User:Guy/Rank Guide

Design Note: Unfinished

Proxi's Rank Guide

I reverse-engineered a bunch of the options in the 2024 Player's Handbook to create a comprehensive guide for balancing virtually all homebrew player options.

This guide assigns "ranks" to different player-character features. These ranks can be used to gauge the balance of homebrew spells, feats, common items, magic items, blessings, epic boons—and to a lesser extent species, class features, and potentially other character options. Ranks can also be used to gauge what magic items and blessings are most balanced for a party at any given level.

Limits

Meters are bad and you shouldn't use them. Anyway, this meter is close to the standards of 5e, but it does not perfectly capture 5e's sense of balance. For example it considers a flail that deals 2d4 damage to be fine, and it considers +1 studded leather to be much less expensive than +1 plate.

Single vs Multiple. The meter is relatively good at ranking single effects, which includes most spells and magic items. The meter is relatively poor at ranking anything that aggregates several effects, such as races or classes, as ranks do nothing to estimate how well different features work together. This is more true the more qualities a subject has. The meter is still decent at estimating what should be the most powerful effects within such an aggregate, at least.

Smooth Scaling. The level progression of spells and magic items is deliberately smoother and more consistent from level-to-level than the guidance in the 2014 DMG. See the 5e Spell Design Guide for those standards.

Very Rare. Compared to this guide, the DMG'14 has a wider range and higher upper limit for how powerful very rare items can be. This contrast is represented on page 285 of the DMG'14 which allows spells up to 8th for very rare items, while according to the Rank Table this guide only allows up to 7th. Other details appear under Wondrous Items and some very rare Weapons. Partially to accommodate for this discrepancy, this guide calls such items "epic" instead of "very rare."

How It Works

1. When designing a homebrew subject—especially a feat, item, or species—start with a rank of 0. A spell starts with a rank of -1.
2. As you add qualities to the subject, each quality increases or decreases the subject's rank. Many qualities are assigned a rank in the Quality Table. Due to the overwhelming size of this table, it's listed next to last on this page. While it's impossible to rank every possible homebrew idea, even if qualities don't perfectly match the table can provide a close analogue for most functional ideas.
3. The subject's final rank can be a decent estimate for how powerful the subject is. The Rank Table below details guidelines of each final rank, including item rarity, item cost, spell damage, and comparable level.

See Weapons, Armors, Wondrous Items, Feats, Species, Spells, and Class Features for the standards of each as determined by this guide.

Rank Table

This table is best viewed fullscreen on a 1080p monitor.

Rank	Level	Rarity	Cost (gp)		Spell Level	1/Day Instant Damage (or HP Recovery)						Permanent Buffs
			Permanent	Expendable		One Target Save Negates	One Target Save Halves	Several Targets Save Negates	Several Targets Save Halves	One Target No Save	Smite
0	—	Common	0.01	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	—		0.1	0.01	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Language (after Common)
2	—		1	0.1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Tool Proficiency
3	0th		10	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1st-Level Spell (1/Day), Cantrip, Skill Proficiency
4	1st		100	10	1st	13 (2d12)	11 (2d10)	9 (2d8)	7 (2d6)		9 (2d8)	Light Armor Proficiency, Shield Proficiency
5	2nd	Uncommon	100	10	1st+	19 (3d12)	16 (3d10)	13 (3d8)	10 (3d6)		9 (2d8)	darkvision (60 feet), +1 HP Per Level
6	3rd		200	20	2nd	26 (4d12)	22 (4d10)	18 (4d8)	14 (4d6)		13 (3d8)	+1 ASI, Blindsight (10 ft), Fighting Style, Save Proficiency
7	4th		300	30	2nd+	32 (5d12)	27 (5d10)	22 (5d8)	17 (5d6)		13 (3d8)	Darkvision (150 feet), 3rd-Level Spell (1/Day)
8	5th		400	40	3rd	39 (6d12)	33 (6d10)	27 (6d8)	21 (6d6)		18 (4d8)	Weapon Mastery, Poison Resistance
9	5.5th		500	50	3rd+	45 (7d12)	38 (7d10)	31 (7d8)	24 (7d6)		18 (4d8)	Origin Feat, "Energy" Resistance
10	6th	Rare	1000	100	3rd++	52 (8d12)*	44 (8d10)	36 (8d8)	28 (8d6)		22 (4d8)	—
11	7th		2000	200	4th	52 (8d12)	44 (8d10)	36 (8d8)	28 (8d6)		26 (5d8)	—
12	8th		3000	300	4th+	58 (9d12)	49 (9d10)	36 (9d8)	31 (9d6)		26 (5d8)	+2 Ability Score Increase, blindsight (30 feet)
13	9th		4000	400	5th	65 (10d12)	55 (10d10)	45 (10d8)	35 (10d6)		31 (6d8)	General Feat
14	10th		5000	500	5th+	71 (11d12)	60 (11d10)	49 (11d8)	38 (11d6)		31 (6d8)	—
15	11th	Epic	10k	1000	6th	78 (12d12)	66 (12d10)	54 (12d8)	38 (12d6)		27 (7d8)	—
16	11.5th		20k	2000	6th+	84 (13d12)	71 (13d10)	58 (13d8)	41 (13d6)		27 (7d8)	—
17	12th		30k	3000	6th++	91 (14d12)	77 (14d10)	63 (14d8)	45 (14d6)		27 (8d8)	Truesight (120 feet)
18	13th		40k	4000	7th	91 (14d12)	77 (14d10)	63 (14d8)	48 (14d6)		27 (8d8)	—
19	14th		50k	5000	7th+	97 (15d12)	82 (15d10)	67 (15d8)	52 (15d6)		27 (8d8)	Epic Boon (excluding ability increase)
20	15th	Legendary	100k	10k	8th	104 (16d12)	88 (16d10)	72 (16d8)	55 (16d6)		31 (9d8)	—
21	16th		200k	20k	8th+	110 (17d12)	93 (17d10)	76 (17d8)	59 (17d6)		31 (9d8)	—
22	17th		300k	30k	9th	117 (18d12)	99 (18d10)	81 (18d8)	63 (18d6)		35 (10d8)	—
23	17.5th		400k	40k	9th+	123 (19d12)	104 (19d10)	85 (19d8)	66 (19d6)		35 (10d8)	—
24	18th		500k	50k	9th++	260 (20d12 × 2)	220 (20d10 × 2)	180 (19d8 × 2)	140 (20d6 × 2)		99 (11d8 × 2)	—
25+	19th	Artifact	∞	—	lol everything just dies. probably can't be resurrected either.							Epic Boon (including ability increase)

1/Day Instant Damage

If you can use your action to deal damage instantaneously with little other effect, and this action can be used either once per day or in a limited capacity, it should deal damage according to the standards below. (A "limited capacity" could be a number of daily uses equal to your PB, from 2 or 3 spell slots, from an item with 3 charges that restores 1d3 charges daily at dawn, or similar.) These standards are summarized in the Rank Table. These standards can also be used to estimate how many hit points a spell can restore (e.g., cure wounds) but it is less refined for this purpose, especially at higher levels (e.g., heal).

For spells, double the spell's level to get the variable X. For other features, take the level at which the feature is to be earned, and add 1 to get variable X.

