How to use the shop generator
- Pick a shop, or leave it on Any shop for a surprise: a blacksmith, a general store, an alchemist, a magic shop, a bowyer, a bookseller, stables, a jeweller or a tavern.
- Pick where it is. A hamlet's shop has a few cheap things on the shelf; a city shop has a dozen, including the expensive ones.
- Pick the prices. Fair uses the list prices from the free 5e rules. Bargain takes 20% off and Pricey adds 25%, for a remote village or a greedy keeper. Changing the prices keeps the same shop.
- Lock, reroll, keep. Press 🔓 to keep a part you like, ↻ to change one part, then copy, print, save or share the shop.
What every shop gets
- A name and a sign, painted on a board that hangs over the door, with a picture that tells you what's sold inside.
- A shopkeeper with a name, a race, a voice you can play, a habit and a mood. The keeper comes from our NPC Generator, so they feel like real people.
- What it looks like inside, in one line you can read out.
- Stock with prices: each item shows the price in this shop and the list price, so players can tell a bargain from a rip-off.
- Something special: one item you won't find anywhere else, often with a story.
- A rumour the keeper shares, and a secret, folded away for the DM.
Shop types and what they sell
| Shop | Sells, for example | Prices |
|---|---|---|
| Blacksmith & armourer | dagger, handaxe, mace, spear | 1 gp to 1,500 gp |
| General store | backpack, bedroll, blanket, candle | 1 cp to 1,000 gp |
| Alchemist & herbalist | potion of healing, antitoxin (vial), acid (vial), alchemist’s fire (flask) | 1 cp to 50 gp |
| Magic shop | potions, scrolls, wands, rings and wondrous items | 50 gp and up |
| Bowyer & fletcher | shortbow, longbow, light crossbow, heavy crossbow | 4 cp to 75 gp |
| Scribe & bookseller | book, ink (1-ounce bottle), ink pen, paper (one sheet) | 1 cp to 50 gp |
| Stables & wagons | riding horse, draft horse, pony, mule | 5 cp to 400 gp |
| Jeweller | gemstones, art objects and signet rings | 5 gp to 400 gp |
| Tavern & inn | ale (mug), ale (gallon), common wine (pitcher), fine wine (bottle) | 2 cp to 10 gp |
Weapon and armour lines show their damage or Armor Class, and mounts show their speed, so players can shop without opening the rulebook. Equipment names and list prices come from the free System Reference Document (SRD 5.1).
Town size changes the shelves
| Where | Items on the shelf | Most expensive item |
|---|---|---|
| Hamlet | 6 | 60 gp |
| Village | 8 | 250 gp |
| Town | 10 | 1,000 gp |
| City | 12 | no limit |
A village blacksmith won't have plate armour, but a city armourer might. If the party needs something rare, that's a reason to travel.
Magic shop prices
The SRD 5.1 doesn't give fixed prices for magic items, so the magic shop uses our own price guide by rarity, the same one as our Loot Generator. Each item gets a price inside its range. Change it if your game is richer or poorer.
| Rarity | Our price guide | Sold in a |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 50–100 gp | hamlet, village, town, city |
| Uncommon | 200–500 gp | village, town, city |
| Rare | 2,000–5,000 gp | town, city |
| Very rare | 10,000–40,000 gp | city |
Legendary items are never for sale. Those have to be found, won or earned.
How haggling works
Every keeper has a lowest price they'll accept, hidden from you. Friendly keepers and those who are helpful, for a price will go lower and listen longer; wary and unfriendly keepers barely move. Offer at or above their lowest price and you have a deal. Offer a little less and they meet you halfway. Offer far too little and they're insulted, which uses up their patience twice as fast. When patience runs out, the item isn't for sale to you today.
At the table, you can run it the same way: decide the keeper's lowest price before the players start, and let a good Charisma (Persuasion) check or a kind word lower it a little.
Tips for memorable shops
- Give the keeper one thing to say. A catchphrase turns a shopping trip into a scene.
- Hide a hook on the shelf. The special item and the rumour are adventure seeds; let players pull on them.
- Let prices tell a story. Everything costs more in a besieged town, and less where the mine has closed.
- Keep shopping quick. Hand players a printed shop list and let them shop while you prepare the next scene.
Frequently asked questions
Does the shop generator use real D&D 5e prices?
Yes. Ordinary goods use the list prices from the free SRD 5.1, the same as in the 2014 Player's Handbook. Magic items use our own suggested prices, and the shop says so.
Can I make a magic shop?
Yes. Pick Magic shop. A hamlet's magic shop sells only common items; a city's can have rare and very rare ones.
Can I keep the shopkeeper and change the shop?
Yes. Press 🔓 on the shopkeeper, then New shop. The keeper stays and everything else changes.
Can I make every shop in a town at once?
Yes. Build a market street makes all the shops for the town size you picked, each with its own keeper and special item.
Can I save or share a shop?
Yes. Save keeps it in this browser, and Share copies a link that opens exactly the same shop for your players or co-DM.
Is it free, and does it use AI?
It's free with no login, and it doesn't use AI. Every shop is put together in your browser from tables written for this site.
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