A character’s Prestige rating represents how prominent they are, either as an ally or enemy, and can influence how easy it is for the character to call in favors from their allies, or determine how much effort their enemies will put into defeating them. Most Prestige ratings range from 0 to 6, although some deities and extraplanar beings may have higher ratings.

Player characters start with a Prestige rating of 1. Each time a character enters a new tier of play at 5th, 11th, and 17th level their Prestige rating increases by 1. Additionally, characters may gain Prestige when acquiring a stronghold, and the Narrator may award Prestige when they accomplish great deeds during play. Finally, some class features may grant Prestige bonuses.

Additionally, Prestige determines how many followers a character can have at any one time. This number is equal to the character’s Prestige rating.

Prestige Center. A character’s Prestige rating distinguishes how widely known they are. If they travel beyond their home, the character may find that people do not know who they are. Prestige applies in an area whose size is determined by a character’s Prestige rating, starting from as small as a village to as large as an entire world. When creating a character, the player should work with the Narrator to determine where their Prestige is centered from. Often this will be the starting area of a campaign.

Prestige Check. To determine whether somebody has heard of a character, or to call in a favor (see below), the character makes a Prestige check by rolling 1d20 and adding their Prestige rating. The DC of a Prestige check is equal to 12 + double the tier of the region the character is in (or when extremely far from their Prestige Center, triple the tier). When outside the area described by their Prestige rating, the character has disadvantage .

For example, Zidi Wheatling, the “Halfling Titan”, has a Prestige rating of 5. She is known across the county for her great strength, and stories of how she beat a minotaur in an arm-wrestling match have become a regional legend. She has traveled all the way to the country’s capital (a tier 2 region) and seeks an audience with a wealthy noble. Zidi rolls a Prestige check with disadvantage , adding 5 to the roll (from her Prestige rating) against DC 16. Unfortunately the result is an 11—the noble has not heard of her and will not grant her an audience. Zidi has to find some other way to attract their attention!

Prestige Rating

Rating	Is Well Known Across	Can Automatically Get An Audience With	Notoriety
0	Unknown	Nobody	The character is viewed with disdain, as a buffoon or pariah. People do not take them seriously.
1	Local	Shopkeep	The character is relatively unknown, but some local folks know them.
2	Village	Guard captain	The character has done a few noteworthy things, but most people don’t know them or assume they won’t do anything else interesting.
3	Town	Mayor	The character has become known across town, or across a district of a city.
4	City	Minor noble	The character is known across an entire city, or a single town plus its immediate environs.
5	Region	Noble	The character has distinguished themself across the region, and most influential people know about their actions and talents.
6	Country	Powerful noble	The character is known all across the land. People pay close attention to them, either viewing them as a powerful ally or a dangerous enemy.
7	Continent	Monarch	The character is well known by those in more than one country. Monarchs and important rulers typically have this level of Prestige.
8	World	Emperor	The character is one of the most famous people in the world, known well to monarchs and powerful figures. A lot of resources are devoted to either helping them out or taking them down.
9	Plane	Minor deity	The character is known not just on this world, but on other worlds on the same plane of existence. They might have saved or threatened the entire world.
10	Multiverse	Greater deity	The character is known not just across the world, but by powerful beings on other planes.
11	Multiverse	Greater deity	When the character seeks the audience of powerful beings like gods they are noticed.
12	Multiverse	Greater deity	When the character seeks the audience of powerful beings like gods they are answered.
13	Multiverse	Pantheon	When the character seeks the audience of powerful beings like gods they are answered in a timely manner.
14	Divine	Anybody	This level of Prestige is usually the province of deities and other powerful extraplanar beings. The character is widely known on multiple worlds or planes.

 

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Optional Rule: Calling In Favors

Most fantasy adventurers are free agents with no boss but themselves, usually out on the edge of civilization with few allies they can call on in a pinch. Over the course of a campaign however, player characters may want to call in favors from a friendly baroness, the local police, or other power groups. Prestige provides a quick guideline of how much clout the party has, whether they’re calling in a mage to perform a ritual beyond their ken, or trying to get their hands on a rare battle wand before assaulting a criminal stronghold.

In addition to acting as a handy track of a character’s notoriety, Prestige can be used to call in favors. Use the following guidelines to determine the level of a favor. Calling in a favor normally takes 1d6 hours and requires a Prestige check. The party as a whole can call in one favor per day. As a default, favors can get people to help for up to half an hour. Any task that requires a few hours or more increases the level by 1, or if for a day or more by 2.

The favor ratings below are just guidelines. The Narrator can impose modifiers at their discretion, or state that certain favors are impossible.

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Example Favors

Here are some sample favors.

Level 0 (Unknown). Urchins to watch a street. A scribe to look through documents or handle paperwork. A carriage-driver to provide discreet passage around a district.

Level 1 (Local). Audience with the guard captain. A ferry-man to give discreet passage around the city. A craftsman to make a custom mundane item (the character pays the normal price). A minor noble to bend the rules. A bard to tell a story.

Level 2 (Village). Audience with the mayor. A docker to create a distraction that might get them into trouble. A bard to spread a false tale that could have serious consequences. A major noble agreeing to converse for a few minutes.

Level 3 (Town). Audience with a minor noble. A gang of bandits to commit some crimes. A small group of concerned citizens to rally and protest somewhere.

Level 4 (City). A large crowd of protesters to block off a whole building or street. A temple’s acolytes to come out and use their skills for the common people. A ship captain to smuggle something.

Level 5 (Region). Audience with a powerful noble. A noble to take a stand for something that might cost them their position. A city-wide search for a missing person. A local celebrity to put on a private show.

Level 6 (Country). Audience with a monarch. A city-wide protest. A call for all citizens to take arms against a threat.

Level 7 (Continent). A national uprising against a tyrannical monarch. Royal pardon for a heinous crime. Borrow an artifact.

Level 8 (World). Coronation as a monarch.

Level 9 (Plane). Audience with a deity.

Level 10 (Multiverse). Audience with a pantheon.

Though an adventurer is typically defined by the dangers they face, the bulk of their time is often spent traveling, healing, preparing, or simply living. Some spend their time with families, others contribute to the communities that they protect, develop relationships, or simply kill time until the excitement begins anew.

