The Magic-Walmart myth

[Raven Crowking]

Show me what you consider a "MagicMart."

Best example is the Arcane from 2nd Edition. MagicMarts are any place in which a PC can go to obtain any (or nearly any) magic item for the list price (or near list price) in the DMG.

In a magical version of the James Bond universe, Q Branch would be a MagicMart (although not one open to the public).

If it's anything like Green Adam's post, I don't really understand why it's a problem in most campaigns (though it certainly may be a problem for some specific campaigns who treat magic less like the psedo-science D&D treats it like as a default). If it's a more crudely drawn stereotype of 20th Century capitalism in action, I can perhaps see a problem for most campaigns, but I don't see any real examples of the literal "WalMart of magical items" being posted, either.

Whether it's a problem or not is a secondary issue. This thread, AFAIK, is about whether or not they exist outside of Internet forums, and I would say that is obvious that they do.

 

[I'm A Banana]

All I need to do is find one person who does indeed expect to get anything they can afford, a la WalMart, and I've shot down this claim. Sure you want to hold onto that?

Wait, now any hassle-free commercial exchange is automatically trivialized by comparing it to big-box concepts?

"I have 1 GP, can I get rations?"
"....Maybe."

 

[Midknightsun]

Wait, now any hassle-free commercial exchange is automatically trivialized by comparing it to big-box concepts?

"I have 1 GP, can I get rations?"
"....Maybe."

Strawman

 

[green slime]

Except, of course, for those who do? Go upthread, and you'll see that people specifically posted that they played in games that, in effect or in actuality, had magic marts.



Unless, of course, the DM uses the MIC, where he is instructed to tell the players Yes.

Seriously, though, the city size and the time available are not, and should not be the only factors involved. Let's use a mundane item, like a ship, for example. You wouldn't expect to be able to buy a ship in the largest of cities if it is landlocked. IMC, there are mundane items that one cannot always pick up.

Sure you can. You just can't expect to immediately take possession of the item. Case in point: Purchasing a ship. You could buy a ship, sight unseen, from a noble living in a landlocked city. He gives you the deed to the ship, and you then take yourself to the port at which it is said to be anchored, only to find the sloop is a barnacle-covered reef-wreck, with crabs holding the planks together.

When there is an IQ-liberated someone with a ludicrous amount of money in dire need of an item, ... Especially in large cities, and even moreso when the need is well-advertised.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Strawman

Yup. Clearly KM has access to the army from Family of Blood.

 

[green slime]

If I'm reading your last paragraph here right, I'm not sure we are really disagreeing with each other, so much as disagreeing on each other's word choice.

Probably. I may just be suffering from work boredom, the secondmost common emotion experienced at work. In which case, please ignore my incoherent ramblings.

Mature players do indeed play along, as long as they feel their DM isn't being a complete jerk. However, I've come across more than a few mature people who are surprisingly immature players. You don't often realize it until you're neck deep into a campaign.

Yes, I too have noticed that.

 

[green slime]

1) All I need to do is find one person who does indeed expect to get anything they can afford, a la WalMart, and I've shot down this claim. Sure you want to hold onto that?

I should have qualified with: IMX, ...

Comes from typing faster than I think.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Sure you can. You just can't expect to immediately take possession of the item. Case in point: Purchasing a ship.

Please note that I didn't say that it was impossible. I said "You wouldn't expect to be able to buy a ship in the largest of cities if it is landlocked". Those are two different things. There may be a noble in Landlocked City who has a deed to a ship, but there equally well may not be. It very much depends upon how far the reach of the nobility in that city goes. Even in a city with ports, there is not always a ship available for sale (although one could presumably have one built).

 

[Holy Bovine]

MidknightSun pretty much nailed it. There aren't enough high level wizards in most cities for folks to buy major items (like +1 swords) off the rack.

Emphasis mine. Do you really consider +1 swords 'major items'? I guess that might be why I don't have much problem with magic shops in D&D. Major items, to me, are stuff over 50 000gp in value. Most anything else can be found to purchase...eventually. That doesn't mean there are actual magic shops in my games (except for minor items worth less than 2000gp) I try to use a combination of retired adventurers, churches (do you really want to steal from the CN church of the God of Thieves?) and even criminal organizations (although they always seem to have a 'front' of honest business ) to facilitate the purchase of magical items. Also most any city over 5000 will have at least one wizard willing to craft items for a fee if you don't mind waiting. I guess I really don't get why DMs feel the need to throw huge obstacles in front of players simply because they are now 'x' level and want something to spend their gold on.

 

[I'm A Banana]

MagicMarts are any place in which a PC can go to obtain any (or nearly any) magic item for the list price (or near list price) in the DMG.

So, then, your campaign has MagicMarts, too, right?

Of course, in my world too you can buy some magic items. Mostly you can commission them from individual artisans.

These artisans are places PC's can go to obtain nearly any magic item (within the limits of the secrets that artisan knows) for near the list price (plus any "power components") in the DMG, right? The whole "secrets" thing tends to limit individual artisans, but taken as a whole, the artisans can presumably make a lot of magic items.

This thread, AFAIK, is about whether or not they exist outside of Internet forums, and I would say that is obvious that they do.

Actually, I think it was a much more narrowly focused than "any place the PC's can go to obtain magic items for the DMG price (-ish)."

Specifically, this comes to mind:

The setting suggested in the core rules has no "Magic-Walmarts". Greyhawk has no Magic-Walmarts. I'm not real familiar with Eberron or Forgotten Realms, but I don't think they have Magic-Walmart-style stores either.

But FR and Eberron at least both have places that the PC's can go to obtain magic items for the DMG price (specifically, you have artificers and dragonmarked houses in the latter, and Red Wizards in the former). Greyhawk is the world implied by the DMG, so it seems they have "magicmarts" too (limited by town size and available NPC's and the like). So I'm not so sure that's the same definition the OP uses when he doubts their existence.