10 Best D&D Items For Dwarves In The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide

The role of player backgrounds and species has changed dramatically in the 2024 version of Dungeons & Dragons, with backgrounds now being more influential on a character’s abilities. But the choice of character species is still important in determining certain features and access to spells, and many previously underwhelming choices have been made better. The dwarf is one example of this, as it has received a near-complete overhaul in the 2024 Player’s Handbook that makes its features stronger and more useful.

But that’s not all. The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide includes a ton of magic items that are geared towards dwarves. Some are available exclusively to dwarven characters, while others simply synergize well with their abilities. These 10 items pair especially well with what dwarves bring to the table, and would be excellent pick-ups for any character playing a dwarf.

10 Dwarven Plate Armor Represents The Strong Will This Species Is Known For

Armor That Works Lore-Wise And Mechanically

This very rare armor is good in general, but especially for dwarves looking to use heavier armor. It comes in both half plate and plate armor variants, and provides a +2 bonus to AC beyond what those armors normally would. But it also provides an ability that can help keep its wearer in one place on the ground.

When the creature wearing this armor is moved against their will, they can use a reaction to reduce that movement by up to 10 feet. It may not sound like much, but those 10 feet could be the difference between ending a turn on solid ground and careening off the edge of a cliff. It’s especially good for dwarves, not just because the armor is of dwarven make, but because one of their species’ features grants tremorsense, which is only useful while one’s legs are firmly planted on the ground.

9 Adamantine Weapons Can Carve Through Objects With Ease

Working With Mithral-Forged Tools

When it comes to weapons, there are many high-rarity options that suit dwarves well. But the Adamantine weapons provide an uncommon choice for dwarves in the early game. Any weapon can be Adamantine, meaning it was forged from a certain rare mineral deep underground, and this metal is espeically powerful when up against objects.

Adamantine weapons aren’t technically magical, and will not get past the resistances that certain monsters have to physical damage. But it’s worth nothing that several specific monsters are vulnerable to Adamantine weaponry in older
DnD
source books.

Specifically, Adamantine weapons automatically crit when they hit any object, such as a door, wall, or floor. The idea of a weapon good for breaking up solid objects brings a pickaxe to mind, making this weapon fit aesthetically with the idea of a dwarven miner. While these weapons may not be any better at attacking living foes than a normal version, they still provide some creative options for players when interacting with their environment.

8 The Ring Of Free Action Makes Dwarves More Mobile

Avoid The Pitfalls Of Rough Terrain

Dwarves in the 2024 rules no longer have a reduced speed of 25 feet per turn. Now, every player species has at least 30 feet of movement, so old items to boost walking speeds, like the Boots of Striding and Springing, are a little less useful. But rare items like the Ring of Free Action still have plenty of use, especially for dwarves with lower dexterity scores.

The Ring of Free Action makes difficult terrain a non-issue for its wearer, allowing players to easily navigate rocky mountains and vine-covered jungles. It also protects its wearer from magical effects which would reduce their speed or cause them to become paralyzed or restrained, two of the more annoying conditions in DnD. It’s a good ring all around, and it’s especially powerful against certain enemies that make a habit of slowing down their foes.

7 The Amulet Of Health Accentuates Dwarven Vitality

Maxxing Out Durability In Combat

Dwarves tend to have pretty high conditions, and in the 2024 rules, they inherently gain an extra hit point at each level-up. As such, they tend to be pretty tough regardless of their class. It can be a good strategy for a tanky character to bolster their health as much as possible, and the Amulet of Health certainly helps with that.

This rare wondrous item raises its wearer’s constitution score to 19, regardless of its normal value. It’s a great item for characters that don’t put as many points into their constitution score, but since it gets less powerful the higher that score already is, this item works a lot better if players plan to get it. Some dwarves may already have an 18 or even 20 in constitution, in which this item is virtually useless. But it can free up characters to focus on other ability scores while being secure in their health remaining high.

6 The Axe Of The Dwarvish Lords Is Blessed By Dwarven Gods

An Artifact Of Old Dwarven Heroes

This magic item is so iconic and powerful that it has earned the status of “artifact.” Artifacts in DnD tend to have more special features associated with them than other items, as well as a few random effects and a specific way they must be destroyed, should players wish to do that. It has legendary status and a whole bullet point list of effects, most of which are tailored towards tanky and melee-type characters.

Starting off, the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords has a +3 for attack and damage rolls, and deals an extra 20 damage on a critical hit. On top of that, it increases one’s darkvision and constitution scores, grants immunity to multiple damage types, and can be thrown to deal extra damage. Finally, the wielder may choose to summon an earth elemental to help them in combat or even use the axe to teleport to an underground location. It’s a very good weapon that has a lot going on flavor-wise to tie it to dwarves, yet there are other weapons that dwarven characters may be more interested in.

