Chapter 3: DM's Toolbox

Character Alignment

Some common misconceptions about alignment can cause conflicts between players and DMs. The following sections can help you navigate how player characters interact with alignment.

Monster Alignment

Alignment can help you determine how a creature behaves in your game in two simple ways.

Organization Ethos

It can be useful to assign an alignment to an organization—including a faction, a guild, or a nation—to describe its ethos. This can help you decide how groups interact with each other.

An organization's ethos doesn't dictate the alignment of its members or even the alignment of its leaders. In fact, a stark difference between a society's ethos and the alignment of its leadership can generate interesting material for adventure. For example, imagine a Neutral Good queen ascending to the throne of a Lawful Evil empire and struggling to reform its institutions.

Beginning a Chase

A chase requires at least one quarry and at least one pursuer. Any participants not already in Initiative order must roll Initiative as the chase begins. As in combat, each participant in the chase can take one action and move on its turn.

When a chase begins, determine the starting distance between the quarry and the pursuers. Track the distance between them, and designate the pursuer closest to the quarry as the lead. The lead pursuer might change from round to round.

Running the Chase

Participants in the chase are strongly motivated to take the Dash action every round. Pursuers who stop to cast spells and make attacks run the risk of losing their quarry, and a quarry that doesn't take the Dash action is likely to be caught.

Ending a Chase

A chase ends when one side or the other stops, when each quarry escapes, or when the pursuers are close enough to their quarry to catch it.

If neither side gives up the chase, the quarry makes a Dexterity (Stealth) check on Initiative count 0 each round, after every participant in the chase has taken its turn. If the quarry is never out of the lead pursuer's sight, the check fails automatically. Otherwise, compare the check's total to the Passive Perception scores of the pursuers. If the quarry consists of multiple creatures, they all make the check separately, so it's possible for one quarry to escape while others remain in the chase.

The quarry can gain Advantage or Disadvantage on its check based on the circumstances, as shown in the Escape Factors table.

Other factors might help or hinder the quarry's ability to escape, at your discretion. For example, a quarry with a Faerie Fire spell cast on it might have Disadvantage on checks made to escape because it's much easier to spot.

If the total of the quarry's check is greater than the highest Passive Perception score of the pursuers, the quarry escapes. If not, the chase continues for another round. Escape doesn't necessarily mean the quarry has outpaced its pursuers. For example, in a city, escape might mean the quarry ducked into a crowd or slipped around a corner, leaving no clue as to where it went.

Splitting Up

Creatures being chased can split up into smaller groups. This tactic forces pursuers to either divide their forces or allow some of the quarry to escape. If a pursuit splits into several smaller chases, resolve each chase separately. You can keep all the creatures in Initiative order, but track the distances separately for each group.

Role Reversal

During a chase, it's possible for the pursuers to become the quarry. For example, characters chasing a thief through a marketplace might draw unwanted attention from other members of the thieves' guild. As they pursue the fleeing thief, they must also evade the thieves pursuing them. Roll Initiative for the new arrivals, and run both chases simultaneously. Alternatively, the fleeing thief might run into his accomplices. The outnumbered characters might then flee with the thieves in pursuit.

Mapping the Chase

When you plan a chase, draw a rough map that shows the route. Insert obstacles and complications at specific points, especially ones that require the characters to make ability checks or saving throws to avoid slowing or stopping, or use the random tables of complications in the "2" section to choose obstacles that occur at specific points.

Complications can be barriers to progress or opportunities for mayhem. Characters being chased through a forest by bugbears might spot a wasp nest and slow down long enough to attack the nest or throw rocks at it to enrage the wasps within, thus creating an obstacle for their pursuers.

A map of a chase can be linear or have many branches, depending on the nature of the chase. For example, a mine cart chase might have few (if any) branches, while a sewer chase might have several.

Chase Complications

Unexpected complications make a chase more exciting. The accompanying Urban Chase Complications table and Wilderness Chase Complications table provide several examples. Each participant in the chase rolls 1d12 at the end of its turn. Consult the appropriate table to determine whether a complication occurs. If it does, it affects the next chase participant in the Initiative order, not the participant who rolled the die.

