204 System Reference Document 5.2.1
Magic Items
Magic items are gleaned from the hoards of felled
monsters or discovered in long-lost vaults. Such
items grant capabilities a character could rarely
have otherwise, or they complement their owner’s
capabilities in wondrous ways.
Magic Item Categories
Every magic item belongs to a category. The Magic
Item Categories table lists the nine categories and
provides examples. Rules for the categories appear
after the table.
Magic Item Categories
| Category | Examples |
| Armor | +1 Leather Armor, +1 Shield |
| Potions | Potion of Healing |
| Rings | Ring of Invisibility |
| Rods | Immovable Rod |
| Scrolls | Spell Scroll |
| Staffs | Staff of Striking |
| Wands | Wand of Fireballs |
| Weapons | +1 Ammunition, +1 Longsword |
| Wondrous Items | Bag of Holding, Boots of Elvenkind |
Armor
An item in the Armor category is typically a magical
version of armor from “Equipment.” Unless an armor’s description notes otherwise, the armor must
be worn for its magic to function.
Some suits of magic armor specify the type of armor they are, such as Chain Mail or Plate Armor. If
no type is specified, choose the type or determine it
randomly.
Potions
An item in the Potion category might be a magical
brew that must be imbibed or an oil that must be
applied to a creature or an object. A typical potion
consists of 1 ounce of liquid in a vial.
Using a Potion. Potions are consumable items.
Drinking a potion or administering it to another
creature requires a Bonus Action. Applying an oil
might take longer as specified in its description.
Once used, a potion takes effect immediately, and it
is used up.
Mixing Potions. A character might drink one potion while still under the effects of another or pour
several potions into a single container. The strange
ingredients used in creating potions can result in
unpredictable interactions.
When a character mixes two potions together, roll
on the Potion Miscibility table. If more than two are
combined, roll again for each subsequent potion,
combining the results. Unless the effects are immediately obvious, reveal them only when they become
evident.
Potion Miscibility
1d100 Result
01 Both potions lose their effects, and the
mixture creates a magical explosion in a
5-foot-radius Sphere centered on itself.
Each creature in that area takes 4d10 Force
damage.
02–08 Both potions lose their effects, and the mixture becomes an ingested poison of your
choice (see “Poison” in “Gameplay Toolbox”).
09–15 Both potions lose their effects.
16–25 One potion loses its effect.
26–35 Both potions work, but with their numerical
effects and durations halved. If a potion has
no numerical effect and no duration, it instead
loses its effect.
36–90 Both potions work normally.
91–99 Both potions work, but the numerical effects
and duration of one potion are doubled. If neither potion has anything to double in this way,
they work normally.
00 Only one potion works, but its effects are
permanent. Choose the simplest effect to
make permanent or the one that seems the
most fun. For example, a Potion of Healing
might increase the drinker’s Hit Point maximum by 2d4 + 2, or a Potion of Invisibility might
give the drinker the Invisible condition indefinitely. At your discretion, a Dispel Magic spell
or similar magic might end this lasting effect.
Rings
For its magic to function, an item in the Ring category must be worn on a finger or a similar digit unless its description notes otherwise.
Rods
An item in the Rod category is a scepter usually
made of metal, wood, or bone. A typical rod weighs
2 to 5 pounds.
Unless its description notes otherwise, a rod can
be used as an Arcane Focus.
205 System Reference Document 5.2.1
Magic iteM Rules
Rules for identifying, attuning to, and using magic
items appear in “Equipment.” Additional rules are
presented below.
Attunement Prerequisites. If a magic item has
a class prerequisite, a creature must be a member of
that class to attune to the item. If a creature must be
a spellcaster to attune to an item, the creature qualifies if it can cast at least one spell using its traits or
features, not by using a magic item or the like.
Items Made for Specific Creatures. Magic
items that are meant to be worn tend to magically
adjust themselves to the wearer. However, you can
decide that a magic item doesn’t adjust its size to fit
any wearer. For example, a particular armorer might
make items usable only by folk who are sized and
shaped like dwarves.
Unusual Anatomy. Use your discretion to decide
whether a creature can wear an item not made for
its anatomy. A ring placed on a tentacle might work,
but a yuan-ti with a snakelike tail instead of legs can’t
wear magic boots.
Paired Items. You can allow exceptions to the
rule that paired items must both be worn. For example, a character with only one arm might be able
to use a single Glove of Missile Snaring so long as the
matching glove is on their person.
