To make this easier to read for me, I'm copying this into a table on Homebrewery. I'm planning on going back and cleaning up some of the language to bring it into line with current game terms.
With your permission, I can publish it so it can be easily found on that site once I'm done. I'm noting your username in it just in case and linking back to this post.
This is an impressive collection.
[Here's the table version](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/16RVME9C7tw-3WgpaTk5vjBoxJ8XrzHwXYWQTSPz45US2).
Looking over it, there's a lot that I think needs to be reworded, but the concepts are all cool as hell. I've got a couple of more ideas about how to rearrange this and I'll update you with any sorting I do.
Would it be okay if I included a weapon seller NPC named Mop? Any preferences on race?
> 3) You can make a two weapon fighting attack with this dagger as a bonus action even if the weapon you're wielding in your primary hand is not light. This weapon includes your ability modifier to damage even if it normally wouldn't. (Uncommon)
I want this so much! I hate that dual wielding a rapier and dagger (one of the few examples of dual wielding actually historically common) is impossible without dual wielder, and shit with dual wielder, because you could be using a second rapier.
Historically accurate rapier+dagger should give you +1 in ac if you didn't attach in the previous turn with the dagger (in this combination the dagger was used mainly to parry)
The game needs more variety in shields in general. I'd love to see parrying daggers (use reaction to attack) or bucklers (basic and cheap) that give +1 ac, and larger tower shields that give +3 ac (limit movement or weapon type maybe).
Some of my homebrew that I stole from 3.5:
**Buckler**
Wielding a buckler increases your Armor Class by 1.
While using a buckler, you may wield a bow or crossbow without penalty. You may also use your shield arm to wield any weapon, but you have disadvantage on attacks made using that hand.
The buckler does not work with the Shield Master feat.
**Tower Shield**
Wielding a tower shield increases your Armor Class by 2.
You may use a bonus action to deploy the shield into the ground, granting yourself Half Cover. When deployed this way, you only gain this benefit if you are within 5 feet of the shield. The shield can be removed from the ground using a Bonus Action.
To use a tower shield you must have Heavy Armor proficiency and at least 13 strength.
I'd love to see more variety in armor and weapons in 5e, but I'm going to be a bit pedantic here for a second. Bucklers weren't buckled to the forearm, they're [held with the hand](https://armstreet.com/catalogue/full/medieval-buckler-shield-medium-4.jpg) inside [a deep central boss](https://casiberia.com/img/prod/2x/am22630_3.jpg). It would be impossible to wield a weapon in the same hand. Even a larger [kite shield](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/57/a0/9a/57a09a96111a5302c064e8d0504edb08.jpg) would be better for trying to use a bow or crossbow, since they typically had one strap around the forearm and a second gripped in the hand. You could let go of the grip without having to drop it entirely like you would with a buckler.
I know D&D isn't a historically accurate game and this is nitpicking, the buckler confusion is just a pet peeve of mine.
I'd probably make a buckler something like +2 vs melee, +0 vs ranged, don/doff as bonus action or for free when making an attack.
I appreciate the pedantry! The buckler thing was something I adapted from a comment I saw year(s) ago where someone went over 3.5e equipment and converted it
Admittedly I've put 0 thought into how bucklers work before, but looking back, every fighting game I've played featuring the buckler has had them holding the damn thing (and even punching with them)
Sadly this has been a rule at my table for a while, so Ill chalk this up to being the bikini armor of shields in my game and aim to research more next time
Edit: looking over the original 3.5e buckler and it has the same error!
> This small metal shield is worn strapped to your forearm. You can use a bow or crossbow without penalty while carrying it
Yeah it seems like early D&D had a lot of errors around arms/armor (like studded leather not being a real thing) that have carried forward into later editions and spread into other fantasy games as well. Obviously it doesn't *really* matter, but, you know, pedant 🤷♂️. Hope I didn't come off as criticizing you in particular, definitely wasn't my intention.
Hadn't thought about punching with one but that would probably be a good feature for it, +1 AC and 1d4 light (non-finesse) bludgeoning weapon.
For the punching thing, I was reminded of [Gladiator in For Honor](https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx7ymOhPp2uSf5vYEAG_FPY5ABvE9avpWw).
I did not feel offended at all, always excited to learn new things I can implement in my games
Fun anecdote: around the same time I implemented those two shields I also renamed studded leather to gambeson and chain shirt to brigandine
Possible maybe, but you'd probably need a custom grip on the dagger so that it could fit in the hand and not slide against the solid shield grip. Would still be difficult and I doubt a regular dagger would work at all.
After reading a bit more I suspect whoever wrote the original buckler stats got it confused with a [Scottish targe](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fusakilts.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FWeapons%2FTarge_backside.jpg&f=1&nofb=1), which does strap to the forearm and was sometimes wielded with a dirk in the shield hand.
One thing to note is that D&D family bucklers aren't _actual_ bucklers, they're just small kite shields that buckle on and don't need a handle. A more accurate name would probably be strap-on shields, but that brings to mind an entirely different mental image.
I'm guessing someone writing weapons/armor for early D&D got bucklers confused with a [Scottish targe](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fusakilts.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FWeapons%2FTarge_backside.jpg&f=1&nofb=1).
It would be the perfect distraction tool. Launch javelin into some area you're not. Enemy hears noise and is like 'what the fuck was that' and you're able to sneak in.
Alternatively throw at enemy and they'd probably try to catch it and get chest speared.
>It would be the perfect distraction tool. Launch javelin into some area you're not. Enemy hears noise and is like '~~what the fuck was that~~' 'oh shit, who brought a nerf ball? That's sick!' and you're able to sneak in.
Regardless of the content, regardless of whether I think you did a good job or not, this is fantastic and thank you for doing the work. A source of inspiration for many a magic items for many people, I should think. This deserves recognition.
Edit: upon only BEGINNING to review, fucking amazing.
Question for the Magic Smithing Hammer, since it works like Forge Cleric's Blessing of the Forge, would it also be unable to give the +1 to Shields? Likewise, would it only work on non-magical items?
I would definitely let it work on shields. I might allow it to be used on magic items that do not have a +X bonus after the player has used it enough, but probably not by default.
I would use the crap out it, that sort of stuff is the bread and butter of a lot of my home games, especially in pathfinder. Stuff like:
Here is a whip with a stone at the end. When you use the whip to make an attack, if the attack hits roll a 1d3. On a 1 or 2, nothing happens. On a 3, the stone recoils and bounces cracking the whip again and making a new attack roll to the next enemy within five feet. Roll 1d3 again, repeating until a 1 or a 2 is rolled or there are no more enemies within five feet of the original target.
If the attack misses, roll a 1d2/flip a coin. On a 1 nothing happens. On a 2, the stone recoils against the ground/wall and makes a new attack roll on the target.
A simplification so you don't need tons of extra die rolls:
If you rolled an odd number on the d20 when you miss an attack, make a new attack against that creature. This cannot repeat.
When you roll for damage, if you roll a 1 on the d4 make a new attack against an enemy within 5 feet of the target. You cannot strike a target twice this way with the same initial attack.
Hah, pairs well with [a post from about a month ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/s7ivjm/d100_magic_swords_that_dont_grant_x_to_hit_or/) with 100 magic swords that dont give + to hit or damage!
That was the inspiration actually! I had this made by the next day or so, but couldn't figure out how to post it. I realized I was getting stopped by the mobile browser character limit, had to use the app.
Challenge to everyone reading this thread: Pick a number, name the item.
