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Are there any guidelines in place governing the extent to which magic items can resize to different-sized users?

The description given under "Wearing and Wielding Items" (DMG, p. 140) says:

In most cases, a magic item that's meant to be worn can fit a creature regardless of size or build. Many magic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they magically adjust themselves to the wearer. Rare exceptions exist. If the story suggests a good reason for an item to fit only creatures of a certain size or shape, you can rule that it doesn't adjust.

Going by this, it's possible that upon the party defeating a fire giant wielding a magical greatsword, the halfling in the party could go touch the massive weapon, and it would shrink down to the size of a regular sword within seconds, given that there are no stated limits. I know that a DM can decide the extent to which this can happen to fit his/her own game, but is there any standard or given 'Rules as Intended' governing how this should be handled?

V2Blast
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2 Answers2

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D&D 5e says what it means and means what it says:

a magic item that's meant to be worn can fit a creature regardless of size or build.

So a giant's magic boots will resize to fit your halfling and a pixie's armour will resize to fit your horse. The stuff is magic after all.

Dale M
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    Going from humanoid (pixie) to equine (horse) is not simple resizing. – T.J.L. Apr 11 '17 at 14:15
  • @T.J.L. I do not think humanoids could wear items specifically made for horses. But if you had a pixie horse, it could wear the Paladin mounts' armor. – JPicasso Apr 11 '17 at 15:16
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    @JPicasso I was pointing out Dale's poor example so he can correct it, if he'd like. – T.J.L. Apr 11 '17 at 15:17
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    @T.J.L. I believe my example is excellent- the quote is "regardless of size or build", a horse is both a different size and build to a pixie so it illustrates the point nicely. – Dale M Apr 11 '17 at 20:13
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    Resize yes, reshape no, so the horse thing does not happen by RAW – Ghilteras Apr 11 '18 at 14:28
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    How is this relevant for a sword, which is what the question asked about? – SevenSidedDie Apr 29 '19 at 22:27
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    That's a good point: the quote specifically says "a magic item that's meant to be worn", which would exclude a weapon – divibisan Apr 29 '19 at 22:28
  • Is there anything rulewise about when this happens? I would have figured during/as a part of attuning, which would mean it's a bit of a slow process? – Weaver Apr 30 '19 at 08:21
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According to the definition of build on Google:

build

noun

  1. the dimensions or proportions of a person's or animal's body.

5e specifically calls out using standard definitions for non-rules terms. As "build" has no game definition, RAW it works:

a magic item that's meant to be worn can fit a creature regardless of size or build.

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BD Thorn
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  • How is this relevant for a sword? – SevenSidedDie Apr 29 '19 at 22:27
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    OP asked about magic item Resizing, not just weapons. Greatsword was the example provided, but "Are there any guidelines in place governing the extent to which magic items can resize to different-sized users?" Was the original question. – BD Thorn Apr 29 '19 at 22:32
  • Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the [tour] if you haven't already, and check out the [help] for more guidance. – V2Blast Apr 29 '19 at 23:13
  • This answer currently sounds like it says all items resize, including the giant sword in the question — which is the only kind of item the question talks about. If that’s not your intention, you can use the [edit] button to revise it to say something different to the reader. – SevenSidedDie Apr 29 '19 at 23:36