• If a failed attack roll or successful save negates all effect, and there's only one target, the subject deals Xd12 damage.
• If a successful save still deals half damage, and there's only one target, the subject deals Xd10 damage.
• If a failed attack roll or successful save negates all effect, and there's an area-of-effect, the subject deals Xd8 damage.
• If a successful save still deals half damage, and there's an area-of-effect, the subject deals Xd6 damage. (E.g., burning hands.)
• If there's one target and damage is automatic with no save or attack roll, the subject deals Xd6 damage. (E.g., magic missile.)
• If the subject can "split damage" as with magic missile, goodberry, or scorching ray then use the single-target damage.

Substituting Dice. Generally, you can substitute any damage roll with an average result similar to the bolded number. For example, instead of 3d6 you could use 3d4+3 for more consistent damage; or instead of 3d6 you could use 2d10 for more random damage.

Excessive Dice. Rolling more than 10 dice at once can be pretty tedious if it happens more than once a day. For such high amounts it might be better to add a modifier. For example instead of rolling 15d10 (which has an average of 82), a spell could ask for 8d10 (which has an average of 52) + 30.

Plus Damage. A spell can deal one extra damage die if it is exclusive to arcane squishy casters like wizard/sorcerer. For a 3rd, 6th, and 9th levels it can deal two extra dice of damage. This is listed in the table with a "+" or "++" next to the spell level. If a spell also has powerful offensive effects, it should deal a little less damage than the norm for its spell level. Rarely if an effect has drawbacks, such being a melee touch attack, it can otherwise deal a little extra damage for its level (e.g., inflict wounds).

Plus Other. This guide recognizes that some non-damage spells are particularly powerful for their level, and portrays them with "+" or "++". Often these spells are icons of the class(es) able to cast them.

Feats

Within this guide, feats are ranked almost exclusively by the standards present in the 2024 Player's Handbook. These appear much more balanced than earlier feats.

A feat ideally has an aggregate rank equal to its minimum level requirement + 9. An "aggregate rank of 10" for example means all the qualities it provides add up to a rank total of 10.

• An Origin Feat is treated as though it can be obtained at level 0, so its ideal aggregate rank is 9.
• A General Feat can be obtained starting at level 4, so its ideal aggregate rank is 13.
• An Epic Boon can be obtained starting at level 19, so its ideal aggregate rank is 28.
• If creating a feat supplemental to official material, a feat's level requirement should generally only be 1, 4, or 19. Making a feat with a prerequisite of level 8, 12, or 16 is reasonable in a vacuum but without enough options for feats at those levels the options become unbalanced in an undesirable way.

The table below details some feats and how they are ranked by this guide. As most feats are walled behind copyright, the exact text of them is not reproduced here.

Origin Feats

Rank	Origin Feat	Qualities
9	Alert	Initiative Proficiency (+5), Initiative Swap (+4*)
9	Healer	Battle Medic (+4), Healer Reroll (+4)
9	Linguist	Ability Up One (+5), 3 Language (+3), "Written Ciphers" (+1*)
9	Magic Initiate	1st-Level Spell (+3), 2 Cantrip (+6)
9	Savage Attacker	3 Damage Up (+9) assuming d12 weapon
9	Skilled	3 Skill Proficiency (+9)
9	Tavern Brawler	Natural Weapon [d4] (+1), Improvised Proficiency (+2), Unarmed Damage Reroll (+1*), Shove Attacks (+5*)
9	Tough	2 HP Up (+9)

• The Lucky feat doesn't truly have multiple qualities to rank, but this guide treats its benefit as rank 9.

General Feats

Rank	General Feat	Qualities
10	Ability Score Improvement	2 Ability Up Any (+10)
12	Actor	Ability Up One (+5), Check Advantage (+2){but}, Mimicry (+6), Prerequisite (-1)
13	Crusher	Ability Up One (+5), Enhanced Critical (+3), Shove (+5)
12	Heavily Armored	Ability Up One (+5), Armor Proficiency Up (+8), Prerequisite (-1)
13	Keen Mind	Ability Up One (+5), Expertise (+5), Quick Study (+4*), Prerequisite (-1)
13	Lightly Armored	Ability Up One (+5), Armor Proficiency (+4), Shield Proficiency (+4)
12	Moderately Armored	Ability Up One (+5), Armor Proficiency Up (+8), Prerequisite (-1)
13	Observant	Ability Up One (+5), Expertise (+5), Quick Search (+4*), Prerequisite (-1)
12	Resilient	Ability Up Any (+6), Save Proficiency (+6)
13	Piercer	Ability Up One (+5), Brutal Critical (+2), 3 Damage Up (+9) assuming d12 weapon (-3* with one damage type and 1/turn),
13	Skulker	Ability Up One (+5), Blindsight [10 feet] (+6), Check Advantage (+2), Sniper (+1*), Prerequisite (-1)
13	Shadow-Touched	Ability Up One (+5), 1st-Level Spell (+3), 2nd-Level Spell (+5)
14	Skill Expert	Ability Up Any (+6), Skill Proficiency (+3), Skill Expertise (+5)
13	Speedy	Ability Up One (+5), 2 Speed Up (+5), Dash over Difficult Terrain (+1*), Agile Movement (+3*), Prerequisite (-1)
13	Telekinetic	Ability Up One (+5), Cantrip (+3), Ranged Shove Bonus Action (+5*)
13	Telepathic	Ability Up One (+5), 2nd-Level Spell (+5), Telepathy (+3*)
14	War Caster	Ability Up One (+5), Concentration (+4*), Reactive Spell (+4*), Somatic Components (+2), Prerequisite (-1)
13	Weapon Master	Ability Up One (+5), Weapon Mastery (+8)

Fighting Styles

In the 2014 PHB fighting styles were clearly weaker than feats. Despite this, in the 2024 PHB fighting styles are effectively a type of feat but generally haven't been buffed to compensate for this.

A fighting style ideally has an aggregate rank of 6.

Rank	Fighting Style	Qualities
6	Archery	2 Attack Up (+6)
6	Blessed Warrior	2 Cantrip (+6)
5	Blind Fighting	Blindsight [10 feet] (+6)
6	Defense	Armor Up (+6)
6	Druidic Warrior	2 Cantrip (+6)
6	Dueling Weapon	2 Damage Up (+6)
3	Great Weapon Fighting	Damage Up (+3)
6	Thrown Weapon Fighting	2 Damage Up (+6)
6	Two-Weapon Fighting	3 Damage Up (+9) at the cost of a bonus action (-3)
6	Unarmed Fighting	Natural Weapon [Quarterstaff] (+4), Grapple Damage (+2*)

Epic Boons

In the 2024 PHB, epic boons are effectively feats with a level prerequisite of 19. Unlike normal feats each of these boons have the Ability Max quality, which for the sake of this guide's balance should be considered a requirement.

The Ability Max quality currently ranks at 9 (subject to change), leaving 19 ranks left to assign. These ranks are enough to achieve crazy effects like constant truesight or multiple damage resistances; it's power comparable to an epic item that doesn't require attunement. But these ranks are not enough for an 8th or 9th level spell, nor enough to mimic a legendary item.

