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Returning 35 results for 'both barely design could rules'.
Monsters
Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1
can come in tiny packages. Their tiny, foot-tall forms can barely contain the cruelty and malevolence that courses through them. Deep in the Underdark, the jermlaine lurk among the tunnels, dungeons
, leathery, and textured like stone. Whether by the design of some sympathetic god or through sheer luck, their hide makes them appear invisible to darkvision. Part of the jermlaine's anger comes from
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
table to help select spells for a spellcasting dragon. (Though the Monster Manual doesn’t explicitly include dragon turtles in the variant rules for making a dragon a spellcaster, you can apply
those rules to these aquatic dragons.)
Dragon Turtle Personality Traits
d8;{"diceNotation":"1d8","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Trait"}
Trait
1
I speak slowly and deliberately
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice Compendium
things they don’t. In a typical D&D session, a DM makes numerous rules decisions—some barely noticeable and others quite obvious. Players also interpret the rules, and the whole group keeps the game
The Role of Rules Why even have a column like Sage Advice when a DM can just make a ruling? Rules are a big part of what makes D&D a game, rather than simply improvised storytelling. The game’s rules
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice & Errata
typical D&D session, a DM makes numerous rules decisions—some barely noticeable and others quite obvious. Players also interpret the rules, and the whole group keeps the game running. There are times
The Role of Rules Why even have Sage Advice when a DM can just make a ruling? Rules are a big part of what makes D&D a game, rather than simply improvised storytelling. The game’s rules are meant to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Unearthed Arcana
Apocalyptic Subclasses August 21, 2025
Get ready for the end of a world with the latest innovations from the D&D Game Design Team! This document presents four new subclasses for the Druid (Circle
of Preservation), Fighter (Gladiator), Sorcerer (Defiled Sorcery), and Warlock (Sorcerer-King Patron). The material uses the rules in the Player's Handbook. Learn more about this playtest directly from the designers in this article!
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
Credits Lead Designer: Justice Ramin Arman
Designer: Dan Dillon
Rules Developer: Ron Lundeen
Art Director: Fury Galluzzi
Lead Editor: Judy Bauer
Editor: Hannah Rose
Graphic Designer
: Bill Benham, Siera Bruggeman, Robert Hawkey
Product Manager: Natalie Egan
D&D Beyond Product Manager: Jeff Turriff
Digital Design Team: Jay Jani, Sean Stoves, Adam Walton
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
Dragon The dragons of Theros are barely capable of speech and sow destruction either individually or by forcing minions to carry out their will. Only red and blue dragons exist on Theros, and both
lowland valleys, feasting on cattle and those who tend herds. They often lair in dangerous mountain caves or volcanoes. Akroans revere red dragons and employ their images in the design of their armor
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
if it’s wielded in a way contrary to its design; if you use a Ranged weapon to make a melee attack or throw a Melee weapon that lacks the Thrown property, the weapon counts as an improvised weapon. An
improvised weapon follows the rules below. Proficiency. Don’t add your Proficiency Bonus to attack rolls with an improvised weapon. Damage. On a hit, the weapon deals 1d4 damage of a type the DM
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
if it’s wielded in a way contrary to its design; if you use a Ranged weapon to make a melee attack or throw a Melee weapon that lacks the Thrown property, the weapon counts as an improvised weapon. An
improvised weapon follows the rules below. Proficiency. Don’t add your Proficiency Bonus to attack rolls with an improvised weapon. Damage. On a hit, the weapon deals 1d4 damage of a type the DM
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1
Jermlaine Jermlaine prove that terrible things can come in tiny packages. Their tiny, foot-tall forms can barely contain the cruelty and malevolence that courses through them. Deep in the Underdark
. Hidden Threat. The jermlaine’s skin is rough, leathery, and textured like stone. Whether by the design of some sympathetic god or through sheer luck, their hide makes them appear invisible to darkvision
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Quests from the Infinite Staircase
Romeo and Juliet. It was a departure from the more expected adventure design of the time in that violent solutions to problems aren’t an automatic path to victory—inquisitive minds and compassionate
hearts carry the heroes further than strength of arms.
