This thread is a mess. @robertthebard, what is your actual argument/desire here, besides arguing with Tuco?
Do you dislike volatility in merchant prices, and you think that the game needs to remove ALL variations in merchant prices? (In your own words, "Getting better prices with merchants is, at the end of the day, getting better prices with merchants" which you seem to think of as "exploits.")
Or do you want players to still be able to easily influence merchant prices, and think that there's no point to removing the bribe mechanic because Cha or Reputation-based merchant prices is already an exploit (In your words, "if [players] run with 'highest charisma' or total party charisma can exploited on the very first visit to the merchant"), so Larian might as well leave in the bribe exploit too?
Or do you want players to actually have to sacrifice something meaningful in order to get better prices? And think that any cheap way of doing so is an exploit?
- If so, BG3's current implementation sucks. You sacrifice a pittance and get much better prices forever. I'd call that an exploit. Do you have a suggestion of what would be a good cost?
