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Magic Item Compendium

This review is going to have to be a tad different. I'm going to pick out the biggest winners from the book that I happen to see, and not worry about most of the rest, except for the totally new item types. There are over a thousand items in this book, and I'm not going over all of them.

Chapter 1: Armor
The chapter opens with a short section on special materials. Way, WAY too short. It only discusses the special materials from the DMG, which is a woefully small selection, especially given the amazing selection they have from splats. Some of the lamer items could (and should) have been cut in favor of more materials. I'm goddamn tired of everybody having nothing but mithral armor.

All of the series abilities for weapons and armor (like Agility (+1/3/5 on reflex saves)) have been re-costed and regrouped into a single base ability plus one or more [Synergy] abilities. The [Synergy] tag means you can't put the secondary tag on without the initial tag, and is essentially a way of upgrading weaker properties into larger ones, so that you're not always stuck with that measly +1 Resistance bonus to Reflex saves.

Axeblock/Hammerblock/Spearblock - Reprinted exactly as-is from Complete Warrior, except that they lack the combinatory text that turns them into DR 5/- if you have all three. This is unfortunate, but they're still quite good for anyone who is lightly armored. For heavily armored folks, you'll understand when I get to the armor crystals.

Blueshine - The star of FR, it's been recosted to +1500 GP, and worth ten times as much, easily. A +2 competence bonus on Hide checks AND the armor is immune to acid and rust based attacks. Absolutely stellar.

Greater Blurring - A +2 synergy that stacks on Blurring, it upgrades the distinctly lackluster Blurring property into an unlimited use, swift action, 10-minute duration Hide in Plain Sight, since the Blur spell grants Concealment. This is abso-fucking-lutely amazing for anybody stealthy.

Called - Recosted to 2000 GP, a standard action to call isn't really looking so bad. Too bad there's no synergy to kick it up to a swift action summon. Transformation sequences are full of hotness.

Death Ward - It hasn't been recosted, and it's gotten simultaneously better and worse. Where once before, it auto-triggered on the first effect you got hit with each day, it's now an immediate action. It's still damn good for a +1.

Deepdweller - At a flat 12,000 GP for immunity to damage from cold water and depth pressure, along with no penalty to swimming, conversation with all water dwellers, and double vision range in water, if you expect to go anywhere near water, you should have a suit of this stuff. You might want to keep a Called suit of this stuff around in general, in fact.

Healing - For 8k, a contingency 2d6+5 healing upon swift command OR dropping below 0 is pretty hot, and it can be synergized up to 3d8+15 twice per day. This can be particularly effective if combined with the Luck feat from Complete Scoundrel that lets you stop your HP at -9 and stabilize.

Magic Eating - Totally revamped, this ability is now stellar. For a flat 10k, you can regain HP equal to the spell's level whenever you make a save against a spell that targets you.

Menacing - Worthwhile for one specific reason. As a standard action, for 30k, three times a day, you get to Panic somebody for 5 rounds. They get a will save to be Shaken for 1, but the DC -scales with you.- That's right, 10 + 1/2 your HD + your Cha Mod. If your bard doesn't have anything better to do, make some people wet themselves.

Quickness - +5 grand for +5' speed, with no other restrictions. Sounds good to me.

Speed - +6k for 3 rounds per day (separate, swift activation) Haste. Sounds great to me, at low level.

Zombie Hide Armor - If you don't mind wearing Hide armor, this is a rather cheaper way to get DR 5/Slashing for yourself (normally +4, requiring Hammerblock + Spearblock)

Armor Augment Crystals:
Augment crystals are a new thing. Each armor and shield can have a single Augment Crystal attached, and it's a Move equivalent action to swap crystals. Almost all augment crystals come in Least/Lesser/Greater varieties. Least crystals require Masterwork, Lesser require +1 of real enhancement, and Greater require +3 of real enhancement.

Energy Protection - Each one protects against a single element, protecting against 10/15/20 damage per attack, to a maximum absorption per day of 25/50/75. For only 500/1500/3000, it's not a bad investment.

Crystal of Adamant Armor - I'm sorry, but since armor can't be sundered, and most enemies have better things to do than sundering your shield, this just isn't worth it. Any sundering build worth its salt is going to laugh at the Greater crystal's +10 Hardness.

Crystal of Adaptation - This is the new star of every Planescape campaign. A cumulative crystal (each step up includes the last step's powers), it grants Endure Elements / Immunity to planar alignment traits / Immunity to Positive/Negative Dominant traits. At only 3 grand for a Greater, this is absolutely stellar. If you're going off the Prime, don't leave home without it.

Crystal of Aquatic Action - Remember what I said about Deepdweller armor, above? The Greater crystal here is 3k for no armor check penalty, a Swim speed of half your Land speed (and all associated bennies), and then water breathing and immunity to the movement/attack penalties of being in water. Unless you've got a crystal you like better, don't go sailing without this.

