Buying magic items vs. finding magic items

[Numion]

Bought items can become customized at some point too. After a while my character, Furion Silverfire, enchanted (added abilities at ye olde magic shoppe) his original bow for the Nth time, and took +1d6 fire damage. With a bonus effect that the fiery arrows have silvery flames. Then I baptised my bow to Silver Avenger

The great magic items aren't always named by heroes long gone or the names granted after battles long forgotten. Some adventurers make their own legends - and name their own weapons.

I'd say that naming my own trusty weapon was more satisfying to me than having a 'name' weapon given to me by the DM. It's nicer to know that you used the bow to slay an adult red dragon than knowing that someone else used it to slay a great wyrm!

 

[Stalker0]

We've always played finding items but in our newest campaign we've tried ye old magic shop. As both a player and a DM, I really like that it allows the players to adapt to the settings created... rather that the DM having to tailor things.

My group consistently will buy some magic items for a quest, and then sell them and get new ones to adapt to a different one. Its been a lot of fun.

 

[Oni]

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.

I just did something similar with the campaign I'm starting, since everyone will be 3rd level. They get half the listed amount to spend how they wish (the view is they have been adventuring for long enough that they will have been able to accomplish some customizing) and the rest i randomly generate.

 

[Victim]

finders keepers.

let the buyer beware.

The seller needs to beware a whole lot more than the buyer.

As long as items are cool and useful, I don't care if they're found or bought.

 

[Etan Moonstar]

It depends. On the one hand, being able to go out and buy any desired magical item creates a flavor problem. On the other hand, it's not fun to force a player to beg his DM in vain for even a +1 version of his primary weapon. It's also not fun to be "rewarded" by getting the +1 frost double-bladed sword the orc fighter has been kicking your butt with for weeks and not only having nobody in the party anywhere close to being able to effectively use a non-resizeable double-bladed sword, but to also be unable to sell it due to the lack of any buyers (since there are no magic stores that buy magic weapons in general)--not that the gold would do any good at all when PCs can't buy magic weapons (remember the trend in previous editions for PCs to, as they advance in levels, accumulate dragon-sized hoards of gold because they have nothing meaningful to spend it on?). Optimally, a good DM should keep in mind the PCs' signature items and play styles and reward them with magical items that enhance the PCs natural tendencies, and allow a reasonably-sized market for magic items to make up the balance (since it also stretches believability for every single item the PCs find to be exactly what they wanted). Sadly, though, few DMs achieve this balance, and given the choice between a generic magic shop or accumulating unsellable hordes of useless magical items while being denied any items tailored to your PC's strengths, I'll take the magic shop every time.

 

[Melan]

I do not restrict the sale of magic items - why not? The only thing I do restrict is their availability. You can't just find Boots of Striding and springing anywhere...

But you may find a seller who is willing to get rid of that "round copper box which was found amidst the ruins of a long forgotten Atlantean city". Now, what does the box contain? Is it worth the money you have to pay for it? And if it is cheap enough for you to afford - does it mean there is something you don't know but the merchant does? Is it an elaborate fake? Is there a hidden catch - like a "+1 sword" which will animate and turn on its wielder when he is severely wounded?

The possibilities are endless! Just avoid the "over the counter wands" syndrome and even buying an item will be a small adventure!

 

[Thanee]

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.

In our campaigns, we get more than 50% for selling items (more like 75%), unless the item in question is something weird, that is hard to find a customer for. Even as a reseller, winnings are still huge and most of the stuff (like weapons and armor) is fairly easy to find a buyer for, anyways.

Bye
Thanee

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Both.

Finding a crafter of just the right magic item is a bit more difficult, but better than sticking the party with an item no one can use.

Mostly though the party keeps what it finds, and only one character has 'special ordered' a magic weapon.

Given the situation of the game this meant that another character had to join the Wizard's Guild (Not called that, it being closer to a university cum trade union), find out which chaper of the guild could fulfill the prereqs, travel to that city, and wait for the mage-smith involved to have enough time on his schedule. Which meant finding adventurous employment in the area. I use the optional rule for rare materials lowering the XP cost, so if they could fing the heart's blood of a pyrohydra the price would be reduced....

The option that you didn't mention however is in my estimation the best - allow the party to craft it's own. I must admit to a bias here, nearly all the wizards that I have created for my own use (if I ever get to play again) are mage-smiths.

The Auld Grump

 

[Staffan]

In the Dark Sun campaign I'm working on, items will not be readily purchasable. This is mainly due to the fact that wizards are outlawed in most places, templars have better things to do with their time than make items, druids also have to keep a low profile in cities, and clerics generally aren't all that commercially-minded. Also, the components for making items aren't all that easy to find either - some of them are probably mundane items you can get over the counter, others can be bought from shady elven merchants, but the good stuff you'll have to go out and find yourself.

Psionic items would probably be easier to find and/or make.

 

[nopantsyet]

I will gradually make things available to them. But it's always going to be alot easier to find somebody churning out minor potions or +1 daggers than to find powerful or specific items. Commissioning is extremely expensive, and will always require some additional component...a task, and ingredient, something. And the wait. Wizards are notorious for putting their own research above their commissions, at least until they run out of food.

I only use a few wondrous items and standard +# weapons and armor. Everything else is I create myself. So when a rogue decides he wants some gloves to boost his dexterity and uses his contacts to find a guy who deals in "rare and obscure items," the guy will come back in a few days saying he can get some gloves that let you climb up walls and some that help you dodge attacks, etc. He'll relate what's on the market and how much it will cost. He brokers a deal, take a commission, some deals fall through. Some items he'll know more about, some he'll even know some history, but never the whole of their powers.

I just like magic to still feel magical instead of like mass-produced technology.