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Variant Rules

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

Variant Rules A shared campaign might use some variant rules to handle certain aspects of the game. The Adventurers League, for instance, has variant systems for gaining levels and acquiring treasure

. These “house rules,” presented below, serve as a sort of common language, ensuring that the rewards all characters receive are equivalent no matter what kind of adventure a character experienced.

Elf

Species Player’s Handbook

to shape-shift at will, the elves retreated to the Feywild, where their sorrow was deepened by that plane’s influence. Over time, curiosity led many of them to explore other planes of existence

, including worlds in the Material Plane. Elves have pointed ears and lack facial and body hair. They live for around 750 years, and they don’t sleep but instead enter a trance when they need

Ioun Stone

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

Roughly marble sized, Ioun Stones are named after Ioun, a god of knowledge and prophecy revered on some worlds. Many types of Ioun Stones exist, each type a distinct combination of shape and color

Stone of Strength;Strength (Very Rare). Your Strength increases by 2, to a maximum of 20, while this pale blue rhomboid orbits your head. Ioun Stone of Sustenance;Sustenance (Rare). You don’t need to eat or drink while this clear spindle orbits your head.

Biha Babir

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

again until the start of her next turn.Scheming Marid Ruler The calculating Biha Babir rules the pelagic city of Maran Saya in Calimshan. Though her physical form is as fluid as the ocean itself, she

punished.Acid, Cold, LightningFluid Form. Biha Babir Shape-Shifting;shape-shifts into a form resembling a Beast or Humanoid that is Medium or smaller, while retaining her game statistics (other than her size), or returns to her true marid form.

Gnoll Witherling

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

against each other, perhaps to determine who rules a war band or because of extreme starvation. Even under ordinary circumstances, gnolls that are deprived of victims for too long struggle to control

the remains back to a semblance of life in the form of a gnoll witherling. Witherlings travel with their comrades and try to kill anything in their path. They don’t eat and aren’t motivated

Amnizu

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

have no personalities or memories; they’re driven only by the desire to commit evil. The amnizus that patrol here drill the rules of the Nine Hells into the new arrivals’ minds and marshal

them into legions. Amnizu (Summoner Variant);Variant: Devil Summoning Some amnizus have an action that allows them to summon other devils: Summon Devil (1/Day). The amnizu summons 2d4

Irda Seeker

Monsters Monstrous Compendium Vol. 2: Dragonlance Creatures

. If the seeker lacks the room to become Large, it attains the maximum size possible in the space available. Change Shape (1/Day). The seeker magically transforms to look and feel like a Medium

Humanoid it has seen. Any equipment the seeker is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed, and the seeker’s statistics don’t change. The seeker reverts to its true form if the seeker is

Wereraven Legacy

monsters Curse of Strahd

"} to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2);{"diceNotation":"1d6+2","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Hand Crossbow","rollDamageType":"piercing"} piercing damage. Change Shape. The

light weapons. They are reluctant to make bite attacks in raven form for fear of spreading their curse to those who don’t deserve it or who would abuse it. A Kindness of Wereravens. Wereravens

Dawn Petal

Equipment

Combat Utility Whimsy 11 13 17 The petals of the dawn blossom flowers are admired by Obojimans for their unique shape, fragrance, and golden luster. Dawn blossom trees don

Grung Elite Warrior

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

. These amphibians prefer shade and live in trees, but they maintain hatcheries for their offspring in well-guarded ground-level pools. About three months after hatching, a grung tadpole takes on the shape

secrete a substance that is harmless to them but poisonous to other creatures, and sometimes that substance has a special effect based on the grung’s color (see “Variant: Grung Poison&rdquo

Grung Wildling

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

takes on the shape of an adult, and after another six months, the grung reaches maturity. Born in a wide range of colors, grungs most often appear in shades of green, blue, purple, red, orange, and

gold. All grungs secrete a substance that is harmless to them but poisonous to other creatures, and sometimes that substance has a special effect based on the grung’s color (see “Variant

Irda Veil Keeper

Monsters Monstrous Compendium Vol. 2: Dragonlance Creatures

Shape (3/Day). The veil keeper magically transforms to look and feel like a Medium Humanoid it has seen. Any equipment the veil keeper is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed, and the veil keeper

’s statistics don’t change. The veil keeper reverts to its true form if the veil keeper is reduced to 0 hit points or if the veil keeper uses an action to end the transformation

Variant Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

If your campaign uses the optional feat rules from the Player’s Handbook, your Dungeon Master might allow these variant traits, all of which replace the human’s Ability Score Increase trait.

Grung

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

-level pools. About three months after hatching, a grung tadpole takes on the shape of an adult, and after another six months, the grung reaches maturity. Born in a wide range of colors, grungs most often

effect based on the grung’s color (see “Variant: Grung Poison”). They also use this venom to poison their weapons. Variant: Grung Poison A creature poisoned by a grung can suffer an

Plasmoid Explorer

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

oozes that can alter their shape at will. Their amorphous bodies have a soft, malleable texture, and plasmoids can extrude up to five pseudopods, each one up to 5 feet long. They use their pseudopods

for locomotion as well as for manipulating objects. Every plasmoid has a mass of nerves for a brain. Plasmoids don’t have internal organs as humans know them, but they have pores through which

Changeling Legacy

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

, Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures of certain types in different ways. For example, the cure wounds spell

changelings today—even in those changelings who have never set foot in the fey realm. Each changeling decides how to use their shape-shifting ability, channeling either the peril or the joy of the

Spitting Mimic

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

damage on a successful one.Mimics are shape-shifting monsters described in the Monster Manual. The variant presented here is a particularly large and voracious specimen—the result of Netherese experiments on ordinary mimics—that spits acid.Acid

Criminal / Spy Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

than most people to the world of murder, theft, and violence that pervades the underbelly of civilization, and you have survived up to this point by flouting the rules and regulations of society

; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you. Variant Criminal: Spy Although your capabilities are not much different

Plasmoid Warrior

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

alter their shape at will. Their amorphous bodies have a soft, malleable texture, and plasmoids can extrude up to five pseudopods, each one up to 5 feet long. They use their pseudopods for locomotion as

well as for manipulating objects. Every plasmoid has a mass of nerves for a brain. Plasmoids don’t have internal organs as humans know them, but they have pores through which they absorb oxygen

Young Dragon Turtle

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

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

Boss Delour

Monsters The Book of Many Things

"} poison damage.Delour the wererat is a sly trickster and consummate thief who rules the Moonstalkers alongside his friend Boss Augustus;Augustus. Delour’s honeyed words and calculating mind make

with utmost respect. If he discovers Augustus’s plot to become human and leave the Moonstalkers, he would consider it the ultimate betrayal.Change Shape. Delour polymorphs into a rat-humanoid

Dragon Turtle Wyrmling

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

characters, and use the Dragon Turtle Spellcasting 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

Cloud Giant Smiling One

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

. Hit: 25 (4d10 + 3);{"diceNotation":"4d10+3", "rollType":"damage", "rollAction":"Telekinetic Strike", "rollDamageType":"force"} force damage. Change Shape. The giant magically transforms to look and

feel like a Beast or a Humanoid it has seen or to return to its true form. Any equipment the giant is wearing or carrying is absorbed by the new form. Its statistics, other than its size, don’t

Plasmoid Boss

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

and wit, in addition to their strength and size, to stay in power for long. Plasmoids Plasmoids are intelligent oozes that can alter their shape at will. Their amorphous bodies have a soft

nerves for a brain. Plasmoids don’t have internal organs as humans know them, but they have pores through which they absorb oxygen. Up to four times in its life, a plasmoid can reproduce by joining

Hag of the Fetid Gaze

Monsters Candlekeep Mysteries

like another creature of her general size and humanoid shape. The illusion ends if the hag takes a bonus action to end it or if she dies. The changes wrought by this effect fail to hold up to physical

with her.Three Green Hag (Coven Variant);green hags named Dread Morgan, Vile Sazha, and Auntie Greenbones were once rivals who dwelled in an area of the Feywild coterminous with the High Forest. A

Living Portent

Monsters The Book of Many Things

encounter. Variant: Servants of Living Stars Some stars in the sky are Elder Evils, alien beings of godlike power from the reality-defying Far Realm. A living portent can be a fragment of these beings

power to defy death. RadiantChange Shape. The living portent magically transforms into a Humanoid while retaining its game statistics (other than its size and Brilliance trait). The transformation ends if the living portent is reduced to 0 hit points or uses a bonus action to end it.

Shapechange Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

of equipment, based on the creature's shape and size. Your equipment doesn't change shape or size to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can't wear must either fall to the ground

rules for the original form, with one exception: if your new form has more hit points than your current one, your hit points remain at their current value.

Shifter Legacy

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

Yuan-ti Anathema

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

. Anathemas don’t age, allowing them to pursue their goals until the end of days. Truly powerful ones might rule multiple yuan-ti cities and bring entire regions under their control.PoisonAcid

, Fire, LightningChange Shape. The anathema transforms into a Huge constrictor snake or back into its true form. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed.

Ancient Dragon Turtle

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

Guild Artisan / Guild Merchant Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

in the guild’s good graces. Variant Guild Artisan: Guild Merchant Instead of an artisans’ guild, you might belong to a guild of traders, caravan masters, or shopkeepers. You don&rsquo

Wilfred Godefroy

monsters

. Wilfred makes one Object Slam attack.Lord Wilfred Godefroy rules the afterlife of all who die in Mordent. Arrogant, impatient, and vengeful, the Darklord seeks any opportunity to exert his control and

. He uses his control over the dead to influence the living, threatening to harm his victims’ dead loved ones if they don’t obey his fickle commands. A generation ago, the creators of the

Plasmoid

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

, Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures of certain types in different ways. For example, the text of the cure

Plasmoids are amorphous beings with no typical shape. In the presence of other folk, they often adopt a similar shape, but there’s little chance of mistaking a plasmoid for anything else. They

Noble Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

inheritance that no one cares what you do, as long as you don’t embarrass the family? How does the head of your family feel about your adventuring career? Are you in your family’s good graces, or

. Variant Noble: Knight A knighthood is among the lowest noble titles in most societies, but it can be a path to higher status. If you wish to be a knight, choose the Retainers feature (see the sidebar

Hashalaq Quori

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

range of simple shapes. A point of blue light suspended within its tendrils serves as the hashalaq's sensory organ, which can be moved around to suit the creature's current shape. The Power of Pleasure

. Hashalaq quori have studied their mortal prey for centuries. Inhabiting human bodies as Inspired (Hashalaq variant);Inspired has granted the hashalaq a deep understanding of the hedonistic urges of

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