Adding Utility to Any Character
In DnD, utility includes things you can do in and out of battle to solve problems. Some classes, like the Artificer and Wizard, provide amazing utility and can prepare your party to handle any problem. Even without a dedicated utility character, though, having some additional options available for problem-solving can help out any party.
Utility is especially important for martial characters, who may feel outpaced by casters outside of combat. It’s easy to optimize a character for combat, forgetting that combat is just part of the average DnD game—in fact, some sessions may not have combat at all. So having useful things to do outside of combat can make things much more fun for those times you’re not trying to kill something.
Here are some mundane items, magic items, and feats to add utility to any character.
10 Mundane Items for Utility
With spellcasters using magic for everything, it’s easy to forget that items available in any general goods store can solve many problems for players. Any character can find some use in these items, but martial characters can sometimes have an edge when using them.
The Dungeon Master’s Guide has a lot of little rules for breaking through doors, cutting ropes, or disabling a small lock. And, of course, Dungeon Masters can always just decide for themselves how to play these things out. Here are some mundane items that work well for high-Strength characters.
10-Foot Pole
The humble 10-foot pole, a poor man’s Mage Hand, can be useful for checking for traps—and this is probably the most common use—but there are other ways to use one. Pick something up through a cage door, hoist a bucket to a higher spot, and lift a party member from a lower spot. In a pinch, a 10-foot pole can be whittled into a pike or cut down to a quarterstaff.
The only real challenge with 10-foot poles is carrying them. They’re not easy to carry and their length ensures they won’t fit neatly in a Bag of Holding. Thoughtful DMs might provide one at the entrance to a dungeon, but you can’t count on that. At a cost of just 5 copper, though, it’s easy to buy one for a dungeon, and then dispose of it when you leave.
Hammer and Pitons
If you have a higher Athletics score than most of the party, you’ll be better at climbing and getting to more remote spots on the map. A hammer and pitons allow you to be a trailblazer, opening the way up for other party members to follow you. Create footholds or anchor ropes—it’s all useful.
Pitons are also helpful in a few other ways. Hammer one down on the floor to prevent a door from opening. Put two at the same height on trees near each other and run a rope between them—instant tents. Of course, hammers and pitons are much more useful with another item…
Ropes
Ropes are useful for climbing but can have other uses. You can tie someone up, including their legs, so they won’t be able to run away (unlike with manacles). You can attach a rope to two pitons across a chasm to create a tightrope (although your party will probably need higher Acrobatics scores to cross it). You can even tie a sled to your Barbarian to carry things more easily. Physical characters should always have a few ropes on them.
Ram - Portable
Sure, you can wait for your Rogue to pick the intricate lock, but if you’re in a hurry, nothing beats brute force. If stealth is not a factor (or sometimes even if it is), a ram can be the best way to force a door open. Another player character can also help you use the ram to give you advantage on the roll.
Caltrops
Caltrops are such a simple item that can have a huge impact on the game. They require a fairly low DC save, so they’re not foolproof, but they can provide a useful barrier when you need one.
If you’re being chased, throwing some caltrops down behind you is a no-brainer. There’s a decent chance it will stop your pursuers dead in their tracks. If you’re ambushing someone, spread some caltrops around the exit ahead of time to make sure they don’t get away. If you’re camping in a small cave, spreading caltrops on both sides of the camp serves as an alarm system to make sure you aren’t attacked in the middle of the night.
Ball Bearings
Ball Bearings can be used as a control item, covering a wider area than caltrops, but being a bit less potent. (If you want to disrupt people on stairs, however, ball bearings are unmatched.) But they have other uses.
Throw a single ball bearing to divert someone’s attention. Drop it in someone’s mouth and cast Heat Metal. Drop it in some complicated machinery and see what your DM will do. Cast Light on one and roll it into a room ahead of you to see what’s there. Use it as sling ammunition, since slings are easily concealed and can make a great backup weapon for most characters.
Ball bearings have many uses and creative players will always find ways to use them.
