History Main / IntrepidMerchant

See also DungeonShop, where merchants somehow establish themselves inside video game dungeons.

* ''VideoGame/TunnelsOfDoom,'' a [[DungeonCrawling dungeon crawl]] game for the venerable [[UsefulNotes/TI99 TI99]] home computer, featured item shops in the 4th and 8th levels of the eponymous tunnels. There was no explanation for why there were merchants deep within a cavern full of hostile creatures, but you typically needed the new items so badly you didn't question it.

* ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' and ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' have Neko (in ''Secret of Mana'') or Niccolo (in ''Trials of Mana''), a cat person with a pack full of goodies that he will sell for a hefty markup. He tends to show up in the wilderness or in the middle of dungeons, where there's less competition to force his prices down. The well-prepared adventurer seldom has need of his services, but his presence can save your ass if you forgot to stock up before setting out.

* In ''VideoGame/RootsOfPacha'', Zelk and Brub are two traveling merchants who occasionally visit the village to trade with you.

%%* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' has Taloon/Torneko in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'', and intrepid merchants are a character class in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'', and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII''.
%%** Also, Rin, the poster child for NoHeroDiscount.
* Jessica from the third ''VideoGame/EndlessNightmare'' game is a spy who secretly helps your character, Carlos, and have a habit of randomly appearing in front of Carlos to offer him weapons and equipment in exchange for his gold and jewels. She can even bypass areas infested with mummies and Anubian monsters, and if Carlos attacks her Jessica simply leaves via GrapplingHookPistol before returning later on.
* ''VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist'' has two, Johnny and Eighty, either one of whom appears in every stage, serving as the game's DungeonShop.
* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'': Wandering Traders can be encountered in every biome of the Overworld, traveling through the monster-infested wilderness in pursuit of trade and costumers despite being entirely unarmed -- during the night, they rely on potions of invisibility to avoid being attacked by monsters.
* ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'': This is a playable class. They (mostly) deal with the economy and are able to generate cash at an increased rate with their Overcharge and Discount skills; they can also employ Pushcarts [[BagOfHolding as a kind of second inventory]], and if they have this they can do Vending to sell valuable items to other players. In battle they use axes, and additionally [[MoneySink can throw money at the enemy]] (Mammonite skill). Later on, Merchants can progress into the Blacksmith and Alchemist lines.
%%* ''VideoGame/UnchartedWatersNewHorizons'': Ali.
%%* ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}'': In all versions, the PlayerCharacter is one of these [[AC:{{IN SPACE}}]] -- when not a BountyHunter or {{Pirate}}.
%%** The same for the {{spiritual successor}}s -- ''VideoGame/WingCommander: Privateer'', ''VideoGame/EveOnline'', ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}'', ''InfinityTheQuestForEarth'', ''Jumpgate'', ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'', the ''EscapeVelocity'' series and the ''VideoGame/{{X}} series''
%%** This is the [[PlanetofHats hat]] of the Teladi in the ''VideoGame/{{X}} series''.
* ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'' aside of {{privateer}}s choosing this line of work has Merchant faction ("Interstellar Shipping and Mercantile Guild"); LoadingScreen with their advertisement says they even run through blockades.