This updated version of the adventure reimagines Caerwyn and Porphura’s—originally Porpherio’s—garden as the Eternal Garden, a domain in the Feywild, and the Green Man as the Gardener, the benevolent archfey who rules it.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Combat Encounters Design your adventure for one of the four tiers, as set forth in chapter 1 of the Player’s Handbook: tier 1 includes levels 1–4, tier 2 is levels 5–10, tier 3 is levels 11–16, and
2, five 13th-level characters for tier 3, and five 18th-level characters for tier 4. Use that assumption when creating combat encounters, whether you use the encounter-building rules in the Dungeon
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation
Credits Designers: Christopher Perkins, Will Doyle, Steve Winter
Additional Design: Adam Lee
Story Consultants: Pendleton Ward, James Lowder
Story Creators: Christopher Perkins, Adam Lee
, Richard Whitters
Lead Rules Developer: Jeremy Crawford
Managing Editors: Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins
Editors: Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray
Editorial Assistance: Matt Sernett
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
their late teens and live less than a century. Size. Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium
HUMAN TRAITS
If your campaign uses the optional feat rules from chapter 6, your Dungeon Master might allow these variant traits, all of which replace the human’s Ability Score Increase trait
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
the rules for monster customization and encounter building in the Dungeon Master’s Guide—to build your own adventures. Consult appendix B for monster lists that will help your adventure building. What’s
New in the 2025 Version?
This is the 2025 version of the fifth edition Monster Manual. If you’ve read the 2014 version, much of this book will feel familiar, since the fundamental rules and variety
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Quests from the Infinite Staircase
Credits Lead Designer: Justice Ramin Arman
Art Director: Emi Tanji
Designers: Dan Dillon, Carl Sibley
Rules Developers: Jeremy Crawford, Makenzie De Armas, Ron Lundeen, Carl Sibley
Lead
Design Department: Justice Ramin Arman, Makenzie De Armas, Amanda Hamon, Ron Lundeen, Ben Petrisor, Patrick Renie, F. Wesley Schneider, Jason Tondro, James Wyatt
Editorial Department: Judy Bauer, Janica
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Flee, Mortals! Rule Primer
).
Behind the Design: Save Ends Effects
Save ends effects are one way of saving space in stat blocks and making them less complex for GMs to run at the table. Much like how stat blocks just reference the
poisoned condition instead of spelling its rules out each time, we didn’t want to fill up the pages by repeating long sentences similar to this one: “A target poisoned in this way can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on themself on a success.”
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Noteworthy Features Those familiar with Hazlan know the following facts: The wizard Hazlik rules Hazlan. His apprentices have free rein to exploit the land and its people to further their magical
experiments. Inhabitants claim the eyelike design called the Eye of Hazlik bears Hazlik’s blessing and wards off dangerous magic. Magic is unreliable in Hazlan, resulting in dangerous side effects. The
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
, discuss with your group how much fear ties into the game’s rules. Would you prefer to keep frightful reactions narrative, or would you like to use game rules that present additional challenges and
benefits? Ask your DM about the possibility of using the rules for inspiration to motivate fearful character reactions, as detailed in the “Fear and Stress” section of chapter 4. Using this system, a
compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
George, Amanda Hamon, Cassandra Khaw, Renee Knipe, Kira Magrann, Molly Ostertag, Ben Petrisor, Jessica Price, Taymoor Rehman, Jessica Ross, John Stavropoulos, Jabari Weathers, James Wyatt
Rules
Design: Trystan Falcone, Emi Tanji, Trish Yochum
Cover Illustrators: Scott M. Fischer, Anna Podedworna
Interior Illustrators: Helder Almeida, Mark Behm, Eric Belisle, Zoltan Boros, Christopher Burdett
compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Boo’s Astral Menagerie
Credits
Project Lead & Writer: Christopher Perkins
Art Director: Kate Irwin
Rules Developer: Jeremy Crawford
Editors: Judy Bauer, Kim Mohan
Senior Graphic Designer: Trish Yochum
Irwin, Bob Jordan, Emi Tanji, Trish Yochum
Design Manager: Steve Scott
Design Department: Sydney Adams, Judy Bauer, Makenzie De Armas, Dan Dillon, Amanda Hamon, Ben Petrisor, Taymoor Rehman, F
compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Light of Xaryxis
Credits
Project Lead: Christopher Perkins
Writers: Justice Ramin Arman, Sadie Lowry, Jeffrey Ludwig
Art Director: Kate Irwin
Adventure Developers: Dan Dillon, Christopher Perkins
Rules
Design Manager: Steve Scott
Design Department: Sydney Adams, Judy Bauer, Makenzie De Armas, Dan Dillon, Amanda Hamon, Ben Petrisor, Taymoor Rehman, F. Wesley Schneider, James Wyatt
Art Department
compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
, Erin Roberts, James L. Sutter
Rules Developer: Jeremy Crawford
Editors: Sydney Adams, Judy Bauer, Janica Carter, Laura Hirsbrunner, Adrian Ng, Jason Tondro
Senior Graphic Designer: Trish Yochum
