Making a Marketplace

[FlourescentKing]

I want to make a crazy market for the party to pass through in this campaign that I'm planning on running. I'm trying to think of some unique, wacky shops....I have two so far, a shop that sells really good magic weapons that all have price tags saying "One hand"....a "Party Tricks" shop with a bunch of weird items with creative uses...and "Fred's Sauce-porium, offering the finest selection of magical artisanal hot sauces in the land" with sauces that, when ingested, allow the consumer to breath fire, allow the consumer to run at 1.5x speed, stab the consumer from the inside out with hundreds of tiny knives (based on LoadingReadyRun's Hot and Saucy, watch it on YouTube :smallbiggrin:). I'm planning on having a constitution save or take damage when ingesting the hot sauces, based on their hotness....

What other ideas do you have? Crazy, weird, hilarious, I want 'em all!

[MBControl]

1) What about an unstable pet store. Just a bunch of really weird, mutated, abnormal pets that come with cool upsides, and weird and funny downsides. Think hypnotoad, a ugly old old parrot that swears a ton, a one eyed monkey that steals stuff constantly.

2) A magic carpet store, where the carpets have to be tied down so they don't fly away

3) An I-Hone store, that sells eyeglasses and magical goggles, make sure to sell them cool I-Hone Cases. Don't forget to inform them that they may have to update the lens every 6-8 months when the new lens come out.

4) A really dodgy pawnshop. This guy is going to try to rip people off as much as possible. I'd also have really bizarre things available to buy. Be specific, and detailed, like a ruby encrusted jock strap.

5) A loan shark under the banner of an "Insurance Agent." Or something very mob-like, with a thinly veiled front.

Hope that sparks some ideas for you.

[Regitnui]

I'm making a.more serious market, but;

1) a herbalist who's constantly under the effects of their own herbs (read: higher than a kite hanging off the ISS)

2) a bookstore with a sign "no quills or evokers allowed".

3) an orphanage offering a 2-for-1 special.

[fenrir227]

How about a shop that sells various creatures as pets like cats, owls, frogs, weasels, Kobolds, goblins, pixies, a psudodragon, and a hafling or two.

[Cglied]

1) Deeply discounted, off brand generic potions. Maybe they aren't as effective or don't work as advertised.

2) An armorer that sells mismatched gear. Only left handed gauntlets, etc...

3) A giant bookstore that only sells novels about 1 character; a reformed drow with morals, 2 scimitars and a panther.

4) A hipster foodie restaurant that specializes in "authentic" orc cuisine.

5) Vorpal's Swords

"Why yes I am Carl Vorpal? No, not that Vorpal. Distant relation."

[RickAllison]

For a darker corner:

"Gain fantastic power! Only for the bravest of spirit, cowards need not apply!" Really, it is a feeding place for werewolves/other shapechangers. Applicants become lunch and, if they survive, become part of the pack.

(Total Disney rip-off incoming). Shrunken Ned's Emporium: Two of his heads for one of yours!

[FaradayCage]

1.) One adventure from Dungeon magazine back in the day included an NPC (a bugbear, I think) that hawked his wares at some point. His pitch was a series of rhymes and alliteration, but one of the lines: "oceans of potions!" really stuck with me.

2.) Some gnome selling devices that seem modern from the name, but are actually just magical/mundane:

- "Lap top": a wooden plank and a gyroscope. Convenient for enjoying the laws of physics in the comfort of your own chair.

- "wife eye": one of the eyes of the gnome's dear departed wife, preserved in a jar.

- "digital watch": A crawling claw with an ominous eye set in the palm.

- "dual speakers and woofer": A pair of imps and a hell hound bound by an ancient (and quite humiliating) contract to serve as their owner's emissaries for the next 3492 years. The contract is likely to be appealed any time between two months and two millenia from now.

- "toaster": An ingenious apparatus for crisping the outsides of thin pieces of bread via coils of heated metal. Like many inventions, this one is useless without the technology that would make it practical: sliced bread.

[Regitnui]

How about a shop that sells various creatures as pets like cats, owls, frogs, weasels, Kobolds, goblins, pixies, a psudodragon, and a hafling or two.

Well, that escalated quickly

1) The local mercenary hangout has a minor problem of too many swords and not enough problems.

2) An attractive young human girl walks down the street with a basket full lf flowers, claiming they'll immensely raise charisma. Any male PC who buys one from her gets a rather enthusiastic, fifteen-minute-long 'kiss'.

3) An elf carries a jeweled skull, which offers to identify any magic items the PCs may have. The elf is silent.

[JackPhoenix]

Crazy Hassan's used camel emporium (https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Hassan)

[Reaper34]

well lets see what i can remember

1. the shifting desire- upscale brothal staffed by shapeshifter.

2. mad hairy's used arms and armor- used goods store run by a really hairy dwarf. all the arms and armor has dried blood on it or smells of sweat, ect.

3. (insert random god's name changes daily) disease removal service- discretion guaranteed.

4. toad lickers- shack filled with different toads to lick. staffed by a hag with one eye.

5. percy's pet shop- all the creatures sold are really true polymorphed people that made the percy angry.

6. Infernal dealings- it's a law firm. guess who staffs it?

7. abyssal contracts- rival law firm to Infernal dealings. it's across the street.

8. gob's mystery meats- food (hotdog and burger) cart run by a goblin. it's good but don't ask what's in it.

