beginner d&d guide

7/29/2019 Beginner D&D Guide

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Alright, since people showed interest but didn't hang around at Games Club, I took it upon myself to

write a little guide to help a potential D&D player get acquainted with the idea of the game.

Dungeons and Dragons is a creative role-playing dice game, in which players sit around a table anddescribe the actions their characters take within the world of the game. The game itself is crafted by the

Dungeon Master (DM, also often called Game Master or GM) who before each session designs

interactions with non-player characters (NPCs) and battles with monsters, as well as any other relatedfacet of the game world. The DM and players are aided with the many, many rulebooks which containmostly descriptions of pre-made worlds such as qualities of races (like Elves and Dwarves, etc) and

settings, as well as classes (like Ranger or Sorcerer, the thing that describes your character's abilities.

More on these later.) As D&D has been around since like, the 60s or something, there have been manyeditions. 5th edition is right on the horizon, but the one we use most often is 3.5 edition. The rulebooks

are all more like guidelines, and if everyone agrees on it you can change anything you want. The

rulebooks are just there to provide a base (most character ideas you might want to play are manageableusing the rules already in the book). It's an imagination game, solely for the purpose of having a fun

adventure, so you can make up anything you please. Of course, since the DM is designing the game,

they have the final say on what works and what doesn't.

The actual mechanic of gameplay is a bit funny, because it's very divided into two styles. The first is

the sort of adventure part, where you discuss in the group things like I think we should keep going

deeper into the cave before reporting back to the king, Before heading to the alchemist's shop, I wantto check out the seedy part of the neighborhood to see if anyone's picked up something which fits the

clouded gem's description, or I'm going to mediate between the two factions, keeping an eye on the

exit in case things get ugly. For the most part, this is all improv acting. Whatever you choose to do is

up to your imagination, and hopefully the DM will be able to keep up with the directions and choicesyou make. On occasion, you might have to make skill checks (described below) so the DM can decide

how well you accomplished whatever you were trying to do. The other part of the game is combat,

which changes drastically from going around doing stuff to a turn-based system divided into

available actions, tactical decisions, and is highly dice-influenced. You can still be creative of course,but there's usually a limit on how much you can do in your turn. More on this later, naturally.

RACESThe character you will play, in most basic terms, is a combination of a race and a class (though highly

customizable via Stats, Skills, Feats, and many other little things I'll get into later.) To this end, I'll start

with the Races. In the many books of D&D 3.5 there are dozens of races. I'll mention the main fewfound in the Player's Handbook, and a few more that I think are particularly cool.

-Humans: Humans are known for being shorter lived than other races like Elves and Dwarves, and assuch are admired for their innovation and love of life. They have few special racial traits, but gain anextra skill point each level and a bonus feat at level 1.

-Elves: Elves are long-lived, known for being artistic and creative, skilled archers and workers of

wood. Elves have +2 Dexterity for being nimble, but -2 Constitution for being a bit frail. They alsogain weapon proficiency with certain weapons like longswords and longbows. Elves do not sleep,

instead they enter a dreamless trance for four hours. They can also see perfectly in starlight, and


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automatically detect secret doors.

-Dwarves: Dwarves are not as long-lived as Elves, but have an impressive lifespan. Short and stocky

but muscular, Dwarves are known for their skill with stone and metal. They have +2 Constitution forbeing tough, but -2 Charisma for being gruff. They are a little slower than most races but are not further

slowed in heavy armor, resist being knocked over, they can see in pitch darkness, determine their depth

underground, and notice unusual stonework.

-Halflings: Halflings are Hobbits, short and jovial lovers of food and fancy. Halflings are Small-sized

instead of Medium-sized like most races, which manifests in a number of ways that I'll get into later.

They also get +2 to Dexterity for being quick, but -2 to Strength for being a bit puny. They also get a

+1 bonus to their saving throws (explained later) for being lucky.

-Gnomes: Tough miners and mountain dwellers not unlike Dwarves. Like Halflings, Gnomes are

Small, but gain +2 Constitution for being stocky and -2 Strength for being weaker. Gnomes are

naturally drawn to illusion magic, and with a higher-than-average Charisma score, they can cast a few

small illusion spells regardless of whether or not they actually have a magic-using class.

-Orcs: Powerful brutes, Orcs are known for barbarism and tactlessness. They have +4 Strength, but -2

Intelligence for being a bit thick, -2 Wisdom for not being very deep, and -2 Charisma for beingbrutish. They can see in darkness, but are also dazzled in bright light.

-Goblins: Quick and shifty creatures, Small like Gnomes and Halflings, Goblins are generally

unpleasant but not inherently evil. They have +2 Dexterity, but -2 Strength and -2 Charisma. They alsocan see in the dark, and unlike most Small creatures they have the speed of a Medium creature.

-Half-Elf: The child of a Human and an Elf, often outcasts in their societies, Half-Elves are kind andsociable. Unfortunately, except for having a bit of skill in talking to people and vision in starlight, theydon't have many racial traits.

-Half-Orc: The child of a Human and an Orc, they are frequently seen as too brutish for Human society

and too feeble for Orcish society. They have +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, and -2 Charisma and can seein the dark. But like their fellow hybrid, they don't have much else going for them.

There are many, many available races beyond those I've listed here. For one, all of these races have

regional variants (often with slight tweaks to stats and skill bonuses) for places like the desert, jungle,

tundra, and even ocean. But there are many more races that are nothing like these listed. Some thatcome to mind right now are: Kobolds, small lizard people distantly related to dragons (imagine lizard-

goblins); Raptorans, winged elf-like creatures who look not unlike angels and have pacts with the windgods; Changelings, humanoid shapeshifters who can change to mimic any Medium humanoid;

Warforged, robotic humanoids who do not eat, sleep, or breathe; Dragonborn, not quite a race but

actually a 'template' (so you could have a Dragonborn Elf, or a Dragonborn Dwarf) which is a draconichumanoid pledged to fighting evil dragons; and more. Seriously, if there's a kind of creature you want

to be, it's not hard to get it somehow. (One thing that should be mentioned though is that most (but not

all) easily playable races are humanoid. There are stronger races available, like Centaurs and Ogres and


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Doppelgangers, but the increase in power compared to normal races costs you class levels. Effectively,

you pay for the strength of your race from what you could normally do as a Ranger or Wizard or

Rogue. Usually it's more fun to keep going with your class, but for some races this 'Level Adjustment'

is worth it.)

ABILITY SCORES (STATS)Because I mentioned them a lot, I'll go into Stats a little bit right now. There are six stats usedthroughout D&D: Strength (Str), Dexterity (Dex), Constitution (Con), Intelligence (Int), Wisdom(Wis), and Charisma (Cha). These are divided into the three physical stats (Str, Dex, and Con) and three

mental stats (Int, Wis, and Cha). Normally to determine your stats, you roll 4d6 (four six-sided dice)

and remove the lowest roll. For example, if you rolled a 5, a 3, a 2, and a 6, you would drop the 2 andyour score would be 14. You do this six times, assign the numbers you rolled to the stat you wish it to

represent, and then add or subtract the racial modifiers to your stats. Let's say that a Dwarf rolled that

14 from before. If he puts it into Con, his racial modifier bumps it up to 16. If he put it into Cha, theracial modifier would bump it down to 12.