This period between adventures, called downtime, can represent the passing of a season, a period spent traveling, or the time necessary for an ally or NPC to secure a vital piece of information or permission for the party to travel through guarded lands. Additionally, the mental and physical stress of adventuring often necessitates time off, which can prevent characters from jumping from 1st level to 11th level in a single month! While it is not necessary to meticulously describe each and every day that PCs spend in this way, providing key details can help to bring the setting to life, create the feeling of time passing, and foreshadow events to come.

When considering these key details, think about significant life events for the adventurers and their friends or allies—weddings, birthdays, funerals, holidays, festivals or other seasonal events, political trends, or significant events occurring abroad that come as news. Any of these can be used to foreshadow future plots.

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Lifestyle

Some adventurers choose to live lavishly between quests while others are content to rent a room at their favorite drinking establishment. When calculating expenses, see Chapter 4: Equipment. A character’s lifestyle (poor, moderate, or rich) impacts some of their downtime activities.

An adventurer’s lifestyle can also impact their interactions with those around them. The Narrator may provide advantage or disadvantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma checks made against people that perceive a PC to be of a different lifestyle than themselves, depending upon the circumstances — an adventurer with a poor lifestyle has a harder time getting along with rich nobles and vice versa.

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Downtime Activities

Downtime activities represent specific and intentional activities that a character undertakes to achieve a benefit. A character can undertake one downtime activity per week of downtime, although they do not necessarily occur sequentially.

A downtime period consists of 5 days (treated as a week) each involving at least 8 hours of engaging in a downtime activity. In most cases, an unfinished week does not count towards progress, but in some situations the Narrator might allow specific days to add to the total. At the end of each downtime period, any check required is made and success or failure is determined. Some downtime activities may require more than 1 week to complete. If a downtime activity mentions a month it assumes 4 weeks.

Extended Downtime. When a party of adventurers is experiencing a particularly long period of downtime, such as a year or longer, the Narrator may extend the length of the downtime period to 1 month and allow players to roll one check per 4 weeks of downtime activity. A success on an extended downtime check is treated as 4 successful weeks of a downtime activity, a failure is treated as 2 successful weeks, and on a failure by 5 or more the character makes no progress at the downtime activity.

For even longer periods of downtime, the Narrator can extend the downtime to seasons (treating a success as 12 weeks, a failure as 6 weeks, and a failure by 5 or more as 3 weeks), or even years (treating a success as 52 weeks, a failure as 26 weeks, and a failure by 5 or more as 13 weeks).

Characters may wish to work together to complete downtime activities. At the Narrator’s discretion, one character may assist another (as the Help action). Both characters must spend their downtime on the chosen activity.

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Craft

Adventurers with tool proficiencies may use their downtime to create weapons, armor, or other items. The Craft activity can be used to create weapons, armor, tools, clothing, other equipment, or a work of art.

All crafted items require materials. Poor quality items can be made with materials equal to 1/10th the base cost of the item that the character wishes to create. Normal quality work requires materials equal to 1/8th the base cost. If a character wishes to craft a fine item, they must acquire fine materials equal to ½ the item’s base cost. If a character wishes to craft a masterwork item, the materials cost is equal to the base cost of the item.

Special Materials. Rarely a smith might happen upon special materials. These materials can only rarely be purchased and must often be found. When attempting to craft using adamantine, mithral, or other wondrous materials , increase the DC to craft the item by 2. See the Materials section of Chapter 4: Equipment for more details.

Time Required. The time required varies depending upon what a character is attempting to craft, as per Table: Crafting Time. At the end of the required time, the character makes a check based upon the desired quality level. On a success, the materials are consumed and they create the item. On a failure, they create an item of one quality level lower than they desired or may salvage the materials. When a character fails by 5 or more, they produce a poor quality item and the materials are consumed.

Quality. The quality of an item affects the time, cost, and difficulty of crafting it. Items of fine quality or masterwork quality also offer special benefits. A fine item also costs an additional 25 gold to produce, and a masterwork item 125 gold.

Engineering. The Craft downtime activity can also be used for buildings, engineering devices, and other projects. Each check requires a week of work and access to an amount of gold worth of materials. The DC and materials cost are determined by the project’s complexity. The scope of the project determines how many checks are required to complete it.

Crafting Items

Quality	Time	DC	Materials	Production Cost	Sell Price	Benefit
Poor	Half	10	x1/8	-	Half	Gains the Broken condition after each use
Normal	Base	15	x1/4th	-	Up to full	-
Fine	Double	20	x1/2	+25 gp	At least full price	Can be enchanted to become a magic item of up to uncommon rarity
Masterwork	Triple	25	x1	+125 gp	No less than double full price	Never has damage vulnerabilities, and can be enchanted to become a magic item of any rarity

See the core rulebook for tables Engineering Items and Engineering Time.

Crafting Time

Item	Craft Time
Dual-wielding weapon*	2 per week
Martial or simple weapon*	1 week
Heavy weapon*	2 weeks
Ammunition	50 per week
Light armor	1 week
Medium armor	2 weeks
Heavy armor	4 weeks
Tool or equipment	2 per week

*Rare weapons may require longer crafting times determined by the Narrator.

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Gather Information

The Gather Information activity is used to uncover secure or secret information about individuals, events, organizations, or other things that still exist within living memory. Gather Information is typically done by word-of-mouth on the street or in taverns.

The character specifies a particular individual, event, organization, or place from which they wish to learn more declares a specific piece of information that they’re seeking to learn, making an Investigation check. The time, DC, and costs are included below. 

On a success, the character learns what they are looking for along with a point of Key Knowledge. Success by 5 or more grants an additional fact or useful piece of information and an additional point of Key Knowledge. Failure means that the character learns nothing, and on a failure by 5 or more they instead learn an incorrect piece of information that could lead them astray or cause some trouble.

Key Knowledge. Key Knowledge represents clues, secrets, or other insights into a particular location, individual, or event. Each point of Key Knowledge is specific to an individual, creature, or location. These points may be spent to gain advantage on an attack roll or ability check made in relation to the subject.

At the Narrator’s discretion, these points can also be spent to introduce a small fact to the story. Perhaps a character learns of a friendly bartender while Gathering Information about the next town or discovers a potentially safe cavern while Researching the dungeon they plan to enter.

