Giving a Headband of Intellect to a low level wizard is an evil thing to do as a DM. It puts the wizard in a position of trying to decide if they’re going to use an ASI to boost their intelligence from 16 to 18 for no benefit so they can get an intelligence of 20 or if they’re going to accept a 19 intelligence forever.
Hot take: don't ever get rid of the headband, putting ASIs into Dex, Con, and/or Wis. Especially if your Int is a 14 (for whatever reason), as you effectively gain a bonus to Int equal to 2 1/2 ASIs, or 10 levels worth of advancement; a huge buff for just an uncommon magic item.
@@derekstein6193 I agree keep the item, I don't agree with sticking with it. More often than not if I get to the point of having a 20 in my primary stat I am in a position to get the Tome or manual that boosts to 22 I prefer the +2 there. But do keep the headband. If your sorcerer, Warlock, Druid, or Cleric are ever feeble-minded you have a good short term patch.
I rarely go over 18 with my wizards anyways so getting 19 is just a straight boon to me. Let's me immediately jump into the feats I want or to boost my saving throws and skill modifiers in another stat (or again do that in a feat such as skilled or skill expert) I'm not saying that is the most powerful way to play but I am saying this is generally what I do and what I would rather do. It's a lot more satisfying to me, and 18 is enough to cover my bases. So then I like to branch into other things. Skills, secondary roles, covering glaring weaknesses that I don't have spells for etc.
The transmutation spell book from TCOE pairs nicely with a transmutation wizard. Your ability to transmute items with your wizard ability then use the book to transmute the item could lead to shenanigans Because the book does not revert the items back to their original property
I really dislike the magic items that set a stat instead of increasing it by +×. I know, they did it to prevent power builds from getting out of control, but I still miss the old 3.0/3.5 +2/+4/+6 items. The good old days.
In my dyslexic ADHD brain, I thought this was: the top ten magic items for DM's. I did giggle when I realized My mistake. That said why not make that video? I'll tell you mine if you tell me you will make that video.
Myzium Apparatus is *broken!* It is more powerful than sum "artifacts" in the right hands! With High arcana mod, it allows a multiclassed caster to cast "any spell" in the _entire game!_ -for specifics, a caster who dipped one level in each caster class can cast any spell by rolling an arcana roll, which, unlike spellcasting mod, can benefit from expertise, extra dice (vedalkan, dragonmark, etc.) to easily raise this stat above the casting DC. Normal multiclassed wizard: upcasts "magic missile" to 3rd level, since he cannot prepare spells above first level Mizzium Multiclassed Wizard: can cast ANY 3rd level spell from the wizard, cleric, bard, druid, or sorcerer spell list, but has a 5% chance to crit fail
Headband of Intellect is great for eldritch knight, not as great for wizard in my view since dumping intelligence will exclude you benefitting from the tomes that could raise your intelligence by 2 allowing you to have a score of 22.
The wizard book "Atlas of Endless Horizons" has a surprisingly strong secondary effect. It functionally turns most hits into misses instantly. After seeing this I home-brewed a item with a similar feature and gave it to a lvl 8 cleric who has been nigh untouchable since then (currently lvl 13). I shudder at the thought of giving it to a bladesinger - the few times you manage to hit their absurd AC they just teleport 10 ft away and cause the attack to miss.
@@abrarfarhan9344 6th level spell globe of invulnerability completely shuts that down against all but the most powerful enemy mages. Of course you have to be 11th level to get that spell and by that point encounter balance is not much of a concern anyways
I'm currently playing a bladesinger who more or less dumped constitution. Yeah the number of ways I can just avoid damage is absurd. Between teleporting, the fact that when I need it I have an AC of 26, and the very inefficient but sometimes lifesaving song of defense I end most but certainly not all adventuring days with full hit points. Of course I'm also an 14th level wizard so if I'm even a good target it's because I lost initiative or because I did a dumb thing. Most of the time my active AC is 22 (17 plus shield) but every now and again I'll be fighting someone else who can teleport or has good ranged attacks so about once every 4 or 5 combats I turn on bladesong for a 26 AC
Hm, wizard with +5 int--scratch that, just one level of wizard, prof bonus that goes up over time, dip Knowledge Cleric for Arcana expertise, maybe even add on a Luckstone...Go artificer (who is more hungry for slots anyway) to level 7 for Flash of Genius. If you really want to try for a higher level spell take a round and cast Guidance on yourself... I'mma just note this down for the next game I play with a starting Uncommon magic item. Char level 10 (8 artificer). Arcana would be 2x4 prof bonus+5 int (assuming both ASIs +Int),+1 minimum d20 roll, +1d4 Guidance, +5 Flash of Genius if needed, for a *minimum* of 20, enough to cast 5th level spells no problem. Even without Guidance or using FoG resource, average roll of 23+.
