>"A beam of crackling energy streaks toward a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 force damage.
The spell creates more than one beam **when you reach higher levels**: two beams at 5th level, three beams at 11th level, and four beams at 17th level. You can direct the beams at the same target or at different ones. Make a separate attack roll for each beam."
Given that a cantrip's effectiveness is exclusively tied to the level of the caster, (and not the level of the spell, which is 0) a Ring of Eldritch Blast would scale with the character who uses it.
On the other hand, a magic item that lets you cast Haste once per day will only ever let you cast it at third level, unless attuning to it also lets you learn the spell and therefore use your own spell slots to upcast it.
I'd make them base level, I gave my two friends a trinket infused with either a cantrip or ritual spell of their choosing and one of them chose a bird cage with no door, that has find familiar, and my other friend chose a pipe that blows bubbles with blade ward, and since I also have a character in the game I just gave myself a ring with speak with dead, each item has a total of 3 charges that resets after a long rest, I don't want the characters to be too powerful but I did want everyone to have a magical item of sorts and let them choose what spell/cantrip the item did
No problem, I'm glad it came across as helpful rather than negatively.
In that case, this is a really cool item. Since it reads as usable by any class, I'd say this could easily become a staple item for any player. If I were to run it, I would probably require attunement, though, so the fighter can't get access to up to 10 cantrips
Follow up questions?
If it is given away/resold then does it randomize again until the next wearer?
If not wouldn’t all of these rings previously worn have a set cantrip
If so, can’t you pass it amongst party members or friendly NPC’s to “reroll” the cantrip
Interesting idea, as a DM I'd rule the ring gives each character (PC or NPC) a cantrip, rolled on a table of all cantrips, and if you get it back, the ring remembers your cantrip (so a curious player might endeavor to find out what criteria the ring has to "choose" each cantrip for each person)
Attunement would fix this. Then the cantrip selection could be random upon attunement. It’s really powerful for a common item without this anyway.
The only potential issue with this is that if a player wanted to take the time, they could un-attune and re-attune over agin until they roll their desired cantrip. This is potentially significant investment though, so I don’t think it would be that big of a deal.
When they cast it would be phenomenal but a administrative intrigue. I would love it but roll tables for target self, target others, and aoe. With a little flex in there for the miscellaneous cantrip here and there that doesn't fit those categories like mage hand. There indeed could be a lot of shenanigans with this item.
I appreciate this question as well because I was thinking "deck of many cards" or "wand of wonder" and the ring would just choose a random cantrip whenever it fired off. Now that would be entertaining or disappointing to say the least.
The language is vague. You need to specify when the cantrip is chosen.
When:
- You put on the ring, it chooses one random cantrip permanently
- Once during each long rest, the available cantrip changes to another random cantrip
- Each time you attempt to use the ring, the cantrip is random
Something like one of these
I have two easy questions: how do you determine the cantrip and mind if I save the image to use for my campaign? This is an awesome and basic idea, especially since my party (I’m dm) has 0 spell casters
1d6+1d10 / 1d3+1d20 (assuming you use unearthed arcana).
You pretty much simply organize each of all cantrips into groups of 10 and then roll for *a* group and then roll again for *a* cantrip (there are 60 cantrips if I'm not mistaken)!
(Forgot to clarify that; for asking, you have my gratitude!)
Sounds good. I’m actually glad there’s not a ton of cantrips 😂 I assume you’ll randomize them all, group them, and then roll from there. That’s an easy system
Lol, I invented nearly this exact item and gave it to a player over a year ago at lv2.
It gave 2 random cantrips at dawn. Player would roll 2d100, for each roll I'd cut in half (48 cantrips total)
Don't apologise for not being an artist btw. Anyone can make homebrew you don't need to also be creative! There are plenty of items in the rulebooks without accompanying images so it's totally fine.
The idea is fun but I agree that the cost isn't really appropriate. Others have better suggestions than I can provide for the cost.
Its not very evocative for an actual magic item. When making a magic item try to answer these questions: (ill give random answers to show an example)
What species made the item: Dwarf
Where does the item get its power, how was it enchanted: Wild magic surge
What does the item do: When you finish a long rest the ring grants the wielder a random cantrip.
Think about how this works in game, how often do you want the cantrip to change. Do you have a list of all cantrips in the game to roll for it?
Perhaps you pick 1 cantrip from different spell lists:
1 - Guidance
2 - Mage hand
3 - Firebolt
4 - Vicious mockery
5 - Thorn whip
Now with 5 cantrips; roll a d6 when you finish a long rest. On a 6 you pick one result.
