So, this is a bit of a nitpicky thing to be discussing, but I wanted some input before I give the final verdict in my game.
A very rotund halfling in my campaign recently received the "Wings of Flying" – which for our visualization purposes was described as being hawk-like in shape, coloration and plumage.
Now here's the crux. The wings will change shape to fit it's wearer proportionally – but our halfling player expressed a strong desire to have these wings take on a tiny, almost cherub-like appearance. Do I go along with this?
I'm usually all for rolling with player ideas, but for an item that's already this powerful, I'm a bit more hesitant to flex the rules, even if it's seemingly "only cosmetic". I don't give a crap about the physics of it all – it can be explained with magic. I'm moreso concerned with what if the wings themselves were targeted by an offensive spell or similar scenarios – accidentally overpowering these wings just by having them made smaller so suddenly a bunch of new exploitable possibilities and scenarios "just makes sense".
What are the consequences, or pros and cons, in modifying the size of the Wings of Flying? Had any previous experiences with resized items like this?
Best Answer
Variations in wingspan will not affect its game mechanics
Magic items only do exactly what they say they do, and nothing more. If we look at the text of Wings of Flying, it does not change the size of the creature wearing it--a medium creature stays a medium creature.
Because non-homebrewed D&D 5e doesn't have location targeting rules, having bigger or smaller wings does not affect how a creature can be targeted, because targeting is either on a creature-by-creature single-target basis, or defined by squares and distance.
For example, you can look at the picture of the Succubus/Incubus on MM 285: they clearly have massive wings that are wider than their bodies, but they're still medium, which is the same size class as a dwarf.
This means that you, as the GM, can make the wings super tiny or super big without changing the existing balance of the item. If you do feel like the item is unbalanced, you could also decide that it does indeed make the player a bigger target.