Creating Magical Items (HLC)

__TOC__
Sooner or later, players in high-level campaigns start thinking about how their characters can manufacture their own enchanted items. The sheer difficulty involved in item creation should be sufficient to deter characters driven by simple greed, especially if the DM follows the advice on controlling magic in Chapter 1. In a well-run campaign, creating magical items not only consumes more resources than it generates, it keeps the characters busy trying to find what they need to complete the process.
Characters with a true interest in creating magical items shouldn't find the effort too costly; some things are more important than money or power. They may be driven by a thirst for fame or a desire to create magical items they have never found in a treasure hoard. They might even be required to create a magical item to achieve a particular goal, which creates a variety of adventuring possibilities as the character struggles to gather the required material components in time to complete his goal.
This section presents a system that allows the DM to quickly determine how long creating a magical item takes, how much it costs, and how likely the attempt is to fail. This system is more detailed and complex than the one detailed in the Dungeon Master Guide, and it is intended for high-level campaigns in which several player characters wish to create standard magical items.
This material is generally compatible with the rules for creating magical items presented in the Book of Artifacts; this system is a little simpler but doesn't give the DM as much control over how difficult items are to make. If your players are content to create only a few standard items, this book's system should work better for you
==Requirements==
To create a magical item, a character needs the appropriate level of skill, a suitable place to perform the work, the correct materials and processes to complete the item, and often the enchant an item and permanency spells.
==Character Level==
Wizards can create potions and scrolls at 9th level and other items at 11th level, provided that the necessary spells are available.
Priests can create scrolls at 7th level, potions at 9th level, and other items at 11th level.
Warriors and rogues cannot create magical items, even if they have spellcasting ability.
Priests and wizards can use spells on scrolls, stored in items, or cast by other characters to get the spells necessary to create magical items.
==Who Can Make Which Items?==
No character can make a magical book, libram, manual, tome, or artifact. Artifacts are a campaign-shaking occurrence, reserved to the discretion of the DM. Magical writings that increase levels and ability scores are likewise unbalancing.
Racial items, such as boots of elvenkind and girdles of dwarvenkind, can be created only by priests of the indicated race. High-level elf priests, for example, can create cloaks of elvenkind. If the Exceeding Level Limits optional rule (from the DMG) is not in play, only NPC demihuman clerics who have achieved the maximum level can make these items.
Mages can make any other item if they meet the level requirements and have the necessary spells.
Priests and specialist wizards can make only those items that they can use. A cleric, for example, cannot make a magical long sword, and a transmuter can't make a wand of fire, which employs evocation magic. Specialist wizards, however, receive a +5% bonus to their success chances when creating items that possess abilities from their school of specialization. For example, a transmuter gets the bonus when creating a wand of polymorphing.
==Working Space==
A wizard needs a laboratory to make magical items. The laboratory must have at least 500 square feet of floor space (20 x 25 feet), and more is preferable. Basic furnishings and supplies cost 5,000 gp, and the character must spend an additional 500 gp a month to keep the laboratory properly equipped.
A priest must create magical items on an altar specially dedicated to his deity. There is no basic size requirement, although a deity whose portfolio includes magic might impose one. An item to be enchanted must fit on the altar, so it benefits the priest to make the altar as large and sturdy as is practical. The minimum cost for building the altar and properly consecrating it is 2,000 gp. The altar requires no special maintenance, but only the priest who performed the consecration can use the altar to enchant items—no other creature can use it while the priest lives. If the altar is defiled, the priest must consecrate it again. Before consecrating the altar, the priest must please his deity with some extraordinary service connected with the deity's portfolio or sphere of control. A deity of wisdom, for example, might look favorably upon a priest who writes a book of philosophy or who solves a mystery using superior judgment instead of divination spells.
After the service is complete, the priest must pray and meditate over the altar for one week. The vigil occupies all the character's waking hours. If interrupted, the vigil must be started over again.
==Approval==
Characters who have the required skills and equipment are not necessarily free to begin churning out magical items as they see fit. The DM must approve any new magical item that enters the campaign. The player should explain exactly what powers the proposed item will have. In the case of items already described in rule books, this is simply a matter of having the DM review the description and decide if the item is appropriate to the campaign. Once approved, the player is free to have the character begin work.
