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Returning 35 results for 'before both defending combatants rules'.
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
invisible with it.Soulblades are duergar combatants whose mastery of psionics allows them to manifest blades of psychic energy to slice apart their foes.
Duergar
Duergar are dwarves of the deep
manifests as mirth. They bring an emotional intensity to their lives, whether they’re exploring neighboring tunnels, defending their homes, engaging with their families, or crafting bold new works
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Divine Contention
Running the Battle This quest is an epic battle involving hundreds of rival combatants. Use the following rules to resolve the conflict.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Initiative Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. The combat rules in “Playing the Game” explain how to roll Initiative. Sometimes a DM might have combatants use their Initiative
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
Initiative Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. The combat rules in chapter 1 explain how to roll Initiative. Sometimes a DM might have combatants use their Initiative scores
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
combatants must wait in area X7 until they’re called to area X6 to fight. During a fight event, no combatant can leave the arena or attack anyone who isn’t a combatant in that event. Tournament Structure Noska
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
challenge the monarch for the right to rule. The grounds are 20 feet in diameter. Combatants are shackled by one wrist or ankle to a 10-foot length of chain attached to the tree. Each chain has AC 19
, 11 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Using an action, a creature can pull a chain free of the tree with a successful DC 17 Strength (Athletics) check. Combat Rules. A trial by
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
fishing rules ("Fishing for Knucklehead Trout"), only replace the knucklehead trout with an octopus. Befriending Its Comrades. Angajuk lives alongside other sea creatures, including narwhals and
Angajuk. Fending Off Hunters. If the characters are having trouble finding another way to earn Angajuk’s trust, use the “Whale Hunt” encounter below. Defending the whale against these hunters earns its trust.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat
battle. Skyreach will be assaulted by chromatic dragons the moment it appears above the Well of Dragons, drawing those powerful combatants away from defending the caldera. Arcane Brotherhood. Members
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
appears above the Well of Dragons, drawing those powerful combatants away from defending the caldera. Arcane Brotherhood. Members of the Arcane Brotherhood are a match for the Red Wizards fighting for the
against the adventurers. See appendix D for Rath Modar’s statistics. Cult Leaders. Wearers of Purple are venerated leaders among the cultists, and most of them are powerful combatants in their own right
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
carved with frescoes depicting dwarves defending their mountain homes against ankhegs, purple worms, umber hulks, and other burrowing monsters. (Hidden behind a fresco of a dwarf battling a bulette is a
(see “Gates”). Its rules are as follows: If a creature flies or levitates within 5 feet of the arch, the gate opens for 1 minute. Characters must be 10th level or higher to pass through this gate (see
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
the rules glossary for more about Speed as well as about special speeds, such as a Climb Speed, Fly Speed, or Swim Speed. Difficult Terrain Combatants are often slowed down by Difficult Terrain. Low
, you can move a distance equal to your Speed or less. Or you can decide not to move. Your movement can include climbing, crawling, jumping, and swimming (each explained in the rules glossary). These
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
noted in the monster’s stat block. See the Rules Glossary for more about Speed as well as about special speeds, such as a Climb Speed, Fly Speed, or Swim Speed. Difficult Terrain Combatants are often
explained in the Rules Glossary). These different modes of movement can be combined with your regular movement, or they can constitute your entire move. However you’re moving with your Speed, you deduct
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel
The characters might use their mounts to fight foes in the air, using the mounted combat rules in the Player’s Handbook. As intelligent creatures, the characters’ mounts can act independently, but they
talked out of apprehending them. During combat, the knights attempt to shove characters off the platform whenever possible. Fighting the Silent Roar If the characters are defending the Pedestal of Judgment
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
capabilities. Imps are used as spies and messengers rather than combatants, and they are the infernal agents most often encountered on the Material Plane. Lesser devils rarely command other devils, aside
all. Rules for Everything Devils are evil schemers by nature, but they must operate within the bounds of the Nine Hells’ intricate legal code. A devil’s attitude toward the law is in part driven by its
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
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
their Initiative count, or Initiative for short. The DM ranks the combatants, from highest to lowest Initiative. This is the order in which they act during each round. The Initiative order remains the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
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
their Initiative count, or Initiative for short. The DM ranks the combatants, from highest to lowest Initiative. This is the order in which they act during each round. The Initiative order remains the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
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
miniatures or other tokens, follow these rules.
Squares. Each square on the grid represents 5 feet.
Speed. Rather than moving foot by foot, move square by square on the grid. This means you use your speed
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
, 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
chapter.
If the d20 roll for an attack is a 1, the attack misses regardless of any modifiers or the target’s AC.
Unseen Attackers and Targets Combatants often try to escape their foes’ notice by
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
makeshift crenellations on the roof lines for missile combatants. They also stockpiled weapons and caches of ammunition. Map 6.5: Dellmon RanchView Player Version The Dellmon Family Kerbin Dellmon
defending the weak and meting out justice to the Iceshield tribe. He has been trying to bring retribution to the orcs for their depredations, and he just arrived with news that a large orc war band
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Turn of Fortune’s Wheel
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
opponents, no matter how low the Noxious Stampede stoops. Spireball Rules Nikki Dawes Shariel, Star Player of the Righteous Hands Spireball takes place on a flat, triangular diamond surrounded by a ringed
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Running Combat This section builds on the combat rules in Playing the Game and offers tips for keeping the game running smoothly when a fight breaks out. Rolling Initiative Combat starts when—and
and each group of identical monsters, placed in Initiative order in a stack you cycle through A hidden list allows you to track combatants who haven’t been revealed yet, and you can use the list as a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice Compendium
, initiative is rolled as normal. Then, the first round of combat starts, and the unsurprised combatants act in initiative order. A surprised creature can’t move or take an action or a reaction until its
factor. You can still try to hide from your foes and gain the benefits conferred by being hidden, but you don’t deprive your foes of their turns when you do so. Surprise rules work for two opposing
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
themselves. Towns and cities are the seats of the nobles who govern the surrounding area, and who carry the responsibility for defending the villages from attack. Occasionally, a local lord or lady
lives in a keep or fortress with no nearby town or city. Village Population: Up to about 1,000 Government: A noble (usually not a resident) rules the village, with an appointed agent (a reeve) in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
should also consider using miniatures. The Player’s Handbook offers simple rules for depicting combat using miniature figures on a grid. This section expands on that material. Tactical Maps You can draw
monster takes up an amount of space different from what’s on the table, that’s fine, but treat the monster as its official size for all other rules. For example, you might use a miniature that has a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
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
GRID
If you play out a combat using a square grid and miniatures or other tokens, follow these rules.
Squares. Each square on the grid represents 5 feet.
Speed. Rather than moving foot by foot
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
located a mile away. Defending the drow outpost are a female drow elite warrior (the commander), a male drow mage, and sixteen drow. The outpost is a four-story tower carved out of a 60-foot-tall, 15
(leaving the mage and eight drow to staff the outpost). Use the drow pursuit rules in chapter 2, and assume a pursuit level of 4. Drow Patrol B The characters encounter a drow elite warrior and 1d8
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
family becoming immolated in its home, but most agree the culprit was a dracolich, of all things, residing in the ruin and defending the family’s wealth. The gods only know what led to the creation of
the fog that rolls off the heights of the moor to shroud its trees. Melandrach, King of the Woods, rules here and holds the forest as the exclusive domain of the elves. Though game animals roam in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
cart filled with stolen art through the middle of a battlefield while singing sea shanties to confuse the combatants. 3 The Recruit. You enlisted in another nation’s navy for the purpose of smuggling
Wealth. Heaps of coins in a secure vault is all I dream of. (Any) 2 Smuggler’s Code. I uphold the unwritten rules of the smugglers, who do not cheat one another or directly harm innocents. (Lawful) 3
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
with skeletons that awaken and attack when anything treads on the sand above them. Map 5.2: Skull Dunes View Player Version Encounter Procedure Use the following rules to play out the Skull Dunes
that square). The characters continue to move, one square at a time, awakening skeletons and defending themselves until they navigate their way across the dunes to safety, or slay twenty or more
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
improve a clan’s capabilities. Berronar Truesilver The Matron of Home and Hearth is the patron of family, honor, and law. She lays out the rules for managing a dwarf clan. Berronar’s code establishes the
lead from the front. When defending a stronghold, they guard the walls and lead sorties against enemy positions. When an external threat is near, the priests plan guerrilla raids to disrupt invaders
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
defending against fiendish incursion. 6 Sky Warriors. This military force consists of winged creatures, employs magical flight, or sails airships as a sky navy. Traditional defenses are ineffective against
missions pit you against rival combatants during an active engagement, as you influence the war effort. Rival mercenary companies, armed resistance fighters, and monsters drawn to the presence of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
maintain strongholds along the border with Ket, most of their energy is spent defending against giants and dragons in the western mountains. The Watchers are sworn to an ascetic and disciplined code
an organization might come with concrete benefits such as access to an organization’s information, equipment, magic, and other resources. See “Renown” in chapter 3 for rules you can use to track
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Netheril’s Fall: Tales of Terror, Treasure, and Time Travel
, oversees the coliseum’s operations and approves all combatants bound for the arena. The pitmaster is constantly seeking new and creative contest rules for the coliseum battles, and she often awards
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monsters of the Multiverse
—even if that passion rarely manifests as mirth. They bring an emotional intensity to their lives, whether they’re exploring neighboring tunnels, defending their homes, engaging with their families
turns to take the Hide action.
Duergar Soulblade Soulblades are duergar combatants whose mastery of psionics allows them to manifest blades of psychic energy to slice apart their foes. Duergar
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
emanating from within. Sleeping in a pile to the north are twelve goblins. Their weapons and shields lie in a heap to the south. The goblins are reluctant combatants, easily intimidated by shows of
”). The keystone of this arch is carved to look like a gold dragon wyrmling, its mouth agape. The rules of this gate are as follows: The gate opens for 1 minute when a gemstone worth at least 100 gp is






