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Returning 35 results for 'before both decision combat reflections'.
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before both decision combat reflection
Monsters
Infernal Machine Rebuild
momentous decision. The undead seeks to corrupt vulnerable individuals, especially those of lawful or good alignments, by setting tasks that test its targets' moral foundations. A paladin might be ordered
combat, it targets not only its opponents but also innocent bystanders, seeking to cause the greatest amount of confusion and destruction. If the creature is destroyed, these gems can be recovered
Backgrounds
Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
order’s cause.
The “Knightly Orders of Faerûn” sidebar details several of the orders that are active at present and is designed to help inform your decision about which group
again in ruins, Dove Falconhand decided to reform the group with the primary goal of building alliances and friendship between the civilized races of the world and goodly people in order to combat evil
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm Lord’s Wrath
A Decision At some point, the characters must decide which vessel and captain they prefer. The town covers the cost of passage there and back for the characters, and both captains ask the same fare
, so that should not enter into the decision. Whomever the party chooses is pleased, and the other captain simply accepts the decision and walks away. They are both ready to go as soon as the characters
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
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
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
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
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things
road, or a situation the characters are asked to resolve. You decide the scope of the decision the characters must make. You can ask them to make a simple choice (“Do you want to take the path along
small dungeon or an encounter (which might involve multiple ability checks or even combat). Let the character of the player who flipped the card be the focus of the day’s events and make any required
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
argued, with the conflicting parties or their advocates presenting precedent and evidence until the judge makes a decision, with or without the aid of spells or interrogation. Others are decided with
a trial by ordeal or trial by combat. If the evidence against the accused is overwhelming, a magistrate or local lord can forgo a trial and skip right to the sentencing. Sentences A settlement might
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
the area. A time limit adds a complication, as does a decision point that might lead characters astray. This might be an exploration encounter, with traps and hazards as complications, or a combat
its own ends. An encounter aimed at making peace might involve only social interaction, perhaps with the threat of combat if negotiations go poorly. It could also begin as a combat encounter, with the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
relying on the roll of a die to determine the results of an action.
The DM narrates the results of the adventurers’ actions. Describing the results often leads to another decision point, which brings
the flow of the game right back to step 1.
This pattern holds whether the adventurers are cautiously exploring a ruin, talking to a devious prince, or locked in mortal combat against a mighty dragon
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
what’s happening in the language of the game. See the “Narration in Combat” section in chapter 2 for more advice and examples. Describing results often leads to another decision point, which returns the flow of the game to step 1.
and places and for characters to make choices. Encounters can involve exploration (interacting with the environment, including puzzles), social interaction with creatures, or combat. The Player’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
and places and for characters to make choices. Encounters can involve exploration (interacting with the environment, including puzzles), social interaction with creatures, or combat. The following
bookshelf. Outside combat, the characters don’t need to take turns, but you need to give each player a chance to tell you what their character is doing so you can decide how to resolve everyone’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Monk Unarmed combat Dexterity and Wisdom High Paladin Defense Strength and Charisma Average Ranger Survival Dexterity and Wisdom Average Rogue Stealth Dexterity Low Sorcerer Power Charisma High Warlock
in more details about your class later. Choosing your class is the most important decision you make in creating a character, and it informs many of the decisions you make in later steps. You’ll return to your class’s description in “Character Classes” several more times before you’re done.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
. Three-Dimensional Layout. Stairs, ramps, lifts, platforms, ledges, balconies, pits, and other changes of elevation make a dungeon interesting and make combat encounters in those areas challenging
. Multiple Pathways. Add multiple entrances and exits—to the dungeon as a whole and to individual rooms. By offering multiple paths the characters can follow, you present meaningful decision points to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
combat begins, any crucified souls remaining on the trees wail in terror as Haruman, a narzugon, swoops down from the sky on his nightmare steed to punish the interlopers. He begins the encounter 300 feet
preference which to investigate first, so she points out both locations on the characters’ map and leaves the decision to the characters. Each of these locations opens a different branch of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
combat Dexterity and Wisdom High Paladin Defense Strength and Charisma Average Ranger Survival Dexterity and Wisdom Average Rogue Stealth Dexterity Low Sorcerer Power Charisma High Warlock Occult lore
details about your class later. Choosing your class is the most important decision you make in creating a character, and it informs many of the decisions you make in later steps. You’ll return to your class’s description in chapter 3 several more times before you’re done.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
bullywugs dared make no move regarding the items they have found until he gives his decision on the matter. Bullywug King. The king, Gulpa’Gor, arrived the night before the party struck out into the
bullywugs arrive shortly after the first wave is defeated. They make a grand show of battling the characters, and Arrp grins at the king whenever he is effective in combat. Wave 3. Gulpa’Gor (bullywug
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Flee, Mortals! Rule Primer
increasing ferocity, a group of creatures who share a single stat block (such as a swarm of rats) counts as one creature. Ferocity increases round after round during combat, and there is no maximum to
makes the final decision as to what constitutes an enemy for the purpose of increasing a companion’s ferocity. Likewise, in the same way a swarm of creatures is counted as a single creature for the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Flee, Mortals! Rule Primer
increase (see “Hit Points and Hit Dice”) and they gain combat features (see “Features”). Additionally, a few of their statistics increase when their mentor’s proficiency bonus does, including attack bonuses
about losing them to an unlucky roll of the dice or decision by a single player. The GM often awards characters with retainers in lieu of other treasure. Such rewards shouldn’t be lost easily
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
game: exploration, social interaction, and combat. If your adventure includes a balance of all three, it’s likely to appeal to all types of players. An adventure you create for your home campaign
provide a maximum amount of combat to keep the adventure moving. Surprises Look for opportunities to surprise and delight your players. For example, the exploration of a ruined castle on a hill might lead
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
sworn to protect might be sentient, cursed, or difficult to transport. Retrieve an Object. The adventurers must gain possession of a specific object in the area of the encounter, preferably before combat
. This objective is similar to retrieving an object insofar as reaching the exit is a higher priority than killing opponents in the area. A time limit adds a complication, as does a decision point that
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder
land outside the tower’s entrance on the first floor. Zephyros is sleeping on the second floor when they arrive and only becomes aware of visitors if the characters wake him or if combat erupts. On the
combat, Amarath releases the invisible stalker and commands it to attack the cult’s enemies. Treasure Amarath’s “smiling bag” is actually a bag of holding. The bag becomes empty once the invisible
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice Compendium
Combat Does surprise happen outside the initiative order as a special surprise round? No, here’s how surprise works. The first step of any combat is this: the DM determines whether anyone in the
combat is surprised (reread “Combat Step by Step” in the Player’s Handbook). This determination happens only once during a fight and only at the beginning. In other words, once a fight starts, you can’t
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Borderlands Quest: Goblin Trouble
players to make a decision and keep the game moving forward.
