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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DM_Blake" data-source="post: 4331893" data-attributes="member: 57267">Exactly.In a Points of Light world, where every living person exists in a world full of monsters lurking behind every rock, tree, and fencepost. Where no farmer can till his field without fell creatures leaping out of the shadows to devour him. Where the overworked militia are tasked to defend their peasantry from the horrors of this harrowing world. and where the royal and noble families of the land are charged with providing for the people who work their lands and pay their taxes, people who cannot do this if they cannot till their fields or bring their wares to market without ending up in the bellies of some monstrous beasties.In that world, there must be a market for weapons, armor, and other magical doo-dads that can fend of the savage monster masses.It's inconceivable that such a world can exist, but nobody who has to survive in that world places any real value on the very tools that can give them a chance to survive.Furthermore, economy is a two-way street. If nobody in the world can afford to pay more than a few hundred gold for a magic sword, then a few hundred gold is the value of that sword. PCs should expect to pay that much to buy one, and receive that much to sell one.Sure, some alert merchant might realize that an adventurer is loaded with coin and desperate enough to purchase the magic sword, and this astute merchant might jack up his price accordingly. But, without a doubt, adventurers would see this happen a time or two and would very quickly devise solutions to the problem. Dress as a peasant, or a merchant, or a minor nobleman, invent a cover story about buying a magical sword for his body guard or the sergeant of his estate guards. Anything to throw off that scalping merchant.Build an economy that evolves around the actual value an item has to the society where that item is being bought and sold. Allow the manufacturers to make that item for less than that value. Allow the merchants to gouge when they can, or offer discounts to encourage purchases when they must, but even so, their prices reflect the actual value of the item. Then insert PCs into that economy.It's not too hard a concept.Unfortunately, the 4e system didn't bother to do this, and leaves it up to DMs to muddle through their ridiculous economy, or to invent a new one of their own. Yet another way WotC is sending a clear signal that we don't really need to buy their product since we will still have to houserule a significant amount of the game system - we might just be better off inventing our own game system because it won't be much more work.LoL, yeah, why make an entire suit of platemail for 50gp when you can make 17 feet of chain to earn more profit. 17 feet of chain has got to be way less material and effort than a full suit of platemail.</blockquote>

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