What a Magic Shop looks like?

[Quasqueton]

www.ncinvest.com/uploads/SystemSnobbery.pdf

Note the illustration on the second page (page 37). There's a magic sword. Is that a magic helmet on the wall beside the sword? There's potions for sell on the counter (in the display box, no less).

And note the date of the article: APR/MAY 1980. The concept isn't new with D&D3.

[No, this is not an attempt to get anyone to read that article (I haven't, yet). Honestly, the illustration struck me as interesting in light of the repeated threads here about "Magic*Marts".]

Quasqueton

 

[Crothian]

you are right, magic shops did not appear in third addition

 

[der_kluge]

Good article. Still true today.

 

[Khayman]

Ever been to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe in Seattle?

There's tons of useless gakk to wade through and gawk at --- human (and other) mummies on display, badly stitched 'mermaids', tools and iron traps and skulls and stuffed animals from the world over literally hanging from the rafters. Old games, stacks of chapbooks, and clockwork gypsies clutter the aisles. The store sells mostly junk for tourists and smells like 100-year old taxidermy. All in all, bloody brilliant.

The same idea might go for a magic shop --- curios for the rabble (and/or the gullible), a whackload of mundane spell components for sale, and a few trinkets of power kept in reserve for real clients. Some items are kept out of sight unless you pay a token fee. As many fakes and cursed items as there are real ones, and both are outnumbered by junk. Heck, any adventurer worth his salt could retire to a town, put all his trophies on display, and deal in curiosities and real magic alike.

 

[arwink]

The fact that the illustration is intended as comedy may undermine your point a bit though

Not that I have anything against the idea of Magic Shops...

 

[Turanil]

What a Magic Shop looks like?

Exactly as a bakery, except that those pink-yellow candy sticks actually have 50 charges of magic-missiles in them...

 

[Quasqueton]

The fact that the illustration is intended as comedy may undermine your point a bit though

I had a point with this?

Quasqueton

 

[arwink]

I had a point with this?

That there are examples of magic item stores that have been around for a while & how does this affect the ongoing discussion of Magic Shops and their role in the game.

As it's being used for comedy purposes, I'm not entirely sure it has any impact on the discussion. The idea is there, yes, but it's not really something that's being taken terribly seriously.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

The Shottle Bop

We Sell Bottles

With Things In Them

The Auld Grump, a Magic Shop can add new meaning to a 'fly by night' business...