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The Magic Item Guide was one of my favorite guides that was on Wizards of the Coast Community boards. It will soon be deleted along with the rest of them this Thursday (now November 5th)! So I ported it over into HTML, and reformatted and did a lot of editing for use here. I hope to add some Navigation aids that will help moving around the document as I research items. (I’ve added them) But for now, this is a great list to use as a DM when deciding on what magic items you are going to be placing into your campaign. (useful link to Amazon D&D products (https://amzn.to/32stFbv)

The Comprehensive Compendium of Considerable and Compelling Curios: A Magic Item Guide

Curse the wizard that created the first robe of the archmage! Now any whelp of a hedge conjurer or witless apprentice that finds one considers himself an archmage. Then these fools seek magic far above their station or grasp at power as if donning a robe made them royalty. What a blasted nuisance. I hesitate to count the number of “archmages” I’ve reduced to dust. Still, I’ve found that for wizards worthy of the title, a robe of the archmage can be a useful item

Mordenkainen, from his secret master copy of the Magnificent Emporium before he burned its pages and then disintegrated the ash

Table of Contents

  1. Swords of Light, Luck, and Life stealing: Weapons of Heroes
  2. Staves of Power, Rods of Might, Wands of Fear: Foci for the Feared
  3. Plates of Adamantine, Chains of Mithral: Armors of the Protected
  4. Bulwarks and Bracers: Wrist Guards of the Vanguard
  5. Shawls Weaved with Stars: Capes, Cloaks, Robes
  6. Headbands for the Brilliant, Helmets for the Brave: The Headwear to Wear
  7. Talismans of the Ancients: Amulets and Necklaces
  8. Bands of Platinum and Wishes: Rings of Legend
  9. Gloves of Swimming, Snaring, and Stealing: Gauntlets and Gloves
  10. Cinctures of Strength: How to keep your pants up like a dwarf
  11. Footwear for Springing and Striding: Boots of the Rugged
  12. Miscellaneous Wondrous Items
  13. Magical Scrolls and Brews: Consumable items
  14. Souls of the Ageless: Sentient weapons
  15. Weapons Long-forgotten: Artifacts
  16. Gifts from the Gods: Boons

Introduction

With the release of the Dungeon Master’s Guide, players have been drooling over some of the amazing magic items that it details. But with the good must also come the bad. Therefore, the purpose of this guide is rate magic items to help players decide what are the stars and what are the dogs.

The criteria for rating an item will be three-fold:

  1. How does an item stack up to similar magic items (eg. this shield vs. other shields)?
  2. What is the rarity? What’s the likelihood of selling it or being able to trade for it?
  3. Does it require attunement or not?

Rarity

In regards to point 2, trading items is an AL play concern. Unfortunately, most of the items in the DMG are NOT legal to use in the current season. With that being said, it is important to note that players can only trade like-rarity items for other like-rarity items. So players can only trade a rare item for a rare item or a uncommon item for an uncommon item (etc, etc.) So if you find a legendary magic item, you’re probably holding on to it for a while.

If you are playing in an a home campaign, and your DM allows you to sell magic items, depending on how rare the item is, you might not be able to find someone to sell the item to, which is problematic (DMG pg.129). Though in all honesty, if you find a rare magic item that does not require attunement, you’re not gonna want to sell it. You have what is known as a quality problem.

Attunement

As far as point three, this is a serious concern for adventurers. In 5e, characters can only have three magic items attuned at a time (DMG pg 138). Therefore, unlike 4e, the number of magic item slots available to characters are very limited and magic items must be carefully considered. Naturally, items that are good and do not require attunement will be given greater consideration.

Important notes about attunement:

  1. If a player has just found a magic item and can’t cast the identify spell, they must spend a short rest to determine what the magic item is. Potions are an exception, just a little taste of the potion is enough to tell you what the potion does.
  2. In order to attune an item a player must spend a short rest focusing only on that item to attune themselves to the item (it can’t be the same short rest used to learn the item’s properties). Whatever that means for your game depends on the DM. Some DMs may allow you to do other things while attuning, other DMs may not.
  3. A creatures attunement ends if the item has been more than 100 feet away from the creature for 24 hours, the creature dies, or another creature attunes the item. A creature can also voluntarily end attunement by spending another short rest focused on the item, unless the item is cursed

Abbreviations

The source materials used for this guide are abbreviated as follows:

Any item that’s not in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, or in multiple sources, will be annotated as such in the item description. Otherwise, you can assume all items are in the DMG. This guide will use the following color coding system:

 

  • Gold A rare rating. The best option out there hands down. This is mandatory to call yourself optimized.
  • Sky BlueIndicates a fantastic choice, an option you should strongly consider against most others.
  • Blue– Good choice. You can’t really go wrong with taking this. Correct in the majority of cases.
  • Green– Difficult to classify. Often used for utility instead of combat or is dependent on your character concept
  • Black– This item will not actively hurt your character, but there is probably a better option
  • Purple– Is a substandard choice. It might be useful in corner-case situations, but overall it’s not worth the investment
  • Red– This is a trap. Don’t take this. There’s a better option or it isn’t worth the investment.

 

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magic sword in the snow


Swords of Light, Luck, and Life stealing: Weapons of Heroes

Attunement Items

Luck Blade– Wish on a stick?! This item would be amazing if just for that property. But It also has the luck property, which lets you reroll an attack, saving throw or ability check. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s also a +1 magic weapon which gives you +1 to saving throws! If there were a rating higher than Gold I’d give it to this. Platinum maybe? [Legendary]
Holy Avenger
– Suck it fiends or undead. The paladin is back in town. Oh and he brought some friends who are also stronger thanks to him. [Legendary]
Weapon of Warning– Say goodbye to being surprised and sleeping through a fight for you and your whole party, unless you really spread out at night, and there’s advantage to your initiative rolls. Did I mention that you don’t even need to have this item equipped for all of these nice bonuses? Make sure someone has one of these before you leave home. [Uncommon]
Defender– Any +3 magic sword is ok in my book, but this lets you alter your AC for fights when you think need a bump. [Legendary]
Dwarven Thrower– Its hard to go wrong with +3 magic weapons . But this one gives a better ranged option for martial characters. Non-dwarves needn’t apply. [Very Rare]
Sun Blade– Swords made of light that pop out of a bare hilt seem fun to me. It has the finesse property, deals radiant damage, and has an adjustable light source. The only downside is that it’s only a +2 weapon. [Rare]
Sword of Answering– A +3 weapon with an enhanced reaction attack that ignores resistance and immunity. Extra attacks are always nice. [Legendary]
Vorpal Sword– A +3 weapon that ignores resistance is really good. Having the chance to instantly decapitate your target or deal an extra 6d8 damage is a pretty sweet effect. Slashing weapons don’t get much better than this. [Legendary]
Dancing Sword– This is an interesting item. It is great for characters who don’t make use of their bonus action. And It gives melee characters a better ranged option. [Very Rare]
Mace of Disruption– Not having a +1 bump hurts this item. But all considered, this definitely can put a hurt on undead. You can also leave that lantern at home. [Rare]
Nine Lives Stealer– Definitely strong. To bad the life stealing property doesn’t recharge and it requires attunement. [Very Rare]
Oathbow– When I first read this item I was ready to rate it gold. But after reading it more closely, I realized that the sworn enemy feature only recharges once per day, at the next dawn. So the whole premise of the bow is kinda shot. You can only use its feature for one big fight per day. Don’t get me wrong, its still strong. Just not as strong as if the the sworn enemy feature would recharge after you killed each creature. Also doesn’t provide a +1. [Very Rare]
Scimitar of Speed– Getting a free bonus action attack every turn with a +2 weapon is nice, but most characters are already using their bonus actions. [Very Rare]
Trident of Fish Command– Everyone want’s to be Aquaman right? Right? Well, if you’re near water a lot this can be pretty handy. [Uncommon]
Flame Tongue– I like the concept and it looks cool as hell, but it just doesn’t measure up against other swords. It doesn’t get a +1 bump , its rare, it requires attunement, and it uses fire (one of the more common resistances). The extra 2d6 is something though. [Rare]
Frost Brand– Similar to the flame tongue with it’s problems. It does grant fire resistance which is nice. Still not as good as other sword options though. [Very Rare]
Mace of Terror– Compared to other magic maces this stinks. No +1 bump, requires attunement, frightened which they get to save against end of turn. [Rare]

