[Random Encounters] The Itinerant Bazaar By Stan!

For adventurers, a reliable source of high-caliber equipment and supplies is an even rarer and more treasured discovery than any treasure trove. After all, no m atter how much gold you have, it does you no good unless you have something to b uy. The Itinerant Bazaar is such a resource. The bazaar is home to merchants whose wares are of impeccable ection is second to none, and whose discretion is assured. Of t want to know where the merchandise came from. And if anyone it, you would be well advised to refrain from mentioning the rietors. quality, whose sel course, you may no asks where you got market or its prop

So join us for a quick tour around one of the premiere marketplaces in all the l and. Bring your gold and your haggling shoes. All prices are negotiable, but the buyer should most definitely beware. Market Day Most towns and villages have a up booths and sell goods that inerant Bazaar is said to have zaar that is never in the same Meet the Proprietors Nana Jichi and Luvi Tonne run the Itinerant Bazaar. You know something about thei r businesses; now meet the merchants themselves and learn about their complicate d working relationship. The Rules of Business The Itinerant Bazaar uses a firm set of rules to determine where it will visit n ext and what exactly the vendors can sell there. Here we lay down the rules and introduce you to the bazaar's only permanent merchants. Caveat Emptor You can find all sorts of goods at the Itinerant Bazaar, and they're usually sol d at a very reasonable price. The selection changes daily, but here we present a guide to some commonly found merchandise. Market Day Sometimes the most difficult task an adventurer faces in preparing for a quest i s finding some place to buy all the necessary equipment. Only the largest of med ieval cities can generate enough business to support all the various shops and m erchants an adventurer might have need of. Smaller towns and villages have only one or two specialty shops -- usually determined by the needs of the citizens or a nearby customer base, such as a military garrison. Everything else must be bo ught through a general store or traveling merchants. Both these sources have onl y a limited supply of any particular item, but they often take special orders an d can usually acquire the goods in a few weeks or months. Many villages, towns, and cities also host Market Days on a regular basis (gener ally anywhere from once a week to once per month). This is a day when any mercha nt or artisan can come into town and set up a stall from which to sell his or he r wares. This way, the citizens can buy from a wider array of shops and speciali Market Day, which is when traveling merchants set range from necessities to exotic luxuries. The It something for everyone, but how can you find a ba place twice?

sts than their town can support, and the merchants can make a living even though there isn't an overwhelming need for their services in any one place. A particular town's Market Day usually features the same merchants each time. Th eir wares change based on seasonal needs or crops, but the same faces can be see n on a month-to-month basis. Occasionally, a new face will show up -- a stranger selling rare or unique items. And, once in a very great while, a group of trave ling merchants show up together and transform an ordinary Market Day into an eve nt that will be talked about for years to come. One such band of traveling merchants has come to be known as the Itinerant Bazaa r. The Itinerant Bazaar The Itinerant Bazaar is a band of merchants who deal in all sorts of exotic and rare goods -- everything from spices to weapons and armor. They arrive without p reamble in a town early in the morning of a Market Day. In some cases, this grou p may outnumber the regular merchants by as many as two to one. Generally each m erchant has one or more wagons that can be converted quickly into elaborate boot hs and displays. The members of the Itinerant Bazaar are quite friendly to all the locals, includ ing the regional competition. In fact, they make it a practice to avoid direct c ompetition with the local merchants refrain from selling goods that are identica l to those offered by someone who regularly attends that particular Market Day. What's more, the Itinerant Bazaar is said to have phenomenally low prices -- so low, in fact, that local merchants often buy from them in bulk at the end of the Market Day so that they can provide the suddenly popular items in the weeks to come. There is no telling where the Itinerant Bazaar will turn up next. It arrives in a town without any warning. Indeed nobody knows for sure how the merchants knew there was going to be a Market Day. They simply show up at the crack of dawn, sp end the day selling their wares, and then ride out in the gloom of dusk. More interesting, unlike other traveling merchants, the bazaar does not visit mo re than a single Market Day in a particular region. Even when there is another m arket -- even a bigger, more profitable one -- coming up soon in a neighboring t own, the Itinerant Bazaar passes it by. Their wagons roll out of town, not to be seen again for a very long time. In fact, for many small towns, a visit from th e Itinerant Bazaar becomes the stuff of legends -- the Day of Plenty, or the Gol den Market Day. Although it is generally believed that the bazaar visits a particular Market Day only once, PCs who get curious and ask the right questions may discover one or more of the following facts. The bazaar occasionally does visit the same Market Day more than once, but t here is always a span of at least 50 years between visits. (That is a long time for humans, but elves may well remember five or ten different visits by the baza ar in their lifetimes.) The merchants in the bazaar never sell any items that originate in the area they are visiting. They sell goods only from far away lands. No one has ever seen the Itinerant Bazaar on the road -- only when they roll into a town. Wizards or adventurers who can travel great distances magically claim to hav

e seen the Itinerant Bazaar on consecutive days at opposite ends of a continent (or even on different continents). How Do They Do That? The Itinerant Bazaar does not travel by normal means. Indeed, the bazaar is not technically of this world. Its proprietors hail from the Plane of Shadow, and th e bazaar is headquartered there. The other merchants come from all over the plan es, though the proprietors insist that merchants pass as indigenous peoples wher ever the bazaar goes. A great many of them were once local merchants who, when t he Itinerant Bazaar visited, requested to join the organization (though most of them didn't actually understand at the time what exactly that entailed). Although it is an extraplanar organization, the Itinerant Bazaar does all its bu siness on the Material Plane. The proprietors have no wish to get involved in pl anar politics -- they just want to use their knowledge of the planes to make mon ey from the people of the Material Plane. Shadow Wagons: All the wagons associated with the bazaar are enhanced so that th ey can travel freely between the Plane of Shadow and the Material Plane during t he hour preceding dawn and dusk. Anyone or anything on or touching the wagon is likewise transported. If a passenger or piece of cargo is incapable of making th e transition (for example, a character who is the subject of a dimensional ancho r spell) the wagon and the rest of its cargo fades out around him, her, or it. W hile the wagon goes to the Plane of Shadow, it leaves the affected character or item on the Material Plane. Moderate illusion; CL 6th; Craft Wondrous Item, shadow walk; Price 12,000 gp; We ight 400 lb. To avoid drawing too much attention to the bazaar, its proprietors use the follo wing guidelines when planning its schedule. 1. Never visit a given location more than once every fifty years 2. After visiting a location, there must be a minimum of one month's time be fore visiting any other location within one hundred miles. 3. Whenever possible do not visit the same continent twice in the same ten-d ay period. How to Find the Bazaar The Itinerant Bazaar's schedule can be very confusing, particularly to anyone wh o is not used to thinking of his or her world on a global scale, and even more s o to anyone who has no experience with planar travel. However, with a little bit of information and a good deal of luck, characters may predict the movements of the bazaar. The first thing a character must know is the dates and locations of at least fou r places the Itinerant Bazaar has visited in the past six months. Then he or she may attempt a Gather Information check (DC 50) which, if it succeeds, allows th e character to determine the next three locations the bazaar will visit. This ch eck receives an insight bonus equal to the number of ranks the character has in Knowledge (the planes). It also receives a +10 circumstance bonus if one of the locations is more than two thousand miles away from the nearest other. Finally t he check gains a +5 competence bonus if the character has actually attended the bazaar in the last six months. (If he or she has attended the bazaar more than o nce, the competence bonus is equal to 5 times the number of attendances.)

