Inept Wizard

Ability Scores

Ability Modifier

An ability check is named for the ability modifier it uses: a Strength check, an Intelligence check, and so on. Different ability checks are called for in different situations, depending on which ability is most relevant. See the Ability Check Examples table for examples of each check’s use.

Skill Rank

Add your Skill Rank to an ability check when the GM determines that a skill or tool is relevant to the check, and you have invested Skill Points in the relevant skill or tool. For example, if a rule refers to a Strength (Athletics) check, you can add your Skill Rank to the check if you have invested Skill Points in the Athletics skill. See “Skill Rank” later in “Playing the Game” for more about Skill Ranks.

Proficiency Bonus

Player characters have no Proficiency Bonus; non-player characters and creatures use one instead of Skill Rank. They add their Proficiency Bonus to an ability check when the GM determines that a skill or tool proficiency is relevant to the check and they have that proficiency. See “Proficiency” later in “Playing the Game” for more information about skill and tool proficiencies.

Difficulty Class

The Difficulty Class of an ability check represents the task’s difficulty. The more difficult the task, the higher its DC. The rules provide DCs for certain checks, but the GM ultimately sets them. The Typical Difficulty Classes table presents a range of possible DCs for ability checks.

Ability Modifier

Saving throws are named for the ability modifiers they use: a Constitution saving throw, a Wisdom saving throw, and so on. Different saving throws are used to resist different kinds of effects, as shown on the Saving Throw Examples table. There is no Luck saving throw, though your Luck modifier applies to every save you make.

Luck

A player character adds her Luck modifier to every saving throw, whatever ability the save uses. Talent and training decide a great deal, but no one steps out from under a falling beam on merit alone. A monster has no Luck score and adds nothing.

Save Bonus

Your class grants you a Knack in at least two kinds of saving throw (see “Classes”). To a save you have a Knack for, add your Save Bonus:

Save Bonus = half your character level, rounded up, to a maximum of +5

A save you have no Knack for is your ability modifier and your Luck modifier, and nothing else. A monster adds its Proficiency Bonus in place of a Save Bonus (see “Proficiency” later in “Playing the Game”).

Difficulty Class

The Difficulty Class for a saving throw is determined by the effect that causes it or by the GM. For example, if a spell forces you to make a save, the DC is determined by the caster’s spellcasting ability, and Proficiency Bonus or Skill Rank. Monster abilities that call for saves specify the DC.

Ability Modifier

The Attack Roll Abilities table shows which ability modifier to use for different types of attack rolls.

Skill Rank

Every weapon belongs to a weapon group (see “Equipment”), and every spell belongs to a school of magic (see “Spells”). When you attack with a weapon or a spell, add your Skill Rank in the corresponding weapon group or school of magic to the attack roll. See “Skill Rank” later in “Playing the Game” for more about Skill Ranks.

Proficiency Bonus

Non-player characters and creatures add their proficiency bonus, instead of their Skill Rank, to their attack roll when attacking with a weapon they are proficient with, as well as when attacking with a spell. See “Proficiency” later in “Playing the Game” for more information about weapon proficiencies.

Armour Class

A creature’s Armour Class represents how well the creature avoids being wounded in combat. The AC of a character is determined at character creation (see “Character Creation”), whereas the AC of a monster appears in its stat block.

Calculating AC. All creatures start with the same base AC calculation:

Base AC = 10 + the creature’s Dexterity modifier

A creature’s AC can then be modified by armour, magic items, spells, and more.

Only One Base AC. Some spells and class features give characters a different way to calculate their AC. A character with multiple features that give different ways to calculate AC must choose which one to use; only one base calculation can be in effect for a creature.

Rolling 20 or 1

If you roll a 20 on the d20 (called a “natural 20”) for an attack roll, the attack hits regardless of any modifiers or the target’s AC. This is called a Critical Hit (see “Combat” later in “Playing the Game”).

If you roll a 1 on the d20 (a “natural 1”) for an attack roll, the attack misses regardless of any modifiers or the target’s AC. This is called a Critical Failure (see “Combat” later in “Playing the Game”).