Rank	Epic Boon	Qualities
28	Boon of Energy Resistance	Ability Max (+9), 2 Resist Energy (+14), Energy Redirection (+5*)
28	Boon of Fortitude	Ability Max (+9), 2 HP Up (+9), Fortified Health (+10*)
28	Boon of Speed	Ability Max (+9), 6 Speed Up (+15), Escape Artist (+4*)
28	Boon of Skill	Ability Max (+9), Expertise (+5), ~7 Skill Proficiency (+14)
26	Boon of Truesight	Ability Max (+9), Truesight (+17)

Items

Except for armor, ideally any nonmagical or "common" item has a rank of 4 or lower, and costs no more than 100 gp or so.

Item Cost

An item's qualities determine its rank and rarity. Rank and rarity serve as a guideline to how much the item should cost. This is summarized in the Rank Table.

A permanent item can be used indefinitely, if it has "charges" (typically 1/day) that restore over time, or if its consumption provides a permanent benefit such as an increase to ability scores or hit point maximum.

By contrast an expendable item is typically consumed with use and does not have lasting effects. Potions, ammunition, and bombs, for example. An item with a number of non-restoring uses is still expendable, but ranks higher than its one-use equivalent.

Each of the five tiers of rarity is in this guide divided into subtiers.

• A common permanent item's gp cost starts at 0.01 and increases tenfold each subtier: 1 cp, 1 sp, 1 gp, 10 gp, and 100 gp
• An uncommon permanent item's gp cost equals 100 × its subtier: 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500.
• A rare permanent item's gp cost equals 1000 × its subtier: 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000.
• An epic permanent item's gp cost equals 10,000 × its subtier: 10k, 20k, 30k, 40k, and 500k.
• A legendary permanent item's gp cost equals 100,000 × its subtier: 100k, 200k, 300k, 400k, and 500k.

If you go by the 2014 DMG, an expendable item should cost half as much as a permanent item. This guide disagrees. Instead, an expendable item costs 10% as much.

• A common expendable gp cost starts at 0.01 and increases tenfold each subtier: ¹⁄₁₀ cp, 1 cp, 1 sp, 1 gp, and 10 gp.
• An uncommon expendable's gp cost equals 10 × its subtier: 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50.
• A rare expendable's gp cost equals 100 × its subtier: 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500.
• An epic expendable's gp cost equals 1,000 × its subtier: 1k, 2k, 3k, 4k, and 50k.
• A legendary expendable's gp cost equals 10,000 × its subtier: 10k, 20k, 30k, 40k, and 50k.

For common items in particular it can be preferable to base prices on the materials and the difficulty of their construction, rather than how useful they are in game-terms. That is to say, an item of smithed metal costs more than an item of shaped wood, and shaped wood costs more than raw wood.

Epic & Legendary Buyability. This guide assume any item of rank 15 or higher, which includes every item of epic rarity or greater, cannot be reliably bought such as during downtime trade. Such items could still appear in limited selections for purchase during adventures, or appear from randomized gacha-like pulls (especially pulls which could also include cursed items). This is largely because, like 7th level spells, epic items can completely change the nature of the game in a way that not everyone enjoys. Costs for such items are still included as a guideline.

Non-Item Costs. Note that the presented costs are for items—not structures, vehicles, creatures, buffs, or most services.

• Buffs cannot be bought. The benefit provided by a permanent skill proficiency or permanent ability score increase is normally exclusive to buffs, and even though these properties are not ranked very highly under this system they cannot easily be bought.
• The costs here can be still be used as a guideline for what's affordable. For example an individual character is unlikely to afford a 500 gp vehicle before level 5, but by level 10 something like that might be akin to buying a strong potion.
• Paying for a specific spell to be cast once typically costs as much as a expendable item appropriate to the spell level, plus any material component the spell consumes. For higher levels especially, this is assumed to include expenses such as travel and information-gathering.

Weapons

Every weapon starts as a simple melee weapon with no properties, that deals d4 damage of one type from bash, pierce, and slash. This is a rank 0 item.

Any weapon ideally has a final rank of 4. Any decimal rank, such as 1.1, is always rounded up to the nearest whole number. A score as low as 2 is weak for a standard weapon, but still acceptable. Of all the SRD5 weapons*, a few fail to fall into this range.

• The blowgun, which by any metric seems bizarrely underpowered, and here ranks at an abysmal -2.
• The club, which seems deliberately weak, ranks at 1.
• The greataxe/maul. Official material treats the 2d6 damage die as being equal to the d12 damage die, but this guide deliberately treats it as being slightly more valuable. Due only to that judgment call, this weapon ranks at 5.
• The light crossbow, which ranks at 5, is extremely powerful for a simple ranged weapon. For many characters it's an even better option than any ranged martial weapon.

Cost. Despite being a rank 4 item, a simple melee weapon costs ≈2 gp (or d50 sp), while any other weapons costs 25 gp (or d10 × 5 gp). Outliers include the dart, whip, and light crossbow.

The SRD5 weapons otherwise are ranked as follows.

