Reception[edit]

Michael J. Tresca, in the book The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games (2011), highlighted
that both mundane and magical items are key to Dungeons & Dragons combat but are also often
overlooked. Tresca wrote, "be it mundane equipment the adventurer needs to survive or endless
lists of magical items that give the character an advantage, equipment provides a means of
artificially inflating a character's power level. As a result, adventurers obsessively catalogued every
item they owned just to stay alive". The impact of hoarding items led to character encumbrance
being "largely abandoned" at game tables over the various editions of the game since the
bookkeeping became "too much of a hassle". Tresca also highlighted that enhancement values to
basic stats became "exaggerated" over time: "magic armor bestowed a +1 bonus to armor class,
magic weapons provided a +1 bonus to hit and damage, and so forth. These bonuses extend as
high as +10 in some editions of Dungeons & Dragons".[65]

20 magic items were highlighted in Io9's 2014 "The 20 Most WTF Magical Items in Dungeons &
Dragons" list and the author described them as "magical items that I will simply call 'Artifacts of
Dickishness' " — the article highlights items such as the Ring of Contrariness, the Ring of
Bureaucratic Wizardry, the Brooch of Number Numbing and the Horn of Baubles.[66]

Inspirations[edit]
hideThis section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss
these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template
messages)

This section possibly contains synthesis of material which does not verifiably
mention or relate to the main topic. (July 2020)
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2020)

Other fantasy stories[edit]

 The Hand and Eye of Vecna were inspired by items appearing within Michael
Moorcock's Corum novels:[67] A left hand and left eye which are able to grant whoever
replaces their existing hand and eye with them unusual powers.[45]
 Ioun stones (pronounced EYE-oon[68]) are based on similar artifacts from Jack
Vance's Dying Earth series.[69][70] When functioning, these gemstones float in a circular
pattern around their bearer's head, and grant various benefits based on their color and
shape. In the original Jack Vance stories Ioun stones are highly prized by arch-
magicians, and are acquired from a race known as the archveults, who mine them from
remnants of dead stars (in his book Rhialto the Marvellous). In 2E Dungeons &
Dragons it had been conjectured in Dragon magazine that Ioun stones instead come
from the Positive Material Plane. Dragon #174 featured an article that included many
dozens of new types of ioun stone,[71] as well as an article about an elemental lord who
hoards ioun stones on his home plane of radiance.[72] Under 3.0/3.5 editions of the rules
they are instead manufactured by spellcasters in the same manner as other magical
items.
 The Vorpal Sword is taken from Lewis Carrol's poem "Jabberwocky".[70] In Dungeons &
Dragons, the sword has specific properties relating to beheading, which is the method
the blade in the poem uses to slay the titular monster.
Folklore and mythology[edit]
  The Carpet of Flying is based upon the magic carpet of Persian mythology, later
popularized in media through 1001 Arabian Nights and other adaptations.[70]

References[edit]
1. ^ Fine, Gary Alan (1983). Shared Fantasy: Role-playing Games as Social Worlds. University
of Chicago Press. p. 16. ISBN 0-226-24944-1.
2. ^ Livingstone, Ian (1982). Dicing with Dragons. Routledge. p. 80. ISBN 0-7100-9466-3.
3. ^ "This prevents players from gaining any knowledge of these items, even if they happen to
own or read a copy of this volume, and it also makes each artifact and relic distinct from
campaign to campaign." from Dungeon Master's Guide (first edition)
4. ^ Jump up to:a b c Kulp, Kevin. "Encyclopedia Magica, Vol. 1 (2e) – Product
History". DriveThruRPG. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
5. ^ Swan, Rick (June 1995). "Role-playing Reviews". Dragon. Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin: TSR (#218): 87–88.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Appelcline, Shannon. "Magic Item Compendium (3.5) – Product
History". Dungeon Masters Guild. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
7. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Slavicsek, Bill. Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition For Dummies, 2nd
Edition. pp. 257–274. ISBN 9781118052570. OCLC 899181782.
8. ^ "Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Excerpts: Rituals)".
Archived from the original on 2009-10-22.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b Crawford, Jeremy and Mike Mearls. Dungeon Master's Guide. Wizards of the
Coast. 2014. ISBN 978-0-7869-6562-5. Pp, 135–141.
10. ^ Crawford, Jeremy and Mike Mearls. Xanathar's Guide to Everything. Wizards of the Coast.
2017. ISBN 978-0-7869-6611-0. Pp 136–140.
11. ^ Crawford, Jeremy and Mike Mearls. Dungeon Master's Guide. Wizards of the Coast.
2014. ISBN 978-0-7869-6562-5. Pp. 219–227.
12. ^ Jump up to:a b Canavan, Aidan-Paul (April 2011). Looting the Dungeon: The Quest for the
Genre Fantasy Mega-Text (PDF) (Thesis). pp. 94–95.
13. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Mizer, Nicholas J. (2019). "Responsibly and Accurately: Dwelling in
Imagined Worlds". Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Experience of Imagined Worlds.
Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 123–159. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-29127-
3_5. ISBN 978-3-030-29126-6. S2CID 212836410.
14. ^ Cook, Monte; Williams, Skip; Tweet, Jonathan (2003). Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5.
Renton, Wash.: Wizards of the Coast. p. 248. ISBN 0786928891.
15. ^ Anderson, T., & Galley, S. (1985). The history of Zork. The New Zork Times, 4(1–3).
16. ^ Pratchett, Terry (2007). Making Money. Doubleday. p. 194.
17. ^ Austin, Patrick Lucas (2018-06-25). "We're Almost Certainly Getting Some New AirPods—
What Will They Be?". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
18. ^ Caldwell, Serenity (2014-06-02). "Gear We Love: Rough Rider bag takes you through even
the toughest commutes". Macworld. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
19. ^ Woo, Benjamin (2018). "The invisible Bag of Holding: Whiteness and Media Fandom". In
Click, Melissa A.; Scott, Suzanne (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom. New
York, NY. ISBN 978-1-138-63892-1. OCLC 1013876252.
20. ^ Nyong'o, Tavia (2018). "Debt to Society: Accounting for Life under Capitalism. By Miranda
Joseph. Knowledge Ltd: Toward a Social Logic of the Derivative. By Randy
Martin". TDR/The Drama Review. 262 (2):
161. doi:10.1162/DRAM_r_00756. S2CID 57560399. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
21. ^ Nygard, Michael T. (2018). Release It! - Design and Deploy Production-Ready
Software. The Pragmatic Bookshelf. pp. 69–70. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
22. ^ Wagner, Kathryn Mogk (2022). "Prayer at Plough: Medieval Reading Practices and the
Work of the Paternoster" (PDF). In Donoghue, Daniel; Simpson, James; Watson, Nicholas;
Wilson, Anna (eds.). The Practice and Politics of Reading, 650-1500. D. S. Brewer.
p. 147. ISBN 9781843846413.
23. ^ Yao, Powen; Ye, Zhankai; Zyda, Michael (2022). "Virtual Equipment System: Toward Bag
of Holding and Other Extradimensional Storage in Extended Reality". 24th HCI International
Conference, HCII 2022, Proceedings, Part I. Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: Design
and Development: 14th International Conference, VAMR 2022, Held as Part of the 24th HCI
International Conference, HCII 2022, Virtual Event, June 26–July 1, 2022. Springer
International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-05939-1_8.
24. ^ Jump up to:a b Keach, Levi (May 2018). Investigating the Role of Liminality in the Cultural
Transition of the Late Eighth Millennium BC on Cyprus (Thesis). University of Nevada, Las
Vegas. pp. 78–79. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
25. ^ Cook, Monte; Williams, Skip; Tweet, Jonathan (2003). Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5.
Renton, Wash.: Wizards of the Coast. p. 259. ISBN 0786928891.
26. ^ Ewalt, David M. (2013). Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the
People Who Play It. Scribner. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-4516-4052-6.
27. ^ "Toonz to produce 'Dragonlance'". The Hindu. 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
28. ^ Odom, Mel (2008-01-06). "Movie Review: Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight".
blogcritics.org. Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
29. ^ Jump up to:a b c Robertson, Benjamin J. (2017). "From Fantasy to Franchise:
DRAGONLANCE and the Privatization of Genre". Extrapolation. 58 (2–3):
146. doi:10.3828/extr.2017.9. ISSN 2047-7708.
30. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Barton, Matt; Stacks, Shane (2019). Dungeons and Desktops: The History
of Computer Role-Playing Games (Second ed.). CRC Press. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-138-