I'm assuming this is about the Mizzium Apparatus. 2 levels in Stars Druid, Dragon Starry form makes Intelligence checks like Arcana a minimum roll of 10, same for Wisdom ability checks and Concentration checks. Either 1 level in that Cleric subclass or take 1 of the 2 feats that give expertise, Prodigy or more likely the half feat Skill Expert. As you level up, while in Dragon form any spell can successfully be cast without actually rolling as long as you have decent Intelligence. You wouldn't need expertise early, just makes it eaiser for rolling outside of Dragon form, but is necessary depending on your Intelligence stat, 4th or 5th level spells will probably need it for the auto success. I'd also say 2 levels in Wizard not 1, those subclass abilities can add/change a lot, War's +4 to a saving throw and bonus to Initiative, Divination's potent, Evocation's Sculpt Spells. A lot of fun and powerful options. I'd go with X Druid and 2 Wizard, but that's also because I don't want to be that guy who tries to do everything or tries to fill the roll of every single caster. 2 Druid, 1-2 Wizard and 1 Cleric and the rest in any caster(s) or mostly full casters works perfectly. 2 levels in Paladin would give Find Greater Steed but put you behind 1 caster level. You could technically multiclass into every caster with and I believe you would be a 17th level caster. 2 in Paladin and 2 in Ranger, plus 1 in Warlock means 15 levels in fullcasters and probably only 2-ish ASI's.
Put the headband of intellect on an animal companion. You now have a companion you're able to communicate with and that is much more capable. Roleplay hooks are endless.
@@gorgit I interpret that RAW don't explicitly forbid it. I think the crux is" atunment" is a fictional meta-physical process by which a being, through some process, creates a magical conduit between an item and it's wielder allowing the wielder to channel and (for the most part) govern the item's potential magical energies. If DMing a "hardcore" game I'd rule that no, an animal (int
How expensive is the headband in game? Being uncommon, I can imagine almost everyone who could afford it, would get it. Nobles and powerful merchants should all try to get one to help them scheme/plan/etc
With the robe of stars astral move. What if you disappeared right next to a vault door, then your party spent a minute or so filling up the area around the door so the closest unoccupied space is now on the other side of the vault door?
I think I have to disagree with the order of staff of power/arcane grimoire. Staff of power is substantially more beneficial than a +3 Arcane Grimoire.
Extremely Awesome & Outstanding Video as always by you Sir......If you were a professional litigator, you would make a fortune because I think you are very intelligent, articulate & sharp as a tack. Merry Christmas to you & yours....👽👽👻😉
@@ShinM. Yes, please forgive me for the Typo....I forgot to Fix it, I meant to fix it, agaim, pleease forgive me terrible error. Thx 4 your kindness as you know what I meant...
DMing question: If you had a Wizard in your party who reached 18th level and had the Bracers of the Illusionist, would you allow them to use that feature with the 1st and 2nd level spell that they can now cast at will?
5e Bracers of Defense AC 2 are the special needs cousin to it's 2e equivalent. The 2e version basically gave a wizard AC 18. They were in super high demand.
