Red Larch has been an important stop on the Long Road for two centuries now. Named for a distinctive stand of red larch trees that were cut down when the hamlet was founded, Red Larch became a settlement in the first place thanks to a drinkable spring that fed a sizable pond ideal for watering horses, oxen, and pack mules.
An east-west trail meets the Long Road at the pond, running west to the logging community of Kheldell and east to Bargewright Inn and eventually Secomber. Another trail leads to quarries in the Sumber Hills and to ruins of stone keeps long ago left to monsters and outlaws (the Haunted Keeps).
In recent years, new quarries have been opened on the northwestern edge of town. So far these have yielded up great slabs of marble much prized in Waterdeep for facing large new buildings and repairing older edifices. Red Larch is also a center for stonecutters quarrying slate on the fringes of the Sumber Hills.
While Red Larch remains prosperous, dark omens are appearing. The heart of the Sumber Hills has become far more dangerous, with monsters lurking seemingly everywhere (no one goes into the hills berry picking or hare-hunting these days, though Red Larcher children traditionally did so daily in summer and fall). Banditry is on the rise, and the weather seems to be getting more severe and more unpredictable. Several Red Larcher shepherds have seen strange figures watching them from distant hillsides in the wild fields east of town where they have traditionally grazed their flocks. Quarry workers used to cut by torchlight when orders were backing up but do so no longer, shunning the pits by night. They are spooked by rumors of dark-robed figures in stone masks lurking in the darkness beyond the torchlight. The townsfolk fear that dangerous times are at hand, but no one seems to know what to do about it.
The group slowly awakened in their two rooms, mostly rested, except for Fogo who had been plagued by upsetting dreams and uncomfortableness all night. It was noticeable enough for Avery, Fwoosh, and Sky to wonder if there were any issues that they should be concerned about. Fogo described his dreams about the earth and stone and believes that it points to the quarries as a possible source. He did quote something he remembered from the dream. He heard from a genteel and well-spoken voice say:
“The last war did not wipe the slate clean. You all shall be crushed by the earth, ground into stone, and I shall begin again.
Fwoosh was still concerned about his golden statue, and he felt like it was sucking things from him. Something unknown, as it was consuming some of his essence. The action of handling it made Avery very uncomfortable, but not for any reason he could articulate, perhaps just fear of the unknown. Concern about the statue was expressed by Fogo as well.
The other group strategized about their plans for the day and wanted to make sure that they visit the owner of the inn who is known to be a wizard. Angelica spoke up about how both Imdarr and the constable should be trustworthy and that they should be planning on taking on the bandits soon.
It was at that point that everyone came together and went downstairs for some much-needed breakfast. Sitting at a large table they all ordered some breakfast and. All of them enjoyed the main room which were substantially cooler than their rooms, and especially the outside. Fogo related his dream from last night and requoted the voice he heard. Vladimir described his dream of fire, and said that he too heard a voice:
“You cannot stop the flames. I shall burn all of you down and rule over the ashes of rebirth.”
They also discussed that disturbing dreams had also seemed to have plagued several of the people of Red Larch. It was pointed out that the dreams were very elemental, perhaps even primordial. In the midst all this, Sky relayed that he too had a dream. It was of a white fox named Deloris, the Harbinger of Death. Sky was not sure about if there were any elemental links, but the giant berry he had been eating in the dream was very tasty.
Behind the bar was a short man sitting on a stool. The party assumed it was Dhelosk Quelbeard, owner of the Blackbutter Inn, and a wizard.
Dhelosk Quelbeard
While the conversation was coming to an end at the table, Avery quietly went to the bar and hopped on a stool to converse with Dhelosk. It was explained that the party has questions for Dhelosk, whereas Avery was interested in finding a teacher of the arcane arts. It was implied that instructions might be available for the right price for Avery and his party members.
Vladimir led the party into considering what topics they should discuss and any subjects they should broach with Dhelosk. The golden statue was brought up several times. Fogo expressed interest in magic items and others in potions. It was also suggested that they ask him about the weather and any other odd occurrences in and around town.
As usual, the party then split into different groups. Fogo, Angelica, Avery, ISAC, and Sky went out leaving Vladimir and Fwoosh stayed to speak to Dhelosk.
Vladimir attempted to make a copy of the symbols on the statue, when he realized that all the paper left the building with the other party members. Attempting to develop a talking strategy Fwoosh and Vladimir concluded that after taking the statue out repeatedly, it was likely that Dhelosk had already seen it. So, they approached the bar.
It started with a little small talk that quickly led to asking about available magical wares that he might have available. They were told that what he did have, would not be around long, and new stuff would arrive frequently. Dhelosk expressed his interest in artifacts, old magic, anything that might be interesting for him to research. Vladimir and Fwoosh were directed to the shrine for healing potions, and pointed to the local smith in town that could make very high-quality arms and armor. Most of the things that Dhelosk had on hand were much too expensive for the party.
The old wizard was able to identify the unknown potion in their hands that was found in the Amphail Middens. Something the Wererat had on his possession, it was a potion of cure lycanthropy. He also explained more about Wererat society and their communal nature and that they do not allow new Wererats to exist unless they are a member of one of the clans.
When prompted for their questions, Vladimir asked about the odd weather and the old man replied:
“What has been going on is more primitive, more like ancient magic, something elemental.”
Dhelosk continued to explain that whatever is happening has been affecting magic in the area as well in odd ways. Scrying is all but impossible around and in the Sumber Hills, and that most of it has been occurring within the last year.
It was then they brought out the golden statue. Fwoosh explained a little more:
“It’s taking things from me. It’s warm. It absorbs elements.”
Golden Statue
With a gesture and a request, they were brought into the back area. A long hallway with several doors, probably leading to storage and the kitchen, but Dhelosk stopped at a blank wall. With some sort of arcane gesture, it transformed into a doorway which led into a very large room, at least 50-feet wide and deep. With the floors, walls, and ceiling all made of stone. There were a few other exits. This room should not be able to exist, it was outside of the confines of the walls of the inn.
The room was filled with a magical air with one wall covered in books and a comfortable chair and table nearby. There were several tables for different arcane purposes. It was very much a wizard’s research room. Once within the room, he led them to one of the tables and started examining the statue. He fetched a book and looked over the symbols and seemed to be comparing them to what was within the book.
“It’s hiding itself. If those symbols are true, then it is at least two thousand years old. It’s from an ancient Drow civilization. These are elemental symbols from the old Drow magic.”
He then explained each of the symbols:
Air
Earth
Fire
Water
Dhelosk asked about purchasing said statue but was quickly shown that it was attached to Fwoosh and if brought more than ten feet away, it would automatically return to Fwoosh. He did not know what the top symbol represented and was not in any of the ancient Drow books he had. When asked about the item being cursed, he replied that it might be, or that it might be trying to awaken, or using the “sucking” to power its magic. It was very old and details could not be determined.
When Vladimir expressed his concern that they wondered if it was dangerous. The reply gave them some feeling of comfort.
“He does not look worse for wear, if it is drawing something from him, he is not showing any symptoms of it. He is not aging, not fatigued, not anything. It is hard to say it is cursed at this point because there is no impact.”
After some additional small talk, they departed the hidden room and then the inn heading to the shrine.
The other group of everyone else had wandered outside. It was hot and humid. It was much worse than yesterday. The weather continued to bear down upon them. There was not a breeze, or anything else to break the heat. They headed north to the Mellikho Stoneworks, hoping to find out more about the men in the stone masks. Upon entry to the quarry, they were greeted by the banging of metal on stone with over a dozen men working with a middle-aged woman screaming instructions at them.
Albaeri Mellikho
With some conversation on how to approach the group, Avery and Angelica split off from the group to head to the bakery everyone had passed on the way here. The rest went further into the quarry. The woman that had been yelling was not happy with the intrusion and when asked about any oddities, she derided them about anyone in stone masks. She told them it was just her quarry miners being weak and not wanting to work at night.
When Fogo pushed, she told them about an old treasure in a cave in the hills near town. She told them to go explore and adventure there and leave her alone.
Arriving at the bakery, the wonderful smells of fresh bread and pastries filled the air. They were greeted by a rat looking man. The selection was amazing, and after purchasing, it all tasted great. When asked about anything strange happening, they were told about the Tarnlar children that had been chased away by an old dwarf from Lance Rock claiming that there is plague there, and then about the Mhandyvver’s children having talked to a ghost somewhere in the hills. Mangobarl dismissed both as just children’s fantasy and games they were playing.
Mangobarl Lorren
All three groups completed their various conversations and met in the street. Agreeing to meet for lunch later, Fogo left the group and headed into Haeleeya’s while the rest headed to the shrine seeking healing potions and perhaps some penance.
In Haeleeya’s, the store was clearly some sort of bathhouse as well as a dress store. The room was filled with the smells of flowers from the many that were situated in the room. Fogo met the proprietress and with a few shared hand signals they moved in closer and began talking in soft voices.
Haeleeya Hanadroum
She was happy to find someone from the Enclave in town and questioned him about what mission he might be on. She expressed her concerned about the unnatural weather, the change of behavior of several members of Red Larch, men in masks wandering around, people having weird dreams, and that there were nearby haunted locations.
“Lots of things happening at once, like the supernatural just woke up”.
When asked about what might important, she told him that the children have been seeing most of the things, mostly because the adults are working, and the kids’ stories just scoffed at.
Everyone else was at the shrine and Imdarr was readily available. He was quick to go straight to Angelica and start talking to her. The party impatient about asking about purchasing healing potions. Because of Angelica belonging to the Order of the Gauntlet, they were given a higher-than-normal discount, and most of them bought a few except Vladimir, who bought five. Imdarr also explained a bit more about the size of the River Dessarin and the fact that there are even pirates on the river. Angelica did ask about her sister and wrote up a letter for her sister to be delivered.
Imdarr Relvaunder
The group then reconvened at the Blackbutter Inn. Ordering food and drink from Delilia.
Delilia Quelbeard
Gwendolyn brought out the drinks quickly and mentioned that she knew that they had met with her boss. She did not have too much more to add and went back to her bar.
Gwendolyn Venelli
The party discussed what each group had found. A lot of the discussion was around what was found out about the golden statue. They kept talking about wanting to test the magical powers of the statue, all of which would be casting damaging spells toward Fwoosh and hope that he is protected by the statue.
After lunch one group consisting of Angelica, Fogo, ISAC, and Avery went to the shrine and the remainder group of Vladimir, Fwoosh, and Sky went to the smithery.
The group at the shrine were looking for toolkits for some of the party members, but not much was available, but Imdarr suggested the group head to the market that was open on then end of every ten-day. They then headed that direction.
The other set of party members arrived at Tantur’s Smithery. They were greeted by the dinging of metal on metal. The heat of the forge made the day even more miserable than it already was. A muscular family was working the forges. On display there were a mix of weapons and armor, several of which were some of the best they had seen before. The smith’s wife came out and after giving them some of the prices, the group was in shock for some time. All the higher quality items were way out of their price range.
Eldras Tantur
Fwoosh seemed to have taken something from the conversations with the Laefra that triggered him. With a few rude words he departed the smithery with Vladimir. When questioned about his attitude, Fwoosh revealed more about his history in Waterdeep and about how he had been kidnapped and forced to perform in front of nobles like circus freaks.
Both groups came together as they were all heading to the market. It was an interesting mix of vendors having anything from used weapons, fresh fruits and meats, junk, and finally pickles. Oh, those pickles. While shopping, the group heard some loud and raucous laughter coming from a large half-orc. He seemed to be manning a booth selling pickles.
Grund
ISAC was looking for someone to purchase used weapons, and there was a booth for Ironhead Arms run by another half-orc. Nothing was new, most were in mediocre condition, but he was willing to purchase and weapons and armor without too many questions. What was most interesting was a set of axes he had on display. While not the best of ironmongering, they were in fine condition. Battle axes, great axes, and some others less important ones. It was these that got Vladimir’s attention and to some extent horror, as they brought up his memories of the Iceshield Orcs from his past. It seems that these axes, were from these same Iceshield Orcs.
Feng Ironhead
It seems that the Iceshield Orcs are in the valley, mostly to the east of the Sumber Hills. They like to raid the farms and steal from where they can. For a final stop, the party went to visit the pickle stand. The vendor was a very happy and friendly half-orc. He did not really pay attention to his sales very much, and he seemed to be much more interested in just having fun and talking with people. He offered dill, sweet, jalapeño pickles, and his extra special pickles.
Peppers with the Extra Special Pickles
While they were all chatting, Sky witnessed someone sneaking by and steal some of the pickles. When confronted the thief tossed the pickles at Sky and ran off. When asked about it, Grund claimed it was okay since it was just his friends that were playing pranks on him. Several members of the party bought pickles and when asked about his name:
“My name is Grund. My mother gave me that name. That was the sound that she made when she gave birth to me.”
It was at that point that Sky decided to sample one of the extra special pickles. It went in easy enough, but it did not take long before Sky was writhing in pain on the ground with foam coming out of his mouth. ISAC had to carry Sky back to the Blackbutter Inn. As they walked back, everyone was reminded at how awful the weather was. It was hotter than before, and the air was not moving at all. The stillness was as bothersome as the heat. ISAC went to the room to retire early while Sky went to the outhouse where he had his own personal religious experience while the extra special pickles had worked their way out. Fogo and Avery made their way to Helm at Highsun leaving behind Vladimir and Fwoosh at the Inn.
Fogo and Avery were on the hunt for some of the miners from the quarry. While the Helm was busy and full, they were able to find a set of four that they recognized. Avery headed to the bar to watch, and Fogo went to visit the miners. At the bar, Avery continued his delving into different ales. The bartender was a slender gentile looking man. Avery was more concerned about watching the action with Fogo than a conversation with the bartender.
Garlen Harlathurl
With the miners, Fogo offered up some ale in exchange for a conversation. When asking about the rumors of men in stone masks, the miners explained after a drink or two that they were concerned about their boss, and that she was upset from the visit earlier in the day. She was always angry but seemed more angry than normal from that visit. They did not know what had been discussed with her, but she was not happy at all. They then told Fogo that the men with stone masks started showing up around a month ago. They would be there at sunset and chase the miners around, there was magic and just general scary things. Why would the miners be willing to work with that? Their boss seems to be upset when people ask about it.
“Strange looking masks, stone masks. Chasing us around. Are they bandits? Are they ghosts? It’s just scary.”
At the Blackbutter Inn, Vladimir started off with a couple of bottles of strong alcohol, very strong alcohol. Fwoosh watched in amazement as his friend was quickly finishing off the bottles. Fwoosh tried to pry information out, and Vladimir explained about his past as a soldier and that a devastating ambush had killed most of his friends and had been conducted by the Iceshield Orcs. It had a profound impact on him.
Once the two from the Helm got back, they could see the poor condition that Vladimir was in, everyone there decided to bring him up to his room and head to bed. Angelica was able to drag and or carry Sky up to his room where Sky was a bit delirious and walking funny from his experience.
Eventually the group was able to settle somewhat in the rooms and went to bed for the night.
11th of Mirtual of the year 1492
In the morning everyone was feeling well except Vladimir who had an excruciating headache and Sky who kept a hold of his buttocks to ensure nothing was leaking. ISAC approached Dhelosk for some sort of elixir to help the boys in pain. Creating a mixture of different colored liquids and some sort of pill, the smoking drink was delivered. Once quaffed, both boys in pain felt a lot better.
After a hearty breakfast, the party got on the road south. Searching for several miles for any possible trail they spent the entire day finding not very much except old hunting and creature trails, but nothing recent, nor anything that led them to believe that they found any bandit tracks. After almost a week of camping with Otis and his sons, the group was proficient in setting up camp, however it seems that Fogo might have been watching George a little too closely and the meal he cooked was just as poor as most of George’s were. Once the meal was completed, they started their normal watch rotations with a small campfire being left lit.
It was very quiet as the watches went by until the second watch which was Vladimir and Fwoosh. Neither noticed the gentle vibrations in the ground. The dirt erupted around Avery as a large insect rose and grabbed him. It just as quickly dove back into the hole it had come from.
