Low Magic + Wanderer's Diplomacy

[Kansaschaser]

The DM of our currnet campaign has said magic item's can't normally be purchased in any town (except for potions and scrolls). He said they have to be comissioned. So if you want a 64,000 gold piece item, you have to pay someone to make it and then wait 64 days.

There have been a few instances where we needed a magic item right away and I was allowed to make Gather Information checks to find someone with the item in town. Then I had to convince them to sell me their item, but I had to pay twice or three times the price of the listed item.

So, we just hit 12th level and to prevent us waiting several months for an item or having to pay two or three times the price, I picked up Wanderer's Diplomacy from the Player's Handbook 2.

If you didn't know, Wanderer's Diplomacy allows several different abilities, including one called "Canny Merchant".

Canny Merchant: You can make a Diplomacy check to track down and item that is normally too expensive to be purchased in the town or settlement where you are currently located. The DC of this check is 10+ (the item's gp cost minus the community's gp limit, divided by 1,000). If this check succeeds, you learn of a merchant who can supply the item to you. You must still purchase it as normal.

The very first time I try to use Canny Merchant, the DM says I can't find anything, even though I beat the DC by 10 or more. I'm a Half-Elf Bard with max ranks in Diplomacy.:smallfurious:

How do other DM's that run a low magic campaigns handle Wanderer's Diplomacy? There has to be some common ground. All the player's in this game have lots of money and we need to purchase magic items. The Warblade/Figher is especially angry that he can't upgrade his weapons and armor without waiting for several months.

[Madeiner]

Two points:

1- I don't know the feat, but as you described it, a DM can simply decide that the item is not there in that city. It doesn't exist, and you can't buy it because of this. Or someone may have the item, but is not interested in selling it. Even more, maybe someone has the item and maybe would be selling it, but he's a secluded person and doesn't talk to anyone. Unless that feat is somewhat "magical" in nature (i don't think so) then it would have no effect in these cases.

2- Probably your DM LIKES the low-magic setting and, for a reason or another, doesn't want to give you magic items on demand. Your best bet is asking him why he likes it that way, and try to find an agreement OOC.
If that's the case, though, he should have told you not to take the feat (i suppose you asked him).

His motivations may be many. Maybe he needs time to evaluate the effects of said magic items for fear of you "cheating" the power level. Maybe he just doesn't like the "magic shoppe" idea.

In my campaign, you cannot craft magic items at all, and the exact reason why is up to the players to find out. You can use what you find in dungeons and ruins, which is not much at all. Or you can sell it for twice or triple the base price.

[Cieyrin]

I don't really see anything wrong with a DM saying no to a feat circumventing restrictions s/he put in place. Because sometimes, it doesn't matter what the die says or what your modifier is, if it's not there, it's not there. I hope that wasn't the only reason you picked up the feat, as otherwise you may want to ask to retrain it for something useful.

Otherwise, talk to your DM about methods of acquiring stuff quickly and provide how you're doing it beyond "I rolled a check! This feat says I can do that!" so that s/he can attempt to meet you halfway, like see if there's stock in the back of the shop that the shopkeep forgot about or if you could persuade the local bar owner to trade his keepsake weapon from his adventuring days.

And again, it's a Low Magic game, so expecting a Red Wizard Enclave or Magic Mart to pop up is a bit of an unrealistic expectation.

[Mastikator]

Low magic basically means there isn't a fast and easy way to get magic items because they simply don't exist (yet).

I suppose your DM could've hinted about other locations where such a magic item might be located on the account of how much you beat the DC with, but even then it simply may not exist at all.

[Fouredged Sword]

If I was the DM I would tell you where to find a copy of the item to be bought.

"Yes, the old Archmage litch Elador has such an item. He may be convinced to part with it. His Tomb is south of town through the forest. If you brave the undead there you can posibly buy such a thing, but you would have to pay, and the price will not be gold young adventurer."

This and a tackt understanding from the player that some things are simply not avalable, or bought at increased price (preempting someone else who had it comisioned)

[Hazzardevil]

I don't think that the DM is being unreasonable saying that the feat doesn't work, he is being a a** not telling you before-hand.

