For as long as there have been people willing to create illegal potions and herbal remedies, there have been people willing to gather those reagents needed. Raw materials can be hard to come by, in particular when some of the material itself has been either restricted and made illegal by the powers in place.

Reagent Examples

Within the Pinelands there are a few controlled materials that may be found only through a high-ranking official giving a temporary pass for the purchase of the reagent or through a Black Market trader. These include:

• crysteel
• Punicea 

Career

Career Progression

Those types of traders will usually start as normal traders. Some traders may have contacts within the Black Market and make a favour or two, starting down that slippery slope. Others may be part of a thieves or assassins faction, as part of their supply division.

Payment & Reimbursement

Payments for this line of work can be extremely rewarding, depending on the reagent their manage to get their hands on.

Perception

Social Status

Being illegal, Black Market traders are usually frowned upon by most law-abiding citizens. However, they are deemed essential by many a thieves' or assassins' faction and as such are usually fiercely protected by these. Even adventurers' guilds will usually not give up their contacts willingly as they often operate on the edges of city laws.

Operations

Provided Services

Black Market reagent traders will usually specialise in a specific type of material. This could be natural, magical, flora or fauna-based, ores, poisons... The traders will sometimes have the supplies needed in stock but they usually will act as go-between between buyers and suppliers. The buyer will make their demand known and the traders will then contact their suppliers to see if and when it can be met.
Trader may specialise in one section but they will usually have contacts with each other as they usually make it a point of pride not to leave a buyer without what they need. If a trader cannot meet a buyer's requirements, they will usually make contact with other traders and introduce the buyers for a fee.

Type

Raw Materials Gathering

Legality

This profession is illegal in all parts of the world.