Highlights
- Fate Cutter Shears increase chance to crit – best for strong characters to boost party’s attack hits.
- Sun Staff provides damage bonus and spell reroll, great for early campaign magic item introduction.
- Bloodseeker Ammunition grants consistent hits for Gunslingers, ideal for Rogues and ranged fighters.
The Book of Many Things introduces a treasure trove of new magic items for Dungeons and Dragons 5e, and some are exceedingly powerful! There’s a colossal list with over 50 new magic items that all have unique strengths and purposes, but some are more coveted than others.
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Dungeons and Dragons introduces Asteria, a major figure from the Book of Many Things, and the first autistic character in D&D history.
The magical new items range from armor, card decks, weapons, and even new ammunition types for those gunslinging cowboys, but which items are the best? Every class will find new and interesting uses for each new item introduced, but here are the best and most powerful magic items added in The Book of Many Things.
9 Fate Cutter Shears
Increased Chance To Crit
The Fate Cutter Shears are very rare magic daggers that require attunement, and allow the player to exercise several magical properties. This item will mostly provide value to party members other than the one using it, but is still a great item nonetheless.
When a player lands an attack with these shears, they deal an additional 1d6 Force damage. Using the ‘Sever Threads’ ability, players can cut the fate of a targeted creature, which ensures that any attack rolls made against this creature become critical hits on either a 19 or 20, representing an additional 5% chance to crit from dice rolls. This item would be best used on characters who can stand up to punishment and go in for a hit against a particularly strong enemy, to help increase the chance that each attack from the rest of the party crits.
8 Sun Staff
Maximize Damage Dice
The Sun Staff is a rare magic item that a Cleric, Druid or Wizard can be attuned to. It grants a cool +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls, and deals an extra 1d8 Fire damage on a successful hit. This item is much more useful for the ‘Solar Focus’ property, however, which allows the wielder to reroll damage dice (up to an amount equal to their proficiency bonus) when expending a spell slot on a spell that deals either Radiant or Fire damage.
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This is a magic item that isn’t ridiculously broken, but could be a great introduction to the power of magic items (especially those contained within The Book of Many Things) in the early stages of a campaign. The Sun Staff also allows players to spend one bonus action to cause the staff to glow with sunlight, which can last as long as the player wishes. This is a neat little feature to help anyone in the party who doesn’t have darkvision!
7 Bloodseeker Ammunition
Help Marksmen Hit Their Marks
This very rare ammunition provides additional options for Gunslingers in 5e, allowing them to consistently roll with advantage whilst using this ammunition if the target doesn’t have all of their hit points. This will ensure that the marksmen of the party hit their shots more frequently, which can be vital in the midst of combat. Bloodseeker Ammunition also doesn’t require attunement, which frees up those precious slots for even more magic items.
This extremely simple item actually provides a ridiculously powerful bonus when fighting, as advantage will not only ensure that attacks hit more frequently, but will significantly increase the chances that the dice will roll a critical hit. This can be ridiculously helpful in combat, as it allows the player to double their damage dice, making those hits count even more. This ammunition would be good for any character making ranged attacks, especially a Rogue, who would be able to sneak attack just by having this ammunition, should their target not have full health.
6 Wraps Of Unarmed Prowess
Upgrade Fit For A Monk
The Wraps of Unarmed Prowess would be a fantastic option for any Monk. They are a wondrous item, with varying rarity levels from uncommon and rare to very rare, with each level of rarity adding a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls, up to a maximum of +3. This would be great for Monk’s using their Ki points effectively, and would be exceedingly useful to ensure their hits are connecting and dealing more damage. When combined with an ability like Flurry of Blows, these Wraps will really shine.
They also allow unarmed strikes to be considered magical, and can overcome resistance and immunity if a creature should have either of those against non-magical attacks and damage. This ensures that Monks, who can often feel a little underwhelming in 5e, are dishing out adequate damage.
5 Rod Of Hellish Flames
A Taste Of Warlock
This very rare magical rod, that any spellcaster can attune to, can be used as an arcane focus, and grants the wielder resistance to Fire and Necrotic damage, meaning damage of this type will be halved for the player. This rod also has the ‘Searing Rebuke’ ability, which allows the player to cast a 4th level Hellish Rebuke, with a spell save DC of 16, once per day, allowing anyone with a penchant for Warlocks to dip their toe in.