Bastard 20

Sometimes you hit a total of 20 on an attack roll after adding modifiers, but you didn’t roll a natural 20. Around the table, you can call this a “bastard 20.” That way, the GM knows you didn’t score a Critical Hit — it was just ordinary.

Roll Two D20s

When a roll has either Advantage or Disadvantage, roll a second d20 when you make the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have Advantage, and use the lower roll if you have Disadvantage. For example, if you have Disadvantage and roll an 18 and a 3, use the 3. If you instead have Advantage and roll those numbers, use the 18.

They Don’t Stack

If multiple situations affect a roll and they all grant Advantage on it, you still roll only two d20s. Similarly, if multiple situations impose Disadvantage on a roll, you roll only two d20s.

If circumstances cause a roll to have both Advantage and Disadvantage, the roll has neither of them, and you roll one d20. This is true even if multiple circumstances impose Disadvantage and only one grants Advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you have neither Advantage nor Disadvantage.

Interactions with Rerolls

When you have Advantage or Disadvantage and something in the game lets you reroll or replace the d20, you can reroll or replace only one die, not both. You choose which one.

Skills

Most ability checks involve using a skill. The descriptions of the actions you take (see “Actions” later in “Playing the Game”) specify which skill applies if you make an ability check for that action, and many other rules note when a skill is relevant. The GM has the ultimate say on whether a skill is relevant in a situation.

If a character has a Skill Rank in a skill, she applies it to ability checks involving that skill. Without a Skill Rank in a skill, she can still make ability checks involving it but adds nothing. For example, if a character tries to climb a cliff, the GM might ask for a Strength (Athletics) check. If she has a Skill Rank in Athletics, she adds it to the Strength check. If she lacks that Skill Rank, she makes the check without it.

Equipment

A character may have a Skill Rank for various weapons, armour, and tools from her race, class, and background. There are three categories of equipment for which a character can have a Skill Rank:

Weapons. Anyone can wield a weapon, but Skill Rank makes you better at wielding it. If you have a Skill Rank with a weapon category, you add your Skill Rank to attack rolls you make with the weapon from that category (see “Equipment”).

Armour. You can wear any armour, but Skill Rank allows you to wear it without penalties, and armour provides additional Resistance Points to the physical damage (see “Resistance Points” in “Playing the Game”). The exact effects of how Skill Rank affects the armour vary by the armour type (see “Equipment”).

Tools. If you have a Skill Rank with a tool, you can add your Skill Rank to any ability check you make that uses the tool. If you have a Skill Rank in the skill that’s also used with that check, you can add it too. This means you can benefit from both the skill’s Skill Rank and the tool’s Skill Rank on the same ability check.

Spells

Spells are divided into schools of magic. If you have a Skill Rank in a school of magic, you cast spells from that school better. Usually, it means two things:

1. Attack Bonus. When casting a spell that requires an attack roll, you add your Skill Rank to that roll.
2. Spell Save DC. If a spell compels another creature to make a saving throw, the spell save DC is calculated as follows: Spell save DC = 8 + your spellcasting ability modifier + your Skill Rank in the corresponding school of magic

For more information, see “Spells.”

Examples of Passive Skills

• An archer with Wisdom +3 and Perception Rank +2 has a Passive Perception of 15. If a trap has a DC of 15 or lower, she spots it automatically without rolling or taking the Search action to look for traps (see “Actions” in “Playing the Game”).
• A rogue with Charisma +2 and Haggle Rank +3 has a Passive Haggle of 15. The GM may decide that she automatically recognises when a price is outrageous.

Examples of Opposed Checks

• A warrior tries to shove a thief to the ground: the warrior rolls Strength (Athletics) against the thief’s Dexterity (Acrobatics).
• A rogue attempts to sneak past a sentry: the rogue rolls Dexterity (Stealth) against the sentry’s Wisdom (Perception).

Taking 10

When not threatened or distracted, and when sufficient time is available, you can choose to take 10 on an Ability Check. This means the check result is as if you have rolled a 10 on the d20.

The GM decides if this option applies, but generally it is allowed when:

• You can safely make several attempts.
• A failed attempt does not impose penalties.
• The time required is usually twice as long as making a single rolled check.

Taking 20

When an ability check is performed as part of downtime activity, and there is no penalty for failure, the GM may allow you to take 20. This means the result is as if you have rolled a natural 20 on the d20.

