Search Results
All Results
Characters
Compendium
Spells
Items
Monsters
Vehicles
Forums
Returning 35 results for 'building both direct clever rules'.
Other Suggestions:
buildings both direct clear rules
buildings both direct cover rules
buildings both direct clever rules
binding both direct clear rules
binding both direct cover rules
Monsters
Vecna: Eve of Ruin
powerful as their black dragon progenitors, though, and they often drain the enclaves’ resources with their selfish demands.
Uninterested in building lairs, spiderdragons weave powerful webs and
particularly clever, though some of them understand their significance to Lolth worshipers and exploit their positions for as long as possible.Poison, PsychicStifling Webs (Recharge 5–6);{"diceNotation":"1d6
Monsters
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures
fae kindguards are in direct service to Talion, the Kindly Lord. Nine times nine have these high fae sworn a binding oath to protect the Kindly Lord, each time pricking their hand on a hawthorn
operate under inviolable rules of their own: gifts must always be repaid, promises must be honored, and outright lies must never be spoken (though misdirection and riddles are always welcome). To
Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
the power of one of the elements. Air, earth, fire, and water—these are the four pillars of the Material Plane and the four types of genasi. Some genasi are direct descendants of a genie, while
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 Increases
When
Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
Planes, each genasi can tap into the power of one of the elements. Air, earth, fire, and water—these are the four pillars of the Material Plane and the four types of genasi. Some genasi are direct
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
Eladrin
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
Learn More
Species
Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
Everything dies eventually. Why bother building anything that is supposedly meant to last?
2
Nothing matters to you, and you allow others to guide your actions.
3
Your needs come first. In
fancy passes with equal speed.
4
Anything worth doing is worth doing again and again.
Summer
d4
Summer Personality Trait
1
You believe that direct confrontation is
Deep Dragon Wyrmling
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
Learn More
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
other dragons, but we are superior beings and should not lower ourselves to direct conflict.
4
I have no interest in going to the surface world. It’s where one sends one’s servants
it to the surface world. Lost and confused, the wyrmling has been captured by a group of cruel adventurers.
3
A deep dragon wyrmling whimsically rules over a worshipful group of kobolds, sending
Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
power of one of the elements. Air, earth, fire, and water—these are the four pillars of the Material Plane and the four types of genasi. Some genasi are direct descendants of a genie, while others
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 Increases
When
Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
the power of one of the elements. Air, earth, fire, and water—these are the four pillars of the Material Plane and the four types of genasi. Some genasi are direct descendants of a genie, while
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 Increases
When
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
Kenku
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
Learn More
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
a talent for learning and memorizing details. Thus, ambitious kenku can excel as superb spies and scouts. A kenku who learns of clever schemes and plans devised by other creatures can put them to use
Ancient Deep Dragon
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
Learn More
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
dragons, but we are superior beings and should not lower ourselves to direct conflict.
4
I have no interest in going to the surface world. It’s where one sends one’s servants.
5
, 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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Zox Clammersham A clever rock gnome, Zox Clammersham is the sole survivor of his former party’s failed Undermountain expedition. Since the demise of his friends, Zox has managed to secure a ring that
allows him to command the scaladar. He has put the constructs to work building a device he calls the Simulacrux. This device will, in theory, create a simulacrum of any scaladar that passes through
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
Master’s Guide. This approach uses the same math that underlies the rules presented in that book, but it makes a few adjustments to the way that math is presented to produce a more flexible system. This
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.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver
General Features Many of Thundertree’s buildings have crumbled in the years since the town was abandoned, even as nature threatens to swallow what remains. Buildings. A building in Thundertree is
terrain (see “Difficult Terrain” in the Basic Rules). Intact buildings are rundown, ramshackle stone cottages that are otherwise still standing. Their wooden doors are swollen and require a successful
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Those Who Rule The following sahuagin rule the fortress, oversee its armed forces, and direct its worship of Sekolah. Baroness Seklaz The initial attack against the lizardfolk and the subsequent
clever but hasty, and prone to sulking when things do not go his way. The fortress and the forthcoming sahuagin invasion on the coastal area represent his opportunity to make history. High Priestess
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
some free time to exercise your creativity as you invent compelling plots, create new NPCs, craft encounters, and think of clever ways to foreshadow story events yet to come. Part 2 of these rules is
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
.
Direct and Deadly. Hill giants’ ability to digest nearly anything has allowed them to survive for eons without needing to adapt and change.
