We take a look at the magic items you'll want to get your hands on as a ranged class in D&D.
The worlds of Dungeons & Dragons abound with magic items. Consequently, it's easy to suffer from some amount of decision paralysis either when deciding what kinds of magic items to put in the game as a DM (dungeon master), or which magic items to purchase as a player.
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Thankfully, there are obsessive enthusiasts of the game, like us, to prod you in the right direction. The best magic items either supplement something a character is already good at or solve a problem a character has. For ranged characters, the main problem is staying out of melee with their opponents. With that being established, let's take a closer look at some magic items which are perfect for doing just that.
Starting with magic items suitable for lower levels of play, the slippers of spider climbing is an incredible magic item that rewards players for thinking in three dimensions. The slippers give any character who attunes to them a climbing speed equal to their walking speed as well as the ability to walk on vertical and upside-down surfaces with their hands free.
Don't underestimate these slippers just because they are tagged with uncommon rarity. They really do change the landscape of the battlefield when given to a ranged character, so DMs need to make sure to include ranged combatants or spellcasters in combats meant to challenge the players. Otherwise, your resident spider climber will literally walk all over you.
While the slippers of spider climbing help you stay out of combat, what about those situations when the enemy is already upon you? Enter the rope of entanglement. As an action, this trusty rope will force one enemy you can see within 20 feet to make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or become restrained.
Once restrained, the creature must then use an action and succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity or Strength saving throw to escape. Alternatively, they can destroy the rope, but that's quite a bit more difficult due to the rope having an AC of 20 and 20 hit points. The rope of entanglement is a great emergency button for a ranged character who has been run up on, and it's tons of fun to use too!
The figurines of wondrous power come in many forms and have already been popularized by an important character from D&D lore: Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of many of R.A. Salvatore's novels. These figurines provide a suitable pet for ranged characters across all levels of play, making them a great way to cater to the storytelling desires of any player who wants a pet.
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A character might begin their adventures with a figurine of a silver raven, onyx dog, or serpentine owl, potentially receive a figurine of golden lions, marble elephant, or ivory goats in the middle of their adventures, and then, near the end of the game, finish their story off with the help of the figurine of a bronze griffon or obsidian steed. These figurines can provide magic item progression throughout an entire campaign for a single ranged character, and that's no small feat.
We will now shift gears, and begin looking at items serviceable for second-tier play (levels 5-10). The cloak of the bat serves best for characters that are brooding and like to keep to the dark, namely, because most of its useful abilities can only be activated while in an area of dim light or darkness. For starters, the cloak provides advantage on all Stealth checks.
Additionally, while in an area of dim light or darkness, a character can grab hold of the cloak and use it to fly at a speed of 40 feet. However, losing your grip or exiting an area of darkness immediately disables this flying speed. Lastly, you can once per day cast polymorph on yourself to turn into a bat while retaining your mental ability scores. Altogether, the cloak of the bat is a super flavorful magic item that any batman adjacent character types are sure to fall in love with.
Following in the path of the rope of entanglement, the ring of the ram is the next step up in protecting yourself from melee assailants. The ring comes with three charges. These charges can be expended all at once for a devastating effect or in increments if you're looking for additional uses. As an action, the ring's wielder can expend charges to make a ranged spell attack with a +7 to hit on a creature they can see within 60 feet. If the ring hits, the creature is pushed five feet away from you for each charge expended and takes 2d10 force damage for each charge spent as well.
That's not all though. In addition, the ring can also be used to try and break any object within 60 feet of you that isn't being worn or carried. For each charge expended, the ring gains a +5 bonus to the Strength check it makes to break the object. Bye-bye wooden bridge, iron portcullis, or any other obstructing object!
Before the printing of Fizban's Treasury of Dragons, there was sadly only a single official magical bow in the game. Thankfully, now there's the dragon wing bow as well! The dragon wing bow is, unsurprisingly, made in part from a dragon's wing. The wing bestows magic on the bow befitting of the breath weapon used by the dragon that helped to create it.
This magic takes shape in the form of an added 1d6 damage of the dragon's breath weapon type - fire, cold, lightning, etc. - each time you land an attack with the bow. The bow also magically forms its own ammunition, which adds a nice little bit of flavor to inspire players' imaginations.
The animated shield is the first item we'll look at that's appropriate for characters in the third tier of play (levels 11-16). You might be thinking that a shield seems pretty useless for a character who has got their hands full making ranged attacks, but that's where the animated part comes into play.
As a bonus action, a character attuned to the shield can speak its command word, causing it to magically float around and protect them, increasing their AC by two.
As the original sole magical bow in the game, you would hope that the oathbow packs a wallop. The good news is that it does. The bad news is that the walloping is only for one enemy once a day. As a free action when you make a ranged attack, you can whisper to the bow "Swift death to you who have wronged me". When you do, the target becomes your sworn enemy until it dies or until dawn seven days later.
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Attacks against your sworn enemy are made with advantage and deal an additional 3d6 piercing on a hit. The target also gains no benefit from partial cover and you don't suffer disadvantage from attacks made against them at long range. Ouch. Beyond that, the bow also whispers to you in elvish "Swift death to my enemies" whenever you knock an arrow.
The winged boots are, for some reason, ranked as an uncommon item, but their true power is on par with very rare magic items.
Quite simply, the boots give you a flying speed equal to your walking speed. To keep things short, there's a reason why fly is a third-level spell. Enough said.
What could be better for a ranged attacker than a flying speed? An item that allows you to restrain enemies, cover them in difficult terrain, and walk through the terrain as if it were nothing, that's what.
The cloak of arachidna does all this and more, as it gives you the ability to cast the web spell in a 40-foot cube, makes your movement ignore difficult terrain from webbing of any sort, does everything the slippers of spider climbing can do, and provides you with resistance to poison damage to boot. Just remember, with great power comes great responsibility.
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Chris Stomberg is an avid gamer of all kinds. Board games, card games, tabletop games, video games: if its a game, it will pique his interest. Chris has written anchor stories for news broadcasts, modules for his D&D group, and is currently working on his first novel. His hobbies outside of gaming include yoga, reading, bar hopping, and spending time with friends old and new.