As Little Drego led the old tribex to market, the Merchant stopped him on the road. “That’s a fine beast you have there,” she said. “I’ve need of a ‘bex to haul my goods back to Misthaven. But I’ve precious little left to trade. All I have is this pewter ring, which makes the wearer invisible. Would you take it for your beast?” That old tribex barely had three working legs, and Drego was no fool. He knew to beware the gifts of the Traveler. And the Merchant, she could see it in his face. “This is no gift, my friend.” She gave the tribex a handful of oats, and just like that he was young and strong again. “I need a sturdy beast, and in Misthaven rings like this are as common as coppers. So you have a choice, Little Drego. Your tribex is young and healthy, and you can take him home and spend your life plowing the field. Or you can take my ring for your fine beast and find your fortune in the world beyond your farm. Which will it be?”
What is it that you want, and how badly do you want it? A magic sword that will slay your enemies? An amulet that will guide you to your one true love? A spellbook that will earn you renown as the greatest wizard of the age? The Merchant has all of those things. But unlike the Traveler, the Merchant of Misthaven doesn’t give gifts. Everything has a price; are you willing to pay it?
Opportunity… With a Price. Every Brelish child knows the stories of Drego the Unseen: how he outwitted the Prince of Bones and exposed the schemes of Count Ironfist. Drego is clever and brave, but it’s his magic ring that drives his tale—the ring he obtained in a bargain with the Merchant of Misthaven. Many a child hopes that one day the Merchant will approach them with a similar offer, trading a wondrous treasure for something that seems to have little value. And there are a host of other popular tales that start in this way. It’s established enough that it’s not even questioned. “What possible use could the Merchant have for an old tribex? Don’t ask! It’s not the point of the story.” When this does come up in the tales, it’s said that the Merchant can afford to be generous because the wonders she offers are commonplace in the magical realm of Misthaven. This in itself has worked its way into the common psyche of western Breland; should someone from Sharn make a ridiculous request of a blacksmith in Breland, they might be told “Where do you think you are? Misthaven?” The Merchant has mythic overlap with the Traveler, but there are a few crucial differences. The Merchant never gives gifts; she always demands something in exchange for the wonders she’s offering. She delivers on her promises and stands by her word. The Merchant offers Drego a Ring of Invisibility in exchange for his tribex. Drego takes the deal and subsequently has a host of adventures, and while he faces many dangers he could have avoided by just staying home, the Merchant isn’t directly responsible for those challenges.
Most stories involving the Merchant use one of three formulas.
Opportunity. The Merchant offers a one-time exchange that gives the protagonist a tool that sets their story in motion.
Risk. The Merchant makes an offer, but it comes with a time limit or challenge. “I’ll give you this Doss Lute and a year of fame, but when the year ends you must play a duet with me… and if I outplay you, you’ll spend the rest of your days tuning instruments in Misthaven.”
The Price of Greed. The protagonist’s greed drives them to take an offer without fully considering the consequences. “I offered you magic in exchange for taking your first love. You thought your first love was still to come, that you were giving up something you’d yet to feel. But you felt your first love for your baby brother, my dear. And now I’m taking him away to Misthaven.”
The Merchant isn’t a trickster. She always delivers what she promises. But she may ask a high price or offer a dangerous wager… or it may be that the protagonist’s greed blinds them to the scope of the bargain they’re making. The one element that is constant throughout all of these stories is that making a bargain with the Merchant will change your life. A deal with the Merchant could get you fame or fortune, but her bargains are always the first step on a path that leads through adventure.
The Merchant as an Ally or Patron. The Merchant exists to make interesting bargains. She has a broad affinity for the Western Frontier, and can appear at any time or place where there’s a bargain to be made. Here are a few examples of helpful or interesting interactions.
New Lamps for Old. When the adventurers acquire something that is powerful but dangerous—a cursed weapon, a shard of demonglass, an Iron Flask containing a fiend—the Merchant can step out of the shadows and offer them something more useful in exchange. Would the Paladin like to trade that Iron Flask for a Holy Avenger? This is a way to present the adventurers with magic items they really want that have no logical reason to be found in the region, and it’s also an opportunity to remove something dangerous from the scenario.
