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<blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 3511376" data-attributes="member: 15999">This is an interesting point.&nbsp; But, not to be a grognard, in the campaigns I ran in B/X and in 2e, there was NO market for magic items, and the ruleset discouraged there being such things.&nbsp; Typically PCs were saving up to build strongholds and hire mercenaries to defend their lands.&nbsp; These things certainly contribute to &quot;power and potential.&quot;&nbsp; And in B/X they mostly valued the gold for the XP it brought. And in 3.5, even without shops selling magic items, you still need to buy magic components -- the diamonds for Raise Dead spells and Stoneskin, the expensive components for stronghold wards such as Hallow or Forbiddance, and scroll scribing.&nbsp; And bribes for the ever-useful Planar Ally spells.My biggest problem with magic shops is that one doesn't imagine the great heroes of legend buying magic items.&nbsp; They are family heirlooms (Aragorn's sword), gifts from the gods (Excalibur, Perseus' shield, Cuchulainn's spear), or long-lost items that were found (Sting in LOTR, or the Atlantean sword in Conan).&nbsp; Or potions and charms made by a wizard and typically GIVEN to one on a quest the wizard supports.&nbsp; So even when playing in a game that has magic shops, I'll rarely have a character patronize one.&nbsp; It just seems to go against the mythic hero feel that I like so much.&nbsp; Of course, none of the above heroes are about getting gold first and foremost, and the same is true for most of my PCs.&nbsp; I prefer to have a goal like &quot;saving the world&quot; or &quot;avenging my clan&quot; or &quot;discovering the mysteries of Ptolus&quot; or something big.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Brother MacLaren, post: 3511376, member: 15999"] This is an interesting point. But, not to be a grognard, in the campaigns I ran in B/X and in 2e, there was NO market for magic items, and the ruleset discouraged there being such things. Typically PCs were saving up to build strongholds and hire mercenaries to defend their lands. These things certainly contribute to "power and potential." And in B/X they mostly valued the gold for the XP it brought. And in 3.5, even without shops selling magic items, you still need to buy magic components -- the diamonds for Raise Dead spells and Stoneskin, the expensive components for stronghold wards such as Hallow or Forbiddance, and scroll scribing. And bribes for the ever-useful Planar Ally spells. My biggest problem with magic shops is that one doesn't imagine the great heroes of legend [B]buying[/B] magic items. They are family heirlooms (Aragorn's sword), gifts from the gods (Excalibur, Perseus' shield, Cuchulainn's spear), or long-lost items that were found (Sting in LOTR, or the Atlantean sword in Conan). Or potions and charms made by a wizard and typically GIVEN to one on a quest the wizard supports. So even when playing in a game that has magic shops, I'll rarely have a character patronize one. It just seems to go against the mythic hero feel that I like so much. Of course, none of the above heroes are about getting gold first and foremost, and the same is true for most of my PCs. I prefer to have a goal like "saving the world" or "avenging my clan" or "discovering the mysteries of Ptolus" or something big. [/QUOTE]

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