Ankheg
It quickly became a mass of confusion as the players started jumping into the hole to save Avery followed by the other characters as they awakened and followed into the hole. They were able to catch up before it ran off with its Avery dinner. The battle did not last long, but they discovered that the first hit upon it made it spew acid from the wound, that it was able to attack with both claws and a bite, and when riled up would also spit acid in a 30-foot stream at them.
There was a lot of yelling, dodging, and bravery, and they were able to kill it without too much difficulty. However, to their horror, they discovered that upon its death, it exploded into a spray of acid in a 30-foot radius which was able to cover almost the entire party. Still, they all survived.
And that is where the session ended.
Campaign Notes
It was an interesting day in Red Larch. The group got to experience different tastes, experiences, and the smells that went along with them. They finally started hunting down the bandits moving down Cairn Road working their way along the south side of the road first and planning on covering the north side on their way back. Who knows what they will be encountering. Well, someone does and he is not telling them.
With the ambush behind them, the group made their way a little further north and were led off the road by Bart to camp and hide a bit further than normal, in case any additional foes were chasing. It was at that point the night became all too familiar to the party.
George unharnessed the horses on the wagons, did his normal nighttime activities. Brushed the horses, checked the wagon axles for cracks and sufficient grease, the wheels for any cracks, the cargo for safety and tightness of load, and anything else to ensure that everything was in a condition for travel the next day.
George Samael
Again, dinner was made by George. Even with a low standard, George had managed to make mud pies look appetizing. Even William seemed unwilling to eat the glop that had been made. Fogo created some Good Berries so that everyone would be able to eat safely. Only ISAC attempted the obscene thing called food that George had made, and even he, with his create fortitude against poison did not feel so well.
William Samael
A bowl was made for Otis, with which he ate his meal like he did every other night. He would slowly spoon it into his mouth without expression or care. He would finish the bowl completely, hand it back to George, and then crawl into his tent for the night’s rest. The party had watched with great fascination as Otis was able to consume the “meal” without any difficulty or complaint.
Otis Samael
While the camp was getting readied, Nathan expressed his happiness with the events, and cautioned about wandering around. The Deathguards stood around Nathan’s cart, with their swords out, ready for action at any time. They did not move much, they did not eat, did not look like they were planning on sleeping, and never departed for any personal business.
Deathguard
They would remain in this position all night without any change except for rotating around the cart to give each guard a slightly different viewpoint as the night went on. The Deathguards never spoke during any of the watches, and only seemed to communicate by some sort of hand signals that no one recognized. Even though they were armored in chain mail, no noise came from them. The normal soft jingle of chain was not there.
At some point in the night, Fogo went into the woods to conduct his ceremony to summon and then connect himself to his new companion, a wildfire spirit. A mischievous fey spirit that only druids of a certain circle can even convince to assist them in the human realm.
During the first watch with Fogo and Angelica, they were able to hear something from the road that was about 100 feet away from them, but they did not leave the camp and waiting for the morning to look at it if they remembered. Nothing disturbed the normal night sounds of insects and odd wilderness noises, but something had been on the road.
It was during the third watch that Sky thought it wise to approach the Deathguard. Once he was within ten feet, all three jumped forward and threatened him with their swords. They waved him back and once he had properly retreated, they went back into position, except that at least one of them started keeping a closer eye on all the party members, especially Sky.
8th of Mirtual of the year 1492
The last watch passed without any issues and morning arrived. The morning was like all others. George got up, made breakfast, fed Otis, got the wagons ready, and the camp was broken down. William was immediately pestering Vladimir for some additional sword fighting training.
It was clear that the guards had not rested, nor left their posts since their arrival. They have remained, silent, wary, and ready for action. Bartholomeus prepared their wagon while Nathan slowly awoke from the top of the cart.
Bartholomeus
Nathan Axedredge
Fwoosh, after completing the creation of his new studded leather mask disguise, went around and showed everyone his new look to ensure no one would be confused in the future about who he might be.
Fwoosh’s New Mask
Everyone got back on the road with Otis in front, followed by George, and finally Nathan and his cart with the Deathguard walking on the side and rear of the cart keeping their vigilance. While this was going on, Fogo snuck in another detect magic to look over the Deathguard and seemed a little surprised by his findings.
Everyone progressed at their normal pace. Otis led, and he was not in a hurry, nor was he moving the group slowly. It was a normal movement to not tire out the horses too much for the day’s travel. As they progressed, Fogo noticed something somewhat unusual.
As they headed north, the horizon and the sky above had an orange tinge in it. Like a haze and head from a forest fire, but there were not enough woods ahead to have caused this. It was disturbing to Fogo. As they day got longer, others notice the strange coloration of the sky. All that saw it felt uncomfortable, the hair on the backs of their neck rising from the unnaturalness of it.
At some point, Nathan who had been working on something on top of his wagon, seemed to have finished it, and upon that he gave a slightly demented giggle, stood up and with a flash of fire, the paper in his hand burned into ashes, with those ashes slowly floating away from the group. The party looked forlornly at the ashes of what most likely the message that Fogo had found on the dead leader of the bandits of the previous day.
Fogo began asking the question of everyone about what everyone else’s were plans once they reach Red Larch. Avery expressed his interest in following whatever mystery was upon them with Vladimir agreed wholeheartedly. Fogo wanted to find the source of this unnaturalness. Eventually ISAC revealed that he might have some business with a friend up there.
Avery talked about his partner’s death in Waterdeep. He laid the blame on a person called Gabriel Crowe. All he knew was that the person was dirty because of being able to show his wealth in unusual ways.
Once again, they camped further away from the road than previous camps. Bartholomeus once again chose the location and assigned four members of the party to assist in removing any trails they might have left between the road and the camp sight.
Again, the oddity of normalness filled the camp. George settled the wagons and horses, prepared the camp, and made dinner. Vladimir went forward to chat with Nathan about the Deathguard. It was revealed that these were specially assigned to Nathan by his father and that they only truly only obeyed his father. They should not be seen any time in the future unless his father was involved with something.
Nathan also talked a little about his siblings. While he is a mage, he told Vladimir that his older sister Oedelphina is much more skilled in magic and his older brother Drake prefers the sword. He also revealed that his father Alexander has been the head of the family for the last 30 years, and that the Axedredge family has been around for over 400 years. He also told Vladimir that while his brother is a nice guy, they should watch out for his sister who is well known for being manipulative and cunning.
While waiting for Vladimir to come back and help train him with the sword again, William was completely surprised by Fwoosh who had snuck up on him and made him fall and toss his weapon. Fwoosh delivered a lecture in which Vladimir also agreed about being prepared and be watchful of his surroundings.
Once the watches started, Fogo started by testing his new Wild Shape and transforming into a Giant Rat, a shape he only recently became familiar with. The sky continued to concern the party members as they could see the ominous orange sky to the north. They also noticed that even without any light, the Deathguard seemed to be completely at ease in the darkness and did not seem to have any difficulty in seeing in the dark. It was odd that they never seemed to be exhausted, even though they have not yet rested since they showed up.
Vladimir continued to have difficulty in sleeping. The disease wracking him in pain and uncomfortableness. Wrought with hot and cold chills, his sleep was disturbed at best. Tonight though, his sleep seemed much more difficult than normal, he seemed to be rocking back and forth as if dreaming something truly horrifying. He was relieved from being forced to handle the second watch as Fwoosh took all the responsibility himself.
Otherwise, it was a normal night. The same as usual. No extra noises, the horses were not nervous, Otis snored gently, and the Deathguards kept guard against anything that might show up, including members of the party.
9th of Mirtual of the year 1492
The next morning was almost monotonous. It was the same as every morning. George got up, made breakfast, fed Otis, conducted his wagon check, and finished by harnessing the horses. Bart took care of Nathan’s wagon and horses. ISAC was feeling uncomfortable about the Deathguards, something just did not feel right. Something was seriously wrong about those guards. Fogo relayed that he had seen magic within the Deathguards to ISAC and the others. It left a lot for all of them to ponder on.
Fogo, using his magic was able to confirm that Vladimir had caught some sort of disease from the Giant Rats and would need a magical healing more powerful than what the party could deliver. They would need to see a priest in Red Larch and hope that they would be able to assist.
As they moved north the ominous and dark orange sky became clear to everyone. It was like a large haze hanging in the sky. The weather itself was dry and very hot, much warmer than what it should be at this time of the year. It should be a cool sprint day but felt more like the beginning of a hot summer. Again, it was something not so natural. The air was very still and stagnated.
When asked about the weather, Otis explained that while the weather has been odd, nothing like this. Besides the weather, Otis plans on taking some alternative routes after Red Larch. He did not like the weather, and he really did not want to get in-between the Axedredge boys in some sort of family squabble.
“It’s like playing politics, it’s the quickest way to get your throat cut, usually in a dark alley where no one is watching you.”
They continued to travel north with nothing occurring during the day. It was just another slow and boring day for everyone. Being on guard for so much time looking for additional ambushes or bandits was slowly dragging everyone down. It was getting dreary, dusty, and uncomfortable. As they moved on, they began seeing more farms, but the road was lonely. The was no one else on the road, not merchants, not guards, like it was an abandoned road.
About midday they finally caught sight of Red Larch. It was a welcome relief for many reasons. They stopped at Bethendur’s Storage. It was four large buildings made of big stones. All the wagons were led around the back and parked.
Aerego Bethendur
They were greeted by and well-dressed man and several large burly men. A quick negotiation between Otis and the man resulted in Otis being able to store his cart in a regular storage room. George maneuvered their cart over and then he and the large burly men unloaded the cart and sealed the door. The horses were put in a pasture that was just behind the buildings.
Otis paid the party the promised 100gp, minus the penalty from Rassalantar, and an additional 50gp as a bonus for helping so much.
Nathan on the other hand, requested a high security location. They backed his wagon into the secure area and the three Deathguards all went in with it. With some familiar chanting and a flash of light, Nathan came out alone from the room. The stone doors were pushed closed. Doors that were a foot and a half thick. With a flash of magic circles on the door, Nathan and the proprietor locked the doors.
Nathan then paid the party their promised 250gp. He expressed his happiness in the employment of the party and looks forward to a future employment of them. It was revealed that the cart had come from the Axedredge gnomish workshop.
When asked for directions, he directed them to the Allfaiths Shrine further up the street. The entire party headed to the shrine hoping for a priest of better magical ability than they had. They were greeted by the two priests within.
Imdarr Relvaunder
Lymmura Audarhk
They were quickly able to explain the issue and because of Angelica belonging to the Order of the Gauntlet Vladimir was able to get the healing for free and he finally felt healthy and relieved. Imdarr took Angelica to the side and wanted to know if she was here to investigate the issues in the area. She queried about the current issues and what was happening. He talked about the odd weather and how the whole town seems more suspicious of each other. There were strange men in stone masks, and word of a plague at Lance Rock. He directed them to the constable for more information and assistance. They were also told Gaelkur’s is a hotspot for old men to gossip.
The party then decided to divide and conquer their information gathering. Angelica and Avery went to the constable, whereas Fogo, ISAC, and Sky went to Gaelkur’s, while Vladimir and Fwoosh stayed at the shrine. They agreed to meet later at the Blackbutter Inn.
At Gaelkur’s, it seems that it was a used tool and barber shop, and possible dentist. A group of several old men were all chatting on the side while one of them was getting a haircut. Fogo and Sky wandered the crowded aisles while eavesdropping on the old men gossip.
Marlandro Gaelkur
While his companions were snooping, ISAC found a seat and contemplated his existence. He seemed to be suffering some sort of existential crisis. Having a one-sided conversation out loud to himself, ISAC seemed confused on how to move forward. During the one-sided conversion he expressed his feeling that they should stay with the current group, it should provide some safety.
With Fogo approaching the old man group asking about what there was to do in town. He was told about the different places to drink and eat as well as a few other stores that were in town. Red Larch is just a small town. He asked about the ghost in town and was corrected that there was some girl that had claimed she had talked to a ghost. The girl was the daughter of Minthra “Minny” Mhandyvver.
Not gaining much more, they all headed to the Blackbutter Inn to meet the rest of the party.
Meanwhile at the shrine, Vladimir chatted with Imdarr. They talked about possible employment with the constable and the issue with bandits in the area. The primary focus of the discussion was around a dream that Vladimir had. Asking for help to interpret it, and any details about demons and devils. Imdar told about other types of elemental dreams that others have had, but nothing concrete.
“Fire, a lot of fire. Some sort of figure. Towards the end of the dream, two horns split out from my head while I was burning. But it could have just been my fever.”
Lymmura and “Pick” talked about where clock towers might be and about geography in general. He also attempted to get his ring identified and find a possible contact. Fwoosh seemed concerned about finding someone can help identify magic items.
Before the two departed, they looked for any similarity with the different statues of the gods and their symbols with the one that they had found on the dead body in the middens in Amphail as well as the mysterious golden statue. With nothing else needed at the shrine, they decided to head to the Blackbutter Inn to find the others.
On the way to the Inn, Fwoosh showed the golden statue to Vladimir. Fwoosh was concerned that it was sucking his energy because it was warm to his touch, but cold to anyone else’s. They decided that Vladimir would hold the statue for now until they were able to figure out more about it.
Golden Statue
At the butcher’s location, Angelica and Avery approached and went into the store front where they met a large woman wielding a pair of massive cleavers. They purchased a very small amount of meat before heading to the last building to find her husband Harburk Tuthmarillar the constable.
Jalessa Ornra
At the last building they found Harburk sharpening a bunch of knives. Angelica took charge about asking about any details on current issues in the area. They were told that bandits were the most immediate concern. Given a map of the area with several points marked, they were requested to handle them with their mercenary friends. The group was also given some history about the area. The oldest civilization was the drow, followed by orcs, and then finally dwarves before mostly humans moved into the area. The whole area is littered with ruins and old remains from thousands of years.
Harburk Tuthmarillar
The conversation also led to the Axedredges and that there was a family issue in progress. He said that Nathan was not a bad sort, just peculiar. The town of Red Larch needed that family for bringing in different metals that they do not have locally.
Deciding to go to the Blackbutter Inn and let everyone know about their new assignment from the constable, the two stopped at the shrine to satisfy Avery’s curiosity about who the two priests worshipped.
With everyone together again at the Blackbutter Inn, they were greeted by a young half-elf. She seemed surly and unhappy but seated them and took their orders. While it is hot outside, the inside of the inn was cool, almost cold. Though the walls were thick stone, it would not have been enough to have kept the building at such a low temperature. They all noticed that there was a slight breeze in the room, but from where they could not determine, just that the air was just swirling around.
Their drinks were served by a youngish red head who seemed willing to tease and flirt with the group. When she dropped off the drinks, she chatted up the group. She told them about the strange men in stone masks that had been going around frightening the quarry workers but blamed it on the old men group at Gaelkurs for playing pranks. She also talked about how the occasional dead body has shown up at Bethendur’s Storage, and then just quietly burned by Aergo and his men.
Gwendolyn Venelli
She did reveal that her boss was a wizard and that the other girl was the boss’s granddaughter who was brought out here after her parents had perished. She told them that he occasionally will sell magic items and will usually purchase magic items that had been “found”. Avery jumped on the possible chance of finding an instructor to teach him magic. She told the party that they should come back in the morning to meet Dhelosk.
Once she left, the group shared about what they had found and talked about deciding what their plans would be in the following few days. Getting two rooms for the night, they split into two groups with Fogo, Fwoosh, Sky, and Avery in one room and Angelica, Vladimir, and ISAC into the other.
At some point before everyone went to bed, Vladimir realized he no longer had the statue in his possession and that he must have lost it, until a knock at the door revealing Fwoosh with the statue in his hand.
And that is where the session ended.
Session Notes
It was a great session. A 100% role play episode. The party finally reached Red larch and are almost ready to start the main adventure. Did they pick up the clues they needed?
Religion is an important part of life in the worlds of the Dungeons and Dragons multiverse. When gods walk the world, clerics channel divine power, evil cults perform dark sacrifices in subterranean lairs, and shining paladins stand like beacons against the darkness, it’s hard to be ambivalent about the deities and deny their existence.
Many people have a favorite among the gods, one whose idea is and teachings they make their own. And a few people dedicate themselves entirely to a single god, usually serving as a priest or champion of that god’s ideals.
