Cursed Curios & Taboo Trinkets: The 17 Best Magic Items for Warlocks

Last Updated on January 22, 2023

Whether you’re going through the dead lich’s pockets or loose in an emporium of enchanted wonders with a bulging purse full of gold, picking your Dungeons & Dragons 5e character’s next magic item can run the risk of bringing on a touch of the old analysis paralysis. 

I know I feel this especially keenly as a dungeon master. My players have just defeated some deadly monster, and I want to suitably reward them with something awesome. But where do I begin? 

There are hundreds of magic items contained within the pages of the Dungeon Master’s Guide (not to mention the unique entries included in pretty much every published adventure and sourcebook), so finding the one that’s right for your character (let alone all your players’ characters) can feel tricky — dare I say overwhelming? 

Of course, you can randomize the process, roll on treasure tables, or just pick things that make sense within the context of the monster your players just killed.

However, it can be nice to curate (within the bounds of plausibility) the items your players find to their character classes and playstyles.

Handing out a +5 Holy Avenger is all very well, but to a party of barbarians, fighters, and wizards, it’s just a very shiny, irresponsible toothpick.  

That’s why today we’re going to be taking a look at all manner of occult curios, forbidden gewgaws, and sinister spellcasting aids. These are our 17 favorite items for the warlock class. 

What Makes a Good Warlock Magic Item? 

Warlocks, along with wizards and sorcerers, are one of D&D 5e’s “dedicated caster” classes. They’re all about slinging spells in service to their otherworldly master and boast (or are hobbled by, depending on whom you ask) one of the most unique magic systems in the game. 

As always, when I talk about “the best X for X class,” I want to emphasize that good magic items for warlocks are going to be the ones that either help them do what they do best even better or help make up for the class’s shortcomings. 

For warlocks — a spellcasting class that lives its life chronically short on spell slots — the kinds of magic items that make them better at what they do best and compensate for what they’re worst at tend to be the same item. 

Let’s jump in, shall we?

What Are the Best Magic Items for Warlocks? 

To kick things off, we’ve got six magic items that are — more or less — perfect for warlocks.

No magic item in D&D 5e is required (people who say things like “boots of elvenkind are required for rogues to be optimized” are playing a very different game to me that, frankly, doesn’t sound very fun), but any warlock who gets their hands on one of these items is instantly going to feel the benefits.

Academy Journeymage
© Wizards of the Coast by Magali Villeneuve

Illusionist’s Bracers

Found in the Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica supplement, the Illusionist’s bracers are a very rare wondrous item that requires attunement by a spellcaster.

In the hands of a warlock, they’re insanely powerful, not to mention also something of a misnomer since their powers don’t really relate to illusory magic. 

While wearing the bracers, whenever you cast a cantrip, you can use a bonus action on the same turn to cast that cantrip a second time.

I think you can see where I’m going with this. Being able to cast Eldritch Blast again as a bonus action is insanely impactful, especially when you factor in the additional beams you get as your warlock levels up. 

By 17th level, you can use these items to make eight beam attacks against the same or different targets every single round. Basically, the Illusionist’s Bracers are a way to make fighters feel very inadequate indeed. 

Wand of the War Mage 

Wand of Wonder
© Wizards of the Coast by Xavier Ribeiro

The Wand of the War Mage is the +1 magic sword of spellcaster items.

These wands can serve as a spellcasting focus and come in +1, +2, and +3 levels of rarity (which are uncommon, rare, and very rare, respectively), granting bonuses to your spell attack rolls. 

Also, when wielding a Wand of the War Mage, you get to ignore half cover when making attack rolls. 

For a class like the warlock that loves to fire off Eldritch Blast as its go-to action — especially combined with an eldritch invocation — this is a no-brainer magic item for any level. 

Be careful, however, dungeon masters. For all the reasons I explored before why +1 magic swords are the bane of fun D&D, a Wand of the War Mage that only affects a to-hit bonus is a very lame piece of design.

Make each wand unique — whether that means aesthetically with a minor mechanical flourish or even a disastrous and comical drawback. 

