The description of each species includes species traits that are common to members of that species. The following entries appear among the traits of most species.
Every species increases one character’s ability score by +1. Every species also provides an additional improved ability score at character creation, provided a +1 or +2 is assigned to the listed ability score.
The age entry notes the age when a member of the species is considered an adult, as well as the species’ expected lifespan. This information can help you decide how old your character is at the start of the game. You can choose any age for your character, which could provide an explanation for some of your ability scores. For example, if you play a young or very old character, your age could explain a particularly low Strength or Constitution score, while advanced age could account for a high Intelligence or Wisdom.
Most species have tendencies toward certain alignments, described in this entry. These are not binding for player characters, but considering why your dwarf is chaotic, for example, in defiance of lawful dwarf society can help you better define your character.
- GOOD. Favors the common good for all. Fairness and consideration of others.
- LAWFUL. Best able to turn chaos into a degree of order with purpose.
- CHAOTIC. Best able to grow and adapt to changes.
- NEUTRAL. Undecided. Understands that there are times and places for each alignment.
Characters of most species are Medium, a size category including creatures that are roughly 4 to 8 feet tall. Members of a few species are Small (between 2 and 4 feet tall), which means that certain rules of the game affect them differently. The most important of these rules is that Small characters have trouble wielding heavy weapons, as explained in “Equipment.”
Your speed determines how far you can move when traveling (“Adventuring”) and fighting (“Combat”). Your speed represents the maximum number of squares you can move during your turn.
By virtue of your species, your character can speak, read, and write certain languages.
Some species have one or more varities. Each variety has the traits of the parent species in addition to the traits specified for their variety. Relationships among varities differ significantly from species to species and world to world.
Your dwarf character has an assortment of inborn abilities, part and parcel of dwarven nature.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by +1.
Age. Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they’re considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years.
Alignment. Most dwarves are lawful, believing firmly in the benefits of a well-ordered society. They tend toward good as well, with a strong sense of fair play and a belief that everyone deserves to share in the benefits of a just order.
Size. Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 5 squares. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.
Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 12 squares of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.
Dwarven Combat Training. You have proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, light hammer, and warhammer.
Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan’s tools of your choice: smith’s tools, brewer’s supplies, or mason’s tools.
Stonecunning. You roll all skill checks used to determine the origin of stonework with advantage.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Dwarvish. Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak.
As a hill dwarf, you have keen senses, deep intuition, and remarkable resilience.
Ability Score Increase. If you assign a +1 or +2 to your Wisdom score during character creation, increase your Wisdom score by an additional +1.
Dwarven Toughness. You max wounds increases by +1.
As a highlander dwarf, you are accustomed to rugged living at high altitudes and within mountain-dwellings.
Ability Score Increase. If you assign a +1 or +2 to your Strength score during character creation, increase your Strength score by an additional +1.
Bonus Feat. You gain the Moderately Armored feat, ignoring any prerequisites.
Your elf character has a variety of natural abilities, result of thousands of years of elven refinement.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by +1.
Age. Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, the elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.
Alignment. Elves love freedom, variety, and self-expression, so they lean strongly toward the gentler aspects of chaos. They value and protect others’ freedom as well as their own, and they are more often good than not.
Size. Elves range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 6 squares.
Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 12 squares of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.
Trance. Elves don’t need to sleep. Instead, they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. (The Common word for such meditation is “trance.”) While meditating, you can dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive through years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit that a human does from 8 hours of sleep.
As a high elf, you have a keen mind and a mastery of at least the basics of magic. In many fantasy gaming worlds, there are two kinds of high elves. One type is haughty and reclusive, believing themselves to be superior to non-elves and even other elves. The other type is more common and more friendly, and often encountered among humans and other species.
Ability Score Increase. If you assign a +1 or +2 to your Intelligence score during character creation, increase your Intelligence score by an additional +1.
Elf Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.
Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.
Extra Language. You can speak, read, and write one extra language of your choice.
Creatures with strong ties to nature and magic, eladrin live in the twilight lands of the Feywild. Their cities sometimes cross over to the Material Plane, appearing briefly in mountain valleys or deep within a forest before fading back into the Feywild.
An eladrin's hair is often white, silver, or pale gold, and they wear it long and loose. Their eyes are pearly and opalescent orbs of vibrant blue, violet, or green, lacking pupils.
Ability Score Increase. If you assign a +1 or +2 to your Intelligence score during character creation, increase your Intelligence score by an additional +1.
Elf Weapon Training. You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.
Fey Step. You can cast the misty step spell once using this trait. You regain the ability to do so when you finish a short or long rest.
Your halfling character has a number of traits in common with all other halflings.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by +1.
Age. A halfling reaches adulthood at the age of 20 and generally lives into the middle of his or her second century.
Alignment. Most halflings are lawful good. As a rule, they are good-hearted and kind, hate to see others in pain, and have no tolerance for oppression. They are also very orderly and traditional, leaning heavily on the support of their community and the comfort of their old ways.
Size. Halflings average about 3 feet tall and weigh about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 5 squares.
Lucky. When you roll a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll.
Brave. You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Halfling Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Halfling. The Halfling language isn’t secret, but halflings are loath to share it with others. They write very little, so they don’t have a rich body of literature. Their oral tradition, however, is very strong. Almost all halflings speak Common to converse with the people in whose lands they dwell or through which they are traveling.
As a lightfoot halfling, you can easily hide from notice, even using other people as cover. You’re inclined to be affable and get along well with others.
Lightfoots are more prone to wanderlust than other halflings, and often dwell alongside other races or take up a nomadic life.
Ability Score Increase. If you assign a +1 or +2 to your Charisma score during character creation, increase your Charisma score by an additional +1.
Naturally Stealthy. You can attempt to hide even when you are obscured only by a creature that is at least one size larger than you.
It’s hard to make generalizations about humans, but your human character has these traits.
Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by +1.
Adaptable. Choose and gain a species trait:
- Able. Choose an ability score unmodified by your ability score increase trait. The chosen ability score increases by +1. You also gain proficiency in one skill of your choice.
- Feat. You gain one feat.
Age. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.
Alignment. Humans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.
Size. Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 6 squares.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Humans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on.
MAX Wounds: 6 + CON
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose one from Perception, Performance, and Survival
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a greataxe or (b) any martial melee weapon
- (a) handaxes or (b) any simple weapon
- An explorer's pack and javelins
In battle, you fight with primal ferocity. On your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action that lasts until the end of the encounter.