Bringing the Parts Together Although random encounters usually happen by chance, some DMs may wish to tie th ese four parts together into something that could lead to further adventures. Yo u've read about the bazaar in a general sense, and now you can introduce the con cept of it to your game. (Perhaps the PCs have heard rumors of an unusual bazaar in the region that showed up several months ago but that had an item that they' re seeking.) If you want further details, though, watch for more on NPCs, rules, and items in upcoming installments. Coming in Part 2 of the Itinerant Bazaar Read about the proprietors of the bazaar! Meet the Proprietors The Itinerant Bazaar may not be unique in the vastness of the planes, but chance s are that they are the only planes-traveling merchants that most of their custo mers are likely to ever meet. A visit from the bazaar can be the spark that allo ws a curious mind to begin delving into the mysteries of the planes, or it can b e the impetus for a group of adventurers to start thinking in terms other than t heir local Material Plane politics. In any case, the merchants associated with the bazaar can be important people in the lives of the people they meet. In particular, the motivations and inclinati ons of the bazaar's proprietors may have a strong impact on how they treat the P Cs. What About Stat Blocks? The Itinerant Bazaar is not at all a place for combat. Furthermore, the exact ca pabilities of the merchants and proprietors are not important, except in proport ional relation to the PCs. Therefore, we do not present firm statistics for the characters below. Instead we provide guidelines to the DM for tailoring them to his or her specific campaign and give you a sample set of statistics for each ch aracter that can give you a good idea of where to start. As a rule, the NPCs below should be three levels higher than the PCs when they f irst meet. The DM may decide from that point on whether to keep the NPCs more-or -less permanently at that level or allow them to gain levels at the same rate as the PCs (or any other rate). Nana Jichi Nana is a middle-aged female gnome with long silver hair that she keeps braided and tied tight to the back of her head in a pair of buns. She has a winning smil e and is as gregarious as they come; she spends hours talking with customers and even passersby who have no intention of buying anything in her stall. Probably because her effervescent personality is mixed with her diminutive size, people f ind it very easy to trust Nana and they often open up to her with personal infor mation that they haven't told even their closest friends. She just has a way of making them feel safe. Sadly, this is all a charade. Nana is actually a very bitter, cynical, manipulat ive person who uses people's trust to her own advantage. She began life as an or phan left to fend for herself in the streets of a large city on the Material Pla ne. There she developed the basic skills of a pickpocket and confidence artist, and she learned to value no one and nothing over her own comfort and safety. Aft er being caught by the constables and thrown in jail for six months, Nana decide d that she needed a less risky way to make a living. She had grown into a charmi

ng young woman, and she used her ability to make personal connections to become a broker -- neither a merchant nor a buyer, but someone who could put the two to gether and be paid a commission for doing so. This might have been the whole sto ry of her life except that a wizard client asked for her help in solving a probl em in another city. The matter was urgent, so the man used the shadow walk spell to allow them to travel to the other city. Nana concluded the deal to the custo mer's satisfaction, but instead of taking her usual fee, she asked him to teach her everything he knew about the Plane of Shadow. Nana began using the Plane of Shadow to crisscross her world and making deals th at no one else could. Whenever she encountered a need that she could not fulfill , she found someone who could and brokered the deal instead. Eventually, she had more connections through the Plane of Shadow than she ever did in her hometown. She was content to use these connections sparingly, one at a time, until she me t Luvi Tonne. His idea for an interplanar exchange made her realize that she cou ld do more than gather money (which she was doing exceptionally well). After spe nding enough time at this, she could actually use her connections to manipulate whole nations and change the course of history by making herself the most powerf ul political figure in the entire Material Plane. At this point, she is still in the relative early stages of that plan -- traveli ng with the bazaar and gathering information on the strengths, weaknesses, and t endencies of nobles and governments across the map. Eventually, she plans to lea ve the bazaar and use this information to begin amassing real power. Nana's Stats Nana should be either a straight rogue or a rogue/bard multiclass. She should ha ve high Dexterity and Charisma scores, but a low Strength score. She always has the maximum number of ranks possible in Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Se nse Motive, and Spot. Early in her career, Nana should pick up feats that are helpful to a pickpocket, such as Deft Hands, Nimble Fingers, and Stealthy. Later on she should focus on feats that help her in social engineering, such as Investigator, Leadership, Neg otiator, and Persuasive. Sample Statistics for 5th Level Nana Jichi: Female gnome rogue 4/bard 1; CR 5; Small humanoid; HD 4d6+4 plus 1d6+ 1; hp 22; Init +3; Spd 20 ft.; AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +3; Grp -2; Atk +4 melee (1d4/19-20, +1 dagger); Full Atk +4 melee (1d4/19-20, +1 dagge r); SA sneak attack +2d6, spell-like abilities; SQ bardic knowledge +3, bardic m usic (countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1) 1/day, evasion, gnome traits, trap sense +1, trapfinding, uncanny dodge; AL NE; SV Fort +2, Ref +9, Will +2; S tr 8, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 18. Skills and Feats: Bluff +12, Craft (alchemy) +4, Diplomacy +16, Disable Device + 9, Escape Artist +5, Gather Information +12, Hide +16, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (the planes) +5, Listen +8, Move Silently +7, Open Lock +7, Perform (act) +8, Se arch +6, Sense Motive +7, Spot +3, Tumble +6; Nimble Fingers, Stealthy. Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day -- dancing lights, ghost sound (DC 14), prestidigita tion (DC 14), speak with animals (burrowing mammal only; duration 1 minute). Cas ter level 1st. Bardic Knowledge: Nana may make a bardic knowledge check with a bonus of +3 to s ee whether she knows some relevant information about local notable people, legen dary items, or noteworthy places.

Bardic Music: Nana can use her song or poetics to produce magical effects on tho se around her. Countersong (Su): Nana can counter magical effects that depend on sound by makin g a Perform check for each round of countersong. Any creature within 30 feet of her that is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical attack may use Nan a's Perform check result in place of his or her saving throw if desired. Counter song lasts for 10 rounds. Fascinate (Sp): Nana can cause a single creature within 90 feet that can see and hear her to become fascinated with her. Nana's Perform check result is the DC f or the opponent's Will save. Any obvious threat breaks the effect. Fascination l asts 1 round. Inspire Courage (Su): Allies who can hear Nana receive a +1 morale bonus on save s against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon dama ge rolls. The effect lasts for 5 rounds after the ally can no longer hear her. Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally allows a character to attem pt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, Nana takes no damage with a successful saving throw. Gnome Traits: Nana has weapon familiarity (gnome hooked hammers are martial weap ons). She adds +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against her illu sion spells. She also has a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions, a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids, and a +4 dodge bonus against giants. In addition, she has a +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) and Listen checks (already figured into the statistics above). Trap Sense (Ex): Nana gains a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. Trapfinding: Nana can use the Search skill to locate traps when the task has a D C higher than 20. Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Nana can react to danger before her senses would normally al low her to do so. She retains her Dexterity bonus to AC even if she is caught fl at-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. Bard Spells Known (2; save DC 14 + spell level): 0 -- know direction, light, ope n/close, read magic. Possessions:+1 dagger, ring of protection +1. Luvi Tonne Luvi Tonne is an elegant male half-elf with an air of sophistication that often makes him seem aloof. His hair is cut very short and he slicks it back with an o il that surrounds him with a scent reminiscent of a springtime breeze. This look accentuates his elven features, making it seem as though his ears are even long er and more pointed and his eyes larger and more catlike. His eyes are the color of ice, and his smile (which he offers only to his closest friends) can seem ch illing. Luvi is not a talkative man. In fact, he seems uncomfortable in conversa tions that revolve around anything other than the arts -- and he can be a viciou s critic of those since he often savagely picks apart the faults of a painting, ballad, or design he feels is too pedestrian. Because Luvi is such a sharp-tongued critic, many people presume that the half-e lf is mean spirited and confrontational. The truth is that he has a kind and gen tle soul -- he is just painfully shy. Luvi is bold only when speaking about art