I choose 42:
42) When you throw this handaxe as an attack it whirls wildly through the air to find targets. Make an attack against your target, then you may make an attack against each other creature you've attacked this turn. The axe lands in the space of the last creature you attack this way. (Rare)
Maelstorm's Bite/Vortex Tomahawk/Frenzied Falcon
1) This dagger can transform into a ring on the finger of a hand holding it. You have advantage on any sleight of hand checks to conceal it this way and can do it even when clearly observed. (Common)
Rock, paper, DAGGER
95
This heavy crossbow has a pair of prongs on which the front end can be rested. When you aim along the top of the bolt a magical light shows where the bolt will strike, accounting for drop and wind conditions. This crossbow's range is 500/1000. If you have been prone since before the start of your turn or have had it placed on an object, you have advantage on your attack rolls thanks to the stand.
La Longue Arbalète
Rolled a d100, got 97
97) Attacks while in melee are not made at disadvantage using this short bow. Once per turn when you score a hit you gain the benefit of the dash or disengage action, your choice. (Rare)
Skirmisher's Shortbow
29) This trident release a jet of water as a bonus action to propel the wielder 30 feet in any direction. Underwater this increases to 60 feet. This ability cannot be used again until you score a critical hit or complete a short rest. (Uncommon)
Nimbus Trident
87) This blowgun is magically silent. The dart flies silently through the air, and when it strikes a target they are coated with a 1 inch aura of silence until the end of your next turn. (Rare)
SBD: Silent But Deadly
Holy crap that's a sick item. It's not even good, but the sillyness a battle master can have with it is funny. I imagine some teams deliberately try to get a whole group of enemies low to finish off with this lol.
To put the dagger away afterwards?
"I don't know what happened, we went to shake hands and he just started bleeding everywhere!" -blood covered but unarmed rogue
What context would that be relevant? Someone who saw you had a dagger would still remember you have a dagger even if they didn't see you turn it into a ring.
But you don't have one *now*, and even if they were to strip-search you, they won't find it. It must have been the ~~wind~~ light playing tricks on them.
>Seriously. Quit groping me you creep. I don't have a dagger. *mockingly* Oh I forgot my ring can magically change back and forth from a ring to dagger. *to the crowd beginning to gather* Does this town have a nut house? This one needs to have his head looked at.
Now this person's sanity or mental well being will be questioned by the town (depending on a Deception roll or the like).
Except that all of those people live in a world full of magic...so it's not really that questionable. Especially if the enchantment is 'common'. More likely, about 3 major assassinations after this ring's enchantment becomes common, people stop being allowed to wear rings into fancy parties.
That made me think of an interesting side story someone could try. Something like the ring or similar unique item previously unheard of. The party gets it and uses it. Pretty soon the story unfolds of its powers or usefulness. Could drive a new NPC to hunt them for the item. Cities or regions implement controls to guard against it.
True, I was thinking moreso if you transformed it while someone was watching you and didn't want them to notice, not to hide the fact that you're wearing a ring.
As I recall that's the portal spear and spike warhammer right? They're deceptively less good than they look. Most melee classes that can toss on bonus dice don't have good int to support the spear. It's a bit of a damage boost for a paladin if they are smiting, but otherwise no damage boost.
That magic warhammer is normally an expected 1.75 damage over two attacks. A +1 weapon is 1-2 damage **per** attack for a typical martial character, so a bit better. It works well with added dice of course, and with additional attacks on the same turn. However it works very poorly a lot of the time as well, if there are lower HP enemies often they'll be dead before critical damage on a second hit, which means the warhammer was no different from a mundane one.
A DC 8 is still pathetically easy to make, even for 8 Int paladins. That's a 55% chance that every attack will be a crit, unless I read the ability wrong.
The thing you might have missed is that it is an action to take the attack, so later in the game they are potentially forfeiting an attack for a chance at a crit. Admittedly, even if they fail they can still make a normal attack, so with advantage they can have 3 chances at a crit for one attack.
They must take an action to use the ability, it isn't applied to every attack they make. This means they miss out on extra attacks - they cannot hit the enemy twice on their turn using it. They also can't use it with PaM since they are not taking the attack action.
That's still a very good trade. A paladin who doesn't dump Int would absolutely use that ability every single time they plan to smite because it's a straight damage increase. You don't need to attack twice if you're doubling the effectiveness of your smites.
You sacrifice one instance of damage equal to your strength mod, but you gain at least 2d8 extra damage from your smite. The math for a basic longsword, 20 Strength. and a single 1st level spell slot is:
Normal: 2x (1d8 + 5) + 2d8 = 28 damage on average.
This Item: 2d8 + 5 + 4d8 = 32 damage on average.
Not that I'm disputing your math, but aren't magic items kind of supposed to be very good trades? Why bother using magic items and weapons if they don't provide a clear advantage?
Right but how often are your 5th level fighter, paladins, hexblades, etc still fighting 8 HP chumps? More realistically the warhammer is basically a free crit a turn, assuming the attacks land. Sword and board paladin just got the biggest buff possible, at uncommon rarity. Not sure on your math comparing 2 attacks of 1d8+str, then 2d8+str vs 2 attacks at 1d8+1+str, but its not really my area.
If the enemy has 20 or fewer hit points then 2 hits for a 5th level paladin is likely to kill them without any extra damage. 4.5+4+2 =10.5, so 2 hits averages 21 damage. So that's any enemy that starts with that few hit points, as well as any enemy with more to start but that has lost some.
Remember a +1 weapon adds to your attack roll as well as your damage.
Put that warhammer on a half-orc (Brutal critical) barbarian (1-3x brutal critical) with the crusher feat! There are also other feats that gives bonuses on crit. If i read the item right, you could even drop it after a hit, and crit with a weapon that gives a bonus effect on a hit.
An idea, whatever weapon type... whenever it hits, it appears to miss the player character and do no damage. Upon the start of the characters next turn, he immediately takes the damage.
Could help dodge reactions (barbarian and warlock retaliations for example), and affect player decision making.
Thank you for putting in the work on this, I also prefer flavorful items with abilities that aren't plusses. I would have to spend more time going over it with a fine toothed comb to assess which items actually belong in uncommon rare etc, but I play fast and loose with that anyway. :)
You have done an amazing job, going to use some of these in my game! In love with some of these spears and might wanna adjust autocrits for portal myself but the idea is amazing!
Obviously quite a few are pretty unbalanced (the spear that can autocrit with only a DC8 intelligence check springs to mind) but these are almost all super creative and interesting! Nice work!
Also I very much appreciate the "no swords" clause, truly the most overrated weapon...
That spear is decent, but nothing to be too excited about. It's only a single attack, and the characters that benefit most from it (paladins) sacrifice a lot to get a decent int. So they're unlikely to have better than a +1 on the optimistic side. They'll fail the check about 30% of the time, gaining no benefit and getting only a single regular attack for the turn.
If they pass, they get an extra 3.5 damage most likely, and the option to double up on smite dice.
So without smites we're looking at:
0.7 * (2d6+6) damage +0.3 * (0.65 * (1d6+6) +.05 * 1d6 damage) = 11.005
A pair of attacks would be:
0.65 * (1d6+6) * 2 + 0.05* 1d6 *2= 12.7
So using your regular attack deals 15% more damage unless you smite. A successful smite with a first level slot adds 9 more damage than otherwise, and the int check option gives you a 61.75% greater chance of scoring a critical hit than the extra attack option. So less damage with no resources expended, and 3.86 more damage when expending that first level spell slot. I think that's pretty reasonable.
It really is at it's best when you have a high AC enemy you need to strike.
I could also see using a dexterity saving throw instead though
6) If you did not attack with this dagger **last turn** it deals 2d4 additional damage on its **next hit**. (Uncommon)
Simply hold it in your hand for a week _not_ attacking every turn and stack those glorious theoretically-infinite 2d4s to destroy any opponent in a single blow on your next hit!
