Just wrote this up and I wanted opinions.
*****
Introduction: For some campaigns, the magic-for-cash construction policy promoted by third and fourth edition D&D may be consider inadequate or unflavorful. The following is offered as as set of more story-based general guidelines for player-created magical items. It should be understood that these guidelines are not intended to promote mechanical game balance in the same way as the official rules. It is assumed that any DM utilizing them will have out-of-game discussions with players to determine the quantity and power of items it is appropriate for PCs to create.
The Basics: The 4E cosmology has it that all living beings are made up of three parts: a body; an animus (motivating force); and a soul that contains that being's higher functions. (Details on this can be found primarily in discussion of undead, whom may lack one or more of these parts.) To mirror this, most permanent magic items are considered to require three 'special' components for their creation: the item's Body (a component that will become physical form of the item in question); the item's Animus (a physical component that will be consumed during creation as fuel for the item's power); and the item's Soul (a non-physical component that will act as the template to shape the item's mystical power.) Note that the soul is assumed to be a separate and distinct thing from any purely mundane instructions on how to create an item and what components may go into it. A DM may allow a PC to find such instructions, create them himself with an appropriate skill check, or just accept the player's proposal for utilizing a particular set of three components if it seems cool.
Behind the Screen (Why Three?): So why three components? To the author, it seems that finding three thematically appropriate components will provide appropriate challenge to magic item creation while at the same time avoiding a tedious 'shopping list' of components that might detract from the ongoing campaign. Three also provides an appropriate distinctiveness between the different types of components.
Magic Item Body: This is the simplest of the magical item parts. If you're making a magical sword, you need a sword to enchant. If you're making a magical orb implement, you need an appropriate crystal/rock/round object. Magical armor needs armor. But not just any example of the previous will do. The Body must be made special in some way appropriate to the power of the magical item being created from it. Some ways for an item to acquire 'specialness' are suggested here, but this is by no means to be considered a comprehensive list and many blend together. Some means of 'specialness' will be more appropriate for one type of item than another. As always, the DM must adjudicate.
Special by Deed - A sword that has been used by (or to slay) a creature of fire might be appropriate to become a flaming weapon. An assassin's dagger might need to have previously slain a sapient creature. An amulet that hung around the neck of a famed Healer might aid protecting the sick. This may be done intentionally, as if a Church were to erect a set of plate armor by its altar and request that a 100 faithful pray once a day for 100 days that their god might allow it to protect their paladin. An evil cult might catch the blood of ten human sacrifices in the chalice of their high priest. A kerchief blessed with a maiden's true love and her hope for her swain's return might be sealed into a protective amulet.
Special by Manufacture - Many things might be involved in this one. It could be an item forged in a particularly special place, such as in the lava crack of Mount Doom. It might be items made special by their creator; for instance, many elves might know the secret of weaving cloaks suitable for enchantment into cloaks of Elvenkind (thus explaining the commonality of items among a certain race). The world's greatest sculptor might carve animals so life-like that they can be enchanted to come alive.
Special by Material - The sacrifice of a titan plucking out its own eye might be a key component for creating an orb of epic power. The thigh bone of a sacrificed angel might be carved into a wand of ultimate evil. A meteor impact might leave behind a rare vein of celestial starmetal.
Special by Time - Sometimes age itself is enough. A harp that's centuries old; a hammer that has served in a smithy since the village was founded; a throne that ten generations of kings have ruled from... Sometimes even if no single great deed empowers an item, the tide of time gives it the potential for magic.
Magic Item Animus: Generally, the animus should be a physical, solid (or in some cases liquid or vaporous) material that is consumed in the creation of the magic item. Here is where you use your owl bear gall bladders, your powdered remnants of a destroyed mummy, your flowers harvested from the fae lord's garden, the left hand of a justly hanged murderer, and such things. For determining appropriate animus components, utilize the doctrine of similarity and the doctrine of contagion. A material that is like the effect you are trying to achieve or has had extreme association with such (even or especially metaphorically) will make a suitable component. DMs should generally be open to a good argument from the player here.
