Quick Reference Dungeons & Dragons 5E is the latest edition of the world’s best-known tabletop roleplaying game. Players create characters and go on Adventures (Eirik Reddi & Jason Green so far) led by a Dungeon Master (ME), who controls Non-Player Characters (NPCs), Monsters and events in the world. Creators. Publisher: Wizards of the Coast.
Dungeons and Dragons 5e – Quick Reference
SKILLS & ACTIONS
- Activate an Item 1 Action (DMG)
- Attack 1 Action (PHB)
- Cast a Spell Varies (PHB)
- Climb onto Bigger Creature 1 Action (DMG)
- Dash 1 Action (PHB)
- Disarm 1 Action (DMG)
- Disengage 1 Action (PHB)
- Dodge 1 Action (PHB)
- Don or Doff a Shield 1 Action (PHB)
- End Concentration Free (PHB)
- Escape a Grapple 1 Action (PHB)
- Grapple 1 Action (PHB)
- Healing Surge 1 Action (DMG)
- Help 1 Action (PHB)
- Hide 1 Action (PHB)
- Identify a Spell 1 Reaction/1 Action (XGE)
- Improvising an Action Varies (PHB)
- Mark (DMG)
- Opportunity Attack 1 Reaction (PHB)
- Other Activity Varies (PHB)
- Overrun 1 Action/1 bonus Action (DMG)
- Ready 1 Action (PHB)
- Search 1 Action (PHB)
- Shove 1 Action (PHB)
- Shove Aside 1 Action (DMG)
- Tumble 1 Action/1 bonus Action (DMG)
- Two-Weapon Fighting 1 Bonus Action (PHB)
- Use an Object 1 Action (PHB)
- Waking Someone (PHB)
QUICK THINGS, DC, ETC.
- Quick Things
- DC – Difficulty Classes
- Stattistics For Objects
- Bonus Actions (Examples)
- Reactions (Examples)
STRENGTH: (PHB p175)
Strength measures bodily power, athletic training, and the extent to which you can exert raw physical force.
Strength Checks – Quick Reference: (PHB p175)
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.
Examples include the following activities:
- You attempt to Climb a sheer or slippery cliff, avoid hazards while scaling a wall, or cling to a surface while something is trying to knock you off.
- You try to Jump an unusually long distance or pull off a stunt mid jump.
- You struggle to Swim or stay afloat in treacherous currents, storm-tossed waves, or areas of thick seaweed. Or another creature tries to push or pull you underwater or otherwise interfere with your swimming.
- Escaping from Grapples (requires complete Action).
- Competitive Sports.
Other Strength Checks:
The DM might also call for a Strength check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:
- Force open a stuck, locked, or barred door.
- Break free of bonds.
- Push through a tunnel that is too small.
- Hang on to a wagon while being dragged behind it.
- Tip over a statue.
- Keep a boulder from rolling.
Attack Rolls & Damage (PHB p176)
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.
Lifting & Carrying: (PHB p176)
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 you are pushing or dragging weight in excess of your carrying capacity, your speed drops to 5’ feet.
Encumbrance: (PHB p176)
If you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10’ feet. If you carry weight in excess of 10 times your Strength score, up to your maximum carrying capacity, you are instead heavily encumbered, which means your speed drops by 20’ feet and you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws that use Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.
DEXTERITY: (PHB p176)
Dexterity measures agility, reflexes, and balance.
Dexterity Checks – Quick Reference: (PHB p176)
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 DM might also call for a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to see if you can perform acrobatic stunts, including dives, rolls, somersaults, and flips.
- Avoiding / Freeing from Grapples (requires complete action to free self from grapple).
- Squeeze through tight spaces.
- Balancing.
- Rope-Swinging.
- Landing on feet after a fall that does not cause fall damage.
- Tumbling.
SLEIGHT OF HAND:
Whenever you attempt an act of legerdemain (Nimbleness) 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 DM 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.
- Stealing.
- Juggling.
- Plucking a weapon from the air (GM approval).
