C o n t e n t s P r e f a c e 4 I n t r o d u c t i o n 5 W orlds o f Adventure................................................................... 5 Using This B o o k ......................................................................... 6 How to Play...................................................................................6 Adventures.................................................................................... 7 P a r t 1 9 C h a p t e r 1: St e p - b y - S t e p C h a r a c t e r s ..... 11 Beyond 1st Level............................................................... 15 C h a p t e r 2: R a c e s ........................................................ 17 Choosing a Race................................................................ 17 D w arf.................................................................................... 18 E lf...........................................................................................21 Halfling.................................................................................26 Human..................................................................................29 D ragonborn........................................................................ 32 G nom e..................................................................................35 Half-Elf.................................................................................38 H alf-O rc.............................................................................. 40 Tiefling.................................................................................42 C h a p t e r 3: C l a s s e s ..................................................45 Barbarian............................................................................ 46 B a rd ...................................................................................... 51 Cleric.....................................................................................56 Druid.....................................................................................64 Fighter..................................................................................70 M onk.....................................................................................76 Paladin.................................................................................82 Ranger..................................................................................89 Rogue....................................................................................94 S orcerer.............................................................................. 99 W arlock..............................................................................105 W izard................................................................................112 C h a p t e r 4 : P e r s o n a l i t y a n d B a c k g r o u n d .................................................................. 121 Character Details............................................................121 Inspiration........................................................................ 125 Backgrounds....................................................................125 C h a p t e r 5: E q u i p m e n t .........................................143 Starting Equipment....................................................... 143 W ealth................................................................................143 Arm or and Shields.........................................................144 W eapons............................................................................ 146 Adventuring G ear...........................................................148 Tools....................................................................................154 Mounts and Vehicles..................................................... 155 Trade G oods.....................................................................157 Expenses........................................................................... 157 Trinkets............................................................................. 159 C h a p t e r 6 : C u s t o m i z a t i o n O p t i o n s .... 163 Multiclassing....................................................................163 F eats...................................................................................165 P a r t 2 171 C h a p t e r 7: U s in g A b i l i t y S c o r e s ...........173 Ability S cores and M odifiers........................................173 Advantage and Disadvantage...................................... 173 Proficiency B onus............................................................173 Ability Checks...................................................................174 Using Each Ability...........................................................175 Saving T h row s................................................................179 C h a p t e r 8: A d v e n t u r i n g ......................181 T im e...........................................................................181 M ovem ent.......................................................................... 181 The Environment.......................... .........................183 Social Interaction........................................................... 185 R esting............................................................................... 186 Between Adventures......................................................186 C h a p t e r 9 : C o m b a t ................................................ 189 The Order of Com bat.....................................................189 Movement and Position.................................................190 Actions in C om bat.......................................................... 192 Making an Attack............................................................ 193 Cover................................................................................... 196 Damage and H ealing.....................................................196 Mounted Combat............................................................. 