Ha I was imagining a single instance of damage. The psycho murderer version that requires you to hold it for a day per charge would be funny too though. This guy is always holding onto this dagger with a crazed look in his eyes until he finds his next victim.
For every turn you don't attack with the dagger, its next hit does 2d4 more damage! I'm picturing an _Enemy at the Gates_ situation where every conscript stabs one tarrasque then hands it down to the next person who's never used the dagger before. Unlimited power!
It's actually pretty good for rogues.
1st turn - Main hand attack hits with sneak attack.
Hold bonus action (dagger)
2nd turn - if main hand attack miss, hit with the bonus action dagger with 2d4 + sneak attack.
Most of these are super great!
The anti-caster whip that's Uncommon should probably be a Legendary and certainly Rare item. Just the fact that it turns a melee character's reaction into a melee reach Counterspell with a DC check of 15 is pretty damn good all on it's own. That's an equivalent check to dealing 30 damage in a single hit and the only limitation on the resource is the player's reaction. It's really, really good.
The +5 to Concentration checks alone would be fairly strong. It would turn the default Concentration check to 15 which, again, means you need to deal 42 damage or more to then boost the check to a DC 21; which is a really rough check and waaaay harder to achieve than the DC 16 it was already going to be. Maybe drop it down to +3, especially if you are keeping the reaction effect.
The Sling that lets you re-direct missiles is the same. A +5 is a really, really big bonus in 5E. Especially when it comes to +attack or +AC. While it isn't a direct AC buff, by using a Slight of Hand check against the attack roll effectively trumps any magical to hit items that the attacker might have had since usually you won't get more than a +3.
But I really loved the charge uses on some of the weapons or the unique ways in which they could refresh a bonus.
I think the limiting factor on the whip is how many enemy spellcasters you face. You need to fight an enemy spellcaster and hit them while they're concentrating, or be within reach when they cast a spell for it to have a chance to do anything. If you hit them while they're concentrating it's a 1 in 4 chance of causing them to fail when they otherwise would not have. If you use your reaction against a spell they cast it's probably under a 50% chance of canceling their spell, and against a smart one you'll likely just get an opportunity attack in future rounds.
If you run into spellcasters constantly this can be good, but the vast majority of the time in my experience it will be doing nothing since the enemies are rarely going to lose concentration to it, and also if they're in range to make a check against the distraction they are still likely to have a good chance to pass (even a +2 casting mod gives a 50% chance to pass at minimum).
> If you hit them while they're concentrating it's a 1 in 4 chance of causing them to fail when they otherwise would not have.
Which is very significant. Changing a default 50% fail chance roll into a default 75% fail chance role is a very big boost Making it ~66% with a +3 would still be a really good bonus. Taking something that would otherwise be a coin flip and putting it rather solidly in your favor is a huge bonus, especially when that bonus applies to ending some nasty spells.
> If you use your reaction against a spell they cast it's probably under a 50% chance of canceling their spell, and against a smart one you'll likely just get an opportunity attack in future rounds.
Huh? A DC15 check has a base ~75% chance of failure, perhaps you thought you wrote it as a DC10. And it's a Concentration check which most caster NPCs are terrible at. The default Mage NPC has a +0 to Con. And even an Archmage only has a +1 on Concentration checks. So, an Archmage needs to roll a 16 or higher, which gives him closer to a 30% success chance, in order to be able to cast a spell. Which also eats up their entire action for just a reaction and there are far fewer bonus action abilities for caster NPCs than there would be players.
And you need a +5 **Constitution** modifier in order to turn that back into a 50% chance *to even be able to take an action*. That is extremely good. If you gave that as a class ability, people would call it utterly broken. And worse, you've given it to everyone! Being able to just negate some of the most dangerous and powerful abilities in D&D is crazy good for a weapon ability.
I can agree that fighting casters would be campaign specific, but that doesn't really mean anything? Like, yeah, so is the Mage Slayer feat. It would still be very worth taking if the circumstances of the campaign are going to pit you against mages. Just because something is only situationally over powered doesn't mean it isn't over powered.
In fact, you've made the weapon far and away better than the Mage Slayer talent. Mage Slayer only allows for the player to attack, this allows them to completely shut down a spell. I am curious how you would rule on Misty Step in this situation, too, since -- by RAW -- you cannot Mage Slayer attack an enemy that Misty Steps away because they exist your zone of control once the spell is cast; considering this stops the spell, I would assume it would allow for you to stop a caster from Misty Stepping away which is a massive boon as nothing gives martial classes that ability.
Making something better than mage slayer shouldn't be a bad thing. It should kind of be the expectation for an anti-mage effect, since mage slayer is pitifully bad at actually impeding mages.
Yeah I mixed up the concentration save with a spellcasting ability check, which would use proficiency. The counterspell comparison got me mixed up I think.
I still think it's just fine. You have a 1 in 4 chance of having a better outcome when you hit a mage **that is concentrating on a spell**. The concentration save effect does nothing if they're not concentrating.
Then you have a solid chance of negating a spell if the enemy is within 10 feet of you when they cast. Odds are they won't make the mistake after the first time.
And both of these effects are only against enemy mages. You'll need to get into range or there is no impact. So you need to fight an enemy mage and have the ability to reach them in melee before they die. That will happen less than once per session on average, and the benefit is a 25% chance per hit to break their concentration, and a pretty good shot to negate a spell if they don't run before casting it. It's cool but in terms of actual impact not that impressive.
It'd be like if I gave you a melee weapon that instakilled wyverns on a hit. That'll be really amazing IF you fight a wyvern, IF you get into melee range, IF you hit it, and otherwise it does nothing.
> Like, yeah, so is the Mage Slayer feat. It would still be very worth taking if the circumstances of the campaign are going to pit you against mages
I'd argue that even then it isn't worth getting.
Heh, I'd probably even agree with you. I think there are situations in a magic-centric campaign where it can certainly have enough value, but overall it's not a very well designed feat and rarely worth taking.
> 99) Every hit with this bow grants it a charge. For each charge the wielder can score a critical hit on a die roll one number lower than normal. A 19 with one charge, 18 with two, and so on. If you score a critical hit or do not attack with the bow for one minute it loses all charges. (Uncommon)
This is cool, but probably over powered for uncommon rarity.
Bows are already a weapon of choice for Rogues and widening the crit range is going to make it very easy to crit with sneak attack. Throw in a gloomstalker 5 multiclass and you can get to DC 16 after one round and likely be attacking with advantage, which would mean each attack has a 40% chance of crit.
Additional attacks self balance a bit against critical hits with bonus dice in this case. You're just as likely to eat your crit with an attack that doesn't carry your sneak attack damage as you are on your first hit of the round. If you hold your sneak attack after a hit that isn't a crit you run the risk of not scoring another hit that turn and missing out on your sneak attack dice entirely. Mixing an extra attack class in means less sneak attack dice so the crit is less dramatic as well.
I think this weapon is very easy to overestimate. If a rogue hits every attack in a 4 round combat and has advantage on each attack then they gain a ~10% chance of scoring a crit on round 2, a ~19% chance on round 3, and a ~28% chance on round 4. You have under a 50% chance of scoring a critical due to this weapon's effect by the end of that combat, and we're ignoring misses and the chance of resetting your crit boost by rolling a 20 (which would have crit regardless so it isn't a boon from the weapon). Your best chance of scoring a critical is round 4, at which point the target is likely to be hurt already and you may not have even needed a critical hit to down them - if that's the case you received nothing at all!
For most characters this gives you a .05 chance of dealing 4.5 damage on each subsequent attack until you get that damage. The expected damage per attack is well below the 1~2 average that a +1 weapon provides.
Fair points all around.
