AGE 12+

STARTER SET RULEBOOK

Chapter 1: How to Play ............................................. 2
Getting Started ....................................................................... 3
Six Abilities .............................................................................. 4
Chapter 2: Combat ........................................................ 8
The Order of Combat ............................................................. 9Movement and Position....................................................... 10
Actions in Combat ................................................................ 10
Making an Attack ................................................................. 11
Cover ....................................................................................... 12
Damage and Healing ........................................................... 12

Chapter 3: Adventuring ........................................ 14

Travel ....................................................................................... 15
Resting .................................................................................... 15
Rewards .................................................................................. 15
Equipment .............................................................................. 16
Chapter 4: Spellcasting.........................................20
What Is a Spell? .................................................................... 21
Casting a Spell ...................................................................... 21
Spell Lists............................................................................... 23
Spells .......................................................................................24
Appendix: Conditions ...............................................32

Chapter 1: How to Playhe Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game is aboutstorytelling in worlds of swords and sorcery. Like gamesof make-believe, D&D is driven by imagination. It’s about
picturing a crumbling castle in a darkening forest andimagining how a fantasy adventurer might react to thechallenges that scene presents. In this fantasy world, thepossibilities are limitless.

Dungeon Master (DM): The castle stands among the trees,
the crumbling ruins of seven round towers jutting up from itlike broken teeth. An archway littered with twisted shards ofrusted metal gapes open at the top of a short flight of steps.
Two of the towers, speckled with dark arrow slits, loom besidethe entryway, and a dark hall yawns beyond.
Phillip (cleric): Let’s send the rogue up ahead to look in andmake sure it’s safe.
Amy (rogue): OK, I’ll move to the side and sneak along thewall of the tower until I can peer in through the entrance.

Unlike a game of make-believe, D&D gives structure
to the stories—a way of determining the consequences of
the adventurers’ actions. Players roll dice to determine
whether their attacks hit or miss and whether theircharacters can scale a cliff, roll away from the strike of amagical lightning bolt, or pull off some other dangerous
task. Anything is possible, but the dice make some things
more probable than others.
DM: All right, Amy, let’s see how sneaky you are. Make a
Dexterity check.
Amy: With my Stealth skill, right?
DM: You bet.
Amy (rolling a d20): I’m pretty sneaky—that’s a 17.
DM: OK, there’s no sign that anyone notices you. And you’relooking inside?

When you play D&D, you take on the role of anadventurer: a skilled fighter, a devout cleric, a deadlyrogue, or a spellcasting wizard. (The character sheets
included in this set describe five heroes to get you started.)
With some friends and a little imagination, you strike out
on grand quests and daring adventures, testing yourself
against an array of challenges and bloodthirsty monsters.
One player takes on the role of the Dungeon Master, thegame’s lead storyteller and referee. The DM is in chargeof the adventure, which appears in the adventure book,while the characters navigate the adventure’s hazards
and decide where to explore. The DM might describe theentrance to Cragmaw Castle, and the players decide what
they want their adventurers to do. Will they boldly stride
up to the fallen gate, or try to sneak up in case anyone’s
watching through those arrow slits? Circle around thecastle looking for another entrance? Or cast a spell to
cloak themselves in invisibility?
The DM determines the results of the adventurers’
actions and narrates what the characters experience.
Because the DM can improvise to react to anything
the players attempt, D&D is infinitely flexible, and eachadventure can be exciting and unexpected.
There’s no winning and losing in D&D—at least not theway those terms are usually understood. Together, theDM and the players create a story of bold adventurers who
confront deadly perils. Sometimes an adventurer mightcome to a grisly end, torn apart by ferocious monsters
or done in by a nefarious villain. Even so, the otheradventurers can search for powerful magic to revive theirfallen comrade, or the player might choose to play a new

character. The group might fail to complete an adventure
successfully, but if the players had a good time and createda memorable story, they all win.

Getting Started

If this is your first time playing Dungeons & Dragons,
start by reading the rest of this chapter. It tells you themost important rules you need to play the game.
Someone needs to be the Dungeon Master for your firstplay experience. Since you’re reading this, you’re a goodcandidate to be the DM. (If one of your friends knows how
to play D&D already, you might want to ask that person
to be the DM and help you learn the game.) Once you’ve
read this chapter, take a look at the first few pages of theadventure book. That will help you understand the role of
the DM and the basics of a D&D adventure.
From there, look over the rest of this book. You don’t
need to memorize everything before your first game, but
it helps if you know where to find the rules while you play.
Then get familiar with the adventure, and you’ll be readyto gather your friends together to play.
Each player chooses one character from the five options
included. It’s up to the players to turn these bare-bones
characters into people by giving them names, describing
their appearance, and bringing them to life while playing
through the adventure. If you have more than five players,
it’s OK for two players to use the same character, as longas they make the details of the character distinct; one
cleric might be a jolly woman named Sefris, while theother is a severe man named Albric.

Game Dice
The game uses the polyhedral dice that come with thisset. In these rules, the different dice are referred to by
the letter d followed by the number of sides: d4, d6, d8,
d10 (the 0 on the die represents a 10), d12, and d20. For
instance, a d6 is a six-sided die.
Percentile dice, or d100, work a little differently. You
generate a number between 1 and 100 by rolling the tensided die twice. The first roll gives the tens digit, and thesecond gives the ones digit. If you roll a 7 and a 1, forexample, the number rolled is 71. Two 0s represent 100.
When you need to roll dice, the rules tell you how many
dice to roll of a certain type, as well as what modifiers toapply. For example, “3d8 + 5” means you roll three eightsided dice, add them together, and add 5 to the total.

3
Chapter 1: How to PlayThe Structure of PlayThe D&D game consists of a group of characters(controlled by the players) embarking on an adventurethat the DM presents. The adventure is the heart of thegame. An adventure unfolds as a story that the DM andthe other players tell together using the material in theadventure book, in another published adventure, or in asetting of the DM’s creation. The DM sets the scene at thestart, giving the adventurers a reason to get involved. They
are the protagonists of the story. The players control what
they do, and the DM controls the monsters and people theadventurers meet. The DM also decides how the worldchanges as a result of the adventurers’ actions.
Play of an adventure unfolds according to thisbasic pattern:
1. The DM describes the environment. The DM tells
the players where their adventurers are and what’s aroundthem, presenting the basic scope of options available: how
many doors lead out of a room, what’s on a table, who’sin the tavern, and so on. The players can ask questions tomake sure they understand what their characters perceive.
2. The players describe what they want to do.
Sometimes one player speaks for the whole group,
saying, “We’ll take the east door,” for example. Other
times, different adventurers do different things. One
adventurer might search a treasure chest while a second
one examines an esoteric symbol engraved on a wall anda third one keeps watch for monsters. The players don’t
need to take turns, but the DM listens to every player anddecides how to resolve those actions.
Sometimes, 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 hidea deadly trap, or some other circumstance might make itchallenging for an adventurer to complete a task. In thosecases, the DM decides what happens, often relying on theroll 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 anotherdecision point, which brings the flow of the game rightback to step 1.
This pattern holds whether the adventurers are
cautiously exploring an ancient ruin, talking to a devious
prince, or locked in mortal combat against a dragon.
In certain situations, particularly combat, the action ismore structured and the players (and DM) do take turns
choosing and resolving actions. But most of the time, playis fluid, adapting to the circumstances of the adventure.
Often the action of an adventure takes place wholly in
the imagination of the players and DM, relying on theDM’s verbal descriptions to set the scene. Some DMs
like to use music, art, or recorded sound effects to help
set the mood, and many players and DMs alike adopt
different voices for the various adventurers, monsters, andother characters they play in the game. Sometimes, a DM
might lay out a map and use tokens or miniature figures
to represent each creature involved in a scene to help theplayers keep track of where everyone is.

HalvingRound down whenever the game requires you to halve a
number. For example, if you halve 15, you get 7.

4
Chapter 1: How to Play

What’s Next?
This set is a complete DUNGEONS & DRAGONS experience,
enough to provide hours of play. You can even play through theadventure book multiple times. You might be surprised at how
differently things can turn out! But one of the most rewarding
things about D&D is that it provides the opportunity to createcharacters, and even worlds, of your own.
For tools and other products to help you make your own
characters, visit DungeonsandDragons.com. There you willfind the basic rules of the game for free. Those rules tell you
how to create your own character to supplement or replace thecharacters in this set, as well as how to advance a characterbeyond 5th level.
If you want to create a greater variety of characters or
populate your adventures with other monsters, check out the
fifth edition Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon
Master’s Guide. These advanced rulebooks introduce you tothe vast multiverse of D&D and invite you to create uniquecharacters and worlds within it.

Six Abilities

Six abilities provide a quick game description of
every character’s and monster’s physical andmental characteristics:• Strength, measuring physical power• Dexterity, measuring agility• Constitution, measuring endurance• Intelligence, measuring reasoning and memory• Wisdom, measuring perception and insight• Charisma, measuring force of personality
Is a character muscle-bound and insightful? Brilliant andcharming? Nimble and hardy? For each of the six abilities,
a character or monster has an ability score to measure it,
typically ranging from 3 to 18. An adventurer can have ascore as high as 20. A monster can have one as high as 30.
The most important function of an ability score isproviding an ability modifier that usually ranges from −1(for a score of 8 or 9) to +4 (for a score of 18). This modifier
applies to ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls,
as explained in the next few sections.

Ability Scores and Modifiers
Score
1
2–3
4–5
6–7
8–9
10–11
12–13
14–15

Modifier
−5
−4
−3
−2
−1
+0
+1
+2

The Core Rule

Score
16–17
18–19
20–21
22–23
24–25
26–27
28–29
30

Modifier
+3
+4
+5
+6
+7
+8
+9
+10

Does an adventurer’s sword swing hurt a dragon or
bounce off its iron-hard scales? Does the ogre believe an
outrageous bluff? Can a character swim across a raging
river? Does a character avoid the main blast of a fireball ortake full damage from the blaze? When the outcome of anaction is uncertain, the game relies on the roll of a d20 todetermine success or failure. Ability checks, attack rolls,
and saving throws are the three main kinds of d20 rolls.

For each one, you roll a d20, add any bonuses or penalties,
and compare the total to a target number. If the total
equals or exceeds it, you succeed. Here are those steps inmore detail:1. Roll the die. Roll a d20, then add the modifier of theability score used for the roll. A Dexterity saving throw, forinstance, uses your Dexterity modifier.
2. Apply circumstantial bonuses and penalties. A
spell, a particular circumstance, or some other effectmight give a bonus or penalty to the roll.
3. Compare the total to a target number. If the total
equals or exceeds the target number, the roll is a success.
Otherwise, it’s a failure. The target number for an ability
check or saving throw is called a Difficulty Class (DC).
For an attack roll, it’s the Armor Class (AC) of the target
being attacked. The DM is usually the one who determines
target numbers and tells players whether their ability
checks, attack rolls, and saving throws succeed or fail.
Ability checks and saving throws are discussed in moredetail below. Attack rolls are described in chapter 2.

Advantage and Disadvantage
Sometimes a special ability or spell tells you that you
have advantage or disadvantage on a d20 roll. When that
happens, you roll a second d20 when you make the roll.
Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage, anduse the lower roll if you have disadvantage. For example, if
you have disadvantage and roll a 17 and a 5, you use the 5.
If you instead have advantage and roll those numbers, you
use the 17.
If multiple situations affect a roll and each one grants
advantage or imposes disadvantage on it, you don’t rollmore than one additional d20. If two favorable situations
grant advantage, for example, you still roll only one
additional d20.
If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage
and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither ofthem, and you roll one d20. This is true even if multiple
circumstances impose disadvantage and only one grants
advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you haveneither advantage nor disadvantage.
When you have advantage or disadvantage andsomething in the game, such as the halfling’s Lucky trait,
lets you reroll the d20, you can reroll only one of the dice.
You choose which one. For example, if a halfling has
advantage on an ability check and rolls a 1 and a 13, thehalfling could use the Lucky trait to reroll the 1.

Ability Checks
An ability check tests a character’s or monster’s innate
talent and training in an effort to overcome a challenge.
The DM calls for an ability check when a character ormonster attempts an action (other than an attack) that hasa chance of failure. A character might make a Strength
check to force open a door, an Intelligence check to makesense of clues, or a Wisdom check to notice goblins lying
in ambush along the road. When the outcome is uncertain,
the dice determine the results.
To make an ability check, roll a d20 and add theappropriate ability modifier. You use your Strength
modifier for a Strength check, for example.
If the total equals or exceeds the DC, the ability check isa success. Otherwise, the check is a failure, which means

the character or monster makes no progress toward theobjective or makes progress combined with a setback
determined by the DM.
Often, the adventure book tells the DM what kind ofcheck a character can make, the DC of the check, andwhat happens if the character succeeds or fails. Since
characters often try unpredictable things, though, theadventure book also provides advice to help the DM
decide what kind of ability check and DC to use in aparticular situation.

Proficiency Bonus

You might be particularly skilled at a certain kind of task
related to an ability check. The character sheets list eachcharacter’s proficiencies with skills and special tools,
and the monster statistics in the adventure book show
monsters’ proficiencies. If you have proficiency in a skill,such as Acrobatics or Deception (explained below), you
add your proficiency bonus to ability checks you makethat use that skill. If you have proficiency with a certain
tool, such as thieves’ tools or mason’s tools, you add yourproficiency bonus to ability checks you make using those
tools. You never add your proficiency bonus more thanonce to the same d20 roll.

