Last Updated on November 8, 2023
Folding Boat
Wondrous Item, rare
This object appears as a wooden box that measures 12 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 6 inches deep. It weighs 4 pounds and floats. It can be opened to store items inside. This item also has three command words, each requiring you to use an action to speak it.
One command word causes the box to unfold into a boat 10 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. The boat has one pair of oars, an anchor, a mast, and a lateen sail. The boat can hold up to four Medium creatures comfortably.
The second command word causes the box to unfold into a ship 24 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 6 feet deep. The ship has a deck, rowing seats, five sets of oars, a steering oar, an anchor, a deck cabin, and a mast with a square sail. The ship can hold 15 Medium creatures comfortably.
When the box becomes a vessel, its weight becomes that of a normal vessel its size, and anything that was stored in the box remains in the boat.
The third command word causes the folding boat to fold back into a box, provided that no creatures are aboard. Any objects in the vessel that can’t fit inside the box remain outside the box as it folds. Any objects in the vessel that can fit inside the box do so.
We value the cost of a folding boat at about 10,000 GP. Check out our Magic Item Price Guide for more information on pricing.
What Is a Folding Boat in DnD 5e?
A Folding Boat is almost exactly what it sounds like. It is a magical item that folds out to become a box but in its normal state is nothing more than a small, unsuspecting box. This item is excellent for characters who may need to travel on water but who aren’t necessarily in a water-based campaign.
Is a Folding Boat a Good Item?
Great utility items are certainly hard to come by in 5e, but the folding boat easily reaches the top of such a list. While not every party will need to cross water, the option of suddenly having a vessel that can fit up to 15 people is incredible and not something to be passed up.
The folding boat is good because of the simple principle of “build it, and they will come.” I know… not what you’d think to hear related to a boat.
Basically, when D&D players are handed an item, they will find a use for it, no matter how obscure the item is.
The utility of a folding boat, then, comes not just from its seafaring capabilities but from the abilities that only your players will think of in the moment.
Will it be thrown and opened up to crush enemies? Will it be placed on wheels and used as a traveling cart that turns back into a box? Who’s to say?
What we do know is that players will use this item because it is simple.
At the end of the day, it’s a very large item that shrinks down to negligible size. It can be used for storage, transportation, or whatever creative function your players can come up with at the moment.
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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.