Perhaps any crit failed spell-attack roll causes beams of light to lance out of the wand, hitting everyone nearby including the caster with a random effect, like casting the chaos bolt spell at a random number of randomly determined bystanders, or maybe it just polymorphs you into a pig.

Giving a warlock a Wand of the War Mage could even be a great opportunity to reflavor the item to be representative of their patron’s power: A glittery, whimsical wand for an Archfey, a sonorous bell for a Celestial, a charred human femur carved with unpleasant runes for a Fiend, etc. 

A Wand of the War Mage is a great template to start building your own unique and interesting magical item. Just don’t stop at what’s on the page. 

Ring of Spell Storing 

Aesthetically very similar to the ring worn by everyone’s favorite crime-solving wizard dragon, Snaggleby Bumblebatch (Spurious Badgertrousers? Bildungsroman Down-the-hatch?! Spanglesock Wintergarments?!?! THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE!! That’s it!), the Ring of Spell Storing is definitely one of the most interesting and versatile magic items available to magic users in D&D 5e

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell… that’s the guy.

We get into the details of just how many interesting things you can accomplish with a Ring of Spell Storing — which lets spells be cast into it and then be released at a later date — in our full guide. 

For warlocks specifically (a class that’s notorious for being perpetually low on spell slots), this is a great way to dramatically increase the number of spells you have at your disposal. You can even lend your powers to your allies. 

Staff of Power 

Another one of those items that’s just unreservedly good, the Staff of Power is a very rare magic item that requires attunement by a Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard.

Once attuned, this staff grants the wielder a +2 bonus to both spell- and weapon-attack rolls, damage, saving throws, and Armor Class (AC). 

Not only is that an insane buff to your warlock’s overall stats and abilities, but the staff also has 20 charges, regaining 2d8 + 4 charges daily at dawn.

These charges can be used to deal extra damage with a melee attack and cast a variety of powerful spells, including levitate, fireball, and wall of force. 

Staff of Power Spells

While holding this staff, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to cast one of the following spells from it, using your spell save DC and spell-attack bonus: 

Deck of Illusions 

For a little randomized trickery, there’s nothing quite as fun as a Deck of Illusions.

You can use your action to draw from this deck of 34 cards at random and throw it to the ground at a point within 30 feet of you. This creates an illusion of one or more creatures over the thrown card.

This kind of unpredictable mischief making is loads of fun and can have any number of interesting applications. Throw down an Ace of Hearts outside a town for the ultimate, red-dragon-shaped distraction. 

Rod of the Pact Keeper 

Last on the list of items that any warlock would be grateful to find amid a dragon’s treasure hoard, the Rod of the Pact Keeper is (as the name might suggest) basically made for this class. 

This item comes with differing levels of rarity that increase along with its bonus. An uncommon rod grants a +1 bonus, a rare rod grants a +2 bonus, and a very rare rod grants a +3 bonus. 

The Rod of the Pact Keeper applies its bonus to all attack rolls and spell-save DCs of any warlock spells cast when attuned to the item. 

Much like the Wand of the War Mage, I would advise that dungeon masters do a bit of work to make this item a bit more interesting than just a collection of bonuses.

However, I can’t deny that those are some very enviable bonuses (which can be tailored to suit any tier of play) that are specifically tailored to warlocks.   

Other Warlock Magic Items 

Bead of Force 

Wondrous Item, rare

A highly powerful damage and disable consumable magic item. Throw one at an enemy, dealing a solid amount of force damage and potentially trapping them inside a giant, unbreakable bubble for a minute. The perfect way to escape, trap, or set up an enemy for a coup de grace. 

Bell Branch 

Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement by a druid or warlock)

A silver spellcasting focus carved to resemble a tree branch and covered in tiny bells.

When attuned to the item, you can spend its charges to detect the presence of aberrations, celestials, constructs, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead within 60 feet or to cast Protection From Evil and Good. 

Anything that gives warlocks more ways to cast low-level spells (since pact magic casts a 5th-level spell and a 1st-level spell using the same slot) is a great thing. 