* ''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 OptionalBoss, 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.
* ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'': Diamond Geezer, a friendly airborne drone, serves as the game's resident shopkeeper. He can be found in several worlds in the game, including hostile ones like Ichor and Eschebone.
* ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' had a few. One example was in ''6'', where the best inn in the game, where you could buy 40 units of supplies, was south of a town where you initially had to fly over a few mountains to reach. Not coincidentally, this was located at the fork of two roads, one of which led to Dragonsands (one of the most dangerous parts of the game, with had no inn at all) and the other to Paradise Valley (which did have a town and an inn, but required getting past hordes of dragons and titans to get to.).
* ''VideoGame/NinjaShadowOfDarkness'': At the end of most levels you will come across a provision shop, whose owner will sell you items like smoke bombs, power ups, food (to restore health), extra lives and even weapons. Never mind why would anyone set up shop outside a haunted ghost city, a cavern filled with giant spiders, in the middle of a snowy monster-infested wasteland, or the entrance to Hell.
* ''VideoGame/SuikodenTierkreis'' has a whole race of them in the Wanderers. They even travel to different worlds in search of profit. Some of the series allows the player to get into it as well, buying commodities in one region and traveling to the other side of the world to sell it for profit.
* ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' and ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' have Neko (in ''Secret of Mana'') or Niccolo (in ''Trials of Mana''), a cat person with a pack full of goodies that he will sell for a hefty markup. He tends to show up in the wilderness or in the middle of dungeons, where there's less competition to force his prices down. The well-prepared adventurer seldom has need of his services, but his presence can save your ass if you forgot to stock up before setting out.
* ''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. He always manages to somehow be one step ahead of Leon to set up shop in unusual locations that the player had to fight to the death in order to reach.
--> '''WEEEELCOME! GOT A SELECTION OF GOOD THINGS ON SALE, STRANGER!'''
** 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.
%%* ''{{Taipan}}''
%%* ''VideoGame/{{Patrician}}''
* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'': There are several -- each one is a trader with a pack Brahmin and a bodyguard to take care of ShopliftAndDie duties, and they are the only people aside from [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Raiders]], mercenary headhunters and the odd hunter who regularly leave population centres to cross the Wasteland.
* Roguelikes ''VideoGame/{{Nethack}}'' and Dungeon Crawl have shops ''inside the dungeon''; ''VideoGame/{{Angband}}'' merchants play it a little safer, hanging out only in the town atop the dungeon.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': "Welcome to O'aka's!" O'aka XXIII (the 23rd) generally appears almost everywhere on the continent before the player's party gets there, though at the beginning of the game he's traveling alongside them. If you give him a loan at the start of the game, he sells discounted items in all future appearances. He sells items to Yuna and her guardians so much that it actually gets him arrested by the CorruptChurch once they become [[HeroWithBadPublicity Heroes with Bad Publicity]]. His brother Wantz then takes over for him at that point, and the first time you can actually buy from ''him'', he's halfway up an mountain that lies before TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, still in his beach clothes. If you talk to them enough, you find out the reason they've been watching over Yuna is because they had a sister who was a Summoner, who looked a lot like Yuna. This would also explain how they knew the route Yuna's party would take to get through the game.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' has Chocolina, who follows Serah and Noel across ''different timelines''.
* In ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', there are Knickknack Shacks everywhere, all managed by a single shopkeeper, Sierokarte. At first, the main crew gets 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.
* Melnorme in ''VideoGame/StarControl''. Very useful especially when they come to save your butt if you get stranded in Hyperspace. However, if you do not have credits be prepared for an (un)fair exchange. [[spoiler:Even the Melnorme have limits to their intrepidness. They bug out of the galaxy once the Death March begins.]]
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** Many dungeons and raids have repair vendors, which allow players to repair their armor and weapons.
** Karazhan has two such merchants.
*** One is a spectral merchant right after the first (major) boss. After players defeat Attumen the Huntsman, they gain access to a merchant shortly after. This merchant is a notable subversion of the trope because he exists more for selling vendor trash than to buy items. Karazhan has a tremendous amount of useless loot that can be sold to vendors, so players would quickly fill their bags and have to leave the raid to empty them again.
*** The other is an ethereal that appears near the middle of the raid. He mostly serves the same purpose as the spectral merchant at the beginning of the raid.
** Firelands also has such merchants, but their merchants double as unique zone drop traders. They will buy the large amount of vendor trash that Firelands mobs drop, but they also are the place where the Firelands-only currency can be traded for items.
*** Dragon Soul as well. Trading in items such as "Blood of Corrupted Deathwing" is their purpose, though they also will buy your vendor trash so you can empty your bags.
** These types of merchants that exist solely to empty one's bags have mostly been phased out in raids and dungeons that have outdoor areas such as Hellfire Citadel. This is because the item Reins of the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth and Grand Expedition Yak exist. These items carry their own Intrepid Merchants, which allow players to sell their vendor trash and repair their gear anywhere they can use a mount.
* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', as you may have already guessed, has merchants willing to walk into anything this side of lava to do their business. Just read the BadassBoast of a [[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=43602.msg823058#msg823058 human merchant prince]]. And here we thought [[LegendaryCarp fish]] in DF were [[ImprobablePowerDiscrepancy "too hardcore"]].