198 Underwater Com bat.......................................................198 P a r t 3 199 C h a p t e r 10: S p e l l c a s t i n g .................................201 What Is a S p ell?...............................................................201 Casting a S p ell................................................................ 202 C h a p t e r 11: S p e l l s .....................................................207 Spell Lists..........................................................................207 Spell D escriptions...........................................................211 A p p e n d i x A : C o n d i t i o n s 290 A p p e n d i x B: G o d s o f t h e M u l t i v e r s e 293 A p p e n d i x C : T h e P l a n e s o f E x i s t e n c e 300 The Material Plane........................ ...............................300 Beyond the M aterial..................................301 A p p e n d i x D: C r e a t u r e S t a t i s t i c s 304 A p p e n d i x E: I n s p i r a t i o n a l R e a d i n g 312 I n d e x 313 C h a r a c t e r S h e e t 317 Preface ONCE UPON A TIME, LONG, LONG AGO, IN A realm called the Midwestern United States—specifically the states o f Minne­ sota and W isconsin—a group of friends gathered together to forever alter the history o f gaming. It wasn’t their intent to do so. They were tired of merely reading tales about worlds of magic, monsters, and adventure. They wanted to play in those worlds, rather than observe them. That they went on to invent D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s , and thereby ignite a revolution in gaming that continues to this day, speaks to two things. First, it speaks to their ingenuity and genius in fig­ uring out that gam es w ere the perfect way to explore w orlds that could not otherwise exist. Alm ost every m odern game, whether played on a digital device or a tabletop, ow es som e debt to D&D. Second, it is a testament to the inherent appeal of the game they created. D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s sparked a thriving global phenomenon. It is the first roleplaying game, and it remains one of the best of its breed. To play D&D, and to play it well, you don’t need to read all the rules, m em orize every detail of the game, or master the fine art o f rolling funny looking dice. None of those things have any bearing on what’s best about the game. W hat you need are two things, the first being friends with whom you can share the game. Playing games with your friends is a lot of fun, but D&D does som ething m ore than entertain. Playing D&D is an exercise in collaborative creation. You and your friends create epic stories filled with ten­ sion and memorable drama. You create silly in-jokes that make you laugh years later. The dice will be cruel to you, but you will soldier on. Your collective creativ­ ity will build stories that you will tell again and again, ranging from the utterly absurd to the stuff of legend. If you don’t have friends interested in playing, don’t worry. There’s a special alchemy that takes place around a D&D table that nothing else can match. Play the game with som eone enough, and the two of you are likely to end up friends. It’s a cool side effect o f the game. Your next gaming group is as close as the nearest game store, online forum, or gaming convention. The second thing you need is a lively imagination or, m ore importantly, the willingness to use whatever imagination you have. You don’t need to be a master storyteller or a brilliant artist. You just need to aspire to create, to have the courage of som eone who is willing to build som ething and share it with others. Luckily, just as D&D can strengthen your friendships, it can help build in you the confidence to create and share. D&D is a game that teaches you to look for the clever solution, share the sudden idea that can overcom e a problem, and push yourself to imagine what could be, rather than simply accept what is. The first characters and adventures you create will probably be a collection of cliches. That’s true of every­ one, from the greatest Dungeon Masters in history on down. Accept this reality and move on to create the second character or adventure, which will be better, and then the third, w hich will be better still. Repeat that over the course of time, and soon you’ll be able to create anything, from a character’s background story to an epic world of fantasy adventure. Once you have that skill, it’s yours forever. Countless writers, artists, and other creators can trace their begin­ nings to a few pages o f D&D notes, a handful of dice, and a kitchen table. Above all else, D&D is yours. The friendships you make around the table will be unique to you. The adven­ tures you embark on, the characters you create, the m em ories you make—these will be yours. D&D is your personal corner of the universe, a place where you have free reign to do as you wish. G o forth now. Read the rules of the game and the story of its worlds, but always remember that you are the one who brings them to life. They are nothing without the spark of life that you give them. Mike Mearls May 2014 In t r o d u c t io n The D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s r o le p l a y in g game is about storytelling in w orlds of sw ords and sorcery. It shares elements with childhood games of make-believe. Like those games, D & D is driven by imagina­ tion. It’s about picturing the towering castle beneath the stormy night sky and imagining how a fantasy adventurer might react to the challenges that scene presents. Dungeon Master (DM): After passing through the craggy peaks, the road takes a sudden turn to the east and Castle Ravenloft towers before you. Crumbling towers of stone keep a silent watch over the approach. They look like abandoned guardhouses. Beyond these, a wide chasm gapes, disappearing into the deep fog below. A lowered drawbridge spans the chasm, leading to an arched entrance to the castle courtyard. The chains of the drawbridge creak in the wind, their rust-eaten iron straining with the weight. From atop the high strong