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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.

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

Kadroth

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

he's tight with Levistus. He rules the roost by sheer force of personality, though it chafes him that Hethyl Arkorran has more respect and influence within the cult. Kadroth doesn't involve Avarice

fireplace and drawing inspiration from its crackling flames. The slightest disturbance upsets him. Kadroth appreciates the wisdom of maintaining the illusion that Speaker Crannoc Siever is still in

Circle of the Forged

classes

warforged form, blending animal shapes with warforged durability. Only a handful of Druids follow this Circle. Did you learn these techniques from a mentor? Are you driven by instinct, still

Circle of the Forged

classes

warforged form, blending animal shapes with warforged durability. Only a handful of Druids follow this Circle. Did you learn these techniques from a mentor? Are you driven by instinct, still

Oshundo the Alhoon

Monsters Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

mind flayer empire many centuries ago, but Oshundo was driven out for practicing arcane magic. It’s obvious that this rejection still stings Oshundo, who refers to Illithinoch’s longdead

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

spent a lot of time among other criminals and still have contacts within the criminal underworld. You’re far closer 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. Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Stealth Tool Proficiencies: One

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

of law enforcement or adventurous do-gooders. The sting of the guild’s flight from its first home is still fresh in Delour’s mind. Indeed, Delour never forgets a slight. He is obsessed

Amnizu (Summoner Variant)

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

, where it flows through Dis and Stygia. They collect the souls arriving in the form of lemure;lemures (see the Monster Manual). Lemures 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.Fire, PoisonCold; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered

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

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

Sailor - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Baldur’s Gate was founded by sailors, and its harbor is still the city’s beating heart. Several patriars are descended from captains of yore, the commerce of the Lower City is built on

Dungeon Master. Was it a merchant ship, a naval vessel, a ship of discovery, or a pirate ship? How famous (or infamous) is it? Is it widely traveled? Is it still sailing, or is it missing and presumed lost

Criminal / Spy Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

You are an experienced criminal with a history of breaking the law. You have spent a lot of time among other criminals and still have contacts within the criminal underworld. You’re far closer

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

Sailor Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

vessel, a ship of discovery, or a pirate ship? How famous (or infamous) is it? Is it widely traveled? Is it still sailing, or is it missing and presumed lost with all hands? What were your duties on

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

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

goliath, and fewer still can claim friendship with them. Goliaths wander a bleak realm of rock, wind, and cold. Their bodies look as if they are carved from mountain stone and give them great

the responsibility to earn a place in the tribe or die trying. Driven Competitors Every day brings a new challenge to a goliath. Food, water, and shelter are rare in the uppermost mountain reaches. A

Ruined

Backgrounds The Book of Many Things

successful life even more glorious—only to draw a destructive card that changed your destiny forever. Your desperation has driven you to the career of adventurer. You don’t seek out dark dungeons

containing 13 gp Feature: Still Standing You have weathered ruinous misfortune, and you possess hidden reserves others don’t expect. You gain the Alert, Skilled, or Tough feat (your choice). Your

Proficiency Bonus Legacy

Rules

Characters have a proficiency bonus determined by level, as detailed in chapter 1. Monsters also have this bonus, which is incorporated in their stat blocks. The bonus is used in the rules on ability

checks, saving throws, and attack rolls. Your proficiency bonus can’t be added to a single die roll or other number more than once. For example, if two different rules say you can add your

City Watch / Investigator

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

easily pick out the dens of criminal activity in a community, although you’re more likely to be welcome in the former locations rather than the latter. Variant: Investigator Rarer

’t worth killing over or going to war for. (Neutral) 6 Nation. My city, nation, or people are all that matter. (Any) d6 Bond 1 I would still lay down my life for the

