Merchants/How do you use?

[Yoyoma1910]

I use the bait and tackle method.

This works exceptionally well in France or Antioch/ Damascus, where you can have a nest of Merchants Hanging out at resources with good value, leveling up by controlling markets and/ or hanging out in foreign lands. It's also good to keep one or two merchants in Northern Italy, as there are a lot of both resources (though not as valuable) and factions to produce targets. I also tend to use the duel silver near Wien (Vienna).


Anyway, what I do is use pathetic merchants, you know the ones with 0 or 1 finance from slightly crooked, slave to coin, and the math skills of a antifreeze addicted marmot to lure foreign merchants near to one of my more experienced versions. Then pounce on the coin, and if I'm near enough to my old resource, make it back home before dinner. I find that 40% chance of success or better is usually good enough.


And I don't know why you wouldn't want to cull the foreign merchant pool, because if you let them hang around too long they get more and more difficult to beat. Much better to strike them down as they appear if possible. Although, it can be nice to find a nice experienced merchant, fattened up to 7 or so experience, if you have the skills to beat him. Otherwise they're a nightmare.

[Matty]

I tend to keep an assassin handy in case a highly skilled enemy merchant turns up to threaten my boys. Otherwise, taking over the enemy is a good way of racking up skill.