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Returning 35 results for 'stories of rules design variants'.
Other Suggestions:
scores of rules desire variant
scores of rules desire variants
scores of rules design variant
scores of rules design variants
strikes of rules desire variant
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Levistus, the archdevil who rules Stygia, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells, from the confines of an ice prison from which he cannot escape.
Most of the cultists are Icewind Dale natives who would
have perished in the wilderness had Levistus not intervened on their behalf. The cultists’ stories are all the same: the archdevil reached out to them in their minds as they were freezing to death
Equipment
Combining a high rate of fire with rifle-grade ballistics, the Assault Rifle is a staple weapon for all modern militaries. Dozens of variants exist on this general design, but all share the traits of
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
","rollDamageType":"piercing"} piercing damage.The Knights of the Black Sword are a secret society of cultists devoted to Levistus, the archdevil who rules Stygia, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells, from the
’ stories are all the same: the archdevil reached out to them in their minds as they were freezing to death, offering a second chance at life in exchange for their absolute devotion. After they
Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
that there are as many kenku origin stories as there are kenku. Some of them paint their genesis as a curse, being a flightless bird people doomed to mimic other people’s creations. Other kenku
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&rsquo
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
)
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
go on dangerous excursions so they’ll return with interesting stories to tell the dragon.
5
A crystal dragon wyrmling finds ice mephit;ice mephits to be the perfect household servants
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
suggestions for stories and adventures involving dragon turtles.
Dragon Turtle Adventure Hooks
d8;{"diceNotation":"1d8","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Adventure Hook"}
Adventure Hook
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
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
Deep Dragon Wyrmling
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
Learn More
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
Dragon Adventures
The Deep Dragon Adventure Hooks table offers suggestions for stories and adventures involving deep dragons.
Deep Dragon Adventure Hooks
d8;{"diceNotation":"1d8","rollType
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
Backgrounds
Ghosts of Saltmarsh
might not.
D6
IDEAL
1
Camaraderie. Good people make even the longest voyage bearable. (Good)
2
Luck. Our luck depends on respecting its rules — now
become depressed and anxious if I’m away from the sea too long.
3
I have lived a hard life and find it difficult to empathize with others.
4
I am inclined to tell long-winded stories
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
. (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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
you take the action. This entry also provides the DC for the action. Craft. This entry lists what, if anything, you can craft with the tool. For crafting rules, see “Crafting Equipment” later in the
chapter. Variants. This entry appears if the tool has variants, which are listed. Each requires a separate proficiency.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
you take the action. This entry also provides the DC for the action. Craft. This entry lists what, if anything, you can craft with the tool. For crafting rules, see “Crafting Equipment” later in the
chapter. Variants. This entry appears if the tool has variants, which are listed. Each requires a separate proficiency.
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
magic items. The options in this chapter relate to many different parts of the game. Some of them are variants of rules, and others are entirely new rules. Each option represents a different genre, style
Chapter 9: Dungeon Master’s Workshop As the Dungeon Master, you aren’t limited by the rules in the Player’s Handbook, the guidelines in these rules, or the selection of monsters in the Monster Manual
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Introduction It’s good to be the Dungeon Master! Not only do you get to tell fantastic stories about heroes, villains, monsters, and magic, but you also get to create the world in which these stories
live. Whether you’re running a D&D game already or you think it’s something you want to try, these rules are for you. The Dungeon Master’s Guide assumes that you know the basics of how to play the D
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
How to Use These Rules These rules are organized in three parts. The first part helps you decide what kind of campaign you’d like to run. The second part helps you create the adventures — the stories
— that will compose the campaign and keep the players entertained from one game session to the next. The last part helps you adjudicate the rules of the game and modify them to suit the style of your campaign.
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
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 involving crystal dragons.
Crystal Dragon Adventure Hooks
d8;{"diceNotation":"1d8","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Adventure Hook"}
Adventure Hook
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
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 involving crystal dragons.
Crystal Dragon Adventure Hooks
d8;{"diceNotation":"1d8","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Adventure Hook
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Unearthed Arcana
Apocalyptic Subclasses August 21, 2025
Get ready for the end of a world with the latest innovations from the D&D Game Design Team! This document presents four new subclasses for the Druid (Circle
of Preservation), Fighter (Gladiator), Sorcerer (Defiled Sorcery), and Warlock (Sorcerer-King Patron). The material uses the rules in the Player's Handbook. Learn more about this playtest directly from the designers in this article!
classes
Player’s Handbook
, including performing music, working magic, and making jests.
A Bard’s life is spent traveling, gathering lore, telling stories, and living on the gratitude of audiences, much like any other entertainer
, proficiency with one Musical Instrument of your choice, and training with Light armor.
