Most useful Trinkets - Tips & Tactics - Dungeons & Dragons Discussion - D&D Beyond Forums (2024)

PHB 159: When you make your character, you can roll once on the Trinkets table to gain a trinket, a simple item lightly touched by mystery.

I was thinking about how some of the trinkets are significantly more useful than others and was wandering what uses other people might come up with for Trinkets that I didn't think of.

For example:

On the Player's Handbook table, #2 & #40 are both crystals that would fill the criteria for being Arcane Focuses, useful if a character plans on multiclassing into a spellcasting class, but otherwise wouldn't have an arcane focus at character creation.

In the Elemental Evil table, #12 (A small handmirror which only reflects inanimate objects) is perfect for a campaign in which Mimic are a factor, because even their perfect disguises wouldn't make them appear in the mirror.

In the Elemental Evil table, #60 (An eye-sized blue pearl that floats on water) would fill the material component for the Identify spell.

In Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft's table, #99 (A shrunken gremishka head that twitches when anyone casts magic nearby) would reveal that someone's casting the otherwise undetectable Subtle metamagic.

In the Acquisitions Incorporated table,#30 (A bracelet woven from Mistletoe) you have on your wrist the material component for the Goodberry spell.

In the Acquisitions Incorporated table #96 (a small, severed tentacle preserved in alcohol) you have the material component for Hunger of Hadar and Evard's Black Tentacles.

In the Wilds Beyond the Witchlight table, #68 (a Wooden pan flute that attracts harmless local fauna when played) is a musical instrument that can be the focus for a Bard's spells if you multiclass into it and don't otherwise have an instrument at character creation.

My dms/tables tend to use trinkets for dm organized plot items.

we used "A tiny gnome-crafted music box that plays a song you dimly remember from your childhood"(phb 21) as a plot device for my Divine soul sorcerer.

we used the "needle that points..." also as a interesting plot point as well.

the curse of strahd 03-04 "A lock that opens when blood is dripped in its keyhole" is also a fun one to practically use.

Quote from FayetteGamer >>

In the Wilds Beyond the Witchlight table, #68 (a Wooden pan flute that attracts harmless local fauna when played) is a musical instrument that can be the focus for a Bard's spells if you multiclass into it and don't otherwise have an instrument at character creation.

Just using it as an instrument seems less valuable to me than the ability to summon local fauna. If you're playing as something like a Forest Gnome or other race that can communicate with wildlife, or if you just have access to the Speak with Animals spell this makes it much easier to find local wildlife to question.

Quote from TransmorpherDDS >>

Quote from FayetteGamer >>

In the Wilds Beyond the Witchlight table, #68 (a Wooden pan flute that attracts harmless local fauna when played) is a musical instrument that can be the focus for a Bard's spells if you multiclass into it and don't otherwise have an instrument at character creation.

Just using it as an instrument seems less valuable to me than the ability to summon local fauna. If you're playing as something like a Forest Gnome or other race that can communicate with wildlife, or if you just have access to the Speak with Animals spell this makes it much easier to find local wildlife to question.

Sure, but this thread is about trinkets (minor items that usually come listed on a table) and that instrument is an actual magic item and a focus but not a trinket.

Can I suggest, as a trinket, 1d6 musketeers figurines ( 1/2 ft of height and 1/8 lb of weight each one ) made in iron metal ????

Or, why not, a paint of a famous bard doing le Woo-woo with an orc bartender. The paint measures and size at DM's choice.

Quote from Foodgeek >>

Quote from TransmorpherDDS >>

Quote from FayetteGamer >>

In the Wilds Beyond the Witchlight table, #68 (a Wooden pan flute that attracts harmless local fauna when played) is a musical instrument that can be the focus for a Bard's spells if you multiclass into it and don't otherwise have an instrument at character creation.

Just using it as an instrument seems less valuable to me than the ability to summon local fauna. If you're playing as something like a Forest Gnome or other race that can communicate with wildlife, or if you just have access to the Speak with Animals spell this makes it much easier to find local wildlife to question.

Sure, but this thread is about trinkets (minor items that usually come listed on a table) and that instrument is an actual magic item and a focus but not a trinket.

It's literally a trinket on the Wild Beyond the Witchlight table... I even gave the page reference.

There's no rule precluding trinkets (magic or otherwise) from being used as a magical focus if they meet the requirements (such as being a musical instrument for a Bard).