Players Whining that they Should be able to Buy Magic Items

[National Acrobat]

Does anyone else have this problem? I'm old school, been playing DnD since 1979, and I have always been firm that players can't buy magic items. Without getting into the pros and cons of it, I never have and never will. It's just me and my style, and I am very up front with it when starting a new game or group. However I've noticed that with the advent of 3E, a few of my players are very adamant that the rules indicate that they are allowed to purchase magic items.

Now, rule 1 is of course, the DM sets the rules. I have never allowed this, and am fairly good about providing treasure in the form of items the party will need and will find useful and beneficial, and even after all of this, they are telling me that I am missing the boat on 3E rules.

Am I? I don't think I am, but some opinions and experiences would be helpful.

 

[Crothian]

First off, the rules do not say the players can buy magical items. However, it does say they can make them. So, encourage them to make the items.

Now, I've been polaying for a long time as well and I know the old school deal about not having magical weapon shops. But I have found that as long as they are unique, interesting, and have a set inventory they can actually be great fun. For instance none of the magical shops imc advertise. The common man can't afford their wares so they are very private and hard to find. Second, with the rareity of magical items, it is a sellers market. The cost in the DMG is usually as low as they will go, but many times they ask for even more. THe most important thing though is the set inventary. That way players can't just go in and name whatever they want. Some magic shops will make special orders but theree is usually a waiting list.

 

[Hitokiri]

Any player that ever tried to tell me I was running my game wrong would be told up front "This is the way I run my game. If you don't like it, there's the door. Thanks for your interest." Ultimately, the GM is the one who calls the shots, and the players have to respect that. When I GM, I lay out my rules that deviate from the core rules at the beginning and expect the players to either agree or bow out of the game.

Now as for magical items specifically, I am with you on that score. I have never and will probably never allow magical items to be bought. They have to be earned, and should be more special than a trip to the local magic shop would make them. I have yet to meet any players that disagree with this ruling, but then again many of my players have been around since before 3E, so that could be one reason.

 

[diaglo]

alot of new edition players will tell you they need to have Ye Olde Majick Shoppe to purchase and sell their phat magic lewt.

i've got 44000gp worth of phat magic lewt right now i'm pwning off on my DM.

 

[billd91]

Does your ban on buying magic include potions, scrolls, and commissioning substantial items? I can see not allowing them to just amble into ye olde magic shoppe and pick up some +5 half-plate off the rack, but why prevent them from buying minor stuff and specifically playing in the campaign to commission something nifty from a competent crafter?

 

[Ryltar]

You'd best take your players aside for a second and have a talk.

Do you run a campaign that is deviating from the D&D norm in a way that
- Monsters are weaker/stronger than standard
- Challenges are meant to be greater and more difficult to overcome
- it is a low-magic setting ?

If yes:

Do the players realize this? Even if you haven't explicitly stated it, is it something that has been established over the course of several gaming sessions?

If yes, then your players should realize that they are not being put at a disadvantage - you simply changed the rules in a global way to fit your DMing style. This is perfectly acceptable, but it's your players who have to be okay with it. Maybe what they really want is a different sort of game? Maybe they just need to see your reasoning behind it all.

 

[Crothian]

Now as for magical items specifically, I am with you on that score. I have never and will probably never allow magical items to be bought. They have to be earned, and should be more special than a trip to the local magic shop would make them. I have yet to meet any players that disagree with this ruling, but then again many of my players have been around since before 3E, so that could be one reason.

They need to be earned? They are earned, at least the gold the players get from adventurering is earned. And allowing them to spend that on magical items is still being earned. Unless you are handing out free gold to the players that is.

 

[Henry]

I see it as a sign of the current gaming environment, influenced by CRPG's of various types, which puts different social contracts into circulation. As the gaming populace has changed, their cultural influences on gaming style have changed with them. Some groups have stuck to and reinforced the "old way" of the majority of magic being introduced by the DM, but others have adapted the styles of current game trends. Neither is good or bad, but different in styles.

One thing you CAN tell them is that the DMG itself states that those are guidelines, and not a mandate that PCs can purchase items. The reason so many DMs use them as such is either as an expedient, or because of misconceptions garnered by skimming the material. Misconceptions happened due to not thoroughly reading the material with 1E and 2E, and now with 3E, too. But by no means does it say anywhere that the PCs have a "right" to purchase, nor that they even have a right to ANYTHING ELSE IN THE DMG, for that matter, whether it's the art and jewelry, the Prestige Classes, or the magic items. If they can't have the Flintlocks and Blaster Rifles listed, why should they have the magic items?

I allow purchase in most of my campaigns, but I do it was an expedient. Even then, I don't allow carte blanche - They tell me what they seek, I tell them if it's available, or if it needs to be commissioned in X days, or even if there's someone who can make it!

 

[azmodean]

What it comes down to is, do the players have magical equipment appropriate for their level? I had a DM a while back that never, ever gave us magical items, or loot for that matter, and it took an encounter that was supposed to be easy for our level almost causing a TPK before he realised that we actually need that magical stuff.

If you pump up the magical items in treasure and/or have the party fight lots of well-equipped NPCs, then that should suffice, but if you give them by-the book treasure and they can't use the money on magical items, they will fall behind on the power curve.

This all assumes you use the cr system, if you have a pretty good feel for challenging your party based on their actual resources instead of using the abstract system, then there is no reason to try to stick to the suggested character wealth.

 

[was]

If your players know the score when they sign on, they're in no position to complain...