do you agree with purchasing magic items?

[demon_jr]

some of the recent post i have read, instructed players to purchase magic items as a solution to certain problems.

other posts lean toward keeping magic items rare and wondrous.

i see no problem with either style, but i can only speak about the campaign i participate in.

my campaign could be classified as high magic. currently, we are at 13-15th character levels, with low-level enemy NPCs (when compared to us) usually having minor (at least in our game) items, such as +1 swords or +1 rings of protection. although it could be classified as high magic, our DM does not believe in being able to purchase or sell magical items.

however, our DM recently changed his mind, allowing us to visit the Red Wizards (we are playing a Forgotten Realms campaign) and allowed us to purchase minor magical items, such as wands, scrolls, and even wondrous items on the minor table.

i realize this may be different from campaign to campaign, but i am not sure what would the so-called "norm" for purchasing items in a "typical" DnD campaign.

from some of the posts i have read, it seems that it is fairly easy to purchase magical items that are in the 10,000 or more g.p. range.

i don't have a problem with this, i am just curious as to how easy it should be to purchase a particular magical item that you want, instead of talking to the DM outside of the gaming session and hoping that the magic item you want will turn up as treasure after the next adventure.

within my campaign, currently, the system is that the players speak to the DM about the types of magical items they want. in turn, the DM finds ways to introduce the magical items into the adventure. i can understand this can work for more powerful magical items, but what if it is something that is fairly weak or mundance when compared to your character level?

i'm just curious if i'm getting cheated by not being able to purchase the items i want or if i'm being blessed by being able to purchase magical items in the first place.

 

[Crothian]

For me, it depends on the world. Someone has tom be able to make these items in close to mass quanities for supply. And then there has to be not only ther demand, but people who can easily afford them.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Yep! Buying magic items is the norm for my people. There's a list of magic items up to 3,000 GP in the DMG I let them use for general item. More powerful stuff either has to be found or specially made. Thus, the captain of the guard, too, can have the odd +1 sword and have it be more or less realistic. And the King could have a +3, and be fairly realistic (he's got the money and coult to commission one).

 

[Squire James]

While merchants don't go around hawking magic items (except perhaps potions, and these might not be real), I have no problems with PC's seeking out private individuals to buy and sell magic items. In the abstract, they need a Gather Information check, with a DC decided on the fly (minor item DC 11-20, medium item DC 21-30, major item DC 31-40, adjust for town size). If they succeed, they hear about someone in town who will buy or sell the specified item.

Specialized item brokers can be hired for 1% to 5% of the item price to attempt the Gather Information check on behalf of the party. The broker's bonus will be roughly +5 per 1% charged (though some dishonest brokers may be less skilled or simply leading the PC's into an ambush).

Most individuals found will have a particular interest that the PC's may use for further commerce (Lord Reginald, for instance, may want to outfit his 100-man guard force with magical longswords and chain shirts, for instance). Outside this narrow interest, the PC's will have to take their further business elsewhere (and make another skill check).

I think this is a reasonable middle-ground between unlimited item sales and those sad "low-magic" campaigns that actually favor wizards because all the wizard items tend to fit any wizard, but all the warriors have to accept magic outside of their preferred armor/weapon types or do without (and wizards can do wondrous things without items, but fighters can't).

 

[hong]

In the ~14th level Forgotten Realms campaign I'm playing in, we can buy most items in large cities like Suzail or Waterdeep. The only limits are in terms of game balance. The DM takes a rather laissez-faire attitude; as long as we're having fun, most anything goes.

In the ~4th level Britannia 3E campaign I'm DMing, most consumable items like wands and potions are available for sale. More significant magic items are restricted; there's only 3 really major centres of arcane lore (or divine lore). This helps cut down on "ye olde magic shoppe" syndrome. However, all is not lost; the PCs can also "imbue" items with XP as they gain levels. It's a process analogous to how samurai can imbue their daisho in OA, but generalised to all classes and all items.

Rules here: http://www.zipworld.com.au/~hong/dnd/imbued_magic.htm

 

[arwink]

I'm all for letting players make and buy their own items. I figure it's probably one of my favority parts of 3e.

The random aquisition approach had its moments, but stylistically the challenge of fitting a magic item trade into my campaigns has lead to all sorts of fun.

 

[the Jester]

A few months ago someone posted a fantastic analysis of the economics of the magic item trade, breaking down what sorts of items were likely to be available in a given population center, using the demographics in the dmg as a guide. I've used it ever since, but since I'm half a continent away from my computer, I can't repost it. If anyone else knows where that went and can point you at it, I think you'd find it very useful.

Basically, in a little village imc you might find a few low-level scrolls; in a town, potions, scrolls and maybe a few minor wondrous items or arms and weapons; and in a large city, you might find anything for sale, but it's likely that there will only be a few powerful items around, and most of the casters with the necessary feats and levels to craft the really powerful stuff are prolly not magic merchants anyhow. But you might be able to commission stuff from them, if they aren't otherwise occupied.

I recently posted the full text of a town adventure that I ran in the plots & places forum; that might give you an idea of a good way to run it.

I'd never let pcs wander anywhere and buy anything. It's a good idea to have a master list of the items available for sale in a given town if your group is going to spend a lot of time there, and if you know what spells are in the local wizard merchant's books, you have a good idea of what he can be commissioned to make.

 

[ichabod]

I am personally torn over magic items. I think access to magic items is a part of what makes D&D what it is, and why me and my friends play it. Which is one of the problems I have with epic levels, but that's another discussion. On the other hand, they should have something special about them.

What I've done is say that all magic items in my world are somewhat intelligent, although not necessarily on the level of intelligent items in the DMG. Each item has an alignment. If you are using a weapon of a different alignment, it might not work on a given day (you have to make a will save each day, with the difficulty based on how different you're alignment is and how powerful the item is).

Now, items are intelligent because you have to put part of your soul into them to make them. You can get around these problems by putting your own soul (experience points) into the item (I made a third level spell that allows this). Then, even if your alignment changes, you can use the item without problems.

It has worked out rather well so far. Items can't be sold for as much, unless you take the time to find someone of the right alignment. Also, you don't go into a shop and buy a powerful magic item, you have it commissioned. And you think twice about it because that will eat some of your experience points.

 

[Umbran]

some of the recent post i have read, instructed players to purchase magic items as a solution to certain problems.

other posts lean toward keeping magic items rare and wondrous.

I don't see that these two are necessarily mutually exclusive.

Using the core rules for wealth, PCs are insanely rich when compared to most folk. They have buying power far beyond that of most. That means they have wealth enough to buy the rare and wonderous

 

[Ravellion]

I do have magic items for sale, up to a point (depending on size and wealth of the city, but even more importantly, the merchant in question). I actually predetermine what the merchant has for sale, and some items are not in the DMG (Boots that give +5 to movement for instance, or rings that give +4 to five different skills, helmets of protection etc. etc.).

This way the shopping becomes an interesitng part of acquiring items, instead of the PC jsut walking into a store with a shopping list.

Rav