==Creating the Item==
Every item that is to be imbued with magic must be of the finest quality, specifically created for the purpose of placing enchantments upon it. An item must be created from one or more special materials, each of which must undergo a certain number of special processes. A character creating a sword, for example, must first commission a rare and unusual blade to be crafted. A regular sword from the local smithy cannot become a sword +3 frost brand. Creating a magical item is not a matter of picking up a few household articles and muttering an incantation.
Table 23 lists the materials and processes various types of items require. Some of these are more difficult to complete or acquire than others, as explained in the notes to the table. Table 23 gives the suggested number of materials and processes each item requires as well as a few suggestions. It is up to the DM to decide exactly what materials and processes are necessary; this requires a great deal of creativity on the DM's part. In any case, the character does not automatically know what the requirements are.
Gathering all the necessary materials can take a lot of time. Ideally, the DM should create a series of adventures that allows the character to obtain everything. The character is free to get help from any other character who can be persuaded to join the hunt.
==Enchanting the Item==
Wizards generally begin with the enchant an item spell to focus their magical energy and then cast additional spells to create the enchantment. If the item has a power that duplicates or closely resembles a known spell, that is the spell cast to create the enchantment. If the item has an effect that does not duplicate a known spell, the wizard must either research a new spell or cast some combination of spells that approximates its effects. The DM must decide which spells are necessary. See the enchant an item spell description and the Notes to Table 23 section for more details. Most items also require a permanency spell to complete the enchantment.
Wizards lose a point of Constitution when casting the permanency spell most magical items require. Priests do not normally suffer this loss, but the DM can rule that the long process that a priest must undertake is so physically taxing that it drains a point of Constitution. This loss applies only to items that would require a permanency spell if the item was created by a wizard.
Priests do not have the enchant an item spell, and they must petition their deities to instill power into their items. The procedure is described in Chapter 10 of the Dungeon Master Guide.
 Table 23: Magical Item Creation
Potion 	Material 	Process 	Cost 	Time
Single Use 	1 Rare 	1 Common 	XP value 	1 day/100 gp
Limited Use 	1 Exotic 	1 Rare 	XP value 	1 day/100 gp
Scroll 	Scroll 	Scroll 	Scroll 	Scroll
Spell 	1 Rare and1 Common 	Variable 	XP value 	1 day/spell level
Protection 	1 Exotic 	1 Rare 	XP value 	6 days
Ring 	Ring 	Ring 	Ring 	Ring
Single Function 	1 Exotic 	1 Common 	XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Multiple Function 	1 Exotic/Function 	1 Exotic/Function1 	2 x XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Limited Use 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic1 	2 x XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Rod 	Rod 	Rod 	Rod 	Rod
Single Use 	1 Exotic 	1 Rare 	1/5 XP value 	1 week/1,000 gp
Single Function 	1 Exotic 	1 Rare 	1/5 XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Multiple Function 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic/Function 	1/5 XP value 	2 weeks/100 gp
Limited Use 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic/Use 	1/5 XP value 	4 weeks/100 gp
Staff 	Staff 	Staff 	Staff 	Staff
Single Function 	1 Rare 	1 Rare 	1/5 XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Multiple Function 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic/Function 	1/5 XP value 	2 weeks/100 gp
Limited Use 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic/Use 	1/5 XP value 	4 weeks/100 gp
Wand 	Wand 	Wand 	Wand 	Wand
Single Function 	1 Rare 	1 Rare 	1/5 XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Multiple Function 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic/Function 	1/5 XP value 	2 weeks/100 gp
Limited Use 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic/Use 	1/5 XP value 	4 weeks/100 gp
Miscellaneous Magic	Miscellaneous Magic	Miscellaneous Magic	Miscellaneous Magic	Miscellaneous Magic