To prompt the players, summarize the situation as they understand it, and then say, “What do you do?” Presenting Encounters. This
game can spark great storytelling and acting moments.
Remember, though, that part of the DM’s job is to keep the game’s story moving forward. If describing every single attack roll in a long combat gets boring, just say how much damage the attack deals and get to the next exciting moment.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1
a group’s devastating defeat or when an individual contemplates some momentous decision. The undead seeks to corrupt vulnerable individuals, especially those of lawful or good alignments, by setting
of fear and flame casts its magic powers through its gemstone eyes. In combat, it targets not only its opponents but also innocent bystanders, seeking to cause the greatest amount of confusion and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
work for a franchise or its allies, perhaps tending a garden for a noble family or helping a merchant unload cargo from ships. They will not engage in combat and do not leave the headquarters to join
concept behind the hirelings and selecting one proficiency for each. The DM can then customize the hirelings as desired, perhaps by adding additional proficiencies or adjusting their combat statistics
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
decision, follow through with it knowing your path is just. Redemption. So you feel bad about having done something, and then you have to do something to feel better? Why don’t you just kill and eat
. Protective Spirit Starting at 15th level, a holy presence mends your wounds in battle. You regain hit points equal to 1d6 + half your paladin level if you end your turn in combat with fewer than half of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Background Roll on the appropriate table in this section as soon as you decide your background, or at any later time if you choose. If a background includes a special decision point, such as a folk
so with great reluctance, and sometimes I regret making that decision. 5 I lost everything — my home, my family, my friends. Going it alone was all I could do. 6 Society’s decadence disgusted me, so I
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
. Look for ways to raise the stakes of a scene, so players feel that every decision matters. This could be driven by the consequences of failure: through your actions, you’re protecting your friends
spread to his clothes.
Combat can feel very mechanical. I move 10 feet. I make an attack roll. I use a reaction. One way for the DM to encourage more cinematic action is to present a list of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries
with the second wave of villagers. With their livelihood drying up before their eyes and the hidden danger lurking in the village, the couple made the regretful decision to abandon their shop, buying
ornate platinum signet ring embossed with a snowdrop blossom (75 gp). The characters can recover the ring upon the meenlock’s death or notice it during combat with a successful DC 18 Wisdom
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Heroes of the Borderlands
laws, this guard still has much to learn.
By the Books. Gala clings to the keep’s laws—and often recites them aloud—whenever she must make a decision.
Naive. Gala believes that life is fair, people
lend their services to the keep.
Exploration and Movement. Exploration is open-ended; the players don’t take turns moving around the keep the way they do in combat. Instead, players simply say
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things
champion jumping into combat when it looks like the characters might fail, a noble helping the party avoid a sticky situation with the law, or someone offering the characters a place to stay. This NPC
character’s backstory, someone the character wronged on a previous quest, or a relative of someone the character killed or brought to ruin. This person might seek revenge in combat or through social sabotage
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
. Regardless of the characters’ decision, Belle also reveals that she knows something is wrong at the Silent Sound lighthouse. For at least two tendays, the normally reliable light has been dark. She fears that
and dump their corpses overboard. Chaos of Battle. As soon as the characters attack, Athgar and Sister Foam order the crew to defend the ship. In the first round of combat, two sailors (N human
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
, often relying on the roll of a die to determine the results of an action.
3. The DM narrates the results of the adventurers’ actions. Describing the results often leads to another decision point
, which brings the flow of the game right back to step 1.
This pattern holds whether the adventurers are cautiously exploring a ruin, talking to a devious prince, or locked in mortal combat against a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
must face the awful decision of whether the child should be punished or exiled. Tribe Mother. Much in the way that they befriend children in order to corrupt them, annis hags have a tendency for
the throes of combat and has recently slain one of her foes, she often forgoes a direct attack on her remaining enemies and instead takes a moment to feed on the corpse, dismembering it and tearing
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
, honor, hard work, and seeing all non-duergar as lesser creatures. Duergar are ruthless but not unnecessarily cruel, and pragmatism drives their every decision. Though they treat the adventurers with
combat starts. Slave Caravan The characters come across a group of 1d4 + 1 duergar slavers herding unarmed slaves (roll a d12 and consult the Slaves table). The slaves wear iron collars and manacles