Homebrew Battle Items for lvl3

[Morax]

So i´m the Dungeon Master for a Group of 5 Players (They are currently lvl 3)

This is my first Time dm´ing so i need some advice regarding magical items for my group.

I want to give them some minor items, a few of which should actually have uses in Combat.

However, i think the uncommon items from Xanathar´s and Co are too strong for lvl 3, so i created a few items myself.

I would like to hear some opinions regarding the balancing of these items.



Elven Bow

Counts as Shortbow but has the dmg die of a Longbow. In addition, when you hit a creature with this weapon, if there are any plants or grass on the ground beneath to its feet, the creatures speed is slowed by 5 feet until the end of its next turn. This has no effect on creatures that are flying or swimming.

So i plan to give this to my Halfling Ranger Player. He took a shortbow instead of a Crossbow for RP reasons, so i would like to give him a better damage die without any + to hit increase . Is the bonus to damage for the Halfling enough or is the 2nd property justified ?

Another Option would be to let the creature that was hit with the weapon make an Strength DC (Probably a DC10 - 13 ?) or be knocked back 5 - 10 feet ? How should i balance this for lvl3 ?



2) Radiant Diamond.

This Gem can be attuned to the Hilt or Pommel of a melee Weapon. If done so, it allows the Wearer to cast Divine Favor as bonus Action. If done so, you can´t use it again until you take a long rest.

I want to give this to my Eldritch Knight Fighter, so he can use this as bonus action at a harder fight.



3) Shortsword of the Stars

The bearer can use this item to cast the Light cantrip on itself at will. In Addition The weapon will deal an additional Point of Radiant Damage.

This would fit my Human Swashbuckler since the group will be visiting a crypt, so this should come handy here.



This still leaves 2 Players without a better combat item. One of them is a War Mage and the other one a life cleric. Any Suggestions regarding items for these players The Wizard could simply be rewarded with scrolls ?

Maybe a Shield of the Sentinel for the Cleric and a Wand of the War Mage for the Wizard ? These seem stronger than the rest, but the other Characters would eventually gain something else as well, like better armor or a circlet of blasting or poison flasks etc .....

[someguy]

1 and 3 are basically +1 damage. 2 is +2.5 damage one fight per long rest, so if you have 2.5 fights per long rest it breaks even on average. It’s still probably a bit better than the others going forward, but not much. The movement reduction on the short bow is too small to also be restricted by terrain imho, I think it will feel disappointing to remember and have it be useless. Maybe up it to 10 feet or drop it.

Given that divine favor is a particularly good level 1 spell for the fighter specifically, you could go for a similar take to hit the right level for others. You could give the cleric an item that casts armor of agathys (ok buff with no concentration, just don’t allow up casting or this could scale to be very strong) on an ally, maybe as a reaction to them being targeted, once per long rest. Forces some interaction and should be fun.

You could give the wizard a staff with some utility spell and lower tier spells. Maybe spider climb and grease.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

I like your ideas.
The one thing I'd counsel against is the idea that you need to hand out 1 minor item now to everyone, then a better item to everyone in a couple of levels, etc. The best campaigns I've been in (as a player and DM) regarding magic were Curse of Strahd and Descent Into Avernus. The common thread was that there was a limited amount of magic and some of it was 'on paper' above what the characters should have. These items tended to be more memorable as each one was found individually and they added to the story. By mid level I did have a close look at who got what, and put in something for any character that seemed to be missing out and was weaker, and that was it.

[Morax]

Thanks someguy, i guess i will change the Bow to 10 feet !
I also like the Idea to give the Wizard a homebrew Staff with some utility Spells !

@5eNeedsDarksun: Thanks thats a good Advice! Acutally i plan to spilt the Items to 2 Groups and will reward the Group with 2-3 Items for each of the 2 Subquest they will finish. These Items are for my first Campaign, which has only around 10 Encoutners, because some Players are brandnew at D&D and this is also my first Time Dming. But if the Campaign continues, i will follow your wise counsel.