Crystal of Arrow Deflection - This one's a great general use crystal. Topping out at 5k, you get +2 to AC vs ranged attack, or +5 vs ranged attacks, or at the highest, +5 AC vs ranged attacks AND free Deflect Arrows feat once a round. Hellooooooooo nurse!

Crystal of Bent Sight - A shield crystal only, this one's only got one level, and is only worthwhile to people hunting gaze monsters like Basilisks and Medusae. At only 500 GP to be able to fight with eyes averted without penalty (50% immunity to gaze attacks, essentially), this is a damn good buy if you think you're gonna need it. I'd keep one around just in case.

Crystal of Glancing Blows - at +2, +5, and +10 to resist the initial grapple attempt, this is really not worth the money, I'm afraid. Most grapple builds are going to have you pretty outclassed, and the opportunity cost is just too high. Get some Freedom armor instead.

Crystal of Lifekeeping - Only worthwhile at its Greater form, 5000 GP for +5 saves vs negative energy effects and a once per day reroll against said effects, it's not a bad buy for undead hunters.

Crystal of Mind Cloaking - See that Lifekeeping crystal? This is exactly the same, for mind effects, except that at +1 and +3 for least and lesser, it's not a bad deal for a general use crystal. Mind effects are a LOT more frequent, and usually allow saves, which energy drains don't.

Crystal of Screening - Useful at all levels, this one imposes a -2/-5/-10 penalty on incorporeal touch attacks against you. Incorporeal creatures aren't frequent, but when they show up, they tend to dish out some serious hurting, so you better believe any bonus you can get against them is worth the money. This won't even cost you that much.

Iron Ward Diamond - THIS is why they removed the combination clause from the XBlock enchantments. At DR 1/-, 3/-, and 5/- *stacking with all other similar DR*, these crystals are absolutely worth the money, even with the limitations. It's no longer automatic that a tank will have mithral full plate. Now, it's entirely likely he'll grab Adamantine Full Plate, because this DR stacks, and the Greater crystal only works with Heavy armor. The Lesser works with Medium or higher, and the Least with any armor. Of course, that's still way too good for most any price, so they tacked on a 10/30/50 points of absorption per day, but at 8k for the Greater, every tank should have at least one.

Restful Crystal - 500 GP, modular, to sleep in your armor without penalty. Don't go adventuring without it, peeps.

Rubicund Frenzy - If you haven't got a bard handy, your blender will want one of these. A lot of blenders spend a good portion of their time below 50% HP, and as long as you are, this puppy's giving you a +1/+3/+5 morale bonus to weapon damage and will saves. For the dedicated DPSer, this is great stuff.

Chapter 2: Weapons - "The best defense is a really angry offense." -- Krusk, half-orc barbarian.

Again with the crappy materials section. I sorta get the feeling that they dropped most of this for space, sadly. It IS a really huge book, by current standards.

Again, [Synergy] tags have been added in various places. Because Acidic Burst isn't DMG, it's the first energy burst property to become upgradeable from its basic form, since it's been reprinted with the Synergy tag. It's also been clarified explicitly in text that Bursts trigger even on crit-immune targets.

Aquatic - Only 2k to add to a weapon to remove underwater penalties... but you can do the same on armor via enhancement or crystal, and get other excellent effects as well. Save the space for other abilities.

Binding - Ever get tired of BBEGs teleporting away at the last second? Frustrated with Contingency -> Teleport stupidity? For just a +1 bonus, you can spend your swift action twice a day to nail the next sucker you hit with a no-save Dimensional Anchor! If you're going wizard hunting, don't leave home without it!

Bloodstone - Vampiric Touch is one of the greatest possible spells to put in a Spell Storing weapon. So what did they do? That's right, they made a +1 enhancement that stores -only- Vampiric Touch. As a side benefit of this limitation, however, the Vampiric Touch you put in this puppy gets Empowered for free... AND there's no limitation that you need to cast a vanilla Vampiric Touch. That means that if you've got a level 13+ wizard handy, he can happily drop a Twinned Vampiric Touch in for twice the auto-empowered effect!

Bodyfeeder - At +3, it's a pricy enhancement, but they removed the primary limitation from it, and that makes it a new hoss on the block. When you crit with a Bodyfeeder weapon, you gain non-stacking temporary HP equal to half the damage you did. Half of ALL the damage, as opposed to just the "natural" damage of the weapon, that you used to get.

Changeling - Spears aren't very good, but for +2k, you can let yourself switch as a swift action, as often as you want, between shortspear, spear, and longspear. If you're a Kobold Fighter with the sub level, so you're good with all spears, this actually makes spears fairly viable. I'd go for it.