The Rod of Hellish Flames also contains the extremely powerful ‘Surge of Brimstone,’ that negates the need for rolling damage dice, and instead allows the wielder to deal maximum damage on any spell that does Fire or Necrotic damage, once per long rest. This is a powerful ability that, when combined with a spell like Finger Of Death, can swiftly remove enemies from the battlefield. This item would be particularly great for Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards, though Clerics and Bards would no-doubt have a great time with this item as well.
4 Sword Of The Planes
Travel Between Planes With This Legendary Sword
The Sword of The Planes is an incredibly powerful sword that grants +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls. It possesses powerful supernatural abilities that let the player wielding it transport themselves across Planes of existence with ease.
The wielder may spend an action to slice a tear in reality within 5 feet of themselves, and open up a rift to another Plane. The player must say where they wish to travel to, and the Sword will obey, though how close they are to the chosen location is determined by the DM.
This could be a great item to make a quick escape against the big bad of a campaign, or a way to kidnap a valuable target with ease. This item would be most ideal for Paladins, Fighters, and Barbarians.
3 Jester’s Mask
Take Spellcasters To The Next Level
The Jester’s Mask is a wondrous legendary item that can only be used by a Bard, Sorcerer, or Warlock that is attuned to it. This item grants some powerful abilities that could be a significant upgrade to any Charisma-based spellcaster.
Firstly, it can be used as a spellcasting focus, and gives a huge +3 bonus to any spell attack rolls, and to a player’s spell save DC (provided that the ability used to cast said spell is Charisma). Additionally, it can allow the wearer to disappear as a reaction after being hit with an attack. The player takes no damage and teleports within 30 feet of where they were attacked. This is the ‘Marvelous Escape’ ability, though it can only be used once per long rest.
Finally, this item adds a similar feature to portents, used by divination wizards, that allows the wearer to treat any 1 they roll on a d20 like a natural 20. ‘Topsy-Turvy’ can allow players to turn an embarrassing failure into a resounding success, though, similar to the ‘Marvelous Escape’ ability, this can only be used once every long rest.
2 Euryale’s Aegis
A Legendary Shield Infused With The Power Of A Medusa
Arguably one of the most powerful items introduced in The Book of Many Things, Euryale’s Aegis is a legendary shield that requires attunement, and possesses a plethora of unique abilities. Firstly, it grants resistance to Poison damage, and grants immunity against Petrification. The shield contains magic from a legendary Medusa Druid, Euryale, which also allows some of that power to be wielded.
Players attuned to this shield can spend one bonus action to utilize the Medusa’s petrifying magic, and force a Constitution saving throw from one creature that the player can see, and unless they save, passing the DC of 20, they will become restrained and turn to stone. If they fail repeated saves, also DC 20, they will become petrified for 24 hours.
The Shield can also cast several useful spells, including Lesser Restoration, Locate Creature, and Transport via Plants. It can cast each of these spells once every day. The Shield also bumps up Armor Class, increasing it by 2. This would be a great magic item for a Paladin or a Cleric, or any martial character that employs a shield in their gameplay.
1 The Deck Of Many More Things
The Ultimate Legendary Item
The Deck of Many More Things is arguably the single most impressive item from The Book of Many Things. This wondrous legendary item combines 44 cards, created in an attempt to recreate The Deck of Many Things, with the 22 cards available from the original deck. Players can use this item and declare how many cards they wish to draw. They are then drawn randomly, and the magic of the cards takes hold. Players must draw the amount of cards they originally declared, and if they don’t, the remaining cards will fly out of the deck, with the magic activating straight away.
Dungeons And Dragons: Magic Items Too Dangerous To Give To Players
The D&D universe is rich with dangerous magical items, some of which should never end up in the hands of players.
Players roll a d100 to determine which card they draw, rolling again on any result from 67, to 100. There are a range of different effects each card can have, with roughly one third of them being negative. These effects can range from granting immediate rejuvenation, as if a long rest had been taken, or transporting the player to the Feywild. The Jester card immediately allows the player to gain 10,000 experience, whilst the Pit card opens up a hole beneath the player, dropping them 3d6 x 10 feet.
While it might be unwise to give a player access to the whole deck, this is no doubt the best magic item available in The Book of Many Things, and would be a fantastic way to introduce a bit of chance and luck to the campaign.
Dungeons and Dragons
- Franchise
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
- 1974-00-00
- Designer
- E. Gary Gygax , Dave Arneson