of Studio Operations: Kyle Brink
Game Architects: Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins
Design Manager: Steve Scott
Design Department: Justice Arman, Judy Bauer, Eytan Bernstein, Janica Carter
compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Astral Adventurer’s Guide
Credits
Project Lead: Christopher Perkins
Writers: Christopher Perkins, Jeremy Crawford, Ari Levitch
Art Directors: Kate Irwin, Richard Whitters
Rules Developers: Jeremy Crawford, Dan
Design Manager: Steve Scott
Design Department: Sydney Adams, Judy Bauer, Makenzie De Armas, Dan Dillon, Amanda Hamon, Ben Petrisor, Taymoor Rehman, F. Wesley Schneider, James Wyatt
Art Department
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
, after we fought a particularly savage battle against raiders. A few others and I fought our way to the keep, barely. Leosin didn’t make it at all. We went back this morning to look for him, but all we
interest. The broken staff is nothing special. The choker is a braided leather neckband with a silver dragon design chased into the leather. The ends are ragged, as if it was roughly torn off.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Approaching the Fortress To get to Xardorok’s fortress, the characters need to negotiate the Spine of the World. Use the rules in the “Mountain Travel” section to simulate the perils of getting
hewn from the rock leads up along one side of the wall.
The steps leading up to it are barely 5 feet wide and climb 150 feet to a frost-covered shelf that adjoins the main entrance (area X1). Difficult
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen
we fought a particularly savage battle against raiders. A few others and I fought our way to the keep, barely. Leosin didn’t make it at all. We went back this morning to look for him, but all we
. The broken staff is nothing special. The choker is a braided leather neckband with a silver dragon design chased into the leather. The ends are ragged, as if it was roughly torn off.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
in the legal code of Waterdeep, but guilds are mentioned in the oldest surviving legal documents — penned by Ahghairon himself — and the rules of Guild Law are respected by wise city folk. Guilds
Stonecutters, Masons, Potters, and Tile-makers design and craft any decorative elements of wood, stone, or ceramics, and after the Most Careful Order of Skilled Smiths and Metalforgers has manufactured
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
the event. Fashion Show Rumors d6 Rumor 1 Another designer stole the student’s design and is trying to pass it off as their own work! 2 An alumni designer is here to watch and recruit models for
outfit’s value, along with some comparable outfits also being sold at the auction. Buying Fashions. A character can bid on a design being auctioned off, ultimately winning it for the price listed in the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
; now roll damage,” “11 points,” and “OK, now we’re to Initiative count 13.” Instead, use the rules and your knowledge of the scene to help your narration. If 18 is barely a hit, but the 11 points of
Narration in Combat Although it’s important that the players understand what’s going on in terms of the rules, the game can get dull if everyone uses only “gamespeak”: “That’s an 18 to hit,” “You hit
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
tell you how to design new class features. The best place to start is by looking at other class features, or at spells, feats, or any other rules for inspiration. You’re almost certainly going to have
some missteps, as features that seem good on the surface fall apart in play. That’s all right. Everything you design will need to be playtested. When introducing new class features, be sure the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
an original design created by the Heuristic Arcane Research and Development department of Acquisitions Incorporated. But the wizards of Halruaa developed similar skyships in ages past, and the Cult of
. The standard design of an Acquisitions Incorporated-grade airship features an enormous balloon covered in a rope net. Trailing lines connect the balloon to the vessel of metal and wood suspended
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Light of Xaryxis
shall be marooned.
Article 4: No Shipboard Conflicts. All disputes shall be settled on land.
At your discretion, Captain Gargenhale’s code can include additional rules, perhaps of your own design
to abide by the following rules:
Article 1: Don’t Eat Each Other. No crew member shall partake of another crew member’s flesh or drink their blood.
Article 2: No Hymns. Many crew members’ ears are
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Astral Adventurer’s Guide
-foot cube Gargantuan 20-foot cube A creature that needs to breathe will exhaust the air in its personal envelope in 1 minute. Since this is barely enough time to get anywhere, most creatures travel
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice Compendium
component, then it’s impossible for anyone to perceive the spell being cast. So, since you can’t see the casting, counterspell is of no use. Metamagic rules state you can’t use multiple Metamagic
level If you know this rule yet are still unsure whether a particular spell qualifies for Twinned Spell, consult with your DM, who has the final say. If the two of you are curious about our design