Is there a fast, efficient way to create shops?

[Brandt Welles]

Hey there!

I'm a new GM running Rise of the Runelords and we're just about enter Magnimar for the first time. I picked up the GM mantle mid-game because of scheduling issues with our last GM, so I already had access to the Sandpoint shops he had created/found.

We use Google Drive for most of our information, but play in person. Our Sandpoint shop was an Google Sheets file players could look at in between sessions and buy from, but I've been trying to find something made for Magnimar with no luck.

Is there an easy way to create shops? Is there one for Magnimar that already exists I could just pull and use in my campaign? How do YOU make a shop?

Cheers!

[My Self]

Depends on how realistic you want it to be. If you want to make a highly convenient player-accessible shop, just have all regularly purchasable items and a list of common magic items, subject to GM discretion.

If you want a sort of semi-guided shop/market, consult the gamemastery settlement guide for how expensive magic items should be and such. It imposes certain limits on how much magical stuff you can buy and sell in a sitting, dependent on settlement size and whatnot. Most regularly purchasable items should be available, but consider treating strange, custom requests such as elephants or 30000 cats (300 gp) carefully. If it would be unfeasible for the requested order to be present, the PCs could arrange for it to be shipped over in a week or few weeks with some extra surcharge.

If you want to get rather specific, you could assign an NPC to a different shop, and have individual shops only sell certain goods. This will probably require the most effort, but your players will probably enjoy it more. Actually, characterized (but unimportant) NPCs are excellent ways to personalize an otherwise scripted story.

[CoI]

https://donjon.bin.sh/d20/magic/shop.html
Check this out. I've found it, and many other things on that site VERY useful

[Thanael]

+1 for donjon.sh

Also for an excellent premade shop check out Kavit M Tor's Emporium of Collectible Curiosities by Rite Publishing

[Claxon]

I always just say that everything (within reason) is available.

My group uses Automatic Bonus Progression so the big six are no longer items, which were previously always the expensive items people were trying to get. Trying to decide what is and isn't available to player takes up a lot of time and usually doesn't add anything to the game. Especially since we are using ABP most of the power gain is baked into leveling up, not just gaining wealth. We also stick strictly to WBL (well half-WBL for ABP) because we as a group know and understand that wealth is as much a power track for a character as experience is, and since we stopped using experience a long time ago and started leveling based on plot we also decided to stop keeping track of loot and just having every character be allowed to have goods up to the value of half-WBL. While adventuring if you come across an item you want you can use it and it counts against your WBL (though since you are almost always in-between levels you can get a temporary boost because we count it against your WBL for next level).

[Rub-Eta]

Claxon wrote:

I always just say that everything (within reason) is available.

+1

It sounds cool to keep track of shops, their stock and cash. But it's just not worth it in then end.
Also, unless you apply specific rules (Automatic Bonus Progression for example), there will be items that you need to offer the players to buy, otherwise they'll fall behind power-wise (mathematically).

[Brandt Welles]

Rub-Eta wrote:

Claxon wrote:

I always just say that everything (within reason) is available.

+1

It sounds cool to keep track of shops, their stock and cash. But it's just not worth it in then end.
Also, unless you apply specific rules (Automatic Bonus Progression for example), there will be items that you need to offer the players to buy, otherwise they'll fall behind power-wise (mathematically).

I guess my fear here was that because we're all fairly new to the game (and I don't know how purchasable items end up panning out towards end game), I don't want them to be able to over-power themselves too early on. I know that's somewhat locked by the amount of gold they receive (which is the one thing I'm following the AP strictly on).

But if the general consensus is to just let people browse online resources for magical items and let them buy whatever they want, so long as they can afford it, then that takes a whole workload off of my back.

[Claxon]

Well, just as a note the AP often give more than wealth by level because they provide extra wealth to account for paying for spell casting services, buying scrolls, wands and other consumable items, etc that your party may not do.

I personally just recommend tell players to make sure they don't go above WBL on how much gear they have. Consumable items count against WBL, but only for as long as they have them. Permanent magical effects (such as a permanent casting of enlarge person) counts forever unless it gets dispelled or otherwise removed.

[Thanael]

I like magic shops but having everything available goes to far IMO.

I see custom item or even spell acquisition as an opportunity to interact with the game world and introduce great NPCs and or locationsSee this edited and commented example excerpt from the awesome Tales of Wyre of a high level wizard acquiring some items in his downtime. (Iirc the same wizard later bought a custom weapon by travelling to the city of brass.)