walls, stone gargoyles stare at you from hollow sockets and grin hideously. A rotting wooden portcullis, green with growth, hangs in the entry tunnel. Beyond this, the main doors of Castle Ravenloft stand open, a rich warm light spilling into the courtyard. Phillip (playing Gareth): I want to look at the gargoyles. I have a feeling they’re not just statues. Amy (playing Riva): The drawbridge looks precarious? I want to see how sturdy it is. Do I think we can cross it, or is it going to collapse under our weight? Unlike a game of make-believe, D&D gives structure to the stories, a way of determining the consequences of the adventurers’ action. Players roll dice to resolve whether their attacks hit or m iss or whether their adven­ turers can scale a cliff, roll away from the strike of a m agical lightning bolt, or pull off som e other dangerous task. Anything is possible, but the dice make som e out­ com es m ore probable than others. Dungeon Master (DM): OK, one at a time. Phillip, you’re looking at the gargoyles? Phillip: Yeah. Is there any hint they might be creatures and not decorations? DM: Make an Intelligence check. Phillip: Does my Investigation skill apply? DM: Sure! Phillip (rolling a d20): Ugh. Seven. DM: They look like decorations to you. And Amy, Riva is checking out the drawbridge? In the D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s game, each player creates an adventurer (also called a character) and teams up with other adventurers (played by friends). W orking together, the group might explore a dark dun­ geon, a ruined city, a haunted castle, a lost temple deep in a jungle, or a lava-filled cavern beneath a mysterious mountain. The adventurers can solve puzzles, talk with other characters, battle fantastic monsters, and discover fabulous magic items and other treasure. One player, however, takes on the role of the Dungeon Master (DM), the gam e’s lead storyteller and referee. The DM creates adventures for the characters, who nav­ igate its hazards and decide which paths to explore. The DM might describe the entrance to Castle Ravenloft, and the players decide what they want their adventurers to do. Will they walk across the dangerously weathered drawbridge? Tie themselves together with rope to mini­ m ize the chance that som eone will fall if the drawbridge gives way? Or cast a spell to carry them over the chasm? Then the DM determines the results of the adventur­ ers’ actions and narrates what they experience. Because the DM can improvise to react to anything the players attempt, D&D is infinitely flexible, and each adventure can be exciting and unexpected. The game has no real end; when one story or quest wraps up, another one can begin, creating an ongoing story called a campaign. Many people who play the game keep their cam paigns going for months or years, meeting with their friends every week or so to pick up the story where they left off. The adventurers grow in might as the campaign continues. Each monster defeated, each adventure completed, and each treasure recovered not only adds to the continuing story, but also earns the adventurers new capabilities. This increase in power is reflected by an adventurer’s level. There’s no winning and losing in the D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s game—at least, not the way those terms are usually understood. Together, the D M and the players create an exciting story of bold adventurers who confront deadly perils. Som etim es an adventurer might com e to a grisly end, torn apart by ferocious monsters or done in by a nefarious villain. Even so, the other adventurers can search for powerful magic to revive their fallen comrade, or the player might choose to create a new character to carry on. The group might fail to complete an adventure successfully, but if everyone had a good time and created a memorable story, they all win. W o r ld s of A d v e n t u r e The many worlds of the D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s game are places o f magic and monsters, of brave warriors and spectacular adventures. They begin with a foundation of medieval fantasy and then add the creatures, places, and magic that make these worlds unique. The worlds of the D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s game exist within a vast cosm os called the multiverse, connected in strange and mysterious ways to one another and to other planes of existence, such as the Elemental Plane of Fire and the Infinite Depths of the Abyss. Within this multiverse are an endless variety of worlds. Many of them have been published as official settings for the D&D game. The legends of the Forgotten Realms, Drag- onlance, Greyhawk, Dark Sun, Mystara, and Eberron settings are woven together in the fabric of the multi- verse. Alongside these worlds are hundreds of thousands more, created by generations of D&D players for their own games. And amid all the richness of the multiverse, you might create a world of your own. All these worlds share characteristics, but each world is set apart by its own history and cultures, distinctive monsters and races, fantastic geography, ancient dun­ geons, and schem ing villains. Som e races have unusual traits in different worlds. The halflings of the Dark Sun setting, for example, are jungle-dwelling cannibals, and the elves are desert nomads. Som e worlds feature races unknown in other settings, such as Eberron’s war- forged, soldiers created and im bued with life to fight in the Last War. Som e worlds are dominated by one great story, like the War of the Lance that plays a central role in the Dragonlance setting. But they’re all D&D worlds, and you can use the rules in this book to create a char­ acter and play in any one of them. Your DM might set the campaign on one of these worlds or on one that he or she created. Because there is so much diversity am ong the worlds of D&D, you should check with your DM about any house rules that will affect your play of the game. Ultimately, the Dun­ geon Master is the authority on the campaign and its setting, even if the setting is a published world. U s in g T h is B o o k The Player’s Handbook is divided into three parts. Part 1 is about creating a character, providing the rules and guidance you need to make the character you’ll play in the game. It includes information on the various races, classes, backgrounds, equipment, and other customization options that you can choose from. Many of the rules in part 1 rely on material in parts 2 and 3. If you com e across a game concept in part 1 that you don’t understand, consult the book’s index. Part 2 details the rules of how to play the game, beyond the basics described in this introduction. That part covers the kinds of die rolls you make to determine success or failure at the tasks your character attempts, and describes the three broad categories o f activity in the game: exploration, interaction, and combat. Part 3 is all about magic. It covers the nature of magic in the worlds of D&D, the rules for spellcasting, and the huge variety o f spells available to magic-using charac­ ters (and monsters) in the game. How t o Pl a y The play of the D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s game unfolds according to this basic pattern. 1. The DM describes the environment. The DM tells the players where their adventurers are and what’s around them, presenting the basic scope of options that present themselves (how many doors lead out of a room, what’s on a table, w ho’s in the tavern, and so on). 2. The players describe what they want to do. S om e­ times one player speaks for the whole party, saying, “W e’ll take the east door,” for example. Other times, different adventurers do different things: one adventurer might search a treasure chest while a second exam ines an esoteric sym bol engraved on a wall and a third keeps watch for monsters. The players don’t need to take turns, but the DM listens to every player and decides how to resolve those actions. Som etim es, resolving a task is easy. If an adventurer wants to walk across a room and open a door, the DM might just say that the door opens and describe what lies beyond. But the door might be locked, the floor might hide a deadly trap, or som e other circum stance might make it challenging for an adventurer to complete a task. In those cases, the DM decides what happens, often relying on the roll of a die to determine the results of an action. 3. The DM narrates the results of the adventurers’ actions. Describing the results often leads to another decision point, which brings the flow of the game right back to step 1. This pattern holds whether the adventurers are cau­ tiously exploring a ruin, talking to a devious prince, or locked in mortal combat against a mighty dragon. In certain situations, particularly combat, the action is m ore structured and the players (and DM) do take turns choosing and resolving actions. But m ost of the time, play is fluid and flexible, adapting to the circum stances of the adventure. Often the action of an adventure takes place in the imagination of the players and DM, relying on the DM ’s verbal descriptions to set the scene. Som e DMs like to use music, art, or recorded sound effects to help set the m ood, and many players and DMs alike adopt different voices for the various adventurers, monsters, and other characters they play in the game. Som etim es, a DM might lay out a map and use tokens or miniature figures to represent each creature involved in a scene to help the players keep track of where everyone is. G a m e D i c e The game uses polyhedral dice with different numbers of sides. You can find dice like these in game stores and in many bookstores. In these rules, the different dice are referred to by the letter d followed by the number of sides: d4, d6, d8, d 10, d 12, and d20. For instance, a d6 is a six-sided die (the typical cube that many gam es use). Percentile dice, or d 100, work a little differently. You generate a number between 1 and 100 by rolling two different ten-sided dice num bered from 0 to 9. One die (designated before you roll) gives the tens digit, and the other gives the ones digit. If you roll a 7 and a 1, for example, the number rolled is 71. Two Os represent 100. Som e ten-sided dice are numbered in tens (00, 10, 20, and so on), making it easier to distinguish the tens digit from the ones digit. In this case, a roll of 70 and 1 is 71, and 00 and 0 is 100. W hen you need to roll dice, the rules tell you how many dice to roll o f a certain type, as well as what m od­ ifiers to add. For example, “3d8 + 5 ” means you roll three eight-sided dice, add them together, and add 5 to the total. The sam e d notation appears in the expressions “1d3” and “1d2.” To simulate the roll of 1d3, roll a d6 and divide the num ber rolled by 2 (round up). To simulate the roll of 1d2, roll any die and assign a 1 or 2 to the roll depending on whether it w as odd or even. (Alternatively, if the number rolled is m ore than half the number of sides on the die, it’s a 2.) T h e D 2 0 D oes an adventurer’s sword swing hurt a dragon or just bounce off its iron-hard scales? Will the ogre believe an outrageous bluff? Can a character swim across a raging river? Can a character avoid the main blast of a fireball, or does he or she take full damage from the blaze? In cases w here the outcom e of an action is uncertain, the D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s game relies on rolls o f a 20-sided die, a d20, to determine success or failure. Every character and monster in the game has capa­ bilities defined by six ability scores. The abilities are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, W isdom, and Charisma, and they typically range from 3 to 18 for m ost adventurers. (Monsters might have scores as low as 1 or as high as 30.) These ability scores, and the ability modifiers derived from them, are the basis for almost every d20 roll that a player m akes on a charac­ ter’s or monster’s behalf. Ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws are the three main kinds of d20 rolls, forming the core of the rules of the game. All three follow these simple steps. 