While raging, you gain the following benefits if you aren’t wearing heavy armor:
- You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
- Damage dealt to you by minions is reduced to 0.
- You gain resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage (minimum 1).
If you are able to cast spells, you can’t cast them or concentrate on them while raging.
Your rage ends early if you are knocked unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven’t attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your rage on your turn as a bonus action.
Once you have raged twice, you must finish a long rest before you can rage again.
While you are not wearing any armor, your Armor Class equals 10 + DEX + CON. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.
MAX Wounds: 4 + CON
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords
Tools: Three musical instruments of your choice
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: Choose one from Insight, Medicine, Perception, Performance, and Survival
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a rapier or (b) a longsword, or (c) any simple weapon
- (a) a diplomat's pack or (b) an entertainer's pack
- (a) a lute or (b) any other musical instrument
- Leather armor and dagger
You have learned to untangle and reshape the fabric of reality in harmony with your wishes and music.
You know two bard cantrips of your choice.
You begin the game with two 1st level spell slots. To cast one of your spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you return to HQ.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell cure wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast cure wounds using either slot.
You know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the bard spell list.
Whenever you unlock a Magic feature (i.e., Magic I, Magic II, Magic III, etc.), you can choose one of the bard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the bard spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your bard spells. Your magic comes from the heart and soul you pour into the performance of your music or oration. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your CHA when setting the saving throw DC for a bard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 10 + CHA
Spell attack modifier = 2 + CHA
You can cast any bard spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.
You can use a musical instrument (see “Equipment”) as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.
You can inspire others through stirring words or music. To do so, you use a bonus action on your turn to choose one creature other than yourself within 10 squares of you who can hear you. That creature gains three Bardic Inspiration action dice.
For the remainder of the encounter, the creature can choose to roll all action dice and add the result to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration dice, but must decide before the GM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Bardic Inspiration dice are rolled, they are lost. A creature can have only three Bardic Inspiration dice at one time.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your CHA (minimum 1). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.
As a cleric, you gain the following class features.
MAX Wounds: 4 + CON
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose one from Insight, Medicine, and Performance
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a mace or (b) a warhammer (if proficient)
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor or (c) chainmail (if proficient)
- (a) a light crossbow and bolts or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a priest’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- A shield and a holy symbol
As a conduit for divine power, you can cast cleric spells.
You know three cleric cantrips of your choice.
You begin the game with two 1st level spell slots. To cast one of your spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell cure wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast cure wounds using either slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You prepare the list of cleric spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the cleric spell list. When you do so, choose a number of cleric spells equal to WIS + your level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
You can change your list of prepared spells at HQ. While away from HQ, you can prepare a new list of cleric spells by completing a short rest in prayer and meditation.
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your cleric spells. The power of your spells comes from your devotion to your deity. You use your Wisdom whenever a cleric spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use WIS when setting the saving throw DC for a cleric spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 10 + WIS
Spell attack modifier = 2 + WIS
You can cast a cleric spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.
You can use a holy symbol (see “Equipment”) as a spellcasting focus for your cleric spells.
Choose one domain related to your deity, such as Life. Each domain is detailed at the end of the class description, and each one provides examples of gods associated with it. Your choice grants you domain spells and other features.
Each domain has a list of domain spells. You always have domain spells prepared and they don't count against the number of spells you can prepare while at HQ.
If you gain a domain spell that isn't a cleric spell, the spell is nonetheless a cleric spell for you.
The Life domain focuses on the vibrant positive energy—one of the fundamental forces of the universe—that sustains all life. The gods of life promote vitality and health through healing the sick and wounded, caring for those in need, and driving away the forces of death and undeath. Almost any non-evil deity can claim influence over this domain, particularly agricultural deities (such as Chauntea, Arawai, and Demeter), sun gods (such as Lathander, Pelor, and Re-Horakhty), gods of healing or endurance (such as Ilmater, Mishakal, Apollo, and Diancecht), and gods of home and community (such as Hestia, Hathor, and Boldrei).
- bless
- cure wounds
You gain proficiency with heavy armor.
Your healing spells are more effective. Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to heal a creature's wounds, the creature heals one additional wound per spell level.
As a druid, you gain the following class features.
MAX Wounds: 3 + CON
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields (druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal)
Weapons: Clubs, daggers, darts, javelins, maces, quarterstaffs, scimitars, sickles, slings, spears
Tools: Herbalism kit
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Choose one from Insight, Medicine, Perception, Performance, and Survival
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a wooden shield or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a scimitar or (b) any simple melee weapon
- Leather armor, an explorer's pack, and a druidic focus
You know Druidic, the secret language of druids. You can speak the language and use it to leave hidden messages. You and others who know this language automatically spot such a message. Others spot the message’s presence with a successful (DC 15) Perception check but can’t decipher it without magic.
Drawing on the divine essence of nature itself, you can cast spells to shape that essence to your will.
You know two druid cantrips of your choice.
You begin the game with two 1st level spell slots. To cast one of your spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell cure wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast cure wounds using either slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You prepare the list of druid spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the druid spell list. When you do so, choose a number of druid spells equal to WIS + your level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
You can change your list of prepared spells at HQ. While away from HQ, you can prepare a new list of cleric spells by completing a short rest in prayer and meditation.
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your druid spells, since your magic draws upon your devotion and attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a druid spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use WIS when setting the saving throw DC for a druid spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 10 + WIS
Spell attack modifier = 2 + WIS
You can cast a druid spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.
You can use a druidic focus (see “Equipment”) as a spellcasting focus for your druid spells.
As a fighter, you gain the following class features.
MAX Wounds: 5 + CON
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose one from Insight, Performance, and Survival
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) chain mail or (b) leather armor, longbow, and arrows
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) a light crossbow and bolts or (b) handaxes
- (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +1 bonus to damage dealt with that weapon.
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
Whenever you attack and miss with a melee weapon you are wielding with two hands, you may reroll the attack. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 1 square of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability score to the damage of the second attack.
When you engage in two weapon fighting and successfully hit a creature with your secondary attack, you may deal 1 point of damage to another creature within 1 square of you. This bonus damage type is the same as the secondary attack.
