Objects

When characters need to saw through ropes, shatter a window, or smash a vampire’s coffin, the only hard and fast rule is this: given enough time and the right tools, characters can destroy any destructible object. Use common sense when determining a character’s success at damaging an object. Can a fighter cut through a section of a stone wall with a sword? No, the sword is likely to break before the wall does. For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone, not a building or a vehicle that is composed of many other objects. Statistics for Objects When time is a factor, you can assign an Armor Class and hit points to a destructible object. You can also give it immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities to specific types of damage. Armor Class. An object’s Armor Class is a measure of how difficult it is to deal damage to the object when striking it (because the object has no chance of dodging out of the way). The Object Armor Class table provides suggested AC values for various substances. Object’s Armor Class Substance AC Cloth, paper, rope 11 Crystal, glass, ice 13 Wood, bone 15 Stone 17 Iron, steel 19 Mithral 21 Adamantine 23 Hit Points. An object’s hit points measure how much damage it can take before losing its structural integrity. Resilient objects have more hit points than fragile ones. Large objects also tend to have more hit points than small ones, unless breaking a small part of the object is just as effective as breaking the whole thing. The Object Hit Points table provides suggested hit points for fragile and resilient objects that are Large or smaller. Object’s Hit Points Size Fragile Resilient Tiny (bottle, lock) 2 (1d4) 5 (2d4) Small...

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Madness

In a typical campaign, characters aren’t driven mad by the horrors they face and the carnage they inflict day after day, but sometimes the stress of being an adventurer can be too much to bear. If your campaign has a strong horror theme, you might want to use madness as a way to reinforce that theme, emphasizing the extraordinarily horrific nature of the threats the adventurers face. Going Mad Various magical effects can inflict madness on an otherwise stable mind. Certain spells, such as contact other plane and symbol, can cause insanity, and you can use the madness rules here instead of the spell effects of those spells. Diseases, poisons, and planar effects such as psychic wind or the howling winds of Pandemonium can all inflict madness. Some artifacts can also break the psyche of a character who uses or becomes attuned to them. Resisting a madness-inducing effect usually requires a Wisdom or Charisma saving throw. Madness Effects Madness can be short-term, long-term, or indefinite. Most relatively mundane effects impose short-term madness, which lasts for just a few minutes. More horrific effects or cumulative effects can result in long-term or indefinite madness. A character afflicted with short-term madness is subjected to an effect from the Short-Term Madness table for 1d10 minutes. A character afflicted with long-term madness is subjected to an effect from the Long-Term Madness table for 1d10 × 10 hours. A character afflicted with indefinite madness gains a new character flaw from the Indefinite Madness table that lasts until cured. Madness Short-Term Effects d100 Effect (lasts 1d10 minutes) 01-20 The character retreats into his or her mind and becomes paralyzed. The effect ends if the character takes any damage. 21-30 The character becomes incapacitated and spends the duration screaming, laughing, or weeping. 31-40 The...

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Diseases

A plague ravages the kingdom, setting the adventurers on a quest to find a cure. An adventurer emerges from an ancient tomb, unopened for centuries, and soon finds herself suffering from a wasting illness. A warlock offends some dark power and contracts a strange affliction that spreads whenever he casts spells. A simple outbreak might amount to little more than a small drain on party resources, curable by a casting of lesser restoration. A more complicated outbreak can form the basis of one or more adventures as characters search for a cure, stop the spread of the disease, and deal with the consequences. A disease that does more than infect a few party members is primarily a plot device. The rules help describe the effects of the disease and how it can be cured, but the specifics of how a disease works aren’t bound by a common set of rules. Diseases can affect any creature, and a given illness might or might not pass from one race or kind of creature to another. A plague might affect only constructs or undead, or sweep through a halfling neighborhood but leave other races untouched. What matters is the story you want to tell. Sample Diseases The diseases here illustrate the variety of ways disease can work in the game. Feel free to alter the saving throw DCs, incubation times, symptoms, and other characteristics of these diseases to suit your campaign. Cackle Fever This disease targets humanoids, although gnomes are strangely immune. While in the grips of this disease, victims frequently succumb to fits of mad laughter, giving the disease its common name and its morbid nickname: “the shrieks.” Symptoms manifest 1d4 hours after infection and include...

