Shop Archetypes
An archetype is a ready-made shop script. It bundles a complete dialogue tree with a matching theme and accent color. Some archetypes also bring ambient audio, preset opening hours, or a haggle preset. Applying one seeds the shop’s title with the archetype’s trading name.
Each tree is written as a scene, not a menu. The keeper greets the player, reacts to what has happened before, and offers choices that lead into browsing, selling, or services.
The ten archetypes
Section titled “The ten archetypes”| Archetype | Shop sign | Personality |
|---|---|---|
| Blacksmith | The Iron Oath | A blunt, proud smith. Players haggle her sharpening fee in dialogue, then pick the weapon she puts an edge on. |
| Apothecary | The Bitter Root | An anxious apprentice who never stops talking. She asks what ails the player and can fortify a flask they hand over. |
| General store | The Odd Shelf | A shopkeeper of few words. The smallest tree in the pack. |
| Tavern / Inn | The Adventurers Alcove | A warm innkeeper. Her rumours change with the campaign’s act, and a long tab earns a free bed. |
| Magic shop | The Secondhand Patron | A theatrical dealer. He rolls an appraisal table on whatever a player brings and opens the locked case if it proves genuine. |
| Bookseller / Scribe | The Tome of Tomes | A scribe who rambles. Players type what they are after and he keeps a ledger of their commissions. |
| Stable / Mounts | The Muddy Hoof | A folksy horse-trader. She sells the mount first, then the tack, then the boarding. |
| Black market / Fence | The Cloak and Barter | A wary receiver. Trust grows with every deal and persists between visits, unlocking the back room and then the full stock. |
| Festival vendor | The Painted Wagon | A crier who barks the same pitch every time. The stall opens only on market days. |
| Itinerant trader | Wandering Wares | A trader who counters the player’s offer at the counter. The pitch is packed up by midday. |
Services and effects
Section titled “Services and effects”Some trees include service choices that grant an effect to the buyer, such as the blacksmith’s sharpening or the apothecary’s tonic. These effects live in a world compendium that Peddler creates on first use. The effect definitions come from the active system adapter.
Applying an archetype
Section titled “Applying an archetype”Open the merchant’s actor sheet and use the shop button in the sheet header. A dialog lists the archetypes with a short blurb for each. Confirming creates a journal entry holding the dialogue tree and flags the actor as a shop. Choosing the blank option instead creates an empty tree and opens the Dialogue Tree Editor.
The magic shop also seeds a world roll table for its appraisal scene.
Switching archetypes
Section titled “Switching archetypes”You can change a shop’s archetype later from Shop Settings. Saving a different archetype replaces the shop’s dialogue tree and sets its look to the archetype’s theme. A confirmation dialog warns you before the save goes through. Any custom nodes you added to the old tree are lost, so export or duplicate the journal page first if you want to keep them.
The theme applied by an archetype is a starting point. You can restyle the shop afterwards without touching the tree. See Themes and Chassis.