Is it possible to permanently remove a curse from a cursed magic item?

Question

Is it possible to permanently remove a curse from a cursed magic item?

An example of such a cursed item would be the Berserker Axe:

You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. In addition, while you are attuned to this weapon, your hit point maximum increases by 1 for each level you have attained.

Curse. This axe is cursed, and becoming attuned to it extends the curse to you. As long as you remain cursed, you are unwilling to part with the axe, keeping it within reach at all times. You also have disadvantage on attack rolls with weapons other than this one, unless no foe is within 60 feet of you that you can see or hear. [...]

So in this case, to permanently remove the curse would presumably turn this magic item into a curse-free magic axe that just has a +1 enchantment and increases your HP whilst attuned.

The first obvious thing that springs to mind is the remove curse spell, but that explicitly states that it cannot do this:

At your touch, all curses affecting one creature or object end. If the object is a cursed magic item, its curse remains, but the spell breaks its owner's attunement to the object so it can be removed or discarded.

All it does is end the attunement so that the creature is no longer cursed, but the magic item itself is still cursed.

I will also bring attention to the special case, the Sword of Vengeance. This weapon can have its curse removed by casting the banishment spell on it, but only because it's description explicitly describes that it is possible, and how to do so:

You can break the curse in the usual ways. Alternatively, casting banishment on the sword forces the vengeful spirit to leave it. The sword then becomes a +1 weapon with no other properties.

The following Q&A explores that in more detail: How does the spell Remove Curse interact with a Sword of Vengeance?

For the purposes of this question, I want to ignore the Sword of Vengeance, since I'm asking about the generic case (or if we need a specific magic item, the Berserker Axe, which was also called out in the accepted answer to the above Q&A as a counterexample to the Sword of Vengeance).

So, is there any way that one can permanently remove the curse from a cursed magic item (besides the Sword of Vengeance)? Excluding catch-all things like wish or a cleric's Divine Intervention (unless they specifically mention removing curses from cursed magic items).

Answer 1

Within the parameters you have dictated, no rules-as-written methods exist

The specific rules you have already highlighted in your question, being the core rule in the remove curse spell, and the specific exception on the Sword of Vengeance. This cited question, unfortunately, chooses to cherry-pick the phrasing of SoV in a misleading way, leading one to infer that there is precedent for remove curse being able to eradicate a curse from a cursed magic item.

The general rule is that a cursed item is always cursed. An attuned creature has the item's curse extend to them, and casting remove curse on that creature gives, at best, a brief moment of relief before the curse is instantly re-applied. Casting remove curse on the cursed item breaks its attunement, ending the curse on the creature but not the item.

The only "exception" to this rule doesn't even involve removing the curse, but rather using banishment to rid a SoV of a vengeful spirit that is the source of the curse. The specific ruling on SoV overrides the general rule in that instance alone. There is still no precedent for the remove curse spell or any similar effects being able to rid a cursed item of its curse.

Unfortunately, wish and divine intervention remain as the only permanent RAW methods, as you have surmised.

Answer 2

A Transmutation Wizard's Panacea effect might work

The School of Transmutation Wizard gets the Master Transmuter feature and one option of that feature is the following:

[...] Panacea. You remove all curses, diseases, and poisons affecting a creature that you touch with the transmuter's stone. The creature also regains all its hit points [...]

- Player's Handbook (page 113)

This might work as it removes all curses from the creature but unfortunately not the object itself. This also, unlike remove curse, does not end the target's attunement to any cursed items. The item's curse is certainly "affecting the target creature"; the question is whether this continues to remove the curse should they continue to use the item. It's honestly unclear if this does anything at all, since it might only remove the curse for a single instant before the weapon reapplies/reactivates the curse immediately, thus having ultimately no effect whatsoever.

A temporary answer would be the antimagic field spell

The antimagic field spell states:

[...] Within the sphere, spells can't be cast, summoned creatures disappear, and even magic items become mundane [...]

