Trade guide
This guide explains what the Trade skill and every Trade perk really do in game v1.5.7: the merchant's cut on every purchase and sale, the green and red trade markers, carry capacity, trade rumors, caravan and workshop income, wages, barter, and the governor halves for tariffs, village production and construction. NavalDLC extends the building construction, carry capacity, wage and recruitment cost, prosperity, village production and workshop models, and extends and replaces parts of the clan finance models; at sea Caravan Master is not applied. StoryMode extends the wage and recruitment cost models in the story campaign.
How prices, markers and rumors work is in the trade topic: the Trading guide, Prices and profit markers and Trade rumors. The exact rules for every Trade perk are in the skill deep dives: Crafting and trade (trade penalty perks, Silver Tongue, Trickle Down, rumor perks, markers), Party and map (carry capacity, wages, recruitment costs, villager trade, trade tax per visit), Settlements (tariffs, clan income and renown, construction, workshops, village production, recruit slots) and Characters and politics (barter, safe passage, issue relations, kingdom joining, mercenary awards, ransom, companion hiring, caravan refunds).
Who holds the perk. Each half is read from one hero. Party leader halves are read on the leader of the trading party, quartermaster halves on the hero in your party's Quartermaster role (the party leader when nobody holds it), clan leader halves on the clan leader, and governor halves on the governor of the settlement. Some halves are personal: they are read on the hero doing the action. Each perk below says which hero counts. Where a governor half says "governor present", the governor has to actually be in the settlement.
What the verdicts mean.
works: does what the tooltip says, or more; broader effects are noted.differs: narrower, different or extra conditions or values compared with the tooltip.unused: never read by the game.ui_only: only shown in the interface.
No Trade perk is unused. Four halves are ui_only: the marker halves of Appraiser, Whole Seller, Caravan Master and Market Dealer.
What unlocks what
Every 25 points of Trade opens a new pair. You pick one perk of each pair; the other is locked for that hero. Tier 12 has a single perk.
| Trade | Perk A | Perk B |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Appraiser: smaller cut when selling equipment; profit markers on your items | Whole Seller: smaller cut when selling trade goods; profit markers on your items |
| 50 | Caravan Master: more carry capacity; price markers on the merchant's items | Market Dealer: cheaper safe passage; price markers on the merchant's items |
| 75 | Distributed Goods: double relation from artisans' issues; smaller cut when buying in villages | Local Connection: double relation from merchants' issues; smaller cut when selling animals |
| 100 | Toll Gates: rumors from your workshop towns; gold per caravan visit for the governed town | Traveling Rumors: rumors from your caravans; gold per villager visit for the governed town |
| 125 | Artisan Community: renown from profiting workshops; extra recruit slot with merchants | Great Investor: renown from profiting caravans; cheaper companions |
| 150 | Content Trades: more tariff income; half wages in settlements | Mercenary Connections: faster workshops; lower mercenary wages |
| 175 | Insurance Plans: refund for a destroyed caravan; smaller cut when buying food | Rapid Development: refund per workshop in a captured town; smaller cut when buying clay, iron, silver and raw silk |
| 200 | Granary Accountant: smaller cut when selling food goods; more grain, olives, fish and dates in villages | Tradeyard Foreman: smaller cut when selling pottery, tools, jewelry and raw silk; more clay, iron, silver and raw silk in villages |
| 225 | Self-made Man: better item values in barter; faster marketplace construction | Sword For Barter: cheaper mercenary recruits; lower caravan guard wages |
| 250 | Silver Tongue: cheaper defection of lords; cheaper goods from caravans | Spring of Gold: daily interest on your gold; stronger construction boosts |
| 275 | Man of Means: lower mercenary award for minor clans; cheaper ransom | Trickle Down: relation with merchants after a big deal; prosperity while building |
| 300 | Everything Has a Price: settlements can be traded in barter (no alternative) | — |
How the trade penalty works
Every purchase and sale carries a trade penalty: the merchant's cut. A higher penalty means you pay more when buying and get less when selling. The Trading guide shows how it is built: it starts at 0.06 and grows for war, for selling equipment or animals, and for trading with villages or caravans. Then the Trade skill and the perks shrink it:
Trade penalty = (starting penalty + added terms) ÷ (1 + 0.2% × party leader's Trade) × (1 + sum of all perk percentages)
- Starting penalty + added terms: 0.06 plus the war, equipment, animal, village and caravan terms from the Trading guide. When the trading party is itself a caravan, this sum is halved.
