D&D 5E Buying magic items, yes or no?

[Oofta]

This came up in another thread and I was curious how other people handled it. I don't think there's any right or wrong answer here, unlike some previous editions the magic mart is obviously not the default. I'm not talking about things like common potions of healing here, rather anything from that +1 sword to a +3 boomerang.

So how do you handle it? Note that I don't think the actual means of purchase matters much for purposes of the poll. In addition, if there's a handful of magic items that are banned, or the PCs have to travel to a big city, that shouldn't affect your vote.

• Yes would be magic item stores that sell everything under the sun. Specific items may take some time to procure, but it will always be available.
• Usually could include a brokerage service to give people something to do during their downtime, but most things are available.
• Occasionally means it's hard to find anything specific but something might be out there.
• Rarely, as it says. Items are almost never available for purchase.
• Never. Go plunder some dungeon if you want it.

 

[Oofta]

For my campaign I decided that things can usually be purchased because if someone really wants that Backscratcher of Kwalish who am I to say no? I vote "usually" though because there is a bit of randomness to it. Basically some uncommon items such as +1 weapons will always be available, other uncommon items have an 80% chance of being available immediately. There are a handful of uncommon items that I just don't want to deal with at lower levels. Rare items only have a 20% chance of being available at all, with a 5% chance of being on hand. Very rare items have a 5% chance with a 1% chance of being on hand. Legendary are never for sale.

There are exceptions depending on the specific campaign. If someone is looking for something they may be approached with an opportunity to earn it.

My logic for allowing most uncommon items is fairly simple. Anything of value will be traded and magic items last virtually forever. Even if a master crafter only makes a handful of magic items during their lifetime, every item they craft could be circulated for centuries.

 

[Bolares]

I mostly play Eberron so yes, there is magic item commerce. But I tend to restric to common and uncommon itens, and some auctions and such for rare items...

 

[Lyxen]

Personally, I like the approach of 5e, DMG and Xanathar, so it's "occasionally" since the process in there can work but is certainly not guaranteed and, on top of that, it requires serious downtime, which is not something that is often available in our campaigns.

I have the same view as well about magic items lasting a long time, not indestructible but certainly sturdier and in any case well looked after.

Another thing is that we really prefer unique items, and have very few simple "plusses" items in the campaigns, these are boring and certainly not required in 5e, so +1 weapons and armor are certainly not more commonly available than other items, and actually probably less.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Occasionally.

 

[Umbran]

There's always going to be someone who needs gold more than they need an item they have, and almost everything has a price. It may take some legwork (like in Xanathar's) to find something like what you want, and the thing you seek is not guaranteed to be available.

 

[el-remmen]

Rarely. Instead, my homebrew has a strong culture/custom of trading magical items OR sometimes items can be commissioned but this takes a long time as most items (save potions) are bespoke. There is nothing close to the generic production of magical items for sale.

 

[Xetheral]

In the area of my campaign world I usually focus on, there are two places to reliably buy magic items, but both have drawbacks.

The first is the Great Market in the capital city. Almost anything can be purchased here, but the market is so large that it can take weeks to find something obscure, and prices are highly variable. There is an entire profession of full-time market agents who work on commission to help one find or sell a particular item, if one doesn't have weeks to go searching for a buyer/seller themselves. Although convenient for one-stop shopping, the main downside is that the market has come to dominate the trade in everything exotic, so there isn't much for sale elsewhere on the continent. One can sell a magic item elsewhere, but you'll get significantly less for it as invariably you're selling to a merchant who plans to cart it across the continent to the Great Market for resale.

The other alternative is the Adventurers' Guild, but it's less of a proper guild and more of a cartel designed to exploit adventurers. Their Wayhouses are more than happy to let you browse their catalog, but prices are terrible and shipping times long (unless you pay through the nose for magical delivery). Worse, the same magic items seem to show up in the catalog repeatedly--the Guild is well-aware of their customers' short life expectancy and keeps a close eye on where they are headed, sponsoring follow-up expeditions to sites enriched by the gear of fallen adventurers.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Absolutely yes.

I hate 'magic is special' and think it severely hurts the fantastic elements for the world when they're cordoned off from the rest of the world to artificially inflate perceived value.

If something has value, someone will buy it and someone will sell it.

If something can be made, it will eventually be made for a profit. I have both boutique sellers in my world who specialize in certain items and will special order versions (most famously, the Bag Man, who makes extra-dimensional spaces like bags of holding and portable houses) as well as fledgling companies that originally mass-produced weapons, armor and potions for war now pivoting to selling to consumers.

For me, the in-universe normalization of magic is part of what makes the world truly fantastic, not sealing it away in dark vaults where no one gets to play with all the fun toys.

 

[Redwizard007]

Purchasable potions and scrolls are basically a given if there is a wizard or cleric living in the area. Beyond that, you are making offers for family heirlooms, seeking out master craftsmen, trading favors with nobles or rich merchants. It generally turns into a quest reward rather than outright purchase.