Picking interesting magic items for a group of inexperienced players.

[Requilac]

I am a relatively new player who just took up the role of a dungeon master. My comprehension of rules and role playing is satisfactory, but I have little knowledge on many of D&D’s magic items. So far I have only played one season of AL and most of the magical items went to people other than me. I know that I could roll randomly for treasure boards, but I wanted to see if they were any interesting magical items that any of you on the forum seemed to be fond of that you think my new group would also enjoy. I will be skeptical about home brew items and prefer that they are not listed, but this is not an AL game so I can allow them, so long as they do not seem too unbalanced. Preferably I do not want to simply give them things that are too boring (+1 weapons) or too complex. Thank you in advance for anyone who submits an idea!

If it matters at all, the party consists of 3 level 2 adventurers
•a high elf wizard (evoker)
•a half-orc fighter; has the defense fighting style but favors two-handed weapons (going to become a champion)
•a wood elf monk (going to follow the way of the open hand)

[Nifft]

Potions. Let them find these in sets of 3; that seems to encourage actually using the things.

Immovable Rod. It's a classic for a reason. Requires and rewards creativity.

Portable Hole. It's another classic -- great utility and potential for hilarity.

Bag of Tricks (or Bag of Beans). Weird and fun.


The most memorable magic items I've used were non-magical items with a couple rolls on the tables from page 143, plus a bit of DM creativity.

For example:

Nail of the Crow's Nest - This otherwise-ordinary dagger has the Waterborne minor property (floats in liquid; gives advantage on swim checks). When the character is in the water, he sees a spectral figure helping him stay afloat. It's the spirit of a sailor who drowned holding the Nail. His bearded spectral form does not speak, but his eyes are full of sympathy as he pulls you towards the surface.

Mirror of ______'s Prophecy - This ornate hand-held mirror has the Gleaming, Unbreakable, and Hidden Message properties, and also the Loud quirk. Pulling this together: the mirror is inexorably tied to a thwarted destiny. It was found on the Isle of Dread, and its owner's mission was to do something at the center of the island. He failed, but his destiny remains, somehow tied to this mirror. When held and addressed, the mirror loudly proclaims the prophecy which must be fulfilled. Then it loudly chastises the current owner and critiques his or her failings, until it's been smothered in cloth for at least a minute, after which it de-activates until it's addressed again. This mirror cannot be removed from the Isle of Dread until the prophecy is complete; after its heroic fate is complete, the mirror loses all properties.

Short Sword: Sunbride - This short sword sheds light on command. The light is quirky, though: it's always a reflection of the sun, ignoring any intervening obstacles (including the planet) and is as bright as actual sunlight -- but the reflection can only be directed in a hemisphere, which varies depending on the time of day. If you know the current time, this may help you orient yourself. It can also blind some light-sensitive creatures. This is a variant on the Beacon and Compass minor properties.

Do stuff like that.

Take a non-magical item and make it awesome.

[Azgeroth]

now im assuming we are going for useful/interesting, as opposed to weapon/armor..

immovable rod, bag of holding(lesser PortH), handy haversack(lesser BoH), chime of opening, wand of detect magic, potion of, strength, fire breathing, stoneskin, waterbreathing. scrolls, lots of scrolls.. not all wizard scrolls either, mix it up. these make good treasure, and your wizard will love it. (remember there is a cost associated with scribing spells, so you can give him all the scrolls you like but he wont be able to scribe them unless you give him the means).

EDIT : i'm away from the books so thats all i can remember the names of from the top of my head, but there are others, like sovereign glue? oil of etherealness..

short answer, its either nothing related to a stat on a character sheet, or its consumable.. they make the best magic items.

also, give your fighter a silvered weapon..

[SaA]

you could also just make up your on fun items

like

War-hammer of Sleep --- This War-hammer is able to put any creature of your size or smaller with an AC lower then your characters level to sleep. To utilize the effect of this War-hammer you must do a melee weapon attack at the targets head. If the Strike Hits with an attack roll at least 2 above the targets AC it is put to sleep.

[Azgeroth]

the OP mentioned is new to the table, he did mention he only wanted published items, and not homebrew..

though linking some guides for homebrewing items is probably a good idea.

[nickl_2000]

I know you said no home brew items, but I would really consider making your own. I've found to key to a non-boring magical items is to make a resource based and fill in gaps in the party. In this party you are lacking healing. So, you put in something that would assist with that. For example

Leeching Greataxe
Weapon (Greataxe), uncommon (requires attunement)
Once per long rest, when you successfully hit an opponent, you can deal extra necrotic damage and gain the same amount of temporary hitpoints. The die used for the extra damage is the nearest die to your level (rounded down).

Or pick an item that fits into the character concept.


Belt of the Master
Monk, requires attunement
When a Monk is attuned to this belt, it gives them a greater center and projection of their Ki. The monk may meditate to store unused Ki at the end of the day inside this belt to be used during the next day. All stored ki must be released from the belt before more can be stored

Alternately make it enhance other effects, like making the push back from the Open Hand Technique be 25 feet instead of 15.



Or you can pick something that is very useful and isn't in the party at all (and can't be). For example, your party doesn't have anyone with guidance, so you could put this into the campaign
Whip of Encouragement
Whenever you attack with the whip you may shout "try harder you lazy scum" and the whip will cast the guidance spell as a cantrip on the target. This lasts the normal duration of the guidance spell, but does not require concentration. Once per short rest, you may shout an insult as you hit with the whip. The next time the hit target makes a roll with a d20, it will have the total reduced by 1d6.







Now, if you want magical items that are standard, but aren't just the normal +1 to give more RP and unique problem solving.