because he has such passion for the subject and is supremely confident in his kn owledge and opinions. Originally from the Elven Court on the plane of Arborea, the half-elf was appren ticed at an early age to the court's master clothier. Young Luvi quickly proved to have a gift for fashion, and he created jackets, gowns, and accessories that became the most sought after in the realm. Indeed, nobles and financiers from al l the good-aligned planes traveled to Arborea and willingly spent fortunes to ge t Luvi to design an outfit for them -- all this while he was still an apprentice . Luvi saw his master getting rich, and the already well-heeled courtiers struttin g around like peacocks in his clothing. He, himself, was still forced to dress o nly in the plain robes of an apprentice, and he noticed that the clothing worn b y common folk was serviceable but mind-numbingly dull. In secret, he began to de sign outfits for the servants and commoners -- clothing that was practical, besp oke of their station, but yet still had flair and style. When his master found o ut, Luvi was beaten. "Fashion is for those who can afford it," the clothier said . "Your designs are art. Why do you want to drape them across pigs?" As soon as his wounds healed, Luvi ran away from his master, abandoning his apprenticeship and leaving the plane of Arborea forever. In his heart, he agreed with his former master that his designs were art. But Lu vi completely disagreed that they should be only for the rich. He believed that art was for everyone, no matter how poor or rich, and he meant to share his desi gns with anyone who wanted them. Eventually, he settled on the Plane of Shadow b ecause it presented an interesting challenge. Everything on the plane appears co lorless, so his designs had to be created using only his memory of what the hues and values of the cloth was. If anything, Luvi's work only improved. Luvi began taking his outfits to the Material Plane -- as unfashionable and buco lic a place as there is in the planes. Not surprisingly, his work again became m uch sought after. But he noticed that these people were deprived of so much more than just fashion. Their limited understanding of the planes meant that they di d not even take full advantage of the meager resources of their own plane, let a lone any others. So, back on the Plane of Shadows, he began inviting other merch ants to join him on his excursions, hoping to expose the masses to even more of the amazing worlds beyond their own. It was then that Luvi met a gnome mercantil e broker named Nana Jichi who seemed to have the same noble goals in mind that he did. The two worked together to form what has since come to be known as the Iti nerant Bazaar. Of course, Luvi has since learned that his partner's motives are much less pure than his own. She wants to use the bazaar for her own personal gains, with no ca re for the effects it has on the people of the Material Plane. But for the most part, that does not matter. The half-elf has created a market for his designs an d a way to share them with the entirety of reality. His art can be seen, purchas ed, and worn by anyone. Luvi's Stats Luvi is best off taking levels of bard or rogue, though he might have a level or two of wizard thrown in if you want him to make enhanced clothing without assis tance. He should have a high Intelligence score and a low Charisma score. He alw ays has the maximum possible number of ranks in Appraise, Craft (tailoring), and Profession (tailor). Luvi uses his Craft (tailoring) skill to make his wares an d his Profession (tailor) skill to create his designs. He also keeps his scores as high as possible in several Knowledge categories including history, local, no bility and royalty, and the planes.

As far as feats go, Luvi tends toward those that enhance his abilities such as D iligent and Skill Focus. He does not take offensive combat feats, but he might c hoose one or two that would make him avoid damage, such as Stealthy or the Dodge tree. Sample Statistics for 6th Level Luvi Tonne: Male half-elf bard 3/wizard 3; CR 6; Medium humanoid; HD 3d6+3 plus 3d4+3; hp 23; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11; Base Atk +3; Grp +4; Atk +5 melee (1d6+2, +1 quarterstaff ); Full Atk +5 melee (1d6+2, +1 qu arterstaff ); SQ bardic knowledge +8, bardic music (countersong, fascinate, insp ire competence, inspire courage +1) 3/day, half-elf traits, low-light vision; AL NG; SV Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +9; Str 12, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 8. Skills and Feats: Appraise +11, Concentration +4, Craft (tailoring) +15, Diploma cy +3, Gather Information +1, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (history) +8, Kno wledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +8, Knowledge (the planes) + 12, Listen +11, Perform (sing) +2, Profession (tailor) +11, Search +4, Sense Mot ive +5, Spellcraft +6, Spot +5; Alertness, Craft Wondrous Item, Scribe Scroll, S kill Focus (Craft [tailoring]). Bardic Knowledge: Luvi may make a bardic knowledge check with a bonus of +8 to s ee whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legend ary items, or noteworthy places. Bardic Music: Luvi can use his song or poetics to produce magical effects on tho se around him. Countersong (Su): Luvi can counter magical effects that depend on sound by makin g a Perform check for each round of countersong. Any creature within 30 feet of him that is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical attack may use Luv i's Perform check result in place of his or her saving throw if desired. Counter song lasts for 10 rounds. Fascinate (Sp): Luvi can cause a single creature withi n 90 feet that can see and hear him to become fascinated with him. Luvi's Perfor m check result is the DC for the opponent's Will save. Any obvious threat breaks the effect. Fascination lasts 3 rounds. Inspire Competence (Su): Luvi can use his music to help an ally succeed at a tas k. The ally must be within 30 feet and able to see and hear Luvi. The ally gets a +2 competence bonus on skill checks with a particular skill as long as he or s he continues to hear the bard's music. The DM may rule that certain uses of this ability are infeasible. The effect lasts as long as Luvi concentrates, up to a maximum of 2 minutes. Luvi can't inspire competence in himself. Inspire competen ce is a mind-affecting ability. Inspire Courage (Su): Allies who can hear Luvi receive a +1 morale bonus to save s against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon dama ge rolls. The effect lasts for 5 rounds after the ally can no longer hear him. Half-Elf Traits: Luvi is immune to magic sleep spells and effects, and he has el ven blood (for all effects related to race, he is considered an elf). Luvi also has a +2 racial bonus on saves against enchantment spells or effects, a +2 racia l bonus on diplomacy and Gather Information checks, and a +1 racial bonus on Lis ten, Spot, and Search checks (already figured into the statistics given above). Bard Spells Known: None (insufficient Charisma to cast bard spells). Wizard Spells Prepared (4/3/2; save DC 13 + spell level): 0 -- arcane mark, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation; 1st -- hypnotism, message, true strike; 2nd -glitterdust, Tasha's hideous laughter.