Rank	Name	Damage	Properties	Qualities
Simple Melee Weapons
1	Club	d4	Light	Light (+1)
4	Dagger	d4	Light, Finesse, Thrown (range 20/60)	Finesse (+2), Thrown (+1), Light (+1)
3	Greatclub	d8	Two-Handed	2 Damage Up (+4), Two-Handed (-1)
4	Handaxe	d6	Light, Thrown (20/60)	Damage Up (+2), Thrown (+1), Light (+1)
4	Javelin	d6	Thrown (30/120)	Damage Up (+2), 2 Thrown (+2)
2	Light Hammer	d4	Light, Thrown (20/60)	Thrown (+1), Light (+1)
2	Mace	d6	—	Damage Up (+2)
4	Spear	d6	Thrown (20/60), Versatile (d8)	Damage Up (+2), Versatile (+1), Thrown (+1)
3	Staff	d6	Versatile (d8)	Damage Up (+2), Versatile (+1)
Simple Ranged Weapons
3	Dart (2024 version)	d4	Finesse, Thrown (range 20/60)	Finesse (+2), Thrown (+1)
5	Light Crossbow	d8	Ammunition (Range 30/120), Loading, Two-Handed	2 Damage Up (+4), Ammo (+3), Loading (-1), Two-Handed (-1)
4	Shortbow	d6	Ammunition (Range 80/320), Two-Handed	Damage Up (+2), Ammo (+3), Two-Handed (-1)
4	Sling	d4	Ammunition (Range 30/120)	Ammo (+2)
Martial Melee Weapons
3	Battleaxe, Longsword, & Warhammer	d8	Versatile (d10)	2 Damage Up (+4), Versatile (+1), Martial (-2)
2	Flail, Morningstar, & War Pick	d8	—	2 Damage Up (+4), Martial (-2)
4	Glaive, Halberd, or Pike	d10	Heavy, Reach, Two-Handed	3 Damage Up (+6), Reach (+2), Two-Handed & Heavy (-2), Martial (-2)
4	Greataxe	d12	Heavy, Two-Handed	4 Damage Up (+8), Two-Handed & Heavy (-2), Martial (-2)
5	Greatsword & Maul	2d6	Heavy, Two-Handed	4 Damage Up (+8), Damage Nudge (+1), Two-Handed & Heavy (-2), Martial (-2)
4	Rapier	d8	Finesse	2 Damage Up (+4), Finesse (+2), Martial (-2)
3	Scimitar & Shortsword	d6	Finesse, Light	Damage Up (+2), Finesse (+2), Light (+1), Martial (-2)
4	Trident (2024 version)	d8	Thrown (20/60), Versatile (d10)	2 Damage Up (+4), Versatile (+1), Thrown (+1), Martial (-2)
3	Whip	d4	Finesse, Reach	Finesse (+2), Reach (+3), Martial (-2)
Martial Ranged Weapons
-2	Blowgun	1	Ammunition (Range 25/100), Loading	Ammo (+2), Damage Down (-1), Loading (-1), Martial (-2)
4	Hand Crossbow	d6	Ammunition (Range 30/120), Light, Loading	Damage Up (+2), Light (+2), Ammo (+3), Loading (-1), Martial (-2)
4	Heavy Crossbow	d10	Ammunition (Range 100/400), Heavy, Loading, Two-Handed	3 Damage Up (+6), {{{2}}}, Ammo (+3), Heavy & Two-Handed & Heavy (-2), Loading (-1), Martial (-2)
4	Longbow	d8	Ammunition (Range 150/600), Heavy, Two-Handed	2 Damage Up (+4), 2 Ammo (+4), Heavy & Two-Handed (-2), Martial (-2)
Magic Weapons
Rank	Name	Damage	Rarity (Cost)	Qualities
8	vicious weapon	X	rare (400 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 2 Brutal Critical (+4)
8	trident of fish command	d8	uncommon (400 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 4th-Level Spell (+9), Attunement (-5)
9	javelin of lightning	d6	uncommon (500 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 2nd-Level Spell (+5)
9	+1 weapon	X+1	uncommon (500 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), Damage Up (+2), Attack Up (+3)
13.5	Flame Tongue	X+2d6	rare (4500 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 6 Damage Up (+12), Damage Nudge (+0.5), Energy Damage (+1), Torch (+1*), Attunement (-5)
14	dagger of venom	d4	rare (5000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 2 Damage Up (+2), Attack Up (+3), 2nd-Level Spell (+5)
14	+2 weapon	X+2	rare (5000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 2 Damage Up (+4), 2 Attack Up (+6)
15.5	sun blade	d8+2	rare (10,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 2 Damage Up (+4), 2 Attack Up (+6), 4.5 Bane (+4.5), Energy Damage (+1), Torch (+1*), Attunement (-5)
14	giant slayer	X+1	rare (5,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), Damage Up (+2), Attack Up (+3), 7 Bane (+3.5), Bane Prone (+1.5*)
14.25	dragon slayer	X+1	rare (6,250 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), Damage Up (+2), Attack Up (+3), 10.5 Bane (+5.25)
16	Frost Brand	X+d6	epic (20,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 3 Damage Up (+6), Resist Energy (+9), Multiple Damage Types (+2), Attunement (-5)
16.5	arrow of slaying	—	epic expendable (2500 gp)	Base Ammo (+4), 33 Bane Bane (+12.5)
17	sword of sharpness	X+3	epic (30,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 5 Damage Up (+10), Torch (+1*), X Brutal Critical (+7), Attunement (-5)
17	scimitar of speed	d6	epic (30,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 2 Damage Up (+4), 2 Attack Up (+6), "of Speed" (+8*), Attunement (-5)
18	nine lives stealer	X+2	epic (40,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 2 Damage Up (+4), 2 Attack Up (+6), "Nine Lives Stealer" (+9), Attunement (-5)
19	dancing sword	X	epic (50,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 2 Damage Up (+4), 2 Attack Up (+6), Disjointed "of Speed" (+10*), Attunement (-5)
19	+3 weapon	X+3	epic (50,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 3 Damage Up (+6), 3 Attack Up (+9)
20	defender	X+3	legendary (100,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 3 Damage Up (+6), 3 Attack Up (+9), AC Bonus Transfer (+6), Attunement
23.5	holy avenger	X+3	legendary (400,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 3 Damage Up (+6), 3 Attack Up (+9), Attunement (-5), Prerequisite (-1), 11 Bane +5.5, Spell Save Advantage AoE (+5*)
24	vorpal sword	X+3	legendary (500,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 3 Damage Up (+6), 3 Attack Up (+9), 5 Brutal Critical [~27] (+10), Attunement (-5)
24.25	dwarven thrower	2d8	epic (525,000 gp)	Base Weapon (+4), 7 Damage Up (+14), 3 Attack Up (+9), 4.5 Bane (+3.25), Attunement (-5), Prerequisite (-1)
25+	luck blade	X+3	legendary (∞) gp	it casts wish ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Armors

Every armor starts as light armor that provides an AC of 10 + your Dexterity modifier. This is a rank 0 item, as it's no better than wearing no armor at all.

A shield starts as a rank 0 item that doesn't provide any protection. This is also a rank 0 item.

Adding Qualities to either item adjusts its rank. The item's final rank determines its approximate cost according to the Rank Table. Examples of SRD5 armor are ranked below.

