13. D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile

Outside the door, a shield and lantern are suspended from chains. The shield is painted, showing a sword and a cheese. This is the local trading post, wherein a merchant apparently provides for the needs of villagers, travelers and adventurers alike.

D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile is a prominent trading post in the village of Hommlet, located at the base of the hill where the Church of Saint Cuthbert stands, just across Nigb’s Run. The shop caters to the needs of villagers, travelers, and adventurers, offering a wide range of goods and supplies. However, beneath its bustling exterior lies a web of deceit and sinister dealings, as its proprietors, Rannos Davi and Gremag Gozlin.

Description

Situated at the base of the hill beneath the Church of Saint Cuthbert, D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile is easily accessible to the villagers of Hommlet and passing travelers. The two-story wooden building stands out with its many windows, each fitted with sturdy shutters that are always closed after dark for security.

Exterior

The front of the building features a shield and lantern suspended from chains. The shield is painted with a sword and a cheese, symbolizing the variety of goods available within. The shop's exterior is well-maintained, with a welcoming, if somewhat imposing, appearance.

Interior

The main room of the shop is filled with shelves and counters displaying a vast array of goods, including clothing, tools, household items, and adventuring gear. A barn at the rear houses animals, saddles, and other equestrian equipment. The shop is well-organized, catering to the diverse needs of its customers.

Lore and History

D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile was established as a trading post to serve the needs of Hommlet and its visitors. Over time, the shop has become a central hub for commerce, providing essential goods and services to the community. However, its proprietors, Rannos and Gremag, have darker motivations, using the shop to take advantage of the ongoing Bandit threats to make a profit.

Motivation and Relationships

The shop was founded to capitalize on the growing trade in Hommlet, D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile is bustling with activity as villagers and adventurers alike come to purchase supplies and goods. The shop offers a wide range of items, from everyday necessities to specialized equipment.

Show spoiler

The shop was founded to capitalize on the growing trade in Hommlet, but its true purpose is to further the aims of the Temple of Elemental Evil.

• Secret Dealings: The shop's success is partly due to its hidden agenda of dealing in goods stolen from caravans in the Viscounty, as well as its connections to the Hangmen and Naelin.
• Motivation: Both are driven by greed and a desire for power. They use their shop as a front to facilitate their involvement with the Temple of Elemental Evil, constantly seeking ways to profit from the adventurers and travelers who pass through Hommlet.
• Relationships: Rannos and Gremag maintain cordial relationships with their customers but are secretly manipulating events to benefit their nefarious goals. They are particularly interested in adventurers who may uncover hidden treasures or secrets.

Bandit Concerns

The shop's proprietors are deeply involved in the bandit activities plaguing the region. They use their connections to gather intelligence on the movements of caravans and adventurers, ensuring they can profit from any successful raids.

Bibi and Garent Xag

• Motivation: Both Bibi and Garent work for Rannos and Gremag out of loyalty and the promise of profit. They spy on the villagers and adventurers, reporting back to the shopkeepers and assisting in their schemes.
• Relationships: Bibi and Garent maintain a low profile, blending in with the villagers while carrying out their duties for the shopkeepers.

Horses and Hounds

Among the many goods and services offered at D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile in Hommlet are horses and hunting dogs, essential for travelers and adventurers seeking to traverse the rugged terrain of the Viscounty. However, these animals are not all they seem, as the traders engage in deceptive practices to sell substandard livestock, leaving unsuspecting buyers with unreliable beasts.

Horses

The horses available for sale at D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile are advertised as draft horses and hunting mounts, offered at a tempting 70% of the usual list price. To the untrained eye, they may appear serviceable, with their coats brushed and manes neatly trimmed. However, beneath this polished exterior lies a reality of poor health and lack of proper care.

Deceptive Practices

Show spoiler

Physical Condition

The horses are often underfed and overworked, lacking the stamina required for long journeys or heavy loads. They are kept in poor conditions, with inadequate shelter and food, contributing to their weakened state.

Behavioral Issues

These animals have a 50% chance of stopping each turn to rest, making them unreliable for travelers who need steady, dependable mounts. If pushed by hard riding or heavy loads, there is a 50% chance they will collapse or die, making them a poor investment for any buyer.

