History Main / IntrepidMerchant

* In the {{Horror}} podcast ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead'', the series' {{Narrator}} {{Exploit|edTrope}}s the mobility her long-haul trucking job offers in her search for her missing wife Alice, while the narrative itself thoroughly {{Deconstruct|ed}}s the concept, swinging from the unglamorous, blue-collar banality of her actual job to the horror of her paranormal encounters. Given the contrast, she tends to take a wry tone when she repeats her employer's pithy slogans.

* The whole [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire British Empire]] was founded and built on this trope. It became TheEmpire only later -- in order to protect the commerce.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Katsuragi is one as an ArmsDealer living out of a BigBadassRig. He’s willing to take great risks as part of his ambitions to be at the head of a MegaCorp, making dangerous runs to the frontlines of a GreatOffscreenWar, and he’s MinoredInAsskicking. Katsuragi’s risk-taking also extends to trading in illegal {{Antimatter}} rounds. He also trades in LostTechnology relics.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Katsuragi is one as an ArmsDealer living out of a BigBadassRig. He’s willing to take great risks as part of his ambitions to be at the head of a MegaCorp, making dangerous runs to the frontlines of GreatOffscreenWar, and he’s MinoredInAsskicking. Katsuragi’s risk-taking also extends to trading in illegal {{Antimatter}} rounds. He also trades in LostTechnology artifacts.

* The Gu Binnen Trade Federation in ''{{Manga/Drifters}}''.

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.

Compare VenturousSmuggler, when they also carry around and sell illegal stuff.

** There's also his buddy, the Duke, from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage, who manages to set up shop in or nearby each of the village lords' strongholds before Ethan gets there, despite his massive girth.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' features The Merchant. He may be infected by [[TheVirus Plagas]], given his GlowingEyesOfDoom, but he seems like a pretty cool guy regardless. Rather than bludgeon Leon's brains out he'd rather earn some cash selling weapons and upgrades to the agent.

%%* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': Welcome to O'akas!

* O'aka XXIII in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' sells to Yuna and her guardians so much that it actually gets him arrested by the CorruptChurch. His brother Wantz then takes over for him.

** The first edition of Warhammer 40,000 (back in its origins as TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} InSpace) was subtitled "Rogue Trader". No relation to the later [=RPG=], however, aside from their common setting.

* Voltar from ''Webcomic/CrimsonFlag'' tries to sell the heroes stuff, [[http://crimsonflagcomic.com/comic.php?comicID=69 while they're chasing the bad guy.]]

[[folder:Fanworks]]

* This is the basis of Taloon's whole chapter in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV''. He starts out employed as a humble merchant in someone else's shop earning a commission, but he dreams of making his own successful business. Of all the Chosen, he's the one who most easily finds bonus items after monster battles, and his main quest involves him finding a priceless statuette so he can fund the construction of a tunnel to new lands where he can find more antiquities to sell. His ultimate weapon (for the chapter at least) is even a magical abacus that hits for holy damage.

* Creator/MarcoPolo.
* UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus started out this way but didn't find any markets, so instead decided to start capturing slaves and other appalling practices. This set a trend for the Conquistadors who came later.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Merchant is a character class in this game. Bifelgan is one of the twelve gods who rule the world and is the gods of merchants. Tressa, one of the player characters, has it as a primary class, while any other playable character can pick it up as a subclass. With this class, the characters can "collect" money from villains, typically two to four times the money one gains from winning the fight, use money to hire mercenaries to attack, has access to wind magic[[note]]This is likely a pun on the concept of trade winds for merchants[[/note]], and the class' ultimate attack [[spoiler:''Bifelgan's Bounty'' does harsh damage to the enemy and for each HP damage taken by the enemy gets one leaf, the currency of the game, for the player]]. Tressa can also buy items from [=NPCs=] and will sometimes spot money others have left on the ground in rooms she enters into, adding it to the party's purse. Tressa's story is centered around her traveling the world and discovering treasures.

** It goes all the way back to the first installment of the series, ''Literature/WarlockOfFiretopMountain''. After exploring corridors infested with orcs and goblins, you warily open a door... to see an old man who wants to sell you a Blue Candle.

