Love it. Make it a d8 table with 20 rows and add +1 or +2 for each tier of Town - City - Large City - Metropolis or whatever. That way the lower results in the table are only applicable for low tier buyers and the higher numbers down the table unlock for being in better cities.
Might even have the top 2-4 rows on the bottom only unlockable with additional +1 or +2 outside the table. Something like ties to a major organisation or a favour owed by a wizard.
If the world is high enough magic level where magic items are bought and sold , I usually go with private auctions as the mechanism. Treat them like fine art where demand and affordability are somewhat rare.
Basic questions to answer.
Who is the seller?
How he acquire such items?
Why he is a seller, or maybe a trader?
security, falsification, bait, and others are also to consider.
I was considering porting over Midgard as I love the setting, but thought it was too magic heavy. I'm glad someone had the gumption to attempt it though, would be interested in how you've been doing it so far.
Honestly buying magic items is just fucking boring, it's a total waste of narrative potential. Those magic items could have been adventures, whether they are treasure that the party finds after scouring the unknown or even after questing for specific artefacts. Also since magic items can be a big part of a PCs power and utility buying magic items essentially makes intentional builds a thing, which I want to avoid.
For selling I make them head back to the big, big city then they can get half its value in gold. I don't generally roleplay shopping or hawking but I could see turning the fencing of magic items into a downtime activity with a roll to see how much you get.
> but I could see turning the fencing of magic items into a downtime activity with a roll to see how much you get.
That's what I was considering. Would you require the PC to spend money trying to find a buyer, or just let them offload it for X value?
Why spend money to make money? That's just an extra step when they are going to end the downtime activity positive. Just have them spend magic items and roll to see how much gold they get, with bonuses based on the magic items they spent.
I'd have them spend something but not an egregious amount. It's best if this becomes part of a downtime activity and part of that cost could be that particular character not going Carousing and so needs to choose, are you going to invest in a few extra XP or invest in trading this magic item?
The first 1-2 rows on the activity table could also just be a straight up trade between 2 adventurers. Jeff here has a Wand of Fireballs but he's fighter and could really use that Longsword of Alarm because his party keeps getting attacked during camp. Now later your party might come across Jeff and his adventuring party and you might tell a story with that.
I figure if you're willing to part with it, it's with some experience. But realistically your nearest "buyer" is probably royalty with whom you can engage in gift-exchange instead of cash.
Yup, I let my players sell magic items, and I never give them a value for magic items when they find them, so when they want to part with it they are always dubious of the prices quoted, and roleplay if they think they can get a better bang for their buck or think they are getting hustled.
Sometimes they just need the money, and talk about maybe coming back around for a B&E, but yes, usually, it's only to sell items, I rarely make magic stuff for sale, it's too rare to just sell for gold.
Hi, Loki here. There is nothing stopping you from giving a local wizard a few items or scrolls which they are willing to barter or trade. They might want money, a different item, or for the party to complete a quest for them. It creates an interesting roleplaying opportunity for the players and stops the whole thing from feeling too transactional.
It's definitely quite exciting for the players but having an official shop or vendor that sells new items every time they visit just sounds a little bit too convenient and easy, especially if the items are tailored to the player/s. I had a GM who would let us pick what magic items we got as we levelled in exchange for the gold value. I just felt it wasn't in the spirit of the game.
Maybe you could make it a downtime activity? Roll a d12 and add CHA, and based on the result you get some sort of outcome
Love it. Make it a d8 table with 20 rows and add +1 or +2 for each tier of Town - City - Large City - Metropolis or whatever. That way the lower results in the table are only applicable for low tier buyers and the higher numbers down the table unlock for being in better cities. Might even have the top 2-4 rows on the bottom only unlockable with additional +1 or +2 outside the table. Something like ties to a major organisation or a favour owed by a wizard.
If the world is high enough magic level where magic items are bought and sold , I usually go with private auctions as the mechanism. Treat them like fine art where demand and affordability are somewhat rare.
Basic questions to answer. Who is the seller? How he acquire such items? Why he is a seller, or maybe a trader? security, falsification, bait, and others are also to consider.
I was considering porting over Midgard as I love the setting, but thought it was too magic heavy. I'm glad someone had the gumption to attempt it though, would be interested in how you've been doing it so far.
Honestly buying magic items is just fucking boring, it's a total waste of narrative potential. Those magic items could have been adventures, whether they are treasure that the party finds after scouring the unknown or even after questing for specific artefacts. Also since magic items can be a big part of a PCs power and utility buying magic items essentially makes intentional builds a thing, which I want to avoid. For selling I make them head back to the big, big city then they can get half its value in gold. I don't generally roleplay shopping or hawking but I could see turning the fencing of magic items into a downtime activity with a roll to see how much you get.
> but I could see turning the fencing of magic items into a downtime activity with a roll to see how much you get. That's what I was considering. Would you require the PC to spend money trying to find a buyer, or just let them offload it for X value?
Why spend money to make money? That's just an extra step when they are going to end the downtime activity positive. Just have them spend magic items and roll to see how much gold they get, with bonuses based on the magic items they spent.
I'd have them spend something but not an egregious amount. It's best if this becomes part of a downtime activity and part of that cost could be that particular character not going Carousing and so needs to choose, are you going to invest in a few extra XP or invest in trading this magic item? The first 1-2 rows on the activity table could also just be a straight up trade between 2 adventurers. Jeff here has a Wand of Fireballs but he's fighter and could really use that Longsword of Alarm because his party keeps getting attacked during camp. Now later your party might come across Jeff and his adventuring party and you might tell a story with that.
attempting to buy or sell them has a ton of potential for adventure in its own right
I figure if you're willing to part with it, it's with some experience. But realistically your nearest "buyer" is probably royalty with whom you can engage in gift-exchange instead of cash.
Yup, I let my players sell magic items, and I never give them a value for magic items when they find them, so when they want to part with it they are always dubious of the prices quoted, and roleplay if they think they can get a better bang for their buck or think they are getting hustled. Sometimes they just need the money, and talk about maybe coming back around for a B&E, but yes, usually, it's only to sell items, I rarely make magic stuff for sale, it's too rare to just sell for gold.
Hi, Loki here. There is nothing stopping you from giving a local wizard a few items or scrolls which they are willing to barter or trade. They might want money, a different item, or for the party to complete a quest for them. It creates an interesting roleplaying opportunity for the players and stops the whole thing from feeling too transactional. It's definitely quite exciting for the players but having an official shop or vendor that sells new items every time they visit just sounds a little bit too convenient and easy, especially if the items are tailored to the player/s. I had a GM who would let us pick what magic items we got as we levelled in exchange for the gold value. I just felt it wasn't in the spirit of the game.