Dishonest Sales Tactics

The traders employ various tricks to obscure the true condition of the horses. Buyers are often told that any issues are minor and easily rectified with care. The traders dismiss complaints with phrases like "caveat emptor" (buyer beware) and claim that the buyer misunderstood the terms of sale.

Hunting Dogs

The hunting dogs for sale are presented as loyal companions and skilled trackers, perfect for adventurers heading into the wilderness. These dogs, like the horses, are priced attractively, drawing in unsuspecting buyers with promises of reliability and skill.

Deceptive Practices

Show spoiler

Behavioral Issues

The dogs are poorly trained and often bite or snap at handlers. They lack discipline and are more likely to run away at the first opportunity. When untethered, they frequently return to the traders, who then attempt to resell them to the next unsuspecting customer.

Appearance Alteration

To disguise dogs that have been returned or are prone to running away, the traders may alter their appearance slightly, using dye or other means to create superficial differences. This allows them to claim that any complaints of a dog returning are unfounded, as the animal is allegedly a different one entirely.

Customer Experience

Caveat Emptor

The traders at D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile operate on the principle of "caveat emptor" or "buyer beware." They skillfully deflect any complaints or concerns with a combination of plausible deniability and outright deception. Customers are left with the impression that any issues with their purchases are due to their own oversight or misunderstanding.

Reputation

Despite their questionable practices, Rannos Davi and Gremag Gozlin maintain a reputation for providing essential goods and services at competitive prices. Their charisma and charm often overshadow any negative experiences, allowing them to continue their unscrupulous business dealings without significant repercussions.

Men for Hire

In addition to its wide array of goods, D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile offers the services of hired men to adventurers seeking extra muscle or expertise. Bibi, a human groom and skilled scout, and Garent Xag, an Oeridian Flan mix man-at-arms, are available for hire on orders from the traders. These men provide valuable support to adventuring parties. Bibi and Garent Xag are two individuals available for hire from D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile, offering their skills as a scout and man-at-arms, respectively. Their services come at a cost, with adventurers required to pay them 2 gp per day and purchase appropriate armor, such as a chain shirt or scalemail, to ensure their readiness for combat.

Bibi: The Scout

Bibi serves as a groom and scout, using his skills to provide valuable reconnaissance and support to adventurers. Despite his rough exterior, he is competent in navigating the wilderness and locating potential threats.

Appearance and Equipment

• Appearance: Bibi is a wiry man with a scruffy beard and shifty eyes, giving him a somewhat disreputable appearance. His clothes are often disheveled, reflecting his rough lifestyle.
• Equipment: Bibi is armed with a short bow and short sword, making him effective in both ranged and close combat situations. His skills as a scout allow him to move stealthily and gather information without drawing attention.

Personality and Skills

• Personality: Bibi is foul-mouthed and often lazy, exhibiting a disdain for authority and a preference for a more carefree lifestyle. Despite this, he is loyal to Rannos and Gremag, using his position to spy on adventurers and report back to the traders.
• Skills: Bibi's background as a bandit gives him a keen understanding of terrain and tactics, making him an asset for parties needing a skilled scout to navigate difficult terrain or locate hidden enemies.

Garent Xag: The Man-at-Arms

Garent Xag is a capable man-at-arms, offering his martial skills to adventurers seeking additional strength in battle. His experience and willingness to engage in combat make him a valuable asset to any party.

Appearance and Equipment

• Appearance: Garent is a stocky, well-built man with a no-nonsense demeanor. His serious expression and muscular build convey a sense of readiness and strength.
• Equipment: Garent wields an arming sword, a light crossbow, and a voulge, giving him versatility in combat. He is capable of engaging foes at range or in melee, adapting to the needs of his employers.

Personality and Skills

• Personality: Garent is straightforward and reliable, willing to follow orders and engage in combat as needed. He is motivated by profit and a sense of duty to his employers, making him dependable in fulfilling his role.
• Skills: Garent's experience as a former bandit has honed his combat skills, allowing him to effectively wield a variety of weapons and adapt to different combat scenarios.

Hiring Conditions

Payment and Equipment Requirements

Both Bibi and Garent require payment of 2 gp per day for their services. In addition, adventurers must purchase armor for them, ensuring they are adequately protected during engagements. The minimum requirement is a chain shirt or scalemail, providing sufficient defense against potential threats.

