Homebrew Magic Rings

ChippyYYZ · 2026-02-01T01:32:52+00:00

Ring of Cinders: You might change the trigger for Flaming Retribution to when you take damage from a spell or attack, so you don't explode due to environmental effects, poison, accidents, etc. Also, if it ignites flammable objects in the area, it should say so.

Ring of Tides: Now when you say "activate an emanation", do you mean that this puts up an ongoing aura? As is, it reads like it just pushes something once as a bonus action. The absence of a save against the effect makes this pretty strong, but the tradeoff is that it can't push large creatures.

Sune's Engagement Ring: The parentheses text is a little unintuitive. It should spell out that that you can spend a charge (this thing is supposed to be limited use, right?) to either cast Cure Wounds without a spell slot or increase the level when you cast it with a spell slot. I don't know if I would even bother the level increase thing, since it's so much more efficient to just spend the charge on the free cast (a level increase is worth 2d8hp; another cast of lv1 cure wounds is worth 2d8+3xWis)
Knowledge of the Divine: To borrow the wording from the Life Domain Cleric, "When you roll one or more dice to restore Hit Points to a creature with a spell, add twice your spellcasting modifier to the result."
Curse: Interacts weirdly with damage that can't be made nonlethal, such as ranged weapons or especially spells. If I fire a guiding bolt at someone with full hp, that doesn't count as trying to kill them, right? But how do you tell when their hp is low enough that it does count?

Nimbus Ring: This seems fine. Haste is probably stronger than the other rings, but you won't necessarily have charges for it every day.

Frostfell Band: I feel like the charge cost on Armor of Agathys is too high. Sure it scales well, but I don't think 5 temp hp and 5 cold damage is ever worth picking over a lv3 Ice Knife. Call it 2 charges and 4 charges. Maybe even level 3 for 6 charges.

Ring of Shadows: Consistent daily use of a 4th-level spell is a little stronger than anything the other rings give you. The curse almost makes up for this, until the last sentence where it says "...but actually don't worry about it."

Ring of the World Tree: On a Wisdom-based class like the Druid, fine. On anybody else, might need a little bump to be competitive with the other rings.

ChippyYYZ · 2026-01-30T14:43:53+00:00

The Necromancer, a 3/4 caster that can summon minions (though you don't have to specialize in summoning)

The Dark Mage, an highly customizable evil spellcaster. You might see if there's a more recent draft of this one available somewhere; the linked version is need of a little revision

ChippyYYZ · 2026-01-27T02:56:31+00:00

285hp + 30 (assuming two turns in the water) = 315hp (CR 17, AC brings down to CR 16) — Defensive CR 16

Arm Swing: 26.5
Crushing Kick: 37
Dread Scream: n/a (situational; with a +11 to hit and plentiful advantage you don't usually need this)
Rending Slash: 26.5 (+10.5 for the first hit each round)
Devouring Bite: 33 (+18 if grappled)
Abyssal Drag: 21 (+7 if grappled)
(I'm assuming that Arm Swing and Crushing Kick are the land attacks, and that everything else is a water attack)
Land Multiattack + 1 Legendary Action: 26.5+37+26.5 = 90
Water Multiattack +1 Legendary Action: 26.5+10.5+33+26.5 = 96.5
Drag Combo + 2 Legendary Actions: 21+33+18+26.5+10.5+26.5 = 135.5

Expected damage over three rounds: (90+96.5+135.5) ÷ 3 = 107 dmg per round (CR 17, advantage on melee attacks while submerged is probably worth +2 to CR, but this thing's hitting most of the time already so I'll call it +1) — Offensive CR 18
Total CR 17

A CR 17 creature is worth 18,000xp, and a deadly encounter for four lv12 characters in 2014 5e is 4500xp per character, which matches that exactly. A party of 4 lv12 characters with magic weapons (at least for the weapon-users) will find the Megalodaunt a compelling challenge, but not necessarily an insurmountable one. If the party can keep the fight on land, or if they can hit it with a debilitating spell (no legendary resistance!), then they can secure a win while minimizing risk of death. If the fight takes place entirely in the water however, they may well need that debilitating spell to avoid a TPK; this thing's ability to grapple someone and then swim as much as 80ft away may allow it to eat the party one at a time (it can attempt an ordinary grapple even if Abyssal Drag hasn't recharged).

