Haggling is a Skill which can be practiced by player characters in Betrayal at Krondor. It allows the party to negotiate for lower prices when purchasing items at Shops.
Overview
When a party member attempts to move an item from a Shop's Inventory to his own, he is presented with a fixed price and may choose whether to Accept, Haggle, or Decline. If he chooses to Haggle, the frequency at which he can obtain a discount depends on his Haggling Skill. Party members with higher Haggling Skill will receive a discount more readily than those at lower levels.
If the shopkeeper refuses to lower the price, the item might become Unavailable, requiring the party to exit the Shop's inventory and return before trying again. If he agrees, the party member can choose to Accept or Decline the discount. If declined, the item returns to the higher price. Once a discount is accepted, other party members can receive the item for the same lowered price.
Improving Skill
The Haggling Skill of each party member can increase when he attempts to Haggle for items, especially if it is the only Skill selected. Two books, Strategies of Trading and Thiful's Bird Migrations, also raise the Haggling Skill, and the party can receive further Skill-boosting tips from Mitchel Waylander.
Trivia
- As discounts are fixed, Haggling affects only the frequency at which they are offered and does not result in successive lowering of the price.
- Since shopkeepers do not expect to make a profit on Magical Scrolls, Haggling for them does not work. The same is true for food and drink at Inns and Taverns.