For those playing the tabletop role-play game Dungeons & Dragons, the allure of the fantasy magic item may be tantalizing. There are specific items that will get players out of tricky situations, those that unlock new ways of resolving a situation or grant the player or party additional powers or abilities. However, they can also be a quick way to completely derail a hard-fought campaign.
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Players may need a quick fix, a Hail Mary, or maybe they just want to create chaos and watch the world burn. Whatever the motivation, the use of magical items can come with significant drawbacks, and there are a few in particular that are notoriously troublesome. Thanks to DM Oskar for his additional insight into the chaos unleashed by the misguided use of these magic items.
The Deck of Many More Things
Pick A Card, Any Card
The Deck of Many Things was introduced in 1975 alongside the Greyhawk supplement materials. It has been present in each iteration of the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) and has become a staple item in the D&D community. The Deck of Many Things is an item that scares many DMs and veteran players. This is due to the ease with which its use leads to the end of a campaign. There are 3 main causes of death by The Deck of Many Things.
There are cards which, when drawn, can: imprison a player’s soul, kill them outright, or lead to solo combat against the Grim Reaper themselves. The expanded Deck of Many More Things has more dangerous surprises hidden within, in addition to some nice boons that almost make it worth the risk. The unpredictability of the deck can lead to any and all plans of the Dungeon Masters and players being thrown out the window.
While many parties often delegate the item to the person who finds it, the wisest option is to hand it to whoever has the highest proficiency with Arcana skills. So, perhaps next time your party comes across The Deck of Many More Things, delegate drawing cards to Sorcerers or Wizards as they are more likely to recognize its risks and effects.
The Bag of Holding
Get In The Bag
The Bag of Holding may be the most iconic magical item in Dungeons & Dragons. It was originally included in the Greyhawk expansion of the original 1975 Dungeons & Dragons materials. The Bag of Holding has gained notoriety within the wider world of TTRPGs due to its simplistic, unique ability and visual design. Space-manipulation magics, also referred to as compression magics, are underestimated as dangerous or chaotic by most newcomers. However, the interactions between two iterations of compression magics can be catastrophic. Exposing the Bag of Holding to additional compression magic can cause many anomalies. A favorite anomaly among DM’s is the formation of a black hole.
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Even if the unwitting holder of the bag manages to survive the initial fallout from the compounding of compression magic, they aren’t necessarily out of danger. The player may attract the attention of The Bagman at any time while in possession of a Bag. The Bagman may be dismissed by many in Faerun as an urban myth, but he poses a very real threat to the player. The Bagman moves between Bags of Holding, appearing in whichever he chooses. He has been rumored to drag unlucky adventurers into the Bags with him, transporting them to unknown places.
Most parties will assign the Bag of Holding based on the bag's use. A party that mainly stores weaponry in the bag might give it to a frontline player. Whereas if the bag is used for storing important or fragile items, it would be wise for a spell caster, such as a Cleric, Druid, or Wizard, to carry it.
A Bag of Beans
Reap What You Sow
Those who remember Jack and the Giant Beanstalk will be rightly suspicious of this magical item. But unlike the beans of fairy tale fame, a Cloud Giant’s castle is only one potential destination for foolhardy travelers. Players may find themselves in tombs of ancient mummy lords, in front of an angered Bulette, or in a nest of ability-enhancing eggs. These are all potential destinations for this strange and very unassuming magical item.
There are twelve outcomes for planting a single bean. Four spawn hostile encounters, and a further four outcomes being chances of poisonous or explosive foods. There are also creatures that may be hostile or benign based on a dice roll. This means that often, due to the unpredictable nature of this item, it doesn’t matter as much who carries this item after its initial discovery. But it might be safest to entrust the bag of beans to a ranger or rogue with sufficient stealth or Sleight of Hand abilities, as they may be able to use it to sabotage enemy encampments with a bag or cause a diversion.
Name That Game
This Bag has been causing chaos among parties since its first mention in 1991. It was released officially in the Dungeon Masters Guide in 2014 and 2024 in its modern-day form. This entry detailed the refined list of effects. Just be glad that there are only twelve outcomes, rather than the original “101 surprises in a Bag of Beans” quoted in the original source material.
The Eye of Vecna
A Terrible Bargain
As anyone who watched Stranger Things will tell you, no good comes from uttering Vecna’s name, and there is certainly no upside to being in his physical presence. The Eye of Vecna is the literal corporeal eye and hand of Vecna. This is not a metaphor. A traitor to Vecna had his eye cut out and had his hand cut off centuries ago. Those who seek power foolishly seek these items. The Eye requires a gory sacrifice to attune with; the removal of the player-character’s own eye, placing the Eye of Vecna into the newly vacated socket. From there, the eye of Vecna will merge into the new host’s body seamlessly, as though it were always there. It bears a resemblance to a cat’s eye with a golden slit. If the eye is removed by any means, the host will die.
While The Eye grants many abilities, such as innate spell casting and the ability to see through walls, it has significant drawbacks. Additionally, there is a baseline 5% chance of things going wrong any time the host casts a spell; the DM may roll for Vecna to rend your soul from your body, devour it, and then use your corpse as an NPC puppet for them to manipulate.
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The Eye of Vecna and Hand of Vecna were introduced in 1996, in Dungeons third material supplement, Eldritch Wizardry. Ever since, parties have sought out these gruesome relics of the past. Although anyone can attune to these items, a spell caster with less to lose from angering a deity may benefit from these items. A spellcaster linked to the undead, such as a sorcerer, undead warlock, or necromancer, would also benefit from these items, as it gives an already powerful spell slinger an enviable boost in power. But at what cost?
The Rod of the Vonindod
In Rod We Trust
The Rod of the Vonindod is the newest item on this list and was released alongside Stormking’s Thunder in 2016. It was part of an expansion that brought with it the ancient war machine, the Vonindod itself, also known as the Titan of Death. The Rod of the Vonindod itself isn’t a threat, but the attention players will attract from local fire giants is a serious hazard. Fire giants endlessly search the material plane for fragments of the once mighty war machine known as The Vonindod. The Vonindod was designed and engineered to fight and kill dragons.
The fragmented adamantine rods have the unique ability to allow the wielder to sense adamantine within ten miles, pinpointing the material's exact whereabouts within that ten miles. This means that it is easy for a particularly crafty fire giant to stalk someone from a considerable distance without being spotted, before striking while a party rests.
The rods are sought out by any Fire Giant who may want to join the search for The Vonindod, meaning many will fight until the bitter end to claim one for themselves. While any player can attune to this item, due to the attention it draws, it is best held by someone who can take a beating, such as a tank character who can fend off determined giants.
- Franchise
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
- 1974
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson