Re: RE: (TFT) Magic Item Economics]

[Peter von Kleinsmid <pvk@oz.net>]

At 02:34 AM 12/3/03 -0600, David Michael Grouchy II wrote:
...
>   The mark up on these things is outrageous.  Making about 40k for a meer 
> five weeks work is just too apealing.  The only component that is risky 
> is the flight potions required, as these are made from gargoyle gall 
> bladders.
> And on that note, I give gargoyles a -2 reaction roll to anyone on a 
> flying carpet.
...

This and many of the other ingredients bring up some interesting and 
amusing issues which can tie into the campaign situation. How many 
gargoyles are there in the campaign area, what is their ecology, 
reproduction rate, and social organization like, who are their allies and 
enemies, and what techniques and equipment are needed to bring back a 
useable gallbladder. Will any gargoyle, do, or do they have to be a certain 
age, gender, tribe, diet, season, etc? Also, is there some application for 
flight potions which competes with the use in making flying carpets? Some 
sort of high-powered athletic spectacle, perhaps? There are tons of 
interesting dynamics to play with and create interesting situations, 
rumors, and (mis)adventures out of. In fact, I believe there is something 
along these lines in one of the adventures, either Land Beyond the 
Mountains, and/or maybe Tollenkar's Lair.

Supply, demand, and usefulness are also factors, as came immediately to 
mind when I read the suggestion that Magic Fist items were underpriced. 
Magic Fist items? I don't remember any Magic Fist items in my long 
campaigns, or if there were, I think they might've been for joke value. Not 
that one wouldn't have some use, but how many wizards would take the time 
to make them?

Magic items were somewhat rare and expensive in my campaign, I think in 
line with the guidelines in AW. Or at least, you could rarely find more 
than a couple of items available in a large guild hall, and they were 
unlikely to be just what a player wanted. Considerations I had in mind 
included:

1) Wizard characters often had more interesting (to them) things to do than 
make toys and tools for others for cash, unless the price included a very 
nice margin.

2) Ready-made items would be worth more than the book cost, because they 
are available without risk, or months of waiting around. I think this is 
covered in AW.

3) Since items are generally very useful, there was high demand for them, 
and there were plenty of groups, guilds, and individuals, who would buy 
items quickly after they hit the market.

There were a fair number of magic carpets in existence in my campaign, 
though they tended to be mainly owned by wizards, wizards guilds, and 
government/royal/military messengers, couriers, and scouts.

One of the main PC's in my campaign got a magic carpet at one point, and it 
turned out to be a lot of fun, and sometimes a challenge for the GM (me). 
One classic moment was when this PC encountered a couple of 
carefully-designed characters I'd made, and a discussion ensued - they 
might be interested in travelling together... but wait... "You've got 
horses?!?" No way to load those on a carpet! So long... and he proceeded to 
fly out to sea, my NPCs probably never to be encountered again... but 
always to be remembered. The PC also did something that seemed rather 
brilliant and creative - set up in a city offering magic carpet rides over 
the town for a fee!

Ah, TFT!

PvK
=====
Post to the entire list by writing to tft@brainiac.com.
Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
"unsubscribe tft"