PAGING ALL MERCHANTS! How do you protect your wares? (This ain't Baldur's Gate!)

[Christian]

Perhaps the best answer is that there ARE NO MAGIC SHOPS. Someone posted, in an economics-of-3E thread, that in his campaign those who wanted to purchase magic items had to work through a "broker", who would track down the items. Because everything went through a middleman, the chance of theft was driven down.

But I'm uncomfortable with doing this all the time. It would seem to me that there have to be wizards out there churning out potions and scrolls in something other than complete secrecy. Ditto clerics.

I guess I don't quite get the problem. If there is so much difficulty in protecting magic shops, which there certainly would be, then the shops logically must either (a) spend lots of cash setting up magical defenses, or (b) go out of business from continual theft. In a high-magic setting like Forgotten Realms, I can imagine that every magic shop has a 7th-10th level wizard on the security staff. (Prices would be driven up accordingly, of course. )However, (a) is a perfectly reasonable solution. Why would a wizard/cleric/etc. be 'churning out' potions and scrolls that he didn't intend to use himself? To sell? But if magic shops can't stay in business, then to whom do they hope to sell? Random passing adventurers, I suppose.

Of course, they could go into the magic shop business themselves-but then they face all of the problems that the magic shop owners that couldn't stay in business faced. A third-level wizard might decide that churning out potions of bull's strength might be an easier living than adventuring; but after a few late-night visits from representatives of the Thieves' Guild, he might decide that it's not worth the trouble. Stay secret, do limited business through trusted intermediaries, and you might make a good living. Put out a sign saying 'Potions for Sale, Cheap!', though, is like painting a bulls-eye on your back ...

 

[bing]

I’ve had this problem before too, especially when the party members get high enough level that they think they can walk into any town and do as they please. One thing that you could do is have the small shop keeper pay protection money to the thieves’ guild. Then the word on the street would be not to mess with this shop or end up like…. Also the merchant that runs the shop could have a high level mage that is his silent partner that takes care of security and who also makes the expensive items. The shop keeper could also be a member of the local merchant’s guild who have a deal with the wizards guild for cheaper prices on magical protections in exchange for goods and services. Or the shop that the PC’s have their eye on is owned by the brother of some big shot in town that the PC’s know not to mess with. I also like the broker idea. Have the shop just carry cheap stuff and all transactions for the good stuff only take place at the mages guild or a temple the shop keeper is affiliated with.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Another option is to seed the magical wares with cursed items that look almost exactly like the non-cursed items. There would have to be some way for the shop owner to be able to tell the difference, but the thieves wouldn't know. And make this public knowledge -- the shop merchants could advertise the fact that there are cursed items in the shop to discourage potential thieves.

This reminds me of when I was in college. Our dorm had a community refridgerator on every floor. There was a problem with people taking things from the fridge that weren't theirs. One day, somebody put a six-pack of colas with screw tops in the fridge. The seals on all of the bottles were broken. There was a note attached that said, "Warning: One of these bottles has been pissed in," as a deterrent. The next day, someone had scribbled on the note, "Now two of them have been pissed in." The owner of the colas threw them out.

 

[Carnifex]

Well, firstly, 10K+ is a big deal in terms of money. A merchant who has that much just inested in magic items, let alone as his total wealth, is probably going to have a fair bit of clout in the local political arena.

And I think scattering a handful of cursed items amidst the store would be an excellent idea - especially one that, once picked up, can't be got rid of, and acts as a kind of beacon allowing any scrying spells to lock onto the culprit more easily.

 

[Henrix]

Well, to start with, Charm effects are not really a problem.
When you charm someone he regards you as a dear and trusted friend, nothing more. And if you live by selling things, you know that you cannot give things away even to trusted friends.

And anybody who habitually charms (or otherwise harms) storekeepers will probably not even be let in in most stores.
If they really want to buy something they should be made to hand over a wad of cash (including some "extra") to a flunky, who'll come back at a later time with the goods.

But the main key to protecting your wares from your customers is probably to sell valuable items by appointment. You don't have the truly powerful items on display, but stored safely somewhere. You can describe them to the customer, but don't show them until a later, when the deal is more or less through.