Loyalty to Rannos and Gremag

Show spoiler

Despite their availability for hire, Bibi and Garent remain loyal to Rannos Davi and Gremag Gozlin, reporting back any valuable information gathered during their employment. Adventurers who hire them should be aware of this potential conflict of interest and exercise caution when sharing sensitive information.

Opinions on Bandit Problems

"Bandits are bad for business, but good for opportunities."
"The roads are dangerous, but danger brings profit for those who know how to use it."
"We must adapt to the chaos, for in chaos lies the chance for riches."
"While others fear the bandits, we see a chance to increase our influence."
"The stronger the bandit threat, the more we can exploit the situation."

Conclusion

D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile is a vital part of Hommlet's economy, providing essential goods to its residents and visitors. However, beneath its bustling exterior lies a web of deceit and intrigue, as its proprietors manipulate events to serve their dark masters. As the village grapples with the threat of bandits, Rannos and Gremag remain ever vigilant, seeking to exploit the chaos for their gain.

---

Trading and Selling

D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile is a bustling hub of commerce in the village of Hommlet, offering a wide range of goods and services to adventurers, travelers, and villagers alike. While the shop provides essential supplies, Rannos Davi and Gremag Gozlin, the proprietors, are known for their opportunistic pricing strategies and willingness to haggle, ensuring they maximize profits from every transaction.

Trade and Selling Practices

The traders at D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile are eager to buy and sell a wide variety of items, catering to the diverse needs of their customers. However, their business practices are marked by shrewd negotiation tactics, with prices often inflated above standard values. Adventurers can find most common items here, while specialty goods require special orders at a premium.

Buying from Adventurers

• Initial Offers: The traders start negotiations by offering no more than 40% of the listed value in the Player's Handbook (PHB) for items adventurers wish to sell.
• Haggling: Skilled negotiators can push this up to a maximum of 60% of the PHB prices through successful haggling.
• Special Orders: Specialty items not regularly stocked, such as alchemist’s fire, poisons, anti-toxins, and religious items, can be ordered for 200% of the PHB cost, with a waiting period of 1d6 days.

---

Traders' Quarters

This room is adequately furnished with two comfortable bunks, table and chairs, wall shelves and pegs, a chest of drawers, and a pair of lockers for personal gear.

Merchants Treasure

Show spoiler

A small locked coffer holds 300 gp, 150 pp, 50 gems (a mix of amethysts, garnets, pearls, and tourmalines, worth 100 gp each), two potions of invisibility, a potion of speed, and a small black scarab inscribed with the glyphs TZGY. (The latter item is a pass into an area of the Temple of Elemental Evil, but there is only a 20% chance that even a sage would recognize it as such.) A portion of the outer wall is triggered to swing out at the bottom if a small board is slipped sideways.

Barn and Stable

Refer also to the stable notes. Horses, ponies, and mules are stabled here. Various small animals are also available here—mice, doves, chickens, etc. All livestock prices are 110% of list, warhorses 120%.

Barnyard

Out in the yard are 2-5 swaybacked, potbellied, spavined old plugs, with a like number of vicious, cowardly mongrel dogs.

D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile by 3orcs

"The wise man sees opportunity where others see chaos."

Notable Characters

Rannos Davl  Age: 45

• Role: Co-proprietor of the shop
• Appearance: Rannos is a slow, fat, and clumsy man of Oeridian Oerid and Flannae Flan descent. He has a placid demeanor, with round features and a constant sheen of sweat on his brow.
• Personality: Rannos is laid-back but cunning, always looking for an opportunity to make a profit.

Gremag Gozlin  Age: 40

• Role: Co-proprietor of the shop
• Appearance: Gremag is tall and thin Oeridian Oerid, with sharp features and protruding eyes that give him a hawkish appearance. He is often seen fussing and dithering, his movements quick and precise.
• Personality: Gremag tends to dither and fuss at customers, and at Rannos Davl as well.

Bibi

Role: Groom and scout
Level 0 man-at-arms, AC 7 (leather & shield hp 4, #AT 1; D 1-8 (longsword) or 1-6 (spear), XP 14

• Appearance: Bibi is a wiry Oeridian Oerid man with a scruffy beard and shifty eyes. His clothes are often disheveled, and he carries a short bow and sword.
• Personality: Despite his rough exterior, he is competent in navigating the wilderness and locating potential threats. 
  Show spoiler

  Once a bandit, Bibi is now a spy for Rannos and Gremag, working as a groom to keep tabs on villagers. He is foul-mouthed, lazy, and has a drug problem.