9.divine intervention- therapists

10. forward thinkers- divination shop run by a late teen/early twenties young woman. mid thirties woman and an old woman everyone is waiting to die.

11. Fairy fire- archery shop run by 2 really militant pixies. (think full metal jacket drill sarg)

12. teds all troll ballet (closed- for sale trolls included.)- didn't work out for ted but the building comes with a lovely collection of hungry trolls inside.

13. Risky Riders- sells gryphons, giant owls, ect. they don't sell normal mounts.

14. bert's bridal boutique- bert is 6'6" half orc impeccably dressed in pastels with a bit of a body hair problem, but apparently he's quite good at what he does judging by the number of young ladies in his shop.

15. Blind monk ale house- you can see when you go in but if you can still see when you come out you should have ordered a drink.

16. The Right Party (below it and crossed out thieve's guild)- bringing honesty to larceny one vote at a time.

17. The Left Party (below and crossed out Ye old brothel) - exposing ourselves to (for crossed out) change.

18. granys cats- old woman living in a house with dozens of lions, tigers, and displacer beasts.

19. Starschmucks coffee(not really the name but copyright issues you know)- they really are everywhere now.

20. summoner's den- sells conjure monster items. shelves are stocked with red and white balls. push button and throw.

[TripleD]

Inspired by Zootopia: have certain sections catered to different environments.

Canals run throughout the marketplace. Humans and halflings barter at street level, while other shopkeepers hawk there goods to merfolk and kuo-tuo below. Floating shops staffed by genies and aarakokra drift overhead, while shady earth elementals offer to earth glide clients to completely sealed off exclusive clubs.

[Grey Watcher]

The Faerie Market, listed here, has some fun ideas: https://www.onepagedungeon.info/2012/

We ran it and had fun playing mini games to get stuff we could bid with at the auction house, such as "knowledge of mine and my sister's futures".

[Moo, I'm Human]

1) A gladiator arena staffed by pacifists.

2) Ivan's Multipurpose Goat Emporium.
Ivan, a large human with a Russian accent, is selling goats for milking, riding, and a one time barbecue!

3) Kobold Entertainment Inc.
47 Kobolds are trying to make 250 GP to buy goats(see above) to sacrifice to their great god, Sir Barnabeus the 78th, a charismatic cleric who tricked them into thinking he was a god.

[Joe dirt]

any good marketplace needs rare and exotic animal dealer. perhaps someone that can sell you some eggs and mamma aint happy

[N810]

Perhaps with a bit of investigation they could find the shady black market: I would be full of powerful but cursed items.

also perhaps a flea market, where the items for sale would be completely random, and of perhaps lesser quality than normal, but cheep.

[Regitnui]

Perhaps with a bit of investigation they could find the shady black market: I would be full of power but cursed items.
.

Or stumbling into it. The black market in my campaign is under the streets but still open-air.

[Lycanthrope13]

Have the black market everywhere, with goods accessible by a coded response to a simple question.

Vendor: "Some weather we're having"
Character: "I prefer summers in Amn"

I also like the idea of a second hand armor store. Chainmail with a giant hole in the back, gauntlet with a hand still inside, or special axe and helm combo (with an axe embedded in the helm).

An apothecary run by a blind alchemist who labels all his potions and poisons in braille.

A shop selling "magical beasts" that aren't so magical. Owlbear cub is a bear with feathers glued to it, unicorn is a pony with a stick tied to its head, etc.

[Centik]

A shop that changes appearance each time the party or a member of the party looks at it. The shop keeper looks the same, aside from his clothing and he doesn't seem to notice or care that everything is different. His wares change each time the shop's appearance changes. Could make for a good plot hook too, if the cause for the shop's changing is planar or magical and something goes awry causing the wares to become possessed or worse.

[Regitnui]

A shop that changes appearance each time the party or a member of the party looks at it. The shop keeper looks the same, aside from his clothing and he doesn't seem to notice or care that everything is different. His wares change each time the shop's appearance changes. Could make for a good plot hook too, if the cause for the shop's changing is planar or magical and something goes awry causing the wares to become possessed or worse.

"Oh, darnit. Last week I was selling potions of a... um, sensitive nature to rich customers, and now the shelves are full of week-old cabbages. The worst part is nobody remembers except me! Can you imagine going to sleep in a jewelry store and coming down to a floor full of hungry animals in the morning?! Please, you've got to help me. The witch who paid with these. Find her and return these cursed coins before i find myself selling feather dusters to insecure peacocks!"

[Centik]

"Oh, darnit. Last week I was selling potions of a... um, sensitive nature to rich customers, and now the shelves are full of week-old cabbages. The worst part is nobody remembers except me! Can you imagine going to sleep in a jewelry store and coming down to a floor full of hungry animals in the morning?! Please, you've got to help me. The witch who paid with these. Find her and return these cursed coins before i find myself selling feather dusters to insecure peacocks!"

Haha, now that's what I call a solid plot hook!

[FlourescentKing]

These are all awesome, thanks so much! Now to write the pre-adventure that allows the PC's to gain enough money to actually GO TO the majority of these shops....

Also, I can't get the amazing image of a cafe selling gourmet halfling steaks out of my head..."Man, this is delicious! What did you say this is?" "This is the stout, sir. Arrived just this morning."

[Regitnui]

Haha, now that's what I call a solid plot hook!

It's a gift. Normally encountered at the whims of the RNG, but that's why I worship Olladra.