The GM decides if this option applies, but generally it is allowed when:

• The task is performed during downtime.
• The task has no penalty on failure.
• The task does not consume limited resources — or the character has enough resources to attempt it at least 20 times.

Examples of Group Checks

• The adventurers must sneak across an old rope bridge while goblins patrol below. Each character rolls Dexterity (Stealth). Their results are totalled and divided by the number of adventurers. If the average equals or beats the goblins’ Passive Perception, the party gets across unseen.
• The group bands together to raise an iron portcullis before the chamber floods. Each character rolls Strength (Athletics). The average result is compared against the DC. Success means the gate is lifted; failure means it stays stuck.

Assisting with a Skill Check

You can help another creature perform a skill check if you are capable in that skill.

1. Declare Before the Roll. You must decide to help before the assisted creature rolls.
2. Minimum Training. You must have at least +2 Skill Rank in the skill being attempted.
3. Helping Roll. Roll 1d20:
   • 10 or higher: Your assistance is effective. The assisted creature adds half your Skill Rank to their roll.
   • 9 or lower: Your help fails; the assisted creature gains no benefit.
   • 1: You hinder the attempt. The assisted creature subtracts half your Skill Rank from their roll.

Distracting an Enemy

You can spend your Action to distract an enemy at melee range, giving your allies an opening.

1. Melee Range. You must be adjacent to the enemy you want to distract.
2. Distraction Roll. Roll 1d20:
   • 10 or higher: The enemy is distracted. Until the start of your next turn, your allies add your Luck modifier, to a minimum of +1, to their attack rolls against that enemy. A creature that has no Luck score grants +1.
   • 9 or lower: The enemy is not distracted.
   • 1: The distraction backfires, and the enemy can immediately make an Opportunity Attack against you.

Actions

Player characters and monsters can also do things not covered by these actions. Many class features and other abilities provide additional action options, and you can improvise other actions. When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the Game Master tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of D20 Test you need to make, if any.

Attack

When you take the Attack action, you can make one attack roll with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike. See “Combat” in “Playing the Game” for more information.

Moving between Attacks. If you move on your turn and have a feature, such as Extra Attack, that gives you more than one attack as part of the Attack action, you can use some or all of that movement to move between those attacks.

Dash

When you take the Dash action, you gain extra movement for the current turn. The increase equals your Speed after applying any modifiers. With a Speed of 30 feet, for example, you can move up to 60 feet on your turn if you Dash. If your Speed of 30 feet is reduced to 15 feet, you can move up to 30 feet this turn if you Dash.

If you have a special speed, such as a Fly Speed or Swim Speed, you can use that speed instead of your Speed when you take this action. You choose which speed to use each time you take it.

Disengage

If you take the Disengage action, your movement doesn’t provoke Opportunity Attacks for the rest of the current turn. See “Combat” in “Playing the Game” for more information.

Dodge

If you take the Dodge action, you gain the following benefits: until the start of your next turn, any attack roll made against you has Disadvantage if you can see the attacker, and you make Dexterity saving throws with Advantage. See “Combat” in “Playing the Game” for more information.

You lose these benefits if your Speed is 0 or if you have the Petrified condition.

Help

You can take the Help action, to assist another creature. See “Different Skill Usage” in “Playing the Game” for more information.

Hide

With the Hide action, you try to hide yourself. To do so, you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check while you’re Densely Obscured or behind Three-Quarters Cover or Total Cover, and you must be out of any enemy’s line of sight; if you can see a creature, you can discern whether it can see you.

You don’t know whether your hiding attempt was successful. If another creature’s Passive Perception is equal to or higher than your roll, the creature can see you. Otherwise, another creature can’t see you. If your hiding attempt was successful, another creature may take the Search action, in which case it rolls a Wisdom (Perception) check in an Opposed Check against the Dexterity (Stealth) result you rolled while hiding.

You stop being hidden immediately after any of the following occurs: you make a sound louder than a whisper, an enemy finds you, you make an attack roll, or you cast a spell with a Verbal component.