Sword of Wounding– A cumulative d4 of necrotic damage is nice, but most enemies will have a good constitution score, so it’s not quite as good as it could be. [Rare]
Sword of Sharpness– There is no bonus to hit, but if you start rolling crits it gets interesting. You also save some money on torches. [Very Rare]
Sword of Vengeance– It’s a +1 weapon with a drawback that you have to attune. It can be fixed though. [Uncommon]
Berserker Axe– As far as cursed items go, this one isn’t bad. As long as you are a melee character and stay in the fray, this item may be usable. With all that being said, there are better weapon choices out there. [Rare]
Sword of Life Stealing– On a crit you get some extra damage and temporary hit points. Seems underwhelming. [Rare]

Non Attunement Items

Javelin of Lightning – Great for all the strength-based characters who use javelins. A strong magic weapon back-up option, which doesn’t require attunement. [Uncommon]
Dragon Slayer
– Not bad if you are in the market for +1 weapons. It doesn’t require attunement and it can really mess up a dragon. [Rare]
Dragontooth Dagger (RoT)
– A +1 dagger with a little extra poison is nice, but unless you’re betraying your party it’s still just a solid dagger. [Rare]
Giant Slayer
– Not bad. A +1 magic item that doesn’t require attunement. It’s sucks the save is Strength. Giants tend to excel at those. [Rare]
Mace of Smiting
Not bad, but its no +3 magic weapon…unless you’re in a campaign with a lot of constructs. Then this becomes amazing. [Rare]
Weapon +1, +2, +3
– Hitting more often for more damage is always nice. [Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare]
Dagger of Venom (DMG, HotDQ)
– Another underwhelming item. It’s rare, so there’s a mark against it. And as a dagger it only deals 1d4 of damage. You can do better than that. Also, the poison utility can only be used once per day, making it worse. The only thing keeping this item from being red, is that it doesn’t require attunement. I guess it’s ok to keep in the back pocket if you need a magic weapon. [Rare]
Hammer of Thunderbolts– At first blush it seems powerful and lets be honest, awesome. But it has a lot of critical flaws. The most obvious of which is the giant’s bane. You must have both the Gauntlets of Ogre Power and the Belt of Giant Strength. So unless you have a particularly generous DM, you’re not gonna get both items. Secondly, it’s only a +1. Thats a huge investment for only a +1. Maybe a +2 would have been more reasonable. Granted you get an ASI, which effectively works out to a +3; but I expect more from my legendary items. Lastly, Thunderclap stuns every creature, even your allies. And although stunning is sweet, we can all agree that stunning your teammates is not sweet. [Legendary]
Vicious Weapon– If you’ve got no other options it’s worth using, but there’s better magic items. Actually, almost every other magic item is better. [Rare]

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Staves of Power, Rods of Might, Wands of Fear: Foci for the Feared

Attunement Items

Instrument of the Bards (Anstruth harp, Canaith mandolin, Cli lyre, Doss lute, Fochlucan bandore, Mac-Fuirmidh cittern, Ollamh harp)– I usually hesitate to give items a gold rating, but all of these instruments earn it. Right off the bat you get fly, invisibility, levitate, and protection from good and evil. All of which are useful. But then each item gives the user even MORE spells which don’t require use of spell slots. Granted some spells are situational, but hey, they’re free. And to top it all off, the item imposes disadvantage on charmed saving throws. Bards. Start serenading your DMs to convince them to give you these items. [Very Rare, Rare, Rare, Uncommon, Uncommon, Uncommon, Legendary]
Rod of Lordly Might– This might be the master of versatility. There’s piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning damage, a ladder, a flametongue, and a few powerful daily effects with a decent DC. It’s too bad there’s no button for it to throw a kitchen sink. [Legendary]
Rod of Adsorption– You can store up to 50 spell slots worth of energy over the course of this rod’s existence as a reaction. But only spells that target you, and then you can use that stored energy to save your spell slots.  Not bad, but it is a consumable like an Ioun Stone. [Very Rare]
Rod of the Pact Keeper, +1, +2, +3– Better attack rolls and DCs on your spells is a strong effect, and getting back spell slots as well makes for quite a powerful combination. The potentail to stack this with a Wand of the War Mage makes it a very appealing option. [Uncommon, Rare, or Very Rare]
Spider Staff (LMoP) Adding 1d6 poison damage to melee attacks is good, but as there are a lot of creatures that are immune or resistant to poison it’s usefulness will be campaign dependent. It is adamantine, which gets around non-magical resistance, and there are some spells in it too. Spider climb and web can be useful, so it’s got a little something for everyone. [Rare]
Staff of Defense (LMoP) Having another static modifier to add to your defence is nice, and having shield casts on a stick is very nice. With the right AC you could be almost unhittable. The only downside is needing to have the spell on your class’s spell list and attuning it. [Rare]
Staff of Power This has got a lot of options. You get a +2 bonus to AC, saving throws, spell attack rolls, attack rolls and damage rolls while getting the ability to cast spells and expend charges to deal extra damage while you’re swinging with it. Just be careful of domination effects, as you may end up breaking it and taking a few points of damage. [Very Rare]

Staff of Striking If you’ve always wanted a staff without spells to hit people with and you can’t hold the staff of power, look no further. It even lets you throw a bit of damage on top of each hit. [Very Rare]
Staff of the Magi If you’re able to use this staff you want to use it. It doesn’t disintegrate if the charges are expended, it can absorb spells to regain charges and negate single target effects. There’s 50 charges to use with over a dozen different spells. You even get advantage on spell saves and +2 to attack, damage and spell attack rolls. If you overcharge it, or decide to break it, there is a bit of fallout, but it’s pretty easy to avoid that. [Legendary]
Talisman of Pure Good This is the ultimate talisman for good clerics and paladins and there are a couple chances to eliminate a few bad apples. [Legendary]
Talisman of Ultimate EvilThis is the ultimate talisman for evil clerics and paladins and there are a couple chances to eliminate a few good apples. [Legendary]
Wand of Fireballs Know what’s better than fireball? Extra castings of fireball for free. [Rare]
Wand of Paralysis– If only there was a DC for this. It makes sense that it would be 15, but it does depend on your DM as it stands. Spell save aside, one minute of paralysis is very strong. [Rare]

Wand of Polymorph
– Polymorph is one of the best spells in the game, and this lets you cast it for free. Sign me up. [Very rare]
Rod of Alertness– Perception and initiative are both important checks, and having all the detection spells is nice too. You can even give you and your allies a boost to AC and saving throws once a day. If you’ve got it, use it. [Very Rare]
Rod of Resurrection– Strong healing and resurrection on a stick is powerful, just make sure you bring people back sparingly, unless you want to risk trading it in for a pile of dust. [Legendary]
Rod of Rulership– Once a day you get to a mass charm for everyone you can see within 120 feet. If you got to use it more often it’d be much better, but it’s still no slouch. [Rare]
Staff of Charming– Charm person, command, and comprehend languages are nice effects and, in addition to scaling with your spell save DC, it lets you succeed a save that may be turned against your opponent. Enchantments are almost useless against you now, except for multi target ones. [Rare]
Staff of Fire (DMG, HotDQ)– Fire resistance is good, and being able to cast fireball three times a day is a nice bonus. Ten charges is a bit limiting though, and the value of the spells will go down as you level up, the exception being your ability to decimate large groups of kobolds. [Very Rare]
Staff of Frost– Resistance and cone of cold are a great combination, ice storm isn’t too bad either. It’d be great if there was a few more charges, but you can still get both of the better spells off in one day, so it’s still pretty strong. [Very Rare]
Staff of the Woodlands– Magic quarterstaffs that can be disguised as trees are hard to come by, and it comes with some interesting spells built in. Crazy hermits pretty much need one. [Rare]
Staff of Thunder and Lightning– A +2 weapon is nice and there’s a bonus spell once a day. Seems like a good choice. [Very Rare]
Wand of BindingHold person and hold monster are both great spells, but there aren’t many castings available per day. The bonus to avoid being grappled, restrained, or paralyzed is nice but it does cost a charge. [Rare]
Wand of Fear– Limited use of command is good, and a mass fear effect is nice, but it’s no wand of fireballs. [Rare]
Wand of Lightning Bolts– Lightning bolt is a good spell, but there are better options for wands. [Rare]

