Trader Fetch Mechanic (Not about the quest type)

[Aithaed]

One of the traders has a line "If we don't have what you're looking for, we can always get it".

 

I think it would be cool if players could pay Dukes for the Trader to make an attempt to find the item. It would always be of a random quality and quantity between predetermined values (with those values and quantity/quality being increased based on Quest Tier for that Trader and Better Barter skill level). Players could also pay additional Dukes to attempt to increase the quality/quantity, or reduce the time requirement, which would also be based on the item, quantity, and quality being asked for. The prices for doing this would be slightly increased compared to the prices that those items in that quantity would cost to buy directly, as the Trader would have to either find those bits 'n bobs or hire somebody to get them. (This also further justifies the Fetch quests, which I think is cool)

(Quest Tier representing reputation, and that + Better Barter representing how likely the Trader is to try to scam you with something of poor quality)

I don't feel like this would impact the game all too much if balanced correctly, because ideally by the time the player has enough Dukes to afford a T6 <insert tool/gun> Trader Fetch payment (and afford the chance of getting lower quality/quantity than asked for), they've probably already got everything else they need.

 

This mechanic is just supposed to help players fill in the gap if they are unable to get a very specific type of item, tool, or book (I know the books part will be outdated, but it's here anyways) once they're past a particular stage in the game.

 

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There are also a lot of other ways this system could be modified. The Trader's ability to obtain items could be based on which Trader they are (Ex. Trader Jen only fetches Medical supplies), what structures there are in the Town/City they're attached to (Ex. T5 Pop Pills factory means availability of medical supplies increases), or an ACTUAL Reputation mechanic.

 

Another variation would be that the cost of the Fetch process is significantly lower than the price of the item, and follows a similar procedure to the original idea except it ends up in the normal Store interface and can then be bought from there as normal.

[Riamus]

Another variation of that could be that if another trader is selling something, you can request it from your current trader at a higher price to cover having it brought to your trader.  This saves you from running to every trader looking for something, but costs more to cover gas and time (and takes maybe 24 hours to arrive).