Skyrim Merchant Coherency

[ThomasKaira]

I'm sure everyone has run into this one at some point and been a bit annoyed by it: every merchant takes their products for sale from the same generic loot pools meaning that after factoring out random variation, every merchant in this game has exactly the same stocks.

Why? Shouldn't cities in this game have some form of variation in what they sell? You know, to add a bit of character?

That's where this mod would step in. The goal is to overhaul the loot tables merchants obtain their stocks from so that every merchant offers up their own special stocks based on their location in the game. Development will begin when the Creation Kit is out, as I will need access to the leveled lists and some scripting might be required. Here are the plans:

Globally:

- General merchants will no longer be a one-stop shop for all your adventuring needs. They will instead be geared towards selling food, books, clothing (why do none of the merchants in this game sell clothes?!) and miscellaneous items. And no more lockpicks! Want those? Go to the Thieves Guild.

- Alchemy shops will now stock regional ingredients much more often and in much higher quantities along with some ingredients that are imported from other areas of Skyrim, though these will not always be available and stocks will be much smaller. Rare ingredients will have a chance to be stocked by any alchemist, but that chance is very low.

- Blacksmiths will sell weapons and armor based on what is available to them in their specific region, as well as by proximity to other provinces. There will be an occasional, though very slight, chance for rare items to be in stock.

- Innkeepers will serve food based off of a regional menu. This menu will be strictly adhered to, as they do need to keep costs down. Buying local product is a good way to save some coin. Honningbrew Mead is very popular here (will be replaced by Black-Briar if specific TG quest is completed)

- Merchant stocks will be un-leveled. If you have the coin, you've got the product. Plain and simple.

- You will have to pay an extra 50% for imported goods than for local product to make up for shipping costs and tariffs.

- Court Wizards actually don't need too much attention, they will be the guys you get your soul gems from, as well as spell scrolls and tomes for the more basic spells. Occasionally, they might stock some enchanted stuff, too, so keep an eye on them.

- Khajiit caravans tend to have a seedier stock than other merchants, and they also like to keep a good supply of lockpicks for barter.

Whiterun: Major resources: Leather, Iron, and Corundum (copper), meat and game.

- Given its central location, there will be a slight chance of finding a little bit of everything here, but stocks will still be heavily geared towards what is found out in the plains. Lots of meat and hides, as well as plentiful iron, but little wood.

- This means alchemists will stock a lot of tundra-specific ingredients, but there will still be plenty of imported ingredients for sale.

- General merchants will be geared towards the sale of meat and vegetables, as well as working class clothing.

- Blacksmiths will sell a lot of leather product (due to the plentiful game hunting in the tundra) as well as a fair bit of iron and steel. There will be a small chance to see other armor and weapon types in town. Iron and Corundum is available plentifully.

- The Drunken Huntsman will be geared towards selling hunting quality bows and arrows. They will not stock higher grades, as they are not in the business of combat archery.

- Eorlund Gray-Mane will now exclusively sell Skyforge Steel weapons and armor, as well as any special gear only open to the Companions.

- Market merchants: meat stall will sell plenty of fresh meats, vegetable stall will sell vegetables and bread, and the Gray-Mane stand will sell basic silver jewelery.

- Innkeepers will sell lots of meat steaks including venison, beef, and occasionally mammoth. Vegetable stews are also popular fare.

Markarth: Major resources: Dwemer metal, silver, and gold.

- As Markarth is built in an old Dwemer city, plenty of Dwemer metal means plenty of Dwemer goods. Silver and Gold is available in great supply, as well, but little animal hides.

- Alchemists stocks will be for Reach-specific ingredients. Items specific to the flora and fauna found in the Reach.

- General merchants will have plenty of Dwemer utensils to sell, as well as foods that favor rocky environments. Clothing is geared towards mining with a bit of finery here and there. And lots of jewelery.

- Blacksmiths will commonly stock Dwemer goods in Markarth, as well as silver weapons. Dwemer metal scraps and silver can be purchased as ore.

- Innkeepers will be selling hearty stews and plenty of starch. Leafier vegetables are not often found fresh, as the Reach makes for very poor farmland.

- As Markarth is situated very close to Hammerfell, you might notice a few recipes and dishes of Redguard origin from time to time, as well.

Riften: Major resources: Imported Ebony and Malachite from Morrowind, wood, vegetables.

- Riften's proximity to Morrowind makes it much easier to obtain raw Ebony and Glass than most other places.

- Alchemists will have Rift-specific ingredients for sale, so forest mushrooms and bird eggs can be found plentifully. River fish, as well, due to the presence of plentiful lakes.

- Due to heavy forests, farming is difficult in the Rift, so foods are favored towards items that can be more easily foraged. That being said, farm space has been cleared, and the ground is very fertile, so fresh vegetables are plentiful.

- General merchants sell lots of wood-based products in Riften, though rarely anything valuable due to the presence of the Thieves Guild.

- Blacksmiths will stock Ebony and Glass items more often in Riften, and ingots of Ebony and Malachite are also available, though expensive and in short supply.

- Innkeepers favor Maven Black-Briar's mead in the Rift. Dunmer dishes such as Kwama Eggs roasted Corkbulb are fairly popular, too. Honey is quite plentiful, as well.

Solitude: Major resources: Moonstone and Quicksilver, fish.

- As the Imperial capital, Thalmor influence is very strong in Solitude, so you will often come across Elven weaponry and armor.

- A fairly rich town, Solitude will have more finery available for sale than most other provinces.

- Fish is very common to see on the plate. Vegetables are a bit more difficult due to how far north Solitude is, and the rocky environment prevents good farming. They are often found preserved or pre-cooked.

