Magic Item Creation
Updated May 19, 2024
Image: Nerdarchy.com
I spent the greater part of a weekend searching the D&D Next books and online resources trying to find some good rules that made sense regarding Magic Item Creation, Buying/Selling, and general Crafting. I found none. I then spent another few hours searching for real-world examples of crafting times, costs, and miscellaneous notes to try and get a better understanding of what the process of crafting armour and weapons, among other items, would be and the cost associated would be.
The end result is that this is, in my opinion, one area that the 5th Edition rules fall short on.
In every case I found that the time and money involved in crafting items was far less. I also feel that the rules as outlined in the books don't allow for an element of chance for something to go right or wrong during the crafting process, and they also don't account for the possibility of a character's greater practice and skill to shine through. Obviously, a master craftsman should be able to create something faster, and/or with higher quality, than a novice.
The rules written here are designed to allow for a structure
to follow, and should fit most case scenarios in a D&D campaign. The most
important rule to remember is that these are guidelines only – there are certainly situations that may arise
that require discussion as they may not logically fit what is presented here.
Information here has been taken from the DMG (page 128 –
“Crafting a Magic Item”; page 129-130 “Selling Magic Items”, and the Magic
chapter in general) and the PHB (“Downtime Activities - Crafting” page 187), as
well as several hours research online into blogs on other players
considerations on crafting, and modern day armour, weapon, jewellery, and general goods crafting.
Note that the guideline costs below apply to permanent items –
all consumable items cost ½ the amount of a permanent item of the same rarity. In all cases, the DM is the final word on what happens in their campaign - feel free to use all or part of these rules for your game.
These rules will be tweaked as time goes on in our home game. If you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments below!
A Note about Skill Checks
There are several locations in this text when skill checks
are called for, and the DC listed. In most cases, the actual Ability Score or
Skill used for this check is not mentioned – this is intentional. Sometimes the
requisite check will be obvious, and other times it will require a discussion
with the DM and Player to determine what skill or ability should be used.
For example, a character crafting a necklace might assume
that Dexterity is the ability check to make to craft the item; however a Monk
may argue that she spends 6 hours in secluded meditation, focusing on the
intricate design of the gold and gem inlays, seeing the entire finished product
in her mind’s eye before beginning construction. The DM may allow the character
to use their Wisdom instead, to show their discipline to their craft in a
different way.
Another example is how different tasks for the same product
may require a number of rolls to accomplish a single craft. Continuing the
example of the Monk crafting a necklace, the rolls required may be determined
by what task is being accomplished; she might use Strength or Constitution to
smelt the gold material, Dexterity to craft the fine wrought gold into a
necklace, and Charisma to sell it after it is complete.
Basics of Magic Item Crafting
There is a list of requirements a character must have in
order to craft a magic item:
- Formula: a plan, blueprint, or recipe, that
describes the construction of the item
- Be a spellcaster with spell slots
- Must be able to cast any spells that the item
can produce
- Material component cost
- Gold cost
- Time cost
In addition, every item crafted also has a minimum level requirement,
as shown in the Crafting Magic Items table (DMG and listed below in the Gold Cost section for reference). All
of the above requirements must be met in order for a magic item to be crafted.
We will discuss how this is accomplished in more detail in each section below.
A Note about Scrolls and Potions
In our home games, we noted that the cost and time to make relatively minor magic items, like spell scrolls and potions, were high enough that it became prohibitive for players to bother pursuing it. After additional review of many other posts and commentary online, review of optional rules, and our own discussion around the table, we agreed that halving the cost for scrolls and potions seemed to be fair. If a player is crafting their own Spell Scroll or Potion, all of the costs listed below should be halved: this includes materials, gold, and time.
For a little further clarification, the player who is crafting such an item already knows the spell they need to cast to create the item, and they are already familiar with its casting and usage (presumably that's why they have it in their spell book or list of known spells). This familiarity should allow them to craft these items more quickly than others.
Formula
A formula is required to craft any magic item, regardless of
its material construction, arcane or divine source, permanence, or type.
Formula can come in all shapes and sizes, similar to a wizards spell book, so
one might be found on a piece of parchment, a stone tablet, or carved into a
plank of wood, depending on who it was who scribed the formula in the first
place.
Note that some items to be crafted have a formula inherently built in, like writing out a Spell Scroll, so a separate Formula may not be necessary. For example, a Wizard who is scribing a Spell Scroll already has the spell written down in their spell book, and has memorized the spell for casting it (as you need to effectively cast the spell in order to 'apply' it to the scroll you are scribing it into), so in this case a separate formula is not necessary. If the player feels that other circumstances also eliminate the need for a separate and specific formula, the DM can rule that it is not required for that specific case.
Formulas are not consumed in the process of crafting the
magic item.
If a character does not have a formula available, there are
still options on crafting a magic item: Experimentation
or Disenchanting/Reverse Engineering.
