D&D 5E In fifth-edition D&D, what is gold for?

[Helldritch]

I would even add that with the price range you have unprecedented freedom in giving/asking/paying a price for a magic items. The players want it badly? Go to the high range of the price tag. They want to sell something? You could go for the lowest price tag or anything you choose. Imagine going for the top price for an item that the players want to sell. My players would start asking themselves if they didn't miss something...

With a price range you can litteraly make bargaining a good RP time.
Players: Last time you bought us a magic sword for double the price why do you offer so low now?
NPC: I have no buyer now.
Players: And yet you are ready to pay double for healing potions?
NPC: I have buyers now. (said with a wide smile).
Players: But you sell potions at triple the price!
NPC: I have buyers now. (said with an even greater smile...)

It could be possible to see that with a fixed system. But you should get ready to hear some protest from the players that have the DMG. The famous:"That is not what it is written!" will come lashing at you as fast as a lightning bolt.

 

[CapnZapp]

It is though. Just not to the level that you and some others would like. You have my condolences that they didn't give you a highly polished system right out of the gate. But I think the game as a whole benefits from the more open nature of the current rules. I also don't think that the pricing rules need to be concrete and highly polished because the game will function just fine as is. You can buy and sell as the DM sees fit and the game won't break. It does put some extra work on the DMs shoulders though, but that also means the DM gets to make sure that the balance the DM wants is 100% in their hands.

No, the current system isn't just something you "polish". It is useless and needs to be replaced entirely.

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[Igwilly]

Giving us just broad price ranges is basically "do it yourself". I could do that without those "guidelines". But math work isn't something a DM likes to do. Also, help to better DM a game full of magic items is also needed, because if the game's balance doesn't assume magic items...
Plus, there were price changes in 4e. Two rules of it, for you to choose.

 

[Azzy]

Because designing and writing and playtesting and balancing a magic item pricing and creation subsystem based on utility is a non-trivial task.

One of the great things about an online community like ENWorld is that you can find others that share your views fairly easily. If you were willing, you could probably get a group together to tackle the project, and make the task much easier than doing it by yourself. This what others who's games are not 100% supported by the rules (non-standard races/classes/etc for non-FR settings, and such) have to do as well.

I'd much rather pay WotC $40 for a copy of their 5E version.

I'm sure, but unless it's something they plan to do (which isn't likely, given the strong push-back against "magic marts" and such during the D&D Next playtest), you're up the creek if you or the community doesn't take matters into your/their own hand. And even if WotC were to do something like this, it'd be on a distant horizon.

If you really want WotC to know that there are those of you that want more codified magic item pricing, the only productive recourse it to contact Mearls and Crawford on Twitter. Discussing it here with the community if fine and all, but if you actually want your voice to be heard by the D&D team, this is not the right outlet. I know some people say they don't do Twitter, but it's not like you have to pay for it or even use it for anything other than trying to contact the D&D team.

 

[Ahrimon]

No, the current system isn't just something you "polish". It is useless and needs to be replaced entirely.

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude

We had this same discussion over a tear ago, so I won't drag us through it again. I hope that some day they release a set of optional item pricing guides for you, but myself and many others feel that the current system is better for the game.

 

[Harzel]

(For those unfamiliar with the CaW/CaS terminology, see here.)

Thanks for posting this link. It was very interesting.

 

[Uller]

"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude

We had this same discussion over a tear ago, so I won't drag us through it again. I hope that some day they release a set of optional item pricing guides for you, but myself and many others feel that the current system is better for the game.

Which is why it should be kept optional...because once you go down the road of purchasing magic items then you have to consider the impact on all your players and their PCs. If one PC is spending his money on castles and armies and other things that don't really effect the three primary pillars of the game (exploration, interaction and combat) on a consistent basis while other PCs are buying +2 weapons and armor or other magical gear that they can use frequently then things get out of whack.

In the past I was able to handle this reasonably well because a) players that choose to spend money on RP related stuff don't care so much about powergaming and b) I would drop minor magic items usable only for their character here and there (and sometimes as a result of their non-power gamey spending to help keep them at least within an order of magnitude of the other PCs.

I have been able to muddle through using the "Sane Magic Item Pricing" pdf that is out there and mimicking the selling magic items downtime activity. Just reverse the table and set the time to be weeks instead of days. So a Sword of Life Stealing (1000gp) will take 1d8 weeks to find a seller and the price will be determined as follows:

20 or lower: Twice the base price
21-40: 1.75 times the base price or 1.5 base price from a shady seller
41-80: 1.5 times the base price or base price from a shady seller
81-90: base price
91+: Half price from a shady buyer

You can also use the crafting a magic item rules combined with the same PDF. The crafting times get a little crazy, especially for very rare and legendary items (a legendary item would take one 17th level character 54 years to craft). So you might have to adjust that a bit. But the same Sword of Life Stealing would take about 4 months to "craft" (or buy) and cost 1000gp.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Hasn't anything like price lists for magic items been produced in the DM's Guild? It strikes me as something that enough people are having issues with that there would be some demand for them.

 

[Capn Charlie]

Hasn't anything like price lists for magic items been produced in the DM's Guild? It strikes me as something that enough people are having issues with that there would be some demand for them.

There is a pdf around out there, called Sane magic item prices.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8XAiXpOfz9cMWt1RTBicmpmUDg/view?usp=sharing

It is quite good, and I use it as a reference constantly.

 

[MichaelSomething]

More ways to spend gold is coming. Check Mearls' Twitter on January 3rd
https://twitter.com/mikemearls/status/816345763642941440