Usually when one considers the idea of 'monster hunters' and professional procurators of magical components, it is the animus component they are hunting. (The item Body is often of personal importance, and the item Soul is generally the sort of ethereal thing it's difficult to take to a marketplace.) Though this is considered a single component, especially complex items might require a mix of pieces to go into the animus. (Perhaps you need powdered mummy _and_ manticore wing feathers.) DMs should use this option cautiously and to promote adventure rather than to make players jump through many hoops. Since this is the component category that a PC is mostly likely to simply buy, they might be able to simply purchase all the pieces of their animus except the one that helps lead into the next adventure.
Magic Item Soul: At its most basic definition, the 'Soul' of a magic item is any non-physical component of its creation that is distinct from the item creation Ritual itself. Examples might include items that must be created at a specific date and time (yearly or less often for powerful items!) when the stars are right. Others might require the verbal blessing of a powerful (or thematically appropriate) being or that the item's creator (or intended user) make a powerful and binding oath upon creation or that city/nation lies in its time of greatest need or that the ritual be performed in a particular sacred/holy place. Ritual sacrifices are also useful here. (This is distinct from making an item Body 'special by deed' because a Body once primed for magical infusion will remain so, while it's generally necessary to introduce the Soul at the moment of the item's creation.)
Item 'Souls' tend to be less specific towards a particular type of item, but requiring more of a personal effort to get than a Body or Animus. For instance, all wizards might know that it's possible to create virtually any type of (heroic tier) item at the stroke of midnight on either the winter or summer solstice... but you can only do one per solstice. A religion's high holy day might be the yearly opportunity for a bishop to ask for a blessing to a sacred object of some sort. Of course, trying to focus on a particular flavor of 'Soul' component might yield easier results. A necromantic item (and only such an item) could be created on the grave of a man who starved to death. An amulet of poison resistance might be empowered by the participation of a man who survived a poisoning. Infusing a Wand's power might be satisfied simply by tracking down someone with the appropriate power and getting him to cooperate. A DM should generally be open to player's proposal for an item's Soul if it makes a memorable story, recalling again that creating an appropriate item should not be so difficult it hijacks a campaign... or even an entire campaign session. (In particular the 'Binding Vow' option or owing a participant a favor can always be a recipe for fun and plot furthering.)
Finally, the DM may choose to allow the empowerment of minor magic items with relative ease. An amusing infant's toy infused with minor illusory sparkles might be created from the child's already beloved toy, a piece of cloth used to swaddle a newborn, and a solemn vow by the parent to tell the child a story every night. (See? Magic can be heartwarming.) And of course, 'minor' is always a relative thing. A powerful archmage might be able to create a +1 flaming sword from what he's got in his closet, on his laboratory shelf, the sacrifice of a healing surge.
A few final points....
Behind the Screen (How special is special?) - So how special is 'special enough'? Sacrificing a few peasants oughtn't to be enough to create a level 30 item of epic prowess, right? Ultimately this is a DM judgement call, as is everything else about these guidelines. However, it's useful to try and find some number that can be used to compare against the potential level of the item. The skin of a level 12 monster shouldn't be used to make a magic item higher than level 12. If you're enchanting a level 10 crown, it should have sat on the heads of 10 generations of kings. Looking at tier is also useful. Generally speaking, heroic tier items should be creatable with components found on your campaign world. Paragon tier items may require special components from the Shadowfell or Feywild, or at the very least harvested from the most remote and and dangerous areas of the world (such as the deepest Underdark). Epic level items require components from epic level challenges or associated with Epic level creatures or rituals only performable at the bottom of the sea or the throne room of a god or the like. If you're really stuck, you can always just look at the level of the encounter the PCs had to overcome to get the component or components and use that.
Behind the Screen (Generic 'Plus' Items) - +X weapons, implements, or armors can be unflavorful and you may not bother with them at all using this method. If you do wish to use them, the appropriate Animus components should be broadly applicable to the items' intended purpose. (Generally something violent.)
Temporary/One-Shot Items: Items intended to function only once should be even less complex to create. In general, the DM should consider letting one or even two of the three core components slide. A ritual scroll might require only some appropriate animus material. A toy boat that can become a sailing ship for a single night might require only an Animus and a Soul, but no special Body; or it could require a Body and an Animus, but no Soul. And so on.
