Topic: Store Proprietor Atributes

[mightypawn]

I'm working out the details for the Store-front generator, and I'd like some input from my friends here in the forums.

When generating the store, I thought it would be fun, and useful, if a "Character" was created (in vague terms) for the store's proprietor.  Give him/her a personality, an attitude, and an outlook. 

This serves several purposes for the game master.  As you all know, it's not always easy coming up with a personality for someone that is a passing character in the story.  They seem more often than not, to be 2 dimensional carbon copies of the last one!

So, with this in mind, and no reference in the RM books, I'm turning to my friends for input.  I will not list the Personalities, attitudes, or outlooks I have come up with personally.... I would rather have unique ideas off the top of your heads, uninfluenced by anything I might have that might leave you trodding the same lines of thought (thus providing little help).

The three attributes I want to include are (again), Personality, Attitude, and Outlook.

If you think there is another good general purpose attribute, I'd love to hear about that too.

Thank you all in advance!

Rich

[GrumpyOldFart]

The three attributes I want to include are (again), Personality, Attitude, and Outlook.

Fine and good, but until you define those terms as a range of possible values/responses, it's just words with no real meaning.

I suppose you could define Personality easily enough using Myers-Briggs or something similar, if that's what you're looking for:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator

...but a lot of what many people think of as "Attitude" and "Outlook" is already included in that. Personally, I think I would use "Attitude" as a variable to define how things are going for that shopkeeper today, which would have an effect on how much the basic personality shines through. A basically good guy who is at the end of a day from hell may not seem like such a great guy if you have no history to tell you this isn't his normal attitude.

"Outlook?" How do you mean?

[mightypawn]

You hit the nail on the head Grumpy... we want to know what the store keeper is like in general, and today specifically.

By outlook, I mean a broader sense of where the character is trying to go in life, and how he perceives the world and those in it.

Personality, How he/she relates to the world.

Attitude, how he/she feels today.

I think having these defined (randomly of course) would give the GM a jumping off point for a character that players would remember.

Without having read the article you linked to, it sure does look helpful...  thx!

[mightypawn]

Ok...  While the Myers-Briggs thing is technically what I'm looking for, it is far too technical!  LOL


I'm far more interested in descriptive Adjectives that the GM could use without a dictionary!  LOL.

[rdanhenry]

As long as you're generating a proprietor, you should do appearance as well -- personal attributes and clothing/accessories. A pre-generated name would be handy, too.

[GrumpyOldFart]

I figured MBTI was more technical than you wanted, but it's a real world personality typing method that could serve as a foundation. From there it's all basic engineering, in other words, take out everything it will still run without. When it's as simple as it's possible to get, you have most of what you need.

 

I'm far more interested in descriptive Adjectives that the GM could use without a dictionary!

Google Myers-Briggs and chase some links, you'll get plenty. Still, that gives you 16 possible results, and it's easy enough to find out what average percentage of the population any given type is, which lets you know how much weight to give each of the types in your random rolling range.

For that matter, check out the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, closely based on the MBTI:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keirsey_Temperament_Sorter

Halfway down the page is a table that gives you the 16 types and give them a type name, rather than a letter string designation, eg Teacher, Counselor, Champion, Healer, etc. Follow the links on that table and it gets better still, for example:

Teachers are introspective, cooperative, directive, and expressive. They tend to look for the best and to expect it from those around them.

Attitude, how he/she feels today.

Piece of cake. Make a rough scale from "worst day ever" to "I'm on top of the world", keeping in mind that it's going to have a fairly serious bell curve, meaning the results in the middle are going to be much more likely than the extremes.

By outlook, I mean a broader sense of where the character is trying to go in life, and how he perceives the world and those in it.

I'm still not quite sure what you mean by this. Most of that I'd expect to be defined by personality, although I suppose you could use that to represent changes rung in on the basic "1 of 16 types" by his personal history(like Attitude, only over the course of his life rather than just today). No matter how nice a guy he is, he'll only get screwed the same way so many times before he'll take steps, you know?

They tend to look for the best and to expect it from those around them.

That attitude can be beaten out of you if life hands you lemons enough times in a row.

