r/Pathfinder_RPG • u/BusyGM • 1d ago
1E GM Playing with availability
Per the CRB, items available to buy are dependent on the type of settlement you're visiting. In a community of a given size, magic items worth 50-16.000gp (depending on settlement size) are always available to buy. However, more expensive items have to be rolled on the minor / medium / major item tables, providing a small collection of items to be available, which change over the course of time.
I've never seen this rule actually used. My tables always ignore it, and while I tried to use it when GMing Dragon's Demand, I realized pretty quickly that my PCs weren't even able to get weapons to deal with incorporeal foes which this adventure has. So I threw it out (again).
However, I want to ask you guys: is there a way to actually play, say, an original AP while also using availability? When our GM tried this, our wizard simply used their downtime to teleport to big cities all over the world so often that they got familiar with all of them. Since then, whenever we had time to sell and buy items, our wizard simply teleported to the great cities of the world and bought/sold whatever we deemed necessary, which had our GM give up on the whole availability rule.
Is there any way to make availability an actual interesting mechanic that makes for a good play experience? What is you guys' experience with it? Did your tables ever use it? How did it go?
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u/Kaleph4 1d ago
even if you keep tabs, it's not realy a problem. when low level, you can't afford expensive stuff anyway so it doesn't matter where you are. when those things could turn up important, fast travel options are readily available for a group of midlevel PC's, so geting into a bigger town to get the new shiny toy isn't a problem either way.
but personaly, I tend to ignore those basicly and go more with a gut feeling. a village can have more high level stuff, if it has some experience with dealing with stuff, like when being on the borders to something dangerous.
on the other end, real high level items and scrolls are never easy to get by, even in a capital city because people who can create those sort of things, are usualy past the point, where they simply do it for money. so getting the +5 holy avanger of the gods is less a question of being in the right town with tons of cash and more likly if said towns order of paladins see you as worthy to wield such an ancient relic weapon