Characters can create their own complications to shake off pursuers or slow their quarry (for example, casting the Web spell in a narrow alleyway). Adjudicate these at your discretion.

1: Choose Abilities

Choose three abilities that seem appropriate for the background:

2: Choose a Feat

Choose one feat from the category=O category. See the Player's Handbook for examples of 5.

3: Choose Skill Proficiencies

Choose two skills appropriate for the background. There needn't be a relationship between the skill proficiencies a background grants and the ability scores it increases.

4: Choose a Tool Proficiency

Choose one tool used in the practice of the background or often associated with it.

5: Choose Equipment

Assemble a package of equipment worth 50 GP (including unspent gold). Don't include Martial weapons or armor, as characters get them from their class choices.

Minor Alterations

You can change the superficial details of a creature's appearance however you like, and you can alter any of the following pieces of a monster's stat block without impacting its functionality.

Traits

You can add traits to a creature's stat block to communicate aspects of the creature's nature. See the Creature Traits list for sample traits.

You can also use traits from other stat blocks in the Monster Manual, provided you don't add traits that alter a creature's Hit Points, confer Temporary Hit Points, or change the amount of damage the creature deals to other creatures.

Modifying a Magic Item

You can create a new magic item by tweaking one or more existing ones. Suggestions are provided in the sections that follow.

Creating a New Item

If modifying an item doesn't quite fulfill the need, you can create one from scratch.

A magic item should either let a character do something they couldn't do before or improve the character's ability to do something they can do already. For example, a Ring of Jumping lets its wearer jump greater distances, thus augmenting what a character can already do. A Ring of the Ram, however, gives a character the ability to deal Force damage.

The simpler your approach, the easier it is for a character to use the item in play. Giving the item charges is fine, especially if it has several different abilities, but simply deciding that an item is always active or can be used a fixed number of times per day might be easier to manage.

Spell Damage

For any spell that deals damage, use the Spell Damage table to determine approximately how much damage is appropriate given the spell's level. The table assumes the spell deals half as much damage on a successful saving throw or a missed attack. If your spell doesn't deal damage on a successful save, you can increase the damage by 25 percent.

You can use different damage dice than the ones in the table if the average damage is about the same. For example, you could change a cantrip's damage from 1d10 (average 5.5) to 2d4 (average 5), reducing the maximum damage and making an average result more likely.

Healing Spells

You can also use the Spell Damage table to determine how many Hit Points a healing spell restores. A cantrip shouldn't provide healing.

Curses

Every curse has rules that govern it. A curse typically takes one of the forms detailed below.

Magical Contagions

Alchemists, potion brewers, and areas of wild magic are credited with creating the first magical contagions. An outbreak of such a contagion can form the basis of an adventure as characters search for a cure and try to stop the contagion's spread.

Death Must Be Fair

The best way to avoid hard feelings connected to the death of a beloved character is to make sure the players know you're being fair. Keep these principles in mind:

Scaling Lethality

You can adjust the lethality of your campaign using the 3 in 3. If your players enjoy games that test their characters to the utmost and are prepared to create new characters at a moment's notice, consider using high-difficulty encounters over and over, with little opportunity for rests between encounters, to create a more lethal adventure. Conversely, using only low-difficulty encounters is less likely to lead to character death, especially if characters have ample opportunity to rest during the adventure.

Death Scenes

When a character is reduced to 0 Hit Points, the player sometimes has to sit out one or more rounds of combat with nothing to do but roll Death Saving Throws. One way to keep a player involved in the game is to prompt some roleplaying along with each Death Save. You might ask the player to describe a memory that surfaces in the character's mind while hovering near death. Consider these possibilities:

You can also reward a player who describes a memory or something else occupying the dying character's thoughts with Advantage on the Death Save.

When a character dies, either from failed Death Saves or from an effect that kills the character outright, consider giving the player some ownership over the character's final moments by asking what the character's last words are or how the character greets death.

Dealing with Death

When a character dies, consult with the players to decide what happens next. Some players are perfectly happy to make new characters, especially when they're eager to try out new options. A new party member should start at the same level as the other characters in the party and have gear of similar value.

