D&D 5E Magic Items You'll Never Give Out

[TheNoremac42]

Holy Avenger.

It's like catnip to Paladins.

I gave that one to an NPC that could easily wipe the floor with the PCs, so I don't to worry about that

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[aco175]

I don't see handing out +3 anything, and only limited +2 weapons. The main party in my game is 10th level and each has a +1 weapon of sorts, some have an additional power to make each unique. There is only one set of +1 armor and one ring of protection. I find that AC become too high and too many creatures become outdated leaving only a few boss monsters being able to hit the PCs without rolling 19 or 20s. I do not have as big a problem with the PCs hitting more or doing more damage, but the not being able to be hit seems to take some things away from the game.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I've had problems with the Periapt as well. My players felt that it meant the character just ignored the mechanic entirely, meaning that at the start of his turn he just went back to 0. I was rather unimpressed with the idea that a hypothetical Assassin could stand next to his unconscious body, sawing at his throat with a razor, and never kill him since he'd only make one attack a turn. Naturally, having had a wee argument over it, it never came up.

As I read this I pictured that scene in Kentucky Fried Movie from the Fistful of Yen sequence after the slo-mo stomp death kick. As the hero does the slow walk away the guy just gets back up.

Because of this item, we can have this awesome stuff in our game. Why get rid of it? Assassins could have a special counter ability to summon a transmission block. The magical block when within 5' of a periapt, suppresses it.

 

[TheNoremac42]

Interesting!

See, my angle was that by not having any Holy Avengers, I was creating an effective barrier for Paladins.

But I like what you're doing. Have a Holy Avenger ... but in the hands of someone that would kill the players if they ever tried to get it. Which both entices the wannabe Paladins, and then crushes their hope. Is there any taste as sweet as Paladin tears?

I admire your ruthlessness, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Yes, this particular NPC is essentially a minor deity (minor in that she can be taken down, but it would be very hard to do). She dual-wields the Holy Avenger (rapier) and the Moonblade, has an AC of like 30 when she has her armor, and is adept in illusion and some enchantment magic. I based her stat block off of the Solar and gave her 20 levels in arcane trickster and 10 in illusion wizard. This chick is not someone you want to cross.

tl;dr - If there are magic items you don't want the PCs to have, give them to sufficiently powerful NPCs.

 

[dagger]

I gave that one to an NPC that could easily wipe the floor with the PCs, so I don't to worry about that

14th level paladin in our group got one last weekend, but no worries, it should be fine.

 

[Sir Brennen]

What's the equivalent of a Holy Avenger for a Rogue? For a fighter, etc? (Thinking Staff of the Magi would be it for the arcane spell casters).

EDIT: And would you give one out to the PCs?

 

[waxtransient]

To help maintain bounded accuracy, I don't hand out +x weapons or armor in any custom loot that I give out. I will still give them out as they appear in the modules I am running however.

 

[TheNoremac42]

What's the equivalent of a Holy Avenger for a Rogue? For a fighter, etc? (Thinking Staff of the Magi would be it for the arcane spell casters).

EDIT: And would you give one out to the PCs?

Probably a vorpal sword. It can be any sword that does slashing damage. That includes scimitars (which have finesse) or greatswords.

 

[Fleetwood C. DeVille]

Another vote for Deck of Many Things, aka Deck of Ending the Campaign.