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Returning 35 results for 'some of rules direction variant'.
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.
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
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
isn’t being worn or carried, the gazer moves it up to 30 feet in any direction. The gazer can also exert fine control on objects with this ray, such as manipulating a simple tool or opening a
kill.
Gazer (Familiar Variant);Variant: Gazer Familiar
Spellcasters who are interested in unusual familiars find that gazers are eager to serve someone who has magical power. Unless its master is
Variant Human
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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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.
Magic Items
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
next dawn.
The shadow (variant);detached shadow is rooted to the spot where it was snipped until you use a bonus action to cause it to behave in one of the following ways, either of which is possible
only if you can see the shadow:
You control the shadow’s movements and can make the shadow move up to 30 feet across a solid or liquid surface, in any direction you choose (including along
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
Magic Items
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
rest within 30 feet of it, meditating on the mythallar. Up to eight creatures can be attuned to it at one time; otherwise, the Ythryn mythallar follows the attunement rules in the Dungeon Master&rsquo
of existence as the Ythryn mythallar, you can use an action to cause it to fly in any direction you choose at a speed of 30 feet. All matter within 500 feet of the device moves with it. The Ythryn
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
Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
Minotaurs are barrel-chested humanoids with heads resembling those of bulls. Blessed with a supernaturally strong sense of direction, minotaurs make great navigators. Some sages believe minotaurs
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.
Ability Score Increases
Monsters
Infernal Machine Rebuild
thrown up to 40 feet in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes a solid surface, the target takes 3 (1d6);{"diceNotation":"1d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Fling
. Among the largest was the thessalkraken—a slightly smaller variant of the legendary kraken, resembling that great tentacled titan but with a jagged-toothed maw that drips constantly with
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
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
less that isn’t being worn or carried, the gazer moves it up to 30 feet in any direction. The gazer can also exert fine control on objects with this ray, such as manipulating a simple tool or
’t kill.
Variant: Gazer Familiar
Spellcasters who are interested in unusual familiars find that gazers are eager to serve someone who has magical power. Unless its master is strict, a gazer
Criminal / Spy
Legacy
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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
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
Contamination. The sibriex emits an aura of corruption 30 feet in every direction. Vegetation withers in the aura, and the ground in the aura is difficult terrain for other creatures. Any creature
-shaping they provide.
Variant: Flesh Warping
Creatures that encounter a sibriex can be twisted beyond recognition. Whenever a creature fails a saving throw against the sibriex’s Warp Creature
Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
and reforming without purpose or direction, until a creature exerts deliberate will to stabilize it. Through their potent psionic power, githzerai carved a home for themselves amid the chaos. As the
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.
Ability Score
Spell Scroll
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Magic Items
Basic Rules (2014)
copied. Whether the check succeeds or fails, the Spell Scroll is destroyed.
VARIANT: SCROLL MISHAPS
A creature who tries and fails to cast a spell from a spell scroll must make a DC 10
the intended target, the spell takes effect normally. If the caster was not the intended target, the spell goes off in the general direction of the intended target, up to the spell’s maximum range, if the target has moved away.
Baphomet
Legacy
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Monsters
Out of the Abyss
, the Horned King and the Prince of Beasts. He rules over minotaur;minotaurs and others with savage hearts. He is worshiped by those who want to break the confines of civility and unleash their bestial
reversed within that room. Any creatures or objects in the room when this happens fall in the direction of the new pull of gravity, unless they have some means of remaining aloft. Baphomet can ignore the
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
Dungeon Master’s Guide.Orcus’s Lair
Orcus makes his lair in the fortress city of Naratyr, which is on Thanatos, the layer of the Abyss that he rules. Surrounded by a moat fed by the
of Death. This creature emanates a deathly aura that extends 30 feet in every direction from its space while it isn’t incapacitated. The aura is blocked by total cover. While in the aura, the
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
always occur in shady venues.
Variant Criminal: Spy
Although your capabilities are not much different from those of a burglar or smuggler, you learned and practiced them in a very
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Rewards Adventures in a shared campaign that uses variant rules for gaining levels and acquiring treasure (such as those described below) don’t include experience point awards or specific amounts and kinds of treasure.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Creating a Dragonmarked Character Dragonmarks manifest on certain members of a few species, represented in the rules by variant race options: For humans and half-orcs, a dragonmark is a variant race
that replaces traits associated with those races. For half-elves, a dragonmark is a variant race that lets you keep some half-elf traits and replace others with the traits associated with your mark
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
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
with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on. VARIANT
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Tying Knots The rules are purposely open-ended concerning mundane tasks like tying knots, but sometimes knowing how well a knot was fashioned is important in a dramatic scene when someone is trying
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.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
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->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Rest Variants The rules for short and long rests presented in chapter 8 of the Player’s Handbook work well for a heroic-style campaign. Characters can go toe-to-toe with deadly foes, take damage to
within an inch of their lives, yet still be ready to fight again the next day. If this approach doesn’t fit your campaign, consider the following variants. Epic Heroism This variant uses a short rest
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
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
within 6 miles of the lair. Creatures can pass through a portal in either direction by spending 5 feet of movement.
If the dragon dies, any portals near the lair close immediately.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
lift. For a Tiny creature, halve these weights. Variant: Encumbrance The rules for lifting and carrying are intentionally simple. Here is a variant if you are looking for more detailed rules for
determining how a character is hindered by the weight of equipment. When you use this variant, ignore the Strength column of the Armor table. If you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score, you
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
a Tiny creature, halve these weights. Variant: Encumbrance The rules for lifting and carrying are intentionally simple. Here is a variant if you are looking for more detailed rules for determining how
a character is hindered by the weight of equipment. When you use this variant, ignore the Strength column of the Armor table in chapter 5. If you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Sigil and the Outlands
garbage that gathers in Sigil’s alleys and sewers. Common and giant rats are found throughout the Cage, as are variant cranium rats known as squeakers (further detailed in Morte’s Planar Parade). Adapted
razorvine strategically to deter intruders by letting it grow along estate walls or as carefully cultivated hedges. Rules for razorvine can be found in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice Compendium
D&D. The direction we chose for the current edition was to lay a foundation of rules that a DM could build on, and we embraced the DM’s role as the bridge between the things the rules address and the
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
direction we took for fifth edition was to lay a foundation of rules that a DM could build on, and we celebrate the DM as the bridge between the things the rules address and the things they don’t. In a
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->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
those rules to these aquatic dragons.) Dragon Turtle Personality Traits d8 Trait
1 I speak slowly and deliberately, pausing to reflect after (or sometimes in the middle of) each utterance
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
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
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->Dungeon Master’s Guide
(with their input), arbitrate the rules, and settle arguments. And when you’re narrating the action of the game, the players should be paying attention. Player Die Rolling Players should roll their dice
reroll it? When it lands cocked against a book, do you pull the book away and see where it lands or reroll the die? Work with your players to answer these questions, and record the answers as house rules