A Merchant carries a vivid selection of flowers and other fineries to sale at a Metropolis.
Trade Items are goods bought and sold by Merchants to stimulate player economies with Gold. They may include goods purchased at Villages or Metropolises, Items collected at Collection Points, or even Medals won in Arena Battles.
Imperial Warfare is unique from many other releases of the base game 帝国文明 in that it contains rich and interesting descriptions of its trade goods, letting players learn something about history and culture while they play the game. Some specific examples of Trade Items are listed below.
- Apple: A sweet, starchy fruit with skin that ranges from yellow to deep crimson and a taste that runs the gamut from sour to sweet; thought by some to be first cultivated in Greece.
- Date Palm: A sweet and nutritious reddish fruit native to Persia and consumed fresh, dried, or cooked as well as refined into oil. Also referred to as "bread of the desert."
- Indian Madder: A shrubby plant produced in India whose roots can be used in russet dyes or medicine.
- Snow Lotus: A precious and extremely slow-growing flower often used in Tibetan and Chinese medicine; plant begins to bloom after only three years of growth; currently endangered by excessive harvesting from its mountain habitats.
- Dream Pool Essays: A collection of writing recording all manner of scientific discoveries during the Northern Song Period; composed by Shen Tian, an accomplished scientist and statesman.
- Lychee: A large, sweet drupe native to Southeast Asia with translucent, juicy, grape-like flesh and a scaly shell.