* [[MeaningfulName Charlieton]] in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' is a sleazy merchant who was also a clear case of AdamSmithHatesYourGuts. He usually hangs out in Rogueport, where the stuff he sells is usually worthless junk. (Every so often he's got something exclusive or at a good price, though, so he's worth checking out from time to time.) However, in the Pit of 100 Trials, he shows up from time to time in certain rooms to sell you various items that may be useful at inflated prices. The lower you go, the more dangerous it gets, and the more likely it is you'll be running out of healing items. ''He knows this.'' By the time you get near the bottom, he'll be selling items for twenty times what they'd be worth in a normal shop. Since you're likely to be maxed out in coins yet an inch near death at this point, ''these items might actually be worthwhile.''
** On a different note, there's Ms. Mowz, a ClassyCatBurglar who travels the world looking for rare badges to sell at her shop.
* 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 [[BossBonanza 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.)
** Nurse Joy is an Intrepid ''Charity Worker'', believe it or not. The Pokémon Centers heal your Pokémon for free, but they're located almost everywhere, even places like the foot of Mt. Silver (located in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Silver]]'', and [[VideoGame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver the remakes of those games]].)
** 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 in bulk. (But you can't use Fly to get to it, and it's closed at night.)
* One of the Hero Sims in ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval'' is a Merchant, who often has to travel to foreign kingdoms to trade. Since they're Hero Sims, they also have a wide range of quests to embark on.
* ''VideoGame/TreasureHunterG'' turns the player's party onto this, since you don't earn money from random encounters. The only way to make money is to acquire goods from dungeons to sell, or buy items where they are cheap and take them to where they'll sell for a higher price.
* The ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'' games has Moneybags, a bear that shows up and functions as a CashGate, forcing you to pay him in order to progress with the game.
* The Annas from ''Franchise/FireEmblem'', who basically appear in every game not only as the SeriesMascot but as the ones handling all the {{Secret Shop}}s. 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.
* 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' camp while hoping the PlayerCharacter can undo the mess. Once he/she does, he takes him/her with him on his trip.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** Beedle in various games sometimes takes this role, particularly in his first appearance in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', where his shop ship will be found floating around not just populated areas, but random rocks in the middle of nowhere.
** Most (actual) travelers in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' roam the unsafe roads of post-Calamity Hyrule to trade goods in faraway settlements.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rebuild}}'' has Gustav the Trader. He comes around every week to sell items for food, buy items for food, or propose the services of his BandOfBrothels, seemingly unaffected by the high numbers of zombies. Aside from Gustav, food caravans can pass by and agree to trade with you as a random event.

* Players in ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' can become these by selling resources they've mined at local trading posts or {{Space Station}}s, and can game the local economy by gathering lots of resources like Plutonium in a system where it's common and selling it in a system where it's considered rare. A good way to earn some quick Units, and played quite literally since most of the planets in the game are unexplored.

* 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 [[SamusIsAGirl a time-traveling woman]] with a keen interest on the party's success]].
* ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'': This happens a couple of times, with the one at the bottom of a buried tower in the nowhere of a desert [[LampshadeHanging lampshading the trope]].
--> How did I end up here? Who cares? Let's just call it "merchant's intuition".
* ''Tunnels of Doom,'' a [[DungeonCrawling dungeon crawl]] game for the venerable [[UsefulNotes/TI99 TI99]] home computer, featured item shops in the 4th and 8th levels of the eponymous tunnels. There was no explanation for why there were merchants deep within a cavern full of hostile creatures, but you typically needed the new items so badly you didn't question it.
* The Magimel Brothers from ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant''. 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 a burned down monastery deep within the Earth and a facsimile of Japanese Hell created by a Taoist adept. Only Gerard returned in From the New World and along with his boyfriend Bughend, play the same role.

* ''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 of damage inflicted (to the limit of the enemy's current HP) 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.
** In [[VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII the sequel]], the Merchant job returns along with the other seven basic jobs, and the merchant traveler this time is Partitio, who goes on a journey to fight against poverty in the world after witnessing his hometown's rise and fall. The Merchant job in this game retains most skills from the previous game, but there are also new skills, like Arrow of Fortune which deals damage as well as generating additional JP, and Tradewinds is replaced by Ember. Also, Partitio can use a new Path Action called "Hire" at night, which has him pay an NPC some leaves to join him to be summoned in battles.
* ''Videogame/GodOfWarPS4'' has Brok and Sindri, two dwarven blacksmiths who serve as the game's shopkeepers and are always showing up ahead of Kratos and Atreus wherever they go. According to Sindri, dwarves are capable of traveling between realms nigh-instantaneously to avoid being seen by others.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' has the Peddler Brothers (Primero, Segundo, Tercero, and Quatro) who pair up and spend their time buying and selling goods on a glacier and in the middle of some ancient ruins. Both are extremely far out of the way (the ruins in particular only have one path to or from them) and one of the brothers at each location questions the logic of trying to make a living so far off the beaten path.
** Dabas is a merchant who visited the dangerous Volcano Villude to find rare goods and offers the only opportunity to restock on healing items between Bale and Lohan, almost certainly a necessity given the ''five'' boss fights between those two locations.

* ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'' has the merchant, an obese opera singer, opening shop in every level of the crypt, even though there are dancing monsters everywhere, and an undead king underneath to boot... [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Rob]] him at your own risk...
* ''VideoGame/BulletGirlsPhantasia'' has Merrina Iris, a cat girl who serves as the shopkeeper, and has no problems venturing out to kill hordes of Devyants and looting their bodies afterward (with a partner, at least). The characters oftentimes wonder why she spends so much of her massive horde of gold buying your duplicates, especially since most of the sellable items are women's underwear.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', the Merchant recruited by the Hero joins a quest to save the world from a demon king, an adventure which will take them around the world and even below it. In the process, they'll found a new city (and will be kicked out of it when the settlers grow sick of their dictatorial management).
** 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.
* You'll run into good and evil versions of these as random encounters in the old Master System game ''Miracle Warriors.'' Depending on where on the KarmaMeter you fall, one will attack you, while the other sell you items.
* In ''VideoGame/LaMulana'', you'll find a shop in the middle of long-abandoned ruins where the shopkeeper tells you he hasn't had a customer in 500 years. It doesn't get much more intrepid than that...

* In ''VideoGame/StarTradersFrontiers'', you can play one, if you choose to have your sources of cargo be from Salvaging and Exploring. Of course, for some of those items (namely [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum Xeno Artifacts]]), you'll need to visit a [[VenturousSmuggler Black]] [[BlackMarket Market]], or find an Indie Tradeway.
* In ''Videogame/NierAutomata'', Emil can be found driving around the world in his tuk-tuk blaring his song. If you manage to get his attention by shooting him down, he'll sell you various materials and upgrades.

* Dryden Fassa in ''Anime/VisionOfEscaflowne'' heads a large merchant convoy of [[CoolAirship airships]] owned by his father, a rich and powerful MerchantPrince. He becomes quite the player in the cast, thanks to becoming TheTeamBenefactor and quite the GuileHero.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'':

* The ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}'' franchise (whose first incarnation took a great many cues from the aforementioned ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}) makes every player character one of these to some extent: Even if you choose to specialise as a BountyHunter, mercenary or space pirate you'll find yourself doing a bit of freelance trading or [[SpaceTrucker delivery runs]] on the side to make a bit of BoringButPractical cash, which may turn out to be the opposite of boring if the gig leads you into some of the less civilised star systems.

