The exploration challenges here provide a plethora of ways to make journeys impactful and memorable, but Narrators can also create new obstacles for their campaigns.

Step 1: Start With a Problem

Come up with a problem the adventurers need to solve. When creating an exploration challenge, keep in mind that its purpose is to provide something to overcome on their journey to other, greater things (the campaign’s plot, the next big conflict, and so on). A good exploration challenge is something that the party doesn’t just react to, but can also directly apply their skills, gear, and ingenuity to overcome.

Step 2: Add Challenge Traits

Many exploration challenges have traits that add mechanics to change the way the adventurers can interact with them or details for the party to discover. For example, the Magical Effect trait says that the challenge can be overcome or simplified by using the spell dispel magic, and it gives the DC for doing so successfully.

Other traits grant adventurers bonuses or penalties depending on which strategies they employ. For example, an adventurer that uses fire to deal with plants gain a bonus to checks made against the plants.

Also consider the size of the challenge. Exploration challenges that gradually deal damage should be large enough in area to threaten adventurers, but not big enough that it means certain death for the party — unless it is being used to create a barrier that the PCs must circumvent or otherwise advance in level before attempting because something crucial to the campaign waits on the other side.

Step 3: Brainstorm Solutions

The solutions provided by each encounter challenge are by no means an exhaustive list of ways around the problem, although they do suggest which approaches should be harder or easier to attempt.

For example, bandits waiting by a falling net have seen plenty of violence in their careers, so it might be easier to persuade or deceive them than it is to intimidate them. In that case, the Intimidation check might be at disadvantage , while a Persuasion check would not.

Certain solutions might also have an added cost or penalty associated with them. If adventurers would rather take the time to engineer a solution to a broken bridge instead of just trying to jump over it, then that should take more time to overcome.

When an exploration challenge makes it to the table, players might present a completely unexpected solution and that’s okay! Use the existing solutions to gauge how difficult this new solution should be in the situation, and the DCs for each Challenge Rating listed in the sidebar on Setting DCs.

Step 4: Determine the Consequences

There are usually four outcomes to consider in an exploration challenge: critical failure, failure, success, and critical success. Not every exploration challenge follows this structure, but those which are based on a group check or an individual ability check often do, and these outcomes can be applied at the Narrator’s discretion.

Step 5: Challenge Rating and Experience

To determine the appropriate challenge rating and experience points to reward for a new exploration challenge, use the same calculations used for a new creature (averaging the DCs for ability checks and using them in place of Armor Class). Otherwise compare the consequences of failures between the new exploration challenge and those listed in this chapter.

When you are hidden from a target, you gain advantage on your first attack roll against it. After your first attack roll, unless you are invisible or your target is otherwise unable to see you, you are no longer hidden.

Each campaign is different—every magic item may not be the best fit for a game, or the Narrator may need something that no one has thought of yet. In these instances, use the rules below to guide the process of coming up with new magic items and the ways a character might craft them.

Determining Rarity

Determining the rarity of a new magic item is one of the most difficult parts. While there’s no set formula
for determining rarity, refer to the following points when choosing the rarity of a new magic item;
• An item with one low power property that is consumed upon use is most likely common or uncommon, depending on the property. If the property recharges, it may still be common if the effect has little mechanical impact. Examples: blackbird pie , mug of warming , potion of climbing , prismatic gown .
• An item with multiple low to mid-level power properties, or a single lower power property which recharges, is likely uncommon or rare. Examples: boots of striding and springing , medallion of thoughts , ring of the ram , subtle mage gloves .
• If an item has multiple powerful properties that recharge, or one significantly powerful property that recharges, it is most likely rare or very rare. Examples: elemental quiver , helm of teleportation , robe of stars , staff of withering .
• If the item is powerful enough to be gamechanging, or is especially powerful and one of a kind, it is likely legendary or even an artifact. Examples: deck of many things , luck blade , sphere of annihilation , vorpal sword .
• If the item grants a creature the ability to cast spells, or replicates the effects of a spell, what level is that spell? The higher the spell level, the higher the item’s rarity. Examples: magic mirror , potion of flying , scroll of commune with nature , scroll of meteor swarm .
• Finally, consider the item’s purpose. Items that are less about making whoever carries them more effective, and more about granting access to something important for roleplaying purposes—such as defenses against a harsh environment, a way to overcome multiple language barriers, or survive somewhere without air—may have their rarity reduced. Conversely, items that allow for an adventure or their party to easily complete dangerous tasks (particularly those granting flight) may have a higher rarity than usual. Examples: Freelinking: Node title helm of comprehend languages does not exist , ring of warmth , water charm , winged boots .

Determining Cost

In most cases when including a new magic item for crafting or purchase it will be necessary to set a price for it. The Magic Item Costs table contains guidelines for pricing new magic items. Rarity isn’t the only thing to consider, however—for example, a magic item that is consumed on use is almost always cheaper than one of the same rarity that recharges.

The following list contains a few things that may help determine the price of a new item.
• Is it single use, multiple uses, or does it recharge indefinitely? Single use items should be cheaper than multiple use items, which are themselves typically cheaper than something that recharges regularly.
• How does it compare to other items of the same rarity? If another item is of a similar power level, use that item’s cost as a starting point.
• Does it have one property or multiple properties, and how many uses does each of the item’s properties have? Something with multiple rechargeable properties is going to be more expensive than one with multiple single use properties, or even one recharging property.
• Does the item grant a creature the ability to cast spells, or replicate the effects of a spell? If so, what level is that spell? The higher the spell level, the higher the potential cost.

A magic item may be only of rare rarity, but require extremely rare and expensive components to create, thus raising the price. The Magic Item Costs table does not take these outliers into account, and instead provides both an average low cost and average high cost for magic items that only require the standard components to create.

A Tricky Measure

Whenever a new magic item is being introduced to the game, Narrators should contemplate the ways it might be abused and exercise caution—what seems like a fun suggestion at first can easily get out of hand if its full implications aren’t carefully considered when it’s created.

Sample Magic Item Details

Narrators keen to make their own magic items can look to the rest of this chapter for examples to work from, or roll randomly to quickly pick out the origins, properties, and quirks to make a new piece of enchanted gear.