Spellbook: 0 -- acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, de tect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, light, mage hand, mending, open /close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, touch of fatigue ; 1st -- animate rope, disguise self, hypnotism, identify, mage armor, message, sleep, true strike, unseen servant; 2nd -- continual flame, daylight, glitterdus t, Tasha's hideous laughter, web. Possessions:+1 quarterstaff, ring of protection +1, cloak of resistance +1. Unfriendly Competition Although they are partners, it should be clear that Nana and Luvi have different goals and expectations for the Itinerant Bazaar. So, to make things more palata ble, they agreed upon a set of rules of behavior for both the organization and a ny vendor associated with it. To appease Nana's desire for broad-scale informati on gathering, the bazaar visits all corners of the world, but to satisfy Luvi's desire for equanimity, it visits each locale only once in a very great while. To meet the half-elf's desire to introduce new ideas and concepts, the vendors sel l items that their customers cannot find at other markets, but to meet the gnome 's need for friendly relations with native power brokers, the visiting merchants are forbidden from directly competing with (and thereby angering) the locals. This might seem needlessly complex, but both Luvi and Nana feel a sense of owner ship to the bazaar -- they built it from nothing into a legendary organization. They also both have long-term goals for which it is the only viable engine. So t hey have made peace and agreed to disagree, swearing never to take part in any e ffort to undermine or oust the other from a position of authority within the baz aar. But the truth is that nothing would make either one of these uncomfortable partners happier than to see the other forced out of the picture. Bringing the Parts Together If the PCs come across the bazaar, allow them to interact with one or the other (or even both) of the proprietors. Perhaps Nana needs some information from the PCs and approaches them at the local tavern in a friendly manner "just to chat." Or maybe the PCs need some clothing from Luvi so that they are presentable in a future appearance at the local leader's house. Coming in Part 3 of the Itinerant Bazaar You know the basic rules of the bazaar. Now find out more of the specific rules! The Rules of Business The Itinerant Bazaar can appear in any town anywhere on the Material Plane. Its vendors always have exotic goods from across the globe for sale, but they never sell anything that a local vendor has in his or her stall. What's more, the merc hants in the bazaar must adhere to the following rules when choosing their wares for a specific day's sales. 1. Never sell any item that is produced or created less than five hundred mi les away from the current location. 2. Never sell an item or material that is banned by local law or tradition. 3. Never sell prepared food (although fresh and dried ingredients are permis sible). 4. Never sell livestock or other nonsentient creatures.

5. Slave trade is permissible if local laws do not forbid it. At the beginning of each week, the proprietors invite some of their merchant par tners to join them on one or more of the bazaar's visits. (They are very particu lar about which merchants they invite where.) Each merchant receives a list cont aining the local customs, restrictions, and laws of the sites they will be visit ing. It is up to the merchants to ensure that their wares fall within the specif ications. If they fail, no member of the Itinerant Bazaar does anything to aid t he merchants in dealing with the local authorities. Furthermore, any merchant ca ught knowingly violating the prohibitions is summarily banned from the bazaar fo r a period of no fewer than one hundred years. What's in the Bazaar? The question still remains: What is one likely to find when the Itinerant Bazaar comes to town? The answer is just about anything under the sun. The number of v endors and particular mixture of wares that are in the bazaar changes from day t o day. The proprietors make sure to bring enough stalls to generate excitement, but not so many that they overwhelm the local merchants. They consider their goo d reputation to be just as valuable as any merchandise they could bring. Likewis e, they try to match the wares available to the tastes and needs of the town the y will be visiting. Still, one can find a few stalls everywhere the Itinerant Bazaar travels. Fashions by Tonne The bazaar always features a stall of finely tailored clothing, exotic fabrics s old by the yard, and leatherwear that is both amazingly durable and uncommonly c omfortable. The stall is run by an elegant half-elf tailor named Luvi Tonne, who also happens to be one of the bazaar's proprietors. His outfits are renowned fo r being fashionable and practical -- well suited for both hiking through the wil derness and making appearances in the noble courts. Tonne has both ordinary clot hing and select pieces that have been enhanced to provide protection or to exhib it some other magical effect. Unlike most of the merchants in the bazaar, Luvi T onne's wares are not offered at a discount. In fact, he adds 25% to the price of his garments, but he is willing to negotiate (never selling for lower than the price listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide). Outfitter's Paradise Another stall that is present everywhere the Itinerant Bazaar stops is known as Outfitter's Paradise, which consists of an impossible jumble of hanging rods lad en with animal pelts, display racks overflowing with all manner for strange devi ces, and shelves of air-tight storage bottles filled with an incredible array of powders, dried meats, poultices, and several unidentifiable substances. Outfitt er's Paradise is run by the bazaar's other proprietor, a gnome named Nana Jichi. Nana is very outgoing, and she seems to enjoy talking with her customers even mo re than making sales. She claims to have "everything you'll ever need when you v isit the wilder places of the world." This includes odd devices such as a collap sible canteen, a vial of "instant campfire," and a map of the constellations tha t folds down small enough to fit in one's pocket. Perhaps the most unusual, and popular, is a folding knife that, when the proper activation word is spoken, can turn into a fork, toothpick, hand mirror, quill, or lockpicking tool. Everythin g in the stall is priced 10-30% lower than the usual market price. However, the greater the discount, the more likely the item is to break or malfunction in som e way. (This is a fantastic place for the DM to introduce unusual or unique item s he or she wishes to add to the campaign.)

Stale Wind The only other stall that can be found everywhere the bazaar travels takes its n ame from a dwarf proverb that says, "Even a stale wind can pipe a merry tune." T he business is run by a gray-bearded, taciturn, old dwarf named Rumpol Hamhand, and it is not much to look at. The wagon itself looks like a worn and badly used woodcutter's cart that has been half filled with branches, sticks, and twigs. T here is no sign of any pack animal to pull the cart, so one can only imagine tha t the dwarf does so himself. Throughout the Market Day, Rumpol sits on a stool n ext to the cart using a large hunter's knife to whittle away at one twig after a nother. If anyone asks what he is working on, Rumpol puts down his current proje ct and opens his coat to reveal that the inside is lined with finely crafted woo den flutes and whistles. Each one is capable of making a perfect imitation of on e particular forest animal. He has flutes for each bird and rodent as well as on es for wolves, foxes, bears, owlbears, and more. In fact, Rumpol can carve a flute or whistle for any animal, magical beast, or v ermin. Rumpol arrives at the Market Day carrying 2d4+3 instruments (the DM may d etermine what creatures they mimic). He is willing to take special requests and can carve one flute or two whistles per day. Rumpol charges between 55 and 100 g p (5d10+50) for each flute; the price depends solely on his mood and how much he likes a particular customer. Anyone playing one of Rumpol's instruments gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Hand le Animal checks for that specific type of creature (and may, at the DM's discre tion, gain a +1 circumstance bonus for checks made for similar creatures). Bards may apply this bonus to their fascinate class ability when using it against the specified creature only. Skye's Animal Companions Skye's Animal Companions is a pet shop located in a large city with a bustling m erchant trade, but it is a far from ordinary pet shop. Signs outside the shop pr omise that Skye's can provide "any and every kind of pet you can possibly imagin e." This is much truer than anyone would ever guess. The shop is the brainchild of Celeste Blue-Skye, a young con artist with a knack for making money in creati ve ways. Her partner, Maephus Ibonn, is a transmuter, and the reason that Skye's Animal Companions is such a success. As advertised, Skye's sells every kind of animal that one could want as a pet. D ogs, especially trained ones, are a mainstay of the business, but the shop also sells cats, rats, mice, a variety of snakes and exotic reptiles, birds, and hunt ing cats. A variety of horses are available, and they are trained for every task from pulling wagons to fighting. In addition, the shop features exotic creature s from far-away lands. In this category, the perennial favorites are monkeys, an d the shop carries a selection ranging from chimps to golden lion tamarinds (ver y beautiful, but very expensive). Celeste takes orders for unique pets, showing interested clients a book with illustrations and pertinent facts of animals that she claims come from extremely far away locations and very rare, too. Pets from Skye's Animal Companions are not cheap. Celeste charges as much as she can, especially for the exotic pets and the big cats. For common pets, her pric es are competitive with those listed in the Player's Handbook. For the rest, Cel este sets her own prices, which are often based on what she thinks the buyer can afford. She rarely negotiates and almost never lowers her prices more than 10%. Dogs and horses come with guarantees of pedigree in many cases. Training can be arranged as well; training fees are set at 25% of the price or value of the ani mal (whichever is greater). The secret behind the success is that the normal cost of acquiring these rare an