Hobgoblin

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Hobgoblins trace their origins to the ancient courts of the Feywild, where they first appeared with their goblin and bugbear kin. Many of them were driven from the Feywild by the conquering god

fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score

Entertainer Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

liking to you. Variant Entertainer: Gladiator A gladiator is as much an entertainer as any minstrel or circus performer, trained to make the arts of combat into a spectacle the crowd can

face. 3 A scandal prevents me from ever going home again. That kind of trouble seems to follow me around. 4 I once satirized a noble who still wants my head. It was a mistake that I will

Lord Soth of Sithicus (DMR)

monsters

perpetually closed. Only those who rouse him to activity or invade Nedragaard Keep might convince him to let them escape. This risks provoking the mighty death knight’s wrath, but Soth still thinks

effects end immediately. Lord Soth’s Lair Lord Soth rules from Nedragaard Keep, a twisted, copy of his accursed fortress on Krynn, Dargaard Keep. Nedragaard Keep grows and withers over time like

Reborn Legacy

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

Death isn’t always the end. The reborn exemplify this, being individuals who have died yet, somehow, still live. Some reborn exhibit the scars of fatal ends, their ashen flesh or bloodless

tears to your eyes. Is it a bitter or cheerful memory? Does recalling it make you feel the same way? 3 You recall a childhood memory. What about that event or who you were still influences you

Bugbear

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

and from out of the corner of your eye, they came to the Material Plane, urged to spread throughout the multiverse by the conquering god Maglubiyet. Centuries later, they still bear a fey gift for

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 When determining

Investigator

backgrounds Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

the mysteries you’re embroiled in are local crimes or realm-spanning conspiracies, you’re driven by a personal need to hunt down even the most elusive clues and reveal what others would

suffered, even while still being pursued by the law. 6 You survived the destructive use of a magic device that wiped out your home. Members of a secret organization found you. You now work with them

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

Aarakocra

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

;and were imbued with a measure of their masters’ power over winds. Their descendants still command echoes of that power. From below, aarakocra look like large birds and thus are sometimes called

At 1st level, you 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

Crystal Dragon Wyrmling

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

. (Neutral) 4 Determinism. Our destinies may already be written, but the way we achieve them still matters. (Any) 5 Fun and Games. Play is learning, but without the boredom. (Chaotic

) 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

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

Character At 1st level, you 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

Lhammaruntosz

Monsters Sleeping Dragon’s Wake

Bahamut, which the dragon can use to commune with the deity. In recent decades Lhammaruntosz has retreated inside the shrine, becoming reclusive due to a attack by a disguised demon which has driven her

mad. She leaves on rare occasions to hunt for food, returning as soon as possible. Members of the Scaly Eye still live within the Bronze Shrine, as Lhammaruntosz has ordered them to stay on as her

Dhampir Legacy

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

. Their reasons are often deeply personal. Some seek danger, imagining monsters as personifications of their own hungers. Others pursue revenge against whatever turned them into a dhampir. And still

lineage option, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your ability scores, you increase one of those scores by 2 and increase a different

Monk

classes Basic Rules (2014)

landscapes of the worlds of D&D, tiny refuges from the flow of ordinary life, where time seems to stand still. The monks who live there seek personal perfection through contemplation and rigorous

seriously, approaching their adventures as personal tests of their physical and spiritual growth. As a rule, monks care little for material wealth and are driven by a desire to accomplish a greater

Young Crystal Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

lives with others. (Neutral) 4 Determinism. Our destinies may already be written, but the way we achieve them still matters. (Any) 5 Fun and Games. Play is learning, but without the boredom

. (Chaotic) 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

Shifter Legacy

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

Geth’s ancient heritage rose up from deep within him, spreading out from the core of his being. Some shifters manifested terrible claws, others massive fangs, still others astounding speed or

personality: a feline shifter may be cool and distant, driven by predatory instincts, while a shifter with a lupine spirit might be drawn to find and protect a pack. When a shifter fully embraces this beast

Tabaxi

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

. Still others have unique patterns or might style their fur to their preferences—or might even be hairless! Creating Your Character At 1st level, you 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 When determining your character’s

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