Magic Items for Fighters

[Yora]

I like giving players interesting items that broaden their abilities, especially to create a sense of progress even when characters advance rather slowly to new levels.

Now the thing is that most magic items with cool power are stuff that feels like good fits for spellcasters. The kind of people who already have a range of cool special powers and don't actually need any more. For rogue type characters, there's a fair amount of things you can create to help them as tools with their field of expertise, but that still leaves the fighter types.

The obvious magic stuff for fighters would be magical weapons and armor. But those typically just increase stats, but don't provide any new abilities or options. And in 5th edition in particular, significantly increasing numbers on the character sheet really doesn't seem like the way to go.

What kind of magic items are there or could be created that provide new abilities and options that are most beneficial to fighters?

[SLOTHRPG95]

Mobility-granting items, for a start. Broom of Flying or the like can allow your melee fighter to engage otherwise unreachable enemies, without having to beg the Wizard to use a 3rd level slot and Concentration for flight. I'm also a big fan of giving items with creative uses, like a Bag of Tricks or Deck of Illusions.

[Kane0]

Now the thing is that most magic items with cool power are stuff that feels like good fits for spellcasters. The kind of people who already have a range of cool special powers and don't actually need any more.

What kind of magic items are there or could be created that provide new abilities and options that are most beneficial to fighters?

Take standard magic item benefits like flight, invisibility, teleportation, telepathy, etc and just put them behind martial-only stuff so they dont end up jjst adding to the casters repertoire.
For example, when you take the attack action, X or When you spend Ki, Y or when you enter Rage, Z.

Alternatively, require attunement by martial classes the same way some items require attunement by caster classes.

Also, virtually any resource can be expanded and replenished with magic items. Think of things like scrolls and pearls of power, but applied to like battlemaster maneuvers, primeval awareness, lay on hands, etc.

[kingcheesepants]

Marvelous Pigments. Great for everyone, it's loony toons type paint that will let you paint a tunnel through a wall or make a bridge or solve any number of problems. The only real problem is that it's extremely strong and will absolutely trivialize many problems if your players are at all creative. Other items that encourage creativity or give additional abilities to anyone would be things like an Alchemy Jug, bag of tricks, robe of useful items, immovable rod, figurines of power and most wands, rings and cloaks but of particular note the cloak of the bat, x ray ring and wand of wonder.

[tokek]

I like giving players interesting items that broaden their abilities, especially to create a sense of progress even when characters advance rather slowly to new levels.

Now the thing is that most magic items with cool power are stuff that feels like good fits for spellcasters. The kind of people who already have a range of cool special powers and don't actually need any more. For rogue type characters, there's a fair amount of things you can create to help them as tools with their field of expertise, but that still leaves the fighter types.

The obvious magic stuff for fighters would be magical weapons and armor. But those typically just increase stats, but don't provide any new abilities or options. And in 5th edition in particular, significantly increasing numbers on the character sheet really doesn't seem like the way to go.

What kind of magic items are there or could be created that provide new abilities and options that are most beneficial to fighters?

There are a few examples of items which would fit fighters well and do something outside of combat. The Sentinel Shield is one of my favourites and I love that item on any character who can have it. Advantage on perception checks really helps with non-combat value. Similarly there are a variety of magical helms and you can (and probably should) require proficiency in at least medium armour to allow a character to use those without penalty - or at all.

I think that approach to magic items can be made a lot more universal without breaking anything else in the game. A magic item that grants some small useful magic can be forged onto the back of a gauntlet or into a helm or similar. Tying magic items to weapon or especially armour proficiency makes them very awkward for arcane class characters to use but very easy for fighter type classes to use.

[AIResearch]

Among fighters, Psi Warriors are interesting in that Int is an important stat that drives their Psi abilities.

It is extremely easy for a Psi Warrior to pick up a 1 or 2 level dip in Wizard which in and of itself is an extremely good dip for them as they can eventually acquire all first level spells and rituals as well as cast Wizard scrolls and use Wizard magic items.

If they do pick up the Wizard dip then extremely potent magic items for them to pick up are the Staff of Power and the Staff of the Magi either of which give them a nifty batch of higher level Wizard spells and great melee weapons at the low investment cost of 1 or 2 levels in Wizard.

