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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 8483820" data-attributes="member: 53980">I don't think that scenario is so much a black market as a crime of opportunity. Moreover, such an opportunity had best be low risk (something that would have been thrown away) else the Zhent agent is risking their position in the throne room (which is almost guaranteed to be useful) for something that might be useful. IMO, the Zhent would normally wait until they had a need for such an item, rather than risk an agent's cover.Why are there so many high-level bandit-spellcasters in your campaign to begin with? IMO, that seems to be the actual problem. The attrition rate of bandit-spellcasters would be far greater than that of service-providing-spellcasters. The bandit might get killed pulling off a job, or hunted down by adventurers after the fact. The service-providing spellcaster likely has a cushy and safe city job. If it's casting Forbiddance, that's 10 minutes of work a day (assuming a single location). The rest of their time is their own. Sounds a lot better than banditry.Most high level casters could likely live in luxury simply providing services like casting Forbiddance. Services which are, notably, quite safe. I think you have the ratio backwards. The majority of high-level casters would not be petty criminals, because they have no good motivation to do so. They should be able to easily acquire gold in exchange for their services. If a high level mage is choosing to be a criminal, then it's more likely as a mastermind, for things that money can't directly buy, like power. If the vast majority of high level mages are providing services like Forbiddance, then it's absolutely plausible that they could protect important places from bandit-spellcasters. After all, you have to be on-site to cast Dispel Magic, in which case you probably don't need to teleport there. Dispelling also comes with its own risks, such as getting caught. An apprentice with Detect Magic can verify whether or not the spell is in place.Again, it's a case of "generational wealth". Sure, if your nation was founded yesterday you might have a lot of work to do in shoring up the magical defenses. However, if your nation has been around for hundreds of years then some of those Forbiddance spells could be hundreds of years old. It's not like you need a gaggle of mages to cast the ritual everywhere at once.At least, that's how I see it.</blockquote>

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