magic items base cost

common, minor 30 gp

common, major 100 gp

common, minor 300 gp

uncommon, major 1,000 gp

rare, minor 3,000 gp

rare, major 10,000 gp

very rare, minor 30,000 gp

very rare, major 100,000 gp

legendary, minor 300,000 gp

legendary, major 1,000,000 gp

artifact, minor 3,000,000 gp

artifact, major 10,000,000 gp

making, buying, and selling magic items

making, buying, and selling magic items, are all downtime activities

identifying a magic item

magic items are usually indistinguishable from their non-magical counterparts of exceptional quality, whereas other magic items display their magical nature conspicuously but some apparently average or poor quality items are actually magical, the detect magic is the most accurate way to know if an item is magical or not, the identify spell is the fastest and safest way to reveal an item’s properties, otherwise you must attune to it

attunement

some magic items require a creature to form a bond with them before their magical properties can be used, this bond is called attunement, and certain items have a prerequisite for it, if the prerequisite is a class, a creature must be a member of that class to attune to the item, (if the class is a spellcasting class, a creature qualifies if that creature has spell slots and uses that class’s spell list), if the prerequisite is to be a spellcaster, a creature qualifies if it can cast at least one spell using its traits or features, not using a magic item or the like, without becoming attuned to an item that requires attunement, a creature gains only its non-magical benefits, unless its description states otherwise, for example, a magic shield that requires attunement provides the benefits of a normal shield to a creature not attuned to it, but none of its magical properties, attuning to an item requires a creature to spend a short rest focused on only that item while being in physical contact with it, if the short rest is interrupted, the attunement attempt fails, otherwise, at the end of the short rest, the creature gains an intuitive understanding of how to activate any magical properties of the item, including any necessary command words, an item can be attuned to only one creature at a time, and a creature can be attuned to no more than three magic items at a time, any attempt to attune to a fourth item fails; the creature must end its attunement to an item first, additionally, a creature can’t attune to more than one copy of an item, for example, a creature can’t attune to more than one ring of protection at a time,

a creature’s attunement to an item ends if the creature no longer satisfies the prerequisites for attunement, if the item has been more than 120 feet away for at least 24 hours, if the creature dies, or if another creature attunes to the item, a creature can also voluntarily end attunement by spending another short rest focused on the item, unless the item is cursed

cursed items

some magic items bear curses that bedevil their users, sometimes long after a user has stopped using an item, a magic item’s description specifies whether the item is cursed, most methods of identifying items, including the identify spell, reveal such a curse, although lore might just hint at it, a curse should be a surprise to the item’s user when the curse’s effects are revealed, attunement to a cursed item can’t be ended voluntarily unless the curse is broken first, such as with the remove curse spell

magic item categories

each magic item belongs to a category: armor, potions, rings, rods, scrolls, staffs, wands, weapons, or wondrous items

armor

unless an armor’s description says otherwise, armor must be worn for its magic to function, because magic armor can adapt to its wearer wild shape magically armored bears are a thing

potions

different kinds of magical liquids are grouped in the category of potions: brews made from enchanted herbs, water from magical fountains or sacred springs, and oils that are applied to a creature or object, potions are consumable magic items, drinking a ready potion or administering a ready potion to another character requires an action, applying an oil might take longer, as specified in its description, once used, a potion takes effect immediately, and it is used up, most potions can be identified with a DC 10 intelligence (arcana) check, a detect magic spell then can be used to assure it is not a fake

rings

magic rings offer an amazing array of powers to those lucky enough to find them, unless a ring’s description says otherwise, a ring must be worn on a finger, toe, or a similar digit, for the ring’s magic to function

rods

a scepter or just a heavy cylinder, a magic rod is typically made of metal, wood, or bone, it’s about 2 or 3 feet long, 1 inch thick, and 2 to 5 pounds, unless a rod’s description says otherwise, a rod can be used as a club

scrolls

most scrolls are spells stored in written form, while a few bear unique incantations that produce potent wards, whatever its contents, a scroll is a roll of parchment and typically kept safe in a tube of ivory, jade, leather, metal, or wood, a scroll is a consumable magic item, whatever the nature of the magic contained in a scroll, unleashing that magic requires the user to read the scroll, when its magic has been invoked, the scroll can’t be used again, its words fade and it crumbles into dust, unless a scroll's description says otherwise, any creature that can understand a written language can read the script on a scroll and attempt to activate it

staffs

a magic staff is about 5 or 6 feet long, staffs 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, depending on the material, a staff weighs between 2 and 7 pounds, unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff.