Boots of Levitation

Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement)

Cast the Levitate spell on yourself at will. Not just a great way to embrace your cool, eldritch bad boy aesthetic but also a handy mobility tool. 

Brazier of Commanding Fire Elementals 

Wondrous Item, rare

A small bras brazier that lets you summon a fire elemental once per day.

Not only is the ability to get a powerful extraplanar ally into the fight (or fuel your ambulatory castle if you’re feeling whimsical and Japanese) very powerful, but summoning scary things from beyond the mundane mortal world is just deeply on brand for a warlock. 

I’d also like to recommend the Bowl of Commanding Water Elementals, the Censer of Controlling Air Elementals, the Stone of Controlling Earth Elementals, and the Elemental Gem — which summons a whole load of different elementals depending on the type of gem in your possession. 

Cauldron of Rebirth

Wondrous Item, very rare (requires attunement by a druid or warlock)

A small pot that can be used as a focus for the scrying spell or to create a potion of greater healing that lasts for 24 hours. Also, you can magically expand the pot to be big enough to fit a medium humanoid.

Once per week, you can place a humanoid corpse in the cauldron and cover it with 200 pounds of salt, which returns it to life as though the raise dead spell was cast on it. 

It’s my favorite kind of magic item weird, non-combat focused, and pretty creepy. 

Cloak of the Bat 

Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement)

For warlocks who relish the opportunity to be their most gothic selves.

The Cloak of the Bat grants advantage on stealth checks and, when you are in dim light or darkness, you can fly by gripping the edges of the cloak with both hands.

You can also polymorph yourself into a bat once per day. For a warlock who’ll probably have the Darkness spell on their list, this is a great mobility and survivability option.  

Crystal Ball 

Wondrous Item, very rare (requires attunement)

In addition to being able to cast the Scrying spell at will, various types of crystal balls can also augment your magical spycraft, letting you read and influence thoughts while scrying, as well as scry with truesight.

A must-have for any warlock who likes to keep their friends close and their enemies a continent away. 

Elven Chain 

Armor (chain shirt), rare

While not technically a magic item, the abilities of elven smiths when it comes to forging nigh-impenetrable armor that weighs less than a cotton shirt is basically magic, so it’s going on the list. 

For a class that struggles with its AC (and has better things to do than invest heavily in DEX), Elven Chain’s +1 bonus to AC without the requirement to be proficient in medium armor is a must-have. 

Eversmoking Bottle 

Wizards of the Coast

Wondrous Item, uncommon

An Eversmoking Bottle can be opened as an action, causing a cloud of thick smoke to pour out in a 60-foot radius from the bottle.

The cloud’s area counts as being heavily obscured, allowing you to create a wall of cover in a pinch as well as sow confusion, or fake a fire, or anything else you think you could accomplish with a giant cloud of smoke. 

This is easily one of my favorite items to give lower-level warlocks — especially ones who’ve picked up the Devil’s Sight eldritch invocation, which lets them see through the smoke and attack their effectively blinded enemies with advantage and impunity. 

Highly effective in combat when combined with a classic warlock ability, a useful defensive item in a pinch, and wide-ranging utility applications that rely on player ingenuity. Great stuff all round.  

Pearl of Power 

Wondrous Item, uncommon (requires attunement by a Spellcaster)

A pearl of power is one of the most useful items any low to mid level spellcaster can get their hands on. In the hands of a warlock, however, this item is especially valuable. 

A Pearl of Power can be used once per day (it regains its power at dawn) to replenish one of the wielder’s spell slots of 3rd level or lower.

For warlocks, who struggle with a very limited supply of spell slots, this is an immensely useful item, whether you want to throw out one last fireball or save yourself by turning invisible. 

Ruby of the War Mage 

The biggest problem that Hexblade warlocks face is that — without the right combination of pact boons and eldritch invocations — they need to spend their time constantly switching back and forth between their weapons and spellcasting focus. 

The Ruby of the War Mage gets rid of that issue by letting you turn any weapon into a spellcasting focus. 

It’s largely useless on any warlock subclass that’s not a Hexblade, but for servants of this particular Otherworldly Patron, it’s as close as I think you can get to a “required” pickup. 

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