Magic: Buying, Selling, Crafting, and Researching¶
Magic is rare and mysterious. Most magic items are not for sale, and even those that are cannot be bought as easily as a sword or a sack of grain. These rules cover the uncommon moments when magic can be bought or sold, or when a character crafts an item or researches a spell.
These rules are an alternative to the guidance found at Dungeon Master's Guide, pp. 128, 129, 135, 139, 141, and 284; Xanathar's Guide to Everything, pp. 128 and 133; Player's Handbook, pp. 154, 159; and the D&D Adventurers League Forgotten Realms DM's Guide, p. 3.
The table below gives, for each rarity, what a magic item is generally worth, what it costs to craft, and what a character needs to make one. The sections that follow explain how to buy, sell, and craft them.
| Rarity | Sale Value | Crafting Cost | Time | Min. Level | Material CR | Workshop | Formula |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 200 gp | 100 gp | 1 workweek | 3rd | 1–3 | Basic | Uncommon |
| Uncommon | 1,000 gp | 500 gp | 2 workweeks | 3rd | 4–8 | Basic | Rare |
| Rare | 4,000 gp | 2,000 gp | 5 workweeks | 6th | 9–12 | Fine | Very rare |
| Very rare | 40,000 gp | 20,000 gp | 10 workweeks | 11th | 13–18 | Grand | Legendary |
| Legendary | 200,000 gp | 100,000 gp | 20 workweeks | 17th | 19+ | Legendary | Unique* |
* Legendary items and artifacts are almost never for sale, and each requires an extremely rare, one-of-a-kind formula rather than one simply a step higher in rarity.
For a consumable magic item, halve the sale value, the crafting cost, and the time. Potions of healing and spell scrolls are consumables with their own rules, given below. All crafting also demands certain proficiencies, described in that section.
Buying, selling, or crafting magic items, the sale of spells, and spell research are almost certain to create rumors, especially as rarity increases.
Buying Magic Items¶
Magic items, especially powerful ones, are not usually sold. If they are, it is not usually in shops. A character may be able to buy a common item, though the seller may ask for a service instead of or in addition to coin.
Rarer items may be bought only where the wealthy and powerful gather, such as a city. If such an item is for sale it costs at least its full sale value, and possibly much more. Naturally, the seller will try to find the most motivated buyer to fetch the best price.
Selling Magic Items¶
Selling a magic item takes time. At the DM's discretion, a character can sell one item at a time to an NPC by spending the time listed below and 10% of the sale value to spread word of the sale, then making a Charisma (Persuasion) check. This can be done only in a city.
| Rarity | Time to Sell |
|---|---|
| Common | 1 workweek |
| Uncommon | 1 workweek |
| Rare | 2 workweeks |
| Very rare | 3 workweeks |
| Persuasion Check | Offer |
|---|---|
| 1–10 | Half the item's value |
| 11–24 | The item's full value |
| 25 or higher | One and a half times the value |
Crafting a Magic Item¶
A character can make a magic item, meeting every requirement shown for its rarity in the table above:
- A formula, itself a magic item one step higher in rarity than the item it creates (a legendary item requires a unique formula all its own).
- The minimum level for the item's rarity.
- The ability to cast any spell the item can produce, proficiency in the Arcana skill, and proficiency with the appropriate crafting tools.
- An exotic material, such as a scale from a specific dragon or water from an elemental plane, taken from or guarded by a creature of the listed challenge rating.
- A workshop suited to the item's rarity (see Workshops, below).
The character pays the crafting cost over the listed time, working eight hours a day. If the item produces a spell, the character must expend one spell slot of that spell's level for each day of work and have the spell's material components on hand; components the spell consumes are used up as the item is made.
A consumable magic item other than a potion of healing or a spell scroll is crafted by these same rules at half the cost and half the time. Potions of healing and spell scrolls follow the rules below.
Formulas¶
A formula is a magic item that contains the arcane methods, rites, and specifications required to craft a particular magic item. A formula may take the form of a scroll, codex, tablet, etched plates, or other medium. Possessing a formula is a necessary component of crafting its associated item. The knowledge it contains cannot be memorized, copied, or reproduced. A formula is not consumed in the crafting process, but it must be physically present for each attempt.
Formulas are rarely offered for sale. They are most often recovered from ancient vaults, ruined strongholds, dragon hoards, and other dangerous places. When a magic item is rolled on Magic Item Tables A–I, roll a d10. On a 1–2, the formula for that item is found instead. On a 10, both the item and its formula are found.
Helpers¶
Others can help craft an item or brew a potion. Each helper must have the required proficiencies and, for a magic item, meet the minimum level. Additional workers divide the time: two finish in half the time, three in a third, and so on, up to a limit set by the item's size. For example, a ring might allow only one or two hands, a suit of armor several. The cost is unchanged. Scribing a scroll cannot be shared; it is always the work of a single caster.