*****
Materials-Based Magic Item Creation for 4E D&D
Introduction: For some campaigns, the magic-for-cash construction policy promoted by third and fourth edition D&D may be consider inadequate or unflavorful. The following is offered as as set of more story-based general guidelines for player-created magical items. It should be understood that these guidelines are not intended to promote mechanical game balance in the same way as the official rules. It is assumed that any DM utilizing them will have out-of-game discussions with players to determine the quantity and power of items it is appropriate for PCs to create.
The Basics: The 4E cosmology has it that all living beings are made up of three parts: a body; an animus (motivating force); and a soul that contains that being's higher functions. (Details on this can be found primarily in discussion of undead, whom may lack one or more of these parts.) To mirror this, most permanent magic items are considered to require three 'special' components for their creation: the item's Body (a component that will become physical form of the item in question); the item's Animus (a physical component that will be consumed during creation as fuel for the item's power); and the item's Soul (a non-physical component that will act as the template to shape the item's mystical power.) Note that the soul is assumed to be a separate and distinct thing from any purely mundane instructions on how to create an item and what components may go into it. A DM may allow a PC to find such instructions, create them himself with an appropriate skill check, or just accept the player's proposal for utilizing a particular set of three components if it seems cool.
Behind the Screen (Why Three?): So why three components? To the author, it seems that finding three thematically appropriate components will provide appropriate challenge to magic item creation while at the same time avoiding a tedious 'shopping list' of components that might detract from the ongoing campaign. Three also provides an appropriate distinctiveness between the different types of components.
Magic Item Body: This is the simplest of the magical item parts. If you're making a magical sword, you need a sword to enchant. If you're making a magical orb implement, you need an appropriate crystal/rock/round object. Magical armor needs armor. But not just any example of the previous will do. The Body must be made special in some way appropriate to the power of the magical item being created from it. Some ways for an item to acquire 'specialness' are suggested here, but this is by no means to be considered a comprehensive list and many blend together. Some means of 'specialness' will be more appropriate for one type of item than another. As always, the DM must adjudicate.
Special by Deed - A sword that has been used by (or to slay) a creature of fire might be appropriate to become a flaming weapon. An assassin's dagger might need to have previously slain a sapient creature. An amulet that hung around the neck of a famed Healer might aid protecting the sick. This may be done intentionally, as if a Church were to erect a set of plate armor by its altar and request that a 100 faithful pray once a day for 100 days that their god might allow it to protect their paladin. An evil cult might catch the blood of ten human sacrifices in the chalice of their high priest. A kerchief blessed with a maiden's true love and her hope for her swain's return might be sealed into a protective amulet.
Special by Manufacture - Many things might be involved in this one. It could be an item forged in a particularly special place, such as in the lava crack of Mount Doom. It might be items made special by their creator; for instance, many elves might know the secret of weaving cloaks suitable for enchantment into cloaks of Elvenkind (thus explaining the commonality of items among a certain race). The world's greatest sculptor might carve animals so life-like that they can be enchanted to come alive.
Special by Material - The sacrifice of a titan plucking out its own eye might be a key component for creating an orb of epic power. The thigh bone of a sacrificed angel might be carved into a wand of ultimate evil. A meteor impact might leave behind a rare vein of celestial starmetal.
Special by Time - Sometimes age itself is enough. A harp that's centuries old; a hammer that has served in a smithy since the village was founded; a throne that ten generations of kings have ruled from... Sometimes even if no single great deed empowers an item, the tide of time gives it the potential for magic.
Magic Item Animus: Generally, the animus should be a physical, solid (or in some cases liquid or vaporous) material that is consumed in the creation of the magic item. Here is where you use your owl bear gall bladders, your powdered remnants of a destroyed mummy, your flowers harvested from the fae lord's garden, the left hand of a justly hanged murderer, and such things. For determining appropriate animus components, utilize the doctrine of similarity and the doctrine of contagion. A material that is like the effect you are trying to achieve or has had extreme association with such (even or especially metaphorically) will make a suitable component. DMs should generally be open to a good argument from the player here.
