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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1712381" data-attributes="member: 3146">You would think they would pay attention but I imagine many of them don't. IRL, athletes and entertainers are ripped off on a rather regular business. A fair number of adventurers probably fall into the same category. One day Galvan is fighting other low-life scum in the basement of the Mermaid's Smile to entertain the rubes. The next day, some low-mid level adventurers who just had their fighter die on them blow into town and say, Galvan, how about you come with us and kill some orcs and take their treasure. I'll spot you a bit of money for a breastplate and you can borrow this masterwork sword (it belonged to the last fighter but we won't tell you that). So Galvan goes with the adventurers and when they succeed and dole out the treasure, he's richer than he's ever been in his life. Now, supposing he doesn't blow all his money on ale and whores (despite the fact that his armor is in desperate need of repair), is he going to know enough to take the proper precautions when he goes to buy that cloak of resistance? It could happen just as easily with a wizard. Loren learned magic at the Academe' in Wintershiven. Everyone was scrupulously honest because the masters would assign them penance if they weren't. After completing his training, he leaves his sheltered life and goes out  with some companions from his home town. They guard a silver caravan from Eltison to Rel Mord and are attacked by brigands as soon as they leave the Pale. Nyrond isn't a safe place. Fortunately, they prevail, and the brigands were carrying good stuff. Loren, however, isn't very good with his crossbow and he can only master 4 1st valence spells a day. He wants a wand in case he ever runs out. So, he asks around a bit and a respectable looking wizard walks up to him with a wand. Loren hands over his money without even thinking that the wizard would be less than honest and walks off with a stick enchanted with Nystul's Magic Aura. (And it wasn't a real wizard who sold it to him either).Sorcia was clever and canny. She learned early on that you always pay for a certificate of identification from the Nellix College of Sages and Sorcery when you're buying a magic item. And if you're really careful, you get your wizard friend to cast Identify on it too. She bought her periapt of wisdom +2 through the temple of St. Cuthbert--reliable fellows even if they've got too much of a stick up their but to serve Lydia. But, now that Lydia has seen fit to channel divine flame through her, Sorcia is starting to think she should get some better protection than the battered suit of banded mail that has served her since her days as a novice. She's been saving her money and she wants to buy some good fullplate, enhanced to the second circle and moderately fortified. Good stuff. So she examines the certificate of identification, gets her wizard friend to identify it, and hands over the money. It didn't occur to her that, when 16,650gp is at stake, you can pay for a really good forged certificate and it's worth casting both Misdirection and Nystuls Magical Aura. Heck, it's even worth investing in a rod of extension to make sure the magic vestment you put on it to simulate the enhancement bonus last for long enough that you're two dozen miles away before the victim finds out about it.Skill in one area of life doesn't necessarily transfer well to another. Galvan is really good at fighting but, he needed a couple dump stats and since charisma is what gets him chicks, he chose wisdom and to a lesser extent int. He may well go his whole life without ever figuring out that people are using him and ripping him off and if he does figure it out, he won't figure out why people are able to rip him off. He'll wreak a bloody revenge on the person who he caught, probably get outlawed or pay a huge bribe and then fall right into the hands of the next con man to come along and say "you see, I'm not like them. I'll treat you right." Loren has led a sheltered life and can tell you the spell like abilities and vulnerabilities of type III-VI demons without consulting a book and quote the third answer to the fourth question of the Pholtan catechism of light without skipping a beat. However, it takes him a while to get the hang of his life on the edge. He'll make most of the mistakes in the book, but he'll only make them once each. He might even make fewer as soon as he realizes that there's a way business deals are done and follows that path strictly. Sorcia will probably learn from her experience too. Once you start looking at big ticket items, you want extra security. Dispellings "just in case." Escrow and waiting periods to make sure the magic is permanent. Maybe even an Analyze Dweomer spell instead of a mere identify. It costs more money to secure a big ticket transaction but people are willing to spend a lot more money making the con work so you need to be more careful. IRL, nobody goes through the kind of planning and investment seen in Ocean's Eleven to knock over the local 7-11. It's not worth it. So 7-11s can afford to have security that Mr. Ocean can beat with ease. On the other hand, banks and casinos have a lot more money and need to have a lot more security. They are worth Mr. Ocean's time. The trick is that adventurers have to know when they're 7-11s, when they're banks, and when they're casinos. Adventurers who don't figure out what game they're playing are going to get taken. Through foolishness, naivete' or simple misjudgement, a lot of them will make mistakes.</blockquote>

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