Workshops¶
All crafting requires a suitable, permanent workshop. Each grade handles items and consumables at the listed rarity and below. A grand workshop can usually be established only in a city with an academy of magic or a great temple.
| Workshop | Components | Cost | Highest Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | A bench, a small forge, a writing desk | 1,000 gp | Uncommon |
| Fine | A well-equipped laboratory or forge | 4,000 gp | Rare |
| Grand | Rare arcane apparatus | 40,000 gp | Very rare |
| Legendary | A wondrous forge, a nexus of raw magic, or a similar site of legend | * | Legendary |
* A legendary workshop cannot be bought. It must be found or crafted through extraordinary means.
Scribing a Spell Scroll¶
A spellcaster can scribe a scroll of any spell he has known or prepared. Scribing needs no formula and no exotic material, but the character must have proficiency in the Arcana skill, an appropriate workshop, and any material components the spell requires. Scribing is always the work of a single caster.
| Spell Level | Sale Value | Scribe Cost | Time | Min. Level | Workshop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cantrip | 25 gp | 15 gp | 1 day | 1st | Basic |
| 1st | 50 gp | 25 gp | 2 days | 1st | Basic |
| 2nd | 200 gp | 100 gp | 3 days | 3rd | Basic |
| 3rd | 400 gp | 200 gp | 1 workweek | 5th | Basic |
| 4th | 2,000 gp | 1,000 gp | 2 workweeks | 7th | Fine |
| 5th | 4,000 gp | 2,000 gp | 3 workweeks | 9th | Fine |
| 6th | 20,000 gp | 10,000 gp | 4 workweeks | 11th | Grand |
| 7th | 40,000 gp | 20,000 gp | 5 workweeks | 13th | Grand |
| 8th | 60,000 gp | 30,000 gp | 6 workweeks | 15th | Grand |
| 9th | 100,000 gp | 50,000 gp | 7 workweeks | 17th | Legendary |
Reading a spell scroll requires the spell to be on the reader's class spell list; a cantrip scroll works as if cast by a 1st-level caster. A wizard can copy a spell from a scroll into a spellbook; doing so destroys the scroll.
Brewing a Potion of Healing¶
A character proficient with an herbalism kit can brew a potion of healing without a formula or an exotic material, using an herbalism kit and a workshop suited to the potion's rarity.
| Potion | Time | Cost | Workshop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potion of healing | 1 workweek | 50 gp | Basic |
| Potion of greater healing | 2 workweeks | 200 gp | Basic |
| Potion of superior healing | 3 workweeks | 2,000 gp | Fine |
| Potion of supreme healing | 4 workweeks | 5,000 gp | Grand |
Spellcasting Services¶
Hiring someone to cast a common spell, such as cure wounds or identify, is not uncommon. Higher-level spells are harder to find. They often require travel to a city, an academy, or a great temple, and cost far more. The prices below are a guide and may vary.
| Spell Level | Cost | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 20 gp | Town; Academy or Temple |
| 2nd | 50 gp | Town; Academy or Temple |
| 3rd | 100 gp | Town; Academy or Temple |
| 4th | 200 gp | Town; Academy or Temple |
| 5th | 450 gp | City; Great Academy or Great Temple |
| 6th | 1,000 gp | City; Great Academy or Great Temple |
| 7th | 3,000 gp | City; Great Academy or Great Temple |
| 8th | 6,000 gp | City; Great Academy or Great Temple |
| 9th | 10,000 gp | City; Great Academy or Great Temple |
The buyer must supply any material component the spell requires, such as the 500 gp diamond consumed by raise dead. In place of coin, or in addition to it, a caster may demand a service, and is more likely to do so as the spell's level rises. The most powerful spells are seldom cast for money alone.
Spell Research¶
A spellcaster may research a spell that does not yet exist, or one not known. The player prepares a full description of the intended spell and its effects. The DM reviews the proposal and assigns a spell level, which sets the spell's rarity:
| Spell Level | Rarity |
|---|---|
| Cantrip–1st | Common |
| 2nd–3rd | Uncommon |
| 4th–5th | Rare |
| 6th–8th | Very rare |
| 9th | Legendary |
Research then follows the rules for Crafting a Magic Item of that rarity with the following differences:
- No formula is required.
- In place of the item's minimum level, the caster must be able to cast the spell.
- Research cannot interrupted or divided among helpers.
- Success is not automatic and the cost may be more.
The listed cost and time represent initial research. At the end of it, the caster makes an Intelligence (Arcana) check (DC 20 + the spell's level). The DC is reduced by 1 for each character level above the minimum needed to cast the spell, and by 1 for each additional 25% of the base cost spent, to a maximum reduction of 5. On a success, the caster completes the spell and records it for their own use. On a failure, the caster may continue, making a new check after each additional workweek and paying an additional cost equal to the base cost divided by the base number of weeks. This continues until the spell is finished or the effort is abandoned.