- Putting items on others.
- Concealing items on self.
- Performing subtle hand gestures without notice.
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.
- Conceal self.
- Conceal others.
- Conceal items apart from your person (hide it somewhere).
- Sneaking around.
HIDING: (PHB p177)
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.
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, Vision and light, which might also be lightly or heavily obscured.
Other Dexterity Checks:
The DM might call for a Dexterity check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:
- Control a heavily laden cart on a steep descent.
- Steer a chariot around a tight turn.
- Pick a lock.
- Disable a trap.
- Securely tie up a prisoner.
- Wriggle free of bonds.
- Play a stringed instrument.
- Craft a small or detailed object.
Attack Rolls and Damage: (PHB p177)
You add your Dexterity modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a ranged weapon, such as a Sling or a Longbow. 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: (PHB p177)
Depending on the armour you wear, you might add some or your entire Dexterity modifier to your Armor Class.
Initiative: (PHB p177)
At the beginning of every combat, you roll initiative by making a Dexterity check. Initiative determines the order of creatures’ turns in combat.
CONSTITUTION: (PHB p177)
Constitution measures health, stamina, and vital force.
Constitution Checks – Quick Reference: (PHB p177)
Constitution checks are uncommon, and no skills apply to Constitution checks, because the endurance this ability represents is largely passive rather than involving a specific effort on the part of a character or monster.
A Constitution check can model your attempt to push beyond normal limits, however. The DM might call for a Constitution check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:
- Hold your breath
- March or labour for hours without rest
- Go without sleep
- Survive without food or water
- Quaff an entire stein of ale in one go
Hit Points: (PHB p177)
Your Constitution modifier contributes to your hit points. Typically, you add your Constitution modifier to each Hit Die you roll for your hit points.
If your Constitution modifier changes, your hit point maximum changes as well, as though you had the new modifier from 1st level.
INTELLIGENCE: (PHB p177)
Intelligence measures mental acuity, accuracy of recall, and the ability to reason.
Intelligence Checks – Quick Reference: (PHB p177)
An Intelligence check comes into play when you need to draw on logic, education, memory, or deductive reasoning. The Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, and Religion skills reflect aptitude in certain kinds of Intelligence checks.
ARCANA:
Your Intelligence (Arcana) check measures your ability to recall lore about spells, magic items, eldritch symbols, magical traditions, the planes of existence, and the inhabitants of those planes.
- Recall Magical Lore.
- Identify a magic item’s abilities given a large amount of time (GM approval).
- Explain Magical Theory.
- Understanding spells (effect & casting).
- Construct, Elementals, Magical Beasts & Dragons Lore.
- Detect & Disable Magical traps.
- Knowledge of Planes (except Outer).
HISTORY:
Your Intelligence (History) check measures your ability to recall lore about historical events, legendary people, past disputes, recent wars, lost civilizations and ancient kingdoms.
- Lore about what has happened before.
- Reciting Historical Lore as a form of performance.
- Giant, Humanoid, & Monstrosity Lore.
INVESTIGATION:
When you look around for clues and make deductions based on those clues, you make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. You might deduce the location of a hidden object, discern from the appearance of a wound what kind of weapon dealt it, or determine the weakest point in a tunnel that could cause it to collapse. Poring through ancient scrolls in search of a hidden fragment of knowledge might also call for an Intelligence (Investigation) check.
- Search for clues on a person or area.
- Verifying Rumours.
- Locating someone or weak points.
- Searching libraries for specific info.
- Deduce details based on available clues.
- Figure out how to avoid triggering an identified (and still active) trap by not interacting with it.
- Guess a character’s deducible attributes (GM approval).
NATURE:
Your Intelligence (Nature) check measures your ability to recall lore about terrain, plants and animals, the weather, and natural cycles.
- Beasts, Fey, Ooze & Plants Lore.
- Knowledge of natural terrain, weather, plants & animals.
- Knowledge of potential anti-venom from a natural source.