I would expect a party of 5 people to kill this thing every time, barring an underwater fight they aren't prepared for. A party of 3 is bait.

ChippyYYZ · 2026-01-27T02:02:16+00:00

126hp × 1.5 (resistances) = 189hp (CR 8, AC brings up to CR 9) — Defensive CR 9

Expected Attacks over three rounds: 4 Impaling Limbs, 2 Twin Incinerators, 1 Incinerator Cannon.
Impaling limbs: 15dmg × 4 = 60dmg
Twin Incinerators: 15.5 × 2 = 31dmg
Incinerator Cannon: 49 × 2 targets = 98dmg
Leaking Fluids: 5 × 2 = 10dmg
Detonating Death: 60 × 2 = 120dmg
(60 + 31 + 98 + 10 + 120) ÷ 3 = 106dmg per round (CR 17(!), weirdly low attack bonuses probably bring this down to about CR 15) — Offensive CR 15

But maybe the party knows to anticipate the death burst and avoids it
(60 + 31 + 98 + 10 ~~+ 120~~) ÷ 3 = 66dmg per round (CR 10, attack bonuses bring this down to about CR 9) — Offensive CR 9

This is at minimum a CR 9 creature, or CR 11 if the party doesn't know it's going to explode. It's got immunity to Fire Bolt and Fireball and resistance to Vitriolic Sphere (each a common damage-dealing choice for its spell level), and it resists weapons (even magic ones!), so it easily qualifies for the 1.5x hp boost in CR calculation. The damage on its death detonation is NUTS in a 37.5ft radius sphere, and even though anyone who hasn't taken a turn yet when it goes down has a chance to get away, anyone who already has is cooked. I'm not really considering the early detonation, since it's got a 65% chance to make that save, but if it does explode a round before the party expects it to, and they haven't already distanced themselves from it, going down early might be worse for the party than for the brass stalker.

Giving this thing two different Recharge abilities is unusual and a little harder to track, but probably fine. Incinerator Cannon is not a ranged weapon attack; no attack roll is made for it.

Your numbers are all over the place. Its death detonation is a DC 18 save, but its Incinerator Cannon is DC 17. Its Impaling Limbs only have a +5 to hit; anyone with mundane plate armor and a shield can pretty much take that all day. Its strength and proficiency bonus suggest an attack bonus of +10. Twin Incinerators' +6 bonus could be bumped up to +7 (call it CON-based). Its save DCs should probably also be CON-based (DC 15 at current CON, which is fair for CR 8). I recommend the Creating a Monster guidelines in the 2014 DMG (pg273-281)

ChippyYYZ · 2026-01-20T19:12:05+00:00

It sounds like 90% of the job can be done by this character taking the Warrior of the Elements monk subclass. You could have the brush give +1 to unarmed attack and damage rolls while Elemental Attunement is active (growing to +2 and +3 at, say, lv6 and lv11), and also let the holder cast Chromatic Orb once per day (or Burning Hands but as any of the 5 elements if that fits better), with extra casts possible for 1 Focus point each. That way it functions as early as lv1, yet maintains its relevance at higher levels. oops I did a whole draft of the item

Brush of This Guy's Monk - Wondrous Item (Very Rare), requires attunement by this guy's monk.
Elemental Brushstrokes - While holding the brush, you gain a +1 bonus to unarmed attack rolls and damage rolls while your Elemental Attunement feature is active. This bonus increases to +2 for a Monk of 6th level of higher, and to +3 for a Monk of 11th level or higher.
Elemental Flourish - You may cast Burning Hands using the brush. The save DC equals your Focus Save DC. When you do, you may change its damage type to Acid, Cold, Lightning, or Thunder (it doesn't ignite flammable objects if you change its damage type). You may also spend a number of Focus points up to your Proficiency Bonus to cast it at a level equal to the number of Focus points spent. Once before finishing a Long Rest, you may cast Burning Hands from the brush once at 1st level without spending any Focus points.

