Wandering Merchants

Itinerant merchants seem like a obvious interesting random encounter but we rarely see them in random tables.

Ordinary merchants are ok but fantasy or surreal ones are more intriguing.

I tried to design some with Carys. We each drew four merchants (and later Carys drew a extra one), then with help of Brian we wrote 6 items for each merchant.

You can find the resulting PDF here.
https://theunburnedwitch.itch.io/wandering-merchants

Bonus content: a itinerant merchant generator

The merchant... (d10)

1. is a headless artificial construct or a golem
2. is a monster wearing pretty clothes
3. have been cursed with a animal head and can't speak humanoids languages. 
4. wear a veil and speak softly 
5. wear a old suit of armor and a sealed helm
6. is a insect using mimicry to vaguely look human 
7. is wearing baroque clothes from a other plane
8. wear a beautiful and elaborate magical prosthesis 
9. is a unknown humanoid specie wearing common clothes
10. is chained to a strange familiar

and is selling... (d10)

1. Dentures and wood noses
2. Keys and doorknobs 
3. Traps and whistles 
4. Gloves and ribbons 
5. Belts and girdles
6. Tiny chests and boxes
7. Optical devices
8. Achronistic items
9. Clockwork pets
10. Miniature idols 

Each time the group encounter the merchant they have a unique special item to trade or sell. If you need to improvise a item, ask one player to describe something that attract their attention, then ask a other player what kind of special property the item could have. If you need more details ask a third player, etc. Take notes and tweak their answer a bit using "yes but" or "yes and". 

If you are using the merchants from the PDF roll on their items table to determine the item. This way the players can wonder what the merchant will have the next time they will encounter them.

Eye merchant and Oracle Golem

Tired merchant knight

Tired merchant knight bringing back their only merchandise: the Jumping Azure Child of the High Goat Mother.

Succulents Shop

On my street there is a retired adventurer who opened a shop after visiting the Spinetooth Oasis. 

She serve super good spiced purple tea and sell quality home made adventurer gear. 

Some of the succulents move at nigh. 

Odd stuff to buy:

• Bottled voice from the sandstone crevasse
• Desert maps sketched from a standing stone
• Pilgrim scarf linked to a random pilgrim ritual
• Nasty snake wine
• Purple slug slime of lightning protection 
• Purple grass weaved dress and sandals 
• Rainbow bug shell jewelry (with a small container to store a dose of poison)
• Blessed dried flower of the cactus mother
• Bone flute from the bone graveyard (can get a reaction roll with vultures) 
• Night sand that glimmer when elementals are nearby (it remember their touch) 
• Pale cactus tears (to get mild hallucinations) 
• Anti poison poultice (help to save vs poison, can grant a second save)  
• Anti drowning charm (make evil water spirits hesitate) 
• One random treasure from the oasis
• One random succulent spider seed

Encounter near the shop (d10) (and hooks towards the Spinetooth Oasis) 

1. Small succulent spiders move around.
2. Pixie bounty hunter is tracking someone who headed toward the Oasis. (could be Bounty Hunter Killi tracking pixie criminal Pallara).
3. Owl cultist is secretly looking for something.
4. Reebo's agent is trying to cut a black market deal for Reebo. 
5. A bad mouthed runaway girl is thinking of joining the Sisters of Filth. 
6. A small group of sun pilgrims want to join the main pilgrim caravan.
7. Desert nomad halflings want to visit their purple weaver relatives.
8. Somebody is mysteriously found drowned. 
9. New or retired adventurer visit the shop.  
10. Succulent mimic in disguise observe the shop and may communicate with the succulents.