D&D 5E Magic Item Costs in 5E

[Werebat]

Not providing any guidelines only means not helping DMs with what they then must do themselves, with all the risks of unbalancing and errors that entails.

Yes, but it also eliminates the greater problem of munchkin players poring through the rules picking out all of the "optimized" magic items that provide the most "bang for the buck" and then grousing to the DM about how they never find any "cool" items that they want to keep (because by and large the "best" items from a powergamer's perspective are rarely the expensive ones). IME with 3.x/PF, players optimize all of their stuff and then gripe about how they always end up with the same "boring" items. No kidding, that's what happens when you optimize.

 

[Paraxis]

So here is an idea on a new spell and components for it. This spell would be on every spell casters spell list.

Craft Magic Item
3rd-level transmutation (ritual)
Casting Time: 8 hours
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (3 components of rarity equal to the rarity of magic item) consumed
Duration: Permanent

You turn a non-magical base item into a magic item. The exact formula needs to be worked out between the caster and the DM. Every magic item needs three components of a rarity equal to the rank of the desired end rarity of the magic item.

For example to enchant a normal sword into an enchanted sword of uncommon rarity you need three components of uncommon rarity and a sword to be enchanted. The components are consumed in the casting of the spell.

Making a magic item is exhausting work, you take a level of exhaustion for each rank of magic item you are forging. So making a common magic items causes 1 level of exhaustion, making a very rare magic item causes 4 levels of exhaustion.

You can not make artifacts with this spell.

Casting at higher level.
The 3rd level version of this spell can make only common magic items.
4th level uncommon, 5th rare, 6th very rare, 7th Legendary.

So now the DM just populates his world with magic item components of different qualities and gives those out as treasure. To combat the take every bit of every monster ever thing, just require that most of those types of things need to be "fresh".

Already existing magic items can be substituted for missing magical components of the same rarity.

An example.

Paraxis a powerful wizard wants to make an uncommon quality item, a wand of magic missiles.
He talks things over with his DM, spends some time working out the right formula or researching an existing one and discovers he needs 4 things: the essence of will-o-wisp, a jewel possesed by a banshee, a dart used to kill a man, and a good quality base wand.
Now during game play the DM could have just handed out X number of uncommon components as treasure, like some DM's hand out X number of 200 gp gems, or the DM could have Paraxis and his companions have to quest for each of those distinct items. Paraxis could also choose to replace any of the three components with another uncommon magic item.
After the components have been gathered Paraxis casts the spell, it takes 8 hours, all the components are consumed in the casting, because it is a uncommon item Paraxis has to use a 4th level spell slot and when it is done has two levels of exhaustion.

This system lets beer and pretzel style, bash in the door type play exist next to long term campaign style. The DM controls how often components appear, what those components are and if he wants to track very specific things or just hand out generic components as treasure.

I would also make a lower level of the spell and have different components for potions and scrolls. I will work on Brew Potion and Scribe Scroll spells later.

 

[Thank Dog]

While it is understandable that game designers are only fantasy gamers with little to no understanding of economics (or they'd be in a different business than rpgs! ) it is still inexcusable to present a church catering for thousands and expect players to find "we have a grand total of two (2) healing potions" as anything resembling the believable.

Given that it takes 10 days to create just one healing potion, I hardly think it's unreasonable to assume that clerics aren't spending all their time making healing potions. Having a few on hand, sure, but then again they're also probably being used for the people in the village so at any one time why would they have more than a few hanging around just because a PC comes along and wants to buy one?

Economics in isolation is great. In the real world, however, things don't work like they do on a spreadsheet. So if you're going to apply real-world logic to a situation, you need to take into account all variables and factors, not just the ones that are convenient for your argument.

Meaning that if I am a rich merchant desiring your magical sword, how much do you think it would cost me to hire twice the mercenaries of double your level to kill you and take your stuff?

This assumes that there are people of higher level and also that there are people of equivalent power to PC's. Personally I always assume that PC's and PC classes are the exception and not the rule.

 

[77IM]

I love the idea of trading magic items for land and title! What a great way to complicate the PC's lives.

The problem is that magic items are rare and valuable -- but not very useful to most people. The most rational thing to do is trade items with other adventurers, since they will be relying on their equipment for their lives. If there's an adventurer's guild in the setting they may be wealthy enough to broker certain transactions too.