You barely ever actually use the stat score, though. Instead, you use its corresponding modifier. You

determine a stat's modifier by subtracting 10 from the score, and halving the result. Almost alwaysexcept if doing so gives 0, you round down fractions. So a score of 8 or 9 results in a mod of -1, 10 or

11 gives +0, 12 or 13 gives +1, etc. When I refer to your stats from now on, it'll be these modifiers, not

the actual score, that I'm referring to.

-Strength represents a character's physical might. Melee combat accuracy and damage is partially based

off of your Str, as is lifting capacity (which is boring to keep track of so we hardly ever do.) Skills

based on Str are Climb, Jump, and Swim (not that many). Melee characters like Barbarians and

Fighters want a high Str, but ranged characters and spellcasters can often do without it.

-Dexterity represents a character's agility, reflexes, and manual skill. Ranged attack accuracy, yourability to dodge attacks, your Reflex save (used to avoid fireballs and stuff), and your initiative (when

you act in combat) are based off of Dex. Skills based on Dex are Balance, Escape Artist, Hide, MoveSilently, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Tumble, and Use Rope. Ranged characters (including spellcasters who

fire spells at their foes) and stealthy characters like a high Dex, as well as anything that wants to evade

attacks, so only heavy armor classes (whose armor limits the usefulness of their Dex) more or lessignore it.

-Constitution represents a character's healthiness. It's used for Fortitude saves (used to resist poisons

and stuff), and adds to your overall hit points. The only skill based on Con is Concentration. Since itboosts HP, pretty much everyone wants at least a non-negative Con modifier.

-Intelligence represents your character's mental capacity. You gain an extra number of skill points each

level above those usually granted by your class equal to your Intelligence modifier. Wizards andArchivists also base their casting power from their Intelligence. Int based skills are Appraise, Craft

(several), Decipher Script, Disable Device, Forgery, Knowledge (several), Search, and Spellcraft.

Characters that make good use of their skills, like Rogues and Rangers, like having high Int. Wizardsoften prioritize on boosting their Int as high as they can.


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-Wisdom represents your character's mental clarity. It's used for Will saves (used to resist mind control

and stuff). Clerics and Druids use Wisdom for their spellcasting power, and Monks can use Wisdom

like they use Dexterity to help evade attacks. Wis based skills are Heal, Listen, Profession (several),

Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival. Clerics and Druids want their Wis as high as they can get it, andsome characters like Ranger and Paladin who can cast a few weaker spells also like to have some Wis.

If a character is worried about being mentally dominated, Wis is a good priority.

-Charisma represents your character's force of personality and persuasiveness. It's used almostexclusively in skills, though some spellcasters like Sorcerers and Bards base their spellcasting off of it.

Cha based skills are Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perform

(several), and Use Magic Device. Sorcerers and Bards like to have a very high Charisma, and Paladinshave some abilities based off of it.

SKILLSSince I've been talking a lot about Skills, I might as well introduce them now. Every time you level up,you gain a certain number of skill points based on what class you're taking and your Intelligence

modifier (and four times this number at level 1). You use these skill points to buy skill ranks. The

number of skill ranks you have in a skill, plus the corresponding modifier of that skill, plus any otherbonuses you have to that skill, are added to your d20 (twenty-sided die) roll when you use the skill.

Each class has a class skill list, which can be bought at a ratio of one skill point per one skill rank. If

you buy a skill that isn't on your class skill list, the ratio is two skill points per one skill rank. Themaximum number of skill ranks you can own in a skill is your level+3, and half of that for cross-class

skills (skills that aren't on your class skill list.) Skills are most often used out of combat, to approximate

the success of certain actions (a Diplomacy check might be required to chat with a dignitary, while a

Bluff check might be required to pretend that you ARE a dignitary. Trying to find an informant mighttake a Gather Information check, and you'll probably want to use Sense Motive to see if the informant

is lying to you.) The skill checks are usually made against either a set number called the Difficulty

Class (DC), as decided by the DM, or as an opposed check made by two people. For example, if aplayer decides to make a Spot check, the DM might decide that if their check result equals or exceeds

15, they notice a secret peephole in the wall. If, instead, there is a Gnome sneaking in the shadows, the

DM will have the Gnome make a Hide check and the player make a Spot check. If the player's Spotexceeds the Gnome's Hide, the Gnome is noticed!

The skills are:

Appraise (Int): Used to determine quality and monetary value of items.Autohypnosis^ (Wis): Used to hypnotize yourself into remembering things or resisting damage.

Balance* (Dex): Used to maintain stability on thin, unsteady, or precarious surfaces.

Bluff (Cha): Used to convince another of the truth of your words.Climb* (Str): Used to lift yourself up a vertical surface.Concentration (Con): Used to maintain focus, such as during spellcasting.

Craft (Int): Used to create objects. It's actually more specialized, into Craft (armorsmithing), Craft

(alchemy), Craft (poison), etc. You can fill in whatever you like.Decipher Script^ (Int): Used to understand cryptic runes and puzzles, and figure out Scrolls.

Diplomacy (Cha): Used to influence another to becoming friendly with you.

Disable Device^ (Int): Used to stop/sabotage traps or other mechanics, like a wagon wheel.Disguise (Cha): Used to change your appearance to something else.


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Escape Artist* (Dex): Used to wiggle free of bonds, or a foe Grappling you.

Forgery (Int): Used to fake handwriting or signatures.

Gather Information (Cha): Used to track down information. One check encompasses several hours.

Handle Animal^ (Cha): Used to tame, train, and command animals.Heal (Wis): Used to tend to wounds, stopping allies from bleeding to death or checking vital signs.

Hide* (Dex): Used to keep to the shadows, unnoticed by others.

Intimidate (Cha): Used to scare others to becoming more friendly, for a while.Jump* (Str): Used to leap over spaces, such as rough terrain or chasms.

Knowledge^ (Int): Used to know things. Like Craft, it encompasses many different skills.

Listen (Wis): Used to hear things, like people whispering or an invisible sneak.Move Silently* (Dex): Used to hide your sound, like if you are an invisible sneak.

Open Lock^ (Dex): Used to pick closed locks.

Perform (Cha): Used to entertain. Like Craft, it encompasses many different skills.Profession^ (Wis): Used to suggest your training. Like Craft, it encompasses many different skills.

Ride (Dex): Used to control a mount.

Search (Int): Used to comb through areas looking for small or hidden objects.

Sense Motive (Wis): Used to determine if another is telling the truth or lies, or their general mindset.Sleight of Hand*^ (Dex): Used to misdirect another and hide objects, or slip one onto someone else.

Spellcraft^ (Int): Used to identify and study spells.

Psicraft^ (Int): Used to identify and study psionic powers.Spot (Wis): Used to notice things, like a Gnome in the shadows.

Survival (Wis): Used to forage and survive in the wild. Rangers can use it to track down targets.

Swim* (Str): Used to traverse water.Tumble*^ (Dex): Used to duck and dive around hostile foes in battle.

Use Magic Device^ (Cha): Used to activate scrolls and wands by non-spellcasters.

Use Psionic Device^ (Cha): Used to activate power stones and dorjes by non-psionic users.

Use Rope (Dex): Used to tie knots and the like.