Charging - At +1 for +2d6 damage on a charge attack, I would normally pan this, since if there's one thing ubererchargers don't need, it's another 2d6 damage... but it can work beautifully for martial adepts, who get a large number of maneuvers that are considered charges.

Divine Wrath - If you're an undead hunting paladin, you cannot possibly get better than Divine Wrath. For just +1, turn those mostly useless turn attempts into 1d6 points of damage vs undead... PER POINT OF CHARISMA BONUS YOU HAVE.

Eager - At +1 for +2 nameless bonus to initiative, this was good. On top of that, free-action draw and +2 damage per hit (nameless!) during the surprise round and first round of combat, and it's just plain wonderful.

Enervating - If you're not in an undead heavy game, and you're playing a crit-happy character, get this enhancement as soon as you possibly can. At only +2 for a negative level inflicted on every successful crit, this is absolutely amazing.

Ghost Strike - This is mostly obsolete now (see below), but if you expect to be facing undead frequently, get it permanently on your favorite undead killing weapon, no doubt. +1 enhancement for Ghost Touch and ability to crit undead normally, no serious undead hunting rogue would be without it.

Impaling - Remember that Changeling spear ability above? Spears are piercing melee weapons, good sirs, and that means they're eligible for Impaling. A +1 equivalent for three times per day touch attack, with no drawback? SIGN ME UP.

Warning - +1 enhancement for +5 Insight to init? gimme gimme, one for every party member, I GUARANTEE IT

Whirling - +1 enhancement for a 3/day Whirlwind Attack that affects all enemies in -reach- instead of 5'? Good backup weapon fodder, right there, ladies, gents, and assorted beasties.

Bow of the Wintermoon - Okay, a +1 Composite Longbow that adjusts to whatever your strength is, that's just plain worth it, and it's not overcosted for the relic power, either. I approve. IF your DM doesn't allow you to Hank's Energy Bow from the Animated Series book, this is one of the next best things.

Crystal Echoblade - Bards need help, badly, and this is a hell of a bard weapon. If you use it while singing, it does extra damage per hit equal to half your bard level. It starts as a +1 Longsword for 4k, and only goes up from there. I like it.

Rapier of Desperate Measures - Weighing in at 9k, this is a relic worth actually using. For slightly more than the cost of a +2 weapon, you get a +2 Rapier that gains Keen when you're below full HP, and Speed when you're below 50% HP. Definitely not a bad one, especially for a clerical gish, and it's got plenty of room for additional powers.

Rapier of Unerring Direction - Another rapier, another relic worth having. A +1 Ghost Touch rapier for just over 9k, once you've bonded it, it ignores all miss chances, no matter what the sources is. Incorporeal, ignored. Displacement? Ignored. Invisible? Ignored. Totally worth it.

Raptor Arrows - At six grand a pop, these are the last arrows you'll ever need. Ehlonna for the win, because they're not destroyed when fired, and they automatically return to you the round after they're fired, and that's -before- the relic power. With the relic power kicked in, you get Bane as a freebie vs whatever you're targeting with the arrow. You seriously cannot beat these.

Warlock's Scepter - This item has gotten immeasurably better. Instead of 50 charges with max of 5/day, it's just five charges per day, period. It got dropped to a +1 light mace, but it also grants a +1 profane bonus on ranged touch attack rolls, and only costs 8 grand. IMMEASURABLY better.

Augment Crystals:
Same thing as the armors, each weapon can have one, move equiv to switch, and same quality requirements.

Adamant Weaponry - Just like Adamant Armor, this is practically worthless.

Arcane Steel - A cumulative crystal clearly intended for Duskblades, it gives bonuses when channeling a spell through the attached weapon. +1 damage, then +1 attack, and then +1 Save DC. Totally worth it for a duskblade.

Energy Assault - Comes in the four primary energy types, the least and lesser are good, but the greater leave something to be desired, especially at 6k a pop. Least are quite good at low level, at 600 GP for +1 point of energy damage per hit, and Lesser add the relevant energy quality to the weapon, for 1d6 damage, but each element has a crappy special effect added for the greater version, none of which stack with themselves, and none of which are of a degree to merit the extra cost.

Illumination - Probably the cheapest crystal, it's also the least useful overall. It's 100 GP for a 5' radius light. You can get 30' for 90 GP in the form of an everlasting torch. All I have to say is "gtfo"

Life Drinking - An absolutely stellar crystal, easily on par with the DR crystal for armor, it's essentially exactly the inverse. Each hit you make with the weapon, you gain 1/3/5 HP, to a max of 10/30/50 per day. Absolutely amazing.

