Crafting an Item
Downtime Activity: Crafting an Item
XGE
p128
A character who has the time, the money, and the needed tools can use downtime to craft armor, weapons, clothing, or other kinds of nonmagical gear.
Resources and Resolution [–] In addition to the appropriate tools for the item to be crafted, a character needs raw materials worth half of the item's selling cost. To determine how many workweeks it takes to create an item, divide its gold piece cost by 50. A character can complete multiple items in a workweek if the items' combined cost is 50 gp or lower. Items that cost more than 50 gp can be completed over longer periods of time, as long as the work in progress is stored in a safe location.
Multiple characters can combine their efforts. Divide the time needed to create an item by the number of characters working on it. Use your judgment when determining how many characters can collaborate on an item. A particularly tiny item, like a ring, might allow only one or two workers, whereas a large, complex item might allow four or more workers.
A character needs to be proficient with the tools needed to craft an item and have access to the appropriate equipment. Everyone who collaborates needs to have the appropriate tool proficiency. You need to make any judgment calls regarding whether a character has the correct equipment. The following table provides some examples.
Proficiency Items Herbalism kit Antitoxin, potion of healing Leatherworker's tools Leather armor, boots Smith's tools Armor, weapons Weaver's tools Cloaks, robes If all the above requirements are met, the result of the process is an item of the desired sort. A character can sell an item crafted in this way at its listed price.
Crafting Magic Items [–] Creating a magic item requires more than just time, effort, and materials. It is a long-term process that involves one or more adventures to track down rare materials and the lore needed to create the item.
Potions of healing and spell scrolls are exceptions to the following rules. For more information, see "Brewing Potions of Healing" later in this section and the "Scribing a Spell Scroll" section, below.
To start with, a character needs a formula for a magic item in order to create it. The formula is like a recipe. It lists the materials needed and steps required to make the item.
An item invariably requires an exotic material to complete it. This material can range from the skin of a yeti to a vial of water taken from a whirlpool on the Elemental Plane of Water. Finding that material should take place as part of an adventure.
The Magic Item Ingredients table suggests the challenge rating of a creature that the characters need to face to acquire the materials for an item. Note that facing a creature does not necessarily mean that the characters must collect items from its corpse. Rather, the creature might guard a location or a resource that the characters need access to.
Magic Item Ingredients Item Rarity CR Range Common 1–3 Uncommon 4–8 Rare 9–12 Very rare 13–18 Legendary 19+ If appropriate, pick a monster or a location that is a thematic fit for the item to be crafted. For example, creating mariner's armor might require the essence of a water weird. Crafting a staff of charming might require the cooperation of a specific arcanaloth, who will help only if the characters complete a task for it. Making a staff of power might hinge on acquiring a piece of an ancient stone that was once touched by the god of magic—a stone now guarded by a suspicious androsphinx.
In addition to facing a specific creature, creating an item comes with a gold piece cost covering other materials, tools, and so on, based on the item's rarity. Those values, as well as the time a character needs to work in order to complete the item, are shown on the Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost table. Halve the listed price and creation time for any consumable items.
Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost Item Rarity Workweeks* Cost* Common 1 50 gp Uncommon 2 200 gp Rare 10 2,000 gp Very rare 25 20,000 gp Legendary 50 100,000 gp *Halved for a consumable item like a potion or scroll To complete a magic item, a character also needs whatever tool proficiency is appropriate, as for crafting a nonmagical object, or proficiency in the Arcana skill.
If all the above requirements are met, the result of the process is a magic item of the desired sort.
Complications [–] Most of the complications involved in creating something, especially a magic item, are linked to the difficulty in finding rare ingredients or components needed to complete the work. The complications a character might face as byproducts of the creation process are most interesting when the characters are working on a magic item: there's a 10 percent chance for every five workweeks spent on crafting an item that a complication occurs. The Crafting Complications table provides examples of what might happen.