Skills marked by a ^ can only be used if you have at least one rank in the skill. Otherwise, even if youhave no training in the skill, you might be able to make it work. Skills marked by a * take a penalty

equal to your Armor Check Penalty, which is based on the weight of the armor you're wearing (it'sharder to Jump or Tumble in heavy armor. Swim takes a double penalty.) A note on the use of skills,

usually you roll the d20 and add your mod, but there are times that you can skip the d20 part. If you

aren't in the middle of combat and you can do an average job, you can Take 10 on your check, asthough you had rolled a 10 on your d20, plus all your bonuses. A couple of skills like Use Magic

Device or Knowledges don't let you take 10, but most do. It represents you doing an average (for you)

job. If you have plenty of time, you can even Take 20, which is basically like doing the skill again andagain until you roll a 20 on the d20. This is most useful for skills like Search, which would reflect you

taking a couple of hours to scour a dungeon room for hidden doors or that tiny key. Skills that have a

negative consequence to failure, like Climb (you fall), forbid you from taking 20.

In some cases, you may also be asked to make an Ability Check, which is like a skill check but using

just your ability score and not any skill based on the ability score. For example, breaking down a door

might be a Strength check, because no skill fits. Usually the DCs for these are lower, because yourability scores will be lower than the total of that score and the ranks you bought.


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CLASSESAlright, with all of that out of the way, I think it's time to get to the real meat of the matter: Classes.

Most of the time, it's your class that determines all your special abilities, what you're good at, and your

general style of character. Base Classes come in 20 levels, with powers that get stronger as you increasein level. You can choose to go all the way through a single class, or multiclass to mix-and-match

abilities. You always start a class at its first level, even if your overall character level is higher. So ifyou have five levels of Fighter, at your sixth character level you might like to dip into Rogue, and youget the powers of a 5th level Fighter/1st level Rogue, not a 5th level Fighter/6th level Rogue.

The base classes are:

Archivist: Int-based caster of divine magic, who walks the world searching for holy scripts of power.Notable for the fact that they can add any divine spell to their spellbook.

Ardent: Wis-based psionic character who takes a very small list of powers (psychic spells, basically)

from Mantles, ideals that the Ardent holds dear.

Artificer: A tinkerer who can craft magic items, and use Infusions (sort of like spells but that only target

items) to power up allies. Big on using scrolls and wands.

Barbarian: Known for the characteristic Rage ability, Barbarians are martial characters who get into thefray of battle and beat up EVERYONE.

Bard: Cha-based caster of arcane magic, known for being a jack-of-all-trades. They get a good number

of skill points, a bit of spellcasting power, and can play music to power up their allies.

Battle Dancer: A martial artist who dances around their enemy, leaping and diving before striking withtheir bare hands. Not unlike a Monk.

Beguiler: A fusion of Rogue and Wizard, this Int-based caster makes use of illusion and enchantment

spells along with social skills like Bluff and Diplomacy to meet their ends.

Binder: Summons spirits of powerful creatures not quite in existence and barters with them to gainpower. The number of these vestiges and the variety of powers make them complicated to play.

Cleric: The classic Wis-based divine caster, often played as a healer or bane of Undead creatures. They

have to prepare their spells at the beginning of the day, but have great versatility in their choices.

Crusader: A martial class who uses maneuvers, which are like less magical melee versions of spells.

Crusaders get their maneuvers at random, from divine inspiration, and make good tanks.

Death Master: An Int-based arcane caster who specializes in necromantic magic, and is well-known forhaving a skeletal minions doing their bidding.


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Divine Mind: A Wis-based psionic character who learns a small selection of weaker powers at higher

levels, but is most used for the aura they project which can buff allies.

Dragon Shaman: Revering dragons, the Dragon Shaman gains a breath weapon based on a chosendragon type with which to blast enemies, and projects auras to buff allies.

Dragonfire Adept: Seeking to match the power of dragons, they also gain a breath weapon but can

modify it in many ways, as well as gaining Invocations (like spells but used more often).

Dread Necromancer: An Cha-based arcane caster specializing in necromantic magic, good for amassing

hordes of undead creatures under your control, eventually becoming a powerful Undead yourself.

Druid: A Wis-based divine caster who draws their strength from nature. They gain an animalcompanion as an ally, and can Wild Shape to turn into animals.

Duskblade: An Int-based arcane caster of lower level spells and martial character, combining sword andsorcery, they strike at their enemies and channel spells through their blade to devastating effect.

Factotum: The true jack-of-all-trades, with all skills as class skills, they can mimic many class features

like spells and sneak attack, and manage to get their Int mod to most other abilities.

Favored Soul: A Cha-based divine caster who embodies their deity's representative in our world. Theycast their spells spontaneously, unlike a Cleric, but they know far fewer spells as a whole.

Fighter: A martial class that, unlike all other classes, has no class features except for bonus feats (more

on feats later.) As a result it is highly customizable, but doesn't have a whole lot that's special.

Healer: A Wis-based divine casting class that focuses entirely on healing others of wounds, as opposed

to the Cleric who can do other things too. You get a Unicorn companion, and can boost your healing.

Hexblade: A minor arcane caster and martial character, they focus on resisting spells cast by opponents,

sending out curses to debuff their foes, and once the enemy is softened up they wade into melee.

Incarnate: An Incarnum class, powered by soul energy, they hold true to an ideal of Good, Evil, Law, orChaos, and equip themselves with Soulmelds (like items, but temporary and made by them).

Jester: Like the Bard, a Cha-based arcane casting class that instead of buffing allies, focuses on tossing

out rude comments and quips to demoralize foes.

Knight: A warrior in heavy armor with heavy sword, often mounted, the Knight is a tank which makes

moving difficult for foes, and can gain bonuses by challenging foes in combat.

Lurk: A psychic sneak, Lurks have a good number of skill points and can augment their strikes by


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expending psychic power, in order to gain special effects on unaware opponents.

Marshal: A team player, the Marshal can fight in melee, but is most valuable for the auras which allow

allies to add the Marshal's Cha mod as a bonus to various things.

Monk: The kung-fu master, Monks are known for the increased damage of their Unarmed Strikes, for

being quick, and for being very hard to actually strike.

Mountebank: Beguiling and deceitful, the Mountebank has sold their soul to an infernal fiend inexchange for bewitching powers. But pray you don't die while it has claim to you!

Ninja: The epitome of agility, Ninjas dodge attacks like Monks, can inflict extra damage on opponents

they take by surprise, and have a ki pool which lets them vanish into thin air.

Paladin: A holy warrior whose sole purpose is to hunt down and kill evil creatures. To this end they

have abilities to Detect Evil and Smite Evil, as well as bolster and heal themselves and their party.

Psion: An Int-based psychic master who knows a repertoire of powers. Psions have to choose betweena set of six disciplines which somewhat shapes their style of play.

Psychic Warrior: A martial character who gains a few psionic powers as well, the Psychic Warrior buffs

themselves before tearing into foes, though they can blast from the sidelines too.

Ranger: The classic wilderness hunter, Rangers get an animal companion and the ability to track. They

also choose between Two-Weapon Fighting or Archery as a primary attack method.

Rogue: Effectively a thief or assassin, Rogues have a high number of skill points, can find traps, and

are most known for their Sneak Attack which damages surprised or off-guard foes.

Samurai: A wielder of two blades, the Samurai is able to smite foes with a powerful shout anddemoralize their enemies through the use of Intimidate.

Scout: Like a Rogue/Ranger hybrid, the Scout is good at staying unseen and naturally, scouting. Their

Skirmish ability lets them do extra damage if they've moved at least 10 feet in their turn.