So I really liked the lists you made. Both the class lists and the every class list. It was very informative and helpful for quickly knowing or finding items for each type of character. If you're looking for more easy ways to do top tens then maybe having a separate list for each subclass so then there would be 3 lists for whatever subclass you'd end up picking. And even making it a top 5 for each would be helpful. And doing it as a top 5 would allow 2 subclasses per video to help speed it along. Another thing you mentioned in one of these videos is the possibility of doing a best magic item for each class list for legendary items. That could just be one video instead of doing multiple short ones. Just cover all classes and the best item for each in one go. But honestly a top 3 or top 5 style list would be better for that. Because odds are you'd only get one of that level anyway. Idk. I like the lists. Thanks for putting them out. They were pretty well done overall
Gotta love that a good chunk of what is on this list is also what my EK fighter has currently a "sidekick" type character thanks to a DoMT the now lvl 7 has the robe of stars, headband of intellect, and a belt of fire giant strength that is a hand me down from the Barbarian. Add to that his halberd of certainly death will Polearm master and sentinel. He is actually doing well for traveling with a party of lvl 18s
Weapons of warning / shield of warning for the initiative buff is amazing on a controller. Armor dip wizards love mithral armor. And cloak of displacement is op paired with the shield spell.
An item I really want for my wizard character is the barrier tattoo; the rare version gives you the same armor class as wearing half plate, so it's the same rarity as elven chain with a higher AC boost; only downside is that it require attunement and elven chain doesn't.
@@JoeyTee420 yes, but the prerequisite is a 13, relatively easy to obtain. You would want to plan it in advance and let your DM know what your intent is.
@@O4C209 ye, you'd still need to get 13, but it is very good for multiclassing so you don't need to pump up your Int and still have decent attacks/saving throw DC spells. So you are very correct
The Mizzium Apparatus was criminally low on the list, but at least it was on there. Edit The dragon touched focus, the teleport is definitely better seeing as casting spells don't provoke opportunity attacks but movement (that are not teleports ) do.
I am not sure if you noticed but one of the fist errata was to add Mage Armor to the sorcerer spell list. The early printing did not list it because of the base AC of Draconic bloodline. I wish in the new addition that they change the base AC to 13 and phase out light armor. If they give an option for most every class by light Armor Use, Mage Armor or Unarmed defense then just. This also would make the Warrior and War Clerics class more intimidating being the only ones with real armor
I'll be disappointed if for blood hunter if that homebrew ring that gives wish at will that is common rarity isn't on the list as if you are covering bad homebrew you might as well give it bad homebrew in it's list lol
Giving a Headband of Intellect to a low level wizard is an evil thing to do as a DM. It puts the wizard in a position of trying to decide if they’re going to use an ASI to boost their intelligence from 16 to 18 for no benefit so they can get an intelligence of 20 or if they’re going to accept a 19 intelligence forever.
The artificier dilemma twofold.
Easy answer, put the points in to get to 20, then give the circlet to the rogue or fighter
Hot take: don't ever get rid of the headband, putting ASIs into Dex, Con, and/or Wis. Especially if your Int is a 14 (for whatever reason), as you effectively gain a bonus to Int equal to 2 1/2 ASIs, or 10 levels worth of advancement; a huge buff for just an uncommon magic item.
@@derekstein6193 I agree keep the item, I don't agree with sticking with it. More often than not if I get to the point of having a 20 in my primary stat I am in a position to get the Tome or manual that boosts to 22 I prefer the +2 there. But do keep the headband. If your sorcerer, Warlock, Druid, or Cleric are ever feeble-minded you have a good short term patch.
I rarely go over 18 with my wizards anyways so getting 19 is just a straight boon to me. Let's me immediately jump into the feats I want or to boost my saving throws and skill modifiers in another stat (or again do that in a feat such as skilled or skill expert)
I'm not saying that is the most powerful way to play but I am saying this is generally what I do and what I would rather do. It's a lot more satisfying to me, and 18 is enough to cover my bases. So then I like to branch into other things. Skills, secondary roles, covering glaring weaknesses that I don't have spells for etc.
I'd like to give a shout out to the common magic item, the Enduring Spellbook.