[PossibleCabbage]

To a certain extent though, you have to make sure that players can buy the things they need to make their characters viable. If a character has specialized in a certain kind of weapon, say starknives, you have to make sure that they can buy one that's better than the one they've been using. Items that virtually every adventurer wants (haversacks, cloaks of resistance, wands of CLW) shouldn't be that hard to find either.

If there's a lot of time baked into the campaign where a character can travel to a far away city to commission the weapon of their dreams, that's fine but sometimes campaigns are structured to have more time pressure. If the nearby undead horde is moving towards the border to invade, they're probably not going to camp out for 6 months while the PCs go shopping. I find it's less arbitrary to have shops that just happen to have what you want than to just delay the antagonists until the PCs are ready.

One thing I like doing is if there are items which are off the beaten path that I personally think are neat/fun, then you can put them on display in a shop and have the saleperson try to sell them on it as an RP opportunity. I've never known a group of PCs that didn't eventually appreciate having bought a portable hole or lyre of building a that was on sale.

[Goblin_Priest]

Focus on what's fun for you and your players. If you don't enjoy managing shops, don't. I have a hard time seeing it as being worthwhile.

[Wheldrake]

I admit, I'm an old-school grognard. And it rubs my aesthetic senses the wrong way to simply make *everything* in any Paizo book available based on a simple 75% die roll.

I also reject the notion that players *must* have access to a certain minimum level of magic items to be "viable".

As a consequence, when I am DM, I pre-generate magic shop inventories (as well as temples, apothecaries and so on), using the above-mentioned web tool at http://donjon.bin.sh/pathfinder/magic/shop.html and sometimes do a bit of retrofitting if the results are too stingy or generous.

This said, some items are "always available", like healing, restoration and similar potions at good temples.

Other items have to be "special ordered", depending on the CL of the item and the local availability of magic crafters, taking time to delivery.

No, I don't like to waste a lot of game time on "shopping". But I do like to maintain some minimum level of verisimilitude in my magical worlds.

[Azothath]

okay... the easy way to do this is;
Shattered Star Poster Map Folio has a big map of this area.

knowing Magnimar imagine what's available.

Economy:

Compared to its sister city Korvosa, Magnimar tends to put few restrictions on trade and traders. It openly encourages the formation of trade guilds, and generally is a place where almost anyone (given good connections and a healthy amount of luck) can make something of him or herself. Because of these attitudes, even though Magnimar is still smaller than Korvosa in terms of both population and trade, it may soon grow to outstrip its neighbor.

PFS Always Available Items
You may always purchase the following items or equipment so long as you're in an appropriate sized settlement (see settlement sizes).
All mundane (non-magical, non and masterwork) armor, gear, items, and weapons from PFRPG Chp 6, including Small and Large sized items. This includes equipment made from special materials (PFRPG 154) such as alchemical silver, cold iron, mithral, and adamantine, however dragonhide is not available.
All mundane weapons, armor, equipment, and alchemical gear found in any legal-for-play source (see paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/about/additionalResources).
+1 weapon ($2000 + 300(MW) + weapon cost)
+1 armor ($1000 + 150(MW) + armor cost)
+1 shield ($1000 + 150(MW) + shield cost)
Potions, oils, and philters of Zero and First Level Spells at Caster Level 1 ($50 or less)
Scrolls (arcane or divine) of Zero and First Level Spells at Caster Level 1 ($50 or less)
Wayfinder ($250; this includes a $250 discount see ISWG 299)

1) ask the players How they are buying stuff. Finding stuff at good price = knowledge local, asking people = Diplomacy (and people talk...), asking official channels costs more but it is more reliable... belonging to a wizards guild or local organization... thieves guild... Know:nobility (who bought what fantastic item), Know:history (traditions, artifacts), ....
2) take requests between adventures, everyone emails in their 3-5 requests for available magic items or pools them having the "face" make the requests. Don't do conditions (ask for a, if not a then b, if not b then c).
3) Decide on the availabilities and DCs, and any price changes before the game. Review crafting times on items. Small shops generally have just one spellcrafter. Part of the purchase process is determining if the PC knows what the player is asking for (the game assumes the players know it all but the PC may not, reference Determining Monster abilities via knowledge checks). This can be a touchy subject, just remind players that just because it's printed in a supplement somewhere doesn't mean their character knows about it or the NPC they are talking to knows about it.
4) at start of game have players roll DC checks. Inform them of the results. Let them buy what's available with lead times. Track seller data (and failed purchases) for future circumstance modifiers.
5) run game.

in a more detailed, role laying method you can have PCs draw designs, crafters bring in masterwork items before enhancement begins to get approval of design/item. etc etc... I'd to it all by email between games.