Rank	Armor	WotC Cost	Ranked Cost	AC	Properties	Qualities
Light Armor
0	Padded	5 gp	≈1 cp	11 + Dex	Loud	Loud (-2), Armor (+2)
2	Leather	10 gp	≈1 gp	11 + Dex	—	Armor (+2)
4	Studded Leather	45 gp	≈100 gp	12 + Dex	—	2 Armor (+4)
9	Studded Leather of Resistance (attune)	rare	≈500 gp	12 + Dex	—	2 Armor (+4), Resist Energy (+9), Attunement (-5, but sets rank to no less than 9)
10	+1 Studded Leather	rare	≈1000 gp	13 + Dex	—	2 Armor (+4), Armor Up (+6)
16	+2 Studded Leather	epic	≈20k gp	14 + Dex	—	2 Armor (+4), 2 Armor Up (+12)
22	+3 Studded Leather	legendary	≈300k gp	15 + Dex	—	2 Armor (+4), 3 Armor Up (+18)
Medium Armor
2	Hide	10 gp	≈1 gp	12 + Dex (max 2)	—	Medium Armor (+2)
4	Chain Shirt	50 gp	≈100 gp	13 + Dex (max 2)	—	Medium Armor (+2), Armor (+2)
5	Scale Mail	50 gp	≈100 gp	14 + Dex (max 2)	Loud	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+4), Loud (-1)
6	+1 Hide	rare	≈200 gp	13 + Dex (max 2)	—	Medium Armor (+2), Armor Up (+4)
6	Breastplate	400 gp	≈200 gp	14 + Dex (max 2)	—	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+4)
8	Adamantine Scale Mail	uncommon	≈400 gp	14 + Dex (max 2)	Crit Negation, Loud	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+4), Loud (-1), Adamantine (+3)
9	Half Plate	750 gp	≈500 gp	15 + Dex (max 2)	Loud	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+6), Armor Up (+5), Loud (-2)
11	+1 Breastplate	rare	≈2000 gp	15 + Dex (max 2)	—	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+4), Armor Up (+5)
11	Breastplate of Resistance (attune)	rare	≈2000 gp	14 + Dex (max 2)	—	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+4), Resist Energy (+9), Attunement (-5)
13	+1 Half Plate	rare	≈4000 gp	16 + Dex (max 2)	Loud	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+4), 2 Armor Up (+9), Loud (-2)
13	Half Plate of Resistance (attune)	rare	≈4000 gp	15 + Dex (max 2)	Loud	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+4), Armor Up (+4), Loud (-2), Resist Energy (+9), Attunement (-5)
20.5	+2 Half Plate	epic	≈25k gp	17 + Dex (max 2)	Loud	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+6), 3 Armor Up (+13.5), Loud (-2)
22	+3 Half Plate	legendary	≈300k gp	18 + Dex (max 2)	Loud	Medium Armor (+2), 2 Armor (+6), 4 Armor Up (+18), Loud (-2)
Heavy Armor
2	Ring Mail	30 gp	≈1 gp	14	Loud	Heavy Armor (+5), Loud (-2), Armor Down (-1)
4	Chain Mail	75 gp	≈100 gp	16	Loud, Prerequisite (Str 13)	Heavy Armor (+5), Armor (+2), Loud (-2), Prerequisite (-1)
7	Splint	200 gp	≈300 gp	16	Loud, Prerequisite (Str 15)	Heavy Armor (+5), 2 Armor (+4), Loud (-2), 2 Prerequisite (-2*), Adamantine (+3)
10	Adamantine Splint	uncommon	≈1000 gp	16	Crit Negation, Loud, Prerequisite (Str 15)	Heavy Armor (+5), 2 Armor (+4), Loud (-2), 2 Prerequisite (-2*)
10	Plate	1500 gp	≈1000 gp	18	Loud, Prerequisite (Str 15)	Heavy Armor (+4), 2 Armor (+4), Armor Up (+4), Loud (-2), 2 Prerequisite (-2*)
14	+1 Plate	rare	≈5000 gp	19	Loud, Prerequisite (Str 15)	Heavy Armor (+4), 2 Armor (+4), 2 Armor Up (+8), Loud (-2), 2 Prerequisite (-2*)
14	Plate of Resistance	rare	≈5000 gp	18	Loud, Prerequisite (Str 15)	Heavy Armor (+4), 2 Armor (+4), Armor Up (+4), Loud (-2), 2 Prerequisite (-2*)
18	+2 Plate	epic	≈40k gp	20	Loud, Prerequisite (Str 15)	Heavy Armor (+4), 2 Armor (+4), 3 Armor Up (+12), Loud (-2), 2 Prerequisite (-2*)
22	+3 Plate	legendary	≈300k gp	21	Loud, Prerequisite (Str 15)	Heavy Armor (+4), 2 Armor (+4), 4 Armor Up (+16), Loud (-2), 2 Prerequisite (-2*)
Shield
4	Shield	20 gp	≈100 gp	+2	—	2 Armor (+4)
9	+1 Shield	uncommon	≈500 gp	+3	—	2 Armor (+4), Armor Up (+4)
14	+2 Shield	rare	≈5000 gp	+4	—	2 Armor (+4), 2 Armor Up (+8)
19	+3 Shield	epic	≈50k gp	+5	—	2 Armor (+4), 3 Armor Up (+12)

Wondrous Items

Until the DMG'24 releases I doubt I'm able to make a fair and comprehensive rank guide based on official precedent. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe if I limit it to uncommon and rare?

As just one modest example, all three of these items are epic:

• A Manual of Gainful Exercise increases your Strength by 2 with no limit, seemingly not even 30.
• An Ioun Stone of Strength increases your Strength by 2 to a maximum of 20, and requires attunement and is weirdly exposed with 24 AC and 10 hit points implying it's pretty easy to destroy.
• A Belt of Fire Giant Strength' increases your Strength to 25 while you are wearing and attuned to it.

Rank	Item	WotC Rarity	Ranked Cost	Qualities	Notes
12	gem of seeing	rare	≈3000 gp	Truesight (+17), Attunement (-5)	The DMG'14 says any item that solely mimics 6th-level spell effect should be rare, while this guide insists it should be epic. Even though this spell mimics a 6th level spell this system ranks it as rare... just like the DMG'14 does. The Attunement quality is peculiar; concerning perhaps.
18	manual of gainful exercise manual of quickness of action manual of bodily health tome of clear thought tome of understanding tome of leadership and influence	epic	≈40k gp	Ability Max (+18)	This guide and WotC both currently rank these as only epic but... I imagine in the DMG'14 these are either increasing in rarity or getting a more explicit ability cap.

Species

Work In Progress

Spells

Work In Progress

Every spell starts at rank -1 with these details:

• A cast time of 1 action.
• For a beneficial spell, a range of touch. For a harmful spell, a range of 60 feet.
• Verbal and Somatic Components (V, S). This guide ignores any Material component (M) that doesn't have a listed cost.
• A duration of either Instantaneous or 8 Hours, as appropriate to the spell effect.

The spell's rank is defined by its effect, and this rank is modified by other qualities. A spell's final rank determines its spell level.

Rank	Spell Level	Name	Properties
3	1st	longstrider	2 Speed Up (+5), Duration Down (-2), (-1)
4	1st	alarm	Alarm (+3.5*), 2 Range Up (+0.5), Cast Time Up (-1), Ritual (+2), (-1)
4	1st	dissonant whispers	10.5 Damage One Target Save Halves (+4), Range Down (-0.5), Forced Flee (+1.5*), (-1)
4	1st	chromatic orb	13.5 Damage One Target Save Negates (+4), Choose Damage Type (+1), Range Down (-0.5), Material Component (-0.5), 12.5% Chance to Hit A Second Target (+1*), (-1)
4	1st	hunter's mark	3 Damage Up (+9), Bonus Action Cast (+5), Check Advantage (+1.5*), Duration Down (-2), Range Down (-0.5), Concentration (-8), (-1)
4	1st	mage armor	Armor 13+Dex (+5), (-1)
4	1st	grease	Knock Prone AoE (+3), Duration Up (+2), (-1)
4	1st	magic missile	10.5 Damage Split Damage No Save (+5), (-1)
4	1st	guiding bolt	~14 Damage One Save Negates (+4), Gives One Attack Advantage (+1), (-1)
5	1st+	shield of faith	2 Armor Up (+12), Bonus Action Cast (+5), 2 Ranged Cast (+*), 2 Duration Down (-4), Concentration (-8), (-1)
6	2nd	darkvision (2024)	Darkvision [150 feet] (+7), (-1)
6	2nd	nondetection (2024)	Nondetection (+7), (-1)
6	2nd	aid	HP Up [5 HP] [Targeting 3] (+6.5*), 2 Range Up (+0.5), (-1)
6	2nd	barkskin (2024)	Set AC (+8), Duration Down (-2)
5.5	2nd	protection from poison	Resist Poison (+8), Duration Down (-1.5*), (-1)
7	2nd+	magic weapon	Attack & Damage Up (+5), Bonus Action Cast (+5), Duration Down (-2*), (-1)
7.5	3rd	protection from energy	Resist Energy [5 Options] (+16), Concentration (-6), Duration Down (-1.5*), (-1)
9.5	3rd++	lightning bolt	26 Damage Several Save Halves (+10), ~2 Range Up (+0.5), (-1)
9.75	3rd++	fireball	26 Damage Several Save Halves (+10), 3 Range Up (+0.75), (-1)
13	5th	harm	~49 Damage One Save Halves (+12), Max Hit Point Reduction (+2), (-1)
14	5th+	destructive wave	~35 Damage Several Save Halves (+10), Selective Targeting (+2*), Knock Prone AoE (+3), (-1)
15	6th	true seeing	Truesight (+17), Duration Down -(1.5), Material Component (-0.5)
23	9th+	foresight (2024)	Universal Advantage (+25), Cast Time Up (-1*), (-1)

Class Features

Work In Progress

I predict these will probably be the least consistent ranks I assign. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There's a lot of moving parts in a class.

