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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 6557280" data-attributes="member: 7635">See, that's cyclical thinking. If the problem of gold is that its useless because "you can't buy magic items" then selling magic items for gold is just increasing the amount of useless gold laying around. Secondly, to alliviate the problem of "copious amounts of gold" you use that wonderful tool of the market: the invisible hand. Specifically, A PC wandering into town with a +1 sword to sell for a million gold is going to be laughed out of town. Rarity (+1 weapons are uncommon; meaning they aren't Excalibur) need (does a noble really need a magic sword?), and opportunity cost (what's worth more: a +1 sword or a legion of troops) are both going to set the price FAR lower than the millions a PC asks for. And lots of people have found so-called priceless or valuable items lack a buyer, usually for asking far more than the market will bear for such an item. Conversely, If a PC goes to some form of private seller looking to acquire magic do-hickeys, then charge them out the nose for it! A +1 sword is far more valuable to a fighter than a private collector, and the collector knows the risks involved in acquiring one. Ergo, charging a couple thousand for his item is reasonable. If the PC wants it bad enough, he'll either fork over the cash or try his luck finding it in the next dungeon. And its no-more free money than trying to sell art or gems in game: PCs can do lots of things to sell them above (or below) their value. If a PC gets a +1 sword and sells uses his powers of persuasion it for 5,000 gp, how is that not different than giving him a 5,000 gp gem? Which returns me to my point: fixed prices for magic items is asking for abuse. Items should be rare enough that their sale (or purchase) can be a mini-quest in itself; finding a buyer/seller and haggling price should be important, not equivalent to buying arrows or more rope. The DMG gives you a rough estimate, but its a range (500-5,000) rather than a fixed gp cost (2,315) which allows for haggling, auctioning, con-games, and the market to do its thing. Fixed prices treat it as a commodity, and that makes it far more rote and less magical.</blockquote>

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