Scrolls
An item in the Scroll category is a roll of paper or
parchment, sometimes attached to wooden rods
and typically kept safe in a tube of ivory, jade,
leather, metal, or wood. The most prevalent scroll is
the Spell Scroll, a spell stored in written form.
Using a Scroll. Scrolls are consumable items. Unleashing the magic in a scroll requires the user to
read the scroll. When its magic has been invoked,
the scroll can’t be used again. Its words fade, or it
crumbles into dust.
Any creature that can understand a written language can read a scroll and attempt to activate it
unless its description notes otherwise.
Staffs
Items in the Staff category vary widely in appearance: some are of nearly equal diameter throughout
and smooth, others are gnarled and twisted, some
are made of wood, and others are composed of polished metal or crystal. A staff weighs between 2 and
7 pounds and serves well as a walking stick or cane.
Unless its description notes otherwise, a staff can
be used as a nonmagical Quarterstaff and an Arcane
Focus.
Wands
An item in the Wand category is typically 12 to 15
inches long and crafted of metal, bone, or wood. It
is tipped with metal, crystal, stone, or some other
material.
Unless its description notes otherwise, a wand
can be used as an Arcane Focus.
Weapons
A magic weapon is typically a magical version of a
weapon from “Equipment.” Some magic weapons
specify the type of weapon they are in their descriptions, such as a Longsword or Longbow. If no
weapon type is specified, you may choose the type
or determine it randomly.
Ammunition. If a magic weapon has the Ammunition property, ammunition fired from it is considered magical for the purpose of any rule that cares
whether a weapon is magical or not.
Wondrous Items
Wondrous Items include wearable items such
as boots, belts, capes, amulets, brooches, and
circlets. Bags, carpets, figurines, horns, musical
instruments, and more also fall into this category.
Magic Item Rarity
Every magic item has a rarity, which provides a
rough measure of an item’s power relative to other
magic items. The rarities are shown in the Magic
Item Rarities and Values table.
Common magic items, such as a Potion of Healing,
are the most plentiful. Artifacts, such as the Dragon
Orb, are priceless, unique, and difficult to acquire.
Magic Item Values by Rarity
Common magic items can often be bought in a
town or city. Uncommon and Rare magic items are
usually found only in cities, and rarer magic items
might be sold only in wondrous locations, such as a
city on another plane of existence. If you allow characters to buy and sell magic items in your campaign,
rarity can help you set prices for those items. Gold
Piece values are provided in the Magic Item Rarities
and Values table, though a seller might ask for a service rather than coin as payment.
If a magic item incorporates an item that has a
purchase cost in “Equipment” (such as a weapon or
a suit of armor), add that item’s cost to the magic
item’s value. For example, +1 Armor (Plate Armor)
206 System Reference Document 5.2.1
has a value of 5,500 GP, which is the sum of a Rare
magic item’s value (4,000 GP) and the cost of Plate
Armor (1,500 GP).
Magic Item Rarities and Values
| Rarity | Value* | Rarity | Value* |
| Common | 100 GP | Very Rare | 40,000 GP |
| Uncommon | 400 GP | Legendary | 200,000 GP |
| Rare | 4,000 GP | Artifact | Priceless |
*Halve the value for a consumable item other than a Spell Scroll.
The value of a Spell Scroll is double what it costs to scribe the scroll
(as specified in the “Scribing Spell Scrolls” section of “Equipment”).
Activating a Magic Item
It usually takes a Magic action to activate a magic
item. The item’s user might also need to do something special. The description of each item category
or individual item details how an item is activated.
Certain items use the following rules for their
activation.
Command Word
A command word is a word or short phrase that
must be spoken or signed for an item to work. Spoken command words must be audible and fail to
work in areas where all sound is suppressed, as in
the area of the Silence spell.
Consumable Items
Some items are consumed—used up, in other
words—when they are activated. A Potion of Healing
must be swallowed, for example, while the writing
vanishes from a scroll when it is read. Once used, a
consumable item loses its magic.
Spells Cast from Items
Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from
the item. The spell is cast at the lowest possible
spell and caster level, doesn’t expend any of the user’s spell slots, and requires no components unless
the item’s description notes otherwise. The spell
uses its normal casting time, range, and duration,
and the user of the item must concentrate if the
spell requires Concentration. Many items, such as
Potions, bypass the casting of a spell and confer the
spell’s effects with its usual duration. Certain items
make exceptions to these rules, changing the casting time, duration, or other parts of a spell.