From among the gods available, you can choose a single deity for your character to serve, worship, or pay lip service to or you can pick a few that your character prays to most often or just make a mental note of the gods who are revered in your DM’s campaign so you can invoke their names when appropriate. ]If you’re playing a cleric or a character with the Acolyte background, decide which god your deity serves or served, and consider the deity’s suggested domains when selecting your character’s domain.
The Pantheon
In the following pages are showing the different Pantheons that exist in the Campaign. The Pantheons are represented by several columns of Information:
Name: What they are called and worshiped by
Rank: At what power level is that deity compared to the others: Greater[G], Intermediate[I], Lesser[L], Demigod[D]
Alignment: What alignment the god/goddess themselves have and will act toward
Portfolio: What powers that specific god/goddess is known to have
Domain: What domains of power that the god/goddess covers. These are the divine domains that clerics focus on.
Worshipers: Who worships this specific god/goddess.
This bestiary is for storytellers and world-builders. If you have ever thought about running a Dungeons & Dragons game for your friends, either a single night’s adventure or a long-running campaign, this tome contains page after page of inspiration. It’s your one-stop shop for creatures both malevolent and benign.
Some of the creatures that inhabit the worlds of D&D have origins rooted in real-world mythology and fantasy literature. Other creatures are D&D originals. The monsters in this book have been culled from all previous editions of the game. Herein you’ll discover classic critters such as the beholder and the displacer beast next to more recent creations such as the chuul and the twig blight. Common beasts mingle with the weird, the terrifying, and the ridiculous. In collecting monsters from the past, we’ve endeavored to reflect the multifaceted nature of the game, warts and all. D&D monsters come in all shapes and sizes, with stories that not only thrill us but also make us smile
Movement: The Mobile Consciousness is only able to fly. It can “swim” at the same speed as it’s flying. It does not need to eat or breath.
Magic Resistance. The Mobile Consciousness has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects due to them being partially immaterial. While not able to pass through objects, they are also not quite solid.
Spellcasting. The Mobile Consciousness is a 3rd-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 13, +5 to hit with spell attacks). The Mobile Consciousness has the following wizard spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): Mage Hand, Mind Sliver
1st level (2 slots): Dissonant Whispers
2nd level (1 slots): Mind Spike
Familiar. The Mobile Consciousness can enter a contract to serve another creature as a familiar, forming a telepathic bond with its willing master. While the two are bonded, the master can sense what the Mobile Consciousness senses if they are within 1 mile of each other. While the Mobile Consciousness is within 10 feet of its master, the master shares the Mobile Consciousness’s Magic Resistance trait.
The Mobile Consciousness can whisper to the caster’s mind even when it has not been summoned. If left unsummoned for more than a week, the Mobile Consciousness will start to pester the caster until it has been summoned. While it pesters the caster, the caster will be at a disadvantage on all spell casting.
The Caster is unable to ever remove or gain a replacement familiar after the Mobile Consciousness has been chosen. If it is caused to be removed from the Prime Material Plane for any reason, and the caster does not cast another Find Familiar to summon it back, the caster will start to suffer under a disadvantage on all spell casting after a week of the Mobile Consciousness having gone away until it has been re-summoned.
Actions
Invisibility. The Mobile Consciousness may at will turn magically invisible until it attacks, or it willingly ends the invisibility.
Mind Sliver Ranged Magic Attack (60’): +5 to hit, one target. Hit 1d6 (special)
Description
The Mobile Consciousness will resemble a ball of light most of the time, but for limited times each day it may also assume the shape of an older looking person. That person can be of any humanoid race and gender but will always be the exact same shape for each individual Mobile Consciousness. Each one will only have one unique spirit form.
All forms of the Mobile Consciousness are semi-independent. While they will listen to the commands of the caster, it is able to argue, discuss those options as well, and more literally interpret those commands to a result that may not be what the caster intended. It will never attempt to cause the caster direct harm, but it is perfectly willing to play pranks on the caster and their companions.
Note that the casting if Find Familiar for the Mobile Consciousness is different than the normal casting. The casting itself will be a form of meditation for the casting time, and the ingredients will be the casters blood itself. The caster takes 1d4 of damage as well as one level of exhaustion.
Magic items are gleaned from the hordes of conquered monsters or discovered in long-lost vaults. Such items grant capabilities a character could rarely have otherwise, or they complement their owner’s capabilities in wondrous ways.
Rarity
Each magic item has a rarity: common, uncommon, rare, very rare, or legendary. Common magic items, such as a potion of healing, are the most plentiful. Some legendary items, such as the Apparatus of Kwalish, are unique. The game assumes that the secrets of creating the most powerful items arose centuries ago and were then gradually lost because of wars, cataclysms, and mishaps. Even uncommon items can’t be easily created. Thus, many magic items are well-preserved antiquities.
Rarity provides a rough measure of an item’s power relative to other magic items. Each rarity corresponds to character level, as shown in the Magic Item Rarity table. A character doesn’t typically find a rare magic item, for example, until around 5th level. That said, rarity shouldn’t get in the way of your campaign’s story. If you want a ring of invisibility to fall into the hands of a 1st-level character, so be it. No doubt a great story will arise from that event.
If your campaign allows for trade in magic items, rarity can also help you set prices for them. As the DM, you determine the value of an individual magic item based on its rarity. Suggested values are provided in the Magic Item Rarity table. The value of a consumable item, such as a potion or scroll, is typically half the value of a permanent item of the same rarity.
Magic Item Rarity Table
Rarity
Character Level
Value
Common
1st or higher
50gp to 100gp
Uncommon
1st or higher
101gp to 500gp
Rare
5th or higher
501gp to 5,000gp
Very Rare
11th or higher
5,001gp to 50,000gp
Legendary
17th or higher
50,000gp+
These listed prices and approximate availability are dependent on the Campaign itself. There is also the possibility of growth magical items that change as specific conditions are met.
Attunement
Some magic items require a creature to form a bond with them before their magical properties can be used. This bond is called attunement, and certain items have a prerequisite for it. If the prerequisite is a class, a creature must be a member of that class to attune to the item. (If the class is a spellcasting class, a monster qualifies if that monster has spell slots and uses that class’s spell list.)
Without becoming attuned to an item that requires attunement, a creature gains only its nonmagical benefits, unless its description states otherwise.
For example:
A magic shield that requires attunement provides the benefits of a normal shield to a creature not attuned to it, but none of its magical properties.
Attuning to an item requires a creature to spend a short rest focused on only that item while being in physical contact with it (this can’t be the same short rest used to learn the item’s properties). This focus can take the form of weapon practice (for a weapon), meditation (for a wondrous item), or some other appropriate activity. If the short rest is interrupted, the attunement attempt fails. Otherwise, at the end of the short rest, the creature gains an intuitive understanding of how to activate any magical properties of the item, including any necessary command words.
An item can be attuned to only one creature at a time and a creature can be attuned to no more than three magic items at a time. Any attempt to attune to a fourth item fails; the creature must end its attunement to an item first. Additionally, a creature can’t attune to more than one copy of an item.
For example:
A creature cannot attune to more than one ring of protection at a time.
A creature’s attunement to an item ends if the creature no longer satisfies the prerequisites for attunement, if the item has been more than 100 feet away for at least 24 hours, if the creature dies, or if another creature attunes to the item. A creature can also voluntarily end attunement by spending another short rest focused the item unless the item is cursed.
Cursed Items
Some magic items bear curses that bedevil their users sometimes long after a user has stopped using an item. A magic item’s description specifies whether the item is cursed. Most methods of identifying items, including the identify spell, fail to reveal such a curse, although ore might hint at it. A curse should be a surprise to the item’s user when the curse’s effects are revealed.
Attunement to a cursed item can’t be ended voluntarily unless the curse is broken first, such as with the remove curse spell.
There might also be different special circumstances on how a specific cursed item can be removed. It might require a quest, bath it in the blood of a beast, or any other story related set of actions to end the connection to that cursed item.
Magic Item Categories
Each magic item belongs to a category: armor, potions, rings, rods, scrolls, staffs, wands, weapons, or wonderous items.
Armor
Unless an armor’s description says otherwise, armor must be worn for its magic to function. Some suits of magic armor specify the type of armor they are, such as chain mail or plate.
Potions
Different kinds of magical liquids are grouped in the category of potions: brews made from enchanted herbs, water from magical fountains or sacred springs, and oils that are applied to a creature or object. Most potions consist of one ounce of liquid.
Potions are consumable magic items. Drinking a potion or administering a potion to another character requires an action. Applying an oil might take longer, as specified in its description. Once used, a potion takes effect immediately, and it is used up.
Mixing Potions
A character might drink one potion while still under the effects of another or pour several potions into a single container. The strange ingredients used in creating potions can result in unpredictable interactions.
When a character mixes two potions together, you can roll on the Potion Miscibility table. If more than two are combined, roll again for each subsequent potion, combining the results. Unless the effects are immediately obvious, reveal them only when they become evident.
Potion Miscibility Table
D100
Results
01
The mixture creates a magical explosion, dealing 6d10 force damage to the mixer and 1d10 force damage to each creature within 5 feet of the mixer.
02 to 08
The mixture becomes an ingested poison of the DM’s choice
09 to 15
Both potions lose their effects.
16 to 25
One potion loses its effect.
26 to 35
Both potions work, but with their numerical effects and durations halved. A potion has no effect if it can’t be halved in this way.
36 to 90
Both potions work normally.
91 to 99
The numerical effects and duration of one potion are doubled. If neither potion has anything to double in this way, they work normally.
00
Only one potion works, but its effect is permanent. Choose the simplest effect to make permanent, or the one that seems the most fun.
For example:A potion of healing might increase the drinker’s hit point maximum by 4, or oil of etherealness might permanently trap the user in the Ethereal Plane. At your discretion, an appropriate spell, such as dispel magic or remove curse, might end this lasting effect.
Rings
Magic rings offer an amazing array of powers to those lucky enough to find them. Unless a ring’s description says otherwise, a ring must be worn on a finger, or a similar digit, for the ring’s magic to function.
Rods
A scepter or just a heavy cylinder, a magic rod is typically made of metal, wood, or bone. It’s about 2 or 3 feet long, 1 inch thick, and 2 to 5 pounds.
Scrolls
Most scrolls are spells stored in written form, while a few bears unique incantations that produce potent wards. Whatever its contents, a scroll is a roll of paper, sometimes attached to wooden rods, and typically kept safe in a tube of ivory, jade, leather, metal, or wood. A scroll is a consumable magic item. Whatever the nature of the magic contained in a scroll, unleashing that magic requires using an action to read the scroll. When its magic has been invoked, the scroll can’t be used again. Its words fade, or it crumbles into dust.
Any creature that can understand a written language can read the arcane script on a scroll and attempt to activate it. Scrolls are the most sought-after item for Wizards to allow them to copy that spell into their spell book and expand out their repertoire. Note that by copying a spell from a scroll to a spell book, that scroll is destroyed in the process.
Scroll Mishaps
A creature who tries and fails to cast a spell from a spell scroll must make a DC 10 Intelligence saving throw. If the saving throw fails, roll on the Scroll Mishap table.
Scroll Mishaps Table
D6
Results
1
A surge of magical energy deals the caster 1d6 force damage per level of the spell.
2
The spell affects the caster or an ally (determined randomly) instead of the intended target, or it affects a random target nearby if the caster was the intended target.
3
The spell affects a random location within the spell’s range.
4
The spell’s effect is contrary to its normal one, but neither harmful nor beneficial. For instance, a fireball might produce an area of harmless cold.
5
The caster suffers a minor but bizarre effect related to the spell. Such effects last only if the original spell’s duration, or 1d10 minutes for spells that take effect instantaneously. For example:A fireball might cause smoke to billow from the caster’s ears for 1d10 minutes.
6
The spell activates after 1d12 hours. If the caster was the intended target, the spell takes effect normally. If the caster was not the intended target, the spell goes off in the general direction of the intended target, up to the spell’s maximum range, if the target has moved away.
Staffs
A magic staff is about 5 or 6 feet long. Staffs vary widely in appearance: some are of nearly equal diameter throughout and smooth, others are gnarled and twisted, some are made of wood, and others are composed of polished metal or crystal. Depending on the material, a staff weighs between 2 and 7 pounds.
Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff.
Wands
A magic wand is about 15 inches long and crafted of metal, bone, or wood. It is tipped with metal, crystal, stone, or some other material.
Weapons
Whether crafted for some fell purpose or forged to serve the highest ideals of chivalry, magic weapons are coveted by many adventurers.
Some magic weapons specify the type of weapon they are in their descriptions, such as a longsword or longbow.
Wondrous Items
Wondrous items include worn items such as boots, belts, capes, gloves, and various pieces of jewelry and decoration, such as amulets, brooches, and circlets. Bags, carpets, crystal balls, figurines, horns, musical instruments, and other objects also fall into this catch- all category.
Wearing and Wielding Items
Using a magic item’s properties might mean wearing or wielding it. A magic item meant to be worn must be donned in the intended fashion: boots go on the feet, gloves on the hands, hats and helmets on the head, and rings on the finger. Magic armor must be donned, a shield strapped to the arm, a cloak fastened about the shoulders. A weapon must be held in hand.
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 the: 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.
For example:
Armor made by the drow might fit elves only. Dwarves might make items usable only by dwarf-sized and dwarf-shaped characters.
When a non-humanoid tries to wear an item, use your discretion as to whether the item functions as intended. A ring placed on a tentacle might work, but a yuan-ti with a snakelike tail instead of legs can’t wear boots.
Multiple Items of the Same Kind
Use common sense to determine whether more than one of a given kind of magic item can be worn. A character can’t normally wear more than one pair of footwear, one pair of gloves or gauntlets, one pair of bracers, one suit of armor, one item of headwear, and one cloak. You can make exceptions; a character might be able to wear a circlet under a helmet, for example, or be able to layer two cloaks.
Paired Items
Items that come in pairs – such as boots, bracers, gauntlets, and gloves – impart their benefits only if both items of the pair are worn.
For example:
A character wearing a boot of striding and springing on one foot and a boot of elven kind on the other foot gains no benefit from either item.
Activating An Item
Activating some magic items requires a user to do something special, such as holding the item and uttering a command word. The description of each item category or individual item details how an item is activated. Certain items use one or more of the following rules for their activation.
If an item requires an action to activate, that action isn’t a function of the Use an Item action, so a feature such as the rogue’s Fast Hands can’t be used to activate the item.
Command Word
A command word is a word or phrase that must be spoken for an item to work. A magic item that requires a command word can’t be activated in an area where sound is prevented, as in the silence spell.
Consumables
Some items are used up when they are activated. A potion or an elixir must be swallowed, or an oil applied to the body. The writing vanishes from a scroll when it is read. Once used, a consumable item loses its magic.
Spells
Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item. The spell is cast at the lowest possible spell level, doesn’t expend any of the user’s spell slots, and requires no components, unless the item’s description says otherwise. The spell uses its normal casting time, range, and duration, and the user of the item must concentrate if the spell requires concentration. Many items, such as potions, bypass the casting of a spell and confer the spell’s effects, with their usual duration. Certain items make exceptions to these rules, changing the casting time, duration, or other parts of a spell.
A magic item, such as certain staffs, may require you to use your own spell casting ability when you cast a spell from the item. If you have more than one spell casting ability, you choose which one to use with the item. If you don’t have a spell casting ability-perhaps you’re a rogue with the Use Magic Device feature – your spell casting ability modifier is +0 for the item, and your proficiency bonus does apply.
Charges
Some magic items have charges that must be expended to activate their properties. The number of charges an item has remaining is revealed when an identify spell is cast on it, as well as when a creature attunes to it. Additionally, when an item regains charges, the creature attuned to it learns how many charges it regained.
Magic Item Resilience
Most magic items are objects of extraordinary artisanship. Thanks to a combination of careful crafting and magical reinforcement, a magic item is at least as durable as a nonmagical item of its kind. Most magic items, other than potions and scrolls, have resistance to all damage. Artifacts are practically indestructible, requiring extraordinary measures to destroy.
Homebrew Magic Items
The following magic items are all ones that can be found in the game, many have already been found, but do exist somewhere. All these items can also be found in D&D Beyond so any of them can be easily added to the character sheets in D&D Beyond if ever needed.
