This month's Blog Carnival is about magic shops.
I don't like magic shops. Having magic sufficiently commonplace that any town worthy of its walls has a dealer in ensorcelled household items just doesn't lend itself to the kind of adventures I enjoy.
If you want a magic item, the right and proper way to get it is to find out who owns it, and go take it from them - whether by through strength or through guile. Same goes for crafting them. If you were a good enough blacksmith to make magic items, you'd be doing that - not putting yourself in danger going down holes in the ground full of monsters. If your fantasy is pretending to be a skilled artisan, then all power to you. But maybe play a game that's about that.
But, from time to time, it's inconvenient to go and do the deed yourself. Especially if your first name is 'King' or 'Archpriest' or something like that. And likewise, if one finds a particularly lucrative vein of enchanted sandals, the average adventuring party only has so many feet to go around.
That presents two problems. One, people with money in search of magic items. And two, people with magic items in search of money. Which of course invites the existence of a third kind of person: the kind of person who will facilitate the obvious exchange of money for magic items.
That person, of course, is a dealer. They probably don't hold much of a stock. If you've got something to sell, they'll only take it up if they have a buyer in mind. Any dealer worth their salt knows lots of people who have money to burn, and what they're likely to spend it on.
Likewise, if there's something you want to buy, they probably know where to get it. Even if you don't like the answer. Almost anything can be bought for the right price. And almost anything can be stolen, given a sufficiently skilled team. The line between a fence and a dealer is awfully thin and blurry at times.
Of course, in any case you'll need to pay fair market value for the goods. Plus expenses. All strictly necessary, of course. Plus commission. Five percent for something easy. For something that takes a little more work, perhaps a little more. Or a lot. The better dealers take their profit margin on one end. The less-scrupulous, on both.
What they probably don't do is hold stock. If they don't have a customer in mind, they're not going to buy anything. They're not going to be stuck with two dozen Vorpal Cake Forks if they can help it. But if they come across someone doing battle with a particularly tough batch of shortbread, they'll know just who to speak to. Most of the time, if there's something you want, you'll have to wait. Perhaps a long time. Even if you're selling, you've still got to find them first. Depending on their clients, and their relationship with the law, that may take some time.
They're also full of story hooks:
- They'll gladly suggest that a low-level party might enter a certain ruin and recover a specific relic, and that they'd certainly offer a reward.
- They may require escort across a particularly dangerous area. Obviously they've got a bodyguard... but sometimes more muscle is needed.
- One of their clients neglected to pay the bill. The debt is now overdue to an embarrassing extent. A team of specialists is required to repossess the goods
- A rival dealer has been poaching their clients. Something needs to be done about it. And there are so many bandits about...
- A dealer necessarily has excellent connections to people with power and influence. Need an introduction? Your dealer probably knows someone.
- Having finally made your way to the level where you can afford their services, well, your gold is the same colour as anyone else's
