The item says it's non-magical, but it also is only listed under the "magic-armor". Where could I buy this in a large city - at a blacksmith or at a magic shop?
Mithral Shirt
Price 1,100 gp; Aura no aura (nonmagical); CL —; Weight 10 lbs.
This extremely light chain shirt is made of very fine mithral links. The armor has an arcane spell failure chance of 10%, a maximum Dexterity bonus of +6, and no armor check penalty. It is considered light armor.
Considering that it's listed as nonmagical, even though it's in the magic items section, I'd say blacksmith/armorsmith.
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Not sure why it's listed as magic armor, I'm guessing an anachronism. It is not magical, and you would be much more likely to find it at a blacksmith's or armorer. If it's a big city in your game world, you might be more likely to find it at a blacksmith or armorer run by dwarves, as they would be more likely to deal in exotic materials than other races.
It says it's non-magical, but it's ONLY listed under "magic-armor"... too many mixed signals! No idea how to compute!
Yeah, ignore that.
The Special Materials are listed in the non-magical Arms & Armor section of both the CRB and Ultimate Equipment.
Nowhere in the Special Materials section does it indicate that magic is required to make mithral items.
How common is Mithral? Would I be able to find it in Golarion in a medium-sized city that was home to a decently skilled dwarven blacksmith?
I generally have armorers selling magic armors anyway. So the mithral shirt would be available at the same places.
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It's funny, I always kind of figured that "magic shop" was just a convenient shorthand, rather than a specific establishment you could actually find. I generally leave shopping pretty abstract when I run a game, but my assumption has been that certain high-end merchants that adventurers frequent (outfitters, master armorers and weaponsmiths, et cetera) keep a small selection of magic items they've acquired (mostly from other adventurers) in the "back room." Finding the particular item you want requires a big city because you need to do a lot of shopping around.
I mean, magic items are super expensive! It seems like the initial investment to get a dedicated magic shop up and running would be greater than just about any other possible business venture.
How common is Mithral? Would I be able to find it in Golarion in a medium-sized city that was home to a decently skilled dwarven blacksmith?
Well, it's listed as "rare". While I don't have any of my Golarion-specific books in front of me, I recall that it is mined in the Five Kings Mountains (it's mentioned in the Dwarves of Golarion, as I recall).
That being said, as it's listed as a "Minor Item" and is 1,100gp, there's a 75% chance of finding it in any Settlement that's at least a Large Town (check out the "Settlements" section of the GMG, which is in the PRD).
It's funny, I always kind of figured that "magic shop" was just a convenient shorthand, rather than a specific establishment you could actually find. I generally leave shopping pretty abstract when I run a game, but my assumption has been that certain high-end merchants that adventurers frequent (outfitters, master armorers and weaponsmiths, et cetera) keep a small selection of magic items they've acquired (mostly from other adventurers) in the "back room." Finding the particular item you want requires a big city because you need to do a lot of shopping around.
I mean, magic items are super expensive! It seems like the initial investment to get a dedicated magic shop up and running would be greater than just about any other possible business venture.
Got to agree with the Gnoll on this one: I've always abstracted magic item purchasing. In any given settlement there will be a number of places to purchase items, some obvious, others not. So if you want a magic sword, you'd go see the nearest blacksmith. He may or may not have what you're looking for, but if he doesn't, you will get directed to someone else he knows who might, and so forth. On the other hand, if you want a wand of fireball, if the local purveyor of magical trinkets doesn't have one in stock, a market stall down the street might, and he might point you towards it. I simulate this with a time requirement on item purchases, 1 hour of shopping per 1,000 price of the desired item. (I'm contemplating allowing a skill check of some sort to reduce that time, probably Diplomacy, but haven't decided yet.) The thought of an actual shop which stocks all kinds of magic items just seems a bit ridiculous.
Just because it's magical doesn't mean a good ol' fashioned smith can't make it. In fact, there is a feat for making magic items without magic. I'd say that, ultimately, you should just associate weapons and armor with smiths and crafters.
Ask a dwarf.