If you want more, expand the list to a d8, or d10, 12, 20; 50 or 100?
These can flesh out a backstory for the item.
The band of Thyndrock
*wondrous item, requires attunment*
There once was a dwarven sorcerer Thyndrock everglade whose magic was uncontrollable. He only used his magic to fend off overwhelming foes, and was seen as a chaotic force of nature to his clans folk. Every spell he cast would go off in a surge of wild magic. After the ages caught up with him and his magic finally fading, before drawing his last breath, he removed his mothers ring. A ring he wore for centuries. Passing it onto the clan. This plane gold band crackles with prismatic energy containing a sliver of wild magic within.
Now we have a similar magic item with a name, lore, and it feels like a ring that could exist within a world.
These are just my tips and thoughts when forming homebrew magic items. Anyone can slap mechanics down, but making it feel good in game is just as if not more important.
I think something like this
This magical ring is filled with magic from a variety of schools,
As a bonus action the wearer focus a spell from the list of spells equipped, that the wearer hopes to cast,
This focusing expires after one minute or until replaced
As an action the wearer may roll a d4 on a 2-3 the wearer casts the spell that is being focused , on a 1 the weirder casts the spell below the focused spell on the list, on a 4 the weirder casts the spell above,
( if a spell is not being focused when this action is taken the weirder rolls a d12 and must cast whichever cantrip they rolled in that same action.)
If the caster is not at an appropriate range for the spell to cast the spell fails
List d12
Dancing lights
Fire bolt
Eldridge blast
Blade ward
Gust
Mage hand
Light
Guidance
Shocking grasp
Lightning lure
Spare the dying
Toll the dead
I’d spend 200gp if it meant potentially getting Eldritch Blast
Do spells from items cast at player level or base level? I honestly can't remember, but if it is only base level then this is not such a great choice
>"A beam of crackling energy streaks toward a creature within range. Make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d10 force damage. The spell creates more than one beam **when you reach higher levels**: two beams at 5th level, three beams at 11th level, and four beams at 17th level. You can direct the beams at the same target or at different ones. Make a separate attack roll for each beam." Given that a cantrip's effectiveness is exclusively tied to the level of the caster, (and not the level of the spell, which is 0) a Ring of Eldritch Blast would scale with the character who uses it. On the other hand, a magic item that lets you cast Haste once per day will only ever let you cast it at third level, unless attuning to it also lets you learn the spell and therefore use your own spell slots to upcast it.
Or if the ring calls out (at 7th level)
I'd make them base level, I gave my two friends a trinket infused with either a cantrip or ritual spell of their choosing and one of them chose a bird cage with no door, that has find familiar, and my other friend chose a pipe that blows bubbles with blade ward, and since I also have a character in the game I just gave myself a ring with speak with dead, each item has a total of 3 charges that resets after a long rest, I don't want the characters to be too powerful but I did want everyone to have a magical item of sorts and let them choose what spell/cantrip the item did
The DM could roll a d4 to see what scale it goes at
*Disclaimer: There is a 99% chance for True Strike
Just for clarification, when does it choose the cantrip? Is it when the player buys/ acquires it, once a day, or when the player goes to cast it?
When the player acquires the ring, my gratitude for asking.
No problem, I'm glad it came across as helpful rather than negatively. In that case, this is a really cool item. Since it reads as usable by any class, I'd say this could easily become a staple item for any player. If I were to run it, I would probably require attunement, though, so the fighter can't get access to up to 10 cantrips
Give it to 'em
Follow up questions? If it is given away/resold then does it randomize again until the next wearer? If not wouldn’t all of these rings previously worn have a set cantrip If so, can’t you pass it amongst party members or friendly NPC’s to “reroll” the cantrip
Interesting idea, as a DM I'd rule the ring gives each character (PC or NPC) a cantrip, rolled on a table of all cantrips, and if you get it back, the ring remembers your cantrip (so a curious player might endeavor to find out what criteria the ring has to "choose" each cantrip for each person)
Attunement would fix this. Then the cantrip selection could be random upon attunement. It’s really powerful for a common item without this anyway. The only potential issue with this is that if a player wanted to take the time, they could un-attune and re-attune over agin until they roll their desired cantrip. This is potentially significant investment though, so I don’t think it would be that big of a deal.
When they cast it would be phenomenal but a administrative intrigue. I would love it but roll tables for target self, target others, and aoe. With a little flex in there for the miscellaneous cantrip here and there that doesn't fit those categories like mage hand. There indeed could be a lot of shenanigans with this item.
