Buying Magical items [Archive] - Wizards Community

Buying Magical items [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Daxen
10-17-06, 10:13 PM Is it common practice now to have magical items for sale? I haven't played in a game yet where you can just go to a store or a wizard or whatnot and just buy your +5 Flaming Greatsword of Wounding or what have you. Do you folks as DM's really just allow the accrument of gold to equal magical power? It just seems wierd to me. Sure you might find a +1 or +2 type item for sale at the right price which will be astronomical, but what fun is it to just buy whatever the hell you want? It surprises me that people seem to still be trying to win this game. I don't think I would want to play in a game where magic is bought and sold so cheaply. Just my two sense and looking for how people explain that level of commercialization of magic in their game worlds.
Nom
10-17-06, 11:38 PM Most expensive magical items will only be available on commission. No-one with half a brain creates an item worth tens of thousands of gp and then sits around hoping for a buyer; you wait for the buyer to tell you exactly what he wants and then craft the item. Of course, "expensive" varies by context. A simple potion might be "expensive" in a village, but they'll be relatively common in a city. And occasionally a really unusual item might be recovered and put up for sale, if the PCs are willing to buy it.

Even in this world, you can buy just about anything if you can find a seller and have enough money. Just because you or I wouldn't think about buying a $100 million jet doesn't mean that no-one does.
Giant Turtle
10-18-06, 12:03 AM I'm gonna have to disagree with the second half of Nom's statement. The first half is right, if it's more than just a +2 weapon, it will probably have to be commisioned, in really big cities, you might find +3 or +4 in stock, in small amounts. But as far as buying stuff for gold, it never really made sense. So, you pay a wizard 200,000 gold for a +5 Vorpal Greatsword, now whats he gonna do with that? He makes enough money of +5 and lower weapons to afford the materials for almost anything, so why ask for gold? After he has gotten enough to build a castle and stock it, which is 5 or 6 +10 total weapons, he doesn't need gold. So, I figure its a trade thing. I've been trying to come up with some way to make it easier then "You must go an a journey to find me X object of power in exchange for your +4 Keen Flaming Wounding Rapier." So far, I've come up with disenchanted magic items for 1/10 their XP value usable only towards item creation. Or, you could just go for gold, but at the least, if its worth more then 50,000 gold, It has to be done in trade. My mages guild won't even give out more then 200,000 gold for something, usually, if its more then 1,000 golds worth, unless specifically requested, the players get a voucher for X amount of money that has an Arcane Mark on it from the guild. They can use the voucher like a gift card, getting a new one with the new value each time. The seem to like it.
Ashok_Lal
10-18-06, 12:40 AM My DM alows us to buy anything we want. (Cool) Infact, not so cool. It seem very good but it only enables Powergamers to POWERUP. Don't get me wrong I'm a power gamer myself. But to much power os boring IMHO. (can't belive i would ever say that)
Vegepygmy
10-18-06, 04:16 AM But as far as buying stuff for gold, it never really made sense. So, you pay a wizard 200,000 gold for a +5 Vorpal Greatsword, now whats he gonna do with that? He makes enough money of +5 and lower weapons to afford the materials for almost anything, so why ask for gold? After he has gotten enough to build a castle and stock it, which is 5 or 6 +10 total weapons, he doesn't need gold.Sorry, but that's like saying it doesn't make any sense for Donald Trump to keep doing what he does. I mean, he's got "enough" money already, right?

No matter how much gold a person has, they can always use more. And most people will want more.

There are plenty of good reasons not to have magic items for sale in D&D, but this isn't one of them.
SunTzuWarmaster
10-18-06, 08:57 AM Case-by-Case basis.

In game, we ventured to a dwarven city. I wanted to buy a Flaming scimitar (and use the masterwork as trade). DM tried to tell the party that magic was rare, but was argued to reason. What does the dwarven town sell/trade? answer: weapons+armor. A weapon with a +1 modifier is likely to be found in twon (provided it is not exotic). By similiar comparison, a +7 modifier is not likely to be found and is more likely to be specially made for the King/Duke.

In one game I was in, the DM ruled that in a large town, they may or may not have what you are looking for. You can spend one day looking for up to 4 items (DM rolls to see whether they exist in town, Ring of Animal Friendship is more common than a more expensive item. Legendary (+5 or better) items cannot be bought). Alternately, you can pay a wizard to upgrade a weapon (wizards usually rip people off).
Donkeypunch
10-18-06, 12:31 PM Yikes,

Um, doesn't this TOTALLY depend on how scarce magic is, the tone of the world you play in, and the scope of epic"ness"?

For example, everyone knows they would NEVER find a magic item "for sale" in Middle Earth, while there's the Bazarre where everything's available in the Mythmaker series.

Or for an in-between world, you can buy enchantments and healing draughts in the Guardian of the Flames world, but you couldn't but a magic weapon outright.

I may have skimmed too quickly, but was it agreed upon that you're all talking about the same setting?
Jhaelen
10-18-06, 07:10 PM In my campaign you can buy every item with a price below the town's/city's gp limit. That works quite well for me, especially since it's a long and difficult journey to the next large city. I'm not even sure there's a metropolis on the same continent...
It may be necessary to search for a couple of days or even pre-order some of the more obscure items (DM's fiat).
Kadasbrass
10-18-06, 07:39 PM For most DMs its just easier for the magic shops, maybe just have them wait a bit ("later that week") for commissions to be done.

But if you look at the way Art was done a thousand or five hundred years ago, everything was commission. Alot of artist would work for certain power groups (noble familes, the church, royality). There really wasn't shops to go to and buy art as there are today.

Magic items would be part of similar system I believe, and such a system might work out for DMs and players that want a more invovled campaign. I can see potions, minor items being sold in some shops. But if you want a +5 Longsword you might have to have strong ties to a magical orginization in order to get a commission for the item, maybe even serve the interest of a Archmage.

Elminster: "I'm a busy person, go investiage the orcs of the high wood."
[5 Elminster based quest later] "You done so much work for me, how can I repay you?"
the players: "Well the magical properties of this sword don't seem strong enough when we fought the dragon blah blah blah"
Ashok_Lal
10-18-06, 07:40 PM When i DM i roll on the magic item list X amount of times & that is what the shop has in stock. 10% chance that they can order in an item from another shop somewhere.
Godzilla
10-18-06, 07:48 PM I'd say only with oils, potions, and scrolls. With magic weapons, rings, etc., you probably can't, or shouldn't, just find one. Instead, you'd have to request it, and then only in a big city that has a big enough economy to ensure that the crafter will be able to make the item.
However, if someone is trying to make a nice hunk of gold so they can afford something they can use or don't have or that can improve on something, like if a Wizard gets a Moderate Fortification +4 Full Plate or a Fighter gets another Thundering +3 Greatsword or a Rogue gets a Icy Burst +3 Rapier as opposed to their +2 of the same variety, then you can buy one off of the traveling merchant.
Fromost the Grimm
10-18-06, 11:06 PM In most campaigns I've played in -- i.e. 21 years worth -- buying magic items has always been a rarity. And that's the way I think it should be -- they should be rare, and mystical and cool, so that when you come across them with adventuring, divying up treasure is always exciting.

In the one campaign I've been in where we did have access to a Magic Shop though, it was awesome. We only really had one big dig at it . . . we were around 8th-10th level, and ended up with about 35-40K gp each to essentially buy what we liked. I agree with more expensive/powerful weapons being less available, but at this level -- with us aiming at +2 items/equivalents -- we could pretty much have what we wanted, with item creation available for less common items, if needed.

It was great to experience that facet of the game -- to be able to tailor your items that well. Yes, in a sense it's powergaming, but . . . nobody really went silly, trying to borrow money of others to net that game-breaking sword, etc. We all went for balance, a few items of nominal stat increase (gauntlets of Str, cloaks of Cha etc.) were pretty much the mainstay.

It's enjoyable, if not exploited. Keep what's available to that around this level, and make more powerful items increasingly rare simply due to their power level . . . shouldn't be a problem . . .

