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Noble Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

. 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

, you might include among your equipment a banner or other token from a noble lord or lady to whom you have given your heart—in a chaste sort of devotion. (This person could be your bond

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

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

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

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

Noble - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

among your equipment a banner or other token from a noble lord or lady to whom you have given your heart—in a chaste sort of devotion. (This person could be your bond.) Variant Feature

; without question, and any corruption among guards or government officials tends to work in your favor, not against you—at least until you make some effort to expose it. Variant Noble: Knight A

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

can more easily pronounce the name in this altered form. An adopted name of this sort is recognized as a variant of the birth name, rather than a unique name unto itself. A yuan-ti might refer to

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

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.

Firbolg

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

magic still thrums inside a firbolg, even one who has never lived under the boughs of a great forest. A firbolg’s magic is an obscuring sort, which allowed their ancestors to pass through a forest

this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores

Tying Knots

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

Skill Variants

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

Draconic Races

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

Draconic Races It’s all too easy to prefer a certain color of dragonborn, but what’s inside is what really matters—which is to say, the sort of damage their breath can do to you. -Fizban The

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.

Leveling Up

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

Adult Moonstone Dragon

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

Plasmoid

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

internal organs of the usual sort. Their bodies are composed of cells, fibers, plasma-like ooze, and clusters of nerves. These nerves enable a plasmoid to detect light, heat, texture, sound, pain, and

different score by 1, or 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&rdquo

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

) 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

Yuan-ti Names

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters

sort is recognized as a variant of the birth name, rather than a unique name unto itself. A yuan-ti might refer to itself by its birth name, by its adopted name, or (especially among purebloods) by a

Initiative Variants

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

Character Options

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

Character Options When you make your D&D character, you have an array of options in the Player’s Handbook to create the sort of adventurer you want. This chapter adds to those options, making it

features and subclasses for every class in the Player’s Handbook Feats for anyone who uses that optional rule The wizard Tasha studies magic outside the hut of her adoptive mother, Baba Yaga

Goblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

opportunity to supervise and dominate such creatures, which have no status at all. WHO'S THE BOSS? Goblins pattern the rule of their tribes after the whip-cracking rule of their god, Khurgorbaeyag

new leader can act as the real boss. If the creature brushes aside such manipulation, the tribe falls into line behind the new tyrant—better to abide the new rule than conspire against it and be

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

here as part of some such delegation, then decided to stay when the mission was over. Mulhorand. From the terrain to the architecture to the god-kings who rule over these lands, nearly everything

about Mulhorand is alien to someone from the Sword Coast. You likely experienced the same sort of culture shock when you left your desert home and traveled to the unfamiliar climes of northern Faerû

Variant Abilities

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

Bugbear Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

bugbears recognize two other gods, both of which they disdain and fear: Maglubiyet and Skiggaret. Maglubiyet, the leader of the goblinoid pantheon, forced both brothers to submit to his rule, but

other creatures, using no other sort of ceremony to show obeisance — with one exception. In an act of worship that also sometimes attracts favorable attention from their gods, bugbears sever the

Creating a Shadow Dragon

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

Plundering a Hoard

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

portion of that wealth, characters can diminish the dragon’s connection to both that lair and its associated territory. As a rule of thumb, if a dragon’s lair no longer holds at least 10,000 gp worth of

prevented from interfering with the looting—but that sort of binding might be easier than killing a powerful legendary dragon.

Difficulty Class

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

Creating an Artificer

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

role played by artificers in the campaign and the sort of organizations you might have ties to. ARTIFICERS IN OTHER WORLDS Eberron is the world most associated with artificers, yet the class can be

or Dexterity. Second, choose the guild artisan background. Optional Rule: Multiclassing If your group uses the optional rule on multiclassing in the Player’s Handbook, here’s what you need to know if

Creating a Dragon Turtle

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

Ship-to-Ship Combat

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

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

Luthic. He predicts that the war will end with Luthic the only deity standing, as the cave mother ascends to rule her warrior children. Life in the Tribe Orcs survive through savagery and force of

subsist on this sort of prey and booty for quite some time. War Wagons Orcs pillage and scavenge wherever they go — everything is loot, and loot is always something to be proud of. In order to

Inspiration

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

Devil Customization Tables

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

smart as me, and I need to prove that all the time. 3 There’s a rule for everything. 4 If I can’t seize control, I’ll serve in the meantime. 5 I’m a bully who backs down when faced with any sort of

Creature Size

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

Genies

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

Spell Attacks

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice & Errata

it delivers such an attack. Can spell attacks score Critical Hits? A spell attack can score a Critical Hit. The rule on Critical Hits applies to attack rolls of any sort. When casting a spell that

Treasure

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters

involves guarding the beholder’s lair. Sometimes it uses gifts as rewards and incentives for exceptional minions; although it prefers to rule by coercion and fear, it understands that better results can

is a treasure that a beholder cherishes as evidence of its power, or serves as a remembrance of victory over its enemies, or evokes another sort of positive reaction from it. The preserved corpse of a

Noble

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

to my family. 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

ideals of courtly love, you might include among your equipment a banner or other token from a noble lord or lady to whom you have given your heart — in a chaste sort of devotion. (This person could be your

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