5e Magic Item Shops that Won't Break your Dark Fantasy D&D Game! | Grim Hollow
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ส.ค. 2024
- Magic item emporiums, arcane shops, and travelling merchants don't make much sense in dark fantasy D&D.
The Seeker's Guide to Enchanting Emporiums: ghostfiregaming.com/GGYT_ELEE...
Topics:
00:00 - Intro
00:33 - Shop location
02:25 - Magic items to stock
04:57 - Enchanting Emporiums
05:54 - When to do a shopping session
07:26 - Example dark fantasy shops
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Edited by @ZsDante
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I like the idea of a magic shop being hard to find, especially if you have an Arcane Inquisition breathing down the necks of magic item sellers
Agreed ~ I really like the ideas that
1. Traveling salesman, accompanied by a troupe (under cover of a circus)
2. A traveling demon who sells for gold and favors
3. Secret markets (always did this is 1e even for spells)
4. Black market selling items that were captured by the Inquisition and were supposed to be destroyed
5. Can only barter for other magical items
6. Majority items are consumables and ingredients
My players have been making use of visiting Aldo the Immense in our Drakkenheim campaign as their magic item source
We have the same exact magic shop in every campaign. The shop is always a mud hut in the heart of town. You open the door and its actually a portal to a demiplane where the shop is actually located. The shop is manned by a race of owners (they don't exist outside the demiplane) but basically any and all items can be found there, BUT depending on where the PCs are from the prices vary. They are from a place where magic is rare...the items are more expensive. It has to do with divine laws (basically the DM states at the beginning of the campaign if magic items are common, normal or rare)
I'm running a campaign primarily based in a magically restrictive empire, and I'm loving how few magic shops are available. But I scatter low level "sort of" magical things around. Either broken, or more alchemical than magical to scratch that itch for players.
I also really love the premise from a Dael video (I think it was) whichhas Electrum pieces being currency of magic items, and the distribution of electrum pieces being tightly controlled by government agencies, requiring paperwork and sign offs to be aquired.
Great video!
Shop Idea:
Cursed Travelling Peddler
Roams to pillage deserted battlefields, destroyed caravans, cleared dungeons, blighted villages, and other areas mired in death.
Sells all magic items at a x1.5 mark-up and all items are cursed.
The curse in question does nothing to the buyer but if the pedddler is attacked or killed, a cursed magic item sold or owned by the peddler is destroyed instead. (Placing highest priority on magic items on the would-be killer.)
After being attacked, the peddler vanishes in a puff of foul smoke.
Had a summerbreak campaign in etharis and to keep the dark fantasy theme i made it an eldrith travling merchant (like an undead slenderman) with an impossible bag that had all sorts of magic items but they all had sideeffect without the players knowing & had to pay premium price for the basicly cursed items.
A wonderful video as I'm actively building a dark fantasy world for my players. Great tips and points of inspiration. Gonna be keeping an eye out for that book.
I usually don't do magic item shops, unless its in the city. I'll usually have 1 magic item in the shop, that's the most secure item there, because those things are worth a lot. I'll supplement that by also having travelling merchants with a random assortment of magical weapons (armor, weapons, trinkets) because those are things that they found or traded for. And then whenever they do a mission that is related to that character, everyone will get a basic magic item, but the person that mission was related to gets an item that I make for them.
wonderful creative ideas and inspiration!
A general store in a small village or a trading post on a frontier might have a few pieces sold to them over the years. Especially items that haven't been identified so they're risky to equip. In a town with a mage school/college they might have a street market where students sell low powered items that they might technically not be allowed to officially sell because they aren't certified by a guild yet.
I’ll be running a campaign set in Etharis soon and decided to introduce a game mechanic that lets characters coat their weapons in different compounds:
- Unholy Water [25 gp]. Your next attack with the coated weapon or piece of ammunition deals an additional 1d12 necrotic damage.
- Quicksilver [10 gp]. For 1 hour, attacks with the coated weapon or piece of ammunition are treated as silvered.
- Arcanist’s Blood / Saint's Blood [50 gp]. For 1 hour, attacks with the coated weapon or piece of ammunition are treated as magic. The creature how’s blood forms the compound’s main ingredient must be alive for it to function.
There are other compounds, but these ones are the most interesting. I think they act as a good “low level substitute” for magic items.
Two emporium ideas:
An old decrepit well stands in the middle of a clearing. A steel bucket on a chain dangles from its pulley. A faded script is crudely chiseled all over the well's rim. If the characters manage to decipher the runes, they will form a list of items along with a payment the well demands for them. Once the appropriate prize is put in the bucket and lowered into the depths, the characters will pull their requested purchase up with the bucket.