Return - Hey, just what we needed, ANOTHER way to put Returning on a weapon without paying for it. Well, for a flat 4k, actually, but you also get free Quickdraw and ability to summon it as a move equiv. First two levels, not bad for the cost, the greater crystal's not worth it. A good thrower will either have Bloodstorm Blade level 1, or Gloves of Taarnham the Vigilant

Security - +2/5/10 to draw in a grapple and avoid disarm. So very not worth it, it's impossible to properly describe. Just take Wolverine Stance if you're worried about Grapple.

Demolition - Cumulative +1d6 damage vs Constructs / adamatine for construct DR / can deliver sneaks/crits to constructs. No rogue should be without two of these. Period. Do not pass go, do not collect 200bux.

Fiendslayer - Fiendbane in a can, it gives bonus damage vs outsiders, makes the weapon good aligned, and on a crit, dimlocks the poor bastard, no save. Demons pop up WAY too often not to keep one of these (at least) around.

Phoenix Ash Threat - 1/3/5 fire damage the round after you hit a target, non-cumulative. Total ball drop on this one, guys, sorry. You're supposed to get a -bonus- for the delay.

Revelation - Any creature hit by the crystal glows, revealing what square it's in, but not its exact position. That's a good start. Oh, and then we'll tack on invisibility suppression for 1 round on hit, no save. Getting better. It even suppresses natural invis. Oh, THEN tack on suppression of any active effect that grants concealment or similar effects, as long as it's not granted by the environment. Hot damn, we has a winrar.

Truedeath - See that crystal above, the one that hoses golems? Do the EXACT same thing, except instead of adamantine, you get Ghost Touch. Keep -six- of these around, just in case they decide to disarm or sunder you.

Witchlight Reservoir - This one breaks all the damn rules. Only one version, and it has multiple functions. For 5 grand a pop, it's really not worth it unless you've got a lot of cash laying around. You'll just have to take my word on that one.

Chapter 3: Clothing "The arcanist's gloves would be handy, of course, but the lightning gauntlets match my cloak better..." -- Devis, trying to decide on his next purchase. <--- This is why I hate bards.

This chapter is chock full of items that the COB derides as "useless." What they actually are is uses-per-day items at extremely low costs that you can give players at low levels without snapping the game or killing party balance. D&D has needed more cheap items for quite a while.

Adamantine Mind Blade Gauntlets - Exactly what they sound like, a little bone thrown to Soulblades, you can swap a +1 enhancement dynamically for Adamantine on your soul blade. That makes you absurdly good at hacking through doors, among other things.

Amulet of Second Chances - At 40,000 GP, it's not an impulse buy, but once per day being able to reset the game to the start of your turn is definitely not a bad safety net for when you want to do stupid shit and not have to worry about insane consequences.

Anklet of Translocation - At only 1400 GP for two 10' teleports per day, and for a swift action, this isn't a bad item at all, but is mostly notable for being another cheap way for Shadowlords and Shadow Marauders to trigger Shadow Pounce as a swift action.

Blindfold of True Darkness - Nine thousand gee pees for 30' blindsight and 100% immunity to gaze attacks? Sure, you're blind to everything beyond 30', but it totally doesn't matter. Combine with an Eversmoking Bottle for the lulz.

Bracers of Entangling Blast - For only 2k, you get three uses per day of no-save Entangle on anybody damaged by the chosen spell. Damn good stuff for the price, Entangle is no slouch.

Counterstrike Bracers - At only 2500 GP, a twice per day free shot against someone who attacks you and misses is good, and great at low level, where a single attack is frequently the difference between life and death.

Horned Helm - A secondary natural attack at a d8+1/2 Str is nothing to sneeze at, not for only 8k.

Mindvault - The absolutely essential equipment for any fighter with a crappy will save, for only 8k, once per day as an immediate action, you get to nosell a mind-affecting effect in exchange for being dazed for a round. At only 8k, this is beyond bargain material.

Ring of Communication - At only two grand a pop, and freely expandable as a set, AND unlimited free action activation, these are basically the new standard for people who don't want to burn spells on Telepathic Bond. They're not quite as good as telepathy, but they're the next best thing, fo sho.

Ring of the Darkhidden - Still every bit as good as when it was first printed in Living City, unlimited constant invisibility to Darkvision is THE thing to have when fighting in no-light areas, no doubt. A bargain at 2k.

Ring of Entropic Deflection - Essential gear for ranger/scouts, it's also no slouch for swordsages who like to move about a lot. Only 8k for a 20% (or 50%) miss chance vs ranged attacks. Delicious.

Ring of Greater Counterspells - Great equipment for a main spellcaster, this gets even better when you throw one on any of your fighter types that have spellcasting ability. Not only does it act as a ring of counterspells, but if you are capable of counterspelling on your own, once per day as an immediate, you can counterspell with a Greater Dispel at your caster level. When that critical spell goes off, why NOT have an extra two or three counterspell attempts?