With no culture of their own, hill giants ape the
topple entire forests by trying to live in trees. Others attempting to take over humanoid towns or villages get only as far as the doors and windows of a building, taking out its walls and roof as they
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
. Only a special escape route—a secret passage known only to a palace’s most trusted servants, for example—should come as a surprise to the cultists and Red Wizards. Frontal Assault Because clever ruses
. When they finally face off against the adventurers, the attackers fight to kill. If the characters try to stay inside and under cover, the dragons attack whatever building they hide in, setting it
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
describes what happens. Sometimes, however, rules govern what you can do with an object, as detailed in the following sections. What Is an Object? For the purpose of the rules, an object is a discrete
, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone. It isn’t a building or a vehicle, which are composed of many objects. Time-Limited Object Interactions When time is short, such
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
describes what happens. Sometimes, however, rules govern what you can do with an object, as detailed in the following sections. What Is an Object? For the purpose of the rules, an object is a discrete
, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone. It isn’t a building or a vehicle, which are composed of many objects. Time-Limited Object Interactions When time is short, such
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
cut from the slopes of the Spine of the World or the depths of the Lonelywood Forest. Stone from the hills and valleys surrounding Kelvin’s Cairn supplements wood as a building material in Ten-Towns
, one resident looks very much the same as another. Outdoors, it’s hard to tell the people of Ten-Towns apart—and easy for clever monsters to hide in their midst. The Easthaven ferry is trapped in ice, just like the rest of Ten-Towns..
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
before the wall does. For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone, not a building or a vehicle that is composed of many other objects.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
before the wall does. For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone, not a building or a vehicle that is composed of many other objects.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
. The chapter opens with optional rules meant to help you run certain parts of the game more smoothly. The chapter then goes into greater depth on several topics — encounter building, random encounters
you. It gives you new rules options, as well as some refined tools for creating and running adventures and campaigns. It is a supplement to the tools and advice offered in the Dungeon Master’s Guide
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat
Assault Because clever ruses and ambush have failed in previous attacks, the cult’s third assault opts for overwhelming force. The dragons attack the characters from the air, attempting to draw them outside
if they are indoors. When they finally face off against the adventurers, the attackers fight to kill. If the characters try to stay inside and under cover, the dragons attack whatever building they
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
the DM change the pitch or tempo of narration in different situations? Player Participation. Did the players participate in the world-building or make decisions that seemed to send the adventure in an
unexpected direction? How did the DM handle it? Rules Adjudication. To what extent did the DM lean on the rules to adjudicate outcomes? Did the DM adjudicate situations wisely or in ways that made the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
the DM change the pitch or tempo of narration in different situations? Player Participation. Did the players participate in the world-building or make decisions that seemed to send the adventure in an
unexpected direction? How did the DM handle it? Rules Adjudication. To what extent did the DM lean on the rules to adjudicate outcomes? Did the DM adjudicate situations wisely or in ways that made the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
dragonborn race in the Player’s Handbook is the most direct way to reflect a character with dragons somewhere far back in their ancestry. But for players who want to try a more nuanced approach, this
section offers three variant dragonborn race options that can be used to create a character with clear connections to a specific draconic ancestry. When you’re making a new character using one of these races, use the rules under “Creating Your Character” to fill out the details.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Mounted Combat A willing creature that is at least one size larger than a rider and that has an appropriate anatomy can serve as a mount, using the following rules. Mounting and Dismounting During
. The Initiative of a controlled mount changes to match yours when you mount it. It moves on your turn as you direct it, and it has only three action options during that turn: Dash, Disengage, and Dodge
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->Tyranny of Dragons
for a direct assault, crashing through the front door. A more subtle approach sees them enter the inn a few at a time disguised as customers, then attacking when they have the characters outnumbered
and surrounded. The dragon is unlikely to enter the inn building, opting to use its breath weapon through the windows or attacking any characters or bystanders who step outside. Option 2: Attack on the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat
for a direct assault, crashing through the front door. A more subtle approach sees them enter the inn a few at a time disguised as customers, then attacking when they have the characters outnumbered
and surrounded. The dragon is unlikely to enter the inn building, opting to use its breath weapon through the windows or attacking any characters or bystanders who step outside. Option 2: Attack on the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver
“Cover” in the Basic Rules). DISGUISED CHARACTERS
Rather than storm Cragmaw Castle with weapons in hand, clever characters might try to talk their way inside. For example, they might don the scarlet
cloaks of the Redbrands and claim to be emissaries sent by Iarno “Glasstaff” Albrek, the Redbrand leader, to meet with King Grol. A good DM rewards this kind of clever thinking by giving the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
. We’ve visited Waterdeep before, but not like this. Clever heroes will respect the city’s rules. Those who get on the city’s bad side are in for a rough time, as the City of Splendors is home to some of