d valuable animals has been, for the most part, eliminated. Maephus Ibonn uses s pells to transform common animals into rare ones, such as transforming a rat int o a "rainbow fan monkey," which is a rare small monkey with a colored fan-shaped hood of skin around its head. For this work, he uses new spells that he created to transform the minds of animals into those of other animals. The common anima ls are actually purchased from breeders, or raised, and the two have established a ranch outside the city where they breed the results of the transformation spe lls to create true animals of those types. Originally, Celeste planned to sell t he transformed animals, but the cost of permanent transformations is very high, so the pair find it more economical to transform a couple of animals and breed t hem if the animal type is frequently requested. Celeste salves her conscience by using strays and other unwanted animals for the transformations. Thus, she sees herself as giving unwanted animals homes where they will be loved or appreciated. She would never make an animal unhappy throug h this process, and once their minds are transformed, they are happy in their ne w forms. The best part of this scheme, according to Celeste, is that it is all p erfectly legal. She makes sure that all her animals are licensed properly, and i t is not fraud to sell something represented as a rainbow fan monkey if it reall y is one (even if it wasn't one before). The owners of Skye's Animal Companions try to keep secret the fact that some of their animals used to be other animals. They do not fear legal repercussion, but Celeste is aware that the public mentality is a strange thing. It is possible t hat if someone bought a golden lion tamarind and he knew that it used to be a ra t, he would never see it as anything other than a rat and the pet would be rejec ted. To keep the masquerade, Celeste refers to "field agents" who travel the wor ld and bring her the exotic animals when needed, or who arrange to have them tra nsported to her shop. These people don't exist. Celeste did at one time employ s ome rangers to find animals, but those were the days when she was building her c atalog and did not know what was out there. Skye's Animal Companions owns two premises: a large two-story shop in the city a nd the ranch outside the city. The ranch serves as breeding farm, training facil ity, and sales floor for the larger, dangerous animals. The shop is home to the main business and all of the smaller animals. The upstairs is devoted to birds, reptiles and fish, and the ground floor is for mammals. This arrangement helps t o sell a lot of monkeys and puppies, which are placed to catch the eyes of brows ers. A staff of four assists with sales and cares for the animals there. Celeste Blue-Skye, Proprietor and Con Artist Celeste Blue-Skye is the current alias of Alisha, a young orphan from a port cit y far from her current center of operations. Alisha lost her parents when she wa s three years old. She was put in an orphanage when they died, but the place did not agree with her. She left one night to make her own way and spent the rest o f her youth on the streets. Blessed with cute good looks and a gift for acting, she eventually realized that she could succeed better through swindling than thr ough outright thievery, and this decision turned her whole life around. By the t ime she was 18, she had mastered the art of altering her appearance, and she had developed a fluidity of personality that allows her to assume any role almost i nstantly. Now 26, she travels in her current guise as "Celeste," an adventurer. She does not adventure so much as look for opportunities to swindle people. Celeste is cute rather than beautiful. She stands just over 5 feet tall, possess es a trim figure, keeps her blond hair short, and has indeterminate gray-blue ey es. When she is herself (in other words, not engaged in a swindle), she wears st ylish but inexpensive clothing and makes sure that she can move freely in whatev er she wears. She had to run for it enough times in her youth to make loose clot hing a habit. She has an excitable temper, and her emotions show clearly in the

sparkle of her eyes or the tone of her voice. During swindles and business deals , she can maintain a rigid control on her temper, and at those times the only em otions that show are the ones she wants to display. She is very concerned with t he lives of others and is usually quite interested in what people around her are doing. Her curiosity is not feigned, but she does turn anything she learns to h er advantage. The pet shop is the embodiment of a dream for her. Not only does it involve maki ng sure that animals get good homes, but it does so through very little cost or effort. It is also legal, which means that though she could be confronted by a l arge number of druids for doing this, she cannot be arrested. Ah, technicalities . She likes this city very much, because while it has an air of lawfulness and s afety, illegal activity thrives as well. It is the best of both worlds as far as she is concerned. In addition, the large trading business that passes through t he city ensures that she will remain in business for years to come. In the evening she puts her bardic gifts to good use, since she likes to enterta in children. Not surprisingly, she sells a number of small pets during these con certs, as well. Celeste Blue-Skye: Female human Rog 2/Brd 9; CR 11; Medium-size humanoid; HD 2d6 plus 9d6; hp 49; Init +2; Spd 30 ft.; AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12; Atk +9/+ 4 melee (1d6+3/18-20, rapier), or +9 ranged (1d8/19-20, light crossbow); SA snea k attack +1d6; SQ bardic knowledge +12, bardic music (countersong, fascinate, in spire competence, inspire courage, inspire greatness, suggestion) 9/day, evasion , traps; AL CN; SV Fort +3, Ref +11, Will +8; Str 14, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 16, Wi s 14, Cha 21. Skills and Feats: Appraise +8, Bluff +25, Decipher Script +13, Diplomacy +24, Di sguise +21, Forgery +8, Gather Information +23, Hide +7, Intimidate +11, Listen +9, Move Silently +7, Open Lock +7, Perform +19, Sense Motive +11, Spellcraft +9 , Spot +9, Use Magic Device +14; Alertness, Charlatan*, Persuasive*, Spell Focus (Enchantment), Trustworthy*. Bardic Knowledge: Celeste can make a bardic knowledge check with a bonus of +12 to see whether she knows some relevant information about local notable people, l egendary items, or noteworthy places. Bardic Music: Celeste can use her song or poetics to produce the following magic al effects on those around her. Countersong (Su): Celeste can counter magical effects that depend on sound by ma king a Perform check for each round of countersong. Any creature within 30 ft. o f her that is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical attack may use C eleste's Perform check result in place of its saving throw if desired. Counterso ng lasts for 10 rounds. Fascinate (Su): Celeste can cause a single creature within 90 ft. that can see a nd hear her to become fascinated with her. Celeste's Perform check result is the DC for the opponent's Will save. Any obvious threat breaks the effect. Fascinat ion lasts 9 rounds. Inspire Competence (Su): An ally within 30 ft. who can see and hear Celeste gets a +2 competence bonus on skill checks with a particular skill for as long as he or she can hear the music. Inspire Courage (Su): Allies who can hear Celeste receive a +2 morale bonus on s aves against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon d amage rolls. The effect lasts for 5 rounds after the ally can no longer hear Cel este.

