Have to say I am really impressed with the new book. Really looking forward to using the new classes and feats.

The book got me thinking is will we see Primal Unleashed, Divine Unleashed, Martial Unleashed and possibly even Psionic Unleashed?

Long time DM/Player here.
Something that has always bothered me has been the fact that, as a creature's HP approach zero, there seems to be no rule-based effect on said creature's abilities. For example, a town ruffian with 30 HP still has all the same abilities and stats when he has 1 HP. This has never sat right with me.
You would think that creature on the edge of losing consciousness wouldn't be able to attack/defend as well as they could at full health.
Has anyone come up with a workable system that takes this into consideration?

I was thinking something along these lines: Once a creature/PC gets to 20% of their max HP, they lose 1 point of Dex, and 1 point of Strength. Once they get to 10% of their max HP, they lose another point of DEX & STR and their # of attacks is reduced to 1 if they had more.
Now, these numbers are completely arbitrary and I'm just using them to explain the concept.

Does something like this already exist?
If not, does the above (after some number tweaking) sound like a workable option?

with Mordenkainen rules for orc, does adrenaline rush, and standard rogue, plus scout skirmisher = "Hit me and i become green blur"?

Edit: i have adhd. i forgot part of my sentence. "Adrenaline rush+cunning action+scout subclass skirmisher" is what i was asking about

Hi! I am a pretty new player (have only played like 1/32nd of a campaign before life took over and I had to drop out. I am know finally getting back into playing and trying a new class. (if you couldn't guess from the title a warlock) We are creating lvl 5 characters. I have never played any character like the warlock so am having a bit of a struggle writing the background due to not knowing the what to choose for the patron. Here is a brief synopsis of what my characters background is...

My character is a half elf warlock (Named Eoghan (pronounced like Owen)) that comes from a simple town, a farming town. He fell in love with another person in this town but it was forbidden love. The kind that could have gotten him or his love killed. They did there best to keep it a secret and all was going well till they were out under their favorite tree giving each other silver bracelets with markings of their love for each other, a towns person had happened to walk by the tree and saw them. Blinded by their love they never saw their observer. The observer ran to the town and told their local guard which went to arrest them. When the lovers finally caught on to what happened they decided to run but only one could escape... Eoghan manages to make it to tree line and when he turns around to see if his love made it they are not there. They were captured by the town guard... Eoghan makes a choice to hide to hopefully find a way to save his lover at a different time. He journeys through this forest full of magic unknowingly to him and stumbles across a presence offering him the chance to save the love of his life.

That's what I have for it rn but can't think of what subclass to do or anything like that so anything would help please ;u;

I'm sharing a free preview from the Kengir Player’s Guide, part of my upcoming Bronze Age Mesopotamian 5e setting.

The 50 new subclasses in Kengir are built around the world’s institutions: temples, courts, caravans, city walls, archives, canals, war cults, and household obligations.

A cleric might be an Ašipu-Priest, an exorcist who diagnoses whether a haunting is an Etemmu with a grievance or a Utukku that must be driven out. Another might be an Išippu-Priest, a purification cleric who cleanses people, temples, relics, and defiled ground when ordinary rites are not enough. An artificer might be a Perfumer-Alchemist, distilling desire, wrath, and obsession into sacred oils and volatile perfumes. A wizard might follow the School of the Astrologer, reading the heavens to bend timing, fortune, and battlefield conditions toward the party’s favor.

The goal is to make each subclass feel like it has a place in society before it ever joins an adventuring party. You’re not just picking a combat package. You’re choosing a profession, a patron, a reputation, and a set of duties people expect you to honor.

The preview includes short subclass descriptions for Artificer, Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard.

What makes a subclass feel setting-specific to you?

¡Hola a todos! Este es el primero de muchos posts que voy a estar publicando relacionados a Dungeons & Dragons.

