Town Production

When entering a new town, the DM determines the economic status of the town, by fiat or at
random. Each 1,000 residents in the town gives a +1 on the roll:
d%
Roll

Economic
Prosperity

Goods Demanded

Goods Supplied

1-5

Broke

6-15

Beggared

16-35

Poor

36-65

Modest

66-80

Middle Class

1d4

1d4

81-90

Upper Class

2d4

2d4

91-95

Wealthy

3d4

3d4

96-98

Glamorous

3d8

3d8

99-100

Obscene

2d10

2d10

Town Supply and Demand

Once you determine the economic prosperity of a town, you may roll for number of goods demanded and
number of goods supplied if those numbers are random. Then you select or roll randomly which goods

the town demands and which goods the town supplies on the following table. If a town is large enough, it
is likely that the town will supply and demand the same good. Thats OK! That just means there are
producers in one area of the city and suppliers in another.
d% Roll

Cost

Good

1-9

1 cp

1 lb. wheat

10-18

2 cp

1 lb. flour

19-23

2 cp

1 chicken

24-26

5 cp

1 lb. salt

27-30

1 sp

1 lb. iron

31-34

1 sp

1 sq. yd. canvas (1 sq. yds. weighs 2 lbs)

35-38

5 sp

1 lb. copper

39-42

5 sp

1 sq yd. cotton (1 sq. yds. weighs 1 lb)

43-46

1 gp

1 lb. ginger

47-50

1 gp

1 goat

51-53

2 gp

1 lb. cinnamon

54-56

2 gp

1 lb. pepper

57-60

2 gp

1 sheep

61-62

3 gp

1 lb. cloves

63-72

3 gp

1 pig

73-74

5 gp

1 lb. silver

75-77

5 gp

1 sq. yd. linen (2 sq. yds. weighs 1 lb)

78-80

10 gp

1 sq. yd. silk (126 sq. yds. weighs 1 lb)

81-90

10 gp

1 cow

91-92

15 gp

1 lb. saffron

93-96

15 gp

1 ox

97-98

50 gp

1 lb. gold

99-100

500 gp

1 lb. platinum

Table methodology: 60% chance for goods under 3 gp, 30% for goods 3-10 gp, 10% for goods above 15 gp, with specific
adjustments based on relative medieval rarity of each good. Prices and names from PHB Trade Goods p156

Trade Good Determination

A savvy merchant can determine what goods a town needs or produces with a successful
Investigation, Persuasion, or Insight roll. Each such roll takes 1d4 hours and the merchant
travels the town talking to people, examining market stalls, and searching out production
centers. Based on the results of the roll the merchant may figure out more than one good. The

merchant will learn the name of the good, where to buy or sell it for the best price, and whether
the town supplies or demands it.
Skill Result

# of Goods Learned

5+

10+

1d4

15+

2d4

20+

2d8

25+

All

Trade
A merchant can buy or sell trade goods at the base price listed on the demand
table above with no check. If the good is demanded by the city, the base price is increased by
2d10%, and if the good is supplied by the city the base price is decreased by 2d10%.
Additionally, a merchant can negotiate for a higher or lower price with a successful Persuasion
or Intimidation check. Beware, because an Intimidation check may close doors in the future!
The base price is modified in the merchants favor (increase for selling, decrease for buying)
based on the following table to calculate the final price:
Skill Result

Price Modification

5+

-1d8%

10+

-1d4%

15+

+1d4%

20+

+1d8%

25+

+1d12%

Note that a lower skill check modifies the price AGAINST the merchant's favor: Decrease for selling, Increase for buying

Once all modifiers have been determined, simply total the percentages and apply them to the
base price on the demand table all at once. (EG, a +5% increase based on a town demanding a
good plus a 3% increase based on a Persuasion check of 16 is an 8% total increase on the total
sale). Merchants can negotiate to get a lower price than the base in a demanding town or a
higher price than the base in a supplying town, but that is unlikely!