Contests

Sometimes one character’s or monster’s efforts are
directly opposed to another’s. This can occur when bothof them are trying to do the same thing and only one cansucceed, such as attempting to snatch up a magic ringthat has fallen on the floor. This situation also applies
when one of them is trying to prevent the other one fromaccomplishing a goal—for example, when a monster tries
to force open a door that an adventurer is holding closed.
In situations like these, the outcome is determined by aspecial form of ability check, called a contest.
Both participants in a contest make ability checks
appropriate to their efforts. They apply all appropriate
bonuses and penalties, but instead of comparing the total
to a DC, they compare the totals of their two checks.
The participant with the higher check total wins thecontest. That character or monster either succeeds at theaction or prevents the other one from succeeding.
If the contest results in a tie, the situation remains thesame as it was before the contest. Thus, one contestantmight win the contest by default. If two characters tie ina contest to snatch a ring off the floor, neither charactergrabs it. In a contest between a monster trying to open adoor and an adventurer trying to keep the door closed, atie means that the door remains shut.

SkillsEach ability covers a broad range of capabilities,
including skills that a character can be proficient in. A
skill represents a specific aspect of an ability score, and acharacter’s proficiency in a skill demonstrates a focus onthat aspect.
A Dexterity check might, for example, reflect acharacter’s attempt to pull off an acrobatic stunt, to palm
an object, or to stay hidden. Each of these aspects ofDexterity has an associated skill: Acrobatics, Sleight ofHand, and Stealth, respectively. So a character who has
proficiency in the Stealth skill is particularly good at
Dexterity checks related to sneaking and hiding.

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Chapter 1: How to Play

Sometimes, the DM might ask for an ability checkusing a specific skill—for example, “Make a Wisdom(Perception) check.” At other times, a player might ask theDM if proficiency in a particular skill applies to a check.
In either case, proficiency in a skill means a character can
add his or her proficiency bonus to ability checks that usethat skill. Without proficiency in the skill, the character
makes a normal ability check.
For example, if a character attempts to climb up adangerous cliff, the Dungeon Master might ask for aStrength (Athletics) check. If the character is proficient inAthletics, the character’s proficiency bonus is added to theStrength check. If the character lacks that proficiency, heor she just makes a Strength check.

Strength Checks
Strength measures bodily power, athletic training, andthe extent to which you can exert raw physical force. A
Strength check can model any attempt to lift, push, pull,or break something, to force your body through a space, or
to otherwise apply brute force to a situation. The Athletics
skill reflects aptitude in certain kinds of Strength checks.
Athletics. Your Strength (Athletics) check covers
difficult situations you encounter while climbing, jumping,or swimming. Examples include the following activities:• You attempt to climb a sheer or slippery cliff, avoid
hazards while scaling a wall, or cling to a surface whilesomething is trying to knock you off.
• You try to jump an unusually long distance or pull off astunt midjump.
• You struggle to swim or stay afloat in treacherous currents, storm-tossed waves, or areas of thick seaweed. Or
another creature tries to push or pull you underwater orotherwise interfere with your swimming.

Dexterity Checks
Dexterity measures physical agility, reflexes, and balance.
A Dexterity check can model any attempt to move nimbly,
quickly, or quietly, or to keep from falling on tricky footing.
The Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth skills reflect
aptitude in certain kinds of Dexterity checks.
Acrobatics. Your Dexterity (Acrobatics) check covers
your attempt to stay on your feet in a tricky situation, suchas when you’re trying to run across a sheet of ice, balanceon a tightrope, or stay upright on a rocking ship’s deck.
The DM might also call for a Dexterity (Acrobatics) checkto see if you can perform acrobatic stunts, including dives,
rolls, somersaults, and flips.
Sleight of Hand. Whenever you attempt an act oflegerdemain or manual trickery, such as planting
something on someone else or concealing an object on
your person, make a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check.
The DM might also call for a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand)
check to determine whether you can lift a coin purse off
another person or slip something out of anotherperson’s pocket.
Stealth. Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check when you
attempt to conceal yourself from enemies, slink past
guards, slip away without being noticed, or sneak up on
someone without being seen or heard.

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Chapter 1: How to Play

Hiding and Vision
When you try to hide, make a Dexterity (Stealth) check. Until
you are discovered or you stop hiding, that check’s total iscontested by the Wisdom (Perception) check of any creaturethat actively searches for signs of your presence.
You can’t hide from a creature that can see you, and if you
make noise (such as shouting a warning or knocking over avase), you give away your position. An invisible creature can’t
be seen, so it can always try to hide. Signs of its passage might
still be noticed, however, and it still has to stay quiet.
Passive Perception. When you hide, there’s a chance someone
will notice you even if they aren’t searching. To determine
whether such a creature notices you, the DM compares yourDexterity (Stealth) check with that creature’s passive Wisdom(Perception) score, which equals 10 + the creature’s Wisdom
modifier, as well as any other bonuses or penalties. If thecreature has advantage, add 5. For disadvantage, subtract 5.
For example, if a 1st-level character (with a proficiency bonusof +2) has a Wisdom of 15 (a +2 modifier) and proficiency inPerception, he or she has a passive Wisdom (Perception) of 14.
What Can You See? One of the main factors in determining
whether you can find a hidden creature or object is how well you
can see in an area, which might be lightly or heavily obscured.
In a lightly obscured area—such as dim light, patchy fog, ormoderate foliage—creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom(Perception) checks that rely on sight. In a heavily obscuredarea—such as darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage—vision
is blocked, effectively imposing the blinded condition, as
explained in the appendix.

Constitution Checks
Constitution measures health, stamina, and vital force.
Constitution checks are uncommon, and no skills apply
to Constitution checks, because the endurance thisability represents is largely passive rather than involving
a specific effort on the part of a character or monster. A
Constitution check can model your attempt to push beyond
normal limits, however.

Intelligence Checks
Intelligence measures mental acuity, strength of recall,and the ability to reason. An Intelligence check comes
into play when you need to draw on logic, education,
memory, or deductive reasoning. The Arcana, History,
Investigation, Nature, and Religion skills reflect aptitudein certain kinds of Intelligence checks.
Arcana. Your Intelligence (Arcana) check measures yourability to recall lore about spells, magic items, eldritch
symbols, magical traditions, the planes of existence, andthe inhabitants of those planes.
History. Your Intelligence (History) check measures
your ability to recall lore about historical events, legendary
people, ancient kingdoms, past disputes, recent wars, andlost civilizations.
Investigation. When you look around for clues andmake deductions based on those clues, you make anIntelligence (Investigation) check. You might deduce thelocation of a hidden object, discern from the appearanceof a wound what kind of weapon dealt it, or determine theweakest point in a tunnel that could cause it to collapse.
Poring through ancient scrolls in search of a hidden
fragment of knowledge might also call for an Intelligence(Investigation) check.

Nature. Your Intelligence (Nature) check measures yourability to recall lore about terrain, plants and animals, theweather, and natural cycles.
Religion. Your Intelligence (Religion) check measures
your ability to recall lore about deities, rites and prayers,
religious hierarchies, holy symbols, and the practicesof secret cults.

Wisdom Checks
Wisdom reflects how attuned you are to the world aroundyou, representing perceptiveness and intuition. A Wisdom
check might reflect an effort to read body language,
understand someone’s feelings, notice things about theenvironment, or care for an injured person. The Animal
Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, and Survival
skills reflect aptitude in certain kinds of Wisdom checks.
Animal Handling. When there is any question whether
you can calm down a domesticated animal, keep a mountfrom getting spooked, or intuit an animal’s intentions, theDM might call for a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. You
also make a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to control
your mount when you attempt a risky maneuver.
Insight. Your Wisdom (Insight) check decides whether
you can determine the true intentions of a creature, suchas when searching out a lie or predicting someone’s
next move. Doing so involves gleaning clues from bodylanguage, speech habits, and changes in mannerisms.
Medicine. A Wisdom (Medicine) check lets you try tostabilize a dying companion or diagnose an illness.
Perception. Your Wisdom (Perception) check lets you
spot, hear, or otherwise detect the presence of something.
It measures your general awareness of your surroundings
and the keenness of your senses. For example, you might
try to hear a conversation through a closed door, eavesdrop
under an open window, or hear monsters moving stealthily
in the forest. Or you might try to spot things that are
obscured or easy to miss, whether they are orcs lying inambush on a road, thugs hiding in the shadows of an alley,or candlelight under a closed secret door.
Survival. The DM might ask you to make a Wisdom(Survival) check to follow tracks, hunt wild game, guide
your group through frozen wastelands, identify signs
that owlbears live nearby, predict the weather, or avoid
quicksand and other natural hazards.

Charisma Checks
Charisma measures your ability to interact effectively
with others. It includes such factors as confidence andeloquence. A Charisma check might arise when you try
to influence or entertain others, when you try to makean impression or tell a convincing lie, or when you arenavigating a tricky social situation. The Deception,
Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion skills reflect
aptitude in certain kinds of Charisma checks.
Deception. Your Charisma (Deception) check
determines whether you can convincingly hide the truth,
either verbally or through your actions. This deception can
encompass everything from misleading others throughambiguity to telling outright lies. Typical situations include
trying to fast-talk a guard, con a merchant, earn money
through gambling, pass yourself off in a disguise, dull
someone’s suspicions with false assurances, or maintain astraight face while telling a blatant lie.

Intimidation. When you attempt to influence someone
through overt threats, hostile actions, and physicalviolence, the DM might ask you to make a Charisma(Intimidation) check. Examples include trying to pry
information out of a prisoner, convincing street thugs
to back down from a confrontation, or using the edge ofa broken bottle to convince a sneering vizier to reconsider
a decision.
Performance. Your Charisma (Performance) check
determines how well you can delight an audience withmusic, dance, acting, storytelling, or some other form ofentertainment.
Persuasion. When you attempt to influence someone ora group of people with tact, social graces, or good nature,
the DM might ask you to make a Charisma (Persuasion)
check. Typically, you use persuasion when acting in goodfaith, to foster friendships, make cordial requests, or
exhibit proper etiquette. Examples of persuading others
include convincing a chamberlain to let your party see
the king, negotiating peace between warring tribes, or
inspiring a crowd of townsfolk.

Saving Throws
A saving throw, or save, represents an attempt to resist
or avoid a spell, a trap, a poison, a disease, or a similar
threat. You don’t normally decide to make a saving throw;
you are forced to do so because your character or monster
is at risk of harm.
To make a saving throw, roll a d20 and add theappropriate ability modifier. For example, you use yourDexterity modifier for a Dexterity saving throw.
A saving throw can be modified by a situational
bonus or penalty and can be affected by advantage anddisadvantage, as determined by the DM.
A character sheet indicates a character’s saving throwproficiencies. As with skill proficiencies, proficiency in asaving throw lets a character add his or her proficiency bonus
to saving throws made using a particular ability score.
Some monsters have saving throw proficiencies as well.
The Difficulty Class for a saving throw is determinedby the effect that causes it. When a spell allows a saving
throw, for instance, the DC for that save is determined by
the caster’s spellcasting ability and proficiency bonus.
The result of a successful or failed saving throw isalso detailed in the effect that forces the save. Usually, a
successful save means that a character or monster suffers
no harm, or reduced harm, from an effect.

Finding a Hidden Object
When your character searches for a hidden object such asa secret door or a trap, the DM typically asks you to make a
Wisdom (Perception) check. Such a check can be used to findhidden details or other information and clues that you mightotherwise overlook.
In most cases, you need to describe where you are looking
in order for the DM to determine your chance of success. For
example, a key is hidden beneath a set of folded clothes in the
top drawer of a bureau. If you tell the DM that you pace aroundthe room, looking at the walls and furniture for clues, youhave no chance of finding the key, regardless of your Wisdom(Perception) check result. You would have to specify that you
were opening the drawers or searching the bureau in order tohave any chance of success.

7
Chapter 1: How to PlayChapter 2: Combat
attle often erupts when adventurers face their foes,
whether the enemies are savage monsters or cunningvillains. This chapter provides the rules you need for suchcombat. The rules address you, the player or Dungeon
Master. The Dungeon Master controls all the monsters
and nonplayer characters involved in combat, and eachother player controls an adventurer. “You” can also mean
the character or monster that you control.

The Order of Combat

A typical combat encounter is a clash between two sides,
a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, andspellcasting. The game organizes the chaos of combat
into a cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents
about 6 seconds in the game world. During a round, eachparticipant in a battle takes a turn.
The order of turns is determined at the beginning of acombat encounter, when everyone rolls initiative. Once
everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to the next
round if neither side has defeated the other.

Combat Step by Step
1. Determine surprise. The DM determines whether anyone
involved in the combat encounter is surprised.
2. Establish positions. The DM decides where all the charactersand monsters are located. Given the adventurers’ marchingorder or their stated positions in the room or other location,
the DM figures out where the adversaries are—how far away
and in what direction.
3. Roll initiative. Everyone involved rolls initiative, determining
the order of combatants’ turns.
4. Take turns. Each participant in the battle takes a turn ininitiative order.
5. Begin the next round. When everyone involved in the combat
has had a turn, the round ends. Repeat step 4 until thefighting stops.

Surprise
The DM determines who might be surprised. If neitherside tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice eachother. Otherwise, the DM compares the Dexterity (Stealth)checks of anyone hiding with the passive Wisdom(Perception) score of each creature on the opposing side.
Any character or monster that doesn’t notice a threat issurprised at the start of the encounter.
If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an action on
your first turn of the combat, and you can’t take a reaction
until that turn ends. A member of a group can be surprisedeven if the other members aren’t.