Sha'ir: A Cha-based arcane (and some divine) caster which, instead of preparing spells on their own,

sends a little elemental minion out to collect spells with a successful Diplomacy check.

Shadowcaster: A caster of mysteries, (shadow spells, basically), tied to the darkness and night andoften strengthened by it.

Shugenja: A Cha-based divine caster which can draw from many elemental sources, but uses a

particular element most often as a guide.


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Sorcerer: A Cha-based arcane caster who knows only a small selection of spells, but doesn't have to

prepare them early in the day. Often seen as the counterpart to the Wizard.

Soulborn: A monk-like character who uses Incarnum and Soulmelds to strengthen their physicalfighting ability.

Soulknife: A supposedly psychic character who never actually gets to use powers, but can manifest a

shimmering energy blade from their hand and fights with that.

Spellthief: Much like a Rogue, the Spellthief gets Sneak Attack to hurt surprised foes. However, it has

the ability to steal spells from casters it attacks, and can cast those spells right back.

Spirit Shaman: A Wis-based divine caster that has a spiritual animal guide, and can often interact withthe spirits in the world around them.

Swashbuckler: A dashing warrior who combines strength and finesse, gaining the ability to parry

attacks with their blade and add their Int mod to damage due to precise strikes.

Swordsage: An Initiator class like the Crusader, Swordsages have a ninja-ish feel and gain more

supernatural powers like invisibility, flaming blades, and small teleports.

Totemist: An Incarnum class that idealizes the strength of wild beasts, it can bind one of its Soulmelds

to its Totem Chakra to gain powers from a beast that the Soulmeld represents.

Truenamer: A peculiar class that functions a bit like a caster, it makes a Truespeak check (a skill check)to use Utterances to reshape the world around it by speaking the language of the universe.

Warblade: An Initiator class, Warblades are masters of tactical combat and can be well versed with

most weapons with a little practice. Their abilities often involve powering through negative effects.

Warlock: Not quite a caster, Warlocks get Invocations which can be used without limit, but are usually

weaker than spells. They also get the Eldritch Blast, a dark blast of energy.

Warmage: An Int-based caster that specializes on blasty spells, Warmages have a small list of spells butknow all of them. They also get their Int mod to bonus damage with spells.

Wilder: A Cha-based psionics user, Wilders are fueled by intense emotions and can break the limit on

their normal use of powers, but it may backlash against them and leave them stunned.

Wizard: An Int-based arcane caster, Wizards keep a spellbook that they can add to, giving them

knowledge of many spells. They can choose to specialize among the eight schools of magic.


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Wu-Jen: An Int-based arcane caster, Wu-Jen have a chosen element that they focus their spells on,

though they are also able to cast more universal spells.

So that's the super-abridged version of base classes. All of those can be taken starting at level 1, andhave a progression all the way through level 20. Most classes have special class features at nearly every

level, so there's always something to look forward to with a level up. In addition, all classes grant a Hit

Die, progression to your Saving Throws, skill points, and Base Attack Bonus, all of which I'll explainin just a moment.The classes listed above are all the base classes, but there are also Prestige Classes (PrC for short)

which are usually specialized versions of base classes that let you do something particularly special.

For example, there's the Frenzied Berserker, a natural PrC for the Barbarian, that powers up theBarbarian's Rage (and threatens to attack allies if all enemies die.) A Barbarian might also be interested

in taking the PrC Frostrager, or Bear Warrior, or Runescarred Berserker. Those are a couple of

Barbarian-based PrCs, but it might also like to try out some classes that are generally martial tocompliment the Barbarian's strengths, or something completely different because you can. Prestige

Classes have entry requirements, usually along the lines of having a certain number of ranks in some

skills, having a certain Base Attack Bonus, being able to cast certain spells or certain kinds of spells,

etc. The main purpose to this is to control when you can enter the class, because most (but not all) PrCsrequire five levels of base classes beforehand. There are over 700 PrCs on this list I'm looking at right

now, so you're not in danger of running out of inspiration any time soon.

GETTING TO KNOW THE CHARACTER SHEETAlright, I think we've got most of the character creation stuff out of the way. Race and class form the

crux of the real essence of your character, with things like skills and feats customizing them and

making one Dwarf Cleric different from the next. So, now I'll get into some of the nitty-gritty materialthat makes up the Character Sheet attached.

So, I'll go through bit by bit. Character name is the name of your character. Player name is your name.

Class and level is a way to keep track of what classes you've taken, like Ranger 2/Rogue 4. Slashes areusually used to separate the classes. ECL stands for Effective Character Level. Usually this will be

equal to the sum of your class levels taken, but can be larger if you're of a race that has a Level

Adjustment. Race/Template is your race, and if you have a template (like Dragonborn, Vampire, Half-Fey, etc.)

SIZEI'll take this chance to explain size. The sizes in D&D are Fine, Diminutive, Tiny, Small, Medium,

Large, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal. The default size for most things is Medium, and other sizes'

modifiers are based off of Medium. For one, you get a size modifier to attack rolls and your ArmorClass (how hard it is to hit you.) In order, the modifiers you get are +8, +4, +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, -4, -8. This

means that big creatures are easier to hit, and also have a bit of trouble hitting smaller creatures, but

any two creatures of the same size have their modifiers balance out. For each size smaller thanMedium, you gain -4 to Grapple, Bull Rush, and Trip checks. For each size larger than Medium, you

gain +4 to Grapple, Bull Rush, and Trip checks. Being larger also gives you greater reach, meaning that

you can attack areas further away from your body, and threaten more squares overall (I'll explain all

these combat terms later.) Being small lowers your reach, and in some cases you may have to actuallyoverlap squares with your opponent in order to strike them. For each size smaller than Medium you are


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you gain +4 to Hide checks, and for each size larger than Medium you are you take a -4 penalty on

Hide checks. Characters sized differently than Medium must have armor and weapons sized for them.

Armor doesn't change, but weapon damage increases and decreases with size.

Gender is gender. D&D will often call what should be called sex gender, or not differentiate, or

whatever, but it's your character, you know how they feel. Changelings are confusing.

ALIGNMENTAlignment is fun. It represents your general morality and ethical behavior, but it's very much a matterof guidelines (except for some classes like Monks and Barbarians who must not stray from certain

paths, and Paladins who lose all their powers if they deviate from the path of Law and Good.) Imagine

a tic-tac-toe board. The rows are labeled Good, Neutral, and Evil, and the columns are labeled Law,Neutral, and Chaos. Your alignment is based on one of these nine squares.

-Lawful Good: The crusader. They value the force of law and order, obeying commands from their

superiors such as kings, and value goodness. Good is not always peaceful, as the killing of an evilcreature is technically a good act. Lawful Good characters are not likely to murder, torture, lie, cheat,

or steal to achieve their ends.

-Neutral Good: The benefactor. Someone who either values law and personal freedom equally, ordoesn't care much about either for the sake of kindness and generosity. A Neutral Good character

probably respects authority, but doesn't feel tied to it.

-Chaotic Good: The rebel. Robin Hood-ish, they value freedom and expression as ideals and are oftenat odds with authority figures. Although a Chaotic Good character desires to aid people, their moral

compass may direct them in paths that disagree with those of society.

-Lawful Neutral: The judge. Unconcerned with the morality of what is good and what is evil, theLawful Neutral character values promises, laws, and judgments. It is possible for a Lawful Neutral

character to be devoted to their personal laws instead of those of society, but that's less common.