You have a limited well of stamina that you can draw on to protect yourself from harm. On your turn, you can use a bonus action to return up to 1d10 1 + your fighter level wounds back to the wound deck. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.
As a monk, you gain the following class features.
MAX Wounds: 4 + CON
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons, shortswords
Tools: Choose one type of artisan’s tools or one musical instrument
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Choose one from Insight or Performance
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a shortsword or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- darts
While you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + DEX + WIS.
Your practice of martial arts gives you mastery of combat styles that use unarmed strikes and monk weapons, which are shortswords and any simple melee weapons that don’t have the two-handed or heavy property.
You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed or wielding only monk weapons and you aren’t wearing armor or wielding a shield:
- You can use DEX instead of STR for the attack rolls of your unarmed strikes and monk weapons.
- Your unarmed attacks deal 1 point of bludgeoning damage.
- When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a quarterstaff, you can also make an unarmed strike as a bonus action, assuming you haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn.
Certain monasteries use specialized forms of the monk weapons. For example, you might use a club that is two lengths of wood connected by a short chain (called a nunchaku) or a sickle with a shorter, straighter blade (called a kama). Whatever name you use for a monk weapon, you can use the game statistics provided for the weapon.
As a paladin, you gain the following class features.
MAX Wounds: 5 + CON
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose one from Insight, Medicine, Performance
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
- (a) a priest’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- Chain mail and a holy symbol
The presence of strong evil registers on your senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to detect such forces. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of you that is not behind total cover. You know the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence you sense, but not its identity (the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich, for instance). Within the same radius, you also detect the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to 1 + CHA. You regain all expended uses whenever you return to HQ.
Your blessed touch can heal wounds. You have a pool of healing power that replenishes when you return to HQ. With that pool, you can heal a total number of wounds equal to your paladin level × 5.
As an action, you can touch a wounded creature and choose to expend 1 or more points from your healing pool, up to the maximum amount remaining in your pool. Each point heals one of the creature's wounds.
Alternatively, you can expend 5 points from your pool of healing to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it. You can cure multiple diseases and neutralize multiple poisons with a single use of Lay on Hands, expending points separately for each one.
This feature has no effect on undead and constructs.
As a ranger, you gain the following class features.
MAX Wounds: 5 + CON
Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Dexterity
Skills: Choose one from Insight, Perception, Performance, or Survival
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
- (a) two shortswords or (b) two simple melee weapons
- (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- A longbow and arrows
You have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy. Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races species of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies.
You have advantage on Survival checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Insight checks to recall information about them.
When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.
You are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. Choose one type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, or swamp. When you make a skill check related to your favored terrain, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are using a skill that you’re proficient in.
While traveling for an hour or more in your favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:
- Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
- Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.
- Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
If you are traveling alone, youYour group may move stealthily at a normal pace.- When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
- While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
As a rogue, you have the following class features.
MAX Wounds: 4 + CON
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords
Tools: Thieves’ tools
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence
Skills: Choose any two skills
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a rapier or (b) a shortsword
- (a) a shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows or (b) a shortsword
- (a) a burglar’s pack, (b) a dungeoneer’s pack, or (c) an explorer’s pack
- (a) Leather armor, two daggers, and thieves’ tools
When you gain this feature, choose two of your skill proficiencies, or one of your skill proficiencies and your proficiency with thieves’ tools. Increase your bonus by +1 for the chosen proficiencies.
Whenever an upgrade increases either of the choosen proficiencies' bonus, increase the bonus by an additional +1.
You know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Once per turn, you can deal an extra +1 damage to one creature you hit with an attack if you have advantage on the attack roll. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
You don’t need advantage on the attack roll if another enemy of the target is within 1 square of it, that enemy isn’t incapacitated, and you don’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.
During your rogue training you learned thieves’ cant, a secret mix of dialect, jargon, and code that allows you to hide messages in seemingly normal conversation. Only another creature that knows thieves’ cant understands such messages. It takes four times longer to convey such a message than it does to speak the same idea plainly.
In addition, you understand a set of secret signs and symbols used to convey short, simple messages, such as whether an area is dangerous or the territory of a thieves’ guild, whether loot is nearby, or whether the people in an area are easy marks or will provide a safe house for thieves on the run.
As a sorcerer, you gain the following class features.
Armor: None
Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Choose one from Insight or Performance
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
- (a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
- Two daggers
An event in your past, or in the life of a parent or ancestor, left an indelible mark on you, infusing you with arcane magic. This font of magic, whatever its origin, fuels your spells.
You know four sorcerer cantrips of your choice.
You begin the game with two 1st level spell slots. To cast one of your spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you return to HQ.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast burning hands using either slot.
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the sorcerer spell list.
Whenever you successfully upgrade a Magic feature (i.e., "Magic I", "Magic II", "Magic III", etc.), you can choose one of the sorcerer spells you know and replace it with another spell from the sorcerer spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your sorcerer spells, since the power of your magic relies on your ability to project your will into the world. You use your CHA whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your CHA when setting the saving throw DC for a sorcerer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 10 + CHA
Spell attack modifier = 2 + CHA
You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your sorcerer spells.
Choose a sorcerous origin, which describes the source of your innate magical power, such as Draconic Bloodline. Your choice grants you a feature.
Different sorcerers claim different origins for their innate magic, such as a draconic bloodline.
Your innate magic comes from draconic magic that was mingled with your blood or that of your ancestors. Most often, sorcerers with this origin trace their descent back to a mighty sorcerer of ancient times who made a bargain with a dragon or who might even have claimed a dragon parent. Some of these bloodlines are well established in the world, but most are obscure. Any given sorcerer could be the first of a new bloodline, as a result of a pact or some other exceptional circumstance.
Choose one type of dragon as your ancestor. The damage type associated with each dragon is used by features you gain later.
Draconic Ancestry
| Dragon | Damage Type |
|---|---|
| Black | Acid |
| Blue | Lightning |
| Brass | Fire |
| Bronze | Lightning |
| Copper | Acid |
| Gold | Fire |
| Green | Poison |
| Red | Fire |
| Silver | Cold |
| White | Cold |
You can speak, read, and write Draconic. Additionally, whenever you make a Charisma check when interacting with dragons, add your level as a bonus if it applies to the check.
As magic flows through your body, it causes physical traits of your dragon ancestors to emerge. Your MAX wounds increases by +1.