Inspire Greatness (Su): After hearing Celeste sing for a full round, a creature within 30 ft. gains +2 Hit Dice (d10s that grant temporary hit points), a +2 com petence bonus on attacks, and a +1 competence bonus on Fortitude saves. The effe ct lasts until 5 rounds after the creature can no longer hear Celeste. Suggestion (Sp): Celeste can make a suggestion (as the spell) to a creature she has already fascinated. A Will save (DC 18) negates the effect. Evasion (Ex): If exposed to any effect that normally allows a character to attem pt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, Celeste takes no damage with a success ful saving throw. Bard Spells Known (3/5/4/3; save DC 15 + spell level, or 17 + spell level for En chantment spells): 0 -- detect magic, ghost sound, light, mage hand, open/close, read magic; 1st -- charm person, mage armor, sleep, ventriloquism; 2nd -- detec t thoughts, enthrall, invisibility, suggestion; 3rd -- charm monster, emotion, h aste. Languages: Common, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome. Possessions:Rapier, light crossbow, case with 10 bolts, hat of disguise, ring of protection +2, cloak of Charisma +2, brooch of shielding, circlet of persuasion . Feats from Song and Silence: Charlatan: +2 bonus on Bluff and Disguise checks. Persuasive: +2 on all Bluff and Intimidate checks. Trustworthy: +2 on all Diplomacy and Gather Information checks. Maephus Ibonn, Transmuter Extraordinaire Maephus Ibonn, the sixth g the brewing trade from h a neighbor's daughter. nly a callow and awkward he left home and shipped ate ship. son of a well-known brewer in the west, grew up learnin his older brothers. At age 16, Maephus fell in love wit He tried in vain to win her heart; she thought he was o boy. Two years later, and still no closer to his love, out with a "trading vessel" that turned out to be a pir

Maephus served on that ship for two months, debarking just before the whole crew was arrested and imprisoned. Over the next few years, he served on several vess els and learned magic from the ships' wizards. He became powerful and settled in to life as a pirate. In his 36th year, his life changed again. His ship had captured a passenger vessel, and one of the passengers was his old love now grown. His feelings rekindled, he offered to set her free if she would marry him. She agreed, but in abandoning him as soon as they were clear of the s hip, she treated him more heartlessly than in his youth. He, however, was more m ature and let her go while realizing that the gods had used her to extricate him from his evil life. Trying to avoid doing evil again, he wandered the land and became more engrossed in Transmutation magic. A few years later, he met Alisha i n her Celeste guise, and she persuaded him (easily) to go into business with her selling transformed animals. Maephus, now 47, is average in height and build. His graying hair gives him a lo ok of distinction, and his blue eyes stare clearly at the world. His life experi ences have left Maephus with a rather neutral outlook on most matters. He tries

always to maintain a sense of propriety and aloofness, but the result is that he sometimes appears snobbish. He has no qualms at all about transforming animals and selling them. He is quite content with his current situation, since he gets to practice his craft as much as he could ever want. He maintains contacts with other transmuters and develops new spells to fit his needs. He is quite proud of his mind of a beast spell and considers it a breakthrough in transmutation. Maephus Ibonn: Male human Tra 16; CR 16; Medium-size humanoid; HD 16d4+48; hp 92 ; Init +3; Spd 30 ft.; AC 21, touch 17, flat-footed 18; Atk +7/+2 melee (1d6-1, quarterstaff), or +11 ranged (1d8/19-20, light crossbow); AL N; SV Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +11; Str 8, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 20, Wis 13, Cha 9. Skills and Feats: Alchemy +20, Concentration +22, Craft (brewing) +11, Diplomacy +2, Forgery +8, Handle Animal +3, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Knowledge (local) +15 , Knowledge (nature) +17, Search +7, Spellcraft +24; Combat Casting, Craft Wand, Eschew Materials*, Extend Spell, Extra Slot (4th-level spell)*, Greater Spell F ocus (Transmutation)*, Persistent Spell*, Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Spell Mas tery (alter self, mind of a beast**, polymorph other, polymorph self, teleport), Spell Penetration. Wizard Spells/Day (5/7/6/6/7/6/4/4/3; save DC 15 + spell level, or 19 for Transm utation spells). Spellbook: 0 -- arcane mark, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, light, mage hand, mending, open/close, prest idigitation, read magic, resistance; 1st -- charm person, chill touch, comprehen d languages, endure elements, enlarge, expeditious retreat, identify, jump, magi c missile, magic weapon, message, reduce, shield, sleep, spider climb; 2nd -- al ter self, blur, cat's grace, command undead*, continual flame, detect thoughts, fox's cunning*, knock, levitate, mirror image, protection from arrows, resist el ements, see invisibility, spectral hand; 3rd -- blink, dispel magic, displacemen t, fly, greater magic weapon, haste, hold person, lightning bolt, nondetection, protection from elements, slow, tongues, water breathing; 4th -- charm monster, contagion, detect scrying, dimension door, enervation, ice storm, improved invis ibility, locate creature, mind of a beast**, polymorph other, polymorph self, re move curse, stoneskin; 5th -- animal growth, animate dead, cone of cold, contact other plane, dismissal, fabricate, hold monster, mind fog, passwall, permanency , teleport, transmute mud to rock, wall of force; 6th -- circle of death, contin gency, control weather, disintegrate, geas/quest, globe of invulnerability, grea ter dispelling, Mordenkainen's lucubration, stone to flesh, true seeing; 7th -control undead, forcecage, insanity, limited wish, mind of another**, plane shif t, reverse gravity, sequester; 8th -- horrid wilting, iron body, mind blank, pol ymorph any object, protection from spells. * Spells are from Tome and Blood, but are not reprinted here. ** Spells are in the fourth part of this article. Languages:Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Sylvan Possessions: Quarterstaff, light crossbow, case with 10 bolts, ring of protectio n +4, amulet of natural armor +4, boots of speed, figurine of wondrous power (si lver raven), pearl of power (1st-level spell). Feats from Tome and Blood: Eschew Materials: An eschewed spell can be cast with no material components. Spe lls without material components or whose material components cost more than 1 gp are not affected by this feat. An eschewed spell uses up a spell slot of the sp ell's normal level, modified by any other metamagic feats.