RELIGION:
Your Intelligence (Religion) check measures your ability to recall lore about deities, rites and prayers, religious hierarchies, holy symbols, and the practices of secret cults.
- Knowledge of Gods & religious practices.
- Celestial, Fiend & Undead Lore.
- Knowledge of Outer Planes.
- Influencing your flock (GM approval).
Other Intelligence Checks:
The DM might call for an Intelligence check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:
- Communicate with a creature without using words
- Estimate the value of a precious item
- Pull together a disguise to pass as a city guard
- Forge a document
- Recall lore about a craft or trade
- Win a game of skill
Spellcasting Ability: (PHB p178)
Wizards use Intelligence as their spellcasting ability, which helps determine the saving throw DCs of spells they cast.
WISDOM: (PHB p178)
Wisdom reflects how attuned you are to the world around you and represents perceptiveness and intuition.
Wisdom Checks – Quick Reference: (PHB p178)
A Wisdom check might reflect an effort to read body language, understand someone’s feelings, care for an injured person, or notice things about the environment. The Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, and Survival skills reflect aptitude in certain kinds of Wisdom checks.
ANIMAL HANDLING:
When there is any question whether you can calm down a domesticated animal, keep a mount from getting spooked, or intuit an animal’s intentions, the DM might call for a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. You also make a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to control your mount when you attempt a risky manoeuvre.
- Influencing (not control) a wild animal.
- Keeping control over a domesticated animal.
- Correctly interpret an animal’s emotional state.
- Push an animal beyond their normal bounds.
- Train an animal.
INSIGHT:
Your Wisdom (Insight) check decides whether you can determine the true intentions of a creature, such as when searching out a lie or predicting someone’s next move. Doing so involves gleaning clues from body language, speech habits, and changes in mannerisms.
- Detect Lie / Evasion.
- Combat Insight.
- Identify a Tail.
- Perceive mental domination / charm.
- Understand subtle messages.
- Guess a character’s social skills / attributes (GM approval).
MEDICINE:
A Wisdom (Medicine) check lets you try to stabilise a dying companion or diagnose an illness.
- Stabilising a dyingcharacter.
- Diagnose an illness / poison.
- Provide a replacement for a save (GM approval).
- Determine cause of death of a body (GM approval).
PERCEPTION:
Your Wisdom (Perception) check lets you spot, hear, or otherwise detect the presence of something. It measures your general awareness of your surroundings and the keenness of your senses.
For example, you might try to hear a conversation through a closed door, eavesdrop under an open window, or hear monsters moving stealthily in the forest. Or you might try to spot things that are obscured or easy to miss, whether they are Orcs lying in ambush on a road, Thugs hiding in the shadows of an alley, or candlelight under a closed secret door.
- Spotting/hearing hidden threats or conversations
- Recognising persons / things
- Finding minute details
Finding a Hidden Object: (PHB p178)
When your character searches for a Hidden Object such as a Secret Door or a Trap, the DM typically asks you to make a Wisdom (Perception) check. Such a check can be used to find hidden details or other information and clues that you might otherwise overlook.
In most cases, you need to describe where you are looking in order for the DM to determine your chance of success. For example, a key is hidden beneath a set of folded clothes in the top drawer of a bureau. If you tell the DM that you pace around the room, looking at the walls and furniture for clues, you have no chance of finding the key, regardless of your Wisdom (Perception) check result. You would have to specify that you were opening the drawers or searching the bureau in order to have any chance of success.
SURVIVAL:
The DM might ask you to make a Wisdom (Survival) check to follow tracks, hunt wild game, guide your group through frozen wastelands, identify signs that Owlbears live nearby, predict the weather, or avoid quicksand and other natural hazards.
- Tracking.
- Surviving in natural surroundings.
- Finding particular plants or animals for food or medicinal use.
- Guide through / around dangerous natural hazards.
- Identification of natural signs.
- Predicting the weather.
