So, I am ultra excited for Hearthfire to come out. While it lacks proper quests and the like, I think it is rather cool that Bethesda have given us a chance to actually build a home for ourselves in the land of Skyrim. That being said, it got me thinking. What if in a future DLC pack, they let you actually open your own business, store, or kiosk in any of the towns/cities? That is the thought behind my idea, a DLC pack called, "Blessing of Zenithar" (the god of economics/money). You could take what you find in your wanderings or on quests and put it up for sale, and possibly have NPCs purchase it for big bucks. While it would be boring to sit behind the counter all day, you could hire a store keeper to watch the place for you while you go out and acquire new wares for your store. Another thing that could come into play is your speechcraft skill/any other skill you have a potent mastery of. Example, if you opened your own weapons stall (let's just say it's right across from Warmaiden's) and you need to get the word out. Your worker lackey could place advertisemants all over the place, and depending on your speechcraft skill your ads would could be either very convincing or just another piece of spam mail that gets thrown in the fire at night. Your skill in blacksmithing could come into play too, as if you have a higher level people would be more readily inclined to buy your wares again and again because your work is exemplary.

Another aspect that could come into play is dealing with the thieves guild/the town or city government. You would have to take care to ensure that your store does not suddenly get robbed or that you miss the Jarl's summons to purchase some of your finer goods for sale at their palace or longhouse. It could give those Skyrim players who enjoy the grind of fashioning 100+ iron daggars to sell them for prices that they would set, as opposed to getting lowballed by that bastard Belathor in Whiterun.

What do you guys think? Does this sound like a fun idea? If you find the prospect of owning your own business enticint, what would you add to this? Leave a civil reply below and let's get to brainstorming! (also, if this generates enough buzz, the higherups may check it out...So start chatting!)

zenithar is the divine your thinking of but it would be interesting.

Yeah, that would be cool. I'd prefer a nice little mod for mo' magic, though.
Or spell creation! But yeah, although I wouldn't be personally interested in setting up shop, I kinda see the appeal.

Might be interesting, I'd have the spouse run the store... Only one of my pc's has gotten married and Marcurio gives her money from their business even though he is out adventureing with her. But they are suposed to open stores anyway. Sell the stuff you find...low overhead...

Go
Play
The
Sims

@Akryu: Whoops...My bad. I get the divines mixed up sometimes. Thanks for the notice...Changes made.

See, I would, but when last I checked Argonians and Kajiit weren't in the Sims...Not to mention there are fewer ways to shout your oponent into dust in "The Sims".

RPG...it is still suposed to stand of Role Playing Game isn't it? Nothing wrong with RP'ing a part-time shop keeper, part time adventurer. Choices are never a bad thing.

I actually like that idea.

This game isn't all about finding cool weapons and killing dragons. It's also a.....wait for it...............RPG! Surprising isn't it?


@OP: Great idea. Would definitely like to see a Divines DLC.

Please
Stop
This
Madness

I would LOVE this! It would make the game sooo much better IMO. And if you have a spouse or could hire someone to run the shop for you while you were out on adventure.. letting your spouse act like every NPC in the cities, enter the home at night, eat sleep - get up early and set up a shop for you with a stall etc. Or maybe even buy a house to set up a shop if your business is sucessful enough.

Exactly, I'm role-playing that I'm finding cool dragons and killing weapons. AND SO SHOULD EVERYONE ELSE.

In all seriousness, I agree with Skooma Addict that Hearthfire is like shabby horse armor at best.

It would be cool that if I left loot with the wife, she'd sell it for a lot of money to NPC. would save me having to sell everything myself if she did it for me.

Sorry, not everyone wants to play like you and want what you want.

And I disagree. There is a difference. Horse armor is useless and adds no customization at all. With Heartfire, you can actually build your own house how ever you want (of course there will be some limitations though) and customize it however you want. You might say "we already have houses! What's the point of this". Well, some people don't like those houses for one and want their own style of a house. And some don't just use them for storage and then walk on out. The game is an RPG. The ability to build your own house sounds like a good way to add on to that experience. And the fact that you can do all of that customization for just $5....the DLC cost less than a small meal you could get at a fast food joint.

But of course, do what you please. I will be making me that house I always wanted in the Pale on September 4th.

Not at all, from this perspective horse armor can actually do wonders for RP-ing; for example you can RP an authentic knight with an armored horse or something. Anything can be painted around cleverly and put in a positive light. It also doesn't seem lore-friendly (Dwemer architecture WTF?).

Even if I didn't use the RP argument, there is still the actual house itself that can be more useful than horse armor. And for $5, adds way more content. Also stated in my post.

Don't
Eat
The
Children

After all the complaints from this community about how TES is turning into a "casual" action-adventure series with Skyrim's "lack of roleplaying features", I guess now it's time to complain about there being too many roleplaying features now that they're being added to the game by Bethesda.

But
They
Are
sixy
Tasty.

Tell me about it.

It's
Alright
They're
Nords

I agree, i have literally gone around, and emptied EVERY shop of it's gold, and still had loot left. I don't loot anymore, a shop would help with it,

These
Vertical
Posts
Are
Getting
Very
Creepy

And I may not RP a storekeeper (no storefront, after all), but I do RP a part-time alchemist and wandering potion salesman. Which is kind of the dsame thing.

Please
Stop
these
strange
texts.

OP it's not a bad idea just not for me, I would rather have my own guild instead with a steward handing out radiant quests in keeping with the type of guild that I picked.