Bag of Holding - Really makes you life easier to not have to think about burden
Any Spell Scroll
Any Potion
Decanter of Endless Water
Bag of Tricks - We've done some crazy things with this
Deck of Illusions
Alchemists Jug
Eversmoking Bottle
Immovable Rod

[JPicasso]

Lots of good suggestions already. I'd like to echo the homebrew sentiment. What has worked for me with homebrew items is to keep them low-powered to start, but prepare to have them grow with the user in power.

For instance, right now, our third level champion has flame swords that give a bonus to damage. Next level, or maybe 5th, it will be revealed they give fire resistance, or something along those lines. Perhaps they actually contain a fire elemental? That could be fun.

The sorcerer's staff allows her to store a 1st level spell. Later, I'll probably allow another slot or perhaps a free low-level utility spell. Or maybe Jump spell, just because that's fun.

The mostly human party has a light-maker. It's an animal skull with a special crystal embedded in it. When someone shouts into it, it lights up for about an hour (depends on how hard they yelled). The light is repulsive to creatures of the dark (proven against cloakers and piercers), but it prevents sneaking up on things in many situations.

Remember it's easier to enhance an item if it turns out to be useless or underpowered, vs removing a power if it turns out OP.

[Joe the Rat]

Obviously useful:
Potions - anything that heals, buffs, or grants new abilities. Basic healing potions ought to pop up semi-regularly - and it's okay for bad guys to use them once in a while.
Bag o' holding - in case you want to make carrying stuff easy.
Boots of springing and striding - triple jump is awesome.
slippers of spiderclimb - walking on walls is awesome.
(Either one will be of use to the fighter or monk - let them sort it out)
Robe of useful items - though you might want to cherry-pick the patches a bit - there's a LOT of wealth in there.
Rope of climbing
feather tokens
Spell scrolls - this one is tricky, since it's only for the wizard. I would suggest that when you provide a new spell, give it in pairs - one to cast and try out, and one to scribe into his spellbook. I'd favor utility spells (unseen servant, levitate, comprehend languages, knock) over combat spells (web, magic missile, sleep)

Creatively useful:
Immovable Rod
Alchemy Jug (I'm sure they will find the "gallon of mayonnaise" setting amusing)
Bags of beans, tricks
Folding Boat - after a late-joining player randomly rolled it as a starting item, I really took a look at it. Ignore the art in the DMG, it's all wrong. You have a small box (which you can store a few things in) which can turn into a launch, or a sailboat. If you ever have to deal with water, a boat you can pull out and put away later is handy. Instant cover is good anywhere. Pop out the launch and flip it over for an emergency shelter. Use it as a bridge. It's surprising how many problems can be solved by throwing a boat at it.

Even if you give them "boring" things like weapons or armor, use the item quirks table to give them a little extra color and minor abilities - producing light, detecting specific creatures, personal climate control, etc. Don't be afraid to go with the absurd - light producing boots, for example.

[Luga]

My favorite magic items are Quaal's Feather Token, Daern's Instant Fortress, and Deck of Many Things. I like items that feel special, are useful (or dangerous in the case of DoMT), and aren't simply mathematical upgrades like a +1 item. You could also throw in an intelligent item Dawn Bringer from OotA module or even a cursed item like Demon Armor to shake things up. You can always throw a DoMT at them that's had some of the really crazy stuff removed or leave them in there and let the dice fall where they may.

[Sariel Vailo]

Holy avenger if you have a paldin dedender for a fighter

[Danielqueue1]

Beware the deck of many things for it can derail campaigns faster than an immovable rod in the ribcage. but it can also be extremely fun.

in my experience what magic items people enjoy depends on their playstyle and creativity. often for new players if you give them a lot of magic items, the ones with the simplest explanations or stats are the most used. potions, spell scrolls, +x gear. but that being said, if you give out few magic items people will often find clever ways of using them. I had one campaign where a character ended up with two immovable rods and a rope of climbing. there was no end to the shenanigans that the character got up to.

bags of holding and the like are useful especially if you don't want to keep track of encumberance. but can also be a lot of fun if you do, what happens when the goblins steal the bag of holding while the party is sleeping robing them of all their supplies and loot they trusted to always be there.

sending stones are great ways to allow communication with important NPCs or if they ever decide to split the party, to call for help.
foldable boat has a lot of hidden uses some of which were mentioned above.

sovereign glue inevitably leads to badgenius ideas.

minor cursed items bring a lot of flavor to games and can be good plot hooks the shield of missile attraction can actually be used to your advantage while covering the party's caster.

magic ammunition has less effect on a game as a whole than a magic weapon and so can be a great reward for any encounter.

Potion of poison can completely change the game for PCs. just like a party will never trust dungeon chests after encountering a mimic, so too will they not trust dungeon potions. also this is a great way to have that one party member who has proficiency in alchemy supplies to use his skills (subject to DM discretion)

just about any potion with a unique effect like fire breathing.

Gems of elemental summoning can turn a low-level fight around and make great emergency buttons.

sometimes leaving behind traces of former magic items can be quite thematic as well. a magic item that has consumed all its charges, the rusted remains of magic armor after encountering a rust monster, heck even day old goodberries can tell you about the region.

don't forget to also hand out the components for spells as rewards, pearls, diamonds rubies, orbs, specially marked dragon knuckle bones etc.

spellbooks make your wizard happy.

broom/carpet of flying can be quite useful, but can also break certain puzzles and challenges. make sure your party is familiar with falling damage before handing these out.

[KorvinStarmast]

For the wizard now: scroll of one first level spell that the wizard does not know.
At level 4: wand of web. (Crowd control).

For the Fighter now: a slivered two handed weapon, and a potion of climbing. (It's gonna be handy eventually).
At level 4: a +1 weapon (since magical damage is handy and this is a small party)

For the monk now: Immovable Rod
At level 4, or so: stone of good luck.

Nothing OP, but all useful.

(Portable hole, bag of holding, and Heward's are all "group" items that don't need a particular character to hang on to them).