Just what you Need. Consider the story of Drego the Unseen, where the Merchant offers a Ring of Invisibility for an old tribex. The Merchant could appear at a crossroads with a seemingly astonishing offer for an adventurer—“those old boots of yours are just what I’m looking for. But all I have to offer is this magic wand. Any chance you’d make an exchange?” The key to the Merchant’s bargains is that they always make the story more interesting; whatever she’s offering may draw the adventurer into a dangerous situation or give them the chance to pursue a more challenging path. But there don’t have to be any other catches!
Immaterial Things. The Merchant doesn’t just trade objects; she can offer skills, magical abilities, or opportunities. A gift of the Merchant could be represented by a supernatural boon, or by a twist in the story. Do the adventurers need an invitation to the Tain Gala? The Merchant happens to have one. More dramatically, this could be a way for an adventurer to dramatically shift something: swapping two of their ability scores, or even changing their class. While the Merchant generally doesn’t employ Warlocks—she prefers to make her deals directly—an adventurer could also assert that their core abilities are tied to a previous bargain with the Merchant. Perhaps she gave the Wizard their first spellbook, or gave the Bard a literal silver tongue that allows them to perform bardic magic.
The Merchant can take any form; she can be an old woman, a young artificer, or a masked fey figure. Having said that, she generally doesn’t try to deceive the people she bargains with. Her story is well known, and strengthened with each deal that she makes; why hide it? This also helps to differentiate her from
the Traveler.
The Merchant as an Enemy. There are a few ways to use the Merchant of Misthaven as a malevolent force in a story. The first is to have her make bargains with evil or misguided people. How did the cruel sheriff get the powers of a warlock? How did that assassin get a Ring of Invisibility? She could even turn someone into a lycanthrope or a vampire, if that’s a bargain they want to make. A distinction between the Merchant and a fiend like Sul Khatesh is that the Merchant has no long-term interest in the people who take her deals. If she turns the village butcher into a vampire, she won’t be upset if the adventurers drive a stake through his heart; that’s still a compelling story! Alternatively, she could make problematic bargains with allies or friends of the adventurers, or with the adventurers themselves. Consider the Risk and Price of Greed stories mentioned above. Perhaps the local bard made a bargain a year ago and their duet with the Merchant is happening tomorrow. Or maybe an adventurer’s nephew made a bargain for warlock powers and in the process traded away his sister; can the player characters get her back? In either case, what would it take to get the Merchant to renegotiate? Do the adventurers need to find a treasure she wants even more than whatever she originally bargained for, or is an adventurer willing to make their own dangerous bargain to let their friend off the hook?
The Merchant hails from Misthaven, a land of legendary wonders. According to the stories, Misthaven is impossibly rich and brimming with mystical treasures. But a key element of the Merchant’s story is that no one ever goes to Misthaven. That’s part of what keeps it infinitely wondrous. This is true even in Thelanis itself. The Merchant is respected as an anchor baron, the lord of her own story, but no one ever goes to Misthaven. If you wish to speak to the Merchant, you’ll have to convince her to come to you—or find her at a gala in the Moonlit Vale. Because of this, the Merchant of Misthaven doesn’t have a traditional, physical lair. Instead, her story is her lair. She is more powerful when she is interacting with people who have made bargains with her. Should adventurers try to break a deal with her by force—fighting her instead of going through with the bard’s musical face off—she has access to additional abilities.
Lair Actions. While fighting or defending anyone who has made a bargain with her, the Merchant of Misthaven can take Lair Actions. On Initiative count 20 (losing Initiative ties), the Merchant can take a Lair Action to cause one of the following effects; she can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.
