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Eberron #12

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Eberron

##### Subtitle and Short Description

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# Table of Contents

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# Ability Scores and Skills Is a character muscle-bound and insightful? Brilliant and charming? Nimble and hardy? Ability scores define these qualities—a creature’s assets as well as weaknesses. The three main rolls of the game—the ability check, the saving throw, and the attack roll—rely on the six ability scores. ## Ability Scores The six abilities provide a quick description of every creature’s physical and mental characteristics: - **Strength**: measures bodily power, athletic training, and the extent to which you can exert raw physical force. - **Dexterity**: measures agility, reflexes, and balance. - **Constitution**: measures health, stamina, and vital force. - **Intelligence**: measures mental acuity, accuracy of recall, and the ability to reason. - **Wisdom**: reflects how attuned you are to the world around you and represents perceptiveness and intuition. - **Charisma**: measures your ability to interact effectively with others. It includes such factors as confidence and eloquence, and it can represent a charming or commanding personality. ## Ability Scores and Modifiers Each of a creature’s abilities has a score, a number that defines the magnitude of that ability. An ability score is not just a measure of innate capabilities, but also encompasses a creature’s training and competence in activities related to that ability. A score of 10 or 11 is the normal human average, but adventurers and many monsters are a cut above average in most abilities. A score of 18 is the highest that a person usually reaches. Adventurers can have scores as high as 20, and monsters and divine beings can have scores as high as 30. Each ability also has a modifier, derived from the score and ranging from ?5 (for an ability score of 1) to +10 (for a score of 30). The Ability Scores and Modifiers table notes the ability modifiers for the range of possible ability scores, from 1 to 30. To determine an ability modifier without consulting the table, subtract 10 from the ability score and then divide the total by 2 (round down). Because ability modifiers affect almost every attack roll, ability check, and saving throw, ability modifiers come up in play more often than their associated scores.
Table: Ability Scores and Modifiers
Score Modifier
1 -5
2-3 -4
4-5 -3
6-7 -2
8-9 -1
10-11 0
12-13 +1
14-15 +2
16-17 +3
18-19 +4
20-21 +5
22-23 +6
24-25 +7
26-27 +8
28-29 +9
30 +10

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## Advantage and Disadvantage Sometimes a special ability or spell tells you that you have advantage or disadvantage on an ability check, a saving throw, or an attack roll. When that happens, you roll a second d20 when you make the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage, and use the lower roll if you have disadvantage. For example, if you have disadvantage and roll a 17 and a 5, you use the 5. If you instead have advantage and roll those numbers, you use the 17. If multiple situations affect a roll and each one grants advantage or imposes disadvantage on it, you don’t roll more than one additional d20. If two favorable situations grant advantage, for example, you still roll only one additional d20. If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20. This is true even if multiple circumstances impose disadvantage and only one grants advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you have neither advantage nor disadvantage. When you have advantage or disadvantage and something in the game, such as the halfling’s Lucky trait, lets you reroll the d20, you can reroll only one of the dice. You choose which one. For example, if a halfling has advantage or disadvantage on an ability check and rolls a 1 and a 13, the halfling could use the Lucky trait to reroll the 1. You usually gain advantage or disadvantage through the use of special abilities, actions, or spells. Inspiration can also give a character advantage. The GM can also decide that circumstances influence a roll in one direction or the other and grant advantage or impose disadvantage as a result. ## Proficiency Bonus Characters have a proficiency bonus determined by level. Monsters also have this bonus, which is incorporated in their stat blocks. The bonus is used in the rules on ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls. Your proficiency bonus can’t be added to a single die roll or other number more than once. For example, if two different rules say you can add your proficiency bonus to a Wisdom saving throw, you nevertheless add the bonus only once when you make the save. Occasionally, your proficiency bonus might be multiplied or divided (doubled or halved, for example) before you apply it. For example, the rogue’s Expertise feature doubles the proficiency bonus for certain ability checks. If a circumstance suggests that your proficiency bonus applies more than once to the same roll, you still add it only once and multiply or divide it only once. By the same token, if a feature or effect allows you to multiply your proficiency bonus when making an ability check that wouldn’t normally benefit from your proficiency bonus, you still don’t add the bonus to the check. For that check your proficiency bonus is 0, given the fact that multiplying 0 by any number is still 0. For instance, if you lack proficiency in the History skill, you gain no benefit from a feature that lets you double your proficiency bonus when you make Intelligence (History) checks. In general, you don’t multiply your proficiency bonus for attack rolls or saving throws. If a feature or effect allows you to do so, these same rules apply. ## Ability Checks
Table: Typical Difficulty Classes
Task Difficulty DC
Very easy 5
Easy 10
Medium 15
Hard 20
Very hard 25
Nearly impossible 30

