The adventure rules chapters ability checks, contest rolls, survival rules, weather effects and much more. These are the rules used in almost every encounter. They build upon what the core rules present as a base.
Rules of Travel
Endurance
The movement actions a character perform requires successful Constitution (Athletics) checks. The check is called an Endurance check, which even dashing requires, however each movement action has an active time period in which additional rolls for that movement action is not required.
The DLs for movement actions range from 14 to 22, however, failing these does not mean total failure, to make up for the difference between the roll and the DL you can use Endurance Points. These endurance points recuperate while no movement action is active, at a rate of three times the active time period for the movement action you took. When determining success, you may use your passive score or the roll, whichever is higher.
- Endurance Points =
your Constitution score + your Athletics Proficiency bonus
- Endurance Points =
- Passive Endurance =
10 + your Constitution modifier + your Athletics Proficiency bonus
- Passive Endurance =
| Action | DL | Active Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk | - | ∞ | 1x |
| Dash | 14 | 10 minutes (100 rounds) | 2x |
| Run | 18 | 1 minute (10 rounds) | 3x |
| Sprint | 22 | 6 seconds (1 round) | 4x |
In Combat Ruling
In combat a Dash check is always made at the start of it. This cost is to allow dashes to be made freely, without having to control for it within combat during separate turns.
This ruling allows for dashing during 10 minutes, which translates into 100 turns.
Example
For example when Zalek the Orc Barbarian with a Constitution score of 17 and an Athletics Proficiency bonus of +4 first starts combat, he rolls a dash Endurance check to see if he can dash. However, his passive score already surpasses the DL, which lets him automatically succeed.
The next turn, Zalek decides that he wants to make a sprint towards the closest enemy, requiring a DL 22 Endurance check. He rolls a 12 on his d20, totaling the roll to 19. Fortunately, he can make up the difference between the DL of 22 and his roll of 19 with his Endurance points, which has the pool size of 21. Using 3 of his Endurance points lets him succeed on his sprint check.
Afterward, if he wants to regain the spent Endurance points, he has to wait three times the active time of the movement action he used. This means that he has to wait for 18 seconds, or 3 turns, without using any movement actions, to regain the 3 points he spent.Jumping
Quick Jump
In most jumps, the DM should follow the intuition of setting DCs, and put an Athletics ability check on the jump. Depending on the scenario, more often than not, should let passive scores be used for success. Such that an easy jump of DC 10, will let all average humans succeed it.
Long Jump
When you make a long jump, you cover a number of feet up to half your Strength score + half your Athletics Proficiency bonus. If you move at least 1/4th of your current movement speed on foot immediately before the jump, you can add 1/12th of your current movement speed to the long jump distance. Each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement.
Vertical Jump
When you make a high jump, you leap into the air a number of feet equal to 1/200th of the sum of your Strength score and your Athletics Proficiency bonus multiplied with your modified speed.
Creatures with long reaching limbs, like humanoids, can extend their arms half their height above themselves during the jump. Thus, they can reach above them a distance equal to the height of the jump plus 1½ times their height.
- Carrying Capacity =
your Strength score2 + your Brawn Proficiency bonus2 + (your Strength score + your Brawn Proficiency bonus)your Strength score / 10
- Carrying Capacity =
Movement Speed
Additionally, they can use movement actions to run further during their turn, and during longer periods of time, traverse quickly over longer areas. These actions however come with certain risks, like tripping in Difficult Terrain.
Movement includes Jumping, Climbing, and Swimming. As well as more special movement types like Flying and burrowing. These different modes of movement can be combined with Walking, or they can constitute your entire move. However you're moving, you deduct the distance of each part of your move from your speed until it is used up or until you are done moving.
Base Speed
Base speed is the initial speed determined by general body structure. Base speed can generally be defined as the species average movement speed. For players, this speed is often set by your choice of species, and can be modified by different feats or class features.
| Base speed |
Land | Sea | Air |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Oozes, Giant Tortoise | Sea Horse | |
| 20 | Children, Platypuses | Manatee | |
| 30 | Human adults | Turtles | Birdfolk (Avesmuintir) |
| 40 | Bears, Wolves | ||
| 50 | Gazelles, Lions | Seals | Flying Snake (Gliding) |
| 60 | Antelopes | Birds, Bats, Dragons | |
| 70 | Cheetahs | Swordfish | Common Swift, Peregrine Falcon |
Do note that these scores are then modified by the animals specific athletic abilities and strength scores, their movement actions and creature movement options. In general, creatures with a high base speed and most birds use a combination of creature movement options.
Modified Speed
Modified speed is the pace at which an individual creature of a certain species travel at. Modified speed is the base speed modified by two parts: Strength and athletic proficiency. The modification of speed also works with Climbing and Swimming. Meaning increases to Strength or Athletics increases their speed as well.
Flying and Burrowing speed unlike the other three, are heavily defined by the body structure of the creature, rather than possible differences in strength and athleticism.
The modified speed for each movement type is calculated and shown on the upcoming pages in tables, dependent on your Base Speed, Strength and Athletics. If a speed is to be calculated outside of this range, the calculations below is to be followed, and rounded down as usual.
- Modified Speed =
Base Speed × (Strength score + Athletics Proficiency bonus / 10)
- Modified Speed =
Movement Actions
Creatures are not completely limited by their modified movement speed. Most creatures if they have the endurance for it can push themselves to move even faster. These actions are called movement actions and represent the ability for creatures to walk, jog, run or sprint.
Using humans as an example, we know that for the average person, moving 60 feet in 6 seconds is about the average jogging speed. For the fastest marathon runners, they run at about 110 feet in 6 seconds. For the fastest 100 meter sprinters, they run at about 200 feet in 6 seconds.
| Action | Details |
|---|---|
| Walk |
|
| Dash (Jog) |
|
| Run |
|
| Sprint |
|
Creature Movement
Below are a few options one might apply to creatures as the DM see fit. They add additional traits to the creatures, allowing them an extra push when portraying possible speeds.
Creature Movement Options
Some creatures have incredible sprints and bursts of speed, the peregrine falcon, the cheetah, or the black marlin are a few examples. These creatures, even with the changes made with modified speed need another increase.
Restrictions can be added to these features, examples of such restrictions include:
- Once used, the trait can't be used again until the creature moves without using a movement action on one of its turns.
- Once used, the trait can't be used again until the creature do not move on one of its turns.
Bursting
The creature can double its speed until the end of the turn.
High Pace
The creature can use its bonus action to either Dash, Run or Sprint. Restriction on this can be made, up to one of the Movement Actions, for example, only Dash and Run or only Dash.
Dive
The creature can move straight downward 10ft by expending only 5ft of movement. Whenever the creature moves more than 100 feet during its turn, its first attack before the start of its next turn inflicts bludgeoning damage equal to appropriate damage from the Improvised Damage table.
Climbing, Flying & Swimming
When a creature is naturally climbing, flying or swimming, they suffer a detriment to their carrying capacity and speed. For flying the penalty is large, while for climbing its minimal.
Additionally, most creatures on land are able to climb or swim without a base speed, however, they suffer further difficulties while doing so. Most often, a land creature that climbs or swims without a natural base speed, must spend 3 feet of extra movement for each foot traveled. I.e, your climbing and swimming speed is 1/4th of your walking speed.
These traveling types and their effects on your character are further described in the Adventure chapter under the Traveling section.
Jumping
The following rules describe jumping, which can be followed strictly, however its generally recommended to instead see them as guidelines for what's possible. The reason behind this is because each time a creature jumps, the conditions is different and most often they aren't optimal.
Quick Jump
In most jumps, the DM should follow the intuition of setting DCs, and put an Athletics ability check on the jump. Depending on the scenario, more often than not, should let passive scores be used for success. Such that an easy jump of DC 10, will let all average humans succeed it.
Long Jump
When you make a long jump, you cover a number of feet up to half your Strength score + half your Athletics Proficiency bonus. If you move at least 1/4th of your current movement speed on foot immediately before the jump, you can add 1/12th of your current movement speed to the long jump distance. Each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement.
Vertical Jump
When you make a high jump, you leap into the air a number of feet equal to 1/200th of the sum of your Strength score and your Athletics Proficiency bonus multiplied with your modified speed.
Creatures with long reaching limbs, like humanoids, can extend their arms half their height above themselves during the jump. Thus, they can reach above them a distance equal to the height of the jump plus 1½ times their height.Rules of Survival
Breathing
When a creature runs out of breath or is choking, it can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round). After that, at the start of each next turn, the creature gains 1 exhaustion.