:)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Daxen 10-17-06, 10:13 PM	Is it common practice now to have magical items for sale? I haven't played in a game yet where you can just go to a store or a wizard or whatnot and just buy your +5 Flaming Greatsword of Wounding or what have you. Do you folks as DM's really just allow the accrument of gold to equal magical power? It just seems wierd to me. Sure you might find a +1 or +2 type item for sale at the right price which will be astronomical, but what fun is it to just buy whatever the hell you want? It surprises me that people seem to still be trying to win this game. I don't think I would want to play in a game where magic is bought and sold so cheaply. Just my two sense and looking for how people explain that level of commercialization of magic in their game worlds.
Nom 10-17-06, 11:38 PM	Most expensive magical items will only be available on commission. No-one with half a brain creates an item worth tens of thousands of gp and then sits around hoping for a buyer; you wait for the buyer to tell you exactly what he wants and then craft the item. Of course, "expensive" varies by context. A simple potion might be "expensive" in a village, but they'll be relatively common in a city. And occasionally a really unusual item might be recovered and put up for sale, if the PCs are willing to buy it. Even in this world, you can buy just about anything if you can find a seller and have enough money. Just because you or I wouldn't think about buying a $100 million jet doesn't mean that no-one does.
Giant Turtle 10-18-06, 12:03 AM	I'm gonna have to disagree with the second half of Nom's statement. The first half is right, if it's more than just a +2 weapon, it will probably have to be commisioned, in really big cities, you might find +3 or +4 in stock, in small amounts. But as far as buying stuff for gold, it never really made sense. So, you pay a wizard 200,000 gold for a +5 Vorpal Greatsword, now whats he gonna do with that? He makes enough money of +5 and lower weapons to afford the materials for almost anything, so why ask for gold? After he has gotten enough to build a castle and stock it, which is 5 or 6 +10 total weapons, he doesn't need gold. So, I figure its a trade thing. I've been trying to come up with some way to make it easier then "You must go an a journey to find me X object of power in exchange for your +4 Keen Flaming Wounding Rapier." So far, I've come up with disenchanted magic items for 1/10 their XP value usable only towards item creation. Or, you could just go for gold, but at the least, if its worth more then 50,000 gold, It has to be done in trade. My mages guild won't even give out more then 200,000 gold for something, usually, if its more then 1,000 golds worth, unless specifically requested, the players get a voucher for X amount of money that has an Arcane Mark on it from the guild. They can use the voucher like a gift card, getting a new one with the new value each time. The seem to like it.
Ashok_Lal 10-18-06, 12:40 AM	My DM alows us to buy anything we want. (Cool) Infact, not so cool. It seem very good but it only enables Powergamers to POWERUP. Don't get me wrong I'm a power gamer myself. But to much power os boring IMHO. (can't belive i would ever say that)
Vegepygmy 10-18-06, 04:16 AM	But as far as buying stuff for gold, it never really made sense. So, you pay a wizard 200,000 gold for a +5 Vorpal Greatsword, now whats he gonna do with that? He makes enough money of +5 and lower weapons to afford the materials for almost anything, so why ask for gold? After he has gotten enough to build a castle and stock it, which is 5 or 6 +10 total weapons, he doesn't need gold.Sorry, but that's like saying it doesn't make any sense for Donald Trump to keep doing what he does. I mean, he's got "enough" money already, right? No matter how much gold a person has, they can always use more. And most people will want more. There are plenty of good reasons not to have magic items for sale in D&D, but this isn't one of them.
SunTzuWarmaster 10-18-06, 08:57 AM	Case-by-Case basis. In game, we ventured to a dwarven city. I wanted to buy a Flaming scimitar (and use the masterwork as trade). DM tried to tell the party that magic was rare, but was argued to reason. What does the dwarven town sell/trade? answer: weapons+armor. A weapon with a +1 modifier is likely to be found in twon (provided it is not exotic). By similiar comparison, a +7 modifier is not likely to be found and is more likely to be specially made for the King/Duke. In one game I was in, the DM ruled that in a large town, they may or may not have what you are looking for. You can spend one day looking for up to 4 items (DM rolls to see whether they exist in town, Ring of Animal Friendship is more common than a more expensive item. Legendary (+5 or better) items cannot be bought). Alternately, you can pay a wizard to upgrade a weapon (wizards usually rip people off).