 

[BoldItalic]

I have a real,working +1 Magic Longsword for sale.

The price is 1.3 trillion dollars.

Anyone interested?

No?

Guess I'll keep it then, and hang it over the fireplace in my humble peasant's dwelling.

 

[Henrix]

so one of my PC's decides to sell a +1 flail to a noble

And that, exactly, is why there should be no prices given.

It is not the PC who decides to sell - it is for the noble to decide he needs a flail.

And what in the deepest pits of the abyss does a noble want a +1 flail for?
You can't wear it to the ball. And what noble fights with a peasant weapon like a flail!

Not to mention that he might well have a nice heirloom sword.

And buying from a desperate untrustworthy adventurer who needs cash?

Putting a price on things means that the players can expect to be able to sell it.


Give the flail to the leader of the peasant militia fighting the Redeye orcs instead. You'll have a friend for life.

 

[tom.zunder]

The problem is that D&D constructs a world which is essentially one of modern free market individuals with little moral compass who loot and rampage across a society less Wild West setting. It's Reaganomics and Thatcher with the liberal dream in a context free fantasy. It's D&D! It is it's own sub genre. Enjoy.
I am not dissing it, if you want balance then there has to be a society that is not essentially a modern cash economy to arbitrate and allocate valuable items. A hero or priest in context will hold a magic item as part of their social role, with all the duties and responsibilities and privileges entailed.
It is really a good idea to have some idea if people with classes and levels are normal or exceptional or near as damn it unique. If former then depending on the scarcity of items people will arbitrate who does or doesn't have them by social convention which may include money.
The further you get to the latter then we can increasingly assume very rare item frequency and then the PC can't expect to buy them, but they can expect other legends to come and challenge them for them, which may also include social conflict, physical conflict or money.
None of this is new, read Lewis Pulsipher in early White Dwarfs or copies of A&E or chivalry and sorcery

 

[Doc_Klueless]

The problem is that magic items are rare and valuable -- but not very useful to most people.

And what in the deepest pits of the abyss does a noble want a +1 flail for?

These two things have always kept down the buying and selling of magic items in my campaigns. Sure the noble could possibly afford the magic item, but he'd rather spend that money on something actually of use for himself.

It's like the Lamborghini that was beside me on the 405 yesterday. It's a fabulous car. Fast. Beautiful. Expensive. But the average CEO McBillionaire probably doesn't own one even though he could afford 10 simply because it's kind of useless car in the long run. What's the use of a two seater car that can go a bajillion miles an hour when you need to haul your family and groceries back and forth in horrendous traffic that has a top speed of 45 miles an hour.

In D&D terms: What's the use of an expensive +X Weapon that you'll never use when you could spend the money to enhance the economic structure on which all your wealth is based.

Might not be being too clear. I've been ill the last couple of days and am a bit dehydrated. Don't worry though. You can't catch it... I think. Bwuuuhahahahahaaa!! <- mine is an evil laugh.

 

[the Jester]

10 items, any one of which "only the wealthiest nobles could afford". Yes, that is ludicrous. The supply is obviously far too high for it to fit that sort of description of their worth. To match "only the wealthiest nobles could afford" would put maybe 8 items in the hands of the party, if they're lucky, by level 20 after years of questing. Not at level 7 after days. Said nobles with literal armies at their disposal would have vacuumed up all these items long before wasting their time on such poor sources of money as gold mines or other noble's land.

Really?? Have you ever played D&D before? This is typical in BECMI; typical in 1e; typical in 2e; typical in 3e; and typical in 4e.

The exception being things like potions and other expendable items. But generally, magic items have always cost thousands or tens of thousands (or, as you get to higher level items, millions) of gps. I'm not sure just how wealthy you think nobles are, but having 10K+ to spend on each item that comes up, especially when each item typically affects only one person, vs. spending 10K on, say, maintaining the roads, paying the lackeys, building a new wing of the castle, getting fodder for the horses, etc., all of which benefit the ruler and realm as a whole a whole lot more, seems like quite an assumption.

 

[keterys]

I wonder how a more real-world approach to plunder, taxation, WMDs (weapons of magical destruction) etc would fly in D&D.

Stuff like a nation says that any magic items recovered in its borders are owned by the nation, cannot be sold or transferred, and may be subject to reclamation if misused.

And with bounded accuracy, a hundred soldiers can actually back up such rules.