For a future campaign in Blackmoor (Year 1030 or later), I would like to make technomagical items available in general stores for PCs to buy.

I'd make them expensive of course, but having them on the equipment list does send a strong signal that this is a different type of setting than your average fantasy world.


Things like:
Pistol (Renessance tech), mentioned in the FFC
Arquebus (Renessance tech), mentioned in the FFC
Laser Rifle (City of the Gods tech), mentioned in DA3
Grenades (City of the Gods tech), mentioned in DA3
Prosthetic Arm, increases STR +2* mentioned in the D20 DAB CS
Clockwork Giant Spider Companion, mentioned in the D20 DAB CS

*=Malfunctions at 1 on attack rolls, spend 1 round to repair.

Etc.


How would you feel about including such things as equipment available to PCs in the stores?


-Havard

All good, but if you make laser rifles available, then nobody will buy arquibuses, pistols, bunderbusses etc. I think you need to make a choice WRT level of technology available and stick to that, if you want to make it a bit realistic.

In general, I prefer for tech to be found adventuring in the same manner that one might acquire magical items. I don't object to having tech sold in stores (I've done so in the occasional game I've run) but it changes the whole feel of the campaign.

Blackmoor with tech is still Blackmoor, but has a different feel to it than traditional Blackmoor. It's like the newer "Three Musketeers" movie (with Orlando Bloom and others) where they made it a high tech thing with flying ships and the like -- the story is familar but the feel of the movie is very different.

What Fin said. Was never a fan of playing BM d20 like Iron Kingdoms, or Dragonmech.

Tech, or any additions to vanilla fantasy need to be scarce, or they lose their dramatic funtion.

If the party finds ONE laser sword, it's "that day we found the laser sword". If everybody has a laser sword, it's "Blackmoor feels a lot like Star Wars, ugh".

I am normally reluctant to have very expensive items for sale in a setting like this because I would think that someone would already own it if it was that valuable - either a collector, a researcher (or lord with a research staff), or a user. If characters want to get their hands on this stuff they need to find it and take it.