D&D 5e Artifact Magic Items
The D&D 5e SRD includes 1 artifact magic items. Match the rarity to your party's tier when seeding a hoard. Tap any item for its full rules text.
1 result
What's at artifact rarity
1 item, made up of all wondrous item. 1 of them requires attunement — 100% of the tier, and that percentage is the number that matters when you are stocking a hoard. A character can only be attuned to three items at once, so handing out four attunement items at the same rarity gives the player a decision rather than four upgrades.
When to hand these out
Artifacts are plot devices that happen to have statistics. They are unique, usually indestructible by ordinary means, and almost always the centre of the story rather than equipment within it. If an artifact appears in your campaign, the campaign is now partly about the artifact — decide whether you want that before it turns up.
What they do to the game
Artifacts come with beneficial and detrimental properties, and the detrimental ones are what keep them playable. Use them. An artifact with only upsides makes the rest of the party's gear irrelevant; one that demands something in return creates the tension the item exists for. Decide in advance how it can be destroyed or given up, because players will ask.
Common questions
- How many artifact magic items are in the D&D 5e SRD?
- The SRD lists 1 artifact items. The SRD is the free subset of the rules, so the Dungeon Master's Guide contains more at this rarity.
- What level should a party be for artifact items?
- As a rough guide, uncommon items suit levels 1 to 5, rare 5 to 10, very rare 11 to 16, and legendary 17 and up. Common items are safe at any level, and artifacts are story objects rather than tier-appropriate rewards. These are guidelines rather than rules — what matters is whether the specific item invalidates the encounters you have planned.
- Do artifact items require attunement?
- Some do and some do not; each item's entry states it. Attunement is the real limit on magic items rather than rarity, because a character can only be attuned to three items at once, which forces a genuine choice once the party has a few.
From the shop
Illustrated Magic Item Cards
800+ magic items as illustrated, printable cards — hand a player their new item as a prop instead of a line on a list.
Browse Magic Item Cards on Etsy →