Ring of Silent Spells - If you ever really, REALLY wanted to spend 2000 GP to utterly and completely rape a spellcasting baddie while you're low to low-mid level, this is how you'd do it. Once a day, a five round Silence centered on you, and you get to cast spells of level 3 and lower as if they were Silent. For a swift activation, that doesn't get much better, until you realize that at high levels, -you don't have to be a caster to use it.-

Ring of Spell Battle - Still a bargain at 12k, an automatic spellcraft to identify all spellcasting within 60' AND a once a day retargeting of a spell, you seriously shouldn't be without this at high level. In fact, get one for everybody. Two or three, actually, since there's no attunement time like many 1/day items.

Scarab of Stabilization - At 20k to automatically stabilize, this is a decidedly lackluster item. Its REAL power is that it's a oneshot 1-UP, stopping your HP at -9 and stabilizing you one time that you'd normally die. At high levels, if you're not using your throat slot for something else, don't be caught without one.

Steadfast Boots - For only 1400 GP, having your two handed weapon automatically and constantly readied and set against charge vs someone charging you is a steal. This applies -even if the weapon can't normally be set vs charge.- The +4 on checks to avoid bull rush, overrun, and trip is just gravy.

Tabard of the Disembodied Voice - Have you ever wanted a priest or mage of Nerull to utterly own a party? This is how. For a 7th level divine slot or the True Believer feat, weighing in at only 6,000 GP, this tabard lets you hop onto the Ethereal plane for 10 rounds... but your spells still affect the material plane normally. HELLOOOOOOOOOOO NURSE!

Tabard of the Great Crusade - Another amazing relic, I think they're on to something here. 5500 GP for +1 morale bonus on all saves for all Lawful types within 20', a relic bond (level 8 spell or true believer) gives you DR 5/evil and lets an ally grasp the hem once per day to get a 20th level Heal spell as a Move(Manipulation) action.

Torc of Power Preservation - Even MORE amazing now that it only costs 4000 GP!

Vest of the Archmagi - Even at its market price of 200,000 GP, this vest is beyond a steal, so much so that they tell you it's mythical and since it's mythical, it can't be made. Of course, they provide market price and creation prereqs and cost anyway, so. 200,000 GP for +8 Armor bonus to AC, +5 Resistance to saves, +2 enhancement to spell penetration, swift action Pearl of Power recalling up to 3 spells of level 9 or lower, and swift action unlimited use ability to sacrifice a spell of any level to heal yourself of damage equal to 5x Spell Level in HP. A -bargain- at 200,000 GP.

Chapter 4: Tools "Fiendish acid-spitting zombie dragons? No problem, I have just the thing for that." -- Lidda.

Blast Disk - At only 900 GP for what amounts to a 5d6 time bomb/demolition charge/portable trap, grab a bunch of these and use them as warning on your backtrail, or just to blow up obstacles like recalcitrant doors.

Blessed Bandage - At 10 GP a pop, all low level characters should carry at least one for emergencies, because screwing up that DC 15 Heal check is a real pain.

Censer of the Last Breath - At 2500 GP and burning 10 GP of incense a pop, a relic that lets a generally NE person have a 20' Obscuring Mist that you can see through is boss. With relic connection powers going from level 9 (250 GP a pop) up to level 15 (2,000 GP a pop) for Solid Fog, Cloudkill, Acid Fog, and Incendiary Cloud, all surrounding you, and all of which don't affect you, this is so far beyond a steal that it's not possible to adequately describe its awesomeness.

Dove's Harp - Um, I think they forgot to list the uses per day limit on this one. I smell errata coming, because an unlimited use Fast Healing 3 for all allies within 60', triggered by you playing it while using bardic music, is probably busted. I think they -intended- it to be "spend a use of bardic music", but that's definitely not what it says, and if nothing else, Inspire Courage has no maximum duration. The absolute worst you can do with this thing is full-healing the entire party for 1 use of bardsong.

Enveloping Pit - An evil-only 10' diameter, 50' deep Portable Hole? For only 3400 GP? AND if you've got a l5 divine slot or true believer, you can use it as a DC 22 reflex pit trap from up to 60' away? Sounds great to me. Especially for anybody who's got the UMD to emulate evil alignment.

Glyph Seal (and Greater version thereof) - At 1000 and 4000 GP, turning spells of level up to 2 (or 5) into portable traps as per Glyph of Warding is definitely no slouch of an item, sir.

Infinite Scrollcase - Well, it's not as infinite as the name implies, but for 2800 GP, holding 50 scrolls and allowing retrieval as part of a move action, AND a +4 bonus to cast the scroll defensively, this is a decent item for any mage making use of scrolls. And since there's a certain feat and item in Complete Mage that makes scrolls MUCH more appealing, this one's a winner.

Jumping Caltrops - Reduced in cost to 250 GP at the cost of only working for 5 rounds per day, it doesn't matter, these cute little things are still worth it, especially since they'll move 5' per round to seek out the nearest enemy, if there's not one in their square currently.

