Discussion: Selling Stuff to PCs

[ScorpiusRisk]

Yeah I think that's the goal. I see two main advantages to selling it to PCs.

1. It makes more sense. PC's theoretically would be the highest consumers of magic items, and characters are naturally going to develop relationships with one another. If I know my friend needs something I no longer want, it just makes to try to get it to him.

2. There's the possibility that I can make more money by cutting out the middle man.

 

[OnlytheStrong]

Another way (and probably one of the worst in my opinion) is to have the buyer pay full price, but "tax" the heck outta it until the seller receives the desired amount (1/5th, 1/2th, 7/183's). That way wouldn't be too difficult but it would require someone to check the transactions.

 

[Mezegis]

I agree with Kalidrev completely, allowing trading/selling PC to PC will just be bad news.

A major problem with selling PC to PC is there will be a constant stream of magic items flowing IN to the game, without an equal number of them flowing OUT. Eventually there will be a saturation point and everyone will have magic items coming out their ears and there will no longer be a “Yay, I got one” factor for having magic items.

In economics, a saturation would just mean that prices fall until the supply dwindles, however that would cause a huge downward spiral in the economy and suddenly lvl 2s will have crazy high level items because they could afford them after getting 300 GP from a quest. A set price cap would solve that part of it, however once the price cap is reached by everything, it’ll just become a giant trading ground where everyone can swap their lvl 4 item for any other lvl 4 item, or two level 2’s, etc…

There is a reason that in most multiplayer games, items are soulbound/exclusive, however you want to call it. That is because that is the only way to ensure a steady outflow of magic items comes close to balancing the constant inflow.

 

[Voda Vosa]

What if the re-selling is a one tiem deal? You can have an item for half the prize but you can't sell it to other pc. It could be noted in the character sheet that the item was bouth from X character, then the flow of items will be cut out. The second PC could sell the item for 1/5th of it's original value to an npc t get some of his gold back, and that'll be all.

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

So, just so we're clear, people are proposing banning the exchange of items, between characters universally.

So when you're on an adventure, besides the treasure acquired on that adventure, there can be no exchange of magical goods. I only assume people do not mean to include potions and consumables.

 

[JoeNotCharles]

I don't really like the idea of selling an item to another PC for only 1/5 the listed value and here's why

Sorry, I misread - I meant selling it back to a vendor.

 

[JoeNotCharles]

Here's how I think it should work:

During an adventure you can do whatever you want - toss someone your potions, lend them your sword, whatever. But at the end of the adventure, all items that haven't been lost have to go back to their original owner.

Players can trade items of equal levels, but can't sell each other items. You can sell an item to a vendor and have your friend buy an identical item and flavour that as your friend now owning your item. (Another way to look at this is that the buyer pays full price for the item, but the seller only pays 1/5.)

 

[elecgraystone]

I don't think "Players can trade items of equal levels" would ever work. The chance that someone else has the item you want and they just happen to have what you want it slim. The chance that they are the exact level aren't even worth mentioning.

Second, that doesn't address the issue of people upgrading. If I got a flashy new +3 wand, what are the chances I want anything the same level as my old +1 wand?

 

[JoeNotCharles]

I can think of one situation where it would come up: at the end of an adventure we have two items which would both be good for two characters (say two magic weapons for a fighter and a paladin). They can't decide who gets what so they roll for it. A few days later one of them realizes he really wants the other weapon, but now because the adventure's over he can't approach the other guy and ask to swap.

However, as you said, it's an unlikely situation - but I don't see why that means we should outlaw it. It wouldn't give anyone a huge advantage.

 

[ryryguy]

So it's currently the case that players can automatically sell magic items for 1/5th values to unnamed NPC vendors.

Are there limitations on items they can buy (at list price) from NPC vendors? It doesn't seem so, but I've never seen anything explicit about it.

I agree that though allowing a free market for item trading between PCs would be the most realistic, it unfortunately has the potential to bust the D&D economy. A basic assumption in the economy is that there is a single party of similarly-leveled PC's, and the rest of the world is NPC's subject to the 1/5th rule and so forth. We could add taxes and so forth to put PC to PC trades on the same footing as NPC transactions, but that hardly seems more satisfying, and if you can pretty much buy what you want from NPCs already, there's no real point to it.