Additionally, parts of your skin are covered by a thin sheen of dragon-like scales. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC equals 13 + DEX.
As a warlock, you gain the following class features.
MAX Wounds: 3 + CON
Armor: Light armor
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
Skills: Choose one skill from Insight or Performance
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
- (a) a component pouch or (b) an arcane focus
- (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) a dungeoneer’s pack
- Leather armor, any simple weapon, and two daggers
You have struck a bargain with an otherworldly being of your choice: the Archfey, the Fiend, or the Great Old One, each of which is detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features.
Your arcane research and the magic bestowed on you by your patron have given you facility with spells.
You know two warlock cantrips of your choice.
You begin the game with one 1st level spell slot. To cast one of your spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short rest.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast burning hands using either slot.
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the warlock spell list.
Whenever you successfully upgrade a Magic feature (i.e., "Magic I", "Magic II", "Magic III", etc.), you can choose one of the warlock spells you know and replace it with another spell from the warlock spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
(Floating Section)
5eFP games follow the same rules framework.
Choose one of two approaches:
- Gather and use a world map provided through a boxed game or
- Create a custom map
- Map size: 14 squares by 14 squares
- 1 square equals 1 inch by 1 inch or about 2.5 centimeters by 2.5 centimeters
- Players should be able to place a token the size of a poker chip within a world map tile without overlaping other chips or crossing over other world map tiles.
- Contains: (9) 2x2 world map tiles for each cardinal direction, (3) 2x2 world map tiles for each ordinal (hybrid) direciton, and (1) 2x2 HQ tile
- Draw clear boundaries around each world map tile (create a grid). Hybrid tiles: draw a dashed diagonal line from one corner of a the world map tile to its opposite corner in a color that will stand out. This dashed line represents the highway. World map tiles containing a highway are considered hybrid. While exploring hybrid tiles, players draw and play story cards from both adjacent story directions at the same time. Roads are hybrid world map tiles. They contain equal portions of both adjacent story directions.
Create your world map, making sure to leave one 2x2 world map square blank at the center of the map for the HQ tile.
Your map needs to be detailed and simplistic. Try to keep illustrations simple, consistent, and easily repeatable. Everyone should be able to see them and recognize what they are at a glance.
Running 5eFP with commonly available game tools:
- Use six sided dice as if they were action dice. Six sided dice are easy to buy at your local grocery store. Treat a die roll of 1 as one action (1 bolt) and a result of 6 as two actions (2 bolts). All other results are blank.
- Use four different poker decks with unique card back artwork for each story cardinal direction. At least two varieties of poker decks are easy to buy at your local grocery store. Create an encounter table describing 52 story card encounters for each cardinal direciton. Each result has a corresponding poker symbol and value. Jokers are shuffled into the decks. Jokers add a story card from the story deck located in the opposite cardinal direciton. For example, if you draw a story card from the NORTH deck and you draw a joker, you discard the joker and replace it with the top story card from the SOUTH deck.
- Use 52 small coins or life counters in a bowl (all one color) to represent the wound deck. When PCs recieve 1 or more points of damage that cannot be prevented, they draw that many wounds from the coin/counter bowl and place them in a visible spot within their play area. All players should be able to glance at a player's play area and know how many wounds they have at all times. When PCs recieve 1 or more points of healing, they may return 1 wound back to the bowl of small coins or life counters.
- Use a larger coin to represent 5eFP Coin. Put a pool of 15 larger coins into a bowl. When PCs gain a Coin, they draw a larger coin from the Coin bowl and place it in thier play area. Players should be able to see the number of Coin a player has at all times. When PCs spend 1 or more Coin, they return that many larger coins from their play area to the Coin bowl.
- Create your maps on measured and cut foamboard. Try to use scrap parts to create other game props such as the HQ tile or 2x2 obscuring world map tiles. Create (48) 2x2 obscuring world map tiles. You can paint these black or use a black marker, or use black foamboard.
- Use poker chips for PC and creature tokens. Collect five sets of different colored poker chips (look for a rainbow color scheme) containing 24 chips each. Buy a sticker book with 1.5 inch (about 3.8 centimeters) diameter colored dots with the same or similar rainbow color scheme. Affix the stickers of the chosen color onto the front and back side of your PC's poker chip. Gather the 24 pocker chips matching your PC's color. Reserve a number of colored poker chips equal your character's speed in your playing area. Set aside the remaining colored chips. Whenever your PC moves, you use these colored poker chips to trace your movement.
The world map begins obscured. After tracing the world map, place obscuring world map tiles over it. The nature of this obscurity is detailed in your setting handbook. The HQ tile is the only tile that is not obscured at the begining of the game. The HQ tile is placed at the map's center position. Obscuring world map tiles are removed whenever the PCs explore the world map tile it obscures. The following procedure must be completed in order to explore a world map tile:
- Preview. Druids and rangers recieve a special bonus round. Each druid and ranger PC, in turn, may choose one unexplored world map tile within the current level of play and preview it's terrain by temporarily removing its obscuring world map tile. Once finished, the player then returns the obscuring world map tile back to its original position.
- Selection. The PCs choose a cardinal or ordinal direction and trace a path from the HQ tile along the map until an obscured world map tile is encountered within the current level of play. This becomes the selected world map tile.
- Prepare. Players may choose to spend 1 round of preparation before deploying. See "Preparation."
- Setup. Place an empty (22 x 22) exploration map beside the world map. Roll a d20 twice. The first value represents the starting row. The second value represnets the starting column. Match the starting row and column to determine the starting position for the PCs.
- Deploy. The GM adds the starting map tile onto the exploration map at the starting position determined in the previous step, placing the party token onto it.
- Chooose Party Token Controller. PCs appoint one player as the party token controller. This player can be the party leader, but this is not required. The PC with the most overland movement bonuses is typically the party token controller. Some background, species, and class features provide significant bonuses while controlling the party token during the exploration phase.
- Move the party token. The party token controller moves the token, lifting any obscuring tiles encountered along the way. Removing an obscuring tile may reveal one 5 potential world map features or footholds:
- A dungeon
- A creature (or creatures)
- A village
- A building
- A treasure
- A trap
- A setting handbook specific feature or item necessary for completion.
