Solving the "Let's Rob the Magic Shop" Problem

My go-to solution is the epic-level shopkeeper, but I've got to admit it's pretty ham-handed. How else do you keep a gang of wild murderhobos from taking all of a 3rd level commoner's worldly goods and breaking your economy?

Anyone who sells magic items can afford some degree of protection, whether it's bodyguards or magical defenses. But the best way of keeping the players more interested in honest trade is incentives.

Every time they visit, have the shopkeep spin a tale of a lead he has on some wonderful item, or how embarrassed he is to have such a paltry selection - if only they'd arrived a week later, when his new stock was in. And they're heading to Waterdeep next? His cousin runs a lovely magic store there so much bigger than this humble shop, and since they've been such good customers he'll be happy to put in a good word for them next time he Messages him, maybe even get them a nice discount.

On that note, a good angle here is to make magic shops something of a franchise operation. The shopkeepers all know each other, and all talk about the founder of the chain who still runs the really big one in the far-off city, and getting on the good side of one of them will put them on a good footing with the others - but robbing from one will get them black-listed with the entire chain, and they'll have trouble finding someone who'll sell them so much as a tindertwig.

Mimics. Giant, psuedonatural mimics. The shopkeeper doesn't need to be epic, he or she just needs a badass pet.

My go-to solution is to say such stores don't exist. That's not to say magic items aren't sold: it's just that the sales model more resembles real estate.

Brokers help sellers find buyers for a small commission. The seller keeps possession of the item. Typically, a viewing is arranged at an appropriate secured locale. If the buyer is satisfied the object matches description, a transfer is arranged through 2nd parties.

Another thing that works well, especially for purchasing the rarer and more valuable items, is to use brokers rather than shops. Basically the broker knows someone who is selling such-and-such and can arrange the deal with some time and a cut of the proceeds.

Edit: Looks like I was ninjaed!

What Magic Shop?

Ok, to be fair there are a variety of places in my games to buy/sell/trade/auction Magic Items.
And observant characters will also notice that each prominently bears the same sigil.
Characters with the appropriate backgrounds/skills/experiences (or who simply ask) can readily learn that this is the sigil of The League of Assassins.
Go ahead. Rob the place. See how that turns out.

All magic items are cursed until paid for. Sorta like those tags you put on clothing that set off the alarms when you walk out? Yeah same deal. Attempting to decurse the item without the shopkeep causes the item to explode.

Alternatively, all magic items are just illusions cast of a stock that is stored in an extra-dimensional space accessible only to the shopkeep. Sure, it's possible to travel to this extra-dimensional space if you can find the location, but it's full of dangerous monsters and traps (it's basically an epic dungeon).

Or maybe the store has a deadmans switch keyed to the shopkeep. If they die, the entire store goes on super-magical lockdown.

I don't typically like magic item stores, but I understand that they are a somewhat reasonable result of high-level high-magic games where magic items are found in loot, moreso if that loot is random. I like to tailor my magic items to my players, but there is still a chance for loss or replacement, and sometimes a merchant may only be willing to trade the Key to the Mcguffin for that really cool sword you have. So logically, magical trade does exist and "magic item shops" are more a result of magic item collectors (IE: rich people with too much time on their hands) who die or run short on cash. Ever seen an estate sale for a really old really wealthy person? Yeah, that's where Magic Item Shoppeees, with too many p's and too many e's are born.

I like a model with rare, strange, shadowy shops and shopkeepers of unknown origin and ability. There are vague rumors about demonic (or celestial) connections, ancient curses, invisible stalkers, and the possibility of a sudden, permanent death. Nothing is spelled out, so my players' imaginations do most of the heavy lifting. That has always taken care of it.


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Well, I don't think it would be much different than a jewelry store. Guards, display cases, items actually in a vault someplace, and probably just wouldn't let just anyone in the store.

A lot would depend on the store, too. I mean, it's one thing to go to Kay's Jewelers, but another to go to Tiffancy's or something catering to the rich. The former might not have much to steal.

Fauchard1520 said:

My go-to solution is the epic-level shopkeeper, but I've got to admit it's pretty ham-handed. How else do you keep a gang of wild murderhobos from taking all of a 3rd level commoner's worldly goods and breaking your economy?

Click to expand...

If you have magic shops then your economy is already broken.