Summary
Monks are one of the more oddball classes inDungeons & Dragons, which leads to them struggling to find a use for many magic items that other character classes are happy to receive. The good news is that a monk already has access to many things that other players need magic items to achieve.
The bad news is that for each one of these features a monk receives inherently, other classes receive some other bonus that is much more compatible with the majority of magic items. But there are still several magic items that monks can get a lot of mileage out of.
Updated on June 01, 2025, by Jack Filsinger:With the release of the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, there’s a plethora of great magic items for monks in DND. We’ve updated this list with some additional items for monks in 5e, as well as added tables denoting rarity, attunement, and key features so that you have plenty of great magic items to pick from for your monk.
Bonus to unarmed strikes.
No
The Wraps of Unarmed Power provide a simple, yet effective buff for monks. Depending on the rarity of the item (check with your DM), you gain either a +1, +2, or +3 to attack rolls and damage rolls made with your Unarmed Strikes. When you make attacks in this way, you can choose either Force damage ortheir normal damage type.
Because monks have great Unarmed Strikes, a small but useful bonus to the attack rolls and damage you do with these strikes can stack pretty favorably throughout a long combat encounter. Plus, what’s a monk without cool wraps?
Prevent fall damage.
Yes
If you’re playing a monk who likes to climb, jump, run, and be all-around dexterous, the Ring of Feather Falling is essential for circumventing fall damage. While you are attuned to this ring, you descend 60 feet per round, but take no damage from falling.
This means you can leap and bound to your heart’s content as a monk without ever being afraid of fall damage repercussions. This is great for low-level monks who don’t have access to their Slow Fall ability yet or for monks who want to fall more than a few hundred feet in certain combat scenarios.
Gain climb speed.
For any monk who needs to get up high quickly, this next item is ideal. The Slippers of Spider Climbing grant their wearer the ability to move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and even ceilings while leaving their hands free. You also gain a Climb Speed that is equal to your regular speed.
This means you can, in theory, fight enemies with your Unarmed Strikes while standing upside down on the ceiling! Besides just looking cool, this item gives monks great extra mobility in combat.
Cast Dimension Door.
The Cape of the Mountebank offers mobility and subterfuge, things that the naturally dexterous monks already do well. The cape allows the user to cast Dimension Door once per dawn and leaves a cloud of smoke when you use the spell that makes that area lightly obscured.
How you use this ability is up to you, but the Cape can make for an outstanding way of leaving a compromised situation, either for you or for an ally. Dimension Door lets you take a willing ally with you, after all, so you can dash to a surrounded friend and get them out of harm’s way.
Bonus to attacks.
This weapon gives monks some much-needed range since it can be used as a thrown weapon that goes back to your hand whenever used in this way. It can also extend to become a ten-foot pole, meant to be used for acrobatic purposes, but it might extend your melee range for that much, should your Dungeon Master allow it.
Beyond that, the quarterstaff can also emit dim light, raise your AC by five against a single attack, and give you advantage on acrobatic checks. All that while also being a plus-two weapon, so unless you really want to be a weaponless monk, this quarterstaff is a must-have.
Access to Spider Climb.
The Cloak of Arachnida offers quite a few perks for a single item, although some of them may vary in their use depending on your adventures. You can walk on webs without being stuck in them, cast your own version of the Web spell, and gain resistance to poison damage.
The main reason this is one of the best magic items for a monk, however, is because it gives the wearer spider walk, letting them walk through walls and ceilings while leaving their hands free. This lets monks chase monsters wherever they may go,fighting vampires on equal footingor dropping down on unsuspecting enemies from the roof.
Create magic daggers.
These magical bracers allow you to conjure two magical daggers and throw them as an action. Monks really don’t have a good option as far as ranged attacks are concerned, seeing as they are so focused on going full Bruce Lee on any opponent they encounter. Unfortunately, some enemies, such as those that fly, can’t be reached by your monk’s fists of fury.
In cases like these, it can make all the difference in the world that a monk has access to a passable ranged attack instead of having to rely on a crossbow. The fact that the magical daggers will overcome many monster resistances to non-magical bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage is also huge. Furthermore, the bracers never run out of daggers, so your monk doesn’t have to worry about retrieving the ones he throws.
Bonus to attack and damage rolls.
Weapons on the whole are tricky for monks, especially seeing as they don’t have proficiency in martial weapons. Thankfully, the spear is a simple weapon that monks can use. The Blood Spear comes from the Curse of Strahd module and has an interesting bit of lore that you’re able to adapt to your campaign as you see fit.
Despite being an uncommon rarity item, this weapon gives a surprisingly strong +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls whereas most other weapons of the same rarity only provide a +1. Furthermore, attacks made with this spear that kill an enemy benefit you with 2d6 temporary hit points. Seeing as monks are front-line fighters with rather low AC (armor class), they can use the temporary hit points better than most.
Buff to jumps.
While monks may be known across other entertainment media as jumping acrobats capable of leaping ridiculous heights, the rules of Dungeons & Dragons don’t really allow for this. It’s an unfortunate side effect of jump distances being based on a character’s Strength score rather than their Dexterity.
Thankfully, the Boots of Striding and Springing can amend this error for any monk interested in leaping ridiculous distances. These boots increase a character’s jumping distance by three times what it would normally be. This allows a monk with a Strength score of only ten to long jump 30 feet and high jump up to ten feet.
Burrowing speed.
These claws turn every battlefield into a three-dimensional environment by giving their wearer a burrow speed equal to their walking speed. Pair this item with a monk’s high movement speed, and you’ve just completely changed the way a player’s character works by granting them the ability to dig holes underneath their opponents.
The gloves also bestow blindsight up to 15 feet, which makes the monk wielding these gloves partially immune to the blinded condition. Lastly, you may use an action once per long rest to spend and roll unspent Hit Dice equal to half your proficiency bonus. You then regain hit points equal to the roll plus your Constitution modifier.
