Tell me about magic shops in your game...

M

Mallus

Legend
...assuming you have them. Are they generic cash-and-carry? Are they magical in and of themselves? Are they owned by memorable and/or dangerous characters?

Here's what I posted to the magic shop poll thread... reprinted here for your convenience --and my ego-gratification.

Three places you can shop for magic items in my current campaign...

The Kingdom of Peaceable Teas 317 Opium Way, Little Ajakhan District, port of Narayan, prop: Mop Mop Bow, an elderly wu jen/alchemist/tea afficianado from Imperial Ajakhan.

All manner of potions and powders are available here; all in the form of tea. To most passersby, its a ramshackle tea and spice shop. To gourmets, its the place to go for best Ajakhani tea in all of the city of Narayan. To even fewer people, its the place for affordable and potent herbal magics...

Urbane Outfitters quayside, Quai Central, port of Narayan, prop: Richard-Ravi Hainous, a former adventurer and social activist turned greedy merchant prince. Notable for his longing running, sometime magical feud with his ex-wife and ex-business partner, Dame Judith of Wyk.

UO sells a variety of goods to wealthy travellers and the idle rich. This includes many sought-after adventurer items; weapons, armors, protective charms, etc. Anything that might interest a noble going on dangerous safari. While much of the magical stock is useful, it is heavily skewed towards young, wealhty, dillitante adventures... you're more likely to find a bejeweled magic rapier than an anxiomatic greatsword...

UO also sells trendy, youth-skewed fashions, knicknacks, and a wide array of home decorations...

Riven's next to Cafe Limbo, Saltbend Plaza, Saltbend District, city of Eris, prop: Riven Sugarglass, a half-mad, hideouly scarred alchemist/former adventurer.

Just about anything might be available here, given time, depending on Riven's mood. He specializes in easy-to-manufacture temporary charms that duplicate spell effects, but he is highly skilled, and better, well connected with other magicians. Riven's creations have around a %10 failure rate... and he won't deal in anything he doesn't 'approve of', which includes any kind of life-extending magics.

Also, included with any purchase is a sample of his namesake creation: sugarglass, which is an order of magnitude more durable than regular glass, delicicious to the taste, and has the unfortunate habit of dissolving utterly when exposed to water...
 

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Mine are generally unique in flavor. None are general stores or wal*marts. Some don't stock goods at all... they only broker them.

At the low end is where the most predictable stocks lie. Hedge mages and shamans sell single and limited use items like potions and scrolls.

At the high end, powerful, well connected, and well protected brokers and traders usually make significant profits to a seller's market.

When items are available, they are usually not by request... the stock is pretty much random. Think of it a bit like a flea market art dealer.
 
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There are enough wizards working as item makers in my campaign to keep the players content. The weirdest, though, is Forthwith's.

Forthwith is a member of the race I simply call "Shopkeepers" - they have six eyes and four thumbs, and wear cowled robes (sort of like tall Jawas). Forthwith (they are genderless and don't use names among themselves) deals in quale, qualities and attributes in their pure form, usually in small bottles.

So far PCs have made good use of hot, rough, and at one point, green, although the bottle of pure fear may have seriously disrupted that innocent bathhouse. One PC has also made quite a bit of extra cash buying and selling virginity to the upper classes of the town.
 

The Blacksmith of Hampshire

Otto Von Reichart is considered the greatest Human artificer alive by virtue of him being the only known "Son of Sotung" that is not a Dwarf. Indeed, even great Dwarven smiths routine fail to obtain this lofty goal. He bears their sigil on a tatoo on hid right forearm...his striking arm. Having achieved this honor in the great forge of Hammerheim, he set out to great city of Tycho Brahe to make his fortune, turning out one wonderous weapon after another for the local Duke.

However, after a time he came to suspect that his masterpieces were being used to further the goals of evil, as the Duke was suspected of crimes of vile witchcraft, torture, and consorting with Demons. Saddened, he quietly retired to the remote farming village of Hampshire and settled down to turn out mundane tools and common horsehoes...

META: Otto has no "stats" per se, he can basically create any 'metal' item the party wants; Armor, Weapon, Ring, etc. However, as a limiting factor he told the party "I can only do so much in this basic forge...". Basically, I capped weapons/armor at +2 or a +2 enchantment. Later the party completed a major quest and picked up, among other things, the mystic "Anvil of Bogardan" (which has no clear "mechanic"). They gave this to Otto, and that removed all restrictions (expect for the monetary one of course). I also allow them to combine items if it makes sense for serious amounts of money. The only thing is the DM has to really be careful something isnt too powerful and the amount charged is appropriate.

Btw, not all my NPCs have such elaborate backgrounds, but since Otto is a regular one the party talks to often, I gave him the full treatment flavor-wise.

Speaking of which, Potions, Scolls, and Wands is handled by a traveling sage in a trade caravan. Hes not nearly as detailed as Otto, more like your typical "wizened old sage" character.
 

