D&D: Five Ways To Homebrew A Magic Item
Want to get started homebrewing a new, custom magic item for your campaign? Here are five ways you can do exactly that.
Cooking up magic items is an amazing tool in any DM’s toolbox. Because one of the great joys of being a DM is getting to delight your players with things that you think they’ll think are cool. It’s a simple thing, but when you tell a player they’ve just found something special, and you hand over the index card with a custom magic item written on it (or you know, message them on Discord or add it to their digital character sheet somehow or whatever) there’s a very satisfying feeling.
It makes your campaign feel like its own thing. And it gets the player hooked in just that much more. But how do you get started? What kinds of things can you do when homebrewing? Well there are a lot of ways to approach it. Here are five that have worked for me.
Use The Tables
There are actually a considerable number of resources for making your own magic item – which should be a good clue that the game is designed for DMs to make their own stuff and have fun tinkering. You can find a list of all sorts of major and minor properties and quirks that exist outside of the catalogue of magic items, and a good place to start with your own magic item design can be picking different features from the various tables.
You can layer them on to an existing magic item, or just combine a bunch of different things to make something new.
Enhance An Existing Ability
If you are making your own custom magic items, odds are good you’re making it for a character, specifically. You make a magic item because you think that the player would find it cool – it’s extremely satisfying as a DM. One thing you can do is look at what they’re always doing. Do they have a signature spell? Are they always doing one kind of Battle Master maneuver or whatever? If so, then come up with ways to boost that. Easy, simple, straightforward, and no player will feel bad about that.
Add A New Ability
The other end of the spectrum is adding a new ability to a character that wouldn’t otherwise have it. For example, giving a Fighter a sword that lets them cast Steel Wind Strike (an AoE spell where you teleport and magically attack a bunch of people) is a pretty thematic and fun magic item that most vanilla Fighters will never get to do.
Or how about a great axe that grants a Barbarian access to a College of Swords Bard’s Inspirational Flourishes while raging, so that every attack in a rage does a little extra. Get creative – look for fun, extra things to give your PCs that they might not otherwise be able to do.
Get Weird
Then, of course, you can go the ‘get weird with it’ route. This is where you find stuff like the Folding Boat or Figurines of Wondrous Power, or Sovereign Glue. Or many other Wondrous Items. Detach yourself from mechanics for a moment, come up with a concept that seems cool. Magic superglue became a staple in D&D, for instance.
Maybe you think of something like a frisbee that you can throw and then teleport to wherever it lands. Or a magical wooden duck that can predict the future when you put it in a bath. The possibilities are literally endless, so see what comes to mind. But once you have your concept, then you try to figure out the mechanical scaffolding to jam it into your game. That’s the important thing. Idea first, then rules.
Make It A Set
Finally, when all else fails, make a set of magic items. I don’t know why, but sometimes it’s easier to come up with three (or more) related things than it is one thing individually. Maybe because humans are so good at Pattern Recognition. Either way, pick three items, say helmet, shield, and spear – then give them a name and see what powers suggest themselves from that. You’d be surprised at how far that can take you, and the narrative that will emerge from so doing.
What are some of your go-to tricks for coming up with a magic item?
