My players just finished the first book and they are sitting on a mountain of gold. Unfortunately none of them are taking item crafting feats and there doesn't appear to be a good place to go shopping for magic items.
Soon my players will be going to a large town but currently they are public enemy number one which could make acquiring items difficult.
How are other people handling purchase of magic items in their game.
They'll be making contacts (hopefully) among the Resistance. Have those contacts help them through purchases. BTW, come book 3 they'll no longer be in Irissen and thus not Public Enemy #1, and in book 4 they'll have access to a mobile merchant.
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My players just finished the first book and they are sitting on a mountain of gold. Unfortunately none of them are taking item crafting feats and there doesn't appear to be a good place to go shopping for magic items.
Soon my players will be going to a large town but currently they are public enemy number one which could make acquiring items difficult.
How are other people handling purchase of magic items in their game.
Tangent101 has the right of it, but let me expand on this in relation to The Shackled Hut, which is where I sense this question is hitting a rough patch.
Also, there is some free time available at one point, but there's not weeks and weeks of free time available for crafting.
That being said, let me point out where time and opportunity was made available in The Shackled Hut.
1.) Before they leave Waldsby in the beginning. This should be obvious, but before they undertake a wilderness journey, they should be stocking up on necessities!
2.) Once the PCs obtain their papers from Mortin the Forger and make their way to the Heralds is the one major chance to unload items and buy new ones. This can be played out in two different ways:
A.) The PCs allow the Heralds to act as their shopping proxies. That is, the Heralds find out what the PCs want, and sell their gear and make the purchases on their behalf.
B.) The PCs can go out and do that on their own behalf. Although, this carries a certain risk. Refer to the sidebar on page 30, entitled "Papers Please!" Really to purchase and sell magic items while the city is under lockdown, they should have credentials identifying them as stilyagi or a noble guest. If they get stopped while shopping, they could have their identities called into question and have some NPC try to arrest them. Depending on how much extra work you want to do and the temperament of your players, wrestling with that situation could either be good fun or a pain in the neck.
If you don't want to deal with the hassle, I would have the Hrralds offer to conduct the transactions for them. They have all kinds of black market and underworld connections and are practiced at staying beneath notice and scrutiny.
If the idea of side adventures sounds fun, shopping could be a source of extra adventure.
Either way I would STRONGLY suggest the players take this opportunity. It may not come around for awhile. I would also allow them convert coins into higher denominations and alternative currency, like platinum and gems/jewelry, so that they're not overburdened by weight. As GM, you need to strike the balance between realism and verisimilitude versus allowing the Players to take advantage of the rewards they've earned and outfitting their characters. Its perfectly alright to trust your instincts.
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After the Clocktower, the opportunity to shop is really diminished (to the point of being negligible).
So the best opportunity to enjoy some free time to explore Whitethrone and do some shopping is right when the PCs meet the Heralds.
Hope this helps!
Thank you very much for the input everyone. I'm glad to have a couple of opportunities for them to get some magic items. Thankfully no one in the party is finding themselves desperately in need of a particular magic item to make their build work. *I'm looking at you agile enchantment*
I will probably present both options with the heralds. I'm very glad to have the advice as I glossed over this in my first skim through the book.
The party has a considerable amount of livestock with them after the first part of snows of summer. Their solution to the environmental problem was to buy a covered wagon, heat up the interior of it, and let the horses (who had more hp and better fort saves than they did) whether the elements). They have since lost the wagon but I think they will be trying to buy another one.
My group OWN a covered wagon. It was from a previous encounter with a wizard who feebleminded a centaur... (I enjoy reusing old Dungeon magazine adventures, what can I say? ^^) needless to say, it's not going to make it into Irrisen. I mean, how'd they get it over the bridge, let alone through the snow? ;)
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My players are entering the Howlings this weekend and will be wanting to spend their $ after getting their papers from Mort(in)/meeting Solveig. I fully plan on having the Heralds facilitate shopping for the party, though I have already explained that if any of them want to do any clandestine shopping on their own that they can. Of course they will run a huge risk of getting snatched up at check points etc (ie I am allowing them to do this, but strongly discouraging it. Side missions are anathema at my table unless the entire party is involved).
What about Firearms though? I have a Wizard (spellslinger)/Gunslinger who is going to want to upgrade (I imagine). As Firearms are "just emerging"in my game, how much leeway is feasible in finding anything suitable for a 5th Level PC? I'm torn between there being absolutely nothing (or next to nothing) available and giving the Heralds a Firearms specialist for the PC to trade/buy/sell with... Regardless, whatever is available I'm pretty positive none of it will be magical. Thoughts?
Your wizard does have [url=http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateCombat/ultimateCombatFeats.html#_gunsmithing]Gunsmithing/url], which allows him to build new guns himself as long as he can get the raw materials, and has the time to do it.
I would NOT expect to find firearms in Whitethrone - or if there are any, they are probably ludicrously overpriced.
If he doesn't have Crafts Arms & Armor himself, and the PCs have a spare day, he might able to get a Herald NPC to make a gun +1.
I'm not sure how much he should be encouraged to invest in his early firearms because, well, book 5.
I've told my player who's going to play a Black Powder Inquisition inquisitor that he really won't see a damn thing for gun treasure until book 5, at which point he'll get an absurd payoff. So he's at least aware that that'll be a thing. (I had informed my players back when I decided I'd be running RoW that they will eventually travel to Earth to fight Rasputin, for he is on Earth and he Must Die.)
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Your wizard does have [url=http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/ultimateCombat/ultimateCombatFeats.html#_gunsmithing]Gunsmithing/url], which allows him to build new guns himself as long as he can get the raw materials, and has the time to do it.
I would NOT expect to find firearms in Whitethrone - or if there are any, they are probably ludicrously overpriced.
If he doesn't have Crafts Arms & Armor himself, and the PCs have a spare day, he might able to get a Herald NPC to make a gun +1.
I'm not sure how much he should be encouraged to invest in his early firearms because, well, book 5.
I've told my player who's going to play a Black Powder Inquisition inquisitor that he really won't see a damn thing for gun treasure until book 5, at which point he'll get an absurd payoff. So he's at least aware that that'll be a thing. (I had informed my players back when I decided I'd be running RoW that they will eventually travel to Earth to fight Rasputin, for he is on Earth and he Must Die.)
Yeah, this is my initial thought. I've prohibited Item Creation Feats other than Scribe Scroll and Brew Potion, so no, he won't be able to Craft anything magical. However, it's not a huge deal as he "magics" his Firearm via the Spellslinger abilities/spells. So, I guess he can try to make whatever gun he wants that falls under "early firearms" while shacked up with the Heralds, but it will be MW at best.
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What about Firearms though? I have a Wizard (spellslinger)/Gunslinger who is going to want to upgrade (I imagine). As Firearms are "just emerging"in my game, how much leeway is feasible in finding anything suitable for a 5th Level PC? I'm torn between there being absolutely nothing (or next to nothing) available and giving the Heralds a Firearms specialist for the PC to trade/buy/sell with... Regardless, whatever is available I'm pretty positive none of it will be magical. Thoughts?
I am really reluctant to give anything like an official opinion on this, because as the GM you sort of opened the door to this a little when you allowed the player to take some gunslinger levels. With their class choice the player was telegraphing their future interests.
That being said.... (strictly my opinion).. I would not absolutely say no. There's a couple ways I could see spinning this.
Stilyagi are spoiled and rich. Hell, jadwiga are spoiled and rich, but just less inclined to show it. Before Elvanna started this rebellion, Whitethrone is/was a good place (canonically) to import rare and unusual items. The upper class has money to spend. Imports are hard to come buy, and many of the upper class have a taste for novelty—whether they show it or not.
I would make a deal about how lucky the Heralds were able to find the one black market dealer who actually has the one single magical gun in the whole city and surrounding region. Procured for a stilyagi whose parents said no, "There's too much unrest in the city right now, for you to draw such attention to yourself. Wait until we see how this plays out." Your black market importer is stuck with a rare expensive item with no buyer. With food being rationed to the merchant class and some of the lower classes going without—it might be worth him to sell this exotic item to the one lunatic buyer interested. Because cash is more useful than rare, attention getting, items. I would not, however, use that rationale to put the gun on discount though!
Or have one of the Heralds have Craft Magic Arms and Armor, and let them spend a day to have their existing weapon upgraded, as Zhangar suggested above.
A good GM strikes a balance between verisimilitude and actual fun. Sometimes you have to give a little, or get creative in your rationalization. This is coming from a rather traditional GM.
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I'm going to extend this to the rest of the campaign, if you don't mind.
After book 2, Vurnirn is the only nearby settlement to trade at, and it's only a large town. Book 3 is the last time they can use teleport to get to any city they can think of. Book 4's Spurhorn, being a fortress under siege, doesn't have tons of money. I guess the PCs could go down to Cumo (woe betide GMs who don't read the gazetteer, though).
Book 5 is in the middle of the wilderness of a world that hasn't seen magic items for millennia, and Book 6 takes place entirely within the Hut. Freeing Zilvazaraat does absolutely nothing; mercanes deal solely in magic items, and never sell their wares to people for cash. The book even explicitly instructs the GM that this mercane is no different from the norm.
Even characters with the crafting feats don't get a break, since they don't directly turn gold into magic items, they need to use the gold to buy the necessary materials, which are then turned into magic items.
The only thing I can think of for characters wanting to spend the cash found in books 5 & 6 is to use the keys to go back to Iobaria/Triaxis, then teleport to a Golarion city/Cumo.
How have GMs enabled their characters to spend the piles of gold that crop up during the adventure?
Opportunities to buy/sell items:
The Shackled Hut:
Maiden, Mother, Crone:
The Frozen Stars:
"From a campaign standpoint, Zilvazaraat can be used as a traveling “magic item shop” that the PCs can use wherever the Dancing Hut takes them. As they journey to ever stranger and more distant places, the PCs will have few or no opportunities to sell magic items or buy new gear... so Zilvazaraat can fulfill that role for the PCs. The mercane is equivalent to a large city in terms of his items available and purchasing power (base value 8,000 gp, purchase limit 50,000 gp). The PCs can send Zilvazaraat a “shopping list” using the obsidian raven. Once the mercane has gathered the necessary items (a process that takes 1d4 days on average, depending on the rarity of the items requested), he uses the obsidian raven to plane shift to the PCs with the requested items in his secret chest."
Rasputin Must Die!:
The Witch Queen's Revenge:
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The Frozen Stars & beyond: ** spoiler omitted **
Now, I know a GM could change this particular mercane to be so happy to be out of the gem that he'll change his rules for you, but the author went out of his way to tell GMs that this mercane isn't atypical in that respect.
Zilvazaraat is willing to sell the PCs any of the items in his secret chest (see Treasure, below), and will even buy magic items from them, though he will need to leave and return
the following day (using plane shift) to get the required funds for payment. The mercane has no interest in mundane gear or valuables, only magic items.
Emphasis mine. This means that the PCs can trade in their old magic gear for new, but can't buy new stuff outright.
So, what did Mathew Goodall and the developers plan on having the PCs do with all their money in book 4? What about Brandon Hodge & Greg Vaughn in their books?
** spoiler omitted **Note that, in order for PCs to create magic items, they need to have bought the necessary materials at the stated cost from somewhere. The process of magic item creation doesn't directly turn valuables into magic.
The Frozen Stars & beyond: ** spoiler omitted **
In context,
My group OWN a covered wagon. It was from a previous encounter with a wizard who feebleminded a centaur... (I enjoy reusing old Dungeon magazine adventures, what can I say? ^^) needless to say, it's not going to make it into Irrisen. I mean, how'd they get it over the bridge, let alone through the snow? ;)
I even remember that adventure. Was it called Centaur of attention?
I have also added some extra opportunities to trade, linked to a background story of one of the PCs. They actually met a foreign trader on their way to Whitethrone.
I honestly don't remember, though I followed it up with the "Name of the Rose" knockoff adventure that had healing waters. (Come to think of it, the group still has that water and hasn't used it yet...)
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How I plan on solving the lack of places to buy/sell:
I'm considering moving Zilvazaraat the merchant from Frozen Stars to the beginning of Maiden, Mother and Crone so that they don't have to worry about shopping and traveling quite as much. Has anyone else done this, or have any reservations they want to mention before I move that encounter forward a module? (I don't think my party will fight)
Also, my party (still in Shacked Hut), just about to go into Whitethrone, is already complaining that they are below party wealth, probably because they don't know the value of these strange items. With a poor appraise, they don't know the value of things like the magical beartrap. They are likely to be duped when they try to sell it.
Also, I'm looking forward to them having to interact with witch storekeepers to buy stuff in Whitethrone. Anyone have any stories about how that went for you?
I have a PC with a curse still (the "ring of regeneration"). I'm imagining them having to visit a witch to get rid of it. "Yes ma'am, I was cursed... not by a witch, really" It'll be fun.
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Also, my party (still in Shacked Hut), just about to go into Whitethrone, is already complaining that they are below party wealth, probably because they don't know the value of these strange items. With a poor appraise, they don't know the value of things like the magical beartrap. They are likely to be duped when they try to sell it.
Coming back to this, I've been keeping track of my party's wealth, and having just finished Snows of Summer, the party owns 71900gp worth of gear and sundry. This even takes into account setting items that the party will never use as half value (sale value). Of this, 16200gp is money or trade goods, which could outfit almost 3 completely new level 4 characters. The value of the gear they have is insane!
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Also, my party (still in Shacked Hut), just about to go into Whitethrone, is already complaining that they are below party wealth, probably because they don't know the value of these strange items. With a poor appraise, they don't know the value of things like the magical beartrap. They are likely to be duped when they try to sell it.Coming back to this, I've been keeping track of my party's wealth, and having just finished Snows of Summer, the party owns 71900gp worth of gear and sundry. This even takes into account setting items that the party will never use as half value (sale value). Of this, 16200gp is money or trade goods, which could outfit almost 3 completely new level 4 characters. The value of the gear they have is insane!
Wow, that is a lot! Is that strictly from the book or did you add any items? I'm curious because my group just finished the first book and I didn't add anything except a side quest for the mantle in the Old Margreve.
Yah as a player who's played this. It sucks. You really have to add multiple places to buy magic items.
Between 4+ players zilvazaraat's limit of 50,000 doesn't go far once you're like level 13 or 14. The items you get in the module aren't too useful either, everything is cold based and so has immunity to cold so a lot of times you can't do much with much of the bonuses.
It's incredibly frustrating on this end. You can't use the hut to travel because you use up the keys and you have no idea where to go.
So as a player, please just add in random trips to a major city or something. Basically at level 15 I had about 20k gold worth over wealth by level but I was actually only using about 30k of it (one of which was a ring of x-ray which only helps for somethings). I couldn't hit anything (monk) or do anything useful in combat except run around and take attacks of opportunity and provide flank.
Luckily the GM (after many of us being upset about all the useless crap we got) allowed us to spend months crafting stuff, and allowed me to use magic device and plane shift scrolls to actually spend money on stuff. So I picked up 200k+ worth of gear to bring me up to a real wealth by level. It was very nice being able to deal damage and feel useful.
Decent adventure, but this was one of the biggest issues.
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I saw a great idea from another GM on this board that I intend to use in my campaign (just finished book one). Basically the party will have access to a black market shop via a fireplace where they throw magic powder in to create a portal to the shop. The fireplace will always be available in the hut. Of course, there will be a premium for such conveniences... and I see sooooooo many opportunities for some interesting side plots and quests....
