Crafting Magic Items

Creating a magic item requires more than just time, effort, and materials. It is a long-term process that
involves one or more adventures to track down rare materials and the lore needed to create the item.
To start with, a character needs a formula for a magic item in order to create it. The formula is like a
recipe. It lists the materials needed and steps required to make the item. An item invariably requires an
exotic material to complete it. This material can range from the skin of a yeti to a vial of water taken
from a whirlpool on the Elemental Plane of Water. Finding that material should take as part of an
adventure. The Magic Item Ingredients table suggests the challenge rating of a creature that the
characters need to face to acquire the materials for an item. Note that facing a creature does not
necessarily mean that the characters must collect items from its corpse. Rather, the creature might
guard a location or a resource that the characters need to access to.

Formulae

Formulae are the instructions required for crafting a magic object. They list the materials needed as well
as the steps required to complete the magic object. They can either be found in the world (perhaps a
friendly Wizard’s guild has a tome on the subject which it will share for a donation) or devised by a
Grandmaster Craftsman. Formulae always require a material corresponding to the rarity of the item e.g.
a very rare magical item contains a very rare material. This material is in addition to the cost of the item
and does not affect the GP material cost nor the construction time. For example, a Burning Short Sword
might require a Salamander’s heart but purchasing the heart in the City of Brass for 5,000 GP does not
reduce the cost of the sword.

Quick Rules

 To craft a magic item, one needs proficiency in the appropriate tool of Arcana.
 The cost of a recipe is often half the cost of buying the item. Some recipes are more heavily
guarded secrets and are difficult to obtain
 The exotic materials are always far cheaper to collect yourselves though depending on
availability can be purchased for 1/4th the item’s selling cost.
 A character needs raw materials worth half of the item's selling cost.
 Magic Items can be dismantled for recipes and components
Recipe Book

Item Average Price Recipe Cost Regular Exotic Materials

to Buy Component Cost
Bag of Tricks 350 GP 175 GP 175 GP Hides of all the requisite
animals, plus phase spider silk
Talking Doll 75 GP 37 GP 37 GP Mastercraft Doll
Hat of Vermin 65 GP 32 GP 32 GP 23 dead rats, plus spider silk
Cloak of Elvenkind 250 GP N/A 125 GP ???
Cloak of Protection 400 GP 200 GP ???
Gloves of Thievery 300 GP 150 GP ???
Cloak of Bat 4600 GP 2300 GP ???
Mantle of spell 4200 GP 2100 GP ???
Resistance
Portable Hole 1000 GP 500 GP ???

Magic Item Crafting Time

Item Rarity Work Weeks Cost Minimum Level

Common 1 Depends 3rd
Uncommon 2 Depends 3rd
Rare 10 Depends 6th
Very Rare 25 Depends 11th
Legendary 50 Depends 17th

Dismantling Magic Items

During down time adventures may want to disassemble or destroy magic items. Regardless of the
reason, a creature who has proficiency in artisan’s tools used to create the item or proficiency in Arcana
can attempt to dismantle or destroy a magic item. Make an ability check against the appropriate DC
using the artisan’s tools or Intelligence (Arcana). If the creature succeeds by 5 or more, the base item
can be salvaged, otherwise it is destroyed. When a magical item is destroyed, any lingering magical
effects (such as curses) instantly stop taking effect. Artifact items can never be destroyed in this way.

A salvaged item grants you both the exotic materials used to make the item as well as an understanding
of how it was made (recipe)

Item Rarity DC Destroy DC Salvage Time

Common 5 10 1 hour
Uncommon 10 15 1 day
Rare 15 20 2 days
Very Rare 20 25 5 days
Legedary 25 30 10 days