Buying Magic Items & Healing

[Bystander]

I'm involved a few different games right now, and in one you can buy any magic item you want, if you have enough dough and go to the right store in town.

This seems silly to me.

In another game I'm in, the only magic items you get are spoils!
This includes Healing potions and such.
So if we have no healers in the party (small group) we are screwed unless the DM makes a pity NPC-Cleric.

How do you DMs handle this aspect?

I'm running a game soon, and I want to make some kind of middle ground- saying that some potions and magic items can be bought, by role playing out the shopping of such.

If you sell Healing Potions in town, this works well in the beginning since that can't afford too many, but as they get loaded with money- you have to say something like, "The alchemist only has X amount of potions" or else they stock up too much.

Maybe a limit on how many potions a character can carry? How many?

 

[Madfox]

The way I handle buying magical items depends entirely on the campaign world. One campaign I was running in Birthright setting. There are few high level wizards and clerics in that world and even the biggest city in the area my PCs were in had about 4000 inhabitants. With some difficulties they could buy most potions, but anything more powerful then that and they had to contact unique NPCs who would ask more then simple gold (at least under most circumstances). An other campaign I am running takes place in Planescape and the PCs have got easy access to Sigil. Sigil is one of the bigest cities in the Universe and it is quite magic rich. I allow my PCs to buy virtual any item there. Though they do have to find the right person, and rare items need to be ordered in advance (either to steal or craft it). I require an information gathering check from them to find the proper persons. As of yet, they have not really screwed this roll, but one of these days they will and then I can let them meet my con-man

 

[Deadguy]

I always find it curious when people talk about access to magical items in campaigns. I never got the impression from reading the DMG that any item a PC desired was available if they could pay for it! I can only put it down to DMs, inexperienced in the running of 3e, having difficulty coping with having rules for magi item creation that actually allow for their production (rather than the pap we were fed earlier, where any item was the product of a dozen quests just for power components!). Add to that the design which builds in magic items as part of the character advancement process, and I can see DMs feeling that they have to allow magic items on demand!

My advice is don't do it! For myself, I allow basic potions to be available pretty much on demand, particularly healing potions. But pretty much everything beyond that it a matter of finding the right Wizard or Cleric who is able and desirous of taking a commission to produce an item when they can spare the time to do so! if you want expensive magic items, then you have to be prepared to track down those few who are capable of making them and meeting their costs. I don't screw them over on this, asking for pointless quests, but I do make it clear that they're asking for goods from the powerful; they may well have to justify their creation.

A little common sense can go a long way in putting magic item creation into a campaign; it's a shame that too few seem to apply it, if these pages are anything to go by!

 

[BlindKobold]

You can do it several ways.

For potions:

Since clerics can make healing and other beneficial potions, chances are, major churches will have some available for their clerics, local army/militia and local lords/merchants. They will probably be willing to part with some to PCs of the same religion for standard prices (or slightly higher).

Alchemists (with a few levels of mage) can make potions too. Although harder to find, alchemists may be cheaper, have more variety or be willing to haggle or trade their wares for services or materials.

If your world has magic schools, chances are they will have items for sale or know where to get items (much like Harry Potter). These items are likely to be geared towards wizards - scrolls, wands and maybe some misc items that will help mages.

For other items.... where would you really find magic weapons, armor, etc? Who has money to commission them? RICH people. Powerful merchants and nobility. You are probably going to find them in:

a) In the hands of the original commissioner (king, duke, etc.) or their descendants

b) In a tomb of one of the original commissioners who died and was buried with it

c) In the hands of a thief who stole it from the original commissioner

d) In someone who stole it out of the tomb of the original commissioner

e) In the hands of someone/something that killed the original commisser and took it

f) In the hands of someone who got it from c,d,e

g) In the hands of someone who bought it from f

Those are the major places to get magic items unless you are in the Forgotten Realms in which case everyone and their brother has one.

I play each item as having a history and trying to figure out what path it took to get to where it is now. It makes it interesting and fun because the players may get really excited over a +1 sword because they know it belonged to a great hero and are recognized wherever they go --- and possibly believe that the PC carrying the sword is the hero returned.

Just be creative but don't make magical item so readily available. At the very least, PCs entered a city should need a high Gather Information roll to find out if someone has magic items for sale. Keep in mind that many people who have magic items won't even KNOW that they are magical. Sure... the sword is light and sharp... but unless it sheds light, bursts into flame or does something else visibly... joe merchant who buys an item/weapon/armor isn't going to know it's magic... only that it's really nice (masterwork).