Crafting Complications d6 Complication 1 Rumors swirl that what you're working on is unstable and a threat to the community.* 2 Your tools are stolen, forcing you to buy new ones.* 3 A local wizard shows keen interest in your work and insists on observing you. 4 A powerful noble offers a hefty price for your work and is not interested in hearing no for an answer.* 5 A dwarf clan accuses you of stealing its secret lore to fuel your work.* 6 A competitor spreads rumors that your work is shoddy and prone to failure.* *Might involve a rival Brewing Potions of Healing [–] Potions of healing fall into a special category for item crafting, separate from other magic items. A character who has proficiency with the herbalism kit can create these potions. The times and costs for doing so are summarized on the Potion of Healing Creation table.
Potion of Healing Creation Type Time Cost Healing 1 day 25 gp Greater healing 1 workweek 100 gp Superior healing 3 workweeks 1,000 gp Supreme healing 4 workweeks 10,000 gp Source: XGE, page 128
See also:
https://www.thievesguild.cc/core/downtime/craftanitem
https://www.thievesguild.cc/core/downtime/craftamagicitem
Resources and Resolution [–] In addition to the appropriate tools for the item to be crafted, a character needs raw materials worth half of the item's selling cost. To determine how many workweeks it takes to create an item, divide its gold piece cost by 50. A character can complete multiple items in a workweek if the items' combined cost is 50 gp or lower. Items that cost more than 50 gp can be completed over longer periods of time, as long as the work in progress is stored in a safe location.
Multiple characters can combine their efforts. Divide the time needed to create an item by the number of characters working on it. Use your judgment when determining how many characters can collaborate on an item. A particularly tiny item, like a ring, might allow only one or two workers, whereas a large, complex item might allow four or more workers.
A character needs to be proficient with the tools needed to craft an item and have access to the appropriate equipment. Everyone who collaborates needs to have the appropriate tool proficiency. You need to make any judgment calls regarding whether a character has the correct equipment. The following table provides some examples.
| Proficiency | Items |
|---|---|
| Herbalism kit | Antitoxin, potion of healing |
| Leatherworker's tools | Leather armor, boots |
| Smith's tools | Armor, weapons |
| Weaver's tools | Cloaks, robes |
Proficiency Items Herbalism kit Antitoxin, potion of healing Leatherworker's tools Leather armor, boots Smith's tools Armor, weapons Weaver's tools Cloaks, robes If all the above requirements are met, the result of the process is an item of the desired sort. A character can sell an item crafted in this way at its listed price.
Crafting Magic Items [–] Creating a magic item requires more than just time, effort, and materials. It is a long-term process that involves one or more adventures to track down rare materials and the lore needed to create the item.
Potions of healing and spell scrolls are exceptions to the following rules. For more information, see "Brewing Potions of Healing" later in this section and the "Scribing a Spell Scroll" section, below.
To start with, a character needs a formula for a magic item in order to create it. The formula is like a recipe. It lists the materials needed and steps required to make the item.
An item invariably requires an exotic material to complete it. This material can range from the skin of a yeti to a vial of water taken from a whirlpool on the Elemental Plane of Water. Finding that material should take place as part of an adventure.
The Magic Item Ingredients table suggests the challenge rating of a creature that the characters need to face to acquire the materials for an item. Note that facing a creature does not necessarily mean that the characters must collect items from its corpse. Rather, the creature might guard a location or a resource that the characters need access to.
| Item Rarity | CR Range |
|---|---|
| Common | 1–3 |
| Uncommon | 4–8 |
| Rare | 9–12 |
| Very rare | 13–18 |
| Legendary | 19+ |
Magic Item Ingredients Item Rarity CR Range Common 1–3 Uncommon 4–8 Rare 9–12 Very rare 13–18 Legendary 19+ If appropriate, pick a monster or a location that is a thematic fit for the item to be crafted. For example, creating mariner's armor might require the essence of a water weird. Crafting a staff of charming might require the cooperation of a specific arcanaloth, who will help only if the characters complete a task for it. Making a staff of power might hinge on acquiring a piece of an ancient stone that was once touched by the god of magic—a stone now guarded by a suspicious androsphinx.
