Merchants

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

How do you get a merchants present symbol up, im gonna try and run others out of business but he isnt skilled enough. i currently have him selling gold for 63 gold, any ideas on how you get it up???

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

Hello? message soon as my economy is crashing!

[Askthepizzaguy]

The money you make per turn from Merchants is dependent on the following conditions:

1. Skill level of merchant. Higher skill means more gold.
2. Distance of resource from capital. More distance means more gold.
3. Distance of closest same-type resource from capital. In other words, if you capital has timber nearby, getting timber from the other side of the world will not be profitable at all. More distance of that type of resource from capital means more gold.

That last one is tricky, but if you have Silk in Constantinople, and that's your capital, going far and wide to find more silk won't help you very much.

How do you raise the merchant's skill level?

Getting Monopolist traits:

Two or more of that kind of resource in a province, and being the only faction with a merchant on that resource. Leave him there for many turns to increase your chances.

Legal Nouse: Recruit from a place with town hall or better

Merchant's guild apprentice: Recruit from a place with Merchant's Guild

Avoid corruption: Distance from capital and being recruited from lawless (no town hall) settlements means less gold obtained from that merchant, and lower skill level.

Commercial conqueror: Take over less skilled merchants. Any new merchant is ripe for the plucking but won't net you much gold. Taking bigger and better merchants gives you more skill and florins, but it's risky.

The more skill you have, the better your merchant. Further from your capital, the better. Exotic and foreign resources are your goals. Go get them!

I am sure that others will be able to provide you with a link to the more official "Merchant" question and answer threads.

Also, your economy might be crashing because:

You don't have a lot of neighboring factions with trade rights in your lands.
You have too many castles or not enough marketplaces
You don't have many trading ports
You have too many troops and mercenaries and not enough income.

A merchant, a sole merchant, will not turn that around. You need to manange your entire faction like a business. Focus on profits or expansion of your business, and downside unproductive people.

[The Wandering Scholar]

What are the agent limits?

[_Tristan_]

AFAIK, it is one by grain exchange built in your settlements...

As to levels, there is no maximum, a merchant can go over level 10 through ancillaries and traits...

[Askthepizzaguy]

Agent limits are such that if for example, you have a marketplace and you build a merchant, you can't simply spawn infinite merchants. In order to sustain all these merchants, you need an empire that has more than one marketplace.

For every church, one priest. For every brothel, one spy. For every marketplace, one merchant. There are some exceptions.

If you want more agents, get more cities and build more of the required buildings.

Diplomats don't have limits.

[WhiskeyGhost]

things that increase merchant skill:

successful acquisition of enemy merchants (also has high chance of getting the trait that makes you more vulnerable to assassins)

surviving acquisitions from enemy merchants

Monopolist traits (owning all of multiple same resources in same region)

Being hired in a settlement with a Town Hall or better

Ending turn on a resource far from capitol (knowledge of customs, 40+ distance)

Natural skill upon creation

Merchant's Guild present during creation

Other buildings which give ancillaries on creation (Alchemists lab 15%, Alchemy school 33%, not having a town hall can give you trick abacus, 5% chance)

Things that give negative traits are:

Not having a town hall during creation

Failed acquisitions of enemy merchants

surviving assassinations (increases security, but lowers finance at highest lvl)

being hired in a settlement with a cathedral or better and having greater then 80% own religion

Being 60 or more distance from capitol

and something else i'm forgetting that is the cause of the exotic tastes traits