War Magic is often the best pick for a 2 level dip.

[Waazraath]

Among fighters, Psi Warriors are interesting in that Int is an important stat that drives their Psi abilities.

It is extremely easy for a Psi Warrior to pick up a 1 or 2 level dip in Wizard which in and of itself is an extremely good dip for them as they can eventually acquire all first level spells and rituals as well as cast Wizard scrolls and use Wizard magic items.

If they do pick up the Wizard dip then extremely potent magic items for them to pick up are the Staff of Power and the Staff of the Magi either of which give them a nifty batch of higher level Wizard spells and great melee weapons at the low investment cost of 1 or 2 levels in Wizard.

War Magic is often the best pick for a 2 level dip.

+1 to this, dipping works.

Also +1 to the suggestions in #3 and #4. Additionally, I think there are plenty interesting items that give new options (often as spells x/day) without prereqs in later books, published after the DMG. From memory, there is a beholder crown in the Eberon book that emulates the beholder rays, Ravnica has for each guild an item (or maybe 2) that gives new options (and by restricting them to a guld, background or whatever you can tailor make it for the fighter to prevent another character picking this item 'cause the fighter already has a +1 sword'), or the Amatysts lodestone from Fizban's comes to mind.

[Sparky McDibben]

Ring of spell storing. That way they don't need to dip, and as long as they've got a friendly caster to refill it, the fighter can now concentrate on their own haste.

[Lalliman]

The heavily-armoured dwarf in our campaign has been using Slippers of Spider Climbing. It's a great item for what would otherwise be the least-mobile character. It's also a funny sight that our enemies never see coming.

[Emongnome777]

Consider an “X of throwing” weapon. In my experience, nothing kills the joy of a strength fighter more than lobbing a single javelin once per round when opponents are unreachable. Being able to use that greatsword even at 30’ range multiple times per round is both visually hilarious and keeps the fighter doing what he or she does best.

[Sigreid]

You can attach anything you find interesting to the normal fighter toys. A few examples:

1. The Helm of the field commander: A helmet that allows scrying within say a 10 mile range
2. Sword of Impact: 3 charges that refresh at sunrise. Target struck is hurdled 20' backwards.
3. Boots of tactical maneuvering: 7 charges, refresh at sunrise. Allow 30' dimension door as a bonus action
4. Set: helms of the champions: Set of 4 helmets that allow telepathic communication between wearers. Additionally, wearers know the exact location of each other when within 20 miles.

Or anything that seems cool really. There's no reason the fighters toys have to just be another +1 and there are abilities the weapon, shield or armor can give that can be way more useful than a static bonus. I mean, item 4 above can even provide long range communication with the follower looking after your keep/home base.

[J-H]

As mentioned, anything that adds options:
Spider climb, tactical teleportation, flight
Greataxe of hurling for the barbarian
Darkvision/"see through shadow" vision/see invisibility
Wall/ceiling climbing
Items that grant maneuvers or similar abilities, like a Whirling sword (attack two adjacent enemies with a single attack roll)
Defensive items (magic resist, AC, elemental resists) are always welcome

[Sigreid]

I'll also mention you don't even really need to worry about rarity. I mean, you're making them for your own campaign. They're in the hands of precisely who you want to have them.

[Pildion]

You can attach anything you find interesting to the normal fighter toys. A few examples:

1. The Helm of the field commander: A helmet that allows scrying within say a 10 mile range
2. Sword of Impact: 3 charges that refresh at sunrise. Target struck is hurdled 20' backwards.
3. Boots of tactical maneuvering: 7 charges, refresh at sunrise. Allow 30' dimension door as a bonus action
4. Set: helms of the champions: Set of 4 helmets that allow telepathic communication between wearers. Additionally, wearers know the exact location of each other when within 20 miles.

Or anything that seems cool really. There's no reason the fighters toys have to just be another +1 and there are abilities the weapon, shield or armor can give that can be way more useful than a static bonus. I mean, item 4 above can even provide long range communication with the follower looking after your keep/home base.

