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If a specific rule contradicts a general rule, the specific rule wins.
Whenever a number is divided, round down.
When a character has either, roll a second d20. Advantage: use the higher roll. Disadvantage: use the lower roll. Multiple circumstances of either do not add multiple d20s. If single or some combination of multiple circumstances cause both, then the character has neither.
The DM can give a player inspiration, usually for good roleplaying. A player either has inspiration or doesn’t (no multiple "inspirations.") Expending inspiration gives a player advantage on an attack roll, a saving throw, or an ability check. Players can also transfer their inspiration to another player, usually for good roleplaying.
Ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws are the three main kinds of d20 rolls.
- Roll the die and add a modifier.
- Apply circumstantial bonuses and penalties.
- If the total equals or exceeds the target number it is a success. The target number for an ability check or a saving throw is called a Difficulty Class (DC). The target number for an attack roll is called an Armor Class (AC).
| Task Difficulty | DC |
|---|---|
| Very easy | 5 |
| Easy | 10 |
| Medium | 15 |
| Hard | 20 |
| Very hard | 25 |
| Nearly impossible | 30 |
| Light Armor | Armor Class (AC) | Strength Required | Stealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padded | 11 + Dexterity modifier | - | Disadvantage |
| Leather | 11 + Dexterity modifier | - | - |
| Studded leather | 12 + Dexterity modifier | - | - |
| Medium Armor | Armor Class (AC) | Strength Required | Stealth |
| hide | 12 + Dexterity modifier (max 2) | - | - |
| Chain shirt | 13 + Dexterity modifier (max 2) | - | - |
| Scale mail | 14 + Dexterity modifier (max 2) | - | Disadvantage |
| Breastplate | 14 + Dexterity modifier (max 2) | - | - |
| Half plate | 15 + Dexterity modifier (max 2) | - | Disadvantage |
| Heavy Armor | Armor Class (AC) | Strength Required | Stealth |
| Ring mail | 14 | - | Disadvantage |
| Chain mail | 16 | 13 | Disadvantage |
| Splint | 17 | 15 | Disadvantage |
| Plate | 18 | 15 | Disadvantage |
| Shield | Armor Class (AC) | Strength Required | Stealth |
| Shield | 2 | - | - |
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- 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 room or other location, 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 tu rn, the round ends. Repeat step 4 until the fighting stops.
The DM determines who might be surprised.
- If neither side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice each other.
- Otherwise, the DM compares the Dexterity (Stealth) checks of anyone hiding with the passive Wisdom (Perception) score of each creature on the opposing side.
Any character or monster that doesn't notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter. A member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren't.
If you're surprised, you can't move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can't take a reaction until that turn ends.
When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity check to determine their place in the initiative order. The DM makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures, so each member of the group acts at the same time.
The DM ranks the combatants in order from the one with the highest Dexterity check total to the one with the lowest. This is the order (called the initiative order) in which they act during each round. The initiative order remains the same from round to round.
If a tie occurs, the DM decides the order among tied DM-controlled creatures, and the players decide the order among their tied characters. The DM can decide the order if the tie is between a monster and a player character. Optionally, the DM can have the tied characters and monsters each roll a d20 to determine the order, highest roll going first.
Don’t forget that initiative rolls are Dexterity checks, so Jack of All Trades can benefit a bard’s initiative, assuming the bard isn’t already adding his or her proficiency bonus to it.
***See more in Appendix E ***
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Passive Dexterity check: 10 + Dexterity modifier.
Players roll a d20 for their initiative as a group. DM also roll a d20. No modifiers. Highest wins initiative. When it's a group's turn, the members act in any order they choose.
After deciding on an action, everyone rolls initiative and applies all modifiers that apply, keeping the result secret. You then announce an initiative number, starting with 30 and working down (it helps to call out ranges of numbers at the start). Break any ties by having the combatant with the highest Dexterity act first. Otherwise, roll to determine who goes first.
| Factor | Initiative Modifier |
|---|---|
| Spellcasting | Subtract the spell's level |
| Melee, heavy weapon | -2 |
| Melee, light or fi nesse weapon | +2 |
| Melee, two·handed weapon | -2 |
| Ranged, loading weapon | -5 |
| Creature Size | Initiative Modifier |
|---|---|
| Tiny | +5 |
| Small | +2 |
| Medium | +O |
| Large | -2 |
| Huge | -5 |
| Gargantuan | -8 |
| (DMG page 270) |
Most effects in the game happen in succession, following an order set by the rules or the DM. In rare cases, effects can happen at the same time, especially at the start or end of a creature's turn. If two or more things happen at the same time on a character or monster's turn, the person at the game table - whether player or DM - who controls that creature decides the order in which those things happen. For example, if two effects occur at the end of a player character's turn, the player decides which of the two effects happens first.
(XGtE pg 77)
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On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed and take one action.
Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action.
You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose which bonus action to use when you have more than one available.
You choose when to take a bonus action during your turn, unless the bonus action's timing is specified, and anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also prevents you from taking a bonus action.
Your turn can include a variety of flourishes that require neither your action nor your move.
You can communicate however you are able, through brief utterances and gestures, as you take your turn. You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action.
If you want to interact with a second object, you need to use your action. Some magic items and other special objects always require an action to use, as stated in their descriptions.
