Gear Guide: DnD 5e Magic Belts for Every Tier of Play

Last Updated on January 22, 2023

Magic items come in all shapes and sizes. Not only that, but magic items can even be re-shaped and re-sized. Endless possibility!

When it comes to Magic Belts, there isn’t much to choose from in the published material.

If your character needs a little magic ‘round their middle, more than likely you will need to either adapt a pre-existing item or create something totally new.

When doing so, it is important to make sure the price is right. For more on that, check out our post here on magic item pricing.

But if that’s not what you want to do or you have a game you need to run tonight, we put together a list of magic belts you can use at EVERY tier of play.

Some of these will be in the WoTC published material, but there will be mostly homebrew material thrown in as well.

A Brief History of Magic Belts

There are lots of magic belts in storytelling. You’ve got Batman’s utility belt, Inspector Gadget’s belt, and even King Arthur’s belt, which was part of the magic scabbard that sharpened Excalibur.

At wedding ceremonies, sometimes a garter from the bride’s dress is thrown to the eligible ladies-in-waiting as a blessing for their future prospects – as if the belted portion of a bride’s lacey underthings were magical.

Who knows? They might be.

In the American south where I grew up, a belt buckle was more important than the belt itself, and it signified that those bad boys knew how to ride a raging stallion at least as good as Dr. Frankenfurter of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

And of course, there are the magic words, “I’ve got a black belt.” That’s a game-changing phrase, right there.

In Dungeons and Dragons, however, magic belts are fairly limited to the Belt of Random Giant Type that Makes You Buff variety.

Though we’ve always been hungry for more, we’ve had to simply “cinch our belts” and keep moving.

We will take these ideas and more into our belt-creation process, and you should too.

Magic Belts in Tier I

Tier I magic items are generally considered “common” in rarity. 

There are exactly 0 magic belts in the Common or Uncommon Category of the WotC published material.

As such, if you find a magic belt in Tier I, it is definitely Homebrew and should cost anywhere between 50-100 gp.

Uncommon magic items tend to be a bit more powerful for early levels and should be handed out by a patron if the players need to go into a harsh environment.

Here is our list for Tier I magic belts followed by a detailed explanation of how and when to use them.

Belt of Climbing (Homebrew)

Climbing is tough, and at Tier I, flight is more than likely off the table. Furthermore, there is a high chance that Strength (Athletics) is not your strong suit.

This nonmagical but cleverly made belt is equipped with clips and pitons around a seat harness.

While climbing, you may take a bonus action to anchor you in place along your climb so that you can use your hands normally.

Once anchored, your movement becomes 0 feet until you use a bonus action to disengage the anchor.

A DC 17 Strength check will pull the anchor from the wall.

Belt of Lifting (Homebrew)

This wide belt offers back and shoulder support for heavy lifting. It fits under a shirt if you like, but it can chaff and be annoying.

While wearing this belt, you gain a +2 to Strength checks when lifting, pushing, or pulling heavy objects.

Belt of First Impressions (Homebrew)

This belt can come in the form of an engraved belt buckle, a fancy garter, or a martial arts belt.

While wearing this belt, you gain a +2 to any one Charisma roll against a target or a group of targets, provided you have met them for the first time within the last 24 hours.

Belt of Packing (Homebrew)

This belt is favored by long-distance hikers and local craftsmen. It provides extra hip and back support that will allow you to carry more weight easily. Increase your total encumbrance by 25%.

Magic Belts in Tier II

In Tier II, magic is starting to get a bit more accessible. Magic belts could be found in small treasure hoards, attached to important bad guys, or on display at a magic item shop for 500-1,000 gp.

Belt of Cinching (Homebrew)

Folk wisdom tells us that when there is no food to be had, you should just cinch your belt and keep working.

This inspired a young tycoon to make magical belts that would allow workers to continue producing through meal times and save the land owners a bit of money on equitable treatment of their workers.

While the young tycoon did strike it rich with his invention, he was eventually killed in a labor riot.

This belt will grant its wearer advantage on their first saving throw when threatened with Level 1 exhaustion.

Belt of Ammo Storage (Homebrew)

This belt is actually a bandolier that allows you to store ammunition in a more efficient and ergonomic way.

While wearing this bandolier, you may ignore the loading property of a blowgun, crossbow, or firearm once during your turn.

This allows you to use the weapon twice, provided you have the requisite amount of attacks per turn available.

Belt of Utility (Homebrew)

This can either be a belt or a bandolier. Either way, it has enough pockets, straps, and clips to hold five tiny objects, such as potions, beads, coins, or other palm-sized trinkets.

While wearing this rig, you may interact with the stored items as a bonus action instead of an action. If you are a Thief Rogue with the Fast Hands ability, you may interact with two of them.

Belt of Weapon Maintenance (Homebrew)

This belt comes attached with a prestidigitation and mending effect that will clean and polish your weapon whenever it is held in a sheath or holster attached to this belt.

If the weapon is held in the sheath for a short rest, you may reroll a single damage die on your first damage roll after the short rest.