-True Neutral (also called Druidic Neutral): True Neutral can go two ways. One is the indifferentcharacter, one who doesn't care about good and evil, law and chaos, and just goes with the flow.

Someone who might be willing to use any of those means to their end. Or, a True Neutral might

acknowledge the power and value of the four extremes, and believes that a harmony is ideal. There areshortcomings to Law as to Chaos, and one can support the other. Good and Evil are natural forces in

the world which must be in opposition for the continuation of the world.

-Chaotic Neutral: The free spirit. A Chaotic Neutral character does as they please, often lying orcheating to their greater end. They aren't evil, but some might label them as such for the lack of

morality they exhibit. Despite not showing respect for an organization, they probably won't act to

overthrow it because it would suggest motivation toward righteousness or totalitarianism to do so, withthe Chaotic Neutral character really just can't be bothered with.

-Lawful Evil: The tyrant. Think mafia. A Lawful Evil character is likely to tell the truth and keep


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promises but is usually seeking to further their own ends. They often rely on the system of government

or other laws to protect themselves legally. The willingness to follow through with promises means that

they will also hold true to their threats.

-Neutral Evil: The malefactor. Selfish and greedy, a Neutral Evil character will do whatever they need

to in order to suit their purposes. They won't necessarily keep promises or obey laws, but they don't

love to destroy and ruin for the sake of it.

-Chaotic Evil: The destroyer. They love to break things, bringing the rulers to their knees and razing

civilizations. They are often loners, as not only do they not fit into company well but any like-minded

allies will probably seek to destroy the others.

Your Religion and Patron Deity is for the most part just style. There are many deities in the D&D

pantheon, and most types of characters have a patron deity that smiles on their actions. Clerics and

Favored Souls are particularly devoted to their deities, from whom they gain their spells.

Height, Weight, and Looks are to help visualize your character.

The Stats I've already gone over, so hopefully you have a good grasp on that.

ATTACKINGCombat Options are rather interesting. First of all is Base Attack Bonus, or BAB. Each level, you gain

either +1 or +0 BAB based on your class. Martial classes like Fighter, Barbarian, and Ranger get a

BAB equal to their level. Middling fighting classes like Rogues, Clerics, and Monks get their level in

BAB. And classes that don't fight too much like Wizards and Sorcerers get their level in BAB. If youmulticlass, you can just add the BABs from each class together. In the rest of this little box, you can list

the weapons you own and use, and the total attack bonus you get with those weapons. Your attackbonus is equal to your BAB, plus the relevant ability stat (Str for melee, Dex for ranged), plus any otherlittle bonuses like having a high-quality or magical weapon, having special abilities with grant bonuses,

and other little things. Your attack roll is a 1d20+those bonuses, and if that number exceeds your foe's

Armor Class (AC), then you hit. The damage you deal is based on your weapon, plus your Str formelee weapons (just Str if you wield the weapon one-handed, 1.5xStr if you wield it two-handed).

Ranged weapons don't add a stat to damage.

The Critical line is to determine chances for critical hits. Usually a weapon threatens a critical hit onthe roll of a Natural 20 (when the d20 lands on 20. This is also an automatic hit. Incidentally, a roll of

Natural 1 is an automatic miss, and threatens a Critical Fail.) However, some weapons threaten a

critical hit on a larger spectrum, such as 19 and 20 or 18 through 20. Unlike Nat 20, you still have toactually beat your foe's Armor Class in order for these to count as crit threats; they aren't auto-hits.

Once you've made a critical threat, you roll the d20 again with all the same modifiers. If this second

roll beats their AC, you do double (or triple or even quadruple for some weapons) damage. If the

second roll doesn't beat their AC, then you just hit as normal. In the case of a critical fail, you reroll as acritical threat, but if you miss a second time then something bad happens, as determined by the DM.

Range Increment is for ranged weapons or weapons you can throw (like daggers) and determines how

far away from you you can attack. Every range increment imposes a cumulative -2 penalty to your


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attack roll, and you can attack up to 10 range increments away. For example, a shortbow has a range

increment of 60 ft. Within 60 ft, you take no penalty. Up to 120 ft, you take a -2. Up to 180, you take

-4, and so on, until your max range of 600 feet.

Type refers to type of damage. Basic weapons have three types of damage: Slashing (like a sword),

Piercing (like a spear), and Bludgeoning (like a hammer). Some weapons can be used for more than

one but you have to pick with the attack, like a dagger which can slash or pierce, and some can be usedfor more than one at the same time, like a morningstar which both bludgeons and pierces. This isimportant because some enemies can reduce damage dealt to them based on damage type. Skeletons for

example resist 5 points of any non-bludgeoning damage dealt to them, because smashing bones works

but slicing/stabbing them doesn't so well. Stronger monsters may have this Damage Reduction thatonly is overcome by weapons made of special materials, or magic weapons, or more than one thing.

And finally, Notes/Ammunition is there to remember special things about your weapon. Maybe it has a

magic gemstone attached to it, or has a special property that activates on a critical hit. That's whereyou'd write those. Ranged weapons do need ammunition, but it's often easy enough to put a few ranks

into Craft: Arrows and make your own ammo when you have the chance, so you don't need to worry

about it too much.

The next box over is Hit Points, or HP. Every time you level up, you gain a Hit Die based on your class.

For example, Wizards have a d4 Hit Die, while Clerics have a d8. You roll the die and add that number,

plus your Constitution modifier, to your current Hit Points. At first level you automatically get themaximum number on the die (the Wizard gets 4 and the Cleric gets 8), but after that you have to roll.

When you take damage, your Hit Points go down. When you hit 0, you're staggered, and you may only

take a small action in your turn. Taking too strenuous an action brings you to -1. Upon reachingnegatives, you are unconscious, and you have a 10% chance of stabilizing each turn. If you do not

stabilize, you lose one more HP each turn, until you reach -10, at which point you are dead. Some

spells and abilities grant Temporary HP, which are sort of like a buffer that can't be restored but goaway before your real HP do.

Below that all is Speed. The battle grid is divided into squares which represent 5 ft each. Each square

costs 5 ft to move, and if you go diagonally then every other square costs 10. Most creatures start out

with a base speed of 30 ft, or 20 if you're Small or a Dwarf. When you take a Move Action (which I'llexplain when I get into combat stuff), you may move that many feet, or that number/5 squares. There

are also other kinds of speeds, like Climb, Burrow, Fly, and Swim.

Your initiative modifier is in most cases the same as your Dexterity modifier, but there may be otherbonuses. When battle first starts, everyone rolls a d20+initiative modifier. This sets your initiative

order, so those that get higher numbers go before those with lower numbers. For most of the battle this

order is the way it stays, unless someone decides not to go at a certain time and wait until someone elsegoes first. This is called Delaying. Once you decide to take your turn, your order has now changed so

that that's where you'll always be unless the order changes again.

Grapple Modifier is what you use for Grapple Checks. Grappling is a special combat technique, likeTrip, Disarm, Sunder, Bull Rush, etc. I'll describe all these below. Your Grapple Modifier is equal to

your BAB+Str+Size modifier+any other bonuses.


