In the forty-odd years, I’ve played Dungeons & Dragons, most of the magic items I give out come from the core rulebooks.

There are several reasons for this, mainly because I often use random magic item tables rather than selecting items to match the characters. The random tables typically only exist in the core book. And it becomes very hard when the magic items are split among many sources, with only a few in each book.

So then, why has Kobold Press’s Vault of Magic book become my go-to book for magic items in my 5E games? There are three reasons:

• It has full random magic item tables, integrating those from the DMG and this book,
• The book is nothing but magical items, and
• The items are excellent!

Creating good magic items is not easy. Often the items are incredibly specific, and they don’t fit in a campaign Or you can make generally useful items that are boring. While it’s not the case that all the items in the DMG are boring, many of them feel that way. They’re the baseline from which we examine magic items.

Although part of why I think this is due to the length of time I’ve played the game, I also think many items are nerfed. The sword of sharpness may have been overpowered in its AD&D 1^st edition presentation, but it felt cool. The 5E version feels less effective than a +1 sword!

The Vault of Magic shines in giving magic items that extra step up. The items feel interesting and effective, whilst not entering the level of overpowered or oppressively good. Or too complicated, which can be a problem when people try to design magic items.

This is not to say that every item in the Vault is a hit. There are too many items for that to be true. It’s a 236-page book. Not everything is going to be great.

But the fact that almost every time I randomly roll for an item, I hit something that excites me is impressive.

Here are a few items from the book:

• The slatelight ring, which grants or extends a character’s darkvision by 60 feet, and can cast faerie fire
• A purified phoenix tear, which you consume and restores 20 hp the next time you fall to 0 hit points.
• Locksmith’s oil, which grants a +1d4 bonus to picking the lock it is used on.
• Wave chain mail, which means opponents have disadvantage to hit you when you’re at least half-submerged in water, and as a reaction you can gain immunity to non-magical damage for a turn as you turn your body into water.
• The survival knife, which can transform into a crowbar, fishing rod, hunting trap or hatchet at command.
• The Serpent’s Tooth, a spear that deals an additional 1d6 poison damage and allows you to make Acrobatics checks with advantage.

These items feel useful, with abilities that make them feel distinctive. The book includes items that provide simple minor effects, and items that match the most powerful heroes.

How many items are in the book? According to the back cover, there are over 950. It’s probably more than you need for one campaign. I have become much more of a Monty Haul DM since I got the book, as I want to put as many of them into the hands of the players as I can. (It’s not like they’ll be able to use them all at the same time!)

Apart from the regular run of magic items, Vault of Magic introduces a few fabled items.

Fabled items are magic items that gain more powers as the user gains levels. The user needs to attune to the item to gain all their benefits, but there are no additional penalties. It’s a better solution that we saw in Weapons of Legacy back in the 3.5E days. I loved the concept of Weapons of Legacy, but the execution was flawed.

Here’s what Raurrick’s Axe does. It once belonged to a famed dwarven warrior-priest:

• The bearer has proficiency in the Religion skill
• At 5^th level, it deals an additional 1d8 radiant damage
• At 9^th level, it gains a +1 to hit and damage, and deals triple damage on a critical hit instead of double.
• At 13^th level, the bonus becomes +2, and when you strike an evil creature, you may use your bonus action to strike again.
• At 17^th level, the bonus becomes +3, and once per day, you can use an action to frighten creatures within 30 feet of you.

All the items in the book have good descriptive text and may have historical notes; the fabled items have more. I find the text inspirational and a good starting point for my integration of the items into the game.

The back cover mentions that the book includes item sets. These are magic items that gain more power as you find the linked item. Unfortunately, they’re not listed together in the book. In fact, they’re incredibly hard to find. There are two items – the Crook of the Flock and the Shepherd’s Flail that I discovered that work together. Are there more?

I wish there were a dedicated section for these set items, because placing all the pieces of these items into a dungeon and having the party quest for them is a great idea. I’m afraid this will likely go down as a missed opportunity.

The book uses art well. It doesn’t illustrate each item, but there are enough to give a good sense of flavour. None of the illustrations breaks up the layout badly – a real problem in a lot of modern books.

Another factor that draws me to the book is that it is eminently portable, as it is nowhere near as thick as one of the Tome of Beasts products. It feels similar in weight to the rulebooks Wizards of the Coast makes, and that’s a significant improvement over some of the oversized monster books.

The book isn’t perfect, and you may feel differently about its contents. But this feels like an almost-perfect supplement. I highly recommend Vault of Magic, an excellent complement to your 5E campaign.