It's not about hand holding, but adding a system to the game that can so easily be griefed is just silly, too. The griefing can easily happen in Trammel, not just Felucca.
Well in Fel, killing another player is not griefing
Anyone can do a rune drop right now with a trap at their shop and lure players in to kill if they wanted to. Just mention something cool on the rune name and it's easy to pull players in, even in Fel. But I don't hear daily tales of horror when players were PKd or griefed at a shop. So vendor search doesn't change anything.
If you get the option to see the shop on a map it is actually safer, because you can choose how you approach. Or whether it's in the middle of a swamp and likely to have some spawn issues.You don't get that protection with a rune at the bank, yet players use them safely all the time.
If you can approach by foot, you just get a safe rune/book ready and when you're near the building you precast recall. If there's a sign of danger you target the rune and you are safely out of danger. Or you stealth in, or just empty your pack and wear blessed clothing when you shop.
Given the above, I really don't see any justification for making a player invulnerable while they shop via the vendor search. You are already safer if you don't need to walk to remote vendors in Fel or through swamps in Tram. You don't need more than that.
Wenchy
