D&D General Buying Selliing Magic Items

[Zardnaar]

So some feedback o have been getting last year or so is often the PCs don't have anything to spend their money on. In C&C they don't care (1gp=1xp) so cash isn't pointless although ownimg large piles of it after you get the it may be. Magic items are also fairly abundant so you don't need to buy them.

In CoS we had piles of cash and couldn't even buy mundane stuff like full plate reliably.

Recently we have completed DoSI and an added adventure set on tbe isle. By level 4 the group had amassed around 2k gold combined. Only 1 or two permanent Magic items were located in DoSI. LMoP had 11 iirc.

I'm opposed to Magic items as a supermarket approach like 3E and 4E. However I'm open to curated lists of basic items being available. Kinda like BG3 but a lot less available in less quantities.

Bonus feat is different to bonus curated feat or a 2024 origin feat. Magic items similar concept imho.

Unlike others who seem to neglect exploration pillar it's probably a bigger component in my games. So here's what I have done.

+1 item +250gp/+125gp weapon/armor. I halved the DMG prices and halved the prices of armor a'la 3E.

+2 was +2500/1250gp.

They recovered a +1 dagger that dealt 1d6 poison damage (I would treat it as a +2 item a'la 3E).

On arrival in town I provided them with a map and list of places to go. Said town was Sandpoint from Rise of the Runelords. Several items you could aquire from the Druid Grove and Goblin camp (BG3) were around the PCs just had to locate them and figure out how to aquire them. There's 50 locations to visit. The big obvious one was the cathedral.

Monk found the Gold Wrymling staff (+1d4 fire damage, can be used for firebolt). NPC wasn't selling it but "when the time comes they'll know". That time is next session when an event happens

Anyway they spent the rest of the session exploring parts of sandpoint. They're writing the location of items, NPCs abd plot hooks on the map key I provided. No RL timelimit sandbox was up to them.

Several things.
1. Supporting exploration and social pillar. Just being somewhat subtle about it.

2. Rewarding them for making the effort. If they can't afford such items they know where they are. They're also asking what they can do. Indirectly buffs social pillar.

3. Setting up the next session. Some of what they find will be free. Rewards for said events.

4. Basic items being available smoothes out the missing out feeling. Each player will get something cool by level 5-7. Halberd of Vigilance (+2 halberd grants alert feat), Hazirawn from HotDQ , armor inspired from BG3. The minor items will tide them over.

5. Hints dropped that the next major upgrades will be towards the end eg level 10-12.

6. Let's them do stuff at their own pace. If they get bored event xyz can happen or they can go do whatever they want. Most of them are new.

7. Cash rewards and prizes means some new toys or minor items eg potions.

So that's kinda it. Basic items are available to buy. Basic items with a +1 equivalent ability in 3E are upper limit of power level for purchase. They're an extra 1d6 damage or d4 with minor ability eg a cantrip. Better items are still mostly go out and find it. Some could be available.

I thought they would buy several smaller items. The splashed out on +1 full plate at 1625gp.

 

[Lanefan]

The only change I'd make here is that a certain amount of what's available would be randomized (and thus not limited by price or rarity) to reflect a society in which high-end magic items occasionally come on the market for whatever reason:

--- another adventuring party is trying to unload it (e.g. an all-stealth party brought home some +3 plate mail that has other benefits to it; they can't use it themselves and want to turn it into a big pile of cash)
--- the previous owner has died of old age and the surviving family wants to sell it (Mom had this sword hanging on the wall since forever as a trophy, only after she died did we learn it's a +4 holy avenger and worth a fortune if we can find a buyer)
--- someone commissioned a major item from an artificer and then never came back to pick it up, the artificer now wants to sell it to make back the construction and material costs

These items - and even a big city might only have half a dozen such at any given time - would perhaps be of no use at all to the played PCs...or might be just what they're looking for. Depends on the luck of the dice.

 

[Zardnaar]

The only change I'd make here is that a certain amount of what's available would be randomized (and thus not limited by price or rarity) to reflect a society in which high-end magic items occasionally come on the market for whatever reason:

--- another adventuring party is trying to unload it (e.g. an all-stealth party brought home some +3 plate mail that has other benefits to it; they can't use it themselves and want to turn it into a big pile of cash)
--- the previous owner has died of old age and the surviving family wants to sell it (Mom had this sword hanging on the wall since forever as a trophy, only after she died did we learn it's a +4 holy avenger and worth a fortune if we can find a buyer)
--- someone commissioned a major item from an artificer and then never came back to pick it up, the artificer now wants to sell it to make back the construction and material costs

These items - and even a big city might only have half a dozen such at any given time - would perhaps be of no use at all to the played PCs...or might be just what they're looking for. Depends on the luck of the dice.

Major items probably won't be for sale at least in a shop. Basically agree with your examples if are going to sell them.

 

[Oofta]

I allow people to purchase magic items in my campaign, but like the OP the selection is limited. Many but not all uncommon items are available, although it is random as to how long it will take to acquire. The way I view it is that magic items basically last forever so it would be kind of odd that there weren't some sort of marketplace for them. However, quite frequently an item is not locally available at the moment. The people that are in the business are more brokers, people that trade what they have on hand or share the purchase price with someone who does have it. So it may take a few days to a few months or even longer to find something. In most cases, it's just random luck what is currently available although for gameplay reasons some sort of uncommon magic weapon of the type the PC prefers will likely be available.

