Trading Houses

Trading or Merchant Houses are the few factions allowed to travel from city-state to city-state without issue. Many have a fort or city-state they have headquarters in, but the major ones have pressences in multiple city-states.

Trade is the lifeblood of Athas.

 The Merchant's Code

All mercantile houses follow a strict code of behavior, known as the Merchants' Code. Anyone wishing to join a Merchant House must accept all aspects of this code and abide by them or face immediate expulsion. The code varies from house to house, but in most cases it conforms to the following principles:

Principles

1. Recognition that by joining a Merchant House, an agent forsakes citizenship in any city or membership in any tribe.
2. An oath of allegiance to the Merchant House.
3. A promise to perform in the best interests of the Merchant House in return for a salary.
4. A promise to deal honestly with stranger, friend, and foe alike.
5. A promise not to flaunt any wealth gained through employment with the house.
6. A promise to uphold the laws of the city in which the agent is stationed, and to do nothing to bring down the wrath of the Sorcerer-King or his agents upon the house.
7. A promise to cooperate with other merchants to make life very expensive for any person who unjustly imprisons, blackmails, or otherwise harasses any merchant.

Major Merchant Houses of the Tyr Region

Major Trading Houses

It would be a terrible mistake to assume that all power on Athas rests in the hands of the Sorcerer-Kings. Power can be held in many ways, and many hands besides those of the cities' rulers may possess it. 

The major Merchant Houses of Athas hold much of the balance of power, often to the dismay of the Sorcerer-Kings. The Merchant Houses supply the lifeblood of Athas -foodstuffs that feed isolated city states, construction materials to build the palaces of Sorcerer-Kings and decadent nobles, slaves to toil in fields or fight and die in gladiator pits, and many other vital items.

Organized along family lines with a matriarch or patriarch at its head, a major house controls dozens of caravans, maintains estates in several different cities, sponsors trading villages, and employs (or owns) thousands. The largest houses -Wavir, Tsalaxa, and their ilk- are very influential enough to make even the most powerful Sorcerer-Kings take heed.

Please note that an exhaustive list of what each house trades is not possible. Instead, what is listed is the major items each house is known to trade in great quantity, or great quantity for the item(s) in question. Further, just because it isn't listed doesn't mean they don't trade in it or want to. They just aren't known for it.

House Inika

See House Inika Article.

House Mke Banner

House M'ke

Based in Raam, trades in metal, food, weapons and obsidian. A typical house with several routes into Kalidnay.

House Shom Banner

House Shom

Based in Nibenay, in the Fertile Crescent, House Shom trades in obsidian, rice, water, wood, weapons and art objects. Rice is the biggest import they bring into Kalidnay.

House Stel Banner

House Stel

Based in Urik, it's not surprising that House Stel is the most militant of the trading houses. Stel deals in weapons, ceramics, iron, obsidian, wood, feathers, slaves and gold. There are more rumors about them dealing with Elves, and therefore stolen cargos, than any other house. However, there is little doubt that any house would do this, if the profit were enough. There is no proof that they have ever broken the Merchants' Code, which makes it tough to do anything against them.

House Tsalaxa Banner

House Tsalaxa

Based in Draj, House Tsalaxa is the most ruthless Merchant House. They trade in hemp, grain and slaves but also more risky commodities, such as artwork, ornate weapons and exotic slaves.

House Vordon

See House Vordon Article.

House Wavir Banner

House Wavir

Based in Balic, House Wavir deals with grain, ceramics and precious metals. It is unique in that it has no slaves nor deals with them as it was founded by ex gladiators and freed slaves.

Each of the Trading Houses has a deal with the city-states and its Sorcerer-King. The Trading Houses are citizens of their own "nation" and as such, can come and go from any city-state with few problems. They are forbidden from taking part in any politics in a city-state but are known to help out a favored Templar here and there. This is overlooked with no real concern. However, spying or helping any spies from another city-state is not tolerated by any Sorcerer-King and the merchants won't break that.

The Trading Houses, as nations unto themselves, maintain their own armies, usually in the thousands. It takes a lot of manpower to keep the trade routes open with hostile creatures and attacks by Elves, Gith, Belgoi, Ssurans, B'rohgs, and other tribes. Further, when two of the major Trading Houses have issues, they will often go to war over it with their armies, well away from the city-states. These wars are usually quick, decisive and bloody, with the winner taking the loser's people, either as workers or slaves. Again, the Sorcerer-Kings don't care as long as the trade doesn't stop during this time.

Small Trading Houses

The smaller Trading Houses usually only connect one or two cities or perhaps only one village to a city state.  They usually specialize in one or two items and have a monopoly on that item in the area, which keeps them thriving. While they would love to be bigger, the other Merchant Houses, as well as rivals, stops that from happening too often.

House Ardien

Based in the village of Walis, House Ardien pulls from nearby mines gold and silver. They traded with Kalidnay but now trade with Tyr and Balic. They are quite profitable but the sons have been looking to expand on the business.

House Tomblador

See House Tomblador Article.

Elven Merchants

Three major types of Elven Merchants exist on Athas:

• the "legitimate" trading tribes that do their business mostly in the open;
• raiding tribes who occasionally trade;
• Tribes of elves who trade in the shadows, dealing in contraband and engaging in smuggling, intrigue, and darker activities.

Competing with all of the above, elves create a wild card in the economy. Further, they are completely inscrupulous in their dealings. They do not follow the merchants' code, obviously. If the people didn't want a black market, the elves might have to be pure nomads!  Pretty much, the elves are willing to deal in anything and everything, except elven slaves even from another tribe, and are most likely to have illegal drugs or other commodities than any other merchant. It's the most dangerous but the Elves would have it no other way!.

Sources

• DSR2. Dune Trader. Accessory (1992). TSR Inc., by Anthony Pryor. ISBN 1-56076-543-3.
• DM Gaming Web. Dark Sun Merchant Houses.