Influence

With the Influence action, you urge a monster to do something. Describe or roleplay how you’re communicating with the monster. Are you trying to deceive, intimidate, amuse, or gently persuade? The GM then determines whether the monster feels willing, unwilling, or hesitant due to your interaction; this determination establishes whether an ability check is necessary, as explained below.

Willing. If your urging aligns with the monster’s desires, no ability check is necessary; the monster fulfils your request in a way it prefers.

Unwilling. If your urging is repugnant to the monster or counter to its alignment, no ability check is necessary; it doesn’t comply.

Hesitant. If you urge the monster to do something that it is hesitant to do, you must make an ability check, which is affected by the monster’s attitude: Indifferent, Friendly, or Hostile. The Influence Checks table suggests which ability check to make based on how you’re interacting with the monster. The GM chooses the check, which has a default DC equal to 12 or the monster’s Intelligence score, whichever is higher. On a successful check, the monster does as urged. On a failed check, you must wait 24 hours (or a duration set by the GM) before urging it in the same way again.

Magic

When you take the Magic action, you cast a spell that has a casting time of an action or use a feature or magic item that requires a Magic action to be activated.

If you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 minute or longer, you must take the Magic action on each turn of that casting, and you must maintain Concentration while you do so. If your Concentration is broken, the spell fails, but you don’t expend Spell Points (see “Concentration” and “Spell Points” in “Spells”).

Ready

You take the Ready action to wait for a particular circumstance before you act. To do so, you take this action on your turn, which lets you act by taking a Reaction before the start of your next turn.

First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your Reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your Speed in response to it. Examples include “If the cultist steps on the trapdoor, I’ll pull the lever that opens it,” and “If the zombie steps next to me, I move away.”

When the trigger occurs, you can either take your Reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore the trigger.

When you Ready a spell, you cast it as normal (expending any resources used to cast it) but hold its energy, which you release with your Reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of an action, and holding on to the spell’s magic requires Concentration, which you can maintain up to the start of your next turn. If your Concentration is broken, the spell dissipates without taking effect (see “Concentration” in “Spells”).

Search

When you take the Search action, you make a Wisdom check to discern something that isn’t obvious. The Search table suggests which skills are applicable when you take this action, depending on what you’re trying to detect.

Study

When you take the Study action, you make an Intelligence check to study your memory, a book, a clue, or another source of knowledge and call to mind an important piece of information about it.

The Areas of Knowledge table suggests which skills are applicable to various areas of knowledge.

Utilise

When an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilise action.

Drawing, sheathing, or otherwise readying a weapon, a shield, or any other piece of equipment is never part of another action. It is always a Free Action (see “Free Actions” later in “Playing the Game”).

Obscured Areas

An area can be Lightly, Densely, or Heavily Obscured. Obscurement limits what can be perceived by sight within it; it applies equally to any creature within the obscured area.

Light

The presence or absence of light determines the category of illumination in an area, as defined below.

Bright Light. Bright Light lets most creatures see normally. Even gloomy days provide Bright Light, as do torches, lanterns, fires, and other sources of illumination within a specific radius.

Dim Light. Dim Light, also called shadows, creates a Lightly Obscured area. An area of Dim Light is usually a boundary between Bright Light and surrounding Darkness. The soft light of twilight and dawn also counts as Dim Light. A full moon bathes the land in Dim Light.

Darkness. Darkness creates a Heavily Obscured area. Characters face Darkness outdoors at night (except full moon during clear sky), within the confines of an unlit dungeon, or in an area of magical Darkness.

Where the Light Stops

A light source projects a radius of Bright Light, within which a creature sees normally whatever the surrounding conditions. Beyond that radius the ambient obscurement resumes, adding its own near-range allowance: a creature’s clear-sight radius is the light’s radius plus the ambient tier’s allowance. A 30-foot lantern gives clear sight to 40 feet in Dim Light, 35 in Densely Obscured, or 30 in Darkness.

Special Senses

Some creatures have special senses that help them perceive things in certain situations.

What Is an Object?

For the purpose of the rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone. It isn’t a building or a vehicle, which are composed of many objects.

Time-Limited Object Interactions

When time is short, such as in combat, interactions with objects are governed by Free Action rule. For example, pushing a freely moving button qualifies as a Free Action, whereas attempting to operate a jammed button would require an action. You can perform only one Free Action per your turn.

