Dungeons & Dragonshas no shortage of great magic items, but not every fantastic option is beloved by every party. The Rod of the Pact Keeper is a great piece of Warlock loot, for example, but it might as well be a regular stick for any party that doesn’t have any pacts in play. Only a small selection of items is likely to appeal to almost everyone, and an even smaller amount is likely to end up in the average campaign.
The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guide,set for awide release on November 12, is staking its claim as the newest go-to magic item resource forDnD. Part of its utility comes from magic items that previously appeared outside theDungeon Master’s Guideand new items altogether, but the core selection of magic items from the 2014Dungeon Master’s Guideis still essential to the lineup. Although many of those magic items remain unchanged, some have received key tweaks, and one that was already considered a definitive party staple is actually even better according to the 2024 rules.
D&D’s 2024 Player’s Handbook Buffs The Bag Of Holding
The Best Magic Item Is Lighter Than Before
The Bag of Holding, which traditionally weighed 15 pounds even if 500 pounds of items were stored inside it, now weighs only five poundsaccording to the description inDnD’s 2024Dungeon Master’s Guide.As an extradimensional storage option that can serve as the party’s dumping ground for endless junk, theBag of Holding’s ability to trivialize encumbrancehas been a godsend for manyDnDcampaigns. 15 pounds already made it light enough to be easily manageable, especially considering how little the average player would need to carry outside of it, making the adjustment surprising.
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The most logical explanation for the buff is an in for a penny, in for a pound sentiment —if a Bag of Holding’s purpose is to prevent the party from having to worry much about encumbrance, it might as well do so with additional style. There is some genuine value to having the additional ten pounds of standard carry weight, even if it’s largely situational. The limited supply of breathable air inside a Bag of Holding could force the party to drag around an unconscious NPC, for example, and it’s better to have some items immediately on hand.
Heward’s Handy Haversack Might Be The Real Best D&D Item
Even More Space & Convenience
Changing the Bag of Holding’s weight to 5 pounds brings it in line with Heward’s Handy Haversack, another magic item with extradimensional storage that hasn’t proven quite as popular over the years. If the Haversack remained unchanged, this could make it almost entirely obsolete, but it gets an even bigger buff than the Bag of Holding.While the 2014Dungeon Master’s Guideallowed for 20 pounds of material in each side pouch and 80 in the main pouch, that’s been buffed to 200 and 500, officially making the Handysack a more comprehensive option.
Damage to a Bag of Holding or Heward’s Handy Haversack scatters the contents in the Astral Plane, so there’s also an inherent risk to storing particularly valuable items inside.
The other big benefit of using Heward’s Handy Haversack over the Bag of Holding is that it magically sorts the right item to the top whenever someone reaches in, eliminating some potential fumbling around that could happen with the Bag of Holding. The mechanical advantage of this was previously unclear, as reaching into the Bag of Holding previously only required one action, but the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guidecodifies the difference by making it possible to grab something out of the Handysack whileonly using a Bonus Actionto do so.
D&D’s Most Exciting 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide Change Could Shape Future Campaign Books
The Dungeon Master’s Guide is making one particularly big overhaul to the game, and it doesn’t sound like it will be a one-off inclusion.
Getting a buff for the Bag of Holding certainly won’t do any damage to its popularity, but any players that can manage to acquire a Heward’s Handy Haversack now have no reason not to make it their go-to storage solution instead. The changes to both magic items make for an interesting new dynamic, and even if they won’t radically alter the course of any campaigns, they’re important updates to note for those who might not be picking up the 2024Dungeons & DragonsDungeon Master’s Guideright at launch.
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop game originally invented in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The fantasy role-playing game brings together players for a campaign with various components, including abilities, races, character classes, monsters, and treasures. The game has drastically expanded since the ’70s, with numerous updated box sets and expansions.