For example, a creature with a Constitution of 14 can hold its breath for 3 minutes. If it starts suffocating, it has 2 rounds to reach air before it drops to 0 hit points.Conditions
Exhaustion
Some special abilities and environmental hazards, such as starvation and the long-term effects of freezing or scorching temperatures, can lead to it as well.
Exhaustion is measured in 10 levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of exhaustion, as specified in the effect's description.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 | None |
| 1 | Base speed reduced by 1/3 |
| 2 | Disadvantage on Strength, Dexterity, Constitution & Perception ability checks |
| 3 | Base speed reduced by 1/2 |
| 4 | Disadvantage on all ability checks. |
| 5 | Hit point maximum halved. |
| 6 | Incapacitated |
| 7 | Prone |
| 8 | Stunned |
| 9 | Unconscious |
| 10 | 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. Also, being raised from the dead reduces a creature's exhaustion level by 1.
Minor Exhaustion
Minor Exhaustion has the same detrimental effect as the regular Exhaustion and they stack up together, the difference is that all Minor Exhaustions are removed upon finishing a short or long rest.
Exhaustion Removal
Levels of Exhaustion can be removed in the following ways:
Greater Restoration spell
Reduces the target's exhaustion level by 1 (RAW).
Finishing a short rest
Creature's may spend 1 hit dice to reduce exhaustion level by one, this can be done once every long rest, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink.
Finishing a long rest
Reduces a creature's exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink.
- Healer's Supplies and a Medicine check may remove 1 additional exhaustion level during a long rest.
Exhaustion Gain
Forced March
The Travel Pace table assumes that characters travel for 8 hours in day. They can push on beyond that limit, at the risk of exhaustion. For each additional hour of travel beyond 8 hours, the characters cover the distance shown in the Hour column for their pace, and each character must make a Constitution saving throw at the end of the hour.
- The DL is
10 + 1 for each hour past 8 hours. On a failed saving throw, a character suffers one level of exhaustion.
Food
A character can go without food for a number of days equal to 3 + Constitution modifier (minimum 1). At the end of each day beyond that limit, a character automatically suffers one level of exhaustion.
- A normal day of eating resets the count of days without food to zero.
Going without long rest
A long rest is never mandatory, but going without sleep does have its consequences. If you want to account for the effects of sleep deprivation on characters and creatures, use these rules.
Whenever you end a 24-hour period without finishing a long rest, you must succeed on a DL 10 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion. It becomes harder to fight off exhaustion if you stay awake for multiple days.
- After the first 24 hours, the DL increases by 5 for each consecutive 24-hour period without a long rest. The DL resets to 10 when you finish a long rest.
Water
A character needs one gallon of water per day, or two gallons per day if the weather is hot. A character who drinks only half that much water must succeed on a DL 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of the day.
- A character with access to even less water automatically suffers one level of exhaustion at the end of the day. If the character already has one or more levels of exhaustion, the character takes two levels in either case.
Extreme Weather
Example 1, Extreme Cold
Whenever the temperature is at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, a creature exposed to the cold must succeed on a DL 10 Constitution saving throw at the end of each hour or gain one level of exhaustion.
- Creatures with resistance or immunity to cold damage automatically succeed on the saving throw, as do creatures wearing cold weather gear (thick coats, gloves, and the like) and creatures naturally adapted to cold climates.
Example 2, Extreme Heat
When the temperature is at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, a creature exposed to the heat and without access to drinkable water must succeed on a Constitution saving throw at the end of each hour or gain one level of exhaustion. The DL is 5 for the first hour and increases by 1 for each additional hour. Creatures wearing medium or heavy armor, or who are clad in heavy clothing, have disadvantage on the saving throw.
- Creatures with resistance or immunity to fire damage automatically succeed on the saving throw, as do creatures naturally adapted to hot climates.
Falling
If you're still falling on any turn after that, you descend up to 500 feet at the start of your turn. 500 feet at the end of your turn, for a total of 1000 feet per turn.
A creature can choose to, as an action, increase or decrease the end of turn descent rate from between 500 feet to 1000 feet per turn.
At the end of a fall, you take 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet you fell, to a maximum of 100d6. You also land prone, unless you somehow avoid taking damage from the fall.