Finding Hidden Objects

When your character searches for hidden things, such as a secret door or a trap, the GM typically asks you to make a Wisdom (Perception) check, provided you describe the character searching in the hidden object’s vicinity. On a success, you find the object, other important details, or both.

If you describe your character searching nowhere near a hidden object or a hidden object you search for doesn’t truly exist, a Wisdom (Perception) check won’t reveal the object, no matter the check’s total.

Carrying Objects

Your size and Strength score determine the maximum weight in pounds that you can carry, as shown in the Carrying Capacity table. The table also shows the maximum weight you can drag, lift, or push.

While dragging, lifting, or pushing weight in excess of the maximum weight you can carry, your Speed can be no more than 5 feet, and you physically cannot carry, drag, lift, or push objects with a weight that exceeds your maximum capacity plus five times your Strength score.

Breaking Objects

A creature can damage an object with an attack or a spell, given the object is not magical. Because an unattended object does not move or defend itself, an attack against one succeeds automatically; roll only for damage. A moving, held, or awkwardly small object may still require an attack roll at the GM’s discretion, and a truly fragile object may simply break on a single deliberate blow with no roll at all.

An object breaks when reduced to 0 Hit Points. An object’s Hit Points express its toughness — how much punishment it absorbs before it fails — and toughness depends far less on how hard a material is than on how it yields.

Assigning Hit Points. A material that bends, splinters gradually, or holds together as it deforms is tough, and absorbs a great deal of damage before failing — wrought iron dents rather than shatters, and wood’s interwoven fibres arrest a crack before it spreads. A material that is rigid and brittle is the opposite: however hard its surface, it fails all at once when a blow overcomes it — glass and ice are hard enough to scratch steel, yet a single sharp strike shatters them. Hardness resists scratching and wear; it does little to resist destruction. When judging an object’s Hit Points, ask how much force the thing absorbs before it gives way, not how hard its surface is.

Object Hit Points also scale with size. Use the following as a guide, choosing the lower value for brittle or lightly-built objects and the higher for tough, ductile, or heavily-built ones:

Travel Pace

While travelling outside combat, a group can move at any of the paces shown on the Travel Pace table. The table states how far the party covers in a period of time; if riding horses or other mounts, the group can move twice that distance for 1 hour, after which the mounts need a Short or Long Rest before they can move at that increased pace again (see “Equipment” for a selection of mounts for sale). Terrain can bar a pace outright, and the GM decides when it does.

Vehicles

Travellers in wagons, carriages, or other land vehicles choose a pace as normal. Characters in a waterborne vessel are limited to the speed of the vessel, and they don’t choose a travel pace. Depending on the vessel and the size of the crew, ships might be able to travel for up to 24 hours per day. “Equipment” includes vehicles for sale.

Combat Step by Step

Combat unfolds in these steps:

1: Establish Positions. The Game Master determines where all the characters and monsters are located. Given the adventurers’ marching order or their stated positions in the room or other location, the GM figures out where the adversaries are—how far away and in what direction.

2: Roll Initiative. Everyone involved in the combat encounter rolls Initiative, determining the order of combatants’ turns.

3: Take Turns. Each participant in the battle takes a turn in Initiative order. When everyone involved in the combat has had a turn, the round ends. Repeat this step until the fighting stops.

Initiative

Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant rolls Initiative; they make a Dexterity check that determines their place in the Initiative order. The GM rolls for monsters. For a group of identical creatures, the GM makes a single roll, so each member of the group has the same Initiative.

Surprise. If a combatant is surprised by combat starting, that combatant has Disadvantage on their Initiative roll. For example, if an ambusher starts combat while hidden from a foe who is unaware that combat is starting, that foe is surprised.

Initiative Order. A combatant’s check total is called their Initiative count, or Initiative for short. The GM ranks the combatants, from highest to lowest Initiative. This is the order in which they act during each round. The Initiative order remains the same from round to round.

Ties. If a tie occurs, the GM decides the order among tied monsters, and the players decide the order among tied characters. The GM decides the order if the tie is between a monster and a player character.