Magic shops only exist in my Planescape campaign. The Warcraft campaign simply doesn't have the economic conditions for permanent magic shops. Sigil has many of them; a few are generic and sell a bit of everything, but many are specialized in one type of items (eg, a potion store). Sometimes, a dealer in a class of items (eg, weapons) will have magical samples of his merchandise too (eg, magical weapons). Some shops are weird, some shopkeepers are weird, some (shops and shopkeepers) are dangerous. But this being Sigil, the same can be said for taverns.

Overall, this makes it rather easy to buy or sell any minor magical item; just tour the Great Bazaar. Finding a medium item, or finding a buyer for one, is definitely possible but it'll take a Gather Information check. Finding a powerful item, or a specific magic weapon or armor (so technically it's a medium item, but how many slick scale mails +1 of light fortification are there anyway?), or finding a buyer for a major item, are difficult tasks, requiring several days or even months of investigation - but it is definitely possible with some patience.

Since the trade in magical items is so brisk, the Fated have devised a means to protect against frauds. You can request, for a hefty sum, a certificate for your item. The item will be analyzed and a mage-marked paper will be produced, certifying its powers. Since the introduction of this system, lots of people have become wary of non-certified items and will demand to pay them a great deal less. Because of the cost, this only applies to relatively powerful items. Also, since the certificate is mage-marked, it is extremely hard to forge; however, lots of people have no means of checking the mage-mark and so they may fall for a fake. Overall, though, it's a nice idea.
 

I really like the ideas so far. I'll bet this could easily become a 1,000 Magic Shops thread.

Anyway, I tend to keep mine unique and one of a kind. Potions are most frequently purchased from herbalists, alchemists and apothecaries, often in the form of salves, balms, ointments and oils. Rare and unusual magic items are a bartered commodity. It's just not practical to carry around large amounts of coinage, and those types don't tend to be too trusting in my campaign, for obvious practical reasons. Arcane Mark, Schmarcane Schmark. Show me something of real value.

Cariharicar is successful desert huckster who deals in women's jewelry and clothing, targeted at upper class women, some portion of which tends to be enchanted, often in curious ways and with peculiar or ironic side effects.

Tallow Harmfellow is a gnome artificer who creates unreliable clockwork machines that generate spell effects.

Nialla Ambruca is the last of a once-successful merchant family. She has made moderate gains in the business, and advanced to political power. And along the way, she has developed a taste for the exotic and powerful. She collects and trades rare magic items. Sometimes for a favor or a debt, but most often for some new item. Something exciting and different. She never uses them, and meticulously maintains her large collection in a museum-like display room. (Obviously on the interior of her manse, and well-protected by magical wards and traps.) It is here that she spends most of her time, examining her cache, or reading from magical texts on the single piece of furniture: a stark wooden chair.
 
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Depends on the game really. In my military based game, there were Fabricators who made higher quality items for officers. Eventually, the players would be able to requisition potions, and as a reward get so many hours of a fabricator's time.

In my current game, there's a pretty big business in it, but it's mostly condition and favor based. There are some guys who have access to enchanted armories, but if you're not from a family with some influence, carting around a metric ton of cash, or able to do a favor, you're probablly not getting anything. The crafters themselves are drafted almost continually by the noble families.

In the game that's about to take off, there's a sort of underground trade in magical items that goes on. There are stores that do stock potions, and some weapons, but not a per-order basis. While there are people who can craft items, most of the perminant ones available have been found from ruins or portals. There are also a couple of orginizations that horde magical items, and hand them out in emergencies.

In the game I'm toying with in my head, there are two major avenues for 'purchasing' magical items. The first is Scorn, a demon of sorts who resides at the lake of endings. It's said that if you can pass his tests of will, he will show you the answer to any question, empower items with a portion of your soul, or allow you to place something into the lake. However, thoe cost of each is higher than the worth, as all who deal with Scorn fall to tregedy and misfortune. The second is an as of yet un-named witch, who, of course, lives deep in a haunted forest. To those who survive the journey, are respectful of her, and who bring gifts, she's willing to trade fairly with. The others... Well, that's the reason it's a haunted forest.
 

"Magic shops" don't really exist. Most cities and up will have an alchemist or two, a major city will probably have a scroll shop. Most large churches will offer some common items (cure potions) that there is a predicatable market for.

Beyond that, it's catch as catch can. The largest city of the north had an auction run by one of the finest auction masters in the city (Master Willowburr, a halfling) for magic, and will probably have another in six months. It's well enough known about that people come from fairly far to it, and gives PCs a chance to both sell and buy items.

Other then that large cities will propbably have a few private individuals (or fences!) selling things, that a successful gather information could upturn.

But few casters will create a big item withotu knowing they have a venue for it, so the only realy way to get the other items reliably is to commision one. With all of the issues with that - peopel disappearing with the fee, time taken, etc.

Cheers,
=Blue
 


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