D&D 5E magic item trade

[pukunui]

Imagine you are a silver dragon masquerading as a human wizard / sage. Some heroes have come to you for information. While you were doing your research, they went on an adventure. Now they have returned and are offering you some loot. One of the items is a figurine of wondrous power (obsidian steed).

Being a dragon, you collect dangerous objects like these in order to keep them out of the hands of evil creatures who might abuse them. What would you offer the heroes in exchange for the figurine? Money? A different magic item of equal value (or several items of lesser value)? Something else?

 

[Hawk Diesel]

Assuming the dragon wasn't a dick and didn't charm the player into giving it up, it really depends on the personality of this dragon and how much harm could come to the world if left in the hands of the players.

Alternatively, the dragon could inform the players of the truth of the item's power and the danger it would hold for them to attempt to use. The player's may willingly give the figurine up, and perhaps earn the dragon's favor and could call upon it for help at some point in return for their deed.

Otherwise, seems like the dragon would more than likely offer straight up gold more than anything, since in theory any magical item could be used to unleash harm upon the world in some for or other.

 

[AnimeSniper]

I agree with Hawk Diesel on all his points but if the party keeps it and uses the figurine it unleashes one of four legendary BBEG along the lines of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse... had that happen in a campaign with plague/pestilence.

 

[pukunui]

The heroes know that what it does, and being good-hearted folk, they don't want to keep it. That being said, they are adventurers, so it's unlikely that they'll want to just *give* it to you.

Even if they were willing to donate it to you, their former mentor was also a silver dragon, and they bear the mark of the Order of the Platinum Dragon*, which might make you more inclined to offer to exchange the figurine for something more than just money. Perhaps something that they can make use of collectively, rather than an item that only one of them can use.


[As an aside, while I know that the magic item rarities are broad categories, I feel like the obsidian steed figurine is at the very low end, as I'm not sure it's worth a 1-to-1 trade for many of the other items in the very rare category. Perhaps two rare items instead?]




*This is all stuff to do with my campaign. The PCs' former mentor is a silver dragon posing as a half-elven innkeeper. They don't know she's a silver dragon, but they have had their suspicions. At one point earlier in the campaign, she gave them each a "dragonmark" - essentially a blessing from Bahamut (see "supernatural gifts" in the DMG). This means that they have sworn an oath to uphold the same virtues that silver dragons hold dear. When they told their patron that they needed to find out more information about something, she directed them to her fellow silver dragon in the big city. I haven't decided yet what their relationship is exactly - they could be related, or maybe they are mates. Who knows. The point is, with all that in mind, the silver dragon posing as a sage would probably be more inclined to go out of his way to help the PCs than he might ordinarily be.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

The heroes know that what it does, and being good-hearted folk, they don't want to keep it. That being said, they are adventurers, it's unlikely that they'll want to just *give* it to you.

I get this logic, but I also don't. Just because players are adventurers, does not mean they should always expect payment or trade. If I was a professional spelunker and I found an undetonated nuke, I wouldn't be expecting a reward. I'd be happy to get out alive without radiation sickness, and maybe enjoy some fame and notoriety for the find. But the government wouldn't necessarily pay, and wouldn't be expected to. In fact, depending on your view of the powers that be, they might equally make me disappear and cover it all up as they clean up the mess.

I might find ways to reward the players in less tangible ways outside of magic item trade. Additional XP is nice, as are inspiration points. And it's never bad to have a dragon's favor in your pocket.

 

[pukunui]

I get this logic, but I also don't. Just because players are adventurers, does not mean they should always expect payment or trade. If I was a professional spelunker and I found an undetonated nuke, I wouldn't be expecting a reward. I'd be happy to get out alive without radiation sickness, and maybe enjoy some fame and notoriety for the find. But the government wouldn't necessarily pay, and wouldn't be expected to. In fact, depending on your view of the powers that be, they might equally make me disappear and cover it all up as they clean up the mess.

I don't think I'd go so far as to compare the figurine to an unexploded nuke. It just turns into a steed that is potentially quite dangerous for good-aligned people to try and use, as there's a chance it can transport you to the nine hells and strand you there.

While I agree, it's just that the way things played out during the last session, the players indicated that they wanted to know if the sage would trade for it. And I'm thinking that, in this case, he would be willing to do so. I'm just struggling to find something that would be an appropriate trade.

I might find ways to reward the players in less tangible ways outside of magic item trade. Additional XP is nice, as are inspiration points. And it's never bad to have a dragon's favor in your pocket.

Indeed. Although, as I've said, they don't know he's a dragon.

 

[Shiroiken]

In general, I prefer magic item trading, rather than an exchange for cash. I would suggest having the dragon offer a magic item of slightly less power (obviously one that isn't dangerous) in exchange. Another option would be for the dragon to owe the PCs a favor, giving them a small stone they can use to summon the dragon once.

 

[pukunui]

What if I were to have him give them each a charm in exchange?

 

[seebs]

Depending on your thoughts about silver dragon biology, I might give them a silver dragon egg.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I would flip through the wondrous items in the DMG, and see if something grabs you as a thing they would be excited about.

If not, think Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship in LOTR. Each PC gets a fairly minor but useful wondrous item that suits them.