Gain the Bard’s level 1 features, which are listed in the Bard Features table. See the multiclassing rules to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
Credits Lead Designer: Justice Ramin Arman
Designer: Dan Dillon
Rules Developer: Ron Lundeen
Art Director: Fury Galluzzi
Lead Editor: Judy Bauer
Editor: Hannah Rose
Graphic Designer
: Bill Benham, Siera Bruggeman, Robert Hawkey
Product Manager: Natalie Egan
D&D Beyond Product Manager: Jeff Turriff
Digital Design Team: Jay Jani, Sean Stoves, Adam Walton
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
Domain Features Hazlan is known for the following features: Eye of Hazlik. Inhabitants claim the eyelike design called the Eye of Hazlik bears Hazlik’s blessing and wards off dangerous magic. In
truth, the symbol is a sensor for Hazlik’s magical surveillance. Magocracy. The wizard Hazlik rules Hazlan. His apprentices have free rein to exploit the land and its people to further their magical
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
Chapter 4: Personality and Background Characters are defined by much more than their race and class. They’re individuals with their own stories, interests, connections, and capabilities beyond those
that class and race define. This section expounds on the details that distinguish characters from one another, including the basics of name and physical description, the rules of backgrounds and languages, and the finer points of personality and alignment.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
Chapter 4: Personality and Background Characters are defined by much more than their race and class. They’re individuals with their own stories, interests, connections, and capabilities beyond those
that class and race define. This chapter expounds on the details that distinguish characters from one another, including the basics of name and physical description, the rules of backgrounds and languages, and the finer points of personality and alignment.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
if it’s wielded in a way contrary to its design; if you use a Ranged weapon to make a melee attack or throw a Melee weapon that lacks the Thrown property, the weapon counts as an improvised weapon. An
improvised weapon follows the rules below. Proficiency. Don’t add your Proficiency Bonus to attack rolls with an improvised weapon. Damage. On a hit, the weapon deals 1d4 damage of a type the DM
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules
if it’s wielded in a way contrary to its design; if you use a Ranged weapon to make a melee attack or throw a Melee weapon that lacks the Thrown property, the weapon counts as an improvised weapon. An
improvised weapon follows the rules below. Proficiency. Don’t add your Proficiency Bonus to attack rolls with an improvised weapon. Damage. On a hit, the weapon deals 1d4 damage of a type the DM
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
, traps, puzzles, and conflicts. When you design an adventure, you call the shots. You do things exactly the way you want to. Fundamentally, adventures are stories. An adventure shares many of the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
accident of their birth as a kind of cruel joke they have chosen to embrace. Equally intriguing and disturbing to followers of some faiths in Faerûn are stories spread by tieflings who claim to have
lady of fortune” (Tymora) — an indication, tieflings say, that one’s outward appearance and bloodline are less important to the gods than the heart and soul within. TIEFLING VARIANTS
Since not all
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice Compendium
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
are meant to help organize, and even inspire, the action of a D&D campaign. The rules are a tool, and we want our tools to be as effective as possible. No matter how good those tools might be, they
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice & Errata
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
help organize, and even inspire, the action of a D&D campaign. The rules are a tool, and we want our tools to be as effective as possible. No matter how good those tools might be, they need a group of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Quests from the Infinite Staircase
Romeo and Juliet. It was a departure from the more expected adventure design of the time in that violent solutions to problems aren’t an automatic path to victory—inquisitive minds and compassionate
hearts carry the heroes further than strength of arms.
This updated version of the adventure reimagines Caerwyn and Porphura’s—originally Porpherio’s—garden as the Eternal Garden, a domain in the Feywild, and the Green Man as the Gardener, the benevolent archfey who rules it.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
variants of the monsters discussed in chapter 1. This chapter is a continuation of the Monster Manual and adopts a similar presentation. If you are unfamiliar with the monster stat block format, read the
introduction of the Monster Manual before proceeding further. It explains stat block terminology and gives rules for various monster traits — information that isn’t repeated here. As with the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
all of reality’s lies and understand the truth that lies beyond them. Yet the truth that he sees remains known only to him. He utters cryptic remarks about a grand design that guides the cosmos toward
saintly figure, or contact a wizard while in the guise of a wise sage. He tells these folk whatever stories and promises they want to hear, playing to their needs and slowly drawing them into his circle of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
the rules for monster customization and encounter building in the Dungeon Master’s Guide—to build your own adventures. Consult appendix B for monster lists that will help your adventure building. What’s
New in the 2025 Version?
This is the 2025 version of the fifth edition Monster Manual. If you’ve read the 2014 version, much of this book will feel familiar, since the fundamental rules and variety