Merkhant

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Money is power. Ever notice how a cutter with jink seems to avoid all kinds of trouble that a stretched-out sod can't get away from? If there's a blood who wants to put the rich cutter in the dead-book, why, the rich cutter can pay a few bashers to lay out the other fellow instead. If there's a law that needs bending, the rich cutter can spread a little garnish around and suddenly that law's got new loopholes. If there's something the curter with gold wants, it's only a matter of setting the price before some sod sells it to him. In fact, if a body throws enough money at anything. it'll usually go away.
That's the chant of the Merkhants, a sect found in parts of the Outlands and around the Great Wheel. See, jink gets a cutter what he wants. If there's two cutters with jink as want the same thing, the cutter with the most jink ends up getting it. A cutter can't ever have enough jink; therefore the Merkhants believe that the whole show's about seeing who can get the most jink and hang on to it. Even the powers got their own price: a cagey blood can figure out what it is and meet it to get the powers on his side.
Merkhants're also known as Misers, Gold-hounds, or the Hidden Hand. They like to keep a low profile — after all, if word gets out that a cutter's a Miser, he can expect every thief within two planes to come looking for his stash. Merkhants keep their meetings and communications to a minimum. and for the most part view each other as their own chief rivals. With that said, Misers do acknowledge each other as bloods who share a common belief, and from time to time they'll make contact with a basher who seems to hold to their views and explain to him what it's all about.
Wherever they set their cases, Merkhants dress and act like high-ups. It doesn't take a Mcrkhant long to figure out who he needs to put on his payroll and where the jink is in his burg. Misers'll help each other out when they're in trouble, but they're very defensive of their territory; the presence of two Merkhants in the same town is a war waiting to happen. 'Course. the war'll be fought with hired muscle, bribery. and smuggled goods, but a war's a war nonetheless.
Player characters might run across a Merkhant when they interfere with his operations — say, by breaking up the local thieves' guild, if the thieves're working for the Miser — or they might be contacted with an offer of employment. Most Merkhants're always willing to speculate on rumors of fantastic or legendary treasures hidden in horrible dungeons or forgotten ruins, as long as the bloods they send out to find it remember to count it right when they bring it back.
==Combat==
Merkhants vary wildly in combat ability and character class. A typical Miser's the equivalent of a 5th-lcveI thief; these're the stats in parentheses above. He's got leather armor, a short sword +1, a magical ring or cloak that improves his AC by l, and a Dexterity of about 16.
If a particular Merkhant doesn't strike the DM as typical, here are some notes on figuring out the class and level of a randomly generated Miser:
d% Roll	Class 	Level
01-10 	None 	O-level human
11-35 	Fighter	2nd-9th level (1d8+1)
36-45 	Wizard 	3rd- 12th level (1d10+1)
46-55 	Priest 	2nd-12th level (2d6)
56-97 	Thief 	3rd-14th level (1d12+2)
98-00 	Bard 	2nd-8th level (2d4)
:Note: Merkhant priests are almost always devoted to a power of thievery, avarice, or wealth.
Merkhants'll have ability scores, proficiencies. equipment, and magical items appropriate for their class. It's safe to assume that Merkhants have a score of 13 to 18 (d6+ 12) in their prime requisite, and possibly another exceptional score in a related ability.
Although some Merkhants may actually be quite competent in a fight, as a rule they prefer to pay other bashers to fight for them. After all, what's jink good for if not to take care of little problems like parties of adventurers? A Merkhant's bodyguards can be almost anything — a very well-paid fiend, a thieves' guild or gang of street toughs, a band of elite mercenaries, or even the captain of the local police who's been passed a little garnish.
==Habitat/Society==
Merkhants'll help each other out of trouble — for a price. Beyond that, they owe little loyalty to each other. It's not uncommon to see three or four Merkhants join forces to embark on some collective enterprise, but odds are that one of 'em's thinking about peeling the others when it's time to count the profits.
Generally, Merkhants find money-making enterprises and try to get their fingers into the pie. They blend in with the local populace, setting themselves up as respected businessmen and pillars of the community. Given a little time and luck, they'll own a burg lock, stock, and barrel. Some Merkhants prefer to operate through legitimate channels, but others believe that illegal activities're the fastest way to amass wealth. It just depends on the character of the individual.
A Miser's real peery of how he keeps his hoard. He'll try to diversify his wealth through a tangled network of partnerships, loans, and property holdings so that one catastrophic event can't wipe him out. It's also harder for thieves to steal from him when his wealth's counted in ranches on Ysgard or shipping lines in some prime world. A single successful Merkhant's likely to be wealthier than a lot or kingdoms when all his stash's together in one place. However, a Merkhant's almost always got a lot of spending money on hand, buried in hidden vaults, guarded by fierce monsters, or secreted away in magical caches.
From time to time, the Misers'll band together to address issues that affect them all. Their first solution is to throw jink at a problem until it goes away. The negotiations for which one of them spends how much jink can take weeks, but when the sect's collected assets are put to a single use, the results can be quite impressive.
==Ecology==
Merkhants are normal humans, tieflings, or githzerai, for the most pant. It's not unusual to find any stripe of prime among their ranks. They're capable of wrecking or supporting local economies with their jink; in many cases, a Merkhant's investment can greatly benefit an area in need of some hard cash. Misers've also been known to cause depressions or revolutions by pulling their money out from underneath the locals.
==The Merkhant Sect==
===Faction Philosophy===
The Merkhants believe that the accumulation of raw physical wealth'll lead to dominion over the universe. Some people think they're barmy, that there are lots of things that can't be bought or sold, but the Misers just laugh and say that if it can't be bought, it ain't worth having.
===Principle Plane of Influence===
The Outlands, since trade from all the planes comes through the Land. The Merkhants've got a hidden fortress and vault somewhere in the empty lands near Curst.
===Allies and Enemies===
The Merkhants're on good terms Believers of the Source, since they feel that mortals and powers are the same except for the amount of jink they've got, and they also See eye-to-eye with the Fated. On the other hand, the Guvners don't care for the Misers since the Misers don't care what laws get broken in the pursuit of wealth. The Ciphers find the Merkhants to be hopelessly mired in material things and feel sorry for them.
===Eligibility=== 
Any character can become a Merkhant, but he's got to be able to put together quite a stash before the Misers believe he's got what it takes to join their sect. Merkhants can't be of good alignment, since the accumulation of wealth for its own sake is a pretty self-centered activity.
===Benefits===
Merkhants have the special faction benefit of being able to instantly and accurately appraise the worth of any gem or art object.
===Restrictions===
Merkhant PCs are expected to refuse any mission that doesn't promise at least a 1000% return on the cash investment required. (Any Miser worth her jink takes into account transportation costs, lodging, meals, and garnishes.)
Category:Sects
Category:Planescape Appendix II Sects