System Reference Document 5.2.1
102
Item Cost
Comfortable 2 SP
Wealthy 3 SP
Aristocratic 6 SP
Item Cost
Wine (bottle)
Common 2 SP
Fine 10 GP
Hirelings
Skilled hirelings include anyone hired to perform 
a service that involves a proficiency (including 
weapon, tool, or skill): a mercenary, an artisan, a 
scribe, or the like. The pay shown on the Hirelings 
table is a minimum; some expert hirelings require 
more pay. Untrained hirelings are hired for work 
that requires no particular proficiencies; they in -
clude laborers and porters.
Hirelings
Service Cost
Skilled hireling 2 GP per day
Untrained hireling 2 SP per day
Messenger 2 CP per mile
Spellcasting
Most settlements contain individuals who are will -
ing to cast spells in exchange for payment. If a spell 
has expensive components, add the cost of those 
components to the cost listed in the Spellcasting 
Services table. The higher the level of a desired 
spell, the harder it is to find someone to cast it.
Spellcasting Services
Spell Level Availability Cost
Cantrip Village, town, or city 30 GP
1 Village, town, or city 50 GP
2 Village, town, or city 200 GP
3 Town or city only 300 GP
4–5 Town or city only 2,000 GP
6–8 City only 20,000 GP
9 City only 100,000 GP
Magic Items
Adventures hold the promise—but not a guaran -
tee—of finding magic items. Hundreds of magic 
items are detailed in “Magic Items” later in this doc -
ument. Here’s what you need to know about using 
magic items.
Identifying a Magic Item
Some magic items are indistinguishable from their 
nonmagical counterparts, while others are conspic -
uously magical. Handling a magic item is enough to 
give you a sense that it is extraordinary, but learn -
ing a magic item’s properties isn’t automatic.
 The Identify spell is the fastest way to reveal an 
item’s properties. Alternatively, you can focus on 
one magic item during a Short Rest while being in 
physical contact with the item. At the end of the 
rest, you learn its properties and how to use them 
(but not any curse the item might bear).
 Sometimes a magic item carries a clue to its prop -
erties. The command word to activate a ring might 
be etched inside the band, or a feathered design 
might hint that it’s a Ring of Feather Falling.
 Wearing or experimenting with an item can also 
offer hints about its properties. In the specific case 
of Potions, a little taste is enough to tell the taster 
what a potion does. Other items might require more 
experimentation. For example, if your character 
puts on a Ring of Swimming, the GM might say, “Your 
movement feels strangely fluid.” Perhaps you then 
dive into a river to see what happens. The GM would 
then say you swim unexpectedly well.
Attunement
Some magic items require a creature to form a 
bond—called Attunement—with them before the 
creature can use an item’s magical properties. With -
out becoming attuned to an item that requires At -
tunement, you gain only its nonmagical benefits un -
less its description states otherwise. For example, a 
magic Shield that requires Attunement provides the 
benefits of a normal Shield if you aren’t attuned to 
it, but none of its magical properties.
Attune during a Short Rest
Attuning to an item requires you to spend a Short 
Rest focused on only that item while being in physi -
cal contact with it (this can’t be the same Short Rest 
used to learn the item’s properties). This focus can 
take the form of weapon practice (for a Weapon), 
meditation (for a Wand), or some other appropriate 
activity. If the Short Rest is interrupted, the At -
tunement attempt fails. Otherwise, at the end of the 
Short Rest, you’re attuned to the magic item and can 
access its full magical capabilities.
No More Than Three Items
You can be attuned to no more than three magic 
items at a time. Any attempt to attune to a fourth 
item fails; you must end your Attunement to an item 
first. Additionally, you can’t attune to more than 
one copy of an item. For example, you can’t attune to 
more than one Ring of Protection  at a time.
Ending Attunement
Your Attunement to an item ends if you no longer 
satisfy the prerequisites for Attunement, if the item 
has been more than 100 feet away for at least 24 
hours, if you die, or if another creature attunes to 