1. Roll the die and add a modifier. Roll a d20 and add the relevant modifier. This is typically the m od­ ifier derived from one of the six ability scores, and it som etim es includes a proficiency bonus to reflect a char­ acter’s particular skill. (See chapter 1 for details on each ability and how to determine an ability’s modifier.) 2. Apply circumstantial bonuses and penalties. A class feature, a spell, a particular circum stance, or som e other effect might give a bonus or penalty to the check. 3. Compare the total to a target number. If the total equals or exceeds the target number, the ability check, attack roll, or saving throw is a success. Otherwise, it’s a failure. The DM is usually the one w ho determines target numbers and tells players whether their ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws succeed or fail. The target number for an ability check or a saving throw is called a Difficulty Class (DC). The target number for an attack roll is called an Armor Class (AC). This simple rule governs the resolution of m ost tasks in D&D play. Chapter 7 provides m ore detailed rules for using the d20 in the game. A d v a n t a g e a n d D i s a d v a n t a g e Som etim es an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw is modified by special situations called advantage and disadvantage. Advantage reflects the positive circum ­ stances surrounding a d20 roll, while disadvantage reflects the opposite. W hen you have either advantage or disadvantage, you roll a second d20 w hen you make the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advan­ tage, 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. More detailed rules for advantage and disadvantage are presented in chapter 7. S p e c i f i c B e a t s G e n e r a l This book contains rules, especially in parts 2 and 3, that govern how the game plays. That said, many racial traits, class features, spells, magic items, monster abili­ ties, and other game elements break the general rules in som e way, creating an exception to how the rest o f the game works. Rem em ber this: If a specific rule contra­ dicts a general rule, the specific rule wins. Exceptions to the rules are often minor. For instance, many adventurers don’t have proficiency with longbows, but every w ood elf does because of a racial trait. That trait creates a m inor exception in the game. Other examples of rule-breaking are m ore conspicuous. For instance, an adventurer can’t normally pass through walls, but som e spells make that possible. Magic accounts for m ost o f the major exceptions to the rules. R o u n d D o w n There’s one m ore general rule you need to know at the outset. W henever you divide a number in the game, round down if you end up with a fraction, even if the fraction is one-half or greater. A d v e n t u r e s The D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s game consists of a group of characters embarking on an adventure that the Dun­ geon Master presents to them. Each character brings particular capabilities to the adventure in the form of ability scores and skills, class features, racial traits, equipment, and magic items. Every character is dif­ ferent, with various strengths and w eaknesses, so the best party of adventurers is one in which the characters complem ent each other and cover the w eaknesses of their com panions. The adventurers must cooperate to successfully complete the adventure. The adventure is the heart of the game, a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. An adventure might be created by the Dungeon Master or purchased off the shelf, tweaked and modified to suit the DM ’s needs and desires. In either case, an adventure features a fantastic setting, whether it’s an underground dungeon, a crum ­ bling castle, a stretch of wilderness, or a bustling city. It features a rich cast o f characters: the adventurers created and played by the other players at the table, as well as nonplayer characters (NPCs). Those char­ acters might be patrons, allies, enemies, hirelings, or just background extras in an adventure. Often, one of the NPCs is a villain w hose agenda drives much of an adventure’s action. Over the course of their adventures, the characters are confronted by a variety of creatures, objects, and situations that they must deal with in som e way. S om e­ times the adventurers and other creatures do their best to kill or capture each other in combat. At other times, the adventurers talk to another creature (or even a magical object) with a goal in mind. And often, the adventurers spend time trying to solve a puzzle, bypass an obstacle, find som ething hidden, or unravel the cur­ rent situation. Meanwhile, the adventurers explore the world, making decisions about which way to travel and what they’ll try to do next. Adventures vary in length and complexity. A short adventure might present only a few challenges, and it might take no m ore than a single game session to complete. A long adventure can involve hundreds of combats, interactions, and other challenges, and take dozens o f sessions to play through, stretching over weeks or months of real time. Usually, the end of an adventure is marked by the adventurers heading back to civilization to rest and enjoy the spoils of their labors. But that’s not the end of the story. You can think of an adventure as a single episode of a TV series, made up of multiple exciting scenes. A campaign is the whole series—a string o f adventures joined together, with a consistent group of adventurers following the narrative from start to finish. T h e T h r e e P i l l a r s o f A d v e n t u r e Adventurers can try to do anything their players can imagine, but it can be helpful to talk about their activ­ ities in three broad categories: exploration, social interaction, and combat. Exploration includes both the adventurers’ movement through the world and their interaction with objects and situations that require their attention. Exploration is the give-and-take of the players describing what they want their characters to do, and the Dungeon Master telling the players what happens as a