Usually when one considers the idea of 'monster hunters' and professional procurators of magical components, it is the animus component they are hunting. (The item Body is often of personal importance, and the item Soul is generally the sort of ethereal thing it's difficult to take to a marketplace.) Though this is considered a single component, especially complex items might require a mix of pieces to go into the animus. (Perhaps you need powdered mummy _and_ manticore wing feathers.) DMs should use this option cautiously and to promote adventure rather than to make players jump through many hoops. Since this is the component category that a PC is mostly likely to simply buy, they might be able to simply purchase all the pieces of their animus except the one that helps lead into the next adventure.
Magic Item Soul: At its most basic definition, the 'Soul' of a magic item is any non-physical component of its creation that is distinct from the item creation Ritual itself. Examples might include items that must be created at a specific date and time (yearly or less often for powerful items!) when the stars are right. Others might require the verbal blessing of a powerful (or thematically appropriate) being or that the item's creator (or intended user) make a powerful and binding oath upon creation or that city/nation lies in its time of greatest need or that the ritual be performed in a particular sacred/holy place. Ritual sacrifices are also useful here. (This is distinct from making an item Body 'special by deed' because a Body once primed for magical infusion will remain so, while it's generally necessary to introduce the Soul at the moment of the item's creation.)
Item 'Souls' tend to be less specific towards a particular type of item, but requiring more of a personal effort to get than a Body or Animus. For instance, all wizards might know that it's possible to create virtually any type of (heroic tier) item at the stroke of midnight on either the winter or summer solstice... but you can only do one per solstice. A religion's high holy day might be the yearly opportunity for a bishop to ask for a blessing to a sacred object of some sort. Of course, trying to focus on a particular flavor of 'Soul' component might yield easier results. A necromantic item (and only such an item) could be created on the grave of a man who starved to death. An amulet of poison resistance might be empowered by the participation of a man who survived a poisoning. Infusing a Wand's power might be satisfied simply by tracking down someone with the appropriate power and getting him to cooperate. A DM should generally be open to player's proposal for an item's Soul if it makes a memorable story, recalling again that creating an appropriate item should not be so difficult it hijacks a campaign... or even an entire campaign session. (In particular the 'Binding Vow' option or owing a participant a favor can always be a recipe for fun and plot furthering.)
Finally, the DM may choose to allow the empowerment of minor magic items with relative ease. An amusing infant's toy infused with minor illusory sparkles might be created from the child's already beloved toy, a piece of cloth used to swaddle a newborn, and a solemn vow by the parent to tell the child a story every night. (See? Magic can be heartwarming.) And of course, 'minor' is always a relative thing. A powerful archmage might be able to create a +1 flaming sword from what he's got in his closet, on his laboratory shelf, the sacrifice of a healing surge.
A few final points....
Behind the Screen (How special is special?) - So how special is 'special enough'? Sacrificing a few peasants oughtn't to be enough to create a level 30 item of epic prowess, right? Ultimately this is a DM judgement call, as is everything else about these guidelines. However, it's useful to try and find some number that can be used to compare against the potential level of the item. The skin of a level 12 monster shouldn't be used to make a magic item higher than level 12. If you're enchanting a level 10 crown, it should have sat on the heads of 10 generations of kings. Looking at tier is also useful. Generally speaking, heroic tier items should be creatable with components found on your campaign world. Paragon tier items may require special components from the Shadowfell or Feywild, or at the very least harvested from the most remote and and dangerous areas of the world (such as the deepest Underdark). Epic level items require components from epic level challenges or associated with Epic level creatures or rituals only performable at the bottom of the sea or the throne room of a god or the like. If you're really stuck, you can always just look at the level of the encounter the PCs had to overcome to get the component or components and use that.
Behind the Screen (Generic 'Plus' Items) - +X weapons, implements, or armors can be unflavorful and you may not bother with them at all using this method. If you do wish to use them, the appropriate Animus components should be broadly applicable to the items' intended purpose. (Generally something violent.)
Temporary/One-Shot Items: Items intended to function only once should be even less complex to create. In general, the DM should consider letting one or even two of the three core components slide. A ritual scroll might require only some appropriate animus material. A toy boat that can become a sailing ship for a single night might require only an Animus and a Soul, but no special Body; or it could require a Body and an Animus, but no Soul. And so on.