Single Use 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic 	2 x XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Single Function 	1 Exotic 	1 Exotic 	3 x XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Multiple Function 	1 Exotic/Function 	1 Rare/Function2 	4 x XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Limited Use 	1 Exotic/Use 	1 Exotic/Use2 	2 x XP value 	3 weeks/100 gp
Armor 	Armor 	Armor 	Armor 	Armor
Single Function 	1 Exotic 	1 Rare and 1 Common	2 x XP value 	3 weeks/1,000 gp
Multiple Function 	1 Exotic/Function 	1 Exotic/Function3 	2 x XP value 	4 weeks/1,000 gp
Limited Use 	1 Exotic/Use 	1 Exotic/Use3 	2 x XP value 	2 weeks/1,000 gp
Weapon 	Weapon 	Weapon 	Weapon 	Weapon
Single Use 	1 Rare 	1 Common 	XP value 	1 week/100 gp
Single Function 	1 Exotic 	1 Rare and 1 Common	2 x XP value 	3 weeks/1,000 gp
Multiple Function 	1 Exotic/Function 	1 Exotic/Function3 	2 x XP value 	4 weeks/1,000 gp
Limited Use 	1 Exotic/Use 	1 Exotic/Use3 	2 x XP value 	2 weeks/1,000 gp
Footnotes:
: 1 One common process also is required;
: 2 One exotic process also is required;
: 3 One rare and one common process also are required.
===Notes to Table 23===
Item: The type of item being created. These are divided into the same general categories as used in Appendix 3 of the Dungeon Master Guide and are further subdivided by how they can be used.
Single use: Using the item once completely consumes its magic, often consuming the item itself. Examples include virtually all potions, scrolls, dusts, oils, and elixirs.
Limited use: The item can be used a fixed number of times before it is consumed.
Some limited-use items can be recharged, and some have multiple functions (see the Item Details section). This includes most rods, staves, and wands as well as some rings and miscellaneous magical items.
Single Function: The item has only one power, which usually functions continuously or on demand. Some single-function items expend charges when used. An amulet of proof against detection and location, cloak of displacement, and ring of multiple wishes are all examples of this type of magic.
Multiple Function: The item has more than one power. Some multiple function items are charged (and also are limited-use items) and some are not. Noncharged items of this nature include scarabs of protection, crystal balls, and hammers of thunderbolts.
Material: The more powerful the item, the more unusual the material from which it is made. Materials are classified by their rarity.
Common: The material is fairly plentiful under normal circumstances. Steel, oak staves, copper, and wool are common materials.
Rare: The material is expensive and difficult to find. Silk, diamonds, roc feathers, and ebony are rare materials. Common materials gathered under unusual circumstances are also considered rare. Wood taken from a lightning-struck oak, wool made from fleece taken at a lamb's first shearing, and steel made in a furnace tended by a dwarven elder are rare materials.
Exotic: The material is unique or unusual and cannot be purchased—the character must undertake an adventure to obtain it. Exotic materials often exist only in a metaphorical sense. Steel smelted from the ore of a fallen star, the moon's tears, the largest scale from a great wyrm's tail, and a lock of a goddess's hair are exotic materials. Common or rare materials gathered in extraordinary circumstances are also considered exotic. Cloth spun from phase spider silk under the new moon, a diamond freely given from a dragon's belly, and wood taken from a lightning-struck treant are exotic materials.
==Processes==
A process is a prescribed method for accomplishing a specific task that is performed in addition to the normal steps necessary for making the item. Like materials, processes are classified according to rarity. For example, making a mold to cast a ring is not a process because creating a mold is a typical step in ring-making. However, making the ring's mold from a wax model fashioned from beeswax taken from a hive of giant bees is a process because it is unusual. It's not always easy to distinguish processes from materials, but the distinction is not important as long as the item is created using the required number of special elements.
Common: The process is fairly simple and straightforward, requiring only special care or some unusual preparations. Quenching a sword in snow from a spring storm, encrusting a ring with ornamental gems, and tempering a helmet in a furnace heated with lava are common processes.
Rare: The process requires extra effort or extraordinary expense. Quenching a sword's blade in snow gathered at the top of the world, honing a sword blade with a stone of good luck, and etching an amulet with acid from a giant slug's spittle are rare processes.
