How can I increase my Wisdom in 5e in order to multiclass?

Question

I'm playing a 5th level Warlock and I would like to increase my Wisdom in order to multiclass. I picked a feat over the class level bonuses, so I won't be able to boost my Wisdom that way. I read that many people use Owl's Wisdom when playing previous editions, but in 5e, this only exists as a (diminished) option of the Enhance Ability spell.

Are there any other boosting spells that could be made permanent or items that could be used (and stacked) in this situation?

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 14 '15 at 17:28

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Yes, there are items that can be used to increase your wisdom, but you'll likely not have access to them at 5th level. An example is the Ioun Stone of Insight which increases your wisdom by 2 (to a max of 20), but it is listed as "Very Rare".

answered Oct 14 '15 at 17:28

DM John

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For reference, for a high-magic campaign at level 5, the DMG suggests that players of level 5 start with 1 uncommon magic item. Very Rare is something you come into contact with at higher levels GENERALLY. – Premier Bromanov Oct 14 '15 at 17:40
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@Tom Sterkenburg What page in the DMG has the 'Recommended Starting Items By Level' Information? – Lost_in_Hyrule Oct 14 '15 at 18:42
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That would be on pg. 38. The only place it mentions a Very Rare item is under the "High Magic Campaign" column for levels 17 to 20. – DM John Oct 14 '15 at 18:44
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Magic items that don't permanently increase an ability score shouldn't necessarily work. Obviously a DM could rule otherwise but it's worth mentioning. – Purple Monkey Oct 14 '15 at 20:40
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Yeah, I was thinking about that too, but wasn't sure about the ruling on that. Excellent point and should be considered. The Tome of Understanding (pg 209) would increase wisdom by 2, but is also "Very Rare". – DM John Oct 14 '15 at 20:43
The relevant ruling was added to SAC since this answer (reflected in the answer linked by Purple Monkey). Temporary boosts to ability scores do not qualify you for multiclassing. – Someone_Evil Jun 11 '20 at 00:22

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered May 17 '16 at 17:38

Outside of level-based increases, or Feats, I'm not aware of any game ability that permanently increases an ability. A case might be made for the spell Wish, although since this does not duplicate a lesser spell and is not one of the listed functions, it would require DM approval, and the wisher would suffer the attendant debilitating effects. Also, it would be well within the DM's province to go with the partial achievement text, and simply allow you to retroactively choose the ability increase in place of feat acquisition you chose at leveling time. This would be similar to the "hurl you forward in time to when your enemy is already dead" twisting of a death-dealing Wish.

Since your character is unable to cast Wish, you'd either need to pay a high level caster to do it for you (very unlikely), or find a ring of wishes (also unlikely).

If you really, really want this, I would suggest talking with your DM. Depending on how the campaign is run, he or she might allow you to re-do your leveling choice, or even to re-shuffle your ability scores. Some tables are very loose about this, particularly if you have invested time in the character but are fundamentally disappointed in the actual build.

How can I increase my Wisdom in 5e in order to multiclass?

2 Answers2