In addition to facing a specific creature, creating an item comes with a gold piece cost covering other materials, tools, and so on, based on the item's rarity. Those values, as well as the time a character needs to work in order to complete the item, are shown on the Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost table. Halve the listed price and creation time for any consumable items.
| Item Rarity | Workweeks* | Cost* |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 1 | 50 gp |
| Uncommon | 2 | 200 gp |
| Rare | 10 | 2,000 gp |
| Very rare | 25 | 20,000 gp |
| Legendary | 50 | 100,000 gp |
| *Halved for a consumable item like a potion or scroll |
Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost Item Rarity Workweeks* Cost* Common 1 50 gp Uncommon 2 200 gp Rare 10 2,000 gp Very rare 25 20,000 gp Legendary 50 100,000 gp *Halved for a consumable item like a potion or scroll To complete a magic item, a character also needs whatever tool proficiency is appropriate, as for crafting a nonmagical object, or proficiency in the Arcana skill.
If all the above requirements are met, the result of the process is a magic item of the desired sort.
Complications [–] Most of the complications involved in creating something, especially a magic item, are linked to the difficulty in finding rare ingredients or components needed to complete the work. The complications a character might face as byproducts of the creation process are most interesting when the characters are working on a magic item: there's a 10 percent chance for every five workweeks spent on crafting an item that a complication occurs. The Crafting Complications table provides examples of what might happen.
| d6 | Complication |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rumors swirl that what you're working on is unstable and a threat to the community.* |
| 2 | Your tools are stolen, forcing you to buy new ones.* |
| 3 | A local wizard shows keen interest in your work and insists on observing you. |
| 4 | A powerful noble offers a hefty price for your work and is not interested in hearing no for an answer.* |
| 5 | A dwarf clan accuses you of stealing its secret lore to fuel your work.* |
| 6 | A competitor spreads rumors that your work is shoddy and prone to failure.* |
| *Might involve a rival |
Crafting Complications d6 Complication 1 Rumors swirl that what you're working on is unstable and a threat to the community.* 2 Your tools are stolen, forcing you to buy new ones.* 3 A local wizard shows keen interest in your work and insists on observing you. 4 A powerful noble offers a hefty price for your work and is not interested in hearing no for an answer.* 5 A dwarf clan accuses you of stealing its secret lore to fuel your work.* 6 A competitor spreads rumors that your work is shoddy and prone to failure.* *Might involve a rival Brewing Potions of Healing [–] Potions of healing fall into a special category for item crafting, separate from other magic items. A character who has proficiency with the herbalism kit can create these potions. The times and costs for doing so are summarized on the Potion of Healing Creation table.
| Type | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Healing | 1 day | 25 gp |
| Greater healing | 1 workweek | 100 gp |
| Superior healing | 3 workweeks | 1,000 gp |
| Supreme healing | 4 workweeks | 10,000 gp |
Potion of Healing Creation Type Time Cost Healing 1 day 25 gp Greater healing 1 workweek 100 gp Superior healing 3 workweeks 1,000 gp Supreme healing 4 workweeks 10,000 gp Source: XGE, page 128
- Crafting (Downtime)
- Crafting an Item (Downtime)
- Crafting (Category)
- Crafting Items (Crafting Mechanics)
- Crafting Non-Magical Items (Crafting Mechanics)
- Craft Armor
- Craft Clothing
- Craft Weapon
- Crafting Magic Items
- Crafting and Using Gem Socket Items
- Crafting Items with Arcane Forge
- Crafting Magic Items with Focal Stones
- Crafting Magic Items with Residuum
- Brewing Potions of Healing
See also:
https://www.thievesguild.cc/core/downtime/craftanitem
https://www.thievesguild.cc/core/downtime/craftamagicitem