I am having a bit of trouble with the items that are available in shops and how to keep my shopkeepers different (because some of them can be used in certain quests).
1 How do I keep items at good prices, (especially of the magical variety) and not have things that are completely useless or too overpowered?
2 What is a good thing to do to keep shopkeepers differentiated by more than race?
Think about the economy a little, you don't have to get deep into it, but a little thought helps:
If you have a town that is situated in/near a large forest, have them create cheaper bows, arrows, quarterstaves, etc. If you have a town near an ocean with little traffic, have prices increase because of their slow trade routes, and have the shops be limited on anything considered "not basic". If you have a city on a central hub of roads and rivers, have the wares be cheaper due to the large traffic and have the shop(s) overflowing with various things.
Magical items, I tend to do by the size of the city and their economic status. A small hamlet, right off a trade route, might have around 6 different magical items, and they'll be a little more expensive than what the DMG suggests. A thriving metropolis that's out of the way, it may have 2 different shops, one dealing in consumables, the other in gear. There is also something to be said about who runs the city, Elves and Dwarves crafting magical stuff isn't so far fetched, but they may be less inclined to sell it, so it'll be more expensive. Humans and H-Orcs may not spend as much time on the magical stuff, but they'll have lower prices due to wanting to drive business.
These are the thoughts that I put into what makes my towns/shops a little different from each other.
To make shops (for magic items or special services - not you general store, baker etc.) be different: - Legal or illegal: Does the shop sell those potions legally, because it is a apothecary on the main street of town, or are the potions sold by a dubious alchemist from the basement of his private home? - Is the access to the shop limited: Perhaps everything is on sale, when the great trade caravan is in town, but after it leaves, the availability of certain item goes down (because there is no local alchemist in the village and the travelling potion maker is only in town with the caravan) - The owner adds flavour: Pumat Sol from Critical Role Campaign is an excellent example. He is a strange humanoid (Firbolg) and uses magical copies of himself to run the shop. A mage could use unseen servants, an Ogre Mage some goblins to do the dirty labour etc.) - items sold have personality: A tailor may be known for its use of a certain fabric or special embroidery; a baker for the best herb flavoured bread in town; bottles of "Gorin's Ale" will open up doors of the dwarven kingdom on the other side of the continent, when presented as a gift for the king of the mountain.
I try to customize my shopkeepers to the location they are in. In a big city, anything goes (within reason) but if it's a small farming village, your shopkeeper is going to have general goods, probably a lot of vegetables for sale or trade, and likely not a whole lot more. The village blacksmith may have a couple of swords for sale, but probably not a lot of money if you're looking to sell off the dozen used short swords you picked up on your last adventure, nor would he/she have much use for a dozen short swords. In a mining village, there may be more interest if the swords can be melted down and forged into axes, shovels and picks. Such a shopkeeper might also try to pay with gold or silver ore rather than gold pieces. I would think shopkeepers would definitely look for opportunities to trade items rather than buy or sell. Hopefully you can use that to give each village's shopkeepers a little more uniqueness.
That's just my take.
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Hello there, fellow DMs.
I am having a bit of trouble with the items that are available in shops and how to keep my shopkeepers different (because some of them can be used in certain quests).
1 How do I keep items at good prices, (especially of the magical variety) and not have things that are completely useless or too overpowered?
2 What is a good thing to do to keep shopkeepers differentiated by more than race?
Think about the economy a little, you don't have to get deep into it, but a little thought helps:
If you have a town that is situated in/near a large forest, have them create cheaper bows, arrows, quarterstaves, etc. If you have a town near an ocean with little traffic, have prices increase because of their slow trade routes, and have the shops be limited on anything considered "not basic". If you have a city on a central hub of roads and rivers, have the wares be cheaper due to the large traffic and have the shop(s) overflowing with various things.
Magical items, I tend to do by the size of the city and their economic status. A small hamlet, right off a trade route, might have around 6 different magical items, and they'll be a little more expensive than what the DMG suggests. A thriving metropolis that's out of the way, it may have 2 different shops, one dealing in consumables, the other in gear. There is also something to be said about who runs the city, Elves and Dwarves crafting magical stuff isn't so far fetched, but they may be less inclined to sell it, so it'll be more expensive. Humans and H-Orcs may not spend as much time on the magical stuff, but they'll have lower prices due to wanting to drive business.
These are the thoughts that I put into what makes my towns/shops a little different from each other.
To make shops (for magic items or special services - not you general store, baker etc.) be different:
- Legal or illegal: Does the shop sell those potions legally, because it is a apothecary on the main street of town, or are the potions sold by a dubious alchemist from the basement of his private home?
- Is the access to the shop limited: Perhaps everything is on sale, when the great trade caravan is in town, but after it leaves, the availability of certain item goes down (because there is no local alchemist in the village and the travelling potion maker is only in town with the caravan)
- The owner adds flavour: Pumat Sol from Critical Role Campaign is an excellent example. He is a strange humanoid (Firbolg) and uses magical copies of himself to run the shop. A mage could use unseen servants, an Ogre Mage some goblins to do the dirty labour etc.)
- items sold have personality: A tailor may be known for its use of a certain fabric or special embroidery; a baker for the best herb flavoured bread in town; bottles of "Gorin's Ale" will open up doors of the dwarven kingdom on the other side of the continent, when presented as a gift for the king of the mountain.
I try to customize my shopkeepers to the location they are in. In a big city, anything goes (within reason) but if it's a small farming village, your shopkeeper is going to have general goods, probably a lot of vegetables for sale or trade, and likely not a whole lot more. The village blacksmith may have a couple of swords for sale, but probably not a lot of money if you're looking to sell off the dozen used short swords you picked up on your last adventure, nor would he/she have much use for a dozen short swords. In a mining village, there may be more interest if the swords can be melted down and forged into axes, shovels and picks. Such a shopkeeper might also try to pay with gold or silver ore rather than gold pieces. I would think shopkeepers would definitely look for opportunities to trade items rather than buy or sell. Hopefully you can use that to give each village's shopkeepers a little more uniqueness.
That's just my take.
"Not all those who wander are lost"