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Intrepid Merchant: Difference between revisions
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We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.|''James Elroy Flecker'', "The Golden Road to Samarkand"}}
An Intrepid Merchant is a merchant that goes to the far corners of his world, bravely seeking profit. He is a treasure-hunter but the treasure is not hidden, it is in the bazaar waiting for him after he has crossed the deserts, mountains, seas, or [[Recycled in Space|trackless gulfs of space.]] The chief characteristic of an Intrepid Merchant is that he is both a merchant and an adventurer. He buys and sells like any other trader. The difference is that he goes to far distant markets to find what he is looking for. (May be fond of being [[In Harm's Way]] - after all, the more dangerous it is to get at something, the rarer and, therefore, more valuable it's likely to be.)
On the less salubrious side of things, this character type can overlap with being a [[Privateer]] or [[Pirate]] (where the risk is the original owner fighting back), a smuggler (where the risk is that you're trading illegally), or even a slave trader.
This trope is [[Older Than Feudalism]], dating back in poetry, folklore and history to at least [[Sinbad the Sailor]], continuing as a staple of adventure fiction until the present day, and finding its way into science-fiction almost as soon as the genre came into existence. It migrated to role-playing games, especially ''[[Traveller]]'', in which it is one of the main player character types. A common space subtrope of this would be the [[Space Trucker]]. Inevitably the Intrepid Trader found new territory to explore in computer games, appearing in ''[[Elite]]'', ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]]: Privateer'', ''[[
Intrepid Merchants were arguably the foundation of the world's economy, before easy transportation and communication made his kind irrelevant. They still exist in places like Central Asia in which transportation and communication are not easy.
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With ivory, apes, and peacocks loaded, memories and brags
To sell for this high profit: knowing fully they are Men! }}
* In [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Foundation]]'', a subculture of these arose as a [[Batman Gambit]] to help spread the [[Path of Inspiration]] the titular society used to control its neighbors. Hober Mallow became known as the "Merchant ''Prince''" for being successful enough -- at many levels -- to change the Foundation's [[Planet of Hats|Hat]] to [[Proud Merchant Race]].
* Niccolo, the eponymous hero of one of [[Dorothy Dunnett]]'s series of novels.
* Phlebas the Phoenician from the ''The Waste Land'' by [[T. S. Eliot]].
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* Ali in the Koei simulation game ''[[Uncharted Waters]] 2: New Horizons''.
* In ''[[Elite]]'' in all its versions [[Player Character]] is one of these {{smallcaps|[[In Space]]}} -- when not a [[Bounty Hunter]] or [[Pirate]].
** The same for the [[Spiritual Successor|spiritual successors]] -- ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander: Privateer]]'', ''[[
** This is the [[Planet of Hats|hat]] of the Teladi in the [[X (video game)|X-universe]] games.
* ''[[Suikoden Tierkreis]]'' has a whole race of them in the Wanderers. They even travel to different worlds in search of profit.
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* [[Resident Evil 4|HELLO STRANGER! WHATTAYA BUYIN'?]]
* ''Taipan''
* There are several in ''[[Fallout 3]]'' - each one is a trader with a pack Brahmin and a bodyguard to take care of [[Shoplift and Die]] duties, and they are the only people aside from [[
* Roguelikes [[Nethack]] and Dungeon Crawl have shops ''inside the dungeon''; [[Angband]] merchants play it a little safer, hanging out only in the town atop the dungeon.
* ''[[Final Fantasy XIII-2]]'' has Chocolina, who follows Serah and Noel across ''different timelines''.
* Melnorme in ''[[Star Control]]''. Very useful especially when they come to save your butt if you get stranded in Hyperspace. However, if you do not have credits be prepared for an (un)fair exchange.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Scrooge McDuck of ''[[DuckTales]]'', though most of his adventures are simply treasure seeking.
** He built a multi-''billion'' dollars [[Mega Corp]] thanks to his adventures, he's past the intrepid merchant: he's an intrepid ''mogul''.
* [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] by ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'''s [[He Who Must Not Be Named|unnamed]] cabbage seller, who keeps moving around the world to get away from the violence that destroyed his ''last'' cart of wares, only to have the Gaang show up and plow through [[Fruit Cart|his cabbages]] once again.
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