Contacts (SNS)

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People frequent an appraiser's shop because the appraiser has a network of merchants to whom he can sell an item at a good profit-thus ensuring a good deal on the original sale. This network allows the appraiser to get a better price for an item than any adventurer could ever hope to achieve.
These contacts trust the appraiser. They know that the appraiser has a reputation to uphold, and if he fails to do so, he will soon be out of business. The hero has no such reputation to rely upon-at least not as an entrepreneur.
Thus, a good appraiser will give an adventurer a fair price for any items brought to him. This can save the hero untold hours of haggling.
An appraiser gains a contact at each level of experience. So, at 8th level, an appraiser has eight contacts. For this reason, an appraiser often stays in one place for his entire life. If he moves about from one place to another he loses touch with his contact.
When first made, an appraiser's contact is 1d4-2 levels below the appraiser. In this way, the appraiser's new contact will be anywhere from a single level below him to two levels above him.
At the DM's option, appraisers can use the rules in Chapter 11 to determine how their contacts rise in levels as the appraisers themselves progress in experiences. Otherwise, assume that the appraiser's contacts move up one level in experience for every two levels that the appraiser reaches. The appraiser will soon outstrip any of his contacts in experience.
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However, just because a contact is lower level than the appraiser does not mean that he is any less useful. It means that he or she may not possess the resources to meet the appraiser's constantly increasing needs.
==Choosing Contacts==
﻿Each contact is characterized not only by his level but also by who he is and what he does. The appraiser tells the DM what kind of contact he is looking for, and then the DM comes up with an appropriate contact.
For instance, at 5th level the appraiser rolls 1d4-2 and gets a 0 (2-2); this means that the appraiser gains a new 5th-level contact. Recently, the appraiser has dealt almost exclusively with religious items. Thus, the DM decides to give the appraiser a local 5th-level cleric as a contact. He arranges for the two characters to meet and become friends or at the very least, realize how they could mutually profit from knowing and working with each other.
If at all possible, the process of gaining a contact should be worked into the game. A new contact should never arrive instantly or become a simple note on the NPC's sheet. Instead, the DM should set up an appropriate encounter in the course of the game in which the appraiser meets his new contact.
==Selling Items==
When an appraiser wants to sell an item, he usually approaches one of his contacts. Otherwise, he simply puts the item up for sale and hopes for the best. When an appraiser decides to sell an item to one of his contacts, he must make a roll against his appraising ability. If he makes the roll, he has sold the item. The percentage of the item's true value that he receives is equal to double his appraisal roll.
For instance, Nebless tries to sell an item worth 500 gp (no matter what her estimation of its worth might happen to be). She rolls against her appraising skill of 75% and gets a 64. This means that she gets (2x64) 128% of its true value, or 640 gp.
If the appraiser chooses to put an item up for sale on the general market, he only receives a percentage of the item's actual value equal to his appraisal roll. Thus, if Nebless tried to sell a 500 gp item on the general market, she would only receive 64% of the item's total worth.