# Wizard robes ideas



## fadetoblack (Apr 27, 2012)

Hi, I am fairly new as a GM. One of the party members who is playing a wizard will be finding some magic robes in the next session. I was just after some ideas for what effects a set of magic robes would have as there aren't really any in the PHB. It could improve arcana skill or maybe add +1 range to spells or something like that. The party is currently at level 3. Thanks for any ideas.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Apr 27, 2012)

One of the simplest things to do for different magic items is to take properties from one and put them in another.  For instance, a robe that added +1Att/Dam (like a weapon) could be cool for a wizard with lots of attack spells that required targeting.

Or the same wiz would benefit from something similar but unique- say...boosting spell damage die by 1 die type.  D4s become d6s, d8s become d10s.


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## mneme (Apr 27, 2012)

Cloth armor are basically magic robes (when worn by a wizard, anyway).


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## Anaximander2889 (Apr 27, 2012)

Some handy Robes that I think a Wizard would appreciate:

of Cleansing +1 (LVL 3) - Adds +2 to Saving Throws against Ongoing Damage

of Useful Items +1 (LVL 2) - Daily Minor pull out a nonmagical item of 10gp or less (at DM discretion), stays in existence for an hour, then disappears.  After that you can pull again from the robe, so it's not really a daily.  (Awesome with and Artificer)

Runic Armor +1 (LVL 3) - Armor bonus to Arcana checks, Enhancement bonus to damage with Arcane powers until end of turn after second wind.

Stanching Armor +1 (LVL 3) - Daily Minor to spend a Healing Surge and heal value + Armor Enhancement bonus.

Battle Harness +1 (LVL 4) - Free Action Draw Weapon or Item, Enhancement bonus to Initiative

Robe of Contingency +1 (LVL 4) - Daily Immediate Reaction - If you're bloodied and you're hit with an attack and it damages you, teleport 6 squares and you may spend a healing surge.


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## the Jester (Apr 27, 2012)

Dannyalcatraz said:


> One of the simplest things to do for different magic items is to take properties from one and put them in another.  For instance, a robe that added +1Att/Dam (like a weapon) could be cool for a wizard with lots of attack spells that required targeting.
> 
> Or the same wiz would benefit from something similar but unique- say...boosting spell damage die by 1 die type.  D4s become d6s, d8s become d10s.




Balance breakers!

The place to have bonuses that always apply to attack and damage is in an implement. Robes are armor. Unless you're giving the fighter armor of +1 attacks as well. Otherwise, you're probably creating an imbalance that will eventually screw things up. A per encounter attack bonus or damage bonus would prolly be okay, though.

But yeah, "robes" are wizardspeak for "cloth armor".


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## Ryujin (Apr 27, 2012)

the Jester said:


> Balance breakers!
> 
> The place to have bonuses that always apply to attack and damage is in an implement. Robes are armor. Unless you're giving the fighter armor of +1 attacks as well. Otherwise, you're probably creating an imbalance that will eventually screw things up. A per encounter attack bonus or damage bonus would prolly be okay, though.
> 
> But yeah, "robes" are wizardspeak for "cloth armor".




It doesn't really matter, from a game balance standpoint. As long as you make the robe the same bonus type as a weapon or implement, an Enhancement Bonus, it won't stack with another weapon or implement. Nothing broken.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Apr 27, 2012)

> Balance breakers!




Not so much- magic armor that adds to offense doesn't necessarily add to defense.  Sure, he can blast more effectively, but his defenses remain unchanged...  He'll love that added punch, but down the road, he'll wonder why he keeps getting tagged by heinous return fire.


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## bganon (Apr 27, 2012)

Dannyalcatraz said:


> Not so much- magic armor that adds to offense doesn't necessarily add to defense.  Sure, he can blast more effectively, but his defenses remain unchanged...  He'll love that added punch, but down the road, he'll wonder why he keeps getting tagged by heinous return fire.




No, I don't think it works out that way in practice.  PCs dish out far more damage than they take, and Wizards especially tend to make many more attack rolls than monsters make against them.  Many monsters can't return fire if they're immobile or dazed, let alone stunned or removed from play.  If it were possible to trade, every Wizard would choose offense over defense and get an overall power increase.


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## The Red King (Apr 27, 2012)

Robe of Protection +1 is always nice too.


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## Octangula (Apr 27, 2012)

Here's a few more ideas, taking party level into account:

Parchment Armor (lvl 4+): Probably not the best choice at +1, but interesting at higher levels.

Bloodthread Armor (lvl 5+): Useful if they end up in trouble. The bonus to saving throws will help them be disabled a bit less. My sorcerer took this as her lvl+0 when joining a party a few months ago.

And the following choices are worth considering if you haven't yet given out a lvl+4 item this level, and are willing to do so here. Note that all of these will be +2 instead of +1.

Agile/Indomitable/Vigorous Resolve Vestments (lvl 2+): Similar to Bloodthread, but boosts a NAD, and doesn't boost saving throws.

Robe of Eyes (lvl 2+): Bonus to Perception.

Repulsion Armor (lvl 2+): Very useful to stop enemies from coming near. Note that the push is an IR, and so is limited to once per round.


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## AbdulAlhazred (Apr 27, 2012)

Cloak of the Mountebank is always interesting, as is a Cloak of the Walking Wounded for some characters.


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## fenriswolf456 (Apr 27, 2012)

bganon said:


> No, I don't think it works out that way in practice. PCs dish out far more damage than they take, and Wizards especially tend to make many more attack rolls than monsters make against them. Many monsters can't return fire if they're immobile or dazed, let alone stunned or removed from play. If it were possible to trade, every Wizard would choose offense over defense and get an overall power increase.




It would have to be worded carefully. As someone suggested, if the +1 offensive bonus of the robes was treated as an Implement bonus, then it's no different than if the wizard got a +1 wand instead. And if the wizard does get a magic wand later, the robes will then provide no bonus.


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## Castellanox7 (May 2, 2012)

I'd take into consideration the makeup of your party: are all the roles covered? Are there more strikers or controllers than there "should" be?

Also, note what attacks they use most often. If they're fulfilling a controller's role, the character'd benefit more from one type of bonus than if they're trying to be more of a striker.

Also, as a "could work in theory, but might suck in implementation" side, how are their to-hit die rolls? Could you just have normal robes, but once per encounter/day they can have an "elven accuracy"-esque "reroll if you don't like it" effect?

Just some out there $0.02. Good Luck!
-CastX7

P.S. Also, I'll just leave this here.


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