Crafting Guide 5e
This guide aims to give characters greater access to crafting and incorporates new rules to reduce the time it takes to craft an item. This guide also implements a way for characters to learn a tool and become proficient with it, allowing characters more opportunities to use crafting during downtime.
How to Craft
Crafting is typically done at downtime intervals away from the table. It is possible to bring crafting even closer to player adventures by allowing short or long rest crafting. Items that take less than a day to craft could, theoretically, be crafted in the field — if the DM allows such things.
For those items which take days or weeks to complete though, crafting should be handled away from the table.
| Time | Conversion |
|---|---|
| 1 Workweek | 5 Workdays |
| 1 Workday | 8 hours |
| 1 Long Rest | 8 hours |
| 1 Short Rest | 1 hour |
1. Prerequisites
To qualify for using downtime to craft, you must either be considered an artisan or an apprentice. An artisan is someone who meets the tool proficiency requirement to craft a particular item. An apprentice is someone who does not yet have proficiency in the required tool, but works alongside an artisan to craft an item.
To craft magical items, you must be an artisan who is also proficient in the Arcana skill and who meets the minimum required level to craft a particular magic item.
2. Resources
Foraged plants and fungi, harvested and processed monster components, or mined materials — along with a gold piece cost are required to craft an item.
- Non-magical items. Cost of materials = ½ the item’s cost.
- Magical items. See the Magic Item Crafting table.
- Access to workshops or specialized machinery necessary to craft or store the item.
- A formula listing the materials needed and steps required to craft the item.
Non-magical items. Proficiency with the required tool grants the knowledge of the formula.
Magical items. The formula may be given as a quest reward or found during exploration.
3. Labor
When it comes to finally crafting an item — only an artisan can take the lead, but anyone can help!
These rules differ from the basic rules found in both the PHB and XGtE. Crafting should not be something that only naturally talented characters can do. With the right teacher and enough time — anyone can master a craft!
Let's Get Crafting!
Build: Plate Armor
Item Cost: 1,500 gp
Requirements
Tool Proficiency: Smith's Tools
Arcana Proficiency: Only necessary to craft magical items
Cost: 750 gp
Location: Blacksmith Workshop
Formula: Gained by proficiency in Smith's Tools
Crafters:
- Level 4 Artisan (proficient)
- Level 6 Artisan (proficient blacksmith NPC)
- Level 8 Apprentice (not proficient)
Step 1. Pay the material cost. This may be paid by one character, or split between multiple.
Step 2. Determine the number of workweeks it will take to craft the item by dividing the item cost by 50.
1,500 gp ÷ 50 = 30 Workweeks
Step 3. Convert the number of workweeks into workdays by multiplying the workweeks by 5.
30 workweeks x 5 workdays = 150 workdays
Step 4. If multiple crafters are working on the same project, divide the number of workdays by the number of crafters.
150 workdays ÷ 3 crafters = 50 workdays
Step 5. Determine the final amount of time it takes to craft the item by multiplying the number of workdays by the artisans' proficiency multipliers.
50 workdays x 0.8 (level 4) x 0.7 (level 6) = 28 workdays
The final time assumes that characters are working full 8 hour days to complete the project on time.
The DM should note any complications that arise and adjust the crafting time accordingly.
Crafter Bonuses
| Artisan Level | Proficiency Bonus | Proficiency Multiplier | Expert Bonus | Expert Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice* | — | — | — | — |
| Novice | +2 | x 0.8 | +4 | x 0.6 |
| Journeyman | +3 | x 0.7 | +6 | x 0.4 |
| Expert | +4 | x 0.6 | +8 | x 0.2 |
| Master | +5 | x 0.5 | +10 | x 0.1 |
| Grand Master | +6 | x 0.4 | +12 | x 0.08 |
*An apprentice can gain proficiency in a set of tools by working alongside an artisan. Once an apprentice has spent 1,000 gp on crafting materials for projects using a single set of tools, they gain proficiency in the tools and become an artisan.
Crafting Magical Items
| Character Level | Item Rarity | Workweeks* | Cost* | Ingredient CR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Common | 1 | 50 gp | 1—3 |
| 1 | Uncommon | 2 | 200 gp | 4—8 |
| 5 | Rare | 10 | 2,000 gp | 9—12 |
| 11 | Very Rare | 25 | 20,000 gp | 13—18 |
| 17 | Legendary | 50 | 100,000 gp | 19+ |
*Halved for consumable items.
Becoming an Artisan
The core rule books make it pretty clear that crafting isn't something that should be encouraged, that magical items are precious and rare, and that NPCs should sell you items before you make your own. I disagree.
Even more, XGtE goes on to explain how tools are viewed as less than useful and expounds on ways to make them more useful. But here's the thing, if your class or background doesn't give you a tool proficiency, you're probably never going to get one. Let's change that.
Gaining Expertise
Just because you're an artisan of your craft, doesn't mean you're done learning! To gain double proficiency while crafting, outside of any class or background bonuses, you'll need to dedicate a lot of time and money into your craft.
By spending 15,000 gp on crafting materials for projects using a single set of tools, you can become an expert in those tools — doubling your proficiency bonus for those tools while crafting.
Magical Items
Magical item crafting is similar to non-magical item crafting. However, to determine the time and cost of the item, use the table above. The rest of the crafting process is the same.
Brewing potions of healing and scribing spell scrolls use their own time and cost tables which can be found on pg. 130 and pg. 133 of XGtE.
The ingredient CR section represents the relative challenge rating for encounters to obtain rare materials or a crafting formula. Encountering a creature doesn't necessarily mean that the characters must battle, kill, and collect an item from its corpse. Rather, the creature might guard a location or a resource that the characters need access to.