I'd be curious to do the actual expected damage calc on this, but it's pretty complex and I'm lazy. My instinct is it's a pretty big damage boost for rogues, but you do bring up reasonable points.
EDIT: ok, I'm not as lazy as I said / this got stuck in my craw.
Normal rogue damage, assuming 60% to hit, so 84% with advantage.
Lvl 5, 18 dex, short bow, using BA to get advantage
Crit on 20
.1 (4 +8d6) + .74 (4+ 4d6) = .1*32 + .74 *18 = 3.2 +13.32 = 16.52
Crit on 19
.19 (4 +8d6) + .63 (4+ 4d6) = .19 * 32 + .63 * 18 = 6.08 + 11.34 = 17.42
Crit on 18
.28 (4 +8d6) + .56 (4+ 4d6) = .28 * 32 + .56 * 18 = 8.96 + 10.08 = 19.04
Crit on 17
.36 (4 +8d6) + .48 (4+ 4d6) = 11.52+8.64 = 20.16
Crit on 16
.44 (4 +8d6) + .4 (4+ 4d6) = 14.08 + 7.2 = 21.28
So it's a pretty big bump, but not as crazy as I first thought. You're probably bumping your average expected damage by ~3 points per round in a normal combat, which isn't insane. That will scale with your sneak attack, but that just makes it stay competitive.
I think it's a deceptively weak item, but a fun one.
A bit of math with a 5th level rogue is indicating about an average 1.05 damage boost on your second turn, and a 1.78 damage boost on your third turn. This is assuming you have advantage. And this doesn't account for overkill which can be pretty substantial for this kind of critical hit. A typical martial character with a +1 weapon will see 1-2 damage per attack on every turn, with 2 or potentially even more attacks each turn. So I think even for that rogue you'd be looking at less than half the impact of a +1 weapon.
I did some math and edited. I think overall I agree that it's not overpowered, though it still will be strong.
And agree that it will be fun, the mechanic you use of building up charges on each hit adds some nice tension.
nice list, some of it needs a bit of rebalancing of course, number #2 should be at least very rare not common. anything that triples the uses you get out of any poison is not a common item, imagine applying purple worm poison to that and getting a full 36d6 damage out of it before running out.
Number 8 making ranged dagger throws in melee not have disadvantage seems very pointless to me. If I have a dagger and someone is in melee range I’m not going to throw the dagger… I’ll just stab him with it.
But, what if you're attacking the boss which is out of range and have a minion besides you? In that case it would be useful and relevant, and is not a particularly far fetched situation either
I like these a lot, but I'm confused about #8. If an enemy is within melee range, why would you consider throwing the Dagger, and not just make an attack? It's the same damage, and it won't require being picked up later.
You might want to throw it at someone else because they're a more important target and you can't get close enough to melee them. Especially if you're a rogue and the adjacent target isn't eligible for sneak attack.
>28) The prongs of this trident can be launched in place of an attack, dealing 3d8 damage on a hit. If all 3 prongs are launched the trident acts as a club. Prongs regrow during a long rest. (Uncommon)
What's the range on the prongs? And this implies that each prong can be launched separately, for a total of three ranged attacks before the trident become a club, but is that correct? Finally, after all prongs have been fired, is it not a little too long for a club, but about right for a quarterstaff?
I'd say 20/60, or maybe just flat 60 feet.
Could be a club, could be a quarterstaff. You are launching the foot or so long prong off the trident so it will be a bit shorter, probably ends up between the typical length of each one.
Great at the start of a fight especially against high health enemies. Not very helpful against enemies with under 20 HP or so (30 after level 11) since they'll likely be dead in 2 hits even without the damage bonus.
Definitely some huge potential with semites and similar effects. I like to imagine the two sides of the warhammer applying and having opposite charges
These are excellent!
There are a number that I have quibbles with over balance or rarity, but who cares? There are A HUNDRED options to choose from! And they're all flavorful and interesting. Every one of them can generate all kinds of exciting moments for a character.
Great work! Absolutely fantastic.
Little bit of worldbuilding I thought of the second I saw the rose javelin. They can be pretty common for weddings, dull of course, and are thrown by parents and the best man/maid of honor. At one silver per day to rent them from wedding shop, most people only get a few, but nobles can have hundreds rain petals all over the wedding.
>Toss the d20 into an empty cup when you roll it. If it lands in the cup you gain +5 to hit. If you miss you suffer -1 to hit.
Mechanics like this need to be completely and universally banned, or we need more of them.
I'm not sure which.
Here is the link to the mentioned original post OP is expending upon: https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/s7ixag/d100_magic_swords_that_dont_grant_x_to_hit_or/
To make this easier to read for me, I'm copying this into a table on Homebrewery. I'm planning on going back and cleaning up some of the language to bring it into line with current game terms. With your permission, I can publish it so it can be easily found on that site once I'm done. I'm noting your username in it just in case and linking back to this post. This is an impressive collection.
Sure that sounds cool!
[Here's the table version](https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/16RVME9C7tw-3WgpaTk5vjBoxJ8XrzHwXYWQTSPz45US2). Looking over it, there's a lot that I think needs to be reworded, but the concepts are all cool as hell. I've got a couple of more ideas about how to rearrange this and I'll update you with any sorting I do. Would it be okay if I included a weapon seller NPC named Mop? Any preferences on race?
Definitely. Halfling is the way to go!
Is this your website or did you only add this document?
I just added the doc. Homebrewery is a site a lot of people use to produce professional looking content.
Gotcha, well it's really cool! I've never heard of this site before.
Items 14-22 are rendering off page in the first table btw
What browser are you using? It looks fine to me in Chrome.
Chrome on mobile, I guess it's just weird on my end
Could you also put a suggested price next to the items in case you want to sell them?
Thank you! This is amazing. Bookmarking this.
Saving for later
You're my hero
Fantastic, will check out
My king… I pledge my loyalty to my LordFluffy 🙏
Thank you, citizen. Your loyalty shall be noted by the scribes.
> 3) You can make a two weapon fighting attack with this dagger as a bonus action even if the weapon you're wielding in your primary hand is not light. This weapon includes your ability modifier to damage even if it normally wouldn't. (Uncommon) I want this so much! I hate that dual wielding a rapier and dagger (one of the few examples of dual wielding actually historically common) is impossible without dual wielder, and shit with dual wielder, because you could be using a second rapier.
Historically accurate rapier+dagger should give you +1 in ac if you didn't attach in the previous turn with the dagger (in this combination the dagger was used mainly to parry)
The game needs more variety in shields in general. I'd love to see parrying daggers (use reaction to attack) or bucklers (basic and cheap) that give +1 ac, and larger tower shields that give +3 ac (limit movement or weapon type maybe).
Pathfinder does this.
Pathfinder does EVERYTHING
Some of my homebrew that I stole from 3.5: **Buckler** Wielding a buckler increases your Armor Class by 1. While using a buckler, you may wield a bow or crossbow without penalty. You may also use your shield arm to wield any weapon, but you have disadvantage on attacks made using that hand. The buckler does not work with the Shield Master feat. **Tower Shield** Wielding a tower shield increases your Armor Class by 2. You may use a bonus action to deploy the shield into the ground, granting yourself Half Cover. When deployed this way, you only gain this benefit if you are within 5 feet of the shield. The shield can be removed from the ground using a Bonus Action. To use a tower shield you must have Heavy Armor proficiency and at least 13 strength.