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Strength

Strength measures bodily power, athletic training, and the extent to which you can exert raw physical force.

Strength Checks

A Strength check can model any attempt to lift, push, pull, or break something, to force your body through a space, or to otherwise apply brute force to a situation. The Athletics skill reflects aptitude in certain kinds of Strength checks.

Athletics.

Your Strength (Athletics) check covers difficult situations you encounter while climbing, jumping, or swimming. See the skill section below for details.

Other Strength Checks.

The GM might also call for a Strength check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

Attack Rolls and Damage

You add your Strength modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a melee weapon such as a mace, a battleaxe, or a javelin. You use melee weapons to make melee attacks in hand-to-hand combat, and some of them can be thrown to make a ranged attack.

Lifting and Carrying

Your Strength score determines the amount of weight you can bear. The following terms define what you can lift or carry. Carrying Capacity. Your carrying capacity is your Strength score multiplied by 15. This is the weight (in pounds) that you can carry, which is high enough that most characters don’t usually have to worry about it. Push, Drag, or Lift. You can push, drag, or lift a weight in pounds up to twice your carrying capacity (or 30 times your Strength score). While pushing or dragging weight in excess of your carrying capacity, your speed drops to 5 feet. Size and Strength. Larger creatures can bear more weight, whereas Tiny creatures can carry less. For each size category above Medium, double the creature’s carrying capacity and the amount it can push, drag, or lift. For a Tiny creature, halve these weights.

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Dexterity

Dexterity measures agility, reflexes, and balance.

Dexterity Checks

A Dexterity check can model any attempt to move nimbly, quickly, or quietly, or to keep from falling on tricky footing. The Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth skills reflect aptitude in certain kinds of Dexterity checks.

Acrobatics

Your Dexterity (Acrobatics) check covers your attempt to stay on your feet in a tricky situation, such as when you’re trying to run across a sheet of ice, balance on a tightrope, or stay upright on a rocking ship’s deck. The GM might also call for a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to see if you can perform acrobatic stunts, including dives, rolls, somersaults, and flips. See the skill for more details

Sleight of Hand

Whenever you attempt an act of legerdemain or manual trickery, such as planting something on someone else or concealing an object on your person, make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check. The GM might also call for a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check to determine whether you can lift a coin purse off another person or slip something out of another person’s pocket. See the skill for more details

Stealth

Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check when you attempt to conceal yourself from enemies, slink past guards, slip away without being noticed, or sneak up on someone without being seen or heard. See the Stealth Skill for more details.

Other Dexterity Checks.

The GM might call for a Dexterity check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

Attack Rolls and Damage

You add your Dexterity modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a ranged weapon, such as a longbow or firearm. You can also add your Dexterity modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a melee weapon that has the finesse property, such as a dagger or a rapier.

Armor Class

Depending on the armor you wear, you might add some or all of your Dexterity modifier to your Armor Class.

Initiative

At the beginning of every combat, you roll initiative by making a Dexterity check. Initiative determines the order of creatures’ turns in combat.