[mightypawn]

As long as you're generating a proprietor, you should do appearance as well -- personal attributes and clothing/accessories. A pre-generated name would be handy, too.

That's getting a little involved.  I don't even know how to begin a name generator... much less try to make some sampling of random sounds be elf-like or dwarf-like....

Here's some examples of what I'm after:

Outlook:  Building a family, Staying ahead of bills, Trying to make a name for one-self,
Personality: Outgoing, introverted, talkative, shy, cheerful, Sullen, suspicious....
Attitude: happy, grumpy, angry, sad, thoughtful, pleasant, helpful, dismissive, condescending, arrogant, ....

[Lord Garth]

I sit on the other side of the fence, WAY on the other side as I don't have anything random ocurr in the sessions I GM. I put 2 hours of preparation per hour of gaming which 99% of the time results in a combination of anticipation and subtle (one would hope not blunt anyhow) directing my players. Doesn't mean I don't allow them to make their own decisions, but most of the time I can more or less anticipate what will happen in a play session.

Having said that, and each to its own as usual, Why would you need a random generator for one such scenario? I don't know how many store owners you are going to meet in one year worth of gaming, but (friendly suggestion nothing more) if you sat down and wrote, say, 50 names along with a short description like you just wrote for 50 of these names, you'd be fine and dandy, and in just a couple of hours. THEN, if you want, you can oh so easily assign a number to each of them and simply roll each time you need a random store owner. If you get one that you got too recently, change the name or add a 1d10 to your roll. Random enough methinks XD

[mightypawn]

I sit on the other side of the fence, WAY on the other side as I don't have anything random ocurr in the sessions I GM. I put 2 hours of preparation per hour of gaming which 99% of the time results in a combination of anticipation and subtle (one would hope not blunt anyhow) directing my players. Doesn't mean I don't allow them to make their own decisions, but most of the time I can more or less anticipate what will happen in a play session.

Having said that, and each to its own as usual, Why would you need a random generator for one such scenario? I don't know how many store owners you are going to meet in one year worth of gaming, but (friendly suggestion nothing more) if you sat down and wrote, say, 50 names along with a short description like you just wrote for 50 of these names, you'd be fine and dandy, and in just a couple of hours. THEN, if you want, you can oh so easily assign a number to each of them and simply roll each time you need a random store owner. If you get one that you got too recently, change the name or add a 1d10 to your roll. Random enough methinks XD

I just about ended up there Garth...  Tho I think 50 would be a little light.  I've come up with 200 names each for male and female, threw them all into an array, and roll against that... LOL.  working pretty good, but the descriptions are a bit cheesy and robotic yet,.... working on that one little by little...

Here's a question for all....  what would you call a store that specializes in Daily, constant, and charged Items, as well as runes and potions?  I feel like the right word is ready to jump out of my mouth, but nothing comes!  Any suggestions???

[GrumpyOldFart]

Personally I feel like a store that specializes even in magic items would only exist in a city of a quarter million or more, much less specialization within that category. There might be half a dozen such scattered over the entire planet...

I can't see the local economy of a smaller city supporting such a store.

[providence13]

My current players have never encountered a store and they're 8th lvl.

There was a Arcanist Guild where they could trade some of their items for others and do research for a price.

Caravan/pole barge outfitter, ok this was as close to a store that they've seen. The outfitter only carried items that a specific group of people would actually purchase.

A few temples that allowed them to make donations and obtain Holy water or a few Runes..

Once they were able to deal with the constable's blacksmith. They purchased a few small magic weapons (arrows, mostly). These were required to fight demons attacking the town. "We still had to pay!", they remind me.

There was a woodsman's hut where they bartered for food.

Maybe I should put a store somewhere. 

[yammahoper]

if your game resembles the middle ages, stores are rare indeed. 

[markc]

  IMHO the occurance would depend on your game world but some names might be Alchemist Shop, Shop of Magical Mysteries (Very Harry Potter I think), Enchantments, etc.
MDC

[Lord Garth]

How about "Arcania". Sounds about right for one such store.

[Lord Garth]

If you need new store owners here's a couple!

