
In the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, magical items can be very appealing to players. They can help overcome challenges, offer creative solutions, or boost a character’s abilities. But, if not used carefully, they can also quickly ruin a carefully planned and challenging campaign.
Sometimes players need a desperate solution, a lucky break, or just want to stir up trouble. No matter why they use magical items, it can often have serious consequences. A few items are especially known for causing problems, and we’d like to thank DM Oskar for sharing his experiences with the mayhem they can create.
The Deck of Many More Things
Pick A Card, Any Card
The Deck of Many Things first appeared in 1975 with the original Greyhawk materials and has been included in every edition of the Dungeon Master’s Guide ever since. It’s become a well-known item within the D&D community, but it’s also feared by many DMs and experienced players. This is because using the deck can quickly and unexpectedly bring a campaign to an end. There are three primary ways the Deck of Many Things can lead to a character’s demise.
Some cards can have devastating effects – trapping a player’s soul, instantly killing them, or forcing a one-on-one battle with Death itself. The expanded Deck of Many More Things is even more unpredictable, offering both terrible dangers and tempting rewards that might just make risking it worthwhile. This deck is so chaotic that it can completely derail the plans of both Dungeon Masters and players.
Often, when a group finds The Deck of Many More Things, whoever discovers it ends up drawing the cards. However, it’s much smarter to have the person with the best Arcana skills do it. That way, someone like a Sorcerer or Wizard – who understands magical risks and effects – can handle the deck instead.
The Bag of Holding
Get In The Bag
The Bag of Holding is arguably the most well-known magical item in Dungeons & Dragons. First appearing in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement, it’s become popular in tabletop role-playing games thanks to its simple yet clever ability and distinctive design. While often overlooked, magic that manipulates space – or compresses it – can be surprisingly dangerous. Combining two such effects can be disastrous. Specifically, using another space-compressing magic on a Bag of Holding can create strange and unpredictable results, with many Dungeon Masters enjoying the possibility of a black hole forming.
Even if a player survives the dangerous effects of overloading a Bag of Holding, they’re still at risk. While carrying a Bag, they might attract the attention of the Bagman – a figure some in Faerûn dismiss as just a story, but who is actually a serious threat. The Bagman can move between any Bag of Holding, appearing in whichever one he chooses. Rumor has it he pulls unfortunate adventurers into the Bags, taking them to mysterious and unknown locations.
As a longtime D&D player, I’ve noticed something about who gets the Bag of Holding. It usually depends on what we’re storing in it! If it’s mostly weapons and gear for the fighters, we’ll give it to whoever’s on the front lines. But if it’s full of delicate potions, scrolls, or important quest items, we always make sure a spellcaster – like a Cleric, Druid, or Wizard – carries it. They’re just more careful, you know?
A Bag of Beans
Reap What You Sow
If you’re familiar with the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, you might be wary of this magical item – and for good reason. However, unlike those beans, this item doesn’t just lead to a giant’s castle. It could transport travelers to dangerous places like ancient tombs, face-to-face with a furious Bulette, or even to a nest of eggs that can boost your abilities. These are just a few of the surprising destinations this seemingly ordinary item can unlock.
Planting a single bean can result in twelve different things happening. Four of those outcomes involve immediate danger, and another four could produce poisonous or explosive food. Some results also depend on luck, determining whether creatures appear friendly or hostile. Because of all this unpredictability, it often doesn’t matter much who carries the beans after they’re first found. However, giving the bag to a ranger or rogue skilled in stealth or Sleight of Hand is probably the safest bet – they could use the beans to disrupt enemy camps or create a distraction.
Name That Game
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Results
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This magical bag has been a source of unpredictable fun – and sometimes trouble – in role-playing games since 1991. It was first officially described in a rulebook in 2014, and updated in 2024 with a more streamlined list of effects. Thankfully, the current version only has twelve possible outcomes, a much more manageable number compared to the original concept of 101 surprises!
The Eye of Vecna
A Terrible Bargain
If you’ve seen Stranger Things, you know you never want to mess with Vecna! And trust me, you definitely don’t want to get close to him. The Eye of Vecna isn’t some made-up thing – it’s literally his actual eye and hand. Centuries ago, someone betrayed Vecna, and his eye and hand were cut off. Now, people foolishly search for them hoping to gain power. But getting the Eye is brutal – you have to sacrifice your own eye to make room for it. Once it’s in, it becomes part of you, like it always belonged there. It looks kind of like a cat’s eye, with a golden slit. Here’s the really scary part: if you ever try to remove it, you die instantly.
The Eye offers powerful gifts, like natural spellcasting and seeing through walls, but it comes with serious risks. Every time you cast a spell, there’s a 5% chance something terrible will happen – the Dungeon Master might even have Vecna steal your soul, and then control your body as a puppet!
The Eye and Hand of Vecna first appeared in the 1996 Dungeons & Dragons supplement, Eldritch Wizardry, and have been sought after by adventurers ever since. While anyone can use these unsettling artifacts, spellcasters—especially those less concerned with divine favor or already connected to undead magic like necromancers or certain warlocks—might find them particularly advantageous. These items offer a significant power boost, but come with a potentially steep price.
The Rod of the Vonindod
In Rod We Trust
The Rod of the Vonindod is a recently added item, first appearing in 2016 with the release of Stormking’s Thunder. It came with an expansion that introduced the Vonindod – a massive, ancient war machine also called the Titan of Death. While the Rod itself isn’t dangerous, using it will draw the attention of nearby fire giants, which poses a significant threat. These giants are constantly searching the world for pieces of the Vonindod, a powerful device originally built to destroy dragons.
These broken adamantine rods let the holder detect adamantine within a ten-mile radius, revealing its precise location. This makes it surprisingly easy for a clever fire giant to secretly follow someone from far away and then attack while they’re resting.
Fire Giants are always looking for these rods, as they’re key to finding The Vonindod, and will fiercely fight each other to get one. While anyone can use the rod, it attracts unwanted attention, so it’s best given to a durable character like a tank who can withstand attacks from the giants.
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2026-02-13 04:05