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Wandering "Monsters": Magic Items
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 6250988" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>It seems to me to be equally arbitrary to assume that the world is full of high-level npcs capable of crafting or stealing the exact item you want and magic shops that stock such an item. There's nothing wrong with that, don't get me wrong; but I think the last two editions have made clear that the assumption doesn't work for everyone. Certainly, I <em>absolutely despise</em> the notion, both as a player and as a dm, that it's easier to go buy a magic item than to go bring one in from the dungeon (or the body of your foe, or... whatever, where you adventure for it). </p><p></p><p>See, a lot of this issue comes down to the question, "How common is magic in your world?" If the answer is <em>not very,</em> but there are magic shops all over... well, the problem is pretty much self-evident there, isn't it?</p><p></p><p>Besides, who's "forbidding" the purchase of magical gear? (Unless you mean in specific campaigns.) The buying and selling of magic items has gone on pretty much forever in campaigns where it's part of the setting. Those guys didn't seem to have a problem with it back in 1e and 2e; those games still existed and still had magic shops (as witnessed by the testimony of several ENWorlders in discussions like this). But look at 3e and 4e, with their baked-in magic item assumptions, and you'll find a strong pressure on dms to ensure that their groups have "adequate" equipment for their level. You have to, in order to keep up. Suddenly it's far less tenable to run a no-magic-shop, low-treasure kind of game.</p><p></p><p>And as for why someone might want such a low-treasure, no-magic-shop game: for the same reason that some people want ultra-high-treasure, Monty Haul style games. <em>Tastes differ.</em> And that's okay; there is no "one true way" to run a game. Personally, if the pcs are in a town where it's established that the high-level wizard is 5th level, I have a hard time justifying having every magic item available "just because". This, again, is a matter of playstyle; for me, the campaign setting exists not solely as a backdrop for the convenience of the pcs, but as a thing with its own identity and integrity, regardless of whether any games are going on in it at the time. The setting is coherent; there simply aren't tons of high-level npc caster types in every town. That's just not how it is, regardless of whether the pcs would find it convenient.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 6250988, member: 1210"] It seems to me to be equally arbitrary to assume that the world is full of high-level npcs capable of crafting or stealing the exact item you want and magic shops that stock such an item. There's nothing wrong with that, don't get me wrong; but I think the last two editions have made clear that the assumption doesn't work for everyone. Certainly, I [i]absolutely despise[/i] the notion, both as a player and as a dm, that it's easier to go buy a magic item than to go bring one in from the dungeon (or the body of your foe, or... whatever, where you adventure for it). See, a lot of this issue comes down to the question, "How common is magic in your world?" If the answer is [i]not very,[/i] but there are magic shops all over... well, the problem is pretty much self-evident there, isn't it? Besides, who's "forbidding" the purchase of magical gear? (Unless you mean in specific campaigns.) The buying and selling of magic items has gone on pretty much forever in campaigns where it's part of the setting. Those guys didn't seem to have a problem with it back in 1e and 2e; those games still existed and still had magic shops (as witnessed by the testimony of several ENWorlders in discussions like this). But look at 3e and 4e, with their baked-in magic item assumptions, and you'll find a strong pressure on dms to ensure that their groups have "adequate" equipment for their level. You have to, in order to keep up. Suddenly it's far less tenable to run a no-magic-shop, low-treasure kind of game. And as for why someone might want such a low-treasure, no-magic-shop game: for the same reason that some people want ultra-high-treasure, Monty Haul style games. [i]Tastes differ.[/i] And that's okay; there is no "one true way" to run a game. Personally, if the pcs are in a town where it's established that the high-level wizard is 5th level, I have a hard time justifying having every magic item available "just because". This, again, is a matter of playstyle; for me, the campaign setting exists not solely as a backdrop for the convenience of the pcs, but as a thing with its own identity and integrity, regardless of whether any games are going on in it at the time. The setting is coherent; there simply aren't tons of high-level npc caster types in every town. That's just not how it is, regardless of whether the pcs would find it convenient. [/QUOTE]
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