It's also possible for dead characters to be brought back to life. The most common way is through spells such as Revivify and Raise Dead. It's up to you to decide how easy it is for characters to access those spells if they can't cast them. The Player's Handbook offers suggested prices for spellcasting services.

What If Everyone Dies?

Misadventure can wipe out an entire group. (You'll sometimes hear players refer to this as a "total party kill" or "TPK.") Such a catastrophe doesn't have to end the whole game—rather, it presents an opportunity to take the game in a new direction. Consider these possibilities.

Common Doors

The Doors table provides the AC and Hit Points for common doors, which are Medium objects.

With the Utilize action, a creature can try to force open a door that is barred or locked, doing so with a successful Strength (Athletics) check. The table provides the DC of the check. For bigger doors, double or triple the Hit Points and increase the DC of the check by 5.

Secret Doors

A secret door is crafted to blend into the wall that surrounds it. Sometimes faint cracks in the wall or scuff marks on the floor betray the secret door's presence. Other than the fact that it's hidden, a secret door is similar to a common door.

With the Search action, a character can search for a secret door along a 10-foot-square section of wall and make a Wisdom (Perception) check. On a successful check, the character finds any secret door hidden in that section of wall as well as the mechanism to open the door. The DC of the check depends on how well the secret door is hidden, as shown in the Secret Doors table.

You can instead call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check if the challenge involves deducing that a door is present from noticeable clues, rather than spotting those clues in the first place. See "1" in 1 for more advice.

Portcullises

Typically made of iron or wood, a portcullis blocks a passage or an archway until it is raised into the ceiling by a winch and chain. Creatures within 5 feet of a lowered portcullis can make ranged attacks or cast spells through it, and they have Three-Quarters Cover against attacks, spells, and other effects originating from the opposite side. A portcullis can also be attacked and destroyed, using the AC and Hit Points of a metal door (if iron) or a wooden door (if wood).

Winching a portcullis up or down requires the Utilize action. If a creature can't reach the winch (usually because it's on the other side of the portcullis), lifting the portcullis requires the Utilize action and a successful Strength (Athletics) check. The DC of the check depends on the type of portcullis, as shown in the Portcullises table.

Mapping a Dungeon

A dungeon can range in size from a few chambers to a huge complex of rooms and passages extending hundreds of feet. The adventurers' goal often lies as far from the dungeon entrance as possible, forcing characters to delve deeper underground or push farther into the heart of the complex.

A dungeon is usually mapped on a grid like graph paper, with each square on the paper representing an area of 5 feet by 5 feet. 9 shows several examples. If you play with miniatures on a grid, this scale makes it easy to transfer your map to a battle grid.

Designing Dungeon Rooms

Keep the following things in mind when designing a dungeon room:

Common dungeon rooms fall into the broad categories described below.

Dungeon Decay

The States of Ruin table can help you determine the general conditions of a dungeon area.

Fear Effects

Whenever the characters encounter something that is supernaturally frightful, use the Frightened condition as the baseline effect. Fear effects typically require a Wisdom saving throw, with a save DC set based on how terrifying the situation is. The Sample Fear DCs table provides some examples.

Typically, a Frightened creature repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

At your discretion, a Frightened creature might be subject to other effects as long as the Frightened condition lasts. Consider these examples:

• The Frightened creature must take the Dash action on each of its turns and uses its movement to get farther away from the source of its fear.
• Attack rolls against the Frightened creature have Advantage.
• The Frightened creature can do only one of the following on each of its turns: move, take an action, or take a Bonus Action.

Mental Stress Effects

When a character is subjected to an effect that causes intense mental stress, Psychic damage is the best way to emulate that effect.

The Sample Mental Stress Effects table provides a few examples of such effects, with suggested saving throw DCs and damage. Mental stress can usually be resisted with a successful Wisdom save, but sometimes an Intelligence or Charisma save is more appropriate. On a successful save, a character might take half as much damage instead of no damage, at your discretion.

Firearms

The Firearms table provides examples of modern and futuristic firearms. If you make them available for purchase (perhaps in the fantastical marketplaces of the City of Brass), treat modern items as Rare magic items and futuristic items as Very Rare ones (see 6).

Explosives

The Explosives table has examples of explosives. If no cost is given for an explosive, it can't typically be bought. If you make these explosives available for purchase, treat them as Rare magic items. Rules for explosives are given below.

