Three Mid-Level Magic Items Inspired by Baldur's Gate 3

 

I've been playing through Baldur's Gate 3 for months now, and I'm loving it. In terms of a strictly D&D perspective, I can see it incorporating many mechanics which are only coming into use with the new 2024 Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, such as weapon-specific special attacks brought by weapon mastery. I've also appreciated the new mechanics such as reverberation, bleeding, and arcane synergy. But it's the creative magic items that have inspired me most, and this has made me want to branch out with the types of items available in my own games.

Not long ago, I put together a list of three low-level magic items inspired by Baldur's Gate 3, and now I'd like to share three tier 2 items, significantly more powerful and in my opinion even more interesting.

The Scimitar of Reflex is the first of these three magic items. For the most part, it functions exactly like a normal +1 scimitar would. However, whenever you make an attack of opportunity, you get advantage. Every time. It will likely come up less often than you'd like, but it's nice to have.

But the deceptively simple rule of getting advantage on attacks you make as a reaction goes a bit further. When you ready an action, such as an attack, that attack is made as a reaction. And this attack would also get advantage with the Scimitar of Reflex.

It also make certain other feats seem even better, such as Sentinel, which grants reaction attacks in a wider range of situations than would normally be the case. Other feats such as Mage Slayer and Orcish Fury also grant reaction attacks, and these work well with the Scimitar of Reflex as well.

The second mid-tier item we have on reserve is Minchi's Opal Earring. This earring serves a similar yet lesser function to the old school Ring of Wizardry. While the earring won't double the number of spell slots you have, it allows you to use an action to recover a first or second spell slot which you've already spent for the day. And what wizard is going to say no to an extra acid arrow or invisibility spell? The only issue is that your wizard needs to have his ear pierced.

Lastly, my favorite of today's items, and one which will at first seem a bit overpowered. The Longtruncheon of Grit. This magical greatclub grants temporary hit points every time it strikes a foe. This allows your character to survive far longer, as any incoming damage is subtracted from the temporary hit points first. Keep in mind, however, that temporary hit points do not stack. If you have two, and you get four more, then you now have only four.

In effect, this has the same effect as a first level Heroism spell. What makes it so strong is the fact that nobody need concentrate on the spell, and that it's always in effect.

This is somewhat mitigated by the fact that whomever is using the weapon might otherwise be using a martial weapon or a shield.

I hope you're able to find a use for these three homebrew magic items. Baldur's Gate 3 has inspired me to create even more, and so I'll be working on a third and final article with three more higher level items. Stay tuned!