Quality Table

Rank Change	Quality	Subject Categories			Benefit
		Buffs	Item(s)	Spells
-3	Martial	—	simple weapon	—	The weapon becomes martial, and is no longer simple. To add your PB to attack rolls with this weapon, you must either be specifically proficient with the weapon or proficient with all martial weapons.
-2	Heavy & Two‑Handed	—	martial weapon	—	(PSR only) You cannot carry the item, and must hold it in your hands. Heavy attire and heavy shields have other restrictions. If the item is a weapon, you must wield it in two hands to attack with it. If the item is a melee weapon, you must have a Strength of 13 or higher. If the item is a ranged weapon (not including melee weapons with the thrown property), you must have a Dexterity of 13 or higher. If you don't, your attack rolls with it have disadvantage. The item can't also have the Finesse, Light, or Versatile qualities.
-1	Damage Down	—	any weapon	—	A weapon can have this quality multiple times. For each instance, the weapon's damage die (initially d4) decreases one step: d12 > d10 > d8 > d6 > d4 > 1. Alternatively, the weapon's average damage roll otherwise decreases by 1. If the weapon has an intended purpose more important than attacking, this property instead doesn't change its rank (e.g., rank +0).
-1	Prerequisite	feat	item	—	(Feat) To gain this feat you must meet a specific prerequisite. (Armor) If your Strength isn't 13 or higher, your speed is reduced 10 feet while wearing this armor. (Item) To attune to this item you must meet a specific prerequisite. The item's rarity must be uncommon or higher. The prerequisite varies with each application of this quality. Possibilities include (but are not limited to) have a specific ability score of 13 or higher, be of a specific species, have a specific background, have another specific feat, or know a specific cantrip. The Fighting Style feature is not a valid application of this quality, as detailed under Fighting Styles. This quality cannot be applied multiple times; more than one prerequisite does not further lower the subject's rank. (Exception: splint and plate armor.)
-1	Loading	—	weapon	—	You can't attack with this weapon more than once per action, bonus action, or reaction. In the 2024 Player's Handbook, no melee weapons have this quality.
-1	Two-Handed	—	any weapon	—	You must wield this weapon in two hands to attack with it. The item can't also have the Light or Versatile quality.
1	Damage Nudge	—	d8 or d12 weapon	—	The weapon's damage die becomes 2d4 if normally d8, or becomes 2d6 if normally d12. For other effects depending on damage die, such as the Versatile property, the weapon's damage die is still treated as d8 or d12 respectively. The item can't also have the Versatile quality. This quality intentionally deviates from official material. In official material, d12 and 2d6 damage dice are being treated as equal.
1	Language	any buff	any item	any spell	(Buff) You learn one common language. (Item) Attuning to the item enables you to speak, read, and write one common language. It's the same language every time you attune. Prior to the PHB'24, backgrounds treated languages and tool proficiencies as being equal in value. The update and benefits like the Linguist feat suggest any language after Common is of lower value.
1	Light	—	non‑attire	—	(Default only) See two-weapon fighting. This quality cannot be on a weapon with a damage die of d8 or higher. (PSR only) Up to 10 light items only occupy 1 carry slot. Except for weapons, this quality can't be on an item of rank 4 or higher. The item can't also have the Heavy or "Heavy & Two-Handed" quality.
1	Thrown	—	weapon	—	You can throw the weapon for a ranged attack with a range of 20/60 feet, and you can draw the weapon as part of that attack. For this ranged attack, you add the same ability modifier to attack and damage rolls you'd use for a melee attack with the weapon. This quality can be applied a second time to increase the range to 30/120 feet. In the 2024 Player's Handbook, no martial weapons have the Thrown property.
2	Tool Proficiency	any buff	—	—	Gain proficiency in one tool of your choice.
1	Versatile	—	weapon	—	When wielding the weapon in two hands instead of one, increase the damage die one step (d4 < d6 < d8 < d10 < d12) or otherwise increase the damage die's average result by 1. The weapon can't also have the Two-Handed property or the Damage Nudge quality.
1	Natural Weapon	buff	—	spell	When you deal damage with your unarmed strike, you deal damage equal to a weapon. Add that weapon's rank value to this quality's rank value, but negate the weapon's Martial quality if it has one. (See Weapons.) If you can deal this damage without a free hand, such as horns or fangs, its rank value increases by 1. Example: If your claws deal d6 slash damage, but deal d8 damage when you have two free hands, this amount of damage is equal to a quarterstaff. A quarterstaff is rank 3, so in this instance this quality would be rank 4.
2	Improvised Proficiency	buff	—	—	Add your proficiency bonus to attack rolls you make with improvised weapons.
2	Check Advantage	buff	—	—	You have advantage on a niche range of ability checks, typically a fraction of those that full under a skill. For example, Charisma (Deception) checks made to pull off a disguise. Initiative Advantage is ranked higher. This quality can be applied multiples times, and each instance of it applies to a different niche.
2 or 3	Damage Up	feat	weapon	spell	A subject can have this quality multiple times, but a feat specifically cannot have this quality more than 3 times. (Weapon) This quality is rank 2. For each application, the weapon's damage rolls deals an average of 1 more damage (excluding critical hits). For example, the weapon's damage die (initially d4) increases one step: d1 < d4 < d6 < d8 < d10 < d12. (Non-Weapon) This quality is rank 3. For each application, you have a +1 bonus to damage rolls within a narrow range of weapons or attacks.
2	Finesse	—	melee weapon	—	You can add your choice of either your Strength or Dexterity modifier to attack and damage rolls with this weapon. The weapon can't also have the Heavy & Two-Handed quality.
2.5	Speed Up	buff	item	spell	Your speed increases by 5 feet for each time this quality is applied. [3] (1st-level spell) A touched creature's speed increases by 10 feet for 1 hour. No concentration required. longstrider [5] (Uncommon item) While attuned to and wearing this magic item, your speed increases by 10 feet.
2	Brutal Critical	buff	item	spell	(Buff) When you score a critical hit within a broad category of attacks, roll one additional damage die when determining the extra damage the target takes, or deal an extra +5 damage. For this quality a "broad category" could include all attacks that deal piercing damage, or all melee attacks. (Item) When you score a critical hit with this weapon, roll one additional damage die when determining the extra damage the target takes. In both cases a critical hit with a greataxe for example deals 3d12 damage instead of 2d12, while a critical hit with a greatsword deals 5d6 damage instead of 4d6.
3	{Enhanced Critical}	buff	item	spell	(Buff) When you score a critical hit within a broad category of attacks, until the start of your next turn all attack rolls targeting that creature have advantage. For this quality a "broad category" could include all attacks that deal slashing damage, or all melee attacks. [See Crusher (feat)] {critical delivery} (Item) When you score a critical hit with this weapon, until the start of your next turn all attack rolls targeting that creature have advantage.
3	Ammo	—	weapon	—	The weapon becomes ranged, and gains the Ammunition property. The weapon's short range is by default 30 feet, but if the weapon has the Two-Handed property this range increases to (roughly) 80 feet. A weapon can gain this quality a second time at a value of only 1 rank (instead of 3). If it does, this range (roughly) doubles.
-1	Armor Down	—	armor or shield	—	The AC bonus provided by a shield or set of armor decreases by 1.
-2	Loud	—	armor	—	While worn, the armor imposes a disadvantage on the wearer's Dexterity (Stealth checks made to move quietly.
2	Armor	—	armor or shield	—	The AC provided by the armor or shield increases by 1. This quality can be applied twice. Each increase after this requires a different quality such as Medium Armor, Heavy Armor, or Armor Up.
2	Medium Armor	—	armor	—	The armor's AC bonus increases by 1, and if your Dexterity modifier is higher than +2, you add no more than 2 of it to your AC. You must have medium armor proficiency/training to use it without drawbacks. An item can be Medium Armor or Heavy Armor, but not both.
0.5	Bane	—	armor	—	When this quality is first applied choose one creature type other than humanoid. When this weapon hits a creature of that type, it deals an extra 1 damage. This quality can be applied multiple times. Each application increases the average damage by 1 or applies to a different damage type. Damage dice can be substituted if their average result equals the additional damage. For example 2d6 is rank 31⁄2. The weapon's final rank increases to 9 if it would otherwise be lower. This rank is uncommon (500 gp).
1	Energy Damage	weapon	—	—	This weapon exclusively deals one damage type from acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. The weapon's final rank increases to 5 if it would otherwise be lower. This rank is uncommon (100 gp). (But consider the humble torch.)
1	Dual Damage Type	weapon	—	—	When you attack with this weapon, its damage is split between two types. For example, instead of 2d6 slashing damage, it could be d6 slashing damage plus d6 piercing damage. Alternatively, you can choose between two damage types each time you attack with this weapon. (How tedious.) If one of this damage types isn't bash, pierce, slash, or poison then increase the subject's rank by 2 instead of 1.
3	Adamantine	—	item	—	(Weapon) Whenever the weapon hits an object (as opposed to a creature), any hit becomes a critical hit. As a typical weapon is rank 4, an adamantine weapon is rank 7 and costs 300 gp. (Ammo) Any hit with one of these pieces of ammo becomes a critical hit. (Armor) While wearing this armor, any critical hit against you becomes a normal hit. This quality can only be placed on medium or heavy armor made of metal. (Wondrous) While you are attuned to this item, any critical hit against you becomes a normal hit. (Item) This is a trade good worth 1000 gp.
5	Heavy Armor	—	armor	—	The armor's AC bonus increases by 5, you can't add your Dexterity modifier to the AC it provides. You must have heavy armor proficiency/training to use it without drawbacks. An item can be Medium Armor or Heavy Armor, but not both.