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SAVING THROWSYou have three Saving Throws: Fortitude, Reflex, and Will. Like BAB, the class you take will grant

you increasing saves as you level up. There is a good progression equal to level+2, and a poor

progression equal to 1/3 level. You also add Con, Dex, and Wis to your three saves, respectively. Thesesaves are used against offenses that don't use attack rolls. If a Rogue's poison dagger stabs you, then

you'll take damage, but must also make a Fortitude save against the poison. When a dragon breathesfire at you, it doesn't actually need to make an attack roll, you just make a Reflex save. These saves areagainst set DCs (Difficulty Class) based on the nature of the offense.

DEFENDINGArmor Class, or AC, is the opposite of attack rolls. This is the number that your opponents must beat in

order to hit you with an attack. (Ties favor the attacker.) You start out with an AC of 10, regardless. You

increase this based on the armor you're wearing, a shield you're using if you have one, your Dexteritymodifier, your size modifier, Natural Armor (tough skin or scales, described in racial characteristics)

and of course any other little things you might get like Deflection modifiers from defensive spells, or

Dodge bonuses from say, the feat Dodge.

Below that you'll see Touch AC. This is your AC, minus all armor, shields, and Natural Armor. It's the

number that an opponent has to hit in order to just touch you. A sword needs to beat all that heavy

armor, but a Wizard with a spell in their hand can hurt you so long as you don't outmaneuver them withyour Dexterity. Flat-Footed AC is similar, but the opposite, in that it's your AC minus your Dexterity

and Dodge bonuses, and any other bonus that says you lose it when flat-footed (like a Monk's Wis to

AC.) Flat-footed represents being surprised, like by an invisible enemy or right at the beginning ofcombat, so you aren't moving defensively and it's just your armor protecting you. Ninjas and Rogues

rely on foes being Flat-Footed to deal their extra damage, although Rogues can also deal their Sneak

Attack by Flanking (when a foe is directly between yourself and an ally, you both gain +2 on your

attack rolls.)

Below the AC is a section similar to that of the weapons, for your Armor and Shield. It includes a

section for Max Dex Bonus, which is the maximum Dex that you're allowed to add to your AC in that

armor. If you have a Dex score of 16, so a Dex mod of +3, but are wearing Full Plate armor with a maxDex of +1, then you treat your Dex modifier as +1 when determining your AC. Most shields do not

limit your Dex modifier. Next to that is the Armor Check Penalty, which both Armor and Shields

contribute to, and this number is subtracted from specified skill checks. If you are not proficient withthe armor (weapon and armor proficiencies are granted by classes, and once you have it you can't lose

it) then you take the ACP to attack rolls and all Str- and Dex-based skill checks and ability checks.

Special Defenses include qualities like Damage Reduction, energy resistance (to fire or cold forexample), immunity to certain conditions like being caught flat-footed, etc.

The next page has your items. As you adventure, you'll collect all sorts of items, and this helps keep

them in order. On the left is a table for keeping track of your Experience Points, which guide when youlevel up, but in my experience most DMs choose not to give EXP and instead level up the party as the

story dictates, so as such, we don't use that column much. Below that is weight limits, which we also

often ignore. To the right of that are your Body Slots, which are where you can wear magic items. You


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can't just wear every magic hat and necklace you wear at the same time, you need to choose which one

(and in the case of rings, two) you want to use. Finally, at the bottom is money. The standard coin in

D&D is a gold piece. 10 silver pieces are worth one gold, and 100 copper pieces are worth one gold. 10

gold are worth one platinum piece.

CLASS SPECIFICS

The third page is divided into many sections specific to certain classes. It's hard to imagine a characterthat uses every space here as intended, so it's good for scratchwork or whatever.

Domains are unique to Clerics. Domains contain a list of nine spells, some of which may not be

normally available to a Cleric, and a special power usually tied to how many levels of Cleric you have.

Specialty School depends on a Wizard's choice of specialization. The schools of spells are Abjuration(wards and defenses), Conjuration (summoning and teleports), Divination (scrying and information-

gathering), Enchantment (mind manipulation), Evocation (blasting fire and lightning), Illusion (mirages

and invisibility), Necromancy (control of death and undeath), and Transmutation (transformation andbuffing). There's also a Universal school that can't be specialized in. To specialize, a Wizard picks one

school to specialize in, and bans two other schools from which they can never cast a spell again. The

exception is Divination, which can't be banned and only requires one school to be banned in order tospecialize.

Arcane Spell Failure is for casters of arcane magic wearing armor. Spells contain components like

magic words (Verbal) and gestures (Somatic), as well as sometimes Materials. If you use a spell thatcontains a Somatic component while wearing armor, there's a % chance the spell just doesn't work,

because the armor got in your way. The % is determined by the kind of armor. Divine casters don't have

this problem.

Turning/Rebuking Undead is something that Good/Evil (respectively) Clerics can do. They channeleither positive or negative energy to either make an undead creature flee in fear or cower in awe. If you

have twice as many Cleric levels as the Undead has Hit Dice, instead of fleeing it is outright destroyed,and instead of cowering in awe it is put under your control. To Turn/Rebuke undead, you first roll a

d20+Cha. Based on the result, you get a window between Cleric Level-4 and Cleric Level+4 that

reflects the maximum HD of undead you can Turn. For example, if a level 4 Cleric gets a 14, that

corresponds to Cleric Level+1, so they can Turn an undead of 5 HD or lower. Then they roll turningdamage, which is 2d6+Cleric Level+Cha. The total is the total number of HD of undead they can

affect. If this level 4 Cleric rolls a 3 and a 4, and has a Cha of 12, then they can affect 12 HD of undead

total. If they are fighting four Skeletons, two with 2 HD, two with 3 HD, one with 5 HD, and one with6 HD, then the 6 HD undead is out of their limit, but they can Turn the 5 HD one and both 3 HD ones

(11 HD total), the two 2 HD ones and the two 3 HD ones (10 HD total, and the 2 HD undead aredestroyed because their HD is half of the Cleric's level), or the 5 HD one, one 3 HD one, and both 2HD ones (12 HD total).

The Spell Save DC is the number that, if a spell you cast offers a save (like Fireball offers a Reflex

save or Dominate Person offers a Will save,) the rolled save must beat in order to be either unaffectedor take a lesser effect, as determined by the spell. The DC equals 10+spell level+casting ability

modifier (Int for Wizards, Cha for Sorcerers, Wis for Clerics, etc.) In that same box you'll see


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Spells/Day and Bonus Spells. As determined by their level, spellcasters get a certain number of spells

per spell level per day. A new spell level is unlocked at Class Level/2+1 for classes like Wizards and

Clerics, Class Level/2 for classes like Sorcerers and Favored Souls, and Class Level/2-1 for classes like

Bards. Some classes have even slower progressions, like Rangers and Paladins, but they aren'tconsidered primary spellcasters. So for example, a 9th level Wizard will have access to 5th level spells,

like Teleport. A 9th level Sorcerer will still be stuck on 4th level spells, and will have to wait until level

10 to get Teleport. The number of spells/level/day that you get is fixed by your class level, but you gaina certain number of bonus spells/level/day based on your casting stat. There's a table to help figure that

out. In addition, Wizards get a bonus spell/level/day to be used on their specialized school, and Clerics

get an extra one to be used on spells granted by their Domains.

Psionics are arguably simpler or more complicated than spells. Psionic powers come in levels as well,

but instead of having discrete spell slots, they have a pool of power points that work sort of like mana.

