Rare magic items acquired at the second tier of play (levels 5-10) inDungeons & Dragonsmodify player characters in some truly significant ways. These items often either make a PC that much better at something they’re already good at doing or give them access to a new ability that makes them much more resilient.
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Either way, we’re talking about some items that have the potential to change a PC’s playstyle entirely. Such is the power of magic items even at this relatively low tier of play. Consequently, it’s good to know which items in particular might lead to the DM getting a bit of a headache. Do with this information what you will.
10Amulet Of Health
Here’s a generically good item for any PC. Your Constitution score modifies your total hit points, so having a high score will make any character much more resilient. Additionally, Consitution saving throws are pretty common against enemies due to poisons functioning off of them.
Barbarians, Fighters, and Sorcerers in particular can make the best use of this item, as they also have Constitution saving throw proficiency. Beyond that, any character who takesthe Resilient featand chooses Constitution (a common path for concentration spellcasters) will also get extra mileage out of this item.
9Cloak Of Displacement
This is a great defensive item that will hugely increase the survivability of whichever PC decides to wear it. While wearing the cloak, all attacks against you suffer disadvantage. However, if you do take damage, this property stops until the beginning of your next turn.
In addition, the Cloak also doesn’t work if you are subjected to an effect that prevents you from moving. Again, this is an item that any PC will enjoy having on their back, but it’s especially good on someone that’s commonly in the line of fire, as it will get more use this way.
8Cape Of The Mountebank
It’s only a matter of time before a party of adventurers finds themselves in a situation beyond their depth. The Cape of the Mountebank is a great tool for getting out of such a moment. This Cape allows its wearer to cast the third level spell Dimension Door once per day, teleporting the wearer and one other willing creature they’re touching to a destination up to 300 feet away.
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This item is also just generically good, but it might find especially good use on a stealth-based character who enjoys scouting ahead on behalf of the party. Even if they do find themselves discovered by a superior number of enemies, they can just teleport back to the rest of the party.
7Dragon Wing Bow
Up until the release of Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, theonly magic bow that existedin Dungeons & Dragons was the Oathbow which is a very rare magic item. Thankfully, the release of the Dragon Wing Bow has made for a ranged magic item that’s acquirable at lower levels of play.
It’s a pretty darn good one too, adding 1d6 extra damage to the breath weapon type of Dragon that infused the item with its magic. The bow also creates its own ammunition, which is a nice flavorful touch. Lastly, it functions as a magic weapon for overcoming bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing resistance.
6Flame Tongue
While ranged attacks may keep your character safe, there are benefits for braving the threats of melee combat. The Flame Tongue is one such reward, as attacks with it deal an additional 2d6 extra fire damage: twice as much damage as its ranged counterpart.
The burning flames cast off by this blade also shed bright light in a 40-foot radius and dim light for another 40 feet beyond that. This is the definitive magic weapon to give to your party’s melee damage dealer, but it’s especially good on Fighters due to their ability to access a ton of extra attacks through action surge.
5Mace Of Terror
If you’ve ever wanted to make your enemies flee in fright, the Mace of Terror is exactly the weapon you’re looking for. The Mace comes with three charges, and you can expend one as an action. When you do, all creatures you choose within 30 feet of you have to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened.
Furthermore, a creature frightened in this manner has to spend its turns moving as far away from you as possible including using its action to dash. Creatures who fail the save can attempt to make it again at the end of their turns.
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In other words, this is like a control spell that doesn’t have a concentration check attached to it. It is important to consider that many enemies have immunity to the frightened condition but those that don’t will be easy pickings if they fail their saving throw.
4Necklace Of Fireballs
This red and gold necklace has 1d6 + 3 beads attached to it. Each bead can be thrown up to 60 feet as an action and explodes upon impact as a third level fireball spell with a spell save DC of 15. However, you can also choose to throw multiple beads or the entire necklace at once. This increases the level of the fireball spell by one for each extra bead.
Pyromaniacs abound at D&D tables, and there’s no spell quite as iconic as the good old fireball. This is a great gift for martial characters who feel left out after witnessing their spellcasting allies drop high-level spells.
3Ring Of Evasion
Dexterity saving throws are incredibly common in D&D whether the source of the saving throw is the breath weapon of a dragon, a spell like fireball, or some other creature ability. The Ring of Evasion makes worrying about these abilities a thing of the past as it allows you to choose to succeed on a dexterity saving throw you fail up to three times per day.
There’s an argument that this item is best for Rogues as thanks to their evasion class feature a Rogue that succeeds on a dexterity saving throw takes no damage at all. That being said, this item may just be better off on a character who is really poor at dexterity saving throws in general, especially if that character has low hit points (looking at you, Wizards).
2Ring Of Spell Storing
This magic ring holds up to five levels of spells in it at one time. When a spellcaster casts a spell, they can choose to put the spell inside of the ring, storing it there for later use by the ring’s wearer. For example, you could put a third level fireball and a second level detect thoughts in the ring, at which point it would be full.
However, there’s a strong argument for simply filling this ring with a ton offirst level shield spells. Increasing your AC by five until the beginning of your next turn as a reaction is no joke, and the ability to do so five times will make your character much more difficult to harm.
1Sun Blade
As creative and cool as some of the other items on this list are, it’s hard to compete with an item that increases your chance to hit and damage by two every time you make an attack. The Sun Blade is a +2 longsword that deals an extra 1d8 radiant damage when used against undead.
It also sheds sunlight in a 15-foot radius around it and dim light in an additional 15 feet beyond that. As an action, you’re able to expand the light from the blade up to 30 feet or diminish it down to 10. Items that increase your chance to hit and damage may not be the most interesting, but they are among the most powerful. On top of that, this blade also allows you to roll extra dice against certain enemies, making it especially noteworthy.