The DM might require you to use an action for any of these activities when it needs special care or when it presents an unusual obstacle. For instance, the DM could reasonably expect you to use an action to open a stuck door or turn a crank to lower a drawbridge.
Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else's.
When you take a reaction, you can't take another one until the start of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts another creature's turn, that creature can continue its turn right after the reaction.
On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed.
You can break up your movement on your turn, using some of your speed before and after your action.
If you take an action that includes more than one weapon attack, you can break up your movement even further by moving between those attacks.
If you have more than one speed, such as your walking speed and a flying speed, you can switch back and forth between your speeds during your move.
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- Draw or sheathe a sword
- Open or close a door
- Withdraw a potion from your pack
- Pick up a dropped weapon
- Take something off a table
- Remove a ring
- Stuff food into your mouth
- Plant a banner
- Pull some coins from your pouch
- Drink all the ale in a flagon
- Throw a lever or switch
- Pull a torch from a sconce
- Take a book off a shelf
- Extinguish a small flame
- 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
Every foot of movement in difficult terrain costs 1 extra foot. This rule is true even if multiple things in a space count as difficult terrain.
Low furniture, rubble, undergrowth, steep stairs, snow, and shallow bogs are examples of difficult terrain. The space of another creature, whether hostile or not, also counts as difficult terrain.
You can drop prone without using any of your speed. Standing up takes more effort; doing so costs an amount of movement equal to half your speed.
To move while prone, you must crawl or use magic such as teleportation. Every foot of movement while crawling costs 1 extra foot. Crawling 1 foot in difficult terrain, therefore, costs 3 feet of movement.
You can move through a nonhostile creature's space.
In contrast, you can move through a hostile creature's space only if the creature is at least two sizes larger or smaller than you. Remember that another creature's space is difficult terrain for you.
Whether a creature is a friend or an enemy, you can't willingly end your move in its space.
If you leave a hostile creature's reach during your move, you provoke an opportunity attack.
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If a flying creature is knocked prone, has its speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise deprived of the ability to move, the creature falls, unless it has the ability to hover or it is being held aloft by magic, such as by the fly spell.
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 | Space |
|---|---|
| Tiny | 21/2 by 21/2 ft. |
| Small | 5 by 5 ft. |
| Medium | 5 by 5 ft. |
| Large | 10 by 10 ft. |
| Huge | 15 by 15 ft. |
| Gargantuan | 20 by 20 ft. or larger |
A creature's space is the area in feet that it effectively controls in combat, not an expression of its physical dimensions.
A creature's space also reflects the area it needs to fight 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 four Large creaturescrowd 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.
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.
When you make a long jump, you cover a number of 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.
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When you make a high jump, you leap into the air a number of 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.
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.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 2 hexes between them. Against a Large creature, the allies flank if there are 4 hexes between them. Against a Huge creature, they must have 5 hexes between them. Against a Gargantuan creature, they must have at least 6 hexes between them.
To precisely determine whether there is line of sight between two spaces, pick a corner of one space and trace an imaginary line from that corner to any part of another space. If at least one such line doesn't pass through or touch an object or effect that blocks vision - such as a stone wall, a thick curtain, or a dense cloud of fog-then there is line of sight.
(DMG page 251)
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When you take your action on your turn, you can take one of the actions presented here, an action you gained from your class or a special feature, or an action that you improvise.
When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure.
The most common action to take in combat is the Attack action, whether you are swinging a sword, firing an arrow from a bow, or brawling with your fists.
With this action, you make one melee or ranged attack. See the "Making an Attack" section for the rules that govern attacks.
Certain features, such as the Extra Attack feature of the fighter, allow you to make more than one attack with this action.
Spellcasters such as wizards and clerics, as well as many monsters, have access to spells and can use them to great effect in combat. Each spell has a casting time, which specifies whether the caster must use an action, a reaction, minutes, or even hours to cast the spell. Casting a spell is, therefore, not necessarily an action. Most spells do have a casting time of 1 action, so a spellcaster often uses his or her action in combat to cast such a spell. See chapter 10 for the rules on spellcasting.
When you take the Dash action, you gain extra movement for the current turn. The increase equals your speed, after applying any modifiers. With a speed of 30 feet, for example, you can move up to 60 feet on your turn if you dash.
Any increase or decrease to your speed changes this additional movement by the same amount. If your speed of 30 feet is reduced to 15 feet, for instance, you can move up to 30 feet this turn if you dash.
If you take the Disengage action, your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn.
When you take the Dodge action, you focus entirely on avoiding attacks. Until the start of your next turn, any attack roll made against you has disadvantage if you can see the attacker, and you make Dexterity saving throws with advantage. You lose this benefit if you are incapacitated (as explained in appendix A) or if your speed drops to 0.
You can lend your aid to another creature in the completion of a task. When you take the Help action, the creature you aid gains advantage on the next ability check it makes to perform the task you are helping with, provided that it makes the check before the start of your next turn.
Alternatively, you can aid a friendly creature in attacking a creature within 5 feet of you. You feint, distract the target, or in some other way team up to make your ally's attack more effective. If your ally attacks the target before your next turn, the first attack roll is made with advantage.
A creature can use a weapon attack to knock a weapon or another item from a target's grasp. The attacker makes an attack roll contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) check or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. If the attacker wins the contest, the attack causes no damage or other ill effect, but the defender drops the item.