Limitations. The Narrator may decide that there is simply no way that a piece of information can be gleaned by the Gather Information activity. In this case, the Narrator should inform the player before attempting the check.

Gather Information

Obscurity	DC	Time	Cost	Examples
Uncommon	10	1 week	10 gp	The bar where a local crime boss conducts business, where a local noble likes to drink
Esoteric	15	2 weeks	25 gp	The name of the best fence in a particular city, where to go to get illicit magic ingredients
Hidden	20	3 weeks	100 gp	The location of the duke’s secret prison, the name of a dragon’s agent in a city
Secret	25	5 weeks	500+ gp	The identity of the leader of a guild of assassins, what the king keeps in the secret room below his chambers

 

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Recovery

Sometimes it is necessary to recover from the dangers faced by an adventurer. In order to take the Recover activity, a character must have or temporarily pay for at least a moderate lifestyle. Each week that a character takes the Recover activity, they may:

• Make a Constitution saving throw against one effect that is preventing them from regaining hit points.
• Make one additional saving throw against one disease or poison currently affecting them.

If a character is tended to by someone with a healer’s satchel, they have advantage on the above checks.

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Religious Devotion

Religious Devotion allows a character to engage in acts of piety in an attempt to appease the gods and earn their favor. In order to engage in this downtime activity, a character must have access to a shrine, temple, or other sacred site and spend the required gold on sacred offerings to make a Nature or Religion check against a DC from Table: Religious Devotion. On a success, the character gains 1 point of favor, plus 1 additional point of favor for every 5 points their result exceeds the DC.

Favor. A point of favor can be spent to represent a minor but helpful boon that aligns with a deity’s portfolio. A point of favor from a war god might allow a character to find a weapon after they’ve been disarmed, while a point of favor from a nature god might make it easier to find a safe place to camp. The specific details are left up to the Narrator, but in general, this should represent advantage on a roll, the discovery of a small but useful item, or a helpful chance encounter. For 2 favor points, the Narrator may allow a character to benefit from the effects of a 1st-level spell that aligns with a deity’s portfolio. Narrators are free to come up with other uses.

If a character acts against the interests or philosophy of a deity during an adventure, any points of favor are immediately lost.

Religious Devotion

Philosophical Similarity	DC	Offering*	Description
Strongly Aligned	10	10 gp	The character's personal ethos and actions closely mirror the deity’s philosophy and teachings.
Aligned	15	25 gp	The character's personal ethos and actions are generally similar to the deity’s philosophy and teachings.
Neutral	20	50 gp	The character’s personal ethos and actions do not align with or oppose the deity they are beseeching.
Opposed	25	100 gp	The character’s personal ethos and actions are generally counter to the deity’s philosophy and teachings.
Strongly Opposed	30	500 gp	The character's personal ethos and actions run directly counter to the deity’s philosophy and teachings.

 

*The Narrator may allow specific actions by the character to reduce or eliminate this cost.

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Research

Research is used to uncover obscure information about individuals, events, organizations, or other things that have faded beyond living memory but still exist in recorded history. Alternatively, Research can be used to find facts or information contained within bureaucratic records.

In order to conduct the Research activity, a character must have access to a library or libraries that might conceivably contain the information that they are searching for — a noble villa’s private library might contain original ownership records, but is unlikely to contain information regarding alien interlopers from the last age. The character makes an Arcana or History check (determined by the topic of Research) against the DC listed on Table: Research, taking an appropriate amount of time and spending the indicated amount of gold.

On a success, they learn what they are looking for along with a point of Key Knowledge (see Gather Information). Success by 5 or more grants an additional fact or useful piece of information and an additional point of Key Knowledge. Failure means that the character learns nothing, and on a failure by 5 or more they instead learn an incorrect piece of information that could lead them astray or cause some trouble.

The cost of research is reflective of bribes, library fees, and other related expenses. At the Narrator’s discretion, a character may dispense with these if they already have access to a library that may contain the information.

Research

Obscurity	DC	Time	Cost	Examples
Uncommon	10	1 week	10 gp	The original name of a particular village
Esoteric	15	2 weeks	25 gp	The original owner of a piece of land or business, the location of an ancient tomb
Hidden	20	3 weeks	100 gp	The true history of the founding of a dynasty, the real lineage of the local ruler
Secret	25	5 weeks	500+ gp	The name of a fiend, the location of a city destroyed by the gods in the last age

 

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Spellcraft

This downtime activity allows spellcasters to create rare spells by refining their knowledge. Pick a common version of a spell that the character knows and choose one modification from the modifications table. Alternatively, with the Narrator’s permission a character may choose one rare spell from Chapter 11: Spellcasting provided it is of a level they can cast.

The character makes an ability check using their spellcasting ability and Arcana (sorcerer, warlock, wizard), Nature (druid), Performance (bard), or Religion (cleric, herald). The DC of the check is based on the spell level as per Table: Rare Spell Crafting and is increased by the desired modification.

Each check requires 1 week and the amount of indicated materials. A character requires a number of successful study weeks as listed on Table: Rare Spell Crafting. If a character succeeds the check by 5 or more, that week counts as 2 weeks for the purposes of completion. On a failure, the character makes no progress that week and the materials are consumed, and on a failure by 5 or more the materials are consumed and a week of progress is lost. The rare spell is finished when the final check succeeds.

Rare Spell Modifications

Modification	DC Modifier	Effect
Altered Effect	+0	The spell’s primary effect is changed. This can be used to add or alter a spell's damage type, affect what the spell targets, or otherwise modify its core effect. Examples include an invisibility spell that targets objects instead of creatures, a fireball that deals cold damage, or a lightning bolt that has a cone area.
Lingering Effect	+1	The spell has a secondary effect that occurs after the spell has ended. Examples include a fireball that causes the target to take ongoing fire damage or a slow spell that leaves a target fatigued after its duration has ended.
Additional Effect	+2	An additional effect is added to the spell’s primary function. Examples include an ice storm that freezes a target in place for the duration.
Additional Target	+2	The spell has the means to target additional creatures. Examples include a paralyzing effect that spreads by touch or a suggestion to new targets through conversation.