Alien Technology

When adventurers find a piece of technology that isn't from their world or time period, they can deduce what it is with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check, with the DC depending on the complexity of the item: DC 10 for a relatively simple item like a calculator or a lighter, or DC 20 for a complex item such as a computer, a chainsaw, or a hovercraft. You may require a separate Intelligence (Investigation) check to determine whether a character can activate or operate the technology; a character who has observed the item in use or has operated a similar item either has Advantage on the check or succeeds on the check automatically (your choice).

Divine Rank

The divine beings of the multiverse are often categorized according to their relative cosmic power. Some gods who are worshiped on multiple worlds have a different rank on each world, depending on their influence there.

Greater deities are generally the oldest gods of a pantheon, responsible (at least in myth) for creating or parenting the other gods. Their provinces are major areas of nature and mortal life, such as agriculture, the sun, and death. Greater deities are ultimately beyond mortal understanding, and they're often known by different names across regions, cultures, and worlds. Having no fixed appearance or gender, they can assume whatever forms they like. Occasionally these deities manifest and perform mythic deeds among mortals.

Lesser deities are typically described in myth as the creations, children, or servitors of the greater deities. They govern narrower provinces, such as the activities of mortal life or limited aspects of the natural world. They share the fundamentally ineffable nature of greater gods, but they are more likely to manifest in mortal realms.

Quasi-deities have a divine origin, but they don't receive or answer prayers. They are still immensely powerful beings, and in theory, they could ascend to godhood if they amass enough worshipers. Quasi-deities fall into the following subcategories:

Demigods are divine beings with mortal origin. Some were born mortal and attained godhood, while others were born from the union of a deity and a mortal. Their mortal parentage makes demigods.

Titans are the creations of deities. They might be manufactured on a divine forge, born from the blood spilled by a god, or otherwise brought about through divine will or substance. Some titans, including krakens and the tarrasque, appear in the Monster Manual.

Vestiges are deities who have lost nearly all their worshipers and are considered dead from a mortal perspective. Esoteric rituals can sometimes contact vestiges and draw on their latent power.

Home Plane and Alignment

Gods aren't defined by mortal conceptions of alignment, and different mortal worshipers might interpret a god's behavior and teachings through the lens of different alignments. That said, gods tend to live on the 5 that most closely match their general alignment tendencies, so it's safe to assume that the teachings of a god who resides in 5 (a plane of rampant chaos and evil), encourage behavior that is Chaotic Evil, while a god who resides in 5 (the plane of pure good) encourages Neutral Good behavior.

People can worship a god without obeying that god's tenets or conforming to the god's presumed alignment. People from all walks of life might participate in the annual festival of innocent mischief associated with a trickster god—even people whose alignment is generally lawful and opposed to the trickster's teachings. To stave off disease, good-hearted people might make offerings to appease the wrath of a god associated with plague. Even Cleric characters don't need to have any particular alignment to serve their gods.

Gods and Divine Magic

Divine magic—which includes the spells cast by Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Rangers—is mediated through beings and forces that are categorized as divine. These can include gods but also include the primal forces of nature, the beneficent power of ancestral spirits, the sacred weight of a Paladin's oath, and impersonal principles or entities such as Fate or the order of the universe. These beings and forces grant characters the power to wield the magic of their planar domains.

For game purposes, wielding divine power isn't dependent on the gods' ongoing approval or the strength of a character's devotion. The power is a gift offered to a select few; once given, it can't be rescinded.

That said, characters' relationships with the divine forces they access to wield their magic, much like Warlocks' relationships with their patrons, are ripe for exploration. A Cleric might accompany every casting of a spell with a litany of complaints directed at the gods. The Paladin class description in the Player's Handbook offers some suggestions for how a player might roleplay a situation where their Paladin has broken their oath. You can also decide how NPCs react to a character whose behavior doesn't square with the ideals implied by the Holy Symbol the character wears.

