before building deadly called rules

Ranger

Classes Player’s Handbook

wilderness. A Ranger’s talents and magic are honed with deadly focus to protect the world from the ravages of monsters and tyrants. Becoming a Ranger... As a Level 1 Character Gain all the

. Gain the Ranger’s level 1 features, which are listed in the Ranger Features table. See the multiclassing rules to determine your available spell slots. Ranger Features

Cleric

Classes Player’s Handbook

prayers and rites that help them draw on power from the Outer Planes. Not every member of a temple or shrine is a Cleric. Some priests are called to a simple life of temple service, carrying out their

table. See the multiclassing rules to determine your available spell slots. Cleric Features ——Spell Slots per Spell Level—— Level Proficiency Bonus

Deathless Rider

Monsters Monstrous Compendium Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures

Queen, who rules from a castle called Dynnistan. It isn’t known whether these legends are based on any true experience or are simply the result of imagination trying to account for a terrifying and

called lich-knights or fell horsemen. In stark contrast to the knights of Eldraine, the deathless riders are without virtue of any kind. They are few in number—unless many more lurk in the dark

Vegepygmy Thorny Hunter

Monsters Quests from the Infinite Staircase

their master’s orders to hunt prey with deadly ferocity. Vegepygmies Also called mold folk, vegepygmies are fungal creatures that spring forth from the body of a Humanoid or Giant killed by

Baphomet Legacy

Monsters Out of the Abyss

, the Horned King and the Prince of Beasts. He rules over minotaur;minotaurs and others with savage hearts. He is worshiped by those who want to break the confines of civility and unleash their bestial

. Although filled with bestial bloodlust, there lies within a cruel and cunning intellect devoted to subverting all of civilization. Baphomet wields a great glaive called Heartcleaver. He sometimes

Undercity Medusa

Monsters Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

medusas of Ravnica, often called gorgons, are a monstrous race of creatures that appear superficially similar to human women. In place of hair, a gorgon has a writhing mass of black, serpentine

harmless. This deadly gaze attack gives medusas a degree of power among the Golgari that is out of proportion with their small numbers. Medusas command a significant share of the guild's smaller cells

Rahadin

Monsters Curse of Strahd

his attention to building Castle Ravenloft, Rahadin saw to it that wizards and artisans were brought to Barovia. Years later, Strahd appointed Rahadin his castle chamberlain. Rahadin was pleased to do

desired above all. She told him of a vault of forbidden lore called the Amber Temple, where the secret of gaining immortality was hidden. While Strahd was off exploring the temple, Rahadin handled

Scion of Thrym

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

’s Guide for rules on extreme cold). If the climate in the area already features extreme cold, the cold is numbing—creatures in the area without immunity or resistance to cold damage have

become part of the landscape. In this case, each scion is enclosed in stasis inside a powerful Elemental called a cradle. The cradle protects the slumbering scion and follows its subconscious wishes

Chromatic Dragonborn

Species Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

and in the deadly energy of their breath weapons. Theirs is the raw elemental fury of the volcano, of biting arctic winds, and of raging lightning storms, as well as the subtle whisper of swamp and

. If you select one of the dragonborn races in this chapter, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your character’s ability scores

Alustriel Silverhand

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

fails.Lady Alustriel Silverhand, called the Shining Lady, has been an influential wizard and proponent of good across Toril for centuries. Alustriel is one of the Seven Sisters—immortal daughters

are to spread kindness, reward virtue, and promote a culture of compassion throughout the multiverse. She is good at building alliances and quick to intervene when she senses a threat to the forces of

Githyanki

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

psionic powers and built a great city called Tu’narath. They have since spread throughout the multiverse, starting in outposts outside the Astral Plane, called creches, where time passes and their

race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score

Rak Tulkhesh

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

Deadly Critical. Rak Tulkhesh scores a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 and rolls the damage dice three times, instead of twice. Innate Spellcasting. Rak Tulkhesh's spellcasting ability is Charisma

can't die permanently. Upon its death, it reforms elsewhere in the multiverse and becomes active again at a time set by the DM. Rak Tulkhesh Called the Rage of War, Rak Tulkhesh is the incarnation of

Cradle of the Frost Scion

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

envelops the land within 6 miles of the scion (see the Dungeon Master’s Guide for rules on extreme cold). If the climate in the area already features extreme cold, the cold is numbing—creatures

them with primeval magic. In many worlds, they slumber and have become part of the landscape. In this case, each scion is enclosed in stasis inside a powerful Elemental called a cradle. The cradle

Orcus

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Dungeon Master’s Guide.Orcus’s Lair Orcus makes his lair in the fortress city of Naratyr, which is on Thanatos, the layer of the Abyss that he rules. Surrounded by a moat fed by the

’t take the same lair action two rounds in a row: Deadly Utterance. Orcus’s voice booms throughout the lair. His utterance causes one creature of his choice to be subjected to power word

Lizardfolk

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

survive with just their wits in situations that would be deadly for other folk. Because of that fact, many lizardfolk myths state that their people were placed by the gods in the Material Plane to guard

level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score

Shifter

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Shifters are sometimes called weretouched, as they are descendants of people who contracted full or partial lycanthropy. Humanoids with a bestial aspect, shifters can’t fully change shape, but

race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your character’s ability

Aarakocra

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

;and were imbued with a measure of their masters’ power over winds. Their descendants still command echoes of that power. From below, aarakocra look like large birds and thus are sometimes called

At 1st level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation

Changeling

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

on the spur of the moment, with no depth or history—is called a mask. A mask can be used to express a mood or to serve a specific purpose and then might never be used again. However, many

level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability

Encounter Building

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Encounter Building This section introduces new guidelines on building combat encounters for an adventure. They are an alternative to the rules in “Creating Encounters” in chapter 3 of the Dungeon

adventure, if you want to ensure that a foe isn’t too deadly for a group of characters, and if you want to understand the relationship between a character’s level and a monster’s challenge rating. Building an encounter using these guidelines follows a series of steps.

Iymrith

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

a secret yet widespread organization called the Kraken Society. Using information given to them by the evil storm giant sisters, Kraken Society operatives ambushed and killed Queen Neri. Iymrith then

with glassy sand ventilate the lair, all the while avoiding the deadly sinkholes that are the dragon’s first line of defense. A blue dragon will collapse the caverns that make up its lair if

Giff

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

own, which giff have learned to channel through their weapons. Most giff have no idea where this so-called astral spark comes from, but they feel its presence most strongly when they are in Wildspace

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

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

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

Guild took over your family business, ran it into the ground, and burned the building for insurance money. You were driven into crime yourself, but you’ll never work for the Guild. You take

Session Zero

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

run a special session—colloquially called session zero—to establish expectations, outline the terms of a social contract, and share house rules. Making and sticking to these rules can help ensure

that the game is a fun experience for everyone involved. Often a session zero includes building characters together. As the DM, you can help players during the character creation process by advising them to select options that will serve the adventure or campaign that awaits.

Hexblood

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

unusual crown, often called an eldercross or a witch’s turn. This living, garland-like part of a hexblood’s body extends from their temples and wraps behind the head, serving as a visible

might come to accept over the course of centuries. Once a hexblood undergoes this irreversible ritual, they emerge as a hag NPC no longer under the control of the hexblood’s player, unless the DM rules otherwise.

Ancient Deep Dragon Legacy

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

once every hundred years, when they choose targets for a deadly hunting spree. 3 Two ancient deep dragon;ancient deep dragons fight over territory. Unwilling to move against each other directly

, they use local settlements—and any competent visitors—as pawns in their struggle. 4 An ancient deep dragon has put the folk of a city to work building the dragon a metropolis to rule

Goblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

goblin tribe has to nobility is the caste of lashers — families of goblins trained in the ways of battle, and also possessed of key skills such as strategy, trap-building, beast taming, mining

of farming of which goblins are capable and are charged with checking traps for captured people or beasts. Gatherers aren’t usually armed with weapons more deadly than a sling or a knife, but

Chapter 7: Tomb of Wayward Souls

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

chain of tropical islands on the world of Oerth. There, the party must plumb the depths of a deadly complex called the Tomb of Wayward Souls, which was built to lure in and slay treasure-seekers. This

Chapter 7: Tomb of Wayward Souls Olivier Bernard The next rod piece lurks deep in the deadly Tomb of Wayward Souls Retrieving the sixth piece of the Rod of Seven Parts leads the characters to a

Travel in Valachan

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

Travel in Valachan Impenetrable rain forests, jagged cliffs, and deadly rapids fill the wilderness of Valachan, and characters exploring the domain or participating in the Trial of Hearts must travel

through these deadly wilds. Maps of Valachan can be obtained from the Oselo, the Shuaran people, or from Chakuna. The domain’s jungles are difficult terrain, reducing a party’s pace by half. This

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

at the burned-out building, a sudden cacophony erupted around us. Birds squawked, cats hissed, and dogs growled. Lidda hustled us back to the city’s safer avenues. Only when we were back within

groups called flocks. A flock is led by the oldest and most experienced kenku with the widest store of knowledge to draw on, often called Master. Although kenku can’t create new things, they have

Air Envelopes

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

121, and the foul air turns deadly 120 days later. Deadly air is unbreathable. Any creature that tries to breathe deadly air begins to suffocate (see the rules on suffocation in the Player’s Handbook

air envelope around a habitable planet or moon is called an atmosphere. An atmosphere is a special kind of air envelope that replenishes itself constantly. A creature or an object can refresh its air

Baphomet

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

. Baphomet wields a great glaive called Heartcleaver. He sometimes casts this deadly weapon aside so that he can charge his enemies and gore them with his horns, trampling them into the earth and rending them with his teeth like a beast.

Baphomet Civilization is weakness and savagery is strength in the credo of Baphomet, the Horned King and the Prince of Beasts. He rules over minotaurs and others with savage hearts. He is worshiped

Baphomet

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

. Baphomet wields a great glaive called Heartcleaver. He sometimes casts this deadly weapon aside so that he can charge his enemies and gore them with his horns, trampling them into the earth and rending them with his teeth like a beast.

Baphomet Civilization is weakness and savagery is strength in the credo of Baphomet, the Horned King and the Prince of Beasts. He rules over minotaurs and others with savage hearts. He is worshiped

Companion Encounter Balance

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Flee, Mortals! Rule Primer

item when building encounters. A companion gives a party a significant power boost, not just by dishing out more damage and providing more hit points for enemies to target, but also by creating

complications that can make a fight more challenging for the party’s foes. GMs can adjust encounter difficulty by one step (from easy to medium, hard to deadly, and so forth) to properly challenge a group of characters with a companion, particularly if the characters’ average level is 7th or lower.

Retainer Encounter Balance

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Flee, Mortals! Rule Primer

Retainer Encounter Balance When building encounters, the GM should consider a retainer as akin to a powerful combat-focused magic item. A retainer gives a party a significant power boost; they not

easy to medium, hard to deadly, and so forth) to properly challenge a group of characters with a retainer.

Chapter 9: Combat

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

wizard’s spell. The sharp tang of blood in the air, cutting through the stench of vile monsters. Roars of fury, shouts of triumph, cries of pain. Combat in D&D can be chaotic, deadly, and thrilling. This

chapter provides the rules you need for your characters and monsters to engage in combat, whether it is a brief skirmish or an extended conflict in a dungeon or on a field of battle. Throughout this

D&D Beyond

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