If you’ve played any amount of DnD 5E, or even most fantasy video games, you’ll know that one of the most exciting parts is getting and using new magic items. These are normally handed out as loot for completing quests or defeating monsters but, sometimes you want one or two more, or maybe you’re after a particular item to complement your character. Well, you’ve got an entire donkey loaded up with gold and gems burning a hole in your saddle bags, so in this article, we’ll take you through how much it might cost to buy the Magic Items (PHB, p. 144) you’ve been dreaming of.
Where do you buy Magic Items?
This is really up to your DM, some may not allow the purchase of magic items at all, whilst others may have curated stores for such things in major cities. Larger temples, magical academies, other adventurers, and even some nobility may have magic items they may be willing to part with.
The rules provided in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGtE) involve searching for individuals willing to sell items or gaining access to very elite auctions that may sell them as part of your downtime between adventures. Some magic items, such as potions of healing, might be purchased from an alchemist, herbalist, or spellcaster.
The rules and pricing
Here we’ll break down all of the available pricing for magic items, along with any accompanying rules for purchasing them and their cost.
Shared campaigns prices
These prices are provided in the Shared Campaigns section (XGtE, p. 174), this pricing is used in Adventurer’s League games as of the 2021 season. The potions table has been rearranged to group healing potions together, and the amount of healing they do has been added for easy reference.
Potions for Sale
| Potion | Cost |
|---|---|
| Healing (2d4 + 2) | 50 GP |
| Greater Healing (4d4 + 4) | 100 GP |
| Superior Healing (8d4 + 8) | 500 GP |
| Supreme Healing (10d4 + 20) | 5,000 GP |
| Climbing | 75 GP |
| Animal Friendship | 100 GP |
| Water Breathing | 100 GP |
| Invisibility | 5,000 GP |
Spell Scrolls for Sale
| Spell Level | Cost |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | 25 GP |
| 1st | 75GP |
| 2nd | 150 GP |
| 3rd | 300 GP |
| 4th | 500 GP |
| 5th | 1,000 GP |
XGtE Downtime prices
These rules are found in the Downtime Revisited section (XGtE, p. 126) and provides a set of rules to find a seller and determine what items are for sale. The rules and relevant tables will be replicated below for convenience. Remember these rules are aimed toward DMs, not players.
Resources needed – Finding magic items to purchase requires at least one workweek of effort and 100 GP in expenses, which includes a wealthy lifestyle necessary to impress potential business partners.
Resolution – A character seeking a magic item to buy must make a Charisma (persuasion) check to determine the quality of the seller found. They can gain a +1 bonus to this check for every additional workweek and 100 GP beyond the first, up to a maximum of +10.
The total of this check determines what magic items are available to purchase, as shown in the Buying Magic Items table below. To reflect the availability of magic items in your campaign a -10 penalty can be applied to the check for low magic campaigns or a +10 bonus for high magic campaigns. In low magic games, you can also double the cost of the magic items available. The price of the magic items available is determined by rolling on the Magic Item Price table, halving the price for consumable items, such as potions and scrolls.
If a character is seeking a specific magic item, first determine if you want the magic item available for sale. If so, include the item with other items available for sale on a check of 10 or higher if the item is common, 15 or higher if it is uncommon, 20 or higher if it is rare, 25 of higher if it is very rare, and 30 or higher if it is legendary.
No matter what the tables say, you as the DM have the final say on what items are available and how much they cost.
Buying Magic Items
| Check Total | Items Acquired for Sale |
| 1-5 | Roll 1d6 times on Magic Item Table A. |
| 6-10 | Roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table B. |
| 11-15 | Roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table C. |
| 16-20 | Roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table D. |
| 21-25 | Roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table E. |
| 26-30 | Roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table F. |
| 31-35 | Roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table G. |
| 36-40 | Roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table H. |
| 41+ | Roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table I. |
Magic Item Price
| Rarity | Asking Price |
| Common | (1d6 + 1) × 10 GP |
| Uncommon | 1d6 × 100 GP |
| Rare | 2d10 × 1,000 GP |
| Very Rare | (1d4 + 1) × 10,000 GP |
| Legendary | 2d6 × 25,000 GP |
Complications – When using these rules to purchase magic items, it’s possible for the player characters to incur complications if you want to make things more interesting, this is entirely optional when using these magic item purchasing rules. These complications can arise from the vast sums of money involved in the sale, and the power the magic items represent. You can either roll on the below table or invent your own complications.
Magic Item Purchase Complications
| d12 | Complication |
| 1 | The item is a fake, planted by an enemy.* |
| 2 | The item is stolen by the party’s enemies.* |
| 3 | The item is cursed by a god. |
| 4 | The item’s original owner will kill to reclaim it; the party’s enemies spread news of its sale.* |
| 5 | The item is at the center of a dark prophecy. |
| 6 | The seller is murdered before the sale.* |
| 7 | The seller is a devil looking to make a bargain. |
| 8 | The item is the key to freeing an evil entity. |
| 9 | A third party bids on the item, doubling its price.* |
| 10 | The item is an enslaved, intelligent entity. |
| 11 | The item is tied to a cult. |
| 12 | The party’s enemies spread rumors that the item is an artifact of evil.* |
We hope that this article has helped you lighten your coin purse and helped you acquire the magical doo-dad that your heart desires. If couldn’t find what you wanted for sale then check out our guide to crafting magic items, or if you just really like magic items then consider playing an Artificer and take a look at our Artificer 5E guide. Until next time may your persuasion checks be high and your items in stock!
