Medium creatures using large magic items.


Rules Questions


My Google-Fu is failing me. I am curious if there are any rules on medium creatures using Large or larger sized magic items. Is there a way to convert them or... I don't know. What I do know is that everything I search on this leads me to commentary on wielding oversized weapons. Full stop.

Can you lend a brother a hand?

Dark Archive

most worn magic items other than weapons or armor automatically resize to fit the wearer.


I appreciate the feedback.

Dark Archive

"Size and Magic Items
When an article of magic clothing or jewelry is discovered, most of the time size shouldn’t be an issue. Many magic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they adjust themselves magically to the wearer. Size should not keep characters of various kinds from using magic items.

There may be rare exceptions, especially with race-specific items."


Just to expand a bit on Name Violation's answer, which is correct.

Remember that resizing and reshaping is not changing form and function. A pair of magical gloves will reshape to fit a five-fingered, two-fingered, or even scoop hand wearer (unless its nature wouldn't function as a mitten, obviously). It will not suddenly become fingerless gloves just to accommodate claws, even on an equal size wearer to its original owner. They will resize and reshape to fit, but that means the user can't use their claws effectively (or can but will destroy the gloves) just like if they were wearing any other non-fingerless gloves. In many instance, it will require some consideration depending on the item and the new wearer's body shape, but in general most creatures (that can use those items) should be able to use different sized magical items.

Less rules specific here, but good to consider:
Also mentioned by NV is that race-specific items have a very good reason not to do so, but not just specific race items (like a dwarven [whatever]). It could be items made by a race in general, in common defense items like a ring of protection+1. Obviously everything depends on a campaign and world itself, but in most, dwarves are a militaristic (not necessarily expansionist) race (or have a history as one). They might have been involved in wars and battles with anything from goblins to giants (as their racial enmity shows). In such cases it is highly believable that any magic items they make would specifically not resize since dwarves wouldn't want their enemies to take items and gear from their fallen and reuse them against them. Even in the cases of same size creatures but with vastly dissimilar physiology, such items might be wearable but still be uncomfortable or ill-fitting (dwarves are vastly different in size, shape, and stature than elves even though they're both classified as Medium-sized). So an elf who puts on dwarven gauntlets might find them usable (as they should be), but not necessarily comfortable (which could impose circumstance penalties for some actions that wouldn't apply when wearing normally-fitted gauntlets. What about items made for friends of dwarves? Those are probably made specifically for them, as well.

Liberty's Edge

Note that armor, shields, and weapons don't resize unless they say so explicitly.

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