Other Wisdom Checks:
The DM might call for a Wisdom check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:
- Get a gut feeling about what course of action to follow
- Discern whether a seemingly dead or living creature is undead
Spellcasting Ability: (PHB p178)
Clerics, Druids, and Rangers use Wisdom as their spellcasting ability, which helps determine the saving throw DCs of spells they cast.
CHARISMA: (PHB p178)
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.
Charisma Checks – Quick Reference: (PHB p178)
A Charisma check might arise when you try to influence or entertain others, when you try to make an impression or tell a convincing lie, or when you are navigating a tricky social situation. The Deception, Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion skills reflect aptitude in certain kinds of Charisma checks.
DECEPTION:
Your Charisma (Deception) check determines whether you can convincingly hide the truth, either verbally or through your actions. This deception can encompass everything from misleading others through ambiguity to telling outright lies. Typical situations include trying to fast-talk a guard, con a merchant, earn money through gambling, pass yourself off in a disguise, dull someone’s suspicions with false assurances, or maintain a straight face while telling a blatant lie.
- Lie Convincingly.
- Play Dead.
- Earn Money Gambling.
- Disguise.
- Gain Confidence / Seduction through lies.
- Persuade someone to do something by lying about it.
- Eliminate Suspicion.
INTIMIDATION:
When you attempt to influence someone through overt threats, hostile actions, and physical violence, the DM might ask you to make a Charisma (Intimidation) check. Examples include trying to pry information out of a prisoner, convincing street thugs to back down from a confrontation, or using the edge of a broken bottle to convince a sneering vizier to reconsider a decision.
- Influence another’s behaviour through threat.
- Use this in the place of most other social skills but have a long-term cost of the target really not liking you afterward.
PERFORMANCE:
Your Charisma (Performance) check determines how well you can delight an audience with music, dance, acting, storytelling, or some other form of entertainment.
- Entertaining people.
- Making income from performances.
- Impressing people.
- Creating a great work (GM approval).
PERSUASION:
When you attempt to influence someone or a group of people with tact, social graces, or good nature, the DM might ask you to make a Charisma (Persuasion) check. Typically, you use persuasion when acting in good faith, to foster friendships, make cordial requests, or exhibit proper etiquette. Examples of persuading others include convincing a chamberlain to let your party see the king, negotiating peace between warring tribes, or inspiring a crowd of townsfolk.
- Debate.
- Convincing someone of something with the truth.
- Behaving with social grace and tact.
- Knowledge of etiquette.
- Seduction through truth.
- Rally Troops.
Other Charisma Checks:
The DM might call for a Charisma check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:
- Find the best person to talk to for news, rumours, and gossip
- Blend into a crowd to get the sense of key topics of conversation
Spellcasting Ability: (PHB p179)
Bards, Paladins, Sorcerers, and Warlocks use Charisma as their spellcasting ability, which helps determine the saving throw DCs of spells they cast.
DC – Difficulty Classes:
DIFFICULTY CLASSES (PLAYER’S HANDBOOK):
| Task Difficulty | DC |
| Very easy | 5 |
| Easy | 10 |
| Medium | 15 |
| Hard | 20 |
| Very hard | 25 |
| Nearly impossible | 30 |
OUR DIFFICULTY CLASSES:
| Task Difficulty | DC |
| Very Easy | 5 |
| Easy | 8 |
| Medium | 10 |
| Tricky | 12 |
| Hard | 15 |
| Very hard | 20 |
| Incredibly hard | 25 |
| Eirik & Jason Complain | 30 |
ACTIONS:
Attack:
The most common action to take in combat is the Attack action, whether you are swinging a Sword, firing an Arrow from a Bow, or brawling with your Fists.
With this action, you make one melee or ranged attack.
Certain features, such as the Extra Attack feature of the Fighter, allow you to make more than one attack with this action.
Cast a Spell:
Spellcasters such as Wizards and Clerics, as well as many Monsters, have access to Spells and can use them to great effect in combat. Each Spell has a Casting Time, which specifies whether the Caster must use an Action, a Reaction, Minutes, or even Hours to cast the Spell. Casting a Spell is, therefore, not necessarily always an action. Most Spells do have a casting time of 1 action, so a Spellcaster often uses his or her action in combat to cast such a spell.