In order to invent a rare spell, a character must have access to the appropriate type of library. Wizards and sorcerers require a collection of arcane tomes. Clerics and heralds must have access to books of esoteric lore and theological texts. Druids need a sacred place of nature untouched by civilization. Bards utilize folios of magical compositions. Warlocks require forbidden texts and works of the occult.

Creating rare spells should be a collaboration with the Narrator. As always, the Narrator must approve any new rare spell. When in doubt, use preexisting rare spell effects for inspiration.

In addition to crafting rare spells, it is possible to create entirely new spells. This process typically requires years of work and often represents the pinnacle of a spellcaster’s career. If a character wishes to create their own spell, it should require at least 2 months per spell level and 500 gold per spell level each week. DCs for such checks and the other specifics are determined by the Narrator, using the rules for crafting rare spells as a guideline.

Rare Spell Crafting

Spell Level	DC	Cost Per Week	Successful Study Weeks
1st	15	100 gp	2
2nd	16	150 gp	3
3rd	17	200 gp	4
4th	18	300 gp	5
5th	19	500 gp	6
6th	20	1,000 gp	7
7th	21	1,500 gp	8
8th	22	3,000 gp	9
9th	23	5,000 gp	10

 

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Train

The Train activity allows a character to learn a new weapon, language, or tool proficiency, or it can be used to swap a class feature or feat that they learned previously.

Language or Tool. Learning a new language or tool proficiency requires a character to spend a number of months equal to 12 - their Intelligence modifier and pay 50 gold pieces per month to retain a tutor. If a character does not wish to pay for or does not have access to a tutor, they must have another reliable means of learning and the time required is doubled. At the end of this period, the character acquires the proficiency.

Weapon. Learning a new weapon proficiency requires a character spend a number of months equal to 6 - their Strength or Dexterity modifier (whichever is highest) training and pay 50 gold pieces per month to retain a tutor. At the end of this time period, the character acquires the weapon proficiency.

Relearning. A character may also relearn class features. This activity does not require spending any gold. The time required is 1 week to change a feature gained at 1st–5th level, 2 weeks to change a feature gained at 6th–10th level, 3 weeks to change a feature gained at 11th–15th level, and 4 weeks to change a feature gained at 15th–20th level. This activity cannot be used to swap out spells that have been entered into a spellbook.

Feat. To swap a feat gained through leveling to another feat, a character may spend a number of months equal to 8 – their proficiency bonus and pay 50 gold pieces each month to acquire practice materials and advice from experts in the feat they are learning.

Archetype. A character can change to a different archetype for their class by spending 12 weeks mastering the new archetype, at which point they are able to select it. When they do, any class features gained from their previous archetype are lost and replaced by the class features of their new archetype. Changing from one class to another requires the use of powerful reality- altering magic (like the wish spell or the direct intervention of a deity).

Activity	Time	Cost
New language or tool proficiency	12 - Int modifier months	50/month
New weapon proficiency	6 - Str or Dex modifier months	50/month
Relearn class features	1 week (1st-5th) 2 weeks (6th-10th) 3 weeks (11th-15th) 4 weeks (15th-20th)	No cost
Swap feat	9 - proficiency bonus months	50/month
Change archetype	12 weeks	No cost

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Work

A character can use the Work activity to pay their cost of living expenses and earn some coin between adventures. Work is broken down into two categories. On a successful check after spending a week on this downtime activity, a character supports a lifestyle (poor, moderate, or rich), and earns gold as listed on Table: Work.

Legal Work. Legal work allows a character to practice a trade or profession without fear of consequence. The character selects a tool proficiency or skill approved by the Narrator and makes an ability check, consulting Table: Work to determine the lifestyle their profits support and the extra gold earned. On a result of 5 or less, a character earns nothing, supports no lifestyle, and has disadvantage on the next Work check that they make using the same skill or tool.

Illegal Work. Illegal work allows a character to sustain themselves and make some coin by engaging in petty crime. First, a character selects the type of crime that they would like to engage in and selects an appropriate skill or ability check approved by the Narrator. They then select the difficulty of criminal activities as per Table: Work.

On a failed check, a character receives no earnings and must cover the cost of their lifestyle themselves. If they fail by 5 or more, the character must lay low and cannot take a downtime activity for the following week, and on a failure by 10 or more they are caught and suffer consequences or complications determined by the Narrator.

Work

Difficulty	DC	Lifestyle	Earnings
Easy	10	Poor	1d6 gp
Average	15	Moderate	3d6 gp
Hard	20	Rich	6d6 gp
Very Hard	25	Rich	10d6 gp

 

Rest is a fundamental necessity for most living creatures. While the exact amount of rest each type of creature needs may vary, they all still must rest in order to recuperate from wounds, rid themselves of fatigue and strife, and replenish their spell slots.

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Short Rest

A short rest is a period of no less than an hour, in which the character does nothing more strenuous than reading, writing, talking, and binding wounds.

At the end of a short rest, a character may expend one or more Hit Dice to restore any lost hit points, up to their maximum number of Hit Dice. For each Hit Die expended, the player rolls the dice (as determined by their class) and adds their Constitution modifier. A player can decide to roll an additional Hit Die after each roll.

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Long Rest

A long rest is a period of time of at least 8 hours, 6 of which must be spent asleep. The remaining hours can be spent doing light activity like eating or standing watch. If this period is interrupted by strenuous activity for more than an hour, such as walking, fighting, or casting spells, the characters gain no benefit and the time period resets.

After a long rest has been completed, a character regains all lost hit points. The character also regains expended Hit Dice, up to a maximum of half of the character’s total number of them (minimum of 1). For example, a character with 10 Hit Dice who has expended 8 would regain 5 Hit Dice after a long rest. 

A character cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period, and must have at least 1 hit point at the start of the long rest to benefit from it. Any character that does not consume at least 1 Supply suffers a level of fatigue when they finish a long rest, and adventurers are only able to truly recuperate within a haven. A character recovers from one level of fatigue and one level of strife after finishing a long rest in a haven where they have consumed Supply. When taking a long rest and consuming Supply without a haven, a character can recover only from the first level of fatigue or strife.

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Resting and Havens

While on a journey, adventurers are only able to recover from the second level and beyond of fatigue or strife  on a long rest when they have access to a haven.

