D&D 5E Worn Magic Items and Wild Shape

[Z. H. Darkstar]

Since magic items resize to fit the wearer, I thought it'd behoove the DMs of the community to discuss what types of magic items can be worn while Wild Shaped.

For this, I'm going to separate the different beasts by body type: Biped, Quadruped (hoofed), Quadruped (clawed), Avian, Arthropod, Piscine, and Serpentine.

Which of these body types would you allow to wear the following magic item types?

Amulets/Brooches/Necklaces/Periapts?

Armor?

Belts?

Boots/Shoes?

Cloaks/Mantles/Robes?

Gauntlets/Gloves?

Glasses/Goggles/Lenses?

Hats/Helms?

Rings?

 

[jaelis]

Amulets/Brooches/Necklaces/Periapts? Biped, Quadruped, Avian

Armor? None

Belts? Biped

Boots/Shoes? None

Cloaks/Mantles/Robes? None

Gauntlets/Gloves? None

Glasses/Goggles/Lenses? Biped

Hats/Helms? None

Rings? Creatures with fingers or finger-width tentacles

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

My take on it differs based on a more anatomical approach.

Amulets/Brooches/Necklaces/Periapts? Biped, Quadruped (both), Avian

Armor? Biped

Belts? Biped, Quadruped (both)

Boots/Shoes? Biped, Quadruped (clawed)

Cloaks/Mantles/Robes? Biped, Quadruped (both)

Gauntlets/Gloves? Biped, Quadruped (clawed)

Glasses/Goggles/Lenses? Biped, Quadruped (both), Avian

Hats/Helms? Biped, Quadruped (both), Avian

Rings? Biped, Quadruped (clawed)

 

[Ancalagon]

Aw man, why are you trying to nerf my snake-boots!

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

Aw man, why are you trying to nerf my snake-boots!

You don't have any feet...

 

[Sunseeker]

For this, I'm going to separate the different beasts by body type: Biped, Quadruped (hoofed), Quadruped (clawed), Avian, Arthropod, Piscine, and Serpentine.

Which of these body types would you allow to wear the following magic item types?

Amulets/Brooches/Necklaces/Periapts?
-Amulets and necklaces inherently require a neck, that is to say a narrow point between two wider points. So anything creature that fits that description could wear those. Brooches are typically worn on clothes, so you'd have to be able to wear non-magical clothes. The best definitions I come up with for periapts say they're also necklaces. So, same deal.

Armor?
-Resize within a range. Bipedal armor fits bipeds. Quadrupedal armor fits quadrupeds, specialty armor for specialty creatures fits specialty creatures.

Belts?
-As a belt is really nothing more than a circle around a midpoint on a creature, so long as that creature has a midpoint, it could wear them.

Boots/Shoes?
Same as with armor, they can resize/reshape within a range.

Cloaks/Mantles/Robes?
Being little more than a blanket with a hood, as long the proportions of the creature weren't vastly out of expectations, cloaks and mantles would IMO be one-size fits all. Robes are clothes designed for a specific racial shape. I'd give them more leeway with the specifics of the form, but generally limited as armor.

Gauntlets/Gloves?
Must have hands. I'd assume a magical gauntlet could adjust a finger or two if need be, but the magic has to fundamentally understand that what it's being put on as a "hand". So if it doesn't have hands, no go.

Glasses/Goggles/Lenses?
Must have the number of eyes the item was designed for.

Hats/Helms?
Hats, everyone gets hats! But helms are designed for a specific head shape, so again, adjust within a range.

Rings?
Provided it has a body part that is roughly cylindrical in shape, I don't see why a ring couldn't be put on it. And all that that implies.

Suffice to say, everything in my world that does magically reshape does so within a range. Armor designed for dwarves still inherently has two arms, two legs a single torso and a single head slot, so becoming taller and thinner to fit an elf is a reasonable range. An armor designed for someone with 4 arms does not suddenly lose the extra two arms when a two-armed creature wears it. Armor designed for a cat does not work on a human, but may adjust for a dog or a horse.

 

[Ancalagon]

You don't have any feet...

Feats are optional in 5e, my snake is still going to kick your ****!

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

I thought they magically morphed into the animal form, like your regular clothes, underpants, bags of gold, etc?

 

[discosoc]

I keep it simple and just rule that no magic items are usable while in wildshape. You can choose to have them drop entirely or just meld into your new form, but the effects are not live. Otherwise, you're having make case by case ruling on crap like a bear wearing a cape (and does the cape interfere with athletics?) or rings or whatever.

I rank the idea up there with the lightsaber magic item in terms of dumb ones.

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

I keep it simple and just rule that no magic items are usable while in wildshape. You can choose to have them drop entirely or just meld into your new form, but the effects are not live. Otherwise, you're having make case by case ruling on crap like a bear wearing a cape (and does the cape interfere with athletics?) or rings or whatever.

I rank the idea up there with the lightsaber magic item in terms of dumb ones.

That's why I started this thread, to prevent wholesale blanket rulings against magic items while morphed. Otherwise, you're going to create an environment where Moon Druids feel like taking magic items is pointless to them, thus lessening their enjoyment when a magic item pops up.

As someone who runs primarily public AL games, following your logic would lead to a dearth of Moon Druids and possible loss of players. The MD will feel left out of the magic item party, as every other player eventually finds something that can be used with their primary shtick. I'd rather take the time to discuss this for the benefit of my players, than simply tell an entire subclass that none of the magic items they may pick up are usable with the main reason they chose the subclass.

I thought they magically morphed into the animal form, like your regular clothes, underpants, bags of gold, etc?

You have the choice of what items meld into the new form. Those that can be usable by the new form can be left worn. This thread is trying to ascertain a general consensus on what items are usable by which forms. The DMG itself makes reference to nonhumanoid creatures being able to wear magic items if they have analogous body parts. For example, a magic ring could resize to fit the digits of an animal's front paws.