Headquarters (HQ) represents the core organization(s) that all player characters (PCs) belong to within a 5eFP campaign setting. HQ can be an organization, a settlement, an outpost, a watch tower, a ship, or a station. All HQs have a dedicated society of supporters who help PCs complete HQ missions and guarantee safety and protection from whatever awaits beyond HQ's borders, provided PCs pay HQ's upkeep cost. See your setting handbook for more details on HQ upkeep costs.
HQ usually remains in one static location while PCs deploy on missions outward from the world map's center. However, some HQs relocate on the world map while other HQs have movable tokens representing a deployable vehicle or station with sufficient life support. Deployable HQ tokens function identically to static HQ world map tiles.
Sometimes HQs create satellite locations within the world map. Treat satellite locations as extensions of HQ. PCs can spend their downtime in HQ or within one of HQ's satellite locations, which may provide alternative benefits. Satellite locations are less secure than HQ, but remain relatively safe and protected, provided PCs meet HQ's upkeep costs. Local circumstances, conditions, and disturbances can affect the safety and protection offered by HQ. A temporary suspension of HQ protection results in PCs losing the ability to rest and repair. Coins spent on rest and repairs are lost during these circumstances.
You always begin the game at HQ.
You begin the game by revealing the HQ world map tile to all players. Place the HQ tile at the world map center tile position, reading any read-aloud text listed in your setting handbook for the start of the game.
You always end the game at HQ. The following occurs when PCs return to HQ:
- All ongoing encounter powers, abilities, and features end.
- PCs may pay 1 Coin for rest and repairs.
- PCs take one downtime round (worker placement) by placing their token on a building within HQ (or linked through HQ at a satellite location).
- PCs gain the benefits of completing a long rest.
As characters explore the world map and go on adventures, they encounter challenges granting experience, represented by Coins. See "Coins."
Characters advance whenever all world map tiles contained in the level 1 area are explored. Level 1 map tiles are adjacent to the QH map tile. This advancement is called gaining a level.
When characters advance to the next level, their MAX wounds increases by +1. You also gain access to the next level’s species, background, and class upgrades. You may purchase upgrades if you have enough Coin to do so. Once a Coin is spent, it is lost. Some upgrades allow you to increase an ability score by +1. You can't increase an ability score above +5 using this method. In addition, every character's proficiency bonus increases by +1.
Every story has a beginning. Your character’s background reveals where you came from, how you became an adventurer, and your place in the world. Your dwarf warrior might have been a courageous knight or a grizzled soldier. Your halfling mage could have been a sage or an artisan. Your elf scoundrel might have gotten by as a guild thief or commanded audiences as a jester.
Choosing a background provides you with traits and important story cues about your character’s identity. Backgrounds describe all events leading up to joining a life of adventure. Your starting gear represents the implements and reagents typical of your chosen background. How did you learn the skills of your class? Refer to your setting handbook for potential answers to these questions.
The most important question to ask about your background is what changed? Why did you stop doing whatever your background describes and start adventuring? Where did you get the money to purchase your starting gear, or, if you come from a wealthy background, why don’t you have more money? How did you learn the skills of your class? What sets you apart from ordinary people who share your background?
The sample background presented here provides both concrete benefits (features, proficiencies, and languages) and roleplaying suggestions.
Each background gives a character proficiency in two skills (described in “Using Ability Scores”). In addition, most backgrounds give a character proficiency with one or more tools (detailed in “Equipment”). If a character would gain the same proficiency from two different sources, he or she can choose a different proficiency of the same kind (skill or tool) instead.
Some backgrounds also allow characters to learn additional languages beyond those given by race. See “Languages.”
Each background provides a package of starting equipment. If you use the optional rule to spend coin on gear, you do not receive the starting equipment from your background.
A background contains suggested personal characteristics based on your background. You can pick characteristics, roll dice to determine them randomly, or use the suggestions as inspiration for characteristics of your own creation.
You might want to tweak some of the features of a background so it better fits your character or the campaign setting. To customize a background, you can replace one feature with any other one, choose any two skills, and choose a total of two tool proficiencies or languages from the sample backgrounds. You can either use the equipment package from your background or spend coin on gear as described in the equipment section. (If you spend coin, you can’t also take the equipment package suggested for your class.) Finally, choose two personality traits, one ideal, one bond, and one flaw. If you can’t find a feature that matches your desired background, work with your GM to create one.
You have spent your life in the service of a temple to a specific god or pantheon of gods. You act as an intermediary between the realm of the holy and the mortal world, performing sacred rites and offering sacrifices in order to conduct worshipers into the presence of the divine. You are not necessarily a cleric—performing sacred rites is not the same thing as channeling divine power.
Choose a god, a pantheon of gods, or some other quasi-divine being from among those listed in "Fantasy-Historical Pantheons" or those specified by your GM, and work with your GM to detail the nature of your religious service. Were you a lesser functionary in a temple, raised from childhood to assist the priests in the sacred rites? Or were you a high priest who suddenly experienced a call to serve your god in a different way? Perhaps you were the leader of a small cult outside of any established temple structure, or even an occult group that served a fiendish master that you now deny.
Skill Proficiencies: Insight
Languages: Two of your choice
Equipment: A holy symbol (a gift to you when you entered the priesthood), a prayer book or prayer wheel, 5 sticks of incense, vestments, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 1 Coin.
As an acolyte, you command the respect of those who share your faith, and you can perform the religious ceremonies of your deity. You and your adventuring companions can expect to receive free healing and care at a temple, shrine, or other established presence of your faith, though you must provide any material components needed for spells. Those who share your religion will support you (but only you) at a modest lifestyle.
You might also have ties to a specific temple dedicated to your chosen deity or pantheon, and you have a residence there. This could be the temple where you used to serve, if you remain on good terms with it, or a temple where you have found a new home. While near your temple, you can call upon the priests for assistance, provided the assistance you ask for is not hazardous and you remain in good standing with your temple.
Acolytes are shaped by their experience in temples or other religious communities. Their study of the history and tenets of their faith and their relationships to temples, shrines, or hierarchies affect their mannerisms and ideals. Their flaws might be some hidden hypocrisy or heretical idea, or an ideal or bond taken to an extreme.
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you’re holding in the other hand. You don’t add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand.
If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.
(floating section)
5eFP uses encounters to describe all the adversity PCs encounter while exploring a map. Traps, creatures, and challenging story situations are all considered encounters. An encounter's statistics are determined by the type of encounter, the number of PCs, and the level of play. This section details each type and provides templates for quick gameplay.