The attacker has disadvantage on its attack roll if the target is holding the item with two or more hands. The target has advantage on its ability check if it is larger than the attacking creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller.When a creature tries to move through a hostile creature's space, the mover can try to force its way through by overrunning the hostile creature. As an action or a bonus action, the mover makes a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the hostile creature's Strength (Athletics) check. The creature attempting the overrun has advantage on this check if it is larger than the hostile creature, or disadvantage if it is smaller. If the mover wins the contest, it can move through the hostile creature's space once this turn.
With this option, a creature uses the special shove attack from the Player's Handbook to force a target to the side, rather than away. The attacker has disadvantage on its Strength (Athletics) check when it does so. If that check is successful, the attacker moves the target 5 feet to a different space within its reach.
A creature can try to tumble through a hostile creature's space. As an action or a bonus action, the tumbler makes a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by the hostile creature's Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.
(DMG pg 271)
When you take the Hide action, you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check in an attempt to hide, following the rules in chapter 7 for hiding. If you succeed, you gain certain benefits, as described in the "Unseen Attackers and Targets" section later in this chapter.
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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, which lets you act using your reaction before the start of your next turn.
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.
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 1 action, and holding onto the spell's magic requires concentration (explained in chapter 10). 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.
When you take the Search action, you devote your attention to finding something. Depending on the nature of your search, the DM might have you make a Wisdom (Perception) check or an Intelligence (Investigation) check.
You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of an attack. When an object requires your action for its use, you take the Use an Object action. This action is also useful when you want to interact with more than one object on your turn.
Whether you're striking with a melee weapon, firing a weapon at range, or making an attack roll as part of a spell, an attack has a simple structure.
- Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack's range: a creature, an object, or a location.
- Determine modifiers. The DM determines whether the target has cover and whether you have advantage or disadvantage against the target. In addition, spells, special abilities, and other effects can apply penalties or bonuses to your attack roll.
- Resolve the attack. You make the attack roll. On a hit, you roll damage, unless the particular attack has rules that specify otherwise. Some attacks cause special effects in addition to or instead of damage.
If there's ever any question whether something you're doing counts as an attack, the rule is simple: if you're making an attack roll, you're making an attack.
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When you make an attack, your attack roll determines whether the attack hits or misses. To make an attack roll, roll a d20 and add the appropriate modifiers. If the total of the roll plus modifiers equals or exceeds the target's Armor Class (AC), the attack hits. The AC of a character is determined at character creation, whereas the AC of a monster is in its stat block.
When a character makes an attack roll, the two most common modifiers to the roll are an ability modifier and the character's proficiency bonus. When a monster makes an attack roll, it uses whatever modifier is provided in its stat block.
Ability Modifier. The ability modifier used for a melee weapon attack is Strength, and the ability modifier used for a ranged weapon attack is Dexterity. Weapons that have the finesse or thrown property break this rule.
Some spells also require an attack roll. The ability modifier used for a spell attack depends on the spellcasting ability of the spellcaster.
Proficiency Bonus. You add your proficiency bonus to your attack roll when you attack using a weapon with which you have proficiency, as well as when you attack with a spell.
If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, the attack hits regardless of any modifiers or the target's AC. This is called a critical hit, which is explained later in this chapter.
If the d20 roll for an attack is a 1, the attack misses regardless of any modifiers or the target's AC.
When you attack a target that you can't see, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether you're guessing the target's location or you're targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn't in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the DM typically just says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed the target's location correctly.
When a creature can't see you, you have advantage on attack rolls against it. If you are hidden-both unseen and unheard-when you make an attack, you give away your location when the attack hits or misses.
When you make a ranged attack, you fire a bow or a crossbow, hurl a handaxe, or otherwise send projectiles to strike a foe at a distance. A monster might shoot spines from its tail. Many spells also involve making a ranged attack.
You can make ranged attacks only against targets within a specified range.
If a ranged attack, such as one made with a spell, has a single range, you can't attack a target beyond this range.
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Some ranged attacks, such as those made with a longbow or a shortbow, have two ranges. The smaller number is the normal range, and the larger number is the long range. Your attack roll has disadvantage when your target is beyond normal range, and you can't attack a target beyond the long range.
Aiming a ranged attack is more difficult when a foe is next to you. When you make a ranged attack with a weapon, a spell, or some other means, you have disadvantage on the attack roll if you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature who can see you and who isn't incapacitated.
Used in hand-to-hand combat, a melee attack allows you to attack a foe within your reach. A melee attack typically uses a handheld weapon such as a sword, a warhammer, or an axe. A typical monster makes a melee attack when it strikes with its claws, horns, teeth, tentacles, or other body part. A few spells also involve making a melee attack.
Most creatures have a 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feet of them when making a melee attack. Certain creatures (typically those larger than Medium) have melee attacks with a greater reach than 5 feet, as noted in their descriptions.
Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (none of which count as weapons). On a hit, an unarmed strike deals bludgeoning damage equal to 1 + your Strength modifier. You are proficient with your unarmed strikes.
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.
Battle often involves pitting your prowess against that of your foe. Such a challenge is represented by a contest. Th is section includes the most common contests that require an action in combat: grappling and shoving a creature. The DM can use these contests as models for improvising others.
