plenty of money to pay full price. The price increases by 10%, returning it to the original value of 275gp.
Round 4: Brogan now attempts to Intimidate the merchant, but fails to do so. Both sides roll their Persuasion again; Brogan rolling a 13 and the merchant rolling a 19. She is insulted that Brogan thought he could strong-arm her and the price increases by another 10%, for a current value of 300gp.
Round 5: At this point, Brogan has failed two rolls, if he fails by over 5 again, negotiations have ended. Both sides roll their Persuasion. The merchant rolls a 12, but Brogan rolls a 1, critically failing his roll and resulting in a -8 total. Brogan has failed his roll and has done so by 20 or more, meaning the price increases again, this time by 15%. Brogan lets slip that he could pay twice the asking price of this armor and still have money to spare. The merchant is fed up with Brogan's hollow compliments and posturing and is through negotiating. She demands he pay the price of 337gp (300 + 15% of the original price) if he has so much money or leave.
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