Wand of the War Mage +1, +2, +3– Spellcasters like landing their attack spells, and this is a great way to make sure that happens. If you’re a Warlock this becomes even better as you can stack it with Rod of the Pact Keeper. [Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare]
Pipes of Haunting– Mass fear effects are good, and friendly ones are hard to come by. [Uncommon]
Rod of Security– When you really need a rest for you and 199 of your friends this can’t be beat. [Very Rare]
Wand of Magic Missiles (DMG, LMoP)Magic missile never misses, and this doesn’t require attunement. Did I mention it’s uncommon? [Uncommon]
Pipes of the Sewers– I feel like this should summon an Italian plumber or a bunch of turtles, but rats will have to do. The usefulness of the pipes will be directly linked to the number of cats in the area though, so hopefully you don’t find yourself in ancient Egypt. [Uncommon]
Wand of Wonder– Is the wild magic sorcerer making you jealous with all his random magical effects? Are you a wild magic sorcerer who really wants to randomly cast a fireball that isn’t centered on you? Do you just like rolling percentile dice? If you said yes to any of these questions you’ve found your wand. If not, you can just pass on this. [Rare]

Immovable Rod
– This item requires a lot of creativity by the player, and a lot of leeway from the DM. Here are a few ideas for those non-creative types out there: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?175587-1001-Uses-for-an-Immovable-Rod [Uncommon]
Staff of Healing– Extra healing is nice to have, and mass healing on a stick is a great tool to have access to. There aren’t a lot of charges on this, but it gains most back each day. [Rare]
Staff of Swarming Insects
– Being able to cast two decent spells is nice, but you only get one casting of insect plague with no risk per day. [Rare]
Staff of the Adder– If you want a non-magical staff to attack with this is a decent option, but the staff can be attacked and destroyed relatively easily. [Uncommon]
Staff of the Python– Snakes are interesting creatures, but they are a bit fragile. It can be fun to intimidate people with, or have a mount on demand though. [Uncommon]
Staff of Withering – A magic quarterstaff with a little extra kick is nice. Although it’s not as good for those who already have shillelagh. [Rare]
Tentacle Rod– Hentai jokes aside, this can be useful to someone who wants to take down a tough enemy. [Rare]
Wand of Web– Extra spells per day are always nice to have, but there may be a limit to the number of times that web will be useful in a day, maybe. [Uncommon]
Wand of Winter (HotDQ)– If this item weren’t rare, it would eek out a blue rating. But as it stands, Wand of Winter is not awesome. It casts subpar spells: ray of frost, ice storm, and sleet storm. Honestly, you should be doing better things on your turn. The only thing that keeps Wand of Winter so highly rated, is that it doesn’t require attunement. [Rare]
Wand of Enemy Detection– Having a variation on the paladin class feature is interesting, but is this really something you want to attune? [Rare]
Wand of Magic Detection– Apparently unlimited use of detect magic was too powerful, so this toned down version is the wand we get. It does give detect magic to the masses, for the parties who refuse to have it prepared. [Uncommon]
Wand of Secrets– It’s uncommon, doesn’t require attunement, and can be drained dry without disintegrating. It also does the same thing that as a perception check. Pass. [Uncommon]

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Plates of Adamantine, Chains of Mithral: Armors of the Protected

Attunement Items

Efreeti Chain– +3 armor is good and fire damage is a common damage type. The extra language and walking on lava are plus. Attunement holds this item back. [Legendary]
Plate Armor of Etherealness– Who says guys in plate can’t be sneaky? This isn’t quite as good as it could be since you can’t barge in with your whole team in tow, but there are plenty of creative uses to make this worth it. [Legendary]
Armor of Invulnerability– Non-magical damage resistance is pretty good. Damage immunity is great, but it can only be used once a day, and it requires attunement. [Legendary]
Armor of Resistance– This one is similar to the armor of invulnerability, but having no immunity effect and only resisting one damage type make it worse. [Rare]
Armor of Vulnerability– No thanks, I’ll pass on the cursed magic item. Same problems as above. And its rare too, so you can’t even trade it away. Did I mentioned it’s cursed? [Rare]
Demon Armor– The extra language is ok and I like the concept, but this armor doesn’t do much for characters who’d use it. At first the +1 to bump to AC looks ok, until you consider you can get +3 platemail that doesn’t require attunement. Then, the magical weapon properties of unarmed strikes sounds good, but you realize that monks and druids don’t wear armor, so it stinks. Then, you find out its cursed, so you can’t even take the darn thing off. All considered, its a trap. [Very Rare]
Dragon Scale Mail (DMG, HotDQ)– Kind of the same problem as the Demon Armor. Usually, you can get better than a +1 with other magical armor, which won’t require attunement. The resistance to typed damage is nice, but normally, by the time you start finding magic items, you want a better armor option than scale mail (i.e platemail). Unless of course you are a medium armor user then this is better. I suppose if you really must find that dragon, this item could be useful. [Very Rare]
Plate Armor of Lightning Resistance (RoT)– Damage resistance is nice, and if you’re tired of wearing so many rings this could be a nice change of pace. Armor should be giving you more defense for an attunement slot though. [Rare]

Non Attunement Items

Adamantine Armor – This armor is not awful. And it does provide protection against critical hits. However, this seems kind of narrow, and you’ll usually want your armor slot to do more for you. Also, it does not apply a +1 or +2 bonus, which is another check against it. The only real upshot is that it doesn’t require attunement. [Uncommon]
Armor, +1 +2, or +3– Its hard to go wrong with non-attunement magic items, especially ones that bump your AC. [Rare, Very Rare, or Legendary]
Dwarven Plate– Really great armor option that doesn’t require attunement and gives a +2 bump. The forced movement negation is just gravy. [Very Rare]
Elven ChainNon-attunement ways to bump your AC are good. Normally, chain shirt armor is just a stopover before breastplate. But this one is usable for any character even if they lack proficiency with medium armor. Also, most DMs will allow you to wear this in addition to your normal armor, since that seemed to be the precedent set by previous editions.Then again some may not. Ask your DM. [Rare]
Glamoured Studded Leather– For those of you that need to feel fabulous. +1 bump, no attunement. Sign me up sister. [Rare]
Mariner’s Armor– Hey. It doesn’t require attunement and underwater fights can happen. [Uncommon]
Mithral Armor- For subtle, stealthy, heavy armor users. [Uncommon]

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Bulwarks and Bracers: Wrist Guards of the Vanguard

Attunement Items

Spellguard Shield– Protection from those pesky mages is always nice, especially when even their attack rolls have disadvantage against you. [Very rare]
Bracers of Archery
– Extra damage is always good. If you are a bow archetype, you probably want these. Too bad they require attunement. [Uncommon]
Bracers of Defense
– Oh hi there Monks, Barbarians, and spellcasters. You thought we forgot about you. We didn’t. These are for you. [Rare]
Animated
Shield- This shield is OK, but it doesn’t really stack up to other shields IMO. It requires attunement and it requires a bonus action to animate. Compared to a +1 magic shield, which doesn’t require attunement, it just seems worse to me. The main reason characters might want it is if they need both hands free to cast spells or heavy-weapon fight. [Very Rare]
Shield of Missile Attraction– Damage resistance is nice, but having to take all the ranged attacks might make that a bit less useful. If you’ve got a way to make your AC high enough this could be the best kind of curse. [Rare]