Exotic: The process is unique or unusual and cannot be purchased—the character
must undertake an adventure to complete it. Exotic processes often exist only in a metaphorical sense. Quenching a sword blade in a lover's sigh, heating a ring in burning ice, and bathing a shield in a knight's courage are exotic processes.
Cost: This is what the character must spend for unusual fuels and other supplies when making the item. This cost is in addition to whatever the character spends on workers' salaries, travel, professional fees, and purchasing the materials and processes necessary for making the item.
Time: This is the time required to actually manufacture the item once the material components have been gathered. It does not include time spent acquiring the materials and placing enchantments on the item. Time cannot be reduced by hiring extra workers, getting help from another character, or spending additional money.
==Item Details==
This section contains additional information about creating various types of items, including required spells and the chance to create the item.
==Potions==
A potion requires no spells, but the caster must first have the formula. Determining a formula from scratch requires 1d3+1 weeks and costs 100 gp a week. Time and costs are reduced to the minimum if the caster has access to commune or contact other plane spells. If the caster has a potion to analyze or a formula from another caster, the research is free and requires one week. A character must have a full dose of the potion to analyze, but the dose is not consumed in the research. The time requirement listed on Table 23 is the time the character actually spends brewing the potion. Once a potion's formula has been personally researched and recorded, the character need not research it again unless the record is lost.
The chance to successfully brew a potion is 70%, +1% for every two levels of the creator, and –1% for each 100 gp the potion costs (detailed on Table 23).
==Scrolls==
The common material required is the paper, parchment, or papyrus as detailed in Chapter 10 of the Dungeon Master Guide. The rare material is the quill; a new quill must be used for each spell written on the scroll.
Blending the ink is the most important process. Ink for spells of levels 1–3 require a rare ingredient, spells of levels 4–6 require an exotic ingredient, and spells of levels 7+ require one rare and one exotic ingredient. Blending the ink takes one day, and the ink must be used within two weeks.
No spells are actually cast when writing a scroll, but the character must know the relevant spell and have any required material components on hand. If normally consumed in the casting, the material components are consumed in writing the scroll. If casting the spell normally imposes a penalty on the caster, such as magical aging, creating the scroll carries the same penalty.
The chance to successfully write a scroll is 80%, +1% for every level of the creator, and –1% for each level of the written spell. There are additional adjustments for the materials used (see DMG, Chapter 10). The DM must roll for success separately for each spell on a scroll. A scroll can hold 1d6 spells, determined secretly by the DM, but the character knows when the scroll is full. A failed attempt to write a spell fills the scroll but usually doesn't affect spells already written on it (see the Failure section).
Compare protection scrolls to the level of the spell that approximates their effects to determine the success chance and type of ink required. A protection from magic scroll, for example, is similar to antimagic shell, a 6th-level spell.
==Rings==
Any ring requires one common process in addition to any extra materials or processes needed for multiple functions or limited use. Discovering all the steps required to make a ring requires 1d6+1 weeks of research and costs 200 gp a week. Access to contact other plane or commune spells automatically reduces the required time to two weeks.
A ring also requires the enchant an item and permanency spells—or the equivalent priest ceremony—in addition to whatever spells are needed to create the ring's powers (see page 90). Multiple-use rings require one spell per use, and multiple-function rings need one set of spells for each function.
The chance to successfully create a ring is 60%, +1% for every level of the creator, and –1% for each spell and special process required (except for the enchant an item spell). Priests, though they do not actually cast any spells, still suffer the penalty for spells. The more complex the enchantment, the more difficult it is to successfully petition the deity to imbue the item with power.
==Rods, Staves, and Wands==
These items require enchant an item spells—or the equivalent priest ceremonies—and whatever spells are needed to create their powers. Multiple-function rods, staves, and wands need one spell (or set of spells) for each function. A permanency spell is required.
The base chance to successfully create one of these items is the same as for a ring. If the item is rechargeable, it is created with one charge and then additional charges are added using the recharging procedure detailed below.
A rod, staff, or wand loses all its magical properties if it is ever drained of all its charges, even if it is normally rechargeable. Once drained of charges, the item can never be enchanted again.