A haven is a place to get a meal and a full night’s sleep without the reasonable risk of attack or harm from the elements. For example, an inn is considered a haven, but a campsite where adventurers must take turns keeping watch through the night is not. Some spells and class features may create havens.

The world is full of chandeliers and tree branches to be swung from, doors to be kicked in, and eldritch statues full of ruinous power to meddle with. There are numerous objects bristling with possibility for the intrepid and the bold. Adventurers can perform many actions with an object—they might pick up a vase to secure treasure, throw a glass sculpture to create a diversion, or try and hack their way through hastily set up barricades.

When interacting with an object, a creature might use a trait, feature, or combat maneuver, or it might simply make an attack. In general, given enough time and the right equipment, any adventurer can usually accomplish what they want with an object.

An object is a single inanimate item like a rug, vase, axe, painting, boulder, door, section of wall, or a bureau full of clothes (which themselves are many objects).

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Interacting with Objects

Most physical interactions with the environment simply require a player to announce their intentions to the Narrator. A statement like, “I open the wardrobe,” is normally all that is necessary to set an action into motion.

Some interactions, however, may require an ability check . A wardrobe that won’t open might require a Dexterity (thieves’ tools) check to pick a lock or a Strength check to pull it open despite rusted hinges. The Narrator sets the DC for the check based on the difficulty of the task. A Strength check can also be used to break an object. The Narrator sets the DC for the check.

Creatures can also damage objects with both physical attacks and spells. Objects are immune to psychic and poison damage, but otherwise they can be affected by damage just like creatures. The Narrator determines an object’s AC and hit points, and if it has any damage resistances, immunities, or vulnerabilities. Objects always fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws, but are immune to effects that require other saves. When an object drops to 0 hit points, it breaks.

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Statistics for Objects

In the middle of a tense situation where time is of the essence, the Narrator can assign an Armor Class and hit points to a destructible object, as well as determine what immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities to damage it might have.

When a creature is trying to do something besides destroy the object, the Narrator determines what ability checks are appropriate.

Armor Class

An object’s Armor Class represents how tough the object is to damage. Especially tough objects might be harder to damage—the Object Armor Class table has suggested values for objects based on the materials they are made from.

Object AC

Object	Armor Class
Cloth, paper, rope	AC 11
Crystal, glass, ice	AC 13
Wood, bone	AC 15
Stone	AC 17
Iron, steel	AC 19
Mithral	AC 21
Adamantine	AC 21

 

Hit Points

An object’s hit points determine how much damage it can take before it is destroyed. A particularly sturdy object (resilient) might have more hit points than more delicate objects (fragile). The Object Hit Points table has suggested hit points for objects based on their size.

Object Hit Points

Object	Size	Hit Points (fragile)	Hit Points (resilient)
Game piece, vial	Tiny	2 (1d4)	5 (2d4)
Chair, painting	Small	3 (1d6)	10 (3d6)
Crate, Medium door, table	Medium	4 (1d8)	18 (4d8)
Equestrian statue, Large door, 10-foot section of wall	Large	5 (1d10)	27 (5d10)

 

Huge and Gargantuan Objects

Against Huge or Gargantuan objects, normal weapons or tools are of little effect. Against a castle wall or treasure vault door, a hammer or sword won’t get the job done —but determined creatures might try just the same. If the Narrator decides a Huge or Gargantuan object is vulnerable to a creature’s attacks, divide it into separate smaller sections that are each Large-sized and track the hit points of each section independently. For example, a Huge windmill might fall apart when the axle holding the blades is destroyed.

Objects and Damage Types

When damaging an object some damage types might be more effective than others, depending on the object’s composition. For example, slashing damage might help cut through a rope, but be less effective for smashing the legs of a stone statue. Flammable objects are typically vulnerable to fire, and unless noted otherwise (such as with inanimate plants) objects are immune to poison and psychic damage. The Narrator determines the effectiveness of any given attack on an object.

Damage Threshold

Objects built to endure attack (like the reinforced walls of a towering fort or the armored hull of a skyship) often have an extra measure of protection: a damage threshold. If an object has a damage threshold it is immune to damage unless an attack or effect deals damage equal to or greater than the damage threshold. Any attack or effect that deals damage less than the damage threshold instead deals no damage at all.

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Doors

This content is from Dungeon Delver's Guide.

Most doors are an inch or more thick and typically have 27 (5d10) hit points or more. The DC to bash down a door, or the AC to damage it, are as follows:

Door Toughness

Door Type	Bash DC	AC	Damage Threshold	Recommended Dungeon Level
Wooden	15	15	-	1+
Wooden, fortified	19	15	19	9+
Stone	17	17	-	5+
Stone, fortified	21	17	21	13+
Iron	19	19	-	9+
Iron, fortified	23	19	23	17+
Mithral	21	21	-	13+
Mithral, fortified	25	21	25	17+
Adamantine	23	23	-	17+
Adamantine, fortified	27	23	27	17+

 

Fortified Doors

Some dungeon doors are especially thick, protected by magical wards, or reinforced with iron bars. These fortified doors have damage thresholds equal to their AC values. Thus, an attack that would deal less than 15 damage has no effect on a fortified wooden door. The DC to force open a fortified door is increased by 4 (so a fortified adamantine door can be bashed open with a Strength check of 27).

Given enough time, characters can dismantle most doors—unless even rolling a 20 on a Strength check can’t bash it open and even a critical hit can’t overcome its damage threshold.

Not all dangers while adventuring are from enemies, monsters, and beasts. Whether urban or rural, the very environment a hero must traverse in order to complete their quest (or the battlefield they find themselves on) can present a multitude of hazards. Be sure to pay attention to the environment around your character as they move through it, and be wary of any hidden threats — or anything you can leverage to get the upper hand in a fight.

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Falling

When a creature falls, it takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it falls (maximum 20d6) and lands prone. A creature that falls into water takes half damage, or no damage if it dives with a successful Athletics check (DC equal to the distance it falls divided by 5). 

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Suffocating

Drowning, strangulation, smothering, strange alternate planes of reality with no air — many situations can lead to suffocation. A creature can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 plus its Constitution modifier (minimum of 30 seconds). Once a creature is out of breath, it begins suffocating and can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1 round).

