Shopkeep (Human Expert 3)

Shopkeep CR 1

XP 400
Human expert 3
N Medium humanoid
Init +0; Senses Perception +8

DEFENSE

AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10
hp 13 (3d8)
Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +1 (1d4–1/19–20)
Ranged dagger +2 (1d4–1/19–20)

STATISTICS

Str 9, Dex 10, Con 10, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 12
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 11
Feats Alertness, Deceitful, Skill Focus (Profession [merchant])
Skills Appraise +6, Bluff +9, Diplomacy +7, Disguise +6, Knowledge (local) +6, Linguistics +6, Perception +8, Profession (merchant) +10, Sense Motive +9
Languages Common, Dwarven, Gnome, Halfling
Combat Gear smokestick, tanglefoot bag; Other Gear dagger, disguise kit, heavy horse and wagon, 433 gp worth of trade goods
Boon A shopkeep can give a 10% discount on any item of equipment less than 400 gp.

DESCRIPTION

Shopkeeps operate a city’s trade emporiums, a town’s shops, a village’s general store, and the frontier’s isolated trading posts. Whether a canny traveling peddler, a wheeling and dealing bazaar stallholder, or a respected businessman with a position on the town council, shopkeeps are found across the world, forming the backbone of a settlement’s economy as they keep the river of trade flowing freely through its gates. Shopkeeps can be used to represent a variety of minor occupations in villages, towns, and cities. Changing the focus of a shopkeep’s Profession skill can create a wide variety of characters, from bakers to fishermen to millers.

Replacing a shopkeep’s Profession skill with a Craft skill creates a craftsman rather than a salesman, whether it be an alchemist, weaver, or smith. Exchanging Profession for a Knowledge skill or two makes a sage or scholar. in this case, the trade goods listed in the stat block above can represent books, maps, or scrolls. Shopkeeps are not skilled in combat, but could be used to represent a citizens’ militia mobilized in times of war. In this case, adding padded or leather armor, and perhaps replacing the dagger with a club or spear, or even a crossbow, can make them into more effective combatants. A shopkeep will often partner with another shopkeep or a vagabond (CR 3) for long journeys, sometimes hiring a guard if they deal in expensive commodities (CR 4).