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When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.
If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.
When you want to grab a creature or wrestle with it, you can use the Attack action to make a special melee attack, a grapple. If you're able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them.
The target of your grapple must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. Using at least one free hand, you try to seize the target by making a grapple check instead of an attack roll: a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). You succeed automatically if the target is incapacitated. If you succeed, you subject the target to the grappled condition (see appendix A). The condition specifies the things that end it, and you can release the target whenever you like (no action required).
Escaping a Grapple. A grappled creature can use its action to escape. To do so, it must succeed on a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by your Strength (Athletics) check.
Moving a Grappled Creature. When you move, you can drag or carry the grappled creature with you, but your speed is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than you.
Using the Attack action, you can make a special melee attack to shove a creature, either to knock it prone or push it away from you. If you're able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them.
The target must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. Instead of making an attack roll, you make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). You succeed automatically if the target is incapacitated. If you succeed, you either knock the target prone or push it 5 feet away from you.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
When a ranged attack misses a target that has cover, you can use this optional rule to determine whether the cover was struck by the attack.
First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without the cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike the target if there had been no cover, the object used for cover is struck. If a creature is providing cover for the missed creature and the attack roll exceeds the AC of the covering creature, the covering creature is hit.
(DMG pg 272)
Injury and the risk of death are constant companions of those who explore the worlds of D&D. The thrust of a sword, a well-placed arrow, or a blast of flame from a fireball spell all have the potential to damage, or even kill, the hardiest of creatures.
Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck. Creatures with more hit points are more difficult to kill. Those with fewer hit points are more fragile.
A creature's current hit points (usually just called hit points) can be any number from the creature's hit point maximum down to 0. This number changes frequently as a creature takes damage or receives healing.
Whenever a creature takes damage, that damage is subtracted from its hit points. The loss of hit points has no effect on a creature's capabilities until the creature drops to 0 hit points.
Each weapon, spell, and harmful monster ability specifies the damage it deals. You roll the damage die or dice, add any modifiers, and apply the damage to your target. Magic weapons, special abilities, and other factors can grant a bonus to damage. With a penalty, it is possible to deal 0 damage, but never negative damage.
When attacking with a weapon, you add your ability modifier - the same modifier used for the attack roll - to the damage. A spell tells you which dice to roll for damage and whether to add any modifiers.
If a spell or other effect deals damage to more than one target at the same time, roll the damage once for all of them. For example, when a wizard casts fireball or a cleric casts flame strike, the spell's damage is rolled once for all creatures caught in the blast.
When you score a critical hit, you get to roll extra dice for the attack's damage against the target. Roll all of the attack's damage dice twice and add them together. Then add any relevant modifiers as normal. To speed up play, you can roll all the damage dice at once.
For example, if you score a critical hit with a dagger, roll 2d4 for the damage, rather than ld4, and then add your relevant ability modifier. If the attack involves other damage dice, such as from the rogue's Sneak Attack feature, you roll those dice twice as well.
Different attacks, damaging spells, and other harmful effects deal different types of damage. Damage types · have no rules of their own, but other rules, such as damage resistance, rely on the types.
The damage types follow, with examples to help a DM assign a damage type to a new effect.
Acid. The corrosive spray of a black dragon's breath and the dissolving enzymes secreted by a black pudding deal acid damage.
Bludgeoning. Blunt force attacks-hammers, falling, constriction, and the like-deal bludgeoning damage. Cold. The infernal chill radiating from an ice devil's spear and the frigid blast of a white dragon's breath deal cold damage.
Fire. Red dragons breathe fire, and many spells conjure flames to deal fire damage.
Force. Force is pure magical energy focused into a damaging form. Most effects that deal force damage are spells, including magic missile and spiritual weapon. Lightning. A lightning bolt spell and a blue dragon's breath deal lightning damage.
Necrotic. Necrotic damage, dealt by certain undead and a spell such as chill touch, withers matter and even the soul.
Piercing. Puncturing and impaling attacks, including spears and monsters' bites, deal piercing damage. Poison. Venomous stings and the toxic gas of a green dragon's breath deal poison damage.
Psychic. Mental abilities such as a mind flayer's psionic blast deal psychic damage.
Radiant. Radiant damage, dealt by a cleric's flame strike spell or an angel's smiting weapon, sears the flesh like fire and overloads the spirit with power.
Slashing. Swords, axes, and monsters' claws deal slashing damage.
Thunder. A concussive burst of sound, such as the effect of the thunderwave spell, deals thunder damage.
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| Substance | AC | Substance | AC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloth, paper, rope | 11 | Iron, steel | 19 | |
| Crystal, glass, ice | 13 | Mithral | 21 | |
| Wood, bone | 15 | Adamantine | 23 | |
| Stone | 17 |
Hit Points. An object's hit points measure how much damage it can take before losing its structural integrity. Resilient objects have more hit points than fragile ones. Large objects also tend to have more hit points than small ones, unless breaking a small part of the object is just as effective as breaking the whole thing. The Object Hit Points table provides suggested hit points for fragile and resilient objects that are Large or smaller.
| Size | Fragile | Resilient |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny (bottle, lock) | 2 (1d4) | 5 (2d4) |
| Small (chest, lute) | 3 (1d6) | 10 (3d6) |
| Medium (barrel, chandelier) | 4 (1d8) | 18 (4d8) |
| Large (cart, 1 0-ft.-by-10-ft. window) | 5 (1dl0) | 27 (5d10) |
| (DMG pg 246) |
Some creatures and objects are exceedingly difficult or unusually easy to hurt with certain types of damage.