You may spend power points to manifest powers, and higher level powers cost more power points tomanifest. However, you may also spend extra power points on lower level powers to make the effects

stronger, as described by the power. You may not spend more than your class level in power points on

any one power. As a result, you can choose to use many more low level powers than a Wizard would

have low level spells, or more high level blasts, or decide between high and low, so it's more fluid. ThePrimary Discipline line refers to Psions, who (unlike Wizards who may choose to specialize but may

also be a generalist) have to choose a specific category of psionic powers to specialize in. Psions never

have to ban any groups, though. Like spellcasters, psionic manifesters get extra power points per daybased on a high ability score.

The Rage line is there for Barbarians. When a Barbarian rages they gain a temporary +4 to Str and Con,

+2 to Will saves, and -2 AC for a number of rounds equal to 3+their newly improved Con. AsBarbarians level up, their Rage becomes stronger and you get to use it more times per day. If you aren't

a Barbarian, you could use this space to keep track of other class-based abilities, like a Bard's Bardic

Music, a Druid's Wild Shape, or a Monk's Stunning Fist.

Animal Companion, Familiar, or Psicrystal is a space that you can describe the traits of your ally.

Druids and Rangers get Animal Companions, Paladins get Special Mounts, Wizards and Sorcerers get

Familiars, and by taking a feat Psionic users can gain a Psicrystal. The ally's strengths increase basedon your level, and are their own creature, so you basically have one and a half characters to use.

Everything you see here should be known, except Tricks, which are used for Animal Companions who

have been trained by use of Handle Animal.

The last page contains the list of skills, where you can keep track of your ranks in the skills, other

bonuses or penalties, etc. The little checkboxes on the side can help you keep track of which skills are

class skills, though it might get a little muddled if you multiclass and gain different class skills betweenclasses. Unlike weapon proficiencies, what was once a class skill is not always a class skill, and it

changes level to level. However, if a skill has ever been a class skill, the maximum number of ranks is

3+level, not half of that as usual for cross class skills (even if you buy the new skills cross-class.)

On the upper right there's a list for Racial Traits and Class Features. This is where you can list all sorts

of little things. An Elf's starlight vision, a Paladin's Detect Evil, etc. If you want to remember it, list it

here.


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FEATSNow we get to something interesting. Feats. I've mentioned these a few times through this guide, and

they're a pretty big deal. Feats are basically things you take to give you a new special ability or other

benefit. Throughout the many books there are hundreds, probably thousands, of general and specificfeats that can totally change a character's style. The number of feats you get are limited: One at first

level, and then one at every third level (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18). Some races like Human, some classes likeFighter and Monk, and even some items can grant bonus feats. Many feats have prerequisites, either inthe same style as Prestige Classes (skill ranks or BAB or the presence of a class feature) or other feats,

if the feat in question is part of a chain that improves your ability with them all. It's a bit hard to

describe feats, because they're just all so different. Feats that grant a small numerical bonuses, likeWeapon Focus which grants +1 to attack rolls with a specific weapon or Stealthy which grants +2 to

Hide and Move Silently, are usually not amazing in the grand scheme of things. Feats that grant the

power to do something that you could not do normally are more worth it. For example, Stealthy looksappealing if you want a stealthy character. But +2 is just a 10% increase to the d20 die roll. Instead,

why not consider Darkstalker, a feat that allows you to remain hidden as normal from foes that usually

sense targets via echolocation or scent. A 10% increase is manageable by being a bit lucky, but that

hidden capability cannot be imitated. There are many character builds that rely greatly on the featschosen. Rogues very often take the Weapon Finesse feat, which allows them to use Dex instead of Str

for their melee attack rolls with lightweight weapons, meaning a high Dex low Str Rogue can reliably

hit, and doesn't mind the lower damage because they intend to use their Sneak Attack. Any spellcastercan make good use of Metamagic feats, feats which allow them to raise the level of the spell they cast

in exchange for benefits like maximum damage or double duration. Feats are the best way to add

custom abilities to a character, so think about them carefully when you get the chance to add on to yourrepetoire.

Below the feat list is Languages. There are many languages in D&D, like Elven, Dwarven, Draconic,

Celestial, Infernal, etc. Very many. Your languages are determined at level 1. You get automatic

languages for your race (Elves know Elven, for example) and a number of bonus languages (oftenchosen from a set list again based on race) equal to your Int modifier. You can spend two skill points to

learn a new language as you level up. Since nearly all but the most alien of creatures speak the

language Common, languages aren't often needed for communication, though it's often worth it toknow special languages in order to listen into whispered conversations or win trust with a racial ally.

Those Skill Synergies just let you know that having 5 ranks in some skills grant +2 bonuses to other

skills. It's a nice little bonus for synergistic skills.

So, there we are, that is the character sheet. I think that's just about everything you need to actually set

up your character. Now all that's left is gameplay itself. Out of combat is heavily improv, like I said,and there aren't a lot of rules for that. So I'll move right into combat gameplay.

COMBATBattle starts when...well, when people begin to fight. The first thing to do is roll Initiative, as described

above. If anyone involved in the fight is surprised by the start of combat, there is a surprise round

where the surprised characters do not act, and where acting characters may take only either a move or

standard action, and a swift action. Once that round finishes, combat begins properly.


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A round is determined by the progression from the beginning of initiative order to the end, or between

two turns of the same character (assuming they stay in the same initiative order and do not delay their

action.) A round is six seconds, which happens all at one time, despite the actions of the characters

taking place in series. That is to say, if your Barbarian charges at an Orc, and then the Orc moves awayfrom the Barbarian and runs at your party's Wizard, those actions happen during the same six seconds,

even though if we saw those actions played out in real time, the Barbarian would have to take a

different course than they do in game. Just...go with it.

Every turn you get the following actions to use. You get a Standard Action, a Move Action, and a Swift

Action. You also have Free Actions. The move and the standard action may be combined into a Full-

Round Action, if such an action is required. You may also use a standard action as a move action, butnot the other way around.

A Move action is mainly used to move. You may move your listed speed as a single move action. When

moving over difficult terrain (like fallen logs or marshy ground) all movement costs double. You mayfreely move through squares occupied by allies, although you may not stop there (except for special

situations, you can't be in the same space as someone else.) You may not move through the squares

occupied by an enemy unless you make a decently high Tumble check, which halves your speed.

When moving, you need to be wary of Attacks of Opportunity. A creature threatens the squares around

it so long as it is armed with a melee weapon. Some reach weapons, like Halberds and Guisarmes,

threaten spaces twice as far away but not the ones adjacent. Creatures larger than Medium threatenlarger areas around them than just the adjacent squares, while creatures smaller than Small do not

threaten the squares even adjacent. If a creature leaves your threatened square, you may make an attack

against the moving creature, which doesn't count against the attacks you make in that turn. This is anAttack of Opportunity, or AoO. You may usually only make one AoO each round, unless you have the

Combat Reflexes feat, which lets you make a number equal to your Dex mod. AoOs are also triggered

by other actions like standing from prone (lying on the ground, also a move action,) casting a spell (ifthe spell is not cast with a sufficient Concentration check,) drinking a potion (also a move action,)looking through your bag to get an item (a move action) and pick up an item on the ground (again, a

move action.)

Move actions can be used for more than just moving, as described above. Anything that takes a littleeffort but not a huge amount is often a move action. If you do not use your move action to move, you

may still take a 5-ft step in your turn. This is a free action, so it doesn't count against any other actions,

but it can only be done if you haven't moved at all in your turn. 5ft steps never provoke AoOs, but youcannot do them if your speed is 5 ft or less, or you're on difficult terrain.