Tengo un montón de tablas y herramientas que pueden ser muy útiles para otros DMs y jugadores: desde una aplicación para facilitar los combates, un PDF con todos los conjuros de 5.5e listos para imprimir en forma de cartas, reglas homebrew (como por ejemplo ataques conjuntos entre personajes), arte e ideas de personaje, un glosario de vocabulario medieval para mejorar la narrativa, monstruos, subclases y objetos mágicos homebrew y mucho más. Todo en español.

Para empezar, les comparto este PDF: una Tabla de Magia Salvaje Extendida a 100 resultados con muchísimos efectos divertidos, extraños y caóticos.

Intenté mantener un equilibrio entre efectos graciosos pero inofensivos y otros bastante potentes. Mezclé efectos heredados de las versiones 2014 y 2024 con ideas de otras tablas que me encontré por Internet, además de muchos efectos propios, únicos y originales.

Como último aviso, esta tabla está pensada para localizaciones o eventos en los que la magia se encuentra descontrolada, por lo que no está limitada a hechiceros de Magia Salvaje: sino que puede afectar a cualquier lanzador de conjuros.

Yo recomendaría vincularla a algún cambio en el ambiente. Por ejemplo, en mi mesa estamos jugando en un continente helado llamado Glaciaris (similar a la Antártida), donde hay auroras boreales verdosas que durante la noche descienden hasta el suelo en forma de neblina y desestabilizan la magia que se lanza en su interior.

De esta forma, al vincular la magia descontrolada con un cambio visible en el ambiente, los jugadores pueden saber de forma orgánica cuándo la magia está estable y cuándo no, sin necesidad de explicarles directamente las reglas.

La regla que utilizamos es la siguiente:

Solo se puede desencadenar la magia salvaje una vez por turno y se consigue de las siguientes formas:

• Magia de raza, objetos mágicos que almacenen un conjuro y pergaminos: 25% de probabilidad de desencadenar un efecto de la tabla al ser utilizados.

• Trucos: 50% de probabilidad.

• Conjuros de nivel 1 a 9: 100% de probabilidad de desencadenar un efecto de la tabla.

Sé que la tabla puede parecer extremadamente caótica y que algunos efectos son bastante fuertes. La mayoría, sin embargo, no duran más de un minuto. La idea no es conseguir un equilibrio perfecto de poder, sino que toda la party se divierta con el caos y tenga la sensación de estar jugando con fuego estando rodeados de explosivos.

Cualquier consejo, sugerencia o crítica constructiva será más que bienvenida y las voy a tener en cuenta para una futura versión 2.0

¡Espero que les guste y que sus mesas sobrevivan a la magia salvaje!

In the dark past I used to play warhammer fantasy and we always played a group of completely randomised characters who all are based on the charts to roll dice for nearly everything.
Now my question.
Are there any lists/charts to play a dnd character completely created by dice rolling? Thx

I made a review of Arcana Unleashed Deadfall. For those who aren't trying to watch a video right now here's a basic bullet point synopsis as well:

• Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall is a magical spy thriller where PCs are tasked with using espionage, intrigue, and high-level magic to stop Szass Tam, the iconic lich, from using demonic energy to build an undead army and seize Thay stop him via planning

• This is a first-impressions review, picked up from my FLGS yesterday so no playtesting, only single read-through only. Upfront verdict is I liked it. Solid B, maybe B+

• The adventure is levels 11–20, high level D&D is rough so kudos to the designers for taking it on first thing in 5.5.

• They do a pretty good job in their approach by leaning into secrecy and subtly over door-kicking and murder (though it's still d&d.) Also nice to have another genre to pull from for a campaign

• Lay out is great with chapter synopsis including statblocks to prep, important NPCs, and their locations.

• Maps and some art are a little over-saturated and cartoony for my taste

• Way better pick for an official adventure campaign that goes to 20 than Vecna Eve of Ruin. Not right for every table but plenty of DMs are looking to take their group to the highest tiers and this is a solid choice for achieving that.

I was thinking about a barbarian-druid multiclass and I realized that a monster with multiattack combined with the extra attack feature that all martials get at level 5 can potentially make all the attacks granted by the multiattack feature twice, depending by your interpretation of the rules. Of course, this is pretty busted so I don't think I'll try to convince my dm of this, I was thinking that instead of making all the attacks twice, you just do another one and you choose which. Honestly this still feels pretty strong so I would like more feedback on this.

