(TFT) Items for sale

["Shawn" <shawndoucet@home.com>]

Thanks for the summary of the lists.  Having it all calculated out like that
is nice.
However, I do have a problem with one comment you make below.
>14-Hex Dragon Hide            32,000

>   By the way, when my campaign's characters want to sell equipment or
>magical ingredients in town (like a 14-hex dragon hide) they only get 1/4
of
>the list price, /not/ the prices listed in the book!  This rule has held up
>well under playtesting, and it's a good rule for solitaire play too.

Being mostly a player, I never liked automatically being penalized on the
prices I should recieve for items.  I realize that the goal is to keep a
character's money in check, but if a character or party goes through all of
the risk involved in aquiring a 14-hex dragon hide, I think they deserve the
reward of selling it for a fair price.
Now if the characters just want to walk into town and sell it to the first
person they come across, fine, 1/4 sounds fair.  Characters with merchant or
speach-type skills should at least get a chance to get a better deal.  For
characters without such talents, the roleplaying that can be done barganning
for a better price or finding someone in need of such an item may prove to
be half of the fun.
If the dragon was played tough, the party probably lost a least one
character and used up a few potions.  Why would a group of characters risk
that for a mere $8000 (assuming they didn't need the hide for their own
wizard)?  Assuming a 4 character party, that's just enough to get each
person a weak magic item.
Finally, why should characters not be able to receive what an NPC could?  If
the market price for a 14-Hex dragon hide is $32000, someone else is also
paying that price (not just the PCs).  Why can't the characters approach the
local wizards guild and say "We heard you're going to buy a dragon's hide
from John the merchant for $32000.  We'll sell you one right now for
$30000."  Of course how they found out the guild was looking for a hide may
also offer some good roleplaying possibilities.
What do you guys think?  Am I just being greedy, or would giving out $32000
throw your campaign balance all out of wack?  I think by the time characters
are ready to take on a big challenge like a 14-Hex dragon, the equipment
that they want and need to survive costs alot anyway.
Just ranting,
Matt


We always used the chart in the back of AW for finding a buyer (pages 38-39)
where the characters have to search for a buyer and get a random multiple of
the base price.  But it should be up to the individual GM how much cash he's
going to throw around, what sort of market for components there are.  Mike
(DMG II) once ran a campaign where you had to supply all the ingredients for
magic items to the enchanter/alchemist before he would make the item.  I
still remember that alchemist: "I am not a murder!! I can't make that.  If
you want that potion of invisibility you've got to bring me the human eyes."
An interesting twist on the economy of magic ingredients.  There was a while
there when I used to carry around a big bag full of salt.  I would then
behead my human opponents and take the heads to the alchemist shop.  I got
quite a bit of flack about that from some of the other players though.  But
any GM can do whatever he wants to the market for magic items.  The rules
are there as a guide and generally any aspect of the game that a GM decides
to put some sort of detail too will probably add to the underlying story of
the campaign.

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