It's true that all the shops always have the same stock. But note that the magic shop in Kuldahar changes its stock several times throughout the game -- again, always in the same way. It changes when you start a new chapter, although not for every new chapter.
There are certainly items in the game not listed in the hint book -- the various chess pieces, for instance. I'm pretty sure that likewise there are a few items listed that aren't in the game. There are a couple items for quests that don't exist, at least. But yes, there are a lot of random items of which you will see only a handful in any one game, unless you cheat.
|