If a creature or an object has resistance to a damage type, damage of that type is halved against it. If a creature or an object has vulnerability to a damage type, damage of that type is doubled against it.
Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after all other modifiers to damage. For example, a creature has resistance to bludgeoning damage and is hit by an attack that deals 25 bludgeoning damage. The creature is also within a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. The 25 damage is first reduced by 5 and then halved, so the creature takes 10 damage.
Multiple instances of resistance or vulnerability that affect the same damage type count as only one instance. For example, if a creature has resistance to fire damage as well as resistance to all nonmagical damage, the damage of a nonmagical fire is reduced by half against the creature, not reduced by three-quarters.
Unless it results in death, damage isn't permanent. Even death is reversible through powerful magic. Rest can restore a creature's hit points (as explained in chapter 8), and magical methods such as a cure wounds spell or a potion of healing can remove damage in an instant.
When a creature receives healing of any kind, hit points regained are added to its current hit points. A creature's hit points can't exceed its hit point maximum, so any hit points regained in excess of this number are lost. For example, a druid grants a ranger 8 hit points of healing. If the ranger has 14 current hit points and has a hit point maximum of 20, the ranger regains 6 hit points from the druid, not 8.
A creature that has died can't regain hit points until magic such as the revivify spell has restored it to life.
When you drop to 0 hit points, you either die outright or fall unconscious, as explained in the following sections.
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.
Whenever you start your turn 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.
If damage reduces you to 0 hit points and fails to kill you, you fall unconscious (see appendix A). This unconsciousness ends if you regain any hit points.
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.
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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 1 hit point after ld4 hours.
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.
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.
Some spells and special abilities confer temporary hit points to a creature. Temporary hit points aren't actual hit points; they are a buffer against damage, a pool of hit points that protect you from injury.
When you have temporary hit points and take damage, the temporary hit points are lost first, and any leftover damage carries over to your normal hit points. For example, if you have 5 temporary hit points and take 7 damage, you lose the temporary hit points and then take 2 damage.
Because temporary hit points are separate from your actual hit points, they can exceed your hit point maximum. A character can, therefore, be at full hit points and receive temporary hit points.
Healing can't restore temporary hit points, and they can't be added together. If you have temporary hit points and receive more of them, you decide whether to keep the ones you have or to gain the new ones. For example, if a spell grants you 12 temporary hit points when you already have 10, you can have 12 or 10, not 22.
If you have 0 hit points, receiving temporary hit points doesn't restore you to consciousness or stabilize you. They can still absorb damage directed at you while you're in that state, but only true healing can save you.
Unless a feature that grants you temporary hit points has a duration, they last until they're depleted or you finish a long rest.
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A creature might sustain a lingering injury under the following circumstances:
- When it takes a critical hit
- When it drops to 0 hit points but isn't killed outright
- When it fails a death saving throw by 5 or more
To determine the nature of the injury, roll on the Lingering Injuries table. This table assumes a typical humanoid physiology, but you can adapt the results for creatures with different body types.
(DMG pg 272)
| d20 | Injury |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lose an Eye. You have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight and on ranged attack rolls. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost eye. If you have no eyes left after sustaining this injury, you're blinded. |
| 2 | Lose an Arm or a Hand. You can no longer hold anything with two hands, and you can hold only a single object at a time. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage. |
| 3 | Lose a Foot or Leg. Your speed on foot is halved, and you must use a cane or crutch to move unless you have a peg leg or other prosthesis. You fall prone after using the Dash action. You have disadvantage on Dexterity checks made to balance. Magic such as the regenerate spell can restore the lost appendage |
| 4 | Limp. Your speed on foot is reduced by 5 feet. You must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw after using the Dash action. If you fail the save, you fall prone. Magical healing removes the limp. |
| 5-7 | Internal Injury. Whenever you attempt an action in combat, you must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, you lose your action and can't use reactions until the start of your next turn. The injury heals if you receive magical healing or if you spend ten days doing nothing but resting. |
| 8-10 | Broken Ribs. This has the same effect as Internal Injury above, except that the save DC is 10. |
| 11-13 | Horrible Scar. You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can't be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar. |
| 14-16 | Festering Wound. Your hit point maximum is reduced by 1 every 24 hours the wound persists. If your hit point maximum drops to 0, you die. The wound heals if you receive magical healing. Alternatively, someone can tend to the wound and make a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check once every 24 hours. After ten successes, the wound heals. |
| 17-20 | Minor Scar. The scar doesn't have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar. |
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This optional rule makes it easier for a creature to be felled by massive damage.
When a creature takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock table. For example, a creature that has a hit point maximum of 30 must make that Constitution save if it takes 15 damage or more from a single source.
| d10 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | The creature drops to 0 hit points. |
| 2-3 | The creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable. |
| 4-5 | The creature is stunned until the end of its next turn. |
| 6-7 | The creature can't take reactions and has disadvantageon attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn. |
| 8-10 | The creature can't take reactions until the end of its next turn. |
(DMG pg 273)
A knight charging into battle on a warhorse, a wizard casting spells from the back of a griffon, or a cleric soaring through the sky on a pegasus all enjoy the benefits of speed and mobility that a mount can provide.