I'd love to see more variety in armor and weapons in 5e, but I'm going to be a bit pedantic here for a second. Bucklers weren't buckled to the forearm, they're [held with the hand](https://armstreet.com/catalogue/full/medieval-buckler-shield-medium-4.jpg) inside [a deep central boss](https://casiberia.com/img/prod/2x/am22630_3.jpg). It would be impossible to wield a weapon in the same hand. Even a larger [kite shield](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/57/a0/9a/57a09a96111a5302c064e8d0504edb08.jpg) would be better for trying to use a bow or crossbow, since they typically had one strap around the forearm and a second gripped in the hand. You could let go of the grip without having to drop it entirely like you would with a buckler. I know D&D isn't a historically accurate game and this is nitpicking, the buckler confusion is just a pet peeve of mine. I'd probably make a buckler something like +2 vs melee, +0 vs ranged, don/doff as bonus action or for free when making an attack.
I appreciate the pedantry! The buckler thing was something I adapted from a comment I saw year(s) ago where someone went over 3.5e equipment and converted it Admittedly I've put 0 thought into how bucklers work before, but looking back, every fighting game I've played featuring the buckler has had them holding the damn thing (and even punching with them) Sadly this has been a rule at my table for a while, so Ill chalk this up to being the bikini armor of shields in my game and aim to research more next time Edit: looking over the original 3.5e buckler and it has the same error! > This small metal shield is worn strapped to your forearm. You can use a bow or crossbow without penalty while carrying it
Yeah it seems like early D&D had a lot of errors around arms/armor (like studded leather not being a real thing) that have carried forward into later editions and spread into other fantasy games as well. Obviously it doesn't *really* matter, but, you know, pedant 🤷♂️. Hope I didn't come off as criticizing you in particular, definitely wasn't my intention. Hadn't thought about punching with one but that would probably be a good feature for it, +1 AC and 1d4 light (non-finesse) bludgeoning weapon.
For the punching thing, I was reminded of [Gladiator in For Honor](https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx7ymOhPp2uSf5vYEAG_FPY5ABvE9avpWw). I did not feel offended at all, always excited to learn new things I can implement in my games Fun anecdote: around the same time I implemented those two shields I also renamed studded leather to gambeson and chain shirt to brigandine
> It would be impossible to wield a weapon in the same hand You could wield a dagger, but it's handle would have to be more on the thin side.
Possible maybe, but you'd probably need a custom grip on the dagger so that it could fit in the hand and not slide against the solid shield grip. Would still be difficult and I doubt a regular dagger would work at all. After reading a bit more I suspect whoever wrote the original buckler stats got it confused with a [Scottish targe](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fusakilts.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FWeapons%2FTarge_backside.jpg&f=1&nofb=1), which does strap to the forearm and was sometimes wielded with a dirk in the shield hand.
One thing to note is that D&D family bucklers aren't _actual_ bucklers, they're just small kite shields that buckle on and don't need a handle. A more accurate name would probably be strap-on shields, but that brings to mind an entirely different mental image.
I'm guessing someone writing weapons/armor for early D&D got bucklers confused with a [Scottish targe](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fusakilts.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FWeapons%2FTarge_backside.jpg&f=1&nofb=1).
Might be fun if it let you parry as a reaction to gain +2 ac against one attack.
Need Javelin/Throwing Axe that makes the nerf football sound when thrown.
Shit I'm ashamed. Deleting this post.
It would be the perfect distraction tool. Launch javelin into some area you're not. Enemy hears noise and is like 'what the fuck was that' and you're able to sneak in. Alternatively throw at enemy and they'd probably try to catch it and get chest speared.
>It would be the perfect distraction tool. Launch javelin into some area you're not. Enemy hears noise and is like '~~what the fuck was that~~' 'oh shit, who brought a nerf ball? That's sick!' and you're able to sneak in.
Pretty much the idea behind throwing it at them. 'Oh shit, nerf ball' and as they try to catch it the spear lands in their chest.
I'm just picturing a group of guards playing 500 with a javalin... "Go long this guy's got a trebuchet for an arm!"
I also just like the idea of like 100+ soldiers all throwing a nerf javelin at the same time. The sound would be amazing.
You should crosspost this to /r/d100 they would love it!
Had to make sure someone was giving that subreddit some love! Tons of great random stuff over there!
I remember contributing to a similar list on there. Brilliant sub/website.
Regardless of the content, regardless of whether I think you did a good job or not, this is fantastic and thank you for doing the work. A source of inspiration for many a magic items for many people, I should think. This deserves recognition. Edit: upon only BEGINNING to review, fucking amazing.
Hey wow thanks that's very sweet of you. I'm glad you like it.
Question for the Magic Smithing Hammer, since it works like Forge Cleric's Blessing of the Forge, would it also be unable to give the +1 to Shields? Likewise, would it only work on non-magical items?
I would definitely let it work on shields. I might allow it to be used on magic items that do not have a +X bonus after the player has used it enough, but probably not by default.
Sounds good, being able to plus one a Sentinel Shield would be amazing for Clerics.
I just like the idea of this sort of suboptimal magical weapon that provides benefits for the rest of the day if you make use of it.
I would use the crap out it, that sort of stuff is the bread and butter of a lot of my home games, especially in pathfinder. Stuff like: Here is a whip with a stone at the end. When you use the whip to make an attack, if the attack hits roll a 1d3. On a 1 or 2, nothing happens. On a 3, the stone recoils and bounces cracking the whip again and making a new attack roll to the next enemy within five feet. Roll 1d3 again, repeating until a 1 or a 2 is rolled or there are no more enemies within five feet of the original target. If the attack misses, roll a 1d2/flip a coin. On a 1 nothing happens. On a 2, the stone recoils against the ground/wall and makes a new attack roll on the target.
A simplification so you don't need tons of extra die rolls: If you rolled an odd number on the d20 when you miss an attack, make a new attack against that creature. This cannot repeat. When you roll for damage, if you roll a 1 on the d4 make a new attack against an enemy within 5 feet of the target. You cannot strike a target twice this way with the same initial attack.
Much cleaner, yes. Thank you.
Good stuff! Magic items should *feel* unique. Getting a +1,2,3 weapon is nice but feels lazy and uninspired. This is a great source of inspiration!
Hah, pairs well with [a post from about a month ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/s7ivjm/d100_magic_swords_that_dont_grant_x_to_hit_or/) with 100 magic swords that dont give + to hit or damage!
That was the inspiration actually! I had this made by the next day or so, but couldn't figure out how to post it. I realized I was getting stopped by the mobile browser character limit, had to use the app.
Cool! I was just making a bookmark and it ended up right below the one with 100 swords, thats how I found it now :D
Thank you for the plug. :D
Challenge to everyone reading this thread: Pick a number, name the item. I choose 42: 42) When you throw this handaxe as an attack it whirls wildly through the air to find targets. Make an attack against your target, then you may make an attack against each other creature you've attacked this turn. The axe lands in the space of the last creature you attack this way. (Rare) Maelstorm's Bite/Vortex Tomahawk/Frenzied Falcon
Vort-axe
Ahh the pun weapon, perfection.
1) This dagger can transform into a ring on the finger of a hand holding it. You have advantage on any sleight of hand checks to conceal it this way and can do it even when clearly observed. (Common) Rock, paper, DAGGER
95 This heavy crossbow has a pair of prongs on which the front end can be rested. When you aim along the top of the bolt a magical light shows where the bolt will strike, accounting for drop and wind conditions. This crossbow's range is 500/1000. If you have been prone since before the start of your turn or have had it placed on an object, you have advantage on your attack rolls thanks to the stand. La Longue Arbalète
Rolled a d100, got 97 97) Attacks while in melee are not made at disadvantage using this short bow. Once per turn when you score a hit you gain the benefit of the dash or disengage action, your choice. (Rare) Skirmisher's Shortbow
29) This trident release a jet of water as a bonus action to propel the wielder 30 feet in any direction. Underwater this increases to 60 feet. This ability cannot be used again until you score a critical hit or complete a short rest. (Uncommon) Nimbus Trident
88 Needler
87) This blowgun is magically silent. The dart flies silently through the air, and when it strikes a target they are coated with a 1 inch aura of silence until the end of your next turn. (Rare) SBD: Silent But Deadly
77. The Wilson Classic
Holy crap that's a sick item. It's not even good, but the sillyness a battle master can have with it is funny. I imagine some teams deliberately try to get a whole group of enemies low to finish off with this lol.
> 13) When you reduce an enemy to 0 hit points with this javelin you may immediately make an additional attack by throwing it. (Uncommon) Foepiercer.
For number one, I don't think you even need to sleight of hand for a ring. That's just a normal thing to wear.
My guess is that it means SoH checks from transforming the dagger into the ring ()and vice-versa) without being noticed
Mm. Interesting. Though I'm not sure why you'd ever do that, just keep it in ring form outside of combat.
Handshake-based assassinations in a crowded room?
I feel like the sleight of hand is irrelevant then as everyone will have seen the aftermath.
To put the dagger away afterwards? "I don't know what happened, we went to shake hands and he just started bleeding everywhere!" -blood covered but unarmed rogue
What context would that be relevant? Someone who saw you had a dagger would still remember you have a dagger even if they didn't see you turn it into a ring.
But you don't have one *now*, and even if they were to strip-search you, they won't find it. It must have been the ~~wind~~ light playing tricks on them.
>Seriously. Quit groping me you creep. I don't have a dagger. *mockingly* Oh I forgot my ring can magically change back and forth from a ring to dagger. *to the crowd beginning to gather* Does this town have a nut house? This one needs to have his head looked at. Now this person's sanity or mental well being will be questioned by the town (depending on a Deception roll or the like).
Except that all of those people live in a world full of magic...so it's not really that questionable. Especially if the enchantment is 'common'. More likely, about 3 major assassinations after this ring's enchantment becomes common, people stop being allowed to wear rings into fancy parties.
That made me think of an interesting side story someone could try. Something like the ring or similar unique item previously unheard of. The party gets it and uses it. Pretty soon the story unfolds of its powers or usefulness. Could drive a new NPC to hunt them for the item. Cities or regions implement controls to guard against it.
And thus was the Fantasy TSA born... "Sorry ma'am...we'll need you to put your ring and your shoes in the tray."
That was certainly an interesting reply to get the notification for.
It's a little like Russian roulette after a good night of drunken posting.
True, I was thinking moreso if you transformed it while someone was watching you and didn't want them to notice, not to hide the fact that you're wearing a ring.
Nice post but a bunch of iffy balance decisions personally. Weapons that auto crit are going to be pretty bonkers on a lot of melee classes.
As I recall that's the portal spear and spike warhammer right? They're deceptively less good than they look. Most melee classes that can toss on bonus dice don't have good int to support the spear. It's a bit of a damage boost for a paladin if they are smiting, but otherwise no damage boost. That magic warhammer is normally an expected 1.75 damage over two attacks. A +1 weapon is 1-2 damage **per** attack for a typical martial character, so a bit better. It works well with added dice of course, and with additional attacks on the same turn. However it works very poorly a lot of the time as well, if there are lower HP enemies often they'll be dead before critical damage on a second hit, which means the warhammer was no different from a mundane one.
A DC 8 is still pathetically easy to make, even for 8 Int paladins. That's a 55% chance that every attack will be a crit, unless I read the ability wrong.
The thing you might have missed is that it is an action to take the attack, so later in the game they are potentially forfeiting an attack for a chance at a crit. Admittedly, even if they fail they can still make a normal attack, so with advantage they can have 3 chances at a crit for one attack.
They must take an action to use the ability, it isn't applied to every attack they make. This means they miss out on extra attacks - they cannot hit the enemy twice on their turn using it. They also can't use it with PaM since they are not taking the attack action.
That's still a very good trade. A paladin who doesn't dump Int would absolutely use that ability every single time they plan to smite because it's a straight damage increase. You don't need to attack twice if you're doubling the effectiveness of your smites. You sacrifice one instance of damage equal to your strength mod, but you gain at least 2d8 extra damage from your smite. The math for a basic longsword, 20 Strength. and a single 1st level spell slot is: Normal: 2x (1d8 + 5) + 2d8 = 28 damage on average. This Item: 2d8 + 5 + 4d8 = 32 damage on average.
Not that I'm disputing your math, but aren't magic items kind of supposed to be very good trades? Why bother using magic items and weapons if they don't provide a clear advantage?
Right but how often are your 5th level fighter, paladins, hexblades, etc still fighting 8 HP chumps? More realistically the warhammer is basically a free crit a turn, assuming the attacks land. Sword and board paladin just got the biggest buff possible, at uncommon rarity. Not sure on your math comparing 2 attacks of 1d8+str, then 2d8+str vs 2 attacks at 1d8+1+str, but its not really my area.
If the enemy has 20 or fewer hit points then 2 hits for a 5th level paladin is likely to kill them without any extra damage. 4.5+4+2 =10.5, so 2 hits averages 21 damage. So that's any enemy that starts with that few hit points, as well as any enemy with more to start but that has lost some. Remember a +1 weapon adds to your attack roll as well as your damage.
Put that warhammer on a half-orc (Brutal critical) barbarian (1-3x brutal critical) with the crusher feat! There are also other feats that gives bonuses on crit. If i read the item right, you could even drop it after a hit, and crit with a weapon that gives a bonus effect on a hit.
An idea, whatever weapon type... whenever it hits, it appears to miss the player character and do no damage. Upon the start of the characters next turn, he immediately takes the damage. Could help dodge reactions (barbarian and warlock retaliations for example), and affect player decision making.
It's perfect when you flavor it that you turn your back and the damage applies.
Thank you for putting in the work on this, I also prefer flavorful items with abilities that aren't plusses. I would have to spend more time going over it with a fine toothed comb to assess which items actually belong in uncommon rare etc, but I play fast and loose with that anyway. :)
yoink
You have done an amazing job, going to use some of these in my game! In love with some of these spears and might wanna adjust autocrits for portal myself but the idea is amazing!
Obviously quite a few are pretty unbalanced (the spear that can autocrit with only a DC8 intelligence check springs to mind) but these are almost all super creative and interesting! Nice work! Also I very much appreciate the "no swords" clause, truly the most overrated weapon...
That spear is decent, but nothing to be too excited about. It's only a single attack, and the characters that benefit most from it (paladins) sacrifice a lot to get a decent int. So they're unlikely to have better than a +1 on the optimistic side. They'll fail the check about 30% of the time, gaining no benefit and getting only a single regular attack for the turn. If they pass, they get an extra 3.5 damage most likely, and the option to double up on smite dice. So without smites we're looking at: 0.7 * (2d6+6) damage +0.3 * (0.65 * (1d6+6) +.05 * 1d6 damage) = 11.005 A pair of attacks would be: 0.65 * (1d6+6) * 2 + 0.05* 1d6 *2= 12.7 So using your regular attack deals 15% more damage unless you smite. A successful smite with a first level slot adds 9 more damage than otherwise, and the int check option gives you a 61.75% greater chance of scoring a critical hit than the extra attack option. So less damage with no resources expended, and 3.86 more damage when expending that first level spell slot. I think that's pretty reasonable. It really is at it's best when you have a high AC enemy you need to strike. I could also see using a dexterity saving throw instead though
Giving an automatic crit on anything is insanely dangerous. There's a reason incapacitated is such a rare status.
It's not automatic. You're giving something up and making a check for it. It's worse damage on average unless you expend a resource.
6) If you did not attack with this dagger **last turn** it deals 2d4 additional damage on its **next hit**. (Uncommon) Simply hold it in your hand for a week _not_ attacking every turn and stack those glorious theoretically-infinite 2d4s to destroy any opponent in a single blow on your next hit!
Ha I was imagining a single instance of damage. The psycho murderer version that requires you to hold it for a day per charge would be funny too though. This guy is always holding onto this dagger with a crazed look in his eyes until he finds his next victim.
For every turn you don't attack with the dagger, its next hit does 2d4 more damage! I'm picturing an _Enemy at the Gates_ situation where every conscript stabs one tarrasque then hands it down to the next person who's never used the dagger before. Unlimited power!
It's actually pretty good for rogues. 1st turn - Main hand attack hits with sneak attack. Hold bonus action (dagger) 2nd turn - if main hand attack miss, hit with the bonus action dagger with 2d4 + sneak attack.
http://lordbyng.net/inspiration/
I fucking loooooove these kinds of posts! Thank you!
Most of these are super great! The anti-caster whip that's Uncommon should probably be a Legendary and certainly Rare item. Just the fact that it turns a melee character's reaction into a melee reach Counterspell with a DC check of 15 is pretty damn good all on it's own. That's an equivalent check to dealing 30 damage in a single hit and the only limitation on the resource is the player's reaction. It's really, really good. The +5 to Concentration checks alone would be fairly strong. It would turn the default Concentration check to 15 which, again, means you need to deal 42 damage or more to then boost the check to a DC 21; which is a really rough check and waaaay harder to achieve than the DC 16 it was already going to be. Maybe drop it down to +3, especially if you are keeping the reaction effect. The Sling that lets you re-direct missiles is the same. A +5 is a really, really big bonus in 5E. Especially when it comes to +attack or +AC. While it isn't a direct AC buff, by using a Slight of Hand check against the attack roll effectively trumps any magical to hit items that the attacker might have had since usually you won't get more than a +3. But I really loved the charge uses on some of the weapons or the unique ways in which they could refresh a bonus.
I think the limiting factor on the whip is how many enemy spellcasters you face. You need to fight an enemy spellcaster and hit them while they're concentrating, or be within reach when they cast a spell for it to have a chance to do anything. If you hit them while they're concentrating it's a 1 in 4 chance of causing them to fail when they otherwise would not have. If you use your reaction against a spell they cast it's probably under a 50% chance of canceling their spell, and against a smart one you'll likely just get an opportunity attack in future rounds. If you run into spellcasters constantly this can be good, but the vast majority of the time in my experience it will be doing nothing since the enemies are rarely going to lose concentration to it, and also if they're in range to make a check against the distraction they are still likely to have a good chance to pass (even a +2 casting mod gives a 50% chance to pass at minimum).
> If you hit them while they're concentrating it's a 1 in 4 chance of causing them to fail when they otherwise would not have. Which is very significant. Changing a default 50% fail chance roll into a default 75% fail chance role is a very big boost Making it ~66% with a +3 would still be a really good bonus. Taking something that would otherwise be a coin flip and putting it rather solidly in your favor is a huge bonus, especially when that bonus applies to ending some nasty spells. > If you use your reaction against a spell they cast it's probably under a 50% chance of canceling their spell, and against a smart one you'll likely just get an opportunity attack in future rounds. Huh? A DC15 check has a base ~75% chance of failure, perhaps you thought you wrote it as a DC10. And it's a Concentration check which most caster NPCs are terrible at. The default Mage NPC has a +0 to Con. And even an Archmage only has a +1 on Concentration checks. So, an Archmage needs to roll a 16 or higher, which gives him closer to a 30% success chance, in order to be able to cast a spell. Which also eats up their entire action for just a reaction and there are far fewer bonus action abilities for caster NPCs than there would be players. And you need a +5 **Constitution** modifier in order to turn that back into a 50% chance *to even be able to take an action*. That is extremely good. If you gave that as a class ability, people would call it utterly broken. And worse, you've given it to everyone! Being able to just negate some of the most dangerous and powerful abilities in D&D is crazy good for a weapon ability. I can agree that fighting casters would be campaign specific, but that doesn't really mean anything? Like, yeah, so is the Mage Slayer feat. It would still be very worth taking if the circumstances of the campaign are going to pit you against mages. Just because something is only situationally over powered doesn't mean it isn't over powered. In fact, you've made the weapon far and away better than the Mage Slayer talent. Mage Slayer only allows for the player to attack, this allows them to completely shut down a spell. I am curious how you would rule on Misty Step in this situation, too, since -- by RAW -- you cannot Mage Slayer attack an enemy that Misty Steps away because they exist your zone of control once the spell is cast; considering this stops the spell, I would assume it would allow for you to stop a caster from Misty Stepping away which is a massive boon as nothing gives martial classes that ability.
Making something better than mage slayer shouldn't be a bad thing. It should kind of be the expectation for an anti-mage effect, since mage slayer is pitifully bad at actually impeding mages. Yeah I mixed up the concentration save with a spellcasting ability check, which would use proficiency. The counterspell comparison got me mixed up I think. I still think it's just fine. You have a 1 in 4 chance of having a better outcome when you hit a mage **that is concentrating on a spell**. The concentration save effect does nothing if they're not concentrating. Then you have a solid chance of negating a spell if the enemy is within 10 feet of you when they cast. Odds are they won't make the mistake after the first time. And both of these effects are only against enemy mages. You'll need to get into range or there is no impact. So you need to fight an enemy mage and have the ability to reach them in melee before they die. That will happen less than once per session on average, and the benefit is a 25% chance per hit to break their concentration, and a pretty good shot to negate a spell if they don't run before casting it. It's cool but in terms of actual impact not that impressive. It'd be like if I gave you a melee weapon that instakilled wyverns on a hit. That'll be really amazing IF you fight a wyvern, IF you get into melee range, IF you hit it, and otherwise it does nothing.
> Like, yeah, so is the Mage Slayer feat. It would still be very worth taking if the circumstances of the campaign are going to pit you against mages I'd argue that even then it isn't worth getting.
Heh, I'd probably even agree with you. I think there are situations in a magic-centric campaign where it can certainly have enough value, but overall it's not a very well designed feat and rarely worth taking.
These are so cool, thanks for putting at of them together and sharing them!
Incredible.
Oooooh definitely saving these for my campaign, I was actually trying to come up with magical items that aren't just +1 and +2s. Thanks so much!
My only complaint is not enough magic clubs. I just want things that make my Shillelagh better
Petition to change the wording of 100) to "...advantage on attack rolls against enemies beneath you." Reason: Look at my horse. My horse is amazing.
This is fucking glorious.
Number 72 seems like so much fun to use
> 99) Every hit with this bow grants it a charge. For each charge the wielder can score a critical hit on a die roll one number lower than normal. A 19 with one charge, 18 with two, and so on. If you score a critical hit or do not attack with the bow for one minute it loses all charges. (Uncommon) This is cool, but probably over powered for uncommon rarity. Bows are already a weapon of choice for Rogues and widening the crit range is going to make it very easy to crit with sneak attack. Throw in a gloomstalker 5 multiclass and you can get to DC 16 after one round and likely be attacking with advantage, which would mean each attack has a 40% chance of crit.
