DM's Guide to the Low Market
Any attempt to detail the entire market place is doomed to vanish in a morass of in formation. lf a group of PCs walks around here, asking what they can see, read some selections from the Low Market Booth list. Feel free to add things to the list, change the order around, and otherwise modify it to suit your campaign.
If the players ask about something that isn't listed and you can't decide whether it would be found here or not, roll 1d100. There is a base 50% chance of any item being here. Modify with a + or -20% based on how common the item is, and add a further 15% if the item is sought on Starday. If the resulting roll is successful, the item is available somewhere in the market.
Prices for everything need to be established by the DM, remembering that the actual selling price tends to be on the low side. The asking price, of course, can be quite a bit higher, leaving it up to the PCs to negotiate for a bargain or not.
Hassles in the Low Market
A character suffers a base 10% chance of undergoing a pickpocket attempt every time he enters the market. Characters who look impoverished, diseased, or exceedingly dangerous are not selected as victims, however. On the other hand, characters wearing grand finery or flaunting large amounts of money run a full 25% chance of being targeted by a pickpocket.
To detennine the level of the thief, roll 1d10, using the following table to deter mine the thiefs level:
| Low Market | Pickpocket Level Table |
|---|---|
| 010 Roll | Thief's Level |
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 3 less than victim* |
| 4 | 2 less than victim* |
| 5 | 1 less than victim* |
| 6 | Same as victim |
| 7 | 1 more than victim |
| 8 | 2 more than victim |
| 9 | 4 more than victim |
| 10 | Twice victim's level |
Other common encounters include children hawking for one or another vendor, who follow wealthy-looking shoppers with incredible persistence; and pleas from beggars of every pathetic variety, some hobbling about the marketplace while others settle into one place, often enduring the kicks and insults of nearby merchants.
Selling in the Marketplace
Stall space is available for a minimal fee-five sp for a 6' x 6' area, one gp for a 12' x 6' space, and so on. The fee is charged every day a character uses the space, regardless of sales or portion of the day used.
For an additional fee equal to the stall fee, a merchant can hire the services of a guard, called a "shopwatcher." Such guards are fighters of level 1d4+2, generally working for several merchants at a time. They browse through the market place, trying-usually unsuccessfully-to look like shoppers. All the while they observe the stalls under their protection, quickly apprehending any thieves or shoplifters.
The usual penalty for such foiled thieves is the return of the heisted goods, and a shakedown by the fighter, who will take anything else that suits him, including any weapons. Only in the case of violent resistance or repeat offense does the shopwatcher summon the City Watch.
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