Luck Blade 5e: Full Guide, DM and Players’ Wishes Granted

Last Updated on January 22, 2023

Let’s get Lucky.

What Is a Luck Blade in Dnd 5e?

A luck blade is a magical sword of any type that grants +1 to attack, damage, and saving throws. In addition, a luck blade has 1d4-1 charges that can be used to cast wish. These charges do not replenish under any circumstance.

Simply put, this weapon is an artifact weapon that grants you limited access to a 9^th-level spell. Yes, 9^th LEVEL. That is a lucky find.

Right off the bat, we can see that this enchantment can work with any sword at all, and it grants you a +1 to attack and damage.

Here is a quick chart for swords:

Swords are the most commonly used weapon in Dungeons and Dragons 5e. They are lightweight for the amount of damage they deal and can fit with most flavor choices.

So, even without the wish ability, a consistent +1 magic sword is nothing to dismiss – not to mention the +1 to all saving throws, granting you that extra bit of fortune to keep you safe in a harrowing moment.

Let’s talk a minute about the wish spell.

Wish is the mightiest spell a mortal creature can cast. By simply speaking aloud, you can alter the very foundations of reality in accord with your desires.

The basic use of this spell is to duplicate any other spell of 8th level or lower. You don’t need to meet any requirements in that spell, including costly components. The spell simply takes effect.

Alternatively, you can create one of the following effects of your choice:

• You create one object of up to 25,000 gp in value that isn’t a magic item. The object can be no more than 300 feet in any dimension, and it appears in an unoccupied space you can see on the ground.
• You allow up to 20 creatures that you can see to regain all hit points, and you end all effects on them described in the greater restoration spell.
• You grant up to 10 creatures that you can see resistance to a damage type you choose.
• You grant up to 10 creatures you can see immunity to a single spell or other magical effect for 8 hours. For instance, you could make yourself and all your companions immune to a lich’s life-drain attack.
• You undo a single recent event by forcing a reroll of any roll made within the last round (including your last turn). Reality reshapes itself to accommodate the new result. For example, a wish spell could undo an opponent’s successful save, a foe’s critical hit, or a friend’s failed save. You can force the reroll to be made with advantage or disadvantage, and you can choose whether to use the reroll or the original roll.

You might be able to achieve something beyond the scope of the above examples. State your wish to the GM as precisely as possible.

The GM has great latitude in ruling what occurs in such an instance; the greater the wish, the greater the likelihood that something goes wrong.

This spell might simply fail, the effect you desire might only be partly achieved, or you might suffer some unforeseen consequence as a result of how you worded the wish.

For example, wishing that a villain were dead might propel you forward in time to a period when that villain is no longer alive, effectively removing you from the game.

Similarly, wishing for a legendary magic item or artifact might instantly transport you to the presence of the item’s current owner.

The stress of casting this spell to produce any effect other than duplicating another spell weakens you.

After enduring that stress, each time you cast a spell until you finish a long rest, you take 1d10 necrotic damage per level of that spell. This damage can’t be reduced or prevented in any way.

In addition, your Strength drops to 3, if it isn’t 3 or lower already, for 2d4 days. For each of those days that you spend resting and doing nothing more than light activity, your remaining recovery time decreases by 2 days.

Finally, there is a 33% chance that you are unable to cast wish ever again if you suffer this stress.

Spell Tags: CREATION HEALING BUFF

Available For: SORCERER WIZARD THE GENIE

Basic Rules , pg. 288

This is often seen as the holy grail of spells and was portrayed as the ultimate divine reward in the indie film, Return to Dork Tower (an excellent piece of DnD cinema we cherish around here at the Citadel).

But what does it do, really? Yes, pretty much anything you can talk your DM into, but there is a hefty long-term price to pay.

Essentially, the wish spell seems to be intended as a Hail Mary, longshot, game-changer when facing the Big Bad of the campaign.

And you get up to 3 with this magic item.

When Do You Use Wish?

There are 2 ways to go about this.

1. As a Last-Ditch Effort

When you are facing the unfaceable. When you need to beat the unbeatable. When the Tarrasque is looking right at you, when the lich is about to sit on the throne, or when the party is at low-hit points and the dragon takes a big, deep breath…

Sometimes wish is not the game-changer, but the game-saver. It’s the ace in the hole that you can keep hidden.