Magic Bedroll - If you're on a healing budget, a magic bedroll lets you sleep in extreme temperatures and heals you an extra HP = Level per night of sleep, all for only 500 GP. Pack it right alongside your Heward's Fortifying Bedroll, people.

Rod of Viscid Globs - At 2000 GP for three uses of Tanglefoot Bags per day, with a range of 100' and no range penalty, it's definitely a good investment.

Sphere of Awakening - Tired of getting owned by exhaustion effects? For only 1800 GP, you can get a one use per day, swift action activated burst that wakes up your entire party, dispels existing fatigue and exhausion, and makes you immune to sleep, fatigue, and exhausion for ten minutes. Exhaustion is NOT something you want to have to deal with in extremis. Keep one on hand.

Talisman of the Disk - Only 500 GP for a continuous use Tenser's FLoating Disk (3 hours at a time, max)? AND if you have a strength boost item, the disk can hold an extra 100 pounds per point of strength bonus? Get two.

Chapter 5: Magic Item Sets

Straight out of history (and your favorite MMORPGs), item sets are exactly what they sound like.

Armor of the Watching Master - As an armor set, this is somewhat lacking. The gauntlets are strength bonused, allowing them to be further enchanted without a problem, but the extra abilities are somewhat lackluster. Going with just the gauntlets and helm will get you two good to decent magic items and a +2 nameless Initiative bonus, which is as far as I'd willingly go with it.

Array of the Manticore - The gloves are no slouch, creating an endless stream of free action +1 javelins for you to throw. The helm, as well, is no slouch, giving +5 spot, Far Shot, and once per day low light and darkvision for 4 hours. With just those two pieces, you can get constant featherfall, as well, which isn't horrible. The bracers are imminently forgettable, giving +1 attack when either you or your target is aerial. The amulet, similarly, is practically worthless, because DR 10/magic is overcome by the vast majority of enemies, AND it only applies to ranged attacks AND while at least one of you is in the air. The vest isn't horrible, giving you five 5round spurts of 60' good flight. Overall, unless you luck into a full set, I wouldn't bother with the full five items. A swift action summoned and slightly buffed manticore is no slouch, but it's not worth the opportunity cost, unless you're enhancing the other abilities.

Five Virtues - The full set is only usable by knights effectively. The collection benefits are practically worthless, but the items are at least relatively cheap for what they do. The Crystal of Alacrity is a godsend for people wearing medium or heavy armor, increasing your speed by 5', and is useful on its own. The amulet isn't worth its slot unless you have a paranoid fear of chain tripper builds, but the Shield of Vigor lets you use your Knight's Challenge uses for something worthwhile, namely, 15 points of healing a pop. The standard, sadly, is lame, and very not worth the shoulders slot. Grab the augment crystal, leave the rest.

Fleet Warrior's Array - Bracers of Blinding Strike give a competence bonus to init. That alone makes them worth the 5k. Sandals of the Light Step give +10' movement, ignore difficult terrain, and pass without trace, AND have 60 minutes of water walking per day, shareable with others. For 9k. Also worth it. Vest of Free Movement has 3 uses of 3 rounds per day swift action Freedom of Movement. Somewhat lackluster, and the 1/day dimdoor probably isn't worth it, since it's a standard action. Wear the first two for themselves, and as a bonus, you get +2 Dodge bonus to AC vs AoOs.

Garb of the Hunting Cat - Mask of the Tiger is well worth the free feat and low light vision. Claw Gloves, if you don't mind using suboptimal punching daggers, are pretty good, and give you a chibi-rend ability. Mantle of the Predator is +5 to both stealth skills, and +1d6 sneak damage. All of these are imminently affordable, and since the gloves count as punching daggers, they count for Daggerspell Mage, in theory. More importantly, the set bonuses are actually worth it, with 2 pieces giving you a halfway decent Rend ability and the full set giving you a once per day invisibility, stacked on top of items that are at the very least, decent. If you're a daggerspell mage, get the full set. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

Gharyn's Monastic Array - Cobra Straps let you make a 5' step after a charge once a day, which isn't horrible, especially not for the price. Panther Mask gives you Run and +5' speed, for a reasonable price. Scorpion Kama uses your unarmed strike damage if it's better than the kama damage. That's just plain good, right there, since it can be enhanced. More importantly, two pieces give a monk +1 to stunning fist DC, and all three let you retroactively declare a crit to be a stunning attack. Two decent to good abilities on top of three decent to good items make a decent to good set, for monks.