Oil
The description paints this as a grenade-type weapon that you can splash on enemies to increase fire damage, and that can be useful, but it can also be useful to make any object or area flammable. An object or area doused with oil will burn for 2 rounds, and this can be extended by throwing more oil into the flame.
Smash a vial of oil on the floor, and have someone else ignite it with a tinderbox or lit torch to create a floor hazard to make enemies think twice about stepping through it. The oil can be poured down ahead of time to create a trap, and can be ignited in several ways—the Firebolt spell, placing a lit torch precariously on top of a door, or placing an unlit torch in the oil and igniting it from 30 feet away with the Druidcraft spell.
Acid
The item’s description makes it seem like these are grenades—and they can be useful for that purpose—but acid has a lot of other uses. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has rules on how many hit points a lock or rope has, so acid can be used to open small locks or burn through restraints. If you’re up to some shenanigans, acid can destroy evidence of your bad deeds.
Chalk
For 1 copper and taking up no space in your inventory, everyone should have chalk. You can leave messages for others that they can erase once they read them, or mark things in a confusing dungeon so you’re not walking in circles. You can leave messages in a lesser-known language or system, like Thieves’ Cant or Druidic if you have a Rogue or Druid in both parts of the group. Pick a table in a tavern and write messages on the underside of it to pass information to a contact without even seeing them. You can even work out a code system to leave secret messages for each other that seem innocuous to onlookers.
Where chalk becomes really handy is if you’re using a virtual tabletop or actual map for your exploration. A scout-type character, like a Ranger or Monk, can make markings using chalk to show where the traps are, or how to get past puzzles. Using a VTT, a scout can draw on the map and let other party members know exactly what he or she finds.
Flour
Perhaps the most surprising pick on this list, flour can be useful for a variety of common problems. Spread some on the floor and come back later to check for tracks, to see if anyone has walked through that area. Spread some in the air to find out where invisible creatures are. A lenient DM might allow some more creative uses, like throwing it in an opponent’s eyes or throwing a whole bag into a fire to cause a distracting explosion.
10 Magic Items for Utility
Magic items can open up a lot of opportunities that mundane items can’t, and finding them can be a great reward for players. There are a lot of magic items that can help with utility, but here are 10 of the more notable options.
Immovable Rod
No item inspires a party to think creatively like an Immovable Rod. Once activated, the rod itself is nearly impossible to move, being able to hold 8000 pounds of weight. If a DM gives an Immovable Rod to their party, there will always be uses for it.
An immovable rod can be used in conjunction with simpler items like pitons and ropes to easily create a way up a sheer cliff. Athletic members of your party can use the rod to break a small chasm into two manageable jumps.
The rod can also be used offensively. If you’re traveling at any considerable speed, holding the rod at about neck level and hitting the activation button can be deadly. If a foe has been knocked down on the ground, it can be held in place with a well-placed Immovable Rod.
Bag of Holding / Handy Haversack / Portable Hole
These do roughly the same thing, but there are some differences. All of them can be used to store a multitude of small but useful items, many of which are listed above.
The Bag of Holding is an uncommon magic item and will be the best option for most parties. Unlike a backpack, removing items from the Bag of Holding requires an action, so don’t put anything in there that you’d need in combat. Aside from that, though, this is a great item to give any party.
The Handy Haversack is a little more rare but equally useful. Based on the description, you’d think it would be easier to retrieve items from the haversack, but no, it still requires an action. It also can’t hold as much stuff as a Bag of Holding. The only reason to choose a Handy Haversack over a Bag of Holding is if weight constraints are a big deal for your character—the haversack weighs 10 pounds less. This may not sound like much, but if a character has a really low Strength, this may make a difference.
A Portable Hole is a much larger container that can notably hold 10-foot objects like ladders and a 10-foot pole. I’ve even heard of some parties using these as camping spots. Just make sure you have someone standing guard, to prevent an opponent from sneaking up, folding up the Portable Hole, and carrying you all away. This has some extra utility as well—you can slide one under a door, then go down on one side of the door and come up on the other. The tradeoff is that you have to unfold it and place it to retrieve anything from it.
Note that a Bag of Holding is replicable by a 2nd-level Artificer.