Its definitely one of the best
The transmutation spell book from TCOE pairs nicely with a transmutation wizard. Your ability to transmute items with your wizard ability then use the book to transmute the item could lead to shenanigans
Because the book does not revert the items back to their original property
I really dislike the magic items that set a stat instead of increasing it by +×. I know, they did it to prevent power builds from getting out of control, but I still miss the old 3.0/3.5 +2/+4/+6 items. The good old days.
In my dyslexic ADHD brain, I thought this was: the top ten magic items for DM's. I did giggle when I realized My mistake. That said why not make that video? I'll tell you mine if you tell me you will make that video.
Myzium Apparatus is *broken!* It is more powerful than sum "artifacts" in the right hands! With High arcana mod, it allows a multiclassed caster to cast "any spell" in the _entire game!_
-for specifics, a caster who dipped one level in each caster class can cast any spell by rolling an arcana roll, which, unlike spellcasting mod, can benefit from expertise, extra dice (vedalkan, dragonmark, etc.) to easily raise this stat above the casting DC.
Normal multiclassed wizard: upcasts "magic missile" to 3rd level, since he cannot prepare spells above first level
Mizzium Multiclassed Wizard: can cast ANY 3rd level spell from the wizard, cleric, bard, druid, or sorcerer spell list, but has a 5% chance to crit fail
Forgot to mention, a two level dip in Stars druid means 20 min per short rest where arcana rolls of 1-9 = 10!
Headband of Intellect is great for eldritch knight, not as great for wizard in my view since dumping intelligence will exclude you benefitting from the tomes that could raise your intelligence by 2 allowing you to have a score of 22.
The wizard book "Atlas of Endless Horizons" has a surprisingly strong secondary effect. It functionally turns most hits into misses instantly. After seeing this I home-brewed a item with a similar feature and gave it to a lvl 8 cleric who has been nigh untouchable since then (currently lvl 13). I shudder at the thought of giving it to a bladesinger - the few times you manage to hit their absurd AC they just teleport 10 ft away and cause the attack to miss.
Use aoes or saving throws.
@@abrarfarhan9344 6th level spell globe of invulnerability completely shuts that down against all but the most powerful enemy mages. Of course you have to be 11th level to get that spell and by that point encounter balance is not much of a concern anyways
I'm currently playing a bladesinger who more or less dumped constitution. Yeah the number of ways I can just avoid damage is absurd.
Between teleporting, the fact that when I need it I have an AC of 26, and the very inefficient but sometimes lifesaving song of defense I end most but certainly not all adventuring days with full hit points. Of course I'm also an 14th level wizard so if I'm even a good target it's because I lost initiative or because I did a dumb thing.
Most of the time my active AC is 22 (17 plus shield) but every now and again I'll be fighting someone else who can teleport or has good ranged attacks so about once every 4 or 5 combats I turn on bladesong for a 26 AC
A good way to "abuse" the magic item Mizzium Apparatus is to go with the Mark of Making human. They add a d4 to arcana checks.
Love the video. When are you doing the next DM's Guild roundup? Would love to hear your thoughts on the new Dragonlance stuff that's out.
Hm, wizard with +5 int--scratch that, just one level of wizard, prof bonus that goes up over time, dip Knowledge Cleric for Arcana expertise, maybe even add on a Luckstone...Go artificer (who is more hungry for slots anyway) to level 7 for Flash of Genius. If you really want to try for a higher level spell take a round and cast Guidance on yourself... I'mma just note this down for the next game I play with a starting Uncommon magic item.
Char level 10 (8 artificer). Arcana would be 2x4 prof bonus+5 int (assuming both ASIs +Int),+1 minimum d20 roll, +1d4 Guidance, +5 Flash of Genius if needed, for a *minimum* of 20, enough to cast 5th level spells no problem. Even without Guidance or using FoG resource, average roll of 23+.
