Here’s a handy chart that I use for dictating rarity and when it’s suitable for the party.Ĭommon. It’s a good idea to understand the levels at which each item rarity is good to give away. Rarity gives a good baseline for power, but an Uncommon item in the hands of certain builds may be more powerful than you think it is from the start.
However, balancing an item has just as much to do with the player you’re giving it to as the item itself.
The higher the rarity, the more flexibility you have for the powers you equip to the item. You’ve likely seen a system like this in a video game, because it’s a very common tier list to gauge power for items. Magic items in D&D are split up onto six rarities: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, Legendary, and Artifact. I’ve made weapons and items that are very much just mash ups of existing ones, because the abilities were already written out and I had less legwork that way. There’s zero shame in taking abilities from existing items, too. Or, something super similar that I just wanted to make more powerful or less powerful. I know I’ve come across a couple items that already do what I intended to make a homebrew item for. I’ll elaborate on rarity further in this article.Īnother good reason is simply to check and see if the item you have in mind already exists. You can also use official items to gauge the power differences between the lowest rarity and the highest rarity. The longer you spend running the games, the more of a feel you’ll get for what types of abilities are very powerful, and what types are weaker. Using existing items as a base, even if you completely change them, is a good way to ensure that you have some balance right off the bat. I’m going to have a separate article on creating your own homebrew monsters, but I utilize the same philosophy there. But wait, we’re making our own magic items, so why do we have to look at official ones? Well, it’s so we have a good baseline to work off of. The Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG) has a list of many magic items (excluding ones released in specific guides and adventures.) This is where you want to start. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with them first before you attempt to craft an item, as to avoid any frustration. If you’re just starting out as a DM, you may not be super familiar with the power level of certain abilities. Of course, all of us have likely bent the rules a bit one way or another for a cool moment, but when creating something that’s meant to be consistently balanced, it’s a good idea to err on the side of caution. However, D&D is also a game, and like I mentioned in my worldbuilding article on realism and believability, having rules helps ground the players and makes the gameplay more fun and challenging.
Homebrew magic items 5e how to#
Items I make for them to utilize on their journey, however, have to both be thematically realized in the world and mechanically balanced for in-game usage, and that’s where fledgling Weavers may find themself in some trouble.Īs creatives, we know how to make stuff work from a narrative standpoint. I can, but it’s not required unless the players ask. When I make a mountain made of chocolate in the Feywild, I don’t necessarily have to go into the nitty gritty of how it mechanically functions in nature. However, magic items also walk the unique line of having more rules than the usual aspects of worldbuilding.
Regardless, it makes me happy, and can be an exciting way to both utilize awesome powers and introduce lore into the world. Perhaps it’s the little giggle to myself as I place it in the world for the party to find, or seeing my players’ faces light up when they get to use it. To be honest, though, while every creation I make excites me in some way, the unique element of magical items in D&D is some of the best fun I can have. You can make landscapes, entire dimensions, societies, religions, divine beings, terrifying enemies - it’s all at your command. There’s a lot of things to look forward to when you create your own world for Dungeons and Dragons.
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