Players Whining that they Should be able to Buy Magic Items

[Vigilance]

I consider myself a classic D&D fan, I like dwarves to be dwarves and elves to be elves, and my dungeons crawled. However, I have been warming up to the idea of buying magic items, simply because I cannot fanthom why they shouldn't. I encorporated this idea into my home brew, stating that one of the major faiths sells minor magic items, such as potions, scrolls, etc. The other major faith think this is a terrible idea and forces all sorts of unnecssary taxes, tithes, and restrictions to the buying and selling of magic items (not bad for a LN faith).

This is a wholly legitimate way to play.

Ive played in campaigns with magic shops and found them enjoyable.

My only bone of contention is that the reverse (no magic shops) is not a legitimate way to play "true D&D".

Chuck

 

[replicant2]

I think a lot of the 'add-ons' are flexible and ever-changing, but there's also a core set of 'precepts' that you can't get away from without the campaign spiraling out of control or putting yourself (as a DM) through a ton of work that ultimately probably yields little return. The d20 ruleset is so diverse now that you don't have to settle for D&D with a lot of custom mods if you want a different 'genre' of campaign.

As a DM, I am the arbiter of the rules, but not the 'god' as in 1st edition AD&D. It's really a partnership between whomever's running the game and those that are playing. The contract explicitly states that you're all getting together to entertain each other. If it states anything like "I'm the god and you are my minions." or "We're not going to play unless +5 Vorpal butter knives are cast at our feet everywhere we go." then you're starting off on the wrong foot and your campaign is doomed to failure. But, that being said, the contract has to take both sides' 'styles' into account. If the players prefer Forgotten Realms and you prefer a low-magic gritty campaign, then unless someone compromises, neither side is going to be happy.

Anyway...

I agree that the DM is not god, but nor should he be beholden to the core rulebooks. After all, what is canon in 3.5 was certainly not always so in 1E or 2E, and I'm sure changes -- perhaps quite major -- will be made for 4E.

Besides, the particular rule I'm advocating here is hardly a wholesale change or one that requires a ton of work. You can bypass magic shops by making players want to hold on to the magic they get. Make it rare, make it memorable. Put in a rule (as from Arcana Unearthed) where weapons "level up" with their users, and you've circumvented the problem of dimestore magic items pretty easily.

 

[Shellman]

Buying magic items.....

First of all,

1. Your the DM, its your world and the PC's should have known this tidbit of info before you started this campaign.

2. There is absolutley nothing in 3.5 that states PC's must be able to buy Magic Items.

3. Your style of DM and type of campaign should drive that stuff in the game. If your campaign is in Forgotten Realms (a High Fantasy/ Magic world) then not allowing players to buy magic items can come across as too restricting.

4. If your not going to allow PC's to buy magic items, then you need to really make sure you allow them the opprtunity to find that stuff as treasure.

I played a game with a DM that practically starved the PC's for both money and magic items. He tried to emphasize more of the roleplaying than combat, so the entire game was low magic. The problem was that he also required us to pay for training to level up, which compounded the problem of not being able to buy magic items or find enough gold to train.

 

[Klaus]

Just to throw more wood into the fire:

There *is* a precedent in sword & sorcery literature for magic shops:

The Bazaar of the Bizarre.

Sure, it was a *spoiler* whose owners *spoiler* the *spoiler* in order to *spoiler*, but even then it *spoiler* some *spoiler*.

 

[Faraer]

Indeed. And part of the point of Leiber's story is precisely that the idea is so absurd, a satirical mixing of topoi.

 

[Numion]

I think that magic feels pretty wondrous in Harry Potter books, even though its for sale

What do you think?

 

[Vigilance]

I think that magic feels pretty wondrous in Harry Potter books, even though its for sale

What do you think?

I think its a perfectly legitimate way to game.

As is the opposite.

In other words... its the GM's call... its a legitimate call for a campaign, and there's no need for whining.

Chuck

 

[Numion]

I think its a perfectly legitimate way to game.

As is the opposite.

In other words... its the GM's call... its a legitimate call for a campaign, and there's no need for whining.

Chuck

Of course, it's the DMs call. But I do think that players are entitled to whine or air their grievances with the game. If they're not enjoying their pastime, they're IMO free to express it, within limits of course. Just like with any other pastime. If I was doing anything else with my friends, I'd also be free to express how I feel about said pastime. If we were out on the beach and I got bored, or the beach was somehow cruddy, I'd say it.

Also I'm just giving an example that having items for sale doesn't necessarily take the wondrousness out of them.

 

[fusangite]

Of course, it's the DMs call. But I do think that players are entitled to whine or air their grievances with the game.

Nobody is entitled to whine in any social dynamic I am part of. People are entitled to request things.

 

[Numion]

Nobody is entitled to whine in any social dynamic I am part of. People are entitled to request things.

Ok, maybe whine is the wrong word .. but I've only heard it used on inet forums, so I don't even know what might constitute real life whining in the sense we use the word here. Maybe I was wrong.