D&D 5E Can I get some feedback on a homebrewed magic item?

[Savage Wombat]

I'm concerned with power level and rules language. Thanks in advance!

Wingman’s Baldric requires attunement

This leather sword-belt is studded with square-cut blue-green gemstones, that light up when the belt is employed.

You may carry a single creature, up to your creature size, without penalty to your flying ability. As a bonus action, you may move a willing, adjacent creature with you as you fly, placing them next to you as you complete your move.

If you are grappling a foe, you may move them with you as long as your opponent is your size or smaller. Similarly, if you are grappled by an equal sized or smaller foe, you retain your flight speed and can carry your grappling foe as you move.

 

[jasper]

Wingman Baldric requires Attuenment. Gives user fly speed equal to walking speed. Can carry same size or small creature with no penalty. During a grapple a foe must make a DC 14 grapple check or be moved with you.

 

[Savage Wombat]

No, the point is that it's for characters that already have a fly speed.

 

[aco175]

Wingman’s Baldric requires attunement

... by a creature with a fly speed.

This will take into account someone with a fly speed from a spell or item or natural.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Wingman. Grappling. There's only one thing to say to this:

 

[LordEntrails]

So flyer attacks, picks up ally, moves, drops ally off. Ally then gets full turn.

In effect it gives your party the ability to add an extra move for the cost of a bonus action, often without provoking opportunity attacks.

Not particularly powerful, probably tier 2 party and useful beyond that, but could prove troublesome with a fast flyer and the right combinations of abilities.

 

[Unwise]

My concern would be around the fact that any cliff or decent sized wall will negate many combats. One successful grapple and off the enemy goes over the cliff. It is adding fall damage to almost every grapple at worst. With a 40' fly speed, every time you grapple somebody you could just fly straight up and drop them. It is not insane or anything, just a lot of damage at lower levels.

It is very good and will remain useful for a long time. There is really no such thing as magic items being too strong or weak, it is just if they are what the DM intended and are worth an attunement slot. This looks OK to me.

Personally I would not use it IMC, as I make falling get exponentially worse from height. So 1d6 damage for 10', + an extra 2d6 for the next 10', then +3d6 for the next 10' etc. So just falling from 40' would do 10d6 (acrobatics for less).

 

[Stormonu]

Shouldn't there be an opposed Strength check to move the grappled foe?

 

[Quickleaf]

I'm concerned with power level and rules language. Thanks in advance!

Wingman’s Baldric requires attunement

This leather sword-belt is studded with square-cut blue-green gemstones, that light up when the belt is employed.

You may carry a single creature, up to your creature size, without penalty to your flying ability. As a bonus action, you may move a willing, adjacent creature with you as you fly, placing them next to you as you complete your move.

If you are grappling a foe, you may move them with you as long as your opponent is your size or smaller. Similarly, if you are grappled by an equal sized or smaller foe, you retain your flight speed and can carry your grappling foe as you move.

I bolded a section that's confusing.

Per the rules: "Moving a Grappled Creature. When you move, you can drag or carry the grappled creature with you, but your speed is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than you."

This doesn't discriminate on movement type – whether you burrow, climb, fly, or swim, you can drag a grappled foe along with you.

Is the bolded section intended to replace this (e.g. allowing you FULL fly movement speed while carrying a grappled foe) or is it simply restating it?

If the former is intent, then you need to state it more explicitly.

If latter is the intent, then you can omit that bolded section entirely.

 

[Mistwell]

No, the point is that it's for characters that already have a fly speed.

It's a pretty minor item. You can already carry another creature at half-speed usually. It allows full speed and no checks for endurance, but it's not doing a whole lot. The grapple part I think is already how that part works without anything written about it. Creature you grapple already move with you, again at half speed. So really all this item does is allow full speed movement while carrying a heavy capacity or grapple which would normally slow your movement due to that load.