Tips for RPing as a merchant? + How to make easy money post 11.

[Kjertesvein]

Hey guys. Anyone got tips for RPing as as merchant? I wanted to know play as a merchant because it's possible to own a merchant ship and one can make a profit from trading. Where to trade? What to trade? Any starting settings that I should pick up? Thanks.

 

[Belthize]

Trading in VC is pretty good.  I've been avoiding it while playing a raider but you can pick up low cost items in villages and sell them in cities.  For example pick up timber and furs in the NorthVegr villages,  sell some in Bebbanburh North Umbria and pick up wool in Umbria, sell wool and timber/furs in Frisia (wool is a huge profit there) and pick up salt.  Sell remaining items in Ribe including salt and return to start.

There are other areas too.  They key point is to buy in villages and sell in cities.  It's kind of like the stone/silver Welsh trade in Bretynwalda but wider spread.

 

[Kjertesvein]

Thanks Belthize.

Here is a link to some food for thought when it comes to making a background story to guide your character: http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/Towns.htm

In the future, maybe someone'll make a map like this: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kroch/scand/scand-frames.html

http://www.pia-journal.co.uk/article/view/pia.348/66

 

[Firewyne_Consul_Borris]

Depending on your trading skill you can assess the prices in the ports (Ribe, Lundenwic etc.) and it tells you where you can make your profits too!

I think it was assess prices, an option is there within the menu!

 

[Idibil]

For merchant players, we added other productions centers as farmstead, quarries, wooden camps... 

 

[Belthize]

For merchant players, we added other productions centers as farmstead, quarries, wooden camps...

Those were a good idea but I think you need to double check the prices and volume.  For instance in Norway you can buy two to three timber for 33-50 penning at the villages and sell at Tunsberg for 200+ which is a good profit and makes being a merchant not suck.  At the timber farm you can buy 3 or 4 timber for 200+ penning for no profit.  Same goes for the salt mine and quarry.  Prices are too high and there's only 3 or 4 goods for sale.

I'd like them a lot if they had village style prices (33 penning) and twice the volume, 6 to 8.

I really like the regional village goods you have.  Furs/timber in Norway,  Salt in Frisia, wool in North Umbria.  Having multiple types means you can do a reasonable trade loop and it's much more realistic to buy in the villages and sell in the cities.  The silver/stone Welsh market in Bretynwalda was a good start, this expansion is better.

Trading is still a slow grind but it's at least moderately interesting with this set up. 

 

[Idibil]

nice feedback, I will try add this in next patch

 

[Tovias]

With the integration of ships and what not, maybe it would be cool if you could set up caravans or fishing ships.

 

[Kjertesvein]

When I'm building ships, the trading ship says it has "a large cargo room", what cargo room? If there was a way to click "camp", then cargo hold to unload cargo int he vessel then that would be kinda cool.

 

[Firewyne_Consul_Borris]

When you create a new character make sure to have the Trade skill at least 7, that's a nice starting point.

Do a few missions for Jarls / Kings to earn at least 3000 pennings when you have this much you can then go to the main Town, I like to choose the ones that have the ports so you can buy and sail straight off of the bat! When you get to the town / port assess the local prices see what makes you the most profit. Now before you buy the product which can net you the most profit, check how much the travel cost to the port is going to be. Once you have got that, deduct it from your pennings and buy as much of said product. Once done. Sail to the port and sell, if need be sneak into the port

If you have any Questions I'll try my best to answer them!

 

[Kjertesvein]

Here are some merchant tips:

Fine tune your character to have Inventory management, Trade and persuasion. Pathfinding can be crucial to not be caught by vikings. Use this. Being a trader allow you the ability to read without learning from a monastery, saving you 4000 gold.

Personally, I started out in Norway. I spent a great deal as a vassal of Norway and got 1000 gold per week for nothing.

A general rule for trading is to buy almost any raw materials in villages, that are cheaper than normal, and sell it at your town. Even buying wheat for 2 gold, and selling it in town for 30 gold adds up in the end. Visa versa, buy finished products like wool cloth and sell them once a village gets enough coin from trading with you.

Don't sail during winter. Look at the mountains. If it's snowy, then it's winter and you should try to spend your time trading between village and town. I spend about 700 gold in ship repair from Norway to Scotland alone.

As a trader start with the smallest ship possible and embark on The North Sea Trade Route. The main goal is to buy as much wool from the villages in England for 30 gold, and sell it Friese for 900 gold. Norwegian villages and towns have valuable fur, tar and timber, which is needed for building large ships and your first refuge.

Your first cycle will be focused on generating a starting capital. At your second cycle around the route you will have about 10 000 or 20 000 profit.

Mind you, the Story mode will give you resources to allow you to start trading earlier than in Sandbox mode, but the down side is that certain trade hubs will not be open to you. It's recommended to start your trading empire in England in sandbox mode, trading raw resources from villages to towns, and selling manufactured products back to villages.

Once you have about 14 000 gold, you want to invest that money into about a handful of enterprises. These self generating enterprises will become the back bone and your funding for your new faction, so make sure to keep it some distance away from where you think to start up. If the faction that houses your enterprises declares war on you, then the enterprise will be confiscated and any income devoid.

Good luck establishing your new trading empire.

 

[BunnyPoopCereal]

For merchant players, we added other productions centers as farmstead, quarries, wooden camps...

Those were a good idea but I think you need to double check the prices and volume.  For instance in Norway you can buy two to three timber for 33-50 penning at the villages and sell at Tunsberg for 200+ which is a good profit and makes being a merchant not suck.  At the timber farm you can buy 3 or 4 timber for 200+ penning for no profit.  Same goes for the salt mine and quarry.  Prices are too high and there's only 3 or 4 goods for sale.

I'd like them a lot if they had village style prices (33 penning) and twice the volume, 6 to 8.

I really like the regional village goods you have.  Furs/timber in Norway,  Salt in Frisia, wool in North Umbria.  Having multiple types means you can do a reasonable trade loop and it's much more realistic to buy in the villages and sell in the cities.  The silver/stone Welsh market in Bretynwalda was a good start, this expansion is better.

Trading is still a slow grind but it's at least moderately interesting with this set up.

Same here I've been trading a lot of timber in my campaign 

@Kjertesvein: nice Merchant tutorial especially the map, fellow staffer

 

[wickerman_156]

I've found that the northern Norwegian villages some times have dirt-cheap iron, any other villages with minerals? Silver?
Haven't found any good place to sell stone yet.

...earn at least 3000 pennings when you have this much you can then go to the main Town, I like to choose the ones that have the ports so you can buy and sail straight off of the bat! When you get to the town / port assess the local prices see what makes you the most profit. Now before you buy the product which can net you the most profit...

buying goods directly from towns/ports is usually never as profitable as buying from villages instead.

 

[Firewyne_Consul_Borris]

I've found that the northern Norwegian villages some times have dirt-cheap iron, any other villages with minerals? Silver?
Haven't found any good place to sell stone yet.

...earn at least 3000 pennings when you have this much you can then go to the main Town, I like to choose the ones that have the ports so you can buy and sail straight off of the bat! When you get to the town / port assess the local prices see what makes you the most profit. Now before you buy the product which can net you the most profit...

buying goods directly from towns/ports is usually never as profitable as buying from villages instead.

I'll have to give that a go, to be honest, I typed that up after 2-3 hours of playing as a merchant the first time