D&D 5E The Case for a Magic Item Shop?

[Sailor Moon]

To the OP.

You have been given some great advice on what to do, butd it seems like you are only looking for one answer and that is magic item shops. I always felt magic item shops were the cheesiest element to ever hit an RPG. Thing is though, you don't need magic item shops to find what you want. You could easily find a few potions that you could use until you either leave the Underdark or find another way to see in the dark. You could also maybe find an item on the black market. Roleplay your character making deals with the local rogues who may have contacts that would have what you need. Sounds like you just want a magic item shop to appear and magically have what you need. Personally, I can't stand when the world seems to bend and adjust around me, where what I need seems to somehow always be available and appear where I want it too. If a setback equals not having fun then I would suggest another form of entertainment.

 

[Sailor Moon]

Oh and another thing.

If I read something about "big damn heroes" and "disadvantage and setbacks" can't be in the same sentence then I am going to go super saiyan on them.

I have never in my whole, really really long, gaming career, heard that being a hero means everything always goes your way.

 

[pemerton]

Maybe we can shift the tone from arguing over what people -should- do, to discussing what we've done before, and why?

In my 4e game I don't really have magic shops, but the PCs can buy ritual components, which the PC invoker then uses to create items (using the Enchant an Item ritual).

But most of their items have been received either as gifts, or as blessings from their gods or other sorts of story/environment-induced power ups. This works fine in a "wealth-by-level" or "treasure parcel" system, because in that sort of system there is no need to correlate "loot drops" with encounter victories.

It seems to me like the OP really needs something along such lines - Goggles of Night as some sort of gift or blessing.

 

[FireLance]

Maybe we can shift the tone from arguing over what people -should- do, to discussing what we've done before, and why?

I never used magic items shops in (late) 3e and 4e, because I simply cut out the middle-man and allowed the players to pick whatever magic items they wanted for their PCs within the wealth-by-level guidelines/treasure guidelines.

In 3e, whenever the PCs in my games gained a level, the players could pick whatever equipment they wanted, up to the standard wealth for their new level.

In 4e, whenever the PCs gained a level, the player could select one new magic item of a level equal to the new level of the PC, plus one (for example, when a 1st-level PC made it to 2nd level, he gained a 3rd-level magic item).

The players could provide whatever explanation they liked for how they gained the new magic items (or enhanced existing ones): they found them as treasure, they were given them as rewards or gifts, they commissioned their creation or bought them, they spontaneously gained new powers, etc.

It suited my playstyle as it freed me from the need to come up with magic items for the PCs or generate them randomly, I did not subscribe to the philosophy that each and every magic item had to evoke a sense of wonder, I had no problems with giving the players some authorial control over what happened in my campaign, and I did not see it as my responsibility to teach the players that they could not always have what they wanted. In any case, the guidelines provided enough limitations (for example, 3rd-level PCs would not be able to get better than +1 weapons). And it worked fine. Despite the flexibility given to the players to tailor their PCs' equipment, I had no problems challenging them in my games.

In 5e, I simply don't give out any treasure at all. I don't think it's necessary, since the CR and encounter guidelines assume that the PCs don't have any magic items.

 

[Shayuri]

Quote fail! In response to Mcbobbo, who said: Why not go first? What have you done, and why?

That's a fair request, but I haven't really run D&D...I am a playah.

As for other games I've run in, I had 2nd Edition books, but I never really played any versions before 3rd. 3rd and 4rth edition D&D were really hard to make 'low magic.' There were a few that tried, but none lasted long. 5th Edition is my first real experience with games that do not have relatively easy access to magic items, and I have to say I kind of like it.

That said, there are settings I've played where 'magic shops' make sense. Eberron is one in which that level of magic is really baked into the setting in a way that makes it analogous to electricity in modern society, and nearly as ubiquitous. Any setting in which there are organizations of arcanists who can pool their talent and education and effort can claim that they sell relatively minor magic items as a source of funding.

And any hedge mage might sell potions or trinkets or charms (which may or may not be genuine).

It can be done, and done well, I think. However, I do find myself having a bit of a taste for major magic items being rare and fantastic and either discovered via adventuring, or crafted via strange and wondrous arts. We'll see if it's just the novelty talking, I guess.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I'm just approaching it as crafting powerful magic items is a mostly lost art, and the PC's are fairly unique in terms of occupation. There aren't so many "adventurers" that they are common and entire economies have sprung up around them.

 

[Paraxis]

I'm approaching magic items as they litter the caves of monsters, that the characters stumble over one at least once a game session for the most part. There is an economy of selling and producing magic items.

 

[CM]

In my last few 4e campaigns:

• Common items are usually available in larger cities without too much fuss, and the players can craft them freely. No extraordinary components or knowledge are required to make them.
• Uncommon items are created on commission, traded for, occasionally found in black markets, or acquired through brokers if they are available at all (sometimes paying high premiums). PCs (and NPCs) could craft them if they have an existing item to study, have notes on the specific item's creation, or if a special component is available (displacer beast hide for displacement cloaks/armor, that sort of thing).
• Rare items were generally not available for purchase. If one did appear it would command a very high premium.

Gold values and item rarities are useful to me as a means of comparing item values, even if they aren't used in-game. 4e's addition of level to items was a good benchmark for when certain items could be added without changing the tone of the campaign too drastically. For example, most items granting flight don't show up until level 10+ for limited flight, 20+ for permanent, reliable flight.

I understand that some DMs believe that adding a price makes certain players feel entitled to them. To that I can only say that I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I also understand that some folks feel adding a price cheapens the whole "magic experience." To that I say it depends on the type of campaign you are running. For a typical low-magic Middle-Earth-style game, sure. That's reasonable. For the type of world presented in most D&D adventures, fiction and video games, I think that's a bit unrealistic. When many popular characters in official D&D novels are running around with a dozen magic items or more, I can see why players (and DMs) might have similar expectations for their own game.

 

[Sailor Moon]

My games don't have "I have build ABC so I need magic items 123". I have always hated this playstyle with a vengeance. "Oh look guys, this dungeon somehow has the exact sword I have been needing, wow the luck." (Dungeon number 4) "Hey guys, you will never guess what happened." "You found exactly what you've needed, so have we."

That playstyle for me really defeats the purpose of dungeon exploration and really the game itself. All the game becomes is one in which the main goal is to find the best and the quickest mathematical solution to killing the monsters. Not fun at all in my opinion.

 

[Skyscraper]

I've had a magic item shop in a game way back when, in 1E. The PCs decided to storm the shop and steal its contents. Honestly it was a fun mini-adventure (homebrew). They managed to get away with it. There were high level PCs, like level 12-13 or so.

Magic item shops, to me, change the type of game you are playing. It doesn't mean it's bad. It's a question of taste. Myself, I dislike the idea that magic item shops can cater to the wants and needs of PCs. This is not what exploration and wonder are all about. Magic is at its best when it is unexpected and rare. I love magic items when they mean something to the players. Not when they are an expected part of a PC's daily purchases along with iron rations and a quiver of arrows.