A willing creature that is at least one size larger than you and that has an appropriate anatomy can serve as a mount, using the following rules.
Once during your move, you can mount a creature that is within 5 feet of you or dismount. Doing so costs an amount of movement equal to half your speed. For example, if your speed is 30 feet, you must spend 15 feet of movement to mount a horse. Therefore, you can't mount it if you don't have 15 feet of movement left or if your speed is 0.
If an effect moves your mount against its will while you're on it, you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall off the mount, landing prone in a space within 5 feet of it. If you're knocked prone while mounted, you must make the same saving throw.
If your mount is knocked prone, you can use your reaction to dismount it as it falls and land on your feet. Otherwise, you are dismounted and fall prone in a space within 5 feet it.
While you're mounted, you have two options. You can either control the mount or allow it to act independently. Intelligent creatures, such as dragons, act independently.
You can control a mount only if it has been trained to accept a rider. Domesticated horses, donkeys, and similar creatures are assumed to have such training. The initiative of a controlled mount changes to match yours when you mount it. It moves as you direct it, and it has only three action options: Dash, Disengage, and Dodge. A controlled mount can move and act even on the turn that you mount it.
An independent mount retains its place in the initiative order. Bearing a rider puts no restrictions on the actions the mount can take, and it moves and acts as it wishes. It might flee from combat, rush to attack and devour a badly injured foe, or otherwise act against your wishes.
In either case, if the mount provokes an opportunity attack while you're on it, the attacker can target you or the mount.
When adventurers pursue sahuagin back to their undersea homes, fight off sharks in an ancient shipwreck, or find themselves in a flooded dungeon room, they must fight in a challenging environment. Underwater the following rules apply.
When making a melee weapon attack, a creature that doesn't have a swimming speed (either natural or granted by magic) has disadvantage on the attack roll unless the weapon is a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident.
A ranged weapon attack automatically misses a target beyond the weapon's normal range. Even against a target within normal range, the attack roll has disadvantage unless the weapon is a crossbow, a net, or a weapon that is thrown like a javelin (including a spear, trident, or dart).
Creatures and objects that are fully immersed in water have resistance to fire damage.
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Conditions alter a creature's capabilities in a variety of ways and can arise as a result of a spell, a class feature, a monster's attack, or other effect. Most conditions, such as blinded, are impairments, but a few, such as invisible, can be advantageous.
A condition lasts either until it is countered (the prone condition is countered by standing up, for example) or for a duration specified by the effect that imposed the condition.
If multiple effects impose the same condition on a creature, each instance of the condition has its own duration, but the condition's effects don't get worse. A creature either has a condition or doesn't.
The following definitions specify what happens to a creature while it is subjected to a condition.
- A blinded creature can't see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.
- Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage.
- A charmed creature can't attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful abilities or magical effects.
- The charmer has advantage on any ability check to interact socially with the creature.
- A deafened creature can't hear and automatically fails any ability check that requires hearing.
- A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight.
- The creature can't willingly move closer to the source of its fear.
- A grappled creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
- The condition ends if the grappler is incapacitated (see the condition).
- The condition also ends if an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect, such as when a creature is hurled away by the thunderwave spell.
- An incapacitated creature can't take actions or reactions.
- An invisible creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense. For the purpose of hiding, the creature is heavily obscured. The crea�ture's location can be detected by any noise it makes or any tracks it leaves.
- Attack rolls against the creature have disadvantage, and the creature's attack rolls have advantage.
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Some special abilities and environmental hazards, such as starvation and the long-term effects of freezing or scorching temperatures, can lead to a special condition called exhaustion. Exhaustion is measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of exhaustion, as specified in the effect's description.
Level Effect
- Disadvantage on ability checks
- Speed halved
- Disadvantage on attack rolls and savi ng throws
- H it point maximum halved
- Speed reduced to 0
- Death
If an already exhausted creature suffers another effect that causes exhaustion, its current level of exhaustion increases by the amount specified in the effect's description.
A creature suffers the effect of its current level of exhaus�tion as well as all lower levels. For example, a creature suffering level 2 exhaustion has its speed halved and has disadvantage on ability checks.
An effect that removes exhaustion reduces its level as spec�ified in the effect's description, with all exhaustion effects ending if a creature's exhaustion level is reduced below 1.
Finishing a long rest reduces a creature's exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink. Also, being raised from the dead reduces a crea�ture's exhaustion level by 1.
- A paralyzed creature is incapacitated (see the condi�tion) and can't move or speak.
- The creature automatically fails Strength andDexterity saving throws.
- Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
- Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if theattacker is within 5 feet of the creature.
- A petrified creature is transformed, along with any nonmagical object it is wearing or carrying, into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). Its weight increases by a factor of ten, and it ceases aging.
- The creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
- The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
- The creature has resistance to all damage.
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- The creature is immune to poison and disease, although a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralized.
- A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
- A prone creature's only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition.
- The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls.
- An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage.
- A restrained creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
- Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage.
- The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.
- A stunned creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can't move, and can speak only falteringly.
- The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
- Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
- An unconscious creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings
- The creature drops whatever it's holding and falls prone.
