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In the sprawling worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, a common goal unites every adventurer: get loot or die trying. While some adventurers will surely be distracted by the promise of wealth in bags of gold pieces, sparkling gems, and chests overflowing with gold, many agree that the promise of riches pales in comparison to the true value of adventuring loot: raw power. Beyond the simple treasure tables of loot from which your GM rewards you with Bracers of Defense and Greater Potions of Healing lies a world of coveted artifacts. Legendary magical items, whose names are whispered with awe and desire at the end of epic tales of ancient powers and era-defining conflicts. Toril is overflowing with tools and devices that have come to endear the people with their sometimes useful, sometimes outright wacky applications, but the following are so much more. These are pieces of loot that have become legend, forged in myth capable of defining a hero's legacy and the fate of the realm at large. These are D&D's most treasured magic items.

Distinguishing Legendary Items from True Artifacts

Before we explore this collection of cherished magic items, we must establish something about the differing tiers of rarity. Legendary items are the apex of standard magical craftsmanship. These are items with recipes, schematics, and blueprints, however rare they may seem. While A Holy Avenger or a Staff of the Magi are, without any doubt, items of legend, they are reproducible. Meaning, it's not technically impossible to encounter more than one of these items in a single campaign. Artifacts, on the other hand, are truly one-of-a-kind, in every sense of the term. There is only one Orb of Dragonkind, as it is an item that is inexorably tied to the cosmological balance of the world. This is an important distinction, as some of the items on this list are more likely to end up in the hands of a mortal man than the others. That said, if any of these Artifacts catch your eye, who can really stop you from setting your sights on these items of raw power?

The Deck of Many Things

Wondrous items, Legendary

Easily one of D&D's most recognized magic items, The Deck of Many Things is in many ways, the pinnacle of D&D's magic items. The perfect blend of risk and reward, The Deck of Many Things is so much more than a simple weapon or tool. Each card drawn grants a random boon, or a devastating curse, but once drawn, they disappear forever. Key magical effects of the Deck of Many Things include:

• Balance: Your mind suffers a wrenching alteration, causing your alignment to change. Lawful becomes chaotic, good becomes evil, and vice versa. If you are true neutral or unaligned, this card has no effect on you.
• Star: Increase one of your ability scores by 2. The score can exceed 20 but can't exceed 24.
• Sun: You gain 50,000 XP, and a wondrous item (which the DM determines randomly) appears in your hands.
• Idiot: Permanently reduce your Intelligence by 1d4 + 1 (to a minimum score of 1). You can draw one additional card beyond your declared draws.

Looking for more? Check out The Book of Many Things, which expands on the idea with 192 pages of lore, spells and uses for the deck.

The Orb of Dragonkind

Wondrous items, Artifact

In D&D, not every encounter is resolved by combat. Generally your options when you come up against a dragon are limited to either run or fight, but The Orb of Dragonkind introduces an exciting new dynamic to the table. Control. Emerging out of the embers of the Dragonlance setting, the Orb of Dragonkind is one of five orbs created by powerful wizards as a tool to defeat the tyrannical dragons of Krynn. The Orb of Dragonkind is equipped with 9th level spells and nearly impossible to destroy by conventional means.

All you need to know about The Orb of Dragonkind is its Call Dragons ability which allows you to call Chromatic Dragons to your side at will. The power of Dragonkind at your very fingertips makes the Orb one of the most treasured items across the multiverse.

The Rod of Seven Parts: Uniting a Shattered Legacy

Rod, Artifact

Unlike other artifacts that are found whole, obtaining a completed Rod of Seven Parts is a campaign in itself. Born from a conflict between primordial beings, the Rod of Seven Parts was shattered and strewn across the planes into seven pieces, each of which contains a portion of power. Acquiring one of the Rod pieces grants the wielder the ability to cast one corresponding spell as an action, as well as a general sense of the next consecutive piece's location. When all pieces are found and the Rod is made whole, the wearer gains +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with the Rod, as well as 7 charges to cast any of the 7 accumulated spells. However, wielding an artifact of such power doesn't come without its influences; overtime the Rod will shift your alignment into Lawful, if you aren't already. Wielders of the Rod often develop a strict moral code that they adhere to diligently.

Each piece of The Rod of Seven Parts comes with an associated spell:

• First: Commune
• Second: Arcane Gate
• Third: Reverse Gravity
• Fourth: Regenerate
• Fifth: Find the Path
• Sixth: Mirage Arcane
• Seventh: Simulacrum

The Hand and Eye of Vecna: Ultimate Power, Ultimate Price

Wondrous Item, Artifact

These are technically two items, but they are from the same source and come with special benefits when attuned together. Vecna is a name that rings loud across the Forgotten Realms, his impact felt even from beyond the grave. His name is the very definition of power, and a symbol of arcane madness far and wide. For those who crave a power like his, there is no greater temptation than the very remains of Vecna himself. The mummified Hand and jeweled Eye of Vecna, will reward a character with godlike power, at the small cost of your moral compass, and a touch of irreversible self mutilation. To use the hand, you must lose a hand, and to use the eye, you must do the same. From there, the rewards are plenty, but you'll notice your alignment shift to a steadfast Neutral Evil. You can always use just one of these two items, but your alignment will still shift and you'll miss out on the benefits of their combined power.

Vecna's Eye Key Features

• Truesight
• X-Ray Vision
• Clairvoyance, Crown of Madness, Disintegrate, Dominate Monster, Eyebite

Vecna's Hand Key Features

• Str increases to 20
• 2d8 Cold damage on Melee Spell/Weapon Attacks
• Finger of Death, Sleep, Slow, Teleport, Suggestion

Combined Key Features

• Immune to disease and poisons
• Premonitions of danger
• With at least 1hp, regain 1d10 hp at the start of your turn
• Use an action to cast Wish (1/30days)

Yes, if combined, the Hand and Eye of Vecna allows you to cast the Wish spell once every 30 days.

The Ring of Three Wishes

Ring, Legendary

If the idea of casting Wish on repeat piques your interest, turn your attention to The Ring of Three Wishes. As many a D&D player knows, Wish is considered to be arguably the most powerful spell of the game. Which is why this item granting the Wish spell three times makes it one of the most powerful items in the recorded D&D history. The Wish spell comes with the ability to rewrite reality, which can take many forms, including:

• You create one object of up to 25,000 gp in value that isn’t a magic item
• You allow up to twenty creatures that you can see to regain all hit points
• You grant up to ten creatures that you can see resistance to a damage type you choose
• You grant up to ten creatures you can see immunity to a single spell or other magical effect for 8 hours.

And last, but definitely not least:

• You undo a single recent event by forcing a reroll of any roll made within the last round (including your last turn). Reality reshapes itself to accommodate the new result. For example, a wish spell could undo an opponent’s successful save, a foe’s critical hit, or a friend’s failed save. You can force the reroll to be made with advantage or disadvantage, and you can choose whether to use the reroll or the original roll.

In D&D terms, this is some of the greatest power a player can have. A power so raw that it breaks meta, allowing the player to craft and rewrite history as they choose. A poorly worded wish can have catastrophic consequences, while a wiser caster could use the power to save all of reality itself, and The Ring of Three Wishes grants the wielder this power three times, before it's rendered unusable.

What Artifact Catches Your Eye?

Every adventurer has an ultimate prize they dream of finding. Whether it's the righteous power of an ancient god or the forbidden knowledge in a lich’s spellbook, the quest for a legendary item is one of the fantasy genre's most tried and true adventures. If one of these ancient and powerful artifacts is speaking your language, maybe it's time for a little sit down with your GM?