Arrow Catching Shield– This is all right for those ranged characters who use shields. If you do happen to be one, this is an option. +2 is nothing to scoff at. The downside is that it requires attunement and it only applies to ranged attacks. Also, the strange defender-esque reaction is a little out of line, if you are staying in back, trying to AVOID getting shot. [Rare]

Non Attunement Items

Sentinel Shield– Advantage on initiative and perception is great. If you want to be first and not surprised this is a no brainer. [Uncommon]
Shield, +1, +2, or +3– Higher defenses are always nice, and the amount of damage prevented at higher levels can be staggering. [Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare]

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Shawls Weaved with Stars: Capes, Cloaks, Robes

Attunement Items

Cloak of Displacement– I like this! Enemies take disadvantage to attack you. “If you take damage, this property ceases to function until the start of your next turn.” So what!? If you are a ranged character you shouldn’t be on the front lines anyway. And even if you are on the front lines, this is still pretty strong. Ostensibly this is a +5 to AC. [Very Rare]
Cloak of Invisibility– This item is for all you rogues out there. Invisibility: check. Advantage on attack rolls: check. Carte blanche to steal mercilessly: check. [Legendary]
Cloak of Protection– This item is very similar to it’s ring counterpart. Just as good too. [Uncommon]
Cloak of the BatAdvantage on stealth checks, a fly speed in dim light and darkness, and the ability to polymorph into a bat while retaining your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma once a day. This is pretty great. If you can cast darkness on yourself you have a poor man’s fly spell. Also, you can now start becoming the hero that the realms need. [Rare]
Robe of the Archmagi– A bump to spell save DCs, advantage saves against magic, and a better AC. Finally you don’t have to waste a spell slot on mage armor. [Legendary]

Mantle of Spell Resistance- This has the potential to stop a lot of damage. Always make Dex throws. Resist dominating Wis save effects. [Rare]
Robe of Scintillating Colors– Making yourself hard to hit with a multi stun effect is hard to beat, until you consider the fact that your allies will be stunned as well. If you’re in a place where your allies can’t see you, or are more than thirty feet away when you activate it this robe can be very good. [Very Rare]
Wings of Flying
– An hour of 60 ft fly speed is good and the refractory period isn’t too long, but there is the issue of plummeting back to the ground at the end of an hour which holds this item back a bit. [Rare]
Cloak of Arachina
– Poison is a common damage type. And free web spells are nice. But overall I think there are better things to do with attunement slots. [Very Rare]
Cloak of Elvenkind– Essentially this is a poor man’s Cloak of invisibility, since as long as you successfully make your stealth check, you are hidden anyway. Unfortunately it takes an action to hide, so it has limited usefulness in combat, unless you are a rogue with cunning action or something like that. Also, since it takes an action to put your hood up, you should simply keep your hood on all the time. It looks more awesome anyway. [Uncommon]
Robe of Eyes– If you want to look like a strange Dali painting and have a great field of vision this is for you. Just make sure nobody you face can cast light or daylight. [Rare]
Robe of Stars– Tactical retreats, magic missiles, and a bonus to saving throws. This is great for the adventurer who needs to make well timed trips to the astral sea a lot, and for everyone else, it’s decent. [Very Rare]

Non Attunement Items

Cape of Mountebank– This is an awesome item. For an action, a free teleport once a day. It also lightly obscures wherever you are teleporting to. Great for those times you are surrounded and can’t move. Everyone wants one. Also, depending on your DM you may be allowed to wear more than one cloak. [Rare]
Cloak of the Manta Ray– This is similar to the Cap of Water Breathing, but better since it gives you a swim speed. No attunement. [Uncommon]

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Headbands for the Brilliant, Helmets for the Brave: The Headwear to Wear

Attunement Items

Helm of Teleportation– Tactical teleportation when you need it. You can also use it to teleport a troublesome item away. [Rare]
The Dragon Masks (Black, Blue, Green, Red, White)
This is a fantastic item. It gives you: resistance/immunity, improved breath weapon, darkvision, underwater breathing, an AC bump, the ability to speak draconic, and an autosuccess on any saving throw once per day! If you’re some sort of charisma-based, dragonborn, barbarian/monk, consider this gold. [Legendary]
Headband of Intellect
– A 19 intelligence can help anyone become a more knowledgeable investigator, but wizards will only want this for a handful of levels. For eldritch knights and arcane tricksters this becomes even better. [Uncommon]
Hat of Disguise
– I’ve always thought this was a cool item in any edition. Great for social interactions. It’s a little worse, since you have to keep it attuned. Really depends on your campaign how broken it is. [Uncommon]
Eyes of Charming– Charmed is a powerful condition to impose, but you have to waste valuable attunement slot and it scales poorly (DC 13). Weak. At lower levels its not so bad, But as you get more powerful, sell it. [Uncommon]
Eyes of the Eagle– Perceptions checks are really important, but having to keep this item attuned is a drag. [Uncommon]

Helm of Telepathy– I know how much you wanted to be Charles Xavier, but this isn’t the way. First, the helm has a pretty low spell save DC and it requires an action to those cast spells. Second, in order use suggestion, your enemy has to fail two spell saves instead of one. Third, you gotta keep this helm attuned. Frankly, there are better head slot items out there. [Uncommon]

Non Attunement Items

Goggles of Night– Darkvision is nice to have, considering that the world is dark and full of dangers, it’s nice to be able to see them coming. This is mostly for the races without darkvision, but an extra 60 feet of vision isn’t bad for everyone else. [Uncommon]
Circlet of Blasting
– Basically you get to cast scorching ray once per day for free. I’m almost inclined to rate it sky blue since it doesn’t require attunement. However, that depends on if your DM rules you can wear more than one head slot item (DMG pg.141). [Uncommon]
Eyes of Minute Seeing– Free advantage on investigation checks. Just remember to take your glasses off before you get into a brawl. [Uncommon]
Helm of Comprehending Languages– DM: “What languages do you know?” You: *chuckles* “All of them.” [Uncommon]
Cap of Water Breathing– If you plan on taking a swim, bring this with you. No real drawback, unless you already have a helm on, in which case you must take the time to doff the helmet. But if you are interested in non-attunement swimming items, you should be looking at the Cloak of the Manta Ray. [Uncommon]

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Talismans of the Ancients: Amulets and Necklaces

Attunement Items

Amulet of Health-This item is phenomenal! Every character wants this. Constitution is such a vital stat. It will raise your max hit points and improve your con saving throws. If you get this item never take it off. [Rare]
Amulet of Proof against Detection and Location– If being detected by divination magic is your biggest problem you’ve got some interesting challenges. Hopefully your DM will allow this to keep you off the radar. [Uncommon]
Talisman of the Sphere– Having better control over a sphere of annihilation is nice, but finding one might be a bit tough. [Legendary]

Amulet of the Planes– This item is not horrible, but you certainly have better things to do with valuable attunement slots (see above). With that being said, I don’t see any reason a character can’t keep it in their back pocket, just be able to cast plane shift out of combat. Just roll a 61 or higher. Also, it is important to note that you still must pay the component costs for casting plane shift. Moreover, there is a gold component cost which you cannot use your focus to pay for. [Very Rare]
Necklace of AdaptationVery narrow item that you have to keep attuned. Eh. [Uncommon]
Periapt of Wound ClosureThere are some spots where this can be useful, and they mostly coincide with a potion of vitality. Short of a combination of items this won’t be great, and it eats an attunement slot. [Uncommon]
Medallion of ThoughtsA worse version of the Helm of Telepathy. Pass. [Uncommon]

Non Attunement Items

Periapt of Proof Against Poison– Immunity to poisonous effects, the poisoned condition, and poison damage is a pretty nice combination. [Rare]
Periapt Of Health
– Now you can enjoy dockside bars with impunity. Just make sure you keep this on if you’ve made some questionable decisions earlier in your adventuring career. [Uncommon]

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Bands of Platinum and Wishes: Rings of Legend

