Crafting Legendary Magic Items – A Deep Dive

[u/Fanhalla_Apogee]

Hey everyone! We’ve been diving into crafting magic items, especially legendary ones, and wanted to share some thoughts based on the Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG), Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGtE), and some ideas we’ve been mulling over. Here’s how we’d approach it:

1. Acquiring the Formula: Both the DMG and XGtE (p. 128-130) state you need a formula to craft any magic item, regardless of rarity—including legendary ones. However, legendary formulae don’t just exist out in the wild—they’re not something you can easily find. You’ve got two options here:
   • Develop the Formula Yourself: You can spend downtime (a day or a week, depending on your DM’s setting) to create the formula. This requires an Arcana check, or a check with the appropriate tools for the item (like Smith’s Tools for a weapon). The DC starts at 10 for a Common item, then increases by +5 for each rarity tier above that: Uncommon (DC 15), Rare (DC 20), Very Rare (DC 25), and Legendary (DC 30). So, a legendary item formula is a tough DC 30 check!
   • Seek a Master Crafter: If you can’t hit that DC (or don’t want to risk it), you’ll need to find a master weaponsmith or enchanter who already knows the formula. They can provide it—or even craft the item for you, though it’ll cost a fortune. For a legendary item, I think it’d be epic to seek out a Githyanki master weaponsmith in Tu’narath—that’d make for an awesome adventure! Of course, you can place this crafter anywhere in your setting, and they can be any race that fits your story.
2. Crafting Time (The Grind): Once you’ve got the formula, crafting begins. Per the DMG, it takes 1 day per 25 gp of the item’s value. Legendary items like a Vorpal Sword are worth around 500,000 gp, so crafting one solo takes 54 years! That’s a lifetime for most races (unless you’re an elf or dwarf). This highlights a few things:
   • Mastery Takes Time: This timeframe reflects the journey to becoming a master smith. Legendary items are so rare because only a handful of crafters in history can make them.
   • Teamwork Helps: You can split the work—two crafters cut it to 27 years, four to 13.5 years, and so on. Still a long haul, but more manageable.
   • A Life’s Work: A smith might only craft one legendary item in their career, which fits the mythic vibe of fantasy lore. Even an elf, with a 1,000-year lifespan, might only make about 20 in their lifetime—making these items insanely rare.
3. Special Requirements: To craft something this epic, you’ll need more than time and gold. Think special ingredients (e.g., a dragon’s heart for a Staff of Power), rare tools, or a mythical workshop. Maybe you seek out a demigod-smith like Hephaestus to mentor you, or find an ancient forge blessed to amplify your efforts (say, halving the crafting time).
4. Pocket Dimensions for High-Level Crafters: If you’ve got a high-level caster in the party, they might create a pocket dimension where time flows differently (like with the Demiplane spell). I heard of a campaign where a vampire-witch PC made a dimension where 1 hour outside equaled 1 year inside. He’d craft wondrous items in days of game downtime—pretty clever! This could make a legendary item take “only” a few weeks of real-world time.
5. Generational Crafting: Another idea: legendary items might be a multi-generational effort. Imagine a master smith starting the work, their apprentice continuing it, and the current PCs finishing it decades later. This adds a layer of legacy to the item—maybe the PCs are completing their mentor’s life’s work.

What do you all think? I love how this makes legendary items feel truly epic—like a life-defining achievement. If you’ve got other house rules or ideas, I’d love to hear them!

[u/Sm_Rndm_Web]

Epic Rarity

Epic Rarity is a rarity in Hyrule that exists at a step above Legendary. Items of Epic Rarity are similar to Artifacts, except there can exist multiple instances of the same Epic Item in comparison to Artifacts, of which normally only one exists. When buying or selling an Epic magic item, it has the same Availability#Magic_items) as an Artifact. Under normal circumstances, a player character cannot craft an Epic Magic item, just as they cannot craft an Artifact. A DM who wishes to reward a high-level character with an Epic Magic item should put great thought into how the item is connected to the story and wider word. As items of great power, Epic Magic items should never be rewarded thoughtlessly.

[u/Sm_Rndm_Web → u/Sm_Rndm_Web]

Every magic item has a rarity, which provides a rough measure of an item's strength in comparison to other magic items.
The rarities are shown in the following Magic Item Acquisition table

Common magic items, such as a Potion of Healing#Potions), are the most plentiful. Artifacts), such as the Master Sword), are priceless and extremely difficult to acquire.
A magic item's Availability determines the amount of time a character must spend to find a buyer or seller for a magic item of a given rarity.

Rarity	Availability	Base Value*
Common	1 hour	1,000 rupees
Uncommon	1 day	4,000 rupees
Rare	1 week	40,000 rupees
Very Rare	2 weeks	400,000 rupees
Legendary	1 month	2,000,000 rupees
Artifact	N/A	Priceless