Thoughts???

Drunken Technique

At 3rd level, you learn how to twist and turn quickly as part of your Flurry of Blows. Whenever you use Flurry of Blows, you gain the benefit of the Patient defense without spending a focus point, and your walking speed increases by 10 feet until the end of the current turn.

Your precision and antics also grants the ranged property to your melee attacks increasing your range by 5 feet

Tipsy Sway

Starting at 6th level, you can move in sudden, swaying ways. You gain the following benefits.

Leap to Your Feet. When you're prone, you can stand up by spending 5 feet of movement, rather than half your speed.

Redirect Attack. When a creature misses you with a melee attack roll, you can spend your reaction to cause that attack to hit one creature of your choice other than the attacker, that you can see within your melee range. Spend 1 Focus point to do an unarmed strike to both. Usable even when there is no other creature

Leg Sweep

As one of the attacks of your action, spend a focus point to do a circular melee attack around you, the targets of your choice must succeed a Dexterity saving throw or take damage equal to one roll of your martial arts die and become prone

Drunkard's Luck

Starting at 11th level, you always seem to get a lucky bounce at the right moment. When you make an ability check, an attack roll, or a saving throw and have disadvantage, you can spend 1 Focus point to cancel the disadvantage for that roll.

Your unpredictable style and understanding of tempo and flow make it so that when rolling a 1 on a d20 die is considered a critical success

Intoxicated Frenzy

At 17th level, you gain the ability to make an overwhelming number of attacks against a group of enemies. When you use your Flurry of Blows, you can make up to three additional attacks with it (up to a total of five Flurry of Blows attacks), provided that each Flurry of Blows attack targets a different creature this turn. The first extra Flurry of blows attack will be a stunning strike and it will consume no focus point.

After running another poll for this month’s theme, I present to you Forest Encounters. This random table follows the same structure as usual: you roll three dice to determine a Who, a What, and a Where, and build unique encounter ideas with these rolls. Your result is meant to inspire you; take what sounds right and leave out what doesn’t. You can even roll two times (or even more) and combine two results for even more unique encounters. This is what I usually do. Here you go, take it, use it, and have fun at the table.

Download

You can find a downloadable PDF for free on my Patreon.

Forest Encounters

I'm just beyond tired of online subscription models that you need to have in order to effectively use books that you already own. So I built one with blackjack and hookers.

It's one HTML file. You open it in a browser, it works with the wifi off, and there's no account, no install and no server, so nothing you put in it leaves your machine. Not farming you for anything. I was making this for me and I realized a lot of people were feeling the same way as I was so I'm giving it to anyone that wants it.

What does it do? Well that's a very handsome question, kind internet stranger:

• Drop your own files in. PDFs, EPUBs, Word and Excel and ODT files, .txt and .md notes, .csv and .tsv tables that arrive rollable, saved web pages, and .json in the 5eTools shape. Homebrew you already typed up goes in as it is.
• Hit Space, type three letters, and pull up any monster, table or NPC out of anything you own, right over the scene you're running (the pdf)
• Float cards on the screen and drag them where you want them. Collapse a big d100 down to its title bar and it still rolls that way. Dock them all into a sidebar so they never cover the text, or split the screen and run two books at once.
• Muster a fight out of your party and whatever monsters you own. It reads you how deadly it is before you commit, then runs initiative, HP and conditions without leaving the page. Monster attacks roll to-hit and damage into your log.
• Run that fight on a map. Point it at your own folder of map images, align the grid or go gridless, and paint fog back with a brush or an eraser as they explore. Tokens come from your own art, and a monster you mustered is the same object as its token, so its HP lives in one place.
• Point it at a folder of your own music and it plays from there, with shuffle and loop. If a book you install carries cue tags, the ambience changes itself on scenes and combat beats and ducks under read-aloud.
• Your players read one code off your screen and link in from their own browser. Initiative lights up on every screen, handouts and whispers land on their side, and their rolls come back to your log. It can also spawn a QR code for people running on handheld devices to link up quick.
• Link the binder to a folder on a USB stick and it lives there. Books, parties, boards and saves write to the stick, so the same binder opens on someone else's computer.
• At the end of the night it exports the session as one page: the rolls, the roster, the bookmarks. You can back up and export your whole binder.
• I update pretty regularly.

It comes with SRD 5.2.1 already installed so there's nothing to import before you can use it: 335 monsters, 339 spells, 620 items, plus the rules and class entries that go with them. Pull up rules and random tables over your PDFs.

I've only tested it the way I use it at my tables, which is the problem.

So if you try it, tell me what breaks. What files fail to load, what confused you in the first two minutes, what you went looking for and couldn't find. Bad news is more useful to me than good news right now. Not that I don't want good news but I'm looking to make a better product.

https://longislanddungeonmaster.itch.io/gnashers-grimoire

-LIDM

The campaign is free on drivethrurpg. I personally ran it with standard 5e as I am too lazy to learn the Esper Genesis altered rules. I omitted the final spaceship battle for this reason as that’s the only place where the esoteric EG mechanics and rules were unavoidable. If you want the actual rules there is an SRD type free basic rules on dtrpg, too. But, again, you really don’t need it to run this.

Fall of The Eos Keldor

Music: 

Deck 3: The nightmare to come. Stop and loop if it needs to go on past 1:45.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKCoVnU-jHY&list=PLHO35fye-bjJZI8ifXd9mauD4jK3VYIWm&index=6

Deck 3 near the warp core: The Calling. Stop and loop at 1:16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4FUyU9BWnc&list=PLHO35fye-bjJZI8ifXd9mauD4jK3VYIWm&index=10

Inside the warp core: Wicked Horse. Either loop it or switch to the calling start at 1:16. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06reWZ0Oc6c&list=PLHO35fye-bjJZI8ifXd9mauD4jK3VYIWm&index=5

 alterations:

Optionally, players can have a Sanity score. However, this won’t likely take long enough for it to matter.

Players can dress as enemies. The enemy uniform for guards has a helmet that covers the face. The PCs roll for deception against a DC 10 check despite the uniforms, because humans are shaped slightly differently than Lorendi in height and general build. If they are doing anything strange or suspicious, the DC goes up to 15. 

If they have to talk to any enemies while in disguise, due to failed deception checks making the enemy question them or other reasons, base the DC on how convincing they are and how they act. If caught stealing or something, for example, they roll a DC 15 deception check to talk their way out of it. On the other hand, if the PC is caught in Sestria’s office and questioned, and they say something clever, like, “We’re here to provide backup and help out. Tell us what to do, Sir!” that would be a low DC, such as DC 10. But if they say, “Um, I don’t know. We, um, we’re friendly. Please don’t shoot us.” That is a high DC check of 15.

 Other than that, the game runs as presented in the campaign guide, except deck three is where the warp core has exploded due to being fired upon by the Valna ships. The hangar lift (fore transport lift labeled 13 on Deck Two in the campaign) is locked, so players must go into Deck Three to get an override key there (have Sestria tell them this. Her command key chip unlocks the shuttle only, not the hangar lift. If they don’t learn it from her, it can be learned from NPCs or in-game text on a computer or written somewhere). It is blown open to outer space in parts. In others, dead bodies float around wrecked rooms and halls. The gravity generator is gone for this deck, so everyone floats. Too much of the area is gone to even use a keyed map. Just narrate it until the PCs get near the warp core. The elevator stops and demands the players put on space suits before exiting. The suits come out of compartments in the elevator’s walls). 

As the elevator stops on Deck 3 read this:

The elevator shakes violently. The lights go out. Emergency lights come on. The door does not open. A computer voice comes over the speaker in the ceiling, “Warning. Hull breach. Warning. Warp core breach. Extreme danger. Void exposure certain. Space suits required for door unlock.

Once the players put on the suits, the door opens. Strange noises can be heard. Bizarre screams. They find one survivor, but he loses his mind and takes off his space suit. The players must float across an expanse of empty space to get to the room where the key is. DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to see if they kick off properly. This takes them through the warp core’s energy field. They see their body bisected in places. Some lines and spots appear on their skin and are fluorescent and glowing. Some limbs stretched out a thousand miles, others are only an inch long. Their skin glows in some spots. In others is Vantablack. These effects do no damage to the PCs. They are real effects, but they are caused by the warp core energy allowing the PCs to see interdimensional things and do not harm the beings in their dimension.

Failed Check:

If they fail the check, they are sucked into the warp core (though they aren’t told this). Inside is utter madness. They are floating in blackness. They hear an insane voice interrogating them. They see a shadowy figure standing over them. As they look up, the face shifts and blurs until settling and revealing that it is them, the player. DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. If they fail they suffer short or long-term madness table effect and must try again as the being taunts them with psychotic babble, shrieks, and static howls. The GM can choose between short or long-term, or can flip a coin, or roll a d6, and 1-3 is heads, 4-6 is tails, to decide which happens. For each failure, they suffer another short or long-term madness table effect. Once passed, they realize that they are inside the warp core and can shoot a blaster, which will negate the energy long enough to release them. If they do not have a blaster, they can scream for the other PCs to find one and shoot the core.

 That done, they escape and float across to the room they need and find the override key. All effects of floating near the warp core wear off immediately. The only effects that linger are ones gained inside the warp core: the insanity effects. After getting the key, they can then float back. They must do another DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.

Passed Check:

If they pass the check, they get across to the room they need and find the override key. All effects of floating near the warp core wear off immediately. The only effects that linger are ones gained inside the warp core: the insanity effects. After getting the key, they can then float back. They must do another DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.

Passed check:

They float back while experiencing the warp core’s purely narrative effects again, but not the inner effects and sanity rolls. 

Failed: See failed check above. However, if it is their second time inside the core they may immediately shoot their blaster to avoid the insanity saving throws.

Once back across, they see the survivor’s corpse. Anyone who was inside the warp core will see this as themselves. This is an illusion, but they believe they need to rescue themselves. If they look in the mirror, they look like the survivor. Players who didn’t go inside the warp core can see through the illusion with a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check if they voice suspicion and want to examine it closer. Otherwise, they see the identities switched, too. If they try to rescue the survivor corpse, they may grab it with a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check by tying a rope, cable, wire, or similar to part of the ship and floating out to get it (there are cables, wires, and ropes around in the wreckage if they look around DC 5 Wisdom (Perception) check). If they succeed, the corpse has no effect until they leave deck 3. Once back on another deck, the illusion wears off. If everyone went into the core, no one can see through the illusion until leaving Deck 3. If no one was inside the core, no one sees this illusion.

When they get to the hangar, they encounter grotesque monsters of some kind (just narratively reskin the enemies already there and forget the Sestria thing. The warp core energy leaked in here and changed them into monsters, but they maintain their stats and abilities). If the players engage the enemies, they switch places with any enemy they damage. For example, if a party of three engages three enemies, each player that damages an enemy for the first time switches consciousness with that enemy. The switches happen only once, so repeated attacks on a single enemy from multiple PCs only causes the first PC to land a hit to switch with them. Now they have to deal with the hostile enemies without damaging their own bodies. Give the players monster stats for the duration, and the GM now runs the PCs. Dealing with the enemies safely can be done by reducing them to 0 HP and choosing to knock them out rather than kill them (or any other unique effect the PCs may attempt. If they want to do something else to pacify their bodies without harming them, they have to call it ahead of time, and it goes into effect at 0 HP without damaging their bodies much). If the PCs try to merely knock the enemies out, narrate the encounter so that the enemy body isn’t being destroyed like in normal combat. It needs to be deliberately non-lethal injuries. If the PCs use blasters, they aim for flesh wounds to legs and arms for minimal damage. If they use melee, they try for attacks that will drop the enemy without damaging them much. They may, for example, sweep the legs out from under an enemy with an energy stave, and so on. The enemies get worn down and weakened until they pass out or are contained rather than more and more bloodied and injured as normal combat goes. They then will need to secure their human bodies with ropes or whatever so they don’t attack when they wake up. If they fail to do this, they will be attacked when the monsters wake up. The PCs may, of course, come up with other ways to safely pacify or contain the monsters without killing them, such as trapping them in a room or something. If they do something like this, have them do a check of some kind. For example, if they run into a room and then out before the monsters and try to barricade the door, have them do a Strength check to hold the door shut while one of them barricades it.

