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Worlds of Design: When There's Too Many Magic Items
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<blockquote data-quote="the_redbeard" data-source="post: 7768173" data-attributes="member: 22644"><p>This is a falsehood taught by economists. According to anthropologists, within communities most pre-state societies either distribute goods by need or through systems of credit (some of which were/are highly social and highly complex; reciprocal relationships rather than ledger economics). Trade before the rise of states only occurred between strangers who would not have a relationship after the meeting. Trade, markets and money were developed by states, initially and primarily to feed armies. That's the evidence of early societies and modern indigenous non-state societies that haven't been absorbed by the modern market economy. Yes, in some places we've had empires/states for millennia but the implication that as a species we've always traded (as if it was natural) is incorrect.</p><p></p><p>But that's not even the point of the 5e rule/suggestion, because markets and trade exist in 5e (a cash economy far more encompassing of society than anything in the actual European Medieval period). </p><p></p><p>My understanding of the default RAW 5e 'world' is that there aren't enough people who are willing to part with their magical items for cash for their to be a standard trade with them. Permanent magical items are too rare and too useful to sell. Anyone with an actual magical item store would find it prohibitively expensive to protect.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the_redbeard, post: 7768173, member: 22644"] This is a falsehood taught by economists. According to anthropologists, within communities most pre-state societies either distribute goods by need or through systems of credit (some of which were/are highly social and highly complex; reciprocal relationships rather than ledger economics). Trade before the rise of states only occurred between strangers who would not have a relationship after the meeting. Trade, markets and money were developed by states, initially and primarily to feed armies. That's the evidence of early societies and modern indigenous non-state societies that haven't been absorbed by the modern market economy. Yes, in some places we've had empires/states for millennia but the implication that as a species we've always traded (as if it was natural) is incorrect. But that's not even the point of the 5e rule/suggestion, because markets and trade exist in 5e (a cash economy far more encompassing of society than anything in the actual European Medieval period). My understanding of the default RAW 5e 'world' is that there aren't enough people who are willing to part with their magical items for cash for their to be a standard trade with them. Permanent magical items are too rare and too useful to sell. Anyone with an actual magical item store would find it prohibitively expensive to protect. [/QUOTE]
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