Crafting Magic Items
"Equipment" contains rules on brewing Potions of Healing and scribing Spell Scrolls. To create other magic items, follow the rules below. In these rules, "you" refers to the character crafting the magic item.
Arcana Proficiency
To craft a magic item, you and any assistants must have proficiency in the Arcana skill.
Tools
The Magic Item Tools table lists which tool is required to make a magic item of each category. You must use the required tool to make an item and have proficiency with that tool. Any assistants must also have proficiency with it. For more information on the tools, see "Equipment."
Magic Item Tools
| Item Category | Required Tool |
|---|---|
| Armor | Leatherworker's Tools, Smith's Tools, or Weaver's Tools depend- ing on the kind of armor as noted in the tools' descriptions |
| Potion | Alchemist's Supplies or Herbalism Kit |
| Ring | Jeweler's Tools |
| Rod | Woodcarver's Tools |
| Scroll | Calligrapher's Supplies |
| Staff | Woodcarver's Tools |
| Wand | Woodcarver's Tools |
| Weapon | Leatherworker's Tools, Smith's Tools, or Woodcarver's Tools de- pending on the kind of weapon as noted in the tools' descriptions |
| Wondrous Item | Tinker's Tools or the tool required to make the nonmagical item on which the magic item is based |
Spells
If a magic item allows its user to cast any spells from it, you must have all those spells prepared every day you spend crafting the item.
Time and Cost
Crafting a magic item takes an amount of time and money based on the item's rarity as shown in the Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost table. Work per Day. For each day of crafting, you must work for 8 hours. If an item requires multiple days, those days needn't be consecutive. Assistants. Characters can combine their efforts to shorten the crafting time. Divide the time needed to create an item by the number of characters working on it. Normally, only one other character can assist you, but the GM might allow more assistants. Raw Materials. The cost in the table represents the raw materials needed to make a magic item. The GM determines whether appropriate raw materials are available. In a city, there is a 75 percent chance that the materials are available, and in any other settlement, that chance is 25 percent. If materials aren't available, you must wait at least 7 days before checking on the availability again. If a magic item incorporates an item that has a purchase cost (such as a weapon or a suit of armor), you must also pay that entire cost or craft that item using the rules in "Equipment." For example, to make +1 Armor (Plate Armor), you must pay 3,500 GP or pay 2,000 GP and craft the armor.
Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost
| Item Rarity | Time* | Cost* |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 5 days | 50 GP |
| Uncommon | 10 days | 200 GP |
| Rare | 50 days | 2,000 GP |
| Very Rare | 125 days | 20,000 GP |
| Legendary | 250 days | 100,000 GP |
*The time and cost are halved for a consumable item other than a Spell Scroll, whose crafting time and cost are given in "Equipment."