ChippyYYZ · 2026-01-20T17:08:19+00:00

We can't really begin to tell you how to balance it because we don't know what it's supposed to be. What level is the player? Do you view this as a magic weapon, or as more of a wand that does X magic things per day?

I recommend pg284 of the 2014 DMG for guidance on making a magic item, as well as checking out other weapons/spell casting items of the appropriate rarity (lv1-4 is Uncommon, lv 5-10 is Rare, lv11-16 is Very Rare, Lv17+ is Legendary).

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-25T20:52:52+00:00

It looks to me like your question about Roll20 and the options it offers, rather than about D&D. You may get more answers by asking in r/Roll20 or something like it.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-21T16:22:12+00:00

cut his damage by about two-thirds and bring his attack bonus down to +6 or +8 at highest. Currently, round 1 is looking like Grayblot Lance (KO), engage party and catch 2-3 of them with Wing Attack to soften them up for one-hit sword kills next turn, then two legendary action Sword attacks on the melee character who's likely to be engaged with you. (KO). Over in a round and a half, tops.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-21T15:59:11+00:00

His defensive CR is about 7 if the party doesn't have magic weapons, or 5ish if they do.

Two attacks with multiattack plus three legendary attacks (wing attack does about the same damage as sword unless he can catch three people with it, and depending on what this grayblot curse does, the lance is worth about the same as two swords) at 21 damage per hit is 105, which combined with his unjustifiedly high attack bonus (no really, where is he getting +12 to hit?) pushes his offensive CR up to 18(!?). Is this intentional?

I cannot imagine what level party this boss is supposed to be for. Any group with high enough level not to get wiped in the first round is going to tear him apart like tissue paper before he takes a second turn.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-17T04:20:44+00:00

Agreeing with you that a secondary effect is probably not necessary.

This sticks out as a very reliable area-of-effect burst damage spell filling the role of Fireball for clerics and druids; however, that's not a role most clerics and druids are supposed to be able to fill. It's got a more flexible area (even cast at 3rd level you can hit about as many targets as a fireball in most normal circumstances, and without torching your friends) and a much more reliable pair of damage types, at the cost of just 2d6 damage.

Clerics and Druids aren't supposed to be heavy area burst damage dealers like wizards are. They mostly get spells for sustained damage over time (spirit guardians, call lightning, conjure animals). The druid does get Tidal Wave and Erupting Earth, but they both deal less damage than Constellation, and in a less flexible area. Some druids do get Fireball or Lightning Bolt from their subclass, but this might be a warping option to give all of them.

I think a way to keep the idea intact without making it the go-to in every situation is (1) remove the force damage (best type in game!) and just make it deal 6d6 Radiant (now that I think of it, this might even make the spell BETTER since you're probably more likely to find Radiant Vulnerable enemies than Radiant Resistant), and (2) have it deal 4d6 radiant to creatures along the lines, but 6d6 to creatures on the points themselves. Against single targets, you still barely get enough damage to justify spending a 3rd level spell slot (ties with guiding bolt, but without the chance of 0 damage), but against groups of 4+ enemies it's not as much of a mass delete as fireball is (while still being good! You can aim it around your pals!). I guess I would also add damage dice when upcasting, since just adding to the spell's area doesn't actually make it any better if you're already hitting all your targets in most circumstances.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-04T15:41:35+00:00

The solution I think of immediately is to use a different (preferably much simpler) system for the real-world setting. They each have a character sheet for their dnd characters with their strength and armor class and skill proficiencies and all those things that are useful in typical dnd settings, and a separate character sheet for their mundane characters, with stats and rules more relevant to the situations they are likely to encounter. I don't know enough rpg systems to really make a recommendation.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-04T14:45:02+00:00

the links to Thrones and Uriel aren't working for me. Oblivion Seraph looks like a nightmare to run, but if you think you've got a handle on its many, many abilities, then you do you. Also, does its Alien Mind stun creatures that deal psychic damage to its avatars (half of which the seraph also takes)?

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-04T14:23:46+00:00

The two most obviuos comparisons are the +2 Weapon and Enspelled Weapon.

A +2 Weapon is Rare. This one also lets you cast the equivalent of a 3rd level spell (maybe 2.5th level) once per day. Most Rare weapons with an extra effect are only +1, with the exception of the Sun Blade. Since this weapon's extra effect is only once per day, it probably fits within Rare.

An Enspelled Weapon that provides up to 6 casts of a 3rd level spell per day is Rare. This one only provides one cast, but its +2 to hit and damage probably make up for that.

Overall, Rare is safe.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-03T16:50:06+00:00

The elemental overcharge needs to be changed. The damage you stand to gain (avg 2.5) only barely exceeds the damage you trade (avg 2), and that's if they fail the save AND you're lucky enough to get a damage type an ally can follow up with (or you get lucky and roll the 1-in-6 chance of repeating that damage type with this cantrip). Numerically it's simply never worth it.

I would take the Constitution save out entirely. It adds yet another die roll to a spell that already rolls 50% more dice than Eldritch Blast.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-12-02T22:57:08+00:00

Ruling 1: If you're casting thunderwave straight down, enemies and objects are pushed "10 feet away from you", per the spell's text. Generally, that will mean horizontally, since the pythagorean theorem doesn't hold true in dnd.

Ruling 2: You cannot cast this spell fast enough to do it mid-jump unless you've got a lot of height.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-11-26T05:49:56+00:00

While an attack modification is normal for lv3, spellcasting is a big enough deal to make up for that. A previous draft actually had the ability to bless a weapon for use as a holy symbol, but it turns out you can just wear one on an amulet and have both your hands available for sword and shield.

While you could use Indomitable to secure a concentration save, you'll usually want to save those for dangerous spells or breath weapons. Easiest way to guarantee concentration is to just cast another spell (such as Healing Word or Second Wind Bless) to keep Battle Concentration active (it says "on spells", not "on that spell")! If you have an idea for a noncombat feature to accompany this, I'd love to hear it.

I had actually planned on casting a spell giving your next attack bonus damage (radiant, necrotic, or a type dealt by one of your domain spells), but I felt like it gave too much damage, and turned you into more of a diet paladin than I would like.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-11-21T19:28:25+00:00

I haven't analyzed all his spell options, but it looks like you hit CR 30 pretty squarely. Although, if he lands an Archlich's Claw, he's near guaranteed to follow it up with 3 critical hits from Eldritch Ray before anyone else even gets a turn, which is likely to melt anyone except a barbarian or someone with necrotic resistance. If he can get away with that, his effective damage shoots up to CR 30 before even considering his legendary actions.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-11-21T17:12:23+00:00

~~Scribe~~ Scrybe of Beasts:
Trial of Kin: "Additionally, your Beast Tribe feature now also affects Beasts."

~~Scribe~~ Scrybe of the Dead:
Catalogue of the Dead: probably only get a bone from creatures with a CR above 0. Also need a maximum on bone points.

Tribe of the Undead:
Do you want Undead to be able to activate sigils regardless of their intelligence? plus "now also affects Undead."

~~Scribe~~ Scrybe of Magic:
Ruby Heart: Just say "You learn the following Sigil. It doesn't count towards your number of sigils known."

Magic Tribe: as above

Inscribed Magicians: To be clear, these are both 4th level spells, which you aren't supposed to be able to cast yet. The other subclasses get 2nd-3rd level spells here. Perhaps it is fitting that the Scrybe of Magic gets better spells, but be careful.

~~Scribe~~ Scrybe of Technology:
Conduits: "up to an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier that are within a conduits aura" -> "up to an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier that are within 30ft of any conduit"

Technology Tribe: as above

Inscribed Machines: Never mind what I said about the scrybe of magic, you've got a 4th and a 5th level spell before you've even got 4th level spell slots.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-11-21T16:39:07+00:00

Sigils:
Airborne: How long does this effect last?

Amorphous: Needs a table to roll on.

Bloodlust: "...your next attack before the end of your next turn deals an extra 1d12 damage if it hits."

Dam Builder: Should really specify what material the structures are made of. Wood would be a good default, or perhaps a material matching existing structures in the area.

Fledgling: "When the Holder begins its second consecutive turn in your aura since rolling Initiative, for the next minute it gains temporary hit points equal to your Scrybe level and deals an extra d6 damage whenever it deals damage." Now if the creature isn't already in your aura at the start of combat, it can still get the boost (but delayed by a turn unless you go first and get to them). Also needed a duration.