I'm assuming this is about the Mizzium Apparatus. 2 levels in Stars Druid, Dragon Starry form makes Intelligence checks like Arcana a minimum roll of 10, same for Wisdom ability checks and Concentration checks. Either 1 level in that Cleric subclass or take 1 of the 2 feats that give expertise, Prodigy or more likely the half feat Skill Expert. As you level up, while in Dragon form any spell can successfully be cast without actually rolling as long as you have decent Intelligence. You wouldn't need expertise early, just makes it eaiser for rolling outside of Dragon form, but is necessary depending on your Intelligence stat, 4th or 5th level spells will probably need it for the auto success. I'd also say 2 levels in Wizard not 1, those subclass abilities can add/change a lot, War's +4 to a saving throw and bonus to Initiative, Divination's potent, Evocation's Sculpt Spells. A lot of fun and powerful options.
I'd go with X Druid and 2 Wizard, but that's also because I don't want to be that guy who tries to do everything or tries to fill the roll of every single caster. 2 Druid, 1-2 Wizard and 1 Cleric and the rest in any caster(s) or mostly full casters works perfectly. 2 levels in Paladin would give Find Greater Steed but put you behind 1 caster level. You could technically multiclass into every caster with and I believe you would be a 17th level caster. 2 in Paladin and 2 in Ranger, plus 1 in Warlock means 15 levels in fullcasters and probably only 2-ish ASI's.
Put the headband of intellect on an animal companion. You now have a companion you're able to communicate with and that is much more capable. Roleplay hooks are endless.
Do animal companions have attunement slots? I mean, Id allow it, but is it RAW?
@@gorgit I interpret that RAW don't explicitly forbid it. I think the crux is" atunment" is a fictional meta-physical process by which a being, through some process, creates a magical conduit between an item and it's wielder allowing the wielder to channel and (for the most part) govern the item's potential magical energies.
If DMing a "hardcore" game I'd rule that no, an animal (int
How expensive is the headband in game? Being uncommon, I can imagine almost everyone who could afford it, would get it. Nobles and powerful merchants should all try to get one to help them scheme/plan/etc
With the robe of stars astral move. What if you disappeared right next to a vault door, then your party spent a minute or so filling up the area around the door so the closest unoccupied space is now on the other side of the vault door?
Thats amazing!
I'm a DM for a first time player who is running a wizard so this is perfect!
Band of Intellect is a godsend if you're going to be fighting in the underdark. It will save your party's mage from turning dumber than a rock
Cloak of Billowing for Naive Novice Wizard to feel awesome.
As a multi class wizard with a 13 intelligens the head band is a game changer😅😅
The headband would be nice if an eldritch knight could wear it under a helmet.
I think I have to disagree with the order of staff of power/arcane grimoire. Staff of power is substantially more beneficial than a +3 Arcane Grimoire.
I think it can be pretty close depending on the build but yes a staff is better most of the times.
Illusionist bracers are insane for bladesinger man
Shout out to the Crystalline Chronicle.
Extremely Awesome & Outstanding Video as always by you Sir......If you were a professional litigator, you would make a fortune because I think you are very intelligent, articulate & sharp as a tack. Merry Christmas to you & yours....👽👽👻😉
Tact? You mean tack?
@@ShinM. Yes, please forgive me for the Typo....I forgot to Fix it, I meant to fix it, agaim, pleease forgive me terrible error. Thx 4 your kindness as you know what I meant...
It's Now Fixed....Sorry...Take Care....I watch all your videos all the time. I really learn so much from you. Take Care & Happy Holidays!
DMing question: If you had a Wizard in your party who reached 18th level and had the Bracers of the Illusionist, would you allow them to use that feature with the 1st and 2nd level spell that they can now cast at will?
I think that's a pretty cool idea
@@NerdImmersion Wrong! Only RAW, sir! There will be no fun-having here! 🤣
I would like to see a top ten list of feats for each class
Mizzium Aparatus not being attunable to Artificers seems rather stupid to me. It's gadget magic!
One DnD could fix this :) but yes Ravnica came out before Eberron leading to stupid situations like this. The apparatus is like made for artificers.
True resurrection and maybe revivify should be wizard spells
5e Bracers of Defense AC 2 are the special needs cousin to it's 2e equivalent. The 2e version basically gave a wizard AC 18. They were in super high demand.