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License

Licensing Permission to copy, modify and distribute the files collectively known as the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD5”) is granted solely through the use of the Open Gaming License, Version 1.0a. This material is being released using the Open Gaming License Version 1.0a and you should read and understand the terms of that license before using this material. The text of the Open Gaming License itself is not Open Game Content. Instructions on using the License are provided within the License itself. The following items are designated Product Identity, as defined in Section 1(e) of the Open Game License Version 1.0a, and are subject to the conditions set forth in Section 7 of the OGL, and are not Open Content: Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master, Monster Manual, d20 System, Wizards of the Coast, d20 (when used as a trademark), Forgotten Realms, Faerûn, proper names (including those used in the names of spells or items), places, Underdark, Red Wizard of Thay, the City of Union, Heroic Domains of Ysgard, Ever- Changing Chaos of Limbo, Windswept Depths of Pandemonium, Infinite Layers of the Abyss, Tarterian Depths of Carceri, Gray Waste of Hades, Bleak Eternity of Gehenna, Nine Hells of Baator, Infernal Battlefield of Acheron, Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia, Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia, Twin Paradises of Bytopia, Blessed Fields of Elysium, Wilderness of the Beastlands, Olympian Glades of Arborea, Concordant Domain of the Outlands, Sigil, Lady of Pain, Book of Exalted Deeds, Book of Vile Darkness, beholder, gauth, carrion crawler, tanar’ri, baatezu, displacer beast, githyanki, githzerai, mind flayer, illithid, umber hulk, yuan-ti. All of the rest of the SRD5 is Open Game Content as described in Section 1(d) of the...

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Non-Player Characters

This section contains statistics for various humanoid non-player characters (NPCs) that adventurers might encounter during a campaign, including lowly commoners and mighty archmages. These stat blocks can be used to represent both human and nonhuman NPCs. Customizing NPCs There are many easy ways to customize the NPCs in this appendix for your home campaign. Racial Traits. You can add racial traits to an NPC. For example, a halfling druid might have a speed of 25 feet and the Lucky trait. Adding racial traits to an NPC doesn’t alter its challenge rating. For more on racial traits, see the Player’s Handbook. Spell Swaps. One way to customize an NPC spellcaster is to replace one or more of its spells. You can substitute any spell on the NPC’s spell list with a different spell of the same level from the same spell list. Swapping spells in this manner doesn’t alter an NPC’s challenge rating. Armor and Weapon Swaps. You can upgrade or downgrade an NPC’s armor, or add or switch weapons. Adjustments to Armor Class and damage can change an NPC’s challenge rating. Magic Items. The more powerful an NPC, the more likely it has one or more magic items in its possession. An archmage, for example, might have a magic staff or wand, as well as one or more potions and scrolls. Giving an NPC a potent damage-dealing magic item could alter its challenge rating. Acolyte Medium humanoid (any race), any alignment Armor Class 10 Hit Points 9 (2d8) Speed 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 11 (+0) Skills Medicine +4, Religion +2 Senses passive Perception 12 Languages any one language (usually Common) Challenge 1/4 (50 XP) Spellcasting. The acolyte is a 1st-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC...

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Creature List

This section contains statistics for various animals, vermin, and other critters. The stat blocks are organized alphabetically by creature name. Creatures (A-C) Ape Medium beast, unaligned Armor Class 12 Hit Points 19 (3d8+6) Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 16 (+3) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) 6 (-2) 12 (+1) 7 (-2) Skills Athletics +5, Perception +3 Senses passive Perception 13 Languages - Challenge 1/2 (100 XP) Actions Multiattack. The ape makes two fist attacks. Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage. Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 25/50 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) bludgeoning damage. Awakened Shrub Small plant, unaligned Armor Class 9 Hit Points 10 (3d6) Speed 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 3 (-4) 8 (-1) 11 (+0) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 6 (-2) Damage Vulnerabilities fire Damage Resistances piercing Senses passive Perception 10 Languages one language known by its creator Challenge 0 (10 XP) False Appearance. While the shrub remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal shrub. Actions Rake. Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4-1) slashing damage. An awakened shrub is an ordinary shrub given sentience and mobility by the awaken spell or similar magic. Awakened Tree Huge plant, unaligned Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 59 (7d12+14) Speed 20 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 19 (+4) 6 (-2) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 10 (+0) 7 (-2) Damage Vulnerabilities fire Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing Senses passive Perception 10 Languages one language known by its creator Challenge 2 (450 XP) False Appearance. While the tree remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal tree. Actions Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (3d6+4) bludgeoning damage. An awakened tree is an ordinary tree given sentience and mobility by the awaken spell or similar magic. Axe Beak Large beast, unaligned Armor Class 11 Hit Points 19 (3d10+3) Speed 50 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 5 (-3) Senses passive Perception 10 Languages - Challenge 1/4 (50 XP) Actions Beak. Melee Weapon...

