Selling Magic Items

Downtime Activity: Selling Magic Items DMG p129 Few people can afford to buy a magic item, and fewer still know how to find one. Adventurers are exceptional in this regard due to the nature of their profession.

A character who comes into possession of a common, uncommon, rare, or very rare magic item that he or she wants to sell can spend downtime searching for a buyer. This downtime activity can be performed only in a city or another location where one can find wealthy individuals interested in buying magic items. Legendary magic items and priceless artifacts can't be sold during downtime. Finding someone to buy such an item can be the substance of an adventure or quest.

For each salable item, the character makes a DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check to find buyers. Another character can use his or her downtime to assist with the search, granting advantage on the checks. On a failed check, no buyer for the item is found after a search that lasts 10 days. On a successful check, a buyer for the item is found after a number of days based on the item's rarity, as shown in the Salable Magic Item table.

A character can attempt to find buyers for multiple magic items at once. Although this requires multiple Intelligence (Investigation) checks, the searches are occurring simultaneously, and the results of multiple failures or successes aren't added together. For example, if the character finds a buyer for a common magic item in 2 days and a buyer for an uncommon item in 5 days, but fails to find a buyer for a rare item up for grabs, the entire search takes 10 days.

For each item a character wishes to sell, the player rolls percentile dice and consults the Selling a Magic Item table, applying a modifier based on the item's rarity, as shown in the Salable Magic Items table. The character also makes a Charisma (Persuasion) check and adds that check's total to the roll. The subsequent total determines what a buyer offers to pay for the item.

You determine a buyer's identity. Buyers sometimes procure rare and very rare items through proxies to ensure that their identities remain unknown. If the buyer is shady, it's up to you whether the sale creates legal complications for the party later.

Salable Magic Items

Rarity	Base Price	Days to Find Buyer	d100 Roll Modifier*
Common	100 gp	1d4	+10
Uncommon	500 gp	1d6	+0
Rare	5,000 gp	1d8	-10
Very rare	50,000 gp	1d10	-20

*Apply this modifier to rolls on the Selling a Magic Item table. Selling a Magic Item

d100 + Mod	You Find...
20 or lower	A buyer offering a tenth of the base price
21-40	A buyer offering a quarter of the base price, and a shady buyer offering half the base price
41-80	A buyer offering half the base price, and a shady buyer offering the full base price
81-90	A buyer offering the full base price
91 or higher	A shady buyer offering one and a half times the base price, no questions asked

Source: DMG, page 129

Downtime Activity: Selling a Magic Item XGE p133 Selling a magic item is by no means an easy task. Con artists and thieves are always looking out for an easy score, and there's no guarantee that a character will receive a good offer even if a legitimate buyer is found.

Resources [–] A character can find a buyer for one magic item by spending one workweek and 25 gp, which is used to spread word of the desired sale. A character must pick one item at a time to sell.

Resolution [–] A character who wants to sell an item must make a Charisma (Persuasion) check to determine what kind of offer comes in. The character can always opt not to sell, instead forfeiting the workweek of effort and trying again later. Use the Magic Item Base Prices and Magic Item Offer tables to determine the sale price.

Magic Item Base Prices

Rarity	Base Price*
Common	100 gp
Uncommon	400 gp
Rare	4,000 gp
Very rare	40,000 gp
Legendary	200,000 gp
*Halved for a consumable item like a potion or scroll
Magic Item Offer
Check Total	Offer
1–10	50% of base price
11–20	100% of base price
21+	150% of base price

Complications [–] The main risk in selling a magic item lies in attracting thieves and anyone else who wants the item but doesn't want to pay for it. Other folk might try to undermine a deal in order to bolster their own business or seek to discredit the character as a legitimate seller. Every workweek spent trying to sell an item brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Magic Item Sale Complications table.

Magic Item Sale Complications

d6	Complication
1	Your enemy secretly arranges to buy the item to use it against you.*
2	A thieves' guild, alerted to the sale, attempts to steal your item.*
3	A foe circulates rumors that your item is a fake.*
4	A sorcerer claims your item as a birthright and demands you hand it over.
5	Your item's previous owner, or surviving allies of the owner, vow to retake the item by force.
6	The buyer is murdered before the sale is finalized.*

*Might involve a rival Source: XGE, page 133



https://www.thievesguild.cc/core/downtime/sellmagicitem