So I really liked the lists you made. Both the class lists and the every class list. It was very informative and helpful for quickly knowing or finding items for each type of character. If you're looking for more easy ways to do top tens then maybe having a separate list for each subclass so then there would be 3 lists for whatever subclass you'd end up picking. And even making it a top 5 for each would be helpful. And doing it as a top 5 would allow 2 subclasses per video to help speed it along. Another thing you mentioned in one of these videos is the possibility of doing a best magic item for each class list for legendary items. That could just be one video instead of doing multiple short ones. Just cover all classes and the best item for each in one go. But honestly a top 3 or top 5 style list would be better for that. Because odds are you'd only get one of that level anyway. Idk. I like the lists. Thanks for putting them out. They were pretty well done overall
Gotta love that a good chunk of what is on this list is also what my EK fighter has currently a "sidekick" type character thanks to a DoMT the now lvl 7 has the robe of stars, headband of intellect, and a belt of fire giant strength that is a hand me down from the Barbarian. Add to that his halberd of certainly death will Polearm master and sentinel. He is actually doing well for traveling with a party of lvl 18s
Great vid of course. Thanks for working such a demanding and important day job as well ❤️
Where is my cube of force. I got it on my wizard in one campaign and it has saved my life numerous times.
Weapons of warning / shield of warning for the initiative buff is amazing on a controller. Armor dip wizards love mithral armor. And cloak of displacement is op paired with the shield spell.
An item I really want for my wizard character is the barrier tattoo; the rare version gives you the same armor class as wearing half plate, so it's the same rarity as elven chain with a higher AC boost; only downside is that it require attunement and elven chain doesn't.
You should do a run with best magic items from griffons sundlebug for every class + they’re classes?
Items like the Headband of Intellect is great for opening up uncommon multiclassing. 6th level Paladin is now a Wizard also.
RAW an item that increases your ability score doesn’t count for multiclassing, you need your actual stat to be the prerequisite
@@JoeyTee420 yes, but the prerequisite is a 13, relatively easy to obtain. You would want to plan it in advance and let your DM know what your intent is.
@@O4C209 ye, you'd still need to get 13, but it is very good for multiclassing so you don't need to pump up your Int and still have decent attacks/saving throw DC spells. So you are very correct
Actually this would be great on eldritch knight, God knows they have trouble investing in all of their stats
Ted are you a sparky?
Good number eight go to an artificer. Once they reach that level it seems like it would be useful to them.
Congratulations on hitting 100k, richly deserved
Thank you!
Just fyi, the dnd cleric survey for one nd is live.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the rod of abortion used the charges absorbed to fuel the spells.
Rod of abortion 😂😂😂😂 woooow. Chillax bro !
Surprised not to have seen you doing a video on the One D&D UA Cleric survey. :)
Double 12 hour night shifts
Yes my favorite videos are this tops 10
Be safe if you need to head out into the storm.
#2 like and comment let's goo
Thank you
The Mizzium Apparatus was criminally low on the list, but at least it was on there.
Edit
The dragon touched focus, the teleport is definitely better seeing as casting spells don't provoke opportunity attacks but movement (that are not teleports ) do.
I hope you have a Happy Holiday and be safe out there in col. Sending lots of positive vibes.
I’d like a top 10 legendary list for each class
Bloodhunter!!! Can't wait Ted!
I love the headband of Intellect. Ive ignored Int (at 16) and have a 20 Dex & 19 Str (took 2 levels in fighter), its been great.
I am not sure if you noticed but one of the fist errata was to add Mage Armor to the sorcerer spell list. The early printing did not list it because of the base AC of Draconic bloodline. I wish in the new addition that they change the base AC to 13 and phase out light armor. If they give an option for most every class by light Armor Use, Mage Armor or Unarmed defense then just. This also would make the Warrior and War Clerics class more intimidating being the only ones with real armor
I'll be disappointed if for blood hunter if that homebrew ring that gives wish at will that is common rarity isn't on the list as if you are covering bad homebrew you might as well give it bad homebrew in it's list lol
Come on that sounds so unbalanced. That ring is at least rare, smh