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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Intense_Interest" data-source="post: 4221217" data-attributes="member: 65904">Again, why would there be a Powerful Magic Sword created if no one demands said Magic Sword?  If Demand undercuts supply, there is no supply.  And since merchants know that Magic Items don't devalue over time, why would they sell it at less than a competitive market price?  Fire Sale Situations are a matter of scale to them- a World-Saving Sword could probably be purchased for a song if you're the Legit World Saver, but unless the merchant is destitute and immobile, he'd never undercut his highest potential profit.And when you really need a Powerful Magic Sword, are you really going to try and get close to a production cost price when you really, really need it?   The PCs would never purchase a Dragon Slayer Sword unless they were trying to slay a dragon, and would probably pay close to 5 Giant Slaying Axes in barter if they had enough of a need.Magic Items are what we think of as Health Insurance.  And PCs are the guys that purchase it when they are bleeding out on the floor. First, They don't have the ability to sell in bulk.  If they try to carry a wagon full of 50 +1 swords, any group of 50+ orcs, and there is no reason to assume it would just be 50, would risk their stupid pointless little lives for a chance at glory and domination.  Add to that any aware band of sinister plotters could scheme up a bushwhack well above the PCs level if they are carrying enough anything with enough value.Hell if you tried to sell a wagon full of +1 swords, the Merchant would charge YOU for the rights.Second, PCs are far more fitted to selling their swords in ones and twos, as soon as they get them, and convert them into a better protective shell around their mortal coils.  Their Demand is far more immediate and not at all a logical profit-driven impluse.  Health Insurance, remember?  PCs will pay premium for anything that will let them play longer and end up less dead.Third, merchants that have a habit of selling good magic items that they pick up on the trail (for cheap) are far more trustworthy than a random group of thugs with Stolen Magic <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />.  Whoever the items were stolen from probably would have struck back against the slow, predictable, killable merchant rather than the getting-the-hell-out-of-dodge wandering bums.  Getting caught with the bag might get you blamed for the whole thing.</blockquote>

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