need clarification on magic item creation rules

[Seaskipper]

So I happen to have started DMing a urban campaign where one of the PC is a wizard with the future intention of creating magic items. This is my first attempt DMing a 5th edition campaign so I am not too familiar with certain rules. I checked how magic item creation works and came across something that needs clarification.

In the DMG pg. 129 mentions the cost and the minimum level required to create a magic item:
Cost & minimum level
Common - 100 GP - 3rd
Uncommon - 500 GP - 3rd
Rare - 5,000 GP - 6th
Very rare - 50,000 GP - 11th
Legendary - 500,000 GP - 17th
A character engaged in the crafting of a magic item makes progress in 25 gp increments, spending that amount for each day of work until the total cost is paid, which means that to create a legendary item will take 20000 days. Considering there are 7 days in a week that's 2857 weeks.

In Xanathar Guide however pg. 129 mentions something different:
Workweek & 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
Xanathar guide mentions also different "lower" values for scrolls and potions, which makes sense considering that they are consumables.

(1) I was wondering what rules you guys use in your campaign. Since the cost to create the item determines the item's price, usually double the cost, this is important for the campaign since a legendary item could cost 100,000 x2 based on Xanathar Guide or 500,000 x2 based on DMG. I am leaning towards using the DMG regarding the cost and also thinking about changing the amount of gold that must be spent on the item creation per day increasing it from 25 GP to maybe 50 GP or 100 GP. I am also thinking about keeping the reduced cost for scrolls and potions.

(2) Another thing that I need your opinions on is the skills required to create magic items. If a wizard would like to create let's say gloves of missile snaring does he need some skill or tool proficiency to do that? In this case leatherworker's tools? Or can the wizard use an already manufactured product to imbue it with magic? As I understand it all comes down to the magic item recipe and its ingredients: If a specific leather and possibly specific method is needed to create the gloves. I am leaning towards to require wizards to have tool proficiency to create a magic item to limit a PC's magic item creation spree, should he find enough recipes. I was thinking to use the chart below:

Tool proficiency & Magic Item
Alchemist's supplies - Potions, Antitoxin, ointments, waxes, etc
Herbalism kit - Antitoxin, potion of healing
Jeweler's tools - Rings, brooch, bracelet, necklace
Leatherworker’s tools - Leather armor, boots
Smith’s tools - Armor, weapons
Weaver's tools - Cloaks, robes
Tinker's tools - Constructs
+ Arcana or Religion depending on if a wizard or a cleric wants to create the magic item. Although clerics are limited to certain clerical potions and divine powered items. No checks are required during or at the end of the process but the proficiency is required. What are your thoughts?

Many thanks for any input,
Seaskipper

[Lunali]

Just going by the Xanathar's rules, it seems you only need either arcana or the appropriate tool proficiency to make magic items, along with the recipe and materials. This seems like it would result in a lot more magical items than the base D&D setting, so I would restrict it a little more, at the very least lore wise making it so only PCs and selected NPCs are capable of it.

[Unoriginal]

1) I was wondering what rules you guys use in your campaign.

I use the Xanathar's rules. They're much better, and they make clear anyone can craft magic items if they get the formula and the special ingredients, which usually require some kind of quest.



Since the cost to create the item determines the item's price, usually double the cost, this is important for the campaign since a legendary item could cost 100,000 x2 based on Xanathar Guide or 500,000 x2 based on DMG.

Legendary items aren't the kind of things one buy with coins.



I am leaning towards using the DMG regarding the cost and also thinking about changing the amount of gold that must be spent on the item creation per day increasing it from 25 GP to maybe 50 GP or 100 GP. I am also thinking about keeping the reduced cost for scrolls and potions.

I would advise against making magic item creation faster. But it's up to you to decide.



(2) Another thing that I need your opinions on is the skills required to create magic items. If a wizard would like to create let's say gloves of missile snaring does he need some skill or tool proficiency to do that? In this case leatherworker's tools? Or can the wizard use an already manufactured product to imbue it with magic? As I understand it all comes down to the magic item recipe and its ingredients: If a specific leather and possibly specific method is needed to create the gloves. I am leaning towards to require wizards to have tool proficiency to create a magic item to limit a PC's magic item creation spree, should he find enough recipes.

Remember that magic items formulas are one order of magnitude rare than the items they let you create. So the formula for an Uncommon item will be Rare, for example.

EDIT:

Like Lunali said, "To complete a magic item, a character also needs whatever too] proficiency is appropriate, as for crafting a nonmagical object, or proficiency in the Arcana skill".



+ Arcana or Religion depending on if a wizard or a cleric wants to create the magic item. Although clerics are limited to certain clerical potions and divine powered items. No checks are required during or at the end of the process but the proficiency is required. What are your thoughts?

Religion wouldn't help with that.


Again, remember that by the Xanathar's rules, one need to go on an adventure to collect the materials needed to craft magic items, and that anyone, not only spellcasters, can craft magic items.

Borim the Smart, Bugbear woodsmith, may have 0 spells or magic powers, he could still craft a Wand of Goodberries. And the master smith of the dwarven city of Galad may have figured out the formula to forge +2 weapons simply by being that much of an amazing smith.


This seems like it would result in a lot more magical items than the base D&D setting, so I would restrict it a little more, at the very least lore wise making it so only PCs and selected NPCs are capable of it.

Formulas are rare, and the large majority of people are unable to accomplish the adventure to gather the ingredients past the Uncommon rank, since a Rare magic item implies a CR 9 to 12 monster or challenge is involved. So it's already restricted.

I think one of the bad guys in one of the adventure modules has "learn the formula for invisibility potions" as his sole motivation for opposing the PCs, which put how valuable such knowledge is in perspective.

[NockSchlockJock]

IMO
I think the difference comes in due to the Adventurers League allowing 'Downtime' between adventures (Characters can perform actions during the downtime to improve themselves/items) & possibly the initial DMG specifications being too 'expensive' warranted a respec.

The: media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/1_UA_Artificer_20170109.pdf (Unable to post links directly due to post count) Artificer class has some options for magical item creation tied into the progression tree, it may be worth seeing if you want to fudge these into your wizards path.

Skills is a good way to 'gate' the items that can be created, but may restrict the player to investing their progression as a skill monkey to cover all the creation opportunities.

[Unoriginal]

Note that nothing is stopping a magic item crafter from getting associates or assistants to speed the item creation up.

As long as they don't mind sharing the formula, of course.

[Sigreid]

Note that nothing is stopping a magic item crafter from getting associates or assistants to speed the item creation up.

As long as they don't mind sharing the formula, of course.

Or hiring someone to get the components.

[Unoriginal]

Or hiring someone to get the components.


But who would risk their lives confronting monsters just to get some guy's shopping list completed, in exchange of some gold?

Wink wink nudge nudge.

[Arkhios]

The way I understand it, the rules for magic item creation found in Dungeon Master's Guide were not "complete" so to speak, only preliminary guidelines how they could be created, while the actual ruling was left for the DM to decide. To be fair, this seems to be applicable throughout the whole DMG, as it's not a book you're supposed to read literally word for word. It's a book of guidelines for the DM rather than a set of uncompromising laws every DM must abide to. Player's Handbook is the more rigid book of rules, and even it gives a lot of freedom to both players and the DM.

Xanathar's Guide takes another, more thorough look upon several specific rules that were left vague in DMG (such as magic item creation), and could be considered the equivalent of Player's Handbook in regards to these matters, though they're still not a set of uncompromising rules; only a more detailed set of guidelines.

Personally, I use Xanathar's Guide's version of them, because I'm lazy enough to not bother trying to come up with better rules myself, when the XGtE version is adequate.