before both decides combat read - Search

Doppelganger

Monsters Monster Manual

Advantage during the first round of each combat), reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4);{"diceNotation":"2d6+4", "rollType":"damage", "rollAction":"Slam", "rollDamageType":"Bludgeoning"} Bludgeoning damage

. Read Thoughts. The doppelganger casts Detect Thoughts, requiring no spell components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 12). Unsettling Visage (Recharge 6);{"diceNotation

Blackrazor

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

creature’s Hit Point maximum. Haste. Blackrazor can cast Haste on you, after which it can’t cast this spell again until the next dawn. Blackrazor decides when to cast the spell, which takes

effect at the start of your turn. The spell lasts for 1 minute (no Concentration required) or until Blackrazor decides to end it, which it can do at the end of any of your turns. Sentience

Doppelganger Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

. Surprise Attack. If the doppelganger surprises a creature and hits it with an attack during the first round of combat, the target takes an extra 10 (3d6);{"diceNotation":"3d6","rollType":"roll

"} to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4);{"diceNotation":"1d6+4","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Slam","rollDamageType":"bludgeoning"} bludgeoning damage. Read Thoughts. The doppelganger

Auspicia Dran

Monsters Acquisitions Incorporated

of psionic power. She can't help but read others' minds, but finds that wearing a diamond earring helps tamp that unwitting ability down. This magic has also left her connected to the crypt in a way

she doesn't understand, even as it grants her occasional memories of others still trapped there and an awareness of faraway places. In combat, she manifests an instinctive knowledge of events before

Blackrazor Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

constructs or undead. You also can’t be charmed or frightened. Blackrazor can cast the haste spell on you once per day. It decides when to cast the spell and maintains concentration on it so that

feet. The weapon can speak, read, and understand Common, and can communicate with its wielder telepathically. Its voice is deep and echoing. While you are attuned to it, Blackrazor also understands

Snicker-Snack

Magic Items The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

effect if it is immune to slashing damage, it doesn’t have or need a head, it has legendary actions, or the DM decides that the creature is too big for its head to be cut off with this weapon. Such

hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. It can speak, read, and understand Common, and its voice sounds silvery and melodic. Snicker-Snack craves the destruction of evil Dragons and urges

Docent

Magic Items Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

you and can speak, read, and understand any language it knows (see “Random Properties” below). Life Support. Whenever you end your turn with 0 hit points, the docent can make a Wisdom

(roll a d6): (1–2) detect evil and good or (3–6) detect magic. The docent decides when to cast the spell. Personality. A docent is designed to advise and assist the warforged it’s

Initiative Legacy

Rules

Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant rolls Initiative; they make a Dexterity check that determines their place in the Initiative order. The DM

rolls for monsters.Surprise. If a combatant is surprised by combat starting, that combatant has Disadvantage on their Initiative roll. For example, if an ambusher starts combat while hidden from a

Changeling

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

changelings today—even in those changelings who have never set foot in the fey realm. Each changeling decides how to use their shape-shifting ability, channeling either the peril or the joy of the

, investigation, and combat. Personas can be shared by multiple changelings; a community might be home to three healer changelings, with whoever is on duty adopting the persona of Andrea, the gentle

Bheur Hag

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

’t read, and speaks only in gibberish. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is

starve. Bheurs use their ability to manipulate weather to batter villages with freezing cold, hoping to instill a despair that turns folk against each other. In combat, a bheur hag also strives to

Sword of Kas Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

your person, you add a d10 to your initiative at the start of every combat. In addition, when you use an action to attack with the sword, you can transfer some or all of its attack bonus to your Armor

its wielder and can speak, read, and understand Common. Personality. The sword’s purpose is to bring ruin to Vecna. Killing Vecna’s worshipers, destroying the lich’s works, and

Whelm Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. The weapon communicates telepathically with its wielder and can speak, read, and understand Dwarvish, Giant, and Goblin. It shouts battle

cries in Dwarvish when used in combat. Personality Whelm’s purpose is to slaughter giants and goblinoids. It also seeks to protect dwarves against all enemies. Conflict arises if the wielder fails

Dimir Operative

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

) into a thought strand that others can potentially read, share, or steal. These thought strands are treated as valuable currency among the Dimir. Suggested Characteristics Skilled at infiltration

people’s nightmares. 6 Combat is meant to be quick, clean, and one-sided. 7 I like to stick to the shadows. 8 I never show my anger. I just plot my revenge. Ideals

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

(such as the ability to see in darkness or to read any language) to access to powerful spells. Unlike bookish wizards, warlocks supplement their magic with some facility at hand-to-hand combat. They

The Order of Combat

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

DM determines whether anyone involved in the combat encounter is surprised. 2. Establish positions. The DM decides where all the characters and monsters are located. Given the adventurers' marching

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

Initiative

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

Initiative Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity check to determine their place in the initiative order. The DM makes 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

The Order of Combat

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

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

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

Initiative

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

Initiative Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity check to determine their place in the initiative order. The DM makes 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

Ruthless Reigar

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Light of Xaryxis

giff, reporting on his activities and contacts. When word of the recent altercation between the characters and the astral elves gets back to Hastain, the reigar decides to punish the characters for

wizard the reigar knows by reputation, Hastain decides to put an end to the characters’ meddling: Closing in from behind is a gigantic, bioluminescent, jellyfish-like creature with a flamboyantly