- High Rock foods and recipes are also very popular in Solitude.

- General Merchants sell finer wares than other places in Solitude. Clothing is geared towards upper-class, and plenty of fish. Horker can also be found occasionally.

- Alchemists specialize in hardy plant life found far to the north. As the Thalmor are magically inclined, rarer ingredients can be found more commonly in Solitude.

- Blacksmiths often have Elven gear for sale, as well as Quicksilver and Moonstone. You cannot buy iron and steel at all here, they need it for Legion equipment. But this does mean it is rather valuable in the area.

- Proximity to High Rock also makes it easier to find Orcish armor for sale if you don't want to hunt out a Stronghold.

- Fletchers are geared toward Combat archery, due to the military presence in the city. Higher quality bows and arrows can be purchased here.

Windhelm: Major resources: Iron and Corundum, Malachite (Raw Glass), fish, leather.

- Eastmarch is a very resource-poor location in Skyrim, and given Ulfric's rebellion, supplies are strained. This has resulted in inflated prices on goods in Windhelm.

- Fish is the dominant protein in Windhelm. Little farmland is available, but what can be used is extremely fertile due to the volcanic presence, making for a decent supply of vegetables.

- Alchemists stock the local flora, as well as river-caught fish since two rivers run through the Hold. Giant toes and Ice Wraith teeth can be found more often, too, as Nord tradition runs very deeply through the city (slaying a giant or an ice wraith is a Rite of Passage in Nordic culture).

- Mammoth is found more often here than other places due to bolder hunters.

- Iron and Steel are in plentiful supply in Eastmarch, meaning the Blacksmiths will usually have a decent supply. But due to the needs of the war, prices can be rather steep.

- Proximity to Morrowind (as well as a vein of Raw Glass in Kynesgrove) mean Glass equipment can be found here more plentifully than elsewhere. Same for Ebony, though it is much less common.

- Foods are very Nordic, so heavy on roasted meat and stew, and plenty of ale and mead. And despite their inherent distrust, due to the Dunmer presence, Windhelm is beginning to develop a taste in Morrowind cuisine.

Small holds:

Falkreath - Plenty of wood and birds means plenty of arrows from fletchers.

Morthal - Marshy ingredients are plentifully sold, as well as lower-class clutter.

Dawnstar - Lives off imports, a bit of everything is available here.

Winterhold - This is the place to go if you want magical gear. Spell tomes, scrolls, and robes can be bought for cheap and are readily available in Winterhold.

Orc Strongholds - The various Orc Strongholds throughout the game will sell Orcish armor and weapons. You will happen across it from time to time in

All ideas are appreciated at this point, and I assure you everything is considered. If there is something I missed, let me know.

Edited January 11, 2012 by ThomasKaira

[Ysne58]

I'm not too worried about lockpicks, I have a smithing mod that allows me to make them, and I think Midas has a spell to create them.

Are you going to do anything about the rediculously small amounts of gold merchants have? Selling stuff gets to be a real pain.

[greenwarden]

I shouldn't have to join the thieves guild just so I can have reliable access to a required tool for dungeon exploration, but as long as I can still buy my lockpicks from the Khajiit caravans, it's all good.

[ThomasKaira]

I shouldn't have to join the thieves guild just so I can have reliable access to a required tool for dungeon exploration, but as long as I can still buy my lockpicks from the Khajiit caravans, it's all good.

Point taken. And since I did not address the caravans directly, yes, I agree they should stock lockpicks.

I find it very silly that merchants are willing to sell you a means to break into their shops at night, see. But caravans tend to deal in a slightly... less honest range of goods in my eyes, so lockpicks fit them very well.

[greenwarden]

Point taken. And since I did not address the caravans directly, yes, I agree they should stock lockpicks.

I find it very silly that merchants are willing to sell you a means to break into their shops at night, see. But caravans tend to deal in a slightly... less honest range of goods in my eyes, so lockpicks fit them very well.

I definitely see that point as well. However, it has been my experience that shop merchants (at least in my game) typically sell one or two at a time, if at all. Could just be my character's luck at work, dunno. In any case, I prefer to buy my picks from the caravans.

I think the rest of the changes you are considering sound like they would add real regional character to the game, and I'm all for that. Keep going!

[Arthmoor]

Oh hell yes, I'm definitely down for seeing this come to pass. Maybe I'm just lucky though. I've got so many lockpicks I can afford to waste them on master locks I shouldn't have a prayer of opening. They're extremely plentiful on bandits and in dungeons. So yeah, no real need for legitimate businesses to carry them at all.

Dawnstar doesn't need to live entirely from imports. They should have ready access to horker meat, and there's several giant camps nearby so stocking mammoth wouldn't be out of place for them. Plus they have two mines, so they have ready access to raw materials for trade. We'll ignore the fact that Bethesda has always indicated Dawnstar to be a much larger major trading port instead of the almost useless place it is now.

[Rowan]

This is an awesome idea and something that should have come with the game out of the box.

Clearly you've already put a lot of thought into this and I don't have much to add other than that I would like to see more powerful goods available for purchase at all levels, for example an ebony sword that absorbs 30 points of health, stamina, and magicka that I actually have to save up for.

Something I've liked about other RPGs I've played, specifically Dungeon Siege and even Fate is that it's always worth checking out the merchants to see what they are selling because there's a chance they might have something actually useful for your character at even at high levels. In Skyrim my character is almost level 81 and there's no reason for me to check to see what the merchants are selling because I know it won't be anything better than what I already have (except radiant raiment in solitude as they do carry powerful bling)

so best of luck with this, here's to the CK coming soon