[RPG] the rarity of a Shield Guardian

craftingdnd-5e

Shield Guardian says :

Wizards and other spellcasters create shield guardians for protection.

So I want to craft a Shield Guardian for my Wizard. The description of shield guardians seems like these items are a trading commodity for wizards. What is the rarity so I can use XGTE crafting rules to create one? I assume I'll have to create the Master's Amulet afterwards.

Best Answer

There is no rarity.

The terms for rarity are defined in the Dungeon Master's Guide for magic items. The Shield Guardian is a creature, not an object (items are objects). Therefore there is no defined way to assign it a rarity based on those terms.

But, more importantly...

There are no rules for creating a Shield Guardian.

As of this posting, there are no rules in 5e for creating a Shield Guardian. The rules for crafting in Xanathar's Guide to Everything are for crafting items and magic items, not creatures. This means that creating a Shield Guardian is entirely a matter of DM rulings or homebrew.

For example, it would be reasonable for a DM to look at the rules for the manual of golems magic item in the Dungeon Master's Guide (p. 180-181) for inspiration. The rules list the time and cost to make a particular kind of golem in the Monster Manual, and these expenses increase with the challenge rating (CR) of the golem. The DM could create a manual of Shield Guardians with comparable expenses based on the Shield Guardian's CR 7 in relation to the golems, plus the effort and expense of creating the amulet to control it.