* 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 a burned down monastery deep within the Earth and a facsimile of Japanese Hell created by a Taoist adept. Only Gerard returned in From the New World and along with his boyfriend Bughend, play the same role.

* ''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 front lines of a war zone, and he’s MinoredInAsskicking. Katsuragi’s risk-taking also extends to trading in illegal {{Antimatter}} rounds. He also trades in LostTechnology relics.

* ''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.)]]

* ''LightNovel/SpiceAndWolf'': Although the story begins when Holo the wolf goddess hitches a ride in the protagonist's cart, the series [[MagicalRealism primarily follows a fairly ordinary medieval merchant]], whose experiences manage to be interesting without seeming unrealistic, traveling company aside.

* 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.

* 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]].

* Frank from ''VideoGame/AnnieLastHope'', an ArmsDealer who had a habit of appearing two steps in front of you, may it be in an abandoned school, the middle of the Arctic, a derelict shopping mall, the middle of the cultists' hideout... you even lampshade it during one cutscene by asking how did Frank keeps appearing from out of nowhere, though you're interrupted by zombies before getting an answer.

* ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist EXTRAPOWER Giant Fist]]'' has two, Johnny and Eighty, either one of whom appears in every stage, serving as the game's DungeonShop.
* This is a playable class in ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline''. They (mostly) deal with the economy and are able to generate cash at an increased rate with their Overcharge and Discount skills; they can also employ Pushcarts [[BagOfHolding as a kind of second inventory]], and if they have this they can do Vending to sell valuable items to other players. In battle they use axes, and additionally [[MoneySink can throw money at the enemy]] (Mammonite skill). Later on, Merchants can progress into the Blacksmith and Alchemist lines.
%%* Ali in the Koei simulation game ''VideoGame/UnchartedWatersNewHorizons''.
%%* In ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}'' in all its versions PlayerCharacter is one of these [[AC:{{IN SPACE}}]] -- when not a BountyHunter or {{Pirate}}.

* There are several in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' -- each one is a trader with a pack Brahmin and a bodyguard to take care of ShopliftAndDie duties, and they are the only people aside from [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Raiders]], mercenary headhunters and the odd hunter who regularly leave population centres to cross the Wasteland.

* This is a playable class in ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline''. They (mostly) deal with the economy and are able to generate cash at an increased rate with their Overcharge and Discount skills; they can also employ Pushcarts [[BagOfHolding as a kind of second inventory]], and if they have this they can do Vending to sell valuable items to other players. In battle they use [[AnAxeTogrind axes]], and additionally [[MoneySink can throw money at the enemy]] (Mammonite skill). Later on, Merchants can progress into the Blacksmith and Alchemist lines.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': "Welcome to O'aka's!" O'aka XXIII (the 23rd) generally appears almost everywhere on the continent before the player's party gets there, though at the beginning of the game he's traveling alongside them. If you give him a loan at the start of the game, he sells discounted items in all future appearances. He sells items to Yuna and her guardians so much that it actually gets him arrested by the CorruptChurch. His brother Wantz then takes over for him at that point, and the first time you can actually buy from ''him'', he's halfway up an mountain that lies before TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, still in his beach clothes. If you talk to them enough, you find out the reason they've been watching over Yuna is because they had a sister who was a Summoner, who looked a lot like Yuna. This would also explain how they knew the route Yuna's party would take to get through the game.

* 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.)

* Beedle in various ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' games sometimes takes this role, particularly in his first appearance in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', where his shop ship will be found floating around not just populated areas, but random rocks in the middle of nowhere.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': The video game version is parodied when, right before TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, a merchant appears out of thin air to give the heroes one last chance to make purchases.
-->'''Merchant:''' Would anyone like to buy a basic potion?

* Creator/MarcoPolo, which got him from Europe to East Asia
* UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus started out this way but didn't find any markets,instead he ended connecting the the old and new world