Divine Knowledge

The Commune spell allows its caster to ask a deity (or an agent of the god) yes-or-no questions and receive correct information, and other spells of the Divination school have similar effects. As the Commune spell description states, gods aren't necessarily omniscient. But they are tremendously knowledgeable, particularly with regard to their particular areas of influence. A sea god can be reasonably expected to know anything that has happened in or on a sea, for example, and a martial god knows details about wars. Gods can reliably predict the future, at least in the short term (hence their ability to answer spells such as Augury and Divination). And some gods might be unwilling to reveal their ignorance, choosing to give an unclear answer rather than admit that they don't know the truth.

Divine Intervention

In some campaigns, gods are fond of meddling in mortal affairs, and heroes sometimes call on the gods for aid beyond what divine magic ordinarily provides. The gods sometimes also send dreams, omens, or emissaries to direct mortals along a certain path. Keep these two principles in mind to guide your use of divine intervention in your campaign:

With those principles in mind, you might have gods intervene in dire situations in one of these ways:

Creating Religions

A list of gods is a good starting point, and it can be sufficient to get a campaign started. But you can add more depth to your campaign world by fleshing out more details of religious belief and practice.

Severity and Level

Each hazard in this section is designated as a nuisance or as deadly for characters of certain levels. A nuisance hazard is unlikely to seriously harm characters of the indicated levels, whereas a deadly hazard can grievously damage characters of the indicated levels.

Use caution when introducing a hazard to characters of a level lower than the hazard's level range. A hazard that is a nuisance at one level range could be deadly to characters in the next-lower range.

Example Hazards

Hazards are presented in alphabetical order.

• Brown Mold
• Fireball Fungus
• Green Slime
• Inferno
• Poisonous Gas
• Quicksand Pit
• Razorvine
• River Styx
• Rockslide
• Vicious Vine
• Webs
• Yellow Mold

Fortifications

A fortification is a reward usually given to seasoned adventurers who demonstrate unwavering fealty to a powerful political figure or ruling body, such as a monarch, a knighthood, or a council of wizards. A fortification can be anything from a fortress in the heart of a city to a provincial keep on the borderlands. While the fortification is for the characters to govern as they see fit, the land on which it sits remains the property of the crown or local ruler. Should the characters prove disloyal or unworthy of the gift, they can be asked or forced to relinquish custody of the fortification. In that respect, the fortification is different from the characters' Bastions (described in 7). However, you can also use the gift of a fortification as a pretext for the characters acquiring their Bastions.

The individual bequeathing the fortification might offer to pay its maintenance costs for one or more months, after which the characters inherit that responsibility. The type of fortification determines its maintenance costs, as shown in the Maintenance Costs table.

Letters of Recommendation

A benefactor might provide adventurers with a letter of recommendation rather than payment. Such a letter is usually enclosed in a handsome folio, case, or scroll tube for safe transport, and it usually bears the signature and seal of whoever wrote it.

A letter of recommendation from a person of impeccable reputation can grant adventurers access to NPCs whom they would otherwise have trouble meeting, such as a duke, duchess, viceroy, or monarch. Moreover, carrying such a recommendation on one's person establish a baseline of trust with local authorities.

A letter of recommendation is worth only as much as the reputation of the person who wrote it and offers no benefit where its writer holds no sway.

Medals

Although they are often fashioned from gold and other precious materials, medals have an even greater symbolic value to those who award and receive them. Medals are typically awarded by political figures for acts of heroism, and wearing a medal is usually enough to earn the respect of those who understand its significance.

Different acts of heroism can warrant different kinds of medals. The king of Breland (in the Eberron setting) might award a Royal Badge of Valor (shaped like a shield and made of ruby and electrum) to adventurers for defending Brelish citizens. The Golden Bear of Breland (a medal made of gold and shaped in a likeness of a bear's head, with gems for eyes) might be reserved for adventurers who prove their allegiance to the Brelish Crown.

A medal doesn't offer a specific in-game benefit to one who wears it, but it can affect dealings with NPCs. For example, a character who displays the Golden Bear of Breland is regarded as a hero of the people within the kingdom of Breland. Outside Breland, the medal carries far less weight, except among allies of Breland's king.

Parcels of Land

A parcel of land usually comes with a letter from a local ruler, affirming that the land has been granted as a reward for some service. Such land usually remains the property of the local ruler or ruling body but is lent to a character with the understanding that it can be taken away, especially if the character's loyalty is ever called into question.

