Does your setting have Magic Shops

[KB9JMQ]

In the major cities I do have small shops but they are very hit and miss as to what the have available. Since these items are being made on speculation, normally only things that will sell readily will be found.
A rare unusual item may be found if you know the right people and do well on your diplomacy.
Items can be commissioned but that is money up front and a long wait especially for complicated/semi-powerful weapons.

I don't mind having mundane items for sale but +3 and higher items cannot be found in a shop. These I like to place into the adventure itself. If a player wants something that won't be available in town I try to work one into the game somehow. Now whether the find/take it is another story.

 

[librarius_arcana]

Just like the title says. Can your PC's walk into an appropriate sized town and go shopping?

In most (and by that I mean almost every) game no,
and even when they are/could we would never dwell on it, just skim it

 

[Sir Brennen]

"Shops" per se, no, not in my world. However, brotherhoods of wizards and temples do craft and sell items as a means of income for their organizations, usually as a specific commissioned job.

However, IMC, I also include a requirement for magic items that the creator must possess the written instructions, or formula to make them. To me, just because you can start a campfire (cast a spell), doesn't automatically mean you know how to build an Aim-n-Flame (create a magic item based on the spell.) No item crafter has every formula related to his Item feat, either.

So for any organization X, there's a percentage chance they'll have the formula for item Y, and a smaller chance they'll have the actual item "in stock". Going to "specialists" increases your chances. You'll have a better chance finding magical weapons and armor at the temple of the god of war, for example.

 

[Shadowslayer]

I don't have pure wizardly run magic item shops, Except in the largest metropolises.
But alchemists, healers, witches, and adepts are pretty easy to come by. Nearly every town has some sort of "Miracle Max" type.

 

[Nomad4life]

There are magic shops all over the place when we run “goofy” campaigns. You can even win magic stuff for being the X customer to walk through the door that day.

In regular games, no, there are no magic shops. In our standard game setting, that would be like seeing a “nuclear warhead sale" at Walmart.

 

[lukelightning]

I have magic shops, I see no reason to prevent them. I run an Arcana Unearthed/Evolved game where item creation feats are much more logical and creative (instead of "brew potion" or "craft want" you have "create single-use item" or "craft charged item" feat which could take many forms).

Most of these shops are affiliated with a guild such as the Council of Magisters or a powerful trade guild, and the local thieves know It Is A Bad Idea to mess with them. Plus it's not like it's something with shelves of potions out for browsing; the magical goods are kept in a back room, with a small display case with some sample wares. The stuff on display is more likely to be alchemical items or raw ingredients for making magical items.

Sure, magic is somewhat rare but it's not hard for an adept or other spellcaster to take an item creation feat and make money selling potions or other cheap/single use item, in addition to selling spells for hire and alchemical goods.

Permanent items generally need to be commissioned, though the local adept keeps trying to convince the party to buy a magic shortsword without much success.

I don't have any major problem with DMs who don't include magic stores, as long as they provide the PCs with appropriate magic items as part of the game. Nothing sucks more than being a 10th level greatsword specialist yet never having a chance to find a magic greatsword.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

There are ways to get minor potions and scrolls from alchemists and such but there are no major magic item shops. Commissions are rare, you usually have to have connections to find people who have the means to acquire magic items. I don't assume there are a million and one adventuring parties just throwing tons of magic loot into the local cities. Adventuring is a career for the insane by most accounts, staying on the farm tends to result in a much longer lifespan.

 

[fusangite]

There is the odd shop that might have one or two magic items in its stock but the idea of specialized magic shops... no.

 

[Wombat]

Only in "joke games", where I use the RAW.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

I voted "no" beacuse I don't have shops where you can say "I'd like three +1 swords and a bag of holding to go, please" Magic can sometimes be bought in other places, though. If you visit a sword merchant, you may find a magic sword or two there and the merchant may or may not know it's magic. Some potions are vailable at temples and apothecaries.

The closest thing I have to a "magic shop" are curiosity shops, which are full of oddball stuff from around the world. Quite a few magical items are available, but most are not directly useful and none are in the DM's guide. Frex, a PC once went into such a shop where a shrunken head winked at him. He was too creeped out to buy it, but it would have been moderatel useful. It can be placed in a location and later report everything that happened there. You have to listen carefully though, as it only whispers and its lips are stitched together.