Attunement Items

Ring of Regeneration– Regeneration is awesome and this let’s you gain between 144 and 864 hit points in a 24 hour period. It even regrows body parts. [Very Rare]
Ring of Djinni Summoning
– Djinn are pretty strong, and this allows you to summon one without any risk of it turning on you. Just don’t let it die, or you’ll only have a nice piece of jewelry. [Legendary]
Ring of Protection– Increased defenses and saving throws is always nice when you’re trying to prevent yourself from getting trounced by team monster, or the local authorities, depending on how you decide to interact with the townsfolk. [Rare]
Ring of Spell Storing– Five slots worth of stored spells is nice, and it can be refreshed whenever you want. [Rare]

Ring of Evasion– Being able to auto save dexterity saves is nice, but it is limited to a few uses per day. The original version was amazing, but this toned down version is still a handy item to have, and gets better if you have the evasion class ability. [Rare]
Ring of Free Action– At first glance this seems pretty weak, but not being paralyzed or restrained is nice. Feel free to walk through webs and laugh at the surprised look on all eight eyes. [Rare]
Ring of Invisibility– Being invisible is nice, but the cloak is better since you can’t cast spells or attack with the ring and stay invisible. [Legendary]
Ring of Spell Turning– Advantage on only single target spells is decent, but being able to reflect spells on a natural 20 is pretty nice. [Legendary]

Ring of Feather Falling– If you ever find yourself on an airship or a flying castle this will let you make a very impressive exit, but the rest of your party may be up a creek without a paddle. Hopefully you can grapple them all and become the party parachute. [Rare]
Ring of Jumping– Now everyone can have the warlock evocation for jump. [Uncommon]
Ring of Resistance– Damage resistance is good, but these are rare, require attunement, and only give you one damage type. [Rare]
Ring of Shooting Stars– Faerie fire is good, but the ball lightning and shooting star effects aren’t that great. [Very Rare]
Ring of Telekinesis– Now moving treasure out of a vault is as easy as putting on your jewelry. [Very Rare]
Ring of the Ram– Great for when you want to push someone into something, and it can provide you with a distraction sometimes. [Very Rare]
Ring of Warmth– Enduring the elements is a nice effect, but wouldn’t it be easier to just make a campfire? That being said, resistance on an uncommon item is nice. [Uncommon]
Ring of X-ray Vision– This may or may not irradiate whatever you’re looking at, but like some super people, lead is just too good to see through. [Rare]

Ring of Mind Shielding– Finally a tinfoil hat you can wear without looking crazy, but it will only be as useful as the amount of Mindflayers you encounter. [Uncommon]
Ring of Elemental Command– If you spend a lot of time on the elemental planes the variations of this ring are very nice to have, if not, it can be a bit lackluster. [Legendary]

Non Attunement Items

Ring of Animal Influence– How else are you going to keep a wise talking dog around on your adventures? [Rare]
Ring of Swimming– If you’re near a lot of water this could be nice, but how often are you going to be swimming laps around the rest of your party? [Uncommon]
Ring of Water Walking– For when you want to impress your friends or walk the plank with impunity. The real question is how often will this come up? [Uncommon]

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Gloves of Swimming, Snaring, and Stealing: Gauntlets and Gloves

Attunement Items

Gauntlets of Ogre Power (DMG, LMoP)– Setting your strength to 19 is a strong effect, especially for casters that want to wade in the fray. This would be rated more highly if it weren’t outclassed by several belts. [Uncommon]
Gloves of Missile Snaring– For ranged characters I guess these are ok, but overall there better gloves out there. [Uncommon]
Gloves of Swimming and Climbing– These seem really narrow and don’t have much combat utility. [Uncommon]

Non Attunement Items

Gloves of Thievery– If you’re a rogue you really want these. And even if you arent, you can still probability make use of them. [Uncommon]

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Cinctures of Strength: How to keep your pants up like a Dwarf

Attunement Items

Belt of Giant StrengthFirst off, if your strength score is already 21 or higher, you are either doing something very wrong, or very right. Secondly, WOW! This item is nuts. if you are a strength based character, you dream about this item every night. And even if you aren’t, you still kind of want it. Regardless of which type you find, it’s amazing. Use it. Love it. Never take it off. [Rare, Very Rare, Very Rare, Legendary, Legendary]
Belt of Dwarvenkind
– Definitely a solid item. And who doesn’t want a beard? The con bump alone is great, but it also gives you darkvision, resistance to poison, and another language. Pity it requires attunement. [Rare]

Non Attunement Items

none yet.

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Footwear for Springing and Striding: Boots of the Rugged

Attunement Items

Winged Boots– A fly speed from an uncommon item is tempting, and when there’s a built in feather fall effect it becomes downright great. [Uncommon]
Boots of Levitation
– I like flying at-will. Keep in mind that levitate does have component costs, so bring a focus if you use them. Requires attunement. [Rare]
Boots of Speed– These don’t blow my skirt up. Requires attunement and rare. They do force enemies disadvantage on opportunity attacks and they double your speed, which is nice. Altogether though, I think there are better feet slot items. [Rare]
Boots of Striding and Springing– These aren’t awful. If you are a small creature you might want to look at these. No encumbrance is nice, as is the jumping boost. [Uncommon]
Boots of the Winterland– Somewhat campaign dependent, but resistance is always nice.They could be amazing or they could be decent. [Uncommon]
Slippers of Spider Climbing– If you’re a thief, or want to recreate spiderman-like skills, these are for you, just watch out for slick surfaces. [Uncommon]

Non Attunement Items

Boots of Elvenkind– Non-attunement boots that give you advantage on stealth checks. Everyone wants these. [Uncommon]

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Miscellaneous Wondrous Items

Attunement Items

Tome of the Stilled Tongue– Free slotless spellcasting is good, and spells as bonus actions is even better. You can also erase all your spells, if you feel like being secretive. The only downside, if you can call it that, is Vecna spying on you and leaving you messages. Isn’t Vecna always spying on important adventurers? If you use a spellbook it doesn’t get much better than this. [Legendary]
Gem of Seeing
– Invisible creatures giving you a hard time? Shapeshifters constantly messing with you? Want to automatically detect visual illusions and succeed on saving throws against them? Or maybe you just want to see into the Ethereal Plane? Well look no further (pun intended). [Rare]
Pearl of Power
– Extra spells each day are very useful, and having the ability to choose which one you get is great. One use a day and attunement hold this item back a bit though. [Uncommon]
Candle of Invocation
– This is a really hard item to rate. Depending on the circumstances it could be amazing or awful. Therefore, I’m simply gonna list some pros and cons for consideration.

  • ProsProper alignment allows advantage on attack rolls, saving throws and ability checks, Druids and Clerics get to cast spells for without expending spell slots, gate is a very powerful spell, it provides a light source
  • Cons – Not everyone in the party may be the correct alignment, it requires an action to light, you may find the wrong type of candle, you must pay the component costs for Gate, the DM has a lot of fiat over how effective your gate spell functions, takes 4 hours to burn down [Very Rare]

Crystal Ball- This item comes in 3 types, all of which do different utility based things: read minds, communicate telepathically or spy on people. Seems ok. Attunement makes it a little more unwieldy. [Very Rare or Legendary]
Cube of Force– Basically a portable barrier generator. The barrier is centered on you, moves with you, and lasts for 1 minute. It also takes an action to activate each face. 2-5 actions is a huge investment in a fight. If your DM lets you press the faces before the fight breaks out, it moves up to blue, otherwise its red. [Rare]

Ioun Stone (Absorption, Agility, Awareness, Fortitude, Greater Absorption, Insight, Intellect, Leadership, Mastery, Protection, Regeneration, Reserve, Strength, Sustenance)