Initiative
Initiative determines the order of turns during combat.
When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity
check to determine their place in the initiative order. The
DM makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures,
so each member of the group acts at the same time.
The DM ranks the combatants in order from the one
with the highest Dexterity check total to the one withthe lowest. This is the order (called the initiative order)in which they act during each round. The initiative orderremains the same from round to round.
If a tie occurs, the DM decides the order among tied
DM-controlled creatures, and the players decide the orderamong their tied characters. The DM can decide the order
if the tie is between a monster and a player character.
Optionally, the DM can have the tied characters andmonsters each roll a d20 to determine the order, highestroll going first.

Your Turn
On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed
and take one action. You decide whether to move first or
take your action first. Your speed—sometimes called yourwalking speed—is noted on your character sheet.
The most common actions you can take are describedin the “Actions in Combat” section later in this chapter.
Many class features and other abilities provide additional
options for your action.
The “Movement and Position” section later in thischapter gives the rules for your move.
You can forgo moving, taking an action, or doing
anything at all on your turn. If you can’t decide what to doon your turn, consider taking the Dodge or Ready action,
as described in “Actions in Combat.”

Bonus Actions

Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you
take an additional action on your turn called a bonus
action. The Cunning Action feature, for example, allows arogue to take a bonus action. You can take a bonus action
only when a special ability, spell, or other feature of thegame allows you to do something as a bonus action. You
otherwise don’t have one to take.
You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you
must choose which bonus action to use when you havemore than one available.
You choose when to take the bonus action during theturn, unless the bonus action’s timing is specified.

Other Activity on Your TurnYour turn can include a variety of flourishes that require
neither your action nor your move.
You can communicate however you are able, throughbrief utterances and gestures, as you take your turn.
You can also interact with one object or feature of theenvironment for free, during either your move or youraction. For example, you could open a door during yourmove as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw yourweapon as part of the same action you use to attack.
If you want to interact with a second object, you need
to use your action. Some magic items and other special
objects always require an action to use, as statedin their descriptions.
The DM might require you to use an action for any ofthese activities when it needs special care or when it
presents an unusual obstacle. For instance, the DM
could reasonably expect you to use an action to open astuck door or turn a crank to lower a drawbridge.

ReactionsCertain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you
to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction isan instant response to a trigger of some kind, which canoccur on your turn or on someone else’s. The opportunity
attack, described later in this chapter, is the most common
type of reaction.
You can take only one reaction per round. When you
take a reaction, you can’t take another one until thestart of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts anothercreature’s turn, that creature can continue its turn rightafter the reaction.

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Chapter 2: Combat

Movement and Position

Actions in Combat

Breaking Up Your Move

AttackYou can break up your movement on your turn, using
some of your speed both before and after your action. For
example, if you have a speed of 30 feet, you can move 10
feet, search for a trap door, and then move 20 feet.
Similarly, if you take an action that includes more than
one weapon attack, you can break up your movement evenfurther by moving between those attacks.
If you have more than one speed, such as your walking
speed and a flying speed, you can switch back and forth
between your speeds during your move. Whenever you
switch, subtract the distance you’ve already moved fromthe new speed. The result determines how much farther
you can move. For example, if you have a speed of 30 anda flying speed of 60 because a wizard cast the fly spell onyou, you could fly 20 feet, then walk 10 feet, and then leap
into the air to fly 30 feet more.

The most common action to take in combat is the Attack
action, whether you are swinging a sword, firing an arrowfrom a bow, or brawling with your fists.
With this action, you make one melee or ranged attack.
See the “Making an Attack” section for the rules thatgovern attacks.
Certain features, such as the Extra Attack feature thatthe fighter gets at 5th level, allow you to make more than
one attack with this action.

In combat, characters and monsters are in constantmotion, often using movement and position to gain theupper hand. On your turn, you can move a distance up to
your speed. You can use as much or as little of your speed
as you like on your turn, following the rules here. Your
move can include jumping, climbing, and swimming, as
described in chapter 3.

Difficult Terrain
Combatants are often slowed down by difficult terrain.
Low furniture, rubble, undergrowth, steep stairs, snow,
and shallow bogs are examples of difficult terrain. The
space of another creature, whether hostile or not, alsocounts as difficult terrain.
Every foot of movement in difficult terrain foot costs
1 extra foot. This rule is true even if multiple things in aspace count as difficult terrain.

Being Prone
Combatants often find themselves lying on the ground,either because they are knocked down or because they
throw themselves down. In the game, they are prone, acondition described in the appendix.
You can drop prone without using any of your speed.
Standing up takes more effort; doing so costs an amountof movement equal to half your speed. For example, if
your speed is 30 feet, you must spend 15 feet of movement
to stand up. You can’t stand up if you don’t have enoughmovement left or if your speed is 0.
To move while prone, you must crawl or use magic suchas teleportation. Every foot of movement while crawlingcosts 1 extra foot. Crawling 1 foot in difficult terrain,
therefore, costs 3 feet of movement.

Moving Around Other Creatures
You can move through a nonhostile creature’s space.
In contrast, you can move through a hostile creature’s
space only if it is at least two sizes larger or smaller thanyou (creature sizes are detailed in the adventure book).
Whether a creature is a friend or an enemy, you can’t
willingly end your move in its space.
If you move out of an enemy’s reach, you provoke anopportunity attack, as explained later in the chapter.

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Chapter 2: Combat

When you take your action on your turn, you can takeone of the actions presented here, an action you gained
from your class or a special feature, or an action thatyou improvise. When you describe an action not detailed
elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that
action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make,if any, to determine success or failure.

Casting a Spell
Spellcasters such as wizards and clerics, as well as many
monsters, have access to spells and can use them to great
effect in combat. Each spell has a casting time, which specifies
whether the caster must use an action, a reaction, minutes, oreven hours to cast the spell. Most spells have a casting time of
1 action, so a spellcaster often uses his or her action in combat
to cast such a spell. See chapter 4 for the rules on spellcasting.

Dash
When you take the Dash action, you gain extra movement
for the current turn. The increase equals your speed,
after applying any modifiers. With a speed of 30 feet, forexample, you can move up to 60 feet on your turn if you dash.
Any increase or decrease to your speed changes thisadditional movement by the same amount. If your speed of
30 feet is reduced to 15 feet, for instance, you can move up
to 30 feet this turn if you dash.

Disengage
If you take the Disengage action, your movement doesn’t
provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn.

Dodge
When you take the Dodge action, you focus entirely on
avoiding attacks. Until the start of your next turn, any
attack roll made against you has disadvantage if you
can see the attacker, and you make Dexterity saving
throws with advantage. You lose this benefit if you areincapacitated (as explained in the appendix) or if yourspeed drops to 0.

Help
You can lend your aid to another creature in thecompletion of a task. When you take the Help action,
the creature you aid gains advantage on the next ability
check it makes to perform the task you are helping with,
provided that it makes the check before the start of yournext turn.

Alternatively, you can aid a friendly creature in attacking
a creature within 5 feet of you. You feint, distract thetarget, or in some other way team up to make your ally’s
attack more effective. If your ally attacks the target before
your next turn, the first attack roll is made with advantage.

special abilities, and other effects can apply penalties,
bonuses, advantage, or disadvantage to your attack roll.
3. Resolve the attack. You make the attack roll. On
a hit, you roll damage, unless the particular attack
specifies otherwise.

Hide

Attack Rolls

When you take the Hide action, you make a Dexterity(Stealth) check in an attempt to hide, following the rules
in chapter 1 for hiding. If you succeed, you gain certain
benefits, as described in the “Unseen Attackers andTargets” section later in this chapter.

When you make an attack, your attack roll determines
whether the attack hits or misses. To make an attack roll,roll a d20 and add the appropriate modifiers. If the totalof the roll plus modifiers equals or exceeds the target’sArmor Class (AC), the attack hits. Each character’s AC isshown on the character sheet, and each monster’s AC is in
the monster’s stat block.

Ready
Sometimes you want to get the jump on a foe or wait for aparticular circumstance before you act. To do so, you cantake the Ready action on your turn so that you can act laterin the round using your reaction.
First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will
trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you willtake in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up
to your speed in response to it. Examples include “If thecultist steps on the trapdoor, I’ll pull the lever that opens
it,” and “If the goblin steps next to me, I move away.”
When the trigger occurs, you can either take yourreaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore the trigger.
Remember that you can take only one reaction per round.
A spell must have a casting time of 1 action to bereadied, and holding onto the spell’s magic until you
release it with your reaction requires concentration(explained in chapter 4). For example, if you areconcentrating on the web spell and ready magic missile,
your web spell ends, and if you take damage before
you release magic missile with your reaction, yourconcentration might be broken.

SearchWhen you take the Search action, you devote yourattention to finding something. Depending on the natureof your search, the DM might have you make a Wisdom(Perception) check or an Intelligence (Investigation) check.

Use an Object
You normally interact with an object while doing
something else, such as when you draw a sword as partof an attack. When an object requires your action for its
use, you take the Use an Object action. This action is
also useful when you want to interact with more than one
object on your turn.

Making an Attack

Whenever you make an attack roll, you’re making an
attack. Whether you’re striking with a melee weapon,
firing a weapon at range, or making an attack roll as partof a spell, an attack has the following structure:
1. Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack’s
range: a creature, an object, or a location.
2. Determine modifiers. The DM determines whether
the target has cover and whether you have advantage
or disadvantage against the target. In addition, spells,

Modifiers to the Roll

When a character makes an attack roll, the two mostcommon modifiers to the roll are an ability modifier
and the character’s proficiency bonus. A monster uses
whatever modifier is provided in its stat block.
Ability Modifier. The ability modifier used for a melee
weapon attack is Strength, and the ability modifier used
for a ranged weapon attack is Dexterity. Weapons thathave the finesse or thrown property break this rule.
Some spells also require an attack roll. The cleric uses
Wisdom when making a melee or ranged spell attack, andthe wizard uses Intelligence.
Proficiency Bonus. If you are proficient with theweapon you are attacking with, you can add yourproficiency bonus to the attack roll.
When you make a spell attack, you add your proficiency
bonus to the attack roll.

Rolling 1 or 20

Sometimes fate blesses or curses a combatant, causing
the novice to hit or the veteran to miss.
If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, the attack hits
regardless of any modifiers or the target’s AC. In addition,
the attack is a critical hit, as explained later in the chapter.
If the d20 roll for an attack is a 1, the attack misses
regardless of any modifiers or the target’s AC.

Unseen Attackers and Targets
Combatants often try to escape their foes’ notice by hiding,casting the invisibility spell, or lurking in darkness.
When you attack a target that you can’t see, you havedisadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether you’re
guessing the target’s location or you’re targeting a creature
you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in the location
you targeted, you automatically miss, but the DM typicallyjust says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed
the target’s location correctly.
When a creature can’t see you, you have advantage on
attack rolls against it.
If you are hidden—both unseen and unheard—when
you make an attack, you give away your location when theattack hits or misses.

Ranged Attacks
When you make a ranged attack, you fire a bow or acrossbow, hurl a handaxe, or otherwise send projectiles tostrike a foe at a distance. A monster might shoot spines fromits tail. Many spells also involve making a ranged attack.

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Chapter 2: Combat

Range

You can make ranged attacks only against targets within a
specified range.
If a ranged attack, such as one made with a spell, has asingle range, you can’t attack a target beyond this range.
Some ranged attacks, such as those made with alongbow or a shortbow, have two ranges. The smaller
number is the normal range, and the larger number isthe long range. Your attack roll has disadvantage whenyour target is beyond normal range, and you can’t attack atarget beyond the long range.

Ranged Attacks in Close Combat

Aiming a ranged attack is more difficult when a foe is next
to you. When you make a ranged attack with a weapon, aspell, or some other means, you have disadvantage on theattack roll if you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature who
can see you and who isn’t incapacitated.

Melee Attacks
Used in hand-to-hand combat, a melee attack allows you
to attack a foe within your reach. Most creatures havea 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feetof them. Certain creatures (typically those larger than ahuman) have greater reach, as noted in their descriptions.
When you are unarmed, you can fight in melee bymaking an unarmed strike, as shown in the weapon tablein chapter 3.

Opportunity Attacks
In a fight, everyone is constantly watching for enemies todrop their guard. You can rarely move heedlessly past yourfoes without putting yourself in danger; doing so provokes
an opportunity attack.
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile
creature that you can see moves out of your reach. To
make the opportunity attack, you use your reaction to
make one melee attack against the provoking creature.
The attack interrupts the provoking creature’s movement,
occurring right before it leaves your reach.
You can avoid provoking an opportunity attack bytaking the Disengage action. You also don’t provoke anopportunity attack when you teleport or when someone
or something moves you without using your movement,
action, or reaction. For example, you don’t provoke anopportunity attack if an explosion hurls you out of a foe’s
reach or if gravity causes you to fall past an enemy.

Two-Weapon Fighting
When you take the Attack action and attack with a lightmelee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you gain
a bonus action you can use to attack with a different lightmelee weapon that you’re holding in the other hand. You
don’t add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus
attack, unless that modifier is negative.
If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw
the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.