[Nifft]

(Portable hole, bag of holding, and Heward's are all "group" items that don't need a particular character to hang on to them).

Portable Hole is a group item.

Heward's Handy Haversack has to be worn by one character, who might feel like it's personal property.

IMHO this is a major point in favor of the Hole.

[Avonar]

You want to look for items that have the ability to be used creatively to encourage the players to go more towards the unexpected, here are a few suggestions:

Deck of Illusions: Tactical illusions with the fun of added randomness thrown in
Bag of Tricks: Can be useful and is really just a lot of fun
Dust of Dryness: Allows for clever uses if they can think of them
Immovable Rod: Probably the most fun item there is
Pipes of the Sewers: Summon rats to do your bidding?
Slippers of Spider Climbing: Walk on walls and maybe use for tactics
Wand of Web: Sounds like it could be a handy one

[Requilac]

now im assuming we are going for useful/interesting, as opposed to weapon/armor..

... potion of, strength, fire breathing, stoneskin, waterbreathing.

Magical Weapons and armor are fine so long as they have something unique about them. Also, may I ask what exactly a potion of stone skin is? I could not find it in the DMG, is it a home brew item that gives you the benefit of the spell stone skin or something?

Thank you all for submitting so may good ideas, but I feel as if I should adress certain magical items or types of magical items.

Bags of holding, handy haversacks and portable holes: We are not following encumbrance rules or even keeping track of carrying weight so these are less effective than they would be for other groups. I still want to give them one of these (probably a portable hole) just for the fun of it though.
Spell scrolls: My group made a house rule that we would only be using prepared spells, and ditching the concept of known spells. To make up for this, spellcasters can decide to swap out a number of spells from their class list equal to their spellcasting modifier at the end of every long rest. Everyone, including the wizard, knew it would nerf certain classes but the whole table decided that the simplicity of it was worth it. I also scrapped the class restrictions on spell scrolls, and made it so that as long as you can understand the language the scroll is written in you can cast it regardless of class. I do not know if I will be keeping these house rules but I doubt they will have a major impact on the game so I will be keeping them for now.
Deck of many things: ... no. Just no. My player’s already decided that they did not want high character fatality rates and this is just asking to cause problems. It is better if I stay away from these...
Healing items: Nickl_2000 pointed out that my team lacked any sort of healer, but I do not think this will be much of a problem. I prefer to not pester the group with a series of six to eight (?!?!?!) meaningless fights every day and instead typically have one or two difficult fight(s) per session. So far the party has responded to these combats with good tactical efficiency and caution too. Overall, I do not think it is necessary to give them items that heal, they are careful enough to not consistently need them. I will make sure they get a healthy supply of healing potions though.
Magical weapons for the martials: I was pretty well aware that I would need to give the fighter and monk some weapons that could overcome those monsters with immunity or resistance to non-magical weapons. I will make sure to give them one early on. I am probably going to give the fighter a great-sword of life stealing and the monk a staff of the woodlands or a staff of healing (I know that monks are not supposed to be able to attune to those but I do not see anything game breaking about letting her have one).
Feather tokens: I have got to be completely honest with you, I do not see why these are so popular. Can any of you share your personal experience with one, because I am not really seeing how it is as entertaining as any of the other magical items on the list. Am I just missing something crucial about them, because to me they seem pretty bland underpowered for a rare item.

I will certainly take the popular suggestion of homebrewign magic items. I am a little nervous about the unknown effects of creating them though. Does anybody know any good guides on how to create magic items? I could probably just look them up but I was curious to know if they were any that you favored over others.

Keep the list coming. I am getting some rather excellent things to equip my players with and are looking forward to even more great ideas.

[Chugger]

One thing DMs can do to keep things more lively but not be too generous with magic items (which can cause problems) is to give out one use or even "broken" magic items. These are items not in the book.

You could even spice it up with a story about a mad tinker or maker in the area, known for eccentric and questionable magic item creations.

They could find a few sling stones that turn into a ___ giant boulder shot if hurled - only good for one use.

They might find a magic ghost pepper taco (or similar food item) that was left for them in the woods by pixies - it's a mean practical joke - if you bite it on the end that is unwrapped it shoots a Scorching Ray in your face. But if you cast Identify on it you can figure out that you can turn it around and bite it on the other end and shoot a Scorching Ray at enemies. But the user takes 1d6 fire damage. And it's only good for 4-5 days or it rots.

A magic ointment that if you rub on a blade and light turns it into a flame-tongue that counts as magic weapon and does 2d6 fire damage per hit. Starting at the second round, at the end of each turn of use the user has to roll to see if the fire goes out. The first is 20% maybe, next round is 40%, next is 60% up to 100%. Or modify that if they need to use it longer. Or say it lasts one minute and goes out - if you want less complication.

A tiger-eye hag-hyena figurine. It's an experimental figurine of wondrous power made by the mad tinker. It has only one use - the creature fights for the party for 1 hour - give it centaur stats but hyena special and movement - and maybe one of the hag's spells.

How about a magic item for between fights? A music box that over 10 minutes heals 2d6+3 and is usable once a day? A slotted gem that if you use it vanishes but gives you a level __ slot. A potion labeled with the mysterious magic words Starbux Triple Dark that gives you advantage to hit for a minute - or haste for a minute.

What about magic items for everyday use? A magic pot that cooks a good meal if you load it up with raw food and put it on a fire? A wig that conforms to your head. A cup that fills once a day at 4 pm with tea. A wand that makes bubbles shaped like animals and dragons. A toy creature that acts like it's alive but can't do anything useful - it's for fun.

Let your imagination run wild. Items that are mostly fluff don't upset balance but are fun to collect. Items that have one or limited uses can help parties get out of tight spots but don't upset game balance. The game feels like it is more rewarding without the danger of an item-rich party.

