Rich’s Take On … EVOLVING ITEMS

Evolving Items were basically introduced in Fourth edition Dungeons &Dragons. The idea was that rather than characters obtaining several different magic items throughout their career, they would instead have a magic item that grew with them, leveling up and evolving aling with them.

I have introduced Evolving Items to my Eve of Ruin campaign. Each character has an item that is a special Evolving Item. They were given the choice of a weapon, shield, or set of armor. A few players (there’s always at least one, right?) requested exceptions to the rule and I worked with them as much as possible.

All items begin as a MINOR ITEM which is a nonmagic, standard piece of equipment, specifically a weapon, shield, or set of armor that is given a “special name.” The item doesn’t have any special traits or abilities. This is how the item factions when the character is levels 1st to 4th.

As the character gains 5th level, the item evolves to a COMMON ITEM. At this point, the item gains a spell-like ability equivalent to a Cantrip or 1st level spell, preferably from the Player’s Handbook. The spell-like effect can be used one time and recharges after the character takes a Long Rest. If the spell-like effect requires a “to hit” roll it is considered to have a +5 for the Spell Attack Rolls and a DC 15 for the saving throw DC.

The item evolves to an UNCOMMON ITEM when the character gains 7th level. The COMMON spell-like ability changes so that it may be used 1d4 times a day, rolled after the Long Rest. At this point, the UNCOMMON ITEM gains the following powers: it gains a +1 bonus, it gains a spell-like effect of up to a 3rd level Abjuration, Divination, or Transmutation spell (From the Player’s Handbook) which can be used 2 times per Long Rest. If the spell-like effect requires a “to hit” roll it is considered to have a +5 for the Spell Attack Rolls and a DC 15 for the saving throw DC.

When the character becomes 10th level, the item evolves to a RARE ITEM. When this happens, the COMMON ability remains the same. The UNCOMMON ability can be used 1d4 times per Long Rest, rolled after the Long Rest. The item gains the ability to cast a single Abjuration, Divination, or Transmutation 4th or 5th level spell from the Player’s Handbook which can be used 1 time per Long Rest. Additionally, the item bonus increases from +1 to +2.

The item evolves to a VERY RARE ITEM when the character becomes 15th level. The COMMON, UNCOMMON, and RARE spell-like effects remain the same. The item advances from a +2 item to a +3 item. Additionally, the item gains the ability to cast a single Abjuration, Divination, or Transmutation 7th or 8th level spell from the Player’s Handbook which can be used 1 time per Long Rest.

When the character becomes level 20, the item evolves to a LEGENDARY ITEM. The spell-like effects from the previous tiers all remain the same. The item advances from a +3 item to a +4 item. Additionally, the item gains the ability to cast a single spell from the following list one time per Long Rest: Astral Projection, Foresight, Mass Heal, Power Word Heal, Psychic Scream, or Weird.