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Gnome Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

stare, then appeared to go back to sleep. — Richard Lee Byers, The Black Bouquet A constant hum of busy activity pervades the warrens and neighborhoods where gnomes form their close-knit

. Gnomes average slightly over 3 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their tan or brown faces are usually adorned with broad smiles (beneath their prodigious noses), and their bright eyes shine with

Giff

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

Giff are tall, broad-shouldered folk with hippo-like features. Some have smooth skin, while others have short bristles on their faces and the tops of their heads. As beings of impressive size and

character is a member of the human race or one of the game’s fantastical races. If you create a character using a race option presented here, follow these additional rules during character creation

The Middle Path

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

What Does a DM Do?

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

What Does a DM Do?

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

Movement and Position

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

Movement and Position In combat, characters and monsters are in constant motion, often using movement and position to gain the upper hand. On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed. You

can use as much or as little of your speed as you like on your turn, following the rules here. Your movement can include jumping, climbing, and swimming. These different modes of movement can be

Society of Blood and Poison

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

service, or a craft that supports by providing income. Houses are in constant competition with one another. They vie for money, for prestige, and, more than anything else, for power over others — the

surest sign of Lolth’s approval. No tactic is outside the rules in this ongoing conflict. Raids against another house’s outlying property (farming caverns, trade caravans, or hunting parties) are

Using This Book

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

Using This Book The Player’s Handbook is divided into three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1–6) is about creating a character, providing the rules and guidance you need to make the character you’ll play in

the game. It includes information on the various races, classes, backgrounds, equipment, and other customization options that you can choose from. Many of the rules in part 1 rely on material in parts

Using These Rules

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

Using These Rules The D&D Basic Rules document has four main parts. Part 1 is about creating a character, providing the rules and guidance you need to make the character you’ll play in the game. It

includes information on the various races, classes, backgrounds, equipment, and other customization options that you can choose from. Many of the rules in part 1 rely on material in parts 2 and 3

Movement and Position

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

Movement and Position In combat, characters and monsters are in constant motion, often using movement and position to gain the upper hand. On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed. You

can use as much or as little of your speed as you like on your turn, following the rules here. Your movement can include jumping, climbing, and swimming. These different modes of movement can be

Chapter 1: This Is Your Life

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

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

stand against the wave. Orc Culture and Beliefs Orcs live in constant fear of their gods, and their behavior is rooted in that mentality. They believe that they can see the influence of the gods

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

Flavors of Fantasy

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

Flavors of Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy game, but that broad category encompasses a lot of variety. Many different flavors of fantasy exist in fiction and film. Do you want a horrific

Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber? Your choice can have a impact on the flavor of your campaign. Heroic Fantasy Heroic fantasy is the baseline assumed by the D&D rules. The Player’s Handbook describes

Local Nuisances

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Sigil and the Outlands

hazard native to the Lower Planes. This black, creeping ivy has broad, glossy leaves with razor-sharp stems and thorns. Work crews fight the rapidly growing weed from overrunning the city. Others use

razorvine strategically to deter intruders by letting it grow along estate walls or as carefully cultivated hedges. Rules for razorvine can be found in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

The Three Pillars of Adventure

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

The Three Pillars of Adventure Adventurers can try to do anything their players can imagine, but it can be helpful to talk about their activities in three broad categories: exploration, social

rescued prisoner, pleading for mercy from an orc chieftain, or persuading a talkative magic mirror to show a distant location to the adventurers. The rules in part 2 (especially "Using Ability Scores" and

Creating a New Item

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

Orc Culture and Beliefs

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters

Orc Culture and Beliefs Orcs live in constant fear of their gods, and their behavior is rooted in that mentality. They believe that they can see the influence of the gods 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 react to them. As a race, orcs

Dispater

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

Dispater The cosmos is a grand game. He who knows its rules the best shall win the prize. — Dispater Dispater is the foremost arms dealer of the Nine Hells, and perhaps the greatest weapons

unearthed over his lifetime, the foundries of Dis produce deadly armaments that help to stem the abyssal tide. The fighting requires constant reinforcements, creating a voracious appetite for the

Shield Dwarves

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

reconquest by the dwarves. Living in a near-constant state of war for generations, shield dwarves are a hardy people, slow to trust, with long memories and often an equally long list of grievances against

, Worldthrone, Wyrmslayer, and Yund. Some dwarves hail from the family that founded or rules a given clan, and so they use the clan name as their family name. Others are simply “of” the clan, but bear the clan name with as much pride as their own surnames.

