Hi all, hope you can help me out.
I vaguely remember seeing an entry on masterwork quality gear in one of the playtest documents, but I haven't run across anything in the PHB or basic rules. Was masterwork removed/never a thing or am I just looking in the wrong place?
There is no masterwork armor/weapon in 5E.
(There was masterworks early during the friends & family playtest phase but they were removed 2 years ago)
I would homebrew some if there is nothing the DMG about this.
Some ideas for armour qualities - all costing between 150-200% of the original;
Fluted - plate armours only - increases AC vs peircing attacks by 1
Reinforced - medium and heavy armours only - increases AC vs slashing attacks by 1
Silk Padded - gives DR+1 vs arrows
Master Fitted - decrease weight by 20%
Bandit Mail - removes stealth penalty from chainmail armours
Caliburn, those are cool ideas. I could specifically see using something like that in a more gritty, medieval setting I've been pondering in recent years.
I figured this would be a suitable place for a materials question, rather than starting a new thread.
Were special and rare materials a part of the playtest? I figure we will likely see this sort of thing in the DMG, but I've been brainstorming potential items for my players' characters down the road.
If they were present, what were some of the qualities, in a general sense? Did mithral armor reduce weight, or cold iron weapons do extra damage versus fey? These are the sorts of questions I'm wondering. These types of properties could be pretty special in campaigns with lower magical item thresholds.
Any help is most appreciated. 
Yeah, I'm going to homebrew as well
Masterwork weapons would have one of the following qualities:
+1 damage
+1 attack
Increase crit range by 1
Masterwork Armor would have one of the following:
+1 vs specific attack style (slashing, piercing, etc...)
Reduced weight
Increase the max dex. allowable by armor by 1
Or things like:
Those are some very impressive ideas that get my mind churning. At the leat, I will be following this post for referencing the above listed ideas!
I am a big fan if Masterwork and most anything that expands crafting in D&D. Definately a homebrew in our campaign but costs and difficulty to craft or obtain would go up a significant amount. I'd also make sure it does not go against the stacking rules of 5e and bonuses per item very limited over stock or +1 magic bonus equivalent.
Consider bonuses other than Attack and Damage.
For example:
Cunning grip - advantage on resisting disarm attempts.
Hooked - advantage on making disarm attempts.
Especially Heavy - advantage on Shove/Prone attempts.
Nasty Looking - advantage on Intimidation attempts. Hat-tip to Douglas Adams.
A Masterwork item could have any non-mechanical effect. Hard to quantify, but adds to the RP fun factor.
- This item was once part of the Duke's Regalia from an old nation. Anybody with skill History > 1 sees it and thinks you are nobility, reacts accordingly.
- Childrens picture book is Rugged, perfect since small children tend to destroy-by-neglect anything they get their hands on. Incidentally, Bullywugs do the same thing, and you found this book at the bottom of a Bullywug King's treasure chest.
- Fashionable actor's costume always looks in-style
- Clean boots just sort of shed mud &c all by themselves, no work required.
- Frightening armor looks like some ... thing ... from the Lower Planes wants to yell BOO at you.
- Identifiable Wand carries a very visible initial of Merlin or Elminster or Raistlin or Mordenkainen. Anybody with Arcana > 1 is impressed (or thinks you stole it).
- Buggy item gives you that "there's bugs all over me!" (scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) feeling whenever you use it.
- An item inspired by an ancient civilization / culture may be obvious at a glance, like Michaelangelo's David.
- Masterwork elven arrows that make birdsong noises when fired, have lousy accuracy / damage. Good for signalling, though. Can be recovered after battle using normal rules.
Greenstone.Walker wrote: