Favorite Common Magical Item?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Just scrolling through a list and I am a bit underwhelmed. Not mad, these things are common. A Tankard of Sobriety maybe combined with Perfume of Bewitching could be useful.

I think some Walloping Ammo might be the choice. It WILL be handy eventually, makes recovering arrows important and isn't DM dependent.

U all ever made any good use of anything on the list?

[Dualight]

Haven't actually used one myself in play, but a moon-touched sword is neat since, while it receives no bonuses to combat, it is still a magic weapon and thus bypasses resistance to non-magical damage.
The pot of awakening is another item I'd love to see in play. Unfortuantely, none of the campaigns I've played in had the party stay in one place long enough.

[Hiro Quester]

Ruby of the warmage is fairly handy for Gish types. Makes your weapon also a spell casting focus.

I feel like anyone should be able to find creative and fun uses for 1/day Disguise Self from a Masquerade Tattoo.

A Tankard of Plenty (fills with 3 pints of good dwarven ale 3/day) is great in the hands of the right character (drunken fist monk)

[Kane0]

You can never give me enough potions of healing.

Other than that, i'm rather partial to beads of nourishment, mystery keys and the odd enduring spellbook

[kingcheesepants]

I like the hat of wizardry, I love the classic wizard aesthetic that it brings, being able to once a day cast whichever cantrip you like is handy and it's nice to have a focus that doesn't require hands. Now granted this'll probably be the first thing you unattune to once you have enough magic items for attunement slots to matter, but still for an early game wizard (or I guess a mid game wizard with very few magic items) this is nice.

[Dalinar]

Recently wrapped up a campaign in our homebrew setting in which my PC, an illithid (not generally evil in said setting), owned a Bottle of Boundless Coffee. (I believe it's from the Strixhaven book.) It was fun to play this serious, deadpan, monstrous-looking alien thing musing at people over telepathy while simultaneously drinking coffee by levitating it out of a bottle as if through an invisible straw. We also had another PC who was basically a rambunctious child, so my character eventually deciding the kid had grown enough to be able to handle coffee made for a fun character moment later on.

And that's what common magic items are for, for the most part: they're meant to be fun opportunities for character expression, not necessarily a combat advantage except maybe in some niche circumstances. Though there are a couple slightly stronger ones like common scrolls, spellwrought tattoos, etc.

[Amnestic]

Cloak of Billowing.

I need to look dramatic, even when the wind doesn't want to play ball.

[emyrion]

Cloak of Billowing.

I need to look dramatic, even when the wind doesn't want to play ball.

This is a great answers, a staple alongside the Cloak of Many Fashions. However, both of these pale in front of the majesty that is the Doublet of Dramatic Demise.

In nitty-gritty campaigns a single Everbright Lantern can provide a ton of reliable utility compared to torches or regular lanterns.

[elyktsorb]

Anytime I'm allowed to take a common magical item, I always pick Mystery Key

[Oramac]

Cloak of Billowing.

I need to look dramatic, even when the wind doesn't want to play ball.

The only correct answer.

[Segev]

My tropics-loving octopus-person was very pleased to have a thermal cube in the frozen north.

[KorvinStarmast]

This is a great answers, a staple alongside the Cloak of Many Fashions.

The monk in our Salt Marsh campaign still uses hers to be appropriately dressed.

Anytime I'm allowed to take a common magical item, I always pick Mystery Key

My faves are:
Cloak of Many Fashions
Moon Touched Sword
Staff of Birdcalls - the druid in our Salt Marsh campaign is still using this, and we are well into Tier 3.

[Droningbass]

I like the hat of wizardry, I love the classic wizard aesthetic that it brings, being able to once a day cast whichever cantrip you like is handy and it's nice to have a focus that doesn't require hands. Now granted this'll probably be the first thing you unattune to once you have enough magic items for attunement slots to matter, but still for an early game wizard (or I guess a mid game wizard with very few magic items) this is nice.

Not only does it give you the benefit of a once-per-day flexible cantrip - the hat obviously exudes an aura of high fashion! I second this item, very handy for a low-level wizard.

[Nod_Hero]

I'm a big fan of the Staff of Adornment.
A torch/candle/lamp, a bell, and an hourglass all spinning on the top of my staff? Don't mind if I do!

[DracoKnight]

Mechanically I love the Moon-Touched Sword.

For one that's pure flavor, I love the Dread Helm.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Next time I DM we're giving out more common items than +1s lol.

[Hairfish]

I like finding ways to violate the laws of physics w/ unbreakable arrows

[JellyPooga]

My tropics-loving octopus-person was very pleased to have a thermal cube in the frozen north.

Gonna second the thermal cube. Fun with thermodynamics is always entertaining and...who doesn't like staying warm?

[Monster Manuel]

I'll second the Ruby of the War Mage for a gish, but it does quickly outlive the attunement slot it uses.

It's situational, but the cast-off armor can be a life-saver; being able to don or doff plate mail in a single action makes late-night ambushes less scary, and can be key when hit with a Heat Metal spell, or thrown off a ship. If you've got otherwise non-magical armor, it's always better to have this option than not. Crafting common items is cheap and fast enough, I've justified having the entire elite Royal Guard of a kingdom outfitted with this.

A scroll or Spell Tattoo with a Light spell, or a Minor Illusion, can be a great thing to have in your back pocket.

I think there's potential utility in the Collapsible Pole; expand from 1 foot to up to 10 with a command word, to block doors or span pit traps or poke at sketchy things from a distance, or whatever. I've neve actually used one in-game, though.

There were some cool things in the Eberron book; I liked having the retractable armblade on my warforged rogue, but again, that's pretty situational.

[DracoKnight]

being able to don or doff plate mail in a single action makes late-night ambushes less scary, and can be key when hit with a Heat Metal spell, or thrown off a ship.

Not to nitpick, but you can't don the Cast-Off Armor as an action, that still takes the full amount of time.

[Darth Credence]

I like the hat of wizardry, I love the classic wizard aesthetic that it brings, being able to once a day cast whichever cantrip you like is handy and it's nice to have a focus that doesn't require hands. Now granted this'll probably be the first thing you unattune to once you have enough magic items for attunement slots to matter, but still for an early game wizard (or I guess a mid game wizard with very few magic items) this is nice.

Not only does it give you the benefit of a once-per-day flexible cantrip - the hat obviously exudes an aura of high fashion! I second this item, very handy for a low-level wizard.

Wizard in my campaign wanted one of these. I found a cheap wizard's hat online and bought it. Then I spelled out "WIZZARD" in rhinestones on it, and gave it to him to wear. He wore it that day to pick up the pizza.

It will always be my favorite common magic item.