Magic item for barbarian

[Stryyke]

In the game I'm currently in, we have access to purchasing magic items for the first time. I'm playing a 3rd level Ancestral Guardian Barb. Though my character doesn't wear armor, the DM has allowed most magical effects to be applied via the tattoo mechanic. We're pretty poor, and I don't anticipate any sizable influxes of cash in the near future. I can essentially get 1 common/uncommon magical effect. What is your recommendation?

Level 3 Barbarian (Ancestral Guardian)

STR 18
DEX 10
CON 18
INT 8
WIS 9
CHA 7

AC 14

Greatsword Specialist (my character concept is built around a specific greatsword, so this is non-negotiable)

Teammates

Level 3 Artificer (battle focus)
Level 3 Wizard (Diviner I think)

[Kvess]

When you say that your character is built around a specific greatsword, do you mean a greatsword you already have or one you are going to acquire? What is the greatsword and what does it do? Seems important.

Due to resistances, you probably want a magic weapon. If you don’t already have one, your best bet in the uncommon tier is either a +1 greatsword (a +5% increase to attack rolls is nice) or a greatsword of Warning (immunity to being surprised and advantage on initiative).

If you already have your all-important greatsword and it is magical, I would recommend getting a pair of Winged Boots. Flying enemies are the bane of barbarians, and four hours of flight is more than enough for combat.

[Stryyke]

When you say that your character is built around a specific greatsword, do you mean a greatsword you already have or one you are going to acquire? What is the greatsword and what does it do? Seems important.

Due to resistances, you probably want a magic weapon. If you don’t already have one, your best bet in the uncommon tier is either a +1 greatsword (a +5% increase to attack rolls is nice) or a greatsword of Warning (immunity to being surprised and advantage on initiative).

If you already have your all-important greatsword and it is magical, I would recommend getting a pair of Winged Boots. Flying enemies are the bane of barbarians, and four hours of flight is more than enough for combat.

I do have the weapon already, and it is magical. I don't know what the enchantments are, though. It's part of the character arc that he learns what the sword does as the campaign proceeds. Hmmm. Flight could be good.

[J-H]

I like the Cloak of Protection (+1 to AC AND saves). Depending on your CON score, an Adamantine breastplate might be an AC boost, as well as giving crit immunity to complement Reckless Attack.

[redsonja]

Bracers of Defense- +2 to AC while not wearing armor or a shield. Tailor made for you.

[Catullus64]

Bracers of Defense- +2 to AC while not wearing armor or a shield. Tailor made for you.

That's Rare, not Uncommon. Which is fine, because the real pro choices are:

Hat of Disguise (Frankly broken, this)
Headband of Intellect (Essential Barbarian item)
Immovable Rod (Endless fun)
Deck of Illusions (Free distractions, there are some pretty crazy draws in there)
Ring of Jumping (Quite hilarious with an already high Strength score)
Ring of Mind Shielding (The mental protection benefits are incidental: the real draw here is that if you get killed, your character still gets to stick around as a ring that the party carries around and talks to!)

I'm not even joking about any of these. With your primary skillset already covered by a custom magical sword, go for something weird.

[Contrast]

If you already have your all-important greatsword and it is magical, I would recommend getting a pair of Winged Boots. Flying enemies are the bane of barbarians, and four hours of flight is more than enough for combat.

Not only will this help your mobility a lot in combat, it'll also add a lot of utility having a strong character capable of flight in terms of out of combat contribution which is where the barbarian is going to struggle most. It'll let you resolve a lot of environmental challenges without needing to spend a lot of time/spell slots.

Other options - Bag of Holding is something that every party is likely to want at some point.

If you do want something combat related that gives you a fundamentally different option the Pipes of Haunting are reasonably powerful.


You might want to have a discussion with your artificer about how they're thinking about using their infusions so there isn't any overlap.

[Mastikator]

If your DM allows then Winged Boots or Broom of Flying would solve half of all your non-combat problems, and add a lot of options in combat.

Googles of Night if you don't have darkvision is an option to consider, but probably not all that amazing.

[Derpldorf]

I want to put forth the Horn of Valhalla. You might be surprised by how many problems can be solved by throwing disposable berserkers at it.

