D&D 5E Help with the Crafting System

[Dit464]

So I've just started a new home-brewed campaign, we've been talking about a few changes we could make to the system, and the moment that I heard "Crafting magical and non-magical items", I drew completely blank. So I went back and checked out the core rules and looked at some standard examples, and lets just say I found it awful, basic items such as poisons or a sword takes a few days of nothing but crafting to make, and more advanced items can take up to years in game. Although this is going to be the group's dedicated game meant to be played weekly chances are we aren't going to have our PC's drop adventuring for 5 years so our Paladin can get his new sword finished.

What I'm asking the community to help me with is making a reasonable crafting system, I know that it is a major problem with 5e and a lot of alternate rules have been written on changing the crafting system, however, I haven't found any that I think would work. If anyone thinks that they know a alternate ruling that they believe will work in our situation, a link would be very much appreciated.

Here is the gist of what I'm looking for:

• Basic items such as the most basic poisons or simple tools should be able to be made in a day or two
  
• Poisons and Potions can be crafted/brewed in small groups
  
• The amount of time higher end items will take weeks in game, not years (a scaling formula would be preferred)
• Magical items will require a specially crafted item either bought by a artisan or crafted by the player. (One of the players suggested this and the other players liked this concept)
• Magical properties can be applied to items taking a portion of the time it took to create the physical item

​Money isn't really a concern that needs to be changed, we all agree that magical items being discounted through crafting would alter the amount of magic items in game too much.
I also wanted to prevent the crafting of +1/2/3 items due to the abuse that would follow rather early on in the campaign and of course legendary items just due to their inherent nature.

 

[nomotog]

Well when it comes to time, I don't think you need a formula or anything. Just rule that most mundane items take 8 work hours to complete unless the item it larger then a horse or more complex then a clock. Then it takes a a week. For magic potions, I think you could get away with an hour a potion. (Having it be really short would allow the players to custom brew potions for challenges.) Permanent magic items can take a week for most, or a month for rare magic items. (Honestly time is kind of the easy part of a crafting system. Even if you mess it up, you can fix it by pacing your campaign differently.)

Coming up with crafting components can be a lot of work, my way is to kick it off to the players. Ask them what they think a magic sword is made of. If you buy the idea, then that is how it works.

 

[Dit464]

Well when it comes to time, I don't think you need a formula or anything.

I guess I'd like it to be more structured so I don't need to improvise with every magic item that comes up in crafting.

Just rule that most mundane items take 8 work hours to complete unless the item it larger then a horse or more complex then a clock.

Not to nit-pick but most of magic items are smaller than a horse.
The main thing is making the process streamlined, because the current system almost discourages crafting, most players that play a wizard for example would think that crafting a spell scroll would be a burden just from the sheer time it takes to make 1 casting of a spell they can cast in an instant (an example directly from a player of my campaign)

 

[the_cowley]

I also like the idea of making stuff easier. I dont want to figure out every component to every magic item ever, cause my players arent likely to want to make every item ever.

For things like a fire based sword, it could be as simple(in theory anyways) As needing a fire started by a source of Elemental Fire, or quenched in oil mixed with the blood of firebeetles or another fiery creature, say a salamander, or red dragon anyone? Be thematic, and dont worry about gold.

On the divine side, Paladin/cleric/druid just needs to find a sacred and pure spring, then dip their weapon in it or day while fasting in prayer/meditation

 

[dmnqwk]

Going with the cost listed in the DMG I'd consider using the following rules for Magical Item Creation:

Potion Creation (including Poisons):
Common - 4 hours, Herbalism DC 5, 1st level or higher
Uncommon - 8 hours, Herbalism DC 10, 1st level or higher
Rare - 3 days, Herbalism DC 15, 5th level or higher
Very Rare - 7 days, Herbalism DC 20, 11th level or higher
Legendary - 31 days, Herbalism DC 25, 17th level or higher

Scrolls can be created at a cost of 1 day per spell level and automatically succeed if the player can cast the spell.

Permanent Items
Common, 1 week, DC 5, 1st level or higher
Uncommon, 3 weeks, DC 10, 1st level or higher
Rare, 7 weeks, DC 15, 5th level or higher
Very Rare, 25 weeks, DC 20, 11th level or higher
Legendary, 101 weeks, DC 25, 17th level or higher.

Potions and Permanent Items follow the same pattern - every increment (day or week) the player must make a check. At the end of the period, 50% or more successful checks are required to create the item (eg a Rare Permanent Items requires 7 weeks and 7 checks, 4 or more meaning the player creates the item).
If a PC chooses to abandon a project, or fails 50% or more of the checks, the PC loses 50% of the total cost and all the time spent.

As for checks required for Creating Items I would leave that up to you as to what is appropriate. Perhaps when creating a Scroll of Protection you could use Calligraphy, whereas Arcana or Woodcarving might be appropriate when creating Magical Wands.

If in doubt, allow a Player to justify how they are creating the item and to which skill/proficiency they are going to use. It's fair to assume an Armoursmith could create a Magical Suit of Armour, but at the same token someone trained in Arcana could know the best armour to purchase to then enchant.

 

[Mephista]

My first rule was to throw out the idea that you must be a caster to make something magical.

My second rule was that magic items are made entirely based on the skill of the smith, the quality of your equipment and the kinds of ingredients you find. This translated to crafting rolls, having the connections for access to the correct forge/smithery/etc, and quests to obtain rare materials.

I don't bother with time as a restriction on how long to make something. It takes as long as thematically appropriate. I detest rules that assume time as a measure of restricting something. Don't tell me how to pace my games.

You have basic healer's kit, you can make basic healing potions. Want something stronger, you need stronger material.

 

[SkidAce]

Not to nit-pick but most of magic items are smaller than a horse.
The main thing is making the process streamlined, because the current system almost discourages crafting, most players that play a wizard for example would think that crafting a spell scroll would be a burden just from the sheer time it takes to make 1 casting of a spell they can cast in an instant (an example directly from a player of my campaign)

The line you quoted was about mundane items, further in the post they listed requirements for magical items.

 

[Dit464]

The line you quoted was about mundane items, further in the post they listed requirements for magical items.

I guess I didn't realize that he had specified mundane, my bad. I guess my aptitude for selective reading took over so early in the morning.

 

[nomotog]

I guess I didn't realize that he had specified mundane, my bad. I guess my aptitude for selective reading took over so early in the morning.

No worries. I likely had as much care writing it as you did reading it.

Ya basically with time you really don't need to worry about the small stuff. Can it be done on command? Can it be done in a day? Can it be done week? Can it be done in a month? Year? Lifetime? So long as it feels close, it will work.

(It's odd how often the question of crafting time pops up. I don't even know any DMs that actually tack down time between adventures. I have pondered making crafting time matter, but it's just so easy to brake a system like that. The DM would have to tightly control the passage of time.)

 

[77IM]

Base the crafting time on weight rather than price.

5 lbs. per day sounds about right. Most weapons take 1-2 days. Plate armor takes 13 days -- this is a long time, but not game-stoppingly long. Treat most potions as 1 lb. so you can brew 5 of them per day.

If you want to get more complicated, say that "simple" items take half the time to craft (so a barrel only takes 5 days instead of 10, and a maul can be crafted faster than a greatsword), and "complex" items take twice as long to craft (so maybe the plate armor takes 26 days instead of 13, if you want to keep plate armor a Big Deal). To get extra extra complicated, you could come up with a formula of price x weight, so that light but high-value items (like a spyglass) take longer and heavy but low-value items (like that barrel) take less time.