Bag o' Tricks - A Bard's Best Friend

[Rogue_1]

Hey all,

Rogue_1 here. So, me and my friends are playing a pirate-themed nautical adventure. We're 15th level and are allowed 1 legendary item, 3 very rare, 5 rare, and 6 uncommon. I fully comprehend this amount is high over the recommended amount, but the DM is assuming since we're high-level pirates who have gathered two fair-sized boats, we're loaded with magical
bags of swag. I was debating over which magical items would be the most effective and flavorful, and decided to pop down to the threads and ask fellow dungeoneers. So, I'm running a
14th level Bard of Lore and have dropped one level into Rogue to gain Expertise, some proficiencies, the skill, and flavor. So, which magic items should I take - in terms of increasing my
power level on a roughly equal level basis alongside my flavor level.
I'm playing a support role, being the team's skill monkey, secondary spellcaster, secondary melee warrior (whip + Defensive Duelist) and have taken mostly defensive spells and buffs.
The Instruments of the Bards pop up immediately, as well as a few of the Ioun Stones. I'd love to hear your recommendations, and if you love bards too, give me your favorite builds to
boot!

[EdenIndustries]

Speaking of Bag 'o Tricks....why not grab a Bag of Tricks! 3 animal companions every day can add a lot to action economy and generally just provide a lot more targets for your foes. Granted, you're 15th level so they won't be doing a ton of damage to the average enemy. But hey, even a rat bite can force a Concentration check on an enemy caster! Besides, it's only an uncommon item and you get 6 of those!

[Rogue_1]

Great idea! I've never really looked at the Bags before, but now I'm seeing potential. . .Thanks a lot Eden!

[EdenIndustries]

My pleasure!

[Veldrenor]

Legendary
Item 1: Ioun Stone of Mastery - Thanks to Jack of All Trades you get a ton of mileage out of the Ioun Stone (until you hit level 17 at any rate). Also, because so many bard combat spells rely on your spell save DC it's a good idea to crank that as high as possible. You could also take the Ollamh Harp here if you don't expect to be casting (m)any spells on the enemy.

Very Rare
Item 1: Tome of Leadership and Influence - Can't go wrong with more Charisma.
Item 2: Ring of Regeneration - Takes some of the pressure off of the party's healers.
Item 3: Anstruth Harp - Wall of Thorns is a decent control spell, 5th level Cure Wounds to help the healers, and what pirate couldn't benefit from weakening a storm or conjuring wind out of a calm? Plus there's all the usual Instrument of the Bards abilities.

Rare
Item 1: Cape of the Mountebank - Because sometimes you really need to be somewhere that's not right where you're standing.
Item 2: Glamoured Studded Leather - +1 armor that's easy to hide. If your dex is 15 or lower, though, Elven Chain might be better.
Item 3: Iron Bands of Bilarro - You're pirates. Sometimes merchant vessels have valuable prisoners. Or maybe you'll find yourself faced with a foe you really want to take out of the fight.
Item 4: Periapt of Proof Against Poison - Again, pirates. Poison and backstabbing are part of the territory.
Item 5: There are a ton of options to finish off. A portable hole to carry off as much loot as possible. A dagger of venom in case things go sideways and you wind up real close to the enemy. A figurine of wonderous power or a brass horn of valhalla to summon some allies.

Uncommon:
Item 1: Cap of Waterbreathing - In a nautical campaign you're probably going over the side at some point. Best to be prepared.
Item 2: Gloves of Thievery - You're the party's skill monkey, these make you an even better skill monkey.
Item 3: Goggles of Night - Darkvision if you don't have it, better Darkvision if you do. Great in the dark of ship holds or deep under the sea.
Item 4: Circlet of Blasting/Wand of Magic Missiles - You may be a support caster, but being able to blast away in an emergency could prove useful.
Item 5 & 6: Boots of Elvenkind for more sneakiness. The aforementioned bag of tricks for animal allies. Bag of holding for storage. Sending Stones to communicate with your allies across ships. Robe of Useful items for money, healing potions, and surprise utility stuff. Immovable Rod for utility or pinning very small ships in place (very, very small. 8000 pounds won't do much to a cog with 200 tons of cargo).

[Zene]

I second the recommendation for Ioun Stone of Mastery and Anstruth Harp. You then get one more attunment item. Personally, my vote is for a Weapon of Warning. As a bard, going earlier in the initiative order (and possibly getting those debuffs off earlier) is a huge boon. Plus, never be surprised! Slightly less useful if someone else is already taking one, but at those power levels, it being an attunement item, there's a good chance they aren't.

You then have a ton of non-attunement items to choose. Some of my favorites include the summoning items (Efreeti bottle, stone of summoning earth elementals, bags of tricks, nightcaller). Since they are all times-per-day or times-ever uses, it doesn't hurt to take multiples, especially if they don't require concentration so you can use multiple at once. Other awesome non-attunes include hat of disguise, boots of elvenkind, gloves of thievery, broom of flying.

[Veldrenor]

Other awesome non-attunes include hat of disguise, boots of elvenkind, gloves of thievery, broom of flying.

Surprisingly, the Hat of Disguise actually is an attunement item. It'd be a perfect bard item otherwise, and honestly it might be good enough to have anyway. Just swap out one of your other attunement items for it when you don't expect to be going into combat.

[Rogue_1]

Thanks a lot. I decided to go for the Ioun Stone of Mastery and pick up one of the very rare Instruments. Your suggestions helped a lot and I'm glad I asked. Again, thanks to all who replied! :D

[Rogue_1]

Also, a special shout-out to Veldrenor, who took valuable time to compile his amazing list of suggestions. I picked up so many of these items, so many thanks to Veldrenor.

[Zene]

Surprisingly, the Hat of Disguise actually is an attunement item. It'd be a perfect bard item otherwise, and honestly it might be good enough to have anyway. Just swap out one of your other attunement items for it when you don't expect to be going into combat.

Ah, that's right, I'd forgotten. The character I have it on does exactly that... just keeps it around for swapping it out with an attunement item when she knows she'll need a disguise.

[Veldrenor]

Also, a special shout-out to Veldrenor, who took valuable time to compile his amazing list of suggestions. I picked up so many of these items, so many thanks to Veldrenor.

I'm playing a bard too at the moment, and while not nearly your power level I've nonetheless been plotting ahead so I'm glad that I could help you out! Let us know how it works out, it'd be cool to know what items end up being super-special-awesome and what end up being duds.

[Rogue_1]

Gladly! Me and my friends are starting within the week, and I'll let you know about the progress.