Pearl of Power 5e Guide

Whenever you play a TRPG, part of the fun is finding equipment and skills to create your ideal character. Even in RPG video games, you are there for the story and the personalities behind them. With your main protagonist taking whatever form you wish to interact with that world, in that way, you get to both build your character around the world and shape the world after your character’s actions. 

Now when you play Dungeons and Dragons, this customization comes in two flavors. Firstly, your character, what classes are, how they play, and what abilities and feats they learn. Secondly is their equipment, and this is more than just a sword and a shield but magical items and artifacts. These can make or break a build. However, most of the time, it comes down to what items you can find and how they can be used between your party. 

I have been a DM for over a decade now, and while I cannot say that I have played every module under the sun, I have playtested most of the items in the game to bring them to my table. So in this Pearl of Power 5e guide, join me as we talk about the Pearl of Power. 

Pearl of Power

Requires attunement by a spellcaster 

While this Pearl is on your person, You can use an Action to speak this Pearl’s command word and regain one expended spell slot of up to 3rd level. 

This uncommon magic item is potent on a long adventure, as usually the only way to restore spell slots is through a long rest or a short rest in the case of Wizards and Warlocks. Converting other resources using Sorcerer or taking a specific subclass feature such as Circle of the Land Druids. 

Sad to say, but in this version of the spell, Warlocks at level 7 and higher cannot use it, as Warlocks only have their spell slots at their highest possible level. At that level, Warlocks have access to 4th level slots meaning their spells slots are 4th level only. 

They had to errata the text on Pearl of Power and then made it the best possible item for Warlocks to have and attune to. 

Pearl of Power Errata

Requires attunement by a Spellcaster 

While this Pearl is on your person, you can use an Action to speak its command word and regain one expended spell slot. If the expended slot is of 4th level or higher, the new slot is 3rd level. Once you have used the Pearl, it can’t be used again until the next dawn. 

With this change, you can regain any spell slot back whenever you use the Pearl. However, it will be put down to level three. It can even go lower if your 3rd level slots are still full, so be sure to have at least one open slot as this item “regains” and not “gains” a spell slot. 

However, this point is still under contention, so be sure to clear it with your DM when you acquire the item. Usually, it is up to the interpretation of your DM if this item gives you another 3rd level slot or only restores one slot. 

Is it good?

This item is good on half-casters and any other casting class with a few spell slots. So Warlocks, Paladins, Rangers, and Artificers would benefit significantly from this item. Due to their low amount of spells, regaining a spell slot is immense. This especially applies to half-casters as they are limited to 5th-level spells, but they also have half the spell slots available to them compared to full casters. 

That is not to say that full-casters such as Wizards, Clerics, or Bards should try to avoid this item as, in essence, this item gives you an extra 3rd level spell slot. So when they expend a higher-level spell such as 4th and up, they can use this item to gain a 3rd level slot for the rest of the day or until they use it. 

Most items usually give a flat-to-hit or flat bonus to AC, and others directly increase your stats. Usually, the rarer the item, the more of a bonus it provides or adds spells and abilities. There are not many items that restore spell slots. Instead, more items give a certain number of spell uses. So it makes the effect of the Pearl of Power that much more valuable. 

Compared to Scrolls, Rings of Spell Storing, and Wands with specific spells, Pearl of Power allows you to regain the slot itself rather than storing a particular spell. Now what you can do with the spell is entirely up to you, so that extra layer of versatility pushes this usefulness to be on par with rare and higher items. 

Of course, this also correlates to what class is attuning to the item; it is less effective on characters that do not use their spell slots for spells. For example, Paladins can use this item to regain a spell slot for divine smite, but at the cost of one of their attunement slots for armor or equipment. 

So with this in mind, what classes work well with this item? 

Who is it good on?

To further detail what I said previously, Warlocks, Paladins, Rangers, and Artificers are considered “half-casters” these characters only learn up to 5th level spells and have half as many spell slots as full-casters. I would say that the Pearl is good for these characters because of its ability to restore their spell slot. 

The problem lies in the fact that this item is an attunement item; in D&D, you can only attune to three items and equip as many items that are not attunement as you wish. So with that criteria, let’s narrow down the classes some more. 

