Last Updated on January 22, 2023
What Are Bracers of Archery in DnD 5e?
The Bracers of Archery is a magical item that makes the wearer particularly apt at archery in DnD 5e. Specifically, this item improves the wearer’s ability to use shortbows and longbows.
Bracers of Archery
Wondrous Item, uncommon (requires attunement)
While wearing these bracers, you have proficiency with the longbow and shortbow, and you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls on ranged attacks made with such weapons.
Much like any item that gives characters some sort of bonus, the Bracers of Archery require attunement. An attuned item is an item that the character becomes connected to, allowing only them to benefit from the magical properties of the item.
What’s important to remember here is that a creature can only be attuned to a maximum of three items at a time.
Beyond attunement, a concept even veteran players can get confused about, the Bracers of Archery is a fairly straightforward item. The wearer gains proficiency in shortbows and longbows, meaning they can add their proficiency bonus to the attack roll.
Then, and this is the real kicker, attacks that hit with these weapons gain a +2 bonus to damage. Especially at lower levels when this kind of item is the best thing you have available, that’s a huge bonus.
Are the Bracers of Archery a Good Item?
The Bracers of Archery are just that, a good item. They’re by no means fantastic, but they’re an improvement over not having an item, so that means they’re at the very least good.
For starters, one of the main problems with this item is that it’s silly. It’s an archery-focused item that gives the wielder proficiency with longbows and shortbows. A character looking to use either item would already have these proficiencies.
Aside from niche scenarios, we’ve already realized that half the benefit of this item is actually pointless.
The only thing we’re left with is a +2 to damage rolls, and that’s always going to be nice to have, but it’s far from incredible.
Naturally, there are a lot of things that could improve this item. However, most of the different abilities we might want to include wouldn’t make much sense. The reality is that this is an uncommon item, and it’s the perfect item for this tier of rarity.
Uncommon items themselves rarely breach into “very good” territory, let alone any of the other superlatives we might hope to see thrown around. They’re meant to be replaceable items — magical abilities that we have for a period of time and toss to the wayside when something better comes along.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Bracers of Archery Work With Firearms?
No, since the Bracers of Archery specifically refer to longbows and shortbows, these are the only ranged weapons on which you gain the +2 bonus.
How Much Do Bracers of Archery Cost?
As an uncommon item, the Bracers of Archery likely cost somewhere between 50 and 100 gp. The actual price will vary depending on the abundance of magic in your world, but 70 gp is the price we would generally sell them for.
Check out our Magic Item Price Guide for more information on pricing.
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As a kid, I was often told to get my head out of the clouds and to stop living in a fantasy world. That never really jived with me, so I decided to make a living out of games, stories, and all sorts of fantastical works. Now, as an adult, I aspire to remind people that sometimes a little bit of fantasy is all you need when life gets to be too much.