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## Skills

Acrobatics

Your Dexterity (Acrobatics) check covers your attempt to stay on your feet in a tricky situation, such as when you’re trying to run across a sheet of ice, balance on a tightrope, or stay upright on a rocking ship’s deck. The GM might also call for a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to see if you can perform acrobatic stunts, including dives, rolls, somersaults, and flips.

Athletics.

Your Strength (Athletics) check covers difficult situations you encounter while climbing, jumping, or swimming.
Examples include the following activities:

Sleight of Hand

Whenever you attempt an act of legerdemain or manual trickery, such as planting something on someone else or concealing an object on your person, make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check. The GM might also call for a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check to determine whether you can lift a coin purse off another person or slip something out of another person’s pocket.

Stealth

Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check when you attempt to conceal yourself from enemies, slink past guards, slip away without being noticed, or sneak up on someone without being seen or heard.

Hiding The DM decides when circumstances are appropriate for hiding. When you try to hide, make a Dexterity (Stealth) check. Until you are discovered or you stop hiding, that check’s total is contested by the Wisdom (Perception) check of any creature that actively searches for signs of your presence. You can’t hide from a creature that can see you clearly, and you give away your position if you make noise, such as shouting a warning or knocking over a vase. An invisible creature can always try to hide. Signs of its passage might still be noticed, and it does have to stay quiet. In combat, most creatures stay alert for signs of danger all around, so if you come out of hiding and approach a creature, it usually sees you. However, under certain circumstances, the DM might allow you to stay hidden as you approach a creature that is distracted, allowing you to gain advantage on an attack roll before you are seen. Passive Perception: When you hide, there’s a chance someone will notice you even if they aren’t searching. To determine whether such a creature notices you, the DM compares your Dexterity (Stealth) check with that creature’s passive Wisdom (Perception) score, which equals 10 + the creature’s Wisdom modifier, as well as any other bonuses or penalties. If the creature has advantage, add 5. For disadvantage, subtract 5. For example, if a 1st-­level character (with a proficiency bonus of +2) has a Wisdom of 15 (a +2 modifier) and proficiency in Perception, he or she has a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 14. What Can You See?: One of the main factors in determining whether you can find a hidden creature or object is how well you can see in an area, which might be lightly or heavily obscured, as explained in “Adventuring.”

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# Afflictions and Conditions Conditions alter a creature’s capabilities in a variety of ways and can arise as a result of a spell, a class feature, a monster’s attack, or other effect. Most conditions, such as blinded, are impairments, but a few, such as invisible, can be advantageous. A condition lasts either until it is countered (the prone condition is countered by standing up, for example) or for a duration specified by the effect that imposed the condition. If multiple effects impose the same condition on a creature, each instance of the condition has its own duration, but the condition’s effects don’t get worse. A creature either has a condition or doesn’t. The following definitions specify what happens to a creature while it is subjected to a condition.

Blinded

A blinded creature can’t see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage.

Charmed

A charmed creature can’t attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful abilities or magical effects. The charmer has advantage on any ability check to interact socially with the creature.

Deafened

A deafened creature can’t hear and automatically fails any ability check that requires hearing.

Fear

Creatures affected by Fear effects are affected in a progressive stepwise fashion. What this means first is that Fear effects come in ordered stages, where the intensity of the effect is ordered from least intense (i.e. Shaken) to most intense (i.e. Cowering). Further, creatures that are already under the effects of a fear effect, that come under the effects of another fear effect of equal or lesser strength, advance to the very next step. That is, if a creature that is already under the effects of the Shaken condition is affected by a second influence that would make them Shaken, they are instead Frightened for the duration of that second influence. If a creature is affected by a fear effect that is more intense than one they are already experiencing, then they are affected by that fear affect normally. When a new fear affect influences a creature, they lose all of the penalties associated with the old fear affect, and replace them with the penalties associated with a new fear affect. The stages of fear, from least intense to most intense, follows:

Grappled

A grappled creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed. The condition ends if the grappler is incapacitated (see the condition). The condition also ends if an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect, such as when a creature is hurled away by the thunderwave spell.