3	Cantrip	buff	item	—	You learn a cantrip, or can use a cantrip-like effect. If this cantrip or effect is only usable 1/day, apply -1 rank value. (buff) If this buff grants more than one spell, they must all be chosen from the same class's spell list, or not afford options of which spells are granted. (common item) While attuned to this item, you can use it to cast one specific cantrip. This cantrip has a casting ability modifier of +2, an attack bonus of +4, or a save DC of 12.
8	Weapon Mastery	buff	—	—	You gain the mastery property of one simple or martial weapon of your choice, such as the dagger or greatsword, provided you have proficiency with it. Each time you finish a long rest, you can change to a different eligible weapon.
3	1st-Level Spell	buff	—	—	(buff) You learn one 1st-level spell. You can cast this spell 1/day, or with spell slots if you have them. If this buff grants more than one spell, they must all be chosen from the same class's spell list, or not afford options of which spells are granted. (common expendable item) You can consume this spell to cast a specific 1st-level spell once, or gain an effect comparable to a 1st-level spell. (common permanent item) While attuned to this item, 1/day you can cast a specific 1st-level spell. Any 1/day effect comparable to 1st-level spell in its effect can be substituted for the spell.
3	Reach	—	melee weapon	spell	The weapon's reach increases to 10 feet, instead of 5 feet. [4] (Lv1 Spell) (bonus action cast time) A melee weapon you touch has its range increase to 10 feet for the duration of your concentration, up to 1 hour. This has no effect on a weapon which already has a range of 10 feet or greater.
3	Skill Proficiency	any buff	—	—	Gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
5	Ability Up One	buff	—	—	Increase a specific ability score by 1, to a maximum of 20. (You don't get to decide which ability, or you can choose from no more than three different abilities.)
6	Ability Up Any	buff	—	—	Increase any ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 20.
9	Ability Max	buff	item	—	Increase an ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 30. If the subject's final rank value is less than 15, it becomes 15 (which is epic).
5	Skill Expertise	buff	—	—	Choose a skill. If not proficient in the skill, you gain proficiency in that skill. If you're already proficient in the skill, you instead gain expertise in that skill. If you would later gain proficiency in this skill a second time, you instead gain expertise in that skill. Analysis of official material suggest this is more properly rank 4, but this guide deliberately treats it as more valuable due to player perception.
5	Armor 13+Dex	buff	item	spell	While you aren't wearing armor, your AC equals 13 + your Dexterity modifier. Cover or a shield bonus can add to this AC.
3	Attack Up	buff	weapon	spell	'(Weapon) You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls made with this weapon. (Non-Weapon) You gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls with a narrow category of weapons, or with cantrips. (Feat) A feat cannot have this quality, except for Fighting Styles.
4.5	HP Up	buff	uncommon item	—	Upon gaining this benefit, increase your hit points by an amount equal to your character level. Each time you gain a level after this, increase your hit points by 1 more than usual. A subject can have this quality multiple times.
5	2nd-Level Spell	buff	—	—	(buff) You learn one 2nd-level spell that is pre-determined by the buff which grants it. (You don't get to choose which one.) You can cast this spell 1/day, or with spell slots if you have them. (uncommon item) You can consume this spell to cast a specific 2nd-level spell once, or gain an effect comparable to a 1st-level spell. (uncommon item) While attuned to this item, 1/day you can cast a specific 2nd-level spell. Any 1/day effect comparable to 2nd-level spell in its effect can be substituted for the spell.
5	Shove	buff	weapon	spell	(Buff) Once per turn when you hit a creature within a broad category of attacks, you can push the hit creature 5 feet directly away from you. For this quality a "broad category" could include all attacks that deal bludgeoning damage, or all unarmed strikes. (Item) Once per turn when you hit a creature with a weapon that has this quality, you can push the hit creature 5 feet directly away from you.
4	Armor Proficiency Light	buff	—	—	Gain proficiency with light armor.
4	Shield Proficiency	buff	—	—	If you are already proficient with light armor, you become proficient with shields.
8	Armor Proficiency Up	buff	armor	—	If you are already proficient with light armor but not medium armor, you become proficient with medium armor. If you are already proficient with medium armor, you become proficient with heavy armor. See also "Armor Proficiency Light" & "Shield Proficiency."
4 to 6	Armor Up	buff	item	spell	This quality is rank 4 when applied to medium armor or heavy armor, rank 5 when applied to a shield, and rank 6 when applied to light armor or any other subject. (Buff) Armor you are wearing increases your AC by 1 more than usual, to a maximum of 25 (before adding cover or a shield). (Armor) This armor increases your AC by 1 more than usual, to a maximum of 25 (before adding cover or a shield). (Spell) Armor you touch increases the wearer's AC by 1 more than usual, to a max of 25 (before adding cover or a shield). This effect lasts for 8 hours, but ends early if the armor is removed or you cast this spell again.
5	Initiative Advantage	buff	—	—	You have advantage on ability checks made to determine turn order.
5	Initiative Proficiency	buff	—	—	Add your proficiency bonus to ability checks made to determine turn order.
-5	Attunement	—	uncommon item	—	You must attune to this item to use its best benefits. Without attunement this item behaves like its common, nonmagical equivalent (and no higher than rank 4). This item's final rank becomes 9 if it would otherwise be lower. In other words, this item must be of at least uncommon rarity and cost no less than #8776;500 gp. Some qualities or effects always require attunement.
6	Save Proficiency	buff	—	—	Gain proficiency in a saving throw of your choice.
8	Resist Poison	buff	item	spell	Gain resistance to poison damage. You also have advantage on saving throws made to prevent or end the poisoned condition on yourself. For a spell or expendable item, when this effect begins the poisoned condition ends on you.
5	Set AC	buff	item	spell	If your AC is lower than 14, treat it as 14. No modifiers—Dexterity modifier, shield, cover, etc—can apply to this AC. You can increase the AC provided by this feature up to 17, increasing the rank value by 1 for each +1 increase to AC. (R6 = 15AC, R7 = 16 AC, R8 = 17 AC) Each +1 AC increment after 17 instead increases rank by 3. (R11 = 18 AC, R14 = 19 AC, R17 = 20 AC, R20 = 21 AC, R23 = 22 AC, R26 = 23 AC, R29 = 24 AC) An item with this quality must also have the Attunement quality, and therefore must be at least uncommon.
9	Resist Energy	buff	item	spell	Gain resistance to one damage type from acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, psychic, and radiant. If you can choose from a different damage type from these options each cast or instance, increase the rank by 2 for each option after the first. This quality can be applied multiple times, granting protection to a new energy type (or Resist Poison) each time. Any application after the first is only rank 5. When Resist Energy is applied, the subject must also have the Attunement quality.
9	Feat Origin	feat	—	—	You gain a feat of your choice assuming you meet the prerequisites, and the feat lacks a level prerequisite.
13	Feat General	feat	—	—	You gain a feat of your choice assuming you meet the prerequisites, and the feat includes a prerequisite of level 4.
28	Feat Epic Boon	feat	—	—	You gain a feat of your choice assuming you meet the prerequisites, and the feat includes a prerequisite of level 19.
-8	Concentration	—	—	spell	The spell requires concentration for its duration to continue. This can only be applied to a spell with a duration longer than 1 round. Alternatively, all other quality modifiers to the spell are halved (including subtractive qualities).
-0.5	Range Down	—	—	spell	For each application of this quality, the spell's range decreases one step along this path: 150 feet > 120 feet > 90 feet > 60 feet > 30 feet > touch.
0.25	Range Up	—	—	spell	For each application of this quality, the spell's range increases one step along this path: touch < 10' < 30' < 60' < 90' < 120' < 180' < 240'
-2{*}	Duration Down	—	—	spell	For each application of this quality the spell's duration decreases one step in this pattern: 8 hours > 1 hour > 10 minutes. This quality can't apply to a spell which already has a duration of 1 round or Instantaneous.
X	Ritual	—	—	spell	This property's cost equals the spell's final level + 1. This spell can be ritual cast. A spell cannot have both the Ritual and Concentration qualities.
+1	Gives One Attack Advantage	—	—	spell	One creature affected by this spell is targeted. The first attack roll made against this target before the start of your next turn has advantage. For each time this quality is applied, it can affect one more creature affected by the spell.
-1	Cast Time Up	—	—	spell	The spell has a cast time of 1 minute, instead of 1 action. This quality is mutually exclusive with Bonus Action Cast and Reaction Cast. A cast time of 10 minutes instead has a rank value of -1.5, and a cast time of 1 hour instead has a rank value of -2.
5	Bonus Action Cast	—	—	spell	The spell's cast time is a bonus action instead of an action. On a turn you cast such a spell you can't cast any other spell, except for a cantrip. Unlike most spell qualities, this can only be applied to a literal spell, not any other limited-use effect.
7	Nondetection	buff	item	spell	You can't be targeted by any Divination spell or perceived through magical scrying sensors.
5	Darkvision	buff	item	spell	You gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. This range can be increased in increments of 30 feet, at a rank value of 0.5 each, to a maximum of 300 feet. Example: 150-foot darkvision has a final value of 7.
6	Blindsight	buff	item	spell	You have blindsight out to a range of 10 feet. This range can be increased to three other distances. Each has a discreet rank: 30 feet is rank 12. 60 feet is rank 15. 120 feet is rank 16.
17	Truesight	buff	item	spell	You gain truesight out to a range of 120 feet.
25	Universal Advantage	buff	—	spell	You have advantage on all attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks. All attack rolls targeting you have disadvantage.