Also note: I see a lot of people recommending the Robe of Useful Items as a utility magic item. A Bag of Holding or Handy Haversack is generally superior, as they can hold most of the items on a Robe of Useful Items, and much more. The Robe of Useful Items has the potential to have a few other items, like a horse, but these are determined randomly.
Broom of Flying / Winged Boots
Flight is extremely useful both in combat and out of combat and can turn some puzzles and encounters into a cakewalk. Both the Broom of Flying and Winged Boots are uncommon magic items—and that’s a real undervaluation, considering how useful they are. Either one will get the job done.
The Broom of Flying has a fly speed of 50 as long as you and your gear are fairly light, otherwise it switches to 30 with a heavier load. The Winged Boots match your walking speed and have a four-hour-per-day limit, but have no weight limit. For most characters, the Broom of Flying will be faster. There’s not a huge difference in how these two items perform, though, and either will serve you well.
Note that Winged Boots are replicable by a 10th-level Artificer.
Alchemy Jug
The Alchemy Jug can produce several useful or not-so-useful liquids, making this into a bit of a Swiss Army Knife when solving little problems. Sure, you can pour yourself a drink of water or wine, but there are some good utility options in there too, like acid and oil. If you don’t use the Alchemy Jug one day, you can buy empty vials or flasks to fill them for future use.
You can also get 2 gallons of mayonnaise for some reason. Rumor has it the game designers put that in there just to see what players would do with it. Also of note, I once asked Reddit if mayonnaise could be used as napalm and posted some numbers on it. This post sparked the greatest flame war I’ve ever seen on Reddit. So don’t ask that question on Reddit.
Note that an Alchemy Jug is replicable by a 2nd-level Artificer.
Helm of Comprehending Languages
Comprehend Languages is a 1st-level spell, but not every spellcaster can spare a slot to keep it prepared for when they need it. The Helm of Comprehend Languages allows anyone, spellcaster or not, to understand all languages when they need to—and this includes reading. If you want to be able to speak the language, that’s another thing, but you can still glean a lot of information from just being able to read or hear any other language.
Medallion of Thoughts
Detect Thoughts is a 2nd-level spell that’s extremely useful for covert interrogation, spying, or just finding local information on a topic. The Medallion of Thoughts has a lower DC than a dedicated spellcaster would have, but the target doesn’t know you cast it on them unless you try to pry. Every party can find a use for this item.
Note that a Medallion of Thoughts is replicable by a 10th-level Artificer.
Breathing Bubble / Cap of Water Breathing / Cloak of the Manta Ray
These three items allow you to breathe underwater. Some spells and potions will do the same, but unless you’re in an aquatic campaign that goes underwater frequently, you may not have those readily available to you. Having any of these magic items with you will enable you to jump into the water without worrying about drowning.
Note that a Cap of Water Breathing is replicable by a 2nd-level Artificer, and a Cloak of the Manta Ray is replicable by a 6th-level Artificer.
Dust of Dryness / Decanter of Endless Water
Water is always useful, whether to keep your party from dehydrating or using it with the Shape Water cantrip to accomplish a variety of tasks. The Decanter of Endless Water will provide all the water your party needs for survival purposes but also has a few utility and even offensive capabilities. The Dust of Dryness condenses water down into super-dense pellets that can be turned back into large quantities of water when the need comes.
Everbright Lantern / Candle of the Deep / Driftglobe
Portable light is essential for any adventurer.
“But Brandon,” I can hear you hypothetically saying, “my character has darkvision.”
Darkvision allows you to see normally in dim light, but complete darkness is only upgraded to dim light—meaning you’ll still have trouble seeing colors or minute details, and you’ll have disadvantage on Perception checks. Your DM may have other penalties for trying to operate normally in complete darkness, like being unable to read, even if you have darkvision.
The Everbright Lantern is your basic option. It’s a lantern that burns forever and can be clipped to a belt.
The Candle of the Deep provides less light and will eventually burn out, but has the benefit of staying lit underwater, in case you have to do some diving.
The Driftglobe is your deluxe option, having the capability to float along beside you, freeing up your hands, but also having the capability to light up larger areas when needed.
If you don’t have a spell that provides light (like Light or Produce Flame), you should always try to have a light source with you. Mundane options like torches and lanterns can do well, but some basic magic items are more reliable.
Kyrzin’s Ooze
Perhaps the oddest choice on this list, Kyrzin’s Ooze (available in Eberron: Rising from the Last War) provides some unique benefits and opens up a lot of interesting roleplay moments. There are some offensive and defensive capabilities, but the Amorphous property can be a lot of fun in the hands of a creative player. It’s also a fun thing for a DM to give to their players with no explanation. It does have the unfortunate effect of making death much more permanent, so keep that in mind before giving it to a player that dies a lot.
5 Feats for Utility
Even with mundane and magic items, there are still some gaps in what players can do—or a player may just not want to carry around a dozen vials of oil and acid everywhere they go, which is understandable. Some feats increase utility by opening up some basic magic to any character, and these basic spells can go a long way in increasing the utility of a character. Here are 5 feats that can add utility to any character.
Magic Initiate
Cantrips can offer a lot of flexibility to solve a lot of problems. Acid Splash can replace vials of acid, and Shape Water can be extremely useful for any character. Cantrips are often thought of as a basic attack option for spellcasters, and they are, but cantrips as a problem-solving tool are a boon to any character. Read more on the best utility cantrips here.
Getting a free cast of a 1st-level spell can be useful as well, allowing you to cast things like Comprehend Languages or Detect Magic in rare circumstances. If you have any spell slots, that 1st-level spell becomes much more enticing, as you’ll be able to cast it using your other spell slots once you’ve used your one free casting for the day.
Ritual Caster
Being able to cast spells as rituals allows you to cast spells like Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, and Find Familiar without using a spell slot at all, provided you know the spell and have an extra 10 minutes to cast it. This is fantastic for non-casters and casters alike, as many of these spells aren’t worth preparing every day, but can be useful in your downtime.
After you pick the feat, you can more add spells by finding spell scrolls and Wizards’ spell books that contain ritual spells. You’ll only be able to learn ritual spells up to the level you’d be able to cast anyway (so a Fighter with no spell slots wouldn’t be able to learn a level 3 ritual spell), but you can still have a lot of spell options basically for free this way.
Eldritch Adept
Casting Detect Magic once a day or with 10 minutes of preparation is cool, but what if you could cast it instantly, whenever you wanted, for free? Warlocks have few spell slots, so Eldritch Invocations help them by allowing them to cast certain spells for free whenever they want. The Eldritch Adept feat opens up one basic Eldritch Invocation to any character.
Some great options include:
- Armor of Shadows (free Mage Armor spell)
- Beast Speech (free Speak with Animals spell)
- Eldritch Sight (free Detect Magic spell)
- Eyes of the Rune Keeper (read all writing)
- Mask of Many Faces (free Disguise Self spell)
- Misty Visions (free Silent Image spell)
Having a single Eldritch Invocation won’t match the versatility of a full spellcaster, of course, but having a staple option that you can cast instantly, as many times as you want, can open up some interesting play styles and combinations.
Telekinetic
Mage Hand is a versatile and useful cantrip, and the ability to make it invisible opens up all kinds of possibilities. This also gives you the ability to shove an opponent from up to 30 feet away as a bonus action, providing a good basic control option as well as something to do with your bonus action if you don’t have anything. Gaining a stat increase to one of your mental stats also makes this a great option for rounding out an odd score.
Telepathic
Being able to communicate telepathically makes a lot of things in a party much easier. Sure, you could just take the Message cantrip, but this feat comes with a few other perks. Being able to cast Detect Thoughts spell for free once a day is great, and once a day might be all you need. Getting an increase to one of your mental stats is a nice bonus as well, making this great for rounding out an odd score.
About the Author
Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a web developer and writer in the Kansas City area. He's been playing TTRPGs since 2020 and is involved in the disability-related TTRPG podcast Tales from the Crips. He's into classic movies, mental health, and, of course, DnD. Also, he's in a band. One time, they rocked so hard it killed a man.