- Party leader's Trade: the Trade skill of the trading party's leader. This is the Trade skill effect below; it divides the penalty, it does not subtract from it.
- Sum of all perk percentages: every penalty perk whose conditions hold, from Trade and from other skills (Scouting, Riding, Steward, Roguery), plus the Aserai trader feat's −10%, added together and applied once. Artisan Smith (Crafting) is not part of this sum: it scales only the equipment term. Whole Seller's −15% and Granary Accountant's −20% on the same sale simply add up.
A perk's percentage cuts the penalty, not the price. A −15% perk on a penalty of 0.06 removes 15% of 0.06, not 15% of the price. When selling equipment, where the added term alone is 1.5 or more, the same percentage removes more gold.
Tier 1 (Trade 25): Appraiser or Whole Seller
Appraiser
- Primary, −15% price penalty while selling equipment (party leader;
works). Shrinks the penalty when you sell any item that is not a trade good. That is broader than "equipment": horses and other animals that are not trade goods are covered too. - Secondary, "Your profits are marked" (personal;
ui_only). With Appraiser or Whole Seller, your own items on the trade screen get green or red markers comparing what you paid with what this merchant pays. The perk value is never read. How the markers work: Trading guide.
Whole Seller
- Primary, −15% price penalty while selling trade goods (party leader;
works). Shrinks the penalty when you sell trade goods. - Secondary, "Your profits are marked" (personal;
ui_only). The same marker as Appraiser's secondary; either perk turns it on.
Tier 2 (Trade 50): Caravan Master or Market Dealer
Caravan Master
- Primary, +30% carrying capacity for your party (quartermaster;
differs). Raises the party's carry capacity by 30%, including the 10 base, the troops, the spare mounts and the pack animals. It counts only on land, which the tooltip does not say: at sea the game does not apply it, and the ships' cargo capacity is added without it. See Inventory capacity.
Worked example. A party on land with 50 healthy troops and nothing else that carries:
A party on land with 50 healthy troops and no spare mounts or pack animals, its quartermaster with Caravan Master.
| Step | Source | Stage | Change | Running value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Party inventory (carry) capacity | base | 0.0000 | |
| 1 | Base carry capacity | add | +10.0000 | 10.0000 |
| 2 | Healthy troops carry capacity | add | +1000.0000 | 1010.0000 |
| 3 | Caravan Master | factor +30% | +303.0000 | 1313.0000 |
| Result | Party inventory (carry) capacity | 1313.0000 |
With these inputs, party inventory (carry) capacity is 1313.0000.
The 50 troops add 1000.0000, so the party starts at 1010.0000 and Caravan Master raises it to 1313.0000.
- Secondary, "Item prices are marked relative to the average price" (personal;
ui_only). With Caravan Master or Market Dealer, the merchant's items get green or red markers comparing this town's price level for the item's category with the average over all other towns, in a town, castle or village. The perk value is never read. See Trading guide.
Market Dealer
- Primary, −50% cost of bartering for safe passage (clan leader;
differs). The gold value of letting your party go in a safe passage barter drops by half. The game checks only your own character, not the clan leader of whichever party is bartering, so AI clan leaders with the perk never benefit. - Secondary, "Item prices are marked relative to the average price" (personal;
ui_only). The same marker as Caravan Master's secondary.
Tier 3 (Trade 75): Distributed Goods or Local Connection
Distributed Goods
- Primary, double relation from resolved artisan issues (personal;
works). When the hero who solves an issue has the perk and the issue's owner is an artisan, the relation gained is doubled. Relation losses are not doubled. - Secondary, −15% price penalty while buying from villages (quartermaster;
works). Shrinks the penalty on everything you buy in a village.
Local Connection
- Primary, double relation from resolved merchant issues (personal;
works). The same as Distributed Goods, for issues owned by merchants. - Secondary, −15% price penalty while selling animals (quartermaster;
works). Applies when you sell any item with a horse component: mounts, pack animals and livestock alike, not only horses.
