D&D 5E Magic Item Creation in 5E

[Li Shenron]

Crafting is part of the game world, and thus needs to be described by the game.

This made me think... is magic item crafting really necessary part of the game world? What if magic item (at least the "big ones") just "happen" or "grow" due to circumstances, events, adventures, being used by/against magical creatures and heroes, or divine intervention? This would mean that they can be in the game without the need to define by the rules how they are made.

 

[Ahnehnois]

This made me think... is magic item crafting really necessary part of the game world? What if magic item (at least the "big ones") just "happen" or "grow" due to circumstances, events, adventures, being used by/against magical creatures and heroes, or divine intervention? This would mean that they can be in the game without the need to define by the rules how they are made.

That could be true in *a* fantasy game.

In D&D, I think it's just been classically assumed that every decent fighter has a swords with an enhancement bonus. Those kinds of generic items don't lend themselves to story-based appearance, and it's hard to imagine D&D without them.

 

[Minigiant]

Magic item creation shouild be in their. MThey have to come form somewhere.

 

[Nebulous]

PCs can create low level potions and such, these rules can probably be in the PHB, as i assume there would be some feats tied with it. Get away from the arbitrary XP cost, that's metagame anyway, make it something more substantial. PCs should never be able to create powerful swords and wondrous items, those are the sole progeny of high level NPCs who devote their lives the craft, not adventurers.

Edit: but i'm also fine with item creation rules fully grounded in the DMG too under DM supervision.

 

[drothgery]

If magic items are as common as 3.xe/4e guidelines or treasure levels in pre-3e published adventures suggest (and a game with rare magic items would not feel like D&D to me, outside of a botique setting like Dark Sun), then PCs should certainly be able to make magic items and there certainly should be reasonable ways to buy and sell them. Or you get a world that makes no sense.

 

[Li Shenron]

That could be true in *a* fantasy game.

In D&D, I think it's just been classically assumed that every decent fighter has a swords with an enhancement bonus. Those kinds of generic items don't lend themselves to story-based appearance, and it's hard to imagine D&D without them.

But has it been also classically assumed that the average PC party can craft their own?

 

[Li Shenron]

Magic item creation shouild be in their. MThey have to come form somewhere.

But do they really have to come from characters? Do they really have to come from player characters?

Maybe if this creates too many issues, it's best to move it to a non-core book, or at least to the DMG. After all, it seems to me that a lot of people in the other thread are advocating that there is no need for PC and NPC to follow the same rules...

 

[CM]

I would certainly like there to be crafting rules, but I would like it to be more of an accomplishment and point of pride than subtracting X GP/XP, waiting an hour, and adding a new item to the character sheet. I would also like to make them more rare than the assumed quantity in 3e and 4e. Eliminating the need for +X weapons and armor would go a long ways toward this.

Some sort of in-game penalty for crafters would be welcome in order to offset some of the materials costs, like the white dragon blood mentioned above. A full year seemed a little harsh though. I could see making a crafter spend a healing surge (or the 5e equivalent) or taking a temporary penalty to Constitution (to represent exhaustion) for a few days after crafting. Limiting crafting to once per full rest or once per week or once per month might help.

In my 4e game I often give out magical components from mystical locations or slain creatures that can be substituted as part of the material cost for magic items. For example, a displacer beast hide could pay for 4,000gp worth of a cloak of displacement. I would hate to see this as a requirement though, because I could easily see a campaign being thrown off-track while the group spends a year questing for item creation materials.

For the non-4e players, item rarity was introduced about the same time as Essentials. Simple items that added +x to a resistance, weapon, armor, resistance or other defense were made common, items with one or two use-activated powers or properties were mostly uncommon, and items with multiple properties and powers were made rare. Item crafting by player characters was limited to common items. As a houserule I allowed characters to "reverse-engineer" found uncommon items and learn them as if they were rituals, allowing them to upgrade the item to a higher-level version or craft a new copy. This worked out pretty well and helps move item crafting a little further away from mundane to magical.

So to sum up, yes there should be magic item crafting. It should be "more magical" without going wild on unbalancing effects. It should be more rare and difficult than the assumption in 3e and 4e but not have onerous requirements or unfair restrictions. Also, I want a pony.

 

[drothgery]

But has it been also classically assumed that the average PC party can craft their own?

It wasn't assumed (at least not pre-3e), but it was a logical consequence of the commonality of magic items; a determined PC certainly ought to be able to effectively create magic items unless the base game is going to make them far more rare than it ever has (outside of Dark Sun).

Maybe you need to be an Artificer to make permanent magic items, but in a world where a lot of magic items did get made, saying that no PCs can make them, ever, doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[Greg K]

I have no problem with its inclusion.

I would, however, like it to be both more costly and more time consuming. I also want it to require a permanent "lab"