I think Sigreid has the right idea, if you want to the fighter to feel cool and feel like they are getting more powerful then a +2 weapon isnt going to do it. I would go with the mobility rout myself, I really like his Boots of tactical Maneuvering, or just the standard Winged Boots, Broom of Flying.

[Sillybird99]

-Mobility items
-A cool mount that has abilities (attacks or mobility) that isnt going to die right away.
-Magical ranged weapons (returning, lightningbolt, fireball, etc)
- homebrew items that let them refuel class abilities at a cost (second wind using hit dice, action surge for exhaustion, etc)
- items that let them use a spell 1/day
-items that let them do cool stuff when they hit with an attack (grant thp to party, teleport the hit enemy away, etc)

It kinda depends on the player. If they are playing a fighter it's probably because they like to hit things, so giving them ways to make hitting things cooler is fun.

Clockwork amulet I have found really useful on martials to negative disadvantage or land that crucial blow 1/day.

[MadBear]

First, what others have said about giving non-stat items like a item that grants flight is already great advice.

I'm also a fan of granting items with a 1 time use per day ability that feels really powerful. For example one of my players has a +1 bow of Air that I created, it's abilities were:

- Air coagulates around the bow allowing the user to fire air as if it were an arrow. It deals the equivalent amount of damage as a normal arrow
- Once per short rest the player can use the bow to cast mimic the effects of the spell Gust of Wind.
- Once per day the player can drop the bow releasing all of its pent up wind energy. Doing so mimics the spell Wind wall for 1 minute. The bow is drained of all magical energy until the dawn of the next day if used.
- Finally, the user can choose to snap the bow permanently breaking it, but doing so will allow the user to mimic the spell Wall of force for up to 8 hours.

In this way, the player gets the small stat bump, but it also encourages them to use it regularly for the gust of wind spell, and in a pinch to use it for a wind wall. The final ability is meant to be a "Break in case of emergency" that I don't see my players using all that often, but can be used in a life/death situation.

[da newt]

I have an irrational love of the slipper of spider climbing, but I will add that magic items that enhance the out of combat utility of anyone can be very fun too - a hat of disguise for example = shenanigans for days (assuming the Player leans into it).

[Snails]

If you really want to help the fightery types, how about really going for it with an intelligent weapon or shield? Heck, you can sketch out some mechanics such that the intelligent item gains XP and levels up, to gain new abilities as the PC levels.

Create an appealing theme or identity for the item, and don't just stick to pure combat bennies. Best to have abilities that have value both in and out of combat, e.g. Spider Climb.

[Sigreid]

If you really want to help the fightery types, how about really going for it with an intelligent weapon or shield? Heck, you can sketch out some mechanics such that the intelligent item gains XP and levels up, to gain new abilities as the PC levels.

Create an appealing theme or identity for the item, and don't just stick to pure combat bennies. Best to have abilities that have value both in and out of combat, e.g. Spider Climb.

As a player, I hate intelligent items. I consider them the worst form of DM PC. That's just me, but you might want to see how your group feels about them before you go making them the big prize.

[JNAProductions]

As a player, I hate intelligent items. I consider them the worst form of DM PC. That's just me, but you might want to see how your group feels about them before you go making them the big prize.

I don't mind them, provided they're a fun NPC to interact with. They can be done terribly, but that's true of just about any element you can include.

I will echo SIgreid, though-check with your players before you throw something like that in.

[Sigreid]

I don't mind them, provided they're a fun NPC to interact with. They can be done terribly, but that's true of just about any element you can include.

I will echo SIgreid, though-check with your players before you throw something like that in.

I shocked a DM by, upon realizing that a sword was intelligent due to winning a battle of wills with it, I stuck it in the ground on the shore of a river and left it there.

[Kurt Kurageous]

Consider an “X of throwing” weapon. In my experience, nothing kills the joy of a strength fighter more than lobbing a single javelin once per round when opponents are unreachable. Being able to use that greatsword even at 30’ range multiple times per round is both visually hilarious and keeps the fighter doing what he or she does best.

Javelin of Lightning, then. Much more satisfying.

[Sigreid]

Javelin of Lightning, then. Much more satisfying.

Hammer of Thunderbolts is a good answer too.

