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What's the point of gold?
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<blockquote data-quote="airwalkrr" data-source="post: 6570496" data-attributes="member: 12460"><p>I absolutely LOVE that magic items do not have standard market prices in 5e (the same with spellcasting services), and that the DM is encouraged to keep the concept of magic item marts rare via this mechanism. Does it lead to less uniformity in the D&D experience? Sure. But that's the point! Every DM ought to make the world his own. And if a magic item has a price tag on it in a book somewhere then a player is going to feel cheated if the DM charges more or possibly offended if the price is significantly less. (As an aside it is also fantastic that magic items are not an assumed part of the player character's power which leads to a more balanced game within the bounds of what the DM desires.) The entire concept is very empowering to DMs. A DM who loves a fantasy world rich with magic items can set prices for magic items and have magic item shops, even if the prices are decided more or less on the fly. Long-time DMs will eventually have tables or guidelines on pricing in their campaigns. Meanwhile a DM who wants to keep magic items rare and wondrous in his campaign can make each one special and unique, and keep the concept of price tags out.</p><p></p><p>Personally, as a DM, I think rare magic items are a great chance to set the tone for the setting. And even when I am a player I think the notion of tracking 20 or so magic items on my character sheet is something that gets a little ridiculous. It takes the "magic" out of magic items. I am reminded of a memorable scene in Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue novel, <em>Saga of Old City</em> where Gord enters a dwarf's shop in Greyhawk with much of his ill-gotten coin to see what the dwarf has for sale and is jaw-droppingly astonished that the dwarf has a magical dagger for sale! The two haggle back and forth, especially when the greedy dwarf discovers that Gord is much wealthier than he first seems (I suppose Gord rolled low on his Persuasion check). You get the sense from the scene that the dwarf might have accepted a much lower amount if Gord had failed to show the dwarf how much coin he truly possessed. Not only did the scene reinforce the notion of dwarven green, it showed that magic items for sale in Gary's world of Greyhawk were a truly rare occurrence that mandated a very drawn out negotiation.</p><p></p><p>By contrast, I recall a scene from one of the Drizz't novels where one of the dark elf's companions (I forget which one), enters a magical shop in Waterdeep and is fascinated by the variety of magic items for sale. This introduces the idea that magic items are plentiful in the Forgotten Realms, if one only knows where to look, but that they are also fantastic, as the shop seemed to be rather unique in Waterdeep. Even further, the shop dealt with a large number of magical tools for adventurers, so the relative oddity of the shop spoke to the rarity of demand for such things in the Forgotten Realms, meaning that adventurers were special, unique, uncommon individuals. It wasn't "Big Box Magic Mart" where numerous adventurers strolled down the isle, rather a hole-in-the-wall affair with an eclectic specialty. Truly Drizz't and his companions were important heroes filling a niche that not many in the Forgotten Realms can fill. It makes heroes much greater by comparison and answers the question: "why can't some other group of adventurers take care of the manticore harassing the village?" Because there aren't that many around! Your character is a unique and powerful individual in the world!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="airwalkrr, post: 6570496, member: 12460"] I absolutely LOVE that magic items do not have standard market prices in 5e (the same with spellcasting services), and that the DM is encouraged to keep the concept of magic item marts rare via this mechanism. Does it lead to less uniformity in the D&D experience? Sure. But that's the point! Every DM ought to make the world his own. And if a magic item has a price tag on it in a book somewhere then a player is going to feel cheated if the DM charges more or possibly offended if the price is significantly less. (As an aside it is also fantastic that magic items are not an assumed part of the player character's power which leads to a more balanced game within the bounds of what the DM desires.) The entire concept is very empowering to DMs. A DM who loves a fantasy world rich with magic items can set prices for magic items and have magic item shops, even if the prices are decided more or less on the fly. Long-time DMs will eventually have tables or guidelines on pricing in their campaigns. Meanwhile a DM who wants to keep magic items rare and wondrous in his campaign can make each one special and unique, and keep the concept of price tags out. Personally, as a DM, I think rare magic items are a great chance to set the tone for the setting. And even when I am a player I think the notion of tracking 20 or so magic items on my character sheet is something that gets a little ridiculous. It takes the "magic" out of magic items. I am reminded of a memorable scene in Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue novel, [I]Saga of Old City[/I] where Gord enters a dwarf's shop in Greyhawk with much of his ill-gotten coin to see what the dwarf has for sale and is jaw-droppingly astonished that the dwarf has a magical dagger for sale! The two haggle back and forth, especially when the greedy dwarf discovers that Gord is much wealthier than he first seems (I suppose Gord rolled low on his Persuasion check). You get the sense from the scene that the dwarf might have accepted a much lower amount if Gord had failed to show the dwarf how much coin he truly possessed. Not only did the scene reinforce the notion of dwarven green, it showed that magic items for sale in Gary's world of Greyhawk were a truly rare occurrence that mandated a very drawn out negotiation. By contrast, I recall a scene from one of the Drizz't novels where one of the dark elf's companions (I forget which one), enters a magical shop in Waterdeep and is fascinated by the variety of magic items for sale. This introduces the idea that magic items are plentiful in the Forgotten Realms, if one only knows where to look, but that they are also fantastic, as the shop seemed to be rather unique in Waterdeep. Even further, the shop dealt with a large number of magical tools for adventurers, so the relative oddity of the shop spoke to the rarity of demand for such things in the Forgotten Realms, meaning that adventurers were special, unique, uncommon individuals. It wasn't "Big Box Magic Mart" where numerous adventurers strolled down the isle, rather a hole-in-the-wall affair with an eclectic specialty. Truly Drizz't and his companions were important heroes filling a niche that not many in the Forgotten Realms can fill. It makes heroes much greater by comparison and answers the question: "why can't some other group of adventurers take care of the manticore harassing the village?" Because there aren't that many around! Your character is a unique and powerful individual in the world! [/QUOTE]
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