Paladins and Rangers, I would say, fall under a classification of half-martial and half-caster class. Look at what they must consider when choosing equipment. Paladins, in specific, have to choose between armor, weapons, and shields.

At the same time, Rangers must choose between weapons, armors, and accessories. Items in D&D allow you to cast spells, be great at tanking, or even attract attacks towards yourself. So it would help if you thought before choosing to cast an additional spell over protecting yourself with even higher AC. 

Paladins

Can use Pearls of Power to grant them more slots for divine smite or to bolster their defenses with auras. However, due to its attunement, it might take up an essential space for a weapon or armor that has attunement.

Armors usually have the attunement tag, and unique weapons share this characteristic, so it must be heavily considered before taking this spell-casting accessory. 

Rangers

On the other hand, they have less to consider than Paladins, and they have to balance either attacking or casting spells. Viewing their spell list, most of their combat spells are concentration, meaning they can only cast one of them at a time.

So, having an additional slot does very little in the same combat when casting a new spell breaks the old. However, many of their non-concentration spells do have quite an impact if you can get a situation for their usage. Keep that in mind when you see this item on your Ranger.  

Artificers and Warlocks have less choice in equipment as they cannot equip most weapons and armors, so they have to choose from spell casting items and accessories that increase the potency of their spells.

Due to this, I would instead call them three-quarters casters as they lean more towards augmenting their spells and having many options to tweak what they have into what they need. 

Artificers

Gain attunement slots later on in their levels and can even create other magic items to supplement what they lack. They can build to support, deal damage, or even tank damage.

So, choosing items is much more impactful on them due to having more slots. It allows for exciting combos and interactions between combat and roleplaying moments. 

Warlocks

On the other hand, they have a few specific items due to how their spell slots work. Essentially, they only have four maximum spell slots at their highest possible level.

At level 9, they gain access to 5th-level spells, and it does not increase from there. Armed with a Pearl of Power, when they regain one of their few spell slots, it instantly transforms into the highest level spell slot they can obtain. 

Full-Casters

I would consider it blanketing Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, and, Wizard. Of course, full-casters will also greatly benefit from receiving an additional spell slot, even if it is a 3rd-level.

Many great spells they can cast come from 3rd-level after all; for example, Haste, Catnap, Call Lightning, and many more can be recast once the Pearl has been used. However, I won’t go into too much detail since they all have a similar benefit to getting this item. 

However, I would put my vote for the Warlock as the best match for this item. It bends the rules of the item allowing for a 5th-level spell rather than 3rd and adds a much-needed spell to their pitifully small amount of spell slots. Early levels such as 1-10 provide a 50% increase in the number of spells they can cast, which only gets better from there. 

Where to get it?

While this may seem like a lot, it is rare to find these specific modules. As for the hardcovers, you will need to play through many chapters to gain access to that sweet loot. Pearls of Power come at different times, but your best bet would be to go for the individual modules. 

Ask your DM to run it or run it yourself as you want to get the Pearl of Power as early as possible. That would mean Whispers in the Dark or Murder at the Stop is your best bet at a module that is easy to run and can be cleared at low levels. 

FAQ

Pearl of Power 5e Guide: Final Thoughts

This item is insane to find, primarily since it is meant to be given late into tier one or around level three or four. It can give you one extra spell in a pinch and doesn’t rely on having to save spell slots since this also restores on a long rest.

As a DM, this is a great reward to give to your players after completing a challenging quest or defeating a wizard upstart. Just make sure that this is handed to the caster and not the fighter. Good Luck!

• About
• Latest Posts

Conrad Chan

Conrad started D&D right before 5th edition and quickly transitioned into it upon hearing about how easy it was to catch games and modules. Soon after he turned into a Dungeon Master, trying to understand the intricate rulings and behind the screen works into making a campaign. Now he wants to share what he has learned, from guides to mechanics. Characters, campaigns and Minmaxing are all on the table.

Latest posts by Conrad Chan (see all)

• Prestige Classes 5e Guide - September 20, 2022
• Rod of the Pact Keeper 5e Guide - September 15, 2022
• Sanctuary 5e Guide - September 14, 2022