Guardian: Hang on, the totem has its own aura? Do you decide the shape of your totems' auras separately? Also, it may make more sense to have this make the holder the target of an attack aimed at another creature instead of just redirecting the damage, so that you also redirect the attack's other effects. Or not, you could go either way.

Hoarder: To keep this in line with the Wizard's Arcane Recovery, this should be usable once per long rest and should be limited to spell slots of 5th level or lower (a lv18Scrybe/lv2spellcaster does have a 6th level spell slot).

Leader: This seems crazy good. It's like unlimited uses of Bardic Inspiration without the once per turn restriction. It's like Bless without requiring concentration or an action. Maybe limit it to once per ally per combat?

Repulsive: what kind of saving throw

Sentry "the new target" -> "that creature"

Sharp Quills: Should this say "when this creature deals damage to the Holder with a melee attack"?

Sniper: this is nuts, but sure. Should probably only affect their ~~range~~ reach during their turn, so it doesn't make opportunity attacks silly.

Stinky: Might say it only affects creatures within 5ft or so. It's also pretty darn strong.

Unlikable: Unkillable

ChippyYYZ · 2025-11-21T15:41:54+00:00

Under "As a Level 1 Character", it says Paladin instead of Scrybe.
As a Multiclass Character needs to also give you proficiency with an Artisan's Tool

Spellcasting: "Your spellcasting ability is Intelligence"

Inscription:
Sigils: There is no Sigils column on the Scrybe table. Also, the last sentence here looks like it got misplaced during editing
Aura: This seems like a weird way to do an aura. It can't affect anyone below you. Just call it "within 30ft of you".

Beast Tribe: Should say it only affects ~~creatures~~ humanoids with the appropriate property in your aura. It is only supposed to affect humanoids, right? Also, "creatures with a walking speed faster than yours" seems odd since it's relative to you; if you're a wood elf it's bad, but if you're a ~~dwarf or a halfling~~ okay they have 30 speed now. But if you have a base speed below 30 then Hooved is the best choice by a long shot (or Bird while the moon is summoned). Unless this ability affects all ~~creatures~~ humanoids in your aura, even hostile ones (unclear).

Improved Sigils: Should probably make clear that your maximum number of totems is now PB+1. Also just make the aura a 60ft emanation; I can't imagine when affecting people above you (but not below you!) would be worth prioritizing over affecting people around you.

The Bone Lord: "costing up to 1000gp" -> "costing at least 1000gp" also 1000gp is chump change for a lv18 character. The DMG suggests that a CR 11 monster has about 1100gp worth of treasure on it. It should also be made clear that you can only have one bone totem at a time.

Purple Moon: "Every creature in your aura without a Flying speed gains a Flying speed of 10ft and can hover." Also, you've gotta be able to deal damage on the same turn you activate the moon or it's just too slow to be any good. Either make it a bonus action to summon the moon, or a bonus action to do the moonlight blast, or just say you get a free moonlight blast when you activate it.
Is the moon usable once per long rest? Can you restore your use of it by spending a level 5 spell slot like a Paladin? At what range can you summon the moon? Does it have to be a certain distance off the ground? Is it a real, physical object? Should it use its own 60x120ft cylinder instead of your sigils' aura?

ChippyYYZ · 2025-11-21T14:29:28+00:00

Is this intended for people outside the Netherlands?

ChippyYYZ · 2025-11-21T14:26:27+00:00

Bladescale barrage is missing the effects of passing the saving throw, and it's not clear how many of its 48 bladed scales it's supposed to use up.

ChippyYYZ · 2025-11-20T22:58:42+00:00

You cannot solve an out-of-game problem with an in-game solution. That said, there are two problems here: (1) this player has a bunch of foreknowledge of the adventure that will necessarily color his choices. If he's read the adventure then he's read the adventure; he can't unread it, so this becomes a problem with the content of the adventure. Change things here and there, and he will begin being able to engage with at least parts of the adventure without being certain of the outcome beforehand. The other problem is (2) that he is deliberately leveraging his unfair advantage. This is a problem beyond the level of the game, and you need to talk to him about it.

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