Wizards are one of the most well-known classes in Dungeons & Dragons, and so it isn’t too surprising when one of them turns up in your adventuring party. However, what many newcomers to the game might not know is that wizards don’t just rely on their magical abilities to get them by, but also magic items that they might stumble across or be rewarded with throughout their campaign. But with there being so many items, it can be difficult to tell which one is the right fit for your spell-slinging arcanist, and which one is a waste of time.
Thankfully, over the years, many players and Dungeon Masters alike have managed to sift through the many magical items to find what works for them. Whether it’s a wizard wanting to just get the best items for themselves or perhaps a Dungeon Master looking for what items a wizard villain would be hunting for, here are the best of the best when it comes to magic items for your wizard.
7/7 Ring Of Spell Storing
The Ring of Spell Storing is a great and rare magic item that can help wizards with one of their best advantages — preparation. The ring can store up to five levels worth of spells (for example, you could store one fifth-level spell or perhaps a third level and a first-level spell, so long as the total level adds up to five). Whichever spell or spells are in the ring can be cast simply with a touch and use the attack bonus, ability and even spell save DC of the original caster, meaning this is great for experts of the arcane, like wizards who are built around spell casting.
Wizards have to prepare spells all the time, and sometimes it can be worrying about what spell is the right one for which situation. However, the Ring of Spell Storing offers a solution by letting wizards cast general spells from Feather Fall to Water Breathing, so that no matter the situation, they always have a key spell prepared if the worst happens.
6/7 Bracers Of Defense
Wizards are not known to be the most sturdy — even the more combat-oriented War Magic or Bladesinger wizards could have trouble keeping up with other classes when it comes to HP and AC. This is why every wizard at some point needs to use the Bracers of Defense. The Bracers of Defense provide +2 AC to any unarmoured character wearing it who also doesn’t have a shield.
Besides Monks and Barbarians, who benefit from not wearing armour and don’t tend to have shields, this is the perfect item for a spellcaster, like a wizard who wouldn’t have either. As well as this, a +2 bump to your AC can be literally life-saving for a wizard, and the spell stacks with Mage Armour, a common spell that helps boost a wizard’s AC even more.
5/7 Rod Of Absorption
The Rod of Absorption is a must-have for any wizard who finds themselves fighting other spellcasters. Unless you’re an Abjuration Wizard, you can sometimes get out of your depth when trying to counter the magic of other casters when they try to go against you. Though items that increase AC or boost your spellcasting ability can always be helpful, sometimes a defense is better than a full offense.
That’s where the Rod of Absorption comes in. With it, you’re able to use your reaction to absorb a spell that is only targeting you. This nullifies the spell successfully and all levels of the spell are absorbed as spell energy into the rod. Once the rod absorbs 50 levels of energy, it no longer functions. Though this is an item with a clear expiration date, the Rod of Absorption is fantastic for stopping killer spells like Finger of Death or any caster who tries to take your wizard out.
4/7 Cloak Of Displacement
What better way to stop taking damage than to avoid getting hit altogether? The Cloak of Displacement projects an illusory copy of yourself so that any creature trying to attack you has disadvantage. Full stop. The only downside is that if you take damage, this effect stops. But it only pauses until the start of your next turn, and then the illusory copy returns. The only other way to stop the illusion is to stop your wizard’s movement, whether by restraining, paralyzing, stunning, grappling or incapacitating them.
However, this is still an excellent item for any combat situation. It means that, if a character attempts to surprise you, they no longer have advantage and any monsters that may have special effects from an attack with advantage will find those effects nullified when targeting you. The Cloak of Displacement is something to be treasured, and if your party comes across it, make sure to hand it over to someone like the wizard.
3/7 Tome Of Clear Thought
One of the most useful items in all of Dungeons & Dragons 5e for a wizard has to be the Tome of Clear Thought. The Tome of Clear Thought is a rare book that allows for any reader who studies it to increase their intelligence score by 2 (for a total of 48 hours in a period of up to six days). But that’s not the best part. Not only is it a free intelligence boost for the wizard, it also boosts the maximum for that score.
This means that any wizard who reads the tome will be able to not only increase their intelligence but to also use the book or their next ASI to boost their INT score to 22. This is a huge bonus for all wizards, as intelligence is the most important stat, and not only is it a boost for things like attack bonus or spell save DC, but also how many spells a wizard can prepare. Not to mention getting a bonus to hit with a cantrip is always useful.
2/7 Staff Of The Magi
The Staff of the Magi is one of the big ones, an item commonly reserved for only high-level wizards. The staff is one of the most, if not the most, powerful in 5e. The staff has multiple features, such spell absorption that allows the user to have advantage on all saving throws against spells and use their reaction to absorb the spell, nullifying it and getting charges equal to the spell’s level. These charges can be spent on the staff’s second feature which is to spend charges to cast spells from Wall of Fire to Telekinesis and more.
If the staff gets over fifty charges, it explodes in what is its third and final feature, Retributive Strike, in which when the staff is destroyed either willingly by the caster or not, it explodes in magical energy. This deals a ton of damage in a great radius and can even cause the caster to have a 50 percent chance of being sent to a different plane altogether.
1/7 Robe Of The Archmagi
From a staff to a robe, the Robe of the Archmagi is a powerful set of apparel that means business. The robe has three powerful effects, from granting advantage to all saving throws against spells and other magical effects, increasing the spell save DC and attack bonus by 2 and changing the wearer’s AC to 15 plus their dexterity modifier. Though it may seem like the effects are too little for such a powerful item, you have to remember that the Robe of the Archmagi can stack with other items.
A wizard with both the Robe of the Archmagi and the Staff of the Magi, having read a Tome of Clear Thought and even having the Bracers of Defense is not your typical ally, but one who has clearly excelled at their craft, their adventures and is to be feared. It’s hard to imagine a 20th-level wizard not having such a powerful set of items.
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