Forgotten Realms Campaign

1. MELEE COVER

• Targets actively engaged in melee combat gain Three-Quarter Cover (+5 AC and Dex Saves) against all Ranged Attacks

2. FLANKING

If you make a successful Melee attack against a target and remain within Melee attack range (threat range):

• ALL subsequent melee attacks by an ally against that target gain Advantage

• Positioning does not matter (no grid vectors required)

• The effect expires at the end of the current round

• You cannot flank a creature you cannot see

• You cannot grant a flank if you are Incapacitated

3. TOPPLE & PUSH

• Weapon Mastery features or abilities that knock a creature Prone (like Topple) or Push them cannot affect creatures more than ONE size category larger than the attacker.

4. HEALTH & EXHAUSTION (THE DEADLY THRESHOLD)

• When you drop to 0 Hit Points you can:

Use Blaze of Glory

• Your character embraces death and goes out in a blaze of glory. You take an immediate turn. On your turn you take one final action that automatically succeeds (or a critical success if applicable), and then you cross through the veil of death.

—OR—

Accept 1 level of Exhaustion

• • You fall unconscious and take 1 level of Exhaustion. While you have the Exhaustion condition, you experience the following effects:

    • Exhaustion Levels. This condition is cumulative. Each time you receive it, you gain 1 Exhaustion level. You die if your Exhaustion level is 6.

    • D20 Tests Affected. When you make a d20 Test, the roll is reduced by 2 times your Exhaustion level.

    • Speed Reduced. Your Speed is reduced by a number of feet equal to 5 times your Exhaustion level.

    • Removing Exhaustion Levels. Finishing a Long Rest removes 1 of your Exhaustion levels. When your Exhaustion level reaches 0, the condition ends; because a Long Rest only removes 1 level of Exhaustion per day, characters hitting 0 HP multiple times require multiple days of safe town downtime to fully recover from heavy trauma

  • You regain consciousness when an ally restores 1 or more Hit Points or when the party finishes a long rest. 

—OR—

Avoid Death

• You avoid immediate death. You fall unconscious and must make a Death Saving Throw (also called a Death Save) if you start your turn with 0 Hit Points. While unconscious, you can’t be targeted by an attack. You regain consciousness when an ally restores 1 or more Hit Points or when the party finishes a long rest. Your character’s journey ends if you fail you three Death Saves.

  • Three Successes/Failures. Roll 1d20. If the roll is 10 or higher, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail. A success or failure has no effect by itself. On your third success, you become Stable. On your third failure, your character dies.

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 a 1 or 20. When you roll a 1 on the d20 for a Death Saving Throw, you suffer two failures. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 Hit Point.

—OR—

Die Immediately

• Massive Damage. When damage reduces a character to 0 Hit Points and damage remains, the character dies if the remainder equals or exceeds their Hit Point maximum or 20 points, whichever is less.

5. HEALING POTIONS

• Drinking a healing potion restores 1 HP

• The remaining value of the potion is granted as Temporary Hit Points (which do not stack)

6. READY [ACTION]

• You cannot Ready a spell outside of Combat

7. SURPRISE (2014 Rules expanded)

• The DM determines who might be surprised. 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 surprised even if the other members aren’t.

Surprise - First Aggressor

• Sometimes someone decides they have had enough and starts combat by aggressing first. Everyone else is considered surprised.

Surprise - Stealth

• If neither side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice each other. 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 is surprised at the start of the encounter.

Surprise - Deception

• Deception can be used to set people at ease before making an attack to get surprise. In most situations, such as walking down a busy street, talking with an NPC, or strolling across a bridge; you are not considered to be threatened. If a passer-by ambushes, there is no stealth. Instead, the DM compares the Charisma (Deception) checks of anyone readying an attack with the passive Wisdom (Insight) score of each creature on the opposing side. Any character or monster that doesn’t notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter.

Surprise - Threatened Situation

• If everyone is thinking combat is going to kick off at any moment, there is no Surprise. (This can be signaled by Readying an attack, such as flipping your duster to the side in preparation for a duel.)

Surprise - Paranoia

• You cannot avoid being surprised by stating that you "feel threatened" or you are "always ready". This is not the same as having a Readied action. If you are paranoid, increase your passive Perception and Insight scores. Saying you are watching for any signs of treachery does not entitle you to a roll.

8. RANGED ATTACK

• If you have a melee weapon equipped and an enemy within 5 feet of you attempts to use a Ranged attack, you can use your Reaction to make a Melee attack against that enemy.

9. OPPORTUNITY ATTACK

• If an enemy enters your threat—meaning you have a melee weapon equipped that threatens the area around you—you can use your Reaction to make a Melee attack against that enemy. If you are both making an attack, the higher attack roll goes first. Ties are simultaneous.

Experience Points

• I will not be giving out experience points for the first 5 levels. Instead, every character will level at the end of each session regardless of progress. We will revisit at 5th level.

Absent players

• If you miss a session your character doesn't exist during that time. The character will still level to the rest of the party when rejoining the group.

Forgotten Realms Lore

• I am not an encyclopedia of all things Forgotten Realms. Nor are your characters. If there is something you are interested in, please let me know and I will try to incorporate as I can. If there is knowledge you think your character should know, feel free to look it up in any of the many resources for the Forgotten Realms and we can figure out how to fit it in.

Things concerning Vision, Stealth, and Hiding

• Lightly Obscured/Dim Light: Disadvantage to Perception

• Heavily Obscured/Darkness: Blinded condition

• Darkvision: Heavily Obscured becomes Lightly Obscured and Lightly Obscured becomes Bright

• Blinded: Can't see, auto-fail sight-based checks; Attacks against you have Advantage and you have Disadvantage

• Cover:

  • Half: +2 AC and Saves

  • Three-quarter: +5 to AC and Saves

  • Total: can't be targeted directly; targets in melee have three-quarter cover against Range attacks

• Hide: Requires DC 15 Stealth check and must be out of line of sight of any enemy's line of sight and

  • Three-quarter or better Cover

—or—

• • Heavily Obscured

  • In order to gain the Invisible condition

  • The condition ends on you immediately after any of the following occurs: 

    • You make a sound louder than a whisper

    • An enemy finds you

    • You make an attack roll

    • You cast a spell with a Verbal component