Dash:
When you take the Dash action, you gain extra movement for the current turn. The increase equals your Speed, after applying any modifiers. With a speed of 30’ feet, for example, you can move up to 60’ feet on your turn if you Dash.
Any increase or decrease to your speed changes this additional movement by the same amount. If your speed of 30 feet is reduced to 15’ feet, for instance, you can move up to 30’ feet this turn if you dash.
Disengage:
If you take the Disengage action, your movement doesn’t provoke Opportunity Attacks for the rest of your turn.
Dodge:
When you take the Dodge action, you focus entirely on avoiding Attacks. Until the start of your next turn, any attack roll made against you has Disadvantage if you can see the attacker, and you make Dexterity Saving Throws with advantage. You lose this benefit if you are incapacitated or if your speed drops to 0’ (e.g. Grappled, Restrained).
Help:
You can lend your aid to another creature in the completion of a task. When you take the Help action, the creature you aid gains Advantage on the next ability check it makes to perform the task you are helping with, provided that it makes the check before the start of your next turn.
Alternatively, you can aid a friendly creature in attacking a creature within 5’ feet of you. You feint, distract the target, or in some other way team up to make your ally’s attack more effective. If your ally attacks the target before your next turn, the first attack roll is made with Advantage.
Hide:
When you take the Hide action, you make a Dexterity (Stealth) Check in an attempt to hide, following the rules for Hiding. If you succeed, you gain certain benefits, as described in the “Unseen Attackers and Targets”.
Unseen Attackers and Targets:
When you attack a target that you can’t see, you have Disadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether you’re guessing the target’s location or you’re targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the GM typically just says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed the target’s location correctly.
When a creature can’t see you, you have advantage on attack rolls against it. If you are Hidden, both unseen and unheard, when you make an Attack, you give away your location when the attack hits or misses.
Ready:
Sometimes you want to get the jump on a foe or wait for a particular circumstance before you act. To do so, you can take the Ready action on your turn, which lets you act using your Reaction before the start of your next turn.
First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Second, you choose the Action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to Move up to your speed in response to it.
Examples include “If the cultist steps on the trapdoor, I’ll pull the lever that opens it,” and “If the goblin steps next to me, I move away.”
When the trigger occurs, you can either take your reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore the trigger. Remember that you can take only one reaction per round.
When you ready a Spell, you cast it as normal but hold its energy, which you release with your Reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a Spell must have a casting time of 1 Action, and holding onto the spell’s Magic requires Concentration. If your Concentration is broken, the spell dissipates without taking effect.
For example, if you are concentrating on the ‘Web’ spell and ready ‘Magic Missile’, your ‘Web’ spell ends, and if you take damage before you release ‘Magic Missile’ with your Reaction, your Concentration might be broken.
Search:
When you take the Search action, you devote your attention to finding something. Depending on the nature of your search, the DM might have you make a Wisdom (Perception) check or an Intelligence (Investigation) check.
Use an Object:
You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of an attack. When an object requires your action for its use, you take the Use an Object action. This action is also useful when you want to interact with more than one object on your turn.
Improvising an Action:
Your character can do things not covered by the Actions in this section, such as:
- Breaking Down Doors
- Intimidating Enemies
- Sensing Weaknesses in Magical Defences
- Calling for a Parley with a Foe
The only limits to the Actions you can attempt are your imagination; your character’s ability scores And 6 Seconds. When you describe an Action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that Action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure.