This effect lasts for an hour, so it's not particularly long, and it does require an 8th level spell, but it will momentarily cease all magical properties of an item including any curses. There certainly could be other more useful methods of ending the magic in an item, or perhaps only the curse, but this is what I could find.

Answer 3

The single most easy way of permanently removing a curse on a magic item is to simply break the magic item.

If you want to keep its other magic properties though, this is a bad idea, because a broken magic item loses all of its magical properties (including the curse), making it a normal version of the item, and the mending spell does not restore said magical properties.

This method is generally only recommended when the benefits don't outweigh the curse, or when you want the item to be non-magical so you can put an artificer's infusion on it, such as with an antimatter rifle and Repeating Shot.

Answer 4

I don't believe there's any way of removing the curse outside of wishes and divine intervention unless the curse description specifies it.

According to Chris Perkins on Twitter:

Maybe as part of a quest.

So basically only by house rules.

It's worth noting for reference that on 3.5e the dispel magic states the following:

If the object that you target is a magic item, you make a dispel check against the item's caster level. If you succeed, all the item's magical properties are suppressed for 1d4 rounds, after which the item recovers on its own. A suppressed item becomes nonmagical for the duration of the effect.

The 5e Dispel Magic only ends the effect of spell affecting an item:

Choose one creature, object, or magical effect within range. Any spell of 3rd level or lower on the target ends. For each spell of 4th level or higher on the target, make an ability check using your spellcasting ability. The DC equals 10 + the spell's level. On a successful check, the spell ends.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you automatically end the effects of a spell on the target if the spell's level is equal to or less than the level of the spell slot you used.

Answer 5

Figure out what caused the curse, then resolve it.

Van Ricten's Guide to Ravenloft includes a section on more narratively-driven curses than simply those caused by the Inflict Curse spell. Regarding their resolution, it says:

Sometimes a curse can be ended by making restitution to a wronged party (or their closest kin in the case of a death) or reparation if something was stolen or destroyed. The resolution might be declared as part of the pronouncement, or it may be left to those who suffer the curse to make amends on their own. Research and divination can offer clues or even reveal the exact steps needed to resolve the curse.

...

Here are some examples of curse resolutions:

• Protecting a loved one dear to the person who laid the curse from some dire threat
• Returning every piece of a stolen treasure hoard, down to the last copper coin, to the place where it once rested
• Slaying the head of a dynasty that has long held power in the region
• Accomplishing a seemingly impossible task, such as raising a castle above the clouds or making the sun cross the sky in a different direction

Answer 6

A cursed item is just a generic starting point imo. Even though most don't have removal instructions, they don't say it is impossible either. I think it's a pity to waste cursed items or rely on wish/DI. I know we aren't talking homebrew options, and some really don't like them at all. I do think there is always a homebrew solution to these puzzles that are in the spirit of RAW and RAI. Some I have used in the past:

Remove Curse has higher levels. When cast at 5th level supresses the curse on item for 1d4 + 1 days. An extra d4 for each slot above 5th. If they forget and the curse takes hold again it gets a little nastier each time << A campaign favourite.

Letting players devise a series of spells/rituals/efforts and set a DC for suppression and DC for removal based on the cost and creativity. If removed, I roll to see if there are any consequences. Maybe they will be on someone or something's radar now. One of my players devised a beautifully elegant ritual using multiple spells, casters, a shrine and a unicorn tear. It worked!... but it took them a while to realise there was a devil hunting them, wreaking havoc in every village they visited. Those poor orphans. Ψ(｀▽´)Ψ

A quest to discover the unique lore behind the item and the curse. This could lead to a special series of riuals, spells, locations, people and mystics to lift the curse. Slaying a devil or coven of hags, fulfilling an ancient broken pact, putting a vengeful spirit to rest.

It can be endless flavour but I know this is probably boring or sacrilege for most.