Category: Rules

Damage Types Weapons do one of three types of damage: slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning. Slashing attacks are most effective against unarmored or lightly armored opponents. But medium and heavy armor protect against slashing attacks better than piercing or bludgeoning weapons. To represent this, the base damage for slashing weapons is generally one die size higher…

Heroic though 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 and eat, tend their wounds, refresh their minds and spirits for spellcasting, and brace themselves for further adventure. Adventurers can take short rests in the midst of an…

Sometimes a special ability, spell, or situation tells you that you have an advantage or a disadvantage on an ability check, a saving throw, or an attack roll. When that happens, you roll an additional die (ranging from 1d4 to 1d12) along with the d20 when you make the roll. For an advantage, add the…

Sometimes two or more characters team up to attempt a task. The character who’s leading the effort—or the one with the highest ability check modifier—uses their ability check modifier for the check. Each character involved in helping rolls a d20, and the leader uses the highest number among the results as their d20 roll for…

Each ability covers a broad range of capabilities, including skills that a character or a monster can be proficient in. A skill represents a specific aspect of an ability score, and an individual’s proficiency in a skill demonstrates a focus on that aspect. (A character’s starting skill proficiencies are determined at character creation, and a…

Characters have a proficiency bonus determined by level, as detailed in chapter 1. Monsters also have this bonus, which is incorporated in their stat blocks. The bonus is used in the rules on ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls. Your proficiency bonus can’t be added to a single die roll or other number more…

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 or monster attempts an action (other than an attack) that has a chance of failure and has interesting consequences for both success and failure. When the…

Each of a creature’s abilities has a score, a number that defines the magnitude of that ability. An ability score is not just a measure of innate capabilities, but also encompasses a creature’s training and competence in activities related to that ability. A score of 10 or 11 is the normal human average, but adventurers…