Incapacitated

An incapacitated creature can’t take actions or reactions.

Invisible

An invisible creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense. For the purpose of hiding, the creature is heavily obscured. The creature’s location can be detected by any noise it makes or any tracks it leaves. Attack rolls against the creature have disadvantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have advantage. \page

Paralyzed

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

Petrified

A petrified creature is transformed, along with any nonmagical object it is wearing or carrying, into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). Its weight increases by a factor of ten, and it ceases aging. The creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. The creature has resistance to all damage. The creature is immune to poison and disease, although a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralized.

Poisoned

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

Prone

A prone creature’s only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition. The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls. An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage.

Restrained

A restrained creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage. The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.

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.

Unconscious

An unconscious creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings The creature drops whatever it’s holding and falls prone. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature.

Exhaustion

Some special abilities and environmental hazards, such as starvation and the long-term effects of freezing or scorching temperatures, can lead to a special condition called exhaustion. Exhaustion is measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of exhaustion, as specified in the effect’s description. These effects are cumulative and progressive.

Table: Exhaustion Effects
Level Effect
1 Disadvantage on ability checks
2 Speed halved
3 Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws
4 Hit point maximum halved
5 Speed reduced to 0
6 Death

If an already exhausted creature suffers another effect that causes exhaustion, its current level of exhaustion increases by the amount specified in the effect’s description. A creature suffers the effect of its current level of exhaustion as well as all lower levels. For example, a creature suffering level 2 exhaustion has its speed halved and has disadvantage on ability checks. An effect that removes exhaustion reduces its level as specified in the effect’s description, with all exhaustion effects ending if a creature’s exhaustion level is reduced below 1. Finishing a long rest reduces a creature’s exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink. \page

# Special Abilities The following special abilities include rules commonly used by a number of creatures, spells, and traps. #### Extraordinary Abilities (Ex) Extraordinary abilities are non-magical. They are, however, not something that just anyone can do or even learn to do without extensive training. Effects or areas that suppress or negate magic have no effect on extraordinary abilities. #### Spell-Like Abilities (Sp) Spell-like abilities, as the name implies, are magical abilities that are very much like spells. Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). Spell-like abilities can be dispelled but they cannot be counterspelled or used to counterspell. #### Supernatural Abilities (Su) Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability’s effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells. See Table: Special Ability Types for a summary of the types of special abilities: ##### Special Ability Types | Effect | Extraordianry | Spell-Like | Supernatural | |:---|:---:|:---:|:---:| | Can dispel magic and similar spells dispel the effects of abilities of that type? | No |Yes |No | | Does spell resistance protect a creature from these abilities? | No |Yes |No | | Does an antimagic field or similar magic suppress the ability? | No |Yes |Yes | | Does using the ability provoke attacks of opportunity the way that casting a spell does? | No |Yes |No |

Horror Factor

Many creatures are strange, bizarre, or downright frightening such that merely encountering them can cause other creatures to hesitate. Such creatures have a horror factor, which always comes with a DC score. This DC represents the wisdom save DC that all creatures encountering them must make in order to avoid being shaken or worse. If a creature makes the save, they are unaffected by that creature’s horror factor for that encounter. However, if they fail their horror factor save, then they are shaken until the end of their next turn (unless otherwise stated in the ability). Following the normal fear rules, a creature that is already shaken becomes frightened; a creature that is already frightened becomes panicked, and so on (unless otherwise stated in the ability).

Characters must make a save whenever first encountering a creature with a horror factor. When encountering multiple creatures with horror factors, they save against the highest DC, +1 per five creatures encountered. Whether made or not, a character need not make another save against that particular creature type for the rest of the day, or for the duration of the encounter (whatever is longer). In certain situations, creatures acclimated to a particular event or creature are unaffected by the horror factor of that event or creature (GM's description).
Abilities that grant bonuses or immunity to fear-based affects grant the same bonus or immunity to Horror Factor.