A flying creature falls if its knocked prone, its flying speed is reduced to 0 feet, or if it otherwise loses the ability to move, unless it can hover or it is being held aloft by magic.
Many flying creatures have a better chance of surviving a fall than a non-flying creature does, simply by having their anatomy constructed for it. These modifiers can be applied if one see it fit when calculating falling damage:
- Reduce the amount of feet by the creature's current flying speed. Simulating a conscious creature taking measures to slow its fall.
- Reduce the amount of feet by the creature's normal flying speed. Simulating a creature with hollow bones, like many small birds.
- Modify the falling distances per turn by for example: one half, one fourth or one fifth. Simulating creatures with very low terminal velocity thresholds.
Food & Water
Additionally, characters who haven't eaten or drunk their full required amount for at least two days, have vulnerability to poison and disease.
Food
A medium character needs a fifth of their total Strength plus Constitution score in pounds of food per day. For each size category larger or smaller, double or halve the required consumption.
After every two days without enough food, a character must make a DC 8 + half the total days starved Constitution saving throw, or suffer one level of exhaustion.
Consuming at least a quarter of the required amount of food, quadruples the number of days before each saving throw, making each day count as though it was one fourth of a day.
Consuming at least half the required amount of food stops the starvation from continuing, however it only locks the amount of days starved in place. Meaning exhaustion caused by lack of food still can't be removed until the character eats the full required amount.
- Food Summary
| Consumed Food | Effect | |:-:|:-:| | **Required Food** | One fifth of your Strength score + your Constitution score | | Full | Exhaustion can be removed by resting. | No Food | Every two days, make a Constitution Save DC 8 + half the total amount of starved days. On a failure, suffer one level of Exhaustion. | 1/4 Required Food | Constutiton Save every eight days instead of two. Each day counts as 1/4th of a starved day. | 1/2 Required Food | Starvation on hold.
Water
A medium character needs one gallon of water per day, or two gallons per day if the weather is hot. For each size category larger or smaller, double or halve the required consumption.
A character with no access to water automatically suffers one level of exhaustion at the end of the day. A character who drinks only half the required amount, must make a Constitution saving throw DC 10 + 5x the amount of days without water, or suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of the day.Resting & Sleeping
During both short or long rests, a character can spend one or more Hit Dice to regain hit points, up to a character's maximum number of Hit Dice, which is equal to the character's level. After a long rest, a character regains all spent Hit Dice.
> #### Regaining Hit Points from Hit Dice > Your character's hit points define how tough your character is in combat and other dangerous situations. Your hit points are determined by your Hit Dice (short for Hit Point Dice). > > At 1st level, your character has 1 Hit Die, and the die type is determined by your creature size. You start with hit points equal to the highest roll of that die, as indicated in your class description. (You also add your Constitution modifier, which you'll determine in step 3.) This is also your hit point maximum. > > Record your character's hit points on your character sheet. Also record the type of Hit Die your character uses and the number of Hit Dice you have. After you rest, you can spend Hit Dice to regain hit points (see "Resting" in chapter 8). >
> #### Hit Dice > For each Hit Die spent, the player rolls the die and adds the character's Constitution modifier to it. The character regains hit points equal to the total (minimum of 0). The player can decide to spend an additional Hit Die after each roll. A character regains spent Hit Dice upon finishing a long rest.
Short Rest
A short rest is a small time of pause and repose, for one to catch one's breath, ranging from at least 30 minutes to 4 hours long, during which a character can take time to eat, drink, read, meditate, cast rituals and tend to illness and wounds.
For each short rest without a long rest, short rest times increases.
| Short Rest | Time |:-:|:-:| | 1st | 30 min | 2nd | 1 hour | 3rd | 2 hours | 4th + n | 4 hours
Death save failures reset on short rest. At the end of a short rest, players may spend 1 hit dice to recover 1 level of exhaustion. Only 1 dice per short rest per long rest may be spent this way.
Long Rest
Long rests take 8 hours, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch.
At the end of a long rest, a character regains spent Hit Dice, up to half the character's maximum, rounded up. A character does not automatically regain any lost hit points, but finishing a long rest reduces a creature's exhaustion level by one, provided that the creature has also ingested their full requirement for food and drink.
A character can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period, and a character must have at least 1 hit point at the start of the rest to gain its benefits.