Extra Slot: You gain one extra spell slot in your daily allotment. This extra sl ot can be at any level up to one level lower than the highest-level spell you ca n cast. Greater Spell Focus: Add +4 to the DC for all saving throws against spells from the school of magic you select to focus on. This supersedes (does not stack with ) the bonus from Spell Focus. Persistent Spell: A persistent spell has a duration of 24 hours. The persistent spell must have a personal or a fixed range (for example, comprehend languages o r detect magic). Spells of instantaneous duration cannot be affected by this fea t, nor can spells whose effect is discharged. You need not concentrate on spells such as detect magic and detect thoughts to be aware of the mere presence or ab sence of the thing detected, but you must still concentrate to gain additional i nformation as normal. Concentration on such a spell is a standard action that do es not provoke an attack of opportunity. A persistent spell uses up a spell slot four levels higher than the spell's actual level. New Transmutation Spells Since the work done at Skye's requires unique spells, Maephus has researched or has contributed work to each of the following spells. The new spells deal with t ransforming creatures into other creatures, and they complement the polymorph sp ells. Mind of a Beast Transmutation [Mind-Affecting] Level: Sor/Wiz 4 Components: V, S, M Casting Time: 1 action Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) Target: One creature Duration: 1 minute/level Saving Throw: Will negates Spell Resistance: Yes Mind of a beast transforms the mentality of the subject into that of an animal o r beast. The spell suppresses the target's own personality, mental awareness, an d memories, and it puts in their place the average mental abilities and knowledg e of a creature of type animal or beast whose Intelligence is 2 or lower. The ca ster selects the animal or beast type (bird, bear, owlbear, and so on) when the spell is cast. The target then acts as a normal creature of that type for the du ration of the spell. For example, a target succumbing to "mind of a wolf" might fight to defend young wolves, but might run if a threat presented itself. Unless another spell is already affecting the subject that changes these traits, it retains its type (for example, "humanoid"), physical traits (Strength, Dexte rity, Constitution), body shape, natural attacks and damage, base saves, and spe ed, and gains the average Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma of the creature typ e. It gains the skills of an average creature of its type (modified by the targe t's physical abilities rather than the animal's), and it cannot use the skills o f the original mentality. The spell does not grant any supernatural, spell-like, or extraordinary abilities of the creature type, and though the target retains its extraordinary abilities, it does not know how to use them if the animal or b east type does not also possess them. The target can use any feats of the origin al mentality that the creature mentality also possesses. The supernatural and sp ell-like abilities of the target's original mentality are not available to the a nimal consciousness, nor are any of the target's memories.

The animal mentality is not surprised or disoriented by its sudden existence, an d it does not question that its body does not match the usual for its type. The animal mentality assumes that it belongs in the body it occupies and does the be st it can. Thus, a target suffering from mind of a deer would run on two legs in stead of trying to run on all fours, and a target suffering from mind of a snake would not try to slither. The animal mentality also does not question how it go t into the situation it is in when the spell effect begins. It does have all the racial knowledge of an adult of its type, so it knows how to attack, run, what constitute threats, what it should be eating, and so forth. During the spell dur ation, others can speak to the mentality using the speak with animals spell if t he new mentality is an animal type. This spell can be made permanent by use of the permanency spell, but the caster must be at least 13th level and spend 2,000 XP in the endeavor. The spell cannot be used on targets that have no Intelligence. Material Component: A small bit of brain matter from an animal or beast that has been dead no more than one hour. The brain matter may be carefully preserved fo r later use. The brain matter need not be from the creature type chosen in casti ng the spell, but it must be from a creature of the animal or beast type. Mind of Another Transmutation [Mind-Affecting] Level: Sor/Wiz 7 Components: V, S, M Casting Time: 1 action Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) Target: One creature Duration: 1 hour/level Saving Throw: Will negates Spell Resistance: Yes An improved version of the mind of a beast spell, mind of another transforms the subject's mentality into that of an aberration, animal, beast, fey, giant, huma noid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, or vermin, and there is no maximum Inte lligence limit. The caster chooses a creature (for example, "stone giant" or "ny mph") upon casting the spell. Making this spell permanent requires a 16th-level caster and the expenditure of 3,500 XP. Otherwise, the spell works exactly the s ame as the mind of a beast spell. Material Component: A small bit of brain matter is required, but it can be from any creature of the types listed for this spell. Adventures with Skye's Skye's Animal Companions can provide the impetus for all kinds of adventures. Ta ke a look at some of the ideas below! 1. You can use Skye's to send the player characters off to some other part of yo ur campaign world for some exotic adventures, provided they are supposed to retu rn. For example, suppose you want to move your campaign to a setting similar to the one presented in Oriental Adventures. You could just whisk them off magicall y, but it might be more fun for the players if they went there by their own choi ce. Somehow the characters come to the attention of the owners of Skye's, who ha ve need of real field agents for the first time in years. A little later, Celest e hires them to go to this land and capture a rare animal for her -- one that sh e has never even heard of (she has moxie, that Celeste does). If you want a fast trip, she can arrange teleport spells for them, or she can send them by mundane means.

Along the way, a lot of different adventures could befall the characters while t hey are looking for whatever it was that Celeste sent them to find. And once the y have it, the possibilities open up considerably. It could be stolen, or it cou ld be protected and thus get them arrested for capturing it. It could turn out t o be the sacred symbol of some isolated tribe of natives, in which case the trib e would either be very upset with the PCs for having captured it or very gratefu l to the PCs for having brought them one, since the last one ran away just two d ays ago. And so on . . . 2. A certain pasha (or king, or chieftain, or whatever) owns some prize dogs. On e of the pasha's enemies kidnaps one of the dogs and plans to hold it for ransom . The villain takes the dog to a small village, where it escapes confinement and makes its way to the city that Skye's store happens to be in. The dog is picked up as a stray by some poor person and sold to Celeste. The PCs, meanwhile, have been hired by the dog's owner to find the precious pooc h, thus saving the pasha the ransom cost (not to mention bringing dishonor to th e villain) since the ransom is more exorbitant than paying adventurers. The PCs track the dog's location and have some run-ins with the villain's minions along the way to the village. At the village, they are approached by the villain in di sguise (suspicious PCs often make for a fun encounter), who claims that his gran dson's dog ran away a few days ago. Would the characters please help him find it ? The characters discover that neither of the dogs they are now after are in the village, and they get some clue that leads them to the city. Eventually they tr ack the dog to Celeste's shop. Celeste, however, does not have the dog anymore. The day before the characters a rrived, the dog was transformed into some other animal and sold to a wealthy zoo owner or merchant or some such person (perhaps the characters' next patron). It is up to the PCs to figure out what happened to the dog and confront Celeste, w ho would do her best to help the characters without actually admitting to the se cret behind her business. The adventurers might do this by infiltrating the ranc h as employees and snooping around, or by keeping the place under surveillance, or whatever. Once they have the replacement, they would have to make a switch wi thout arousing any suspicions. The villain, who has been following the adventurers, prepares to strike as soon as they have the animal back. Once the villain has been taken care of, the chara cters can return the villain and the pet to the pasha and collect their reward. 3. Skye's could become the hub of a smuggling ring. A crime boss recognizes Cele ste/Alisha and blackmails her to keep her secret. He also discovers the secret o f the shop. Immediately perceiving the usefulness of such a set-up, he forces Ce leste into fronting for his smuggling organization. He has stray dogs and even h is own hirelings loaded up with stolen goods and then transformed into pets. Cel este ships the pets to various places he designates, where they are returned to their own forms and the loot recovered. The crime boss pays Celeste to be sure t hat she is implicated. The PCs are hired to investigate the smuggling racket -maybe even by Celeste, who hires them without telling them she is involved as de eply as she is.