[DarkKnightJin]

Check out the vid of GM Tips with Matt Mercer on magic items. It's entertaining, informative, and overall good tips on how you can work with magic items.

The DMG has a bunch sure. But I consider those to be inspirations. You can tweak them, or five one of the effects to another item type. As long as it makes sense, obviously. No capes of +1 to attack and damage, for instance.

There's also (weak) magic item generators online. You could use those for inspiration, too.

[nickl_2000]

There's also (weak) magic item generators online. You could use those for inspiration, too.

Here's a link to that http://www.lordbyng.net/inspiration/results.php

[Luga]

Feather tokens: I have got to be completely honest with you, I do not see why these are so popular. Can any of you share your personal experience with one, because I am not really seeing how it is as entertaining as any of the other magical items on the list. Am I just missing something crucial about them, because to me they seem pretty bland underpowered for a rare item.


That's the fun thing about the Father Token, you as the GM don't need to figure out how it is useful. Some of them are situational like the anchor but if you give your players an on demand swan boat they'll come up with some crazy ways to put it to use and I doubt any will involve water.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Alchemy Jugs are great fun for either newbies that don't realize how insane the thing can be or experienced players that refrain from using it to break the game.

I was given one by a relatively new DM in a game last year, and found ways to work it into a lot of strange situations. I gave honey treats to children, made the absolute best sandwiches, should never be trusted near a well, and doused more than one residence in flames.

I loved that thing.

[FreddyNoNose]

Mirror of opposition!

[lunaticfringe]

I'm AFB but the Geyser Jug thingy.

Spider Staff if you have LMoP, I love that thing.

I think someone mentioned the Magic Item Customization tables. I love those, I use them to make low level items all the time. +2 Initiative, the Torch, Compass, Key, and Delver? functions are all really good. It allows you to give out magic weapons w/out +'s & extra damage early.

[Requilac]

Mirror of opposition!

Umm, you do realize that the 5e DMG does not have a mirror of opposition right? I could only find a mirror of life trapping in the DMG, but a quick google search seems to state that this was an existent item in previous editions.

[DarkKnightJin]

I'm AFB but the Geyser Jug thingy.

Spider Staff if you have LMoP, I love that thing.

I think someone mentioned the Magic Item Customization tables. I love those, I use them to make low level items all the time. +2 Initiative, the Torch, Compass, Key, and Delver? functions are all really good. It allows you to give out magic weapons w/out +'s & extra damage early.

You could indeed check the Minor Property table in the DMG. Most of those effects would make for a moderately useful item on their own. Some are more directly useful, others require some creative thinking.

A cloak that never gets dirty. A sword that lets you know which way north is, or how deep you are below the surface.
A ring that warns you impending threats.

Low power, flavorful, and they won't break your game.

[ChainsawFlwrcld]

I will be skeptical about home brew items and prefer that they are not listed, ... Preferably I do not want to simply give them things that are too boring (+1 weapons) or too complex.

If it matters at all, the party consists of 3 level 2 adventurers
•a high elf wizard (evoker)
•a half-orc fighter; has the defense fighting style but favors two-handed weapons (going to become a champion)
•a wood elf monk (going to follow the way of the open hand)

Wow, so many Homebrew suggestions. Then there's that suggestion for a Holy Avenger for a Level 2 group.

Here is my list of useful items that aren't OP but also have some flair to them.

Animated Shield DMG: 151 (great for a caster type)
Bag of Tricks DMG: 154
Chime of Opening DMG: 158
Figurine of Wondrous - Power Serpentine Owl DMG: 170
Immovable Rod DMG: 175
Periapt of Wound Closure DMG: 184 (outstanding for fighters without healers)
Vicious Weapon DMG: 209
Wand of Secrets DMG: 211
Weapon of Warning DMG: 213

Naturally one of the storage devices like a bag of holding would be nice but not much flair to them.

[Requilac]

I have a quick follow up question that I would like to hear your input on. So far to make up for the party’s lack of magical items I wanted to give the fighter a great-sword of life stealing (SoLS for abbreviation) and I wanted to add the benefits of a +2 weapon to the immovable rod and give it to the monk as a quarter staff. The reason I chose to give the rod the benefits of a +2 weapon is because then it has the same rarity of a SoLS, so they should be roughly equivalent, right? But now that I am working this out mathematically I realized that this is not very fair as a +2 weapon seems extreremly superior to the SoLS.

Let me explain my work. When you roll a 20 on the attack roll while using a sword of life stealing you deal 10 extra damage and gain 10 temporary hit points. That means that every time you hit there is 5% chance to gain a benefit of 20 (assuming that temporary hit point gain is equivalent to extra damage dealt if they are equal to the same number; For example gaining 1 temporary hit point is an equal benefit to dealing 1 extra damage). Which means that after roughly 20 attacks you gain 20 benefit.
So then let us see the net benefit of attacking 20 times with a +2 weapon. That is a +2 to the attack roll and a +2 to damage which is equivalent to 4 benefit every attack (assuming a bonus to the attack roll is equal to a bonus to damage if they are the same number; for example a +1 bonus to attack roll is an equal benefit to dealing 1 extra damage). Which means that after 20 attacks you gain a total benefit of 80.
If we assume that temporary hit point gain, extra damage and attack roll bonuses are equal to each other if they are the same number (for example, a +1 gain to temporary hit points= a +1 bonus to attack roll= a +1 bonus to damage), then the +2 weapon is 4 times more superior to a Sword of life stealing.

What are your opinions on this? Would you say that a +2 weapon is superior to a Sword of life stealing? I want to be fair to my players and do not want to accidently give one an unfair advanatage over the other. Thank you for anyone who shares their opinion!

[Vaz]

As a quick heads up, the less fights in the day, the less powerful Short Rest Resources are; the game is balanced around making them more regularly useable, but less individually powerful. A Fighter Short Resting 1/day can heal 2d10+(2*level), but one resting 2, or even 3 gets far more (and tge same with Superiority Dice while a Wizard's Long Rest resources don't change in effectiveness.

