Magic Items 5e

Magic Item Rarity

Magic items are assigned a rarity that suggests their relative power and availability:

Rarity	Character Level	Example Value	Examples
Common	1st or higher	50-100 gp	Potion of Healing
Uncommon	1st or higher	101-500 gp	Bag of Holding, +1 Weapon
Rare	5th or higher	501-5,000 gp	+2 Weapon, Cloak of Displacement
Very Rare	11th or higher	5,001-50,000 gp	+3 Weapon, Potion of Supreme Healing
Legendary	17th or higher	50,001+ gp	Deck of Many Things, Vorpal Sword

Attunement

Some magic items require attunement. A creature can be attuned to no more than three magic items at a time. To attune to an item, you must spend a short rest focused on only that item while being in physical contact with it. This can't be the same short rest used to learn the item's properties. If the short rest is interrupted, the attunement attempt fails.

An item can be attuned to only one creature at a time, and a creature can't attune to more than one copy of an item. A creature's attunement to an item ends if the creature no longer satisfies the prerequisites for attunement, if the item has been more than 100 feet away for at least 24 hours, if the creature dies, or if another creature attunes to the item.

Using a magic item's properties might require you to wear or wield it. A magic item meant to be worn must be donned in the intended fashion: boots go on the feet, gloves on the hands, hats and helmets on the head, and rings on the finger. Magic armor must be donned, a shield strapped to the arm, and a cloak fastened about the shoulders. A weapon must be held.

In most cases, a magic item that's meant to be worn can fit a creature regardless of size or build. Magic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they magically adjust themselves to the wearer.

Multiple Items of the Same Kind: You can't wear more than one pair of footwear, one pair of gloves or gauntlets, one pair of bracers, one suit of armor, one item of headwear, or one cloak. You can, however, wear one ring on each hand.

Armor

Magic armor includes +1, +2, and +3 versions of all standard armor types. The bonus applies to AC. Some armor has special properties beyond the AC bonus.

Weapons

Magic weapons include +1, +2, and +3 versions that add their bonus to attack and damage rolls. Many magic weapons have additional properties like dealing extra damage types or granting special attacks.

Potions

Potions are magical liquids that produce their effect when imbibed. Drinking a potion or administering one to another character requires an action. Potions are consumable items that disappear after use.

Scrolls

Spell scrolls contain a single spell that can be cast once without expending a spell slot. The spell's level and DC are determined when the scroll is created. After the spell is cast, the scroll disintegrates.

Wands, Rods, and Staffs

These items contain spells or magical effects. Wands typically have limited charges, rods provide constant benefits or activated powers, and staffs combine weapon properties with spell storage.

Rings

Magic rings offer a wide variety of effects. You can wear one magic ring on each hand. Some rings require attunement.

Wondrous Items

This catch-all category includes all magic items that don't fit into other categories. Examples include bags of holding, cloaks of protection, and decks of many things.

Some magic items are indistinguishable from their nonmagical counterparts, whereas other magic items display their magical nature conspicuously. Handling a magic item is enough to give a character a sense that something is extraordinary about the item, but learning its properties requires more investigation.

Identify Spell: The identify spell reveals an item's properties instantly.

Short Rest Focus: Alternatively, a character can focus on one magic item during a short rest, while being in physical contact with the item. At the end of the rest, the character learns the item's properties, as well as how to use them. Potions are an exception; a little taste is enough to tell the taster what the potion does.

Cursed Items: The identify spell doesn't reveal whether an item is cursed. Most methods of identifying items fail to reveal a curse, and a curse affects its bearer only after they attune to the cursed item.