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Circlet of Blasting 5e: A Daily Scorching Ray for Anyone
The Circlet of Blasting 5e is an uncommon wondrous item that lets the wearer cast Scorching Ray once per day, with a fixed +5 to hit. That's three rays of 2d6 fire damage each, up to 36 if all three land. It doesn't need attunement, and the wearer doesn't need to be a spellcaster. It recharges at dawn. The 2014 and 2024 versions work the same way. The verdict: a strong pick-up at levels 1 to 5, when 13 or so expected damage is a big hit, and a once-a-day extra for anyone after that.
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Circlet of Blasting Rules Text
Circlet of Blasting
2014 rules
Wondrous item, uncommon
UncommonNo attunement
While wearing this circlet, you can use an action to cast the scorching ray spell with it. When you make the spell's attacks, you do so with an attack bonus of +5. The circlet can't be used this way again until the next dawn.
Scorching Ray is a level 2 spell with a 120-foot range. Under the SRD rules for spells cast from items, the circlet casts it at its lowest level, so you get the standard three rays: each is a separate ranged spell attack, and each deals 2d6 fire damage on a hit. You can aim all three at one target or split them. The circlet sets the attack bonus to +5 and ignores your own spellcasting modifier.
It takes an action in 2014 (the item says so) and a Magic action in 2024, where casting any spell with a casting time of an action is a Magic action. It doesn't need Concentration.
Damage by target AC
Each ray averages 7 damage on a hit and 14 on a critical (a natural 20 doubles the dice). With +5 to hit:
Target AC
Each ray hits on
Hit chance
Expected damage (3 rays)
12
7+
70%
about 15.7
15
10+
55%
about 12.6
18
13+
40%
about 9.5
The math: 3 rays × (hit chance × 7 + 5% × 7 extra for critical hits). Against AC 15 that's 3 × (0.55 × 7 + 0.35) = 12.6. For comparison, a level 1 caster's Fire Bolt cantrip deals 1d10 (5.5 average) on one attack. At level 1 a single circlet use is worth more than two rounds of cantrips.
The +5 doesn't grow
A level 1 caster with a +3 spellcasting modifier and +2 proficiency also attacks at +5, so the circlet is on par early. By level 9 that caster attacks at +9 with their own spells, and the circlet's rays hit 20 percentage points less often. Past level 10 the item is a once-a-day bonus, not a plan.
No components, no free hand
Spells cast from items need no components unless the item says otherwise, in both SRDs. Scorching Ray normally has Verbal and Somatic components, but from the circlet it needs neither. You can use it with both hands full, while gagged, or inside the area of a Silence spell.
Combining it with your own spells
•2014: if you cast a spell as a bonus action, the only other spell you can cast that turn is a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action. The circlet's Scorching Ray is a level 2 spell, so it can't follow a bonus action Healing Word or Misty Step.
•2024: the limit is one spell slot per turn. The circlet doesn't use a slot, so a 2024 cleric can cast Healing Word with a slot as a Bonus Action and fire the circlet with the Magic action on the same turn.
Limits to know
•Barbarians can't use it while raging. Both SRDs say you can't cast spells during a Rage, and using the circlet is casting a spell.
•Ranged attacks next to an enemy have Disadvantage. Each ray is a ranged spell attack, so an enemy within 5 feet that can see you (and isn't incapacitated) makes all three rays roll with Disadvantage.
•It takes your headwear slot. Both SRDs say you can't normally wear more than one item of headwear, so the circlet competes with helms and hats. Whether Goggles of Night count as headwear is the GM's call.
Circlet of Blasting: 2014 vs 2024
2014 (SRD 5.1)
2024 (SRD 5.2.1)
Rarity / attunement
Uncommon, no attunement
Uncommon, no attunement
Spell
Scorching Ray, +5 attack bonus
Same
Uses
Once, recharges at dawn
Same
Action
An action
A Magic action
Combining with a bonus action spell
Not after a bonus action spell
Allowed (the circlet uses no slot)
Value
No price in the SRD
400 GP (uncommon)
The circlet itself is the same item with shorter wording. The practical change is the 2024 casting rule, which lets a caster pair it with a bonus action spell on the same turn.
Who Should Use the Circlet of Blasting?
Martial characters without a ranged option. A fighter, paladin or rogue with no spells can wear it and get a 120-foot burst of fire once a day. No attunement means it costs nothing to try.
Low-level casters. At level 1 to 4, a free level 2 spell per day is a meaningful share of a wizard's or sorcerer's daily magic. Wizards and sorcerers who know Scorching Ray will still want their own version later, when their attack bonus passes +5.
Not for: a character who already has a better headwear item, or a high-level caster whose own spells hit more often. At that point, give it to the party member who has no other way to deal fire damage at range.
Compared with the Wand of Wonder, the circlet does one thing every day and never backfires. Compared with the Wand of Fireballs, it hits one or two targets instead of a crowd, and the wand needs attunement by a spellcaster.
Circlet of Blasting for DMs
Where it turns up. An early hoard, or on a fire-themed caster the party defeats. It's uncommon and needs no attunement, so it's safe to give at level 1 or 2.
What it changes. For a level 1 party, it's a level 2 spell's worth of damage once a day, from someone who may not cast spells at all. That can end a boss fight a round early. It doesn't scale, so it fades on its own.
Pricing. The 2024 SRD values uncommon items at 400 GP. The 2014 SRD has no magic item prices. Use the magic item rarity calculator for a shop.
Hooks.
•The circlet is the badge of a town's fire brigade captain, who uses it to clear burning roofs. The captain has been murdered and the circlet is gone.
•A goblin war chief wears a Circlet of Blasting and has learned to open every ambush with it. The first round of the fight is always the dangerous one.
•A hedge wizard offers the circlet in trade for a book the party is carrying, and won't say why the book matters.
Once-a-day items are easy to forget mid-campaign. Loreify records the session and lists the loot in each recap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Circlet of Blasting require attunement?
No. It's an uncommon wondrous item without attunement in both the 2014 and 2024 rules, so anyone can wear it, including characters who can't cast spells.
How much damage does the Circlet of Blasting do?
It casts Scorching Ray: three rays, each a ranged spell attack at +5 that deals 2d6 fire damage on a hit. That's up to 36 damage if all three hit, about 12.6 expected against AC 15.
How often can you use the Circlet of Blasting?
Once per day. After you cast Scorching Ray with it, it can't do so again until the next dawn.
Can you upcast Scorching Ray from the Circlet of Blasting?
No. Spells cast from items are cast at their lowest level unless the item says otherwise, so the circlet always creates three rays.
How much is a Circlet of Blasting worth?
400 GP under the 2024 SRD, the value of an uncommon magic item. The 2014 SRD has no prices for magic items.
Item text: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Analysis, rulings and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.