Amulet of the Monotone Voice
Wonderous Item, Common (requires attunement)
There are many instances where a person is unable to speak, from physical damage, lack of proper vocal cords, or any other reasons. This amulet will allow the wearer to speak what is on their mind. The sound of the voice will very clearly emanate from the wearer’s mouth even if they never open it up. The voice will be in a medium normal speaking volume in a generic genderless voice that is only able to deliver their worded content in a strict monotone. No matter high excited, angry, or any other emotion that the wearer might be feeling or displaying physically, the voice will never vary in loudness, tone, and delivery.
While wearing this amulet the wearer has an advantage on all roll’s verses Insight checks, or any magic that would cause the user to tell the truth. In fact, even under a Zone of Truth the user has a 50% chance of being able to tell a lie anyway.
This magic item must be attuned to for it to function for the wearer.
Blight Oil
Oil, common
Crafted by: Blight Seed x5 (Alchemist)
This bottle contains enough oil to cover up to 10 square feet of surface area. Once this oil is rubbed into the surface of vegetation, it will soak half a foot into it. Vegetation soaked in this oil becomes as soft and malleable as wet clay and retains any physical manipulation done to it.
The oil dries after 10 minutes, causing the vegetation it was rubbed on to become solid again.
Bracer of Elemental Demise
Wonderous Item, Common (requires attunement)
Created by a loving Djinni mother for her half-breed son. Knowing that she would not be able to remain in this world and to protect him, she created a magical item to help him survive in the rough world.
When the wearer is reduced to zero hit points their body disintegrates into a warm breeze, leaving behind only equipment they were wearing or carrying. They reappear a random distance away and in a random direction from where they were reduced to zero hit points. They are transported a distance equal to 2d6 x 10 in feet. When they reappear, they are at one hit point and have nothing on them except this bracer.
This function can be used only once per long rest.
Broken Sword of Weal and Woe
Weapon (dagger), Common (requires attunement)
Originally the dagger of a soldier named Benny. After a disastrous battle with Benny bravely defending all is friends and fellow soldiers, Benny was the last survivor to face the enemy. He swore that no more of his friends would die, and he dove into the opposing group. He was able to kill all the enemies but himself had endured numerous wounds, most of which were fatal. The next day Benny and the rest of the military unit was found by those that had managed to flee the ambush. There was Benny on top of all the dead bodies, slumped over with nothing but this broken dagger in his hands.
Once per long rest, the owner can freely cast Augury to see what fortunes await them in their endeavors. This dagger, while broken is still able to function as a normal dagger in combat and gives the user the capability to have advantage in the first strike in a combat if the user has been surprised.
Proficiency with a dagger allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
Enchanted Vial
Wonderous Item, Common
Some creature parts have powerful, yet fleeting, magical energies within them. The motes from elementals for example hold traces of their former essences in them but disperse rapidly upon the destruction of their original form.
An enchanted vial is inlaid with several runes designed to keep any magical resource within from dissipating while the lid is closed and is often the only way of transporting certain parts back to a workshop for crafting.
Items that require an enchanted vial to be harvested are fragile by nature and must be stored inside an enchanted vial quickly to prevent degradation. Any attempt to harvest a material that has an enchanted vial as a requirement must be initiated within one minute of the death of its creature.
This tool can be used a maximum of five times afterwards it disintegrates into powder. At each attempted use, roll a d20 and if a 1 is rolled, the vial is immediately destroyed.
Healing Pill
Wonderous Item, Common
You regain 1d4 hit points when you swallow this pill. If more than one is swallowed, then all after the first do 1d4 damage instead.
Eye of Elemental Protection
Wondrous Item, unknown rarity (requires attunement by an Item auto attunes to the nearest person once acquired during the first long rest.)
A small golden statue made of what appears to be gold with four different arcane symbols with a vertical oval above them all. This small magical item comes with five charges that renew up to 1d6 charges every day at dawn. It has two different functions. It can allow the user to cast an Absorb Elements for one charge or a Protection from Energy for three charges.
Note that the Absorb Elements can be up cast for the cost of additional charges. One charge for each level it is being up cast.
Long Sword +0 (Ember)
Weapon (long sword), Rare (requires attunement)
While this is only a +0 weapon, it still counts as a magical weapon for overcoming damage resistance. It has the following powers:
Sheds light in a 20-foot radius upon command
On a critical hit, it deals an additional 1d6 fire damage
Once per long rest, as a bonus action the owner can cast Fire Bolt as the spell for 2d10 fire damage and +6 to hit.
Ember was created over 600 years ago when the time of nobles and barons’ rules over the area. Little is known of its origin. A flame symbol is etched along the blade neat the hilt.
Proficiency with a long sword allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
Mask of Painful Faces
Wonderous Item, Common (requires attunement)
This mask has the bearing of a face in pain when in its normal state. The magic item allows the wearer to create the illusion of them being someone else but only their face changes. This illusion can be changed only once per short rest. All the faces that are created will appear to be in some sort of pain or mental struggle. None of the faces will appear at peace. It is not able to change the user’s gender, nor will the wearer’s clothing be altered in any way. The wearer’s voice can be altered, but all the voices will be gravely and sound like the person’s throat has been damaged.
Unlike most illusion spells, if the user is touch in any way, the effect will not be disabled or change at all. In fact, there is a distinct chance the person touching the user might still be fooled by the illusion. With a DC 20 to make the determination that there is in fact an illusion on the user. However, if the wearer is attack and takes any form of physical or magical damage, the image will flicker, but still not revealing the exact features. Once the user has taken five or more hits, the mask will cease functioning until a short rest is taken.
This item must be attuned to function. Once attuned the mask will not fall off, or can it be removed until the attunement has been ended by the wearer. The mask itself has 10 hit points and no armor class, so it is easily destroyed even when worn.
Monocle of Verisimilitude
Wonderous Item, Common (requires attunement)
Originally owned by an old hanging judge from hundreds of years ago, this monocle helps the wearer to discern the difference between lies and the truth. It allows the user to have advantage on all Insight checks when trying to see if the target is telling the truth or not. This function can be used as many times as the wearer’s proficiency bonus. This is reset after a short rest.
A side effect of attuning to this object causes the user to grow a long and thin mustache that end in sharp tapered tips, no matter the gender of the wearer. When using the special function, a single eyebrow is caused to be raised as if pondering some great fact, as well as causing the user to immediately reach to one of their mustaches ends and twirl it.
Potion of Cure Lycanthropy
Wonderous Item, Uncommon
The encroaching madness, the changes to personality, extra body hair, all of these are possible symptoms of an infection of Lycanthropy. This potion will cure any lycanthropic infections if it is consumed within a month of the infection being inflicted.
Ring of Biting Retort
Ring, Common (requires attunement)
A ring made by someone who has an overabundance of mocking humor. Resembling a mouth with a set of sharp teeth this ring does not look pleasant in any way. Made of some sort of silverish metal, it never seems to be tarnished or able to get dirty in any way.
By wearing and attuning to this ring, the wearer can heal an individual 1d4, but takes 1 point of damage every time it is used. To active the healing action, the wearer must first insult the recipient of the healing as meanly as possible. Once the insult has been hurled the ring takes a bite of the wearer’s finger doing the damage and then spitting blood onto the healing target.
The ring may heal as many times as the proficiency bonus of the wearer per short rest. The ring cannot be used to heal the wearer of the ring.
Spirit Paper
Wonderous Item, Common
Spirit paper is a versatile tool that resembles a square of bleached papyrus. The secrets of its production were only recently discovered, and reverse engineered from secrets brought back from distant necromantic cults. By performing a small ritual with the spirit paper shortly after slaying certain creatures, a copy of that creature’s soul is bound to the spirit paper for later use. These copies are not a true soul and are more akin to an echo. These echoes do retain all the memories from its original body, and a few crafting techniques utilize these echoes to grant an item a low level of sentience or to mimic the abilities of their incorporeal reflections.
Using spirit paper is often the only way to harvest anything useful from creatures with incorporeal forms. Any harvesting attempt made for a creature part that has spirit paper as a requirement is done using a Wisdom (Religion) check rather than the usual check and is rolled separately for each item. Once a sheet of spirit paper has been used successfully to harvest an item, it cannot be reused, even if the item it contained is released.
Unlike most harvestable materials, materials that require spirit paper to be harvested dissipate very quickly after the death of its creature. Any attempt to harvest a material that has spirit paper as a requirement must be initiated within 1 minute of the death of the creature and takes 10 minutes to successfully complete.
Each Spirit paper can only be used once.
Stick of Fancy Nature Lights
Weapon (club), Common (requires attunement only and only usable by Druids)
Within some deep forest hundreds of years ago, a Great Druid carved out different wooden sticks and clubs to help those newly ordained with their concentration and spell casting. Some of these objects have spread out as hereditary objects used by Druids ever since that time. When a Druid uses this object as a focus for any spell casting, the craved head on the object will lean back and belch forth a bright green flame that will remain lit above the object until the spell duration ends.
While wielding this object, a Druid will gain advantage on all concentration checks when taking damage. When this object is used as the component for the Shillelagh spell, the caster will have advantage on their first attack using this object. This is available every time that spell has been cast using this object as a component.
Proficiency with a club allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
Magic permeates the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons and most often appears in the form of a spell. This chapter provides the rules for casting spells. Different character classes have distinctive ways of learning and preparing their spells, and monsters use spells in unique ways. Regardless of its source, a spell follows the rules in the Player’s Handbook.
What is a Spell?
A spell is a discrete magical effect, a single shaping of the magical energies that suffuse the multiverse into a specific, limited expression. In casting a spell, a character carefully plucks at the invisible strands of raw magic suffusing the world, pins them in place in a particular pattern, sets them vibrating in a specific way, and then releases them to unleash the desired effect-in most cases, all in the span of seconds.
Spells can be versatile tools, weapons, or protective wards. They can deal damage or undo it, impose, or remove conditions, drain life energy away, and restore life to the dead.
Uncounted thousands of spells have been created over the course of the multiverse’s history, and many of them are long forgotten. Some might yet lie recorded in crumbling spell books hidden in ancient ruins or trapped in the minds of dead gods. Or they might someday be reinvented by a character who has amassed enough power and wisdom to do so.
Components
A spell’s components are the physical requirements you must meet to cast it. Each spell’s description indicates whether it requires verbal (V), somatic (S), or material (M) components. If you can’t provide one or more of a spell’s components, you are unable to cast the spell.
Verbal (V)
Most spells require the chanting of mystic words. The words themselves aren’t the source of the spell’s power; rather, the combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion. Thus, a character who is gagged or in an area of silence, such as one created by the silence spell, can’t cast a spell with a verbal component. These chants and words are all done in a loud forceful voice, and not conducive to a stealthy mission.
Somatic (S)
Spellcasting gestures might include a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.
Material (M)
Casting some spells requires objects, specified in parentheses in the component entry. A character can use a component pouch or a spellcasting focus (found in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook) in place of the components specified for a spell. But if a cost is indicated for a component, a character must have that specific component before he or she can cast the spell.
If a spell states that a material component is consumed by the spell, the caster must provide this component for each casting of the spell.
A spellcaster must have a hand free to access these components, but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components.
Concentration
Some spells require you to maintain concentration to keep their magic active. If you lose concentration, such a spell ends.
If a spell must be maintained with concentration, that fact appears in its Duration entry, and the spell specific show long you can concentrate on it. You can end concentration at any time (no action required).
Normal activity, such as moving and attacking, doesn’t interfere with concentration. The following factors can break concentration:
Casting another spell that requires concentration. You lose concentration on a spell if you cast another spell that requires concentration. You can’t concentrate on two spells at once.
Taking damage. Whenever you take damage while you are concentrating on a spell, you must make a constitution saving throw to maintain your concentration. The DC equals 10 or half the damage you take, whichever number is higher. If you take damage from multiple sources, such as an arrow and a dragon’s breath, you make a separate saving throw for each source of damage.
Being incapacitated or killed. You lose concentration on a spell if you are incapacitated or if you die.
The DM might also decide that certain environmental phenomena, such as a wave crashing over you while you’re on a storm – tossed ship, require you to succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell.
The Schools of Magic
Academies of magic group spells into eight categories called schools of magic. Scholars, particularly wizards, apply these categories to all spells, believing that all magic functions in essentially the same way, whether it derives from rigorous study or is bestowed by a deity.
The schools of magic help describe spells; they have no rules of their own, although some rules refer to the schools.
Abjuration (blue): spells are protective in nature, though some of them have aggressive uses. They create magical barriers, negate harmful effects, harm trespassers, or banish creatures to other planes of existence.
Conjuration (yellow): spells involve the transportation of objects and creatures from one location to another. Some spells summon creatures or objects to the caster’s side, whereas others allow the caster to teleport to another location. Some conjurations create objects or effects out of nothing.
Divine (white): spells that involve healing or specific types of protections.
Divination (grey): spells reveal information, whether in the form of secrets long forgotten, glimpses of the future, the locations of hidden things, the truth behind illusions, or visions of distant people or places.
Enchantment (pink): spells affect the minds of others, influencing or controlling their behavior. Such spells can make enemies see the caster as a friend, force creatures to lake a course of action, or even control another creature like a puppet.
Evocation (red): spells manipulate magical energy lo produce a desired effect. Some call up blasts of fire or lightning. Others channel positive energy to heal wounds.
Illusion (purple): spells deceive the senses or minds of others. They cause people to see things that are not there, to miss things that are there, to hear phantom noises, or to remember things that never happened. Some illusions create phantom images that any creature can see, but the most insidious illusions plant an image directly in the mind of a creature.
Necromancy (green): spells manipulate the energies of life and death. Such spells can grant an extra reserve of life force, drain the life energy from another creature, create the undead, or even bring the dead back to life.
Creating the undead using necromancy spells such as animate dead is not a good act, and only evil casters use such spells frequently.
Transmutation (orange): spells change the properties of a creature, object, or environment. They might turn an enemy into a harmless creature. bolster the strength of an ally, make an object move at the caster’s command, or enhance a creature’s innate healing abilities lo rapidly recover from injury.
Combining Magical Effects
The effects of different spells add together while the duration of those spells overlap. The effects of the same spell cast multi pie times don’t combine, however. instead, the most potent effect-such as the highest bonus-from those castings applies while their duration overlap.
For example:
If two clerics cast bless on the same target, that character gains the spell’s benefit only once; he or she doesn’t get to roll two bonus dice.
Homebrew Spells
There are not any available currently but give the Campaign some time.
The clatter of a sword striking against a shield. The terrible rending sound as monstrous claws tear through armor. A brilliant flash of light as a ball of f1ame blossoms from a wizard’s spell. The sharp tang of blood in the air, cutting through the stench of vile monsters. Roars of fury, shouts of triumph, cries of pain. Combat in Dungeons and Dragons can be chaotic, deadly, and thrilling.
This chapter provides the rules you need for your characters and monsters to engage in combat, whether it is a brief skirmish or an extended conflict in a dungeon or on a field of battle. Throughout this chapter, the rules address you, the player, or Dungeon Master. The Dungeon Master controls all the monsters and nonplayer characters involved in combat, and each other player controls an adventurer. “You” can also mean the character or monster that you control.
The Order of Combat
A typical combat encounter is a clash between two sides, a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, and spellcasting. The game organizes the chaos of combat into a cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents about six seconds in the game world. During a round, each participant in a battle takes a turn. The order of turns is determined at the beginning of a combat encounter when everyone rolls initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to the next round if neither side has defeated the other.
Combat Step by Step
Determine surprise. The DM determines whether anyone involved in the combat encounter is surprised.
Establish positions. The DM decides where all the characters and monsters are located. Given the adventurers’ marching order or their stated positions in the roam or other locations, The DM figures out where the adversaries are – how far away and in what direction.
Roll initiative. Everyone involved in the combat encounter rolls initiative, determining the order of combatants turns.
Take turns. Each participant in the battle takes a turn in initiative order.
Begin the next round. When everyone involved in the combat has had a turn, the round ends. Repeat step 4 until the fighting stops.
Interacting with Objects Around You
Here are a few examples of the sorts of thing you can do in tandem with your movement and or action. Only one of these can be accomplished per round:
Draw or sheathe a sword.
Open or close a door.
Pick up a dropped axe.
Take a bauble from a table.