Madness Factor (Ex or Su)

Some creatures are so horrifying that their very visage can cause madness. Creatures with a madness factor will cause a save whenever a creature would have to make a save vs. horror factor. A creature that fails their save immediately gains a madness point. Creatures suffer a penalty to save vs. madness for each madness point they currently have. See the insanity section for specifics.

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# Race In fantasy roleplaying games, race is fundamental. It both provides a starting point for character creation and sets the tone for a character as it progresses. Race mixes biology and culture, then translates those concepts into racial traits. Yet since both biology and culture are mutable—especially when one considers the powerful forces of magic—racial traits can be so diverse that two elves can be extremely different while still manifesting aspects of their shared heritage and culture. A race’s traits, its history, its relations with other races, and the culture that all of these things imply—all of these frame your character. This is true whether you play to or against the stereotypes. A savage and bloodthirsty orc who lives only for battle is fun to play, but so is a stern and conflicted orc paladin constantly struggling to keep her bloodlust in check. Both fit comfortably within the theme of orc, but come off as very different characters around the game table.
Race is an important part of what makes characters who they are, yet it’s often all too easy to gloss over the details. After all, most people know the basics: dwarves are short, elves live a long time, and gnomes are dangerously curious. Orcs are ugly. Humans are—well, human. To some players, choosing a race is simply a matter of finding which racial modifiers best fit a character’s class. Yet there’s so much more to race than that. From their deep halls beneath craggy mountains, dwarves sing mournful ballads that teach children of the heroes of old, helping them dream of the day when they might give their own lives in the stronghold’s defense. In the spires of their forest cities, elves find a kinship with nature, as the great trees are some of the few non-elven friends who won’t grow old and wither before their eyes. By exploring the cultures and traditions of a character’s race, we can better understand where she comes from and what makes her tick, thus immersing ourselves that much deeper in the campaign world.

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## Dwarves From a history of barbarism and warfare, the dwarves have risen to a position of enormous economic might. For the last eight centuries, they have dominated banking and finance in the bourgeoning mercantile industries of Khorvaire, leaving their brutal past behind them. Dwarves are natural miners and smiths, and they control most of the precious metals found naturally across the continent of Khorvaire. Powerful dwarf families mint coinage and operate banks, issue letters of credit, hold loans, and collect debts. Dwarf bankers and merchants wield a great deal of economic power throughout Khorvaire, and they are well respected as a result. To an extent, they are also feared, since dwarves are known to be ruthless in collecting unpaid debts. #### Physical Description Dwarves are a short and stocky race, and stand about a foot shorter than most humans, with wide, compact bodies that account for their burly appearance. Male and female dwarves pride themselves on the long length of their hair, and men often decorate their beards with a variety of clasps and intricate braids. Clean-shavenness on a male dwarf is rare, often considered to be a sure sign of madness, or worse—no one familiar with their race trusts a beardless dwarven man. #### Alignment and Religion Many dwarves pay homage to the Sovereign Host, and worship of the Host has grown steadily in recent generations. The deity most favored among the dwarves is Kol Korran, god of trade and wealth. Other deities are popular as well, including Boldrei, Olladar, Onatar, and Dol Dorn. Many far-seeing dwarves hope that devotion to the Sovereign Host might serve as a unifying force within dwarf culture, but such religious influence is unlikely given the independent nature of dwarves and the growing influence of mercantile interests among dwarf clans. #### Adventurers Most dwarves adventure to increase their own wealth and prestige, carving a life and fame out of the world the same way the barbaric clans of their ancestors carved space for themselves in their mountain holds.

Standard Racial Traits

Sensory Racial Traits

Offensive Racial Traits

Defensive Racial Traits

Miscleaneous Racial Traits

Hill Dwarf

As a hill dwarf, you have keen senses, deep intuition, and remarkable resilience.

