Search Results
All Results
Characters
Compendium
Spells
Items
Monsters
Vehicles
Forums
Returning 35 results for 'shapes of rule during variant'.
Other Suggestions:
shape of rule during variant
shades of rule during variant
scales of rule during variant
shaped of rule during variant
shards of rule during variant
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
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
refuse to recognize my rule over these waters suffer my displeasure. (Lawful or Evil)
5
Preservation. I am the ocean’s steward, tending reefs and waters to ensure that they remain unspoiled
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
the surface world. (Any)
4
Supremacy. Creatures who refuse to recognize my rule over these waters suffer my displeasure. (Lawful or Evil)
5
Preservation. I am the ocean’s steward
Species
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
Distant kin of giant owls from the Feywild, owlin come in many shapes and sizes, from petite and fluffy to wide-winged and majestic. Owlin have arms and legs like other Humanoids, as well as wings
increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy.
The “Quick Build” section for your
Yuan-ti Pureblood
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
Learn More
Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
the blood, as it once did.
Because their population is so small, the yuan-ti are aware they are vulnerable in open warfare. Instead, their current plans assume they will never rule outwardly in
, the yuan-ti will do so—and they actually prefer these tactics to open warfare. Because abominations and malisons can change into the shapes of snakes, they can keep their presence hidden and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Sleight of Hand with Intelligence, rather than Dexterity. This is an example of how to apply the rule in the “Variant: Skills with Different Abilities” section in chapter 7 of the Player’s Handbook.
to untie a knot or slip out of one. Here’s an optional rule for determining the effectiveness of a knot. The creature who ties the knot makes an Intelligence (Sleight of Hand) check when doing so. The
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
expended. Variant: Training to Gain Levels As a variant rule, you can require characters to spend time between adventures training or studying before they gain the benefits of a new level. This
variant slows the passage of time in the game world, which can help support a more realistic or gritty tone in your campaign. If you choose this option, after earning enough Experience Points to attain a
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
great thinkers, and spur adventurers to heroic deeds. They sometimes give guidance to those in need or request help from adventurers to encourage them to greatness.
As a rule, moonstone dragons are
a night hag (coven variant);night hag coven are determined to prevent an adult moonstone dragon from contacting creatures in the dream realm, and the dragon has no idea why.
7
An adult
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
)
3
Curiosity. I want to know about everything that enters my domain, especially oddities from the surface world. (Any)
4
Supremacy. Creatures who refuse to recognize my rule over these waters
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
remembering where you are in the list can bog the game down. If you want quicker combats, at the risk of those combats becoming unbalanced, try using the side initiative rule. Under this variant, the
Initiative Variants This section offers different ways to handle initiative. Initiative Score With this optional rule, creature don’t roll initiative at the start of combat. Instead, each creature
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
the following variants. Choose whichever one best suits your campaign. Ability Check Proficiency With this variant rule, characters don’t have skill proficiencies. Instead, each character has
distinction among characters. For example, a character can’t choose to emphasize persuasion or intimidation; he or she is equally adept at both. Background Proficiency With this variant rule, characters don’t
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
Variant Abilities When a beholder’s dream-imagination runs wild, the result can be an offspring that has an unusual or unique set of abilities. Rather than the standard powers of a beholder’s central
eye and eyestalks, the creature has one or more variant abilities — guaranteed to surprise any enemies who thought they knew what they were getting themselves into. This section provides several
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Arcadia Arcadia thrives with orchards of perfectly lined trees, ruler-straight streams, orderly fields, perfect roads, and cities laid out in geometrically pleasing shapes. The mountains are
of millennia. Dwarves born on this plane have the celestial type and are always brave and kindhearted, but otherwise they look and behave like normal dwarves. Optional Rule: Planar Vitality While on this plane, creatures can’t be frightened or poisoned, and they are immune to disease and poison.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
Creating a Shadow Dragon Use the Shadow Dragon Personality Traits and Shadow Dragon Ideals tables to inspire your portrayal of distinctive shadow dragon characters. If you use the variant rule in the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
destroyed demons’ evil. They usually vaguely resemble their former shapes, but some take purposefully deceptive shapes. Many lurk in dark places or venture out only at night to hide their true forms from
demons. There are three rules to endings. First, good always wins. Second, evil always returns. Third, the first rule isn’t always true.
