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

[Maxperson]

I voted occasionally. Sometimes the party can find someone selling something or maybe even a few somethings, but those things will be randomly determined. There is no, "I want to go buy a Sword of Truth."

The reason for that is while the OP is correct that items stick around pretty much forever, in my game they aren't things you can mass produce or even that other wizards will just have the recipe for. Further, the things you have to acquire to make a magic item are themselves very rare and difficult/dangerous to get. The end result is that rather than there being staves of fire, there is probably only The Firestaff, made by the Archwizard Shazbot. Some items in the DMG may never have been made.

 

[jgsugden]

I strive to create a fantastical world that operates realistically. To that end, valuable commodities have a market. In larger cities, the market is larger. Elsewhere it is smaller. In the four largest markets of my setting you can get your hands on almost anything... for a price.

There is a book m.j in my setting called Librum Magicum. It is about 5 hp and it essentially describes all the monsters, spells and magic items in the core books. So, PCs can feel free to go look for the items described in Librum Magicum. However, less than half the items found (on adventures or at market) come from the core books. I have a huge amount of home brew, and the home brew tends to be the more popular items and spells players want.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Occasionally. There are usually items for sale IMC, but they're determined randomly and the pool of available items is generally small (usually around 5 items at a time).

 

[Maxperson]

Why does the poll allow for multiple category votes? These are singular options. If you vote for 1, you aren't doing any of the others.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Using the downtime activity, yes. Or commissioning a loyal artisan NPC to use the craft item activity for them. These artisans are rare and pricey, tho.

 

[overgeeked]

Rarely. A few minor consumables like potions or scrolls are available in big cities otherwise you’re left with what you find. I also tend to have more unique magic items that has special abilities rather than simple bonuses and they can “level” with the PCs so there’s no need to discard older items for shiny new ones simply because the bonus is higher.

 

[Laurefindel]

I mostly play in FR and Eberron so yes, magic shops and boutiques catering to spellcasters and adventurers exist. They sell mostly consumables and scrolls and even then, only the common ones can reliably be found (although uncommon consumables can usually be found if looking hard enough). Most other magic items are otherwise too valuable to keep stock in the backstore and sold either during auction or upon request.

 

[Oofta]

Why does the poll allow for multiple category votes? These are singular options. If you vote for 1, you aren't doing any of the others.

In previous polls people complained that they were in multiple campaigns and that their answer depended on which campaign was being discussed. I don't assume the same rules apply to every campaign.

 

[Maxperson]

In previous polls people complained that they were in multiple campaigns and that their answer depended on which campaign was being discussed. I don't assume the same rules apply to every campaign.

Then they answer "other." If you don't do one thing because campaigns differ, you are in the other category.

 

[Dausuul]

Occasionally for me, tilting toward rarely.

In my campaign worlds, magic items are massively supply-constrained. Beyond the simplest, most common items, people who can make them are relatively few, and they tend to have other concerns than being magic item factories (wizards want to study the mysteries of the universe, clerics want to serve their gods, druids are off living in a hut in the woods, etc.).

On top of that, their value comes from their utility--they are not just pricey status symbols--so they tend to find their way into the hands of people who intend to use them. Those people will be very reluctant to sell because there is no guarantee that they will be able to get their hands on a replacement. Of course, such people eventually retire, die, have the item stolen, etc., and at that point the item might well go on the market. But it won't stay on the market long.

And finally, magic items with "adventuring" uses are often of extreme interest to governments--they are high-grade military hardware. If I somehow get my hands on a bunch of surface-to-air missiles, and try to start a "SAMs-R-Us" business, I will soon be fielding questions from people in black suits and sunglasses. (To say nothing of the fact that the item itself can be sentient and dangerous...)

All of this adds up to a world in which trade in magic items, while it exists, is an adventure in itself. Locating a seller is difficult, trust on both sides is hard to come by, and complications abound. Selling is easier, there's plenty of demand, but you take a massive haircut if you're trying to offload an item quickly.