Instruments of the Blood Gift - Bands of Blood Rage let your whole party enter a rage that doesn't restrict action and grants +5 bonus on melee weapon damage, at the cost of taking 5 points of damage per round. Get these. use them. Frequently. At three uses a day for 2600 GP, they are a BARGAIN. If you just happen to have a Dragonblood spellcaster, they also get the damage bonus on their arcane spells. Even better. Barbs of Retribution are a once per day force someone to reroll a save, and if you're a dragonblood, you can spend HP to give them a nice penalty to the roll. Good stuff. Blood Claw Choker takes 1 max HP from you while worn, but gives you +2 Con, and lets you regain up to 2 spell slots per day (level 5 or lower) for cost of HP equal to twice the spell's level. While the 2-up set bonus is aggressively meh, stabilizing you automatically if you go negative, the three piece set lets you burn up to 3 spell slots a day as a swift action to heal twice the slot's level in damage. If you're a sorc, get these. If you're a dragonblood sorc, make them yourself if you have to.

Raiment of the Four - Belt of the Wide Earth lets you spontcast Teleport twice a day, and doubles your carrying capacity. For 8k, that's pretty hot. Gloves of the Starry Sky emit constant light, and let you spontcast Magic Missile three times a day. For 1100 GP, that's not horrible. Goggles of the Golden Sun make you immune to blind and dazzle, and you can spontcast Fireball three times a day, but instead of a fireball, it looks like a striking comet. That's just cool. These goggles do something. Periapt of the Sullen Sea lets you hold your breath for TWELVE HOURS, and spontcast Freedom of Movement twice a day. All of these are good effects on their own, for the price, but when you combine them, you get resistance to Cold, Electricity, and Fire 5 that STACKS WITH OTHER SOURCES (in order, cold, then elec, then fire, for 2, 3, and 4 pieces), and when you have all 4, you can sacrifice the resistance bonuses until the next sunrise to get a Commune. THIS is what an item set should be like. Excellent items that only get better in combination.

Raiment of the Stormwalker - Bracers of Lightning let you use your swift action each round to make your weapons Shock, even natural ones, and druids can use the whole set in wild shape. Cloudwalker Anklets are expensive as hell, but give you constant Air Walk. Robe of Thunder is drastically undercosted, giving you half damage vs all sonic attacks, and you always save for none, AND gives you three times per day 2d6 sonic damage shield. Stormfire Ring throws 5 times a day a 5 round faerie fire, already a decent spell, that also does 1d6 electricity damage per round. All except the ring are damn good, and the ring is, at worst, meh, but when combined, you get three uses of obscuring mist per day, call lightning once per day, and for all four pieces, you get half damage from electricity, and you always save for none. Get the whole set, peeps, especially if you're a druid.

Regalia of the Hero - Badge of Valor is really only worthwhile for its 3/day ability to increase your inspire courage by +1. Helm of Tactics is good for both uses, 3/day you either give all your buddies +2 damage vs flanked enemies, or you increase a Marshal's minor aura by +1. Horn of Resilience is the good stuff, though, giving a 2/day DR 5/- for all your buds, or increases a marshal's major aura by 1, or, if you happen to have Inspire Greatness, you can give 50 temporary HP to the target of that ability. If you insist on playing a bard or a marshal, these are worthwhile, and the collection bennies aren't bad, giving you a once a day immediate +5 for one of your buddies on any d20 roll, and a 1/day standard action to give a buddy an immediate move action.

Regalia of the Phoenix - Raptor's Mask is no slouch, giving +5 on spot, immunity to blindness and dazzles. Not that anybody fears dazzle, mind, but. Crown of Flames is +2 charisma, and as such, easily enhanceable, and lets you Fire Shield once a day. Talon Scepter is a +1 flaming light mace that also gives you an unlimited use 30' range 1d6 fire ray. Phoenix Cloak is the big daddy, giving you a fly speed equal to your land speed, with perfect maneuverability. Do not pass this item up. EVER. At only 50,000 GP, it is, as they say, a "steal." If you've got two pieces, you have Resistance 5 vs the first 5 fire attacks per day. Three pieces, you're immune to the first 5 fire attacks, and resistant to the next 5. With all FOUR, if you manage to hit that buffer between -1 and -9 HP, you get hit with a 110 point Heal. Monks, get this at all costs. If you have a chance to get this set, get it. You will NOT regret it.

Seven Veils - Each individual veil makes you immune to the prismatic color that matches it, and gives you a once, twice, or three times per day effect based on the Priswall effect of the same color. At three veils, you get +2 to concentration, K:arcana, and Spellcraft. At 5, you get acid, fire, and elec resist 5, and at 7, you can, once each per day, convert arcane spell slots of the proper level into the seven spells needed to bust through a prismatic wall/sphere. If you're an Initiate of the Sevenfold Veil, you have to get these as a matter of honor. As a general collection, they're certainly not bad, and are reasonably costed, but BOY do they take up a lot of slots. Head, waist, torso, face, shoulders, neck, and eyes. Be prepared to spend lots of time and XP enhancing them, if you want to keep using them.