Tier 4 (Trade 100): Toll Gates or Traveling Rumors
Toll Gates
- Primary, your workshops gather trade rumors (personal;
works). Every day, each town where you own a workshop gives you a price rumor for every trade good there. A town and item that already have a rumor are skipped, so these prices can be up to 10 days old. See Trade rumors. - Secondary, +30 gold for each caravan visiting the governed settlement (governor;
differs). Each caravan entering the town adds 30 to the town's trade tax pool, which is paid out through the town's tariff income. Caravans that cannot travel over land do not count, which the tooltip does not say. The governor does not need to be present.
Traveling Rumors
- Primary, your caravans gather trade rumors (personal;
works). When a caravan owned by a member of your clan enters a town, it records that town's prices exactly as your own visit would, replacing the town's older rumors. - Secondary, +20 gold for each villager party visiting the governed settlement (governor;
works). Each villager party entering the town adds 20 to its trade tax pool. The governor does not need to be present.
Tier 5 (Trade 125): Artisan Community or Great Investor
Artisan Community
- Primary, +1 daily renown from every profiting workshop (clan leader;
works). With the perk on the clan leader, each day the clan gains 1 renown for every workshop of a clan member that made its owner money that day. - Secondary, +1 recruitment slot when recruiting from merchant notables (any hero;
differs). The extra slot is read on the hero doing the recruiting, not on the party's quartermaster. A notable never offers more than 6 slots, so at that limit the perk adds nothing.
Great Investor
- Primary, +1 daily renown from every profiting caravan (clan leader;
works). Each day, every caravan of the clan that holds more than 10000 trade gold gives the clan 1 renown, when the caravan owner's clan leader has the perk. - Secondary, −30% companion recruitment cost (quartermaster;
works). Hiring a companion costs 30% less when the quartermaster of your party has the perk.
Tier 6 (Trade 150): Content Trades or Mercenary Connections
Content Trades
- Primary, +10% tariff income in the governed settlement (governor present;
works). The governed town's daily tariff income rises 10%. - Secondary, −50% wages paid while waiting in settlements (party leader;
works). The party's whole daily wage is halved while it is in any settlement: town, castle or village.
Mercenary Connections
- Primary, +25% workshop production rate (governor present;
works). Every workshop in the governed town produces 25% faster, whoever owns it. - Secondary, −25% mercenary troop wages in your party (party leader;
works). The wages of mercenary troops drop 25%. The game applies it as a cut on the whole wage, in proportion to the mercenaries' share of it.
Worked example. A party waiting in a town pays 1000 a day before perks: 400 to mercenary troops, 100 to caravan guards and the rest to other troops. Its leader has Content Trades and Mercenary Connections, and its quartermaster has Sword For Barter:
A party waiting in a town, paying 1000 a day before perks, 400 of it to mercenary troops and 100 to caravan guards. Its leader has Content Trades and Mercenary Connections; its quartermaster has Sword For Barter. Inputs: total wage 1000.
| Step | Source | Stage | Change | Running value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Party daily wage | base | 1000.0000 | |
| 1 | Content Trades | factor -50% | -500.0000 | 500.0000 |
| 2 | Mercenary Connections | factor -10% | -100.0000 | 400.0000 |
| 3 | Sword For Barter | factor -1.5% | -15.0000 | 385.0000 |
| Result | Party daily wage | 385.0000 |
With these inputs, party daily wage is 385.0000.
Mercenary Connections' −25% counts only on the 400 paid to mercenaries, so it shows as −10% of the whole wage; Sword For Barter's −15% on the 100 for caravan guards shows as −1.5%. All three cuts add up and are applied once, so the party pays 385.0000 a day.
Tier 7 (Trade 175): Insurance Plans or Rapid Development
Insurance Plans
- Primary, +5000 denars when one of your caravans is destroyed (any hero;
differs). The refund goes to the caravan's owner, and the game checks the perk on that owner, not on the clan leader. A caravan owned by a companion pays out only if the companion has the perk. - Secondary, −25% price penalty while buying food items (quartermaster;
works). Shrinks the penalty on every food item you buy.
