Whether you’re running a themed one-shot or carrying on with your regular campaign, there’s something extra special about playingDungeons & Dragonsaround Halloween. The monsters feel scarier, haunted castles feel extra haunted, and wearing costumes at the table feels a little less intimidating. The hobby and the holiday go hand in hand.
If you’re running D&D for you and your friends around Halloween, you might want to make it feel special, perhaps withan unexpected monster encounterora new magic itemto remember the session by. If you’re looking for Halloween-themed magic items to hand out to your players, then look no further. We’ve got you covered with the suggestions below.
9Bag Of Tricks
But Also Treats
This magic item is one that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough, but it has utility at all levels of play with a little creativity. A Bag of Tricks contains multiple small fuzzy balls, and you’re able to reach inside to retrieve one as an Action. You roll a d8 to determine what colour ball you pulled it, and it transforms into an animal corresponding to that colour.
The animal is loyal to you and follows your commands. Some are better suited for different tasks, but this grab bag of chaos is a great item to hand your players. Consider making the bag require the command phrase “Trick or Treat” to use for that extra dose of holiday magic.
8Bag Of Holding
So Much Candy
The Bag of Holding is a D&D must-have, the magic item every player is on the lookout for until the party has one. It might not seem especially Halloween-themed, but just think about how much candy one could carry.
A Bag of Holding can carry up to 500 pounds and is destroyed if overloaded. Consider giving your players one, but give them a heads-up that it is already at capacity so they don’t break it. When they empty it out, bury them in 500 pounds worth of candy. Who owned this, where did they get all that candy, and why were they hoarding it? That’s for your players to figure out.
7Broom Of Flying
Don’t Forget To Cackle
Most groups of trick-or-treaters you spot will contain at least one kid dressed up as a witch, and what witch would be complete without their flying broomstick? This is an item your players will love whenever you give it to them, but Halloween feels especially appropriate.
It’s an incredible item. Boasting a flying speed of 50 feet, it can carry an impressive amount of weight and can also be sent to destinations within a mile and called back using a simple command word. This makes it great for making deliveries, provided no one steals it along the way.
6Cauldron Of Rebirth
Fire Burn And Cauldron Bubble
The bubbling cauldron is a staple of Halloween imagery, so it’s guaranteed to be a big hit when you present one to your players. The Cauldron of Rebirth has great utility, and because it can change size between Tiny and large enough for a Medium creature to fit inside, it isn’t even a hassle to lug around on adventures.
It can function as a spellcasting focus, works as a component for the Scrying spell, and once per long rest, it can produce a Potion of Greater Healing, which lasts 24 hours. Not only that, but once every seven days it can cast Raise Dead by placing the body inside and covering them with 200 pounds of salt.
5Demon Skin
We Are Venom
If you want to lean into the horror of Halloween before revealing a magic item, have your players attune to a sealed magic container to learn what magic it contains. Once they’ve attuned, the pot can open, and black ichor can leap out, spreading over them.
It will seem likea nasty trickat first, but the treat is that the black ichor is actually Demon Skin, living armour not unlike the classic Marvel symbiote. It provides an AC boost, resistance to Poison damage, and can be hidden under your clothing.
4Ghost Lantern
Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghost
The Ghost Lantern is a magical lantern able to shed bright light out to 30 feet and dim light for a further 30, but that’s the least of what it can do. With a restless spirit trapped inside of it, you become a ghost master without ever needing to learn Necromancy.
The ghost can emerge to duplicate the Mage Hand spell, which isn’t bad. Far more importantly, if you drop unconscious within 10 feet of the lantern, the spirit will emerge and stabilize you before returning to the lantern.
3Pipe Of Smoke Monsters
Bring Your Stories To Life
Not every magic item you give your players has to be powerful—or even have an obvious function in most situations in your game. Sometimes, you want to give them something just because it’s cool, and the Pipe of Smoke Monsters fits that bill.
It’s a smoking pipe that lets you shape the smoke into the form of a creature, any creature, but the smoke recreation must be small enough to fit inside a one-foot cube and dissipates after a few seconds. This is the perfect item for telling scary stories around a campfire, creating the creatures your character describes.
2Potions, Potions, Potions
Don’t Forget About Potions
Potions are likely to be the magic item you give your players the most, but they also feel intrinsically Halloween-themed. With an extra flair of presentation, you can make even this often-found item feel special again.
Perhaps they’re handed out by a hag or held in the clutches of an undead skeleton who never had a chance to drink it in life. If you want to go the extra mile, make the potion taste like pumpkin spice, just to drive home the feeling of the season.
1Sovereign Glue
The Perfect Prank
Halloween is as much about tricks and pranks as it is about treats and costumes, so it can be fun to equip your players to be more potent pranksters. Sovereign Glue is a magical adhesive that can form a permanent bond between any two objects.
The bond can only be broken with the hard-to-find items Universal Solvent or Oil of Etherealness, or a Wish spell. Be prepared to hand this out at Halloween and then regret it two years later when your players use it for something ridiculous like gluing sunglasses to the villain’s face. You’ll also be so, so proud of them for it.
