In roleplaying games, the most popular roles are the usual suspects: warriors, rogues, wizards, or clerics. Most playable characters are a variant of the typical RPG trinity of tank, DPS, and healers. Unfortunately, adventuring isn’t free. For a character or party to advance, they need not just experience, but better gear. That gear costs money (unless you stole it, and if so, shame on you). After all, what are you supposed to do with all that currency you collect from the enemies you trounce? Who can help solve this problem?
Have no fear; the merchants are here!
Merchants are one of the most overlooked and undervalued classes in roleplaying. They are essential in any quest, from building a simple homestead to saving an entire planet from destruction. While many NPC vendors can be run-of-the-mill, there are plenty who create a lasting impact.
Maybe it’s my agonizing years of experience in retail or my business degree, but I felt it was time for RPG merchants to get their due. I am not talking about corporations or other large entities using capitalism without restraint out of greed or some other evil (looking at you, Joja Corporation). I mean the working-class entrepreneurs. The ones fairly and sustainably trading goods or services in exchange for a living wage. These are the blue-collar, driven, industrious characters that I admire and identify with.
With that said, here is my list of the 10 best RPG Merchants.
10. Babette – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Bethesda RPGs tend to be hit or miss with their NPCs. The sheer number of them makes most of them forgettable. However, there are standouts, and Babette is the most memorable in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Giving off serious Let Me In vibes, the vampire child stands out due to her eerie charm and backstory. Turned vampire at the age of ten, she is actually the oldest member of the Dark Brotherhood characters can interact with in Skyrim.
A merchant of alchemy ingredients and potions for the Dark Brotherhood, Babette embodies an uncomfortable mix of innocence and darkness, which adds a creepy allure to her persona. Her adolescent appearance contrasts sharply with her sophisticated dialect and sinister undertones. Speaking with her can be quite unsettling when she reveals the disquieting aspects of her persona, like her thirst for blood and how she uses her innocent appearance as a tool for killing. It is also clear she has had time to hone her craft over the centuries, as she is quite the skilled alchemist and poison maker. Maybe she did a particularly good job creeping me out as a girl dad, but Babette is a haunting character that has left a lasting impression on me.
9. Recette Lemongrass – Recettear: An Item’s Shop Tale
One of the lesser-known entries on the list, Recettear: An Item’s Shop Tale, is a JRPG released worldwide in 2010 for Windows PC. Recette Lemongrass is the game’s main protagonist. She is a young girl whose father disappears, saddling her with a substantial debt to settle. To do so, Recette teams up with a fairy named Tear to open and operate an item shop to pay off the creditors.
Recette’s personality is a hodgepodge of typical enthusiastic young-girl anime tropes: a bit airheaded, overly enthusiastic, and her optimism knows no bounds. It never fails to humor me when she boldly recites her adopted catchphrase of “Capitalism, Ho!” Throughout Recettear, Recette transforms from an inexperienced merchant to a shrewd businesswoman. Her story is surprisingly inspiring for anyone who can empathize with the challenges of entrepreneurship. Whether it’s negotiating with customers, forming partnerships with adventurers, or navigating the challenges of the market, Recette’s charm and genuine care for others shine through. I encourage anyone unfamiliar with this hidden gem to give it a chance, as it remains easily accessible via Steam.
8. Merchant (class) – Fire Emblem Fates
When thinking of merchants in the Fire Emblem series, most would likely think of Anna. The recurring redhead appears in almost every FE entry, playing several different roles, but most often some variation on merchant. However, Fire Emblem Fates puts the spotlight on traders, introducing Merchants as a playable class.
Merchant is one of the most unorthodox classes in the series. A physical combat class that promotes from the villager or apothecary classes, the merchant’s actions rely on using gold bars. The class can use skills to generate gold bars and then expend those gold bars to increase their attack and defense stats. Alternatively, the created gold bars sell for 300 each, making merchants valuable assets for generating, well, assets. With the right build and skill combinations, Fire Emblem Fates merchants can generate damage and funds, making them a welcome addition to any party.
7. Merchant (job) – Bravery Default
Appearing in Bravely Default and its direct sequel Bravely Second: End Layer, the merchant job offers unique benefits to players that go beyond experience in battle. Like the merchant class in Fire Emblem, this job can use various skills to earn or spend in-game money. Fun fact: the money in the Bravely series is pg (pronounced “pig”) in English and pq (“pique”) in Japan. Don’t feel bad if you went through the game calling it “pee-gee,” you’re not alone.
Merchants can use the “More Money” skill to increase money earned from battle. Other skills reduce costs for your party or increase them for enemies. Merchants can also purchase items as an in-battle action for immediate use. My favorite merchant skill is “Payoff,” which allows the merchant to simply buy off the enemy and end battles immediately (without losing experience). Finally, from an aesthetic angle, the job also has one of the game’s best male and female outfit combinations.
6. Bodahn and Sandal Feddic – Dragon Age series
The dwarven father-son pair Bodahn and Sandal are the most memorable merchants from the Dragon Age series. Bodahn was previously a successful merchant caste vendor in the great dwarven city of Orzammar. Though he procures his merchandise through questionable means—hiring casteless dwarves to retrieve valuable artifacts in the dangerous Deep Roads—he finds and rescues an abandoned child that he would raise as his own during his time on one such expedition.