Cover

Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide
cover during combat, making a target more difficult to

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Chapter 2: Combat

harm. A target can benefit from cover only when an attack
or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover.
There are three degrees of cover. If a target is behind
multiple sources of cover, only the most protective degreeof cover applies; the degrees aren’t added together.
A target with half cover has a +2 bonus to AC and
Dexterity saving throws. A target has half cover if an
obstacle blocks at least half of its body. The obstacle might
be a low wall, a large piece of furniture, a narrow tree
trunk, or a creature, whether that creature is an enemy
or a friend.
A target with three-quarters cover has a +5 bonus
to AC and Dexterity saving throws. A target has threequarters cover if about three-quarters of it is covered by an
obstacle. The obstacle might be a portcullis, an arrow slit,
or a thick tree trunk.
A target with total cover can’t be targeted directly by anattack or a spell, although some spells can reach such atarget by including it in an area of effect. A target has total
cover if it is completely concealed by an obstacle.

Damage and Healing

Injury and the risk of death are constant companions of
those who explore the worlds of D&D.

Hit Points
Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental
durability, the will to live, and luck. Creatures with more
hit points are more difficult to kill. Those with fewer hit
points are more fragile.
A creature’s current hit points (usually just called hit
points), can be any number from the creature’s hit point
maximum down to 0. This number changes frequently as acreature takes damage or receives healing.
Whenever a creature takes damage, that damage issubtracted from its hit points. The loss of hit points has noeffect on a creature’s capabilities until the creature drops
to 0 hit points.

Damage Rolls
Each weapon and spell notes the damage it deals on a
successful attack. You roll the damage die or dice, add
any modifiers, and apply the damage to your target. Magic
weapons, special abilities, and other factors can grant abonus to damage. In addition, certain special abilities give
extra damage represented by bonus dice.
When attacking with a weapon, you add your ability
modifier—the same modifier used for the attack roll—tothe damage. A spell tells you which dice to roll for damage
and whether to add any modifiers. If a spell or other effectdeals damage to more than one target at the same time,roll the damage once for all of them.

Critical Hits

When you score a critical hit, you get to roll extra dicefor the attack’s damage against the target. Roll all of theattack’s damage dice twice and add them together. Then
add any relevant modifiers as normal. To speed up play,
you can roll all the damage dice at once.
For example, if you score a critical hit with a dagger,roll 2d4 for the damage, rather than 1d4, and then add
your relevant ability modifier. If the attack involves otherdamage dice, such as from the rogue’s Sneak Attack
feature, you roll those dice twice as well.

but 12 damage remains. Because the remaining damage
equals her hit point maximum, the cleric dies.

Damage Types

Falling Unconscious

Different attacks and damaging spells deal different typesof damage. Damage types have no rules of their own, butother rules, such as damage resistance, rely on the types.
The types are acid, bludgeoning, cold, fire, force,lightning, necrotic, piercing, poison, psychic, radiant,slashing, and thunder.

Damage Resistance andVulnerability
Some creatures and objects are exceedingly difficult or
unusually easy to hurt with certain types of damage.
If a creature or an object has resistance to a damage
type, damage of that type is halved against it. If a creatureor an object has vulnerability to a damage type, damageof that type is doubled against it.
Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after allother modifiers to damage. For example, a creature has
resistance to bludgeoning damage and is hit by an attack
that deals 25 bludgeoning damage. The creature is also
within a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. The
25 damage is first reduced by 5 and then halved, so thecreature takes 10 damage.
Multiple instances of resistance or vulnerability that
affect the same damage type count as only one instance.
For example, if a creature has resistance to fire damage
as well as resistance to all nonmagical damage, thedamage of a nonmagical fire is reduced by half against thecreature, not reduced by three-quarters.

Healing
Unless it results in death, damage isn’t permanent, andeven death is reversible through powerful magic. Rest can
restore a creature’s hit points (as explained in chapter 3),
and magical methods such as a cure wounds spell or a
potion of healing can remove damage in an instant.
When a creature receives healing of any kind, hit points
regained are added to its current hit points. A creature’s
hit points can’t exceed its hit point maximum, so any
hit points regained in excess of this number are lost. A
creature that has died can’t regain hit points until magic,
such as a revivify spell, has restored it to life.

Dropping to 0 Hit Points
When you drop to 0 hit points, you either die outright orfall unconscious, as explained in the following sections.
Most DMs have a monster die the instant it drops to 0
hit points, rather than having it fall unconscious and makedeath saving throws.
Mighty villains and special nonplayer characters
are common exceptions; the DM might have them fallunconscious and follow the same rules as player characters.

If damage reduces you to 0 hit points and fails to killyou, you fall unconscious (see the appendix). This
unconsciousness ends if you regain any hit points.

Death Saving Throws

Whenever you start your turn with 0 hit points, you must
make a special saving throw, called a death saving throw,
to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang
onto life. Unlike other saving throws, this one isn’t tied toany ability score. You are in the hands of fate now, aided
only by spells and features that improve your chances ofsucceeding on a saving throw.
Roll a d20. If the roll is 10 or higher, you succeed.
Otherwise, you fail. A success or failure has no effect byitself. On your third success, you become stable (see below).
On your third failure, you die. The successes and failures
don’t need to be consecutive; keep track of both until you
collect three of a kind. The number of both is reset to zero
when you regain any hit points or become stable.
Rolling 1 or 20. When you make a death saving throw
and roll a 1 on the d20, it counts as two failures. If you rolla 20 on the d20, you regain 1 hit point.
Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while
you have 0 hit points, you suffer a death saving throw
failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two
failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your hit
point maximum, you suffer instant death.

Stabilizing a Creature

The best way to save a creature with 0 hit points is to heal
it. If healing is unavailable, the creature can at least be
stabilized so that it isn’t killed by a failed death saving throw.
You can use your action to administer first aid to an
unconscious creature and attempt to stabilize it, which
requires a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.
A stable creature doesn’t make death saving throws,even though it has 0 hit points, but it does remain
unconscious. The creature stops being stable, and must
start making death saving throws again, if it takes any
damage. A stable creature that isn’t healed regains 1 hit
point after 1d4 hours.

Knocking a Creature Out
Sometimes an attacker wants to incapacitate a foe, rather
than deal a killing blow. When an attacker reduces acreature to 0 hit points with a melee attack, the attacker
can knock the creature out. The attacker can make thischoice the instant the damage is dealt. The creature falls
unconscious and is stable.

Instant Death

Massive damage can kill you instantly. When damage
reduces you to 0 hit points and there is damage remaining,
you die if the remaining damage equals or exceeds yourhit point maximum. For example, a cleric with a maximumof 12 hit points currently has 6 hit points. If she takes 18
damage from an attack, she is reduced to 0 hit points,

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Chapter 2: Combat

Chapter 3: Adventuring
hether delving into a dungeon, trekking throughwilderness, or navigating a teeming city, adventurers needrest, and they seek advancement and gear. This chapter
gives rules for travel and resting, describes rewards, anddetails equipment that might help the characters survive.

TravelOver the course of an adventure, the characters mighttravel across wide areas, on trips that could take days. The
DM can usually summarize this travel without calculating
exact distances or travel times: “You travel through theforest and find the old ruin late in the evening of the thirdday.” Characters can walk about 24 miles in a day.

Marching Order
The adventurers should establish a marching order. A
character might occupy the front rank, a middle rank, orthe back rank. The characters in the front and back rank
are keeping watch for danger, while those in the middle
might be making a map, navigating, or gathering food forthe characters to eat when they make camp. If the groupencounters monsters or other threats, it’s important for
the DM to know where each character is located.

Special Forms of Movement
A journey overland or through a dungeon often requires anadventurer to jump, climb, or swim.

Long Jumps

When you make a long jump, you cover a number of feetup to your Strength score if you move at least 10 feeton foot immediately before the jump. When you make astanding long jump, you can leap only half that distance.
Either way, each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of
movement. In some circumstances, your DM might allow
you to make a Strength (Athletics) check to jump farther
than you normally can.
This rule assumes that the height of your jump doesn’t
matter, such as a jump across a stream or chasm. At yourDM’s option, you must succeed on a DC 10 Strength(Athletics) check to clear a low obstacle (no taller than aquarter of the jump’s distance). Otherwise, you hit it.
When you land in difficult terrain, you must succeed ona DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to land on your feet.
Otherwise, you land prone.

High Jumps

When you make a high jump, you leap into the air anumber of feet equal to 3 + your Strength modifier if you
move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump.
When you make a standing high jump, you can jump only
half that distance. Either way, each foot you clear on thejump costs a foot of movement. In some circumstances,
your DM might allow you to make a Strength (Athletics)
check to jump higher than you normally can.

Climbing and Swimming

While climbing or swimming, each foot of movement
costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in difficult terrain), unlessa creature has a climbing or swimming speed. At theDM’s option, climbing a slippery surface or one with few
handholds requires a successful Strength (Athletics)
check. Similarly, gaining any distance in rough watermight require a successful Strength (Athletics) check.

Resting

Heroic as they might be, adventurers can’t spend
every hour of the day in the thick of exploration, social

interaction, and combat. They need rest—time to sleep andeat, tend their wounds, refresh their minds and spirits forspellcasting, and brace themselves for further adventure.
Adventurers can take short rests in the midst of anadventuring day and a long rest to end the day.

Short Rest
A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long,
during which a character does nothing more strenuousthan eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds.
A character can spend one or more Hit Dice during ashort rest, up to the character’s maximum number of Hit
Dice, which is equal to the character’s level (the character
sheets show each adventurer’s Hit Dice). For each Hit
Die spent in this way, the player rolls the die and adds
the character’s Constitution modifier to it. The character
regains hit points equal to the total. The player can decideto spend an additional Hit Die after each roll. A character
regains some spent Hit Dice upon finishing a long rest, as
explained below.

Long Rest
A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8hours long, during which a character sleeps or performs
light activity: reading, talking, eating, or standing watch
for no more than 2 hours. If the rest is interrupted by aperiod of strenuous activity—at least 1 hour of walking,fighting, casting spells, or similar adventuring activity—
the character must begin the rest again to benefit from it.
At the end of a long rest, a character regains all lost
hit points. The character also regains spent Hit Dice, up
to a number of dice equal to half of the character’s total
number of them. For example, if a character has eightHit Dice, he or she can regain four spent Hit Dice uponfinishing a long rest.
A character can’t benefit from more than one long rest in
a 24-hour period, and a character must have at least 1 hit
point at the start of the rest to gain its benefits.

Rewards

As characters adventure and overcome challenges, they’rerewarded for their efforts by the treasure they find and theexperience they earn.
A monster’s lair might contain a chest of coins, and agoblin raider might carry some of its ill-gotten gains. As
characters acquire treasure, they can divide it as they see
fit (dividing it equally among all the characters in the party
is standard practice), and they can spend it on improved
equipment or other supplies.
Experience points (XP) are an abstract measurementof a character’s learning and growth in the game. As
characters progress through an adventure, they receive
XP when they defeat monsters, complete milestones, andovercome other challenges. An XP award for the party is
divided equally among the characters.
Experience Points
0
300
900
2,700
6,500

Level
1
2
3
4
5

Proficiency Bonus
+2
+2
+2
+2
+3

15
Chapter 3: Adventuring

Once a character reaches a specified experience point
total, he or she advances in capability. This advancement
is called gaining a level; a character goes from 1st level to
2nd level, and so on up to 20th level (this set goes to 5th
level). Upon gaining a level, a character gains additional
hit points and class features, as shown on the character
sheets included in this set.

CoinageCommon coins come in several different denominations basedon the relative worth of the metal from which they are made.
The three most common coins are the gold piece (gp), thesilver piece (sp), and the copper piece (cp).
One gold piece is worth ten silver pieces, the most prevalentcoin among commoners. One silver piece is worth ten copper
pieces, which are common among laborers and beggars.
Unusual coins made of other precious metals sometimes
appear in treasure hoards. The electrum piece (ep) and theplatinum piece (pp) originate from fallen empires and lost
kingdoms. An electrum piece is worth five silver pieces, and aplatinum piece is worth ten gold pieces.
A standard coin weighs about a third of an ounce, so fifty
coins weigh a pound.

Equipment

Proper equipment can mean the difference between lifeand death in a dangerous environment such as an ancient
dungeon or untamed wilderness. Armor and weapons
are essential in combat, and a variety of other tools andsupplies are useful for exploring dungeons, ruins, andthe wilds. This section describes the equipment thatthe characters have when they start the adventure andadditional items they can buy with the treasure theyacquire along the way.

Carrying Capacity
A character’s Strength score determines the maximum
weight the character can carry and still move, provided
that the weight is distributed across the body. Multiply
a character’s Strength by 15 to determine the weight (inpounds) that the character can carry. A character carrying
more than this weight has a speed of 0.

Armor and Shields
Adventurers have access to a wide range of armor types.
Armor falls into three categories in the game: lightarmor, medium armor, and heavy armor. Many warriors
supplement their armor with a shield.
The adventurers presented on the character sheets are
already equipped with armor, and each character’s Armor
Class is calculated using the information in this chapter.
You can use this information to upgrade your character’sarmor as you acquire treasure.

Armor Proficiency

Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to anarm. Only those proficient with the armor know how towear it effectively, however. Your class determines whattypes of armor you have proficiency with: the fighter andcleric can wear any armor and use shields, the rogue islimited to light armor, and the wizard isn’t proficient withany armor or shields at all. If you wear armor that you

16
Chapter 3: Adventuringlack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability
check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strengthor Dexterity, and you can’t cast spells.