Characters who receive a parcel of land are free to build on it and are expected to safeguard it. They may yield the land as part of an inheritance, but they can't sell or trade it without permission from the local ruler or ruling body. If a character already has a Bastion (see 7), the parcel of land might surround the Bastion or be close to it.

Parcels of land make fine rewards for adventurers who are looking for a place to settle or who have family or a personal investment in the region where the land is located.

Special Favors

A reward might be a favor the characters can call on at some future date. Special favors work best when the individual granting them is trustworthy. A Lawful Good or Lawful Neutral NPC will do whatever can be done to fulfill an obligation when the time comes, short of breaking laws. A Lawful Evil NPC does the same, but only because a deal is a deal. A Neutral Good or Neutral NPC might pay off favors to protect their reputation. A Chaotic Good NPC is more concerned about doing right by the adventurers, honoring any obligations without worrying too much about personal risk or adherence to the law.

Special Rights

A politically powerful person can reward characters by giving them special rights, which might be articulated in some sort of official document or proclamation. For example, characters might be granted special rights to attack pirate ships or other enemies of the crown, to lead rites or ceremonies in a community, or to negotiate on a ruler's behalf. They might receive a lifetime of free room and board from the grateful citizens of a community or gain the sworn service of local soldiers to assist them as needed.

Special rights last only as long as the legal document dictates, and such rights can be revoked if the adventurers abuse them.

Titles

A politically powerful figure has the ability to dispense titles. A title often comes with a parcel of land (see above). For example, a character might be awarded the title Earl of Stormriver or Countess of Dun Fjord, along with a parcel of land that includes a settlement or region of the same name. Archfey are fond of granting whimsical (and alliterative) titles, such as Chancellor of Chocolates or Grand Duke of Giggles, which might come with minor supernatural gifts (see "2" in this chapter) rather than land.

A character can hold more than one title, and in a feudal society, those titles can be passed down to (or distributed among) one's children. A character who holds a title is expected to act in a manner befitting that title. By decree, titles can be stripped away if the character fails to meet the obligations and responsibilities that come with the title.

Training

A character might be offered special training. This kind of training isn't widely available and thus is highly desirable.

The character must spend 30 days with the trainer to receive a special benefit. Possible training benefits include the following:

• The character gains proficiency in a skill.
• The character gains proficiency with a tool.
• The character learns a language.

Tips

Follow these tips to smooth a combat encounter with a large number of monsters:

Average Results

Whenever you would otherwise make a number of D20 Tests for identical monsters, the Mob Results table can help you determine the number of successful D20 Tests the monsters get without having to roll dice. Follow these steps:

Roll needed = target number−monster's bonus

Adjudicating Areas of Effect

When the characters are fighting a large number of monsters, it's not always practical to use miniatures on a battle grid or some other visual aid. So how do you determine how many monsters are affected by the Wizard's Fireball spell or some other area of effect?

The Targets in Area of Effect table offers a guideline. To use the table, find the column for the shape of the area, then read down until you find its size. Then check the rightmost column to see about how many creatures are caught in the area. If you imagine that the targets are spread out, decrease the number by 1d3. If they're bunched up, you can increase the number by 1d3. Of course, an area can't encompass more creatures than are present in an encounter.

Your judgment always outweighs these guidelines, and it's fine to err on the side of affecting more creatures. For example, if eight zombies are crowded around a Fighter when the Bard centers a Shatter spell on the Fighter's space, the spell's area should definitely engulf all eight zombies, even though according to the table, a 10-foot-radius Sphere includes only three creatures.

Examples

The following scenario shows examples of how you as the DM can apply the guidelines described in the rest of this section.

Eight Zombies surround and attack a Fighter. The zombies' attack bonus is +3, and the Fighter's AC is 18, so the roll needed is 15 (18−3). Finding 15 in the "Normal" column and reading across to the "Out of 8" column, the DM gets a result of 2/8—two of the zombies hit. Using the zombies' average damage (4 Bludgeoning damage), the Fighter takes 8 Bludgeoning damage.