Experimentation
A character may decide to go ahead with the process of
crafting a magic item without a formula. This immediately doubles the time and
gold cost for the item, and runs the risk of failure. After the costs have been
completed, roll on the following table:
Item Rarity
|
Check DC
|
Common
|
DC 15
|
Uncommon
|
DC 20
|
Rare
|
DC 25
|
Very
Rare
|
DC 30
|
Legendary
|
DC 35
|
A failed attempt (lower than the required DC) to discover a
formula expends all of the material components, gold, time, and any other
costs, and produces no result.
A successful attempt (equal to or higher than the required
DC) produces a Formula on how to craft the item in question, but not the item
itself.
On a critical success (equal to or higher than 10 + the
required DC) produces a Formula on how to craft the item in question, and a
Prototype.
Image: thecampaign20xx.blogspot.com
Prototypes
In most cases, a Prototype is a regular working item as
intended, with one additional difference that other items of its type do not
have. Often these differences are cosmetic only, but sometimes they can be Flaws or Advantages. If a prototype is created, roll on the following chart
to determine if the item has additional characteristics or not. Use the
following modifiers based on the rarity of the item created (the more epic the
item, the more likely it is to have a distinctive characteristic):
- Common 0
- Uncommon +2
- Rare +3
- Very Rare +5
- Legendary +8
d20 Roll
|
Result
|
1 to 11
|
No Characteristics
|
12 to 13
|
Flaw
|
14 to 19
|
Cosmetic change
|
20+
|
Advantage
|
The DM may allow additional bonuses or penalties to this
roll depending on the circumstances. The exact nature of the
Flaw or
Advantage is up to the Player and DM to discuss and agree upon, and may be comical, dark, sinister, useful, or just an amusement. Some examples include:
- A Wand of the War Mage +1 that can also convert coins into caltrops
- A +1 Weapon that has the Returning quality, so that it always returns to the owners hand after being thrown
- A suit of +1 armour that also has the ability to change colour with a command word (may be any colour, or limited to a selection of three)
- A broom of flying that also has a 15% chance whenever it is being used to leave a trail of fresh growing flowers as it passes over land
- A Singing Sword may accidentally have 2 personalities, one in the blade and one in the hilt, with opposing alignments, and they fight and bicker all the time
Ultimately, this list is up to your imagination only! For additional suggestions, I would recommend going over to
http://donjon.bin.sh/ to view the fantastic random generators available there.
Disenchanting / Reverse Engineering
A character can Disenchant
an item in order to learn the Formula of how to craft the item. This process
destroys the item completely, in exchange for the knowledge of how to make
more.
Not anyone can disenchant an item – the following prerequisites
must be met first:
- Must have Arcana
as a trained skill (or Religion if
the item is Divine in nature; other skills may be substituted if the DM and
Player agree)
- Must be proficient in the tools related to the
item (for example, Smith’s tools for a sword)
- Must have the related tools available
- Must spend 4 hours of time working on the
deconstruction of the item, per level of rarity – this time commitment must be
completed within a 3 day period of time
- Common – 4 hours
- Uncommon – 8 hours
- Rare – 12 hours
- Very Rare – 16 hours
- Legendary – 20 hours
Two or more characters can work on this process together in
order to satisfy all of the skill requirements, however all characters involved
must complete the full time commitment required, or the item is destroyed and
automatically fails to produce a Formula.
Success of this attempt is based on the Rarity of the item.
This is based on the Arcana, Religion, or other skill check
determined to be relevant to the item. It is possible that particularly
complicated items may require more than one roll, at the DMs discretion.
Item Rarity
|
Check DC
|
Common
|
DC 5
|
Uncommon
|
DC 10
|
Rare
|
DC 15
|
Very Rare
|
DC 20
|
Legendary
|
DC 30
|
Spellcasting Ability
Crafting a magic item requires the character to be a
spellcaster with spell slots, and have the ability to cast any spells that the
item can produce.
Either of these requirements can be met by one character (a
Cleric with the Cure Wounds spell for a Healing Potion, for example), or it can
be met by items or other characters to satisfy the requirements (a Wizard with
spell slots working together with a Thief that has the Use Magic Device ability
using a Wand of Cure Wounds, for example).
Material Component Cost
The Material Components for a crafted item are generally fairly
obvious – a sword requires the metals to make the sword, and possibly leather
to fashion the hilt from. Spell requirements are listed in the description of
the spell.
There may be issues where the crafting becomes more
complicated, such as if the crafter decides to make the sword out of silver
instead of iron or steel, use silk
obtained from a Djinn to craft the handle, and an diamond edged tool to etch
runes into the blade before it cools on its final shaping. These requirements
may be cosmetic only, may add functionality, or be a requirement of the spells
being cast upon, among other things. For this reason, specific costs for
material components can vary greatly, and so base costs are not listed here. A good rule of thumb for weapons, armour, and basic items that are already in the PHB, just use the listed cost for a mundane item of the same type.
As long as all material costs are covered, the item can be
crafted.
Gold Cost
The thought is sure to come to everyone’s mind, “Why is
there a Gold cost when I have already purchased all the material components
required for the crafting of the item?”
The Gold cost listed in the rules stand for things required other than the material components. It
represents daily living costs of room and board, and materials used other than
the obvious already obtained, such as wood or coal for the forge, replacement
of broken tools during the crafting process, needle and thread, buckets of
water, and many other possibilities.