Oh, and never, ever, sell anything to peole who are as rude as to wander in to your plush, semi-private, apartment as a fully armed band of hooligans.

Make an appointment. Greet the customer, one or two at a time, and treat them nice. Offer them wine or whatever suits your fancy to make them relaxed. And show of your valuables carefully.

Think about how you would be greeted if you were to buy something (in the real world) worth many years salary. First you would have to express an interest. Then, at least several days later, the seller would aproach you, after having checked you and your finances thoroughly.
Now, if you are known as infinitely rich and square dealing, things might move faster. And vice versa.

And somebody of the wealth and standing one needs to have to be able to afford having items of this value in stock certainly has some sort of agreement with major underground organizations in the area.

 

[Maldur]

I would say no magic stores.

When you are a fighter you dont go into a store, look over the sword display and say "Ill have a longsword". you go to a good smith where you talk about swords, then you pick up a example of what you want take some measurements and go home. After a few days you come back a try the sword that was tailored on your style and build. This goes double for masterwork weapons.

So when buying a +1 sword "of the shelf" a simular process is used. after which you go to a willing magic-user and you talk about magic weapons a bit after which your weapon is dweomered to your tastes.

Higher level magic items people have to adventure for in my campaigns. And getting a magic weapon becomes more of a event.

disposables I dont really care about, so they are available, but only in the biggest towns.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I try to run as realistic a campaign as possible, and don't like shoving such possibilities under the carpet. How is this poor pathetic wretch of a merchant going to handle this?

I would suggest that you don't have any small shopkeepers selling this stuff.

Divine stuff you get from the temples (who have a range of protective measures for other reasons), and arcane stuff you get from mages/mage guilds, who also have a range of protective measures for other reasons.

- personally the only magic that can be purchased in my campaign is consumables: potions and sometimes scrolls, and you have to find the person who can do that too. Other things *might* be commissionable, but otherwise...

 

[Werewolf_26]

If merchants are concerned about being charmed or otherwise mentally controlled, they simply need to look to minor abjuration spells to aid them.

Protection from (Various Alignments): These prevent a creature from exercising mental control over targets. A rich merchant could technically afford 4 various objects that functioned as Pro. vs Good, Evil, Law, Chaos. 1st level Spell. Note that unless its permanent, it won't help against higher level spells too well, since its duration will run out before the higher level spells will.

Magic Circle against (various alignments): Little higher level spell that would help protect the merchant (and huddling lackeys) from mental control and summoned strong arms.

Expert or Aristocrat levels with High Ranks (and perhaps skill focus) in Sense Motive would be helpful, or perhaps a feat (maybe called Merchants Sense: +2 to Bluff and Sense Motive).

Nystul's Aura spells would also be good for tricking untrustworthy customers as well.

All these spells would start to get expensive unless the merchant was a wizard/sorcerer him/herself.

But if stealing and robbery are major concerns, the people hoarding the stuff might as well put it in a magically ward vault... and if your going to that length to protect stuff, you might as well go ahead and build your "Dungeon of Doom" so that really determined or prepared rogues would have a difficult time getting at the goods.

In most of my game worlds that I run, there are a few magic items in various locations that are generally simply hidden and hoped to be safe (various potions for sale, mw items, etc). While other, more powerful items have to be ordered for or found. If they are ordered, it does take the characters a while to start walking around with BOTH magic arms and armor (there is a finite number of people who can make things in the towns, so if the Weapons Maker is occupied, you'll have to wait; if there is only 1 Item maker, the party spends a lot of time in town).

 

[med stud]

Considering the huge profit of magic items and the huge costs for making them, I would say that the trade with magic items is organized into guílds and churches. If you want something, you contact the church or guild you want to buy from, and then they bring you what they want from their vaults, who are guarded by 50 different antimagic zones and a lot of outsiders and geased or quested guards.
To break into a magic items vault is to break into Fort Knox at the least. Then I would say that all the churches and mage guilds have extremely competent detectives whose job it is to keep check of all eventual dangers to the items, and if someone breaks in and steals anything, their job is to find it.
But yes, and ordinary store, like a 21st century gaming store would probably be impossible to manage due to the profits of a high level thief.

 

[smetzger]

Use Leomud's Secret Chest to store the items.