Greetings, gamers from all systems, places and timelines!
In part one of our Awesome Magic Items series, we looked at some magical items that are worth the price of admission and a few that would probably just get both you and your friends killed. In part two, we’ll examine both extremes of the magic item list to determine what’s really good and what you shouldn’t give to one of your in-game friends unless you don’t like them. Also, in the interest of keeping it simple, the items in question will not be campaign-specific.
What Kicks Ass
Manuals of Ability Score Enhancement (all types, very rare)
There aren’t many ways to increase one of your ability scores over 20 in 5th edition unless you have one of these invaluable magical tomes. Just study the book, follow its instructions and you will have +2 to the stat it enhances permanently. That’s right, no deal with demons or even a chance of failure. Yes, please!
Necklace of Fireballs (rare no attunement)
While I on principle dislike finding magic items with limited uses, this is the rare exception because at least it won’t accidentally kill everyone. It can come with 1d6+3 beads which turn into 8d6 fireballs when thrown, so think of it as a necklace of incendiary grenades. Now, the real selling point is the more beads thrown the bigger the fireballs. So, if you want to go ham and throw the whole thing, some lucky group of individuals could be staring at the business end of a 16D6 fireball!
Periapt of Proof Against Poison (rare no, attunement)
It doesn’t require attunement and provides both immunity to the poison condition and poison damage. If you don’t think this is worth your time, just wait until you run into an ancient green dragon and let me know how that goes.
Rod of the Pact Keeper (uncommon to very rare, attunement required by Warlock)
This is so good, I’m surprised I haven’t been in a random encounter where two Walocks were fighting over one. Not only does it act as a magical implement, but it also increases the DC of all of its users’ Warlock spells. So, odds are, if you’re playing a Warlock, you’ll be looking to get one of these as soon as you step out of the shrink wrap.
Staff of Healing (rare, attunement)
If you are a bard, druid or cleric, having a magic staff that starts the day with ten charges of healing goodness makes everyone’s life a little easier. Especially if it’s your job to continuously spam healing while your party frontal assaults every monster they come across.
Staffs of Power and the Magi (very rare and legendary, respectively, attunement)
These staves are the Lamborghini and Ferrari spell casting implements. And while both can be game-changers, neither is actually game-breaking. [Editor’s note: the Staff of the Magi absorbs enemy spells and will blow up if it absorbs too many, so your “game-breaking” mileage may vary.] The one thing they have in common is the laundry list of item abilities, both charged-based and passive, they provide. If you get your hands on one of these in a campaign, then you did something right.
Stone of Good Luck (uncommon, attunement)
This little gem adds +1 to all of your ability score checks, saves, and even initiative rolls. Find one of these as early in your campaign as possible and hang on tight to it.
Vorpal Weapons (legendary, attunement)
Folks, there is nothing quite as badass as ending a fight with a decapitation. And if you’re not a fan of this weapon, we get it, because you can no longer chop off a Godzilla-sized monster’s head with a single stroke. Nor can you insta-kill your campaign boss on a lucky hit if they have legendary actions. But after 5 editions of D&D, this is the best version of this iconic weapon where it’s exceptionally powerful but not ludicrous.
Winged Boots (uncommon, attunement)
If you’re like me and feel that nothing saves time in a game like just flying over a random encounter, then this is your item. And while you can only use it for four hours a day, that might as well be infinite once combat starts. This will also allow you to take advantage of the battle map, so you can place your squishy ranged character somewhere obnoxiously hard to reach.
Items With Issues Mechanical or Wording Issues
Ring of Mind Shielding (uncommon requires attunement)
This ring blocks the wearer’s thoughts from being read, their alignment from being detected, and magic that detects lies. Additionally, it can turn itself (only the ring) invisible, or store your soul in it in case you die. Admittedly, all of those things have their uses, but what it does not do, ironically, is shield your mind from things like charm or dominating attacks. Nor will it offer any protection if a mind flayer hits you with a psionic blast or a warlock drops a synaptic static spell in your lap. When your brain gets liquefied, at least your soul can be trapped in the ring, which is somehow better than actual death? Perhaps there should be lesser and greater varieties of this item with the greater one being of the very rare category.
Trident of Fish Command (uncommon, attunement)
Here we have the pre-Jason Momoa Aquaman of magical weapons. For one thing, tridents are a d6 weapon that only characters with martial weapon proficiency can use, so not a great start. But wait, there’s more: It has no pluses to hit or damage but can dominate beasts with a natural swimming speed.
Maybe it’s cool if you’re on the high seas, but not so much in a dungeon. So, unless you’re in a pirate or underwater campaign, literally any other 1d8 martial weapon would serve you better.
Sword of Sharpness (very rare and attunement)
This isn’t a bad weapon, however, how they handle limb severing is just goofy. If you roll a 20, you can inflict 14 extra damage, which is decent. However, you only cut off an opponent’s limb if you then roll an additional 20. When are you ever going to roll two back-to-back 20s? Maybe once an entire campaign, so either commit to it or take it out entirely.
Wand of Wonder (rare, requires attunement by a spellcaster)
If you ever dreamed of being a wild mage but picked the wrong character class, this is just what you need. This magic wand can do all sorts of amazing things, but the catch is you have absolutely no control over what it does. So, you could throw a ball of fire, stun yourself, turn your target blue, shoot a stream of gems, or make leaves grow out of the target – which, in-game, can be pretty funny, but allows for absolutely no strategy. This leaves your friends and enemies alike wondering what the hell is going on.
Final Thoughts
Because the article had to be within a size range and isn’t a guide, some items good bad and ugly were left out. We would love to hear some of your favorite picks or any hilarious stories surrounding the bad ones.