Crafting Magic Items

Depending on your proficiencies and tools available, some characters are able to craft items for use. This is a very brief overview of how that can work, though it won't cover every situation or tool. If there's something you want to make, let me know and we can talk it over. Please note that these rules aren't necessarily strictly fifth edition D&D rules; I want this campaign to be on the easy side for learning purposes & I like a high magic campaign, so I've come up with something based on the crafting rules in Xanathar's Guide to Everything. 

Non-magic items can also be crafted (i.e. leather armor, boots, cloaks, etc.) with the appropriate skills & tools.

Items all fall into the following buckets: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, Legendary and are increasingly harder to make the rarer they are. 

Most magical items will require a blueprint or recipe, though every character will start out with a few common recipes that they know if they are proficient in a skill. Otherwise, they will need to come up with a new blueprint or recipe or come across the item in their travels. The following table is a suggestion for the challenge rating of the materials needed to create items based on their rarity as well as the time and cost. Recipes might require specific ingredients. For instance, to create a Potion of Hill Giant Strength, you would need fingernail clippings from a Hill Giant.

General Crafting Guidelines

*Note: potion costs are an exception. Please see Herbalism for details. This table is only a guideline; see the DM if you want to craft something that you've come up with yourself.

Other player characters can assist with the creation of items to increase your chance of success (roll with advantage).

Gathering Components

Some recipes require components that can be gathered or purchased such as herbs (potions) or bits & bobs (tinkering). A player character can ask to search an area while adventuring to gather these things (i.e. a druid might request to take a look while walking in the woods; a tinkerer might search a desk for gears and gizmos).

If appropriate, the DM will ask you to roll an Investigation, Perception or Nature check:
  • DC 10 -- you find 1D4 worth
  • DC 15 -- you find 1D8 worth
  • DC 20 -- you find 1D10+2 worth

Herbalism 

With a Herbalism kit, you are able to make potions. The most commonly brewed potions are Potions of Healing. Note: the gold cost is actually for herbal components which can be gathered OR purchased (see Gathering Components above). If you wish to brew another type of potion, talk it over with the DM, but generally you can't brew something you've never seen before without learning the recipe somehow. 

  • Potion of Healing - 1 Long Rest - 25 gp
  • Potion of Greater Healing - 2 Long Rests - 100 gp
  • Potion of Superior Healing - 3 Long Rests - 1000 gp
  • Potion of Supreme Healing - 4 Long Rests - 10,000 gp
The DM will ask you to roll a skill check with your Herbalism Tools (Wisdom):
  • Natural Fail (1) -- no potion created, ingredients lost
  • DC 1 - 9 -- no potion created, ingredients saved
  • DC 10 -- 1 potion 
  • DC 15 -- 2 potions
  • DC 20 -- 3 potions
  • Natural Success (20) -- Roll 1D8 and on an 8, you manage to create (1) higher level potion

Tinker's Tools

The first step for creating anything with Tinker's Tools is to come up with a blueprint, though any tinkering gnome already knows three common recipes: Clockwork Toy, Fire Starter, and Music Box. Any of those three things can be made at will over a Short Rest and at a cost of 10 gp worth of components.

Otherwise, a blueprint must first be developed using your Tinker's Tools + a relevant skill check (likely either Intelligence or Dexterity). 

Known Recipes/Blueprints

Elemental Power Trap
This container glows with a strange pulsing aura and can be used to trap the essence of an elemental. To entrap the essence, the trap must come in contact with an air, earth, fire or water elemental.
Requires: Tinker's Tools, Casting of Absorb Elements, a flask or other container, 5 gp worth of components
Time: 1 Short Rest
  • Natural Fail (1) -- no trap created, ingredients lost
  • DC 1 - 14 -- no trap created, ingredients saved
  • DC 15 -- 1 trap
  • DC 20 -- 1 trap with capacity for 2 elemental power sources
  • Natural Success (20) -- Roll 1D8 and on an 8, you manage to create a Greater Elemental Power Trap capable of holding 4 elemental power sources
To use the Elemental Power Trap, it takes an action to throw it at the monster. The elemental will then need to perform a Strength check against the trap to see if it is successfully captured or not. The more wounded the elemental is, the easier it is to capture. However, a dead elemental is of no use, so timing it everything. The trap can be used repeatedly.
  • If the elemental is at full health, it's a DC 5 Strength Check for it to escape the trap.
  • If the elemental is wounded, it's a DC 10 Strength Check for it to escape the trap.
  • If the elemental is bloodied (at half health), it's a DC 15 Strength Check for it to escape the trap.
  • If the elemental is between 1 - 20 hit points, it's a DC 20 Strength Check for it to escape the trap.
Harp of the Elements
This two stringed harp contains the power of an elemental. When playing, one hand controls the pitch of the instrument and the other plays a single reverberating note that hangs in the air.
  • If it contains the essence of an air elemental, it can fire invisible air arrows at high speeds (120 feet, instantaneous, on a hit, target takes 1D8 piercing damage and the target is pushed ten feet backwards).
  • If it contains the essence of a fire elemental, it can shoot a fire bolt (120 feet, instantaneous, on a hit, target takes 1D10 fire damage. A flammable object hit by this spell ignites if it isn't being worn or carried.)
  • If it contains the essence of a water elemental, it can fire Ray of Frost (60 feet, instantaneous, on a hit, target takes 1D8 cold damage and it's speed is reduced by ten feet until the start of your next turn)
  • If it contains the essence of an earth elemental, it can fire a conjured stalagmite (60 feet, instantaneous, on a hit, target takes 1D10 piercing damage.)
The power of any attacks scales with the level of the wielder (damage increases by 1DX when you reach 5th level (2dX), 11th level (3dX), and 17th level (4dX).
Uncommon Item, requires attunement by a bard.
Requires: Tinker's Tools, a charged Elemental Power Trap, 100 gp worth of components, and a harp. For every additional element incorporated after the first, the harp must be upgraded with an additional charged Elemental Power Trap and 100 gp * number of powers worth of components.
Time: 1 Long Rest

First Construction:
  • Natural Fail (1) -- no harp created, all ingredients lost
  • DC 1 - 14 -- no harp created, ingredients saved
  • DC 15 -- 1 harp
  • DC 20 -- 1 harp with an additional spell: (1D4: [1] Fires two shots, [2] Hunter's Mark (gain advantage on target), [3] Additional 1D4 piercing damage, [4] Marksmanship (+2 to hit)
  • Natural Success (20) -- Roll 1D8 and on an 8, 1 harp with 2 additional spells, as above
Upgrade:
  • Natural Fail (1) -- no harp created, all ingredients lost
  • DC 1 - 14 -- no harp created, ingredients saved
  • DC 15 -- 1 upgraded harp
  • DC 20 -- 1 upgraded harp with an additional spell: (1D4: [1] Fires two shots, [2] Hunter's Mark (gain advantage on target), [3] Additional 1D4 piercing damage, [4] Marksmanship (+2 to hit)
  • Natural Success (20) -- Roll 1D8 and on an 8, 1 upgraded harp with 2 additional spells, as above

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