wands

a magic wand is about 15 inches long and crafted of metal, bone, or wood, it is tipped with metal, crystal, stone, or some other material

weapons

if a magic weapon has the ammunition property, ammunition fired from it is considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage, magic ammunition can be recovered like other ammunition and repaired with the mending spell

wondrous items

wondrous items include worn items such as boots, belts, capes, gloves, and various pieces of jewelry and decoration, such as amulets, brooches, and circlets, bags, carpets, crystal balls, figurines, horns, musical instruments, and other objects also fall into this catch-all category

wearing and wielding items

using a magic item’s properties might mean wearing or wielding it, a magic item meant to be worn must be donned in the intended fashion: boots go on the feet, gloves on the hands, hats and helmets on the head, and rings on the finger, magic armor must be donned, a shield strapped to the arm, a cloak fastened about the shoulders, a weapon must be held in hand, in most cases, a magic item that’s meant to be worn can fit a creature regardless of size or build, many magic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they magically adjust themselves to the wearer, rare exceptions exist, when a non-humanoid tries to wear an item, use your discretion as to whether the item functions as intended, a ring placed on a tentacle might work, but a yuan-ti with a snakelike tail instead of legs has no way to wear magic boots

multiple items of the same kind

use common sense to determine whether more than one of a given kind of magic item can be worn, a character can’t normally wear more than one pair of footwear, one pair of gloves or gauntlets, one pair of bracers, one suit of armor, one item of head wear, and one cloak, the dm can make exceptions; a character might be able to wear a circlet under a helmet, for example, or be able to layer two cloaks

paired items

items that come in pairs—such as boots, bracers, gauntlets, and gloves—impart their benefits only if both items of the pair are worn, for example, a character wearing a boot of striding and springing on one foot and a boot of elven kind on the other foot gains no benefit from either item

activating an item

activating some magic items requires a user to do something in particular, such as holding the item and uttering a command word, reading the item if it is a scroll, or drinking it if it is a potion, the description of each item category or individual item details how an item is activated, certain items use one or more of the following rules related to their activation, if an item requires an action to activate, and that action isn't a function of the use an object action a feature such as the rogue's fast hands can't be used to activate the item

command words

a command word is a word or phrase that must be spoken audibly for the item to operate, a magic item that requires the user to speak a command word can’t be activated in the area of any effect that prevents sound, such as the area created by the silence spell

consumables

some items are used up when they are activated, once used, a consumable item loses its magic and no longer functions, for this reason a consumable items has half the same base cost as one magic item of that rarity, scrolls and potions are consumable items so they are generally one half the cost of a magic item with the same rarity plus the cost of any expendable components, ammunition is semi-consumable as they can be lost or broken so ten modern or renaissance bullets, twenty arrows, crossbow bolts, or sling bullets, and fifty blowgun needles, have the same value as one magic item of the same rarity

spells

some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item, often by expending charges from it, 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 says 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 their usual duration, certain items make exceptions to these rules, changing the casting time, duration, or other parts of a spell, a magic item, such as certain staffs, may require you to use your own spellcasting ability when you cast a spell from the item, if you have more than one spellcasting ability, you choose which one to use with the item, if you don't have a spellcasting ability - perhaps you're a rogue with the use magic device feature - your spellcasting ability modifier is as normal for the item

charges

some magic items have charges that you expend to activate its properties, the number of charges an item has remaining is revealed when an identify spell is cast on the item, or when a creature attunes to the item, additionally, when an item regains charges, the creature attuned to that item learns how many charges it regained.

magic item formulas

a magic item formula explains how to make a particular magic item, usually written in a book or on a scroll, a formula is as rare as the item it allows a character to create, for example, the formula for a common magic item is common, no formulas for artifact items are available for sale, magic item formulas are considered trade secrets that are often lethally defended and just as often stolen, copying a magic formula is just as difficult as writing creating the item itself

magic item resilience

most magic items are objects of extraordinary artisanship, assembled from the finest materials with meticulous attention to detail, thanks to this combination of careful crafting and magical reinforcement, a magic item is at least as durable as a regular item of its kind, most magic items, other than potions and scrolls, have resistance to all damage, artifacts are practically indestructible, requiring extreme measures to destroy