A bridge with a small toll booth standing next to it. Once the characters approach, a huge troll dressed in fancy clothing emerges from the booth, clearly way too large to fit inside the outhouse-sized building. He demands payment of food and drink to cross the bridge, and if the characters are generous, will offer gear he 'confiscated' from previous miscreants who refused to pay the toll. For an appropriate price of course.
Using BG3 and more importantly the Dungeon of Drakkenheim animations was a welcome surprise.
I love the ideas here and definitely will check that KS.
I think of it kind of like the modern world. If items are relatively easy to make, and there is a large enough market, then yes, there will be magic shops, tho what they make and sell may well be regulated by guild or government, and prices will vary according to supply and demand. And finding unique, weird, or rare items might require going to antique or curiosity shops, or even the black market. But if magic is rare, and items hard to make or find, then shops won't exist, except as some magical oddity from a demi-plane who is in all likelihood a multi-dimensional scammer, trickster, shyster, etc. Caveat emptor! If you want more flavor, then bring it.
For my current Grim Hollow campaign, I inserted a shop from Eventyr Games' Wanderer's Guide to Merchants & Magic with the proprietor being a retired professor from Erlefurts magical Universities, running a non magical curio shop in Duesenberg with a secret backroom for magical goods. That NPC acts as the party's starting patron and quest hook, but has limited stock and items out of the party's initial price range. I also use the rule of non-magical +1 items that are just well crafted but don't follow other magic items rules like overcoming resistances. Looking forward to the Grim Hollow emporiums in the upcoming Seekers guide!
One of my go to ways to keep magic items rare was to explain that most real magic items have been collected by this neutral Lich who wants to keep this stuff out of the hands of mortals who can cause a lot of trouble with it. That and he is a scholar of history
Magic shops to a limit make total sense. Magic-users trying to raise money to finance magic research will often sell spells, wands etc. selling a +1 sword would be a great idea in frontier areas for adventures coming back with tons of treasure. The wizard can then research and create his more advanced spells
I've always wanted to borrow the idea I think was from the pc version of pathfinder: kingmaker. In that game there is a skeleton with a cart and skeletal horse walking around that can be a random encounter. The skeleton buys and sells magic items to increase his master's hoard. Because obviously he's going to make a profit. He is also imbued with power by his master and also has magic items of his own to protect the things he's traveling with.
(FYI, I dont run 5E; but between D&D 3.5, Shadowrun, and Cypher, this has been my design)
Alot of parts of my homegame kinda touch on this, due to past factors...
But the best use of Magic Emporiums Iv done is 2 types...
1. There's an established shop in a Pirate Harbour thats kinda the local go-to for merchants and pirates alike to get magic loot identified and sold off. The store owner is a Fairy Matriarch whose like Tinkerbell, if she had a serious case of "Mama Wolf" syndrome (and would magically end you into an eternal abyss). This one constantly has stocks and wares, and the Fairy even accepts commisions to make items.
2. I hide others, as they are usually run by Hags (yes, Fey theme here)... The front of the store will be set as a book store, or antiques, or something "whatevery"; while in the secret "back room", they have various magic items and potions and wares of all kinds. I also have it so that the Covern's main hut, is essentially the back room, so if you happen to stumble across it in the wilderness, you can always barter there, too.
Because there isnt much above "+2" magic items in my world, the ability to find and use one of these is extremely lucretive...the downside is, they all appear to belong to the same network, so disrespect or banishment in one...basically means you're banished from all. There is an Archfey behind all this who has their own plans...but...they're playing a *LOOONG* game, and as far as anyone knows, it might not even be malicious.
...one thing I haven't gotten to introduce yet, is that if you become considered a "prized customer", you'll be given a Magic Mirror that can allow teleportation for all connected to the mirror when the commend word is said.
...also, I gotta say...
The fact that so many videos exist for D&D5E on crafting and such, really makes the system look even mechanically worse...like, the designers just did not try to fix it after they drove off all the old school designers from the project, did they? I mean, "CR"? Its not even used anymore... and the encounter level table is completely broken in the DMG. As we speak, I am compiling a list of Magic Items from the "Complete" books from 3.5, so my 3.5 Artificer has some options to juggle next time the party has downtime... Im upto 19 magic items from 2 books! And these are the ones I think are most relevent to this adventuring party of dwarf murderlords (they're too rich to be hobo's).
dope channel great content, very talented presenter and DM.
