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Returning 35 results for 'before bad deciding consists rules'.
Criminal / Spy
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Backgrounds
Basic Rules (2014)
than most people to the world of murder, theft, and violence that pervades the underbelly of civilization, and you have survived up to this point by flouting the rules and regulations of society
.
4
I have a “tell” that reveals when I’m lying.
5
I turn tail and run when things look bad.
6
An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
The Middle Path Many DMs find that using a combination of the two approaches works best. By balancing the use of dice against deciding on success, you can encourage your players to strike a balance
between relying on their bonuses and abilities and paying attention to the game and immersing themselves in its world. Remember that dice don’t run your game — you do. Dice are like rules. They’re
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
knowledge, but the dragon is cagey on that point. Seeing good and bad in equal measure among the lesser races, Ileuthra recognizes that helping the humanoids is less a case of deciding whether they are worthy
of aid, and more about deciding whether these adventurer ambassadors can be trusted to properly lead the factions. Desire. Ileuthra has no preconceived sense of what might be the best course, and he
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat
knowledge, but the dragon is cagey on that point. Seeing good and bad in equal measure among the lesser races, Ileuthra recognizes that helping the humanoids is less a case of deciding whether they are worthy
of aid, and more about deciding whether these adventurer ambassadors can be trusted to properly lead the factions. Desire. Ileuthra has no preconceived sense of what might be the best course, and he
Aarakocra
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Species
Elemental Evil Player's Companion
miles on a side, with each tribe hunting in the lands nearest to their colony, ranging farther should game become scarce.
A typical colony consists of one large, open-roofed nest made of woven vines
changes in the prevailing winds that they regarded as a bad omen.
Unlike the aarakocra of other worlds on the Material Plane, the aarakocra of the Realms rarely travel to the Elemental Plane of Air
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
underbelly of civilization, and you have survived up to this point by flouting the rules and regulations of society.
Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Stealth
Tool Proficiencies: One
tail and run when things look bad.
6
An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that.
Orc
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
everywhere in the world around them, and the priests of a tribe are entrusted with the responsibility of identifying these signs and omens — both good and bad — and deciding how the tribe should
ward off diseases if they are worn.
Don’t stand inside a ring of stones, mushrooms, or any other kind of circle.
Seeing a shooting star before a battle is bad luck. To ward it off, you must
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
and evil are blurred. Choices involve deciding which outcome is least bad. Corruption and suspicion flourish among organizations and individuals. Magic and magic items might be rarer or require a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
session and for creating situations that facilitate fun. Improviser. A big part of being the DM is deciding how to apply the rules as you go and imagining the consequences of the characters’ actions in a
way that will make the game fun for everyone. Referee. When it’s not clear what ought to happen next, the DM decides how to apply the rules. Storyteller. The DM crafts adventures, setting situations in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
session and for creating situations that facilitate fun. Improviser. A big part of being the DM is deciding how to apply the rules as you go and imagining the consequences of the characters’ actions in a
way that will make the game fun for everyone. Referee. When it’s not clear what ought to happen next, the DM decides how to apply the rules. Storyteller. The DM crafts adventures, setting situations in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Table Rules Ideally, players come to the gaming table with the same goal: to have a fun time together. This section gives recommendations for table rules you can establish to help meet that goal
. Here are some fundamentals: Foster respect. Don’t bring personal conflicts to the table or let disagreements escalate into bad feelings. Don’t touch others’ dice if they’re sensitive about it. Avoid
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
Rules House rules include optional rules, such as those presented in chapter 9 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide, and rules you create. If you plan to use any house rules, session zero is a good time to
discuss those rules with the players and solicit their input. House rules are best presented as experiments, and time will tell if they’re good for your game. If you introduce a house rule in session
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
around them, and the priests of a tribe are entrusted with the responsibility of identifying these signs and omens — both good and bad — and deciding how the tribe should react to them. As a race, orcs
stones, mushrooms, or any other kind of circle. Seeing a shooting star before a battle is bad luck. To ward it off, you must swallow a stone. A tribute of elf ears brings favor from Gruumsh. If you bury
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
creature’s efforts. In a contest, the ability checks are compared to each other, rather than to a target number. When you call for a contest, you pick the ability that each side must use, deciding
crowd, lie to someone convincingly INTELLIGENCE CHECK VS. WISDOM CHECK
If you have trouble deciding whether to call for an Intelligence or a Wisdom check to determine whether a character notices
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Chapter 1: This Is Your Life The character creation rules in the Player’s Handbook provide all the information you need to define your character in preparation for a life of adventuring. What they
experience before deciding to become an adventurer? What were the circumstances of your birth? How large is your family, and what sorts of relationships do you have with your relatives? Which people
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Borderlands Quest: Goblin Trouble
Introducing the Game Once the players have familiarized themselves with their characters, you’re ready to introduce the game. Now that you’re familiar with your characters and the basics of the rules
, we’re going to play a short adventure to introduce you to Dungeons & Dragons. As the Dungeon Master, I tell you what’s going on in the world around you, and I use the rules and dice rolls to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
Rules of Conduct Although Zybilna is indisposed, three of the rules she put into place when she created her Feywild domain continue to hold weight: the rule of hospitality, the rule of ownership, and
the rule of reciprocity. These three rules are common knowledge in Prismeer, and both natives and visitors would do well to abide by them: Rule of Hospitality. When a friend, an enemy, or a stranger
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver
terrain (see “Difficult Terrain” in the Basic Rules). Intact buildings are rundown, ramshackle stone cottages that are otherwise still standing. Their wooden doors are swollen and require a successful
three-quarters cover against attacks from the other side (see “Cover” in the Basic Rules). Dusty old furnishings such as simple wooden chairs and tables remain in most intact buildings. Trees and Brush
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
pace works fine for many campaigns, some DMs prefer a campaign story with pauses built into it — times when adventurers are not going on adventures. The downtime rules given in this section can be
and go, and royal lines rise and fall over the course of the story that you and the characters tell. Downtime rules also provide ways for characters to spend — or be relieved of — the monetary treasure
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver
Glossary The adventure uses terms that might be unfamiliar to you. A few of these terms are described here. For descriptions of rules-specific terms, see the Basic Rules. Characters. This term refers
this adventure in appendix B. Tenday. In the Forgotten Realms, a week is ten days long and called a tenday. Each month consists of three tendays — thirty days total.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon of Icespire Peak
Reading Ahead As the players familiarize themselves with the character options and adventuring gear described in the Basic Rules, take advantage of the opportunity to read ahead. “The Adventure
described here. For descriptions of rules-specific terms, see the Basic Rules.
