Invisibility magic items seem overvalued

[Starfox]

Invisibility's utility depends a lot on how it is read. The way I read it, being Invisible doesn't make opponents lose track of your location - that is the domain of the Hide action. Nor does it let you move around completely unnoticed - tough I do grant advantage on Stealth against vision-based observers (beware dogs!). Read this way Invisibility is far from legendary.

 

[Fenris-77]

Invisibility's utility depends a lot on how it is read. The way I read it, being Invisible doesn't make opponents lose track of your location - that is the domain of the Hide action. Nor does it let you move around completely unnoticed - tough I do grant advantage on Stealth against vision-based observers (beware dogs!). Read this way Invisibility is far from legendary.

Read this way it also doesn't sound much like invisibility. So there's that.

 

[Theory of Games]

The lunacy really began when D&D decided to put prices on magic items and the richest NPCs didn't just buy all the magic.

 

[Lanefan]

If it has the potential to break a game then it needs to be legendary. If you don't think a ring of invisibility has that potential then you haven't seen a creative player with unfettered access to invisibility in action. At higher levels it's less of an issue because more options will exist to deal with it (bulk true seeing etc) but at lower and medium levels it's really powerful.

Even something seemingly much less powerful, like cast at will Disguise Self, can be immensely powerful in the hands of a creative player. In both cases it's much like the school of illusion - the impact on the game comes far more from the player than it does from the mechanics of the magic in question.

The question then becomes whether to just let those creative players shine or to nerf the things that allow it.

WotC clearly took the latter path with illusions, and now seem to be following suit with invisibility. Whether that's a good thing is very open to individual opinion and interpretation; personally, I'd rather have these things be player-side powerful and as DM I can find other ways to rein them in if I have to.

 

[Lanefan]

In a city, thief themed campaign where stealth is central to many adventures, a ring of invisibility is invaluable. Imagine being able to stake out a location or follow a mark. No need to worry about duration or using spell slots. Activate it without needing to cast a noisy spell.

Being chased by the police? Round a corner and put on the ring. It makes so many challenges easy.

At least with a spell or potion you need to time its use and decide when best to use the resource. And then maintain concentration

In any urban setting where invisibility is a known thing, you'd think the police or town guards - if not given magic-detection capabilities to begin with - would be trained to sweep for invisibles when someone runs around a corner then disappears for no obvious reason.

 

[Lanefan]

Invisibility's utility depends a lot on how it is read. The way I read it, being Invisible doesn't make opponents lose track of your location - that is the domain of the Hide action.

A poor rule, if that's how it's written.

Nor does it let you move around completely unnoticed - tough I do grant advantage on Stealth against vision-based observers (beware dogs!).

True - if close enough you still have to move quietly and make sure you're not leaving tracks in snow, mud, dust, or wet ground. Scent, as you note, can also be an issue. Also, if more than one invisible person are trying to act in co-ordination, communication becomes difficult if not impossible even if you can somehow keep track of where the others are.

Further - and open to interpretation but here's how I've always ruled it - anything carried by an invisible creature is itself invisible, which includes any light sources that creature might be trying to use to see by! An invisible light source obviously doesn't give off any light, meaning that creatures without night-sight operating in a dark area have to get creative (and rather obvious) in order to light their way.

Read this way Invisibility is far from legendary.

Agreed.