being both decide calls rather

Alter Self

Spells Player’s Handbook

. Aquatic Adaptation. You sprout gills and grow webs between your fingers. You can breathe underwater and gain a Swim Speed equal to your Speed. Change Appearance. You alter your appearance. You decide

your Unarmed Strike, and you use your spellcasting ability modifier for the attack and damage rolls rather than using Strength.

Animate Dead

Spells Player’s Handbook

at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move on its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a

creature again before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to four creatures you have animated with this spell rather than animating a new creature

Create Undead

Spells Player’s Handbook

command any of them at the same time, issuing the same command to them). You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move on its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to

this spell on the creature before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to three creatures you have animated with this spell rather than animating new ones

Bronzefume

Monsters Princes of the Apocalypse

western end of the lake, waiting for the water prophet to decide the time is right to seize control of the river. If a boat ventures into her half of the lake, Bronzefume surfaces to investigate. The

dragon turtle attacks only if she's sure those she meets are intruders, such as if she sees water cultists fighting the characters. Bronzefume prefers to attack boats rather than people. Given a choice between attacking a character and damaging a boat that character is on, she opts for the boat. Fire

Create Undead Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a

hours, you must cast this spell on the creature before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to three creatures you have animated with this spell, rather

Animate Dead Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

command to each one). You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you

-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to four creatures you have animated with this spell, rather than animating a new one. At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell

Swarmkeeper

Classes Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

force in battle, as well as helpful company for the ranger. Some Swarmkeepers are outcasts or hermits, keeping to themselves and their attendant swarms rather than dealing with the discomfort of others

chapter 3 of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Also, remember that the swarm’s appearance is yours to customize, and don’t feel confined to a single appearance. Perhaps the spirits’ look changes with the ranger’s mood or with the seasons. You decide!

Swarmkeeper (TCoE)

Classes Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

force in battle, as well as helpful company for the ranger. Some Swarmkeepers are outcasts or hermits, keeping to themselves and their attendant swarms rather than dealing with the discomfort of others

chapter 3 of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Also, remember that the swarm’s appearance is yours to customize, and don’t feel confined to a single appearance. Perhaps the spirits’ look changes with the ranger’s mood or with the seasons. You decide!

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the group’s needs, but the effect each action will have on the forest and the rest of the natural world. Firbolg tribes would rather go hungry than strain the land during a famine. Hidden

Shepherds As caretakers of the land, firbolgs prefer to remain out of sight and out of mind. They don’t try to dominate nature, but rather seek to ensure that it prospers and survives according to its

Rogue Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

would rather make one precise strike, placing it exactly where the attack will hurt the target most, than wear an opponent down with a barrage of attacks. Rogues have an almost supernatural knack for

world where dire rats—and wererats—haunt the sewers. As adventurers, rogues fall on both sides of the law. Some are hardened criminals who decide to seek their fortune in treasure hoards

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

of evil that calls for them to butcher or eradicate all who oppose them. In keeping with their goal of domination, the yuan-ti would rather capture potentially useful opponents than kill them. They use

rather than among other creatures, including my own kind. 4 I sometimes become consumed by philosophy. 5 I believe I am superior to others of my caste. 6 I am driven by wanderlust

Inheritor

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

your adventuring career, you can decide whether to tell your companions about your inheritance right away. Rather than attracting attention to yourself, you might want to keep your inheritance a secret

Selesnya Initiate

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

1 I never raise my voice or lose my temper. 2 I feel the pains and joys of everyone around me, friend or foe. 3 I would rather make a friend than thwart an enemy. 4 I’m

Selesnya contact; you can decide if the contact is an ally or a rival. 10 I have a sibling in the Simic Combine, and we argue every time we see each other.

Saving Throws

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

else. Most of the time, a saving throw comes into play when an effect — such as a spell, monster ability, or trap — calls for it, telling you what kind of saving throw is involved and providing a DC for

it. Other times, a situation arises that clearly calls for a saving throw, especially when a character is subjected to a harmful effect that can’t be hedged out by armor or a shield. It’s up to you to

Izzet Engineer

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

protocols will lead us toward progress more surely than any belief system. (Lawful) 5 Fun. I love my job! Despite the dangerous working conditions, there’s nothing I’d rather do

me with conflicted feelings. 5 I helped a minor Gruul chieftain acquire an Izzet weapon. 6 Roll an additional Izzet contact; you can decide if the contact is an ally or a rival. 7

Paladin

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

Paladin The Oath of the Crown’s utility for your campaign comes from its ability to capture neutral paladins, those whose code of conduct is focused on the law rather than on moral principles. Its

divine spellcasting makes it tricky to use as a tool for every knightly order, but it’s a great option for a theocracy. You could also decide that the spells a paladin casts aren’t divine in origin, but arcane.

Simic Scientist

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

Everything I do is an attempt to impress someone I love. Flaws d6 Flaw 1 I have a rather embarrassing mutation that I do everything I can to keep hidden. 2 I’m more

make a nice sideshow act. 9 I left the Selesnya — and a lover — behind when I joined the Simic. 10 Roll an additional Simic contact; you can decide if the contact is an ally or a rival.

Rolling with It

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

Rolling with It Some DMs rely on die rolls for almost everything. When a character attempts a task, the DM calls for a check and picks a DC. As a DM using this style, you can’t rely on the

might work. A drawback of this approach is that roleplaying can diminish if players feel that their die rolls, rather than their decisions and characterizations, always determine success.

Saving Throws

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

a character and the character has a chance to avoid or resist it. Most of the time, a saving throw comes into play when an effect—such as a spell, monster ability, or trap—calls for it, telling you

what kind of saving throw is involved and providing a DC for it. In other situations that call for a saving throw, it’s up to you to decide which ability score is involved. The Abilities, Ability Checks, and Saving Throws table offers suggestions.

Paladin Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

while you were at prayer? Did another paladin sense the potential within you and decide to train you as a squire? Or did some terrible event—the destruction of your home, perhaps—drive you to

BREAKING YOUR OATH A paladin tries to hold to the highest standards of conduct, but even the most virtuous paladin is fallible. Sometimes the right path proves too demanding, sometimes a situation calls

Visitors

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Keys from the Golden Vault

Visitors Klax’s traders and Vrakir himself are visitors rather than full-time occupants. You can determine whether Vrakir and the traders are present by rolling a d10 and a d20. A result of 1 or 2 on

the d10 indicates that Vrakir is present. A result of 1 or 2 on the d20 indicates that Klax and her crew are present. Alternatively, you can decide that Vrakir is either present or absent depending

Druid Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

Holding high a gnarled staff wreathed with holly, an elf summons the fury of the storm and calls down explosive bolts of lightning to smite the torch-carrying orcs who threaten her forest. Crouching

of nature itself or from a nature deity. Many druids pursue a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devotion to a divine entity, while others serve gods of wild nature

Activity While Traveling

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

decide that a threat can be noticed only by characters in a particular rank. For example, as the characters are exploring a maze of tunnels, the DM might decide that only those characters in the back rank

decide what happens next. Either group might decide to attack, initiate a conversation, run away, or wait to see what the other group does. Surprising Foes. If the adventurers encounter a hostile

Halflings of the Five Nations

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

influence can be felt across the nation and even in the distant city of Stormreach. If you decide to play a halfling rogue—or any character with a criminal or charlatan background—you should decide if you

, who occasionally pulls you into their problems. Or you could even be the reluctant heir of a powerful Boromar leader; you’ve gone on the run rather than taking your place in this criminal empire, but someday your past may catch up with you.

Heart of Darkness

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

Heart of Darkness In this phase of the campaign, the characters are moving toward the demon lords and their influence rather than away from it, even as the Underdark sinks deeper into madness and

information on madness.) The NPCs following the characters into the Underdark are just as vulnerable to demonic madness. However, rather than make saving throws or track madness levels for each

Activity While Traveling

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

their dwarf fighter friend behind. Noticing Threats Use the passive Wisdom (Perception) scores of the characters to determine whether anyone in the group notices a hidden threat. The DM might decide

that a threat can be noticed only by characters in a particular rank. For example, as the characters are exploring a maze of tunnels, the DM might decide that only those characters in the back rank

I have a readied action. Can I stop readying to take an Opportunity Attack? Or does the Ready action take a full-round commitment?

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice & Errata

I have a readied action. Can I stop readying to take an Opportunity Attack? Or does the Ready action take a full-round commitment? Think of the Ready action as a preparatory action rather than a

continues, you can decide to take this readied Reaction—or, if plans change, you can take any other Reaction you might have access to, such as an Opportunity Attack. But remember that you have only one

Activity While Traveling

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

. Forage The character casts fishing lines, keeping an eye out for sources of food, making a Wisdom (Survival) check when the DM calls for it. Raise Morale (First Mate Only) The first mate can manage the

, making a Wisdom (Survival) check when the DM calls for it. (See “Becoming Lost” in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for more information.) Noticing Threats Use the passive Wisdom (Perception

Flight, or Fight, or … ?

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

. An encounter might indeed be the prelude to a battle, a parley, or some other interaction. What happens next depends on what the characters try, or what you decide is bound to occur. The tables also

include entries for what the Dungeon Master’s Guide calls “encounters of a less monstrous nature.” Many of these results cry out to be customized or detailed, which offers you an opportunity to connect

Placing the “Dark Heart”

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

focus for the power of the ritual rather than a source of power itself. Vizeran’s plan calls for the adventurers to place the dark heart in Menzoberranzan. Vizeran would prefer for the dark heart to

Fate of the Hourglass Coven

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

one of the hags is still alive. The surviving hags can sense when Zybilna is released from temporal stasis—or, rather, they can sense when their hold over Prismeer is lost. The instant Zybilna regains

is beyond the scope of this adventure; flesh out its occupants and defenses as you see fit if the characters decide to pay the hags a visit. Zybilna takes no immediate action against the surviving hags

Leilon Point Locations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sleeping Dragon’s Wake

characters might decide to wait for the sahuagin to exit the cave to raid the town rather than assault the cave. If they take this course of action, roll a d10. The result equals the number of hours

watches the sea for shoals from a cliff and calls out to ships below in danger of beaching. Umberlee Shrine The door to the one-room shrine of Umberlee, goddess of the sea, is unlocked. Characters who

Dragons

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

avoid contact with those they see as lesser creatures. They are obsessed with the Draconic Prophecy, which is a map of possible futures rather than a clear-cut prediction. Its paths are revealed in

Khorvaire without contact with Argonnessen, and some dragons have been twisted by the daelkyr or corrupted by fiends; any of these could be an antagonist if the adventure you’re crafting calls for a cruel

Types of Reporting

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

Types of Reporting Decide as a group, in consultation with your DM, what kind of reporting you do for the newspaper. It’s possible that different members of your group have different specialties, or

for scandalous and titillating secrets that famous people would rather hide. 3 Local News. You care about the local community and report on local events and government. 4 International Affairs. You

Alter Self

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

between your fingers. You can breathe underwater and gain a Swim Speed equal to your Speed. Change Appearance. You alter your appearance. You decide what you look like, including your height, weight

to deal damage with that new growth, it deals 1d6 damage of the type in parentheses instead of dealing the normal damage for your Unarmed Strike, and you use your spellcasting ability modifier for the attack and damage rolls rather than using Strength.

D&D Beyond

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