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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.

Detect Thoughts

Spells Player’s Handbook

of yourself that belong to creatures that know languages or are telepathic. You don’t read the thoughts, but you know that a thinking creature is present. The spell is blocked by 1 foot of stone

, emotions, and something that looms large in its mind (such as a worry, love, or hate). On a successful save, the spell ends. Either way, the target knows that you are probing into its mind, and until

Hat of Many Spells

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

special Somatic component: you must reach into the hat and “pull” the spell out of it. Unknown Spell. While holding the hat, you can try to cast a level 1+ spell you don’t know. The

7, Lightning Bolt; on an 8, Phantasmal Force; on a 9, Polymorph; on a 10, Stinking Cloud. 51–55 You have the Stunned condition until the end of your next turn, believing something awesome

Wish

Spells Player’s Handbook

this way, you don’t need to meet any requirements to cast that spell, including costly components. The spell simply takes effect. Alternatively, you can create one of the following effects of

wish for something not included in any of the other effects. To do so, state your wish to the DM as precisely as possible. The DM has great latitude in ruling what occurs in such an instance; the greater

Moonblade

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

its creator. The weapon communicates by transmitting emotions, sending a tingling sensation through the wielder’s hand when it wants to communicate something it has sensed. It can communicate

The Moonblade has the properties of a Ring of Spell Storing. 100 You can take a Magic action to conjure a spectral entity that resembles a shadowy elf if you don’t already have one

Deck of Many Things

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

combat, you have Advantage on Death Saving Throws for 1 year. If someone else reduces your chosen foe to 0 Hit Points or you don’t choose a foe, this card has no effect. Donjon. You disappear

a minimum score of 1). You can draw one additional card beyond your declared draws. Rogue. An NPC of the DM’s choice becomes Hostile toward you. You don’t know the identity of this NPC

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

Gazer

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

prey. A gazer might follow the folk in its territory, noisily mimicking their speech and generally being a nuisance, until they leave the area, but it flees if confronted by something it can’t

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

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

visitors the vastness of my domain, so they appreciate how insignificant they are. 5 I attack anyone I notice taking from the sea’s bounty without offering something in return. 6 I think

Criminal / Spy Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

who seem the fairest often have the most to hide. 6 I don’t pay attention to the risks in a situation. Never tell me the odds. 7 The best way to get me to do something is to tell me

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

Miros Xelbrin

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

: “Make fun of me all you like, but don’t speak ill of my inn or my employees!” Flaw: “When something upsets me, I have a tendency to fly into a rage.”

Madcap

Monsters Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

been. A redcap’s desire to slay is rooted in its will to survive. VARIANT: MADCAPS A madcap is a redcap that soaks its hat in demon ichor instead of blood. Contact with demon ichor makes the

creature even more psychotic, causing it to brood over irrational hatreds. A group of madcaps will sometimes band together over a shared hatred of something, such as music, creatures with curly hair

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

Boneless Legacy

monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

+3","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Crushing Embrace","rollDamageType":"bludgeoning"} bludgeoning damage. If something moves the target, the boneless moves with it. The boneless can detach itself by

scraps of failed experiments, necromantic slurries, heaps of discarded hair, abattoirs, and charnel concoctions. These origins don’t affect a boneless’s statistics but lend it distinct forms

Warduke

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

my sword. They beat words to hell.” Ideal. “I expect to be paid well for my handiwork.” Bond. “The League of Malevolence is a convenient arrangement—until something

better comes along.” Flaw. “I don’t have a single friend I can count on.” Combat Notes Warduke likes to hit things with his sword; it’s as simple as that. League of

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.