Remove a ring from your finger.
Stuff some food into your mouth
Plant a banner in the ground.
Fish a few coins from your belt pouch
Drink all the ale in a flagon.
Throw a lever or a switch.
Pull a torch from a sconce.
Take a book from a shelf you can reach.
Extinguish a small flame.
Don a mask
Pull the hood of your cloak up and over your head.
Put your ear to a door.
Kick a small stone.
Turn a key in a lock.
Tap the floor with a 10-foot pole.
Hand an item to another character.
Bonus Action Options
Besides the stated rules for Bonus Actions that are available to characters the following are also allowed:
Drink a potion that was in your hand, pouch or on a belt.
Full Action Options
Feed an unconscious person a potion.
Withdraw a potion from your backpack.
Size Diagram
Creature Size
Each creature takes up a different amount of space. The Size Categories table shows how much space a creature of a particular size controls in combat. Objects sometimes use the same size categories.
Size Categories Table
Size
Space
Tiny
2½ feet by 2½ feet
Small
5 feet by 5 feet
Medium
5 feet by 5 feet
Large
10 feet by 10 feet
Huge
15 feet by 15 feet
Gargantuan
20 feet by 20 feet or larger
Space
A creature’s space is the area in feet that it effectively controls in combat, not an expression of its physical dimensions. A typical medium creature isn’t 5 feet wide, for example, but it does control a space that wide. If a Medium hobgoblin stands in a 5-foot-wide doorway, other creatures can’t get through unless the hobgoblin lets them.
A creature’s space also reflects the area it needs to tight effectively. For that reason, there’s a limit to the number of creatures that can surround another creature in combat. Assuming Medium combatants, eight creatures can fit in a 5-foot radius around another one.
Because larger creatures take up more space, fewer of them can surround a creature. If five large creatures crowd around a Medium or smaller one, there’s little room for anyone else. In contrast, as many as twenty medium creatures can surround a Gargantuan one.
Size Diagram (Squares vs Hexes)
Squeezing Into a Smaller Space
A creature can squeeze through a space that is large enough for a creature one size smaller than it. Thus, a large creature can squeeze through a passage that’s only 5 feet wide. While squeezing through a space, a creature must spend 1 extra foot for every foot it moves there, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls and dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it’s in the smaller space.
Playing on a Grid
Squares. Each square on the grid represents 5 feet.
Speed. Rather than moving foot by foot, move square by square on the grid. This means you use your speed in 5-foot segments. This is particularly easy if you translate your speed into squares by dividing the speed by 5.
For example:
A speed of 30 feel translates into a speed of 6 squares.
Entering a Square. To enter a square, you must have ai least 1 square of movement left, even if the square is diagonally adjacent to the square, you’re in. (The rule for diagonal movement sacrifices realism for the sake of smooth play.
If a square costs extra movement, as a square of difficult terrain does, you must have enough movement left lo pay for entering it.
For example:
You must have at least 2 squares of movement left to enter a square of difficult terrain.
Corners. Diagonal movement cannot cross the comer of a wall, large tree, or other terrain feature that fills its space.
Ranges. To determine the range on a grid between two things – whether creatures or objects – start counting squares from a square adjacent to one of them and stop counting in the space of the other one. Count by the shortest route.
Cover
To determine whether a target has cover against an attack or other effect on a grid, choose a corner of the attacker’s space or the point of origin of an area of effect. Then trace imaginary lines from that corner to every corner of any one square the target occupies. If one or two of those lines are blocked by an obstacle (including another creature), the target has half cover. If three or four of those lines are blocked but the attack can still reach the target (such as when the target is behind an arrow slit), the target has three-quarters cover.
On hexes, use the same procedure as a grid, drawing lines between the corners of the hexagons. The target has half cover it up to three lines are blocked by an obstacle, and three-quarters cover if four or more lines are blocked but the attack can still reach the target.
Flanking
A creature can’t flank an enemy that it can’t see. A creature also can’t flank while it is incapacitated. A Large or larger creature is flanking if at least one square or hex of its space qualifies for flanking.
You cannot flank a creature more than two sizes larger than yourself. Some creatures are immune from flanking as well as some abilities might allow for that. Large creatures only need two opponents to be flanked, while Huge require at least three and Gargantuan four. These numbers are assuming those doing the flanking are smaller than the target creature. If all the creatures are the same size, then flanking always only requires two attackers to flank properly.
Flanking and Cover Diagram (Squares)
Flanking on Squares. When a creature and at least one of its allies are adjacent to an enemy and on opposite sides or corners of the enemy’s space, they flank that enemy, and each of them has advantage on melee attack rolls against that enemy.
When in doubt about whether two creatures flank an enemy on a grid, trace an imaginary line between the centers of the creatures’ spaces. If the line passes through opposite sides or corners of the enemy’s space, the enemy is flanked.
Flanking on Hexes. When a creature and at least one of its allies are adjacent to an enemy and on opposite sides of the enemy’s space, they flank that enemy, and each of them has advantage on attack rolls against that enemy. On hexes, count around the enemy from one creature to its ally. Against a Medium or smaller creature, the allies flank if there are two hexes between them. Against a Large creature, the allies flank if there are four hexes between them. Against a Huge creature, they must have five hexes between them. Against a Gargantuan creature, they must have at least 6 hexes between them.
Flanking and Cover Diagram (Hexes)
Opportunity Attacks
In a fight, everyone is constantly watching for a chance to strike an enemy who is fleeing or passing by. Such a strike is called an opportunity attack.
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach. To make the opportunity attack, you use your reaction to make one melee attack against the provoking creature. The attack occurs right before the creature leaves your reach.
You can avoid provoking an opportunity attack by taking the Disengage action. You also don’t provoke an opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or something moves you without using your movement, action, or reaction.
For example:
You don’t provoke an opportunity attack if an explosion hurls you out of a foe’s reach or if gravity causes you to fall past an enemy.
Facing
Combat is a dynamic set of actions. It is assumed that all creatures unless otherwise specified are moving around within their entire space as well as looking around attempting to be alert for danger. This means that there is not any specific facing for characters or creatures. Everyone is assumed to have full vision around them and able to see anything that would normally be visible.
Readied Action
Sometimes you want to get the jump on a foe or wait for a particular circumstance before you act. To do so, you can take the Ready action on your turn so that you can act later in the round using your reaction.
First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your speed in response to it.
Examples include:
“If the cultist steps on the trapdoor, I’ll pull the lever that opens it,” and “If the goblin steps next to me, I move away.”
When the trigger occurs, you can either take your reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore the trigger. Remember that you can take only one reaction per round.
When you ready a spell, you cast it as normal but hold its energy, which you release with your reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a spell must’ have a casting time of one action and holding onto the spell’s magic requires concentration (explained in chapter 10 of the Player’s Handbook). If your concentration is broken, the spell dissipates without taking effect.
For example:
If you are concentrating on the web spell and ready magic missile, your web spell ends, and if you take damage before you release magic missile with your reaction, your concentration might be broken.
Cover
Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide cover during combat, making a target more difficult to harm. A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover.
There are three degrees of cover. If a target is behind multiple sources of cover, only the most protective degree of cover applies; the degrees aren’t added together.
For example:
If a target is behind a creature that gives half cover and a tree trunk that gives three-quarters cover, the target has three-quarters cover.
Half Cover
A target with half cover has a +2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws. A target has half cover if an obstacle blocks at least half of its body. The obstacle might be a low wall, a large piece of furniture, a narrow tree trunk, or a creature, whether that creature is an enemy or a friend.
Three-Quarters Cover
A target with three-quarters cover has a +5 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws. A target has three-quarters cover if about three-quarters of it is covered by an obstacle. The obstacle might be a portcullis, an arrow slit, or a thick tree trunk.
Total Cover
A target with total cover can’t be targeted directly by an attack or a spell, although some spells can reach such a target by including it in an area of effect. A target has total cover if it is completely concealed by an obstacle.
Critical Hits and Misses
All critical hits and misses still follow the original 5e rules of rolling another set of the attacks damage dice. This includes rolling extra dice for abilities that are a part of the attack such as damage from sneak attack, hex, or the initial strike of green flame blade.
These tables simply contain a list of additional effects that take place on top of the existing critical roll rules. There are individual tables below for both weapon attacks and spell attacks because let’s be honest, there is a difference between missing with a bow and missing with a scorching ray.
Use the Critical Hit Tables below for all natural 20 rolls and the Critical Fumble Tables for any natural 1 roll.
Weapon Attacks: Critical Hits Table
Roll %
Description
Effect
1
You feel accomplished, but nothing remarkable happens.
Regular critical hit.
2-5
You feel it is imperative to press the advantage no matter the cost.
You can choose to gain advantage on all attacks against your target until the end of your next turn, but if you do, all enemies have advantage on their attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn.
6-9
You feel it is imperative to press the advantage but remain aware.
You can choose to gain advantage on all attacks against your target next turn, but your target will have the same against you until the end of your next turn.
10-14
You know how to gain advantage.
You gain advantage on all attacks on your target until the end of your next turn.
15-19
As you are fighting, you notice an effective route to escape danger.
You can use the disengage action after your attack.
20-24
You feel the flow of the battle and know where to make your next move.
After your turn you move to the top of the initiative order.
25-29
You begin to recognize patterns in your opponent’s fighting technique.
You gain +2 to your AC against your target, and advantage on all savings throws from effects originating from your target until your next turn.
30-39
You can move towards your target while attacking and can attempt to harass them.
After your attack you can choose to attempt to grapple your opponent if you have a free hand or attempt to shove your opponent if both hands are in use.
40-49
You can move towards your target while attacking to harass them.
After your attack you can choose to automatically succeed in grappling your opponent if you have a free hand or shove your target if both hands are in use.
50-59
You attempt to disarm your target.
You can take the disarm action after your attack.
60-69
You kick your target’s weapon out of their hands.
You can take the disarm action after your attack and steal your target’s weapon if you have a free hand. Otherwise, it’s knocked away 20 feet.
70-74
Your senses heighten and you become aware of threats around you.
You can use the dodge action after your attack.
75-79
Your attack knocks your target over.
Your target is knocked prone.
80-84
Your strike surprises your opponent.
Your target is surprised until the end of their next turn.
85-89
You strike with great force.
Roll an additional set of damage dice above and beyond your normal critical roll.
90-94
You strike with extreme force.
Roll an additional set of damage dice above and beyond your normal critical roll, and the target suffers one unit of exhaustion.
95-99
You strike with debilitating force.
Roll an additional set of damage dice above and beyond your normal critical roll. The target suffers a permanent injury (chosen by DM). It can be healed with extended rest of a length determined by the DM but leaves a scar.
100
You strike with devastating force.
Roll an additional set of damage dice above and beyond your normal critical roll; the target suffers 1 unit of exhaustion and gets a permanent injury (chosen by DM). The permanent injury can be healed same as above (95-99).
Weapon Attacks: Critical Fumbles Table
Roll %
Description
Effect
1
You are embarrassed, but nothing remarkable happens.
You miss your attack.
2-5
You lose your combat footing, exposing yourself to your target.
Your target has advantage on their first attack roll against you next round.
6-9
You lose your combat footing, exposing yourself to your enemies.
Your enemies have advantage on their first attack roll against you next round.
10-14
You lose your combat footing and have difficulty recovering.
Your enemies have advantage on their attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn.
15-19
Melee: You get tangled with your enemy and fall over. Ranged: You spill your quiver.
Melee: You are knocked prone, and your movement is reduced to 0. Your target must succeed a DC 10 dexterity check, or they are also knocked prone. Ranged: You must pick up arrows individually from the ground using your “environmental interaction”, or the “Use an Object” action to nock your bow.
20-29
You lose your balance.
You fall prone and your movement is reduced to 0.
30-39
As you attack your opponent you begin to fear that they are the superior combatant.
Disadvantage on your next attack roll against your target.
40-49
You miss an attack and gaze upon the chaos of the battle, causing your confidence to falter.
Disadvantage on your next attack roll against any target.
50-59
You lose your grip as you attack.
Roll a DC 10 Dexterity Check, on failure you drop your weapon at your feet.
60-69
Melee: The weapon slips from your hand as you attack. Ranged: Your ammo gets lodged in its container.
Melee: Roll a DC 10 DEX Check; on failure you throw your weapon into your enemy’s space. (DM’s choice on large+) Ranged: You must use an action to organize the ammunition in its case before you can make another ranged attack.
70-79
Melee: You lunge past your target, exposing yourself. Ranged: Your attack startles your allies near your target.
Melee: Enemy you were attacking can use their reaction to perform and attack of opportunity. Ranged: the target can perform an opportunity attack on any ally within melee range.
80-84
Missing what you thought was a critical blow causes you to panic.
End your current turn and you are surprised until the end of your next turn.
85-89
You attack wildly and lose track of the fight around you.
End your turn and move to the bottom of the initiative order at the start of the next round.
90-94
You lose your footing while attacking and fall to the ground bumping your head.
You fall prone. Roll a DC 10 constitution save, on failure you take 1d6 damage and are stunned for 1d4 rounds or until you receive damage from any source. On success take half damage and you remain conscious.
95-99
You lose your footing while attacking and fall headfirst.
You fall prone. Roll a DC 15 constitution save, on failure you take 2d6 damage and are stunned for 1d6 rounds or until you receive damage from any source. On success take half damage and you remain conscious.
100
You lose your footing while attacking and slam your head into the ground.
You fall prone, take 3d6 damage, and become stunned for 1d8 rounds or until you receive damage from any source.
Spell Attacks: Critical Hits Table
Roll %
Description
Effect
1
You feel accomplished, but nothing remarkable happens.
Regular spell critical hit.
2-5
You feel it is imperative to press the advantage no matter the cost.
You can choose to gain advantage on your next attack roll against your target, but all enemies have advantage on their attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn.
6-9
You feel it is imperative to press the advantage but maintain awareness of your surroundings.
You can choose to gain advantage on your next attack roll against your target, your target has advantage on their attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn.
10-14
As you are fighting, you notice an effective route to escape danger.
You can use the disengage action after your attack.
15-19
You feel flow of the battle and know where to make your next move.
After your turn you move to the top of the initiative order.
20-29
Your spell cripples your opponent.
Your target’s movement speed is cut in half for their next 2 turns.
30-39
Your spell knocks your target over.
Your target is knocked prone.
40-49
The light from your spell flashes near your target’s eyes
Your target is blinded until the end of their next turn.
50-59
You blast the target’s weapon out of their hands.
Your target’s weapon is flung 1d6*5 feet away in a random direction.
60-69
The sight of your magic fills the target’s heart with fear.
Your target is frightened by you until you stop casting magic. You can discern the source of your target’s fear.
70-74
The force from your spell stuns your opponent.
Your target is incapacitated until the end of their next turn.
75-79
Your spell is incidentally infused with fey energy.
Roll 10d8. If your targets current health is lower than the number rolled, they fall asleep for 1 minute.
80-84
Your spells strike surprises your opponent.
Your target is surprised until the end of their next turn.
85-89
Your spell strikes with great force.
Roll an additional set of spell damage dice above and beyond your normal critical roll.
90-94
Your spell strikes with extreme force.
Roll an additional set of spell damage dice above and beyond your normal critical roll, and the target suffers one unit of exhaustion.
96-99
Your spell strikes with debilitating force.
Roll an additional set of spell damage dice above and beyond your normal critical roll and the target suffers a permanent injury (chosen by DM). It can be healed with extended rest of a length determined by the DM but leaves a scar.
100
Your spell strikes with devastating force.
Roll an additional set of spell damage dice above and beyond your normal critical roll. The target suffers 1 unit of exhaustion and gets a permanent injury (chosen by DM). The permanent injury can be healed same as above (96-99).
Spell Attacks: Critical Fumbles Table
Roll %
Description
Effect
1
You are embarrassed, but nothing remarkable happens.
You miss your attack.
2-5
You get wrapped up in your casting and forget to watch your target.
Your target has advantage on their first attack roll against you next round.
6-9
You get wrapped up in your casting and forget to watch around you.
All enemies have advantage on their first attack roll against you next round.
10-14
You are so wrapped up in your casting that you forget you are fighting a battle.
All enemies have advantage on their attack rolls against you until the end of your next turn.