It could be argued that if the character owns their own
estate or has other means of covering these costs, that some of these costs
should be reduced. This requires discussion with the DM on a case-by-case basis
to approve.
Base costs are listed in the DMG, and are copied here for
ease of use.
Crafting
Magic Items
|
Item Rarity
|
Creation Cost
|
Minimum Level
|
Common
|
100 gp
|
3rd
|
Uncommon
|
500 gp
|
3rd
|
Rare
|
5,000 gp
|
6th
|
Very Rare
|
50,000 gp
|
11th
|
Legendary
|
500,000 gp
|
17th
|
Time Cost
All things take time, and crafting is no exception. The time
cost must be spent in order to craft the item in question. Characters may wish
to rush their work, based on time constraints, or may have such exceptional
skill that the work itself doesn’t take as long as it may for a common
labourer.
By the book, a character makes progress on an item at a rate
of 25 gp per day, based on the Crafting Cost table listed in the Gold Cost section above.
If a character wishes to speed the process up, their skill
check suffers a penalty based on the rarity of the item, and how much faster
they are wishing to speed the process up. A character cannot speed the process
up by greater than 50% of the full estimated time, unless the skill checks themselves
dictate otherwise (see Making the Skill
Check section below).
Rarity
|
DC modifier penalty
|
Common
|
No change
|
Uncommon
|
-1
|
Rare
|
-2
|
Very Rare
|
-3
|
Legendary
|
-5
|
Time Reduction
|
DC modifier penalty
|
10%
|
-1
|
20%
|
-2
|
30%
|
-4
|
40%
|
-6
|
50%
|
-8
|
Work Shops
Access to a workshop can modify a craft roll by altering the
time, cost, or end value of the item crafted. Depending on the item being
created a workshop may be required (a forge to craft arms and armour) or not at
all (clothing and small objects). It may also be a requirement of the nature of
the item itself to have a workshop, possibly of a specific type, location, or
racial influence.
If no workshop is being used, the time, cost, and other
factors may be increased at the DM's discretion, or may not be possible at all.
- Lower quality workshops may provide penalties to
die rolls, if applicable
- High quality workshops may provide bonuses to
die rolls, if applicable
- Very Rare and Legendary items must be crafted in
a high quality workshop
- High quality workshops never provide a bonus to
a die roll for Legendary items
A workshop can aid in
the efforts to craft an item, based on the chart below.
Workshop Quality
|
Example
|
DC Modifier
|
Poor
|
Small village, or location with no
access to major trade route
|
-2 to 0
|
Average
|
Common town, some trade access
|
-1 to +1
|
Good
|
Town with a strong trade presence
|
0 to +2
|
Exceptional
|
Strong trade presence, mage or academic
guild, major town or city
|
+1 to +3
|
Unique
|
Castle, Palace, or other Major
Library, Guild, or similar organization
|
+2 to +4
|
Making the Skill Check
Image: thecampaign20xx.blogspot.com
The Skill Check for item creation can be handled in two
ways: one check at the end of the allotted time, or a check made daily or
weekly during the crafting process.
If the check is made once, it provides a quick and simple
way to determine the outcome of the crafting; success or failure. This allows
the check to be completed quickly so that the game can resume for the party.
If the check is made routinely throughout the crafting
process, it can enhance the experience for the character, and more accurately
depicts what the crafting procedure would be like. This also makes it possible to have the chance of saving an almost failed build - for example, if 4 rolls were being made during the creation and the 3rd roll failed by a small amount (~less than 4 from the DC) the DM may allow the player to recover the the project by adding 15% to the cost and time and making the roll again. If this roll succeeds, the project continues; if it fails, the creation fails and the player would need to start over.
The choice of which to make is largely up to the Player and
DM to agree on. It is suggested that for Common and Uncommon items one check be made for the entire process. For Rare and higher items, use graduated rolls; Rare 2 rolls, Very Rare 4 rolls, and Legendary 6 rolls.
To make the roll, consult the Results table below.
Results Table
|
DC Check
|
DC
|
Result
|
0 to 10
|
The attempt failed; the day’s efforts
are wasted. Time and cost are still expended and the project does not
progress.
|
11 to 18
|
Normal success
|
19 to 23
|
Good quality; the days efforts
produced a 50% increase in productivity
|
24 to 29
|
Excellent quality; the days efforts
produced a 75% increase in productivity
|
30 +
|
Masterwork quality; the days efforts
produced double the expected productivity
|
Final Thoughts
As always, remember that everything listed here, and even the rules in the books themselves, are guidelines intended to help the party have an enjoyable experience! Adjust what needs to be adjusted so that it makes sense in your campaign.
Lastly, make sure that you have clarity between DM and players about what you are doing. It is despairingly frustrating as a player to think you have everything understood, cast your dice, only to have the DM say something along the lines of "that isn't how that works", and your dice were for naught. When both player and DM have clarity and agreement on what rules are set, it is much easier for everyone to accept what the dice decide. Enjoy!