A Standard action is the most usable, really. You use a standard action to attack, cast most spells, use

most skills, use special combat options, aid another, try to stabilize a dying ally, and more. Thosespecial combat options include Bull Rush, Trip, Grapple, Feint, Disarm, Total Defense, Sunder, and

Overrun.

Bull Rush is used to push an opponent. When next to a foe, you move into their space, and they get anAttack of Opportunity when you do so (unless you have the feat Improved Bull Rush.) The two of you

make Str checks, modified by size, charging (below), and stability (like a Dwarf.) If they win, nothing


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happens. If you win, you can push them a number of feet equal to how much you beat them by (round

down to multiples of five.)

Trip attacks can be done at any time you could do a regular attack, such as using a standard action or afull attack (below). You can only Trip when unarmed or using a weapon capable of tripping, like a

Halberd or a Whip. You provoke an Attack of Opportunity unless you have Improved Trip or use a

weapon to do it. You make a Touch attack to start, and if you hit, you must make a Str check and theycan make either a Str or Dex check, as they choose, with all appropriate modifiers. If you win, they aretripped and made prone. If they win, they may then make a Str check and you make a Str or Dex check

to avoid being tripped in return. If you're using a weapon to trip, you may drop it to avoid being

tripped, but then you'll have to pick it up again later.

A Grapple is when two (or more) creatures are wrestling together. Like Trip, you must make a Touch

attack which provokes AoOs unless you have Improved Grapple. If you hit, you and your opponent

make opposed Grapple checks. If they win, they escape. If you win, you are now Grappling. On theirturn, to escape, they may make either an Escape Artist check as a standard action, or an opposed

Grapple check in place of an attack. While grappling, by making successful grapple checks, you may

move your opponent, attack with an unarmed strike or light weapons, pin your opponent to limit themfurther, and a few more options.

A Feint is when you use a Bluff check as a standard action, opposed by the foe's Sense Motive, to make

them flat-footed for your next melee attack which must be made before the end of your next turn. Withthe feat Improved Feint, you may Feint as a move action.

A Disarm is when you, like a Trip, use either an unarmed strike or a weapon (any weapon in this case)

to try to disarm a foe in place of an attack. You provoke an AoO unless you have Improved Disarm. Ifyou are dealt damage by that AoO, your Disarm attempt fails. You and your opponent make opposed

attack rolls, adding in similar modifiers as to a Trip check. If you win, you disarm your foe, and if youweren't holding anything then you now have their weapon. If you lose, they may force you to make anopposed attack roll in an attempt to disarm you.

Total Defense is when you give up your attacks for the round to instead gain +4 to AC.

Sundering is when you attack a foe's item instead of them. Because you often want to loot items fromfallen foes, it's not usually advisable to break their stuff, but cleverly used it can turn the tide of a fight.

Unless you have Improved Sunder, you provoke an AoO. If you're attacking a weapon, you make

opposed attack rolls like Disarm. If you're attacking a worn or carried item, you attack it against an AC

of 10+its size modifier (probably Diminutive for things like amulets and potions)+the owner's Dex. Ifyour attack roll is greater, you deal damage normally, but to the object.

Overrun attempts are weird. You may use your standard action in the middle of your move or a charge(below) to try this. You provoke an AoO unless you have Improved Overrun. Unless you have

Improved Overrun, your opponent can just avoid you, in which case your standard action is not wasted.

If they take on your attempt, you make a Str check and they make a Str or Dex check. If you win, you

knock them prone and keep moving. If they win, they can make a Str check and you must make a Str orDex check to avoid being knocked prone. Either way you are forced back five feet and your movement


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ends.

Stabilizing an ally involves making a DC 15 Heal check. Success means that a dying ally is no longer

bleeding out, but they do not recover any HP.

Aid Another is used to help an ally with their action. When an ally is making a skill check or attack

roll, or being attacked, you may make the same check (or an attack roll in the case of ally being

attacked) against AC or DC 10. If you succeed, your ally gains +2 on their roll, or +2 AC. Some skills,like Knowledge, might not be applicable for Aid Another.

Free actions are actions that you still have to do, but are so quick that they don't actually take an action.

Things like dropping a held item, dropping to the floor yourself, drawing Material Components from apouch before casting a spell, and speaking are all free actions. Often a DM will put a limit on the

number of free actions you can do in a round, so people don't just talk for an hour in the supposedly six

seconds. A Swift action is very quick, like a free action, but a little more time consuming and as such

you can only take a single Swift action each round. Some spells are Swift actions, as are many small

boost your power before you do your thing class features. There is also the Immediate action, whichis unique in that it is the only action (even among free actions) that can be used not during your turn.

There are some immediate action spells and class features that are mostly reactive to a foe's actions.The Immediate action takes up your turn's Swift action, so when you use it then next turn you don't get

a Swift action. Using an Immediate action on your turn just counts as using that turn's Swift action.

The last type of action is the Full Round Action. A full round action is a combination of a standard andmove used together, and can in fact be initiated with one turn's standard action and the next turn's

move, or vice versa. Full Round actions represent a significant effort and time. You can use a Full

Round action to cast some spells, Withdraw from battle, deliver a Coup de Grace, Run, Charge, andmost usefully Full Attack.

Withdrawing is a good option when you're in substantial danger. As a full round action, you may move

up to double your normal speed. Unlike normal movement, the square you start out in does not provokeAoOs when you leave it, though other squares you move through do as normal.

A Coup de Grace can be used against any helpless foe, such as one who has been paralyzed, or is at

negative HP. Just being prone doesn't cut it. A Coup de Grace must be done adjacent to the helpless foe.It is an instant hit and an instant critical, and the foe must make a Fortitude save with DC equal to

10+the damage dealt, or die then and there. The Coup de Grace doesn't come up often, but it's pretty

cool when it does.

Using a full round action to Run allows you to move four times your normal move speed in a straight

line. If you're wearing heavy armor, you can only run three times your move speed.

A Charge action is one of the most useful full round actions. So long as there are no obstacles orobstructions between you and your target, you may move up to twice your move speed. You take a -2 to

AC, but you gain a +2 on your upcoming attack roll. When you reach your opponent, you can make a

single attack against that foe. Any of the above standard action combat techniques like Disarm or Trip


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can be used in place of this attack, and you get the same +2 to that roll. Charging is a great way to close

gaps and get on a heavy offense.

Finally, a full round action can be used to Full Attack. When your Base Attack Bonus reaches 6, 11, and16, you gain a second, third, and fourth attack at a -5, -10, and -15 penalty to the attack. When you two-

weapon fight, you also gain multiple attacks. However, in order to make more than one attack in your

turn, you must use a Full Attack to do so. Like the Charge, any one of these attacks can be replaced bya similar combat technique.

That.....is pretty much everything I can think of to say about Dungeons and Dragons, at least for a

beginner. There are a plethora of weird status conditions, hundreds of monsters with special powers andabilities, and all sorts of exceptions to all the rules I've listed, but those are best kept a surprise by the

DM! Anyway, I hope that this JESUS CHRIST TWENTY PAGE guide was a helpful tool to getting

you acquainted with the rules, and if you have any questions about it, don't hesitate to ask me!

beginner d&d guide

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