D&D 5E magic items prices

[CapnZapp]

Sorry I am not in the slightest interested in debating why or why not there should be a magic economy with you.

Lots of groups have no inclination for downtime activities. Of course the game should support a robust magic item economy for those who need it.

The rarity-based pricing info in the core books is a smokescreen. It's used to deflect criticism: WotC can point to it and say "we DO have magic item prices". But it doesn't work - prices are essentially random, with only the most tenuous connection between price and utility.

 

[Gecko85]

Right...because Bilbo just walked into a shop, browsed around, and purchased Sting. Right? Oh, wait, no...Sting was a truly rare item. When Bilbo didn't need it anymore, he didn't pop down to the local pawn shop and sell it, he handed it down. That should be the default behavior of magic items. Buying or selling should be very, very rare indeed. As a player, it's far more rewarding to go on a quest/adventure and come home with a rare magic item after much hard work and danger than it is to walk into Magic 'R' Us and buy what you need.

 

[Joe Liker]

Sorry I am not in the slightest interested in debating why or why not there should be a magic economy with you.

Lots of groups have no inclination for downtime activities. Of course the game should support a robust magic item economy for those who need it.

A very important part of 5e is that there's no such thing as "needing" specific magic items. This is a major departure in philosophy from 3rd and 4th editions, and it was important for the designers to make that clear.

If the DM presents you with an encounter where the monsters are resistant or immune to mundane weapons, he or she will either make sure you have the opportunity to acquire them beforehand, or will have a (presumably plot-related) reason for not doing so.

Can your group play in such a way that magic items are an integral part of a character build? Absolutely. But in doing so, you are playing outside the expectations set by the core rules. This is indicated by the fact that magic item prices are a loose guideline instead of a set amount per item.

If they set prices per item, players would take that as a cue that every town should have a Bazaar of the Bizarre, and possibly become disgruntled with the DM if that turns out not to be the case.

 

[machineelf]

If you want to allow selling of magic items, there is an option for that in the DMG. I don't have the book in front of me, so I can't give you the page number, but it essentially says that you can sell them in large cities or markets, but it will take you a certain number of days (determined by die roll) to find a buyer, and then they will either offer you far less (or sometimes in rare cases, more) for magic items. There is a roll chart to determine what kind of buyer you find.

 

[ad_hoc]

Sorry I am not in the slightest interested in debating why or why not there should be a magic economy with you.

Okay, great.

Lots of groups have no inclination for downtime activities. Of course the game should support a robust magic item economy for those who need it.

Just 2 sentences later. Really?

The rarity-based pricing info in the core books is a smokescreen. It's used to deflect criticism: WotC can point to it and say "we DO have magic item prices". But it doesn't work - prices are essentially random, with only the most tenuous connection between price and utility.

It's intentional. It's okay if you don't like the edition, but the rules are there for a reason.

Magic items are magical again. They are special.

If you bring back the magic shop then magic items stop being special.

The way magic items work in 5e is the main reason why I like the edition so much. It's okay if you don't like it. It's ridiculous to say that the edition was set up as just a cop out.

 

[CapnZapp]

Can your group play in such a way that magic items are an integral part of a character build? Absolutely. But in doing so, you are playing outside the expectations set by the core rules.

Yeah, you (and others) keep saying so...

...but this still does not answer the question "in previous editions we enjoyed buying magic items for our gold, but now we can't find anything worthwhile to spend gold on" assuming a party that doesn't enjoy downtime or castle building.

The DMG completely fails to provide an alternative for when you have 40000 gp and tomorrow enter the Dungeon of Slaughter.

Previously, you could whet your appetite for a +3 Axe of Slaying or another equally functioning item.

Now, not so much. In fact, not at all. All options either mean doing downtime stuff, or adding rules that merely act as a money sink. (Why hand out that much gold if all you can do with it is pay a trainer to level up?)

Why not provide a low-gold option in the DMG so the problem of spending all that gold never even happens?


It's okay for the new edition to pursue a different path.

Just as long as everyone agrees there exist a well-used playing style that simply isn't supported by the 5e rules as written.

Just as WotC has promised a 4e conversion guide, they ought to provide a "kick in the door and loot their corpses" campaign style conversion guide too.

 

[CapnZapp]

If you want to allow selling of magic items, there is an option for that in the DMG. I don't have the book in front of me, so I can't give you the page number, but it essentially says that you can sell them in large cities or markets, but it will take you a certain number of days (determined by die roll) to find a buyer, and then they will either offer you far less (or sometimes in rare cases, more) for magic items. There is a roll chart to determine what kind of buyer you find.

And I am saying that option is functionally worthless.

It is an option for those who really don't want to support a magic economy but still don't want to tell your players they simply can't sell their stuff.

It is not an option for all the players who play published adventures one after the other with little or no focus on downtime.

These players are not interested in buying anything with their gold that does not directly help them on their next adventure. Buying magical items is directly helping you on your next adventure.

But the DMG removed this option without providing any alternatives.

Thus, the edition does not support this style of play. A good DM can still make it work (the d20 SRD is a good help), but she has do it all by herself, with no help from the DMG.

In fact, I consider the DMG info on magic item prices and related info to be a smokescreen. It is not helping. In fact, it is actively making it harder to set up a rational magic item economy.

 

[Nergal Pendragon]

Yeah, you (and others) keep saying so...

...but this still does not answer the question "in previous editions we enjoyed buying magic items for our gold, but now we can't find anything worthwhile to spend gold on" assuming a party that doesn't enjoy downtime or castle building.

The DMG completely fails to provide an alternative for when you have 40000 gp and tomorrow enter the Dungeon of Slaughter.

Previously, you could whet your appetite for a +3 Axe of Slaying or another equally functioning item.

Now, not so much. In fact, not at all. All options either mean doing downtime stuff, or adding rules that merely act as a money sink. (Why hand out that much gold if all you can do with it is pay a trainer to level up?)

Why not provide a low-gold option in the DMG so the problem of spending all that gold never even happens?


It's okay for the new edition to pursue a different path.

Just as long as everyone agrees there exist a well-used playing style that simply isn't supported by the 5e rules as written.

Just as WotC has promised a 4e conversion guide, they ought to provide a "kick in the door and loot their corpses" campaign style conversion guide too.

I think part of the idea is that, as players advance in levels, they start getting rewards that aren't gold and, maybe, rewards they have to spend gold on as part of the reward conditions.

 

[CapnZapp]

A very important part of 5e is that there's no such thing as "needing" specific magic items.

But you still gain mountains of gold.

And the main way of spending that gold has been taken away.

What should you spend your gold on now?

What is all the gold FOR?

(For your answer please assume that you aren't interested in building a church, or donating to the orphans. You simply enjoy adventures and dungeons, and want options that increase your chances of survival.

I'm not saying it's wrong to donate to orphans. Just that not all players find that interesting. Especially players coming from, you know, the two previous editions and the last decade of the game...)

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

What is all the gold FOR?

(For your answer please assume that you aren't interested in building a church, or donating to the orphans. You simply enjoy adventures and dungeons, and want options that increase your chances of survival.

Gold won't help you for that. You don't need gold. Just don't pick up gold when you find it lying around in dungeons, it will only slow you down.