Buying magic items vs. finding magic items

Quasqueton · Nov 21, 2003

As a Player (as opposed to a DM), would you rather your PC get money on adventures, with which to purchase magic items of your own choosing? Or would you rather "find" magic items?

Do you prefer picking (buying) specific magic items to support your character concept, or do you like building your character based on the magic items he/she finds in the course of adventure?

Quasqueton

Mista Collins · Nov 21, 2003

A mixture of both is quite fine. I like the mystery of items you find while adventuring. I am the type of player that likes to chug that potion when he is in trouble and he has no idea what it does. And I also like being able to buy the items I need/want.

The best way to dp this to make sure players like me (not sure how many are like that) are happy, is to use the random treasure charts in the DMG. As a DM I have found this is the best way to go about things.

diaglo · Nov 21, 2003

finders keepers.

let the buyer beware.

Numion · Nov 21, 2003

I'd like to find the more specific or 'named' items. Straight bonus items (like cloaks of resistance, rings of deflection, stat boosters) I'll be happy to buy.

Thanee · Nov 21, 2003

As a player and DM I have noticed that it's better to restrict buyable items to a degree (mostly minor stuff and sometimes "better" items, but these should also need to be "hunted down" and not simply readily available at the Magic-R-Us Superstore).

I like to find items, as long as they are not completely stupid and you sometimes find items, which the various classes "need". It's ok to buy a thing or two, here and there, but finding items is more fun usually and leads to the use of more unusual stuff!

Bye
Thanee

MerakSpielman · Nov 21, 2003

Most players remember that using found items is a better deal than buying new ones, since they were free. Also, if you convert found items to cash, you suffer from the 50% sellback rate and can only buy magic items worth 1/2 as much as the ones you sold.

As far as buying items any items they want... well... sure, but they have to find somebody capable of crafting the item in question and willing to sell it. My campaign has a lot of politics. The Temple of Heironeius, for instance, has an exclusive contract as the sole provider of magical arms and armor to the Elite Royal Forces. Part of the contract states that they do not provide such services to people not personally approved by the General of the Elites. And what with the recent upsurge in anti-wizard hatred... well... Like I said, if they can find somebody willing to make/sell the items, then they can buy them.

maddman75 · Nov 21, 2003

My players tend to keep most of what they find, selling and buying only a few choice items to round their character out. For instance, a rogue might REALLY want a set of Gloves of Dexterity and commission a set made.

The place you run into problems is replacement characters. By the book, they get X amount of gold to spend on items. Therefore they end up with a collection custom built to be perfect for their PC. So I have a new rule in place. You can either get the default amount in randomly rolled treasure, relfecting what you have found, won, or discovered, or you get 1/2 that value to buy things custom built for your PC.

Numion · Nov 21, 2003

MerakSpielman said:
Most players remember that using found items is a better deal than buying new ones, since they were free. Also, if you convert found items to cash, you suffer from the 50% sellback rate and can only buy magic items worth 1/2 as much as the ones you sold.

Most also remember that it's more useful to get half the items price than keep an item that nobody uses. Selling is always a good option if nobody wants it.

Altalazar · Nov 21, 2003

I think it is always more fun to find items - there is then a story behind it.

Buying items can be ok for some staple items that you otherwise wouldn't find, though a sharp DM ought to know what a player would really want bad enough and find some way to work it in through story than just through retail...

In the games I run, I tend to put in a lot of non-standard items that do both useful and strange things. One of my favorites was the indestructible dispelling staff. They found it holding up the ceiling in a circular room. It was quite an accomplishment getting it out of there, because as soon as they pulled it out, tons of ceiling would collapse. I even forget now how they managed it.

It really only did two things. It could dispell effects (more powerful than a dispell magic - like if you whacked someone turned to stone with it, it would turn them back - yes, that's how it worked, you had to 'whack' it on what you wanted dispelled) twice a day and it was completely indestructible, which makes for all sorts of interesting, creative uses.

It was of limited utility, but on certain occasions it allowed the party to surivive or escape where otherwise they would have been TPK.

Offhand, I can't think of any other items. But I do know it was fun for my players to find them - and they also really appreciated the custom items - much more interesting than another +X blah blah blah-oogle.

Mouseferatu · Nov 21, 2003

I prefer finding, pure and simple. As I've expressed in other posts, I tend not to like (with a few exceptions, in specific campaign worlds) the feel of games that allow regular purchase of magic items. The occasion potion or scroll, sure, okay, but no more than that.