At the start of its next turn, the suffocating creature drops to 0 hit points and is dying. It cannot regain hit points or be stabilized until it can breathe again.

For example, during a storm at sea, a creature with a Constitution of 16 is dragged beneath the ocean by debris tangled around its legs. It can hold its breath for 4 minutes, at which time it has 3 rounds before it drops to 0 hit points.

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Underwater

A creature that cannot breathe water begins to suffocate underwater once it cannot hold its breath. In addition, creatures without swim speeds have disadvantage on attacks made using any weapons other than a dagger, dueling dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident. Ranged weapon attacks automatically miss beyond their normal range underwater, and bludgeoning and fire damage are halved. A creature that takes damage while holding its breath underwater must succeed on a concentration check or immediately begin suffocating as if its breath had run out.

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Vision and Light

Most creatures rely on sight for even the most mundane, everyday tasks. Adventurers are no different, and the amount of light in a given area  impacts their ability to perform both in and out of combat. Other environmental features, like fog or heavy rain, may obscure a creature’s vision and cause difficulty.

A lightly obscured area is one that creates a minimal, but not insignificant, amount of visual impairment. A moderately wooded area, lingering smoke from a sacked town, dim lighting, and the like can all cause an area to be lightly obscured. When within this area, creatures have disadvantage on Perception checks that rely on sight.

An area that is heavily obscured may be a shoreline cloaked in dense fog, a jungle full of thick foliage and hanging vines, or darkness (magical or otherwise), that obstructs vision completely. A creature in this area is considered blind.

Three types of lighting exist within an area: bright light, dim light, and darkness.

Bright light is the most common. Even on a cloudy day the sun provides bright light, as do torches, bonfires, magical lights, and other similar sources (though often within a limited radius). Most creatures suffer no penalties from being in a brightly lit area.

Dim light creates a lightly obscured area. Dim light is typically found on the outer reaches of artificial light sources, such as the depths of a room lit only by candles or the outer ring of a bonfire. Dim light can also be found during dawn or twilight, or beneath a full moon.

Darkness creates a heavily obscured area. Creatures venturing out at night, delving underground, or traveling into a windowless dungeon without any alternate sources of light will find themselves at a distinct disadvantage.

Blindsight

Not everything relies on vision to sense the world. A creature with blindsight is not affected by darkness or other heavily or lightly obscured areas, and can see through invisibility, within a certain radius. Creatures adapted to the darkness (like bats and moles) or creatures without eyes (like purple worms) have blindsight.

Figments. Creatures that do not rely on visual sight, noted as having blindsight (blind beyond this range), are immune to visual illusions (such as those created by minor illusion).

Darkvision

Many creatures within the realms of medieval fantasy are gifted with sensitive sight. Darkvision allows a creature to see within darkness as if it were dim light, and dim light as if it were bright light, though the creature cannot perceive colors while in darkness, only shades of gray.

Truesight

Some especially powerful creatures, like particularly old dragons, have truesight. This allows a creature to see in normal or magical darkness, perceive invisible creatures and objects, automatically detect illusions and succeed on its saving throw against them, and perceive the original form of a shapechanger or creature that is transformed by magic. A creature with truesight can also see into the Ethereal Plane.

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Food and Water

Creatures need to eat and drink in order to survive, and often in the wilderness, the opportunity to find fresh food and water can be limited.

A creature that takes a long rest must consume food and water or it suffers a level of fatigue (see the Supply rules).

Time

Time is an important aspect of adventuring. For Narrators, time serves multiple purposes and roughly outlines the flow of an adventure. Choosing which scale of time to use in any given situation is a matter of context.

The most common span of time is a round, which takes place during combat and other situations where time is of the essence. A round lasts 6 seconds.

Minutes are the second most common. Most involved actions take a length of time using minutes. For example, an adventuring party spends roughly a minute proceeding through a dungeon corridor, to find a treasure room which they investigate for 10 minutes to find a hidden chest that the rogue spends roughly a minute checking to discover the deadly poison dart booby trap cunningly hidden in the mechanism.

Hours are appropriate for exploring a city or a limited area of land. A sudden whim by a wizard to visit a particular reagent shop on the other side of the city would take hours just as it may take an hour or so for a druid to lead their party members to a defensible cave in the ominous and quickly darkening woods.

Days are generally used for long periods of time during a journey or adventure. Traveling from one city to another, getting lost in the wilderness, and a journey into the unseen depths of the world are all good examples of using days.

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Movement

Adventurers come across a wide array of terrain and obstacles during their travels. For simplicity’s sake a Narrator is always free to summarize movement without determining exact distances or time frames. However, in some cases it’s important to know the general time frame (minutes, hours, days, and so on) that it takes to go from one area to another.

When it comes to determining the time frames of movement, the most important factors are the Speed or travel pace of an individual or party and the terrain being traversed.

Speed

Every creature capable of movement has a Speed, measured in feet, that it can move in a single round. Travel pace is used when it comes to longer time periods of moment that take place over minutes, hours, or days as detailed in  Exploration . Of course the world is wide and vast, leading to exceptions in mounts and methods of travel...

Vehicles

Not all travel is done by foot. Vehicles and mounts are used by many adventurers to help travel the vast distances of the world.

Land-based vehicles can choose at which pace to move while water-based vehicles are restricted by the speed of the vehicle. A water-based vehicle gains no benefits from a slow pace, but has no penalties for moving at a fast pace. Depending on the vehicle and crew size, a ship can travel up to 24 hours a day.

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Special Movement

Not all travel can be accomplished by simply walking from one point to another. Adventurers may be forced to climb, swim, or leap to reach their final destinations—nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Climbing, Swimming, and Crawling

Movement using these three methods is similar to traveling through difficult terrain though there are some key differences. First, it costs a creature an extra foot to move for every foot spent. Worse, if a creature is moving in actual difficult terrain, it costs two feet to move for every foot spent. Moving by climbing or swimming through normal terrain by a creature with the corresponding speed costs no additional movement.

A Narrator may apply additional checks in certain scenarios, such as climbing a particularly slippery surface or swimming in churning water.