After seeing the Fighter mauled by zombies, the Bard casts Shatter, centering the spell on the Fighter. (The Bard trusts that the Fighter will succeed on the Constitution saving throw and survive the resulting damage.) The spell affects a 10-foot-radius Sphere, and the Targets in Area of Effect table suggests that such an area should encompass three zombies. However, the DM decides that all eight zombies (and the Fighter) are affected. The zombies' Constitution saving throw bonus is +3, and the Bard's spell saving throw DC is 16, so the roll needed is 13 (16−3). Finding 13 in the "Normal" column and reading across to the "Out of 8" column, the DM gets a result of 3/8, so three of the zombies succeed on their saving throws.

Seeing a larger crowd of zombies in the distance, the Wizard casts Fireball. The spell covers a 20-foot-radius Sphere. The Targets in Area of Effect table suggests that area covers ten zombies, but the DM rules that they're densely packed together and adds 1d3, rolling a 2. So the spell engulfs twelve zombies in its area. The zombies' Dexterity saving throw modifier is −2, and the Wizard's spell save DC is 16, so the roll needed is 18 (16−[−2]). Finding 18 in the Normal column and reading across to the Out of 6 column, the DM gets a result of 1/6. Twelve times 1/6 is 2, so two of the twelve zombies succeed on the save.

Detailed NPCs

Flesh out NPCs who play prominent roles in your adventures. You can use the accompanying NPC Tracker to record information as you determine these six elements of your NPC:

Recurring NPCs

NPCs who keep showing up over the course of a campaign build the sense that the world of the game is a living, breathing place. Whether these NPCs are allies, patrons, friends, or villains, they can deepen players' investment in the world.

You can use different stat blocks in the Monster Manual, perhaps with some tweaks, to reflect the same NPC at different times as they grow over the course of a campaign. For example, characters on their very first adventure might face a villain who uses the stat block of a Mage Apprentice, only to have that villain escape and return many adventures later to haunt them as a Mage. Still later, the same villain might reappear as an Archmage. Of course, the trick here is making sure that the villain survives from one adventure to the next, or at least coming up with a plausible way for the villain to return from death. After all, death is rarely the final word for adventurers, so it needn't be for their opponents.

NPCs as Party Members

NPCs might join the adventuring party because they want a share of the loot and are willing to accept an equal share of the risk, or they might follow the adventurers because of a bond of loyalty, gratitude, or love. You can delegate decisions about an NPC's actions to one of the players, especially in combat, but you can override the player's decisions to reflect the NPC's motivations.

When you choose a stat block from the Monster Manual for an NPC party member, make sure the NPC doesn't overshadow the player characters. Use a stat block whose Challenge Rating is no higher than half the characters' level. These NPCs don't amass Experience Points and don't become more powerful.

Here are some NPC archetypes that work well as supporting characters in an adventuring party:

Even useful NPCs can slow down the game or overstay their welcome. Consider having NPC party members stick around for no more than a few game sessions or a single adventure before making their exit. NPCs can benefit from time away from the characters now and then.

Purchasing Poison

In some settings, laws prohibit the possession and use of poison, but an illicit dealer or unscrupulous apothecary might keep a hidden stash. Characters with criminal contacts might be able to acquire poison easily. Other characters might have to make extensive inquiries and pay bribes before they acquire the poison they seek.

Harvesting Poison

A character can attempt to harvest poison from a venomous creature that is dead or has the Incapacitated condition. The effort takes 1d6 minutes, after which the character makes a DC 20 Intelligence (Nature) check using a Poisoner's Kit. On a successful check, the character harvests enough poison for a single dose, and no additional poison can be harvested from that creature. On a failed check, the character is unable to extract any poison. If the character fails the check by 5 or more, the character is subjected to the creature's poison.

Sample Poisons

Example poisons are detailed here in alphabetical order. Each poison's description includes the suggested price for a single dose of the poison, its type (contact, ingested, inhaled, or injury), and a description of the poison's debilitating effects.

• Assassin's Blood
• Burnt Othur Fumes
• Carrion Crawler Mucus
• Essence of Ether
• Lolth's Sting
• Malice
• Midnight Tears
• Oil of Taggit
• Pale Tincture
• Purple Worm Poison
• Serpent Venom
• Torpor
• Truth Serum
• Wyvern Poison

Gaining Renown

At your discretion, a character or party can increase their renown in the following ways:

Benefits of Renown

Use these guidelines when determining the benefits of increasing renown.