  • Regeneration– “What are hit dice? I just use this floating stone here.” But seriously, this has the potential to regain 360 hit points per day. You don’t even need to rest. Just walk around and heal for free. [Legendary]
  • Agility– Dexterity bumps are hard to come by. Rogues would kill for this (pun intended). [Very Rare]
  • Awareness– I always hated getting surprised. Out of all the stones, this is one of the worst. [Rare]
  • Fortitude– Yes I would like more hit points and better con saves. [Very Rare]
  • Greater Absorption– The absorptions stone’s bigger, stronger brother. Wouldn’t want to run into this guy on the playground. A little better since it hits spells of almost every level. [Legendary]
  • Insight– Clerics pray the the goddess Ioun for this. [Very Rare]
  • Leadership– Warlocks would sell their soul for this. And honestly, so would Paladins and Bards. [Very Rare]
  • Mastery– Do you like to hit more consistently? Or maybe you like to do more damage? Or maybe you’re a skill monkey? Whatever the case, you want this item. [Legendary]
  • Protection– Not exactly as good as the Ring of Protection, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers. [Rare]
  • Reserve– For the layperson you can store 3 first level spells, 1 second level spell, or 1 third level spell. Other spellcasters can store their spells in the stone for you to use, but you must have a free spell slot of the equivalent level for you to cast that spell. So load it up with extra castings of shield. [Rare]
  • Strength– This would also be rated more highly if not for certain belts. But its still good. [Very Rare]
  • Absorption Free counterspells are pretty powerful. The only things holding this item back are that it uses your reaction to counter the spell and that the spell must target only you. Also it gets a little worse at higher levels. [Very Rare]
  • Intellect– Wizards your research is done, you’ve found the droids you’re looking for. [Very Rare]
  • Sustenance– This IS the worst of the Ioun stones. I’ve never played in a campaign where the DM worries about your character’s meal plan. [Rare]

Stone of Good Luck (Luckstone)– Bonuses to saving throws and ability checks is always nice, and you don’t even have to hold it. [Uncommon]
Brooch of Shielding– This is very narrow and there are better uses for your attunement slots. [Uncommon]

Non Attunement Items

Manual of Bodily Health– Extra hit points and better con saves are great. All you have to do is some reading, probably on ways to lower your cholesterol. [Very Rare]
Manual of Gainful Exercise
– Before there were bodybuilding forums there was the manual of bodily health. Who wouldn’t want to be stronger? [Very Rare]
Manual of Quickness of Action
– Being quicker and more flexible is just a few chapters away. You can read while stretching, right? [Very Rare]
Tome of Clear Thought
– So reading books can increase your Intelligence. Libraries are relevant again. [Very Rare]
Tome of Leadership and Influence
– Who doesn’t like a permanent bonus to their charisma that can increase their maximum score? Elves may get a couple uses out of it. [Very Rare]
Tome of Understanding
– Wisdom increases are hard to come by, and this is a permanent boost that increases your maximum score. It may take a while to read, but it’s worth the wait. While you’re waiting, if you have a hundred years to spare, you can use it again. Nice. [Very Rare]
Bag of Holding
– Now this is the bag you want. Mandatory if you plan of carrying alot of loot. Just don’t put a bag of holding inside a bag of holding. Or do, and watch insanity ensue. [Uncommon]
Broom of Flying
This a great item. As long as you don’t mind looking silly riding a broom, it provides permanent flying with no drawbacks. [Uncommon]
Carpet of Flying
– This item is very similar to the broom of flying (but much more awesome IMO). It comes in 4 sizes. The smaller the size, the faster it can fly, but the less weight it can carry. No attunement! [Very Rare]
Heward’s Handy Haversack
– Extra storage is always nice, and now you can finally sell your old backpack for the deluxe model. [Rare]
Portable Hole
– When you want to bring all the loot, but don’t want to worry about the weight this is what you want to have in your back pocket. [Rare]
Apparatus of Kwalsh– Congratulations, you just found a tank. And a swimming tank no less. Just bring along some allies to help you pilot it. [Legendary]
Bowl of Commanding Water Elementals– A solid pickup. Nothing wrong with CR 4 monsters beating up baddies once per day. No attunement! [Rare]
Brazier of Commanding Fire Elements– If you are cool with carrying around a brazier everywhere you go, you have a solid item. Weighs about the same as the Bowl of Commanding Water Elementals and is functionally the same item. [Rare]
Censer of Controlling Air Elementals– Really!? Another way to cast conjure elemental spell? Someone at WOC really wanted ensure people would conjure elementals. See Bowl of Commanding Water Elementals. [Rare]
Cubic Gate– Definitely a strong item. You can use it cast gate to jump around the multiverse or to plane shift enemies into hell. Still gotta pay the component costs. No attunement! [Legendary]
Daern’s Instant Fortress– A portable fortress that does damage and is immune to knock. Cool. [Rare]
Horn of Valhalla (Silver, Brass, Bronze, Iron)– Having more allies is always great. The more the merrier. Just remember to have your Fighter do the summoning. [Rare, Rare, Very Rare, Legendary]
Stone of Controlling Earth Elementals– Earth elementals are good summoned creatures and you only have to touch the ground to summon one. [Rare]
Alchemy Jug This is a strange utility based item. It doesn’t require attunement which is great, however, it is somewhat unwieldy. This can be used in combat. It can be used to make acid or poison, but this seems to have limited utility. You’ll need something to put the acid in if your gonna throw it (used potion of healing vials ahem). And if you want to poison your weapon/ammo it takes an action to apply poison (do it before the fight). As a side note, this is also, the first time in D&D history that mayonnaise has been officially printed. Finally, characters can enjoy sandwiches. [Uncommon]
Decanter of Endless Water
– Never worry about being thirsty again. This item doesn’t really have any drawbacks (outside of organized play). That being said, I’ve never played in a game where the DM tracks how much water is in your waterskin. Also, for style points, consider flooding a dungeon or building an engine with your decanter of endless water: www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?236190-Physics-help-Catgirl-Killers-needed-Decanter-of-Endless-Water-engines [Uncommon]
Folding Boat“A boats a boat, but a mystery box could be anything, even a boat. You know how much we’ve always wanted one of those”- Peter Griffin [Rare]
Figurine of Wondrous Power (Bronze Griffon, Ebony Fly, Golden Lions, Ivory Goats, Marble Elephant, Obsidian Steed, Onyx Dog, Serpentine Owl, Silver Raven) Some of these are more powerful than the others and some are better in combat, such as the Bronze Griffon or Ivory Goats. The fly as a mount is ok but its fragile. The lions are overrated. The owl has flyby and is a great option to grant you the help action in combat. The steed is very hearty but won’t do anything other than defend itself. And the raven has limited utility as does the dog.

  • Ivory Goats [Rare]
  • Serpentine Owl [Rare]
  • Bronze Griffon [Rare]
  • Ebony Fly [Rare]
  • Golden Lions [Rare]
  • Marble Elephant [Rare]
  • Obsidian Steed [Very Rare]
  • Onyx Dog [Rare]
  • Silver Raven [Uncommon]

Bag of Tricks Definitely, a neat item and slotless! It comes in three flavors: Grey, Rust, and Tan. Each one better than the last. It takes an action to pull out a creature and throw it (but you did that before combat right?) and a bonus action to tell the creature what to do. Alternatively, you could just throw one adjacent to an enemy and watch them get mauled, letting the animal do its thing, without using a bonus action. I’m all about having three tigers attack my enemy. Or if you need a mount, just reach into your pocket and roll the dice. [Uncommon]
Iron Flask– This item depends on what, if anything, you find in the flask. If you don’t find a creature, the flask has limited utility. Generally, if you do get a creature, it will be powerful and a lot of help. It also, depends on how mean your DM is. Just keep in mind that the creature only obeys you for 1 hour. After that, you’re probably gonna have to fight it. Good luck! [Legendary]
Mirror of Life Trapping This is a lair item which doesn’t work in combat, since it has to be on a vertical surface to activate it. Note to self, be wary of mirrors. [Very Rare]
Well of Many Worlds– Instant travel is always nice, but it is very dm dependent. Use with compliments, perhaps bribes. [Legendary]
Horn of Blasting– This doesn’t scale at all. But hey, can’t complain about freebies. Much better at lower levels. [Rare]
Horseshoes of a Zephyr– What kind of Zephyr doesn’t fly? I feel cheated. I guess there is utility overall. But everything about this item seems vanilla. [Very Rare]
Iron Bands of Bilarro– Restraining a creature is awesome and it sets them up for the beating of their lifetime. However, as soon as any creature succeeds on a Strength check to break out, the item is destroyed. Thats right. Destroyed. So much for that rare wondrous item. I guess there is nothing wrong with having your rogue hold onto to these. And while he’s at it, see if he can clean off some of that rust. [Rare]