Rapid Development
- Primary, +5000 denars for each workshop when its town is captured by an enemy (any hero;
differs). When a town changes hands to a faction at war with the workshop owner's faction, the owner of each workshop there receives 5000 if that owner has the perk. As with Insurance Plans, the holder is the workshop owner, not the clan leader. - Secondary, −25% price penalty while buying clay, iron, silk and silver (quartermaster;
works). "Silk" here is the Raw Silk item. Your party's quartermaster needs the perk.
Tier 8 (Trade 200): Granary Accountant or Tradeyard Foreman
Granary Accountant
- Primary, −20% price penalty while selling food items (party leader;
works). Applies only to food that is a trade good; food items that are not trade goods are not covered. The perk is read on the party leader. - Secondary, +20% production of grain, olives, fish and dates in bound villages (governor present;
differs). The game reads the governor of the town each village trades with, not the settlement it belongs to. A castle's governor never gives the bonus to the castle's villages; a town's governor gives it to castle villages that trade with the town. See Daily production.
Tradeyard Foreman
- Primary, −20% price penalty while selling pottery, tools, silk and jewelry (party leader;
works). "Silk" is the Raw Silk item. Read on the party leader. - Secondary, +20% production of clay, iron, silk and silver in bound villages (governor present;
differs). Same rule as Granary Accountant: the governor of the village's trade town counts, so castle villages get it only from the town they trade with.
Tier 9 (Trade 225): Self-made Man or Sword For Barter
Self-made Man
- Primary, −50% barter penalty for items (personal;
differs). In barter, items are valued at less than their worth. The perk works differently on the two sides, and only when the other hero leads a party (worked example in Item barter value factor):- when you offer an item, the other side values it at 0.6 of its worth instead of 0.4: a −33% penalty, not −50%;
- when you receive an item from the other side, the penalty on it gets the full −50%.
- Secondary, +30% build speed for marketplace, kiln and aqueduct projects (governor present;
differs). Only the marketplace gets the bonus; kiln and aqueduct projects are never checked.
Sword For Barter
- Primary, −20% hiring costs of mercenary troops (personal;
works). The recruiting hero pays 20% less for mercenary troops, and also for gangster and caravan guard troops, which the tooltip does not mention. - Secondary, −15% caravan guard wages (quartermaster;
works). Caravan guard troops in the party cost 15% less in wages, applied as a cut on the whole wage in proportion to their share of it, like Mercenary Connections.
Tier 10 (Trade 250): Silver Tongue or Spring of Gold
Silver Tongue
- Primary, −15% gold required while persuading lords to defect to your faction (personal;
works). When a clan's move into your kingdom is valued in barter and you have the perk, the value is cut by 15%, whichever side is doing the valuing. - Secondary, +15% better trade deals from caravans and villagers (quartermaster;
differs). Two different effects, neither the full deal the tooltip promises:- Caravans: buying from a caravan costs 15% less, applied to the finished price (rounded up, at least 1). Selling to a caravan is not affected.
- Villagers: the price offered when you buy a villager party's goods is shown 15% lower, and the offer appears once you can afford that lower total, but the purchase charges the full price.
Spring of Gold
- Primary, +0.1% interest income per day on your denars, up to 1000 (clan leader;
works). Each day the clan earns 0.1% of the gold the clan leader carries, rounded, never more than 1000.
Worked example. A clan leader with Spring of Gold carries 250000 denars:
A clan whose leader has Spring of Gold and carries 250000 denars.
| Step | Source | Stage | Change | Running value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Daily clan income | base | 0.0000 | |
| 1 | Spring of Gold | add | +250.0000 | 250.0000 |
| Result | Daily clan income | 250.0000 |
With these inputs, daily clan income is 250.0000.
The perk adds 250.0000 denars a day.
- Secondary, +20% effect from boosting projects in the governed settlement (governor;
works). Each construction boost you buy is worth 20% more. It adds to Relocation (Steward) before multiplying. The governor does not need to be present.
Tier 11 (Trade 275): Man of Means or Trickle Down
Man of Means
- Primary, −20% costs of recruiting minor faction clans into your clan (clan leader;
differs). The game does something else: when a minor faction clan joins a kingdom you rule as mercenaries, the mercenary award it is paid drops by 20%. Minor clans are never recruited into your clan through this perk. - Secondary, −30% ransom cost for your freedom (personal;
works). When you are captured, your ransom is 30% lower.
