so just thinking about empire and missing it of course. one thing I wanted to know is what would people want to buy IC. I know their’s plenty of sweet things and many people want more savoury items like fruit or baked goods but what else would you want?
if someone was to come up to you what would you want to see? some random person opens a box and you see…?
just want to see peoples ideas, mostly
A vendor carrying beef jerky and nuts…
Neither of which seem popular, as nut allergies and/or vegans, but I would like to see some of that.
And fresh juice, rather than alcohol, tea, or coffee.
I think this is why I usually bring my own, but sometimes I forget to bring them along.
(and no, this isn’t a swipe at vegans or people with allergies; I’m not that level of jerk)
Things you can’t buy anywhere else usually. I like to see all the homebrew drinks and interesting cake flavours. And some fabulous, fabulous bitterbark brew tea
I like to make curios that look good on someone’s shelf. I made jars with lots of magic looking sigils and bits of “The Black Plateau” in it to sell (there was no official PD ribbon on them, so they weren’t OC “real” but they were cool looking) and i plan on selling a “ritualistic mask” from “cultist” the next time i get out to the field.
These things dont have the best OC cash to IC cash ratio (that would be booze and cake) but they’re cool.
Make wierd stuff. Someone will probably buy it.
There’s an item that allegedly came out of a trade with Ephesus that is “the brains of a Salt Lord” - its a fist sized bottle with cotton wool.and blue food coloring. It’s made its way to my auction three times.
Other wierds that have made it include the Queen of Pet Rocks (googly eyes, wool hair, ISTR foil crown); poppets of all the then-current Archmages (Archmagi?); a set of cloth samples; and a cheesecake-y portrait of a character
Other folks have written things like hand drawn maps of the Empire; herbals; and illustrations of the upgrades you could have to your ships (all fluff, but several people were discussing the merits of deeper draft or smoother line).
There’s a fair few folk making jewelry, but also costumes, and amulets (there is a clay frog on my desk as I type this)
There is a market out there for almost anything. A few pointers:
Made is almost always preferable to bought
Try to have a few things instead of too much variety
Use decent materials, as best you can - bone can masquerade as ivory, polished wood, polished stone,- you won’t get much for cardboard and glitter -. But dont use real gold.
Keep it simple. Simple done well is infinitely more saleable than complex done badly.
Give each piece a story. It aint just the orcs who value something based on its tale.
I’m hoping people might like to buy my inactive mana crystals and lammie bags.
However, I’ve decided against potion bottles for now.
Others in our guild are considering a variety of savoury snacks (and some cake) and we have some ideas for toys or crafts to sell to children (all with IC cash).
Not sure about buy, but I do recall having a lot of luck one hot year with having a ten-year old wander around selling watermelon to overheated Imperial subjects. I think it was the event where the Ashborn (the Navarr ones with the podcast) had got quite excited about apple-bobbing. We sold out in one day and then it stopped being a heatwave suddenly.
You may be shocked by what sells…
Example of something with time invested:
A world map, showing all our international trading partners. Accurate as a copper compass, but it at least reminded folk which port was in which nation in which direction… I sold several to the Brass Coast during the Feast of the Broken Wheel (when they lie and tell tall stories a lot)
Example of something with a story:
Gingerbread Druj. (Tiny gingerbread men with nasty fanged grins, in green tunics, armed)
“We did not capture some Druj in the Barrens.
We did not nail them down in an Autumn Regio, and sacrifice their souls to the Eternal.
We did not have their physical forms shattered into marketable goods in return.
We do not thus have piles of these to sell, cheap.
Because that would be wrong, on all sorts of levels.”
Not for use as arcane conduits. Bite their little heads off. Dip them into really hot tea. Slowly nibble their arms and legs leaving their heads intact…
Cruelty doesn’t apply to biscuits…
Sold really well in Urizen, Highguard and Dawn…
I would pay Cake Price for an IC camp map of a given nation so I can find groups without having to keep asking for directions all the time XD
Gingerbread Druj?
“Even though they’re Druj, we’re sure they’re not poisonous. Really.”
Strictly speaking, most Druj are venomous. The poison is introduced by injury, not consumption.
Strictly speaking, it’s not cannibalism if it’s a different species.
Strictly speaking, Wendigo doesn’t have much interest in science.
Bite A Druj for Wisdom Today!
If you bite them, and you die, then it’s poisonous.
If they bite you, and you die, then it’s venomous.
If they bite themselves, and they die, they’re an idiot.