Dimensional Shackles– Normally when fighting someone strong enough to teleport away, I just kill them, but thats me. However, I suppose there are those rare instances when prisoners need to be taken. [Rare]
Draakhorn (RoT)– If you want to alert every Dragon within two thousand miles, you’ve found your item, just hope you’ve got a couple other people who want to eliminate the element of surprise as well. [Unique]
Driftglobe– This only casts situational spells. But you can keep it in your pocket as a flashlight. [Uncommon]
Eversmoking Bottle– I could see rogues who are trying to hide making use of this. Unfortunately it takes an action to open, and usually the advantage you would gain will be negated from the disadvantage imposed by not being able to see your target. [Uncommon]
Horseshoes of Speed– Eh. These don’t get my rocks off. [Rare]
Sending Stones– Walkie-talkies had to start somewhere, but I’d rather not be there for the early stages of development. [Uncommon]
Sphere of Annihilation– Hopefully you’re the smartest guy in the room, or there may be some issues in your near future. This may be tough to take with you as well, considering that it doesn’t play nice with portable hole. [Legendary]
Lantern of Revealing– Good for finding filthy little hobbitses who are trying to steal our precious. [Uncommon]
Quiver of Ehlonna– If you’re not strong enough to carry a ton of items in your regular pack this may be right up your alley. Make sure you have plenty of items in all three holes. [Uncommon]
Saddle of the Cavalier– For the adventurer who can’t afford to fall off a mount and doesn’t want to invest in mounted combat, especially those flying mounts. [Uncommon]
Wind Fan– A risk free casting of gust of wind every day is nice, and it doesn’t require attunement, but how many fog clouds do you really need to disperse? [Uncommon]
Bag of Devouring– Don’t ever put your stuff in this bag. ITS A TRAP! With that being said, you may be able to use this in combat to capture enemies. [Very Rare]

Rope of Climbing– This is what you get for Christmas when Santa is out of coal. [Uncommon]
Rope of Entanglement– Oh, look…some rope. [Rare]

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Magical Scrolls and Brews: Consumable items

Attunement Items

Helm of Brilliance– Fantastic item. You get more fireballs, a slew of other spells, and it makes your weapon more powerful. Sadly, the helm is consumable. But playing with the same item your entire career would be boring right? [Very Rare]
Scarab of Protection– Autosaves are nice, and advantage on spell saves is a pretty good backup. Only having autosaves against undead and necromancy is a bit limiting, but it could be amazing in the right campaign. [Legendary]

Necklace of Prayer Beads– Overall, unimpressive. You can get: planar ally, branding smite, bless, cure wounds, lesser restoration, greater restoration, and windwalk. This would be a lot better if it didn’t require attunement. But all considered, the spells just aren’t powerful enough to warrant an attunement slot. This becomes worse if your DM is a jerk, since he controls how many, and what type of beads you get. [Rare]

Non Attunement Items

Ring of Three Wishes– The only issue is if your DM will let you wish for more wishes. [Legendary]
Ammunition, +1, +2, or +3
These are awesome if you can get your hands on them. No reason not to have them. However, they’re not gold because as magic items, they’re not easily accessible. Sadly, once you use them they are not magical anymore. [Uncommon, Rare, or Very Rare]
Arrow of Slaying– For those monsters that absolutely, positively, need to die, look no further. Sadly, since its very rare, you will probably never see one. But if you do, and you find yourself fighting the BBG, whip this out of your quiver to ruin his day. [Very Rare]
Efreeti Bottle– It takes an action to open the bottle, but you have a 90 percent chance of having a strong effect. I think the possibility of getting three free wishes, at a level when you normally wouldn’t have access to it, makes this item powerful. [Very Rare]
Necklace of Fireballs– Free castings of fireball. No attunement. I’m not seeing a drawback. [Rare]
Oil of Etherealness– Walking right into a vault or the lair of a powerful enemy undetected is stylish and powerful considering you can pre-buff yourself. [Rare]
Oil of Sharpness– As far as temporary buffs go this is one of the best. Hopefully you find a warehouse full of these. [Very Rare]
Potion of Speed– Haste is great, and concentration free haste is even better. This is what energy drinks want to be. [Very Rare]
Bead of Force– Great item, to bad it’s rare. If you need to take some enemies out of the fight, just throw one of these bad boys. Slotless! [Rare]
Dust of Disappearance– Sadly, you lose invisibility as soon as you attack or cast a spell, and its consumable. Its not great in combat, but for skill checks this could be useful. [Uncommon]
Elemental Gem– I’m getting sick of rating ways to use the conjure elemental spell. This one is pretty much identical, aside from it’s consumable nature. [Uncommon]
Philter of Love– Charming is a nice effect, and who wouldn’t want to live like some amorous french skunk. [Uncommon]
Potion of Clairvoyance– Never walk into an ambush again, once. Hopefully you find a jug of this. [Rare]
Potion of Flying– Fly is a great spell to have in your back pocket when you need it, just remember to take the potion out of your back pocket before sitting down. [Very Rare]
Potion of Healing (Healing, Greater Healing, Superior Healing, Supreme Healing)– Healing in a vial is always nice to have around when your healing kits run dry and your spell slots dry up. [Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare]
Potion of Heroism– Concentration free bless and 10 temporary hit points is a helpful combination. If the hit points weren’t extremely temporary it would be a bit better. [Rare]
Potion of Invisibility– For when you need to sneak or make a subtle retreat this is pretty sweet. [Very Rare]
Scroll of Protection– Protecting yourself from an entire type of enemy is nice, but a DC 15 charisma check may be easy to overcome depending on the monster. If you have hex on a creature, or another way to increase the chances of maintaining your protection this gets better. [Rare]
Deck of Many Things– Nope. Not gonna comment on the Deck of Many Things. There’s just too many things. [Legendary]
Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments– Not a lot of combat utility here. I guess if you had 10 minutes to set up a trap, you could paint a pit or something. [Very Rare]
Potion of Vitality– The usefulness of this will be very dependent on your campaign, but it can be invaluable if you’re in a pinch for time and trying to push your character to the limit. [Very Rare]

Chime of Opening– This item is for parties who can’t cast knock. It does pretty much the same thing, except it can only be used 10 times. [Rare]
Elixir of Health– Not bad, similar to the effects of the lesser restoration spell. [Rare]
Gem of Brightness– You can leave those torches at home for a while. Blinded is a good condition to impose and a DC 15 is nothing to scoff at. But then again, its probably just better to kill the creature instead. [Uncommon]
Keoghtom’s Ointment– This is a better potion of healing, but it does count against your magic item total until you use it up. [Uncommon]
Manual of Golems– And my mom always said I couldn’t make friends locked away in my room. This would be a lot better if you could use it to make more than one golem, but as it stands, the book is destroyed as soon as you make one. Also, the DM chooses which golem type you get to make. [Very Rare]
Oil of Slipperiness– If your character is a greco-roman wrestler you’ve found your ideal oil. Grease yourself up and get ready to go to town, for more oil. [Uncommon]
Potion of Animal Friendship– If you’re in a forest, jungle, or a zoo, this can be great. Raising a squirrel army never seemed so attainable. [Uncommon]
Potion of Diminution– Make sure you replace the label on this to say enlarge, or just hide your pocket sized gnome wizard in your backpack. [Rare]
Potion of Fire Breath– This may be what happens when you eat ghost peppers. It’s not a lot of damage, but it is a bonus action for a few good tries. [Uncommon]
Potion of Gaseous Form– If you want to sneak in through the vents this can be good, just make sure there isn’t a strong breeze blowing. [Very Rare]
Potion of Giant Strength (Hill Giant, Frost/stone Giant, Fire Giant, Cloud Giant, Storm Giant)– These remind me of gummi berry juice from the Gummi Bears cartoon. If that show taught me anything it’s that superhuman strength is great, but you don’t want to be holding a boulder over your head when the effects wear off. [Uncommon, Rare, Rare, Very Rare, legendary]
Potion of Growth– This gets better if you mainly try to grapple your enemies, or if you are small and would like to make a mount of your owl. [Uncommon]
Potion of Invulnerability– Resistance to all damage is hard to come by. It’s too bad this only gives you a minute of protection. [Rare]
Potion of Longevity– This is what people in power have been chasing for since the dawn of time. Find a way to barter with this, or just use it to really sell your false identity. [Very Rare]
Potion of Mind Reading– DC 13 is not very high, but detect thoughts can be very useful in the right situations. [Rare]
Potion of Poison– If you can get your enemies to drink it, this is quite handy. If you have a particularly tricky DM you may want to check your potion supply. [Uncommon]
Potion of Resistance– Resistance is always nice, and if you find a potion that grants it you may need it soon. [Uncommon]
Sovereign Glue– If you’ve ever had to go to the emergency room because you glued yourself to something you should have a good idea about the kinds of fun you can have with this. [Legendary]
Spell Scroll (varies)– These are as useful as the spell on them and your character makes them. Wizards might like them a bit more, but they may end up with a pile of useless paper if their arcana check goes poorly. [Common, Common, Uncommon, Uncommon, Rare, Rare, Very Rare, Very Rare, Very Rare, Legendary]
Universal Solvent– For when you get into a sticky situation. How often does that happen to you anyway? [Legendary]