Much appreciated!
3:00 Gotcha 😅
🎉🎉
I'm a big fan of using *unpleasant* sources for magical items. Normal mortal wizards can't just mass-produce magic or easily contain it in trinkets and baubles. I use powerful magical monsters to produce magic items. A Hag who imbues her unnatural abilities into small objects, often with monkey-paw drawbacks (nothing too major, a ring of mind shielding that lets the hag watch your dreams, a belt of giant strength that makes you no longer able to taste meat)
Another good option is aberrations. Neogi, mind flayers, and even stranger. You can get a magic sword from one, as long as you don't mind the blade being made of crystalized bone and the handle-wrappings being a moist, still-living membrane that squirms as it helps you keep the blade balanced.
Devils are always happy to bargain trinkets away to mortals for far steeper prices than what's on the price-tag.
The real question should always be about whether or not the players are willing to pay the REAL price for magic items, or make-do without.
Thinking about it in my game, the group has only encountered magic item shops in Erlefurt. However, I didn't even give them much hope, as all items are too expensive for them, even now at level 10. I don't think they've ever had more than 700 GP at any point, and I don't believe this will ever change. It's kind of hard to depict a dark fantasy setting where the players have 10,000+ GP and could literally fund the protection and well-being of a small village for years to come (not that they would ever do that🤣). But just being capable of it would break immersion, so magic items shops are more for detail, and maybe at some point in the future a heist/reward from one.
Another way to go is getting rid of all magic items below a certain rarity. Magic items will be powerful when the find them, but getting them will be work, and everything that desires power will likely hear they have them. Or if you still want the lower level items then demagic them. +1 or +2 weapons are just better quality, not enchanted. Health potions are just a strong stimulant that give you temporary health as you race for a healer. Etc. As for the emporium with the rare magic items it's not a shop. It's seers who can scry out the powerful items. Libraries and lore-keepers who know where they're buried. Necromancers hoarding secrets of the dead. And hags and fiends who'll give you half the information you need for a price you dread to pay. You buy the knowledge. Any risks or horrible acts you have to do to get them is the customers concern.
Yeah, restricting access to magic items seems much more realistic. Even in many fantasy movies there's only one or two magic items. I tell players up front that magic items just mean I throw more powerful monsters at them to balance it out.
In my current Curse of Strahd campaign I placed a reoccruing NPC of mine who also got trapped in Barovia. Mittnix the Faboulus, gnome enchanter and planes walker. He is staying with the Vishtani while waiting for Strahd to open the borders again and is willing to trade with my players for his magical wares.
I dropped Mittnix into a few campaigns over the years
There might also be false or fake magic items. Items magic might be temporary or unstable.
First thought: Fairy Market in Dark Forest runned by shady dark fae or even witch.
For the algorithm.
Its actually gonna be interesting to see what happens up to 5.5e release, you will actually be able to see real quick if 5.5e failed or not by looking at kickstarters, after release if stuff keeps being made for 5e, 5.5e failed, if its a mixed its hard to tell and if its mostly 5.5e it suceded
The only way to tell is going to be subclasses. I don't think the other changes will be noticeable in third party products.
You can buy whatever you want just know its like 80% cursed, we have a no refund policy and you will be put on our sending list with no ability to remove yourself from future advertising.
Depends on the series guy. If your in Halrua magic is readily available. If your in Mulharond………
I have difficulty in accessing the magic itens price
My grimdark setting has plenty of shops thst sells magic item. Those shop owners are called "con-men" and the wannabe wizard who buy things from them are called "easy marks".
Emporiums? Emporia? Hmm
Dude, you dont need to ask for me to comment, its basicly a must do to people you really wanna support.
That said, ill make a second comment, just for you.
THANK YOU. I cannot stand the concept of "magic shops." It cheapens magic items and takes away one of the primary joys of the game, i.e. discovery.
Ok, I feel the need to be a little pedantic. I'd officialy like to request people stop mixing up the terms Dark Fantasy and Low Fantasy, yes most Dark Fantasy is also Low Fantasy, but it is not alway's so. In fact you can get proper terrifying by having your Dark Fantasy be quite High Fantasy in the style of Elric of Melnibone, or Warhammer 40k. What's more not all Low Fantasy is Dark Fantasy, not everything needs to be game of thrones. You can have authorian knight's riding into battle in the name of honor and justice, without your wizards tossing fireballs like they are Halloween candy.
Magic Item Shops
Me: 😂
Just say no. Magic items, if the players get them, should be earned. The party needs to bleed for everything it gets, and make it memorable.