As Dungeon Masters, it is up to us to give our players a wonderful and memorable experience with each session. This can be done with a memorable NPC, your plot arc, it can be a unique magical item, or you can have your players encounter a previously unknown creature. In this article I’m going to discuss the last two, outlining how to create them for your campaign or one-shot session.
One good way to get started with homebrewing items and creatures is to start with something familiar to you. You can find a book, TV show, movie, anything that you enjoy and let it give you inspiration. Yes - even the DM can have advantage. Alternatively, you can craft purely from imagination.
Player response should be one of you top priorities to focus on. There should be a particular quality you wish your players to recognize. Are you going for a whimsical fantasy item, or something more sinister such as a creature from the darkest of origins? Determining player response is the basic foundation for the majority of all homebrew items or creatures. From there, the next step is giving it stats or abilities and to make sure it is balanced for gameplay.
Getting the Brewing Started
Most players crave magical items and are willing to go to the utmost lengths to get one for themselves. While they may be happy with a simple +1 magical weapon, giving your players a one-of-a-kind item with its own rich story and abilities is something that can help inspire character-defining moments.
These are some examples of aspects and impacts of magical items using two items that I crafted for campaigns which I run. The first is Mitzys’ Crock-Pot. This item takes edible food you put inside it and it makes food for six people within a span of half an hour. The second is the Quiver of the Elements; a magical quiver that turns arrows or bolts that have been stored within it into magical +1 ammunition.
When creating your very own magical item consider rarity and impact. If it is an item that increases a skill check, attack, or Spell DC, expect your player to roll a 10 and from there decide how much of an impact the item is going to have. Is it going to make their sleight of hand checks go from 16 to 21 because now they have an advantage on their sleight of hand checks? Mitzy’s Crock-Pot is a common item that can easily be purchased in a large city for use on their journeys out of civilization, while the Quiver of the Elements is rare - something your player characters will only find once in the span of your campaign. With uncommon and rare items you can add special at-random properties to make them more unique. For example, when using The Quiver, when you pulling an arrow that has been stored for 24 hours or more to attack a creature, roll on the elements table to it deal an additional d6 of elemental damage. When adding special properties to your magical items, ensure there is a specific number of charges, and be sure to identify when the item regains spent charges. You’ll find that most pregenerated magical items regain their special properties at dawn.
The Balancing Act
The most important thing to ensure is that magical items you introduce to your games are balanced and won’t impact the game in unintended ways. For example, Mitzys’ Crock-Pot does not remove any poisons or diseases from the food you put in it. The purpose of the item is to make living out in the wilderness a bit easier for your party, removing the tediousness of rationing and ensures that dinner can be provided by a hunter who can track and kill dinner but may not be able to cook it. Nothing is more frustrating for a PC than to be able to accomplish only half of an action. For the Quiver of the Elements, it can greatly increase the attack of anyone who uses a bow or crossbow. However, I had to ensure it had limitations in place to make sure it stays balanced. To do this I decided that ammunition must be stored within the quiver for a day before it gains the magical property. This prevented my players from using the property in multiple combats per day. To add a bit of whimsy and chance to the item, I decided the additional elemental damage would be random so that it would either be in their favor or could mean their downfall depending on the creature they are fighting. While shooting a fire arrow at an Ice Mephit would be great, on the flip side, a Cold Arrow would have no effect against the same target.
How to Craft Your Own Magical Item
Below you will find a list of all the necessary aspects to consider when crafting your magical items.
Name - Even the most mundane magical item must be called something. It can vary from simple to complex. Think about what makes the item unique. Is it the abilities that is gives the wielder, or was the crafter a well known architect of the arcane?
Rarity - How likely are your players to find this item. Magical items range from Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, and Legendary. Typically the more rare the item is, the more powerful the item is.
Type - What is your item? Types include Armor, Potion, Ring, Rod, Scroll, Staff, Wand, Weapon, or Wondrous Item.The type denotes how the item is used.
Attunement - Does your item require attunement? Players only have a total of three Attunement slots, so if an item requires attunement they will be more critical of the usefulness of the item, as it limits the number of other magical items they can use.
Description - What players see when this item is in front of them. Use the five senses. Describe the look of it how it feels in their hands. Does it emit a low hum or smell like elderberries?
Abilities - What does this magical item do? This informs the players what they will use the item for and how it can benefit them. It also tells them what they need to know so they can use it properly.
For in-person games I highly recommend putting all these items on a notecard or a piece of paper to be handed over to the player. If you are playing online, put it in a message (or if using roll20 a handout) for them to access. With this list, you will be able to fill in all the required information and create your own magical item. Finally, if you use DnD Beyond for your games, and have the books on there, you can create the item cards virtually that your players can use. Just follow the steps online and you can craft a handful of items in no time at all.
These are the basic tools needed to go and create your own one of a kind magical items for your players. This is a richly rewarding experience that forges a bond between you and your players. So go forth, be creative, be inspiring, and most importantly be yourself.
Meet the Blogger
Rich B. @theroamingdnd
Rich is a gamer at heart, playing on Xbox or tabletop while trying to find obscure books to read. While not DM’ing you can generally find him in the kitchen cooking while singing badly. You can also watch him live on Sundays at 11:00 AM EST running The Roaming, an in-person live D&D stream.