D&D 5E No Magic Shops!

[Lanefan]

... there are no magic marts in 5e adventures ...

With the possible exception of adventures set in Sigil (of which I own none), has an adventure module* from any D&D edition ever featured a "magic mart" more extensive than a temple or mages' guild where a few select minor potions and scrolls may be purchased or commissioned? I can't think of any, and I've got a whole pile of modules here from all editions...

* - as opposed to a setting or similar - I think there's one in City State of the Invincible Overlord, for example, and some past versions of FR either include them or broadly hint at their existence.

Lanefan

 

[delericho]

Note, I've never been of the mind that "magic mart"=physical store that you walk into and purchase off the rack magic items. 3e NEVER actually had magic marts like this. Not really. What it said was that you had X GP limit in a settlement of Y size and that anything under the GP limit was available to be purchased. That's it.

Yep. And IIRC, 4e suggested that magic item purchase/sale was largely the province of extra-planar travelers (the Arcane?) who ran the trade. They were reasonably easy to contact, and could buy/sell what you needed, but they didn't have shops as such.

Of course, it's a long time since I read the 4e books, so it's entirely possible I imagined the whole thing.

 

[Zardnaar]

Yep. And IIRC, 4e suggested that magic item purchase/sale was largely the province of extra-planar travelers (the Arcane?) who ran the trade. They were reasonably easy to contact, and could buy/sell what you needed, but they didn't have shops as such.

Of course, it's a long time since I read the 4e books, so it's entirely possible I imagined the whole thing.

4E kind of eliminated the need to go to town. Get a ritual, spend 1 hour and a some money and you get exactly what you want.

 

[Fanaelialae]

4E kind of eliminated the need to go to town. Get a ritual, spend 1 hour and a some money and you get exactly what you want.

Actually, 4e did have (and require) ritual components for rituals. So, unless you were reducing a magic item to its residuum (and this was not a 1:1 conversion), you did still have to go back to town. Direct gold to magic item conversion would only be possible as a house rule.

 

[Sage Genesis]

4E kind of eliminated the need to go to town. Get a ritual, spend 1 hour and a some money and you get exactly what you want.

4e rituals don't covert coins into effects. The gp costs of rituals represent the worth of the components used. Unless you always have a barrel full of residuum dust and/or assorted arcane ingredients, you'll still need a town or trader of some sort to acquire those components.

 

[Hussar]

I said there are no magic marts in 5e adventures.

You replied to that statement by talking about Xanathar's.

If you want to talk about something unrelated to my post, don't quote my post.

Meh, wasn't looking for an argument. Certainly have no dog in this fight. I'm quite content with the existing rules and it doesn't bother me. Was just spring boarding. Claims that there are no magic marts in modules doesn't really prove anything since even in 3e, there weren't magic marts in modules.

Frankly, magic mart is an edition warring term from years gone by where people were trying to "prove" that 3e D&D wasn't really D&D and was just Tabletop Diablo. There were virtually no actual physical "magic markets" ever presented in D&D in any edition. The closest we got was the 3e Settlement Wealth Limits, but, again, that in no way actually directly stated magic marts.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Doesn't Tomb of Annihilation actually have magic shops?

(In the sense of assorted merchant princes do sell magic consumables, weapons etc. )
Its not a build-to-order, whatever properties you want on whatever weapon you want that was sometimes used for 3e, but it is people selling magic items as a commercial venture.

In the sense that I suggested earlier: a few of the merchant princes (not regular shop owners) have select, minor magical items of the type of goods they sell anyway.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

In the sense that I suggested earlier: a few of the merchant princes (not regular shop owners) have select, minor magical items of the type of goods they sell anyway.

It could be regarded as somewhat the exception I suppose: the city is very much a hub of adventurers rather than a normal settlement.

 

[jasper]

Various replies and snarks

We the posters are the adventurers. We are not Al Bundy who was quarterback for his high school, who went on to sell shoes the rest of his life. We are the NFL members, who retire to sell our own name brand home grills.
*****
“Hi. I am jasper. “
Paul L Ming. Welcome. Clapping.
“See it all started with the potion of healing I stole from my father after mean Capt. Zap caught fooling around with his ugly daughter. He stabbed me with a pitchfork. Well a year later it potions of supreme healing every day.”
Paul L Ming Potion anonymous welcomes you.
*******
Elf crusher video. Look up
Japanese Sword Making video sword smith Shohei Miyairi Renamed “molten fire” a part use to be on you tube. The guy makes a sword out of broken pots.
*****
The problem of trying to have magic shop economy, is the system is set up rules for a squad of adventurers. Cue music https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=a+team+theme+wav&qpvt=a+team+theme+wav&FORM=VDRE
Starring Morrus as John Hannibal, Capt. Zap as face man, etc. The supplying of the adventurers gear is gloss over so you can get to looting tombs and trying to shoot Col Decker (played by Jasper). So the numbers are going to off.
…..
Matrix Scoria Lore and canon from other editions and books still stand. Um no. Lore and canon is what the DM says it is. I don’t care if you $3k worth books, pdf, notes and a signed copy by the Rock and Gary Gygax. If you want the reasoning about this; just as GOF Jasper why? GOF = Grumpy Old Fart.
…..
Magic shops in world and out. When I first started dming, I did include magic shops. Which the murder hobo munchkins robbed in 22 minutes. Result enough magic items for everyone to have a golf club full of swords, or bandolier full of wands. I disliked this and moved to planar store. Knock 3 times on the ceiling and enter. Result murder hobo munchkins tried to rob and were nuked. When I finally bought a house and settle down, I did magic items on commission. Yea get New York City, London, or LA knock on the shop, review the catalog and lay your money down. In 3 to 7 your Holy Avenger would arrive in the mail. But if you were in the village of Hommlet only potions of healing grade 1.
I glad this edition allows the DM to make up his mind about magic shops and the pricing of them.

 

[Maxperson]

It could be regarded as somewhat the exception I suppose: the city is very much a hub of adventurers rather than a normal settlement.

It's not really much of an exception, since it fits directly in with the rules on page 135 of the DMG. It sells a few minor things, but rarer items aren't for sale. I guess it's somewhat of an exception in that it specifies it where the other modules don't, but since the rules specify it, those other modules can have places like that, too if the DM wants.