15-19
Your spell creates a large plume of smoke obscuring your location.
The area in a 5-foot radius around your location becomes heavily obscured for 1 minute. A strong breeze can blow away the smoke in 1 round.
20-29
You misfire and get knocked over.
You are knocked prone.
30-39
The spell fires in an unexpected manner, causing your confidence in your abilities to falter.
You have disadvantage on any spell attacks, and enemies have advantage against your spell savings throws until the end of your next turn.
40-49
The placement of your spell startles your allies near your target, causing them to drop their guard.
Your target can use their reaction to take an attack of opportunity on one of your allies in melee range.
50-59
You scramble the contents of your component pouch, or your focus becomes overloaded with energy.
You are unable to perform material components to cast spells until the end of your next turn.
60-69
Your arm cramps as you cast.
You are unable to perform somatic components to cast spells until the end of your next turn.
70-79
You bite your tongue as you cast.
You are unable to use verbal components to cast spells until the end of your next turn.
80-84
Your spell misfires and dazes you, causing you to lose track of the fight.
End your turn and move to the bottom of the initiative order at the start of the next round.
85-89
You misfire and panic.
End your current turn and you are surprised until the end of your next turn.
90-94
Your spell backfires and causes you to fall and bump your head.
You fall prone. Roll a DC 10 Con save; on failure you take 1d6 bludgeoning damage and are stunned for 1d4 rounds or until you receive damage from any source. On success take half damage and you remain conscious.
95-99
Your spell backfires, creating an explosion and causing you to fall and bump your head.
You fall prone. Roll a DC 15 Con save; on failure you take 1d6 bludgeoning damage, 1d6 thunder damage, and are stunned for 1d6 rounds or until you receive damage from any source. On success take half damage and you remain conscious.
100
Your spell totally backfires, creating a large explosion and causing you to fall and bump your head.
You hit yourself with your spell. If the spell effect is instant, you take the full effect and if the spell requires concentration the effect persists until the end of your next turn. You also take damage same as above (95-99).
Damage and Death
Dropping to 0 Hit Points
When you drop to 0 hit points, you either die outright or fall unconscious, as explained in the following sections.
Instant Death
Massive damage can kill you instantly. When damage reduces you to 0 hit points and there is damage remaining, you die if the remaining damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum.
For example:
A cleric with a maximum of 12 hit points currently has 6 hit points. If she takes 18 damage from an attack, she is reduced to 0 hit points, but 12 damage remains. Because the remaining damage equals her hit point maximum, the cleric dies.
Falling Unconscious
If damage reduces you to 0 hit points and fails to kill you, you fall unconscious (see appendix A in the Player’s Handbook). This unconsciousness ends if you regain any hit points.
Death Saving Throws
Whenever you start your tum with 0 hit points, you must make a special saving throw, called a death saving throw, to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang onto life. Unlike other saving throws, this one isn’t tied to any ability score. You are in the hands of fate now, aided only by spells and features that improve your chances of succeeding on a saving throw.
Roll a d20. If the roll is 10 or higher, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail. A success or failure has no effect by itself. On your third success. you become stable (see below). On your third failure, you die. The successes and failures don’t need to be consecutive; keep track of both until you collect three of a kind. The number of both is reset to zero when you regain any hit points or become stable.
Rolling 1 or 20. When you make a death saving throw and roll a 1 on the d20, it counts as two failures. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 hit point.
Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 hit points, you suffer a death saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.
Stabilizing a Creature
The best way to save a creature with 0 hit points is to heal it. If healing is unavailable, the creature can at least be stabilized so that it isn’t killed by a failed death saving throw.
You can use your action to administer first aid to an unconscious creature and attempt to stabilize it, which requires a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.
A stable creature doesn’t make death saving throws, even though it has 0 hit points, but it does remain unconscious. The creature stops being stable, and must start making death saving throws again, if it takes any damage. A stable creature that isn’t healed regains I hit point after Id4 hours.
Monsters and Death
Most DMs have a monster die the instant it drops to 0 hit points, rather than having it fall unconscious and make death saving throws.
Mighty villains and special nonplayer characters are common exceptions; the DM might have them fall unconscious and follow the same rules as player characters.
Knocking a Creature Out
Sometimes an attacker wants to incapacitate a foe, rather than deal a killing blow. When an attacker reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack, the attacker can knock the creature out. The attacker can make this choice the instant the damage is dealt. The creature falls unconscious and is stable.
Delving into the ancient tomb of horrors. slipping through the back alleys of Waterdeep, hacking a fresh trail through the thick jungles on the Isle of Dread-these are the things that Dungeons and Dragons adventures are made of. Your character in the game might explore forgotten ruins and uncharted lands, uncover dark secrets and sinister plots, and slay foul monsters. And if all goes well, your character will survive to claim rich rewards before embarking on a new adventure.
This chapter covers the basics of the adventuring life, from the mechanics of movement to the complexities of social interaction. The rules for resting are also in this chapter, along with a discussion of the activities your character might pursue between adventures.
Whether adventurers are exploring a dusty dungeon or the complex relationships of a royal court, the game follows a natural rhythm, as outlined in the book’s introduction:
The DM describes the environment.
The players describe what they want to do.
The DM narrates the results of their actions.
Typically, the DM uses a map as an outline of the adventure, tracking the characters’ progress as they explore dungeon corridors or wilderness regions.
The DM’s notes, including a key to the map, describe what the adventurers find as they enter each new area. Sometimes, the passage of time and the adventurers’ actions determine what happens, so the DM might use a timeline or a flowchart to track their progress instead of a map.
Details on Time, speed, and movement can all be found in Chapter 8 of the Player’s Handbook as well as different activities that are important for the players and characters.
Swimming across a rushing river, sneaking down a dungeon corridor, scaling a treacherous mountain slope — all sorts of movement play a key role in fantasy gaming adventures.
The DM can summarize the adventurers’ movement without calculating exact distances or travel times:
For example:
“You travel through the forest and find the dungeon entrance late in the evening of the third day.” Even in a dungeon, particularly a large dungeon or a cave network, the DM can summarize movement between encounters: “After killing the guardian at the entrance to the ancient dwarven stronghold, you consult your map, which leads you through miles of echoing corridors to a chasm bridged by a narrow stone arch.”
Sometimes it’s important, though, to know how long it takes to get from one spot to another, whether the answer is in days, hours, or minutes. The rules for determining travel time depend on two factors: the speed and travel pace of the creatures moving and the terrain they’re moving over.
Speed
Every character and monster have a speed, which is the distance in feet that the character or monster can walk in 1 round. This number assumes short bursts of energetic movement during a life-threatening situation.
The following rules determine how far a character or monster can move in a minute, an hour, or a day.
Travel Pace
While traveling, a group of adventurers can move at a normal, fast, or slow pace, as shown on the Travel Pace table. The table states how far the party can move in a period and whether the pace has any effect. A fast pace makes characters less perceptive, while a slow pace makes it possible to sneak around and to search an area more carefully (see the “Activity While Traveling” section later in the Player’s Handbook for more information).
Forced March. The Travel Pace table assumes that character’s travel for eight hours in day. They can push on beyond that limit, at the risk of exhaustion.
For each additional hour of travel beyond eight hours, the characters cover the distance shown in the Hour column for their pace, and each character must make a constitution saving throw at the end of the hour. The DC is 10 + 1 for each hour past the first eight hours of travel. On a failed saving throw, a character suffers one level of exhaustion (see Appendix A).
Mounts and Vehicles. For short spans of time (up to an hour), many animals move much faster than humanoids. A mounted character can ride at a gallop for about an hour, covering twice the usual distance for a fast pace. If fresh mounts are available every 8 to 10 miles, characters can cover larger distances at this pace, but this is very rare except in densely populated areas.
Characters in wagons, carriages, or other land vehicles choose a pace as normal. Characters in a waterborne vessel are limited to the speed of the vessel (see chapter 5, “Equipment” in the Player’s Handbook), and they don’t suffer penalties for a fast pace or gain benefits from a slow pace. Depending on the vessel and the size of the crew, ships might be able to travel for up to 24 hours per day.
Certain special mounts, such as a pegasus or griffon, or special vehicles, such as a carpet of flying, allow you to travel more swiftly. The Dungeon Master’s Guide contains more information on special methods of travel.
Overland Movement Table (One Hour of Travel)
Character Speed
Notes
One Hour (Overland)
15 feet
20 feet
30 feet
40 feet
Slow
½ mile
1 mile
2 miles
3 miles
Walk
1½ miles
2 miles
3 miles
4 miles
Fast
2 miles
3 miles
4 miles
6 miles
-5 penalty to Wisdom (Perception) scores
Overland Movement Table (Eight Hours of Travel)
Character Speed
Notes
One Day (Overland)
15 feet
20 feet
30 feet
40 feet
Slow
4 miles
8 miles
16 miles
24 miles
Walk
12 miles
16 miles
24 miles
32 miles
Fast
16 miles
20 miles
30 miles
40 miles
-5 penalty to Wisdom (Perception) scores
Difficult Terrain
The travel speeds given in the Travel Pace table assume relatively simple terrain: roads, open plains, or clear dungeon corridors. But adventurers often face dense forests, deep swamps, rubble-filled ruins, steep mountains, and ice-covered ground — all considered difficult terrain. You move at half speed or slower in difficult terrain.
As an example:
Moving 1 foot in difficult terrain costs 2 feet of speed — so you can cover only half the normal distance in a minute, an hour, or a day.
Hampered Movement Table
Condition
Additional Movement Cost
Difficult terrain
×2
Obstacle
×2
Poor visibility
×2
Impassable
—
Different terrains will cause different movement speeds. This is true for Combat movement or Overland travel.
Terrain and Overland Movement Table
Terrain
Highway
Road or Trail
Trackless
Desert, sandy
×1
×½
×½
Forest
×1
×1
×½
Hills
×1
×¾
×½
Jungle
×1
×¾
×¼
Moor
×1
×1
×¾
Mountains
×¾
×¾
×½
Plains
×1
×1
×¾
Swamp
×1
×¾
×½
Tundra, frozen
×1
×¾
×¾
Quadrupeds, such as horses, can carry heavier loads than characters can.
Mounts Movement Table
Mounts (carrying load)
Per Hour
Per Day
Light horse or light warhorse
6 miles
48 miles
Light horse (151-450 lb.)
4 miles
32 miles
Light warhorse (231-690 lb.)
4 miles
32 miles
Heavy horse or heavy warhorse
5 miles
40 miles
Heavy horse (201-600 lb.)
3½ miles
28 miles
Heavy warhorse (301-900 lb.)
3½ miles
28 miles
Pony or war pony
4 miles
32 miles
Pony (76-225 lb.)
3 miles
24 miles
War pony (101-300 lb.)
3 miles
24 miles
Donkey or mule
3 miles
24 miles
Donkey (51-150 lb.)
2 miles
16 miles
Mule (231-690 lb.)
2 miles
16 miles
Dog, riding
4 miles
32 miles
Dog, riding (101-300 lb.)
3 miles
24 miles
Rafts, barges, keelboats, and rowboats are used on lakes and rivers.
If going downstream, add the speed of the current (typically 3 miles per hour) to the speed of the vehicle. In addition to 10 hours of being rowed, the vehicle can also float an additional 14 hours, if someone can guide it, so add an additional 42 miles to the daily distance traveled. These vehicles can’t be rowed against any significant current, but they can be pulled upstream by draft animals on the shores.
Vehicle Movement Table
Vehicles
Per Hour
Per Day
Cart or wagon
2 miles
16 miles
Raft or barge (poled or towed)
½ mile
5 miles
Keelboat (rowed)
1 mile
10 miles
Rowboat (rowed)
1½ miles
15 miles
Sailing ship (sailed)
2 miles
48 miles
Warship (sailed and rowed)
2½ miles
60 miles
Longship (sailed and rowed)
3 miles
72 miles
Galley (rowed and sailed)
4 miles
96 miles
Special Types of Movement
Movement through dangerous dungeons or wilderness areas often involves more than simply walking. Adventurers might have to climb, crawl, swim, or jump to get where they need to go.
Climbing, Swimming, and Crawling
Each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in difficult terrain) when you’re climbing, swimming, or crawling. You ignore this extra cost if you have a climbing speed and use it to climb, or a swimming speed and use it to swim. At the DM’s option, climbing a slippery vertical surface or one with few handholds requires a successful Strength (Athletics) check. Similarly, gaining any distance in rough water might require a successful Strength (Athletics) check.
Jumping
Your Strength determines how far you can jump.
Long Jump. When you make a long jump, you cover several feet up to your Strength score if you move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump. When you make a standing long jump, you can leap only half that distance. Either way, each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement.
This rule assumes that the height of your jump doesn’t matter, such as a jump across a stream or chasm. At your DM’s option, you must succeed on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check to clear a low obstacle (no taller than a quarter of the jump’s distance), such as a hedge or low wall. Otherwise, you hit it.
When you land in difficult terrain, you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to land on your feet. Otherwise, you land prone.
High Jump. When you make a high jump, you leap into the air several feet equal to 3 + your Strength modifier (minimum of 0 feet) if you move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump. When you make a standing high jump, you can jump only half that distance. Either way, each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement. In some circumstances, your DM might allow you to make a Strength (Athletics) check to jump higher than you normally can.
You can extend your arms half your height above yourself during the jump. Thus, you can reach above you a distance equal to the height of the jump plus 1 1/2 times your height.
The Environment
By its nature, adventuring involves delving into places that are dark, dangerous, and full of mysteries to be explored. The rules in this section cover some of the most important ways in which adventurers interact with the environment in such places. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has rules covering more unusual situations. There are also a lot more details in Chapter 8 of the Player’s Handbook.
Vison and Light
The most fundamental tasks of adventuring-noticing danger, finding hidden objects, hitting an enemy in combat, and targeting a spell, to name just a few- rely heavily on a character’s ability to see. Darkness and other effects that obscure vision can prove a significant hinderance.
A given area might be lightly or heavily obscured. In a lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog, or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.
A heavily obscured area – such as darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage – blocks vision entirely. A creature in a heavily obscured area effectively suffers from the blinded condition.
The presence or absence of light in an environment creates three categories of illumination: bright light, dim light, and darkness.
Bright light lets most creatures see normally. Even gloomy days provide bright light, as do torches, lanterns, fires, and other sources of illumination within a specific radius.
Dim light, also called shadows, creates a lightly obscured area. An area of dim light is usually a boundary between a source of bright light such as a torch, and surrounding darkness. The soft light of twilight and dawn also counts as dim light. A particularly brilliant full moon might bathe the land in dim light.
Darkness creates a heavily obscured area. Characters face darkness outdoors at night (even most moonlit nights). within the confines of an unlit dungeon or a subterranean vault, or in an area of magical darkness.
Blindsight
A creature with blindsight can perceive its surroundings without relying on sight, within a specific radius. Creatures without eyes, sue h as oozes, and creatures with echolocation or heightened senses, such as bats and true dragons, have this sense.
Darkvision
Many creatures in the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons, especially those that dwell underground. have darkvision. Within a specified range, a creature with darkvision can see in darkness as if the darkness were dim light, so areas of darkness are only lightly obscured as far as that creature is concerned. However, the creature can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Truesight
A creature with truesight can, out to a specific range, see in normal and magical darkness, see invisible creatures and objects, automatically detect visual illusions, and succeed on saving throws against them, and perceives the original form of a shape changer or a creature that is transformed by magic. Furthermore, the creature can see into the Ethereal Plane.
Social Interaction
Exploring dungeons, overcoming obstacles, and slaying monsters are key parts of D&D adventures. No less important, though, are the social interactions that adventurers have with other inhabitants of the world.
Interaction takes on many forms. You might need to convince an unscrupulous thief to confess to some malfeasance, or you might try to flatter a dragon so that it will spare your life. The DM assumes the roles of any characters who are participating in the interaction that don’t belong to another player at the table. Any such character is called a nonplayer character (NPC).
In general terms, an NPC’s altitude toward you is described as friendly, indifferent, or hostile. Friendly NPCs are predisposed to help you, and hostile ones are inclined to get in your way. It’s easier to get what you want from a friendly NPC, of course.
Social interactions have two primary aspects: roleplaying and ability checks.
