Magic Shops

Do not let magic become a commodity. Magical items should never be bought and sold like milk and eggs. Allowing PCs of any level to simply purchase magical items, or even to purchase magical supplies such as quills and inks for writing scrolls, takes some of the mystique away from magic and makes the whole world seem a little more commonplace.

It is not necessary to stubbornly forbid the buying and selling of magic; the key to keeping magic fanciful is to make sure that any transaction is an adventure of a sort.

Magical supplies should never have clearly marked prices and be sold from neatly arranged shelves—that’s too such like a modern supermarket. Instead, things such as spell components, quills, and exotic inks should be available only at specialty shops run by would-be wizards or retired adventures. Barter or intense haggling should be the norm. Of course, the only guarantee as to what the PCs are actually getting is based on the proprietor’s reputation. (Is that really a cockatrice quill or did it just come from a large chicken?) A PC who needs a specific ingredient for a potion or scroll ink might have to choose between several similar items; only a series of careful questions about how each item was acquired reveals which one the PC should choose.

When it comes to purchasing magical items, make the PCs buy “pig-in-a-poke.” Characters generally sell only magical items they cannot use, so they really have no idea what they do. In most cases, mere cash is not sufficient. The seller wants a service of some kind, or wishes to barter for another magical item the character can use.

Player characters might occasionally wish to sell an item for cash. A harried DM can find gold piece values in the Encyclopedia Magica™ books, however, the values given there are more useful as a way to establish relative values between items. The market value for something as powerful and useful as a magical item is highly variable and hard to calculate.

Finding the right buyer should be an adventure in itself. A magical item for sale draws thieves like flies, and those thieves could range anywhere from the neighborhood fiend to the local tax collector. Perhaps a vampire drops by one evening and tries to charm the item out of the PC’s hands. In most cases, the buyer is wary, because determining an item’s true powers is a difficult task, and the buyer can never be sure exactly what he is getting.

Shops that sell magical items are a bad idea for several reasons. First, the quest for magical treasures is what drives the game. It’s true that high-level characters tend to have more magical items than they really need, but such characters often desire specific items to assist with whatever task happens to be at hand.

For example, it is known that Lord Mayor Charles Oliver O’Kane of Ravens Bluff™ (in the Forgotten Realms® campaign setting) is seeking a cube of force so he can deal with a troublesome dragon. The DM could allow the character to walk down to the local magic shop, hand over a pile a coins and gems big enough to choke the dragon, and get his cube of force, but a clever DM seizes upon the character’s desire as an opportunity to create an adventure. Several different adventures could arise from the mayor’s search:

A charlatan might appear and offer the mayor a fake cube of force; some well-placed illusions might convince even the most skeptical buyer that the false item is genuine. Even if the mayor detects the hoax, actually catching and punishing the charlatan could prove to be difficult.

The character might locate a damaged cube of force. The cube might be completely inoperative, but repairable under some special condition that the owner might be able to bring about. Alternatively, the cube might be partially functional; perhaps it works at less than full power or randomly deactivates itself. The new owner might learn the cube’s quirks through trial and error.

Someone might have a cube of force he can live without. The owner, however, refuses to sell the cube for mere cash and wants another powerful magical item in trade. Perhaps the cube’s owner knows where the other item can be found, but believes getting it would be too risky. The cube owner, however, would gladly reveal the other item’s location in return for a promise to trade the item for the cube.

The dragon might learn about the mayor’s search for a cube of force and decide to pay the mayor a visit. Perhaps the dragon would be willing to negotiate, or perhaps the dragon opens hostilities before the mayor is ready.

Another powerful character, perhaps a political rival, offers to loan the mayor a cube of force, for a favor to be named later. If the mayor accepts, repaying the favor might prove especially difficult or embarrassing. Refusing the loan might prove equally difficult or embarrassing, especially if the dragon damages the city and the rival lets it be known that the mayor refused an offer that might have defeated the dragon.

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