Your Turn

On your turn, you can move a distance up to your Speed and take one action. You decide whether to move first or take your action first.

The main actions you can take are listed in “Actions” earlier in “Playing the Game.” A character’s features and a monster’s stat block also provide action options. “Movement and Position” later in “Playing the Game” gives the rules for movement.

Communicating. You can communicate however you are able—through brief utterances and gestures—as you take your turn. Doing so uses neither your action nor your move.

Extended communication, such as a detailed explanation of something or an attempt to persuade a foe, requires an action. The Influence action is the main way you try to influence a monster.

Interacting with Things. Interacting with an object or a feature of the environment is a Free Action, and you can take only one Free Action on your turn (see “Free Actions” earlier in “Playing the Game”). You can take it during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe.

If you want to interact with a second object on the same turn, you need to take the Utilise action. Some magic items and other special objects always require an action to use, as stated in their descriptions.

The GM might require you to use an action for any of these activities when it needs special care or when it presents an unusual obstacle. For instance, the GM might require you to take the Utilise action to open a stuck door or turn a crank to lower a drawbridge.

Playing on a Grid

If you play using a square grid and miniatures or other tokens, follow these rules.

_Squares._ Each square represents 5 feet.

_Speed._ Rather than moving foot by foot, move square by square on the grid, using your Speed in 5-foot segments. You can translate your Speed into squares by dividing it by 5. For example, a Speed of 30 feet translates into 6 squares. If you use a grid often, consider writing your Speed in squares on your character sheet.

_Entering a Square._ To enter a square, you must have enough movement left to pay for entering. It costs 1 square of movement to enter an unoccupied square that’s adjacent to your space (orthogonally or diagonally adjacent). A square of Difficult Terrain costs 2 squares to enter. Other effects might make a square cost even more.

_Corners._ Diagonal movement can’t cross the corner of a wall, a large tree, or another terrain feature that fills its space.

_Ranges._ To determine the range on a grid between two things—whether creatures or objects—count squares from a square adjacent to one of them and stop counting in the space of the other one. Count by the shortest route.

_Doing Nothing on Your Turn._ You can forgo moving, taking an action, or doing anything at all on your turn. If you can’t decide what to do, consider taking the defensive Dodge action or the Ready action to delay acting.

Ending Combat

Combat ends when one side or the other is defeated, which can mean the creatures are killed or knocked out or have surrendered or fled. Combat can also end when both sides agree to end it.

Difficult Terrain

Combatants are often slowed down by Difficult Terrain. Low furniture, rubble, undergrowth, steep stairs, snow, and shallow bogs are examples of Difficult Terrain.

Every foot of movement in Difficult Terrain costs 1 extra foot, even if multiple things in a space count as Difficult Terrain.

Breaking Up Your Move

You can break up your move, using some of its movement before and after any action, Bonus Action, or Reaction you take on the same turn. For example, if you have a Speed of 30 feet, you could go 10 feet, take an action, and then go 20 feet.

Dropping Prone

On your turn, you can give yourself the Prone condition (see “Rules Glossary”) without using an action or any of your Speed, but you can’t do so if your Speed is 0.

Creature Size

A creature belongs to a size category, which determines the width of the square space the creature occupies on a map, as shown on the Creature Size and Space table. That table lists the sizes from smallest (Tiny) to largest (Gargantuan). A creature’s space is the area that it effectively controls in combat and the area it needs to fight effectively.

A character’s size is determined by species, and a monster’s size is specified in the monster’s stat block.

Creature Size and Space

Moving around Other Creatures

During your move, you can pass through the space of an ally, a creature that has the Paralysed or Unconscious condition (see “Character Conditions” in “Conditions of Play”), a Tiny creature, or a creature that is two sizes larger or smaller than you.

Another creature’s space is Difficult Terrain for you unless that creature is Tiny or your ally.

You can’t willingly end a move in a space occupied by another creature. If you somehow end a turn in a space with another creature, you have the Prone condition (see “Rules Glossary”) unless you are Tiny or are of a larger size than the other creature.

Range

You can make ranged attacks only against targets within a specified range. If a ranged attack, such as one made with a spell, has a single range, you can’t attack a target beyond this range.