2 dangerous fights also means that a Wizard can use their most powerful abilities much more regularly, so difficult fights begin to lose the same edge they do otherwise.

Thus, something like a Rod of the Pact Keeper, or a weapon which can store unused superiority dice/ki etc (Equal to Prof Bonus?) to give extra oomph in combat so that internal balance is less stretched.

[Estrillian]

Seconding the many suggestions for the Alchemical jug and also those for 'broken' items, the first item my group got was a broken Alchemy Jug. Instead of its normal list of substances it produced a variety of spoilt or sour things: vinegar, curdled milk, salt water, poison, squid ink, blood, urine. In addition to activate it someone had to put a drop of blood (1HP) in the top and then seal it.

It was incredibly popular. I think my party had much more fun with coming up for uses for its bizarre output than they would have had with the actually useful things from a real jug.

[DarkKnightJin]

Seconding the many suggestions for the Alchemical jug and also those for 'broken' items, the first item my group got was a broken Alchemy Jug. Instead of its normal list of substances it produced a variety of spoilt or sour things: vinegar, curdled milk, salt water, poison, squid ink, blood, urine. In addition to activate it someone had to put a drop of blood (1HP) in the top and then seal it.

It was incredibly popular. I think my party had much more fun with coming up for uses for its bizarre output than they would have had with the actually useful things from a real jug.

No, they would've done similar for a non-broken Jug.
It's the player mindset of "The DM gave us this, so we're supposed to use it" that most groups tend to have.
You gave them a 'hammer'. Now they're going to see how they can transmute their problems into nails.

[Estrillian]

No, they would've done similar for a non-broken Jug.
It's the player mindset of "The DM gave us this, so we're supposed to use it" that most groups tend to have.
You gave them a 'hammer'. Now they're going to see how they can transmute their problems into nails.

Possibly so - but without the amusing squick factor of "it produced WHAT!???"

[Joe the Rat]

Doubling down, use the jug art from the DMG - it doesn't just produce assorted yuck, it sprays it out of all those side-spigots simultaneously. Possibly while bouncing and spinning. Deranged calliope music optional.

[ChainsawFlwrcld]

I wanted to add the benefits of a +2 weapon to the immovable rod and give it to the monk as a quarter staff.

I guess you did want homebrew after all. A homebrewed +2 Immovable Quarter Staff would be a powerful item and to give it to such a low level character will not leave you many ways to impress them with new toys as they level up without dipping into the legendary, unique, or additional homebrewed items that you earlier said you didn't want to consider.

[Requilac]

I guess you did want homebrew after all. A homebrewed +2 Immovable Quarter Staff would be a powerful item and to give it to such a low level character will not leave you many ways to impress them with new toys as they level up without dipping into the legendary, unique, or additional homebrewed items that you earlier said you didn't want to consider.

I would hardly consider mixing a +2 quartertsaff and an immovable rod together really “homebrew”. You can not really use both features at the same time so I was just trying to “kill two birds with one stone” (it was no different than giving them an immovable rod and a +2 quarterstaff, except that they were in the same item) more than anything else. I was afraid that it would be overpowered though, looking through that math seems to make the case pretty clear. I am probably going to put a once every 24 hour limitation on the immovable rod but even then it seemed a little too much. Ehh, It would probably be better if I allow the wizard to use it as a quarterstaff that does magical damage (no +X property) in case she ever has to make an opportunity attack or faces something with resistance to the lighting damage (she has shocking grasp) and giving the monk some other weapon. I still want to hear more opinions though, as not everything is what it seems at first.


As a quick heads up, the less fights in the day, the less powerful Short Rest Resources are; the game is balanced around making them more regularly useable, but less individually powerful. A Fighter Short Resting 1/day can heal 2d10+(2*level), but one resting 2, or even 3 gets far more (and tge same with Superiority Dice while a Wizard's Long Rest resources don't change in effectiveness.

2 dangerous fights also means that a Wizard can use their most powerful abilities much more regularly, so difficult fights begin to lose the same edge they do otherwise.

Thus, something like a Rod of the Pact Keeper, or a weapon which can store unused superiority dice/ki etc (Equal to Prof Bonus?) to give extra oomph in combat so that internal balance is less stretched.

I realized that this would become a problem pretty early and talked it out with my group. A lot of ideas were spitballed, most of them from me as I am the only one with expansive knowledge of the system. Eventually we decided the easiest solution would be to use the spell points variant for any spellcatsers but halve their maximum number of spell points (accept for at levels 1 and 2, they would stay the same). For example, normally a level 10 wizard would have 64 spell points, but using this rule they only have 32. Some other possible solutions we looked into were using the gritty realism rest variant (but I was worried about doing so as the team lacked a dedicated healer), buffing up encounters to make them a worthy challenge (but this would still cause the wizard to be more powerful than the others), giving martials some extra features or upgrading their features (but we were concerned that this may have been a too risky decision and could have easily wrecked the game), etc. But halving spell points was the favored solution. It is subject to change at any moment, as they are all aware, but we have yet to see its permanent effects. I did not want to implement a massive house rule as a first time DM, but I felt as if they could easily adapt back to using full spell points without too much trouble. Feel free to state your opinion on this or suggest a better solution but please do not turn this into the main idea of the thread.

[Nifft]

I personally avoid giving +x weapons to PCs.

It's bad for the game's math, and it's boring.

[Requilac]

I personally avoid giving +x weapons to PCs.

It's bad for the game's math, and it's boring.

Well, a +X weapon is not that boring if it is an immovable rod though too, is it? I specifically pointed out that I did not like +X weapons either, I just wanted to give the monk a magical weapon and thought it would be simpler to just let her thwack things with the immovable rod (although part of that could have just been the novelty it). The second I started calculating the math of the +2 weapon compared to the SoLS I automatically realized how overpowered it was. It was definitely rather strange to see how that played out...