Encounter type describes what kind of encounter it is.
Monsters are born and thrive in the wild places between settlements. Creature encounters often rely on combat and tactics, but they do not require combat to overcome. Creature encounters are defined as one of three templates:
- Minion. Place (number of PCs + 1) minions onto the playingfield.
- Elite. As Minion, add 2 elites onto the playingfield.
- Boss. As Minion, add 1 boss onto the playingfield adjacent to a minion.
LEVEL. Encounter statistics are determined by the current level of play (LEVEL).
Damage. If an encounter includes a creature, a trap, an environmental condition, or some feature that deals damage, then it deals no more than the listed value per round.
Armor Class (AC). This value represents how difficult it is to attack a creature, adversary, or obstacle within the encounter.
Difficulty Class (DC). Use this value as the target number needed for a PC action to succeed during the encounter.
MAX Wounds. The total number of wounds the encounter can sustain. Creatures are knocked unconscious and must start making death saves when they reach their MAX wounds. A minion always has a MAX wounds of 1. If you want to increase a minion’s MAX wounds, promote it to an elite or boss.
Attack Bonus. The modifier you add to all d20 attack rolls used during the encounter.
- Damage: LEVEL
- AC: 12 + LEVEL
- DC: 12 + LEVEL
- MAX Wounds: 1
- Attack Bonus: 2 + LEVEL
Minions don't need to be limited to creatures. Minion story-elements also arise. These are parts of the story that persist until the PCs intervene in some way. Intervention is defined as a successful PC action that directly affects the story. Becuase it is a minion story element, it only needs 1 success to resolve.
- MAX Wounds: 2 + LEVEL
- Attack Bonus: 4 + LEVEL
Elites can represent persistant story-elements requiring a number of PC actions over time to resolve. Elite mage story-elements are intense situations which dissipate qucikly once addressed. They resolve after 2 successful PC actions change it in some way. Regular elite story elements need 3 successful PC actions to resolve.
- MAX Wounds: 4 + LEVEL
- Attack Bonus: 4 + LEVEL
A boss represents a harrowing situation as a story element, requiring coordinated efforts and usually several successful PC actions to overcome. A boss story-element requires 5 successful PC actions to resolve.
Choose minion, elite, or boss and use the corresponding generic encounter stats to begin creating your creature.
...
The creature's type can add attacks, resistances, immunities, and special qualities. Choose from the types provided below. A type's features are included in the descriptions.
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 evil chromatic dragons, are highly intelligent and have innate magic. Also in this category are creatures distantly related to true dragons, but less powerful, less intelligent, and less magical, such as wyverns and pseudodragons.
Elementals are creatures native to the elemental planes. Some creatures of this type are little more than animate masses of their respective elements, including the creatures simply called elementals. Others have biological forms infused with elemental energy. The races of genies, including djinn and efreet, form the most important civilizations on the elemental planes. Other elemental creatures include azers and invisible stalkers.
Fey are magical creatures closely tied to the forces of nature. They dwell in twilight groves and misty forests. In some worlds, they are closely tied to the Feywild, also called the Plane of Faerie. Some are also found in the Outer Planes, particularly the planes of Arborea and the Beastlands. Fey include dryads, pixies, and satyrs.
Fiends are creatures of wickedness that are native to the Lower Planes. A few are the servants of deities, but many more labor under the leadership of archdevils and demon princes. Evil priests and mages sometimes summon fiends to the material world to do their bidding. If an evil celestial is a rarity, a good fiend is almost inconceivable. Fiends include demons, devils, hell hounds, rakshasas, and yugoloths.
Giants tower over humans and their kind. They are humanlike in shape, though some have multiple heads (ettins) or deformities (fomorians). The six varieties of true giant are hill giants, stone giants, frost giants, fire giants, cloud giants, and storm giants. Besides these, creatures such as ogres and trolls are giants.
Humanoids are the main peoples of a fantasy gaming world, both civilized and savage, including humans and a tremendous variety of other species. They have language and culture, few if any innate magical abilities (though most humanoids can learn spellcasting), and a bipedal form. The most common humanoid races are the ones most suitable as player characters: humans, dwarves, elves, and halflings. Almost as numerous but far more savage and brutal, and almost uniformly evil, are the races of goblinoids (goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears), orcs, gnolls, lizardfolk, and kobolds.
Monstrosities are monsters in the strictest sense—frightening creatures that are not ordinary, not truly natural, and almost never benign. Some are the results of magical experimentation gone awry (such as owlbears), and others are the product of terrible curses (including minotaurs and yuan-ti). They defy categorization, and in some sense serve as a catch-all category for creatures that don’t fit into any other type.
Oozes are gelatinous creatures that rarely have a fixed shape. They are mostly subterranean, dwelling in caves and dungeons and feeding on refuse, carrion, or creatures unlucky enough to get in their way. Black puddings and gelatinous cubes are among the most recognizable oozes.
Plants in this context are vegetable creatures, not ordinary flora. Most of them are ambulatory, and some are carnivorous. The quintessential plants are the shambling mound and the treant. Fungal creatures such as the gas spore and the myconid also fall into this category.
Undead are once-living creatures brought to a horrifying state of undeath through the practice of necromantic magic or some unholy curse. Undead include walking corpses, such as vampires and zombies, as well as bodiless spirits, such as ghosts and specters.
Bolster X. This creature gains bolster X, where X is a pool of points used to reduce incoming damage. As long as this creature has a bolster pool of 1 or more, it may assign 1 or more bolster points as a free action to reduce the damage by 1 for each point spent. Spent points are lost. Whenever this creature gains two or more bolster pools, it keeps the largest bolster pool and discards the rest.
Monsters are alphabetized by creature name. A creature section may contain up to four varieties of the same monster. Typical varities include minion, elite, and boss.
Refer to the following table to determine further details about the encounter.
| Minion | Elite | Boss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armor Class (AC) | 12 + LEVEL | 13 + LEVEL | 14 + LEVEL |
| Difficulty Class (DC) | 12 + LEVEL | 13 + LEVEL | 14 + LEVEL |
| Attack Modifier | 2 + LEVEL | 3 + LEVEL | 4 + LEVEL |
| Damage | 1 | LEVEL | 1 + LEVEL |
| MAX Wounds | 1 | 2 + LEVEL | 4 + LEVEL |
Armor Class (AC). If the PCs take an attack action with a melee or ranged attack against the encounter, they must hit an AC equal to this number to succeed.