Bringing the Parts Together Given the rules applied to the bazaar, perhaps the PCs are called on to deal wit h a merchant who, for whatever reason, doesn't quite follow the rules. Part of t heir dealings may include talking to the proprietors, though they're quick to fo llow their own rules, of course. Another option may be that the PCs require a sp ecific component for some reason (maybe a nearby sage needs it in return for ser

vices rendered), and their search leads them among the merchants of the bazaar! Coming in Part 4 of the Itinerant Bazaar Take a look at some more vendors! Caveat Emptor The Itinerant Bazaar would hardly deserve its name if the only vendors were the three permanent members. The proprietors hand pick particular vendors to go to e ach stop the bazaar makes. Their criteria include the temperament of the merchan t, local demand for the merchandise, and the size of the Market Day they are att ending. It is important to the proprietors that the number of merchants associat ed with the bazaar never outnumbers the local vendors, and that the two groups n ever go head-to-head selling the same materials. They want visits from the bazaa r to be remembered as positive events, even by the local "competition." Presented below are a handful of vendors that can often be found at the Itineran t Bazaar. They are not permanently attached to the bazaar like those described p reviously, but they are merchants with whom the proprietors have longstanding bu siness relationships. The bazaar should not be limited to these choices, though. The DM can add in any booth selling any merchandise or service that she likes. Everything from rare b ooks to fortunetelling to divine healing -- if there's something people will pay for, the bazaar may have a vendor willing to sell it. Blades of Renown In just about any place the bazaar visits where weapons sales are not restricted , you will find Sam McLintough's stall. A middle-aged human, Sam is not a weapon smith, but he does sell an inventory of most martial weapons and quite a few exo tic ones as well. What's more, he carries only weapons that are enhanced in one way or another (most have only +1 enhancements, but others are special or even u nique items). Some of the weapons are, in fact, from the arsenal he carried in h is youth. Sam was a mercenary for many years before losing his left eye and righ t hand in a skirmish that meant nothing more to him than the few hundred gold pi eces he'd been paid. Still, he thinks he's lucky to have survived, and rather th an seeking a magical way to restore himself, he decided to retire and become an arms merchant. Every weapon he sells comes with a tale of pain and death -- Sam' s odd way of discouraging violence while selling the instruments that deal it ou t. He does not make the weapons himself. He buys them used, often from scavenger s who took them from the corpses of fallen warriors, and he insists on hearing a s much about the item's history before he buys the item. Often, if the weapon ha s no history, Sam does not seek to add it to his inventory. (Most items follow t he prices listed in the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, but if DMs want to attach an unknown flaw to the weapon or have it be sought out by a pers istent former owner who wants the item back, these situations could bring the pr ice down a bit at the DM's discretion.) Fhildul's Home Brews Fhildul is a human barbarian whose family served as the shamans and healers for his tribe. However, when he was very young, a plague wiped out all but a few mem bers of the tribe, including all the other members of his family. Left to his ow n devices, Fhildul traveled the world, and eventually the planes, looking for a place to fit in. He finally found it with the Itinerant Bazaar. He maintains a v ery simple stall from which he sells potions, poultices, alchemical mixtures, an d barbarian charms. Sadly, because his parents died before they could teach him the family trade completely, Fhildul's products are not always as potent or effe

ctive as they ought to be, so he sells them for 15% below the usual market price . Whenever someone uses one of his products there is a 20% chance that it will f ail to have any effect, and a 5% chance that it will do 1 point of temporary Con stitution damage to the person using it instead of doing what Fhildul stated it would do. Peacock Quills This stall takes its name not only from the wares, but the proprietor as well. I mon Peacock has a passion for all writing instruments, including inks, pigments, and various papers and canvases. His booth is lined with tubes containing parch ment, rice paper, vellum, papyrus, and just about every other kind of writing su rface known. He also has a large selection of journals and diaries, bound in eve rything from simple cloth to leather to intricately woven designs of stone and b ones. He has even mastered the art of making volumes that are suitable for use a s spellbooks, and they are much sought after by wizards who can afford such arti stry. But the heart of the stall is a cabinet that remains inside the wagon -- a cabinet that is covered with dozens of slim drawers. In each drawer rests a sin gle pen, quill, or other writing implement. Some are plain and made of simple wo od, while others are ostentatious with swooping feathers covered with a rainbow of colors and inlaid with gold and precious jewels. Imon can speak at great leng th about the process used to make each quill. He also makes a very flowery speec h saying that the pen one uses to write with often says more about the person th an the words written. Perhaps more interestingly, he has a theory that you can tell a great deal about a person by the quill he or she uses, and claims that he can tell you a great d eal about a person simply by looking at a one-page sample of handwriting. If ask ed to demonstrate, he can always tell what sort of pen or quill was used to writ e the page, the origin of the ink used, and the date the paper was made. Further more, he can determine with 80% accuracy the following information: age, gender, race, native language, geographical location at the time of the writing, and th e relationship between the author and the intended reader. (He has many ranks in Spot, Knowledge (geography), Craft (papermaking), and Profession (scribe).) All Things Precious At first this might seem like a simple moneychanger's stall and, indeed, that is one of the services that Haypenny Foster performs, but it is not his sole busin ess. In fact, because many Market Days already have one or more local moneychang ers, the young halfling proprietor will often refuse to perform those duties, de spite the fact that he knows he could certainly provide a more accurate assessme nt than the local shysters. Still, he makes a living providing his expert apprai sal services for a flat fee and through buying and selling gems, jewelry, and sm all art objects. One wonders how he makes money if his appraisal skill is so keen, his morals are so impeccable, and his deals are so fair. The answer is that unlike others, he is a global trader. He knows that different cultures place different values on o bjects. And since the Itinerant Bazaar travels to more different cultures than m ost people have heard of, Haypenny can buy an item at a fair price in one cultur e, then sell it at a fair price in a culture (perhaps half a world away) that va lues it more. He always arrives in town with a great number of gems and precious metals that the locals will value, and he usually leaves with a wagon full of w hat they consider practically useless. As an example of how this might work, the bazaar recently visited a Market Day i n the frozen north lands. The land there is rich in copper ore, and they use the metal in their coins, jewelry, and living utensils. On the other hand, the weat her is too harsh for them to tend anything but small herds of goats with very co

arse wool. Haypenny brought with him bundles of spun lamb's wool and a few rolls of cotton cloth. He sold all this and practically filled his wagon with copper in various forms. Three days later, the bazaar visited a town with a magic colle ge that utilized copper wiring, tubing, and mesh constantly in their labs. They didn't have any particular material Haypenny could use, but he eventually let th em convince him to simply take gold coins. Caveat Emptor At the Itinerant Bazaar, the buyer should most definitely beware. The vendors an d their wares come from all over the world -- indeed, all over the planes -- and they know they will be gone long before a customer can return to register a com plaint or ask for a refund. This is not to say that the goods are fraudulent. Th e proprietors are careful to make sure that the vendors are as honest as possibl e with customers about the capabilities and qualities of their merchandise. Howe ver, they will sometimes omit a fact or two in the pursuit of making a sale. For example, all of the weapons sold at Blades of Renown have the magical enhanc ements and qualities Sam McLintough claims. However, they sometimes have other q ualities (such as curses, or even sentience) that he fails to mention. He also g ets his stock from less-than-scrupulous sources, and some may have been stolen f rom owners who are scouring the planes looking for their missing weapons (and ho ping to take some revenge on the thieves). As in any marketplace, the characters should remember that any item that costs l ess gold than it should will generally have some other price attached to it. Bringing the Parts Together With more stores to work with, DMs may find that they can use the bazaar, the pr oprietors, the rules, and the stores in several ways. It may be best to have the Itinerant Bazaar serve as a place to introduce an item to the PCs, or perhaps t he PCs have to locate a specific item for someone, and one of the merchants at t he bazaar has the item they seek (but, of course, isn't easy to find).