Eurus
2012-08-15, 05:30 PM
So, I'm a little morbidly curious. If you take even a cursory look, you'll find many ways to temporarily create items/creatures/commodities in D&D, to make something look more or less valuable than it is, or similarly exploitable functions. And many PCs first thought is, of course, "rip off NPC shopkeepers".
Fair enough. In some cases, that's arguably what it was designed for. But on the other hand, the PCs certainly aren't the first ones to have thought of it, right? If magic or skill-based cons are commonplace, then one would assume that security measures are also commonplace. The question is, where do you compromise between security and practicality?
Rural economies: In a small town, security is minimal. The farmer has a simple weapon that he knows how to use, the merchant has some ranks in Sense Motive, and the local sheriff is a quick jog away. Unfortunately, in a town where everyone knows everyone else, they're unlikely to trade significantly with anyone they don't know for fear of ending up with a pocketful of faerie gold or a stable full of illusionary horses.
You can certainly get a room for the night, a hot meal, some mundane goods... but trying to sell anything is likely to hit significant hesitation, and bulk deals with unknown parties are probably suspicious. On the other hand, if you do get in trouble the worst thing you'll have to deal with is a few militia or angry peasants until the King's knights show up, which might take days or weeks if it happens at all.
Mid-range economies: A larger town or low-magic city probably deals with thousands of gp worth of transactions on a daily basis, but most of them probably still for mundane goods and services. Basic detect magic functions are probably common enough for any trade of 100 gp or more, identify spells are obligatory for bigger items (often at seller's cost), and Sense Motive modifiers of +8 or more can be expected frequently. Foreign or unknown parties don't meet with nearly as much suspicion here, and even if a merchant does get ripped off for a few hundred gold it's probably not going to ruin him right away.
The bigger risk here is that if you do get caught charming the blacksmith or selling cursed items (or more mundane frauds like coin clipping), the stakes are higher. Guards are at least moderately well-armed and trained, low to mid-level spellcasters surely exist even if only as contractors, and sheer weight of numbers makes fighting a bad idea.
Magical economies: High-magic cities and merchants who sell powerful items can trade fortunes in a matter of moments, so a degree of paranoia is to be expected. In a magically active society, the main threat is the sheer amount of observers; everyone already knows the older tricks, and will tend to assume magical competence on the part of any unknown party, no matter how harmless-looking, by default.
Artificers and merchants who make their wealth buying and selling powerful items are likely to have significant security measures in place. Analyze Dweomer spells are just the tip of the iceberg; detect lies might be easily fooled, but affordable divinations like augury can often tell if something is fishy. The most high-end facilities often have limited antimagic capabilities, which provide nearly absolute protection from magic-based cons, and often a few experts on hand to identify forgeries or tricks.
Many merchants store most of their magical goods offsite, making robbery a tricky proposition. Those who do keep their entire stock on-hand are usually skilled enough to defend it, or employ people who are. Even if you succeed, rewards are often posted for the thieves often equal to the value of the items themselves -- letting people get away with that kind of thing sets a bad example for business. A would-be thief should be wary of bounty hunters even weeks after the original theft.
So what kind of security methods do you use in your games? Totally excessive and carefully thought out, handwaved with a gentleman's agreement, more limited and "fair"? And what do you like or hate to see when acting as a PC in someone else's game?
Fair enough. In some cases, that's arguably what it was designed for. But on the other hand, the PCs certainly aren't the first ones to have thought of it, right? If magic or skill-based cons are commonplace, then one would assume that security measures are also commonplace. The question is, where do you compromise between security and practicality?
Rural economies: In a small town, security is minimal. The farmer has a simple weapon that he knows how to use, the merchant has some ranks in Sense Motive, and the local sheriff is a quick jog away. Unfortunately, in a town where everyone knows everyone else, they're unlikely to trade significantly with anyone they don't know for fear of ending up with a pocketful of faerie gold or a stable full of illusionary horses.
You can certainly get a room for the night, a hot meal, some mundane goods... but trying to sell anything is likely to hit significant hesitation, and bulk deals with unknown parties are probably suspicious. On the other hand, if you do get in trouble the worst thing you'll have to deal with is a few militia or angry peasants until the King's knights show up, which might take days or weeks if it happens at all.
Mid-range economies: A larger town or low-magic city probably deals with thousands of gp worth of transactions on a daily basis, but most of them probably still for mundane goods and services. Basic detect magic functions are probably common enough for any trade of 100 gp or more, identify spells are obligatory for bigger items (often at seller's cost), and Sense Motive modifiers of +8 or more can be expected frequently. Foreign or unknown parties don't meet with nearly as much suspicion here, and even if a merchant does get ripped off for a few hundred gold it's probably not going to ruin him right away.
The bigger risk here is that if you do get caught charming the blacksmith or selling cursed items (or more mundane frauds like coin clipping), the stakes are higher. Guards are at least moderately well-armed and trained, low to mid-level spellcasters surely exist even if only as contractors, and sheer weight of numbers makes fighting a bad idea.
Magical economies: High-magic cities and merchants who sell powerful items can trade fortunes in a matter of moments, so a degree of paranoia is to be expected. In a magically active society, the main threat is the sheer amount of observers; everyone already knows the older tricks, and will tend to assume magical competence on the part of any unknown party, no matter how harmless-looking, by default.
Artificers and merchants who make their wealth buying and selling powerful items are likely to have significant security measures in place. Analyze Dweomer spells are just the tip of the iceberg; detect lies might be easily fooled, but affordable divinations like augury can often tell if something is fishy. The most high-end facilities often have limited antimagic capabilities, which provide nearly absolute protection from magic-based cons, and often a few experts on hand to identify forgeries or tricks.
Many merchants store most of their magical goods offsite, making robbery a tricky proposition. Those who do keep their entire stock on-hand are usually skilled enough to defend it, or employ people who are. Even if you succeed, rewards are often posted for the thieves often equal to the value of the items themselves -- letting people get away with that kind of thing sets a bad example for business. A would-be thief should be wary of bounty hunters even weeks after the original theft.
So what kind of security methods do you use in your games? Totally excessive and carefully thought out, handwaved with a gentleman's agreement, more limited and "fair"? And what do you like or hate to see when acting as a PC in someone else's game?