- The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
- Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
- Any attack that hits the creature is a criti�cal hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature.
- At the start of your turn take 1d10 fire damage
- Any creature may take an action to Douse
- A choking creature can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1 round)
- At the start of its next turn it drops to 0 hit points and is dying
- A confused creature can't take reactions and must roll a d6 at the start of each of its turn to determine its behavior for that turn
| 1d4 | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | The creature doesn't move or take actions this turn |
| 3-4 | The creature takes no action, drops anything it's holding, and uses its full movement to move in a random direction |
| 5-6 | The creature uses its full movement to move toward a random creature it can see and uses its action to make one attack on that creature with any weapon in hand, or unarmed, if possible |
- A dazed creature can only take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, and can't take reactions.
- A falling creature takes 1d6 damage for every 10' fallen (max 20d6), and lands prone if any damage was taken.
- A goaded creature has disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other than the creature that goaded it.
- A slowed creature's speed is halved
- A squeezing creature spends 1 extra foot of movment for every 1 foot traveled
- The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws
- Attack rolls on the creature have advantge
- A suffocating creature can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to its 1+ its Constitution modifier (minimum 30 seconds) until it begins choking
- A surprised creature cannot move and cannot take actions or reactions until after the end of their first turn in combat
- A turned creature cannot take reactions
- The creature can’t willingly move within 30' of the source the turning
- The creature must use its movement to get as far away from the source of turning as possible
- A turned creature can only use its action to dash, escape if it cannot dash, or dodge if it cannot escape
- A weakened creature deals only half damage with weapon attacks
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- You may may make one melee or ranged attack.
- Certain features, such as Extra Attack, allow you to make more than one attack with this action.
- Within an Attack action, you may substitute any number of your attacks with Special Attacks
- You may cast a spell with a casting time of one action
- You gain extra movement for the current turn equal to your speed, after applying any modifiers
- Your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn
- Until the start of your next turn, any attack roll made against you has disadvantage if you can see the attacker, and you make Dexterity saving throws with advantage
- You lose this benefit if you are incapacitated or your speed drops to 0
- Another creature you aid gains advantage on the next ability check it makes to perform the task you are helping with before the start of your next turn
- Alternatively another creature gains advantage on the next attack roll it makes against a target creature within 5 feet of you before the start of your next turn
- Provided you have full cover or heavy concealment, make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, if you succeed you are Hidden
- Choose a perceivable circumstance that will trigger your Reaction, and choose the action or movement you will take in response to that circumstance
- If you chose a spell it must have a casting time of one action and you must maintain concentration on that spell
- When the trigger occurs you may choose to either take your reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore it
- Make a Wisdom (Perception) or a Intelligence (Investigation) check
- Manipulate multiple objects or a complex object
Various class features, spells, feats, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action. You can take only one bonus action on your turn and only if an ability allows you to do so.
- You may cast a spell with a casting time of one bonus action
- When you take the Attack action and attack with a light (off-hand) melee weapon that you are holding in one hand, you can use your bonus action to attack with a different light (off-hand) melee weapon that you're holding in your other hand.
- You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack unless that modifier is negative.
- If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon instead of making a melee attack
Certain special abilities, spells, feats, and situations allow you to take a special action, called a reaction, in response to a trigger of some kind. When you take a reaction, you can't take another one until the start of your next turn.
- You may use your reaction to make one melee attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach.
- Teleportation, or forced movement that does not use the creature's actions, does not provoke an opportunity attack.
- You may cast a spell with a casting time of one reaction
- If you readied an action, when the trigger occurs you may choose to either take your reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore it
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- Make one melee or ranged attack against a creature, location, or object you can see
- Make an opposed Strength (Athletics) test against the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics), the larger creature has advantage on the check. The target has advantage on the check if the object is being held in two or more hands. If you succeed the target drops the held item
- Make an opposed Strength (Athletics) test against the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics), if you succeed you can escape from a grapple, mount, or pin
- Make an opposed Charisma (Deception) test against the target's Wisdom (Insight), if successful you have advantage on the next attack you make against the target before the end of your next turn
- You must have on hand free and must target a creature no more than one size larger than you. Make an opposed Strength (Athletics) test against the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics), if you succeed the target is grappled by you
- Make an opposed Charisma (Deception) or (Intimidation) test against the target's Wisdom (Insight), if you succeed the target is goaded by you until the end of your next turn
- Make an opposed Charisma (Intimidation) test against the target's Wisdom (Insight), if you succeed the target is frightened of you by you until the end of your next turn
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- You must have on hand free and must target a creature at least two sizes larger than you. Make an opposed Strength (Athletics) test against the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics), if you succeed the target is considered difficult terrain, you move with the target when it moves, and your attacks against it have advantage
- The target must be grappled and prone , make an opposed Strength (Athletics) test against the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics). If you succeed the target is restrained
- Target a creature no more than one size larger than you. Make an opposed Strength (Athletics) test against the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics), if you succeed the target is pushed 5 feed away from you or to the side
- Target a creature no more than one size larger than you. Make an opposed Strength (Athletics) test against the target's Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics), if you succeed the target is knocked prone
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{i} You can break up your movement on your turn, using some of your speed before and after your action. If you take an action that involves more than one attack, you can break up your movement between those attacks.
