4 Ways DMs Can Take The Commerce (And The Math) Out of Magic Items

With the holidays coming up, I'm reminded of a study I once read that said money is one of the best gifts you can give during the holiday season. However, in worlds of fantasy, I often find that massive piles of gold are just... eh. Sure, the party can liquidate their funds and do the math to buy whatever magic items they want, but doing that makes getting your hands on what should be major milestones that should leave you staring in awe feel like an almost purely mechanical exercise.

And the bigger the treasure budget you're handing over, the more ludicrous this whole thing becomes.

All right, that's 37,575 gold pieces. Enjoy your legendary armor, sir!

I've harped on this before in How To Keep Your Magic Items From Getting Mundane, as well as in Alternatives to Traditional Magic Weapons and Armor, but I figured this week I'd provide some specific examples for the DMs who want to keep their magic items feeling special, but who aren't sure where to start.

Method #1: Spoils of War

This is one most dungeon masters out there are probably familiar with. Whether the party is going through a dragon's hoard, they're exploring the ruins of the necromancer's tower, or they've defeated the bandit king, the idea is that they're going through the spoils of the battle to see what sort of loot can be found.

Holy crap! This guy had a Hell Globe just sitting around!

Most dungeon masters I've seen at this point just roll randomly for whatever loot is on the bodies, or in the chests... but this is your world! The stuff that's in there is the stuff you say is in there. So if your players are hitting that point where it's time to start upgrading their gear, put stuff there that suits them. The bandit leader managed to keep all those men under his command, maybe he has a headband that boosts his Charisma that would be ideal for the sorcerer, or the paladin. Maybe the risen bodyguard that protected the necromancer wielded a potent magical ax that would be right at home in the barbarian's hands. Perhaps the dragon kept a careful display of trophies taken from past heroes, allowing you to provide some options and choices for what your players take.

You should have a couple of valuables strewn around too, don't get me wrong... but more often than not the gold equivalent is geared to provide magic items to keep your party on the proper track to handle the threats coming their way. So just give them the cool stuff they'd buy anyway, make them feel like they earned it by winning it in a battle, and make sure you attach a bit of a story to the items in question.

That point goes for the rest of this list, as well. And if you have trouble coming up with stuff like that on the fly, then you might want to get your hands on 100 Histories and Legends For Fantasy Weapons. Trust me, it will make your players far more attached to their items.

#2: The Reward

Some adventurers perform their deeds out of a sense of duty, to defend their community, or to get revenge... but let's face it, a lot of them do it for the money. And just like with sacking an enemy's lair, actual coinage should be handed out as part of the reward... but if you know your party is going to spend the reward to get new equipment, why not just make that equipment part of the reward in the first place, and cut out the middle man?

I'll be damned, you brought him in. Well, let me just unlock the case here.

One of the reasons that a lot of DMs avoid having just the right equipment in a villain's lair is that it can sometimes feel over-planned, or a little trite. After all, why would an enchanted monk's robe be in a bandit stronghold? Why would an enchantress have a magical greatsword in her bedchamber? You can find reasonable answers for these questions (the bandits sacked a monastery, the sorceress took it as a trophy, etc.), but sometimes it's just easier to decree that the items are a reward for a job well done. After all, a noble whose problem has been solved, a wizard the party has helped, or even a city that's been saved could produce unique items that are fitting for the character, and their deeds.

This is especially true if they have a noted reputation, which I refer to as The Small Legend.

For example, if the party's cavalier is little more than a hedge knight, then a noble patron might give them a unique banner for their symbol, or even an enchanted saddle or shoes like those given to his house's champions. Perhaps the wizard whose enemies the party slew passes on a staff of power to the magus, commenting that it was given to her by her teacher, and that she sees the same potential in this younger arcane caster. And so on, and so forth.

Since there's usually a bit of downtime between when the party completes a job, and starting the next one, this allows you to get the present ready. And if there's a celebration of any sort (as big problems often have), you can make a big deal out of the presentation. If you're looking for a bunch of potential patrons for this sort of scenario, then 100 Nobles To Encounter might be just up your alley.

#3: The Steward

Sometimes there are items that are either so massive in cost, or so specific in rarity, that it feels stupid to be able to just walk into a market and buy them (even if you can afford to do so). And even more "normal" magic items might feel too special for the party to just hand over a bunch of gold for them, if you've given the item a name, a backstory, and all of the associated goodness.

That's why another interesting approach is to declare a character the steward, or current bearer of a particular item.

Particularly if the item is kept under lock, key, and guard.

While this can be a serious provision of trust (the paladin is given a holy avenger from the church's vaults because he's proven himself worthy, the ranger is given the armor worn by one of the founders of his order, the wizard is granted the right to wear one of the circlets of the Council of Nine, etc.), it's important to remember that this can be done in a smaller sense, as well. In those cases characters might be loaned equipment for use on a mission, or given it as an advance as a way to help them complete a particularly difficult task. Items like endless decanters for exploring a ruin in the middle of the desert, wands, scrolls, etc. might be provided as part of the price of taking on the job.

If you've ever played Spycraft, this is very similar to how agents are given a mission budget, and then allowed to take the equipment they will need most to complete their upcoming task. They can still have their own, personal stuff, but they aren't expected to buy a tank with what they have saved up in their private fund.

Churches, guilds (good, neutral, and evil), along with other in-game organizations all tend to have potent items they hang onto in times of need. As long as the party has a benefactor, like some of the groups found in 100 Knightly Orders, then you have someone who could provide them the tools they need to see their adventure through. Or, in some cases, the individual may have to officially join an organization for the privilege of wielding the item... which can be a kind of reward in and of itself.

#4: The Special Merchant

I know the whole point of this post thus far has been to avoid trading magic items for straight gold, but note the term "special" in this title. Most merchants you find in town won't have magic items for sale, and if they do they'll be minor baubles at steep prices. But there should be a few folks that crop up time and again who are always willing to trade for something... unusual. Or, in some circumstances, for a favor.

What did you bring me today, darlings?

The special merchant can take many forms, and ask for many things. Maybe it's that shady dealer in the low quarter who always has something, "for his friends," as long as they don't ask where he got it, and they can pay him something quick. It might be the fey merchant the party finds in parts of the forest, asking strange or bizarre prices for items that would be priceless anywhere else. Or it might even be that tiefling who specializes in "slightly" cursed objects, whose problems make them ideal for certain party members (a sword that only comes alive in the hands of an orc, a bow that hates elves for the ranger who has them as his favored enemy, and so on, and so forth).

These merchants will still ask a price, of course, but it might be something more in-keeping with the resources the party has. Taking their old weapon in trade as something that's tasted the blood of a dragon, perhaps. The skull of an orc champion. A cursed item that's useless to the party, but extremely valuable to the merchant. Hearing the tales of a certain battle firsthand so they know the full truth, along with a small stack of platinum coins. Maybe even the vintage gold found in an old vault, as the coins themselves are more valuable as items of history than for their weight in gold.

You'll find a few NPCs who fit this bill in 100 Merchants to Encounter, should you need a place to start looking.

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That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you've used run these kinds of games before, leave us a comment to let us know what worked for you!

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