Ok. My character is still in a Root Town, so is it possible to go buy a new weapon, or do I have to wait before I'm done with the quest???

I'm not a mod or an admin, so don't take my word as law, but I plan to do something similar and actually write out an encounter with another character where we meet up within one of the shops, so I think it's doable.

Whether or not you actually write it into the quest might be an issue, but I believe all you'd have to say is 'hold on a minute, I'm going to run to the shop' in the quest and then make an appropriate post in the store, I think that would be all right if you followed all the proper procedures for doing so.

I would still wait for official word before using the new equipment during the quest, but I think the idea is fine.

It's not unheard of for this to be done, but the general rule is that things need to be purchased before the quest starts. Since you're still in the Root Town, throw an OOC note in the store threads you'll be buying from, and be sure to mention that you're shopping in your quest.

It's one of those things where I personally kinda sigh, but there's no rule specifically against it. It makes sense enough in character, but it makes it harder to hold people to those rules in the future.

But yeah, note it in your posts in the Shop threads, and maybe throw an OOC section at the beginning or end of your post in the quest with a link to it. Works for me. =D

You might also link to the shop post(s) in question in your post. Nothing too gaudy or anything, just a simple, "...and so he stopped at the shops to pick up some stuff..."

At least that's sufficient in my book, but then I'm not a quest grader, so who cares what I have to say anyway? :P

I have no problem with it, nor do I see one. Seems logical to me that, if you're in the Root Town in your quest, you should be able to go and pick something up from a shop.

'S my two billion dollars.

It honestly seems pretty common, to me, to go to the shops within the first few posts. I don't see a problem with it, especially because that sort of thing makes IC sense. I do worry about the loophole of "oh crap, we need this, I need to run back to the root town for something", but personally I don't see it as a problem either, as long as it's useful to the plot.