Angels in the Outlands

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

The Shape of Sharn

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

at the districts above you. You live up high, you can touch the sky. In the middle you can still see the sun. Down on the inside low, all we have is gloom and the constant drip, water and worse

visitor in fine clothes might attract unwanted attention. The City Watch pays little attention to the lower districts, making them a haven for criminals and gangs. This is a broad stereotype that

Ability Checks

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

Aroon Family Pepper Challenge

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel

human garbed in a garish red-and-green uniform, welcomes characters who seek to participate in the Aroon Family Pepper Challenge. The assistant outlines the rules: Participants sit at a table with a

prior to the competition. If the characters agree to the rules, the assistant asks them to wait a few moments for the next event to begin. If four or more characters choose to participate, they are the

Inside the Legion

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

rules they are charged with enforcing, cleaving to the spirit of the law when the letter no longer serves justice. Because the Guildpact — the one force on Ravnica that can keep the guilds from

on constant alert for military threats. They work to maintain their fortifications to ensure that they aren’t overrun by Gruul marauders. Construction proceeds on new strongholds near Gruul territories

Menzoberranzan

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

drow in their refuge. The constant fear of punishment, from one’s mistress or another, more powerful drow, keeps most slaves obedient, even when they aren’t directly supervised. The great cavern of

advantages over each other, they all live under the heel of House Baenre and the Matron Mother, who rules the city in Lolth’s name. On a large plateau high above the cavern floor is Tier Breche, also

Robust Patronage

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated

warlock. Standard Dark Spellcaster Franchise Rules No summoning circles in the bathroom. No “tentacle talk” during mealtimes. You must wear a gag at bedtime. That constant screaming makes it hard for

Horror in Your Game

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

suspense and mystery with familiar features of D&D, creating gloom so your heroes’ light shines all the brighter. Genres of Horror. Horror comes in broad varieties. You and your players decide what

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

Simulation Chambers

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer Academy

Simulation Chambers Each simulation chamber is a broad circular space with a domed ceiling, its stone walls carved with arcane runes that fill the area with bright light. Each chamber is equipped

in the Sky Dock atop Spelljammer Academy. Scudding clouds fill the sky above you. Simulator Rules Each simulation chamber channels powerful illusion magic that adheres to the following rules: Just

Horror Gameplay

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

members of different genders, ethnicities, and sexualities, as well as people with disabilities and of varied beliefs, as having broad roles, professions, interests, and outlooks. Endlessly work to

real-world history, and character creation rules presuppose no standard bar for heroics. Encourage Space A typical D&D session is longer than a typical horror movie, and it can be hard to sustain the

The Order of the Gauntlet

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons

. Frume’s squire shows you to a private space off the tavern’s common room and closes the door when he leaves. Waiting for you in the room are the broad-shouldered human paladin, the monk Leosin, and many

different. The Order of the Gauntlet emphasizes faith, vigilance, and constant struggle against threats of evil. Many of its members are clerics and paladins, but the order welcomes anyone who shares its

Diseases

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

, and deal with the consequences. A disease that does more than infect a few party members is primarily a plot device. The rules help describe the effects of the disease and how it can be cured, but

the specifics of how a disease works aren’t bound by a common set of rules. Diseases can affect any creature, and a given illness might or might not pass from one race or kind of creature to another

The Order of the Gauntlet

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

. Frume’s squire shows you to a private space off the tavern’s common room and closes the door when he leaves. Waiting for you in the room are the broad-shouldered human paladin, the monk Leosin, and many

organizations are very different. The Order of the Gauntlet emphasizes faith, vigilance, and constant struggle against threats of evil. Many of its members are clerics and paladins, but the order welcomes

2. Captured Troglodytes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

Halaster’s gates (see “Gates”). Carved into the arch’s keystone is a hand-shaped indentation with a sigil representing magic scribed into the palm. Its rules are as follows: Casting the mage hand

until the item is washed. The stench is not as potent as a troglodyte’s Stench trait and imposes no conditions on those who catch a whiff of it. The drow mage is deciding whether to kill the

Arrival

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation

vines grow everywhere, seeming to spring out of the building stones themselves. The profusion of greenery needs constant tending to prevent roots and shoots from damaging buildings or tile roofs. The

bamboo or thatch walls with enormous windows to let in the breeze, under broad thatched or tiled eaves. All buildings are richly decorated with paint, ivy, and vivid flowers. Some are painted in

Glasya

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

. Glasya, the rebellious daughter of Asmodeus, rules the place and oversees the punishments doled out to devils that stray from their assigned tasks. These lawbreakers are put on trial in Phlegethos, and if

frequent avalanches. Some of the structures here are erected atop pillars of adamantine embedded in the mountain that can withstand the constant battering, though the platforms they support sway under

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