QUICK THINGS:
Here are a few examples of the sorts of thing you can do in tandem with your movement and action:
- Draw or sheathe a Sword
- Open or close a Door
- Withdraw a Potion from your backpack
- Pick up a dropped Axe
- Take a bauble from a table
- Remove a Ring from your finger
- Stuff some Food into your mouth
- Plant a Banner in the ground
- Fish a few Coins from your Belt Pouch
- Drink all the Ale in a Flagon
- Throw a Lever or a Switch
- Pull a Torch from a sconce
- Take a Book from a shelf you can reach
- Extinguish a small flame
- Don a Mask
- Pull the Hood of your Cloak up and over your Head
- Put your Ear to a Door
- Kick a small stone
- Turn a Key in a Lock
- Tap the floor with a 10’ foot pole
- Hand an item to another Character
STATISTICS FOR OBJECTS:
Only when time is a factor, you can assign an Armor Class and Hit Points to a destructible object. You can also give it immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities to specific types of damage.
Otherwise, you have an idea of the average time it would take to complete the task.
Armor Class:
An object’s Armor Class is a measure of how difficult it is to deal damage to the object when striking it (because the object has no chance of dodging out of the way).
Table: Object Armor Class provides suggested AC values for various substances.
| Object Armor Class Substance | AC |
| Cloth, paper, rope | 11 |
| Crystal, glass, ice | 13 |
| Wood, bone | 15 |
| Stone | 17 |
| Iron, steel | 19 |
| Mithral | 21 |
| Adamantine | 23 |
Hit Points:
An object’s hit points measure how much damage it can take before losing its structural integrity. Resilient objects have more hit points than fragile ones. Large objects also tend to have more hit points than small ones, unless breaking a small part of the object is just as effective as breaking the whole thing.
Table: Object Hit Points provides suggested hit points for fragile and resilient objects that are Large or smaller.
| Object Hit Points Size | Fragile | Resilient |
| Tiny (Bottle, Lock) | 2 (1d4) | 5 (2d4) |
| Small (Chest, Lute) | 3 (1d6) | 10 (3d6) |
| Medium (Barrel, Chandelier) | 4 (1d8) | 18 (4d8) |
| Large (Cart, 10ft By 10ft Window) | 5 (1d10) | 27 (5d10) |
Huge and Gargantuan Objects:
Normal weapons are of little use against many Huge and Gargantuan objects, such as a Colossal Statue, Towering Column of Stone, or Massive Boulder. That said, one torch can burn a Huge Tapestry, and an earthquake spell can reduce a colossus to rubble. You can track a Huge or Gargantuan object’s hit points if you like, or you can simply decide how long the object can withstand whatever weapon or force is acting against it. If you track hit points for the object, divide it into Large or smaller sections, and track each section’s hit points separately. Destroying one of those sections could ruin the entire object.
For example, a Gargantuan Statue of a human might topple over when one of its large legs is reduced to 0 hit points.
Objects and Damage Types:
Objects are immune to poison and psychic damage. You might decide that some damage types are more effective against a particular object or substance than others.
For Example:
- Bludgeoning damage works well for smashing things but not for cutting through rope or leather.
- Paper or cloth objects might be vulnerable to fire and lightning damage.
- A pick can chip away stone but can’t effectively cut down a tree. As always, use your best judgment.
Damage Threshold:
Big objects such as Castle Walls often have extra resilience represented by a damage threshold. An object with a damage threshold has immunity to all damage unless it takes an amount of damage from a single attack or effect equal to or greater than its damage threshold, in which case it takes damage as normal. Any damage that fails to meet or exceed the object’s damage threshold is considered superficial and doesn’t reduce the object’s hit points.
OPTIONAL RULES:
Doors – Quick Reference:
| Type | Thickness | Dmg Threshold † | AC | HP |
| Wooden, Simple | 1 in | — | 15 | 10 hp |
| Wooden, Good | 2 in | — | 15 | 15 hp |
| Wooden, Heavy | 4 in | 10 | 15 | 25 hp |
| Wooden, Reinforced | 4 in | 15 | 17 | 40 hp |
| Stone | 4 in | 25 | 17 | 60 hp |
| Iron | 2 in | 30 | 19 | 100 hp |
| Portcullis, Wooden | 3 in | 20 | 16 | 30 hp |
| Portcullis, Iron | 2 in | 30 | 19 | 100 hp |
| Lock | — | 5 | 19 | 30 hp |
| Hinge | — | 5 | 19 | 30 hp |
| Magically Treated | — | +20 | — | X2 |
† An object with a Damage Threshold has immunity to all damage unless it takes an amount of damage from a single Attack or Effect equal to or greater than its Damage Threshold, in which case it takes damage as normal.