Designer's Notes

• Advantage Is a +1 Modifier. Advantage increases the average result of a d20 roll by a fraction over +5, which is huge. However because characters have so many options for gaining advantage on most d20 rolls, especially at higher levels, the value of an effect granting advantage is drastically less than gaining an actual +5 modifier that stacks. This system generally treats advantage as being comparable in rank value to a benefit that gives a flat +1 modifier to the d20 roll. (Some would argue even that a +1 bonus is more often than not of greater value than advantage.) For similar reasons, one's proficiency bonus is often ranked as lower than its flat value, as proficiency doesn't stack.
• Assumed Ability Scores. When it is necessary to assume an ability score to accurately rank a quality, this system assumes 16. Assuming the standard array, a character's most important ability score or two will meet this threshold by choosing a complimentary race (2014) or background (2024).
• Assumed Level. When it is necessary to assume character's level, it's treated as 6. When necessary to assume proficiency bonus, it's treated as +3. Some effects which had 3/day uses in 2014 have PB/day uses in 2024, such as the Lucky feat. Level 5 is where most classes mature; martials get Extra Attack, full casters get their 3rd-level spells, and so on; most power increases after this are much less extreme. In the rare niche where it might matter, Level 6 is chosen as something closer to the "center" of the game; many core features get their full allotment of uses (three 3rd-level spells, 3 channel divinities, etc) and many classes get their second subclass feature.
• Power Spikes. The levels 5, 11, and 17 are key to understanding the level balance of 5e and the rank balance in this guide. Features like Extra Attack, Stunning Strike, fireball, and wish were openly designed to be overpowered for their level. In 5e's class design there are three power spikes where features are sometimes exceptionally powerful: level 5, level 17, and to a lesser extent level 11. This choice WotC made primarily for classes has ramifications across spells as well, also has ramifications for things based on spells such as magic items, and is otherwise reflected in subtle ways throughout this guide.