To start, I'm DM'ing the Age of Worms adventure path, but really, it's the first time I've DM'ed something that large (or long) and the first time I've been faced with characters of this level. I tend to make a lot of mistakes, unintentionally and am a bit overwhelmed. I hope this some can help me on, thought I hope the questions aren't silly.
The last session, my players finished HOHR and nearly all levelled to level 9. While I tried to get a grasp of the Free City, I already had been faced with the problem of what they can buy there. I can't find the article right now (oh dear), but I introduced the wizard to the wizard guild written in Dragon, a few potion shops and such. But now I'm not sure what f.e. spells that you could buy on the market or take over from the library? I understood the Free City was one of the largest cities around, so most common, uncommon and even rare things should be available/findable (against a price).. or not?
So, I'm not sure what to put in shops, being it spells, weapons or armory. I'm afraid to just throw everything in, since well.. it seems a bit unexciting that everything just is there, against a price. But then again, it's a bit city, if you can't find it there, where else? I feel I'm probably missing something, be it from the manuals or articles about cities...
Help?
Hello Tasmanien Tiger,
Don't worry to make mistakes, your players are still there and if they are not complaining too much (players always complain, no matter how good a DM you are).
In general, everything the PCs could aford at that level should be available in the Free City, but of course you might restrict access a little bit. Maybe the PCs have to wait for the magic item to be created first, or they have to roll Gather Information checks to find a shop selling it. In general I would give them what they like from the PHB and the DMG, items from other sources, however, I would make them do something for (see above), as not everyone knows the items and can do them on the fly. Depending on the time you have for the AP (remember all 12 parts will take about 2 years real time to play through) you could play buying items (if the PCs enjoy it) or just allow them to get the stuff between adventures without much RP.
Hope this helps.