Garent Xag

Role: Man-at-arms
Level 1 Fighter, AC 8 (leather armor hp 8, #AT 1 or 2; D 1-8 (longsword) (longbowXP22

• Appearance: Garent is a stocky Oeridian Oerid and Flannae Flan mix, well-built man with a no-nonsense demeanor. He is equipped with an arming sword, a light crossbow, and a voulge.
• Personality: Garent is competent and willing to get into a fight if needed.
• Show spoiler

  He is a former bandit now serving as a man-at-arms for the shopkeepers, spying on the villagers for Rannos and Gremag.

Type

Shop, Generic

Parent Location

Village of Hommlet

Owner

Rannos Davl

Additional Rulers/Owners

• Gremag Gozlin

Characters in Location

• Rannos Davl

Related Plots

• 11. Running Out Rannos and Gremag - Hommlet
• 6. Finding the Saboteur - Hommlet
• Hommlet - Local Side Quests

D&G Dry Goods & General Mercantile Map by cott Purdy Copyright RVN Creative Studios 2024

Main Shop Offerings

Clothing and Packs

• Common Clothes: Sold at 90% of list price, rounded down.
• Traveler’s Clothes: Priced at 100% of list price.
• Fine Clothes: Offered at 120% of list price, rounded down.
• Specialized Costumes: Not available.

Packs Available

• Burglar’s Pack, Dungeoneer’s Pack, Explorer’s Pack: Sold at 110% of the PHB price.
• Diplomat’s Pack, Scholar’s Pack: Priced at 125% of the PHB price.

Writing Materials and Arcane Components

Items like parchment, inks, quills, sealing waxes, chalk, dyes, and blank books are available at 150% to 200% of PHB prices, reflecting their rarity in a rural setting.

Hand Tools

• Tools Available: Carpenter’s tools, cobbler’s tools, cook’s utensils, mason’s tools, painter’s supplies, potter’s tools, tinker’s tools, weaver’s tools, and woodcarver’s tools.
• Villager Pricing: Available at 80% of list price.
• Adventurer Pricing: Priced at 100% of the PHB list price.
• Source: The majority of these items come from the local smith or suppliers in Verbobonc.

Missile Weapons

• Standard Ammunition: Arrows, crossbow bolts, sling bullets, and quivers sold at 100% of list price.
• Weapon Pricing: Darts, short bows, long bows, slings, and throwing knives at 110% of PHB price. Heavy crossbows and throwing axes at 150% list price.

Food and Herbs

• Rations: Packed to go, priced at 120% of list price.
• Healer’s Kits and Herbs: Sold for 125% of the PHB price.

Dungeoneering Gear

Items include 10-foot poles, chains, chests, climber’s kits, crowbars, grappling hooks, ropes, ladders, mess kits, pitons, and lighting gear such as tinder boxes, candles, lamps, lanterns, torches, and flasks of oil.

• Pricing: All priced at 110% of list price.

Polearms and Shields

• Available Stock: Shields (round wooden, heater shields, small metal bucklers) and polearms (guisarmes, fauchards, glaives, halberds, ranseurs, voulges, spears).
• Pricing: All available at PHB list prices.

Other Weapons

• Standard Weapons: Arming swords, clubs, daggers, falchions, handaxes, light hammers, light maces, quarterstaffs, sickles, and short swords at 100% of PHB value.
• Specialty Weapons: Battleaxes, broadswords, footman’s flails, longswords, heavy maces, mauls, morningstars, war picks, and whips at 120% of PHB prices.

Armor and Helmets

• In Stock: Padded, leather, and studded leather armor available at 110% of PHB list prices.
• Heavier Armor: Chain shirts, ring mail, and scale mail sold at 150% of PHB values. A single suit of half-plate is available for 200% of the normal PHB list price.
• Special Orders: Other suits can be specially ordered at 250% of list price—half paid in advance, with a waiting time of 3d12 + 6 days. Fit is not guaranteed (1d6: 1=too small, 2-5= fits, 6=too large).

Tack and Harness

Most items are available at list price, with dungeon carts offered at 75% of list, limited to one per customer.