Some items simply aren't available, especially at lower levels, because I find them somewhat unbalancing. Things like boots or brooms of flying I limit for that reason. Rare or very rare items are much more difficult to come by, legendary items are never for sale.

 

[Horwath]

Common, Uncommon and to an extent rare items should be readily available to buy in any major trading hub.
larger the hub, better on more items you can buy/sell.

unless we get another book that will go into "mundane" upgrades of gear like 3.0/3.5 style of gear supplement books, there is really no upgrade of starting gear, except for a tank to get fullplate level or two later.

what will you buy? A cart of basic healing potions?

there are no rules for special materials as mithril and adamantium were coded as magic items and not just different metal that gear was made of.

 

[Zardnaar]

Common, Uncommon and to an extent rare items should be readily available to buy in any major trading hub.
larger the hub, better on more items you can buy/sell.

unless we get another book that will go into "mundane" upgrades of gear like 3.0/3.5 style of gear supplement books, there is really no upgrade of starting gear, except for a tank to get fullplate level or two later.

what will you buy? A cart of basic healing potions?

there are no rules for special materials as mithril and adamantium were coded as magic items and not just different metal that gear was made of.

That's basically how I'll run it. Major hubs eg Waterdeep, BG won't have everything. If they have anything though it's where you'll find it outside of special situations.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I have magic shops in big cities. I think there are 2 or 3 in Waterdeep (if you count the one that is only for written things).

Magic shops are small but well guarded. You won't see most of the protections, but there might be a golem just standing there to make the point.

The majority of what they sell are "wizard supplies". This means spell components and the generic magic ink/etc component costs to copy spells into a spellbook and make scrolls. Also, arcane foci and blank spellbooks.

They also have pre-made spellbooks with some spells in them (I probably need a rule for learning to use another spellbook). Some of those are spellbooks that they purchased, while some may be starter books.

Some shops will allow you to purchase the right to copy a spell into your own spellbook (this is supervised and they have books for this, you aren't borrowing the proprietor's book like a library loan).

Only then do actual magic items come in, and these are usually random. I typically say the chance is really high they will have 1st level scrolls of common spells. But they might not. They aren't going to keep a lot of copies, and someone may have just bought their comprehend languages scroll. 2nd and 3rd level scrolls are less likely to be found, with anything higher moving into the general magic items category.

Most likely they have multiple potions of healing.

For the rest, they might have one or two items I think are interesting, and the rest are completely random. I'll decide or randomly roll both how many they have and what they are.

You can get the better deal on the items they have in stock--and it's often the best deal if you have something to trade the proprietor wants.

If you want something they don't have in stock they can look into locating such an item for you, but it will be more expensive because of that. They also may or may not be able to find it.

I'm not a big fan of saying anything under a certain rarity is available, because it implies a lot of stock laying around and casters making items for sale. The feel I go for is that it's not very profitable to make magic items to sell, so the vast majority of items have been and are made for personal/ally use. That's why you can't assume even low level stuff is lying around. The bigger profit margins are in selling spellbooks, charging to copy spells, etc. I've set prices to make that true. (One of the principles I have for world design, is decide what you want to be true and make mechanics and setting reasons that make it plausibly be so.)

Shops will usually buy magic items. The cost of items is set to a large extent (selling or buying) and variance is a relatively small percent, but we are talking about large values so those numbers are not insignificant. That said, if they aren't terribly interested in what you are selling, you either won't get the best deal or they won't buy it at all.

This way makes magic shops actually exciting treasure chests. You get to see what goodies they might have, just like a treasure hoard. Our party picked up multiple bags of holding in Sigil, by visiting multiple shops. At least one wasn't even a generic magic shop, but an expensive clothing store that carried a small number of magical items. Each bag of holding is visually different (color, material, design), so we can visualize how things look in our party's inventory.

Of the random items in one of those shops there was a ring of fire elemental command available. One of the characters hopes to be able to afford it years in the future if it's still available. Another character would really like gauntlets of ogre power in the actual form of gloves (he's a non-martial wanting to shore up a weak Strength, but not wanting to throw off his style by wearing actual gauntlets) but didn't find any in the few shops in Sigil. Maybe when he has more cash he can pay to commission someone to make them, or get high enough level to do it himself.

This also means stores shouldn't overshadow the usually random magic goodies they find during their adventures. For most magical items other than scrolls, shops are an unreliable supplement and place to unload unwanted stuff rather than a primary source for magic items. (One of the characters is a treasure hoarder, and never wants to sell anything, so that part rarely happens with this party.)

 

[SkidAce]

@Sword of Spirit , I do nearly exactly the same thing.

The one addition are private secret networks like art galleries, museums, or high end Black Market.

But that's an RP opportunity, finding your way into one of those exclusive groups.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

@Sword of Spirit , I do nearly exactly the same thing.

The one addition are private secret networks like art galleries, museums, or high end Black Market.

But that's an RP opportunity, finding your way into one of those exclusive groups.

Good idea. There are probably some really wealthy collectors who might have a lot more stuff.