Ship-to-Ship Combat

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Astral Adventurer’s Guide

Ship-to-Ship Combat The following rules are designed to make ship-to-ship combat simple yet exciting. Starting Distance At the start of an engagement, the DM decides how far a ship is from its

mangonels being the most common. Such weapons are slow to load and fire. Player characters are almost always better off using their own weapons and spells in ship-to-ship combat, reserving shipboard

How to Play

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

while a second examines an esoteric symbol engraved on a wall and a third keeps watch for monsters. The players don’t need to take turns, but the DM listens to every player and decides how to resolve

might be locked, the floor might hide a deadly trap, or some other circumstance might make it challenging for an adventurer to complete a task. In those cases, the DM decides what happens, often

The Order of Combat

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook

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 combat into a cycle of rounds

and turns. A round represents about 6 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 combat when everyone

The Order of Combat

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules

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 combat into a cycle of rounds

and turns. A round represents about 6 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 combat when everyone

Rhythm of Play

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules

treasure chest while a second examines a mysterious symbol engraved on a wall and a third keeps watch for monsters. Outside combat, the DM ensures that every character has a chance to act and decides how to

Rhythm of Play The three main pillars of D&D play are social interaction, exploration, and combat. Whichever one you’re experiencing, the game unfolds according to this basic pattern: The Dungeon

Rhythm of Play

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook

treasure chest while a second examines a mysterious symbol engraved on a wall and a third keeps watch for monsters. Outside combat, the DM ensures that every character has a chance to act and decides how to

Rhythm of Play The three main pillars of D&D play are social interaction, exploration, and combat. Whichever one you’re experiencing, the game unfolds according to this basic pattern: The Dungeon

Ship Features

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

following subsections. Alarms If intruders are detected or a fight breaks out on one of the ships, the entire crew (one drow mage captain, three drow elite warriors, and seventeen drow) mobilizes to combat

the threat. The drow prefer to take captives or render enemies unconscious rather than kill them. Captives are thrown in the brig (area J15) until Jarlaxle decides what to do with them, and their

Ten Rules to Remember

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

everything. When you encounter something that the rules don’t cover or if you’re unsure how to interpret a rule, the DM decides how to proceed, aiming for a course that brings the most enjoyment to your whole

group. 2. Exceptions Supersede General Rules General rules govern each part of the game. For example, the combat rules tell you that melee weapon attacks use Strength and ranged weapon attacks use

The Warlord

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hold Back The Dead

The Warlord After the efforts of the Red Wizards’ saboteurs, the horde’s warlord decides to make an example of the stalwart characters who have thwarted the assault so far. Read or paraphrase the

Ignoring the Dice

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

Ignoring the Dice One approach is to use dice as rarely as possible. Some DMs use them only during combat, and determine success or failure as they like in other situations. With this approach, the

DM decides whether an action or a plan succeeds or fails based on how well the players make their case, how thorough or creative they are, or other factors. For example, the players might describe how

One Thing at a Time

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules

One Thing at a Time The game uses actions to govern how much you can do at one time. You can take only one action at a time. This principle is most important in combat, as explained in “Combat” later

in this chapter. Actions can come up in other situations, too: in a social interaction, you can try to Influence a creature or use the Search action to read the creature’s body language, but you

One Thing at a Time

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook

One Thing at a Time The game uses actions to govern how much you can do at one time. You can take only one action at a time. This principle is most important in combat, as explained in “Combat” later

in this chapter. Actions can come up in other situations, too: in a social interaction, you can try to Influence a creature or use the Search action to read the creature’s body language, but you

Teeth of Dahlver-Nar

Magic Items Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

;green hags in a Green Hag (Coven Variant);coven When you damage a target that hasn’t taken a turn in this combat, the target takes an extra 3d10 slashing damage from ghostly blades. 5

decides the nature of the intervention; the effect of any cleric spell would be appropriate. Once this property is used, it can’t be used again for 7 days.

Trial by Combat

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Light of Xaryxis

Trial by Combat Xedalli asks the characters to serve as her champions. If the characters accept, read: Xeleth sneers. “Very well, sister, since you won’t face me yourself, I, too, name a champion

characters must fight the zodar (see Boo’s Astral Menagerie) on their own. See “Running the Zodar” below for more information about this creature. The characters win the trial by combat if they reduce

The Cavern

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Borderlands Quest: Goblin Trouble

The Cavern When the characters look into the chamber, read or paraphrase the following text. A human and an orc dressed in light armor huddle in an alcove in this area. On the west side of a passage

caught unawares by the start of combat, they are surprised. This means they have Disadvantage on their Initiative roll: they roll the d20 twice and must use the lower roll.

Docent

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

world through your senses. It communicates telepathically with you and can speak, read, and understand any language it knows (see “Random Properties” below). Life Support. Whenever you end your turn

and can cast it at will, requiring no components (roll a d6): (1–2) detect evil and good or (3–6) detect magic. The docent decides when to cast the spell. Personality. A docent is designed to advise and

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