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Monster List

Monsters (A) Aboleth Large aberration, lawful evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 135 (18d10+36) Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 21 (+5) 9 (-1) 15 (+2) 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 18 (+4) Saving Throws Con +6, Int +8, Wis +6 Skills History +12, Perception +10 Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 20 Languages Deep Speech, telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 10 (5,900 XP) Amphibious. The aboleth can breathe air and water. Mucous Cloud. While underwater, the aboleth is surrounded by transformative mucus. A creature that touches the aboleth or that hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature is diseased for 1d4 hours. The diseased creature can breathe only underwater. Probing Telepathy. If a creature communicates telepathically with the aboleth, the aboleth learns the creature’s greatest desires if the aboleth can see the creature. Actions Multiattack. The aboleth makes three tentacle attacks. Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become diseased. The disease has no effect for 1 minute and can be removed by any magic that cures disease. After 1 minute, the diseased creature’s skin becomes translucent and slimy, the creature can’t regain hit points unless it is underwater, and the disease can be removed only by heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher. When the creature is outside a body of water, it takes 6 (1d12) acid damage every 10 minutes unless moisture is applied to the skin before 10 minutes have passed. Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft. one target. Hit: 15 (3d6+5) bludgeoning damage. Enslave...

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Legendary Creatures

A legendary creature can do things that ordinary creatures can’t. It can take special actions outside its turn, and it might exert magical influence for miles around. If a creature assumes the form of a legendary creature, such as through a spell, it doesn’t gain that form’s legendary actions, lair actions, or regional effects. Legendary Actions A legendary creature can take a certain number of special actions-called legendary actions-outside its turn. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. A creature regains its spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. It can forgo using them, and it can’t use them while incapacitated or otherwise unable to take actions. If surprised, it can’t use them until after its first turn in the combat. A Legendary Creature’s Lair A legendary creature might have a section describing its lair and the special effects it can create while there, either by act of will or simply by being present. Such a section applies only to a legendary creature that spends a great deal of time in its lair. Lair Actions If a legendary creature has lair actions, it can use them to harness the ambient magic in its lair. On initiative count 20 (losing all initiative ties), it can use one of its lair action options. It can’t do so while incapacitated or otherwise unable to take actions. If surprised, it can’t use one until after its first turn in the combat. Regional Effects The mere presence of a legendary creature can have strange and wondrous effects on its environment, as noted in this section. Regional effects end abruptly or dissipate over time when the...

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Monster Statistics

Type A monster’s type speaks to its fundamental nature. Certain spells, magic items, class features, and other effects in the game interact in special ways with creatures of a particular type. For example, an arrow of dragon slaying deals extra damage not only to dragons but also other creatures of the dragon type, such as dragon turtles and wyverns. The game includes the following monster types, which have no rules of their own. Aberrations are utterly alien beings. Many of them have innate magical abilities drawn from the creature’s alien mind rather than the mystical forces of the world. The quintessential aberrations are aboleths, beholders, mind flayers, and slaadi. Beasts are nonhumanoid creatures that are a natural part of the fantasy ecology. Some of them have magical powers, but most are unintelligent and lack any society or language. Beasts include all varieties of ordinary animals, dinosaurs, and giant versions of animals. Celestials are creatures native to the Upper Planes. Many of them are the servants of deities, employed as messengers or agents in the mortal realm and throughout the planes. Celestials are good by nature, so the exceptional celestial who strays from a good alignment is a horrifying rarity. Celestials include angels, couatls, and pegasi. Constructs are made, not born. Some are programmed by their creators to follow a simple set of instructions, while others are imbued with sentience and capable of independent thought. Golems are the iconic constructs. Many creatures native to the outer plane of Mechanus, such as modrons, are constructs shaped from the raw material of the plane by the will of more powerful creatures. Dragons are large reptilian creatures of ancient origin and tremendous power. True dragons, including the good metallic dragons and the...

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Traps

Traps can be found almost anywhere. One wrong step in an ancient tomb might trigger a series of scything blades, which cleave through armor and bone. The seemingly innocuous vines that hang over a cave entrance might grasp and choke anyone who pushes through them. A net hidden among the trees might drop on travelers who pass underneath. In a fantasy game, unwary adventurers can fall to their deaths, be burned alive, or fall under a fusillade of poisoned darts. A trap can be either mechanical or magical in nature. Mechanical traps include pits, arrow traps, falling blocks, water-filled rooms, whirling blades, and anything else that depends on a mechanism to operate. Magic traps are either magical device traps or spell traps. Magical device traps initiate spell effects when activated. Spell traps are spells such as glyph of warding and symbol that function as traps. Traps in Play When adventurers come across a trap, you need to know how the trap is triggered and what it does, as well as the possibility for the characters to detect the trap and to disable or avoid it. Triggering a Trap Most traps are triggered when a creature goes somewhere or touches something that the trap’s creator wanted to protect. Common triggers include stepping on a pressure plate or a false section of floor, pulling a trip wire, turning a doorknob, and using the wrong key in a lock. Magic traps are often set to go off when a creature enters an area or touches an object. Some magic traps (such as the glyph of warding spell) have more complicated trigger conditions, including a password that prevents the trap from activating. Detecting and Disabling a Trap Usually, some element...

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