Explore the Wonderful World of Millinery with 5E D&D Hats, Helms and Headwear

Let’s think about hats! Headwear or hats could include a number of types such as circlets, standard hats, crowns, cowls and hoods. When you look at gear, headgear usually includes masks and goggles as well.  If there is not enough loot in your fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons group there is always room to make more. However there seems to be a fair amount of headgear within the standard 5E D&D books.

A treasure upon your 5E D&D character’s noggin

Tabletop roleplaying games would not be complete without fabulous imaginary prizes to win and 5E D&D is no exception when it comes to loot. There is a fine balance with treasure — you do not want too much and you do not want too little. There is also a balance of magical items with just flat out treasure. It is important to note each group has its own balance so it may be a situation of trial and error for each new group with which you play.

One of the most downplayed types of gear I personally have noticed are head pieces. Where are all the hats on these tables I have been a part of in my 5E D&D experiences?  I know my characters probably have a helmet on but aside from starting gear I rarely seem to find more hats or headgear. I am left wondering if head gear, pants and shoes would be my starter components before adventuring. I would also always be on the lookout for more of these items.

There are quite a few options for headwear to find within 5E D&D game play. I must have been unlucky as in all the games I have played I have only seen one helm of brilliance, one helm of telepathy and one pair of goggles of night. This is strange for as much as I have played 5E D&D. Maybe the Dungeon Masters simply did not like hats?

My favorite hat I ever collected was in a first edition D&D game with my naughty thief named Gharri, whose backstory including coming from a family of elven archeologists. Something went bad and Gharri and his sister were kidnapped by a secret society of individuals trying to get their hands on magical artifacts. Over time they warped Gharri’s mind and turned him into an assassin. For all intents and purposes Gharri was broken and a jerk. He caroused hard and lost everything multiple times leaving his adventuring buddies to pick up his mess, often after finding him naked and still drunk in alleys.

So where do the hats come in? I’m just getting to this. The party was tasked with investigating a temple with a catacomb underneath it. A delicate golden lace tiara rested upon a deceased lady’s head in an unsecured sarcophagus. Gharri snatched the tiara and placed it upon his head without asking any of the other party members. Nothing appeared to happen and the party went on their way.

A few sessions later it appeared Gharri’s luck had gotten better. He was now succeeding in his carousing attempts. Gharri was now rich and had somehow made arrangements to sell his sister to the lecherous mayor of the small town near the temple. Life was looking up for Gharri and he attributed his success to his tiara.

As with all things life takes some unexpected turns and the adventuring group was sent back into the temple. The party ran into a stone golem by a trapped floor. Gharri being the dexterous type saved the party from imminent danger with godlike rolls. He tricked the golem into following him and at the last minute he backflipped over the open trap door. HUZZAH! The stone golem was trapped and the party was no longer in danger.

Hubris is quite a magical thing even in tabletop gaming. Gharri believed the tiara gave him magical abilities. The golem was still active and Gharri remembered there had been explosives in another room close by. They party was distracted rolling up a fancy decorative rug they had found and were seemingly unaware of Gharri’s plans. Gharri flipped over the trap door, dropped and lit a large amount of explosives into the hole and then flipped back to the other side. The golem was gone. After a brief glorious flash of experience points Gharri’s precious life was erased from existence.

With the loss of the party member the group went back to town to rest and recuperate. Days after fate intervened and Gharri’s sister showed up at port looking for him. She was looking for a precious family heirloom — a key Gharri had on him. The party told his sister of the mishap and she wanted to inspect the remains. The party took her to the temple where Gharri had met his end. However, there were no remains or a stone golem.

Quite to the party’s surprise there was a zombie Gharri still wearing his beloved golden tiara melted to his undead skull like a melted crayon. Definitely a statement in the wonderful world of hats that was taken beyond the grave.