Live to Tell the Tale

Live to Tell the Tale

An Introduction to Combat Tactics
for Dungeons & Dragons Players

by Keith Ammann

CHICAGO
Keith Ammann is the author of the blog The Monsters Know What They’re
Doing (www.themonstersknow.com). He has been a Dungeons and Dragons
player since before there were flumphs. Back in those days, the manuals
were set in Futura, and plate mail was AC 2, and we were thankful for it,
you whippersnappers.

Spy & Owl, Chicago 60625

© 2017 by Keith Ammann
All rights reserved. Published 2017 in the United States of America.
 Contents

1 Introduction

Part 1
Character Creation and Combat Roles
5 Understanding Ability Scores
6 Understanding Ability Contours
7 Classes and Roles
9 Race Doesn’t Matter (Much)
10 Feats and Roles

Part 2
Tactics in Action
13 Understanding Tactical Combinations
13 Understanding Action Economy
14 Understanding Opportunity Attacks
15 Understanding Conditions

Part 3
Playing Your Part
19 The Ready Action
19 ‘Plan B’: Dodge, Dash and Disengage
21 Party Composition and Positioning
22 Class Tactics

Part 4
Tactics in Practice
36 A Level 1 Party
4 8 A Level 5 Party
55 A Level 9 Party

67 Acknowledgments

Reference Tables
11 Combat Role Reference
17 Conditions and Combinations Reference
20 Retreat Actions Reference

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 Introduction

“The shape in the middle of the trail turns out to be event in need of an explanation. And there’s a lo-
the carcass of a dead donkey, with its saddlebags cale—woods, ruins, caverns, a dungeon, a fortress,
lying open. As you inspect them to see whether a temple, a quasi-medieval village or city—where
anything’s been left behind, a volley of arrows the search unfolds. You look around, find a clue,
comes whizzing at you from all directions. One of proceed to the next one. Most people don’t need
them hits George for 8 points of damage—he falls to be taught how to do this: curiosity and intuition
down unconscious. You look around in the direc- are usually enough, and deductive reasoning fills
tions you think the arrows came from. Daria, you in any gaps.
see several grinning goblins with bows, scuttling Social interaction can be trickier, especially for
through the woods. Áine and Tolmac, you see one players unaccustomed to improv. Conversations
of them stumble out into the open before taking sometimes bog down when players maintain too
cover again not too far from you. Lennie doesn’t much distance from their characters, speaking in
see anything and has no idea what’s going on, ex- the third person rather than the first person and
cept that George just got shot. Roll for initiative. . . . pausing after each NPC reply to discuss with their
OK, Daria, you’re up first.” fellow players what to say or ask next. (Sassy dun-
[pause] geon masters sometimes respond to this by say-
“What do I do?” ing, in the NPC’s voice, “I’m standing right here!”)
To get past this difficulty, however, requires only
Fifth-edition Dungeons and Dragons is a greatly an awareness of your character’s voice and mo-
streamlined edition of the classic fantasy tivations and a willingness to immerse yourself
role-playing game, built upon the “three pillars” of in the scenario. Beyond these two things, social
exploration, social interaction and combat. Even interactions in D&D are no different from social
as it’s shorn away much of the (in my opinion) interactions in real life: they consist of friendly
needless complexity and hyperspecialization of conversation, compliments, taunts, threats, jokes,
earlier editions, making it a much more accessible banter, shaming, bluffing, lying, asking for favors,
entry-level game for players without previous RPG haggling, pleading, bartering, wagering, offering
experience, it can still be overwhelming at first. food and drink, giving gifts, and so forth.
After all, this is a game whose Player’s Handbook is Combat, however, is legitimately challenging,
three hundred pages long; even hard-core board for several reasons. First, in D&D, combat is more
gaming enthusiasts are rarely confronted with tightly rule-governed than exploration and so-
rules that stretch for more than eight pages. cial interaction are. Second, few of us—players or
Role-playing gaming is like improvisational the- dungeon masters—have real-life experience with
ater, with an audience comprising no one but you small-unit armed combat. Third, the media we’ve
and your fellow players. There’s plenty of room grown up with don’t offer much insight into the
for imagination and creativity, heroism and hu- decisions people make when they fight: as far as
mor, silly clichés and subversions of those clichés. we can tell, they just run at each other, weapons
The rules are the scaffolding within which play- swinging and clanging against each other, until
ers and dungeon masters improvise, setting some the “better” fighter lands the telling blow. And
boundaries around what player characters—and fourth, if you screw up, your beloved character
the non-player characters and monsters they en- may die, and then you won’t get to play him or her
counter—can and can’t do. But even within these anymore. The Lord of the Rings would be an awfully
boundaries, the choices available to players are dispiriting story if the Ringwraiths killed Frodo on
vast. Sometimes bewilderingly so. Weathertop and Sam, Merry, Pippin and Aragorn
Exploration isn’t hard to get a handle on. Usu- all had to go on without him, picking up some
ally, there’s a hook, a MacGuffin, some person or rando in the next tavern they stopped at just to
object or location to search for, some mysterious get their number back up.