Trickle Down
- Primary, +1 relation with merchants if 10.000 or more denars are spent on a single deal (party leader;
differs). When you close the trade screen in a town, the game adds up what you spent on trade goods in that session. At 10000 or more, you gain +1 relation with every merchant notable of the town. Equipment, mounts and other items that are not trade goods do not count toward the 10000. - Secondary, +2 daily prosperity while building a project in the governed settlement (governor;
works). Applies in a town or castle while a project other than the default daily project is being built. The governor does not need to be present.
Tier 12 (Trade 300): Everything Has a Price
- Primary, you can trade settlements in barter (personal;
works). When you start a barter, your fiefs are offered as items you can trade.
Skill effects
This comes from the Trade skill itself, no perk needed.
- Trade penalty Reduction, +0.2% per point (party leader;
works). The trade penalty is divided by 1 plus 0.2% for every Trade point of the trading party's leader, before the perk percentages are applied. See How the trade penalty works.
What the skill level itself does
The game also reads your Trade level directly, without any perk. Effects that depend on any skill level are listed once in the skills guide.
| What it affects | What the level does | Level needed | Conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI governor choice score of a hero | AI clans pick a governor by the score 0.3 × Tactics + 0.9 × Charm + 0.8 × Engineering + 2 × Steward + 1.2 × Trade + Leadership (raw levels). | — | — | works |
| AI clan strength value of a hero as a commander | A hero's value as a commander (AI clan strength and marriage barter value) adds Tactics + Steward + Trade + Leadership. | — | — | works |
| Skill XP from an incident option | The skill XP of an incident option (Trade, Roguery or Engineering) is multiplied by your learning rate from attribute and focus, but never reduced below ×1. | — | Hero: main hero | works |
| Incident may trigger for the player | Trade incidents can trigger for you only once your Trade reaches each incident's threshold. Most also need other conditions. | Trade at least 10 (Dodgy Spice), 20 (Market Manipulation, Speculative Investment), 30 (Tipping the Scales), 35 (Third Party Arbitration) or 40 (Back Taxes) | Hero: main hero | works |
| Tavern keeper companion recommendation score | For this recommendation type the score is the candidate wanderer's Trade. | — | — | works |
Who the perks work for
Who counts as you, a relative or a wanderer, and why some halves skip one of them, is explained in the Skills guide.
Every other Trade perk half and skill effect works for every hero: you, relatives and wanderers.
| Perk | Half | Works for | Where the hero has to be |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appraiser | secondary | nobody: never read in play, or only shown in the interface | — |
| Whole Seller | secondary | nobody: never read in play, or only shown in the interface | — |
| Caravan Master | secondary | nobody: never read in play, or only shown in the interface | — |
| Market Dealer | primary | only you | clan leader |
| Market Dealer | secondary | nobody: never read in play, or only shown in the interface | — |
| Toll Gates | primary | only you | anywhere: the hero's own bonus outside battle |
| Toll Gates | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Traveling Rumors | primary | only you | anywhere: the hero's own bonus outside battle |
| Traveling Rumors | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Artisan Community | primary | only you | clan leader |
| Great Investor | primary | only you | clan leader |
| Content Trades | primary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Mercenary Connections | primary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Granary Accountant | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Tradeyard Foreman | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Self-made Man | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Silver Tongue | primary | only you | anywhere: the hero's own bonus outside battle |
| Spring of Gold | primary | only you | clan leader |
| Spring of Gold | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
| Man of Means | primary | only you | clan leader |
| Man of Means | secondary | only you | anywhere: the hero's own bonus outside battle |
| Trickle Down | secondary | relatives and wanderers, not you | governor |
All Trade effects
Every effect site of the Trade perks, skill effects and skill level. Values are what each site applies; a value that grows with skill is shown at the perk's required skill (skill effects and skill levels: per skill point). ×N marks N identical sites.