For example, a berserker with a 30 foot movement speed only moves 15 feet on their turn while trying to climb a mountain. Should that same berserker try climbing that same mountain during a snowstorm, they would only move 7 feet, and may even need to pass an Athletics check to maintain a hold or risk falling into the roaring water below.

Jumping

The distance a creature can jump is determined both by the method attempted and their Strength score. 

A long jump requires a creature to move at least 10 feet by foot immediately before making its jump and the distance covered is a number of feet up to its Strength score. Each foot covered by a jump costs the same in movement.

A Narrator can also request a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check to clear low obstacles, which must be no taller than a quarter of the jump’s distance. A failure indicates that instead of jumping over such an obstacle, a creature crashes into it.

Landing is also a fair challenge. Should a creature land in difficult terrain, perhaps jumping over a table in the kitchen only to land on a freshly mopped floor on the other side, the creature must make an additional DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) to actually land on its feet. Should it fail, it instead falls prone.

A high jump is a bit more complex. To make a running high jump, a creature must move 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump, leaping up into the air a number of feet equal to 3 + its Strength modifier (minimum of 0 feet). To make a standing high jump, a creature need not move beforehand, but only jumps half the distance it would have doing a running high jump.

When a creature’s jumping distance exceeds its Speed, it can jump up to a distance equal to twice its Speed in a single leap so long as it takes no other movement on that turn other than to jump. In either case, a creature uses up a foot of movement for every foot it covers jumping. There are a few special scenarios for high jumping though.

First, a creature can extend its arms up to half its height during a jump. Thus a creature can reach above itself equal to the height of a jump plus 1.5 times its height. In addition, the Narrator may allow a creature to make a Strength (Athletics) check to jump higher than it could otherwise.

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Traveling

The majority of rules regarding exploration are in the Exploration chapter, but some extend beyond journeys and into shorter forays as well.

Marching Order

When it’s relevant to the game— during a dungeon crawl or while traveling through a forest they know is brimming with bandits — the Narrator should have the party establish who is in the lead (and therefore the most likely to be targeted if a trap is triggered) and who is in the back (the first targeted in a flanking ambush). When it isn’t an important element to what’s currently happening in the game, whichever character is taking the lead on roleplaying is assumed to be in front of their companions.

Encounters and Threats

Whether or not creatures notice a hidden threat is determined by their passive Perception scores. When players encounter other characters or creatures while traveling, both parties can choose what happens next. Either party can choose to attack, talk, flee, or wait to see what the other group does. In addition, a Narrator can decide whether or not a party is surprised by the other if combat ensues (see Chapter 8: Combat ).

Stealth 

A party looking to avoid threats can choose to travel at a slow pace and employ stealth, making a group Stealth check, typically using Dexterity. A party with reasonable cover can do more than avoid ambushes — they may well surprise or sneak past their enemies.

The world is vast and full of danger. From the cramped and darkened tunnels of a subterranean labyrinth to the wide open expanse of the plains, the worlds you explore are bound to be full of wonder and woe in equal measure. This chapter covers the basics of adventuring through that world, including movement, social interactions, time and more.

Throughout game sessions the Narrator envisions and describes the setting, places, and situations your characters experience as the party becomes immersed in the world. Your character reacts to the circumstances and obstacles placed before them, developing their personality and honing their talents. For better or worse as the dice roll, the Narrator relates the outcomes of the party’s actions as the group continues through various adventures until a campaign reaches its end.

Blinded

• A blinded creature can't see and it automatically fails ability checks that require sight.
• Attack rolls against a blinded creature are made with advantage, and the creature's attack rolls are made with disadvantage.

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Bloodied

• A creature is bloodied when reduced to half its hit points or less.

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Charmed

• A charmed creature can't take any hostile action against the charmer.
• Ability checks the charmer makes to socially interact with the charmed creature have advantage.

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Confused

• A confused creature can't take reactions.
• On its turn a confused creature rolls a d8 to determine what it does. 
  • On a 1 to 4, a confused creature does nothing. 
  • On a 5 or 6, a confused creature takes no action or bonus action and uses all its movement to move in a randomly determined direction. 
  • On a 7 or 8, a confused creature makes a melee attack against a randomly determined creature within its reach or does nothing if it can't make such an attack.

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Deafened

• A deafened creature can't hear and automatically fails ability checks that require hearing.

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Doomed

• A doomed creature dies at a time determined by the Narrator, or within 13 (2d12) hours. 
• A doomed creature continues to be doomed even after it dies. Magic equivalent to a 7th-level or higher spell can remove the doomed condition (such as regenerate cast on a living creature, resurrection , true resurrection , or wish ).

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Encumbered

• An encumbered creature's Speed is reduced to 5 ft.

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Enervated

• An enervated creature can’t use psionic powers or features that require psionic points. 
• An enervated creature suffers a –2 penalty on all ability checks, saving throws, and attacks. 

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Frightened

• A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while it is able to see the source of its fear.
• A frightened creature can't willingly move closer to the source of its fear.

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Fixated

Bewitching beauty, forbidden knowledge, and artifacts that capture the mind—fixated is a condition where the afflicted are wholly captivated. Fixated is considered a moderate condition for the purposes of calculating a monster’s damage, unless it also limits a target’s actions, in which case it is considered severe.

• A fixated creature has disadvantage on Investigation and Perception checks to perceive or examine creatures or objects other than the source of its fixation.
• A fixated creature must spend 2 feet of movement for every 1 foot of movement away from the source of its fixation
• A creature that is immune to being charmed is also immune to being fixated.

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Grappled

• A grappled creature's Speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from bonuses to movement speeds.
• If the grappler becomes incapacitated the condition ends.
• If an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect (such as when a creature is shoved away by the Doubleteam combat maneuver) the condition ends.

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Incapacitated

• An incapacitated creature can’t take actions, bonus actions, or reactions.

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Invisible

• An invisible creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense (it gains no benefits from this condition against creatures still able to see it).
• An invisible creature is heavily obscured for the purpose of hiding. 
• An invisible creature's location can be detected by noises it makes or tracks it leaves.
• Attack rolls against an invisible creature are made with disadvantage .
• An invisible creature makes attack rolls with advantage .

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Paralyzed

• A paralyzed creature is incapacitated and can't move or speak.
• A paralyzed creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws . 
• Attack rolls against a paralyzed creature have advantage .
• Any attack that hits a paralyzed creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet.

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Petrified

• A petrified creature (and all of its mundane possessions) is transformed into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). 
• A petrified creature’s weight is increased by a factor of ten and it ceases aging.
• A petrified creature is incapacitated, can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
• A petrified creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws .
• A petrified creature has resistance to all damage.
• A petrified creature is immune to poison and disease (time spent petrified does not affect the duration of a poison or disease already in its system).

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Poisoned

• A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

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Prone

• A prone creature's only movement option is to crawl (every 1 foot of movement while crawling costs 1 extra foot) until it stands up.
• Standing up requires half a creature’s movement.
• A prone creature makes melee attack rolls with disadvantage .
• An attack roll against a prone creature is made with advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet. Otherwise, the attack roll is made with disadvantage .

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Rattled

• A rattled creature cannot benefit from expertise dice .
• A creature that is immune to being stunned is immune to being rattled.
• A rattled creature cannot take reactions.

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Restrained

• A restrained creature's Speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from bonuses to speed.
• Attack rolls against a restrained creature are made with advantage .
• A restrained creature makes attack rolls with disadvantage .
• The restrained creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws .

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Slowed

• A slowed creature's Speed is halved.
• A slowed creature takes a −2 penalty to AC and Dexterity saving throws .
• A slowed creature cannot take reactions.
• On its turn, a slowed creature can take either an action or a bonus action, not both. In addition, it can't make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn.

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Stunned

• A stunned creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can't move, and can speak only falteringly.
• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws .
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage .
• A creature that is immune to being stunned is immune to being rattled.

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Unconscious

• An unconscious creature is incapacitated, can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
• An unconscious creature drops whatever it's holding and falls prone.
• An unconscious creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws .
• Attack rolls against an unconscious creature are made with advantage .
• Any attack that hits an unconscious creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet.

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Tracked Conditions

Various challenges, obstacles, and magics can lead to either fatigue or strife. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of fatigue or strife (detailed in the effect's description).

If a creature suffering from fatigue or strife fails to resist another effect that causes a level of the tracked condition, its current level increases by the amount specified in the effect's description.

A creature suffers the effect of its current level in a tracked condition as well as all lower levels. For example, a creature suffering level 3 fatigue has its Speed halved, it cannot Sprint, and it makes Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution checks with disadvantage.

An effect that removes a tracked condition reduces its level as specified in the effect's description, with all tracked condition effects ending when a creature's condition level is reduced below 1.

Finishing a long rest at a safe haven reduces a creature's fatigue and strife levels by 1, provided that the creature has also had Supply to get the most from its rest. A creature does not require a haven to recover from the first level of fatigue or strife, but does still require a long rest. Also, being raised from the dead reduces all of a creature’s tracked conditions by 1.

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Optional Conditions

Corruption

Gate Pass Gazette #20

• A tracked condition with multiple levels, with increasing effects at higher levels, see Corruption .
• At first level, can be cured with a lesser restoration or greater restoration spell.

The Turn-Based Action rules can be used for more than combat and are also ideal for most high-octane situations. There are several alternative scenarios where an additional layer of granularity can provide new challenges and strategies for the participants.

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Suspended Movement

Adventures can take you under the sea, into the sky, or adrift in the Astral Plane. These scenarios aren't anchored to the ground and expand your movement options to a whole new dimension.

Participants in these Turn-Based Action scenarios are able to move in any direction they choose and have their movement suspended vertically from any ground. The conditions of this suspension depend on the environment.

While participants are suspended in a large body of water:

• Bludgeoning and fire damage are halved.
• Ranged weapon attacks beyond the weapon's normal range automatically miss their target.
• Unless the weapon is thrown, attacks made with ranged weapons have disadvantage .
• Dexterity ability checks and melee weapon attacks have disadvantage unless the attacker has a swim speed.

While participants are aloft in the sky:

• When a creature is knocked prone , restrained , or otherwise has no fly speed it automatically begins to fall.
• Willing movement made vertically downward costs half the distance (in feet) that it normally would. A creature that moves 10 feet downward only spends 5 feet of its movement to do so.

While participants are adrift in an intangible, space-like environment such as the Astral Plane:

• Creatures and objects have vulnerability to psychic damage unless they have proficiency in either Wisdom or Intelligence saving throws .
• A creature's Speed is determined by its thoughts. Each creature gains a fly speed equal to 30 feet + (5 feet × its Intelligence modifier).

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Rolling Movement

Races, chases, horseback embraces, action alongside a train car, and falling down the side of a building all come with an assumption that each participant of the Turn-Based Action scenario is moving.

While in a rolling movement scenario:

• The Narrator determines the direction and the base speed of the scene per round, typically either 30 feet or the base Speed of the second slowest active participant.
• The World Actions phase of Turn-Based Action occurs at the start of each participant's turn, affecting only them.
• Participants cannot use their basic movement to move further forward without Dashing or performing an improvised action. They can still move sideways or slow down.
• Participants that become too distant from the action must find a way to return themselves, wait for active participants to move the action back to them, or wait until the end of the scenario.

The Narrator typically controls all characters that aren't the PCs. However, players may command mounts and hirelings, summon familiars, or conjure squads of reinforcements to tip the scales of any Turn-Based Action encounter in their favor.

Any creatures or summons under your control can take their movement at any point on your turn. Identical creatures and summons move as a group provided each is adjacent to one other member.

You can use your bonus action to command a single creature or group of creatures to take their actions. For groups, this means each member performs the same action against the same target or towards the same goal.

For group ability checks:

1. Roll the ability check for one member of the group.
2. For Strength group ability checks, add +1 for every other member of the group. The Narrator should determine how many members of the group can meaningfully contribute to the check.

For group attack rolls:

1. The attack roll becomes a Dexterity saving throw made by the target. If the attack is already based on a saving throw, skip step 2.
2. The DC of the Dexterity saving throw equals 8 + the highest attack bonus among creatures in the group. On a failure the target takes the attack's damage and any additional effects, or half damage and no additional effects on a success.
3. Add +1 to the DC and damage for every other member of the group.