D&D: Five Items That Really Put The Magic In ‘Magic Items’
Some magic items are just a little bit more magical than others. Case in point, these magic items will save you spell slots and more.
When it comes to magic items, there are a few that really lean hard into the “magic” side of it all. Whether they give you more power, or help cast spells in cool, disturbing ways, here are five magic items that can really bring it the magic at your table top. Just get ready to take the Magic Action a lot.
Dark Shard Amulet
Not the most powerful of magic items, but a Dark Shard Amulet is a great example of how even a minor magic item can be a game changer. This a crystal made out of otherworldly material that serves as a Warlock’s spell focus.
It also allows you to cast any Warlock cantrip from the list that you explicitly do NOT know, once per Long Rest. This is about what you’d expect from a “common” magic item. It gives you access to magic that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to, and it can be useful the one time you don’t want to cast Eldritch Blast.
Candle of Invocation
This is a much more powerful magic-inducing item. And an underrated one, at that. Imagine an adventurer just fishing out a candle that they then spend an action lighting – and then a storm of magic, divine and primal, rains down upon you. All thanks to a Candle of Invocation.
This potent little item does a lot. For starters while within the candle’s 30 foot radius of dim light, you havead vantage on saving throws, attack rolls, and skill checks. But more to the point, any Cleric or Druid within the candlelight can cast 1st level spells without spending a spell slot. This opens up so many doors. You can use a Bonus Actiono to Healing Word, for instance, and then still have your Action free to cast a spell with a spell slot (of any level). And a single candle lasts for up to four hours!
Staff of the Magi
This magic staff is potent enough to fuel a caster for their entire adventuring day, if you use it right. It’s a magic staff made for battling other magic users – it absorbs spells that are cast upon it, and allows its user to take the absorbed power for their own use. While wielding it, you can cast several spells, per the Staff of the Magi’s list, including level 7 versions of Fireball and Lightning Bolt, if you need to dish out big damage type spells.
Even a low level mage can be a potent caster with one of these.
Tome of the Stilled Tongue
Or get creepy with the Tome of the Stilled Tongue. This book has a desiccated tongue pinned to its cover – said to be the tongue of someone who betrayed Vecna. Truly awful and cursed – but – while attuned to this book you can invoke its power to cast a spell in secret.
As a Bonus Action you can cast a spell you have written in this tome, without expending a spell slot or using any Verbal or Somatic components. Which means it can’t be perceived to be counterspelled. And which also means you can still cast a sell, regular-style. The only downside is Vecna can see whoever is writing things in one of these books, and can, on occasion, write back his own cryptic messages.
Wand of Wonder
Finally the Wand of Wonder is a magical grab bag. You needn’t even be a spellcaster to wield it – all you have to do is attunne to it, then take a Magic action to flourish it at whatever you want magic to happen to, and hope that you’re lucky.
You can transform someone into a bear or a frog, conjure up a gust of wind, cast a fireball or a stinking cloud, summon a phantom creature – the list goes on. It’s never predictable, but always entertaining. And isn’t that the real magic?
Happy adventuring!
