How to Catch a Thief

Market Fairs in D&D

The Money Changer and His Wife by Quentin Matsys

One of the classic hallmarks of a D&D campaign is the party visiting a market fair.

Purchasing new gear or replenishing supplies for the next adventure are matters of the day, with some likelihood of shenanigans along the way.

Usually, it’s the charming bard or sticky-fingered rogue who takes a leading role in these scenarios.

D&D playstyles vary from table to table: some more infused with whimsy and slapstick comedy, other tables guided by gritty realism and tactical calculation.

IMMERSIVE SETTINGS, ROUNDED NPCs

In this article, let’s apply a bit of Newtonian physics to the market day scenario: To every action, there is always opposed an equal reaction. What is the response of the merchants and the town?

Higher stakes and higher tension increase the drama. If the party is roaming freely, swindling and pilfering, it may be fun for a while, but where is the drama?

D&D spotlights the players, but let’s immerse the players in a world that can respond or prepare for their arrival. Certainly, the townspeople have seen many adventuring parties pass through and have drawn their own lessons from these experiences. I think this also helps to create richer NPCs with which the players can interact.

“WEREN’T YOU HERE LAST SUMMER?”

Here are some low-magic or non-magical ideas to help your storekeepers or local merchant guilds thwart thieving party members.

• Town guards check for magical items on all entering the market grounds or passing through the city gates.

• Merchants only allow one or two people at a time in their store or near their market stall.

• For stores, have intentionally creaking floorboards. Listen to the sounds and number of footfalls. A non-magical countermeasure to an invisibility spell.

• Use bead doors (those strands of beads that hang inside door frames), another way to thwart an invisibility spell or an arcane disguise.

• When accepting payment, merchants inspect the coins through a prism or place the coins in water or another solution as a way to detect counterfeits.

• Additional staff watch for thievery or observe when a store clerk is suddenly under the swoon of a smarmy bard.

• Make all goods costing above a certain amount only available for pick-up after a certain period of time. If the party has paid with forged or arcanely modified currency, create a time span when the party needs to sweat it out as to whether their trickery has been discovered.

As a DM or GM, you can decide to share (or not share) the merchants’ protocols with your players. Let them stumble into some situations where the tables are turned.

How have you challenged your players or found ways to increase the opportunity for drama on market day?