Donkeypunch 10-18-06, 12:31 PM	Yikes, Um, doesn't this TOTALLY depend on how scarce magic is, the tone of the world you play in, and the scope of epic"ness"? For example, everyone knows they would NEVER find a magic item "for sale" in Middle Earth, while there's the Bazarre where everything's available in the Mythmaker series. Or for an in-between world, you can buy enchantments and healing draughts in the Guardian of the Flames world, but you couldn't but a magic weapon outright. I may have skimmed too quickly, but was it agreed upon that you're all talking about the same setting?
Jhaelen 10-18-06, 07:10 PM	In my campaign you can buy every item with a price below the town's/city's gp limit. That works quite well for me, especially since it's a long and difficult journey to the next large city. I'm not even sure there's a metropolis on the same continent... It may be necessary to search for a couple of days or even pre-order some of the more obscure items (DM's fiat).
Kadasbrass 10-18-06, 07:39 PM	For most DMs its just easier for the magic shops, maybe just have them wait a bit ("later that week") for commissions to be done. But if you look at the way Art was done a thousand or five hundred years ago, everything was commission. Alot of artist would work for certain power groups (noble familes, the church, royality). There really wasn't shops to go to and buy art as there are today. Magic items would be part of similar system I believe, and such a system might work out for DMs and players that want a more invovled campaign. I can see potions, minor items being sold in some shops. But if you want a +5 Longsword you might have to have strong ties to a magical orginization in order to get a commission for the item, maybe even serve the interest of a Archmage. Elminster: "I'm a busy person, go investiage the orcs of the high wood." [5 Elminster based quest later] "You done so much work for me, how can I repay you?" the players: "Well the magical properties of this sword don't seem strong enough when we fought the dragon blah blah blah"
Ashok_Lal 10-18-06, 07:40 PM	When i DM i roll on the magic item list X amount of times & that is what the shop has in stock. 10% chance that they can order in an item from another shop somewhere.
Godzilla 10-18-06, 07:48 PM	I'd say only with oils, potions, and scrolls. With magic weapons, rings, etc., you probably can't, or shouldn't, just find one. Instead, you'd have to request it, and then only in a big city that has a big enough economy to ensure that the crafter will be able to make the item. However, if someone is trying to make a nice hunk of gold so they can afford something they can use or don't have or that can improve on something, like if a Wizard gets a Moderate Fortification +4 Full Plate or a Fighter gets another Thundering +3 Greatsword or a Rogue gets a Icy Burst +3 Rapier as opposed to their +2 of the same variety, then you can buy one off of the traveling merchant.
Fromost the Grimm 10-18-06, 11:06 PM	In most campaigns I've played in -- i.e. 21 years worth -- buying magic items has always been a rarity. And that's the way I think it should be -- they should be rare, and mystical and cool, so that when you come across them with adventuring, divying up treasure is always exciting. In the one campaign I've been in where we did have access to a Magic Shop though, it was awesome. We only really had one big dig at it . . . we were around 8th-10th level, and ended up with about 35-40K gp each to essentially buy what we liked. I agree with more expensive/powerful weapons being less available, but at this level -- with us aiming at +2 items/equivalents -- we could pretty much have what we wanted, with item creation available for less common items, if needed. It was great to experience that facet of the game -- to be able to tailor your items that well. Yes, in a sense it's powergaming, but . . . nobody really went silly, trying to borrow money of others to net that game-breaking sword, etc. We all went for balance, a few items of nominal stat increase (gauntlets of Str, cloaks of Cha etc.) were pretty much the mainstay. It's enjoyable, if not exploited. Keep what's available to that around this level, and make more powerful items increasingly rare simply due to their power level . . . shouldn't be a problem . . . :)