Difficulty Class (DC). If the encounter requires a saving throw or skill check, set the DC to this number.
Attack Modifier. If any part of the encounter can attack, it uses this number as the attack bonus.
Damage. If any part of the encounter deals damage, it deals a number of points of damage equal to this number.
MAX Wounds. If any part of the encounter can sustain points of damage, it gains MAX wounds equal to this number.
Small plant, unaligned
An awakened shrub is an ordinary plant given sentience and mobility by the awaken spell or similar magic. Awakened shrubs share the following statistics.
- Damage Vulnerability fire
- Damage Resistances piercing
- Senses passive Perception 10
- Languages understands Common in addition to the languages used by their creator but can’t speak.
- Size small
- Speed 4
False Appearance. While the awakened plant remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal plant.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -4 | -1 | +0 | +0 | +0 | -2 |
Rake. Melee Weapon Attack, reach 1, one target. Hit: slashing damage.
Legendary Actions. Awakened shrub bosses can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The awakened plant boss regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Awaken (1 Action/minion). Revive one defeated awakened plant minion within reach for each point spent. Awakened plants defeated with fire cannot be revived in this way.
Rake (1 Action). Make one rake attack against a foe.
Bolster (2 Actions). The awakened plant boss gains bolster (1 + LEVEL).
| Minion | Actions |
| Rake. Melee Weapon Attack, reach 1, one target. Hit: slashing damage. | |
| Elite | Features |
| ⇧ Size. Huge | |
| ⇧ Ability Scores. STR +4; DEX -2; CON +2; INT +0; WIS +0; CHA -2 | |
| Boss | Actions |
| Slam. Melee Weapon Attack, reach 2, one target. Hit: bludgeoning damage. | |
| Legendary Actions | |
| Awakened plant bosses can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The awakened plant boss regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. | |
| Awaken (1 Action/minion). Revive one defeated awakened plant minion within reach for each point spent. Awakened plants defeated with fire cannot be revived in this way. | |
| Slam (1 Action). Make one slam attack against a foe. | |
| Bolster (2 Actions). The awakened plant boss gains bolster (1 + LEVEL). |
Medium Undead, evil
Once fine robes hang in tatters from this withered corpse’s frame. A pale blue light shines from where its eyes should be.
Liches share the following statistics.
- Saving Throws CON 2 + LEVEL, INT 3 + LEVEL, WIS 1 + LEVEL
- Damage Resistances cold, lighting, necrotic
- Damage Immunities poison
- Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
- Senses truesight 12 squares, passive Perception 12
- Skills Insight (4 + LEVEL), Perception (2 + LEVEL)
- Languages Common. Liches may know up to 4 additional languages.
Rejuvenation. If it has a phylactery, a destroyed lich respawns once the PCs recall to HQ, healing all wounds and becoming active again. The new body appears within 1 square of the phylactery. Phylacteries for minions and elites are located near where they are first encountered in containers, urns, gravestones, buried under 1 square or ontop of a 1 square ledge. Boss phylacteries are safeguarded behind hidden passages, traps, or cleverly hidden within mundane items.
Turn Resistance. The lich has advantage on saving throws against any effect that turns undead.
| Minion | Elite | Boss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armor Class | 12 + LEVEL | 13 + LEVEL | 14 + LEVEL |
| Save DC | 12 + LEVEL | 13 + LEVEL | 14 + LEVEL |
| Attack Modifier | 2 + LEVEL | 3 + LEVEL | 4 + LEVEL |
| Damage per Round | 1 | LEVEL | LEVEL + 1 |
| MAX Wounds | 1 | 2 + LEVEL | 4 + LEVEL |
| Speed | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0 | +3 | +3 | +5 | +2 | +3 |
| Minion | Features |
| Spellcasting. Lich minions are spellcasters. Thier spellcasting ability is Intelligence (2 + LEVEL to hit, save DC 12 + LEVEL). Liches have the following wizard spells prepared: | |
| Cantrips (at will): mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost | |
| Actions | |
| Paralyzing Touch. Melee Spell Attack: (2 + LEVEL) to hit, reach 1, one creature. Hit: 1 cold damage. The target must succeed on a DC (12 + LEVEL) Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed until the end of the encounter. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. | |
| Elite | Features |
| ⇧ Spellcasting. (4 + LEVEL) to hit, save DC (14 + LEVEL). A lich elite has the following additional wizard spells prepared. LEVEL determines spell levels and spell slots. |
| LEVEL | |
| 1 | 1st level (4 slots): detect magic, magic missile, shield, thunderwave |
| 1 | 2nd level (3 slots): acid arrow, detect thoughts, invisibility, mirror image |
| 2 | 3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, dispel magic, fireball |
| 3 | 4th level (3 slots): blight, dimension door |
| 3 | 5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, scrying |
| 4 | 6th level (1 slot): disintegrate, globe of invulnerability |
| 5: | 7th level (1 slot): finger of death, plane shift |
| 5: | 8th level (1 slot): dominate monster, power word stun |
| 7 | 9th level (1 slot): power word kill |
| If LEVEL is listed more than once, the lich elite gains both benefits. |
| Legendary Resistances (3/Day). If liches fail a saving throw, they can decide to use this feature to succeed instead. | |
| Actions | |
| ⇧ Paralyzing Touch. +2 to hit; (LEVEL) cold damage | |
| Boss | Legendary Actions |
| The lich can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The lich regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. | |
| Cantrip (1 Action). The lich casts a cantrip | |
| Bolster (2 Actions). The lich must be able to target a minion within 12 squares to use this legendary action. The lich gains bolster 2. | |
| Paralyzing Touch (2 Actions). The lich uses its Paralyzing Touch. | |
| Frightening Gaze (2 Actions). The lich fixes its gaze on one creature it can see within 2 squares of it. The target must succeed on a DC (14 + LEVEL) Wisdom saving throw against this magic or become frightened until the end of the encounter. The frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a target’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the target is immune to the lich’s gaze for the next 24 hours. | |
| Disrupt Life (3 Actions). Each non-undead creature within 5 squares of the lich must make a DC (14 + LEVEL) Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 3 necrotic damage on a failed save, or 1 necrotic damage on a successful one. |
Zombies share the following statistics.