Armor
Armor
Light Armor
Leather
Studded leather
Medium Armor
Hide
Chain shirt
Scale mailBreastplate
Heavy Armor
Ring mail
Chain mailSplintShieldShieldCost

Armor
Class (AC)Weight

10 gp
45 gp

11*
12*

10 lb.
13 lb.

10 gp
50 gp
50 gp
400 gp

12**
13**
14**
14**

12 lb.
20 lb.
45 lb.
20 lb.

30 gp
75 gp
200 gp1416
1740 lb.
55 lb.
60 lb.

10 gp

+2

6 lb.

* You add your Dexterity modifier to your Armor Class when you
wear this armor.
** You add your Dexterity modifier, to a maximum of +2, to yourArmor Class when you wear this armor.

Light Armor

Light armor is favored by rogues because it lets themmake the best use of their Dexterity and doesn’t interferewith stealthy movement. When you wear light armor, you
add your Dexterity modifier to the number shown on thetable to determine your Armor Class.
Leather armor consists of chest and shoulder protectors
made of stiffened leather, with lighter and more flexible
protection for the rest of the body. Studded leather isreinforced with close-set rivets or spikes.

Medium Armor

Medium armor offers more protection than light armor,
but it also impairs movement more. When you wear
medium armor, you add your Dexterity modifier, to a
maximum of +2, to the number shown on the table todetermine your Armor Class. If your Dexterity is 16 or
higher, you still add only 2.
Hide is a crude armor made from thick furs and pelts.
A chain shirt is made from interlocking metal rings andcommonly worn under clothing. Scale mail consists of aleather coat and leggings covered with overlapping scalesof metal. You have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth)checks while wearing scale mail. A breastplate is a fitted
metal chest piece worn with supple leather.

Heavy Armor

Heavy armor offers the best protection, and it requires
extensive training to master. The fighter and the cleric are
proficient with it. When you wear heavy armor, you don’t
apply your Dexterity modifier to your Armor Class. You
also have disadvantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks.
Ring mail is leather with heavy rings sewn into it. Chain
mail is made of interlocking metal rings worn over a layerof quilted fabric. If your Strength is lower than 13, yourspeed is reduced by 10 feet while you wear chain mail.

Splint armor is made of narrow vertical strips of metal
riveted to a backing of leather that is worn over cloth
padding. If your Strength is lower than 15, your speed isreduced by 10 feet while you wear splint armor.

Shields

A shield, made from wood or metal, is carried in one hand.
Wielding a shield increases your Armor Class by 2. You
can benefit from only one shield at a time.

Weapons
The Weapons table shows the most common weapons
used in the worlds of D&D, their price and weight,
the damage they deal when they hit, and any special
properties they possess. Every weapon is classified aseither melee or ranged. A melee weapon is used to attacka target within 5 feet of you, whereas a ranged weapon isused to attack a target at a distance.

Weapon Proficiency

Your class grants you proficiency with certain weapons
or categories of weapons. The two main categories are
simple and martial. Certain races, such as the dwarf
race, also grant weapon proficiencies. Proficiency with aweapon allows you to add your proficiency bonus to theattack roll for any attack you make with that weapon.

Weapon Properties

Many weapons have special properties related to their use,
as shown in the Weapons table.
Ammunition. You can use a weapon that has theammunition property to make a ranged attack only if
you have ammunition to fire from the weapon. Each time
you attack with the weapon, you expend one piece of
ammunition. At the end of the battle, you can recover halfyour expended ammunition by taking a minute to search
the battlefield.
If you employ such a weapon to make a melee attack,you use the weapon as an improvised weapon (see“Improvised Weapons” later in the chapter).
Finesse. When making an attack with a finesse weapon,
you use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier
for the attack and damage rolls. You must use the same
modifier for both.
Heavy. Small creatures, such as halflings, havedisadvantage on attack rolls with heavy weapons.
Light. A light weapon is small and easy to handle,
making it ideal for use when fighting with two weapons.
See the rules for two-weapon fighting in chapter 2.
Loading. Because of the time required to load thisweapon, you can fire only one piece of ammunition from it
when you use your action or reaction to fire it, regardlessof the number of attacks you can normally make.
Range. A weapon that can be used to make a ranged
attack has a range shown in parentheses after the
ammunition or thrown property. The range lists two

Weapons
Name
Simple Melee Weapons
Club
DaggerGreatclub
Handaxe
JavelinLight hammer
Mace
Quarterstaff
Spear
Unarmed strike
Simple Ranged Weapons
Crossbow, light
Shortbow
Martial Melee Weapons
Battleaxe
Greataxe
Greatsword
Longsword
Maul
Morningstar
RapierScimitar
Shortsword
Trident
Warhammer
Martial Ranged Weapons
Crossbow, hand
Crossbow, heavy
Longbow

Cost

DamageWeightProperties

1 sp
2 gp
2 sp
5 gp
5 sp
2 gp
5 gp
2 sp
1 gp
—

1d4 bludgeoning
1d4 piercing
1d8 bludgeoning
1d6 slashing
1d6 piercing
1d4 bludgeoning
1d6 bludgeoning
1d6 bludgeoning
1d6 piercing
1 bludgeoning

2 lb.
1 lb.
10 lb.
2 lb.
2 lb.
2 lb.
4 lb.
4 lb.
3 lb.
—

Light
Finesse, light, thrown (range 20/60)
Two-handed
Light, thrown (range 20/60)
Thrown (range 30/120)
Light, thrown (range 20/60)—
Versatile (1d8)
Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)
—

25 gp
25 gp

1d8 piercing
1d6 piercing

5 lb.
2 lb.

Ammunition (range 80/320), loading, two-handed
Ammunition (range 80/320), two-handed

10 gp
30 gp
50 gp
15 gp
10 gp
15 gp
25 gp
25 gp
10 gp
5 gp
15 gp

1d8 slashing
1d12 slashing
2d6 slashing
1d8 slashing
2d6 bludgeoning
1d8 piercing
1d8 piercing
1d6 slashing
1d6 piercing
1d6 piercing
1d8 bludgeoning

4 lb.
7 lb.
6 lb.
3 lb.
10 lb.
4 lb.
2 lb.
3 lb.
2 lb.
4 lb.
2 lb.

Versatile (1d10)
Heavy, two-handed
Heavy, two-handed
Versatile (1d10)
Heavy, two-handed—
FinesseFinesse, lightFinesse, light
Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)
Versatile (1d10)

75 gp
50 gp
50 gp

1d6 piercing
1d10 piercing
1d8 piercing

3 lb.
18 lb.
2 lb.

Ammunition (range 30/120), light, loading
Ammunition (range 100/400), heavy, loading, two-handed
Ammunition (range 150/600), heavy, two-handed

17
Chapter 3: Adventuring

numbers. The first is the weapon’s normal range in
feet, and the second is the weapon’s long range. When
attacking a target beyond normal range, you havedisadvantage on the attack roll. You can’t attack a target
beyond the weapon’s long range.
Thrown. If a weapon has the thrown property, you canthrow the weapon to make a ranged attack. If the weapon
is a melee weapon, you use the same ability modifier forthat attack roll and damage roll that you would use for amelee attack with the weapon. For example, if you throw ahandaxe, you use your Strength, but if you throw a dagger,
you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity, since
the dagger has the finesse property.
Two-Handed. This weapon requires two hands to use.
Versatile. This weapon can be used with one or two
hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with theproperty—the damage when the weapon is used with
two hands to make a melee attack.

Improvised Weapons

Sometimes characters don’t have their weapons and haveto attack with whatever is close at hand: a broken bottle, atable leg, a frying pan, or a wagon wheel. Most combatants
are not proficient with such objects as weapons. In manycases, an improvised weapon is similar to an actual
weapon and can be treated as such. For example, a table
leg is akin to a club. At the DM’s option, a character
proficient with a weapon can use a similar object as if itwere that weapon and use his or her proficiency bonus.

Adventuring Gear
Item
Ammunition
Arrows (20)
Crossbow bolts (20)
Backpack
Bedroll
Bell
BlanketBook
CandleCarpenter’s tools
Case (for map or scroll)
Chalk (1 piece)
Chest
Clothes, common
Clothes, fineComponent pouch
CrowbarGrappling hook
HammerHammer, sledge
Healer’s kit
Holy symbol
Hourglass
Ink (1 ounce bottle)
Ink penLantern, bullseye
Lantern, hooded
Lock
Mason’s tools

18
Chapter 3: Adventuring

Cost

Weight

1 gp
1 gp
2 gp
1 gp
1 gp
5 sp
25 gp
1 cp
8 gp
1 gp
1 cp
5 gp
5 sp
15 gp
25 gp
2 gp
2 gp
1 gp
2 gp
5 gp
5 gp
25 gp
10 gp
2 cp
10 gp
5 gp
10 gp
10 gp

1 lb.
1½ lb.
5 lb.
7 lb.
—
3 lb.
5 lb.
—
6 lb.
1 lb.
—
25 lb.
3 lb.
6 lb.
2 lb.
5 lb.
4 lb.
3 lb.
10 lb.
3 lb.
1 lb.
1 lb.
—
—
2 lb.
2 lb.
1 lb.
8 lb.

An object that bears no resemblance to a weapon deals
1d4 damage (the DM assigns a damage type appropriate
to the object). This is also the amount of damage dealt bya ranged weapon used as a melee weapon and by a melee
weapon that lacks a range but is thrown. An improvised
thrown weapon has a normal range of 20 feet and a longrange of 60 feet.

Miscellaneous Gear and Services
This section describes items that have special rules.
Candle. For 1 hour, a candle sheds bright light in a
5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet.
Component Pouch. A component pouch is a small,watertight leather belt pouch that holds all the material
components and other special items you need to cast yourspells, except for those components that have a specificcost. See chapter 4 for more about spellcasting.
Crowbar. Using a crowbar grants advantage to Strength
checks where the crowbar’s leverage can be applied.
Healer’s Kit. This kit is a leather pouch containing
bandages, salves, and splints. The kit has ten uses. Asan action, you can expend one use of the kit to stabilize acreature that has 0 hit points, without needing to make a
Wisdom (Medicine) check.
Holy Symbol. A holy symbol is a representation of a god
or pantheon. It might be a silver amulet depicting a symbol
commonly used to represent a deity, the same symbol
carefully engraved or inlaid as an emblem on a shield, ora tiny box holding a fragment of a sacred relic. The cleric
Item
Mess kit
Mirror, steel
Oil (flask)
Paper (one sheet)
Parchment (one sheet)
Perfume (vial)
Pick, miner’s
Piton
Pot, iron
Potion of healing
Playing cards
Pouch
Rations (1 day)Robes
Rope, hempen (50 feet)Rope, silk (50 feet)
Sack
Sealing wax
ShovelSignal whistle
Signet ring
Spellbook
Spike, iron (10)Tent, two-person
Thieves’ tools
Tinderbox
Torch
Waterskin
Whetstone

Cost
2 sp
5 gp
1 sp
2 sp
1 sp
5 gp
2 gp
5 cp
2 gp
50 gp
5 sp
5 sp
5 sp
1 gp
1 gp
10 gp
1 cp
5 sp
2 gp
5 cp
5 gp
50 gp
1 gp
2 gp
25 gp
5 sp
1 cp
2 sp
1 cp

Weight1 lb.
1/2 lb.
1 lb.
———
10 lb.
1/4 lb.
10 lb.
1/2 lb.
—
1 lb.
2 lb.
4 lb.
10 lb.
5 lb.
1/2 lb.
—
5 lb.
—
—
3 lb.
5 lb.
20 lb.
1 lb.
1 lb.
1 lb.
5 lb. (full)
1 lb.

can use a holy symbol to replace the material componentsof spells, except for those components that have a specificcost. To use the symbol in this way, the caster must hold it
in hand, wear it visibly, or bear it emblazoned on a shield.
See chapter 4 for more about spellcasting.
Lantern, Bullseye. A bullseye lantern casts bright lightin a 60-foot cone and dim light for an additional 60 feet.
Once lit, it burns for 6 hours on a flask (1 pint) of oil.
Lantern, Hooded. A hooded lantern casts bright lightin a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.
Once lit, it burns for 6 hours on a flask (1 pint) of oil. As an
action, you can lower the hood, reducing the light to dim
light in a 5-foot radius.
Lock. A creature proficient with thieves’ tools can pick
this lock with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. Better
locks are available for higher prices.
Oil. As an action, you can splash the oil in this flask onto
a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet,shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack against atarget creature or object. On a hit, the target is coveredin oil. If the target takes any fire damage before the oildries (after 1 minute), the target takes an additional 5 firedamage from the burning oil. You can also pour a flask ofoil on the ground to cover a 5-foot-square area, provided
that the surface is level. If lit, the oil burns for 2 rounds
and deals 5 fire damage to any creature that enters thearea or ends its turn in the area. A creature can take thisdamage only once per turn.
Playing Cards. If you are proficient with playing cards,
you can add your proficiency bonus to ability checks you
make to play a game with them.
Potion of Healing. A character who drinks the magic,
red fluid in this vial regains 2d4 + 2 hit points. Drinking or
administering a potion takes an action.
Rations. Compact, dry foods suitable for extended
travel, rations include jerky, dried fruit, hardtack, and nuts.
Rope. Rope, whether made of hemp or silk, has 2 hit
points and can be burst with a DC 17 Strength check.
Spellbook. Essential for wizards, a spellbook is aleather-bound tome with 100 blank vellum pages suitable
for recording spells.
Thieves’ Tools. This set of tools includes a small file,a set of lock picks, a small mirror mounted on a metal
handle, a set of narrow-bladed scissors, and a pair ofpliers. Proficiency with these tools lets you add yourproficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to disarm
traps or open locks.
Tinderbox. This small container holds flint, fire steel,and tinder (usually dry cloth soaked in light oil) used tokindle a fire. Using it to light a torch—or anything elsewith abundant, exposed fuel—takes an action.
Lighting any other fire takes 1 minute.
Torch. A torch burns for 1
hour, providing bright light in
a 20-foot radius and dim
light for an additional
20 feet. If you make amelee attack with aburning torch andhit, it deals 1 firedamage.