Some ranged attacks, such as those made with a Longbow, have two ranges. The smaller number is the normal range, and the larger number is the long range. Your attack roll has Disadvantage when your target is beyond normal range, and you can’t attack a target beyond long range.

Ranged Attacks in Close Combat

Aiming a ranged attack is more difficult when a foe is next to you. When you make a ranged attack roll with a weapon, a spell, or some other means, you have Disadvantage on the roll if you are within 5 feet of an enemy who can see you and doesn’t have the Paralysed or Restrained condition (see “Character Conditions” in “Conditions of Play”).

Reach

A creature has a 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feet when making a melee attack. Certain creatures have melee attacks with a reach greater than 5 feet, as noted in their descriptions.

Opportunity Attacks

Combatants watch for enemies to drop their guard. If you move heedlessly past your foes, you put yourself in danger by provoking an Opportunity Attack.

_Avoiding Opportunity Attacks._ You can avoid provoking an Opportunity Attack by taking the Disengage action. You also don’t provoke an Opportunity Attack when you Teleport or when you are moved without using your movement, action, Bonus Action, or Reaction. For example, you don’t provoke an Opportunity Attack if an explosion hurls you out of a foe’s reach or if you fall past an enemy.

_Making an Opportunity Attack._ You can make an Opportunity Attack when a creature that you can see leaves your reach. To make the attack, take a Reaction to make one melee attack with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike against that creature. The attack occurs right before it leaves your reach.

Mounting and Dismounting

During your move, you can mount a creature that is within 5 feet of you or dismount. Doing so costs an amount of movement equal to half your Speed. For example, if your Speed is 30 feet, you spend 15 feet of movement to mount a horse.

Controlling a Mount

You can control a mount only if it has been trained to accept a rider. Domesticated horses, mules, and similar creatures have such training.

The Initiative of a controlled mount changes to match yours when you mount it. Directing it takes your action for that turn. The mount then moves on your turn as you direct it, and it has only three action options during that turn: Dash, Disengage, and Dodge. A controlled mount can move and act even on the turn that you mount it.

If you don’t spend your action to direct it, the mount carries you but acts as an independent mount for that turn.

In contrast, an independent mount—one that lets you ride but ignores your control—retains its place in the Initiative order and moves and acts as it likes.

Falling Off

If an effect is about to move your mount against its will while you’re on it, you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall off, landing with the Prone condition (see “Rules Glossary”) in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the mount.

While mounted, you must make the same save if you’re knocked Prone or the mount is. You make it even against an effect that allows no save of its own, such as the Topple mastery property. On a success you keep your seat and don’t have the Prone condition; on a failure you fall as described above.

Impeded Weapons

When making a melee attack roll with a weapon underwater, a creature that lacks a Swim Speed has Disadvantage on the attack roll unless the weapon deals Piercing damage.

A ranged attack roll with a weapon underwater automatically misses a target beyond the weapon’s normal range, and the attack roll has Disadvantage against a target within normal range.

Fire Resistance

Anything underwater has +10 Resistance Points against Fire damage (explained in “Damage and Healing”).

Damage against Multiple Targets

When you create a damaging effect that forces two or more targets to make saving throws against it at the same time, roll the damage once for all the targets. For example, when a wizard casts _Fireball_, the spell’s damage is rolled once for all creatures caught in the blast.

Half Damage

Many saving throw effects deal half damage to a target when the target succeeds on the saving throw. The halved damage is equal to half the damage that would be dealt on a failed save.

Examples of Resistance Points

• A knight has +5 Resistance Points against Bludgeoning damage. An ogre’s club hits her for 13 damage, so her player rolls 1d20. On a 5 or lower, the knight takes nothing; on a 6 or higher, she takes all 13.
• The same knight has -5 Resistance Points against Lightning damage. A bolt deals her 18 damage, so her player rolls 1d20. On a 5 or lower, the knight takes 36; on a 6 or higher, she takes 18.

Stacking

Resistance Points from different sources add together. Armour, feats, spells, and enchanted items all contribute to one total for a given damage type, and positive and negative values cancel each other out. However high the sources run, a total can never exceed +20 or fall below -20.

One Roll per Instance

Roll once for each instance of damage. If a single attack or effect deals two types of damage, roll separately for each type, using the Resistance Points that apply to it.