A magic item may require the user to use their
own spellcasting ability when casting a spell from
the item. If the user has more than one spellcasting
ability, the user chooses which one to use with the
item. If the user doesn’t have a spellcasting ability,
their spellcasting ability modifier is +0 for the item,
and the user’s Proficiency Bonus applies.
Charges
Some magic items have charges that must be expended to activate their properties. The number
of charges an item has remaining is revealed when
the Identify spell is cast on it. A creature attuned to
an item knows how many charges the item has and
how many it regains.
“The Next Dawn”
Magic items often have charges or properties that
recharge at the next dawn or some other specified
time. If such an item is on a world or plane of existence where the specified event doesn’t occur, the
GM determines when the item recharges.
Cursed Items
A magic item’s description specifies whether it
bears a curse. Most methods of identifying items, including the Identify spell, fail to reveal such a curse.
Attunement to a cursed item can’t be ended voluntarily unless the curse is broken first, such as with a
Remove Curse spell.
Magic Item Resilience
A magic item is at least as durable as a nonmagical
item of its kind. Most magic items, other than Potions and Scrolls, have Resistance to all damage.
An Artifact can be destroyed only in some special
way. Otherwise, it is impervious to damage. Learning how to destroy an Artifact usually requires
research or the completion of a quest.
Crafting Magic Items
“Equipment” contains rules on brewing Potions of
Healing and scribing Spell Scrolls. To create other
magic items, follow the rules below. In these rules,
“you” refers to the character crafting the magic
item.
Arcana Proficiency
To craft a magic item, you and any assistants must
have proficiency in the Arcana skill.
Tools
The Magic Item Tools table lists which tool is required to make a magic item of each category. You
must use the required tool to make an item and
have proficiency with that tool. Any assistants must
also have proficiency with it. For more information
on the tools, see “Equipment.”
207 System Reference Document 5.2.1
Magic Item Tools
| Item Category | Required Tool |
| Armor | Leatherworker’s Tools, Smith’s Tools, or Weaver’s Tools depend ing on the kind of armor as noted in the tools’ descriptions Alchemist’s Supplies or Herbalism Kit Jeweler’s Tools |
| Potion | |
| Ring | |
| Rod | Woodcarver’s Tools |
| Scroll | Calligrapher’s Supplies |
| Staff | Woodcarver’s Tools |
| Wand | Woodcarver’s Tools |
| Weapon | Leatherworker’s Tools, Smith’s Tools, or Woodcarver’s Tools de pending on the kind of weapon as noted in the tools’ descriptions Tinker’s Tools or the tool required to make the nonmagical item on which the magic item is based |
| Wondrous Item |
Spells
If a magic item allows its user to cast any spells
from it, you must have all those spells prepared every day you spend crafting the item.
Time and Cost
Crafting a magic item takes an amount of time and
money based on the item’s rarity as shown in the
Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost table.
Work per Day. For each day of crafting, you must
work for 8 hours. If an item requires multiple days,
those days needn’t be consecutive.
Assistants. Characters can combine their efforts
to shorten the crafting time. Divide the time needed
to create an item by the number of characters working on it. Normally, only one other character can
assist you, but the GM might allow more assistants.
Raw Materials. The cost in the table represents
the raw materials needed to make a magic item. The
GM determines whether appropriate raw materials
are available. In a city, there is a 75 percent chance
that the materials are available, and in any other
settlement, that chance is 25 percent. If materials
aren’t available, you must wait at least 7 days before
checking on the availability again.
If a magic item incorporates an item that has a
purchase cost (such as a weapon or a suit of armor),
you must also pay that entire cost or craft that item
using the rules in “Equipment.” For example, to
make +1 Armor (Plate Armor), you must pay 3,500
GP or pay 2,000 GP and craft the armor.
Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost
| Item Rarity Common Uncommon Rare Very Rare Legendary | Time* 5 days 10 days 50 days 125 days 250 days | Cost* 50 GP 200 GP 2,000 GP 20,000 GP 100,000 GP |
*The time and cost are halved for a consumable item other than
a Spell Scroll, whose crafting time and cost are given in “Equipment.”
Sentient Magic Items
Some magic items have sentience and personality.
Such an item might be possessed, haunted by the
spirit of a previous owner, or self-aware thanks to
the magic used to create it. A sentient item might be
a cherished ally to its wielder or a continual thorn in
the side.
Most sentient items are weapons, but other kinds
of items can manifest sentience. Single-use items
such as potions and scrolls are never sentient.
