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Originally Posted by Phil Masters
I'd be wary of taking that wording too literally. There are connoisseurs of bubblegum pop or romance literature, and similar fields which still have image problems among the cultural elite, even in the debased postmodernist age; there needs to be a skill for them. Likewise, connoisseurship of, say, fine ales is an authentic skill, but it puts one at a tangent to most concepts of cultural elitism.
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I agree. We gave only "high culture" examples in the
Basic Set, but they're not the only kind. There are at least as many Connoisseur specialties that go with Current Affairs (Popular Culture) as go with Current Affairs (High Culture), so to speak. Hypothetically, one could have Connoisseur (Comics) or Connoisseur (Pornography), and get bonuses to buy/sell/trade the subject media. Connoisseur (Pornography) might even give +1 to Streetwise instead of Savoir-Faire if one deals nasty porn in the wrong end of town. "Hatchet" Harry Lonsdale likely had a good level at this.
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Originally Posted by Phil Masters
I prefer to think that Merchant is about the art of buying and selling whatever you have and knowing how to get a basic idea of its value in advance. Dealers and brokers in specialised fields (fine wines, comic books, exotic slaves, orchids) also need specialised skills to know whereof they speak. Most people at the sharp end of the business will have those skills
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That's my thinking as well. Connoisseur might give "only" +1 to Merchant, but lots of other skills could give +1 as well. A fellow with Connoisseur (Comics), Current Affairs (Popular Culture), and Hobby Skill (Comics) might be able to get +3 to Merchant because he knows good from dreck, can exploit his awareness of current trends and market conditions, and can bond with would-be customers as a fellow geek.
I'll grant that only Connoisseur and Current Affairs come out and say "you get +1," but that ought to establish a precedent for a skilled GM. My short list of applicable skills would be Area Knowledge, Connoisseur, Current Affairs, Expert Skill, Games, Hidden Lore (definitely suits
The Ninth Gate!), Hobby Skill, Market Analysis, and/or Professional Skill, depending on what you're selling. It would be fairly easy to rack up +2 or +3 to Merchant this way, and not impossible to get +4 or higher. A wine merchant selling claret might see bonuses for most or all of Area Knowledge (Bordeaux), Connoisseur (Wine), Current Affairs (Bordeaux), Expert Skill (Oenology), and Professional Skill (Vintner), if he had the skills and made the die rolls.