result. On a large scale, that might involve the characters spending a day cross­ ing a rolling plain or an hour making their way through caverns underground. On the sm allest scale, it could mean one character pulling a lever in a dungeon room to see what happens. Social interaction features the adventurers talking to som eone (or som ething) else. It might mean demanding that a captured scout reveal the secret entrance to the goblin lair, getting information from a rescued prisoner, pleading for mercy from an orc chieftain, or persuading a talkative magic m irror to show a distant location to the adventurers. The rules in chapters 7 and 8 support exploration and social interaction, as do many class features in chapter 3 and personality traits in chapter 4. Combat, the focus of chapter 9, involves characters and other creatures swinging weapons, casting spells, maneuvering for position, and so on—all in an effort to defeat their opponents, whether that means killing every enemy, taking captives, or forcing a rout. Combat is the most structured element o f a D&D session, with creatures taking turns to make sure that everyone gets a chance to act. Even in the context of a pitched battle, there’s still plenty of opportunity for adventurers to attempt wacky stunts like surfing down a flight of stairs on a shield, to examine the environment (perhaps by pulling a mysterious lever), and to interact with other creatures, including allies, enem ies, and neutral parties. T h e W o n d e r s o f M a g i c Few D&D adventures end without som ething magical happening. W hether helpful or harmful, magic appears frequently in the life of an adventurer, and it is the focus of chapters 10 and 11. In the worlds of D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s , practitioners of magic are rare, set apart from the m asses o f people by their extraordinary talent. Com m on folk might see evidence of magic on a regular basis, but it’s usually m inor—a fantastic monster, a visibly answered prayer, a wizard walking through the streets with an animated shield guardian as a bodyguard. For adventurers, though, magic is key to their sur­ vival. Without the healing magic of clerics and paladins, adventurers would quickly succum b to their wounds. Without the uplifting magical support of bards and clerics, warriors might be overwhelmed by powerful foes. Without the sheer magical power and versatility of wizards and druids, every threat w ould be mag­ nified tenfold. Magic is also a favored tool of villains. Many adven­ tures are driven by the machinations of spellcasters w ho are hellbent on using magic for som e ill end. A cult leader seeks to awaken a god w ho slum bers beneath the sea, a hag kidnaps youths to magically drain them o f their vigor, a mad wizard labors to invest an army of automatons with a facsimile of life, a dragon begins a mystical ritual to rise up as a god of destruction—these are just a few of the magical threats that adventurers might face. With magic o f their own, in the form of spells and magic items, the adventurers might prevail! C h a p t e r 1: St e p - b y-S te p C h a r a c t e r s OUR FIRST STEP IN PLAYING AN ADVENTURER IN THE D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s game is to imagine and create a character of your own. Your character is a combination of game statistics, roleplaying hooks, and your imagination. You choose a race (such as human or halfling) and a class (such as fighter or wizard). You also invent the personality, appearance, and backstory of your character. Once completed, your character serves as your representative in the game, your avatar in the D u n g e o n s & D r a g o n s world. Before you dive into step 1 below, think about the kind o f adventurer you want to play. You might be a courageous fighter, a skulking rogue, a fervent cleric, or a flamboyant wizard. Or you might be m ore interested in an unconventional character, such as a brawny rogue who likes hand-to-hand combat, or a sharpshooter who picks off enem ies from afar. D o you like fantasy fiction featuring dwarves or elves? Try building a character of one of those races. D o you want your character to be the toughest adventurer at the table? Consider a class like barbarian or paladin. If you don’t know where else to begin, take a look at the illustrations in this book to see what catches your interest. Once you have a character in mind, follow these steps in order, making decisions that reflect the character you want. Your conception of your character might evolve with each choice you make. W hat’s important is that you com e to the table with a character you’re excited to play. Throughout this chapter, w e use the term character sheet to mean whatever you use to track your character, whether it’s a form al character sheet (like the one at the end of this book), som e form of digital record, or a piece of notebook paper. An official D&D character sheet is a fine place to start until you know what information you need and how you use it during the game. B u i l d i n g B r u e n o r Each step o f character creation includes an example of that step, with a player named Bob building his dwarf character, Bruenor. 1. C h o o s e a R a c e Every character belongs to a race, one of the many intelligent humanoid species in the D&D world. The most com m on player character races are dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans. Som e races also have subraces, such as mountain dwarf or w ood elf. Chapter 2 provides m ore information about these races, as well as the less widespread races of dragonborn, gnom es, half-elves, half-orcs, and tieflings. The race you choose contributes to your character’s identity in an important way, by establishing a general appearance and the natural talents gained from culture and ancestry. Your character’s race grants particular racial traits, such as special senses, proficiency with certain w eapons or tools, proficiency in one or more skills, or the ability to use minor spells. These traits som etim es dovetail with the capabilities of certain classes (see step 2). For example, the racial traits of lightfoot halflings make them exceptional rogues, and high elves tend to be powerful wizards. Som etim es playing against type can be fun, too. Half-orc paladins and mountain dwarf wizards, for example, can be unusual but memorable characters. Your race also increases one or m ore of your ability scores, which you determine in step 3. Note these increases and remember to apply them later. Record the traits granted by your race on your character sheet. Be sure to note your starting languages and your base speed as well. B u i l d i n g B r u e n o r , St e p 1 Bob is sitting down to create his character. He decides that a gruff mountain dwarf fits the character he wants to play. He notes all the racial traits of dwarves on his character sheet, including his speed of 25 feet and the languages he knows: Com m on and Dwarvish. 