Mounts and Other Animals
Item
Donkey or muleHorse, draft
Horse, riding

Cost
8 gp
50 gp
75 gp

Speed
40 ft.
40 ft.
60 ft.

Carrying Capacity
420 lb.
540 lb.
480 lb.

Tack and Harness
Item
Bit and bridle
Feed (per day)
SaddlePack
RidingSaddlebags
Stabling (per day)

Cost
2 gp
5 cp

Weight
1 lb.
10 lb.

5 gp
10 gp
4 gp
5 sp

15 lb.
25 lb.
8 lb.
—

Food, Drink, and Lodging
Item
Ale
GallonMug
Inn stay (per day)
Squalid
Poor
ModestComfortable
Wealthy
Aristocratic
Meals (per day)
Squalid
Poor
ModestComfortable
Wealthy
Aristocratic
Wine
Common (pitcher)Fine (bottle)

Cost
2 sp
4 cp
7 cp
1 sp
5 sp
8 sp
2 gp
4 gp
3 cp
6 cp
3 sp
5 sp
8 sp
2 gp
2 sp
10 gp

19
Chapter 3: AdventuringChapter 4: Spellcasting
agic permeates the worlds of D&D and most often
appears in the form of a spell. This chapter provides
the rules for casting spells. Clerics and wizards havedistinctive ways of learning and preparing their spells,
and monsters use spells in unique ways. Regardless of its
source, a spell follows the rules here.

What Is a Spell?

A spell is a discrete magical effect, a single shaping of
the magical energies that suffuse the multiverse into a
specific, limited expression. In casting a spell, a character
carefully plucks at the invisible strands of raw magic
suffusing the world, pins them in place in a particularpattern, sets them vibrating in a specific way, and thenreleases them to unleash the desired effect—in most cases,
all in the span of seconds.
Spells can be versatile tools, weapons, or protective
wards. They can deal damage or undo it, impose or
remove conditions (see the appendix), drain life energy
away, and restore life to the dead.

Spell Level
Every spell in this set has a level from 0 to 3. A spell’slevel is a general indicator of how powerful it is, with the
lowly (but still impressive) magic missile at 1st level andthe devastating fireball at 3rd. (Spells of higher levels, up
to 9th, exist in the world but aren’t included in this set.)
Cantrips—simple but powerful spells that characters cancast almost by rote—are level 0. The higher a spell’s level,
the higher level a spellcaster must be to use that spell.
Spell level and character level don’t correspond directly.
Typically, a character has to be at least 5th level, not 3rdlevel, to cast a 3rd-level spell.

Known and Prepared Spells
Before a spellcaster can use a spell, he or she must havethe spell firmly fixed in mind. Clerics and wizards undergo
a process of preparing spells. The number of spells a
caster can have fixed in mind at any given time is shownon the character sheets.
A character can change this list of prepared spells uponfinishing a long rest (see chapter 3). Preparing a new list of
spells requires time spent in meditation or study: at least 1
minute per spell level for each spell on the list.

Spell Slots
Regardless of how many spells a caster knows or
prepares, he or she can cast only a limited number ofspells before resting. Manipulating the fabric of magic andchanneling its energy into even a simple spell is physicallyand mentally taxing, and higher-level spells are even more
so. Thus, the character sheet for a spellcaster includes
how many spell slots of each level the character can use ateach character level. For example, at 3rd level, the wizard
has four 1st-level slots and two 2nd-level slots.
When a character casts a spell, he or she expends a
slot of that spell’s level or higher, effectively “filling” a slotwith the spell. You can think of a spell slot as a groove of acertain size—small for a 1st-level slot, larger for a spell ofhigher level. A 1st-level spell fits into a slot of any size, but
a 3rd-level spell fits only in a slot that is at least 3rd level.
So when the wizard casts magic missile, a 1st-level spell,he or she spends a 1st-level slot and has three remaining.
Finishing a long rest restores any expended spell slots.
Some monsters have special abilities that let them castspells without using spell slots.

Casting a Spell at a Higher Level

When a spellcaster casts a spell using a slot that is ahigher level than the spell, the spell assumes the higher
level for that casting. For instance, if a wizard casts magic
missile using a 2nd-level slot, that magic missile is 2ndlevel. The spell effectively expands to fill the slot.
Some spells, such as magic missile and cure wounds,
have more powerful effects when cast at a higher level, as
detailed in the spell’s description.

Cantrips
A cantrip is a spell that can be cast at will, without using
a spell slot and without being prepared in advance.
Repeated practice has fixed the spell in the caster’s mind
and infused the caster with the magic needed to produce
the effect over and over. A cantrip’s spell level is 0.

Rituals
Certain spells have a special tag: ritual. Such a spell canbe cast following the normal rules for spellcasting, or thespell can be cast as a ritual. The ritual version of a spelltakes 10 minutes longer to cast than normal, and it doesn’t
expend a spell slot.
A cleric or a wizard can cast a spell as a ritual if thespell has the ritual tag. The cleric must also have the spell
prepared, while the wizard need only have the spell in his
or her spellbook.

Casting in Armor
Because of the mental focus and precise gestures required forspellcasting, you must be proficient with the armor you arewearing to cast a spell. You are otherwise too distracted andphysically hampered by your armor for spellcasting.

Casting a Spell

When a character casts any spell, the rules here apply,
regardless of the character’s class or the spell’s effects.
Each spell description in this chapter begins with a blockof information, including the spell’s name, level, school ofmagic, casting time, range, components, and duration. The
rest of a spell entry describes the spell’s effect.

Casting Time
Most spells require a single action to cast, but some spells
require a bonus action, a reaction, or much more time.

Bonus Action

A spell cast with a bonus action is especially swift. You
must use a bonus action on your turn to cast the spell,provided that you haven’t already taken a bonus action thisturn. You can’t cast another spell during the same turn,except for a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.

Reactions

Some spells can be cast as reactions. These spells takea fraction of a second to bring about and are cast in
response to some event. If a spell can be cast as a reaction,
the spell description tells you exactly when you can do so.

21
Chapter 4: SpellcastingLonger Casting Times

Certain spells (including spells cast as rituals) require
more time to cast: minutes or even hours. When you casta spell with a casting time longer than a single action orreaction, you must spend your action each turn casting thespell, and you must maintain your concentration while you
do so (see “Concentration” below). If your concentration isbroken, the spell fails, but you don’t expend a spell slot. If
you want to try casting the spell again, you must start over.

Range
The target of a spell must be within the spell’s range. For aspell like magic missile, the target is a creature. For a spelllike fireball, the target is the point in space where the ballof fire erupts.
Most spells have ranges expressed in feet. Some spells
can target only a creature (including you) that you touch.
Other spells, such as the shield spell, affect only you.
These spells have a range of self.
Spells that create cones or lines of effect that originate
from you also have a range of self, indicating that theorigin point of the spell’s effect must be you (see “Areas of
Effect” later in the this chapter).
Once a spell is cast, its effects aren’t limited by its range,
unless the spell’s description says otherwise.

Components
A spell’s components are the physical requirements you
must meet in order to cast it. Each spell’s description
indicates whether it requires verbal (V), somatic (S), ormaterial (M) components. If you can’t provide one or moreof a spell’s components, you are unable to cast the spell.

Verbal (V)Most spells require the chanting of mystic words. The
words themselves aren’t the source of the spell’s power;
rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specificpitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion.
Thus, a character who is gagged or in an area of silence,such as one created by the silence spell, can’t cast a spellwith a verbal component.

Somatic (S)Spellcasting gestures might include a forceful gesticulationor an intricate set of gestures. If a spell requires a somaticcomponent, the caster must have free use of at least one
hand to perform these gestures.

Material (M)Casting some spells requires particular objects, specifiedin parentheses in the component entry. A component
pouch includes all the needed material components tocast spells, except those that have a gold piece cost shownin the spell. A cleric’s holy symbol replaces material
components, again excepting those with a gold piececost. If a cost is indicated, a character must purchase thatspecific component before casting the spell in question.
If a spell specifies that the material component isconsumed by the spell, the caster must provide thiscomponent for each casting of the spell.
A spellcaster must have a hand free to access thesecomponents, but it can be the same hand that he or she
uses to perform somatic components.

22
Chapter 4: Spellcasting

Duration
A spell’s duration is the length of time the spell persists. A
duration can be expressed in rounds, minutes, hours, oreven years. A spell might specify that its effects last until
the spell is dispelled or the effects are destroyed.

Instantaneous

Many spells are instantaneous. The spell harms, heals,
creates, or alters a creature or an object in a way that can’tbe dispelled, because its magic exists only for an instant.

Concentration

Some spells require you to maintain concentration inorder to keep their magic active. If you lose concentration,such a spell ends.
If a spell must be maintained with concentration,that fact appears in its Duration entry, and the spell
specifies how long you can concentrate on it. You can end
concentration at any time (no action required).
Normal activity, such as moving and attacking, doesn’tinterfere with concentration. The following factors canbreak concentration:• Casting another spell that requires concentration.
You lose concentration on a spell if you cast anotherspell that requires concentration. You can’t concentrateon two spells at once.
• Taking damage. Whenever you take damage while
you are concentrating on a spell, you must make aConstitution saving throw to maintain your concentration. The DC equals 10 or half the damage you take,whichever number is higher. If you take damage frommultiple sources, such as an arrow and a dragon’s
breath, you make a separate saving throw for eachsource of damage.
• Being incapacitated or killed. You lose concentration
on a spell if you are incapacitated (as explained in the
appendix) or if you die.

Targets
A typical spell requires you to pick one or more targets to beaffected by the spell’s magic. A spell’s description tells youwhether the spell targets creatures, objects, or a point oforigin for an area of effect (described below).

A Clear Path to the Target

To target something, you must have a clear path to it, so it
can’t be behind total cover.
If you place an area of effect at a point that you can’t see
and an obstruction, such as a wall, is between you and thatpoint, the point of origin comes into being on the near sideof that obstruction.

Targeting Yourself

If a spell targets a creature of your choice, you can choose
yourself, unless the creature must be hostile or specificallya creature other than you. If you are in the area of effect ofa spell you cast, you can target yourself.

Areas of Effect
Spells such as burning hands and fireball cover an area,
allowing them to affect multiple creatures at once.

A spell’s description specifies its area of effect, which
typically has one of four different shapes: cone, cube,
line, or sphere. Every area of effect has a point of origin,a location from which the spell’s energy erupts. The rules
for each shape specify how you position its point of origin.
Typically, a point of origin is a point in space, but somespells have an area whose origin is a creature or an object.
A spell’s effect expands in straight lines from the pointof origin. If no unblocked straight line extends from thepoint of origin to a location within the area of effect, thatlocation isn’t included in the spell’s area. To block one ofthese imaginary lines, an obstruction must provide total
cover, as explained in chapter 2.
The point of origin of an area of effect isn’t included in
the area, unless the area is a sphere.

For example, if two clerics cast bless on the same target,that character gains the spell’s benefit only once; he or she
doesn’t get to roll two bonus dice.

Cone

1st Level

A cone extends in a direction you choose from its point oforigin. A cone’s width at a given point along its length isequal to that point’s distance from the point of origin. A
cone’s area of effect specifies its maximum length.

Cube

You select a cube’s point of origin, which lies anywhere ona face of the cubic effect. The cube’s size is expressed as
the length of each side.

Line

A line extends from its point of origin in a straight path up
to its length and covers an area defined by its width.

SphereYou select a sphere’s point of origin, and the sphere
extends outward from that point. The sphere’s size isexpressed as a radius in feet that extends from the point.

Saving Throws
Many spells specify that a target can make a saving throw
to avoid some or all of a spell’s effects. The spell specifies
the ability that the target uses for the save and what
happens on a success or failure.
The DC to resist one of your spells equals 8 + yourspellcasting ability modifier + your proficiency bonus. This
number is on the character sheets for the cleric and thewizard, and in the statistics for a monster that casts spells.

Attack Rolls
Some spells require the caster to make an attack rollto determine whether the spell effect hits the intended
target. Your attack bonus with a spell attack equals yourspellcasting ability modifier + your proficiency bonus.
Most spells that require attack rolls involve ranged
attacks. Remember that you have disadvantage on a ranged
attack roll if you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature thatcan see you and that isn’t incapacitated (see chapter 2).

Combining Magical Effects
The effects of different spells add together while thedurations of those spells overlap. The effects of the samespell cast multiple times don’t combine, however. Instead,the most potent effect—such as the highest bonus—fromthose castings applies while their durations overlap.

