What is a Disguise kit in D&D 5e?

The Disguise Kit is an item in the 2024 5e Rules (Player’s Handbook) and makes use of its new Crafting mechanic. There’s really not a whole lot of words assigned to the item but its uses are potentially pretty broad. 

In the book, the Disguise Kit has fewer than 100 characters dedicated to it, so there’s not much to go on. We know four things, in total, about the kit: 

1. It weighs 3 lbs. 
2. The ability used in checks for it is Charisma
3. The utilize action allows you to use it to apply makeup
4. The Craft action allows you to craft a costume. 

So it’s a set of tools that you can use to create a costume or apply makeup. 

As an aside, I love the idea of a level 1 Bard using the disguise kit to apply makeup in order to fool someone/charm them/what have you and rolling an 8—giving them clown makeup with which to sway their target. 

For applying makeup, you’ll have: 

• Makeup brushes
• Foundation
• Toner
• Blush
• Eyeliner
• Eye shadow
• Lipstick
• Highlighter

And presumably in a variety of shades for each.

Then you’ll have the tools required to actually craft a disguise. This gets a little trickier. As I’m thinking about what goes into this, it’s probably a cross section of leatherworker’s tools, weaver’s tools, and cobbler’s tools. It’s likely you’ll have: 

• Scissors
• Thread and needle
• A leather awl
• Adhesive of some kind
• A burnishing tool

Essentially, you’d have what you need to craft enough of a costume that you’d end up with something so passable you’d get advantage (along with your prowess and proficiency with the tools). 

So that probably sums up what a Disguise Kit is in the 2024 edition of 5e, but…

How do you use a Disguise kit?

There are two ways to use a disguise kit: Utilize and Craft. 

Utilize. 

To utilize the Disguise Kit, all you need to do is use up a utilize action (that just means you expend an action to use the thing) and you can apply makeup to yourself. Pretty good, considering an action in combat is six seconds. 

When you’ve applied makeup, it doesn’t explicitly say what the benefit to you might be so it’s largely up to the GM’s discretion. If you’re a GM or plan on adding a disguise kit to your toolkit, I’d look to use it by: 

• Charming someone who may be harder to charm
• Persuading an NPC that you are of a socioeconomic class besides your own
• Scaring small children

“Apply Makeup” is a pretty broad action, so use it as creatively as you can! 

Craft. 

Crafting has a small amount more detail, but not much. Crafting with the Disguise Kit allows you to create a Costume. The costume is a mundane item defined by the PHB and costs 5GP. It gives you advantage on any checks as you’re attempting to impersonate the person/persona whom your costume is modeled after. 

The thing is, not all costumes are made equal. Are you attempting to create a costume to disguise yourself as a humble bread merchant? Or crafting a ballgown for a gala at the Queen’s Palace?

According to the game, either way, it’s going to take you 1 full day to craft the item. 

Once you’ve got the costume and don it, you’ll get that advantage as long as you’re wearing it and attempting to act as that person/persona. 

2024 5e Rule Changes

There are a couple of notable differences in the use and details surrounding the Disguise Kit. 

Description.

The Disguise kit has an actual description in the 2014 5e rules, and it contains cosmetics, hair dye, and small props that let you craft disguises. In the 2024 version, that detail is left up to your imagination. 

Skill Checks.

In the 2014 version, if you had proficiency with tools, you were able to add your proficiency bonus to any checks while using the tools. Now, though, you must have tool proficiency to use the kit at all. Flavor wise, this makes sense - not anyone is just going to be able to come up with an elaborate disguise on their first go ‘round.

Use.

The utilization and craft detail is new to 2024 and it is completely absent from the 2014 version. 

Crafting.

There is no mention of crafting specifically with the Disguise Kit in the 2014 rules—and, in fact, the crafting section of the previous PHB says that you’ll typically use Artisan’s Tools to craft anything— but they do provide guidance for crafting. 

Crafting is more forgiving now, taking half the time it used to. In the 2014 version, you took the item's value and divided it by 5 to get the number of days to finish crafting; in the 2024 version, you divide the value of the item by 10. 

Costume.

The outcome of crafting, the Costume, isn’t mentioned alongside the disguise kit at all in the 2014 version, so this is a new and welcome addition. 

Disguise Kit Checks, Skills, and Proficiency

Any time you use the kit to apply makeup, make a DC 10 Charisma check. 

While wearing a costume, you have advantage on all checks related to your costume-based deception. 

Disguise Self vs. Disguise Kit

Disguise Self is a quite useful spell and can achieve the same purpose as the kit, so which is better?

Disguise Self Lets You Drastically Change

Disguise Self allows you to change your appearance in major ways. It’s not just applying makeup or creating a costume. You can make yourself one foot shorter or taller, change the appearance of your armor/clothing, and even appear to have a drastically different weight than you typically do. 

That said, it is all an illusion and falls apart quickly if someone touches you at all. 

Disguise Kit is More Simple

As long as you roll well, that is. Disguise Self requires that people perceiving you are the ones that are rolling, while the Disguise Kit – and really, the costume – allows you to roll with advantage whenever you’d make a check. Sure, the DM could have NPCs roll perception, but they can do that with any deception and it doesn’t really change the effectiveness of the costume. 

So which is better?

They both have their place. If I were a wanted fugitive and not planning on getting near anyone, I’d probably opt for Disguise Self. If, on the other hand, I wanted to mingle at a party to collect intel, or act the part of a criminal to infiltrate an underground, I’d likely use the Disguise Kit because it’ll hold up better to more keenly discerning eyes. 

FAQ’s

How many times can you use a disguise kit?

There is no limit to how many times or how often you can use a Disguise Kit. The toolkit remains with you and, if anything, gets better as you make more deceptions over time. Talk to your GM about slowly adding tools to your toolkits as you use them. 

How much does a disguise kit cost?

The Disguise Kit costs 25 GP. 

What is in a Disguise Kit?

While the 2024 rules don’t specify, according to the 2014 rules a Disguise Kit contains cosmetics, hair dye, and small props that let you create disguises that change your physical appearance.

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