Creating Magic & Mundane Items

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Crafting Mundane Items

This is the basis for magic item crafting. A character needs the appropriate tools and resources to be able to create them.

Mundane Item Costs & Crafting Time

Costs of mundane items are half of the selling price of the completed item, and crafting time is in weeks, determined by the finished value of the item divided by 50. A character could reasonably complete multiple items in one work week this way. Multiple characters could also work on items together to reduce the construction time, but within reason. For example, 10 people could not reasonably work on a ring to have it done in 1/10th of the time.

Item Crafting Proficiency

A character needs to be proficient in the tools required to craft items, and may need to have access to specific equipment to do so (such as forges, looms, etc.), but this is at the DM's discretion. Some examples:

Proficiency Example
Tinkerer's kit Contraptions, repairs, lenses
Herbalism Kit Anti-toxin, potion of healing
Leatherworker's Leather armor, shoes, boots
Smith's Tools Weapons, Armor
Weaver's Tools Cloaks, Robes

Crafting Magic Items

  1. Determine rarity of desired item.
  2. Check item costs, component needs, and level requirements.
  3. Gather needed items, workspace, etc., pay item costs now.
  4. Begin work., roll percentile (10%) to determine if complications arise.
  5. Continue rolling percentile (10%) every 7 days of work.
  6. After the required time has passed, roll the appropriate completion DC to determine quality and nature of finished item.
A summary table:
Item Rarity Cost (in GP) Min. Lvl Workweeks CR Range Completion DC
Common 50 2 .5 1-3 12
Uncommon 200 3 2 4-8 14
Rare 2.000 6 7 9-12 16
Very rare 20.000 11 15 13-18 18
Legendary 500.000 18 140 19+ 20

Magic Item Components

Items require components, or at the very least the ability for the crafter to cast the spell being placed into the item. Components required are to be discussed between PCs and the DM, and the rule of cool is encouraged.

These components might be obtained from a location or off of a creature: perhaps a closely guarded grove, a body part of a powerful beast, or an ingredient only found in the bottom of a distant ocean. The following list is a suggestion for the CR of the creatures / encounters guarding a location / etc. for obtaining the components:

Magic Item Components

Item Rarity CR Range
Common 1-3
Uncommon 4-8
Rare 9-12
Very Rare 13-18
Legendary 19+

Monsters, locations, and items should be thematic. For example, a ring of swimming may require the bones of an aquatic creature to be made, Boots of Elvenkind may require items be brought to a far-off hermitage where a Elven blacksmith resides, or a Staff of Power might require finding a piece of a stone imbued with the power of a god — guarded by a powerful beast loyal to it.

Magic Item Crafting Time, Cost, Requirements

Magic items require other mundane components, time, and workspaces to be created. This is represented generally by a price of gold (assumed to be spent on materials, etc.).

These times and prices are to be cut in half for items that are consumable (not counting wands or items which recharge).

Magic Item Crafting Time, Cost, Requirements

Item Rarity Cost (in GP) Workweeks Min Level
Common 50 .5 2
Uncommon 200 2 3
Rare 2.000 7 6
Very Rare 20.000 15 11
Legendary 500.000 140 18

Note that this does not include the cost for special materials. If a character wishes to make a jeweled magical sword, for example, the costs would go up considerably than if they were just making a normal magical sword.

Magic Item Complications

Complications in magic item creation are often the result of adventuring for or buying rare items. It is difficult to not draw attention while doing this. These complications occur during magic item creation, and there is a 10% chance (rolled during the start of creating the item, and then every week [7 days] after this) that some manner of complication occurs. Here are some suggestions:

1d6 Result
1 Rumors abound that the item you're working on is unstable and a threat to the town/nation/planet.
2 No progress: your tools are stolen, or your workspace vandalized. You spend your week cleaning and replacing items.
3 Either you have made a mistake or someone has sabotaged your work, resulting in an explosion. As well as 1d8 of damage, your progress is taken back by 5 weeks.
4 Someone of wealth is offering a hefty price for your item and will not take no for an answer.
5 A (Dwarf/Elf/etc.) clan is accusing you of stealing its secret lore to create this item.
6 Your work has become significantly more complicated. Roll a random challenge to determine in what way.

These complications make sense if there are people interested in foiling or disturbing the characters, such as a rival or suspicious townsfolk. Work with the characters to describe what happens and build the story from there.

Magic Item Completion

Roll upon the completion of the item, adding in your proficiency with any appropriate kits or your arcana skill. The DC for this check is as follows:

Item Rarity DC
Common 12
Uncommon 14
Rare 16
Very Rare 18
Legendary 20

If you meet the DC or are within 2 points of it, you create the item.
Below that, and for every 5 below that, something negative happens. Roll 1d6 to determine.
Above that, and for every 5 above, something positive happens. Roll 1d6 to determine.

Positive

1d6 Result
1 Weapons and armor gain a +1, other items gain perk
2 Gains an additional property (DM choice)
3 Gain a quirk
4 Gain a perk
5 -10% item cost
6 Roll twice, ignoring 6

Negative

1d6 Result
1 Gain a quirk
2 Gain a flaw
3 Weapons and armor gain a -1, other items gain flaw
4 Lose a property (random)
5 Item costs double
6 Roll twice, ignoring 6

Potions of Healing

Potions of healing have a special set of rules. A character with proficiency in a herbalism kit can create these potions, with costs and times summarized here:

Level Time Cost (in GP)
Healing 1 day 25
Greater healing 1 workweek 100
Superior healing 3 workweeks 1.000
Supreme healing 4 workweeks 10.000

A DM may rule that you require access to special materials to create potions if a town is not accessible or does not have the material needed to make them. Examples of such ingredients include those laid out in the "Naturally Gathered Ingredients" section of the Potions page.

Bibliography
2. 5e DMG
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