* HarryTurtledove 's book BetweenTheRivers has a plot where the central driving conflict is that the main characters want to trade with the warlords of a far-off land called Alashkurru; and the gods wish to forbid this.

%%* Silas Fennec in Creator/ChinaMieville's ''Literature/TheScar''.

* In ''Literature/{{BasLagCycle}}: Literature/{{TheScar}}'', [[TheChessmaster Silas Fennec]] fits the bill and in fact uses his status to conduct freelance espionage for New Crobuzon, in addition to legitimate trading. The ability to travel nearly anywhere combined with a natural talent for making people like him, as well as a nearly-photographic memory and supreme observational skills, mean the two professions tie in nicely. At least until [[FateWorseThanDeath he bites off more than he can chew]] by stealing information from the [[UnscaledMerfolk Grindylow]].

This trope is OlderThanFeudalism, dating back in poetry, folklore and history to at least Literature/SinbadTheSailor, 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 ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'', in which it is one of the main player character types. Inevitably the Intrepid Trader [[AnEntrepreneurIsYou found new territory to explore in computer games]], appearing in ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}'' and its successors. A common space subtrope of this would be the SpaceTrucker.

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.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has an Intrepid Banker called Tycho Nestoris. When the crumbling central government of Westeros rather bluntly refuses to pay the massive debts it owes the Iron Bank of Braavos (a MerchantCity that is something of a FantasyCounterpartCulture to [[ProudMerchantRace Renaissance Venice]]), Nestoris willingly goes into several warzones to negotiate with other claimants to the throne, offering to fund their campaigns in exchange for their promises to honor their debts and the debts of the rulers they hope to replace, and also doing business with anyone else who wishes to make use of his services. When one of the many {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s that inhabit Westeros ask him about what a banker is doing in such dangerous situations, he proudly claims this trope as his explanation.

* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', Vstim is a renowned merchant who fits this description, going all over the world to civilizations many overlook to buy goods unavailable elsewhere. He's also the only person some distant cultures will sell to, because they don't get much news and thus will only trade with people they trust not to lie to them to get a better deal.

** In ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' you don't know whether the next caravan will be raided by a dragon, Zhents or mere goblins. But a special mention must be given to "enterprising entrepreneur, Aurora the Eclectic", ex-adventurer and founder of all-goods retail chain with its ''[[FictionalDocument Aurora's Whole Realms Catalogue]]''.

* The trope is mentioned in briefly in the background material for ''TabletopGame/StarRealms''. Thanks to such brave and enterprising traders, the typically hostile Blobs are willing to trade with and provide ships for humans.

* ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania 64}}'' you meet a demon salesman called Renon early on in the Villa, who offers to sell you potions and other items. His stock is not very impressive compared to most merchants, but unlike most, his shop can be accessed from anywhere, using magical scrolls, making him somewhat of an asset. However [[spoiler: there is a catch. He neglects to mention that spending more than 30,000 gold in his shop equals to selling your soul to the devil (that clause is technically written into the contract, but in a [[LoopholeAbuse demonic language that humans can't read]]), in which case Renon will be more than eager to claim his fee when the time comes. (If this happens, you have to fight him as a BonusBoss, right before you face [[FinalBoss Dracula]] and the contract is rendered void if you defeat him.)]]
* The [[CatPeople Khajiit]] [[IntrepidMerchant caravans]] of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' travel to cities all across the province to sell their wares. Since they are not trusted within the cities themselves, they live in temporary camps on the outskirts, where they set up shop for a while before hitting the road again. The player can find these caravans either just outside any major cities of Skyrim, or traversing the wilderness on the way to another one.

* In ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', there are Knickknack Shacks everywhere, all managed by a single shopkeeper, Sierokarte. At first the main crew get confused after finding an ad for her services deep in the wild forests of Lumacie, then as the game goes on it becomes clear that Siero is less a normal shopkeeper and more the head of an ever-sprawling business empire and one of the more influential people in the skies. She even leads the reinforcements during the final battle with the Erste army along with Tzaka and Monika, despite being a "mere" merchant compared to their high ranks.

* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games always have a [=PokéMart=] that sells some of the best items right before Victory Road, and another one right before the spot where you start your [[BossRush battle with the Elite Four]]. (And you should really spend as much as you can at the first stop, because you'll likely make a fortune battling the trainers on Victory Road.)

* Warriv from ''VideoGame/{{Diablo II}}'' is a merchant who ''badly'' needs to go to Lut Gholeim but the path is blocked by monsters, so he hangs around the Rogues's camp while hoping the PlayerCharacter can undo the mess. Once he/she does, he takes him/her with him in his trip.

* The Adventurer of ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' (whose wares improve as you play the rebuilding minigame) also saves your game. He lampshades the SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity, outright saying "It only gets worse from here" when he's stationed in front of a boss fight. Near the end of the sequel it is revealed that [[spoiler: the Adventurer is actually a time-traveling woman with a keen interest on the party's success]].

* This is the basis of Taloon's whole chapter in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV''. He starts out employed as a humble merchant in someone else's shop earning a commission, but he dreams of making his own successful business. Of all the Chosen, he's the one who most easily finds bonus items after monster battles, and his main quest involves him finding a priceless statuette so he can fund the construction of a tunnel to new lands where he can find more antiquities to sell. His ultimate weapon (for the chapter at least) is even a magical abacus which hits for holy damage.

* The caravan merchants of the Silk Road in Central Asia were a pretty brave bunch, given that killer sandstorms, greedy local nobles, and bandits were considered normal events along the trail. And that was a ''good'' year, when the [[TheHorde local nomads]] weren't on a spree.

* Vikings could switch from being {{Pirates}} to Intrepid Merchants to being [[ProudWarriorRace warriors]] without missing a beat. They could even do that in the same voyage.

* Before embarking on his religious career, UsefulNotes/TheProphetMuhammad was one of these. The Quraish tribe that ruled Mecca and of which he was a member organized annual trade caravans to Syria and Yemen--Mecca being roughly halfway between the two--and he participated in these grueling treks across the unforgiving Arabian Desert from a relatively young age. He distinguished himself in the service of his wealthy uncle Abu Talib, and made a reputation as a smart but completely honest businessman; this landed him a job with a wealthy widow named Khadijah, whom he later married. It was not until he was 40, when (according to Islam) he received his mission from God, that he would quit the trading life.

* Harry Turtledove's book BetweenTheRivers has a plot where the central driving conflict is that the main characters want to trade with the warlords of a far-off land called Alashkurru; and the gods wish to forbid this.

* The Annas from ''Franchise/FireEmblem'', who basically appear in every game not only as the "{{mascots}}" but as the ones handling all the Secret Shops. Three of them can be recruited as playable characters in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' [[spoiler: and the former two can even become {{Love Interest}}s if either marries the games' male Avatars]]; others are seen handling the gates to the Outrealms as well as several other spots in them.

* The Magimel Brothers from ''[[VideoGame/ShadowHearts Shadow Hearts: Covenant]]''. Their profile explicitly stated that they "go anywhere, no matter how dangerous" to offer their service to whoever might need them. [[OnlySaneMan Yuri]] is continuously baffled at them appearing in the most unlikely of places, including an otherworldly fortress raised by UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk, an actual powerful warlock on this continuity, to the ruins of an burned down monastery deep within the Earth and a facsimile of Japanese Hell created by an Taoist adept. Only Gerard returned in From the New World and along with his boyfriend Bughend, play the same role.

** Another example is the souvenir store at the top of Mt. Moon, also found, in ''Gold'', ''Silver'', and the remakes of those games. Lemonade is probably the most economical healing item in the game (heals 80 hp and costs 350 [=PokéDollars=]) but you usually have to get if from vending machines one can at a time, so stocking up takes a while. The shop at the top of Mt. Moon is a place you can buy it at bulk. (But you can't use Fly to get to it, and it's closed at night.)

* The Annas from ''Franchise/FireEmblem'', who basically appear in every game not only as the "mascots" but as the ones handling all the Secret Shops. Two of them can be recruited as playable characters in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' [[spoiler: and even become {{Love Interest}}s if either marries the games' male Avatars]]; others are seen handling the gates to the Outrealms as well as several other spots in them.