- Saving Throws WIS 2 + LEVEL
- Damage Immunities poison
- Condition Immunities poisoned
- Senses darkvision 12 squares, passive Perception 8
- Languages understands the languages it knew in life but can’t speak
Undead Fortitude. If the zombie reaches MAX wounds, it must make a CON saving throw with a DC of 12 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the zombie recieves 1 point of healing.
Medium Undead, neutral evil
Armor Class LEVEL + 12
MAX Wounds 1
Speed 4
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1 | -2 | +3 | -4 | -2 | -3 |
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +(LEVEL + 2) to hit, reach 1, one target. Hit: 1 bludgeoning damage.
Large Undead, neutral evil
Armor Class LEVEL + 12
MAX Wounds LEVEL + 2
Speed 6
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +4 | -2 | +4 | -4 | -2 | -3 |
Morningstar. Melee Weapon Attack: +(LEVEL + 4) to hit, reach 1, one target. Hit: LEVEL bludgeoning damage.
Large Undead, neutral evil
Armor Class LEVEL + 14
MAX Wounds LEVEL + 4
Speed 6
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +4 | -2 | +4 | -4 | -2 | -3 |
Morningstar. Melee Weapon Attack: +(LEVEL + 4) to hit, reach 1, one target. Hit: LEVEL bludgeoning damage.
Ogre zombie bosses can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The ogre zombie boss regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
- Bolster (2 actions). Gain LEVEL shield(s). Eeach shield negates 1 point of damage. Once a shield is used, it is lost.
- Strike (1 action). Make one melee attack against an adjacent foe.
- Parry (1 action). Spend a reaction to increase AC by +(LEVEL) against melee attacks until the end of the round.
Use the same table to determine the details of a trap. Treat the trap as if it were creating a creature.
- Trigger. Trap area.
- Duration. Instantaneous.
- DEX Save DC. 16
- Save for Half. Yes
- Damage. 3 piercing or 1 piercing (save)
Welcome to the fifth edition focus practice (5eFP), a new tabletop roleplaying game (TRPG) experience combining fun and immersive gameplay with deepening levels of self-exploration.
Inspired by the d20 fifth edition rules, 5eFP emerges as a completely new body of work whose core rules are system agnostic. Freely use these rules within any interactive storytelling game seeking 5eFP wisdom.
Focus. Learning and gaining proficiency requires focus, time, and attention. Focus begins with cultivating greater awareness of thoughts, feelings, and instincts as sensations arise within the body. Reaching the next level of experience brings about greater awareness and deeper access to life's energy sourced from within ourselves.
Practice. Focus alone isn't enough. Results require real doing through regular and consistent gameplay. We transform TRPGs into a mindful practice. Practices are activities we return to because they feed us in some way. Successful practices provide a kind of nutrient missing in other activities. Regularly playing 5eFP games from beginning to end, fully conscious and aware at least once per month, is our practice.
The five skills are used in all TRPGs and interactive storytelling games. 5eFP skills grant deeper story access and greater player agency while encouraging their growth within the player characters (PCs) and our real life (RL). The five skills remind us of our abilities and our free agency.
5eFP games use inspiration points. At the start of each game, the game master (GM) awards one inspiration point to PCs with one or fewer inspiration points. Each player (GM included) then chooses and dedicates two of the five skills by saying them out loud to one another.
PCs may spend inspiration at any time during the game to activate an inspired version of a 5eFP skill dedicated at the beginning of the game. PCs regain use of this feature at the beginning of their next turn.
Alternatively, PCs may save up to 2 inspiration points for later. Any unused inspiration points carry over to the next game.
Items, effects, or features within the game may provide exceptions to these rules.
Insight. Your insight imbues inward sight, granting vision beneath surface impressions.
INSPIRED: Your character can easily determine sincerity, true motives, and intentions within the current scene. Illusions, misdirections, disguises, or actions with the intent to deceive appear transparent to you. Your GM refunds your inspiration if no additional information is gained.
Medicine. Your medicine stabilizes wounds.
INSPIRED: Choose any number of targets your character can see within 30 feet who are unconscious or dying. Each target immediately stabilizes and wakes up with minimum health.
Perception. Your perception enables you to spot, hear, or otherwise detect the presence of something.
INSPIRED: Your character receives all available pieces of information regarding the current scene. Hidden doors, creatures, traps, ambushes, whispered conversations. Anything arising from sense data or information gained through the five senses. Your GM refunds your inspiration if no additional information is gained.
Performance. Your performance allows the satisfying completion of one action.
INSPIRED: Whenever your character declares an action on their turn, you may use this feature to decide the outcome of the action and whether or not it was successful. You must choose to use your inspiration in this way before rolling any dice and before the game master declares the result of your action.
Survival. Your survival awards expanded capacities, allowing you to identify and acquire new advantages, qualities, or skills.
INSPIRED: Your character finds a path leading to another desired location on the current map. The revealed path is one of many potential pathways. This is the swiftest path.
Once per game session, you can use your inspired 5eFP Survival to activate the inspired version of a 5eFP skill you didn't dedicate at the beginning of the game.
Schwartz, Richard C. Internal Family Systems Model. Trailheads Publications. ISBN 0972148000
TDB
5eFP MONK — (1 KI point): stand upright from prnone or jump up or down one ledge as a free action.
The Enchanted Forest's beloved Enchantress Queen (Queen) falls gravely ill as waves of weary and injured refugees enter through all four charmed gates of Castle Somnam (HQ), bringing harrowed tales of encroaching darkness. The Nightmare, a darkly magical reality overlaying the world and the realm known as the Plane of Shadow (Shadowfell), breached the Enchanted Forest's borders, spreading its long shadows across the land and transforming all it touched into strange and twisted reflections. The realm is no longer as it once was. Castle Somnam remains the only location unaffected by the Nightmare, thanks to the monarch's mystical protections imbued within the city castle's walls. An elite assembly of champions, known as the Queen's Heralds (Heralds), are charged with keeping the realm and its people healthy, thriving, and safe from harm.
You joined the Queen's Heralds and now, just before your graduation, you are called to participate in one important, final test: you must travel to the Crypt of the Continual Flame on foot deep into the Megalithic Highlands. You and your friends must make the journey alone unaided by your fellow students, peers, and instructors. You must make your way to the Crypt using a simple map. There, you will light your torch within the Hall of the Continual Flame and return it as proof of completion. Only then do you officially become a Herald.