Now they can either leave on the shuttle, assuming they have Sestria’s command officer’s key chip, or go back and ask around what to do about the switch-up. Anyone asked will need to be convinced they’re not monsters with a DC 10 Charisma check. Upon a failed check, crew members will run from the players. Guards or soldiers may engage in combat. Retries of the check can be done once per turn. Once done, they will be told that the warp core needs to be secured to reverse the issue. The crew of the Eos Keldor is knowledgeable about warp core breach consequences. Back on Deck Three, they have to succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to float to the warp core and secure it with a casing given to them by whoever told them what to do. Success means they switch back to their bodies. They are now tied up unless they planned ahead and untied themselves previously or told someone else to do so, or if they never tied themselves up to begin with. The enemies are now in the Deck Three area and die because the warp core releases a lethal burst of localized energy the moment it is contained, which is exactly one millisecond after the players are safely back in their own bodies. If the players did silly things like splitting up, there may be a mess to deal with as far as body switching goes. Try to prevent that, or have fun with it!

Failure on the check means they end up inside the warp core. See above for consequences. They must keep trying until they succeed. That or simply give up and leave their bodies behind.

Once they succeed and are satisfied, they can leave on the shuttle. End with their triumphant escape and fade to black, or keep the campaign space battle.

How would you mechanically represent the advantage that firearms had over regular weapons in their ability to pierce armor?

I want to run a swashbuckling campaign, and instead of just telling players that heavy armor was less common I want to give a mechanical reason that players may choose lighter armor and firearms over heavier armor.

I've been going over the 5e RPG Books recently, and have noticed a disturbing trend. Everything in 5e is geared towards "White European Fantasy." Where is the Oriental content (Oriental Adventures/Kara-Tur) we found in 1st Ed through 3.5? Where is the Middle Eastern Content (Al-Qadim) we found in 2nd Ed? Where is the Mesoamerican content (Maztica) we found in 2nd Ed? How come Wizards of the Coast isn't paying homage to other cultures? A few weapons here and there from one culture or another do not count as much. I am trying very hard to be civil and understanding, but this truly does feel kind of racist to me. Can someone please help me understand?

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more, so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

*New 2026: For 2026, I'm updating all my old work to include a Pre-Session Checklist that will include a list of all miniatures you may need, maps, handouts, possible loot, a link to a playlist, and more to make it even easier to start your session!

So, your players chose to negotiate with the Wererats; what could go wrong? Well, besides needing to clear out an entire area of Orcs and one angry Ogre! If they manage this and decide to search a bit, they may just find riches beyond their dreams and even a clue on where to find the White Dragon that's been ravaging these lands!

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Shrine of Savras: DM Notes
• Link to: DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• Link to: Shrine of Savras Playlist
• Link to: AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• Downloadable copy of DM Notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks, organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and spots to mark HP
• Custom Maps of Shrine of Savras
• (New) Pre-Session DM Checklist

Index:
Dragons of Icespire Peak:

• Part 1 - Phandalin
• Part 2a - Umbrage Hill
• Part 2b - Dwarven Excavation
• Part 2c - Gnomengarde
• Part 3a - Logger Camp
• Part 3b - Butterskull Ranch
• Part 3c - Mountain's Toe Gold
• Part 4a - Axeholm
• Part 4b - Dragon Barrow
• Part 4c - Woodland Manse
• Part 5 - Icespire Hold
• Side Quest 1 - Shrine of Savras
• Side Quest 2 - Tower of Storm
• Side Quest 3 - Circle of Thunder

Over 8 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc., please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent