Do Magic Item "Shops" wreck the spirit of D&D?

[BryonD]

Does the overcustomization and overtwinking of the game wreck the spirit of the game?

I think that if you overcusomize and over twink then you have wrecked the spirit of your game, pretty much by definition.

Maybe I'm forgetting, but I don't recall anything in the core that states that "shops" automatically exist. Gold limit availability guidelines do not equate to a statement that stuff is just sitting on a shelf or custom crafters are standing by.

In my typical games cheap stuff can be found fairly easily if you go to the obvious places. Being able to buy potions of Cure Moderate Wounds from a large enough church doesn't wreck the spirit for me.

By the time the characters are high enough level to afford bigger stuff they tend to have reputations and contacts that make in-story justifications pretty easy. If the character can afford a +2 flaming keen great axe and that is what the player would like to have, then there is no added fun in telling the player "neener neener you can't have it".
You don't get to the gp point and write the axe on a character sheet. And you don't go to the "flaming" aisle at magic-mart. But next time you are back at a "safe" home base type location and have time to talk to your contacts, you can make a payment and a month later you have your axe. By that method you can aquire pretty much whatever customized item you want eventually, as long as you have the money, which means you're going to be high enough level to have that item one way or another. So it ends up having the same bottom line effect as a magic-mart, only without the story impact of a magic-mart.

Now if you want to play D&D with a lower magic item level then that's fine. But that doesn't justify being critical of playing at the standard level.

So to me, the initial question assumes a narrow range of options that result in lack of imagination wrecking the spirit of the game, rather than the rules themselves doing it.

 

[BryonD]

You really need to get the MIC.

Page 231:
A player points to an item published in this book or the Dungeon Master's Guide and asks, "Can I buy this?" The answer should usually be "yes."

Yeah, but as I stated above, this doesn't mean it is sitting on a shelf somewhere.

If you're playing default D&D then you are in a world where a lot of people (npcs) can make most of this stuff and large hordes of treasure pass through character hands over time. You've got the cash and somebody has the ability. It is only reasonable that, eventually, you should be able to buy one of whatever. But that doesn't at all suggest (much less demand) "large discount stores".

 

[Presto2112]

I'm thinking of opening a magic shop in my campaign akin to a cheese shop.

"How about a Ring of Feather Falling?"

"I'm afraid we're fresh out of those, sir."

"Oh, never mind, how about a Rod of Cancellation?"

"I'm afraid we naver have those at the end of the week. We'll get some fresh on Monday."

"Tish tish, no matter; how about some Boots of Elvenkind?"

"They've been on order for two weeks, I was expecting them this morning."

"It's not my lucky day, is it? Wand of Lightning Bolts?"

"Afraid not."

"Keoughtom's Ointment?"

"Ah! We have Keoughtom's Ointment, yes sir."

"You do! Excellent."

"Yes, sir. It's, ah ..... it's a bit runny."

"Oh, I like it runny."

"I think it's a bit runnier than you'll like it, sir."

"I don't care how runny it is. Hand it over with all speed!"

"Oh ....."

"What now?"

"The cat's eaten it."

"I see. This is a magic item shop, correct?"

"Oh, yes, sir, finest in the district!"

"Obviously. Um, Mace of Disruption?"

"No."

"Cloak of Resistance?"

"Not today."

"That's unfortunate. How about a Potion of Cure Light Wounds?"

"Not much call for that around here sir."

"Not much call? It's the single most used magic item in the whole DMG!"

"Not around here sir."

etc, etc, etc

 

[Herobizkit]

My DM doesn't care for magic shops, but as a DM, I think they're a necessary part of today's D&D.

It makes sense to me that those NPC spellcasters are going to earn their non-adventuring xp and gold somehow. Non-cursed items under 1000 gp value should be readily available to any town/city that has at least one spellcaster; Potions, scrolls, and 1st-level wands are easiest to make and would have the highest demand.

For wondrous items, a high-level wizard could hire himself out to make the items so PC's can save in-campaign time and a few feats here and there. Same goes for weapons and armor.

It just seems to me that if PC's can do it, so should NPCs.

 

[Presto2112]

For wondrous items, a high-level wizard could hire himself out to make the items so PC's can save in-campaign time and a few feats here and there. Same goes for weapons and armor.

What a cool idea for a side thing. I have an artificer in my game. I think that after he reaches a certain level, he will develop a bit of a reputation, and I'll have people starting bugging HIM as being a magic shop.

On a side note, if I ever made magic items for other people, I'd make every magic item with an extra added bonus - a contingency spell that activated Phantasmal Killer if they ever decide to use the magic item against me.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Which spirit?

The spirit of 1st edition, 2nd edition or 3rd edition?

The one where we grew up reading Conan or the one where we grew up playing Final Fantasy VII?

 

[diaglo]

Do Magic Item "Shops" wreck the spirit of D&D?

not alone. the ready availability of magic does that.

Does the overcustomization and overtwinking of the game wreck the spirit of the game?

not alone.

Does it just become a Mario-Bro's game where you're just trying to get enough "coins?" Can you hear the blinging sound in your campaigns?

yes, at times.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

In my campaigns, it might be possible to buy a magic item once in a while, but there certainly are no "shops" set up where you can browse around or special order what you want. Even having a magic item for sale is pretty darn rare, and it's usually stuff like potions and scrolls.

I don't like the idea of buying and selling magic items, so I keep it to an absolute minimum in my game.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Not if they're the Bazaar of the Bizarre.

It's not item shops per se, it's the "You can have any item in the book up to X,000 gp" that is harmful to the dynamics of the game, far more harmful than I initially realised.

QFT.

This goes for mundane items as well as magical ones.


RC

 

[Raven Crowking]

It says that, in general, you should allow PCs to buy magic items. One reasoning given is that for many levels its the only way the players can customise their PCs, and is significantly more fun than getting skill points.

This, I find, is a pretty weird statement in 3.X. How can it be that in 1e and earlier editions, players could customize their characters using imagination, role-playing, and the limited stat block differences available, yet in 3.X you cannot customise your PC unless you can buy magic items?

Sorry, but I don't buy that for one second.

Characters are important for what they do and how they interact with the game world. This doesn't require bennies, or Kewl Powerz at each level, or the ability to shop for magic items. This is just another example of the "character build" mentality of 3e: To be an interesting, well-rounded character, you have to twink.

bleh.


RC