Obsidian has a variety of businesses that cater to the needs of the townsfolk, explorers and adventurers that come through the port or settle there. Most wares are crafted in the town, as importing goods from the mainland can take anywhere between six to twelve months (the journey from shore-to-shore takes about three months each way).
Aside from the normal goods and services on offer (blacksmiths, armourers, general goods, and so forth) there are a number of more interesting and exotic places to shop.
- Arcane & Chicanery
This shop is actually part of the guild of the same name, selling potions and scrolls to the general public. Spellcasters can also be hired from here, for nominal fees. The wizards in Obsidian are limited with resources to craft items, but they can send off orders for specific items. These imports take between three to six months to arrive.
- Grunthor's War Sticks
Grunthor is a troll, more intelligent than most, on good relations with the dwarves in town. Why this is, no one knows, but they supply him with the best weapons a dwarf can forge. Swords, polearms, maces, axes, staffs and other melee weapons can be bought here.
- Omar's Salvage Yard
A lot of junk is found in the ruins, more comes off ships and those seeking their fortune in the new world. Most of it ends up chucked in the sea, but nowadays people bring it to Omar instead. This gnome's salvage yard is a pit of junk, broken wagons, bent swords, and dented armour. He sells it off cheaply, buys it even cheaper, and can often be found dragging the shoreline for anything that has fallen off a ship.
- The Torchbearer's Guild
Not really a guild, more of a shop selling the services of goblins who act as torchbearers for adventurers, merchants and explorers. Not the most reliable, prone to cowardly acts, they nonetheless serve a purpose. They're also very cheap, and considered by most to be expendable.
- Exotic Pets & Abandoned Familiars
A pair of elves run this odd shop. Aside from domesticated pets they have either rescued or found in the wilderness (even the ruins), they also adopt familiars who have lost or been dumped by their former masters. These are sold on to caring owners as either pets or replacements.
- Korrigan's Firearms
A brand new shop opened recently, though few know what it's all about. The dwarves own and run it, make the weapons they sell, and other a decent customer service considering their dwarven nature. What they sell are guns: rifles and pistols, new technology that has only been deemed suitable for public use in the last couple of years. It is said that the dwarves are using Obsidian as a testing ground for these new firearms.
- Boggy's Boom-Sticks
Boggy is both cunning and an entrepreneur; she is also an ogre. When the dwarves opened their Firearms shop, Boggy bought some, got some clever goblins to look them over, and managed (with help) to craft their own. Hence, Boggy now sells cruder and cheaper versions of the rifles and pistols the dwarves offer. They may not be as reliable, but they still go boom, and they cost a lot less.
- Hall of Wonders
This shop of curiosities sells artefacts, trinkets and art that has come from the ruins. Some are found by the owners, others are sold to them, others come into their possession by other means. All are for sale in the Hall, for reasonable prices.
- Star of Ahloon
This shop glows dimly during the day, but at night it shines brightly. A strange elf with feverish eyes owns and runs the shop, selling trinkets with gemstones that he claims are 'bits of star stuff'. These pale, pearlescent stones glow in the dark and are bought by superstitious fishermen who claim they are lucky charms. The elf says they are magically, but if so it is a subtle magic that none of the resident wizards of Obsidian have been able to detect. |
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