Roleplaying
Roleplaying is literally the act of playing out a role. In this case, it’s you as a player determining how your character thinks, acts, and talks.
Roleplaying is a part of every aspect of the game, and it comes to the fore during social interactions. Your character’s quirks, mannerisms, and personality influence how interactions resolve.
There are two styles you can use when roleplaying your character: the descriptive approach and the active approach. Most players use a combination of the two styles. Use whichever mix of the two works best for you.
Descriptive Approach to Roleplaying
With this approach, you describe your character’s words and actions to the DM and the other players. Drawing on your mental image of your character, you tell everyone what your character does and how he or she does it.
For instance:
Chris plays Tordek the dwarf. Tordek has a quick temper and blames the elves of the Cloakwood for his family’s misfortune. At a tavern. an obnoxious elf minstrel sits at Tordek’s table and tries to strike up a conversation with the dwarf.
Chris says, “Tordek spits on the floor, growls an insult at the bard, and stomps over to the bar. He sits on a stool and glares at the minstrel before ordering another drink.”
In this example, Chris has conveyed Tordek’s mood and given the DM a clear idea of his character’s altitude and actions.
When using descriptive roleplaying, keep the following things in mind:
Describe your character’s emotions and altitude. Focus on your character’s intent and how others might perceive it.
Provide as much embellishment as you feel comfortable with.
Don’t worry about getting things exactly right. Just focus on thinking about what your character would do and describing what you see in your mind.
Active Approach to Roleplaying
If descriptive roleplaying tells your DM and your fellow players what your character thinks and does, active roleplaying shows them.
When you use active roleplaying, you speak with your character’s voice, like an actor taking on a role. You might even echo your character’s movements and body language. This approach is more immersive than descriptive roleplaying, though you still need to describe things that can’t be reasonably acted out.
Going back to the example of Chris roleplaying Tordek above, here’s how the scene might play out if Chris used active roleplaying:
For example:
Speaking as Tordek, Chris says in a gruff, deep voice, “I was wondering why it suddenly smelled awful in here. If I wanted to hear anything out of you, I’d snap your arm and enjoy your screams.” In his normal voice, Chris then adds, “I get up, glare at the elf, and head to the bar.”
Results of Roleplaying
The DM uses your character’s actions and attitudes to determine how an NPC reacts. A cowardly NPC buckles under threats of violence. A stubborn dwarf refuses to let anyone badger her. A vain dragon laps up flattery.
When interacting with an NPC, pay close attention to the DM’s portrayal of the NPC’s mood, dialogue, and personality. Vou might be able to determine an NPC’s personality traits, ideals, flaws, and bonds, then play on them to influence the NPC’s attitude.
Interactions in Dungeons and Dragons are much like interactions in real life. If you can offer NPCs something they want, threaten them with something they fear, or play on their sympathies and goals, you can use words to get almost anything you want. On the other hand, if you insult a proud warrior or speak ill of a noble’s allies, your efforts to convince or deceive will fall short.
Monster Harvesting
The act of removing useful body parts from a creature is referred to as harvesting.
Anything that can be harvested from a creature is referred to as a harvesting material or simply material. In general, only creatures that have died may be harvested, but there may be some exceptions based on context.
Appraising
Before a player begins hacking and butchering their hunt, they may instead choose to take a moment first and appraise the creature to be harvested. To do this, they must spend 1 minute examining the creature to be harvested and then roll an Intelligence check, adding their proficiency bonus if they are proficient in the skill corresponding to that creature (see table below).
For example:
Appraising a Beholder (which is an aberrant), the check would be an Intelligence (Arcana) check, while appraising an Ogre (which is a giant) would require an Intelligence (Medicine) check.
The DC of the check is equal to 8 + the Harvested Creature’s CR (treating any CR less than 1 as 0). Success on this check grants the player full knowledge of any useful harvesting materials on the creature, the DC requirement to harvest those materials, any special requirements to harvest them, and any potential risks in doing so. In addition, any harvesting check made on that creature by that player is rolled at advantage. A character may only attempt one appraisal check per creature.
Monster Type / Skill Check Table
Creature Type
Skill Check
Aberration
Arcana
Beast
Nature or Survival
Celestial
Arcana
Construct
Investigation
Dragon
Arcana or Nature
Elemental
Arcana
Fey
Arcana
Fiend
Arcana or Religion
Giant
Medicine
Humanoid
Medicine
Monstrosity
Nature
Ooze
Investigation
Plant
Nature
Undead
Arcana or Religion
Splitting Up the Responsibilities
Some party members may prefer to let one character handle the appraisal of materials, while another more dexterous character handles the actual harvesting. In this scenario, all benefits of appraising a creature are conferred to the player doing the harvesting, so long as the player that performed the appraising assists the harvesting player through the whole duration of the harvest.
This section details the steps associated with performing a harvest, and any factors that may influence it.
Harvesting
To harvest a creature, a character must make a Dexterity ability check using the same skill proficiency as listed in the above appraising table.
For example:
A character attempting a harvest check on an Aberrant would receive a bonus equal to their Dexterity modifier and their proficiency in Arcana (if they have any).
This check reflects a character’s ability to not only properly remove the intended item without damaging it, but it also involves any ancillary requirements of the harvest such as proper preservation and storage techniques.
Using other proficiencies:
If a player is harvesting a certain creature or harvesting a creature of a certain type of material, the DM may allow them to use a relevant tool proficiency rather than a skill proficiency.
For example, the DM may allow a player to add their proficiency with Tinker’s Tools to their attempt to harvest a mechanical golem or use their proficiency with leatherworking tools when attempting to harvest a creature for its hide. Alternatively, all creature type proficiencies may be replaced by proficiency with the harvesting kit.
Each individual item in a creature’s harvesting table is listed with a DC next to it. Any roll that a player makes that equals or exceeds this DC grants that player that item. Rewards are cumulative, and a player receives every item with a DC equal to or below their ability check result.
For example:
Rolling a total of 15 on a check to harvest an azer will reward the player with both “azer ash’, and “azer bronze skin”, but not a “spark of creation”. If they so wish, players may opt to not harvest a material even if they have met the DC threshold to harvest it.
Only one harvesting attempt may be made on a creature. Failure to meet a certain item’s DC threshold assumes that the item was made unsalvageable due to the harvester’s incompetence.
For most creatures, the time it takes to harvest a material is counted in minutes and is equal to the DC of that material divided by 5. For huge creatures however, it is equal in DC of that material, while for gargantuan creatures, it is equal to the DC of that material multiplied by 2.
Violent Deaths
This guide assumes that most creatures you attempt to harvest died in direct combat and thus already accounts for the idea that you are harvesting creatures that are not in pristine condition. However, some deaths are more violent than others and can make harvesting useful materials either extremely difficult or downright impossible. Such examples include burning by fire, dissolving from acid, or being completely crushed under a pillar of stone. In these cases, raise the DC for harvesting any of that creature’s materials by 5. Alternatively, the DM may decide that well- orchestrated hunts result in a carcass that is prime for harvesting, such as creatures killed mostly through psychic damage, or those killed in one clean attack. In these cases, the DM should lower the DC for harvesting any of that creature’s materials by 5.
Furthermore, the DM may adjudicate whether some of a creature’s individual materials have been made useless due to effects imposed by them during their death. Examples may include blood being tainted from poisoning, or their pelt being worthless due to excessive slashing/piercing damage.
Expiration
Many harvested goods will start to rot and decay. Below is a quick overview of how we determined expiration dates.
Item Type
Days
Explanation
Body Part
2
Flesh rots and decays quickly.
Body Part, Undead
7
Undead body parts are already rotting, so their usefulness can last a little longer than regular flesh (which becomes useless when it rots).
Bones
∞
Bones take a very long time to decay.
Feathers
∞
Feathers take a very long time to decay.
Ears
14
Ears are predominantly tough cartilage (soft bone). The skin around the ear’s rots quickly, but the ear remains intact for some time after.
Hair
∞
Hair takes a very long time to decay.
Head
3
Like other flesh, it rots and decays quickly, but lasts slightly longer
Hides/Pelts
10
Hides/Pelts must be treated and soaks to retain its usefulness.
Liquid, Vial (i.e., Blood)
7
If contained in a stoppered vial, most fluids have a longer shelf life. However, if exposed to air, it gets ruined VERY quickly.
Liquid, Vial (i.e., Slime)
14
Slimes and gels tend to have a longer shelf-life than other fluids. However, if exposed to air, it gets ruined VERY quickly.
Poisons
14
Most poisons are viable for about 2 weeks. However, each poison is different. In additions, proficiency with a poisoner’s kit may allow assassins the ability to extend the shelf-life every few weeks (adding other ingredients to extend the poison’s usefulness)
Tattoos/Marks
5
Usually a strip of skin, which can be preserved with some oil to last a little longer than other flesh.
Wings
7
While wings contain flesh, which rots quickly, the bones and leather/feather last much longer, making the wings usefulness last longer.
Meat
It is possible to harvest the meat of many creatures, although uncooked meat spoils quickly and often attract other predators. Some creature types have meat that is inedible (i.e., undead), while others carry some sort of stigma (cannibalism, distasteful, unholy). For example, eating a celestial may be considered a vile, unholy act; while eating a monstrosity may be considered disgusting and distasteful; and giants are too like most medium-sized humanoids and is often considered in line with cannibalism. Of course, while buying stigma associated meats is forbidden and possibly illegal in most places, there are always people willing to buy illegal goods (although they may be hard to find).
Creature Type
Edible
Possible Stigma
Sellable
Aberration
N
Inedible
Beast
Y
N
Y
Celestial
Y
Cannibalism, Holy Creature
N
Construct
N
Inedible
Dragon
Y
N
Y
Elemental
N
Inedible
Fey
Y
Cannibalism, Worshiped
Some are inedible
Fiend
N
Inedible
Giant
Y
Cannibalism, Disgusting Creature
N
Humanoid
Y
Cannibalism
N
Monstrosity
*
Disgusting Creature
N
Ooze
N
Inedible
Plant
N
No meat
Undead
N
Inedible
* Some monstrosities have meat that is edible (DM Discretion)
The amount of meat is dependent on the beast’s size. The weight of a raw piece of meat is one pound heavier than a ration (one slab of meat, 3 lb. is needed to produce 1 dried ration, 2 lb.).
Beast Size
DC
Meat
Weight
Expire
Tiny
5
1
2 lb.
1 day
Small
5
1d4
3-12 lb.
1 day
Medium
5
1d6
3-18 lb.
1 day
Large
5
2d6
6-36 lb.
1 day
Huge
5
4d6
12-72 lb.
1 day
Eating Meat: Cooked meat can be eaten safely. Cooking meat requires a campfire or oven. Eating raw meat requires a DC 10 Constitution Check. A successful check results in a filling meal. A failure results in debilitating stomach cramps, causing 1 level of exhaustion (disadvantage on ability checks).
Drying Meat: The meat can be dried using salt, spices, heat, and time.
Drying Method
Time
DC
Notes
Oven
6 hours
5
Smoke Hut
2 days
7
Smoking must be maintained (can’t be left alone for days)
Sun
16 hours
15
Must be in direct sunlight, in over 85°F. Set on a hot stone or hanging from a rack. Higher chance of spoiling.
Drunkenness
A pint of ale is never very far away in the world of Faerun. A drink to accompany a fine meal a bit of liquid courage to head into battle, or a celebration after long and arduous journey. A great way for anyone to enjoy themselves, but alcohol itself is a double-edged sword It can make you feel invincible, but it can also make you think you’re seeing double, be careful when consuming for dangerous effects are never tar behind.
Intoxication
For many, alcohol can affect you differently that is where intoxication levels come into effect. Your characters intoxication level is equal to your constitution modifier plus your proficiency bonus and there are different stages to being drunk.
Tipsy
when the alcohol is flowing, and good times are being had by all you start to feel a tingle in your fingers. You gain the sense that you could do just about anything, you are tipsy.
“Tipsy” is when you are 1/4 of the way to being intoxicated rounded down. Therefore, at this stage you have advantage on a charisma-based skill checks and wisdom saves for being frightened At this stage you also gain disadvantage on ranged attacks
Drunk
As the night continues so does your drinking. You’re having a fun night, why stop? Once you’ve reached 1/2 of your intoxication level you reached the point where you are drunk.
At this stage your speech is slurred, you’re seeing double, and your limbs are a little numb. If you are drunk, you gain five temporary hit points and maintain your advantage against fright. You lose your charisma-based advantage and gain disadvantage on ALL attack rolls and intelligence checks.
Wasted
At this point in the night. you are one of the last people in the bar. You’ve ignored that voice in the back of your head saying you should stop and now you’re wasted.
When you are 3/4 of the way to full intoxication you are wasted. You gain another five temporary hit points and cannot be rightened or charmed, but you have disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks.
Blackout
Now you have drank too much. You have past the point of no return. You may not be able to form coherent thoughts or even be able to say your own name. You have reached the Blackout stage.
This is the point where you have reached your intoxication level You are at disadvantage for any attack rolls, ability checks and saves aside from Constitution. At this point you must make a constitution save (D.C. equals 10 + 1/2 the number of drinks consumed) every hour or be rendered unconscious.
A Simple Drink
There are many types of drinks that one could imbibe, and those drinks have different levels of intoxication.
Drink Strength Table
Strength
Drink
½
Watered Down
1
Average
2
Strong
3
Inhuman
Racial Bonus
Dwarves, Half-Ores, and Goliaths have stronger constitutions than most. Therefore, their intoxication level is twice their Constitution modifier plus their proficiency bonus.
Lockpicking
Insert cool intro here. I mean. it’s just a homebrew on lockpicking, what kind of intro does it need? It anything, I’ll just say I think it’s cooler than your usual Dexterity (thieves’ tools) single roll. but that’s just my opinion.
Study the Lock
When faced with some kind of mechanical lock, you can use your Action to Study the Lock. You handle, analyze, and test the lock looking for weak spots and trying to figure out the best plan of attack. Make an Intelligence (thieves’ tools) check against the DC of the lock. If you succeed, you find the mechanism’s weak spots and how to exploit them giving your future attempts at picking the lock advantage.
Additionally, if you take a subtle approach when unlocking the lock, the jam the lock result becomes minor setback and the break the lock result becomes jam the lock. It you fail, you don’t gain any additional information on the lock. Future attempts at studying the lock can only be made after a short rest.
Pick the Lock
You use your Action to try to, you know, pick the lock. You must choose a subtle or a non-subtle approach and then make a Dexterity (thieves’ tools) against the lock’s DC. Creatures without proficiency in thieves’ tools can’t opt for a subtle attempt and creatures using improvised tools make the check with disadvantage.
If you succeed on the check, the lock is picked and opens. If you fail by less than 5, the lock isn’t picked but nothing else happens. If you fail 5 or more, but less than 10, you jam the lock. If you fail by 10 or more, you break the lock on the spot. Hard to visualize? Here’s a handy-dandy table.
DC15 Lock Example Table
Check
Results
5 or less
Break the lock
6 to 10
Jam the lock
11-14
Nothing happens
15 or more
Lock opens
Break the Lock
The lock is broken and can’t be picked or used. Sorry, dude.
Jam the Lock
Your attempt at picking the lock caused something to break, catch, jam, or otherwise damage the mechanism momentarily. Future attempts at picking the lock have the DC cumulatively increased by five until the lock is successful picked or properly opened by its designed opening method of the lock’s DC is increased by 15, you break the lock.
Minor Setback
Same as jamming the lock except the DC is only increased by two.
Subtle Approach
You focus on decreasing your chances of leaving visible marks of you forced entry by using subtler, gentler, and less aggressive methods. Your attempts at picking the lock are hard to see to most people. If someone tries to analyze the lock looking for marks, they must make an Intelligence (Investigation) check against a DC equal to 10 plus your Dexterity (thieves’ tools) bonus. seeing nothing out of the ordinary on a failure and signs of your picking on a success.
Non-Subtle Approach
You just want to get the job done, no fuss, no subtlety. You use more aggressive methods and whatever tools your nave in your arsenal to open the lock, like using a piece of metal for leverage. creating dents on specific places to weaken the mechanism, etc., which leaves clearly perceivable marks on the lock or on the area it was placed. Any creature that looks at the lock can see that it was the target of a breaking and entering attempt.