Losing Renown

Disagreements with members of a group aren't enough to cause a loss of renown within that group. However, serious offenses committed against the group or its members can result in a loss of renown and rank within the organization. The extent of the loss depends on the infraction and is left to your discretion. A character's Renown Score with a group can never drop below 0.

Level-Based Renown

If you want to use the benefits of renown without tracking Renown Scores, you can use a character's level as a shorthand for the character's Renown Score with a group, assuming the character has worked with or for that group for most of the character's career. The Level-Based Renown table shows equivalencies between Renown Score and character level.

Settlement Tables and Tracker

The following tables allow you to flesh out details about a settlement. You can use the accompanying Settlement Tracker to record important information about a village, town, or city in your campaign.

Blessings

A character might receive a Blessing from a deity for doing something truly momentous—an accomplishment that catches the attention of both gods and mortals. A Blessing is an appropriate reward for one of the following accomplishments:

• Restoring a god's most sacred shrine
• Foiling an apocalyptic plot by a god's enemies
• Helping a god's favored servant complete a quest

An adventurer might also receive a Blessing in advance of a perilous quest. For example, a Paladin could receive one before setting out on a quest to slay a terrifying lich that is responsible for a magical plague sweeping the land.

A character should receive a Blessing only if it is useful to that character, and some Blessings come with expectations on the part of the benefactor. A god might give a Blessing for a particular purpose, such as recovering a holy person's remains or toppling a tyrannical empire, and could revoke the Blessing if a character fails to pursue that purpose or acts counter to it.

A character retains the benefit of a Blessing forever or until it is taken away by the being who granted it.

There is no limit on the number of Blessings a character can receive, but it should be rare for a character to have more than one at a time. Moreover, a character can't benefit from multiple instances of a Blessing at the same time. For example, a character can't benefit from two instances of the Blessing of Health at once.

You can easily create more Blessings by mimicking the properties of a Wondrous Item.

• Blessing of Health
• Blessing of Magic Resistance
• Blessing of Protection
• Blessing of Understanding
• Blessing of Valhalla
• Blessing of Weapon Enhancement
• Blessing of Wound Closure

Charms

Charms can be received in many different ways. For example, a Wizard who finds an eldritch secret in a dead archmage's spellbook might be infused with the magic of a Charm, as might a character who solves a sphinx's riddle or drinks from a magical fountain. Mythic creatures sometimes grace their allies with Charms, and some explorers find themselves bearing a Charm after discovering a long-lost location drenched in primeval magic.

Some Charms can be used only once; others can be used a specific number of times before vanishing. If a Charm lets a character cast a spell, the character can do so without expending a spell slot or providing any spell components. Unless otherwise stated, the spell uses its normal casting time, range, and duration; if the spell requires Concentration, the character must concentrate.

A Charm can't be removed from a creature by anything short of divine intervention or a Wish spell. A character can't benefit from multiple instances of a Charm at the same time.

A typical Charm mimics the effects of a Potion or spell, so it is easy to create more Charms of your own.

• Charm of Animal Conjuring
• Charm of Darkvision
• Charm of Feather Falling
• Charm of Heroism
• Charm of Restoration
• Charm of the Slayer
• Charm of Vitality

Parts of a Trap

The description of a trap includes the following parts after the trap's name:

Use caution when introducing a trap to characters of a level lower than the trap's level range. A trap that is a nuisance at one level range could be deadly to characters of a lower level range.

Example Traps

Traps are presented in alphabetical order.

• Collapsing Roof
• Falling Net
• Fire-Casting Statue
• Hidden Pit
• Poisoned Darts
• Poisoned Needle
• Rolling Stone
• Spiked Pit

Building Your Own Traps

When designing your own traps, use the Building a Trap table to determine an appropriate total amount of damage for the trap to deal based on its level and severity. If the trap also applies a condition, consider reducing the damage.

If the trap requires an attack roll or allows a saving throw, use the appropriate columns on the table to determine the attack bonus or an appropriate save DC.