Characters. This term refers to the adventurers run by the players. They are the protagonists in any D&D adventure. A group of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Turn of Fortune’s Wheel
Angels in the Outlands CoupleOfKooks “If you think you’re prepared for the ultimate struggle between good and evil, the deciding contest between all that is righteous and all that is foul, then to
is called Spireball. The modron happily explains the game’s rules, its stakes, and the two teams, all of which are detailed below. Good versus Evil Two teams—the Noxious Stampede and the Righteous
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
. We’ve visited Waterdeep before, but not like this. Clever heroes will respect the city’s rules. Those who get on the city’s bad side are in for a rough time, as the City of Splendors is home to some of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
threat. Use this book to help you and your players communicate about a game’s rules, plots, and other content, assuring it includes only the elements you all enjoy. Focus on Fun. Suspenseful stories don’t
attention for both of us. We’ve found no trace of Vhorishkova since arriving, but I feel her watching. It’s like she’s everywhere.
It’s bad here, Uncle. Not snake-headed hogs bad. Like, full Delmunster
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
it has several different abilities, but simply deciding that an item is always active or can be used a fixed number of times per day is easier to manage. Power Level If you make an item that lets a
column suggests an appropriate bonus based on the item’s rarity. Attunement Decide whether the item requires a character to be attuned to it to use its properties. Use these rules of thumb to help you
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
ruin. Caer-Konig as it is known today consists of terraced rows of houses that recede from the shore of Lac Dinneshere like the tiers of an amphitheater. The harbor is frozen, its docks skewed and
that keeps the townsfolk from leaving is the beer at the local tavern, which never seems to run out. As if things weren’t bad enough, the town has suffered several mysterious break-ins recently, with
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon of Icespire Peak
, full of dust and bad memories. It’s quiet most of the time, except when the sorrowful wails of the banshee fill the place. The following features are common throughout.
Arrow Slits. When using an arrow
slit for protection, a creature gains three-quarters cover (see the Basic Rules) against outside threats. A Medium character can’t squeeze through an arrow slit, but a Small character can with a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
Mechanus Mechanus is where perfectly regimented order reigns supreme. It consists of equal measures of light and dark, and equal proportions of heat and cold. On Mechanus, law is reflected in a realm
they are the clockwork of time throughout the cosmos—that time itself would stop if the gears ceased their turning. Other theories propose that the cogs uphold the basic rules and order of the cosmos
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
single tournament has twelve combatants and consists of three fights with short rests in between. Failure to heed the following rules result in a combatant’s disqualification: All tournament
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
Encounters The bulk of a typical D&D session consists of a series of encounters, similar to how a movie is a series of scenes. In each encounter, there are chances for the DM to describe creatures
the DM, you decide how much to tell the players and when. All the information the players need to make choices comes from you. Within the rules of the game and the limits of the characters’ knowledge
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Encounters The bulk of a typical D&D session consists of a series of encounters, similar to how a movie is a series of scenes. In each encounter, there are chances for the DM to describe creatures
information the players need to make choices comes from you. Within the rules of the game and the limits of the characters’ knowledge and senses, tell players everything they need to know. Published adventures
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Adventure Structure Waterdeep: Dragon Heist consists of an introductory adventure designed to familiarize player characters with the city of Waterdeep and provide them with a base of operations
goal is to prevent the gold from falling into the hands of the bad guys. If all goes well, some of the gold will find its way into the characters’ pockets. Characters will have a hard time claiming it
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
Narration in Combat Although it’s important that the players understand what’s going on in terms of the rules, the game can get dull if everyone uses only “gamespeak”: “That’s an 18 to hit,” “You hit
; now roll damage,” “11 points,” and “OK, now we’re to Initiative count 13.” Instead, use the rules and your knowledge of the scene to help your narration. If 18 is barely a hit, but the 11 points of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
wilderness of brutality and horror known as the Gaping Maw, where even powerful demons are overcome by fear. Reflecting Demogorgon’s dual nature, the Gaping Maw consists of a massive primeval continent
covered in dense jungle, surrounded by a seemingly endless expanse of ocean and brine flats. The Prince of Demons rules his layer from two serpentine towers, which emerge from a turbid sea. Each tower
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
involved.” Sometimes the rules allow for any one of two or more proficiencies to apply to a check. When deciding what check a character should make, be generous in determining if the character’s
each ability is used for. (Constitution checks are rare, as tests of a character’s endurance are usually passive or reactive, making a saving throw more appropriate.) Proficiency When the rules or a






