The Morning of the Three Bottles
The bells of the Waterdeep Trading Company’s counting house chimed the eighth hour as Greta Ironfist strode into the pricing hall. Ledger-keepers were already at their desks, quills scratching in neat columns while the scent of parchment, ink, and faintly sweet syrup filled the air. On the great oak table in the center of the room sat three glass bottles, each gleaming under the morning light—one plain but sturdy, one etched with seasonal motifs, and one crowned with gold filigree.
Greta stopped beside them, resting her calloused hand on the S3 bottle as though it were a treasured relic. “These,” she said to the gathered clerks, “are more than syrup. They are the proof of our craft, the measure of our discipline, and the promise we make to every customer who walks through our doors. Whether you sell to a dockside inn or the High Lord’s feast, the price must be right, fair to them, fair to us.”
She nodded to the head scribe, who unrolled a parchment marked with the familiar S1–S3 tiers. Numbers and attributes danced across the page like runes of commerce, each line telling the story of a product’s value: its flavor, its rarity, its place in the market. This was the Company’s way, turning traits into tariffs, attributes into coin, and it had kept their coffers full for decades.
In the labyrinthine alleys of Waterdeep’s Trade Ward, merchants haggle over crates of goods while scribes tally weights and measures in ink-stained ledgers. For the Waterdeep Trading Company (WDTC), pricing is not left to the chaos of the marketplace. Instead, it is governed by a structured system that transforms a product’s attributes into precise, repeatable pricing rules.
By defining product attributes, rarity tier, size, seasonal status, and enhancement type, the Company ensures every sale is consistent, fair, and profitable. The foundation of this method is the tier system, known internally as S1–S3, which assigns products into structured pricing categories.
What It Is
Before we can apply structured pricing, we must understand the foundation of the approach. This section introduces the concept of product attribute–based pricing, how characteristics like flavor type, rarity, and size become the framework for determining base prices and modifiers. By replacing guesswork with defined attributes, WDTC ensures consistency across its entire product catalog.
Product attribute–based pricing is a strategy that uses the characteristics of an item to determine its base price and any modifiers. Attributes may be purely physical (size, weight), tied to rarity (common vs seasonal), or value-enhancing (arcane infusion, sugar-free variants).
In WDTC’s syrup trade, this approach avoids setting prices individually for each SKU. Instead, a tiered pricing table and attribute multipliers generate the correct price for every product variation automatically.
Why It Matters
The value of an attribute-based pricing system lies in its ability to serve both operational efficiency and commercial advantage. Here we explain why WDTC invests in this method, covering the benefits of consistency, scalability, and speed, as well as how the approach safeguards margins while encouraging customer loyalty.
- Consistency: All merchants pay prices grounded in defined rules, not guesswork.
- Scalability: New products can be slotted into existing tiers without rewriting the entire price list.
- Speed: Price updates are applied instantly across all products sharing the same attribute set.
- Margin Protection: Rare and high-cost items maintain premium pricing even during seasonal promotions.
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The S1–S3 Tier System
To make attribute-based pricing work in practice, WDTC needed a simple, universal classification. This section presents the S1–S3 tier framework, showing how products are grouped into Common, Seasonal, and Specialty categories. Each tier reflects availability, production cost, and buyer segment, forming the base layer for all pricing calculations.
Attribute Modifiers
The tier sets the foundation, but the real power comes from fine-tuning. This section details the modifiers that adjust base prices within a tier: size multipliers, sweetener premiums, seasonal adjustments, and packaging upgrades. By layering these rules, WDTC tailors each product’s price to its exact combination of attributes.
Once a tier is set, additional attributes adjust the base price:
- Size: Larger bottles (24oz) use a multiplier (e.g., 1.75× S1 base price).
- Sweetener Type: Sugar-free variants add a flat premium (e.g., +0.25 FSD).
- Seasonal Status: Pre-season discounts encourage early stocking; post-season discounts clear inventory.
- Packaging Prestige: Ornate or magical packaging can double retail value for noble clients.
Worked Example: Pumpkin Spice Syrup (S2 Seasonal)
Theory is valuable, but nothing drives home a process like a real example. In this section, we walk through the pricing calculation for a seasonal favorite, Pumpkin Spice Syrup. Each step shows how attributes, modifiers, and customer discounts flow into a final price per bottle, demonstrating how repeatable and transparent the process can be.
Attributes:
- Tier: S2 (Seasonal)
- Size: 12oz
- Sweetener: Classic sugar
- Season: In-Season (Fall)
Pricing Calculation Flow:
- Base Price (Tier S2, 12oz): 6.85 FSD
- Seasonal Modifier: None (In-Season)
- Customer Group Discount: Preferred customer → –15% = 5.82 FSD
- Volume Discount: Order of 24 bottles → –10% = 5.25 FSD
- Final Price per Bottle: 5.25 FSD
This structured calculation ensures that whether the syrup is sold in Dock Ward’s guildhouses or shipped to a noble estate in Silverymoon, the pricing is consistent and predictable.
Realms-Aware Considerations
Pricing in Faerûn is never just about numbers, it’s about context. This section addresses the factors outside the core calculation that WDTC must account for: guild tariffs, regional availability, magical enhancements, and festival demand spikes. These realities influence how attribute-based pricing is applied in practice across the Realms.
- Guild Tariffs: The Confectioners’ Guild levies additional fees on S3 products to maintain exclusivity.
- Regional Availability: Certain flavors are only viable in specific climates (e.g., Frostsap from Icewind Dale).
- Magical Enhancements: Arcane infusion extends shelf life but adds to cost.
- Festivals: Flavors linked to major holidays (Shieldmeet, Midwinter) may shift from S1 to S2 during high demand.
Final Thoughts
An attribute-based pricing system is not simply a mechanical exercise in number-crunching—it is a discipline that shapes the way the Waterdeep Trading Company engages with every facet of its trade. By using the S1–S3 tier framework as a foundation, the Company ensures that each product is valued not by whim, but by the tangible qualities and market realities that define it.
This approach allows the Company to navigate the diverse economies of Faerûn with confidence. In the same week, a merchant caravan may carry S1 common syrups to rural taverns along the Trade Way, S2 seasonal syrups to bustling city markets, and S3 specialty syrups to the banquet halls of noble estates. Each sale, whether modest or grand, follows the same transparent structure—reinforcing fairness and predictability for customers while protecting margins.
Beyond immediate profit, this method strengthens WDTC’s long-term position. Consistency builds trust, and trust becomes loyalty. Preferred customers can rely on their tier-based advantages without the uncertainty of shifting prices, while non-preferred customers are presented with clear incentives to deepen their relationship with the Company. Seasonal surges and rare ingredient shortages may influence pricing, but they do so within a framework that is understood by all parties.
In a realm where the price of goods can be swayed by guild politics, sudden resource scarcity, or even the whims of magic, WDTC’s attribute-driven pricing system serves as both a shield and a sword. It shields the Company from market instability by applying calculated safeguards, and it acts as a sword by giving WDTC a competitive edge over less disciplined rivals.
Ultimately, the practice transforms pricing from a reactive task into a proactive strategy—one that aligns perfectly with the Company’s broader mission: to conduct trade across Faerûn with precision, foresight, and an unyielding commitment to fair dealing. The sweet profits of the syrup trade are merely one example of how this philosophy plays out in the everyday business of the Waterdeep Trading Company.
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