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## Humans Humanity first arose on Sarlona. History fails to recount which of the continent's many disasters first inspired humans to leave, but leave they did, setting out in primitive ships. The earliest explorers crossed the Sea of Rage, arriving in what are now the Lhazaar Principalities and Q'barra. Later expeditions traveled east across the Barren Sea, landing in the Demon Wastes, the Eldeen Reaches, and the Shadow Marches. Few of those colonies survived. Once it established a foothold in Khorvaire, humanity could not be stopped. Ragged bands of explorers and pilgrims advanced across the continent, and settlements emerged. Towns became cities and cities formed nations before finally coalescing into the Kingdom of Galifar. The kingdom lasted for centuries until finally the Last War came, crippling humanity with over a century of warfare. Today, humans still control most of Khorvaire, although the peace between their nations is tenuous. #### Physical Description The physical characteristics of humans are as varied as the world’s climes. From the dark-skinned tribesmen of the southern continents to the pale and barbaric raiders of the northern lands, humans possess a wide variety of skin colors, body types, and facial features. Generally speaking, humans’ skin color assumes a darker hue the closer to the equator they live. At the same time, bone structure, hair color and texture, eye color, and a host of facial and bodily phenotypic characteristics vary immensely from one locale to another. Cheekbones may be high or broad, noses aquiline or flat, and lips full or thin; eyes range wildly in hue, some deep set in their sockets, and others with full epicanthic folds. Appearance is hardly random, of course, and familial, tribal, or national commonalities often allow the knowledgeable to identify a human’s place of origin on sight, or at least to hazard a good guess. Humans’ origins are also indicated through their traditional styles of bodily decoration, not only in the clothing or jewelry worn, but also in elaborate hairstyles, piercing, tattooing, and even scarification. #### Alignment and Religion Humanity is perhaps the most diverse of all the common races, with a capacity for both great evil and boundless good. Some humans assemble into vast barbaric hordes, while others build sprawling cities that cover miles. Taken as a whole, most humans are neutral, yet they generally tend to congregate in nations and civilizations with specific alignments. Humans also have the widest range of gods and religions, lacking other races’ ties to tradition and eager to turn to anyone offering them glory or protection. That said, Humans tend to worship the Sovereign Host and the Silver Flame. Humans of a cruder or more chaotic bent pay homage to the Dark Six. #### Adventurers Ambition alone drives countless humans, and for many, adventuring serves as a means to an end, whether it be wealth, acclaim, social status, or arcane knowledge. A few pursue adventuring careers simply for the thrill of danger. Humans hail from myriad regions and backgrounds, and as such can fill any role within an adventuring party.

Standard Racial Traits

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# Background Every story has a beginning. Your character’s background reveals where you came from, how you became an adventurer, and your place in the world. Your fighter might have been a courageous knight or a grizzled soldier. Your wizard could have been a sage or an artisan. Your rogue might have gotten by as a guild thief or commanded audiences as a jester. Choosing a background provides you with important story cues about your character’s identity. The most important question to ask about your background is what changed? Why did you stop doing whatever your background describes and start adventuring? Where did you get the money to purchase your starting gear, or, if you come from a wealthy background, why don’t you have more money? How did you learn the skills of your class? What sets you apart from ordinary people who share your background? - **Proficiencies** Each background gives a character proficiency in two skills (described in “Using Ability Scores”). If a character would gain the same proficiency from two different sources, he or she gains a free skill focus feat in that skill or skills in addition to proficiency. - **Languages** Some backgrounds also allow characters to learn additional languages beyond those given by race. See “Languages.” - **Equipment** Each background provides a package of starting equipment. If you use the optional rule to spend coin on gear, you do not receive the starting equipment from your background. - **Suggested Characteristics** A background contains suggested personal characteristics based on your background. You can pick characteristics, roll dice to determine them randomly, or use the suggestions as inspiration for characteristics of your own creation.