==Miscellaneous Magic, Armor, and Weapons==
These items require enchant an item spells—or the equivalent priest ceremonies—and whatever spells are needed to create their powers. Each plus for a weapon or protective device requires a separate spell. Single-use and limited-use items do not require permanency spells, but other items do.
The chance to successfully create one of these items is the same as for a ring.
Rechargeable items are created with one charge to reduce the chance for failure.
==Recharging Items==
Any spellcaster can recharge items, provided the character has access to the required spells and the character can use the item. Mages can also recharge items usable only by fighters or rogues.
To begin recharging, the character casts enchant an item—or performs the equivalent priest ceremony—to prepare the magical device and then casts spells that the item absorbs to create charges.
The spell used to provide a charge must duplicate or nearly duplicate the item's power. If no spell duplicates the power, the character must research a new spell or cast some combination of spells that resembles the power. If the item has multiple functions, the spell must duplicate the item's most powerful function. For example, it takes a cone of cold spell to recharge a wand of frost.
Once the preparatory spell or ceremony is complete, the character has 24 hours to create charges. Each spell used requires its normal casting time (not 2d4 hours per spell level as required by the enchant an item spell). When the initial enchantment fades, the character can prepare the item again, but every time an item is prepared to receive charges it must save vs. spell at the caster's level with a –1 penalty. If the save fails, the item falls into useless dust.
==Success and Failure==
Magic is tricky and involves many constantly changing variables, causing each enchantment to differ slightly from prior attempts. No matter how many times a character has created a particular magical item, the chances for success remain the same. A character's general level of expertise can improve, but particular enchantments cannot be mastered.
Each attempt to create a magical item requires a roll for success. The DM secretly rolls the dice to see if the attempt to create a magical item succeeds. Any roll of 96–00 fails automatically.
Most failed attempts ruin the item, melting it into useless slag or destroying it in some other dramatic fashion. A failed attempt to write a spell on a scroll fills the remaining space with a useless blob of ink, leaving spells already successfully written intact.
If the failure roll was a 96–00, the item appears to have been created normally but has a cursed or reversed effect instead. The DM decides the nature of the curse, using the cursed items from the magical item lists in the Dungeon Master Guide and Tome of Magic as a reference.
==Values for Cursed & Nonstandard Items==
If a character decides to create a cursed item, the DM should determine the cost and difficulty by comparing the cursed creation to useful items of similar power. A cursed sword –2, for example, is as difficult to make as a sword +2. If an attempt to create a cursed item fails, it is destroyed. If the attempt fails on a roll of 96–00, a curse of the DM's choice falls on the creator—the character does not wind up with a useful item instead.
If a character attempts to create an item not found in any rule book, the DM should assign it an experience point value by comparing it to similar items that already exist. Like choosing materials and processes for items, this task requires imagination and common sense. If difficulties arise, stop to consider what spells are needed to make a scroll with the same powers. Table 24 gives the typical range of experience values for items. If the maximum value for the category seems too low for the proposed item, the item probably is too powerful. When in doubt, try to err on the high side; characters attempting to create items no one else has heard of are entering uncharted territory and are more likely to fail than characters who stick to standard items.
