Magic Mart (3.x or PF)

[Infernalbargain]

I've been thinking about how to make items available to players without using a magic mart. One thing that's come to mind is switching over to a strictly barter system. I would just like to seek out the board's collective experience to gauge possible implementations and implications.

[Doc Roc]

The implications are a bit larger than you might imagine. See, the already gimped suffer more when they can't get the spackling paste they need to patch the gaping emptiness in their lives.

[Gamer Girl]

A barter system how? If you will just have them trade ''50,000 gold worth of items'' for a magic item at the store, then it won't be different at all.

You might make it ''a magic item for a magic item'', but PC's can easily dump 'poor' or 'useless' items to get good ones. And if you get very picky about it, it will take up huge amounts of time.

It's easy to fall into this trap: you force the game to revolve around getting a magic item. Say the PC want/need something you state is 'powerful/expensive'. You state the price is '10 good magic items' and then think the players will just play a 'normal' game and maybe, hopefully some day long long down the road get ten items. The players don't see it that way: They want to drop everything and only go look for ten items to barter with. The prince's daughter is kidnapped? They will get to that after they find their needed items.

[stainboy]

There's a variant you might look at that gives PCs the effects of Rings of Protection, Amulets of Natural Armor, and Cloaks of Resistance without needing items. That might make it easier to barter for magic items, just because you only need to devote table time to bartering for the interesting ones.

Would you want PCs to still be able to buy consumables, like potions and low-level wands?

[Veyr]

Another option is to simply listen to your players (or have them make explicit requests), and just include the items they want as part of the normal loot they're getting, instead of coins or crap they don't want and have to sell/trade.

[Ranos]

Make crafting magic items easier, or available to non-casting classes. No need for magic marts if the characters make the magic themselves.

Edit : On second thought, making crafting easier is a terrible idea. Once that one guy decides to make an artificer everything would go to hell. Making it available to non-casters works though, it's one of the few good things they did with pathfinder.

[FelixG]

Pathfinder has a feat that allows you to craft magic items (just no spell completion items) with your standard craft skill, have an NPC with this feat follow around with the PCs (maybe a day behind them at the nearest safe village/town) and set up camp, when the players want a magic item they go to him and ask it to be made, or make it themselves

That way you dont have a magic mart, they can make orders and then play out the time until its done and the guy following them around makes bank!

[Mayhem]

The PCs could find an Arch Mage to make items for them in return for quests. Inspired by Felix and GamerGirl, the shop and the quests are one.
Needs more than that though. Maybe the mage has aquaintances who also deal in magic. The PCs could also find a black barket, with lasting consequences for shady dealings.

[Shpadoinkle]

I thought about this kind of thing a while ago (well, I actually thought about a different thing that bothered me, but it could apply here too.)

Anyway, the basics of it are that by the time a character is level 6 he's already pretty much superhuman, and by level 9 he's able to accomplish stuff without magic that blows away anything in the real world has ever been able to do (I can post some examples if you want).

Since the PCs are beyond mortals at this point, their auras or souls or whatever start to affect their equipment- items used by powerful people start to become powerful themselves. At level 6 a PC can spend a week attuning himself to a nonmagical weapon or shield or whatever and grant it a +1 bonus (or he can put an enchantment of equal or lesser GP value on his boots or cloak or whatever.) Every level after 6 he can enchant his stuff further (each enchantment taking a week or so- it takes time for the item to really feel like a part of you.) These enchantments can be changed whenever , as long as the character has a week of more or less uninterrupted downtime.

This doesn't make magic items less rare, but it DOES prevent money loss from having them stolen or destroyed, and it avoids the "Magic Mart" thing so many people seem to have a problem with.

I haven't fleshed it out much, but I've got some notes somewhere I can post if you want to see them.

[Veyr]

Shpadoinkle, I rather like that idea. Kudos.


by level 9 he's able to accomplish stuff without magic that blows away anything in the real world has ever been able to do
Actually, you can do that at level 1 — a Human Barbarian 1 with maxed Jump ranks and 18 Strength can break the world records in high and long jumps on a regular basis, while wearing light armor, no less! The same Barbarian, if he took the Endurance and Run feats, would be able to run faster than Usain Bolt's fastest sprint — for over a minute and a half. And all of this without Raging (you do need the Fast Movement, though).

[The Big Dice]

Nothing in D&D Land is mass produced. Every commodity needs to be controlled and every trade needs to have a means of making sure that work comes up to a given standard. The organisations that maintain monopolies, ensure standards and protect tradesmen are called guilds.

A Smith's Guild makes sure blacksmiths are trained to a certain standard and have the means to prove this, as well as making sure their members keep non guild smiths from working in their territory. Other guilds perform similar functions.

A Mage's Guild would see to the training of Wizards. It would also see to the creation of magic items, possibly in conjunction with other craft guilds.

So rather than going to a Magic Mart, where items are made and then sit on the shelf in the vain hope that someone will want to buy them, people who want magic items commission them from the Mage's Guild. Item quality is assured, members are protected from those who would try to exploit them and rulers are reassured that the Wizards aren't going to simply take over.

Everyone wins.

[Psyren]

Making it available to non-casters works though, it's one of the many good things they did with pathfinder.

Fixed that for you

@ OP: Have certain items be available through organizations or guild. The players must then perform a combination of quests for higher members and roleplay to climb the ranks and get access to the better stuff.

For instance, to get the magic sword and shield he wants, the fighter will have to join the Arcane Defense League and protect members of the mage's guild. The party wizard will also join to get access to the best scrolls and jewelry. They are then allowed to journey together and retrieve rare items for their superiors, gaining reputation and rank.