Give them what they want? (Magic items)

[Acid_crash]

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66473

Thanks for the link, this is helpful in a similar situation I am also having in my game.

 

[Nightfall]

Obviously it depends on the DM and the world, but for me best ways I've found to limit magic item spending is to keep the standard charge/one usage items at regular price BUT increase the market prices for the rest. Most of the time I increase it to x3 for everything else but some times I'll change over and just do that for magic weapons and armor. Course they can still MAKE their own at the same prices as proscribed by the DMG.

 

[Carnifex]

Think about it this way.

One standard issue gold piece weight about a third of an ounce. Though the exact rate keeps changing, gold is about $400 US per ounce. So one gold piece approximates $1200.

I agree with the gist of what you're saying about the availability of magic items, but you've got your maths wrong here. If gold is $400 per ounce and a gold piece weighs a third of an ounce, then a gold piece is worth $400/3 or approx $133 dollars.

I'm not particularly convinced that comparisons with modern day prices and currencies is valid for a fantasy world, but still, IMO magical items should not be lying around in shops en masse. I mean, if that was the case in the pseudo-feudal societies of most fantasy settings, the local lord would just requisition all of the items in times of need such as war, and you'd have foot soldiers loaded up with magical gear.

 

[Shallown]

My players for the most part don't have the Magic Super-walmart perception. The Only Shop they know of (and they have hit all the major cities just about) that sells Magic items is the Mages university shop. It has like a cabinet of potions maybe 3 rings a staff or two and a small case of wands say 10-12. They know the chances of finding anything but themost common item waiting on the shelf is slim. What the shop does is maintain who has what to sell on a personal basis and more or less brokers the deal taking a cut for the school. If the players ever bothered to find out the shop barely makes any money since inventory is pricey and some things sit for a while before being sold. They also operate as the place to commission I tems toi be made. the few mages who are artificers work through the shop to get jobs. The Shop takes its cut once again for being middle man. This to me has a few advantages, one is it seems to make a sort of sense that in a magical society a business like this would pop up and the university seems to be the best suited to handle it, second it keeps things centralized in one place so I as Gm can control the flow magic items and money, third it also keeps me from having to role play out every purchase with different people. Now when they shop they all deal with the one shop keeper and I usually play out the bargaining for the item. Very seldom if ever has a player gotten something at book price. They have gotten it cheaper or more expensive depending on a lot of other factors some arbitrary some not.

Now this is not to say that other cities don't have magic item retail of some type its just not obvious. The elven bard has no real trouble finding things sometimes in the elven kingdom. He has taken the time to curry favor and connections in the game and therefore can aquire items. Heck even once the dwarf while stuck in the elvish kingdom ended up teaching the elves in the church dedicated to the god of conflict great axe skills. And since he helped them out with out expectation of compensastion the elves offered to upgrade his armors enchantment for a small fee. Most of these interactions and such are how players, in my game, get items they want.

Later

 

[Henry]

My players for the most part don't have the Magic Super-walmart perception. The Only Shop they know of (and they have hit all the major cities just about) that sells Magic items is the Mages university shop. It has like a cabinet of potions maybe 3 rings a staff or two and a small case of wands say 10-12. They know the chances of finding anything but themost common item waiting on the shelf is slim.

I kind of like the "antiquities broker" ideal myself. We call them "Magic Shops" in our game for convenience, but in practice they are more like brokers. They have a few pieces in-house, but mostly it's "I know a guy and can set it up." So that dealer CAN'T get you a copy of the Bill of Rights - but he COULD get you ahistoric document with Ben Franklin's signature - for the right price.

Now in Waterdeep we have people who CAN get you that Bill of Rights, because there's a market for it - a ridiculously expensive market, to be sure, but it exists. Even then, there's only 13 of the things, so there IS the possibility that no matter how much money you flash, it's just not there...


...Unless you're willing to raid the lair of this Lich I know about...