This not only works as a protective measure but also makes it easy for the DM to convey the mysteriousness surrounding the shop as the PC’s walk into a room many times bigger than it seemed to be from the outside! The ShopkeeperĪs for who runs the magic shop, you can use the same approach as when designing other NPCs: What’s their motivation, their personality, do they have a quirk that makes them stand out in the memory of the players, and do they have biases that could make it harder or easier for specific PC’s to bargain for a good price? One of the merchants in the new sourcebook, Wanderer’s Guide to Merchants & Magic, for example, has her shop set up in an extradimensional space that can only be accessed when she is present. The magic items don’t even have to be physically present in the shop and could instead be projected as illusions to the customers while the shopkeeper keeps them safe somewhere else entirely.
Maybe every item in the shop has a magical enchantment that must be removed before the item can safely be taken away from the store without triggering a magic trap or an alarm – like a security chip being removed at the counter when shopping for clothing in the real world. Maybe the shop is covered in a glittering forcefield of protective energy. Maybe the merchant is an ancient fiend with a highly observant companion. Otherwise, the player characters may decide that it’s easier to rob the shop than to slay a dragon and buy the items they want with the treasure hoard from it!
DMG 5E MAGIC ITEMS TABLE HOW TO
Restocking rations or buying a new rope may be fine to simply handwave, but D&D is a roleplaying game, and buying a one-of-a-kind weapon or selling a unique amulet that allows you to travel through the planes of existence should (in my opinion) be a fun and exciting roleplaying scenario!ĭue to the lack of official rules and guidelines, facilitating such an endeavor can put a lot of pressure on the DM, who needs to come up with answers to multiple questions on the fly: What magic items are up for sale? What do they cost? What does a shop look like? Who runs it? And how is the shop protected from long-fingered PC’s? Running a magic shopĪn important thing to consider when running a magic shop is how to convey that the PC’s are dealing with something extraordinary – and that requires you to not only think about and describe the magical merchandise in the shop but also the merchant behind the desk and how the wares are protected.Īn innkeeper who isn’t selling anything of particular value doesn’t have to be very powerful, but a merchant dealing in rare, magic items would either need to have powerful defenses, be powerful on their own accord, or have a strong companion protect their wares.
Hardly the unique experience you’d expect the purchase of a magic item to be. On the other hand, the rules provided for buying and selling magic items in 5E only extends to rolling a few dice as a downtime activity. So, on the one hand, it seems that the official ruleset is trying to make the trade of magic items into something mysterious and magical. In this article, we’ll dive into how to price magic items and run a unique and memorable magic shop filled with mysterious items that the players can spend their hard-earned gold on!Īccording to the 5E Dungeon Master’s Guide, “unless you decide your campaign works otherwise, most magic items are so rare that they aren’t available for purchase.” Buying and selling magic items is thus “likely to remain similar to the market for fine art in the real world, with invitation-only auctions and a tendency to attract thieves.” But answering even simple questions such as what an item costs in 5e, where and from whom it can be bought, and how to haggle for a better price, is no easy task for the DM due to the lack of official rules and guidelines for doing so. Magic items play a huge role in 5e D&D – and I love handing them out to my players. The ultimate guide to buying and selling magic items in 5E D&D Fortunately for us, and in time with the Kickstarter, Eventyr accepted Geek Native’s invitation to put together a guide.