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

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

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

Wereraven Legacy

monsters Curse of Strahd

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

, modestly give money to charity. They take steps to keep magic items out of evil hands by stashing them in secret hiding places. Characters as Wereravens. The Monster Manual has rules for characters

Zodar

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

Disembodied Voice. Up to three times in its life, the zodar can cause a message of up to twenty-five words to issue from the air around it. It speaks only when it has something profoundly important

each zodar has a specific mission and is relentless in its pursuit of the goal, but it reacts oddly to situations that don’t involve its mission because it doesn’t know what else to do

Crystal Dragon Wyrmling

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

d6;{"diceNotation":"1d6","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Ideal"} Ideal 1 Exploration. Yesterday is already known. Today is for something new. (Chaotic) 2 Empathy. It’s a

) 6 Control. Everyone is welcome, as long as they follow my rules. (Lawful) Crystal Dragon Adventures The Crystal Dragon Adventure Hooks table offers suggestions for stories and adventures

Smuggler

Backgrounds Ghosts of Saltmarsh

business. 5 I was tricked by a fellow smuggler who stole something precious from me. I will find that thief. 6 I give most of my profits to a charitable cause, and I don’t like to brag

’s Code. I uphold the unwritten rules of the smugglers, who do not cheat one another or directly harm innocents. (Lawful) 3 All for a Coin. I’ll do nearly anything if it

Wildspacer

Backgrounds Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

gravity isn’t present, the following rules apply: Impeded Melee. When making a melee attack with a weapon, a creature that doesn’t have a flying or swimming speed (either naturally or

provided by magic) has disadvantage on the attack roll unless the weapon deals piercing damage. Movement. A creature can use an action to push off something heavier than itself and move up to its walking

Sailor Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

distant line of the horizon, but the time has come to try your hand at something new. Discuss the nature of the ship you previously sailed with your Dungeon Master. Was it a merchant ship, a naval

Master will determine how long it takes to get where you need to go. In return for your free passage, you and your companions are expected to assist the crew during the voyage. Variant Sailor: Pirate

Quickling

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

constantly paces and shifts in place, as though it can’t wait to be off again. Quicklings have a capricious nature and are always up to something. A quickling spends most of its time perpetrating

looking. Tricks of that sort are hardly the limit of their artful malice, however. They don’t commit outright murder, but quicklings can ruin lives in plenty of other ways, such as by stealing an important letter, swiping coins collected for the poor, or planting a stolen item in someone’s bag.

Reborn Legacy

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

? 4 A memory brings with it the voice of someone once close to you. How do they advise you? 5 You recall enjoying something that you can’t stand doing now. What is it? Why don’t

’s creature types in alphabetical order: Aberration, Beast, Celestial, Construct, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules

Gazer (Familiar Variant)

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

larger prey. A gazer might follow the folk in its territory, noisily mimicking their speech and generally being a nuisance, until they leave the area, but it flees if confronted by something it can

’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

Sailor - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

the bottomless depths. Your first love is the distant line of the horizon, but the time has come to try your hand at something new. Discuss the nature of the ship you previously sailed with your

the Gray Wavers—the Flaming Fist harbor guards—and have a sense of how to operate the city’s mechanized cranes. Variant Sailor: Pirate You spent your youth under the sway of a

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

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

Folk Hero Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

profession among the peasantry, perhaps as a farmer, miner, servant, shepherd, woodcutter, or gravedigger. But something happened that set you on a different path and marked you for greater things. Choose or

lend help. 3 When I set my mind to something, I follow through no matter what gets in my way. 4 I have a strong sense of fair play and always try to find the most equitable solution to

Deep Dragon Wyrmling Legacy

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

servants of my power. (Evil) 6 Patience. All creatures might teach me something, and I’m willing to wait and find out what that might be rather than acting in haste. (Good) Deep

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

Monk

classes Basic Rules (2014)

important mission beyond the cloister? Perhaps you were cast out because of some violation of the community’s rules. Did you dread leaving, or were you happy to go? Is there something you hope to

serve as spies or assassins at the command of their leader, a noble patron, or some other mortal or divine power. The majority of monks don’t shun their neighbors, making frequent visits to

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