[Mastikator]

I want to put forth the Horn of Valhalla. You might be surprised by how many problems can be solved by throwing disposable berserkers at it.

While super awesome and flavor appropriate it's rare, very rare or legendary :/

[Catullus64]

If your DM allows then Winged Boots or Broom of Flying would solve half of all your non-combat problems, and add a lot of options in combat.


Honestly, the truth of this statement is the same reason why I wouldn't take either of those items. Too many exploration challenges can be bypassed by at-will (or even extensive) access to flight at the early levels. Doesn't sound like fun to me.

There's a philospohical component to this as well. The early levels, I think, should be spent looking up in wonder as you negotiate your way through ruins and wilderness. Too much flight can spoil both of those points.

[Mastikator]

Honestly, the truth of this statement is the same reason why I wouldn't take either of those items. Too many exploration challenges can be bypassed by at-will (or even extensive) access to flight at the early levels. Doesn't sound like fun to me.

I once saw a PC die from falling into a sinkhole (inside a dungeon) after failing an acrobatics check. Those kinds of "challenges" are the polar opposite of fun to me. Worst character death ever.


The monk had previously climbed over to the other side and attached a rope to help the others get advantage on their acrobatics checks, but the guy who fell in forgot to tie it around his body so that should he fail we could still save him. And he died the most anti-climatic- stupid death ever. Honestly I hate these kinds of "skill challenges", they're not fun, it's just "play russian roulette to proceed... oh one of you died lols"


We didn't even get to loot his corpse. :smalltongue:

[Catullus64]

I once saw a PC die from falling into a sinkhole (inside a dungeon) after failing an acrobatics check. Those kinds of "challenges" are the polar opposite of fun to me. Worst character death ever.


The monk had previously climbed over to the other side and attached a rope to help the others get advantage on their acrobatics checks, but the guy who fell in forgot to tie it around his body so that should he fail we could still save him. And he died the most anti-climatic- stupid death ever. Honestly I hate these kinds of "skill challenges", they're not fun, it's just "play russian roulette to proceed... oh one of you died lols"


We didn't even get to loot his corpse. :smalltongue:

No accounting for taste, I suppose. I've had deaths like the ones you describe, and they still make me smile to think on, as well as breathe gratefully when I survive such challenges. Plummeting over waterfalls, down cliffsides, into spiked pits; it's certainly a dramatic way to die, though as a DM I don't think I'd ever make it just one dice roll away.

To the OP, take stock of your preferences and whether want these sorts of scenarios more or less wallpapered over by a single magic item.

[Keravath]

I once saw a PC die from falling into a sinkhole (inside a dungeon) after failing an acrobatics check. Those kinds of "challenges" are the polar opposite of fun to me. Worst character death ever.


The monk had previously climbed over to the other side and attached a rope to help the others get advantage on their acrobatics checks, but the guy who fell in forgot to tie it around his body so that should he fail we could still save him. And he died the most anti-climatic- stupid death ever. Honestly I hate these kinds of "skill challenges", they're not fun, it's just "play russian roulette to proceed... oh one of you died lols"


We didn't even get to loot his corpse. :smalltongue:

"the guy who fell in forgot to tie it around his body"

Just a quick comment ... but did everyone else in the party tie the rope around themselves? Did the PLAYER just forget to say the character was going to tie the rope around themselves? Or did the player specifically say the character was not going to tie the rope?

This sounds more like it could be the type of situation where the DM penalizes the player for forgetting to say the character does something that they would obviously have done rather than a player role playing a character who likes to take risks.

It is not the type of DM I will generally play with or if I am then I will describe how my character will take all precautions needed in any situation that everyone else in the party is already taking - just to try to avoid the DM being a XXX about it.

Basically, in my opinion, the character should take the actions the player says they are taking and not be penalized for the actions not explicitly mentioned that everyone else in the party is already taking. The character shouldn't be penalized for a player who forgets to say "I tie off the rope".

[stoutstien]

Winged boots is the boring but most obvious choice because movement is important. So other strong picks are: The periapt of wound closure is a strong contender for any barbarian as well just due to the nature of how the deal with mitigation. Mithral half plate could go a long way if you don't want to destroy your stealth rolls but you could just as well use a cloak of elvenkind. Cloak of protection is boring but very good.

