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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CruelSummerLord" data-source="post: 3607053" data-attributes="member: 48692">I think Quasqueton's original point should be picked up-if PCs can go and casually write down mundane purchases on their character sheets, subtracting the appropriate amount of money, why do people throw such a hissy fit when magic items are involved?  Speaking as someone who would probably throw one of those hissy fits, I can say that it's because whoever's running the setting doesn't want what they see as something mysterious and exotic (in this case, magic) becoming trivialized and just another commodity.  If magic can be bought and sold like a CD or a pair of pants, what makes it so special, mysterious and exotic if mages can just crank it out wiithout too much trouble?  Remember, if you look back through fiction and fantasy, magic items are usually a real pain in the &** to create.  If they're treated like any commodity, what makes them any different from flashlights, ceiling fans, or any of the other mundane knick-knacks we buy on a regular basis?  Maybe a compromise is in order.  There are magic shops...they just don't sell permanent items.  Wizards' guilds and churches might sell potions and scrolls to raise capital, just as they sell their prepared spells.  If you don't have many magical weapons or armor in your campaign, maybe that oil of impact, oil of sharpness or oil of physical protection will make a handy substitute.  And, of course, all the various odds and ends needed to scribe scrolls or brew those potions in the first place can be sold at magic shops.  If your PCs need diamond dust, or little crafted doors, or something else like that that cost a given amount of money, they can buy them at the magic shops.  Better yet, enterprising players can have another source of income-how much will an alchemist pay for those wyvern eyes, or that horn of minotaur?  The 1E DMG has all sorts of notes on what could be used to brew potions or scribe scrolls (pumpkin seeds, kobold horn, elf blood, various types of gems and herbs, etc.) so why not sell these kinds of things instead?</blockquote>

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