1
 Contrary to stereotype, we dungeon masters reliably, that takes advantage of the rules and
don’t want to murder our PCs. We want to strike how they interact in order to gain some benefit.
a balance, confronting you with threats just dan- In D&D, a tactic might give you a better chance to
gerous enough to give you a thrill when you finally hit, greater damage, the liberty to do more on your
prevail. We want to be tough but fair. turn, or a free swing at a fleeing enemy. Alterna-
But we also want these encounters to be interest- tively, it might confer one of these benefits on an
ing. Dumb monsters are boring. One is no different allied PC. As we say in my current D&D group,
from another. I created my blog, The Monsters Know teamwork makes the dream work!
What They’re Doing (www.themonstersknow.com), Part 3 deals with making choices. If there’s any-
to help other DMs give their combat encounters thing that bogs down a D&D session worse than
flavor and sophistication, discovering monsters’ anything else, it’s “analysis paralysis”—that fa-
unique combat personalities through analysis of miliar feeling of having too many choices and
their stats and features. There’s a pitfall to this, worrying that you might make the wrong one. For
though: Monsters that are too sophisticated may this reason, it’s important to distinguish between
prove unexpectedly deadly to less sophisticated standing decisions and situational decisions. That
PCs who encounter them. is, there are some decisions that you can make
That’s why I’ve written this guide to combat tac- outside the gaming session and not have to think
tics for players. I’ve unleashed a wave of clever, about anymore unless they’re obviously not work-
highly evolved monsters upon the D&D world. It’s ing for you, while other decisions have to be made
only fair that I give you, the player, the tools you on the spur of the moment.
need to fight back. And live. Standing decisions typically depend on your
In part 1, I start with the very basics: the six character’s abilities, class features and combat
ability scores and what they represent within the role. For instance, if you’re playing a level 2 druid
game. with Wild Shape, you may decide you’ll always
From there, I move on to “ability contours,” a take the form of a wolf, and while you’re in that
concept I developed while writing The Monsters form, you’ll attack enemies adjacent to your par-
Know What They’re Doing to determine a monster’s ty’s fighter in order to take advantage of the wolf’s
fighting style from its ability scores. If you’re a Pack Tactics feature. Once you’ve made a stand-
new player, you’re probably already overwhelmed ing decision, you don’t have to think about it any
by all the new terminology you have to learn, and further when your turn comes around. If you ever
I apologize for adding yet another layer on top of want to reevaluate it, you’ll do so between combat
this. My goal in doing this is to help you under- encounters, not in the middle of one.
stand what position your character should play, so Situational decisions may be decided by such
to speak, when you get into a combat encounter. factors as whether you’re wounded, surrounded,
You might also think of it as your character’s com- on especially favorable or unfavorable terrain, or
bat Myers-Briggs type, only instead of looking at engaged with intelligent creatures that may be
whether a character is, say, extroverted or intro­ open to negotiation. You can’t make these deci-
verted, I look at such decisions as whether to fight sions before a combat encounter, but you can de-
at close range or long range, whether to be sta- termine criteria for these decisions beforehand.
tionary or mobile, whether to rely on weapons or For instance, if you’re playing a wizard with half
spells, and whether to avoid damage or absorb it. a dozen spells, you can decide in advance that
Next, I look at all the character classes, which you’ll cast magic missile whenever you can see at
ability scores they rely on most, and which com- least two opponents in range, or that you’ll cast
bat roles suit them best. If you’ve already got a thunderwave if and only if an enemy approaches
particular class in mind for your character, you within 5 feet of you. This way, you don’t need to
don’t need to read all of these, just the one that weigh every single possibility against every other
applies to you. possibility—just see which of your criteria apply.
I gloss over race, because a character’s race has Because different character classes have to
little or no bearing on his or her combat tactics. make different types of decisions in combat, I re-
But if your DM allows you to choose the “variant turn to the various classes and look at each one in
human” option (Player’s Handbook, page 31), which more depth, with an emphasis on class features.
gives level 1 PCs access to “feats”— abilities rep- Also, with each cutesy subhead, I try to distill
resenting specialized training or talents—you’ll the essence of each class as a guide to decision-
want to examine the following section, in which I making. For instance, each turn, a rogue player
identify feats that work particularly well with var- should ask himself or herself, “How can I set my-
ious combat roles. self up for a Sneak Attack?” A cleric player should
In part 2, I examine the nature of tactics in D&D. ask, “How can I help whoever needs it most?” A
As in chess, a tactic is a trick, which can be used sorcerer player should ask, “How can I cause the