Magic Belts at Tier III

In Tier III, you are expected to be a powerhouse. Even in low-magic settings like Dragonlance, you should have some magical abilities to add to your reputation.

These belts are good for utility, movement, or ability improvements.  

These magic belts are flashy and useful – perfect for Tier III.

Belt of Hill Giant Strength

This belt has its roots in old-school Dungeons and Dragons. The weakest of the Belts of Giant Strength, this will grant you a 21 Strength while you wear it.

Dragonhide Belt

A relatively new addition to the magic belts of Dungeons and Dragons, the Dragonhide belt is designed for monks and will increase the Save Dc for their ki attacks.

While there is a version suitable for Tier II, it isn’t really noticeable until Tier III, where the Rare version will increase your DC by 2.

Feward’s Fancy Fanny Pack (Homebrew)

No relation to Heward’s Handy Haversack, this fashionable piece of waist-wear contains three small bags of holding.

One central pouch holds 20 pounds of material in 2 cubic feet; a small pouch on either side holds 10 pounds of material in 1 cubic foot.

As always, when dealing with extra-dimensional spaces, be careful of bags within bags and portable holes.

Belt of Yanking (Homebrew)

As advertised, this belt will act as a harness that can yank you very far very quickly. Anchor a magical line in place as a bonus action.

As another bonus action on a later turn, be yanked back to that place, provided it is within 90 feet. This does not count against your movement. Should you move past 90 feet, you will need to reset the anchor at a new location.

Magic Belts at Tier IV – For DMs Only

At Tier IV, you are a legend worthy of sagas. These items should not be randomly discovered but handed out for specific in-game and story purposes.

These belts will significantly alter your character’s battlefield abilities and social reputation.

Therefore, as a DM, don’t just hand these out willy-nilly. Make the PCs work for it. Make it the goal of a sidequest, or have them pull it from an underboss or BBEG’s dead hands.

Here are 3 game-changing magic belts.

Belt of Giant Strength

While wearing this belt, your Strength score changes to a score granted by the belt. The item has no effect on you if your Strength without the belt is equal to or greater than the belt’s score.

Six varieties of this belt exist, corresponding to the six kinds of true giants. The belt of stone giant strength and the belt of frost giant strength look different, but they have the same effect.

Belt of Dwarvenkind

This belt is a relic of the Dwarven lands, and as such it will give you a bonus to your Constitution, as is typical of the sturdy folk.

In addition, you will gain racial qualities of a Dwarf and perhaps even a physical quality.

While wearing this belt, you gain the following benefits:

• Your Constitution score increases by 2, to a maximum of 20.
• You have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made to interact with dwarves.

In addition, while attuned to the belt, you have a 50% chance each day at dawn of growing a full beard if you’re capable of growing one or a visibly thicker beard if you already have one.

If you aren’t a dwarf, you gain the following additional benefits while wearing the belt:

• You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
• You have darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.
• You can speak, read, and write Dwarvish.

You could easily adapt this to any PC race! Just change the Stat Bonus, the language bonus, and the other racial bonus.

Belt of the Slaver

Inspired by an artifact from 3.5e’s Book of Vile Darkness, this belt has four collars that can be magically attuned to it. The unfortunate creatures wearing these collars are magically enslaved to the wearer of the belt.

Collars can only be placed on creatures that are either willing or incapacitated. Putting on a collar takes one minute and can be performed only by the wearer of the belt or another collared creature.

At the end of that minute, a DC 20 Arcana or Religion check is necessary for the collar to engage.

Once a collar is engaged, the target cannot move more than 45 feet away from the wearer of the belt and will be forcefully moved if they lag behind with no effort required by the wearer of the belt.

If they successfully attack the wearer of the Belt with a weapon, spell, or unarmed attack, they take that damage instead via the Belt’s See to the Master ability and fall prone. 

The only way to remove a collar is for the wearer of the belt to be rendered incapacitated, at which point the wearer of the collar may make a Charisma saving throw vs. a DC equal to the wearer of the belt’s Charisma score.

On a success, the collar falls off.

Any time a creature attempts to remove the collar by any means without this condition being met, the creature automatically takes 3d10 psychic damage with no saving throw, and the attempt fails.

The wearer of the belt may remove any collar as an action at any time.

When you don this belt, you gain the following actions:

See to the Master – Whenever you take damage, you may choose to redirect that damage to a collared creature instead of taking it yourself.

If at any point a collared creature receives healing, you may choose to absorb that healing into yourself. If you are currently at maximum hit points, the creature receives the healing.

Spellcasting – As an action, the wearer of the belt may cast the following spells with automatic success on any number of creatures currently wearing a collar, even if the spell normally only targets one creature.

Spells cast this way do not require concentration even if the spell description says so; neither do they require material components.

At Will – Spare the dying, sanctuary, detect thoughts, Tasha’s mind whip, life transference, vampiric touch, geas

1/short rest – Dominate monster

Finally

We hope you can use these items in your game tonight. Roll on!