Name: Romulus and Remmus (nothing wrong with real names)
Store: R&R warehouse.
Age and gender: Twins, both 28, male elves.
Family: Orphans, single.
Background: Orphaned as babies, they were left at the door of a local bakery owned by a very old couple who took them in but passed away when they were still 12. They then decided to sell the bakery and buy an ailing XXXXXXX (insert store type) which they managed to turn around with a combination of determination and luck. Their constant, hard-working, business practices have granted them a lot of friends in the community, but also a few enemies which they ousted from the business they entered.
Demeanor: Even though they share common traits, Romulus seems like the older of the two and is more reserved. He's also been courting the daughter of the town's judge in secret. Remmus is louder than his twin brother and almost always can be seen at the local reunions with a tankard of ale and a big smile on his face. They value their kinship above anything else and would go to any length to preserve it and each other.

Name: Yosemite Sam.
Store: Honest wares.
Age and gender: 40, male halfling.
Family: Sam lives with his two sons (7 and 9) after his wife left him five years ago.
Background: Yosemite Sam is the only child of a traveling circus's halfling couple. There, he learnt how to awe people and, more importantly, how to make money both legally and illegally of those moments when people drop their guard. He started selling goods of dubious value as "Circus trinkets" which "people" said would bestow athletic capabilities to their owners after some time (it did help that a circus rarely passes the same town twice in years) and eventually moved on to other more lucrative ventures. He left the circus, or rather was thrown out, at the age of 17, no matter he already had his sights on bigger things than simply a few copper pieces here and there. He moved into XXXXX (big city name) and courted and married the daughter of a local gentry passing as some sort of gentry himself. He won his store (and a pretty big one too) in a card game which he had painstakingly rigged and finally managed to get some social recognition due to the gold said store could generate. Sadly, this came at a cost. The store had been owned by a far-removed cousin of his wive, who moved out, but never brought to the authorities the illegal way his store had been won. At least to date.
Demeanor: Yosemite Sam lives a life of deception, he's friendly to the fault, has an innate talent to haggle prices and gamble (huge Gambling and Trading bonus RM2) but to date fears his wife will one day decide to turn him in both to her cousin and the local authorities. He constantly reminds her how well their offspring is doing thanks to the store and never ceases to remark to anyone that they are the real owners of the store.

A bit too fleshed out perhaps, but hope this helps!

[mightypawn]

I like those!  And you can never be TOO fleshed out!  That won't fit in my program... but I'll be remembering them in game sessions in the near future!

[mightypawn]

if your game resembles the middle ages, stores are rare indeed.

By "Store", I loosely refer to anyplace where players can buy, sell, and upgrade.  Once my players get their hands on anything they don't want or can't use, they want to sell it, and either get something to their tastes or upgrade something they have.

I am wicked when it comes to hammering my players with delightfully evil little creatures...  so they are constantly seeking an edge!  (see my post regarding Carnivorous Flying Squirrels, and read about my Out-world Pixies)

Anyhow, the inclusion of "Stores" in my program only serves the function of being there if the GM wants it.  I love roleplaying the store type situation anyhow....  the back and forth of negotiation, and that item the players think they can't live without!  Such fun!

[GrumpyOldFart]

Name: Romulus and Remmus (nothing wrong with real names)
Background: Orphaned as babies, they were left at the door of a local bakery owned by a very old couple who took them in...

Let me guess... the old couple was named Wolfe? 

[mightypawn]

And Grumpy....

Sometimes ya gotta let the game be a game! 

There is nothing you can give your players that you can't take away again.  Let is all be about the story.  That marvelous item that got destroyed, stolen, or lost, is the big fish story of your game!  The players will remember and talk about it for months!

[mightypawn]

Mark R, and Lord Garth... you guys gave me the answer I needed there.  I needed a general store type, and "Alchemical Supply" will do just fine.

Other store types will include "General Store", "Armory", "Weapon Smith", "Jeweler",  "Herbalist", and "Trade Post".  I considered the Bazaar, or flea market situation, and decided that each vendor would basically fall into one of the above categories.

Each "Store" has selectable attributes for their location (city,town, or rural), as well as a wealth factor (poor side of town, or rich side of town).  The level of items and the selection thereof are determined by these factors... allowing for "luck" and "ignorance' as a merchant at the low end of town may just be lucky enough to have a seller who doesn't know what he had.