Spell Lists
Cleric Spells

Wizard Spells

Cantrips (0 Level)

Cantrips (0 Level)

Guidance
Light
Resistance
Sacred FlameThaumaturgy

Dancing Lights
Light
Mage Hand
Prestidigitation
Ray of Frost
Shocking Grasp

BlessCommandCure Wounds
Detect Magic
Guiding Bolt
Healing Word
Inflict Wounds
Sanctuary
Shield of Faith

2nd Level
Aid
AuguryHold Person
Lesser Restoration
Prayer of Healing
Silence
Spiritual Weapon
Warding Bond

3rd Level
Beacon of Hope
Dispel Magic
Mass Healing Word
Protection from Energy
Revivify
Spirit Guardians

1st Level
Burning Hands
Charm Person
Comprehend Languages
Detect Magic
Identify
Mage Armor
Magic Missile
ShieldSleep
Thunderwave

2nd Level
Blur
Darkness
Flaming Sphere
Hold Person
Invisibility
Misty Step
Spider Climb
SuggestionWeb

3rd Level
Dispel Magic
Fireball
Fly
Lightning Bolt
Protection from Energy

Schools of Magic
Scholars who study the workings of magic group spells into
eight categories called schools of magic. The schools help
describe spells; the schools have no game rules of their own.
Abjuration spells are protective, often creating barriers or
warding off trespassers. Conjuration spells transport objects
or creatures from one location to another. Divination spells
reveal glimpses of the future, the locations of hidden things, or
visions of distant people or places. Enchantment spells affectthe minds of others, influencing or controlling their behavior.
Evocation spells tap mystical sources of energy to create avariety of effects, including blasts of fire and channeling positiveenergy to heal wounds. Illusion spells deceive the senses orminds of others. Necromancy spells manipulate the energies oflife and death. Transmutation spells change the properties orphysical form of a creature or object.

23
Chapter 4: SpellcastingSpells

Presented in alphabetical order, these spells are used bycharacters and monsters in this set.
Some of the spells cause conditions, including
charmed, deafened, frightened, invisible, paralyzed, prone,
restrained, and unconscious. Consult the appendix tolearn a condition’s effects in the game.

Aid

2nd-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a tiny strip of white cloth)
Duration: 8 hours
Your spell bolsters your allies with toughness and resolve.
Choose up to three creatures within range. Each target’s
hit point maximum and current hit points increase by 5 forthe duration.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 3rd level or higher, a target’s hit points increase by
an additional 5 for each slot level above 2nd.

Augury2nd-level divination (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (specially marked sticks, bones, orsimilar tokens worth at least 25 gp)
Duration: Instantaneous
By casting gem-inlaid sticks, rolling dragon bones, layingout ornate cards, or employing some other divining tool,
you receive an omen from an otherworldly entity about theresults of a specific course of action that you plan to takewithin the next 30 minutes. The DM chooses from thefollowing possible omens:• Weal, for good results• Woe, for bad results• Weal and woe, for both good and bad results• Nothing, for results that are not especially good or bad
The spell doesn’t take into account any possible
circumstances that might change the outcome, such as
the casting of additional spells or the loss or gain of acompanion.
If you cast the spell two or more times before completingyour next long rest, there is a cumulative 25 percent
chance for each casting after the first that you get a false
reading. The DM makes this roll in secret.

Beacon of Hope
3rd-level abjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minuteThis spell bestows hope and vitality. Choose any numberof creatures within range. For the duration, each target
has advantage on Wisdom saving throws and death saving
throws, and regains the maximum number of hit points
possible from any healing.

24
Chapter 4: Spellcasting

Bless1st-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a sprinkling of holy water)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You bless up to three creatures of your choice within
range. Whenever a target makes an attack roll or a saving
throw before the spell ends, the target can roll a d4 andadd the number rolled to the attack roll or saving throw.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, you can target one additional
creature for each slot level above 1st.

Blur

2nd-level illusion
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minuteYour body becomes blurred, shifting and wavering to
all who can see you. For the duration, any creature has
disadvantage on attack rolls against you. An attacker isimmune to this effect if it doesn’t rely on sight, as withblindsight, or can see through illusions, as with truesight.

Burning Hands
1st-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (15-foot cone)
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
As you hold your hands with thumbs touching and fingers
spread, a thin sheet of flames shoots forth from youroutstretched fingertips. Each creature in a 15-foot conemust make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d6
fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a
successful one.
The fire ignites any flammable objects in the area thatare not being worn or carried.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 foreach slot level above 1st.

Charm Person

1st-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 hour
You attempt to charm a humanoid you choose within
range. It must make a Wisdom saving throw, and does sowith advantage if you or your companions are fighting it. If
it fails the saving throw, it is charmed by you until the spellends or until you or your companions do anything harmful
to it. The charmed creature regards you as a friendly
acquaintance.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, you can target one additional
creature for each slot level above 1st. The creatures must
be within 30 feet of each other when you target them.

Command1st-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V
Duration: 1 roundYou speak a one-word command to a creature you cansee within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdomsaving throw or follow the command on its next turn.
The spell has no effect if the target is undead, if it doesn’t
understand your language, or if your command is directly
harmful to it.
Some typical commands and their effects follow. Youmight issue a command other than one described here. If
you do so, the DM determines how the target behaves. If
the target is prevented from following your command, thespell ends.
Approach. The target moves toward you by the shortest
and most direct route, ending its turn if it moves within 5feet of you.
Drop. The target drops whatever it is holding and thenends its turn.
Flee. The target spends its turn moving away from youby the fastest available means.
Grovel. The target falls prone and then ends its turn.
Halt. The target stays where it is and takes no actions.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, you can affect one additional
creature for each slot level above 1st. The creatures must
be within 30 feet of each other when you target them.

Comprehend Languages
1st-level divination (ritual)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of soot and salt)
Duration: 1 hour

Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S, M (a bit of phosphorus or wychwood,or a glowworm)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You create up to four torch-sized lights within range,
making them appear as torches, lanterns, or glowing orbs
that hover in the air for the duration. You can also combine
the four lights into one glowing vaguely humanoid formof Medium size. Whichever form you choose, each lightsheds dim light in a 10-foot radius.
As a bonus action on your turn, you can move the lights
up to 60 feet to a new spot within range. A light must bewithin 20 feet of another light created by this spell, and alight winks out if it exceeds the spell’s range.

Darkness

2nd-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, M (bat fur and a drop of pitch or piece ofcoal)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
Magical darkness spreads from a point you choose within
range to fill a 15-foot-radius sphere for the duration.
The darkness spreads around corners. A creature with
darkvision can’t see through this darkness, and nononmagical light can illuminate it.
If the point you choose is on an object you are holding
or one that is not being worn or carried, the darkness
emanates from the object and moves with it. Covering thesource of the darkness with an opaque object, such as abowl or a helm, blocks the darkness.
If any of this spell’s area overlaps with an area of lightcreated by a spell of 2nd level or lower, the entire area oflight is dispelled.

For the duration, you understand the literal meaningof spoken language that you hear. You also understandwritten language that you see, but you must be touching
the surface on which the words are written. It takes about
1 minute to read one page of text.
This spell does not decode secret messages in a text
or any glyph, such as an arcane sigil, that isn’t part of awritten language.

Cure Wounds

1st-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
A creature you touch regains a number of hit points equal
to 1d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has
no effect on undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d8 foreach slot level above 1st.

Dancing Lights
Evocation cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

25
Chapter 4: SpellcastingDetect Magic

1st-level divination (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within
30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use
your action to see a faint aura around any visible creatureor object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its
school of magic, if any.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blockedby 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet oflead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

Dispel Magic

3rd-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Choose one creature, object, or magical effect within
range. Any spell of 2nd level or lower on the target ends.
For each spell of 3rd level or higher on the target, makean ability check using your spellcasting ability. The DC
equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a successful check, thespell ends.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 4th level or higher, you automatically end the effects
of a spell on the target if the spell’s level is less than thelevel of the spell slot you used.

Fireball

3rd-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 150 feet
Components: V, S, M (a tiny ball of bat guano and sulfur)
Duration: Instantaneous
A bright streak flashes from your pointing finger to apoint you choose within range and then blossoms witha low roar into an explosion of flame. Each creature in a
20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a
Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 8d6 fire damage ona failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The fire spreads around corners. It ignites flammableobjects in the area that are not being worn or carried.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 foreach slot level above 3rd.

Flaming Sphere2nd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a bit of tallow, a pinch of brimstone,
and a dusting of powdered iron)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
A 5-foot-diameter sphere of fire appears in an unoccupied
space of your choice within range and lasts for theduration. Any creature that ends its turn within 5 feetof the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw. The

26
Chapter 4: Spellcasting

creature takes 2d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as
much damage on a successful one.
As a bonus action, you can move the sphere up to 30
feet. If you ram the sphere into a creature, that creaturemust make the saving throw against the sphere’s damage,and the sphere stops moving this turn.
When you move the sphere, you can direct it overbarriers up to 5 feet tall and jump it across pits up to 10feet wide. The sphere ignites flammable objects not being
worn or carried, and it sheds bright light in a 20-footradius and dim light for an additional 20 feet.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 foreach slot level above 2nd.

Fly

3rd-level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a wing feather from any bird)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
You touch a willing creature. The target gains a flying
speed of 60 feet for the duration. When the spell ends, thetarget falls if it is still aloft, unless it can stop the fall.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 4th level or higher, you can target one additional
creature for each slot level above 3rd.

Guidance

Divination cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends,
the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one
ability check of its choice. It can roll the die before or after
making the ability check. The spell then ends.

Guiding Bolt

1st-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 roundA flash of light streaks toward a creature of your choicewithin range. Make a ranged spell attack against thetarget. On a hit, the target takes 4d6 radiant damage, andthe next attack roll made against this target before the endof your next turn has advantage, thanks to the mystical
dim light glittering on the target until then.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 foreach slot level above 1st.

Healing Word
1st-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V
Duration: InstantaneousA creature of your choice within range regains hit points
equal to 1d4 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell
has no effect on undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d4 foreach slot level above 1st.

invisible as long as it is on the target’s person. The spellends early for a target that attacks or casts a spell.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 3rd level or higher, you can target one additional
creature for each slot level above 2nd.

Hold Person

2nd-level abjuration

2nd-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a small, straight piece of iron)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Choose a humanoid within range that you can see. The
target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or beparalyzed for the duration. At the end of each of its turns,
the target can make another Wisdom saving throw. On a
success, the spell ends on the target.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 3rd level or higher, you can target one additional
humanoid for each slot level above 2nd. The humanoids
must be within 30 feet of each other when you target them.

Identify

1st-level divination (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a pearl worth at least 100 gp and an
owl feather)
Duration: Instantaneous
You choose one object that you must touch throughout
the casting of the spell. If it is a magic item or some othermagic-imbued object, you learn its properties and how to
use them, whether it requires attunement to use, and how
many charges it has, if any. You learn whether any spells
are affecting the item and what they are. If the item wascreated by a spell, you learn which spell created it.
If you instead touch a creature throughout the casting,you learn what spells, if any, are currently affecting it.

Inflict Wounds
1st-level necromancy

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Make a melee spell attack against a creature you canreach. On a hit, the target takes 3d10 necrotic damage.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10
for each slot level above 1st.

Invisibility

2nd-level illusion
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (an eyelash encased in gum arabic)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
A creature you touch becomes invisible until the spellends. Anything the target is wearing or carrying isLesser Restoration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You touch a creature and can end either one disease or
one condition afflicting it. The condition can be blinded,deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned.

Light

Evocation cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, M (a firefly or phosphorescent moss)
Duration: 1 hour
You touch one object that is no larger than 10 feet in any
dimension. Until the spell ends, the object sheds bright
light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20
feet. The light can be colored as you like, and covering theobject with something opaque blocks the light. The spellends early if you cast it again or dismiss it as an action.
If you target an object held or worn by a hostile creature,that creature must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw to
avoid the spell.

Lightning Bolt
3rd-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (100-foot line)
Components: V, S, M (a bit of fur and a rod of amber,crystal, or glass)
Duration: Instantaneous
A stroke of lightning forming a line 100 feet long and 5feet wide blasts out from you in a direction you choose.
Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving
throw. A creature takes 8d6 lightning damage on a failed
save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The lightning ignites flammable objects in the area thatare not being worn or carried.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 foreach slot level above 3rd.

Mage Armor

1st-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a piece of cured leather)
Duration: 8 hours
You touch a willing creature who isn’t wearing armor, anda protective magical force surrounds it until the spell ends.
The target’s base AC becomes 13 + its Dexterity modifier.
The spell ends early if the target dons armor or if you
dismiss the spell as an action.

27
Chapter 4: SpellcastingMage Hand

Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 minute

Up to six creatures of your choice within range eachregain hit points equal to 2d8 + your spellcasting ability
modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 3rd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d8 foreach slot level above 2nd.

Conjuration cantrip

A spectral, floating hand appears at a point you choose
within range. The hand lasts for the duration or until you
dismiss it as an action. The hand vanishes if it is ever morethan 30 feet away from you or if you cast this spell again.
You can use your action to control the hand. You can
use the hand to manipulate an object, open an unlocked
door or container, stow or retrieve an item from an open
container, or pour the contents out of a vial. You can movethe hand up to 30 feet each time you use it.
The hand can’t attack, activate magic items, or carry
more than 10 pounds.

Magic Missile
1st-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart
hits a creature of your choice within range that you cansee. A dart deals 1d4 + 1 force damage to its target. The
darts all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them tohit one creature or several.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, the spell creates one more dart
for each slot level above 1st.