All circumstances that cost extra movement are cumulative. For example, crawling 1 foot in difficult terrain costs 3 feet of movement.
- Long Jump Jump a distance equal to your Strength score, or half that if you didn't run at least 10' before
- High Jump Jump a distance equal to your 3 + Strength score, or half that if you didn't run at least 10' before
- Overrun* (dmg p. 272) Make an opposed Athletics test to move through an enemy's space. You have advantage if you are the larger creature, disadvantage if smaller
- Tumble* (dmg p. 272) Make an opposed Acrobatics test to move through an enemy's space.
- Walking A creature's normal movement
- Burrow A creature can move through sand, earth, mud, or ice. Cannot move through solid rock unless indicated.
- {i} A creature with Tunneler leaves a tunnel behind it
- Climb A creature climb on verticle surfaces without spending extra movement
- {i} A creature with Spider Climb can climb on difficult surfaces and upside down without needing an ability check
- Fly A creature can move through the air horizontally or vertically
- {i} A creature with Hover will not fall if it becomes prone or its speed becomes 0
- Swim A creature can move through water without spending extra movement
- Climbing costs 1 extra foot of movement for every 1 foot traveled unless the creature has a Climb speed
- Crawling while prone costs 1 extra foot of movement for every 1 foot traveled
- Difficult Terrain while prone costs 1 extra foot of movement for every 1 foot traveled
- While moving with a creature you have Grappled your speed is halved unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than you
- Squeezing through a space one size smaller than you costs 1 extra foot of movement for every 1 foot traveled
- Swimming costs 1 extra foot of movement for every 1 foot traveled unless the creature has a Swim speed
- Occupied spaces are considered difficult terrain.
- You cannot end your turn in an occupied spaces.
- You can move through a nonhostile creature's space.
- You can move through enemy's spaces only if you are two sizes larger or smaller.
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- Terrain Plains are Roads are open terrain, other areas (woods, hills, etc.) are Difficult Terrain and travel speeds are halved
- Forced March Each hour a character travels beyond 8 hours, that character must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 10 + 1 for each extra hours traveled. On a failure the character gains one level of exhaustion
- Mounts A mount can gallop at twice its normal movement speed for up to one hour. Traveling at that speed beyond one hour before a rest is considered a Forced March
- Fast Pace In 1 hour you can move a number of miles equal to 4/3rd your speed divided by 10, but suffer a -5 penalty to your passive perception
- Normal Pace In 1 hour you can move a number of miles equal to your speed divided by 10
- Slow Pace In 1 hour you can move a number of miles equal to 2/3rd your speed divided by 10, and can try to surprise or sneak by other creatures
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Non-Homebrew Way To Add Proficiency to Initiative? The Barbarian gains advantage on initiative checks with Feral InstinctThe Bard adds half their proficiency bonus to initiative with Jack of All Trades The Fighter (Champion) adds half their proficiency bonus to initiative with Remarkable Athlete The Rogue (Swashbuckler) adds their Charisma bonus to initiative The Ranger (Gloom Stalker) adds the Wisdom bonus to initiative The Wizard (War magic) adds the Intelligence bonus to initiative The Enhance Ability spell can give advantage on initiative with the Cat's Grace option The Alert feat gives a +5 bonus to initiative (note that this is as good as or better than proficiency at all levels before 17) The Rod of Alertness gives advantage on initiative checks
The Sentinel Shield gives advantage on initiative checks The Weapon of Warning gives advantage on initiative checks Inspiration can be used to gain advantage on an ability check of your choice. The Guidance cantrip, available to Druids and Clerics (and other classes through Magic Initiate or multi-classing). The cantrip allows adding 1d4 to an ability check of your choice. Bardic Inspiration allows adding 1d6 to an ability check. Halfling's Lucky racial trait allows rerolling 1's on ability checks. The Lucky feat allows you to roll a second d20 whenever you make an ability check; up to 3 times per long rest. Rogue's Reliable Talent turns any d20 roll lower than 10 into a 10 on ability checks that let you add your proficiency bonus. Through multiclassing it's possible to have both Reliable Talent and either Jack of All Trades or Remarkable Athletes, which let you add half your proficiency bonus to dexterity checks that don't already allow you to add your proficiency bonus.
Due to new releases, in addition to the options mentioned by Miniman and Doval, the Oath of the Watchers Paladin archetype from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (p.54) gains the Aura of the Sentinel feature at 7th level. This not only adds proficiency bonus to Initiative, but adds it in an aura for all allies:
You emit an aura of alertness while you aren’t incapacitated. When you and any creatures of your choice within 10 feet of you roll initiative, you all gain a bonus to initiative equal to your proficiency bonus.
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<style> /** Change the p2 to whatever page number is the last page in your document **/ .phb#p3:after { display:none; } </style>Practice
Safe
Homebrewing
People love to flex their creative muscles while composing new homebrew content. More often than not, the inspiration for you homebrew comes from another source. Sometimes significantly. Other times just as a spark.
What is important for the community is that you share your sources of inspiration. This back cover can serve as an easy to find, easy to read place for you to do just that.
So go ahead, remove this chunk of copy and tell everyone who inspired you.
Cover Art: Skiorh
When you're ready to share with the community, don't forget to mark your document as public so people can find it in the GM Binder Search
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