Changing the DC
Some locks can be more susceptible to a specific type of approach. A rusty lock is considerably harder to pick using delicate tools and trying not to leave marks than it is to simply grab a hammer or plyers and try to make the mechanism unlock by force. At the same time, some locks might be too heavy or reinforced to be reasonably made to open without the use of small tools and delicate technique. For that reason, the DM might assign different DCs for the same lock based on what approach is taken. A successful study the lock check tells the character whether one of the approaches is easier than the other or it both have the
Magical Locks
If the lock has a magical component to it. the DM might allow the study the lock check to be an Intelligence (Arcana) check instead of the usual Intelligence (Thieves Tools) check.
Six abilities provide a quick description of every creature’s physical and mental characteristics:
Strength, measuring physical power.
Dexterity, measuring agility.
Constitution, measuring endurance.
Intelligence, measuring reasoning and memory.
Wisdom, measuring perception and insight.
Charisma, measuring force of personality.
Is a character muscle-bound and insightful? Brilliant and charming? Nimble and hardy? Ability scores define these qualities-a creature’s assets as well as weaknesses.
The three main rolls of the game-the ability check, the saving throw, and the attack roll-rely on the six ability scores. The book’s introduction describes the basic rule behind these rolls: roll a d20, add an ability modifier derived from one of the six ability scores, and compare the total to a target number.
D&D Ability Score Descriptions
Strength
Strength Description Table
Attribute Score
Attribute Description
1 (–5)
Morbidly weak, has significant trouble lifting own limbs
2-3 (–4)
Needs help to stand, can be knocked over by strong breezes
4-5 (–3)
Visibly weak. Might be knocked off balance by swinging something dense
6-7 (–2)
Difficulty pushing an object of their weight
8-9 (–1)
Has trouble lifting heavy objects for a longer time
10-11 (0)
Lifts heavy objects for a short time. Can perform simple physical labor for a few hours without break
12-13 (1)
Carries heavy objects and throws small objects for medium distances. Can perform physical labor for half a day without break
14-15 (2)
Visibly toned. Carries heavy objects with one arm for longer distances. Doesn’t get too exhausted by physical labor
16-17 (3)
Muscular. Can break objects like wood with bare hands and raw strength. Can perform heavy physical labor for several hours without break
18-19 (4)
Heavily muscular. Able to out-wrestle a work animal or catch a falling person. Performs the work of multiple people in physical labor
20 (5)
Pinnacle of brawn, able to out-lift several people in combined effort.
Dexterity
Dexterity Description Table
Attribute Score
Attribute Description
1 (–5)
Barely mobile, probably significantly paralyzed
2-3 (–4)
Incapable of moving without noticeable effort or pain
4-5 (–3)
Visible paralysis or physical difficulty
6-7 (–2)
Significant klutz or very slow to react
8-9 (–1)
Somewhat slow, occasionally trips over own feet
10-11 (0)
Capable of usually catching a small, tossed object
12-13 (1)
Able to often hit large targets.
14-15 (2)
Able to often hit small targets. Can catch or dodge a medium-speed surprise projectile
16-17 (3)
Light on feet, able to often hit small moving targets
18-19 (4)
Graceful, able to flow from one action into another easily. Capable of dodging a small number of thrown objects
20 (5)
Moves like water, reacting to all situations with almost no effort. Capable of dodging many thrown objects
Constitution
Constitution Description Table
Attribute Score
Attribute Description
1 (–5)
Minimal immune system, body reacts violently to anything foreign
2-3 (–4)
Frail, suffers frequent broken bones
4-5 (–3)
Bruises very easily, knocked out by a light punch
6-7 (–2)
Unusually prone to disease and infection
8-9 (–1)
Easily winded, incapable of a full day’s hard labor
10-11 (0)
Occasionally contracts mild sicknesses
12-13 (1)
Can take a few hits before being knocked unconscious
14-15 (2)
Easily shrugs off most illnesses. Able to labor for twelve hours most days
16-17 (3)
Able to stay awake for days on end
18-19 (4)
Very difficult to wear down, almost never feels fatigue
20 (5)
Tireless paragon of physical endurance. Almost never gets sick, even to the most virulent diseases
Intelligence
Intelligence Description Table
Attribute Score
Attribute Description
1 (–5)
Animalistic, no longer capable of logic or reason. Behavior is reduced to simple reactions to immediate stimuli
2-3 (–4)
Rather animalistic. Acts on instinct but can still resort to simple planning and tactics
4-5 (–3)
Very limited speech and knowledge. Often resorts to charades to express thoughts
6-7 (–2)
Has trouble following trains of thought, forgets most unimportant things
8-9 (–1)
Misuses and mispronounces words. May be forgetful
10-11 (0)
Knows what they need to know to get by
12-13 (1)
Knows a bit more than is necessary, logical
14-15 (2)
Fairly intelligent, able to understand new tasks quickly. Able to do math or solve logic puzzles mentally with reasonable accuracy
16-17 (3)
Very intelligent, may invent new processes or uses for knowledge
18-19 (4)
Highly knowledgeable, probably the smartest person many people know
20 (5)
Famous as a sage and genius. Able to make Holmesian leaps of logic
Wisdom
Wisdom Description Table
Attribute Score
Attribute Description
1 (–5)
Seemingly incapable of thought, barely aware
2-3 (–4)
Rarely notices important or prominent items, people, or occurrences
4-5 (–3)
Seemingly incapable of forethought
6-7 (–2)
Often fails to exert common sense
8-9 (–1)
Forgets or opts not to consider options before acting
10-11 (0)
Makes reasoned decisions most of the time
12-13 (1)
Able to tell when a person is upset
14-15 (2)
Reads people and situations well. Can get hunches about a situation that doesn’t feel right
16-17 (3)
Often used as a source of wisdom or decider of actions
18-19 (4)
Reads people and situations very well, almost unconsciously
20 (5)
Nearly prescient, able to reason far beyond logic
Charisma
Charisma Description Table
Attribute Score
Attribute Description
1 (–5)
Barely conscious, probably acts very alien. May have a presence which repels other people.
2-3 (–4)
Minimal independent thought, relies heavily on others to think instead
4-5 (–3)
Has trouble thinking of others as people and how to interact with them
6-7 (–2)
Terribly reticent, uninteresting, or rude
8-9 (–1)
Something of a bore, makes people mildly uncomfortable or simply clumsy in conversation
10-11 (0)
Capable of polite conversation
12-13 (1)
Mildly interesting. Knows what to say to the right people
14-15 (2)
Often popular or infamous. Knows what to say to most people and is very confident in debate
16-17 (3)
Quickly likeable, respected or feared by many people. May be very eloquent. Good at getting their will when talking to people
18-19 (4)
Quickly likeable, respected or feared by almost everybody. Can entertain people easily or knows how to effectively convince them of their own beliefs and arguments
20 (5)
Renowned for wit, personality, and/or looks. May be a natural born leader
This chapter focuses on how to use ability checks and saving throws, covering the fundamental activities that creatures attempt in the game. Rules for attack rolls appear in chapter 9 of the Player’s Handbook.
Advantage and Disadvantage
Sometimes a special ability or spell tells you that you have advantage or disadvantage on an ability check, a saving throw, or an attack roll. When that happens, you roll a second d20 when you make the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage and use the lower roll if you have disadvantage.
For example:
If you have disadvantage and roll a 17 and a 5, you use the 5. If you instead have advantage and roll those numbers, you use the 17.
If multiple situations affect a roll and each one grants advantage or imposes disadvantage on it, you don’t roll more than one additional d20. If two favorable situations grant advantage, for example, you still roll only one additional d20.
If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, nor you roll one d20. This is true even if multi pie circumstances impose disadvantage and only one grants advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you have neither advantage nor disadvantage.
When you have advantage or disadvantage and something in the game, such as the halfling’s Lucky trait, lets you reroll the d20, you can reroll only one of the dice. Vou choose which one.
For example:
If a halfling has advantage on an ability check and rolls a 1 and a 13, the halfling could use the Lucky trait to reroll the 1.
You usually gain advantage or disadvantage using special abilities, actions, or spells. Inspiration (see chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook) can also give a character advantage on checks related to the character’s personality, ideals, or bonds. The DM can also decide that circumstances influence a roll in one direction or the other and grant advantage or impose disadvantage as a result.
Proficiency Bonus
Characters have a proficiency bonus determined by level, as detailed in chapter 1 of the Player’s Handbook. Monsters also have this bonus, which is incorporated in their stat blocks. The bonus is used in the rules on ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls.
Your proficiency bonus can’t be added to a single die roll or other number more than once.
For example:
If two different rules say you can add your proficiency bonus to a Wisdom saving throw, you nevertheless add the bonus only once when you make the save.
Occasionally, your proficiency bonus might be multiplied or divided (doubled or halved, for example) before you apply it. For example, the rogue’s Expertise feature doubles the proficiency bonus for certain ability checks. If a circumstance suggests that your proficiency bonus applies more than once to the same roll, you still add it only once and multiply or divide it only once.
By the same token, if a feature or effect allows you to multiply your proficiency bonus when making an ability check that wouldn’t normally benefit from your proficiency bonus, you still don’t add the bonus to the check. For that check your proficiency bonus is 0, given the fact that multiplying 0 by any number is still 0. For instance, if you lack proficiency in the History skill, you gain no benefit from a feature that lets you double your proficiency bonus when you make Intelligence (History) checks.
In general, you don’t multiply your proficiency bonus for attack rolls or saving throws. If a feature or effect allows you to do so, these same rules apply.
Ability Checks
An ability check tests a character’s or monster’s innate talent and training to overcome a challenge. The DM calls for an ability check when a character or monster attempts an action (other than an attack) that has a chance of failure. When the outcome is uncertain, the dice determine the results.
For every ability check, the DM decides which of the six abilities is relevant to the task at hand and the difficulty of the task, represented by a Difficulty Class. The more difficult a task, the higher its DC. The Typical Difficulty Classes table shows the most common DCs.
Typical Difficulty Class Table
Task Difficulty
DC
Very Easy
5
Easy
10
Medium
15
Hard
20
Very Hard
25
Nearly Impossible
30
To make an ability check, roll a d20 and add the relevant ability modifier. As with other d20 rolls, apply bonuses and penalties, and compare the total to the De. If the total equals or exceeds the DC, the ability check is a success – the creature overcomes the challenge at hand. Otherwise, it’s a failure, which means the character or monster makes no progress toward the objective or makes progress combined with a setback determined by the DM.
Contests
Sometimes one character’s or monster’s efforts are directly opposed to another’s. This can occur when both are trying to do the same thing and only one can succeed, such as attempting to snatch up a magic ring that has fallen on the floor. This situation also applies when one of them is trying to prevent the other one from accomplishing a goal-for example, when a monster tries to force open a door that an adventurer is holding dosed. In situations like these, the outcome is determined by a special form of ability check, called a contest.
Both participants in a contest make ability checks appropriate to their efforts. They apply all appropriate bonuses and penalties, but instead of comparing the total to a DC, they compare the totals of their two checks. The participant with the higher check total wins the contest. That character or monster either succeeds at the action or prevents the other one from succeeding.
If the contest results in a tie, the situation remains the same as it was before the contest. Thus, one contestant might win the contest by default. If two characters tie in a contest to snatch a ring off the floor, neither character grabs it. In a contest between a monster trying to open a door and an adventurer trying to keep the door dosed, a tie means that the door remains shut.
Skills
Each ability covers a broad range of capabilities, including skills that a character or a monster can be proficient in. A skill represents a specific aspect of an ability score, and an individual’s proficiency in a skill demonstrates a focus on that aspect. (A character’s starting skill proficiencies are determined at character creation, and a monster’s skill proficiencies appear in the monster’s stat block.)
For example:
A Dexterity check might reflect a character’s attempt to pull off an acrobatic stunt, to palm an object, or to stay hidden. Each of these aspects of Dexterity has an associated skill: Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth, respectively. So, a character who has proficiency in the Stealth skill is particularly good at Dexterity checks related to sneaking and hiding.
Skills and Attributes
The skills related to each ability score are shown in the following list. (No skills are related to Constitution.) See an ability’s description in the later sections of this chapter for examples of how to use a skill associated with an ability.
There are also many different tools and kits that also use different attributes for their proficiency. In some cases, there is a choice for which attribute might be used for a tool or kit.
Sometimes, the DM might ask for an ability check using a specific skill – for example, “Make a Wisdom (Perception) check.” At other times, a player might ask the DM if proficiency in a particular skill applies to a check. In either case, proficiency in a skill means an individual can add his or her proficiency bonus to ability checks that involve that skill. Without proficiency in the skill, the individual makes a normal ability check.
For example:
If a character attempts to climb up a dangerous cliff, the Dungeon Master might ask for a Strength (Athletics) check. If the character is proficient in Athletics; the character’s proficiency bonus is added to the Strength check. If the character lacks that proficiency, he, or she just makes a Strength check.
Passive Checks
A passive check is a special kind of ability check that doesn’t involve any die rolls. Such a check can represent the average result for a task done repeatedly, such as searching for secret doors repeatedly. or can be used when the DM wants lo secretly determine whether the characters succeed at something without rolling dice, such as noticing a hidden monster.
Here’s how to determine a character’s total for a passive check:
10 + all modifiers that normally apply to the check.
If the character has advantage on the check, add 5. For disadvantage, subtract 5. The game refers to a passive check total as a score.
For example:
If a 1st-levei character has a Wisdom of 15 and proficiency in Perception. he or she has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 14.
The rules on hiding in the “Dexterity” section below rely on passive checks, as do the exploration rules in chapter 8 in the Player’s Handbook.
Working Together
Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The character who’s leading the effort – or the one with the highest ability modifier-can make an ability check with advantage, reflecting the help provided by the other characters. In combat, this requires the Help action (see chapter 9 in the Player’s Handbook).
A character can only provide help if the task is one that he or she could attempt alone. For example,, trying to open a lock requires proficiency with Thieves’ Tools, so a character who lacks that proficiency can’t help another character in that task. Moreover, a character can help only when two or more individuals working together would be productive. Some tasks, such as threading a needle. are no easier with help.
Group Checks
When several individuals are trying to accomplish something as a group, the DM might ask for a group ability check. In such a situation, the characters who are skilled in a particular task help cover those who aren’t.
To make a group ability check. everyone in the group makes the ability check. If at least half the group succeeds, the whole group succeeds. Otherwise, the group fails. Group checks don’t come up very often. and they’re most useful when all the characters succeed or fail as a group.
For example:
When adventurers are navigating a swamp, the DM might call for a group Wisdom (Survival) check to see if the characters can avoid the quicksand, sinkholes, and other natural hazards of the environment. If at least half the group succeeds, the successful characters can guide their companions out of danger. Otherwise, the group stumbles into one of these hazards.
Hiding
When you try to hide, make a Dexterity (Stealth) check. Until you are discovered, or you stop hiding, that check’s total is contested by the Wisdom (Perception) check of any creature that actively searches for signs of your presence.
You can’t hide from a creature that can see you. and if you make noise (such as shouting a warning or knocking over a vase), you give away your position. An invisible creature can’t be seen, 50 it can always try to hide. Signs of its passage might still be noticed, however, and it still must stay quiet.
In combat, most creatures stay alert for signs of danger, so if you come out of hiding and approach a creature, it usually sees you. However, under certain circumstances, the Dungeon Master might allow you to stay hidden as you approach a creature that is distracted, allowing you to gain advantage on an attack before you are seen.
Passive Perception. When you hide, there’s a chance someone will notice you even if they aren’t searching. To determine whether such a creature notices you, the DM compares your Dexterity (Stealth) check with that creature’s passive Wisdom (Perception) score, which equals 10 + the creature’s Wisdom modifier, as well as any other bonuses or penalties. If the creature has advantage, add 5. For disadvantage, subtract 5.
For example:
If a 1st level character (with a proficiency bonus of +2) has a Wisdom of 15 (a +2 modifier) and proficiency in Perception, he or she has a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 14.
What Can You See? One of the main factors in determining whether you can find a hidden creature or object is how well you can see in an area, which might be lightly or heavily obscured, as explained in chapter 8 in the Player’s Handbook.