[Dr.Samurai]

I shocked a DM by, upon realizing that a sword was intelligent due to winning a battle of wills with it, I stuck it in the ground on the shore of a river and left it there.
Lol, I did something similar with a certain shield in a certain campaign...

I am playing a spear and shield barbarian in Descent into Avernus. When we found the Shield of the Hidden Lord, no one claimed it because they don't use shields, so I replaced my regular shield with whatever this magic shield was. Well, over time I slowly discovered what it was, and my lawful good leonin barbarian with a disdain for the supernatural did not appreciate this self-proclaimed god trying to manipulate me and my party. I wasn't crazy about the granted abilities either (DM ruled it gives +2 AC like a normal shield, not +4) since I am not fond of casting spells, so I started plotting on how to get rid of this thing.

Well, eventually we learned the shield's true nature. We did a bunch of favors for Mad Maggie (to the chagrin of my stalwart barbarian). When we learned about soul coins and their power, we also discovered that devils were created from souls, and that each "evolution" requires more souls to occur. So a pit fiend would require a tremendous amount of souls to become one. So I asked Mad Maggie if the guys in her shop can power the devil's ride with the Shield of the Hidden Lord. They attempted it and succeeded. So my devil's ride doesn't require soul coins, it feeds off the soul power of the Hidden Lord. My character did not want to use the war machines because of the soul cost and this solution organically came up in conversation. My DM gave it a shot and it worked and I was tickled pink. He keeps hinting that a malfunction to the bike might release the creature, so we will see what happens. But for now, I am happy to have the shield mounted and connected to the war machine, and draining the Hidden Lord of his power the more I use it :).

I kind of wish I was an artificer now with a sawed-off blasting rod so I can ride around on my hog and wreck stuff in Hell! Need sunglasses too :smallcool:

[JackPhoenix]

Two of the characters in my game wanted to start a mercenary company, so I've decided to give them an enchanted banner to use as a symbol. It was basically a magic staff anyone could use with Fog Cloud, Wind Wall and Call Lightning in it.

So of course they've gone through (literally) an entire dungeon, ignoring only the single...non-hidden...door accessible right from the entrance room leading to the enemy with the banner.

[Kurt Kurageous]

Two of the characters in my game wanted to start a mercenary company, so I've decided to give them an enchanted banner to use as a symbol. It was basically a magic staff anyone could use with Fog Cloud, Wind Wall and Call Lightning in it.

So of course they've gone through (literally) an entire dungeon, ignoring only the single...non-hidden...door accessible right from the entrance room leading to the enemy with the banner.

*SIGH* Players...what ya gonna do?!!?

I really like the idea of this merc banner. But what if the ability to Call Lightning was limited to an AoE centered on the banner, and granted the banner bearer immunity to lightning? "Take our banner?!!? Never!!!"

[sethdmichaels]

-items that let them do cool stuff when they hit with an attack (grant thp to party, teleport the hit enemy away, etc)

It kinda depends on the player. If they are playing a fighter it's probably because they like to hit things, so giving them ways to make hitting things cooler is fun.



this, exactly - it's fun to add riders and limited-use options that give extra flavor to the attacks they'll mostly be doing. also stuff that gives them interesting things to do with reactions/bonus actions

[Yora]

I shocked a DM by, upon realizing that a sword was intelligent due to winning a battle of wills with it, I stuck it in the ground on the shore of a river and left it there.
As a player, I'd be really concerned about using a weapon that is clearly openly hostile to me.

[Sigreid]

As a player, I'd be really concerned about using a weapon that is clearly openly hostile to me.

DM told us later it's one and only power was trying to make people want. And all it wanted out of life was to be liked/wanted. If it had won the contest, it apparently would have just made me want it. Humorous, but I'm unwilling to use a weapon that at a critical time may decide our goals no longer align.

[Angelalex242]

Heh. I, as a LG Paladin, used Harziwan before Adventure's League said I couldn't anymore.

With his massive Charisma save, Harziwan could never actually control me.

So it could just whine at me while I used it as I saw fit. It was happier when I was fighting Red Wizards, though.

I had the Black Dragon Mask too, but that's not intelligent.