2. C h o o s e a C l a s s Every adventurer is a m em ber of a class. Class broadly describes a character’s vocation, what special talents he or she possesses, and the tactics he or she is most likely to employ when exploring a dungeon, fighting monsters, or engaging in a tense negotiation. The character classes are described in chapter 3. Your character receives a number of benefits from your choice of class. Many of these benefits are class features—capabilities (including spellcasting) that set your character apart from m em bers of other classes. You also gain a number of proficiencies: armor, weapons, skills, saving throws, and som etim es tools. Your proficiencies define many o f the things your character can do particularly well, from using certain w eapons to telling a convincing lie. On your character sheet, record all the features that your class gives you at 1st level. L e v e l Typically, a character starts at 1st level and advances in level by adventuring and gaining experience points (XP). A 1st-level character is inexperienced in the adventuring world, although he or she might have been a soldier or a pirate and done dangerous things before. Starting off at 1st level marks your character’s entry into the adventuring life. If you’re already familiar with the game, or if you are joining an existing D&D campaign, your DM might decide to have you begin at a higher level, on the assumption that your character has already survived a few harrowing adventures. Q u i c k B u i l d Each class description in chapter 3 includes a section offering suggestions to quickly build a character of that class, including how to assign your highest ability scores, a background suitable to the class, and starting spells. PART 1 S TE P-B Y -STE P CHARACTERS Record your level on your character sheet. If you’re starting at a higher level, record the additional elements your class gives you for your levels past 1st. A lso record your experience points. A 1st-level character has 0 X P A higher-level character typically begins with the minim um amount of X P required to reach that level (see “Beyond 1st Level” later in this chapter). H i t P o i n t s a n d H i t D ic e 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). A b i l i t y S c o r e S u m m a r y Strength Measures: Natural athleticism, bodily power Im portant for: Barbarian, fighter, paladin Racial Increases: Mountain dwarf (+2) Half-orc (+2) Dragonborn (+2) Human (+1) Dexterity Measures: Physical agility, reflexes, balance, poise Im portant for: Monk, ranger, rogue Racial Increases: Elf (+2) Forest gnome (+1) Halfling (+2) Human (+1) Constitution Measures: Health, stamina, vital force Im portant for: Everyone Racial Increases: Dwarf (+2) Half-orc (+1) Stout halfling (+1) Human (+1) Rock gnome (+1) Intelligence Measures: Mental acuity, information recall, analytical skill Im portant for: Wizard Racial Increases: High elf (+1) Tiefling (+1) Gnome (+2) Human (+1) Wisdom Measures: Aw areness, intuition, insight Im portant for: Cleric, druid Racial Increases: Hill dwarf (+1) Human (+1) Wood elf (+1) Charisma Measures: Confidence, eloquence, leadership Im portant for: Bard, sorcerer, warlock Racial Increases: Half-elf (+2) Dragonborn (+1) Drow (+1) Human (+1) Lightfoot halfling (+1) Tiefling (+2) At 1st level, your character has 1 Hit Die, and the die type is determined by your class. 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. R ecord your character’s hit points on your character sheet. Also record the type o f Hit Die your character uses and the number of Hit D ice you have. After you rest, you can spend Hit D ice to regain hit points (see “Resting” in chapter 8). P r o f i c i e n c y B o n u s The table that appears in your class description shows your proficiency bonus, which is +2 for a 1st-level character. Your proficiency bonus applies to many of the numbers you’ll be recording on your character sheet: • Attack rolls using w eapons you’re proficient with • Attack rolls with spells you cast • Ability checks using skills you’re proficient in • Ability checks using tools you’re proficient with • Saving throws you’re proficient in • Saving throw DCs for spells you cast (explained in each spellcasting class) Your class determines your w eapon proficiencies, your saving throw proficiencies, and som e of your skill and tool proficiencies. (Skills are described in chapter 7, tools in chapter 5.) Your background gives you additional skill and tool proficiencies, and som e races give you m ore proficiencies. Be sure to note all o f these proficiencies, as well as your proficiency bonus, on your character sheet. Your proficiency bonus can’t be added to a single die roll or other num ber m ore than once. Occasionally, your proficiency bonus might be modified (doubled or halved, for example) before you apply it. If a circum stance suggests that your proficiency bonus applies m ore than once to the sam e roll or that it should be multiplied m ore than once, you nevertheless add it only once, multiply it only once, and halve it only once. B u i l d i n g B r u e n o r , St e p 2 Bob im agines Bruenor charging into battle with an axe, one horn on his helmet broken off. He makes Bruenor a fighter and notes the fighter’s proficiencies and 1st-level class features on his character sheet. As a 1st-level fighter, Bruenor has 1 Hit Die—a d 10— and starts with hit points equal to 10 + his Constitution modifier. Bob notes this, and will record the final number after he determines Bruenor’s Constitution score (see step 3). Bob also notes the proficiency bonus for a 1st-level character, which is +2. 