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<blockquote data-quote="Ancalagon" data-source="post: 8258661" data-attributes="member: 23">Rarity and price should be linked, but not fully.&nbsp; Let us look at two weapons - a vicious sword (rare) and a +1 sword (uncommon). The vicious weapon is rarer than the +1 sword.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; There are tons of reasons why it could be.&nbsp; Perhaps the enchantment for vicious demand special and rare materials (must be quenched in the tears of the innocent!), while the magical procedure to make a +1 weapon is fairly well understood and straightforward ( required good steel and a bit of incantations and engraving).&nbsp; The details are left to the individual GM, this is just an example, but the bottom line is that&nbsp; it's easier to make a +1 sword than a vicious weapons.&nbsp; This is fine.But should a vicious sword be more expensive than a +1 sword?&nbsp; From a utilitarian point of view, absolutely not!&nbsp;&nbsp; A +1 sword is just better than a vicious sword.&nbsp; &nbsp; (I'm going to assume that people understand why, if you don't let me know and I'll elaborate).&nbsp;&nbsp; So why should it be more expensive?2 explanations:&nbsp;&nbsp; 1:&nbsp; there are collectors, not just users, of magical items (see my Yoon Suin example above).2:&nbsp; The properties are not fully understood by people in-world.&nbsp; If you know the numerical values, it's clear.&nbsp; But if all&nbsp; you know is &quot;this sword is just a bit better balanced and sharp, while this other sword from time to time will inflict huge wounds!&quot;&nbsp; ... it's a bit less clear which is better than the other.&nbsp; So the PLAYER knows, but the PCs and NPCs do not.So it is a problem, but perhaps not as unrealistic as it seems.&nbsp; After all, price and utility in the real world aren't 100% linked.&nbsp; Why is an old classic car worth more than the clearly better modern equivalent?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ancalagon, post: 8258661, member: 23"] Rarity and price should be linked, but not fully. Let us look at two weapons - a vicious sword (rare) and a +1 sword (uncommon). The vicious weapon is rarer than the +1 sword. Why? There are tons of reasons why it could be. Perhaps the enchantment for vicious demand special and rare materials (must be quenched in the tears of the innocent!), while the magical procedure to make a +1 weapon is fairly well understood and straightforward ( required good steel and a bit of incantations and engraving). The details are left to the individual GM, this is just an example, but the bottom line is that it's easier to make a +1 sword than a vicious weapons. This is fine. But should a vicious sword be more [I]expensive[/I] than a +1 sword? From a utilitarian point of view, absolutely not! A +1 sword is just better than a vicious sword. (I'm going to assume that people understand why, if you don't let me know and I'll elaborate). So why should it be more expensive? 2 explanations: 1: there are collectors, not just users, of magical items (see my Yoon Suin example above). 2: The properties are not fully understood by people in-world. If you know the numerical values, it's clear. But if all you know is "this sword is just a bit better balanced and sharp, while this other sword from time to time will inflict huge wounds!" ... it's a bit less clear which is better than the other. So the PLAYER knows, but the PCs and NPCs do not. So it is a problem, but perhaps not as unrealistic as it seems. After all, price and utility in the real world aren't 100% linked. Why is an old classic car worth more than the clearly better modern equivalent? [/QUOTE]

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