System Reference Document 5.2.1
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Magic iteM Rules
Rules for identifying, attuning to, and using magic 
items appear in “Equipment.” Additional rules are 
presented below.
 Attunement Prerequisites.  If a magic item has 
a class prerequisite, a creature must be a member of 
that class to attune to the item. If a creature must be 
a spellcaster to attune to an item, the creature qual -
ifies if it can cast at least one spell using its traits or 
features, not by using a magic item or the like.
 Items Made for Specific Creatures. Magic 
items that are meant to be worn tend to magically 
adjust themselves to the wearer. However, you can 
decide that a magic item doesn’t adjust its size to fit 
any wearer. For example, a particular armorer might 
make items usable only by folk who are sized and 
shaped like dwarves. 
 Unusual Anatomy.  Use your discretion to decide 
whether a creature can wear an item not made for 
its anatomy. A ring placed on a tentacle might work, 
but a yuan-ti with a snakelike tail instead of legs can’t 
wear magic boots.
 Paired Items. You can allow exceptions to the 
rule that paired items must both be worn. For ex -
ample, a character with only one arm might be able 
to use a single Glove of Missile Snaring so long as the 
matching glove is on their person.
Scrolls
An item in the Scroll category is a roll of paper or 
parchment, sometimes attached to wooden rods 
and typically kept safe in a tube of ivory, jade, 
leather, metal, or wood. The most prevalent scroll is 
the Spell Scroll, a spell stored in written form.
 Using a Scroll. Scrolls are consumable items. Un -
leashing the magic in a scroll requires the user to 
read the scroll. When its magic has been invoked, 
the scroll can’t be used again. Its words fade, or it 
crumbles into dust.
 Any creature that can understand a written lan -
guage can read a scroll and attempt to activate it 
unless its description notes otherwise.
Staffs
Items in the Staff category vary widely in appear -
ance: some are of nearly equal diameter throughout 
and smooth, others are gnarled and twisted, some 
are made of wood, and others are composed of pol -
ished metal or crystal. A staff weighs between 2 and 
7 pounds and serves well as a walking stick or cane.
 Unless its description notes otherwise, a staff can 
be used as a nonmagical Quarterstaff and an Arcane 
Focus.
Wands
An item in the Wand category is typically 12 to 15 
inches long and crafted of metal, bone, or wood. It 
is tipped with metal, crystal, stone, or some other 
material.
 Unless its description notes otherwise, a wand 
can be used as an Arcane Focus.
Weapons
A magic weapon is typically a magical version of a 
weapon from “Equipment.” Some magic weapons 
specify the type of weapon they are in their de -
scriptions, such as a Longsword or Longbow. If no 
weapon type is specified, you may choose the type 
or determine it randomly.
 Ammunition. If a magic weapon has the Ammu -
nition property, ammunition fired from it is consid -
ered magical for the purpose of any rule that cares 
whether a weapon is magical or not.
Wondrous Items
Wondrous Items include wearable items such 
as boots, belts, capes, amulets, brooches, and 
circlets. Bags, carpets, figurines, horns, musical 
instruments, and more also fall into this category.
Magic Item Rarity
Every magic item has a rarity, which provides a 
rough measure of an item’s power relative to other 
magic items. The rarities are shown in the Magic 
Item Rarities and Values table.
 Common magic items, such as a Potion of Healing , 
are the most plentiful. Artifacts, such as the Dragon 
Orb, are priceless, unique, and difficult to acquire.
Magic Item Values by Rarity
Common magic items can often be bought in a 
town or city. Uncommon and Rare magic items are 
usually found only in cities, and rarer magic items 
might be sold only in wondrous locations, such as a 
city on another plane of existence. If you allow char -
acters to buy and sell magic items in your campaign, 
rarity can help you set prices for those items. Gold 
Piece values are provided in the Magic Item Rarities 
and Values table, though a seller might ask for a ser -
vice rather than coin as payment.
 If a magic item incorporates an item that has a 
purchase cost in “Equipment” (such as a weapon or 
a suit of armor), add that item’s cost to the magic 
item’s value. For example, +1 Armor (Plate Armor) 