3 . D e t e r m i n e A b i l i t y S c o r e s Much of what your character does in the game depends on his or her six abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Each ability has a score, which is a num ber you record on your character sheet. The six abilities and their use in the game are described in chapter 7. The Ability S core Sum m ary table provides a quick reference for what qualities are m easured by each ability, what races increases which abilities, and what classes consider each ability particularly important. You generate your character's six ability scores randomly. Roll four 6-sided dice and record the total of the highest three dice on a piece of scratch paper. Do this five m ore times, so that you have six numbers. If you want to save time or don’t like the idea of randomly determining ability scores, you can use the following scores instead: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. Now take your six num bers and write each number beside one o f your character’s six abilities to assign scores to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, W isdom , and Charisma. Afterward, make any changes to your ability scores as a result of your race choice. After assigning your ability scores, determine your ability modifiers using the Ability Scores and M odifiers table. To determine an ability modifier without consulting the table, subtract 10 from the ability score and then divide the result by 2 (round down). Write the modifier next to each of your scores. B u i l d i n g B r u e n o r , St e p 3 Bob decides to use the standard set of scores (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) for Bruenor’s abilities. Since he’s a fighter, he puts his highest score, 15, in Strength. His next- highest, 14, goes in Constitution. Bruenor might be a brash fighter, but Bob decides he wants the dwarf to be older, wiser, and a good leader, so he puts decent scores in W isdom and Charisma. After applying his racial benefits (increasing Bruenor’s Constitution by 2 and his Strength by 2), Bruenor’s ability scores and modifiers look like this: Strength 17 (+3), Dexterity 10 (+0), Constitution 16 (+3), Intelligence 8 (-1), W isdom 13 (+1), Charisma 12 (+1). Bob fills in Bruenor's final hit points: 10 + his Constitution m odifier of +3, for a total of 13 hit points. V a r i a n t : C u s t o m i z i n g A b i l i t y S c o r e s At your Dungeon Master’s option, you can use this variant for determining your ability scores. The method described here allows you to build a character with a set of ability scores you choose individually. You have 27 points to spend on your ability scores. The cost of each score is shown on the Ability Score Point Cost table. For example, a score of 14 costs 7 points. Using this method, 15 is the highest ability score you can end up with, before applying racial increases. You can’t have a score lower than 8. This method of determining ability scores enables you to create a set o f three high numbers and three low ones (15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8), a set o f numbers that are above A b i l i t y S c o r e P o i n t C o s t A b i l i t y S c o r e s a n d M o d i f i e r s Score Modifier Score Modifier 1 -5 16-17 +3 2-3 -4 18-19 +4 4-5 -3 20-21 +5 6-7 -2 22-23 +6 8-9 -1 24-25 +7 10-11 +0 26-27 +8 12-13 +1 28-29 +9 14-15 +2 30 +10 average and nearly equal (13, 13, 13, 12, 12, 12), or any set of numbers between those extremes. 4 . D e s c r i b e Y o u r C h a r a c t e r Once you know the basic game aspects of your character, it’s time to flesh him or her out as a person. Your character needs a name. Spend a few minutes thinking about what he or she looks like and how he or she behaves in general terms. Using the information in chapter 4, you can flesh out your character’s physical appearance and personality traits. Choose your character’s alignment (the moral com pass that guides his or her decisions) and ideals. Chapter 4 also helps you identify the things your character holds m ost dear, called bonds, and the flaws that could one day undermine him or her. Your character’s background describes where he or she cam e from, his or her original occupation, and the character’s place in the D&D world. Your DM might offer additional backgrounds beyond the ones included Score Cost Score Cost 8 0 12 4 9 1 13 5 10 2 14 7 11 3 15 9 in chapter 4, and might be willing to w ork with you to craft a background that’s a m ore precise fit for your character concept. A background gives your character a background feature (a general benefit) and proficiency in two skills, and it might also give you additional languages or proficiency with certain kinds of tools. R ecord this information, along with the personality information you develop, on your character sheet. Y o u r C h a r a c t e r ’s A b i l i t i e s Take your character’s ability scores and race into account as you flesh out his or her appearance and personality. A very strong character with low Intelligence might think and behave very differently from a very smart character with low Strength. For example, high Strength usually corresponds with a burly or athletic body, while a character with low Strength might be scrawny or plump. A character with high Dexterity is probably lithe and slim, while a character with low Dexterity might be either gangly and awkward or heavy and thick-fingered. A character with high Constitution usually looks healthy, with bright eyes and abundant energy. A character with low Constitution might be sickly or frail. A character with high Intelligence might be highly inquisitive and studious, while a character with low Intelligence might speak sim...