57464-9.
31. ^ Jump up to:a b Johnson, Harold; Terra, John (1992). Tales of the Lance: World Book of
Ansalon. TSR, Inc. ISBN 9781560763383.
32. ^ South, Phil (March 1989). "Screen Shots Part II: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes
of the Lance" (review). Your Sinclair (39): 80. ISSN 0269-6983. Retrieved March
29, 2007. "alternate HTML version of the review". Archived from the original on 2007-03-01..
33. ^ "Fantasy Roleplaying: Heroes of the Lance" (review). Crash. No. 62. March 1989.
p. 71. ISSN 0954-8661. Retrieved March 29, 2007.
34. ^ Hickman, Tracy; Weis, Margaret (1987). Dragonlance Adventures. TSR,
Inc. p. 94. ISBN 0880384522.
35. ^ Cebrián Salé, Ricardo (2016). The Art of Warfare and Fantasy Writing. ISBN 978-
1507163191.
36. ^ Wienecke-Janz, Detlef, ed. (2002). Lexikon der Zauberwelten – Gandalf & Co. Wissen
Media Verlag. p. 62. ISBN 3-577-13505-0.
37. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Gygax, Gary (1979). Dungeon Master's Guide: Essential Reference
Information for Gamemastering Advanced D&D. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, Inc.
p. 156. ISBN 0-935696-02-4.
38. ^ Giant In the Playground Games
39. ^ Giant In the Playground Games
40. ^ Giant In the Playground Games
41. ^ Sturrock, Ian (2015). "Love for Dice: Love, Sex, Romance and Reward in Tabletop Role-
Playing Games". In Enevold, Jessica; MacCallum-Stewart, Esther (eds.). Game Love:
Essays on Play and Affection. McFarland & Company. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-7864-9693-8.
42. ^ "Wondrous Items :: d20srd.org". www.d20srd.org. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
43. ^ "Portable Hole | D&D 5th Edition on Roll20 Compendium". roll20.net. Retrieved 2018-06-
14.
44. ^ Margaret Weis; Hickman, Tracy (November 1999). "Book 2, volume 1, chapter 7, —Not
destined to meet again in this world.". The Annotated Chronicles (1st ed.). Wizards of the
Coast. p. 565. ISBN 0-7869-1870-5. Archived from the original on June 25, 2003.
Retrieved 2006-07-01.
45. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "D&D: Top 5 Most Iconic Artifacts". Bell of Lost Souls. 2016-12-01.
Retrieved 2020-11-08.
46. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "Dungeons & Dragons: 20 Powerful Items That Are Impossible To Find
(And Where To Find Them)". ScreenRant. 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
 47. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Gygax, Gary; Brian Blume (1976). Eldritch Wizardry. Lake Geneva, WI:
TSR, Inc.
48. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Cook, David (1993). Book of Artifacts. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR,
Inc. ISBN 1-56076-672-7.
49. ^ Henson, Dale; Doug Stewart (1994). Encyclopedia Magica, Volume 1. Lake Geneva, WI:
TSR, Inc. pp. 115–116. ISBN 1-56076-842-8.
50. ^ Williams, Skip (1999). Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. Renton, WA: TSR, Inc. ISBN 0-7869-
1347-9.
51. ^ Zambrano, J.R. (2022-02-13). "D&D: An Adventurer's Guide To Laeral Silverhand". Bell of
Lost Souls. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
52. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Appelcline, Shannon. "Demonomicon (4e) | Product
History". DriveThruRPG. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
53. ^ Chapman, Matt (August 26, 2020). "In the Works: Tasha's Cauldron of
Everything". Dragon+. Wizards of the Coast (33).
54. ^ Jump up to:a b c Cook, David. Vecna Lives! (TSR, 1990)
55. ^ Henson, Dale, and Doug Stewart, eds. Encyclopedia Magica Vol 2 (TSR, 1995)
56. ^ Hoffer, Christian (November 5, 2020). "Dungeons & Dragons Brings Back Classic (and
Powerful) Magic Item". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
57. ^ Cook, David. Dungeon Master's Guide (TSR, 1989)
58. ^ Williams, Skip (1996), The Rod of Seven Parts, Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, ISBN 0-7869-
0418-6
59. ^ Henson, Dale, and Doug Stewart, eds. Encyclopedia Magica Vol 3 (TSR, 1995)
60. ^ Cagle, Eric, Jesse Decker, Jeff Quick, and James Wyatt Arms and Equipment
Guide (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)
61. ^ Jump up to:a b Henson, Dale, and Doug Stewart, eds. Encyclopedia Magica Vol 4. (TSR,
1995)
62. ^ Jump up to:a b "Artifacts of the Ages | Dungeons & Dragons". dnd.wizards.com.
Retrieved 2020-12-31.
63. ^ Hoffer, Christian (December 21, 2020). "Dungeons & Dragons Pulls the Mysteries From
One of Its Most Intriguing Magic Items". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
64. ^ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
65. ^ Tresca, Michael J. (2011). The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games. Jefferson, N.C.:
McFarland & Co. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-7864-6009-0. OCLC 697175248.
66. ^ Bricken, Rob (June 26, 2014). "The 20 Most WTF Magical Items in Dungeons &
Dragons". Io9. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
67. ^ Dragon magazine #371, January 2009, p.62.
68. ^ "Dungeons & Dragons FAQ". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-10-
02. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
69. ^ "The idea and name for the ioun stone originally appeared in a series of books written by
Jack Vance. Collectively, these works are referred to as the Dying Earth novels. They
include: The Dying Earth, Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel’s Saga, and Rhialto the Marvelous."
(Hargenrader 1991, "Bazaar", p 90)
70. ^ Jump up to:a b c DeVarque, Aardy. "Literary Sources of D&D". Retrieved 2020-07-23.
71. ^ Hargenrader, Matthew P. (October 1991). "Bazaar of the Bizarre: Ioun stones: Where do
you go if you want some more?". Dragon Magazine. No. 174. TSR, Inc. pp. 90–94.
72. ^ Hargenrader, Matthew P. "The Dragon's Bestiary" Dragon #174. (TSR, 1991).

Further reading