Walls – Quick Reference:
| Type | Thickness | Dmg Threshold † | AC | HP |
| Wooden, Plank | 6 in | — | 15 | 60 hp |
| Wooden, Logs | 1 ft. | — | 15 | 75 hp |
| Masonry | 1 ft. | 25 | 17 | 90 hp |
| Masonry, Superior | 1 ft. | 25 | 17 | 100 hp |
| Masonry, Reinforced | 1 ft. | 30 | 18 | 180 hp |
| Hewn Stone | 3 ft. | 30 | 17 | 340 hp |
| Unworked Stone | 5 ft. | 30 | 17 | 600 hp |
| Iron | 3 in | 30 | 19 | 200 hp |
| Magically Treated | — | +20 | — | X2 |
Armour – Quick Reference:
| Armor | AC | HP | Resistance | Vulnerable |
| Light Armour | ||||
| Padded | 10 | 10 | Bludgeoning | Acid, Fire, Slashing |
| Leather | 11 | 12 | Bludgeoning | Acid, Fire, Slashing |
| Studded Leather | 12 | 14 | Bludgeoning | Acid, Fire |
| Medium Armour | ||||
| Hide | 12 | 14 | Bludgeoning | Acid, Fire, Slashing |
| Chain Shirt | 12 | 15 | Bludgeoning, Slashing | Piercing |
| Scale Mail | 14 | 16 | Bludgeoning, Slashing | Piercing |
| Breastplate | 14 | 17 | Bludgeoning, Slashing, Piercing | |
| Half Plate | 15 | 18 | Bludgeoning, Slashing, Piercing | |
| Heavy Armour | ||||
| Ring Mail | 14 | 17 | Bludgeoning, Slashing | Piercing |
| Chain Mail | 16 | 18 | Bludgeoning, Slashing | Piercing |
| Splint | 17 | 19 | Bludgeoning, Slashing | |
| Plate | 18 | 20 | Bludgeoning, Slashing, Piercing | |
| Shield | ||||
| Shield | 14 | 10 | Bludgeoning, Slashing, Piercing | Fire (Wood Shields Only) |
Weapons – Quick Reference:
| Simple Melee Weapons | AC | HP | Resistance † | Vulnerable ‡ |
| Club | 15 | 10 | – | Fire |
| Dagger | 19 | 18 | Fire | Bludgeoning |
| Greatclub | 15 | 13 | – | Fire |
| Handaxe | 19 | 18 | Fire | Bludgeoning |
| Javelin | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Light hammer | 19 | 15 | Bludgeoning, Fire | – |
| Mace | 19 | 18 | Bludgeoning, Fire | – |
| Quarterstaff | 15 | 10 | – | Fire |
| Sickle | 19 | 13 | Fire | – |
| Spear | 19 | 13 | Fire | – |
| Simple Ranged Weapons | AC | HP | Resistance | Vulnerable |
| Crossbow, light | 17 | 10 | – | Fire |
| Dart | 19 | 4 | Fire | Bludgeoning |
| Shortbow | 15 | 5 | – | Fire |
| Sling | 11 | 6 | Bludgeoning | Fire |
| Martial Melee Weapons | AC | HP | Resistance | Vulnerable |
| Battleaxe | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Flail | 11 | 10 | Bludgeoning | Fire |
| Glaive | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Greataxe | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Greatsword | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Halberd | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Lance | 19 | 18 | – | Fire, Bludgeoning |
| Longsword | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Maul | 19 | 18 | Bludgeoning, Fire | – |
| Morningstar | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Pike | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Rapier | 19 | 15 | Fire | Bludgeoning |
| Scimitar | 19 | 15 | Fire | – |
| Shortsword | 19 | 15 | Fire | – |
| Trident | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| War pick | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Warhammer | 19 | 18 | Fire | – |
| Whip | 11 | 8 | Bludgeoning | Fire |
| Martial Ranged Weapons | AC | HP | Resistance | Vulnerable |
| Blowgun | 15 | 6 | – | Fire |
| Crossbow, hand | 17 | 6 | – | Fire |
| Crossbow, heavy | 17 | 13 | – | Fire |
| Longbow | 15 | 10 | – | Fire |
| Net | 15 | 5 | Bludgeoning | Fire |
† Resistance means the object takes half damage from that specific attack/damage type.