I think you should ask him why he wants you to spend months getting better armour and weapons, And yes, his rule is really shafting the warblade.
Warblades and fighters need to get better weapons and armour every level to keep up.
In a lot of games you will be levelling up every week or so in game time, thus your fighter could end up spending all his cash on a magic sword that is pathetic compared to what he should have by the time he gets it.

[Kansaschaser]

Low magic basically means there isn't a fast and easy way to get magic items because they simply don't exist (yet).

I suppose your DM could've hinted about other locations where such a magic item might be located on the account of how much you beat the DC with, but even then it simply may not exist at all.


If I was the DM I would tell you where to find a copy of the item to be bought.

"Yes, the old Archmage litch Elador has such an item. He may be convinced to part with it. His Tomb is south of town through the forest. If you brave the undead there you can posibly buy such a thing, but you would have to pay, and the price will not be gold young adventurer."

This and a tackt understanding from the player that some things are simply not avalable, or bought at increased price (preempting someone else who had it comisioned)

The DM has stated that there are magic items all over the place, but when adventurers retire, they keep all their old magic items and they don't sell them to magic shops. So the +3 flaming Longsword that the Warblade wants is sitting on some old 85 year old's mantle just collecting dust.

That's why he let me make Gather Information checks before. I just took the feat to try to avoid paying two or three times the price to get an item.

The DM knew I was taking the feat. We started having problems waiting for magic items to be crafted around level 10, so that's when I told him I was thinking of taking the feat. I guess he didn't read it over when I mentioned it to him. I've tried to use Canny Merchant many times, and it fails every time. He won't let us make Gather Information checks anymore either.

It really angered me when the DM made me spend two entire game sessions to obtain a Handy Haversack. The rest of the party wasn't too appreciative either. We seem to spend a lot of our time at game trying to get better equipped instead of going out and adventuring.

[Fouredged Sword]

That is just silly. Tell your DM to explain WHY you can't find an adventurere who has item X and make the diplomacy check required to convince him to sell his old item to a new generation of world savers.

If he wants his world to function a particular way and won't budge, tell him you want to respend that feat to something you are actualy allowed to use.

[olentu]

The DM has stated that there are magic items all over the place, but when adventurers retire, they keep all their old magic items and they don't sell them to magic shops. So the +3 flaming Longsword that the Warblade wants is sitting on some old 85 year old's mantle just collecting dust.

That's why he let me make Gather Information checks before. I just took the feat to try to avoid paying two or three times the price to get an item.

The DM knew I was taking the feat. We started having problems waiting for magic items to be crafted around level 10, so that's when I told him I was thinking of taking the feat. I guess he didn't read it over when I mentioned it to him. I've tried to use Canny Merchant many times, and it fails every time. He won't let us make Gather Information checks anymore either.

It really angered me when the DM made me spend two entire game sessions to obtain a Handy Haversack. The rest of the party wasn't too appreciative either. We seem to spend a lot of our time at game trying to get better equipped instead of going out and adventuring.

Yeah this is looking like a talk to the DM situation to me especially if the group is getting disgruntled.

[Kansaschaser]

That is just silly. Tell your DM to explain WHY you can't find an adventurere who has item X and make the diplomacy check required to convince him to sell his old item to a new generation of world savers.

If he wants his world to function a particular way and won't budge, tell him you want to respend that feat to something you are actualy allowed to use.


Yeah this is looking like a talk to the DM situation to me especially if the group is getting disgruntled.

I was afraid it was going to come to that.

How about if I offered to "fudge" the math on the Wanderer's Diplomacy so that the any magic items I can find are 1/2 of what is listed on my Diplomacy check?

I would like to retrain, but the DM has said retraining is very hard to do since we have to find a "master" of some kind to train under and the price to hire the master is outrageous.:smallmad:

[Fouredged Sword]

No, no. Don't ask to retrain. Tell him that you think the feat should let you do what is says it does. Tell him you mentioned this feat before hand. Tell him that if he wants this feat to not do what it says you need to be able to retcon the feat into something else.

Not retrain and take a penelty for the DM fait of the game being difrent than the books say.

That feat no longer exists if the DM says so, but if that feat doesn't exist, then you got something else at that level and you quietly ignore the whole issue.

Tell him you want ancesteral relic or something, to let you get a nice item you upgrade on your own.