ADVENTURER’S LUCK question

[Krensky]

Haggle uses Wisdom.

Impress uses Charism/a, and it effects Lifestyle.

[Kerebrus]

That said, my party's mage (WIS 18) is the only one who bothers to take levels in haggle. Whenever the party needs to buy stuff they just send him out to do the buying.

Same with our party, although the mage in question is a hovering Unborn.  We like to call him hagglebot 3000.

"The Price is 100 silver"
-"Hagglebot will pay 60"
"I can go as low as 80"
-"Hagglebot will pay 60"
"What say you to 75?"
-"Hagglebot will pay 60"
"Fine, Fine Fine, 65"
-"Hagglebot will pay 60"
"60 it is then"
-"Hagglebot will pay 50"
wh-what?

[Doublebond]

That said, my party's mage (WIS 18) is the only one who bothers to take levels in haggle. Whenever the party needs to buy stuff they just send him out to do the buying.

Same with our party, although the mage in question is a hovering Unborn.  We like to call him hagglebot 3000.

"The Price is 100 silver"
-"Hagglebot will pay 60"
"I can go as low as 80"
-"Hagglebot will pay 60"
"What say you to 75?"
-"Hagglebot will pay 60"
"Fine, Fine Fine, 65"
-"Hagglebot will pay 60"
"60 it is then"
-"Hagglebot will pay 50"
wh-what?

I love it!

[Grimace]

Then again the vendor or player can walk away if they don't like the price.  

[Grimace]

That's got to be a campaign-specific decision. Theoretically, you can haggle over any transaction. But your GM gets to make the call.

 
And he has.  Maybe I should let you haggle but give the merchant a real haggle skill?  Cause that's what merchants do for a living.  I'm almost positive you'll end up with less in the end.

And what level is the average merchant again?

NPC's go by TL.  TL is based upon the party's average level plus any bonus from menace.  

So at your current level they'd be around TL:5.  Now some may fall beneath that and some above that level.  And looking at the book haggle is their highest skill.
 

[Grimace]

BTW I need to print up some NPC for towns anyway. 

[Goodlun]

Bare in mind a couple of things.  Merchants may not be the only people you Haggle with.  Also just because the one merchant in the rogues gallery has a haggle of X doesn't mean that applies to all merchants.  Also just because your bonus is lower than that of the merchant does not mean you will lose.  You still have a random 1-20 roll to deal with.
Your bonuses are not their to make sure you WIN every time they are to help shape the bell curve.

[Typhon]

Nah it's already been made clear that it's not something to do so no sense in doing it. If no sense in doing it, no sense in having points in it lol.

[Eärendle]

Not every spot on a character sheet needs to be filled with ruthless efficiency. Have you never taken a skill or feat purely for fluff reasons?

[ArawnNox]

Not every spot on a character sheet needs to be filled with ruthless efficiency. Have you never taken a skill or feat purely for fluff reasons?

I actually got admonished for doing that once back in a game of 3.5. Boy did I chew the other guy out.

[Dawnblade]

See I love to use feats to explain backstory.  If my Character is say a noble assuming I did not take a Specialty to represent it. I might throw a few levels of courtier or perhaps a feat or two, perhaps a few from the comely line or extra holding to represent a house I own to represent wealth, hell perhaps even some of the repartee tree to show his quick tongue he got while in courtly debate's.   Then again sometimes I make a char first and then the backstory second ... really depends if I have an idea already formed or not.

[Psion]

I never noticed the bog standard merchant has Haggle X, and I consider that to be a bit of a mistake. X skill is the pinnacle that an NPC can have. A merchant with haggle X is like a shrewd mechant prince, not your typical shopkeep.

[Antilles]

Well, if the game is set in more or less one area, I would make it a priority to befriend a merchant and take him as a contact, make that Haggle X work for you instead of against you. Half price on buying things/half again price on selling things is something worth 33 rep, in my mind.

[Grimace]

Well another thing about the campaign is I'm allowing them to carry everything out without thinking on how they are carrying it.  I'm also giving them full value for all non-armor and non-weapons.  So if it says a gem is worth 100s, they get 100s.  Then prudence kicks in.  Any merchant isn't going to offer full price for an item.

Typhon thinks he's being ripped off by not being able to haggle, but in my opinion he's much better off.

Afterall Typhon is spec'd to be very good at combat and thief skills.  It's only normal that he'd come up sort in some areas.   

[Krensky]

To explain what I was discussing earlier, let's look at an example with the Courtier in my Burnt Offerings game. (Yes you Eloise, pay attention. )

She just hit second level, and the important numbers for this exercise are:

Haggle: +4 (2 ranks, +2 Wisdom)
Impress: +10 (5 ranks, +3 Charisma, +2 Insight)
Panache: 5
Appearance: +5 (+2 Panache, +1 Striking, +2 Only the Finest, +1 Grooming Case)

The Merchant has Haggle X and Competence III, or +12 and +2.

Eloise starts by talking to the Merchant to improve his Disposition (I'm assuming they both start at 0). This is an opposed check between her Impress and his Competence. Taking average rolls, she rolls a 25 (Rolled 10 + 10 +5) and he rolls a 12 (Rolled 10 + 2) for a difference of 13. She raises the merchant's disposition by 6. She then uses Charming to shift it up another 5. So his Disposition to her is now an 11.

Small talk aside, she settles down to Haggle. Using the same rolls, She rolls a 25 (10 + 4 + 11) and he rolls a 22 (10 + 12). Eloise succeeds by 3, netting a 10% discount or premium. More importantly though, as the scene ends the Merchant's Disposition settles at +6 Intrigued. So the next time she comes back to deal with him she gets another +6 to her Impress check.