‡ Vulnerable means the object takes double damage from that specific attack/damage type.
Weapons with wooden shafts, like the Staff, have these traits which are different from its Metal Head:
| Martial Ranged Weapons | AC | HP | Resistance | Vulnerable |
| wooden shafts | 15 | 10 | – | – |
Magical Armor & weapons:
Other than Potions and Scrolls, most Magic items have Resistance to all Damage.
BONUS ACTIONS: (PHB p189)
Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action. The Cunning Action feature, for example, allows a rogue to take a bonus action. You can take a bonus action only when a special ability, spell, or other feature of the game states that you can do something as a bonus action. You otherwise don’t have a bonus action to take.
You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose which bonus action to use when you have more than one available. You choose when to take a bonus action during your turn, unless the bonus action’s timing is specified, and anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also prevents you from taking a bonus action.
Examples:
Barbarian:
- Enter or end Rage – Barbarian level 1 Rage feature.
Bard:
- Give Bardic Inspiration to a creature – Bard level 1 Bardic Inspiration feature.
Cleric:
- Command creatures charmed by your Charm Animals and Plants feature – Cleric/Nature level 17 Master of Nature feature.
Druid:
- Revert to your normal form – Druid level 2 Wild Shape feature.
Fighter:
- Second Wind – regain 1d10+CL HP – Fighter level 1 feature.
Paladin:
- Lay on hands.
Rogue:
- Dash, Disengage, Hide – as the same action – Rogue level 2 Cunning Action feature.
Wizard:
- Make an illusory object real – Wizard/Illusion level 14 Illusory Reality feature.
- Spells with a casting time of a bonus action:
Banishing Smite, Blinding Smite, Branding Smite, Compelled Duel, Divine Favour, Divine Word, Ensnaring Strike, Expeditious Retreat, Flame Blade, Grasping Vine, Hail of Thorns, Healing Word, Hex, Hunter’s Mark, Lightning Arrow, Magic Weapon, Mass Healing Word, Misty Step, Sanctuary, Searing Smite, Shield of Faith, Shillelagh, Spiritual Weapon, Staggering Smite, Swift Quiver, Thunderous Smite, Wrathful Smite
- Spells which allow you to do something as a bonus action:
Animate Dead, Animate Objects, Create Undead, Dancing Lights, Flaming Sphere, Grasping Vine, Mordenkainen’s Sword, Spiritual Weapon, Unseen Servant – command summoned creatures or objects.
ALL:
- Attack with an off-hand weapon – Two-weapon fighting.
REACTIONS: (PHB p190)
Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else’s. The opportunity attack, described later in this chapter, is the most common type of reaction.
When you take a reaction, you can’t take another one until the start of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts another creature’s turn, that creature can continue its turn right after the reaction.
Examples:
A common example of a reaction that any PC can take is an Opportunity Attack.
An Opportunity Attack is a single attack made with a melee weapon, which you can only take if an enemy moves out of your Reach when you are wielding a melee weapon.
This usually occurs because an enemy moves away from you, or because the try to move past you.
If you are riding a mount and if that mount is knocked prone, you can use a reaction to dismount and land on your feet.
Using a reaction to trigger the Ready action, which is an action that a PC has prepared in advance to use when a specific triggering event occurs, like shooting a bow when an enemy comes within range.