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## Acolyte You have spent your life in the service of a temple to a specific god or pantheon of gods. You act as an intermediary between the realm of the holy and the mortal world, performing sacred rites and offering sacrifices in order to conduct worshipers into the presence of the divine. You are not necessarily a cleric—performing sacred rites is not the same thing as channeling divine power. Choose a god, a religion, or sect, and work with your DM to detail the nature of your religious service. Were you a lesser functionary in a temple, raised from childhood to assist the priests in the sacred rites? Or were you a high priest who suddenly experienced a call to serve your god in a different way? Perhaps you were the leader of a small cult outside of any established temple structure, or even an occult group that served a fiendish master that you now deny. - **Skill Proficiencies**: Insight, Religion - **Languages**: Two of your choice - **Equipment**: A holy symbol (a gift to you when you entered the priesthood), a prayer book or prayer wheel, 5 sticks of incense, vestments, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp. #### Suggested Characteristics Acolytes are shaped by their experience in temples or other religious communities. Their study of the history and tenets of their faith and their relationships to temples, shrines, or hierarchies affect their mannerisms and ideals. Their flaws might be some hidden hypocrisy or heretical idea, or an ideal or bond taken to an extreme.
Personality Trait
d8 Personality Trait
1 I idolize a particular hero of my faith, and constantly refer to that person’s deeds and example.
2 I can find common ground between the fiercest enemies, empathizing with them and always working toward peace.
3 I see omens in every event and action. The gods try to speak to us, we just need to listen.
4 Nothing can shake my optimistic attitude.
5 I quote (or misquote) sacred texts and proverbs in almost every situation.
6 I am tolerant (or intolerant) of other faiths and respect (or condemn) the worship of other gods.
7 I’ve enjoyed fine food, drink, and high society among my temple’s elite. Rough living grates on me.
8 I’ve spent so long in the temple that I have little practical experience dealing with people in the outside world.
Ideal
d6 Ideal
1 Tradition. The ancient traditions of worship and sacrifice must be preserved and upheld. (Lawful)
2 Charity. I always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good)
3 Change. We must help bring about the changes the gods are constantly working in the world. (Chaotic)
4 Power. I hope to one day rise to the top of my faith’s religious hierarchy. (Lawful)
5 Faith. I trust that my deity will guide my actions. I have faith that if I work hard, things will go well. (Lawful)
6 Aspiration. I seek to prove myself worthy of my god’s favor by matching my actions against his or her teachings. (Any)
Bond
d6 Bond
1 I would die to recover an ancient relic of my faith that was lost long ago.
2 I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple hierarchy who branded me a heretic.
3 I owe my life to the priest who took me in when my parents died.
4 Everything I do is for the common people.
5 I will do anything to protect the temple where I served.
6 I seek to preserve a sacred text that my enemies consider heretical and seek to destroy.
Flaw
d6 Flaw
1 I judge others harshly, and myself even more severely.
2 I put too much trust in those who wield power within my temple’s hierarchy.
3 My piety sometimes leads me to blindly trust those that profess faith in my god.
4 I am inflexible in my thinking.
5 I am suspicious of strangers and expect the worst of them.
6 Once I pick a goal, I become obsessed with it to the detriment of everything else in my life.

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# Class Adventurers are extraordinary people, driven by a thirst for excitement into a life that others would never dare lead. They are heroes, compelled to explore the dark places of the world and take on the challenges that lesser women and men can’t stand against. Class is the primary definition of what your character can do. It’s more than a profession; it’s your character’s calling. Class shapes the way you think about the world and interact with it and your relationship with other people and powers in the multiverse. A fighter, for example, might view the world in pragmatic terms of strategy and maneuvering, and see herself as just a pawn in a much larger game. A cleric, by contrast, might see himself as a willing servant in a god’s unfolding plan or a conflict brewing among various deities. While the fighter has contacts in a mercenary company or army, the cleric might know a number of priests, paladins, and devotees who share his faith. Your class gives you a variety of special features, such as a fighter’s mastery of weapons and armor, and a wizard’s spells. At low levels, your class gives you only two or three features, but as you advance in level you gain more and your existing features often improve. Each class entry in this chapter includes a table summarizing the benefits you gain at every level, and a detailed explanation of each one. Adventurers sometimes advance in more than one class. A rogue might switch direction in life and swear the oath of a paladin. A barbarian might discover latent magical ability and dabble in the sorcerer class while continuing to advance as a barbarian. Elves are known to combine martial mastery with magical training and advance as fighters and wizards simultaneously.

