More interesting item creation rules

[Sindeloke]

I dislike the magic item creation rules for 5e. They're obnoxiously caster-centric and there's a painful mundanity to them that doesn't suit the "magic items are rare and interesting" feel that 5e purports to adopt (and which I certainly am cultivating).

So here's my in-progress system:

There are four ways to create a magic item.

The first is simply intent, but it requires more than just slapping a spell on a hunk of metal. A blacksmith of sufficient talent (proficiency in smith's tools) and sufficient magical education (proficiency in arcana) can sit down, draw out some plans, collect some (expensive and rare) materials, and set out to craft a fae-slaying sword, or what have you. She can't just do this in her backyard forge, though. A powerful source of magic is required to draw from; she has to do the work in an area suffused with natural arcane energy, such as the lair of a mighty dragon, the heart of an ancient fey forest, or the hallowed temple of a widely-worshipped god.

The second is exposure. Magic leaves its mark over time. A paladin who fights in a long and bloody war against a demon army, channeling holy power through his trusty spear day in and day out as he smites his foes, is eventually going to sanctify his weapon so thoroughly that it begins to shine with a holy magic of its own. An assassin's tattered cloak, worn through hundreds of castings of invisibility by his illusionist friend, may well eventually take on a certain shadowy quality without any outside help.

The third is heroic use. This is basically just exposure, but without explicit spellcasting; strong passions, sacred oaths, and foul deeds have a different sort of magic of their own, and a ranger who picks up his mother's sword, swearing to slay every orc in the Five Nations in vengeance for her death, is reasonably likely to end up with a sword of orcbane after enough hatred-fueled kills.

The fourth is craftsmanship. Every now and then, some master's masterwork is just more. An artisan jeweler, commissioned by the queen to create a brooch after years of poverty and destitution, finally has access to the best materials. Determined to earn her commission and prove herself, exhilarated to be working on such a project, and secretly preferring brooch-making to any other form of jewelry, she crafts a stunning work that perfectly evokes the queen's great wisdom and confidence. Due to this confluence of motivation, resources, specific intentions, and skill, it's the finest piece of her life, and somehow consequently has the power to magically bestow that wisdom and confidence on anyone who wears it.

Hopefully, in addition to putting the magic item system entirely under DM fiat in a way that's less unfun and restrictive than just "no, you can't craft that because I said so," this will also encourage good behaviors from the players. #1 gives them incentive to quest for rare materials and battle or bargain for access to magical places. #2 gives them a reason to know what they're wearing and what tools they use, #3 encourages roleplaying strong goals and passions, and both encourage attaching importance and texture to mundane items. #4 gives them reason to use those non-adventuring tool proficiencies and develop their non-murderhobo interests, soliciting patrons and crafting cool specific projects on the side just in case.

[XmonkTad]

I love the idea. The caster centric magic item creation doesn't really feel right for this edition. I like the heroic use/exposure routes the best. I feel like intent where you need both knowledge arcana and proficiency with Smith's tools seems like it would either take 2 people (which is fine) or would really focus a caster on crafting (or a fighter on magic).
Have you read Weapons of Legacy (3.5)? This seems quite similar.

[Ralanr]

I like it, reminds me of why Gut's Dragonslayer from Berserk was better to use than that magic axe he was offered. It's pretty cool fluff wise though it still leads to dm to fully decide what ends up happening, not that the actions of the player does not influence it.

Hell I can imagine that at one point when fighting something that has resistance to nonmagical weapons, your sword/axe/hammer/whatever suddenly hits true to the surprise of everyone.

[Gritmonger]

Personally, I might scale this a bit - more cinematic works fine for a +2 Weapon of Warning, but doesn't work so well for a bog-standard Potion of Healing. There isn't a lot of epic questing when, unlike a lot of other items, this one can be made by anybody proficient with an Herbalism Kit (PHB p.154).

Common: Not a lot of craftsmanship or epic questing - maybe unusual ingredients (a pile of squirrel claws for a Potion of Climbing perhaps), Naming a weapon for a single act.

Uncommon: Artisan perfection or high-end item creation, minor heroic acts, oaths by noble but not high-level persons. Considering this is the first level of +1, I could see the "work of a lifetime" of a particularly skilled blacksmith resulting in a particularly fine weapon. Objects that have been around greatness: a luck-stone being taken from the tomb of a particularly noted saint, and so-on.

[JNAProductions]

For some minor magic items, what about making them nonmagical? For isntance, a +1 Greatsword isn't a magically improved pointy bit of metal, it's just that this specific Fighter is so experienced with this exact weapon it's +1 for him. Hand it off to anyone else, and it's ordinary, likewise for resale, but you get the same effect.

[Flickerdart]

Intent and Craftsmanship don't seem to be too different from each other (except that Craftsmanship is by accident), and neither do Exposure and Heroic Use. You might be able to simplify them to two - items that were created magical, and items that took on magic through the legacy of their wielder(s).

For crafting, you can just make exceptional craftsmanship count just as much as fancy ingredients, or possibly require both - if you throw a gob of fairy dust on a piece of metal, it's not going to work out so well. In fact, there's no reason that a craftsman's workshop can't itself become magical (through the exposure-type creation) and thus qualify as a magic location for creating powerful items. This also encourages powerful spellcasters to seek out craftsmen for collaboration - the witch showing up to some blacksmith's house or whatever and making a specific request is not that uncommon as a fairy tale plot.

Of course, there's no reason an item can't have been created magic but then become something more through its wielder. Excalibur is a magic weapon, sure, but it doesn't really hold up in significance when compared to the entire legacy of King Arthur. Then you can have magic items that are temperamental and won't work properly for a character who is not sufficiently valorous or righteous (or on the flipside, cowardly or evil - that invisibility cloak probably doesn't fancy going into a slugfest).

[Sindeloke]

I love the idea. The caster centric magic item creation doesn't really feel right for this edition. I like the heroic use/exposure routes the best. I feel like intent where you need both knowledge arcana and proficiency with Smith's tools seems like it would either take 2 people (which is fine) or would really focus a caster on crafting (or a fighter on magic).
Have you read Weapons of Legacy (3.5)? This seems quite similar.

I haven't - my only exposure was the signature school weapons in ToB, which I never got into since I didn't care for like 90% of the fluff in that book (still the best crunch in 3.path though).

But thanks! The smithing + arcana thing is definitely meant to encourage either teamwork or unconventional characters with broad interests (I mean I guess a dwarf wizard isn't being unconventional by smithing, but he is being unconventional by wizarding, so.)


Personally, I might scale this a bit - more cinematic works fine for a +2 Weapon of Warning, but doesn't work so well for a bog-standard Potion of Healing.

Yeah, I guess I left that fairly vague, but I generally intended the system to have different levels of effort required. I'm not doing +X weapons or armor, but there are equivalent minor effects like +2 fire damage or advantage on constitution saves or whatever might just require hunting down a fire elemental for parts or surviving a bunch of Vampiric Touches (AFB but I think that's a Con save, but you get what I mean).

(Heal pots just require fancy flowers, but healing pots are medicinal rather than magical IMC anyway).


In fact, there's no reason that a craftsman's workshop can't itself become magical (through the exposure-type creation) and thus qualify as a magic location for creating powerful items. This also encourages powerful spellcasters to seek out craftsmen for collaboration - the witch showing up to some blacksmith's house or whatever and making a specific request is not that uncommon as a fairy tale plot.

Well now there's a good point. :smallamused:

[Engilbrand]

While I like the general idea of spellcasters specifically deciding to make magic items, and loathe the DMG rules for item creation, I actually love this sort of stuff. This is similar to how I view Magic Item creation possibilities.
On one side of things, I like the idea that the Barbarian who slays an evil Dragon with his Greataxe could suddenly find himself with a Dragonbane Greataxe.
On the other, I like the idea that creating a Dragonbane Greataxe requires a Greataxe which has been used to slay a Dragon.
I think that there are a ton of neat ways to do Magic Items, and this stuff has helped give me some ideas.
Nicely done!