If you can pull out a party-saving maneuver at the last moment when no one expects it and save the day, it’s pretty much required that everyone else buys your drinks and pizza for the after-campaign party.

So don’t waste it trying to romance the NPC. That’s creepy. Remember, “consent in all things.”

2. As a Pre-Planned Paradigm Shifter

If you know you are going into an exceedingly dangerous situation and you have time to prepare for it, wish can change the circumstances enough to give you the edge you need.

Facing a red dragon? Wish for resistance to fire. Routing a nest of mind flayers? Wish for advantage on all wisdom saves for the next 24 hours.

Scouting always has its advantages, and sometimes wish can make good use of your intelligence.

The best way I’ve seen wish used was to change public opinion.

The queen in an old campaign was once replaced with a doppelganger sorcerer. We couldn’t just go out and assassinate her; that would look bad.

Instead, we wished for a moonbeam spell to happen the next time she went out in public. She was exposed as a doppelganger, and we didn’t get arrested for treason. Win-win.

So, plan wisely, or stay flexible. Those are your two choices. When armed with a Luck Blade, either one works.

Either you get lucky, or you make your own luck.

The next bit is for the Dungeon Masters, so if that’s you, read on. If it’s not you… time to get out of the pool and let the adults swim.

For DMs: The When, Where, and How of the Luck Blade

There isn’t much lore associated with the Luck Blade, so you can drop it anywhere for any reason. Since Luck is part of the whole flavor of the item, leaving it up to chance is kind of fun!

As a legendary weapon, the Luck Blade is expected to be used in tier-4 games where a high-powered ability like wish won’t break your game and make things so simple that they aren’t fun anymore.

It appears on the random magic item table for levels 11-16 and 17+ for a reason. Wish. Will. Destroy. Your. Plans.

…unless you plan for that.😉

Dealing With Wish

The way to plan for something as chaotic as wish is to provide opportunities where your players will need it, and then act like you forgot they could cast wish in the first place.

This way, they get to use the ability without thinking you forced them to.

It’s kind of like free will vs. fate in a larger philosophical sense.

If we are not forced to make any one decision, we exercise free will, but if we are put in a situation where we must make a specific decision, it’s fate.

But what happens when we are put in a situation and freely make a decision without feeling forced by outside circumstances? Is that free will or fate? It doesn’t matter because we still did what we wanted to.

You can do the same thing to your players because you decide the circumstances of their struggle. You can fabricate a situation wherein they must use wish in order to succeed.

But to make that work, you cannot tell or remind them they have the ability to use that wish.

That way they feel like it is their choice. And it is their choice. They could always choose to die.

The Coolest Place To Drop a Luck Blade

Now I’m about to break every bit of advice I just gave you.

The absolute, coolest place to drop a Luck Blade for the PCs to pick up in a tier-2 game – around level 6.

BUT DO NOT TELL THEM IT’S A LUCK BLADE… *evil laughter*

They will be high-enough level to expect an uncommon magic item, and you can simply say it’s a magic sword with +1 to damage and attack. You can add the +1 to saves yourself secretly behind your DM screen.

Maybe once per long rest after they roll a saving throw, give them a chance to make an Insight check.

If they succeed at a DC 20, you could tell them it seems like the magic from the sword was helping them, as strange as it sounds.

Maybe you could even let them know at that point they are getting a +1 to saves, but ONLY if you are confident they won’t think they are holding a Luck Blade.

And then you wait. Silently. Patiently, until the player in question or someone else in the party says they “wish X would happen,” or “if only I had another spell slot,” or they are about to make a roll and they whisper sweetly to their dice, “I love you. Treat me well, my darlings…”

Then give them the effects of a wish spell without saying so. Just tell them what happens, and see if they are smart enough to figure it out. Maybe let them roll Arcana or Insight to put 2 and 2 together.

But you must never… and I mean, never tell them how many charges are left in the Luck Blade.

At a low level like that, they will abuse the power, and it won’t be the ultimate saving grace it was meant to be for a lower-level character like that.

They could honestly use that weapon for 4 to 5 levels before they figure it out. And how awesome would that be for a player to discover their magic sword was a Luck Blade this whole time?

It would be one of the best surprises of their Dungeons and Dragons career.

That’s it for today, folks.

Roll on, roll high, and roll often.