Why DMs Don't Like Magic Marts

[Mircoles]

I have no problems with magical marts, especially since I control what inventory is available at said magical mart.

Dms tend to run into problems when they allow unregulated access to magic items, which is something that I don't do.

In a world with magic items and enchanters that can make them, magic marts make perfect sense.

But, most of these worlds do not have industrial factories churning out magic items like they're going out of style.

You're not really able to buy magic items off the rack like we do with most items in our own world.

If you want a specific item and the shop doesn't have it, you'll need to find an enchanter that can make the item for you.

And it won't be quick, because good enchanters are also not found off the rack and may have other customers that will have to be satisfied before they can get around to making your item of choice.

Mind you, there are always going to people who claim to be top notch enchanters and can get your item for real cheap.

But, when it explodes the first time that you use it, you only have yourself to blame.

So, I don't really see a problem with magic shops.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Is there anything wrong with saying that the mundane quality and craftmanship of weaponry determines the mechanical bonuses rather than the magic? For example:

Quality (Bonus/Penalty)
(-1 or worse) Poor Quality (broken condition if using Pathfinder)
(+0) Used/Standard (Standard operating etc.)
(+1) Superior Quality
(+2) Masterwork Quality
(+3 or better) Exquisite Quality

In fact, how difficult is it to get rid of all +x magical items, melding them in to character development? {In 4e, you are going to destroy the whole magic system but that is another story and why I hate how 4e treats magic}

My preference is similar to Professor Cirno: leaving magic to mysterious and "magical" effects.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

Thankfully my dislike for 4e magic items is balanced out by my undying fandom for it's inherent bonuses system

 

[Stoat]

1. I thought it was obvious that 3E's magic item economy was a point buy system. There's no questioning it.

2. I generally like the idea of PC's being able to buy and sell magic items with a minimum of fuss and bother. Particularly expendable items and lower leveled stuff.

3. I've come to kinda hate +X. +X weapons, +X armor, +X to ability scores, +X to saves. They're a mathematical trap.

 

[Dice4Hire]

Well magic marts are the direct outgrowth of the Christmas Tree problem. If the adventurers, like all good adventurers, have been successful and filled every single item slot with shiny goodies, in many cases shiny goodies that were good ten levels ago, but useless now, then, unless the adventurers are the only adventurers on the planet, there are a lot of excess goods around.

Magic marts make perfect sense by the way 3E and 4E work. The systems assumptions demand that such things exist.

Of course considering the obscene amount of gold even a low-level magic item costs, Magic marts are utterly ridiculous as is the whole economy. I mean, why are thieves starving? Only because they steal from commoners and not even lowly third level adventurers.

But I, as many DMs, do not like them as it allows too much over-specialization of characters. Plus players will usually demand that everything be available. It is a problem I admit.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Magic Marts fail when they allow PCs to just throw money at problems (gobs and gobs of money - and why hasn't the propieter been robbed blind yet?)

And campaigns fail when the players spend more time trying to rob the magic shop than going on the adventure.

And who can blame them?

In the campaigns where I allow characters to buy items only limited by the amount of treasure they have hoarded, there is nothing to steal. The "Magic Mart" is a crafter and does not have an inventory on hand. You pay up front and if you don't trust the reputation of the crafter you can try to go find another, but even if you do, they'll want payment up front too. In fact, you never really meet the person crafting your items, just one cog in his network. And he usually works for a large enough organization to dissaude one from trying to locate him by abusing his agents.

So, yes, I hate Magic Marts the way most people describe them, but I still allow my players to buy what they want (unless it goes counter to the tone of the particular campaign).

 

[Redshirt]

The real reason DM's don't like magic marts is that the kind of person who would run one is the most slimy, degenerate piece of filth that you can imagine.

DM's, being the paragon's of virtue that we are, would become tainted trying to roleplay these foul being's and try to avoid them at all cost.

 

[Chainsaw]

Eh, magic wasn't evern common enough in my games to warrant stores.

 

[howandwhy99]

Your neighborhood store is a magic mart. And yeah, point buy is good. I want to know how much coin I have in my pocket. Not to say you can't haggle. Haggle all you want, but remember that this is the dungeon. You aren't getting out of here alive with that stuff for free. There's always a price. That guy in the corner selling you stuff? He has treasure sufficient for his level. He's no pushover, he's a monster.

 

[Greatman32]

In my game

I am playing in a game now were there isn't a magic shop per-say. But one of the characters is able to craft any magic item up to about +4 lvls above our own. We use inherint bonuses in our campaign to and its really changed the way in which I deiced which items I get. I did not even get a +1 weapon until lvl 7 perfering to go for more uniqe utility items with more "wow" effects. I think the system worked great and we all had fun with unique interesting magic items.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The real problem is when Magic Mart has a Faerie Fire Special:

- The peasants buy all the cut rate items, get upppity and overthrow the local despot.

- Magic Mart then has to restock, so the commission new works from all the local mages, who then have to go on a killing spree to get the gold and XP needed to craft the items.

- Which depopulates the region, resulting in fewer Magic Mart customers.

- Which then causes Magic Mart to have another sale ...

Watch out for the healing potions -- they're a loss leader.