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The title basically says it all but to elaborate has anyone ever had shops just out and out sell cursed items to their clients potentially without trying to deceive them into buying them? I mean it seems like a smart idea considering that to some the curses may not be that terrible depending on their predicament and could be sold at discount prices. I mean I don't know about you but if I'm playing an Iomedean paladin and they are selling a magical longsword that only functions if an hour long ceremony to the inheritor is performed upon it at a discount that wouldn't seem to bad to me. Also it adds a bit more of the mystery back to magical items that a lot of people usually complain about. It can make things like the talisman hocker on the street more viable if his protective wards only work during the day and potentially help explain why a magic item shop doesn't get robbed all the time since you would have to figure out what all the items do before you could reliably fence them. Also it gives me a wonderful image of a big bobs discount magic emporium that I now must see. So does anyone have any experience doing this like pricing and set up or even just some interesting stories?
I've used a similar concept, though it was more like the occult shops from the movies Gremlins, Hellraiser, and The Outer Limits or a witch who specializes in such things.
Additionally, any magic item found, crafted, or purchased has a chance to be cursed. Typically, I do a "Curse check" for all items (DC 5 + the Caster Level of the item). If the check fails by 5 or more, it is cursed; if not, its normal. Prior to each session, I use a random number generator to generate 100 secret rolls for the session in a spreadsheet. Anytime a secret roll comes up, I check off the next number on the sheet - in order.
As far as pricing went, I never went in for the "discount because it is cursed" bit. It seems more like you're talking about items with drawbacks, but not necessarily curses. I'd be tempted to price them as half a category less (or more depending on the severity of the drawback). That is, a +4 sword (32,000gp) with a drawback (Character must swear fealty to a particular noble or to his entire family) as 25,000 gp. The difference between a +3 and +4 in cost is 14,000 (half of which is 7k).
I ran a discount magic shop where items were a bit cheaper but didn't work super well.
I can recall an unreliable wand with an activation roll of 13+, a bag of holding where what you wanted was on the bottom, and an intelligent magic sword that would help you only if you were nice to it.
Hmmm... I never had such a "shop" in my game, but I did have a guy with a large cart selling stuff even him didn't even know everything about. Like a map that would show wrong trails unless you persuaded it by flattery, and an intelligent pistol that was always terribly depressed and you had to pay a lot of attention when using it, because if it cried, her tears would wet the powder and you couldn't fire.
Cursed magic item shops are my favorite kind! On the player or DM side of things.
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Yeah I'm talking more drawbacks then curses. It seems like something people would sell at a discount and be a pretty large market in a D&D world where magic is so suffused and yet is so expensive. I could see wizards selling potions of cure that their apprentices made that only work during the day at discounts from regular to commoners, or emergency wands of sending that are sold to town mayors that only work once a week, or animal messenger wands sold to sailors that only work if they get wet. It seems like an easy market to sell items to that makes them more viable to a larger customer base. And as I said before with so many items that activate with special conditions it could help answer that age old question of why people don't rob magic stores all that much since there's a good chance they'll lift something that they can't make work and only the shopkeeper knows how to activate.
I have not before, but it is on my to-do list.
Items with drawbacks are great ways to make sure PCs don't use certain items. In a lolthari campaign I ran (my setting's version of Drow), all House magic items (items created by the House Wizards for use by House nobles) had the "drawback" of requiring a "House Insignia" attuned to the individual noble of the House they were created by and for. Each House Insignia was created for specific nobles with the standard backlash incurred trying to wear an insignia not attuned to you (which is pretty harsh).
This served four economic purposes (among others):
1. It allowed me to equip NPCs with appropriate gear without overloading the PCs with excess magic items.
2. It created an economy whereby fences would purchase these items for 25% of value or less to turn around and sell back to the House of origin.
3. The items of a destroyed house were sellable only as scrap.
4. At great expense (financial and potential death if caught) House Insignias might be reattuned and the equipment of a House might usable.