The GM controls sentient magic items and their
activated properties. A bearer who maintains a
good relationship with the item can access those
properties. If the relationship is strained, a conflict
can ensue (see “Conflict” below).
Sentient Magic Item Traits
When you make a sentient magic item, you create
the item’s persona much as you would create an
NPC, with these exceptions.
Abilities
A sentient magic item has Intelligence, Wisdom, and
Charisma scores. Choose the item’s abilities, or determine them randomly as follows: roll 4d6 for each
one, dropping the lowest roll and totaling the rest.
Alignment
A sentient magic item has an alignment. Its creator
or nature might suggest an alignment. Otherwise,
pick an alignment or roll on the Sentient Item’s
Alignment table.
Communication
A sentient item communicates by sharing its emotions, broadcasting its thoughts telepathically, or
speaking aloud. You can choose how it communicates or roll on the Sentient Item’s Communication
table.
Senses
A sentient item can perceive its surroundings out to
a limited range. You can choose its senses or roll on
the Sentient Item’s Senses table.
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Special Purpose
You can give a sentient item an objective it pursues,
perhaps to the exclusion of all else. As long as the
wielder’s use of the item aligns with that special
purpose, the item remains cooperative. Deviating
from this course might cause conflict between the
wielder and the item (see “Conflict” below). You can
pick a special purpose or roll on the Sentient Item’s
Special Purpose table.
Sentient Item’s Alignment
| 1d100 Alignment 01–15 Lawful Good 16–35 Neutral Good 36–50 Chaotic Good 51–63 Lawful Neutral 64–73 Neutral | 1d100 Alignment 74–85 Chaotic Neutral 86–89 Lawful Evil 90–96 Neutral Evil 97–00 Chaotic Evil |
Sentient Item’s Communication
| 1d10 1–6 | Communication The item communicates by transmitting emo tion to the creature carrying or wielding it. The item speaks one or more languages. The item speaks one or more languages. In ad dition, the item can communicate telepathically with any creature that carries or wields it. |
| 7–9 10 |
Sentient Item’s Senses
1d4 Senses
1 Hearing and standard vision out to 30 feet
2 Hearing and standard vision out to 60 feet
3 Hearing and standard vision out to 120 feet
4 Hearing and Darkvision out to 120 feet
Sentient Item’s Special Purpose
| 1d10 1 | Special Purpose Aligned. The item seeks to defeat or destroy those of a diametrically opposed alignment. Such an item is never Neutral. |
2 Bane. The item seeks to thwart or destroy
creatures of a particular type, such as Constructs, Fiends, or Undead.
3 Creator Seeker. The item seeks its creator
and wants to understand why it was created.
4 Destiny Seeker. The item believes it and its
bearer have key roles to play in future events.
| 1d10 5 | Special Purpose Destroyer. The item craves destruction and goads its user to fight arbitrarily. |
6 Glory Seeker. The item seeks renown as the
greatest magic item in the world by winning
fame or notoriety for its user.
7 Lore Seeker. The item craves knowledge or is
determined to solve a mystery, learn a secret,
or unravel a cryptic prophecy.
8 Protector. The item seeks to defend a particular kind of creature, such as elves or
werewolves.
9 Soulmate Seeker. The item seeks another
sentient magic item, perhaps one that is similar
to itself.
10 Templar. The item seeks to defend the servants and interests of a particular deity.
Conflict
When the bearer of a sentient item acts in a manner
opposed to the item’s alignment or purpose, conflict
can arise. When such a conflict occurs, the item’s
bearer makes a Charisma saving throw (DC 12 plus
the item’s Charisma modifier). On a failed save, the
item makes one or more of the following demands:
Chase My Dreams. The item demands that its
bearer pursue the item’s goals to the exclusion of
all other goals.
Get Rid of It. The item demands that its bearer dispose of anything the item finds repugnant.
It’s Time for a Change. The item demands to be
given to someone else.
Keep Me Close. The item insists on being carried or
worn at all times.
If its bearer refuses to comply with the item’s demands, the item can do any of the following:
• Make it impossible for its bearer to attune to it.
• Suppress one or more of its activated properties.
• Attempt to take control of its bearer, whereupon
the bearer makes a Charisma saving throw (DC
12 plus the item’s Charisma modifier). On a failed
save, the bearer has the Charmed condition for
1d12 hours. While Charmed in this way, the
bearer must try to follow the item’s commands.
If the bearer takes damage, it repeats the save,
ending the effect on a success. Whether or not the
attempt to control its bearer succeeds, the item
can’t use this power again until the next dawn.