5 The Periapt Of Wound Closure Synergizes With A High Constitution

Having As Many Hit Points As Possible

Much like the Amulet of Health, the Periapt of Wound Closure is a necklace that makes its wearer more durable. However, unlike that amulet, this periapt works better the higher a character’s constitution already is. The Periapt of Wound Closure has two basic functions: it causes downed characters to automatically succeed on death saving throws, and it doubles the amount of hit points that hit dice restore during a short rest.

This item used to automatically stabilize a creature when it went to 0 hit points, but that effect has been weakened slightly with the 2024 rule set.

That second feature is what makes this item so good for high-constitution characters. Players add their constitution modifier to the value rolled on their hit dice to determine how many hit points they get back per dice rolled. The rules seem to imply that both the constitution modifier and hit dice value are doubled due to this item, meaning that players could potentially restore huge quantities of health per hit dice roll, and be able to do more across an adventuring day.

4 The Stone Of Controlling Earth Elementals Provides A Thematically-Relevant Summon

This Item Is Back And Better Than Before

The four items used to summon different types of elementals have been improved with the release of the new Dungeon Master’s Guide, since they no longer require the user’s concentration, and there’s no chance of the summoned creature turning against the party. In other words, there’s much less risk involved with the Stone of Controlling Earth Elementals, and it can be used to effectively add a tough creature to the party’s side during combat.

While any elemental can be good for a fight, the earth elemental seems particularly on-brand for a dwarf. They share having a tremorsense ability and a strength against poison damage, allowing for some creative cooperative play. While the new stats for earth elementals have not yet been released, as DnD‘s new Monster Manual revision does not come out until 2025, one can assume they will be at least similar to the old stat block, meaning this elemental can bring both damage and durability to the table.

3 The Ring Of X-Ray Vision Can Take Tremorsense To New Heights

Expand Your Dwarf’s Senses

Dwarven player characters in the 2024 rules have some pretty wide-ranging senses, with both 120 feet of darkvision and an ability that grants temporary tremorsense. Tremorsense allows creatures to sense vibrations moving on or through the earth, picking up the locations of burrowing or even invisible creatures. The Ring of X-Ray Vision would allow dwarves to not only sense a creature underground, but see them and even conduct certain kinds of attacks against them.

This ring grants 30 feet of x-ray vision, allowing the wearer to see through walls and through to different levels of buildings. It is unfortunately rather short-ranged when it comes to looking through thick layers of solid objects, and can only get through around 3 feet of solid dirt. Still, certain spells have the requirement that the caster must see the target, and this ring allows dwarves to do just that and target creatures beneath the ground with options like mind spike or hold monster.

2 The Dwarven Thrower Is A Powerful And Fun Melee Option

This Dwarf-Exclusive Weapon Is Quite Impressive

The Dwarven Thrower is one of a few items that only dwarves can attune to, making it quite special among the options in the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide. Mechanically, it works rather similarly to the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, albeit a good deal weaker. But this weapon is easier to obtain, being very rare rather than legendary, and is nearly as strong when it comes to churning out raw damage. Plus, it offers dwarves a combination melee-range weapon to bludgeon foes both close up and far away.

The

2024
DMG
does clarify for the dwarf-exclusive items that a Belt of Dwarvenkind will allow non-dwarves to attune to them, meaning that potentially other species could use this item.

The weapon has a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls, and though it is a warhammer, can be thrown at enemies within 20–60 feet. When used this way, the thrower deals an extra 1d8 Force damage (or 2d8 against giants), and then returns to the wielder’s hand. It’s a nice alternative for melee characters that are used to relying on javelins, and deals bludgeoning damage, which can be one of the more effective physical damage types.

1 Whelm Longs To Be Wielded By A Dwarf

A Weapon With A Mind Of Its Own

Finally, there is Whelm, a legendary weapon that is both deadly and sentient. Like a few other magic items, Whelm has a mind of its own, with wants, grudges, and goals. This warhammer was forged by an ancient dwarven clan, and longs to return to fight for one of its members. Like the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, it is considered an artifact; unlike that axe, this weapon can only be attuned to by dwarves.

Whelm has a +3 to attack and damage rolls, can be thrown 60–180 feet to deal extra force damage, and can trigger a shockwave to hurt and stun creatures around the wielder. It can also be used to cast a few spells, and since it is sentient with its own stats, it can lend aid to the wielder beyond what a normal weapon could do. Whelm’s purpose is to protect dwarves, meaning it will do everything it can to keep a dwarven user safe. It’s a weapon that is both loyal and strong, everything an adventurer could ask for when fighting terrifying foes in Dungeons & Dragons.

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