Dust of Dryness– Honestly, besides fighting water elementals, I can’t think of a use for this item. [Uncommon]
Potion of Climbing– Now you can scale tall buildings at a very reasonable pace, and impress all your friends with your rock climbing prowess. [Common]
Potion of Water Breathing– This can be useful in a pinch, but it’s entirely dependent on how often your DM has you in the water. [Uncommon]
Quaal’s Feather Token– These tokens can be interesting, but none of the effects are particularly strong. [Rare]
Robe of Useful Items– The homeless vagrant’s dream coat. You may be better off just buying the items rather than modifying your patchwork cloak. [Uncommon]
Bag of Beans– This is really an item for the DM to create plot hooks. Characters who like to survive should avoid using this item. Let the DM think of ways to kill you without your help. [Rare]
Deck of Illusions– I just don’t see a use for this item when there are magical ways to actually summon creatures, not just illusions. You can only throw it 30 ft and it takes an action to use. Pass. [Uncommon]
Dust of Sneezing and Choking– This item is for DM’s who like to mess with their players. At first a PC thinks this item is Dust of Disappearance, but as soon as they employ it, they become incapacitated. Unfortunately, there is not real way to figure out what the powder is. But if a crafty PC somehow could… [Uncommon]

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Souls of the Ageless: Sentient weapons

Attunement Items

There are no items here that are less than sky blue or gold.
Hazirawn (HotDQ)– Even if you aren’t attuned you get the +1, which is great for just about anyone. But if you are able to attune it, you get another d6 of damage dice and it becomes a +2 weapon. Not to mention free spells and the wounding property. Mandatory for evil great weapon masters. [Legendary]
*As a side note about Hazirawn, I think there is a typo in the item description. It says:

“Even if you aren’t attuned to the sword, you gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with this weapon. If you are attuned to Hazirawn, you deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage when you hit with the weapon.”

Then it goes on the discuss the increased potency of having it attuned. Specifically:

“ While you are attuned to this weapon, its bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls increases to +2, and a hit deals an extra 2d6 necrotic damage (instead of 1d6).”

To me, this implies that WotC intended to have Hazirawn deal the extra 1d6 even while un-attuned.

Non Attunement Items

There are no items here that are less than sky blue or gold.

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Weapons Long-forgotten: Artifacts

Attunement Items

There are no items here that are less than sky blue or gold.

Non Attunement Items

There are no items here that are less than sky blue or gold.

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Gifts from the Gods: Boons

Attunement Items

None. Yet…

Non Attunement Items

Boon of Invincibility– About to die? Not anymore. Try killing me again after I take a short rest. Oh wait…
Boon of Fate
– Not only does this stack with advantage and the lucky feat, but it also recharges on a short rest. Not to mention, this helps with both your saving throws and hinders enemies saving throws.
Boon of Resilience– Considering the majority of damage is from bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, this boon is awesome. Barbarians should start weeping in shame, as this is better than their core class feature.
Boon of Truesight
– Truesight is the best vision option available.
Boon of High Magic
More wishes per day? Yes. Just yes.
Boon of Magic Resistance
– A souped-up Mantle of Spell Resistance sans attunement that protects you from dragon breath attacks. Sign me up.
Boon of Recovery
A solid in-combat heal. This reminds me of the Epic destiny death save features from 4e.
Boon of Spell Mastery– You know all those spell slots you had to burn on shield? Well not anymore.
Boon of Spell Recall– This is pretty great. How many times have you needed to cast a spell, but didn’t have prepared? And it doesn’t require a spell slot to boot.

Boon of Combat Prowess
– This is very solid, turn a miss into an auto hit. This combos nicely with the contagion spell. But realistically, you want to hit every time.
Boon of Fortitude– hard to argue with 40 more hit points.
Boon of Irresistible Offense- No longer will damage for fireball be resisted. This is also works well for underwater combat.
Boon of Luck– This is essentially the warlock 6 class feature Dark One’s Own Luck, except this lets you add to attack rolls as well.
Boon of Peerless Aim– As before, works well the the contagion spell. Just don’t go shooting an apples off of peoples’ heads.
Boon of Perfect Health– This can protect adventurers from whatever diseases they may catch by hanging out in so many seedy bars. Poison immunity and advantage on Con saves is nice as well.
Boon of Quick Casting– This would be better if it negated the limitation on casting more than one spell per turn. But it does not. Still though, you get to attack and cast a good spell as a bonus action *ahem bless*
Boon of Skill Proficiency- This boon is for all the skill monkeys out there. Looking at you bards…
Boon of Speed– As the legendary, fictional, professional, race car driver, Ricky Bobby, Once said– “I wanna go fast.” Amen brother. Not quite the mobility feat and not quite the rogue’s cunning action feature, this boon provides awesome movement coupled with the disengage option.
Boon of Fire Soul– Fire resistance is fine, but again, I’d rather be able to cast more wishes instead of burning hands. At this level, with a DC 15 save, burning hands is hot garbage.
Boon of the Stormborn Similar to the boon of the fire soul. But marginally better, since it grants two resistances, and thunderwave is a slightly better spell. I’m assuming that since the save is DC 15, and it says at-will, you must cast thuderwave as a level one spell and thus, you can’t upcast it. Which makes the boon a little worse. Also, keep in mind that thunderwave is LOUD, so don’t spam it when you are trying to sneak around.

Boon of Dimensional Travel– Free misty steps are nice, but honestly, at this level, second level spell slots are easily expendable. Really, if I’m getting a boon, I’d expect a little more bang for my buck.
Boon of Planar Travel– You can’t even bring your party. It’s no fun traveling alone. I guess this would be a hilarious FU for when that god-fight gets a little too hairy– “Peace guys. I’m gonna go get a beer. Good luck.” It’s also important to note that it’s a one way ticket. So you better teleport to a hospitable place where its easy to get a short rest.

Boon of the Night Spirit– All things considered, I’d prefer Greater Invisibility. But hey beggars can’t be choosers. Fortunately there is no time limit on the invisibility, so it’s not bad out of combat.
Boon of Undetectability– As if stealthy characters didn’t have enough ways to become undetectable at this level. However, most villains have truesight, so stealth and invisibility doesn’t do much. Being hidden from scrying sounds nice, but it only protects you. So unless the whole party has this boon, anyone who wants to find you could just look for your compadres.
Boon of Immortality– Dying from old age is the least of an adventurer’s concerns.

Boon of the Unfettered maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get grappled that often. Not bad for RPing, when you get captured.

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Original Location: MasterNamer

[http://community.wizards.com/forum/player-help/threads/4179391]

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