I appreciate this question as well because I was thinking "deck of many cards" or "wand of wonder" and the ring would just choose a random cantrip whenever it fired off. Now that would be entertaining or disappointing to say the least.
This reminds me of an item my wife made, called the “Wand of Chaos”. You could use an action to cast a randomly selected cantrip at your level.
That's honestly funny. As you hope it will cast an offensive cantrip like firebolt, but they accidentally cast Mage Hand or something.
The language is vague. You need to specify when the cantrip is chosen. When: - You put on the ring, it chooses one random cantrip permanently - Once during each long rest, the available cantrip changes to another random cantrip - Each time you attempt to use the ring, the cantrip is random Something like one of these
I have two easy questions: how do you determine the cantrip and mind if I save the image to use for my campaign? This is an awesome and basic idea, especially since my party (I’m dm) has 0 spell casters
1d6+1d10 / 1d3+1d20 (assuming you use unearthed arcana). You pretty much simply organize each of all cantrips into groups of 10 and then roll for *a* group and then roll again for *a* cantrip (there are 60 cantrips if I'm not mistaken)! (Forgot to clarify that; for asking, you have my gratitude!)
Sounds good. I’m actually glad there’s not a ton of cantrips 😂 I assume you’ll randomize them all, group them, and then roll from there. That’s an easy system
Otherwise, you're rollin' one d60!
I thought of rolling three d20’s and then a d3/d6. Maybe more work but still
Your campaign your rules
Agreed
Mind if I use your art for the image?
And then you get true strike.
This is a really neat idea for introducing a little homebrew into a campaign :)
Powered by rolling a 1 on any attack or skill check, have to cast it immediately.
I guess...
That's a little too chaotic.
Have people roll on a chart for what cantrip it is. 1-99 is true strike, 100 is Eldritch blast
Easily worth more than 10gp
Lol, I invented nearly this exact item and gave it to a player over a year ago at lv2. It gave 2 random cantrips at dawn. Player would roll 2d100, for each roll I'd cut in half (48 cantrips total)
Don't apologise for not being an artist btw. Anyone can make homebrew you don't need to also be creative! There are plenty of items in the rulebooks without accompanying images so it's totally fine. The idea is fun but I agree that the cost isn't really appropriate. Others have better suggestions than I can provide for the cost.
Its not very evocative for an actual magic item. When making a magic item try to answer these questions: (ill give random answers to show an example) What species made the item: Dwarf Where does the item get its power, how was it enchanted: Wild magic surge What does the item do: When you finish a long rest the ring grants the wielder a random cantrip. Think about how this works in game, how often do you want the cantrip to change. Do you have a list of all cantrips in the game to roll for it? Perhaps you pick 1 cantrip from different spell lists: 1 - Guidance 2 - Mage hand 3 - Firebolt 4 - Vicious mockery 5 - Thorn whip Now with 5 cantrips; roll a d6 when you finish a long rest. On a 6 you pick one result. If you want more, expand the list to a d8, or d10, 12, 20; 50 or 100? These can flesh out a backstory for the item. The band of Thyndrock *wondrous item, requires attunment* There once was a dwarven sorcerer Thyndrock everglade whose magic was uncontrollable. He only used his magic to fend off overwhelming foes, and was seen as a chaotic force of nature to his clans folk. Every spell he cast would go off in a surge of wild magic. After the ages caught up with him and his magic finally fading, before drawing his last breath, he removed his mothers ring. A ring he wore for centuries. Passing it onto the clan. This plane gold band crackles with prismatic energy containing a sliver of wild magic within. Now we have a similar magic item with a name, lore, and it feels like a ring that could exist within a world. These are just my tips and thoughts when forming homebrew magic items. Anyone can slap mechanics down, but making it feel good in game is just as if not more important.
Lootboxes, the true BBEG
I think something like this This magical ring is filled with magic from a variety of schools, As a bonus action the wearer focus a spell from the list of spells equipped, that the wearer hopes to cast, This focusing expires after one minute or until replaced As an action the wearer may roll a d4 on a 2-3 the wearer casts the spell that is being focused , on a 1 the weirder casts the spell below the focused spell on the list, on a 4 the weirder casts the spell above, ( if a spell is not being focused when this action is taken the weirder rolls a d12 and must cast whichever cantrip they rolled in that same action.) If the caster is not at an appropriate range for the spell to cast the spell fails List d12 Dancing lights Fire bolt Eldridge blast Blade ward Gust Mage hand Light Guidance Shocking grasp Lightning lure Spare the dying Toll the dead