| Perk | Half | Game number | Stage | Value | Conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appraiser | primary | Trade penalty | factor | -15% | Item: not trade good; party: selling; role: party leader | works |
| Appraiser | secondary | Profit marker on the player's items | override | on | Role: personal | UI only |
| Whole Seller | primary | Trade penalty | factor | -15% | Item: trade good; party: selling; role: party leader | works |
| Whole Seller | secondary | Profit marker on the player's items | override | on | Role: personal | UI only |
| Caravan Master | primary | Party inventory (carry) capacity | factor | +30% | Party: not at sea; role: quartermaster | differs |
| Caravan Master | secondary | Price marker on the merchant's items | override | on | Role: personal; settlement: town castle or village | UI only |
| Market Dealer | primary | Barter value of safe passage | factor | -50% | Hero: main hero; role: clan leader | differs |
| Market Dealer | secondary | Price marker on the merchant's items | override | on | Role: personal; settlement: town castle or village | UI only |
| Distributed Goods | primary | Relation gained with the issue giver on issue completion | multiply | ×2 | Hero: issue owner artisan; role: personal | works |
| Distributed Goods | secondary | Trade penalty | factor | -15% | Party: buying; role: quartermaster; settlement: village | works |
| Local Connection | primary | Relation gained with the issue giver on issue completion | multiply | ×2 | Hero: issue owner merchant; role: personal | works |
| Local Connection | secondary | Trade penalty | factor | -15% | Item: horse component; party: selling; role: quartermaster | works |
| Toll Gates | primary | Daily trade rumors from owned workshops (1 yes, 0 no) | override | on | Hero: main hero; role: personal | works |
| Toll Gates | secondary | Town accumulated trade tax added per party visit | add | +30 | Party: caravan; role: governor; settlement: town | differs |
| Traveling Rumors | primary | Trade rumors gathered on town entry (1 yes, 0 no) | override | on | Hero: main hero; party: player clan caravan; role: personal; settlement: town | works |
| Traveling Rumors | secondary | Town accumulated trade tax added per party visit | add | +20 | Party: villager; role: governor; settlement: town | works |
| Artisan Community | primary | Renown added to a clan by one AddRenown call | add | +1 × workshops | Role: clan leader | works |
| Artisan Community | secondary | Highest volunteer slot index a hero can recruit from a notable | add | +1 | Hero: notable merchant; role: party leader | differs |
| Great Investor | primary | Renown added to a clan by one AddRenown call | add | +1 | Party: caravan; role: clan leader | works |
| Great Investor | secondary | Companion hiring price | factor | -30% | Party: main party; role: quartermaster | works |
| Content Trades | primary | Daily tariff income of a town | factor | +10% | Role: governor | works |
| Content Trades | secondary | Party daily wage | factor | -50% | Map state: in settlement; role: party leader | works |
| Mercenary Connections | primary | Workshop production conversion speed | factor | +25% | Role: governor | works |
| Mercenary Connections | secondary | Party daily wage | factor | -25% × mercenary wage / base wage | Role: party leader | works |
| Insurance Plans | primary | Gold refunded to the owner of a destroyed caravan | add | +5000 | Party: caravan; role: personal | differs |
| Insurance Plans | secondary | Trade penalty | factor | -25% | Item: food; party: buying; role: quartermaster | works |
| Rapid Development | primary | Gold refunded per workshop when a town is captured | add | +5000 | Role: personal; settlement: town | differs |
| Rapid Development | secondary | Trade penalty | factor | -25% | Item: clay iron silver raw silk; party: buying; role: quartermaster | works |
| Granary Accountant | primary | Trade penalty | factor | -20% | Item: food trade good; party: selling; role: party leader | works |
| Granary Accountant | secondary | Daily production of one item in a village | factor | +20% | Item: grain olives fish date; role: governor | differs |
| Tradeyard Foreman | primary | Trade penalty | factor | -20% | Item: pottery tools jewelry raw silk; party: selling; role: party leader | works |
| Tradeyard Foreman | secondary | Daily production of one item in a village | factor | +20% | Item: clay iron silver raw silk; role: governor | differs |
| Self-made Man | primary | Item barter value factor (barter penalty) | factor | +50% | Hero: other hero party leader; role: personal | differs |
| Self-made Man | secondary | Daily construction power of a town or castle | factor | +30% | Role: governor; settlement: building marketplace | differs |
| Sword For Barter | primary | Troop recruitment cost | factor | -20% | Role: personal; troops: mercenary gangster caravan guard | works |
