Magwa's Magic Item Compendium vs PRD Characters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium
Discover and create thousands of unique magic items for your tabletop RPG adventures. This app offers a vast collection of hand-drawn items, random generation, and the ability to save your favorites. Perfect for dungeon masters and players seeking inspiration.
- Thousands of random magic item generation
- Create custom magic items
- Save favorite items
- Over 30 free hand-drawn sketches
- Reference ready-to-use items
- Compatible with D&D 5e SRD
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Magwa, the most prestigious scholar of arcane antiquities, has spent his life traveling the Vast Kingdom in search of powerful and fascinating magic items. He has explored the darkest dungeons and braved the dens of dragons to bring you a magic item collection like you've never seen. He has finally published a portion of his discoveries in this mobile application for you to use in your next RPG adventure. His work includes over 30 free hand-drawn sketches and the option to buy many more. It even includes the ability to randomly generate items, create your own, and save them for later use. Magic, right? While the compendium is simple to use, it is more than just a random magic item generator. As a dungeon master, you will have the power to generate thousands of random magic items with a single tap. You will also be able to create your own custom magic items or adapt random magic items to fit your game setting. Once you find an item you love, the magic item compendium lets you save it to your phone so you can pull it up quickly the next time you play. To top it all off, the compendium includes a handful of wondrous items that are ready for you to reference and use in your game. The app is compatible with 5e materials and even pulls some of your favorite magic items straight from the D&D Systems Reference Document (SRD) via the Open Gaming License. End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
PRD Characters
Create, level up, and track characters for the Pathfinder gaming system. Get guidance on ability scores, classes, races, and spells. Includes a die roller and iCloud backup.
- Character creation and leveling
- Ability score guidance
- Class and race selection
- Spell slot tracking and preparation
- In-app die roller
- iCloud backup and sync
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PRD Characters allows you to create, level-up, and track characters for the PRD(Pathfinder Reference Document) gaming system. The App will give you choices and guidance for such aspects as ability scores, class selection, race selection, feature choices, spells, and more. Pop-up menus will display exactly how scores are calculated, allowing you to add your own adjustments if there is something else you want taken into account. Spell tracking tells you how many spell slots you have, lets you prepare spells in those slots, and keep track of which ones have been cast. You can back up and sync your characters between devices using Apple's iCloud. In addition, the App provides a die-roller for performing standard die rolls, as well as custom die rolls for any need. The free version allows you to create and level up characters up to level 4 using all the Core Rulebook races and 4 basic classes, Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, and Wizard. Buying a subscription gives you access to all the Core Rulebook and Advanced Player's Guide classes (except for Loremaster and Pathfinder Chronicler) and allows character levels all the way up to 20. PRD Characters now supports races from the Advanced Race guide. See demonstration here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFX52Z751pA There are two Full Functionality Subscriptions, one for 3 months and the other for 1 year. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account after you confirm purchase. These are auto-renewable subscriptions, which means they automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Accounts will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period at the same charge as the initial purchase. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. The Privacy and Terms of Use can be found at: http://shinybuttonsoftware.com/prd-characters/prd-characters-privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Magwa's Magic Item Compendium at 77% against PRD Characters's 56%. Magwa's Magic Item Compendium also leads on rating (4.3 vs 4.1). PRD Characters's advantage is iOS requirement (10.3 vs 13.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Magwa's Magic Item Compendium sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and PRD Characters sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per 3 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 73 and 148 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Magwa's Magic Item Compendium's written reviews are positive against 56% of PRD Characters's.
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium ships an update every 2 months, PRD Characters every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Magwa's Magic Item Compendium | PRD Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (73 ratings) — better | 4.1 (148 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.1% of reviews — better | 56.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 73 | 148 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 10.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Knights of Vasteel LLC | Shiny Button Software, LLC |
Customer experience
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium
PRD Characters
User reviews
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium
From 73 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Beautiful art style
- 💡 Great for on-the-fly item creation
- ✨ Free version is very useful
- 📚 Excellent for DMs and homebrew items
- 🖼️ Ability to import own artwork
Room to improve
- 🐛 Subscription issues (missing info)
- 💸 Purchased content not downloading
- 🔄 Updates removing saved items
- 📉 Items can be overpowered/bland
- 🖼️ Some art packs not downloading
PRD Characters
From 148 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Useful and helpful app
- 👍 Great for theory crafting
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Makes playing easier
- 👍 Digital reference
Room to improve
- 😞 Unreadable text
- 😞 Poor color contrast
- 😞 White text on light background
- 😞 Ugly UI choices
- 😞 Not customizable
Bugs and requests
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium
Reported bugs
9 issues- Subscription information missing
- Purchased images/data not downloading
- Un-named magic item groups cannot be deleted/edited
- Saved items lost after updates
- App crashes
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Cannot open on computer or copy-paste text
- Darkwood wand image not selectable/visible on iOS
- Download issues after purchase
- Purchased content inaccessible after update
Requested features
10 requests- Add landscape mode for iPad
- Improve scrolling between items
- Add a back button for easier navigation
- Include a 'common' rarity selection
- Allow users to choose from personal pictures
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Add curses as a feature
- Create a bestiary/creature generator
- Add more weapon types
- Discounted option to buy all packs
- Christmas-themed pack
PRD Characters
Reported bugs
3 issues- Hint system illegible
- Exotic Weapon Proficiency selection issue
- Tips not showing properly in dark mode
Requested features
11 requests- Dark mode option
- More books added
- Change text color in tip bubbles
- Fix tips not showing in dark mode
- Ability to edit feats
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Enchanting items feature
- More content released
- Tile to track HP with damage/heal buttons
- Immersive overlay over character picture
- Regular human characters option
- More customizability
In-app purchases
Magwa's Magic Item Compendium
- Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
- The Master Collection$0.99
- Elves of Ilfelin$0.99
- Mines of Dimlodir$0.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Gafan's Workshop$0.99
- The Red Ravens$0.99
- The Shadow Index$0.99
- Seas of the Viamaros$0.99
- Magic Item Hunters$0.99
- Swords of Vasteel$0.99
- The Alchemist Shop$0.99
PRD Characters
- 3 Month Subscription$2.493 Months
- 1 Year Subscription$5.491 Year
Questions
Is Magwa's Magic Item Compendium free?
Is PRD Characters free?
Which has better reviews, Magwa's Magic Item Compendium or PRD Characters?
Do Magwa's Magic Item Compendium or PRD Characters have ads?
Which is updated more often, Magwa's Magic Item Compendium or PRD Characters?
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