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# Fighter Some take up arms for glory, wealth, or revenge. Others do battle to prove themselves, to protect others, or because they know nothing else. Still others learn the ways of weaponcraft to hone their bodies in battle and prove their mettle in the forge of war. Lords of the battlefield, fighters are a disparate lot, training with many weapons or just one, perfecting the uses of armor, learning the fighting techniques of exotic masters, and studying the art of combat, all to shape themselves into living weapons. Far more than mere thugs, these skilled warriors reveal the true deadliness of their weapons, turning hunks of metal into arms capable of taming kingdoms, slaughtering monsters, and rousing the hearts of armies. Soldiers, knights, hunters, and artists of war, fighters are unparalleled champions, and woe to those who dare stand against them. **Role**: Fighters excel at combat—defeating their enemies, controlling the flow of battle, and surviving such sorties themselves. While their specific weapons and methods grant them a wide variety of tactics, few can match fighters for sheer battle prowess. **Alignment**: Any
##### The Fighter | Level | BAB | Features | Stances | Maneuvers Readied | Maneuvers Known | |:---:|:---:|:---|:---:|:---:|:---:| | 1st | +1 | Bonus Feat, Fighting Style | 2 | 3 | 4 | | 2nd | +2 | | 2 | 3 | 5 | | 3rd | +3 | | 2 | 4 | 5 | | 4th | +4 | | 2 | 4 | 6 | | 5th | +5 | | 3 | 4 | 6 | | 6th | +6 | | 3 | 4 | 6 | | 7th | +7 | | 3 | 5 | 7 | | 8th | +8 | | 3 | 5 | 7 | | 9th | +9 | | 4 | 5 | 7 | | 10th | +10 | | 4 | 5 | 8 | | 11th | +11 | ─ | 4 | 6 | 8 | | 12th | +12 | | 4 | 6 | 8 | | 13th | +13 | | 5 | 6 | 9 | | 14th | +14 | | 5 | 6 | 9 | | 15th | +15 | | 5 | 7 | 9 | | 16th | +16 | | 5 | 7 | 10 | | 17th | +17 | | 6 | 7 | 10 | | 18th | +18 | ─ | 6 | 7 | 10 | | 19th | +19 | | 6 | 8 | 11 | | 20th | +20 | | 6 | 8 | 11 |

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Class Features:

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per fighter level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per fighter level after 1st

Proficiencies

Weapoon: Simple and Martial Weapon Proficiencies
Armor: Light, Medium and Heavy Armor Proficiencies
Shield: All Shields (including Tower Shields)
Skills: Choose 2 (plus your Int modifier) from the following list: Athletics (Str), Blacksmithing (Int), Handle Animal (Wis), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Insight (Wis) and Survival (Wis).

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# Gamemastering - The Basics
Grammarsalad commented 3 years ago

Tools

Herbalism: Create Potions
Scribing: Craft scroll Thieves Tools: Thiefy things Traps: Craft and set traps Disguise: Disguise self and others Poisoners kit: Craft and apply poisons Tinkers Kit: Craft and use advanced tools (e.g. telescope) Smithing: Craft weapons and armor Implements: Craft wands Use Magic Device: use magical items

Grammarsalad commented 3 years ago

Backgrounds

Acolyte

Bonus skills: Religion, and History or Insight Tools: None Languages: Select 2 Devout Servant: You can cast one additional cleric cantrip. Use Wisdom for your governing ability. Equipment:

Scholar

Bonus skills: Investigate and Choose 2: Read/Write, History, Arcana, Religion or Nature Tools: Scribe Languages: Select 2 Researcher: You have advantage when using any intelligence based skill to recall information or when using investigation to research information in a library. Equipment: