Guild Merchant

If the Crown and the Church are the power behind the Valoren republic, then the Guild of Merchants is its wallet. Without the endless supply of talent that is recruited into the Guild, and without their massive network of caravans, shiproutes, and vessels, it would be impossible to ensure vital and whimiscal necessities get into the hands of hungry and bored citizens half the world away.

The merchants of the Guild occupy a variety of roles and fill many types of orders to help gain profit, expand the empire, or assist their kin or hometowns. In order to become a member of the Guild, it is required for you to be a skilled craftsperson and pass a rigorous interview process. These interviews are not always based on the level of skill within a craft, and can also hinge on location, ancestry, or other factors, but to be sure that the Guild remains in the hands of the crafters and not overtaken by bureaucrats or priests, this process remains rigid.

When merchants begin to travel, it is often with bands of adventurers to seek out new crafts, resources, or areas that have not yet been exposed to the catalogue of benefits that Guild access brings. The concepts of banks for savings, insurance for disaster, or the simple joys of leisure may not exist in other cultures, or the means to bring it to their homes is absent.

Whatever the reason, it is with a smile that these merchants peddle their wares and seek to expand their empire of convenience to the furthest corners of Ahrd.

## Bard: Guild Merchant

**Fidelity Bonus**: Valorean humans receive Inspiration at the start of every session.

**Designers Note**: While Guild Merchants retain spellcasting, and within these rules you will see references to spells and spellcasting, Guild Merchants are not magical by trade. The effects of the Bard spells you cast will be from a variety of trinkets, toys, or items you carry or create as appropriate for your trade, or explained using your superior bartering, bargaining, and swindling skills. You will also be required to use the Tool Set within your trade as your spellcasting focus.

### Trades

When you select Guild Merchant at level 3, you can solidify the trade you will represent in your travels.

* **Artisan** - You specialize in the creation of various trade items, typically with a focus in a single one.
	+ You gain proficiency in any one Artisan Tool kit. This is your spellcasting focus.
	+ You have expertise with this kit, as well as with the Persuasion skill.
	+ When using the Minor Illusion cantrip, you can produce a real object relevant to your tools, provided it does not exceed the description of the spell. Once you produce an item this way, you cannot use this feature again until you finish a short rest.
* **Entertainer** - You specialize in the peddling of toys and games, typically with a focus on what is popular in your homeland.
	+ You gain proficiency in any one Gaming set. This is your spellcasting focus.
	+ You have expertise with this kit, as well as with the Sleight of Hand skill.
	+ When using the the Dancing Lights or Mage Hand cantrips, you can produce a toy that preforms the identical task (either magically or mechanically) with an AC of 10 and 1 HP. Only one of these toys can be present at a time, and they last until dismissed or killed and do not require concentration. Once you produce an item this way, you cannot use this feature again until you finish a short rest.

* **Luthier** - You specialize in the maintenance of musical instruments, typically with a focus on what is trending in the empire.
	+ You gain proficiency in any one Musical Instrument. This is your spellcasting focus.
	+ You have expertise with this instrument, as well as with the Performance skill.
	+ If you have the True Strike cantrip, you can produce one of the following effects. After using either effect, you cannot use this feature again until you finish a short rest.
		- As an action, you can focus on your own instrument, tuning it to perfection to gain True Strike and regaining one spent Bardic Inspiration.
		- As a bonus action, you can play your instrument for your target, granting them True Strike and Bardic Inspiration.

* **Agent** - You specialize in the selling of mounts and vehicles, typically with a focus on the main trade method of the area.
	+ You gain proficiency in any one Vehicle, or Proficiency in Animal Handling. Your spellcasting focus should be related (a riding crop, a compass, a sextant, etc).
	+ You have expertise with the chosen tool or skill, as well as with the Survival skill.
	+ When using the Mending cantrip, you can use your expertise to heal any construct, vehicle, or steed by 1D6 times your proficiency bonus. Once you heal or repair the target, you cannot use this feature again until you finish a short rest.

### Financial Resources

Starting at 6th level, merchant is supplied with a guild pass to interact with the Bank of Valoren. This pass comes in the form of a ring, amulet, or a card made of gold you can keep in your pocket. If you can focus on the pass for 1 minute during sunrise on a business day, you are able to open a portal to a Guild bank pocket dimension vault within the plane of Fortuna. You can use this vault to store any items you can fit. Oxygen is supplied to the room by the portal you open alone. The room is a square room with equidistant sides that begins at 10x10 feet and increases to 20 feet at level 12 and 50 feet at level 16. The portal can be as small as you want, but cannot exceed the size of the south wall. No bank personnel will be available within this pocket dimension. Reported crimes can result in inspection or seizure of the vault. The room cannot be altered in any way outside of adding items to the space. You can dismiss the portal at will. Once you use the portal, you will not be able to open it again until dawn on the next business day.

### Life Insurance

At 14th level, you are important enough to the guild to ensure that your survival is factored into their budget. You are provided a life insurance token, which takes the form of a ring, amulet, or a card made of sapphire you can keep in your pocket. After taking damage from an attack, you can use the token as a reaction. A small portal, about 5x5 feet wide, will appear and Valoren clerics and healers will pull you into the emergency care ward of the Valoren Proper Infirmary and Sanitorium. While here, you will be cured by a Greater Restoration spell, and you can spend any number of hit die while their potions and poultices go to work. At the end of your next turn, you are returned to the space you left (or as close as you can get to it) with an illegible prescription.