A cool product someone should make

[fusangite]

Alright... you have been warned. I'll continue, to the best of my ability.

I think, based on the mechanics of the appraise skill, the mechanic for valuing masterwork items and the mechanics of magic item creation, that once again, by pure coincidence not design, D&D is Aristotelian. In other words, all items have a real objectively true value regardless of what anyone wants to pay for them. And because this value is measurably real, most people, and, I would argue, virtually all lawful people will seek to pay an item's true value.

In our culture, if you raise the price of something during a shortage, this is a morally neutral act. I'm proposing that in D&D, if you raise a price during a shortage (or demand a discount during a glut), you are behaving an in inherently dishonest and non-lawful way because that price is intrinsic to the item, not to the purchaser and vendor.

Now this doesn't stop merchants charging you for transportation costs or storage costs (most D&D items are commissioned not in inventory). It might not even stop people charging interest on loans depending on how the loan was understood but what it should do is make prices less elastic than any neo-classical economic model would.

I would therefore recommend that you leave all prices at the value fixed in the books in which they are first described and instead have merchants charge additional fees. These fees still might be rolled into the item's total price and not broken down unless requested by the buyer. And I think that these fees going up during shortages should probably be looked upon as potential criminal acts requiring public justification. I also think that merchants who sell for less than an item's objective value when the market is glutted and business is slow should do so secretively for fear of prosecution by the local merchants' guild.

 

[Arnwyn]

Those are very interesting ideas, fusangite.

However, I'm wondering if you've considered the idea that the prices for items (including masterwork and/or magic items) have an unwritten assumption: "All costs and prices assume a 'normal' economic environment."

And if you have considered it, makes you think that it's not the case?

 

[fusangite]

Those are very interesting ideas, fusangite.

However, I'm wondering if you've considered the idea that the prices for items (including masterwork and/or magic items) have an unwritten assumption: "All costs and prices assume a 'normal' economic environment."

And if you have considered it, makes you think that it's not the case?

The "proof" (for my groundless theory) is in the magic item prices. If the prices were subject to the laws of supply and demand, then the experience point of cost of manufacture would be subject to the supply of and demand for the good. But this simply isn't true -- the cost of a material required to produce a product does not increase in lock step with the product's retail price.

Experience point costs should be fixed and not fluctuate with the market but because the rules assume a fixed ratio of experience point cost to item retail cost, this would not be the case if item retail costs were subject to supply and demand.

Unless we change the magic item manufacture rules, we are stuck with a pricing system that is, in part at least, objective.

 

[Zog]

My take on the fixed price of items is that in the D&D world(s), gold is valuable not because it looks pretty or because someone decided to use a gold standard. It is valuable because it has innate value to spellcasters & artificers. A magic item requires X amount of gold based on spell level and caster level. This is fixed. Cetain spells require X amount of gold or gems. Thus, gold contains some form of energy that powers magic. And it is used in the creation of magic items.

So, the price of magic is always fixed. The price of other items may vary with supply and demand, inflation, etc. But this will only affect ordinary, fairly low priced items. Strange world, where inflation and S&D have no affect on the luxury, high priced items in the world, but a 'normal' affect on the staple goods/mid-class of items. How this plays out, I'm still trying to figure out.

The main issue any such book or PDF would have address or include is the different base assumptions of the world. Is the price of most items largely fixed? Are only magic costs fixed? Is everything in flux? And how to spells that affect staple good affect the world? (plant growth, fabrication, make whole, mending - if items can be mended or Made whole with ease, then items last far, far longer - less turn over/replacement of goods and household items)

 

[jmucchiello]

Experience point costs should be fixed and not fluctuate with the market but because the rules assume a fixed ratio of experience point cost to item retail cost, this would not be the case if item retail costs were subject to supply and demand.

Unless we change the magic item manufacture rules, we are stuck with a pricing system that is, in part at least, objective.

I've always assumed that the "cost" of a magic item is only "fixed" with regard to the XP Cost.

This is just like spells that require 5,000 gp of diamond dust. You can't pick up a small diamond particle, say to the wizard, "That'll be 5,000 gp" and voila, he has enough spell component. Instead, the spell means 5,000 uninflated/deflated gp of diamond dust the actual price of which may vary.

After all, it would be an annoyance to have to price eye of newt, blood of demon, etc such that all the appropriate pieces were purchased (at approximately 2,000 gp) in order to construct a headband of intellect +2.

IOW, you can vary the price of masterwork weapons in times of war without varying the cost.

OTOH, I like just shipping (and handling) charges. That's a great way to deal with increasing prices without having to wholly examine the pricing charts.