—Tarsheva Longreach,
planar traveler
Shadow Demon Medium
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Difficulty Class It’s your job to establish the Difficulty Class for an ability check or a saving throw when a rule or an adventure doesn’t give you one. Sometimes you’ll even want to change such
ability score of 20 still needs a 19 or 20 on the die roll to succeed at a task of this difficulty. Variant: Automatic Success Sometimes the randomness of a d20 roll leads to ludicrous results. Let’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
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
my rule over these waters suffer my displeasure. (Lawful or Evil)
5 Preservation. I am the ocean’s steward, tending reefs and waters to ensure that they remain unspoiled. (Lawful)
6
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
, fire, and water by pointing to Annam’s early efforts in the Elemental Planes. Diancastra’s Saga also summarizes the central tragedy of giantkind’s long history: Annam intended the giants to rule over
reaches of the Elemental Chaos, where unshaped elements form a tumult of matter and energy, she claims a mote of raw chaos and brings it to her father. Annam quickly shapes it, but he is unsatisfied
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Astral Adventurer’s Guide
ballistae and crossbows 1,000 feet Beyond the range of most ranged weapons Initiative The Dungeon Master’s Guide presents a variant rule called side initiative, which is ideal for ship-to-ship engagements
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Players Award Inspiration As a DM, you have a lot to track during the game. Sometimes you can lose track of inspiration and forget to award it. As a variant rule, you can allow the players to handle
spice that you can use to enhance your campaign. Some DMs forgo using inspiration, while others embrace it as a key part of the game. If you take away anything from this section, remember this golden rule
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Areas of Effect on a Grid The Dungeon Master’s Guide includes the following short rule for using areas of effect on a grid. Choose an intersection of squares as the point of origin of an area of
square, it affects that square. That rule works, but it can require a fair amount of on-the-spot adjudication. This section offers two alternatives for determining the exact location of an area: the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
a ship make them generally reliable as well. Life aboard a ship shapes their outlook and forms their most important attachments. d8 Personality Trait 1 My friends know they can rely on me, no
, it’s hard for me to stop. 5 I can’t help but pocket loose coins and other trinkets I come across. 6 My pride will probably lead to my destruction. Variant Sailor: Pirate You spent your youth under the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
rolls and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it's in the smaller space. VARIANT: PLAYING ON A GRID If you play out a combat using a square grid and
adjacent to the square you’re in. (The rule for diagonal movement sacrifices realism for the sake of smooth play. The Dungeon Master’s Guide provides guidance on using a more realistic approach.)
If
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
Features of Meletis The architectural and academic marvels of Meletis testify to the achievements of civilized humanity. The streets are paved with bricks made in interlocking geometric shapes, meant
attempted to cast off the archon’s rule, each was crushed by his armies of giants, leonin, and other fearsome creatures. So, when the heroes Kynaios and Tiro sought to inspire an uprising, few flocked to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
D&D multiverse, there exists the Rule of Three, which states that events of cosmic consequence often manifest in threes. Time, for instance, has a past, present, and future. The Hourglass Coven has
the map on graph paper, a wet-erase mat, or another surface to help your players visualize locations that might have unusual shapes or features. Your hand-drawn maps need not be faithful to the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
collapse. Conflict Shapes the World’s History. Powerful individuals strive to make their mark on the world, and factions of like-minded individuals can alter the course of history. Factions include
other for power. Some seek to preserve the world and usher in a golden age. Others strive toward evil ends, seeking to rule the world with an iron fist. Still others seek goals that range from the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
found on the Material Plane. The rest reside on the Elemental Planes, where they rule from lavish palaces and are attended by worshipful servants. Genies are as brilliant as they are mighty, as proud as
wind, a flash of fire and smoke, or a burst of water and foam. Rule or Be Ruled. Mortal servants validate a genie’s power and high self-opinion. A hundred flattering voices are music to a genie’s ears
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Learning Beast Shapes The Wild Shape feature in the Player’s Handbook lets you transform into a beast that you’ve seen. That rule gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility, making it easy to
amass an array of beast form options for yourself, but you must abide by the limitations in the Beast Shapes table in that book. When you gain Wild Shape as a 2nd-level druid, you might wonder which
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
proficiencies, particularly if the dragon spends time in Humanoid form. Spells. The Monster Manual’s variant rule about making dragons innate spellcasters is an easy way to add variety to dragons
druid spells feels different from one who casts warlock spells. You can also give a dragon spells of a higher level than the variant rule allows, but such a tweak might increase the dragon’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
and magical properties when brought to the surface. VARIANT: DROW MAGIC ARMOR AND WEAPONS
Drow often wear magic armor and carry magic weapons that lose their enhancement bonuses permanently if they
social ladder are drow of low birth and the occasional non-drow captive. Matriarchal Rule. Lolth, through her faithful priestesses, dictates the rules of drow society, ensuring that her orders and plots
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
affecting the dragon’s challenge rating (as noted under “Customizing Dragons” earlier in this chapter). Likewise, if you use the Monster Manual variant rule to make dragons innate spellcasters, you could
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
every foot it moves there, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it’s in the smaller space. VARIANT: PLAYING ON A
least 1 square of movement left, even if the square is diagonally adjacent to the square you’re in. (The rule for diagonal movement sacrifices realism for the sake of smooth play. The Dungeon Master’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
being beseeched, or be concerned with upholding the god’s ideals. As a rule, any hero capable of reaching Nyx is worthy of receiving an ordeal in most gods’ eyes. Additionally, a god will typically only
hero’s drive can counteract their other personality traits. The god who grants an ordeal shapes it. Keranos, for example, might challenge a hero with saving innocents during a dangerous storm, or
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
misshapen, warty heads. Others have limbs of grossly different sizes and shapes, or emit terrible howls each time they draw breath through misshapen mouths. Their wretched appearance rarely evokes sympathy
. When those slaves can no longer toil, they are slain and devoured. Wickedness and depravity are the cornerstones of fomorian society, in which the strongest and cruelest giants rule. Fomorians mark
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
trade are common enough in Faerûn, metal coins and trade bars are the everyday currency. Common Coinage. Coins appear in a bewildering variety of shapes, sizes, names, and materials. Thanks to the
treasures. Finding six hundred ancient bedoars from the rule of Coronal Eltargrim twelve centuries before offers a deeper sense of immersion in your world than finding 60 sp. Varying names and descriptions