I will give them a fancy magic weapon later when they reach level 10. For now, I will just create a great sword and a quarterstaff that deals magical damage and has a minor property and a quirk. It seems like the general consensus is that the special features table on page 142 & 143 can give an otherwise mundane item some extra flavor.

[lunaticfringe]

Just spit balling but for the Monk perhaps an item they can spend ki on to do stuff from various monk Archtypes. Like Sun Souls ranged dragon ball Z flurry or Water Whip from Wo4E (the cool un-errata'd version).

[Nifft]

Well, a +X weapon is not that boring if it is an immovable rod though too, is it? YES, it is boring.

The thing that's boring about +X weapons is not that they have no interesting features -- adding fun stuff does not remove the problem.

The problem is that the +X item is always better, and a bigger X will always be better than a any fun feature. The +X turns the choice into a pure number's game, and you have to keep supplying bigger numbers to get an excitement "hit".

They're 2nd level. Give them a Club that deals magic damage and also screams like a little girl whenever it sees a monster.


I will give them a fancy magic weapon later when they reach level 10. For now, I will just create a great sword and a quarterstaff that deals magical damage and has a minor property and a quirk. It seems like the general consensus is that the special features table on page 142 & 143 can give an otherwise mundane item some extra flavor. Yeah, that's worked very well for me.

Take those tables as a guide.

[Requilac]

I think that I have created the desired two magical weapons for the Monk and the Fighter. I do not really consider it homebrew because i was taking the mechanical aspects wholly from the special features table on page 142 and 143 if the DMG. I am curious as to whether any of you ,as a player, would enjoy having them around. There is a slight concern that it may be much too boring for my group of players and they would simply forsake their properties and use them as fancy beating sticks. Well here they are...

Taugh sithiche
Weapon (great-axe), uncommon

This slender axe was originally created by a nameless fey during the apocalypse war (a long war between the elementals, including the fey, and the Great Old Ones which directly preceded the current era in the campaign setting). It was gifted to a great paladin who used the magical weapon to slay Ghaunadar, the lord of madness. Tuagh sithiche was enchanted so that the user of it feels brave and self-assured even in the face of great dread and Terror. The bearer of this weapon can also use an action to cause his or her voice to carry clearly for up to 300 feet until the end of the bearer’s next turn.

The blade of this axe is made from a lustrous silver that glows with a pale radiance when in contact with moonlight, shedding dim light in a 5-foot radius. Its long handle is made from two impossibly emerald colored branches which spiral together to form a long pole. The blade is attached to the shaft because part of it is caught in between the two spirals. No matter how hard one tries, it is impossible to remove the axe from the handle, but this does not matter too much as the silver blade somehow never rusts or gets dirty.



Bhanrighnamara
Weapon (quarterstaff), uncommon

This magnificent staff was originally created by a great aquatic dragon, the item’s namesake, who would use it as a walking stick whenever it decided to change into its humanoid form. The dragon also found that even though it could still breath and swim properly underwater in its humanoid form so long as it morphed into a semi aquatic creature, that form’s relatively frail body easily got pushed and carried away by the currents. To make up for this, the dragon enchanted it’s walking stick so that Its bearer has advantage on strength (athletics) checks made to swim, and to prevent the staff from getting lost and buried somewhere in the labyrinthine reefs, the enchantment also made it so that the item floats on water and other liquids.

This stout, but still ornate, staff is made of a teal metal that resembles the color of a sunlit sea. The tips of this weapon are covered in tough scales which are somehow harder than the metal itself. Thin, weedy corals that have shells interwoven into them form patterns all along the shaft of the weapon. These patterns will quickly, but not instantly, change depending on the user’s emotions at the time. (If the user is feeling bored than the corals will turn a dull brown color and stretch across the rod like a net and have dark shells carefully trapped behind the “net” in an organized fashion. If the user is feeling violent than the corals may turn red and form splotchy patches along the staff which have shards of broken seashells stuck in them. If the user is feeling amused Than the corals may turn a bright pink color and spiral all along the length of the tool, with bright colored sea shells and pearls placed whimsically throughout the weave.)



I have considered adding additional effects to the weapons as they level up. Possibly, at level 10 the user of tuagh sithiche has advantage on saving throws against being frightened and perhaps bhanrighnamara could grant a swimming speed and extended “hold breath time” at level 10.

[furby076]

YES, it is boring.
Point of order. Thats an opinion. Some people prefer bigger numbers. Thats ok. A good dm can make it work with minimal effort

[Nifft]

Point of order. Thats an opinion. Some people prefer bigger numbers. Thats ok. A good dm can make it work with minimal effort

That's incorrect.

It is boring because everybody prefers bigger numbers.

It is boring because once bigger numbers are an option, no other options are relevant. The game becomes nothing but getting bigger numbers.

A DM, good or otherwise, cannot magically compel his players to disregard what is obviously the most beneficial and powerful option. It becomes the only option. All other "options" become traps.

Bounded accuracy is brilliant specifically because it removes the Stairmaster of Progress™ from D&D. No longer do you NEED to have a +5 Hackmaster in order to even scratch the level 20 doomborn bloodfiend shadowmaster skullthane. No longer do you NEED a +6 diadem of casting stat.


Earlier editions had flaws, and the number-boost treadmill was one of the big ones.

Don't import that flaw back into your game.

It won't help.

[DarkKnightJin]

I feel you've made wonderful weapons that have a history behind them. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on either one, because the sheer look of them, and the obvious magical nature they have, will draw most PCs to such items like flies.

[Vaz]

That's incorrect.

It is boring because everybody prefers bigger numbers.

It is boring because once bigger numbers are an option, no other options are relevant. The game becomes nothing but getting bigger numbers.

