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Gauntlets of Ogre Power 5e: Strength 19, Who Gains and What Stacks
Gauntlets of Ogre Power are uncommon wondrous items that require attunement and make your Strength 19 while you wear them, the same Strength as an ogre. If your Strength is already 19 or higher, they do nothing. Strength 19 gives a +4 modifier on Strength attacks, damage, checks and saves, plus a 285-pound carrying capacity and enough Strength for plate armor. The verdict: excellent for a character who needs Strength but has 13 or less, marginal for a Strength 16 or 17 fighter, and useless at 18.
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Gauntlets of Ogre Power Rules Text
The SRD 5.1 (2014) card, then the SRD 5.2.1 (2024) card.
Gauntlets of Ogre Power
2014 rules
Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement)
UncommonRequires attunement
Your Strength score is 19 while you wear these gauntlets. They have no effect on you if your Strength is already 19 or higher.
The gauntlets overwrite your Strength with 19. Strength 8 and Strength 17 both become 19 while you wear them. Since 18 and 19 share a +4 modifier, a character at 18 sees no change at all.
Your Strength
Modifier
With the gauntlets
Change to Strength attacks, damage, checks and saves
8
-1
+4
+5
10
+0
+4
+4
13
+1
+4
+3
15
+2
+4
+2
17
+3
+4
+1
18
+4
+4
none
Worked example: a level 3 cleric with Strength 10 swings a mace at +2 (proficiency only). Against AC 15 that hits on a 13 or higher, 40% of the time, for 1d6 damage (3.5 average), about 1.4 damage per swing. With the gauntlets the attack is +6, hitting on 9 or higher (60%) for 1d6 + 4 (7.5), about 4.5 per swing. That's more than triple.
Wearing them
They're a pair, and paired items only work when both are worn. You can't normally wear more than one pair of gloves or gauntlets, so they can't share your hands with Gloves of Swimming and Climbing or any other gloves. Attuning takes a short rest and one of your three attunement slots.
Heavy armor
Chain mail needs Strength 13, and splint and plate need Strength 15. Without that score, heavy armor cuts your speed by 10 feet in both editions. Strength 19 clears every requirement, so a cleric or paladin with low Strength can wear plate at full speed. Take the gauntlets off and the speed penalty comes back.
Carrying, pushing and jumping
Carrying capacity is Strength × 15 pounds for a Medium or Small creature in both editions: 285 pounds at Strength 19. You can push, drag or lift twice that, 570 pounds. A running long jump covers up to your Strength score in feet, so 19 feet with a 10-foot run-up. The encumbrance calculator handles the rest of the load.
Grappling and shoving
In 2014, grappling and shoving use a Strength (Athletics) check against the target's Athletics or Acrobatics, so the gauntlets add directly to the contest. In 2024, a grapple or shove forces a save against 8 + your Strength modifier + your proficiency bonus, so Strength 19 raises that DC by up to 5 for a weak character.
What doesn't change
Finesse and ranged weapons use Dexterity unless you choose Strength for a finesse weapon. A rogue with a rapier and Dexterity 18 gets nothing in combat from the gauntlets.
Stacking with other Strength items
The gauntlets have no effect if your Strength is 19 or higher without them. That decides the common combinations:
•Belt of Giant Strength: every belt sets Strength to 21 or more, so with the belt on, your Strength is already above 19 and the gauntlets do nothing. Keep the belt.
•Potion of Giant Strength: the potion has no effect only if your Strength already equals or beats its score. Even the weakest (hill giant) sets 21 for an hour, which beats the gauntlets' 19, so drinking one while wearing them works.
•Ability Score Improvements: they raise your own score underneath. An improvement that takes you from 16 to 18 changes nothing while the gauntlets are on.
Gauntlets of Ogre Power: 2014 vs 2024
2014 (SRD 5.1)
2024 (SRD 5.2.1)
Rarity / attunement
Uncommon, requires attunement
Uncommon, requires attunement
Effect
Strength score is 19
Strength is 19
No effect when
Strength is already 19 or higher
Strength is 19 or higher without them
Value
No price in the SRD
400 GP (uncommon)
The item didn't change. The 2024 phrase "without them" spells out that the check ignores the gauntlets but counts everything else, which is why a Belt of Giant Strength switches the gauntlets off rather than the reverse. The grapple rules around them did change (a contested check in 2014, a save against a fixed DC in 2024), and the gauntlets help either way.
Who Should Use Gauntlets of Ogre Power?
Low-Strength characters who still use Strength. A cleric or paladin with Strength 8 to 13 gains +3 to +5 on every Strength attack and damage roll, plus heavy armor at full speed.
Grapplers and shovers whose Strength lags behind, especially under the 2024 save-based grapple.
Strength-based fighters and barbarians at 15 or 16 early on. A +1 or +2 to hit and damage is worth an uncommon slot at levels 1 to 4, and the gauntlets free your first Ability Score Improvements for something else.
Not worth it at Strength 17 or more. A Cloak of Protection does more for the slot.
Gauntlets of Ogre Power for DMs
What it changes. Strength stops being a weakness for one character. Expect a weak cleric to start shoving and grappling, and expect heavy armor to appear on characters who couldn't wear it.
Pricing. The 2024 SRD sets the value of an uncommon item at 400 GP. The 2014 SRD has no prices. The magic item rarity calculator helps place it in a hoard.
Hooks.
•A village blacksmith who could barely lift a hammer is suddenly forging plate. The gauntlets came from a peddler, and the peddler wants them back.
•A temple lends its pair to the champion of an annual trial of strength. This year someone attuned to them the night before, and the priests need to know who.
•A tournament bans magic items, and one finalist is winning every wrestling bout. The gauntlets are under his wrappings.
Who wears the gauntlets, and what the party traded for them, is the kind of detail Loreify keeps in its session recaps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Gauntlets of Ogre Power require attunement?
Yes. They're uncommon wondrous items that require attunement in both editions.
Do Gauntlets of Ogre Power stack with a Belt of Giant Strength?
No. The gauntlets do nothing if your Strength is 19 or higher without them, and every Belt of Giant Strength sets it to 21 or more. Wear the belt.
What if my Strength is already 18?
You gain nothing. Strength 18 and 19 both give a +4 modifier. The only change is a bigger carrying capacity and long jump, by 15 pounds and one foot.
Can you wear Gauntlets of Ogre Power with other gloves?
No. You can't normally wear more than one pair of gloves or gauntlets at once, so they can't be combined with another pair of magic gloves.
How much are Gauntlets of Ogre Power worth?
400 GP under the 2024 SRD, the value of any uncommon magic item. The 2014 SRD doesn't list magic item prices.
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.