Merchants

Merchants across Valdaria keep shop according to their trade and their town. A merchant carries a small badge naming their trade, and trading with one opens a storefront in the conversation that shows their wares, your goods, and a running total of the coin moving between you.

The storefront

The storefront shows the merchant's name and trade, the coin they have on hand, your own, and a countdown to their next restock. The trade is split across three tabs named Wares, Sell, and Buyback. You can stage lines across all three and confirm them as one exchange, so a sale can pay for a purchase in the same confirmation. A stacked lot can be split, so you can take three arrows from a bundle of twenty or sell six of your own while the rest stays where it is, and leaving without confirming costs nothing.

Wares list each item's name, rarity, item level, and price, while a piece's exact affix rolls stay hidden until you own it. Lines above your unlock level still show as locked, with the reason named.

A merchant pays only from their own coin, so what they can buy from you is capped by what they hold, and your purchases go into their till and refill what they can pay you before the next restock.

A merchant who is hostile to you will not open their shop, and one standing too far away has to be approached first.

Stock and restocking

A merchant's stock follows their trade and scales with the size of their settlement, so a village stall carries fewer lines than a city shop. Stock refreshes every two days of game time, and the storefront shows a countdown to the next restock. Legendary and Mythic gear is never sold by any merchant and can only be found in the world. Game time advances through rest and travel, so the wait for a restock is usually short.

Special orders

If you ask for something a merchant does not stock and they can source it, they set it aside at a firm price, a premium over the fair rate that is pinned when the order is made. The reserved line joins their wares, marked as yours. Asking again does not reroll the offer, and an unclaimed order lapses with the restock. The top rarities cannot be ordered, and bespoke work such as engraving or fitting is a commission rather than a shop order.

Buyback

What you sell a merchant stays in their keeping for a time and is offered back at a premium over what they paid. Buyback is never locked by your level, so anything that was yours can be bought back. Ordinary goods leave the buyback list after a restock or two, or sooner once the shelf fills, but your rarest pieces are kept aside for you as long as the merchant trades. If the merchant dies while holding a Legendary or Mythic piece of yours, it returns to you or drops where they fell.

Haggling

Prices lean on your Bartering skill, so a practiced barterer buys for less and sells for more, line by line, and the storefront's rate line reflects the lean. Beyond the standing rate, a bargain can be struck in conversation, where a won Bartering check can move a price further in your favor within reason, though a merchant never pays more than a piece is worth to them. Trading also pays experience into the Bartering skill.