 

[Arkham]

IMC, ( Well, in my last campaign, my new one is going to be
low magic ) there was really only 1 place to 'buy' real magic
items.

The largest city in the kingdom housed a magic school/guild.
And this guild, through manipulation of the local leader, had
law passed prohibiting the trade of magical items by anyone
other than themselves. This explained, in my world, where
the guild managed to get such wealth for their own defenses,
projects, experiments, toys, research. The only exception to
the law was that the churches could trade in clerical magic
items, wands, potions, scrolls.

To design the magical trade in your city, I would recommend
deciding on how many potions a given church would have in
stock. Then how fast, if a group of adventurers were to come
by, lay down 2,000 gp, and buy out their potions, they would
be willing and able to rebuild their supplies.

For the 'magic school' in my game, I would either simply
decide that an item was common enough for them to have
one on hand, or roll a small percentage chance for them to
have it. If it was not available, and one of the members of
the school met the prerequisites to build it, the PCs could
commission it, and then have to wait until it was done
being constructed. Part of the 'dues' and requirements for
joining the guild was having an Item Creation feat other than
Scribe Scroll, and building items when the guild requested you to.
( With ample compensation, of course, minus 10% for the guild )

 

[Petrosian]

The precise nature of magic item availability is one of the most important SETTING definitions. It is vital to the flavor whether this is common, rare, never or in between.

The core rules assume pretty much, see DMG, that magic items below 3k in price are common enough to be buyable. Limits in a town for GP and such based on size, limits on NPCs by town size etc all figure into keeping it reasonable. I use all these but pretty much in large towns or better low items are available based on NPCs and limits. If they aren't "on the shelf today" you can order them for deposit etc and get them made.

The core rules make this a standard probably to enable reason turnover of WEALTH to POWER since wealth is a factor considering level balance. A 10th level fighter with 49K in coin is not anywhere near as hot as one with 49K in gear. Without some means to turn gems and coin into useful gear, which after mid level means magic, the wealth/balance thing becomes useless.

Anything above 3k or anything exotic is harder to find for sale... (having "exotic weapons" harder to come by makes all those spiked chain or dwarven waraxe guys think twice.)

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

For myself, I allow basic potions to be available pretty much on demand, particularly healing potions. But pretty much everything beyond that it a matter of finding the right Wizard or Cleric who is able and desirous of taking a commission to produce an item when they can spare the time to do so! if you want expensive magic items, then you have to be prepared to track down those few who are capable of making them and meeting their costs.

Sure, it make sense to commission an item. But let's take common sense a step further:

When the PC find magic items that they won't use, what do they do with them? They sell them.

Are the PCs the only adventurers in the world doing this? Unlikely. So logically there are quite a lot of magic items up for sale if you know where to look. The skill gather information can be put to good use trying to locate these objects.

 

[tarkin]

For reasons stated above their should definitely be places to buy things.

But :
1) stores are exclusive: hard to find and hard to get into
3) non-extensive: chance of finding an item should be
determined by power:
I use the following: 90% for 1st level items (potion, scroll, wand) from the book
80% for 2nd, 70% etc.

for other items: 99% for items less than 1,000 gp, 98% for less than 1-2,000, all the way up to 10% for items costing less than 89-90,000. Then 5% 90-120k, and 1% for items above 120k.

If the first roll fails, then you can try again immediately to see if someone will take an order to make it. This costs an extra 10% on top of the normal price.

DM discretion on when more re-rolls can be made.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Maybe a limit on how many potions a character can carry? How many?

Oh, as many as they can afford, certainly! In fact, extend them credit (at a hefty interest rate, of course)!

Then have an ogre bull-rush them into a wall, pack-first.

-Hyp.

 

[Boone]

This has always been a touchy subject with our group.

Fantasy reader it seems that Magic Items were rare. (recent example of Lord of the Rings) The group about crapped at seeing a Mithyril shirt, bilbo's sword even had a name... in fact all magical swords had a name.

Yet when we look at game play... if you don't have mithyril underwear by 4th level your doing something wrong...

Buy magic items..... it was unheard of..... and seems silly..

I can see and agree with some healing potions and a misc. potion here and there.. but thats about it.

Making your own magic Items is beyond reasonable....