Items That Play With Taxonomies

21 Mar, 2025

There are two kinds of people, perhaps: those who enjoy taxonomies and those who don't. As a member of the first category, I like that 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons divides many of its concepts into taxa like creature types, spell schools, item types, and so on. However, despite the care the edition takes to make sure everything has a home in a relevant taxonomy, it does not always put these taxa to much use. Oh, sure, there are spells that do, not to mention some items and class and subclass features, but there aren't as many as I'd prefer. It feels to me like a lost opportunity. Of course I understand why this might the case; people complain because the first level of ranger requires so much cooperation on the part of the GM to make it any fun, and similarly any abilities that hinge on creature type or spell school will only be relevant at the GM's discretion. Still, I want to find more use for these taxonomies, so I have started homebrewing.

The Forging of the Sampo, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1893, cropped.

When it comes to abilities the PCs can use, the easiest homebrew to introduce is an object, so I have been working on magic items that interact with creature type and spell school. In future I might start doing the same for item type and terrain. As a design principle, I have tried to ensure that some of these items have uses that don't depend on creature type or spell type, especially if they require attunement. I'm less worried about one-trick or situation-dependent items if they are common or if they don't carry an attunement opportunity cost. (I'm also less worried about it if I imagine these items will primarily be found in enemy hands; if a hatchet is more useful to a demon cult than it is to an adventuring party, I don't have to worry quite as much about breaking the game.) Part of this approach involved scouring the sourcebooks in order to find commonalities among spells of a certain school or creatures of a certain type, so that I can tailor these items' effects more closely to the actual situations likely to appear in play. For example, the experimenter's lash exploits the fact that monstrosities are more likely to have a trait like Multiple Heads than other creatures are – but if the party encounters an ettin, they should still find the lash useful. Another rule I gave myself is that the items had to make sense both in a Planegea campaign and in a hypothetical high fantasy campaign. Finally (and relatedly), I also imagined that by the time they get the items, the player characters might have creature types other than humanoid, though I realize that won't be the case at most tables and the fact it's a possibility at mine is a story for another day.

Here are drafts of a few of the items I homebrewed; please feel free to use them. They are written for 5th edition, but I imagine some of them could be adapted easily enough to a system like Pathfinder 2e.

Anointed Brooch
Wondrous item, common
This brooch has 3 charges. When a fiend hits you with an attack while you are wearing this brooch, you immediately learn the fiend's creature type and you can spend 2 charges to gain resistance to all damage from fiends until the end of this turn. If the fiend is a devil, you know that it's a devil and gaining resistance only costs 1 charge. The brooch regains 2 charges each sunrise.
All deities produce gifts and relics in their own distinct ways, but these small discs are made of volcanic glass, deposited for the worshippers of a god of geysers and earthquakes.

Changer's Stick
Staff, common (requires attunement by a spellcaster)
When you use this staff as a spellcasting focus to cast a transmutation spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose to gain the effects of the spell as though you had cast it with a spell slot one level higher. You cannot use this property again until you finish a long rest.
Orc druids and warmages fashion these blackthorn staves, cured ritually in soot, to empower a greater number of their allies in battle.

Edge of Winter
Weapon (handaxe), uncommon (requires attunement)
The handaxe vibrates faintly if a fiend is within 30 feet of it, and if you are holding it you can tell from the pitch and timbre of the vibration what subtypes, if any, the fiends within that range have.
Once per turn if you make an attack with this weapon and it hits, you can grant any fiend within 10 feet of you temporary hit points equal to the damage taken by the target (maximum 4). If you are a fiend, you can grant the temporary hit points to yourself or to any non-celestial creature within 10 feet of you.
There are places and seasons in which demons must work secretly, making it hard for their servants to tell friend from foe; these crude shale-bladed hatchets sometimes prove helpful in a cult's hungry skirmishes.

Experimenter's Lash
Weapon (whip), rare (requires attunement)
Monstrosities are vulnerable to damage from this weapon.
Any creature hit by this weapon must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it is distracted until the end of its next turn, and while it is distracted in this way other creatures may attempt to Hide without leaving its line of sight. If the creature is a monstrosity it is also stunned while it is distracted. If the creature is a chimera, or it has the "Multiple Heads," "Two Heads," or "Two-Headed" trait, or it has any other traits indicating that it has two or more heads with distinct consciousnesses, then it has disadvantage when making this saving throw and on a failure it gains disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws for 1 minute.
The experimenter's lash is treated with a topical elixir that causes a overwhelming muddle of sensations—burning, coldness, itching, numbness—in any who touch it, though hybrid beings find it especially disorienting. Recusant wizards designed the whip so their servants could better control the terrible monsters kept in their labs, but it has also proven popular among wealthy collectors and hunters.

Hunter's Hide
Armor (hide), common
While you are wearing this armor, beasts have disadvantage on attack rolls made against you.
The patterns of stitchwork that produce this hunting armour's abjurations are unique to particular families, who pass their own variants down through the generations.

Marvellous Monstrous Figurines
Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement)
A wooden box with a sliding lid contains several small ceramic figurines of monstrosities, including a death dog, a harpy, an owlbear, and two sphinxes (male and female). When someone attunes to the item, fey spirits animate the figurines, causing them to act like the creatures they are fashioned after, and more animated figurines of monstrosities come out of the box than it could reasonably hold. If you spend 48 hours over a period of 6 days or fewer studying the behaviour of the figurines, you can add your proficiency bonus to knowledge checks made to identify, track, or recall information about monstrosities, even if you are not usually proficient in the relevant skill. If any of the figurines are damaged or destroyed, they will reappear mended the following dawn.¹
The current owner of this collection found it among the effects of a recently-deceased witch known for an interest in strange, unusual creatures. As far as anyone can tell, the witch made and enchanted the figurines herself.

Patient Beguiler
Wand, uncommon (requires attunement by a spellcaster)
You can use this wand as a spellcasting focus. Whenever you cast an enchantment spell with this wand, you can expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher to double the spell's duration, including durations described in the spell's description, like the length of a memory you can modify.
If you properly entwine a willow branch plucked from a dream with an alder branch cut from a nightmare, you can make a wand that scorns time a while.

Ring of the Smallfolk
Ring, uncommon
While wearing this ring, you can understand spoken Giant. This feature does not allow you to speak, read, or write Giant.
(Requires attunement by a creature size Medium or smaller) Giants have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to notice you, and you take 2 less damage from all attacks made by giants, to a minimum of 1.
This style of ring was invented for smallfolk who scavenged in the walls of giant strongholds, evading notice; it does not convey invisibility, but its enchantment can make a giant's attention repeatedly slide off its wearer.

Sandals of the Conjurer's Wife
Wondrous item, uncommon
While you are wearing these sandals, you have advantage on Dexterity saving throws against conjuration spells and their effects.
Many wizards find that their associates complain of bruises, scorches, grease stains, and acid burns from stray spells. These sandals are a canny summoner's answer.

#DnD #for GMs #high fantasy #magic items