 Table 24: Typical Experience Values
Item 	XP Value Range
Potion 	Potion
Single Use 	200–1,000
Limited Use 	250–1,000
Scroll 	Scroll
Spell 	100/spell level
Protection 	1,000–2,500
Ring 	Ring
Single Function 	1,000–4,000
Multiple Function 	3,000–5,000
Limited Use 	1,000–5,000
Rod 	Rod
Single Use 	4,000–10,000
Single Function 	5,000–10,000
Multiple Function 	6,000–10,000
Limited Use 	4,000–10,000
Staff 	Staff
Single Function 	5,000–8,000
Multiple Function 	7,000–15,000
Limited Use 	2,500–5,000
Wand 	Wand
Single Function 	2,000–4,000
Multiple Function 	4,000–7,000
Limited Use 	4,000–6,000
Miscellaneous Magic	
Single Use 	200–2,000
Single Function 	2,000–10,000
Multiple Function 	2,500–10,000
Limited Use 	500–2,500
Armor 	Armor
Single Function 	250–800/plus
Multiple Function 	lower value+higher value
Limited Use 	3,000–5,000
Weapon 	Weapon
Single Use 	20–50/plus
Single Function 	400–600/plus
Multiple Function 	lower value plus 20-40% of higher value
Limited Use 	1,000–5,000
==Examples of Magical Item Creation==
: Rozmare wants to duplicate a potion of speed she has found. Because she has a dose of the potion to analyze, she can determine its formula in one week of study and doesn't need to spend any money except for normal maintenance on her laboratory. She determines that the potion's main ingredient is the essence of speed. After some deliberation, Rozmare decides that the heart of a swift animal should suffice (it could easily be sweat from a fast horse or a shoe worn by a fleet-footed elf). Rozmare also decides it would be best to get a fresh heart, so she hires a huntsman and goes searching for deer.
: The DM smiles inwardly at this plan, remembering several stories about Robin Hood and how touchy some people can get when it comes to deer hunting. Fortunately, Rozmare pays her respects to the local baron and agrees to deal with some brigands before going hunting.
: Once she has the heart, Rozmare begins working. Additional materials cost 200 gp (equal to the potion's experience point value) and brewing takes two weeks. At the end of that time, the DM secretly rolls the dice and gets a 71. Rozmare is 13th level, so her success chance is 94% (70% +26% for her level and –2% for the potion's cost of 200 gp). Rozmare has successfully created a potion of speed.
: Some time later, Rozmare gets hints from the baron that a magical gift would be appreciated. Since the baron has been having some problems with trolls lately, Rozmare agrees to provide him with a long sword +1, +3 vs. regenerating creatures.
: To create the sword, Rozmare needs the enchant an item spell (which she knows), a permanency spell (which she cannot cast herself), and a list of the required materials and processes. The baron reluctantly agrees to provide a ring with one wish, which Rozmare can use to duplicate the permanency spell. Rozmare is in no hurry, so she begins researching the required steps without magical aid. After three weeks (and an expenditure of 600 gp), she discovers that the sword must be forged of metal taken from a blazing fallen star and nails from a slumbering vampire's coffin (two exotic materials). The sword must be heated in coals strewn with a troll's ashes (rare process), quenched in acid (common process), set with a gem wrested from an ogre magi's hand (exotic process), and polished with a tooth from a living lernaean hydra (exotic process).
: Rozmare has quite a series of adventures ahead of her.
: Rozmare thought she would have to find a meteorite that just struck the ground; she got a break when she found a meteorite with the rays of the setting sun playing across it like firelight. The coffin nails were fairly simple to get—her group forced a vampire into gaseous form and pried loose the nails from its coffin while the monster was recovering. Acquiring a gem wrested from an ogre magi's hand proved frustrating, as the creature's invariably turned gaseous and escaped before Rozmare could get the gem. Eventually, a successful confusion spell allowed the task to be accomplished. Getting a tooth from a lernaean hydra wasn't difficult—the tooth didn't have to be alive, just the monster—but making sure the hydra was still alive when it came time to polish the sword required her to keep the creature caged. Troll ashes proved fairly easy to get, and the smith Rozmare hired to actually make the blade suggested that cooling that sword in a vat of vinegar would qualify as quenching the sword in acid without endangering the blade.
: Additional materials for the task cost 1,600 gp (double the sword's 800 experience point value) and preparations took eight weeks (four weeks per 1,000 gp of cost, rounded up to the nearest 1,000).
: With the sword made, all that remained was to enchant the weapon. The arduous task of enchanting the blade required the enchant an item, enchanted weapon (for the sword's basic bonus—the DM decides the extra steps required for the sword's multiple functions make additional enchant an item spells unnecessary) and permanency spells. Since Rozmare does not have access to the permanency spell, she uses the wish from the baron's ring as a replacement.
: Rozmare has a 65% chance to succeed (base 60% +13% for her level –8% for processes and spells). The DM secretly rolls the dice and gets a 54, a success.