Vestments of Divinity - Ephod of Authority is a minor undead turning boost. Anything that gets you closer to that "Destroy" or "Control" threshold, I'm in favor of, and it's only 800 GP. Lenses of Revelation let you tell if people are evil outsiders or undead, which isn't very useful, but. Cord of Favor gives you +5 sense motive and lets you spont convert to Divine Favor three timse a day, which isn't bad, either. Badge of Glory is a two per day smite evil that only does bonus damage equal to half your level, which isn't really worth a throat slot. Phylactery of Virtue is a 2/day spont convert to Death Ward, and a crappy bonus on saves vs negative energy effects. Having to prep death ward isn't happy, so this one's not bad. Sadly, the collection benefits are just +1 on saves vs evil creature stuff, and +1d6 melee damage to evil creatures, neither of which is really worth the cost.

Wraith's Woe - Choker of Life Protection nosells three negative levels per day, and gives +2 AC vs undead. Not bad, for an undead hunter. Gauntlets of Ghost Fighting add ghost touch and +1d6 damage vs incorporeal to your weapon, letting you use your augment crystal slot for naother purpose. Again, not bad for a hunter. Shirt of Wraith Stalking gives you at-will Hide From Undead, as the spell, but with no save. This is stellar, especially for undead stalkers. As an extra bonus, you get detect undead at will, and 1/day standard action to restore all ability damage you've taken, AND all ability drain on one score. For the serious undead hunter, these are a must have.

Chapter Six - Using Magic Items

All the special rules are here for Augment Crystals, Runestaffs, Relics, Synergy Properties (including suggested variants for synergy on the DMG standard properties), and item sets. Item levels are also explained here, but levels don't overlap at all, so using the variant random generation here, it's not possible to end up with someone randomly having a level 20 item at level 10. Unfortunately, it's also not possible for an item of greater than 100,000 GP value to appear pre-epic. This system explicitly states that you should only use it when you need to equip people in a hurry, not when planning a long term campaign progression, because not getting a +10 weapon until level 25 is really not very hot.

As a method for generating NPC item allotments quickly, though, it's stellar. Also included is a means of quickly equipping PCs, constructed so well that PCs will usually come out within a couple percentage points of the recommended value in the DMG, while having equipped their characters MUCH faster overall. Generally, I like it. Under this system, a PC has two items of each level, starting from his level and going all the way down to 1. You can combine upward, and a table is presented, such that going UP usually loses you a bit of overall value, and going DOWN gains you a bit overall value, but it still stays relatively consistent. It also has a simple way to reflect an item having been with a character for many levels, being upgraded over that time. I like it, and will, in the future, be adopting it for all my campaigns.

Then follows a section on how to make magic item placements (as treasure) that don't suck, and that your PCs will actually keep. Most of this is common sense. It also provides (well, points to an appendix) that has magic item treasure tables that produce more consistent, faster treasures than the fairly retarded tables in the DMG.

Next up is probably the most important DM reference section in like, the last dozen books printed, one that absolutely causes more flame wars than any topic except maybe the Stormwind Fallacy. That's right, buying and selling of magic items. It finally settles, once and for all, in the direct, explicit words of the makers of the game, whether PCs should be able, as a general rule, to purchase magic items in an average campaign. And the answer is, "subject to occasional reasonable restrictions, yes." As a general rule, a well-funded PC should always be able purchase a magic item. There's also a new table included for PC purchase (and sale) limits, and a few paragraphs establish the fact that in an average campaign, there's not going to be a magic emporium. In a high magic campaign like FR, on the other hand, it's already eastablished that not only are there magic item emporiums, there are two of them that have large numbers of franchise shops.

The next section gives us more definitive rules for upgrading items, clarifying once and for all the x1.5 vs x.5 debate (it's x1.5 in almost all cases). It also provides a massive table of something that people have been begging for for ages, and that greatly simplifies life for adventurers. The ability to add, at no real "extra" cost, common effects to slotted items. That is to say, if you have a pair of gloves you want to use, you won't have to give up the ability to use gloves of dexterity, you can pay a reduced cost to add the dexterity bonus to the item. The only applies for very common effects, the ones that basically all PCs have/want. AC bonuses, stat boosts, save bonuses, energy resistance, things of that nature. All now statted out explicitly.

Appendix 1: Magic Items by Price
Every single item, in this book AND in the DMG, arranged by slot and then by price within that slot. Absolutely invaluable, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Appendix 2: Random Treasure
They're right, since this table is based on the much more concrete concept of item level, it's WAY less likely to randomly screw over your campaign with Lobstergelion. I approve wholeheartedly.


In conclusion: Goddamn, this has been a long read, and worth every single penny I spent on it. Mike Mearls pulls through again.