A DM, good or otherwise, cannot magically compel his players to disregard what is obviously the most beneficial and powerful option. It becomes the only option. All other "options" become traps.

Bounded accuracy is brilliant specifically because it removes the Stairmaster of Progress™ from D&D. No longer do you NEED to have a +5 Hackmaster in order to even scratch the level 20 doomborn bloodfiend shadowmaster skullthane. No longer do you NEED a +6 diadem of casting stat.


Earlier editions had flaws, and the number-boost treadmill was one of the big ones.

Don't import that flaw back into your game.

It won't help.
Wait... Your complaint is that +Numbers no longer being requisite makes them boring because they are now more valuable? And they are not boring because everyone wants one. Other people liking or wanting something doesn't make that thing less attractive.

I love +numbers. I'd rather have a +3 weapon than one dealing+2d6 damage, and that is on a crit focused class where flat bonuses are made less and less worthwhile.

BOUNDED accuracy is near worthless because you don't feel more powerful. I miss my days of rolling to hit with a +50 attack bonus after power attacking for full. The end game content was available. The end game content in 5e doesn't feel very end gamey.

As a Barbarian 2 VS Barbarian 20, my to hit bonus goes from +5 to +11. +14 if you have a +3. Even on levels when you get new things, the to hit bonus is awful. You feel slightly better about yourself. A Fighter in 5e might well have a +14 at 20th. A fighter in 3.5 has that bonus at level 6.

Bigger numbers mean more for the person who gets to use them, and for the sake of some basic maths and learning to play the game you get characters who are capable. Also, having greater numbers means you have better granularity with the rules. Better granularity is more options and better ability to balance.

But hey, Nifft thinks Bounded Accuracy is good, so using that Standard Unit of Measurement, let's all agree our opinion means nothing.

Love them items OP!

[KorvinStarmast]

Love both items. Nice job. :smallbiggrin:


I personally avoid giving +x weapons to PCs.

(1) It's bad for the game's math, and (2) it's boring.
1. It's a TTRPG, not a computer game.
2. For whom? Hitting a little more often won't bore the player.

I've got an 11th level champion who has a +1 sword. Here's the fun part: it's cursed :smallbiggrin:

our doughty fighter is not likely to get any other weapon unless one of the other party members figures out the curse.
Why?
My DM and I discussed how cursed swords work. My Wis is not high, my int 10. It's a magical weapon. My Champion likes to fight.
The theme behind this weapon's curse, and that I've used it for a long time (I have) leads to my fighter having fallen in love with it. (To play along with the curse).
Sort of like when playing golf(I was addicted to golf for years): we fall in love with a favorite club. I used my original a Hogan Apex sand wedge for years, regardless of what other set of clubs I was playing, because that club and me simply made a lot of shots. Even moreso with a favorite putter.

Sword of Vengeance.

As long as you remain cursed, you are unwilling to part with the sword. 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 far, only twice have the other players noticed that I've not used a missile weapon when tactics would suggest it best for me to throw a javelin (I carry three, silvered) since in each case I'd already been wounded by the foe and thus (I messaged the DM to please roll a save for me, we play on roll20) when I missed the save (Wis 15) so off I went to attack my enemy. In both occasions, the enemy died before I did.

If my fellow players never figure out what's going on, none of them will think to cast remove curse. I have agreed with the DM that RP wise, I see no reason to get another weapon, and I am not going to "meta game" and tell them that this sword is cursed. I am confident that soon enough, we'll have an occasion where "something amiss" will become more obvious.

Being able to hit just a little more often, with 3 attacks per turn, is not boring. Fighters like to fight.

[Requilac]

I do have to say that I like weapons with interesting features more than I like ones with passive bonuses and that I did not like the sight of 3.5e’s massive bonuses (I have never played but I have definitely heard a lot about it, mostly from lurking on this forum). But I would hardly considering giving something a +X(up to 3) property is anywhere near the skyrocketed attack riders present in 3.5e. The reason I do not like them is because their bland (unless given an interesting history and detailed well), not because I think they disrupt the entire psychology of the game. The problems you are detailing @nillft I think may be a problem with some games, but you are the first person I have heard make that statement. I would have to say that in my (limited) experience as a player, were I given the choice between a long-Sword of Life stealing and a +2 longsword to someone, I would prefer the SoLS. I think almost everybody is going to agree that +X weapons are less interesting than other weapons with special features, but the sweeping assumption that they suck the fun out of magic weapons entirely and re-route the psychology of the game to a “bigger (number) is better” mindset seems like it would only be an issue with certain tables. No hard feelings please @Nillft, I really do like to hear to your input on things and you have been extremely helpful in this thread. I apologize if it seems like I am singling you out, that is not my intention at all.

It appears that the general consensus is that the magical items I created were satisfactory. Thank you all for your input, I was not entirely sure if they had interesting enough history to make up for their relative weakness, but it appears they passed the test. I will keep that in mind as I further my time as a DM.

[DarkKnightJin]

Satisfactory?

Dude, you went above and beyond to make sure we could have a comprehensive picture in our head of what they look like and what they do.
And you made them with some minor magical quirks for magic items.

THAT is the power you hold. With some fluff and a bit of backstory, you can take a regular stick, make it float by magic, and it changes according to the wielder's mood.. and you made it into an item that had me going "How would my character react to finding this, and hiw could I make the best use of it?"