Order of Application

Adjustments to the damage—bonuses, penalties, multipliers, and halving for a successful saving throw—are applied first. The Resistance Points roll is made last, against the final total.

For example, a creature has +5 Resistance Points against Fire damage and is within a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. A blast deals 28 Fire damage, and the creature succeeds on its saving throw: the damage is first reduced by 5 (to 23), then halved for the successful save (to 11). The GM then rolls 1d20. On a 5 or lower the creature takes nothing, and otherwise it takes 11.

Converting Older Material

Monster stat blocks and older material describe creatures as having Resistance, Vulnerability, or Immunity to a damage type. Convert such traits as shown on the Converting Resistance table. Each value deals the same damage on average as the trait it replaces.

Instant Death

Here are the main ways a creature can die instantly.

_Monster Death._ A monster dies the instant it drops to 0 Hit Points, although a Game Master can ignore this rule for an individual monster and treat it like a character.

_Hit Point Maximum of 0._ A creature dies if its Hit Point maximum reaches 0. Certain effects drain life energy, reducing a creature’s Hit Point maximum.

_Massive Damage._ When damage reduces a character to 0 Hit Points and damage remains, the character dies if the remainder equals or exceeds their Hit Point maximum. For example, if your character has a Hit Point maximum of 12, currently has 6 Hit Points, and takes 18 damage, the character drops to 0 Hit Points, but 12 damage remains. The character then dies, since 12 equals their Hit Point maximum.

Character Demise

If your character dies, others might find a magical way to revive your character, such as with the _Raise Dead_ spell. Or talk with the GM about making a new character to join the group. “Rules Glossary” has more information on being dead.

Falling Unconscious

If you reach 0 Hit Points and don’t die instantly, you have the Unconscious condition (see “Rules Glossary”) until you regain any Hit Points, and you now face making Death Saving Throws (see below).

Death Saving Throws

Whenever you start your turn with 0 Hit Points, you must make a Death Saving Throw to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang on to life. Unlike other saving throws, this one isn’t tied to an ability score. You’re in the hands of fate now.

_Three Successes/Failures._ Roll 1d20. If the roll is 10 or higher, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail. A success or failure has no effect by itself. On your third success, you become Stable (see “Stabilising a Character” below). On your third failure, you die.

The successes and failures don’t need to be consecutive; keep track of both until you collect three of a kind. The number of both is reset to zero when you regain any Hit Points or become Stable.

Rolling a 1 or 20. When you roll a 1 on the d20 for a Death Saving Throw, you suffer two failures. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 Hit Point.

Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 Hit Points, you suffer a Death Saving Throw failure. If the damage is from a Critical Hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your Hit Point maximum, you die.

Stabilising a Character

You can take the Help action to try to stabilise a creature with 0 Hit Points, which requires a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.

A Stable creature doesn’t make Death Saving Throws even though it has 0 Hit Points, but it still has the Unconscious condition. If the creature takes damage, it stops being Stable and starts making Death Saving Throws again. A Stable creature that isn’t healed regains 1 Hit Point after 1d4 hours.

Lose Temporary Hit Points First

If you have Temporary Hit Points and take damage, those points are lost first, and any leftover damage carries over to your Hit Points. For example, if you have 5 Temporary Hit Points and take 7 damage, you lose those points and then lose 2 Hit Points.

Duration

Temporary Hit Points last until they’re depleted or you finish a Long Rest (see “Rules Glossary”).

They Don’t Stack

Temporary Hit Points can’t be added together. If you have Temporary Hit Points and receive more of them, you decide whether to keep the ones you have or to gain the new ones. For example, if a spell grants you 12 Temporary Hit Points when you already have 10, you can have 12 or 10, not 22.

They’re Not Hit Points or Healing

Temporary Hit Points can’t be added to your Hit Points, healing can’t restore them, and receiving Temporary Hit Points doesn’t count as healing. Because Temporary Hit Points aren’t Hit Points, a creature can be at full Hit Points and receive Temporary Hit Points.

If you have 0 Hit Points, receiving Temporary Hit Points doesn’t restore you to consciousness. Only true healing can save you.