Magic item market

[Jayh]

In your games, can you buy/sell magic items? In my current one, I've capped buying at items worth 15k (wish economy), and selling is similar. I was reading the tao of dnd earlier today, and he says in his games, he doesnt allow selling or buying - they are too valuable, too useful. The idea appeals to me, but then I think of the Castle Whiterock game Im running, where they have hundreds of thousands of gold worth of items...

[Geigan]

Whether magic items being sold/bought makes sense to a person really depends on them, as some believe that such valuables wouldn't be sold like common items, whereas others think that such a valuable market would have to be capitalized on. It's of course always up to the DM as he's creating the world, but I think D&D as a system relies very heavily on magic items so I guess I prefer a high magic economy.

[candycorn]

Purchasing is fine in my games, to a point. Items more costly than 16,000gp are limited and rare. One may have to research for weeks, gather information, and grease a few palms, to find the item they want if it's above that. Of course, they can commission the item, if they find a crafter with the right feats, and who is willing to spend the XP.

[gbprime]

I'm taking much the same approach in my campaign. Talismonger shops will sell components, supplies, and minor things like potions, scrolls, and lesser weapon/armor crystals. Anything larger requires the shop owner to make inquiries and have the item delivered, perhaps taking weeks. He can also put the shopper in contact with someone who can make an item to order.

This is also how security for said shop works. Sure, he has a night watchman, but that's not the real defense of the shop. Anyone who robs the place blind was off with tons of components and perhaps 10-15 thousand in small magic items. The shop owner then informs the people who make the items, and if his "insurance" is paid up, some 15th level wizard will use cohorts, companions, hired heroes, or summoned creatures to locate and punish the theives.

[Fitz10019]

An awkward situation that I've experienced with a DM who was against the idea of magic mart, is that new PCs (the result of death) have gear customized to the characters' needs, and long-standing PCs are equipped with whatever the party has come across. The same DM also felt that it hurt realism if he dropped an item into loot that a player has specifically expressed interest in. For instance, my wife's PC wanted a Composite Longbow +1 with Frost damage. The DM dropped her a +2 Defending bow. It was worth much more than what she wanted, but it wasn't what she wanted. It was very frustrating.

[etrpgb]

What about using complete gear?
http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/Publication:Complete_Gear

[MesiDoomstalker]

I make magic mart dependent on the city. Major metropolises, you can find what you want or someone willing to make it with enough time/gather information/bribes but most things that aren't "standard" fair require crafting time (so best asked for during down time or when you know you can come back and retrieve it).

[NecroRick]

Somebody could 'take one for the team' and play an artificer. Preferably someone with a degree in accounting, and good spreadsheet proficiency.

Magical economy depends on a few things:

(A) how much discretionary spending the local rulers have in their budgets
(A2) how much influence the local rulers can exert over local crafters. E.g. can they _force_ crafters to make certain items? Can they make _demands_? Do they make polite suggestions instead? Or is humble grovelling involved?
(A3) As a corollary there might be a _reason_ for the trope of the Wizard's tower in the wilderness, just to get some peace and quiet away from people asking him to burn _his_ precious XP...

(B) how common adventurers of higher levels than themselves are - because they are sources of 'hand me down' second hand items
(B2) how common lower level adventurers are - because they might be willing to buy the crap the PCs don't want (one man's gold etc)

NB: just because there are higher level NPCs, doesn't mean they're even going to give you the time of day. The Pope of Faerun or Elminster aren't going to spend their time crafting crap for you, they have churches to run and cheese to mature (respectively).

(C) how useful the items actually are. D&D does a great job of pretending that all spells of a given level are created equal, but this is not the case. Likewise for items. Consider the Shadow Man-nipple. Seriously, who makes that stuff?

And if the players would prefer to spit on the item than be seen dead using it.... then why would the vendor pay the same as for an item where actual demand exists?

(D) there are one or two pricing oddities - e.g. the cost to craft a Healing Belt is higher than its 750gp retail price would suggest. Either demand is low (yeah right), or supply is unusually high.

Something like a healing belt is always going to be useful and in demand. If not from the adventurers, then the local Baron will buy one for the Captain of his Guard (etc). Also it is a low level item, one of the easy ones to make as soon as you hit level 3 and can take craft wondrous item.

So I figure that any divine crafter probably cranks a few of these out at every level, which depresses the market price. Or perhaps the local rulers provide subsidies for their production.

[Karoht]

The way I've worked it in past is, traveling salesman.
Not the kind that drives a cart around. No sir.

The kind of planar creature and possibly servant of a trickster/wizard/god. The whole purpose of this being? Have anything and everything in stock, and what they don't have gets custom made by the masters.
The purpose/explanation of having this exist in game? The non-meta answer is, the gods/wizards want there to be enough magic in the universe that amazing things can happen from time to time, people can rise up and take care of their own problems, rather than having to bother the gods and godlike wizards directly.

The meta answer is, magic item shops are convenient for players.

But, I do agree that making people look for things or look for those who can provide these things is definately of value as well. And for a variety of reasons. Magic items aren't sold at walmart. Forcing the player to interract with the local economy can be a great way to have the player take in the local culture and customs, and apply and exercise those skills that they put points into every level. Your locations then needs a bit more depth, but it's worth it.