Hello everyone, i hope this wasn't a hot topic recently, i couldn't find any thread about that even though i'm pretty it must have been asked before:
I'm having trouble setting up shops in my campaign, precisely magic items shops, like wands/scrolls/magic armor and weapons etc. I have no idea how to handle such task as it's my first time GMing more than a simple module, and i'm a bit overwhelmed with this as i know my players will try every now and then to grab some.
How did you guys set it up?
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Hello everyone, i hope this wasn't a hot topic recently, i couldn't find any thread about that even though i'm pretty it must have been asked before:
I'm having trouble setting up shops in my campaign, precisely magic items shops, like wands/scrolls/magic armor and weapons etc. I have no idea how to handle such task as it's my first time GMing more than a simple module, and i'm a bit overwhelmed with this as i know my players will try every now and then to grab some.
How did you guys set it up?
I provided mine with the information on shops in the town listed in the Korvosa book, but for the most part my players tend to act like there's some mystic one-stop shop that sells everything. So unless you're going to make them walk from shop to shop and rp through each interaction with the merchant, I wouldn't get too mired down in the details.
I usually just tell them yes or no on whether what they are asking for is available, and tell them they just blew all all afternoon and evening when they're done.
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I agree with Duamatef. You do not have to get carried away with shops and lists of stuff for sale. All you really need to know is this...
Base Value and Purchase Limit: This section lists the community’s base value for available magic items in gp (see pages 460–461 of the Core Rulebook). There is a 75% chance that any item of this value or lower can be found for sale in the community with little effort. If an item is not available, a new check to determine if the item has become available can be made in 1 week. A settlement’s purchase limit is the most money a shop in the settlement can spend to purchase any single item from the PCs. If the PCs wish to sell an item worth more than a settlement’s purchase limit, they’ll either need to settle for a lower price, travel to a larger city, or (with the GM’s permission) search for a specific buyer in the city with deeper pockets. A settlement’s type sets its purchase limit.
That all being said, I like to RP the buying and selling of interesting, rare, or powerful items. Makes it way more fun than a simple hand wave. I make up a buyer or seller on the fly or if I have time, pre-design a NPC for the purpose.
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Guide to Korvosa is a good resource and contains info similar to what's in the hardcover appendix, but there's a lot more there.
-Skeld
Thank you everyone, i'll follow your advices and read (again :p) the guide to korvosa, guess i got a little overboard on this ahah! My players are going to bounce from shops to shops so i'll just tell them "hey, look, all the shops are conveniently gathered at the Golden market and Eodred's walk!"
And it wouldn't be far from truth too.
I missed the part in the guide to korvosa about shops i guess, and totally forgot about the appendixes in the hardbook sooooo i have some reading!
Thanx again for the answers :)
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I’ll give you a quick overview of the ‘magical shop’ options I used in my campaign.
Doing business in Korvosa
Schools
There are two colleges in Korvosa that might be able to create some arcane magical items on demand: the Acadamae and Theumanexus college. The Acadamae is not open to ‘outsiders’, so getting in there might prove difficult. Either one of your PCs needs a connection inside or the PCs will have to find a middle-man to handle their dealings. Tempest Geezlebottle of Theumanexus college is a friendlier sort and can be approached with requests. These schools don’t really have a big stock of items, but they can have students or teachers make low-level stuff on demand.
Temples
The temples are a great way to gain access to divine inspired items. The churches of Pharasma and Sarenrae are generally quite friendly and open for business. The Bank of Abadar might have the best items for sale, but they will ask top dollar.
Shops
The Gilded Orrery sells books, texts, items, magical wares of arcane lore for the people associated with the Acadamae. Again it might be harder to get a foot in. Bookmaker sells a handful of scrolls as well. Hedge Wizardry is a small shop that sells alchemical and magical goods, while Slicing Dicers might hold a magical blade or two. Trapper’s Hole has bows and arrows for sale, possibly with some minor magic.
Homebrew
I added two sources for shopping to my list in my campaign.
Dierderik Lodann is a peddler who claims he can get his hands on anything (although just minor stuff). He has contacts in the Acadamae and can get things there.
Furin Ironmonger is a dwarven smith who hails from Janderhoff. He can get decent magical arms and armor, and he could even order special items in the dwarven citadel of Janderhoff.
Janderhoff
As the PCs progress in level and leave the city of Korvosa, you could steer them towards the dwarven citadel Janderhoff as well. The temple of Torag there can provide all kinds of goods, mainly magical arms and armor, but also divine wands, potions and even rings and wondrous items. They can also provide the service of enchanting new items or increasing the power of enchantments on existing items.
Kaer Maga
Kaer Maga covers the arcane base of magical items. I restricted my PCs’ connection there to ‘The Flame that Binds’, a shop specialized in buying and selling magical goods and services.