5.2 KiB
Ashen Realms – Playable Slice 0.8.5
Reputation-Gated Merchant Offers
Status: Implementation Specification
Depends on: Slice 0.8
Purpose: Make reputation visible and useful by locking selected merchant offers behind reputation or explicit unlock conditions instead of character levels.
1. Goal
The reputation system must change what the player can do.
A merchant should be able to communicate:
"I don't know you well enough for that."
or:
"Earn more trust in the Ashen Fields first."
The player sees desirable locked items, understands the requirement, and has a reason to continue hunting and trading.
2. No Level-Gated Merchant Progression
New merchant offers must not use character level as the primary progression gate.
Preferred gates:
- regional reputation
- World Renown
- NPC reputation, if already supported
- quest/unlock flag
The server is authoritative for all purchase requirements.
If requiredLevel still exists in an old item schema, it may remain for compatibility, but new Tier-1 merchant progression in these slices should not rely on it.
3. Offer Requirement Model
Merchant offers should support an optional requirement definition.
Conceptual examples:
NONE
REGION_REPUTATION
WORLD_RENOWN
NPC_REPUTATION
QUEST_FLAG
An offer may later support multiple requirements, but do not overbuild a general rule engine unless the current code already has one.
A pragmatic structure is enough:
requiredRegionReputation
requiredWorldRenown
requiredNpcReputation
requiredUnlockFlag
with nullable values.
4. Initial Locked Offers
At least two useful offers should demonstrate the system.
Recommended examples:
Basic Hide Bag
- important progression item
- may be normally reputation-gated
- Slice 0.9 can temporarily bypass the gate through a quest referral
Basic Trophy Pouch
- unlocked after the player has demonstrated some regional reputation
Optional additional offer:
Bandit Blade or another Tier-1 gap filler
- available at a higher reputation threshold
Exact thresholds are balancing data.
5. Visible Locked Offers
Locked offers should usually remain visible.
Example:
Basic Trophy Pouch
Capacity: 5 Raider Trophies
Price: 40 Silver
Requires: Ashen Fields Reputation 25
Current: 14
The Buy action is disabled.
This is preferable to hiding every locked item, because visible rewards create goals.
6. Server Validation
A malicious client must not bypass a disabled button.
Purchase flow:
load character
load merchant offer
validate price
validate reputation requirement
validate quest/unlock flag
validate inventory/bag ownership rules
remove currency
grant item/bag
commit
If reputation is insufficient, return a stable domain error such as:
MERCHANT_REPUTATION_TOO_LOW
with an English player-facing message.
7. Referral / Exception Support
Slice 0.9 needs a special tutorial moment:
The merchant normally would not give the player a useful bag yet, but a gate NPC sends the player with a referral.
Therefore the offer/unlock system must support one minimal exception:
requiredUnlockFlag = referred-by-south-gate-warden
or an equivalent quest reward/grant path.
Do not implement a complex faction favor engine.
The requirement is simply that the quest can legally allow one specific acquisition that reputation alone would not yet allow.
8. UI Requirements
Merchant cards/rows show:
- item/bag name
- icon
- Silver price
- relevant effect
- requirement
- player's current value
- locked/unlocked state
Use clear English copy.
Examples:
Requires Ashen Fields Reputation 25
Requires World Renown 3
Unavailable – Borin does not know you well enough.
9. Feedback on Unlock
When a reputation increase makes an offer newly available, the player should receive lightweight feedback.
Example:
New merchant offer unlocked: Basic Trophy Pouch
No large modal is required.
10. Tests
- offer with no requirement can be purchased
- insufficient regional reputation blocks purchase
- sufficient regional reputation allows purchase
- insufficient World Renown blocks purchase
- quest flag can unlock configured tutorial offer
- disabled client state is not trusted by backend
- price is still required even when reputation condition is met
- unlock state changes after a successful trade-in raises reputation
11. Acceptance Criteria
- Merchant offers can define reputation/unlock requirements.
- At least two offers visibly demonstrate locked states.
- Requirements are shown to the player in English.
- Server rejects purchases when requirements are not met.
- New progression offers do not depend on level gates.
- Quest/referral unlock support exists for Slice 0.9.
- Reputation increase can visibly unlock a previously locked offer.
- No generalized rules engine was added unnecessarily.
12. Out of Scope
Do not implement:
- dynamic merchant personalities
- haggling
- randomized daily shops
- faction wars
- reputation decay
- negative reputation systems
- multiple currencies per individual offer unless already required