Mass Healing Word
3rd-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous
As you call out words of restoration, up to six creatures
you choose within range regain hit points equal to 1d4+ your spellcasting ability modifier. The targets must bewithin 30 feet of each other. This spell has no effect on
undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 4th level or higher, the healing increases by 1d4 foreach slot level above 3rd.

Misty Step

2nd-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous
Briefly surrounded by silvery mist, you teleport up to 30
feet to an unoccupied space that you can see.

Prayer of Healing
2nd-level evocation

Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: 30 feet

28
Chapter 4: Spellcasting

Prestidigitation
Transmutation cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Up to 1 hour
This spell is a minor magical trick that novice spellcasters
use for practice. You create one of the following magicaleffects within range:• Create an instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, suchas a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musicalnotes, or an odd odor.
• Instantaneously light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or asmall campfire.
• Instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1
cubic foot.
• Chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving
material for 1 hour.
• Make a color, a small mark, or a symbol appear on an
object or a surface for 1 hour.
• Create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image thatcan fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of yournext turn.
If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to
three of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time, andyou can dismiss such an effect as an action.

Protection from Energy
3rd-level abjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
For the duration, the willing creature you touch has
resistance to one damage type of your choice: acid, cold,
fire, lightning, or thunder.

Ray of Frost

Evocation cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
A frigid beam of blue-white light streaks toward a creature
within range. Make a ranged spell attack against thetarget. On a hit, it takes 1d8 cold damage, and its speed isreduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.
The spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5thlevel (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Resistanceto AC, including against the triggering attack, and you takeno damage from magic missile.

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a miniature cloak)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minuteShield of Faith

Abjuration cantrip

You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends,
the target can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to one
saving throw of its choice. It can roll the die before or after
making the saving throw. The spell then ends.

Revivify

3rd-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (diamonds worth 300 gp, which areconsumed when the spell is cast)Duration: Instantaneous
You touch a creature that has died within the last minute.
That creature returns to life with 1 hit point. This spellcannot return to life a creature that has died of old age,nor can it restore any missing body parts.

Sacred Flame
Evocation cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Flame-like radiance descends on a creature within rangethat you can see. The target must succeed on a Dexterity
saving throw or take 1d8 radiant damage. The target gains
no benefit from cover for this saving throw.
The spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5thlevel (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Sanctuary

1st-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a small silver mirror)
Duration: 1 minute
You ward a creature within range against attack. Until thespell ends, any creature who targets the warded creature
with an attack or a harmful spell must first make a
Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature mustchoose a new target or lose the attack or spell. This spell
doesn’t protect the warded creature from area effects,
such as the explosion of a fireball.
If the warded creature makes an attack or casts a spellthat affects an enemy creature, this spell ends early.

Shield

1st-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you are hit
by an attack or targeted by the magic missile spell
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 roundAn invisible barrier of magical force appears and protectsyou. Until the start of your next turn, you have a +5 bonus

1st-level abjuration

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a small parchment with a bit of holy
text written on it)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
A shimmering field appears and surrounds a creature ofyour choice within range, granting it a +2 bonus to AC for
the duration.

Shocking Grasp
Evocation cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
Lightning springs from your hand to deliver a shock toa creature you try to touch. Make a melee spell attack
against the target. You have advantage on the attack rollif the target is wearing armor made of metal. On a hit,
the target takes 1d8 lightning damage, and it can’t takereactions until the start of its next turn.
The spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5thlevel (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).

Silence

2nd-level illusion (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
For the duration, no sound can be created within or passthrough a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you
choose within range. Any creature or object entirely inside
the sphere is immune to thunder damage, and creatures
are deafened while entirely inside it. Casting a spell that
includes a verbal component is impossible there.

Sleep

1st-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 90 feet
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of fine sand, rose petals, ora cricket)
Duration: 1 minuteThis spell sends creatures into a magical slumber. Roll
5d8; the total is how many hit points of creatures this spell
can affect. Creatures within 20 feet of a point you choose
within range are affected in increasing order of theircurrent hit points (ignoring unconscious creatures).
Starting with the creature that has the lowest current hit
points, each creature affected by this spell falls unconscious
until the spell ends, the sleeper takes damage, or someone
uses an action to shake or slap the sleeper awake. Subtract
each creature’s hit points from the total before moving on to
the creature with the next lowest hit points. A creature’s hit

29
Chapter 4: Spellcastingpoints must be equal to or less than the remaining total forthat creature to be affected.
Undead and creatures immune to being charmed aren’taffected by this spell.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, roll an additional 2d8 for eachslot level above 1st.

Spider Climb

2nd-level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a drop of bitumen and a spider)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
Until the spell ends, one willing creature you touch gains
the ability to move up, down, and across vertical surfaces
and upside down along ceilings, while leaving its hands
free. The target also gains a climbing speed equal to its
walking speed.

Spirit Guardians
3rd-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (15-foot radius)Components: V, S, M (a holy symbol)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
You call forth spirits to protect you. They flit around you
to a distance of 15 feet for the duration. If you are good orneutral, their spectral form appears angelic or fey (yourchoice). If you are evil, they appear fiendish.
When you cast this spell, you can designate any numberof creatures you can see to be unaffected by it. An affected
creature’s speed is halved in the area, and when thecreature enters the area or starts its turn there, it must
make a Wisdom saving throw (no more than once perturn). On a failed save, the creature takes 3d8 radiantdamage (if you are good or neutral) or 3d8 necrotic
damage (if you are evil). On a successful save, the creaturetakes half as much damage.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 foreach slot level above 3rd.

Spiritual Weapon
2nd-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 bonus action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 minute
You create a floating, spectral weapon within range thatlasts for the duration or until you cast this spell again.
When you cast the spell, you can make a melee spell
attack against a creature within 5 feet of the weapon. On
a hit, the target takes force damage equal to 1d8 + yourspellcasting ability modifier.
As a bonus action on your turn, you can move theweapon up to 20 feet and repeat the attack against acreature within 5 feet of it.
The weapon can take whatever form you choose. Clerics
of deities who are associated with a particular weapon(as St. Cuthbert is known for his mace and Thor for hishammer) make this spell’s effect resemble that weapon.

30
Chapter 4: Spellcasting

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 forevery two slot levels above the 2nd.

Suggestion

2nd-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, M (a snake’s tongue and either a bit ofhoneycomb or a drop of sweet oil)
Duration: Concentration, up to 8 hours
You suggest a course of activity (limited to a sentenceor two) and magically influence a creature you choose
within range that can hear and understand you. Creaturesthat can’t be charmed are immune to this effect. The
suggestion must be worded in such a manner as tomake the course of action sound reasonable. Asking
the creature to stab itself, throw itself onto a spear,
immolate itself, or do some other obviously harmful act
automatically negates the effect of the spell.
The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a
failed save, it pursues the course of action you describedto the best of its ability. The suggested course of action cancontinue for the entire duration. If the suggested activity
can be completed in a shorter time, the spell ends when
the subject finishes what it was asked to do.
You can also specify conditions that will trigger a special
activity during the duration. For example, you mightsuggest that a knight give her warhorse to the first beggar
she meets. If the condition is not met before the spell
expires, the activity is not performed.
If you or any of your companions damage the target, thespell ends early.

Thaumaturgy

Transmutation cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V
Duration: Up to 1 minute
You manifest a minor wonder, a sign of supernatural
power, within range. You create one of the following
magical effects within range:• Your voice booms up to three times as loud as normal
for 1 minute.
• You cause flames to flicker, brighten, dim, or change
color for 1 minute.
• You cause harmless tremors in the ground for 1 minute.
• You create an instantaneous sound that originates froma point of your choice within range, such as a rumble ofthunder, the cry of a raven, or ominous whispers.
• You instantaneously cause an unlocked door or window
to fly open or slam shut.
• You alter the appearance of your eyes for 1 minute.
If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to
three of its 1-minute effects active at a time, and you candismiss such an effect as an action.

Thunderwave

1st-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (15-foot cube)Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
A wave of thunderous force sweeps out from you. Eachcreature in a 15-foot cube originating from you must makea Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creaturetakes 2d8 thunder damage and is pushed 10 feet awayfrom you. On a successful save, the creature takes half as
much damage and is not pushed.
In addition, unsecured objects that are completely
within the area of effect are automatically pushed 10 feetaway from you by the spell’s effect, and the spell emits athunderous boom audible out to 300 feet.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell
slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 foreach slot level above 1st.

Warding Bond

2nd-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a pair of platinum rings worth atleast 50 gp each, which you and the target must wear forthe duration)
Duration: 1 hour
This spell wards a willing creature you touch and createsa mystic connection between you and the subject until
the spell ends. While the target is within 60 feet of you,it gains a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws, and it has
resistance to all damage. Also, each time it takes damage,
you take the same amount of damage.
The spell ends early if you drop to 0 hit points or if you
and the subject become separated by more than 60 feet.
You can also dismiss the spell as an action.

Web

2nd-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a bit of spiderweb)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You conjure a mass of thick, sticky webbing at a point of
your choice within range. The webs fill a 20-foot cube fromthat point for the duration. The webs are difficult terrain
and lightly obscure their area.
If the webs are not anchored between two solid masses(such as walls or trees) or layered across a floor, wall, or
ceiling, the conjured web collapses on itself, and the spellends at the start of your next turn. Webs layered over a flat
surface have a depth of 5 feet.
Each creature that starts its turn in the webs or thatenters them during its turn must make a Dexterity saving
throw. On a failed save, the creature is restrained as longas it remains in the webs or until it breaks free.
A creature restrained by the webs can use its action to
make a Strength check against your spell save DC. If it
succeeds, it is no longer restrained.
The webs are flammable. Any 5-foot cube of webs
exposed to fire burns away in 1 round, dealing 2d4 firedamage to any creature that starts its turn in the fire.

Credits
Lead Designers: Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford
Design Team: Christopher Perkins, James Wyatt, Rodney
Thompson, Robert J. Schwalb, Peter Lee, Steve Townshend,
Bruce R. Cordell
Editing Team: Chris Sims, Michele Carter, Scott Fitzgerald Gray
Producer: Greg Bilsland
Adventure Designers: Richard Baker, Christopher Perkins
Art Directors: Kate Irwin, Dan Gelon, Jon Schindehette, Mari
Kolkowsky, Melissa Rapier, Shauna Narciso
Graphic Designers: Bree Heiss, Emi Tanji
Box Cover Illustrator: Jaime Jones
Rulebook Illustrators: Eric Belisle, Wayne England, Randy
Gallegos, Matt Stawicki, Kieran Yanner
Adventure Illustrators: Daren Bader, Mark Behm, Conceptopolis,
Wayne England, Tomás Giorello, Ralph Horsley, Aaron J. Riley,
Tyler Jacobson, Vance Kovacs, Daniel Landerman, Raphael
Lübke, Brynn Metheney, Steve Prescott, Ned Rogers, Carmen
Sinek, Ilya Shkipin, David Vargo, Kieran Yanner
Cartographer: Mike Schley
Additional Contributors: Kim Mohan, Matt Sernett, Chris Dupuis,
Tom LaPille, Richard Baker, Miranda Horner, Jennifer Clarke
Wilkes, Steve Winter, Nina Hess
Project Management: Neil Shinkle, Kim Graham, John Hay
Production Services: Cynda Callaway, Brian Dumas, Jefferson
Dunlap, Anita Williams
Brand and Marketing: Nathan Stewart, Liz Schuh, Chris Lindsay,
Shelly Mazzanoble, Hilary Ross, Laura Tommervik, Kim
Lundstrom
Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game created by
E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson,with Brian Blume, Rob Kuntz, James Ward, and Don Kaye
Drawing from further development by
Tom Moldvay, Frank Mentzer, Aaron Allston, Harold Johnson,
David “Zeb” Cook, Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams,
Peter Adkison, Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, and Rob Heinsoo
Forgotten Realms created by
Ed Greenwood, the Sage of Shadowdale
Playtesting provided byover 175,000 fans of D&D. Thank you!
Additional consultation provided by
Jeff Grubb, John “RPGPundit” Tarnowski, Kenneth Hite, Kevin
Kulp, Robin Laws, S. John Ross, Vincent Venturella, and Zak S.
Disclaimer: Wizards of the Coast is not responsible for the consequences of any failed saving
throws, including but not limited to petrification, poison, death magic, dragon breath, spells, or
vorpal sword-related decapitations.

320A9216000002 EN
First Printing: July 2014
987654321
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragonampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, all otherWizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizardsof the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses
are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright lawsof the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or
artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizardsof the Coast.
Printed in the USA. ©2014 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 980570707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH.
Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11
1ET, UK.

31
Chapter 4: SpellcastingAppendix: Conditions

Paralyzed

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

Petrified

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

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

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

Frightened• A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks
and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within lineof sight.
• The creature can’t willingly move closer to the source ofits fear.

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

Incapacitated• An incapacitated creature can’t take actions or reactions.

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

• A paralyzed creature is incapacitated (see the condition)and can’t move or speak.
• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity
saving throws.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
• Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if theattacker is within 5 feet of the creature.
• A petrified creature is transformed, along with any
nonmagical object it is wearing or carrying, into a solid
inanimate substance (usually stone). Its weight increases
by a factor of ten, and it ceases aging.
• The creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t
move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity
saving throws.
• The creature has resistance to all damage.
• The creature is immune to poison and disease, althougha poison or disease already in its system is suspended,
not neutralized.

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

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

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

Stunned• A stunned creature is incapacitated (see the condition),
can’t move, and can speak only falteringly.
• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity
saving throws.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.

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

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