Five Magic Items That Will Turn Your D&D Character Into a Cyborg
Tired of your D&D games being mired in fantasy tropes? Fret not, you can make your next character into a cyborg. The future is now!
There isn’t a single character out there that wouldn’t be made better by being transformed into a cyborg. Luke Skywalker was a bit of a whiny farmboy until he got a metallic hand. And Anakin Skywalker wasn’t nearly as badass a villain until he fell in lava and became the Dark Lord of the Sith.
You know, the Skywalker family just has a lot of bad luck with their meat body parts. Regardless, the same can be said for your D&D character. Why should upgrading your flesh-mech (which, let’s face it, is what your body is) be restricted to cyberpunk and sci-fi characters?
And with these five magic items, your D&D character will be a cyborg in no time flat. With enhanced capabilities and everything.
Ventilating Lungs
Ventilating Lungs are a set of metallic nodules that, when you attune to them, replace the lungs in your chest, which disappear. Now, that’s a pretty distressing sentence because, normally, when your lungs disappear it’s bad. But these nodules replace your lungs, allowing you to breathe normally (even in an antimagic field).
And outside an antimagic field, these lungs allow you to breathe normally in any environment. Even the cold vacuum of Wildspace. Additionally, you get advantage on saving throws against harmful gases, and can exhale a mighty gust of wind, as if you had cast the Gust of Wind spell. Not a bad upgrade for a would-e D&D Cyborg.
Arcane Propulsion Arm
This magical arm replaces a missing hand or arm, fitted at the wrist, elbow, or shoulder. In addition to functioning as a fully capable part of your body, this magical arm is also a rocket fist.
While attuned to it, not only do you deal 1d8 force damage with the arm, it also has the thrown property, allowing it to detach and fly at the target of your attack, immediately returning and reattaching when the attack is made. Meaning you could make multiple rocket fist attacks, and this plays extremely well with the Thrown Weapon Fighting Style.
Earworm
An earworm is a magical symbiont that sits behind your ear and eventually burrows into your head, bonding to your skull. Like a good piece of headware with skillsofts installed.
Which is exactly what the earworm does: it allows you to speak, read, and write Deep Speech. It also grants you the ability to read thoughts, per the Detect Thoughts spell as well as casting Dissonant Whispers.
Eye of Vecna
Now, this one is an artifact, so of course you’ll want to take care with it. But when you replace one of your eyes, this upgrades your normal capabilities, granting you truesight, X-Ray vision, and the ability to cast Clairvoyance, Crown of Madness, Disintegrate, Dominate Monster, or Eyebite. Of course, every time you do cast a spell, there’s a 5 percent (noncumulative) chance that Vecna devours your soul from inside your body, taking you over like a computer virus.
Hand of Vecna
The Hand of Vecna, on the other, uh, hand, upgrades your strength score to 20. And it deals an extra 2d cold damage on a hit, as well as letting you cast Finger of Death, Sleep, Slow, and Teleport. And all that without running the risk of Vecna devouring your soul. Although it does cast Suggestion on you every time you cast a spell, demanding that you commit an evil act.
Still, nothing like a glitchy undead cyberhand to scream “D&D Cyborg”.
Flesh-mech might just be one of the worst hyphenates I’ve ever seen.