Saying that I would get a headband if intelligence because why not be smarterest.

[Mastikator]

"the guy who fell in forgot to tie it around his body"

Just a quick comment ... but did everyone else in the party tie the rope around themselves? Did the PLAYER just forget to say the character was going to tie the rope around themselves? Or did the player specifically say the character was not going to tie the rope?

This sounds more like it could be the type of situation where the DM penalizes the player for forgetting to say the character does something that they would obviously have done rather than a player role playing a character who likes to take risks.

It is not the type of DM I will generally play with or if I am then I will describe how my character will take all precautions needed in any situation that everyone else in the party is already taking - just to try to avoid the DM being a XXX about it.

Basically, in my opinion, the character should take the actions the player says they are taking and not be penalized for the actions not explicitly mentioned that everyone else in the party is already taking. The character shouldn't be penalized for a player who forgets to say "I tie off the rope".

He snuck away from the party (rolled high stealth while the rest of us were busy discussing where to go) and wanted to cross the sink hole by himself so he could reach the next room. The DM asked him if he's tying the rope and he said "nah I'll just cross". With advantage on his acrobatics roll and nobody around to save him he rolled poorly and fell to his demise. The DM commented on how these kinds of challenges tend to kill more PCs than any encounter, well duh they're a hundred times more deadly :smallsigh:

I really don't like these russian roulette style skill "challenges". I put challenge into quotation marks because there's no challenge, just risk. You put a gun to your head, pull the trigger and hope the chamber is empty, it's just pure gambling with your life. At least with Winged Boots you'd have the option of saying "nah I'll just fly over, wow it was so good I took this magic item".

[Catullus64]

He snuck away from the party (rolled high stealth while the rest of us were busy discussing where to go) and wanted to cross the sink hole by himself so he could reach the next room. The DM asked him if he's tying the rope and he said "nah I'll just cross". With advantage on his acrobatics roll and nobody around to save him he rolled poorly and fell to his demise. The DM commented on how these kinds of challenges tend to kill more PCs than any encounter, well duh they're a hundred times more deadly :smallsigh:

I really don't like these russian roulette style skill "challenges". I put challenge into quotation marks because there's no challenge, just risk. You put a gun to your head, pull the trigger and hope the chamber is empty, it's just pure gambling with your life. At least with Winged Boots you'd have the option of saying "nah I'll just fly over, wow it was so good I took this magic item".

I mean, to follow your analogy, it seems like that guy put an extra bullet in the chamber before playing Russian Roulette, since he decided not to take a safety precaution even when he was explicitly offered one. Either he was very careless, or found the prospect of risk fun and accepted it.

[PattThe]

"the guy who fell in forgot to tie it around his body"

Just a quick comment ... but did everyone else in the party tie the rope around themselves? Did the PLAYER just forget to say the character was going to tie the rope around themselves? Or did the player specifically say the character was not going to tie the rope?

This sounds more like it could be the type of situation where the DM penalizes the player for forgetting to say the character does something that they would obviously have done rather than a player role playing a character who likes to take risks.

It is not the type of DM I will generally play with or if I am then I will describe how my character will take all precautions needed in any situation that everyone else in the party is already taking - just to try to avoid the DM being a XXX about it.

Basically, in my opinion, the character should take the actions the player says they are taking and not be penalized for the actions not explicitly mentioned that everyone else in the party is already taking. The character shouldn't be penalized for a player who forgets to say "I tie off the rope".

I get the feeling od&d players would have gone to great lengths to eliminate all chance of death, even if it meant allying with an entire dungeon faction to charge the point of interest and walk across their corpses to get to safety. I can imagine anyone in those days saying "you want me to roll versus certain death? Yeah I'm going to do literally anything other than that."
If players have expectations to just think "the dm wants me to roll, I guess that's what I'm supposed to do" is a bit yikes to the spirit of problem solving.


On topic, magic shield and a one handed weapon is pretty fun if you want to fight forever and make that HP last. Gosh, imagine an ioun stone of protection, a missile snaring shield, then you draw and cast out a flying sword, then while that's out you draw a magic sword.
Cloak of protection +1 and Bracers of Defense +2 are like, classic for a reason though. Get em.