[Nifft]

I do have to say that I like weapons with interesting features more than I like ones with passive bonuses and that I did not like the sight of 3.5e’s massive bonuses (I have never played but I have definitely heard a lot about it, mostly from lurking on this forum). But I would hardly considering giving something a +X(up to 3) property is anywhere near the skyrocketed attack riders present in 3.5e. The reason I do not like them is because their bland (unless given an interesting history and detailed well), not because I think they disrupt the entire psychology of the game. The problems you are detailing @nillft I think may be a problem with some games, but you are the first person I have heard make that statement. I would have to say that in my (limited) experience as a player, were I given the choice between a long-Sword of Life stealing and a +2 longsword to someone, I would prefer the SoLS. I think almost everybody is going to agree that +X weapons are less interesting than other weapons with special features, but the sweeping assumption that they suck the fun out of magic weapons entirely and re-route the psychology of the game to a “bigger (number) is better” mindset seems like it would only be an issue with certain tables. No hard feelings please @Nillft, I really do like to hear to your input on things and you have been extremely helpful in this thread. I apologize if it seems like I am singling you out, that is not my intention at all. No hard feelings felt.

You already noticed yourself that a higher-plus weapon was better than a more interesting lower-plus:

I have a quick follow up question that I would like to hear your input on. So far to make up for the party’s lack of magical items I wanted to give the fighter a great-sword of life stealing (SoLS for abbreviation) and I wanted to add the benefits of a +2 weapon to the immovable rod and give it to the monk as a quarter staff. The reason I chose to give the rod the benefits of a +2 weapon is because then it has the same rarity of a SoLS, so they should be roughly equivalent, right? But now that I am working this out mathematically I realized that this is not very fair as a +2 weapon seems extreremly superior to the SoLS.

Let me explain my work. When you roll a 20 on the attack roll while using a sword of life stealing you deal 10 extra damage and gain 10 temporary hit points. That means that every time you hit there is 5% chance to gain a benefit of 20 (assuming that temporary hit point gain is equivalent to extra damage dealt if they are equal to the same number; For example gaining 1 temporary hit point is an equal benefit to dealing 1 extra damage). Which means that after roughly 20 attacks you gain 20 benefit.
So then let us see the net benefit of attacking 20 times with a +2 weapon. That is a +2 to the attack roll and a +2 to damage which is equivalent to 4 benefit every attack (assuming a bonus to the attack roll is equal to a bonus to damage if they are the same number; for example a +1 bonus to attack roll is an equal benefit to dealing 1 extra damage). Which means that after 20 attacks you gain a total benefit of 80.
If we assume that temporary hit point gain, extra damage and attack roll bonuses are equal to each other if they are the same number (for example, a +1 gain to temporary hit points= a +1 bonus to attack roll= a +1 bonus to damage), then the +2 weapon is 4 times more superior to a Sword of life stealing.

What are your opinions on this? Would you say that a +2 weapon is superior to a Sword of life stealing? I want to be fair to my players and do not want to accidently give one an unfair advanatage over the other. Thank you for anyone who shares their opinion!

Your analysis was spot-on.

Now you ask if allowing higher-plus weapons is only problematic at some tables.

Well, let me answer like this: if a well-informed player would always make the same decision, then the choice being offered is not good design. If the only thing that keeps other choices "valid" is player ignorance, then that's bad design. Players who make decisions about gear based on perceived value should tend to be correct about that value, and interesting choices should be mechanically good as well -- ideally, all choices are both interesting and mechanically good.


It appears that the general consensus is that the magical items I created were satisfactory. Thank you all for your input, I was not entirely sure if they had interesting enough history to make up for their relative weakness, but it appears they passed the test. I will keep that in mind as I further my time as a DM. Yep, those are good stuff.

Here's a suggestion on making players care about the history of items: make that history relevant to future events.

A couple of examples:

- The current rulers of Ma-Jiqualand are the Al-Bjornsmont family, who overthrew the Freuden-Safir dynasty two generations ago. This sword was once owned by crown prince Pierre Freuden-Safir, and when you bring it back to Ma-Jiqualand you may become the target of those who wish to see the previous dynasty erased utterly -- and also a rallying symbol for those who wish to see their return.

- This item has a purpose, and the purpose is to complete an objective that requires an exciting quest. After the quest is complete, the item ceases to function (but you get new treasure because you completed an exciting quest).

- This item was owned by a dragon, and the dragon wants the item back. The item was forged from the soul of someone defeated by the dragon, so while it's not necessarily intelligent enough to speak, it is sentient enough to recognize that it doesn't want to be owned by the thing that murdered it, nor by any similar creature. Appropriate for an item that gives bonuses vs. dragons, or detects dragons, or similar.

[furby076]

That's incorrect.

It is boring because everybody prefers bigger numbers.

Again, wrong. Each player is different, and what is boring for one person can be exciting for another. In pathfinder i had a paladin who did massive single target dmg. I loved the big dice rolls. Our alienist wizard loved his big dice rolls, for aoe spells. Our warforged scout....loved sneaking around and tripping creatures. Our half orc barb loved to poison his enemies. And our perm enlarged druid, in dire bear form, loved jumping on targets and sitting on them. (Her version of grapple)

we all had different preferences. Not all of them were about having +5 weapons , and apparantly our dm was easily able to accommodate us all

[wilhelmdubdub]

I like the robe of useful items for the Wizard. For magic items I like to let the characters do more things, not the one thing they are already good at better.

[Requilac]

It looks like this this thread is coming to a close and is soon to become lost in the endless sea of dead posts, so I just wanted to thank everyone who participated. This was very insightful and helpful to me as a DM. I feel as if I have a much better understanding of how to decide which magic items my group would enjoy. Here is a list off some of my favortite suggestions...

Alchemy jug (uncommon)
Bag of tricks (uncommon)
Deck of illusions (uncommon)
Ever-smoking bottle (uncommon)
Immovable rod (uncommon)
Potion of fire breath (uncommon)
Bag of beans (rare)
Folding boat (rare)
Oil of etherealness (rare)
Quaal’s Feather token (rare)
Magical great-axe (Tuagh Sithiche)
Magical staff (bhanrighnamara)

Thank you all for your ideas! I will be sure to use the knowledge I have gained here to enhance my skills as a DM.