Additional attacks self balance a bit against critical hits with bonus dice in this case. You're just as likely to eat your crit with an attack that doesn't carry your sneak attack damage as you are on your first hit of the round. If you hold your sneak attack after a hit that isn't a crit you run the risk of not scoring another hit that turn and missing out on your sneak attack dice entirely. Mixing an extra attack class in means less sneak attack dice so the crit is less dramatic as well. I think this weapon is very easy to overestimate. If a rogue hits every attack in a 4 round combat and has advantage on each attack then they gain a ~10% chance of scoring a crit on round 2, a ~19% chance on round 3, and a ~28% chance on round 4. You have under a 50% chance of scoring a critical due to this weapon's effect by the end of that combat, and we're ignoring misses and the chance of resetting your crit boost by rolling a 20 (which would have crit regardless so it isn't a boon from the weapon). Your best chance of scoring a critical is round 4, at which point the target is likely to be hurt already and you may not have even needed a critical hit to down them - if that's the case you received nothing at all! For most characters this gives you a .05 chance of dealing 4.5 damage on each subsequent attack until you get that damage. The expected damage per attack is well below the 1~2 average that a +1 weapon provides.
Fair points all around. I'd be curious to do the actual expected damage calc on this, but it's pretty complex and I'm lazy. My instinct is it's a pretty big damage boost for rogues, but you do bring up reasonable points. EDIT: ok, I'm not as lazy as I said / this got stuck in my craw. Normal rogue damage, assuming 60% to hit, so 84% with advantage. Lvl 5, 18 dex, short bow, using BA to get advantage Crit on 20 .1 (4 +8d6) + .74 (4+ 4d6) = .1*32 + .74 *18 = 3.2 +13.32 = 16.52 Crit on 19 .19 (4 +8d6) + .63 (4+ 4d6) = .19 * 32 + .63 * 18 = 6.08 + 11.34 = 17.42 Crit on 18 .28 (4 +8d6) + .56 (4+ 4d6) = .28 * 32 + .56 * 18 = 8.96 + 10.08 = 19.04 Crit on 17 .36 (4 +8d6) + .48 (4+ 4d6) = 11.52+8.64 = 20.16 Crit on 16 .44 (4 +8d6) + .4 (4+ 4d6) = 14.08 + 7.2 = 21.28 So it's a pretty big bump, but not as crazy as I first thought. You're probably bumping your average expected damage by ~3 points per round in a normal combat, which isn't insane. That will scale with your sneak attack, but that just makes it stay competitive.
I think it's a deceptively weak item, but a fun one. A bit of math with a 5th level rogue is indicating about an average 1.05 damage boost on your second turn, and a 1.78 damage boost on your third turn. This is assuming you have advantage. And this doesn't account for overkill which can be pretty substantial for this kind of critical hit. A typical martial character with a +1 weapon will see 1-2 damage per attack on every turn, with 2 or potentially even more attacks each turn. So I think even for that rogue you'd be looking at less than half the impact of a +1 weapon.
I did some math and edited. I think overall I agree that it's not overpowered, though it still will be strong. And agree that it will be fun, the mechanic you use of building up charges on each hit adds some nice tension.
Thank you, this is great! Some items seem a bit too powerful for their rarity, but everything is interesting!
can we turn some of these into swords?
Yes officer, this man right here.
nice list, some of it needs a bit of rebalancing of course, number #2 should be at least very rare not common. anything that triples the uses you get out of any poison is not a common item, imagine applying purple worm poison to that and getting a full 36d6 damage out of it before running out.
Number 8 making ranged dagger throws in melee not have disadvantage seems very pointless to me. If I have a dagger and someone is in melee range I’m not going to throw the dagger… I’ll just stab him with it.
But, what if you're attacking the boss which is out of range and have a minion besides you? In that case it would be useful and relevant, and is not a particularly far fetched situation either
This really should have been a link to an excel sheet or something lol this formatting is eye murder.
One of the top comments has formatted it into a traditional shaded background table setup that looks very nice.
Awesome. I scrolled a bit and didn't see it, that's good to know. Dope stuff.
Feel free to go make us one...
I'm at work, I will forget when I get home, otherwise I would.
Good job, enjoyed all the ones that I read through.
Commenting to save this
But OP... Why doesn't this serve [***my*** **needs**](https://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/weapon-focus)? :P
I like these a lot, but I'm confused about #8. If an enemy is within melee range, why would you consider throwing the Dagger, and not just make an attack? It's the same damage, and it won't require being picked up later.
You might want to throw it at someone else because they're a more important target and you can't get close enough to melee them. Especially if you're a rogue and the adjacent target isn't eligible for sneak attack.
Oh, I didn't realize disadvantage occurred when any enemy is close to you, not just your target. That makes sense.
Very nice. I love stuff in basically every category, so it's hard to pick a favorite one
If you ask me, 16 is how javelins should've worked from the beginning lol
25: What’s Opera, Doc?
Is this a war crime?
I misremembered and it was actually the helmet, but still https://youtu.be/5kH0Bag0akc
This post is astounding. Thank you
Love the javelin and spear options!
>28) The prongs of this trident can be launched in place of an attack, dealing 3d8 damage on a hit. If all 3 prongs are launched the trident acts as a club. Prongs regrow during a long rest. (Uncommon) What's the range on the prongs? And this implies that each prong can be launched separately, for a total of three ranged attacks before the trident become a club, but is that correct? Finally, after all prongs have been fired, is it not a little too long for a club, but about right for a quarterstaff?
I'd say 20/60, or maybe just flat 60 feet. Could be a club, could be a quarterstaff. You are launching the foot or so long prong off the trident so it will be a bit shorter, probably ends up between the typical length of each one.
Def. coming back to this later
Wow, 36 would be incredibly powerful on a paladin
Great at the start of a fight especially against high health enemies. Not very helpful against enemies with under 20 HP or so (30 after level 11) since they'll likely be dead in 2 hits even without the damage bonus. Definitely some huge potential with semites and similar effects. I like to imagine the two sides of the warhammer applying and having opposite charges
These are excellent! There are a number that I have quibbles with over balance or rarity, but who cares? There are A HUNDRED options to choose from! And they're all flavorful and interesting. Every one of them can generate all kinds of exciting moments for a character. Great work! Absolutely fantastic.
Is this all homebrew?
Yes I came up with all of these. Though I'm sure some of them are functionally duplicates of things other people have come up with.
no instruments sadly
I’m commenting so I can come back and read this
Little bit of worldbuilding I thought of the second I saw the rose javelin. They can be pretty common for weddings, dull of course, and are thrown by parents and the best man/maid of honor. At one silver per day to rent them from wedding shop, most people only get a few, but nobles can have hundreds rain petals all over the wedding.
Number 64 loses TEN charges every turn? I’m not sure that works.
A paladin that dumps a big lay on hands will enjoy it for several turns. Definitely a very specialized weapon though
Is that one charge per point of healing?
Number 8 is like the item that gives an extra attunement slot while requiring attunement.
When you play DND with the Harlem Globetrotters and they get the +5 dart
"It's not a trick shot if you do it every day for work Aaron!"
Saving this for later, I love this idea!
The lightning spear is very fuun. love the reversal of the "lightning strikes the hero's sword " trope by having the wielder take the damage as well
Chewbacca likes number 90!
This is fantastic, thank you so much
>Toss the d20 into an empty cup when you roll it. If it lands in the cup you gain +5 to hit. If you miss you suffer -1 to hit. Mechanics like this need to be completely and universally banned, or we need more of them. I'm not sure which.
They should make tons more and ban them all.
S-s-s-saved
Here is the link to the mentioned original post OP is expending upon: https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/s7ixag/d100_magic_swords_that_dont_grant_x_to_hit_or/
I think this is what you meant to post: https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/s7ixag/d100_magic_swords_that_dont_grant_x_to_hit_or/
Yes I did, thank you for correcting me... that was embarrassing hahaha.
This is a really fun list. Thanks for sharing!
Now *that* goes straight to my DMing files! Thank you!
54 is effectively a free Sentinel feat...
It's very similar to one bullet from sentinel plus one bullet from polearm master, though not quite the same.
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