Magic item (Dungeons & Dragons)

Development

1st edition ''AD&D''

2nd edition

3rd edition

4th edition

5th edition

Notable magic items

Major artifacts

Inspirations

Other fantasy stories

• The Hand and Eye of Vecna bear a similarity to items appearing within Michael Moorcock's Corum novels: A left hand and left eye which are able to grant whoever replaces their existing hand and eye with them unusual powers.
• Ioun stones are based on similar artifacts from Jack Vance's Dying Earth series. When functioning, they float in a circular pattern around their bearer's head, and grant various benefits based on their color and shape Two stones of the same type will repel each other, and when drained of power, a stone becomes a dull grey, but still possesses the characteristic floating. While useless to a mage, burned out stones can still yield a single psionic power point to a psionic character in 3rd and 3.5 editions. 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 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, as well as an article about an elemental lord who hoards ioun stones on his home plane of radiance. 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". 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

• The Carpet of Flying is based upon Magic Carpets, which originate in Persian myths and were popularized in media through 1001 Arabian Nights and other adaptations.
• Winged Boots bear a similarity to the Winged Sandals worn by Hermes in Greek Mythology.
• The Broom of Flying is based upon Wiccan Rituals and artwork depicting Witches soaring through the air while riding Broomsticks.
• The Mirror of Life Trapping, a mirror which can steal and trap the souls of living persons, evokes the superstitions of several cultures surrounding mirror's ability to steal souls. During the Jewish mourning process of Shiva, mirrors in a house are to be covered in order to prevent the soul of the deceased from being trapped within them.
• The Flametongue, a sword with a blade engulfed in flame, is similar to other flaming swords appearing in mythology. Some examples of these are Dyrnwyn of Welsh Medieval tradition, and in some writings the Sword of Surtr is described as being flaming.