While no one ever goes to Misthaven, player characters are remarkable. If it suits the needs of the adventure, the adventurers could be the first people to ever find a way to Misthaven. In this case, the DM will have to decide if it is just as wondrous as the Merchant claims or if, in fact, her true domain is a run-down shack or warehouse filled with odds and ends!
I Never Agreed To This (3/Day). If the Merchant of Misthaven fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. If the effect was caused by a creature, that creature becomes the new target of the effect and must make a saving throw themselves using the same DC.
Let Me See What You Have There. Whenever a creature within 60 feet of the Merchant of Misthaven activates or consumes a magic item of Uncommon or greater rarity or attacks with a magic weapon of Uncommon or greater rarity, the Merchant can teleport to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the user. The Merchant teleports after the attack or the effects of the magic item are resolved.
Magic Resistance. The Merchant has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Merchant’s Guile. The Merchant adds her Charisma modifier to her Armor Class.
Thelanian Protagonist. The Merchant of Misthaven cannot be permanently killed. If reduced to 0 Hit Points, she collapses into a pile of 777 gold coins. The Merchant reforms in her domain 1d4 days later, and the coins transform into wooden discs at the same time.
Multiattack. The Merchant makes two attacks with her Poisoned Dagger and uses Free Samples.
Poisoned Dagger. Melee Attack Roll: +10 , reach 5 ft. Hit: 6 (1d4+4) Slashing damage plus 10 (3d6) Poison damage.
Free Samples. The Merchant of Misthaven reaches into her bag of tricks and produces a random effect as follows:
| 1d4 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Exploding Trinket. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 21, each creature in a 10-foot-radius Sphere centered on a point the Merchant can see within 120 feet. Failure: 17 (5d6) Fire damage. Success: Half damage. |
| 2 | Regrettable Collectable. The Merchant casts Summon Fiend, requiring no components. She does not have to concentrate to maintain the spell. The creature disappears after 1 minute, when the Merchant moves more than 100 feet away from it, or when the Merchant dies. |
| 3 | New Toy. The Merchant casts Summon Construct, requiring no components. She does not have to concentrate to maintain the spell. The creature disappears after 1 minute, when the Merchant moves more than 100 feet away from it, or when the Merchant dies. |
| 4 | Otherworldly Puzzle. Intelligence Saving Throw: DC 21, each creature in a 10-foot-radius Sphere centered on a point the Merchant can see within 60 feet. Failure: 10 (3d6) Psychic damage and the target has the Stunned condition until the end of its next turn. The target can make a DC 21 Intelligence (any gaming set) check at the start of its turn to end the effect early. |
Illusory Appearance. The Merchant covers herself and anything she is wearing or carrying with a magical illusion that makes her look like another creature of her general size and humanoid shape. The illusion ends if the Merchant takes a Bonus Action to end it or if she dies. A creature must take an Action to visually inspect the illusion and succeed on a DC 21 Intelligence (Investigation) check to discern that the Merchant is disguised.
Spellcasting. The Merchant of Misthaven casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components, using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 21):
At Will: Augury, Calm Emotions, Sanctuary
3/Day Each: Detect Thoughts, Greater Invisibility, Mirage Arcane, Mirror Image
1/Day Each: Sequester, Simulacrum
The Merchant of Misthaven can take 3 Legendary Actions, choosing from the options below. Only one Legendary Action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The Merchant regains spent Legendary Actions at the start of
her turn.
Sudden Strike. The Merchant makes an attack with her Poisoned Dagger.
A Fair Deal. The Merchant demands an exchange with one creature that she can see within 120 feet. That creature can either regain a spell slot of up to 3rd level, or regain 10, 20, or 30 Hit Points. For each spell slot level or every 10 Hit Points the target gains, the Merchant also regains 10 Hit Points.
Awful Choices (2 Legendary Actions). Charisma Saving Throw: DC 21, one creature that can hear the Merchant. Failure: The target must choose two creatures it can see that are friendly with it. One of those creatures (target’s choice) takes 19 (3d12) Necrotic damage, and the other has the Charmed condition until the end of its next turn.
