New DnD Crafting Magic Items Rules Revealed
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Magic items have always been a major part of Dungeons & Dragons, but in most cases characters are left to discover these items in their adventures rather than creating their own. That’s no longer the case thanks to 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, which introduces new rules that allow DnD players to craft magic items. What’s more, players can also customize their enchanted equipment and even tap into the new Bastion system to build and fine tune new creations.
So just how do these new rules work and what can players actually make? Below, we conjure up and cobble together all the details.
How does crafting magic items work in DnD 2024?
The 2024 Player’s Handbook recently introduced a set of new DnD crafting rules that offer mechanics for creating non-magical items, as well as potions and spell scrolls. The rules for crafting magic items are similar in nature, with characters having to meet a few specific criteria:
- Arcana Skill: You must have proficiency with the Arcana Skill in order to craft magical items. This reflects the specialized knowledge of arcane energies which not every character will have.
- Tool Proficiency: Each magic item type requires proficiency in a specific set of tools. For example, crafting a wand of Magic Missile requires both proficiency and the use of woodcarver’s tools.
- Spell Knowledge: If a magic item is used to cast a spell (for example, the Wand of Magic Missiles), then your character must also know that spell. This means the crafting new items will scale along with your spell list.
- Time and Gold Costs: Crafting a magic item requires time (representing research and the actual physical work involved) as well as gold (representing the cost of equipment and materials). Both time and gold increase based on the rarity of a particular magic item.
- Availability of Materials: Creating a magic item may require special materials, whose availability can vary (based on the DMs discretion). In a large city like Waterdeep, for example, players might find what they need, but in a small, remote village, the materials may be harder to come by.
- DM Permission: Ultimately, the Dungeon Master controls whether or not a player can craft a particular item. This ensures balance in the campaign and prevents players from overloading their characters with powerful magic items.
How can players customize magic Items in DnD 2024?
One of the other new crafting rules featured in DnD 2024 is the ability for players to customize their magic items. The creation process allows players to put their own personal stamp on the item. This includes:
- Naming the Item: A character might choose a special name for their crafted item, giving it history and significance.
- Thematic Touches: Characters can also change the appearance of a magical item. For example, a Staff of Power might be shaped out of a wood native to a character’s village or featur the symbol of a god they worship.
- Minor Properties: At the DM’s discretion, players can also add minor properties to their items. These range from aesthetic choices (like a weapon that emits a dim light) to functional bonuses (like an item that acts as a natural compass).
- Quirks: This is also new feature available in the 2024 DMG that players can use at their DM’s discretion. This includes unique thematic elements, such as a dagger shaped like a snake that hisses when removed from its sheathe.
How can players use the Bastion system to craft magic items?
The new 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide also introduces the new Bastions system, which essentially allows players to build and manage their very own home base. In addition to providing in-game benefits, some Bastion facilities can be used to assist in crafting magic items.
For example, with the Arcane Study facility you can potentially craft Common or even Uncommon magic items if you’re a high enough level. Similarly, the Greenhouse allows characters to grow various magically infused plants that can be used in the crafting process.
What items can’t be crafted in the new DnD 2024 rules?
While most magic items can be crafted under the new rules, artifacts remain beyond the reach of characters. That’s because these are incredibly powerful and rare one-of-a-kind items with histories that span centuries or millennia. Examples of such DnD artifacts include the legendary Wand of Orcus or the Hand of Vecna. In the new rules, crafting similar magic artifacts is beyond the abilities of even 20th level characters.
Final Thoughts
The new magic item crafting rules in DnD 2024 offer something that’s really been missing from past editions. Namely, giving players agency to create and customize their own magic items. It remains to be seen, however, just well these rules with translate onto the table.
You can find the new DnD magic item crafting rules in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, which is available now on D&D Beyond and Amazon. Below is also a recent video from Wizards of the Coast offering more insights into magic items in the new DMG.
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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massechustes, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).