The duo first appears in Dragon Age: Origins. After saving them from a darkspawn attack, the traveling pair remains with the party, offering goods and services at camp. Bodahn always has a cheery demeanor and unwavering loyalty to his son. Sandal is a savant known for his unique and near-magical ability to enchant items and a mysterious knack for handling himself amongst hoards of darkspawn. The dwarves made enough of an impact in DA:O that they returned in a similar role in Dragon Age II. Bodahn and Sandal are perfect examples of memorable NPCs done right. Enchantment!
5. Ryza – Atelier Ryza Trilogy
Reisalin Stout, or simply Ryza, is a standout protagonist amongst many worthy candidates in the long-running Atelier series. While Ryza and her fellow ateliers are more craftspeople than merchants per se, there are plenty of commonalities between the two trades. I also considered Sophie, Lydie, and Suelle as Atelier representatives. Still, ultimately, I gave the nod to Ryza because I find the whole of her trilogy to be the most fitting.
The Ryza games follow the familiar series formula of gathering, synthesizing, and battling. Increasing Ryza’s atelier skills helps upgrade equipment and thus increase performance in battle. Rinse, repeat. It sounds simple, and it is to an extent. However, while some prefer older entries that are time-restricted and more challenging, I find the modern entries more enjoyable for their coziness. A bonus in Ryza is the ability to customize and decorate your atelier, allowing it to feel like your own. They are JRPG comfort food and scratch the same itch as Stardew Valley or Rune Factory 4.
4. Will – Moonlighter
Running a small business can be a considerable challenge, with long hours and balancing supply with demand, not to mention the risks involved with such a venture. No game exemplifies this risk more than Moonlighter. The game’s intrepid protagonist, Will, wears two important hats: dungeon raider and shopkeeper.
Developed by Digital Sun, Moonlighter blends two addicting gameplay loops into one enjoyable adventure you didn’t know you needed. Will dreams of becoming a legendary hero while running Moonlighter, the shop he inherited from his parents. The objective is simple: battle through dungeons to collect legendary artifacts, which he then can sell for gold at the shop. Moonlighter’s gameplay mechanics require strategic decision-making in all areas. How much farther can Will push into the dungeon to find more valuable artifacts without falling there and losing that already-earned loot? Moonlighter provides a unique and immersive experience, and Will is the anchor that ties these aspects together.
3. Partitio Yellowil – Octopath Traveler II
Octopath Traveler II’s Partitio personifies all the good qualities of an entrepreneur without the greed or shrewdness: a true example of an altruistic and kind merchant. Growing up in poverty and seeing its effects on those he loves, his goal is not personal wealth, but to eliminate “the devil called poverty” and share prosperity with all. The only thing that triggers his wrath is inequality.
Akin to other examples of merchant classes, Partitio’s skills in battle utilize currency to gain an advantage. He can increase the money gained at the end of battles, buy turns from foes, summon hired help for assistance, and share support points with his allies. His delightful charm and hospitality—complete with an endearing English southern accent—make him a joy to interact with. His versatility and ability to work in tandem with other classes’ skills allow him to easily slot into any party. If only some of today’s soulless, greedy business moguls were more like Partitio, our world would be a better place.
2. Moira Brown – Fallout 3
The proprietor of Craterside Supply in Megaton is one of the first characters the lone wanderer can interact with after exiting the vault in Fallout 3. Unlike many NPCs throughout the wasteland, Moira offers players a quest encompassing much of the game’s story and sending them on a multi-step “research” journey to help complete her Wasteland Survival Guide.
Moira’s quirky personality and cheery approach to Fallout 3’s post-apocalyptic version of the U.S. capital provide plenty of humor and memorable dialogue. Moira’s relentless enthusiasm for her guide project leads players on several oddball errands, often involving absurd and dangerous experiments, from navigating a minefield and contracting radiation poisoning to activating robots and extracting a library archive. Completing the quest grants you a personal copy of the completed survival guide and can lead to other in-game interactions or references. Moira is the face of what differentiates lengthy and memorable side quests from run-of-the-mill tasks.
1. Torneko Taloon- Dragon Quest IV
Torneko Taloon is one of the most recognizable and beloved characters in the Dragon Quest series. A dedicated husband and father, Torneko leaves his post as a local weapons merchant, embarking on a quest to fulfill his dream of owning his own shop in Dragon Quest IV. Torneko has a mixture of traits from the merchant and gadabout classes in Dragon Quest III. He can help protect gold and appraise items, but also tends to not follow commands in battle, though that just adds to his charm.
Torneko is an endearing character because he isn’t a typical JRPG hero. He’s not the young, dashing, well-built warrior, but rather a middle-aged, overweight, muumuu-wearing trader. He is friendly, passionate, and extremely humble. He wants to provide a better life for his family and cannot understand how he was able to attract his wife at all (all qualities I deeply relate to). Torneko’s popularity is evident in his appearance throughout other games including a cameo in Dragon Quest VIII, and his own spin-off on the PlayStation, Torneko: The Last Hope. Of all the iconic merchants in RPGs, Torneko is the boss.
