Item Sets
Item sets are likely a very familiar concept to players of nearly any modern RPG, especially if that RPG happens to be one of the myriad of MMOs that have come about in the last decade or two. It's a simple concept, but one that turns finding a magic item—something already sure to please the lucky player—into an epic quest in and of itself to find all of the item's magical kin.
Item Sets: Design Theory
While many games handle item sets differently, there are almost always a few basic elements that go into it. These elements should be carried over when adapting this concept to D&D.
First and foremost, each individual item in the set must share a theme with the rest. Not only should these items all be geared toward the same type of character and "feel" like a cohesive collection, but they will traditionally be rooted in a single story or background, as well as support (or complement) a single aesthetic. Most often this comes from the items' origin or intended purpose, but can really be anything that thematically unifies each item in the set.
Second, the set should focus mechanically on one aspect of the intended character's performance. In other words, an item set should focus on improving its owner in one specific area, though the exact breadth of that area is up to the set's creator. For example, while each piece of the set presented below is helpful for just about any heavily-armored character, the set together focuses on allowing its wearer to better hold their ground, and to keep their allies out of harm's way (sometimes by putting themselves in danger to do so).
Finally, the trademark element of an item set is that the set as a whole improves the more pieces of it the character finds and equips. These bonuses are usually cumulative, but can realistically work however best suits the individual set. These improvements should ideally follow the same theme that the items themselves do, namely improving the wearer in the same specific area.
Having said all this, it's not necessarily a bad thing if you deviate from this formula. Many players are vocal critics of how D&D is sometimes treated by some as if it were a video game, and honestly (in my opinion anyway), those criticisms aren't without merit. So don't be afraid to treat item sets however works best for you and your table, but most of all, remember that the objective for everything you do at the table is for everyone to have fun, so if that's being accomplished, you can't be too far off the mark.
Item Sets in D&D 5e
For the most part, magic items that are part of a set follow the normal rules for all other magic items. The one exception is regarding attunement for magic item in a magic item set—specifically, how these magic item sets (which often include as many as five or more individual magic items) function within the three item limit for attunement.
Item Sets and Attunement
Magic items that are part of a set are particularly harmonious in their attunement to an owner. Because of their unique cohesiveness, no matter how many items from a single item set you attune to, those items count as only a single item for the purposes of determining if you've reached your attunement limit.
However, the extra magical energy from the synergy between these items prevents them from being used with another different set. You can't be attuned to magic items from more than one different magic item sets at a time. While attuned to one or more magic items from a set, you can still attune to magic items not from a set as normal.
Set Bonuses
Set bonuses for magic item sets are additional benefits gained from a magic item set when you become attuned to multiple pieces from that set. Unless stated otherwise in an item's description, you can only count an item from a set toward the number of items that determines the set bonus while you are attuned to that item and are within 100 feet of it.
Set bonuses are usually cumulative, though some item sets may state otherwise. For example, if you are attuned to four items from a particular item set, you not only gain the set bonus that comes from attuning to four items from the set, but also the bonus that comes from attuning to three, and so on.
Example: Knight of the Steel Bulwark's Regalia
Below is an example item set to demonstrate these rules.
Knight of the Steel Bulwark's Regalia
This particular item set is attributed to an order of knights known for their characteristic suits of armor, and for selflessly protecting their allies in battle, no matter the cost to themselves.
This massive suit of plate armor is as fantastical as it is imposing. Each piece is made from plates of metal considerably thicker than the average plate armor, so much so that the average knight wouldn't even be able to lift it if it weren't enchanted to be lighter.
The Knights of the Steel Bulwark themselves were a particularly understated group. The knights maintained no permanent headquarters, and being a quiet, stoic group, made no effort to make themselves known to those outside the order.
Furthermore, the group served no single cause, other than the ideal of protecting one's friends and allies. As such, chapters of these knights could be found in nearly any nation, and serving nearly any kingdom, which inevitably led to different chapters of the order facing one another in battle. This was an understood eventuality among them, however, and they nonetheless wished only good fortune for their brothers and sisters who faced them from across the battlefield.
Set Bonuses
As you find and attune to more pieces of this armor, you gain more of its magical benefits, as detailed on the following table.
Set Bonuses
| Items Attuned | Cumulative Benefits |
|---|---|
| 1 | — |
| 2 | Any time you are moved against your will, reduce that movement by 5 feet, even if you are unconscious or incapacitated. This does not affect forced movement by teleportation. |
| 3 | Gain the following reaction, which you can perform at-will while you receive this set bonus: Living Obstacle. When a hostile creature moves while within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to force it to make a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (target's choice), immediately forcing it to stop moving, and reducing its speed to 0 until the end of the current turn on a failed save. The DC of this saving throw is equal to 8 + your Strength score + your proficiency bonus. |
| 4 | When an ally you can see within 5 feet of you is targeted by a ranged attack roll and that ally is further from the attacker than you, you can cause yourself to become the target of that attack instead. |
| 5 | You gain a +1 bonus to your AC while you have equipped all pieces of this set. |
When you finish your attunement to the fifth and final piece of this set, having shown yourself worthy of the order's respect, a spectral knight lord appears before you to perform a knighting, formally inducting you into the ranks of the Knights of the Steel Bulwark.
Magic Items in this Set
The items belonging to this set are presented in alphabetical order. An item's description gives its name, its type, its rarity, and its magical properties.
Knight of the Steel Bulwark's Gauntlets
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
When a harmful game effect targets an area that includes a willing ally other than yourself that you can see within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to move that ally up to 5 feet into an unoccupied space of your choice, potentially moving the target out of the triggering effect's targeted area.
Knight of the Steel Bulwark's Helm
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)
As a bonus action on your turn, you can either lower or raise the integrated visor on this heavy, imposing helm. While the visor is lowered, you have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, but you have advantage on saving throws against becoming stunned or incapacitated, and you apply double your proficiency bonus to these saving throws, instead of any normal proficiency bonus.
Knight of the Steel Bulwark's Plate Armor
Armor (plate), rare (requires attunement)
This remarkably polished plate armor is comprised from many interlocking plates of dauntingly thick steel, causing it to weigh four times as much as typical plate armor (260 pounds, as opposed to the typical 65 for a Medium-sized humanoid). However, the armor is enchanted to cause it to magically become lightened while worn to make it feasible for the average soldier to take into battle. While you have this armor equipped, its weight becomes 1 pound for the purposes of determining your carried weight, as well as for calculating your total character weight.
Furthermore, when you suffer an amount of nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage that is equal to or less than twice your proficiency bonus (after applying any resistances or other reductions) while you have this armor equipped, that damage is reduced to 1.
Knight of the Steel Bulwark's Sabatons
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
Any time you are moved against your will, you can use your reaction to plant these heavy armored boots into the ground, halving the distance you are moved. You can't use this reaction while you are prone. This does not affect forced movement by teleportation.
Knight of the Steel Bulwark's Shield
Shield, very rare (requires attunement)
This shield is constructed of a surprisingly sharp and angular design, given the sheer thickness of the steel from which it is forged. While wielding this shield, you have a magical +1 bonus to AC, as well as to Strength and Dexterity saving throws. As a bonus action on your turn, you can speak the shield's command word to activate it, causing it to shift its protection to your allies. While the shield is active, it no longer provides you with its magical bonuses, but instead grants these bonuses to each other allied creature of your choice within 5 feet of you. The shield remains active until it is no longer equipped, or until you deactivate it using a subsequent bonus action. Once activated, it can't be activated again until the following dawn.