| Sword For Barter | secondary | Party daily wage | factor | -15% × caravan guard wage / base wage | Role: quartermaster | works |
| Silver Tongue | primary | Barter value of a clan joining a kingdom | factor | -15% | Faction: player kingdom target; hero: main hero; role: personal | works |
| Silver Tongue | secondary | Item buy price | multiply | ×0.85 | Party: buying, caravan merchant; role: quartermaster | differs |
| Silver Tongue | secondary | Price shown for buying a villager party's goods | multiply | ×0.85 | Party: main party, villager; role: quartermaster | differs |
| Spring of Gold | primary | Daily clan income | add | +min(1000, 0.001 × gold) | Role: clan leader | works |
| Spring of Gold | secondary | Construction power bought by one boost | factor | +20% | Role: governor | works |
| Man of Means | primary | Mercenary award factor for joining a kingdom | multiply | ×0.8 | Faction: player kingdom leader; role: clan leader | differs |
| Man of Means | secondary | Player ransom value | multiply | ×0.7 | Hero: main hero; role: personal | works |
| Trickle Down | primary | Relation change with a notable | add | +1 | Role: party leader; settlement: town | differs |
| Trickle Down | secondary | Daily prosperity change of a town or castle | add | +2 | Role: governor; settlement: town or castle | works |
| Everything Has a Price | primary | Fiefs offered as barterables | override | on | Role: personal | works |
| Trade penalty Reduction | — | Trade penalty | multiply | ×1 / (1 + 0.002 × skill) | Role: party leader | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Agent effective skill in battle | base | skill value | — | works |
| Skill level | — | AI governor choice score of a hero | add | +0.3 × tactics skill + 0.9 × charm skill + 0.8 × engineering skill + 2 × steward skill + 1.2 × trade skill + leadership skill | — | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Skill a hero inherits on coming of age | base | +1 per point | — | works |
| Skill level | — | AI clan strength value of a hero as a commander | add | +tactics skill + steward skill + trade skill + leadership skill | — | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Heir selection points of a clan member | add | +5 | — | works |
| Skill level | — | Skill XP from an incident option | multiply | ×max(learning rate, 1) | Hero: main hero | works |
| Skill level | — | Incident may trigger for the player | override | off | Hero: main hero | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Maximum troops lost on an issue's alternative solution | multiply | ×max(0.2, min(0.8, trunc(issue required skill / skill) × 0.1)) | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Days an issue's alternative solution takes | add | +2 × min(10, trunc(issue required skill / skill)) | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Failure risk of an issue's alternative solution | add | -0.005 per point | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Troops required for an issue's alternative solution | multiply | ×max(0.2, min(1.2, issue required skill / skill)) | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Skill is high enough for a perk reset | override | on | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Gold cost to reset the perks of a skill | add | +40 per point | Hero: player clan | works |
| Skill level (any skill) | — | Persuasion success multiplier | factor | min(0.2, floor(skill / 250) × 0.2) | Hero: main hero | works |
| Skill level | — | Tavern keeper companion recommendation score | base | +1 per point | — | works |
Practical tips
- Check who needs the perk. Distributed Goods, Local Connection, Insurance Plans, Caravan Master and Great Investor's secondary are read on your Quartermaster; Appraiser, Whole Seller, Granary Accountant, Tradeyard Foreman, Content Trades and Mercenary Connections on the party leader. Rapid Development's secondary is read on your Quartermaster too.
- If you sell mostly loot, Appraiser cuts the penalty on equipment sales (equipment adds 1.5 or more to it); if you sell mostly trade goods, Whole Seller cuts the penalty on those. Either one turns on the profit markers on your items.
- If your caravans or companions own the business, Insurance Plans and Rapid Development pay only owners who hold the perk themselves.
- If you rely on villager trade, Silver Tongue's lower villager price is only displayed; you pay the full price. Buying from a caravan is charged 15% less.
- If your governor sits in a castle, Granary Accountant and Tradeyard Foreman do nothing for that castle's villages; a town governor covers the villages that trade with the town.
- If you plan to rely on Self-made Man's marketplace bonus, kiln and aqueduct projects get nothing from it.
- If you want Trickle Down's merchant relation, buy at least 10000 worth of trade goods in one visit to the trade screen; gear and horses do not count.
- At sea, Caravan Master does not raise carry capacity.