2
most mayhem?” As in part 1, you need only read
the section that pertains to your own character’s
class.
Finally, in part 4, I present three sample scenar-
ios: five level 1 characters fighting wily goblins in
a dense forest; five level 5 characters fighting a
single strong enemy, a frost giant; and six level 9
characters fighting a horde of undead creatures—
without a cleric to banish them.
I want to stress that these characters were not
created to be optimal. Some players, when they
create D&D characters, like to try to squeeze ev-
ery obtainable advantage out of every choice they
make. We call this “min-maxing”: minimizing ev-
ery disadvantage and maximizing every advan-
tage. A min-maxing player wouldn’t dream of cre-
ating an elf or halfling fighter, for instance, when
he or she could create a mountain dwarf fighter
and get +2 racial bonuses to both Strength and
Constitution. If that’s how you like to play, I won’t
talk you out of it. But that’s not what this guide is
about.
Personally, I fall closer to the “real roleplayer”
stereotype, drawn to cool concepts and subverted
tropes. When I create a fighter character, I don’t
create Gregor Clegane, “the Mountain”—I create
Garregwen, a wood elf pikewoman who deserted
from her elite guard unit because she has prob-
lems with authority figures. And sometimes I get
a goofy idea in my head (“Micklehast the Wrath-
ful, halfling barbarian—he’s not strong, just really,
really angry”) and have to see how far I can take it.
But even a loony, high-concept character such as
Micklehast, if you’re going to keep playing him for
an entire campaign, has to be viable.
Fortunately, to achieve this, you don’t have to
optimize his stats—you just have to optimize his
behavior. That’s what this guide is all about: getting
the most out of whatever character is close to your
heart, right now.

3
4
 Part 1
Character Creation and Combat Roles

UNDERSTANDING ABILITY SCORES

One of the first things you’ll do when creating a whelming majority of spells that require saving
Dungeons and Dragons character is determine throws to resist their effects use one of these three
your ability scores. It helps to have a clear idea of abilities for the roll. If you look at each class’s sav-
what they all mean and what they’re for. ing throw proficiencies, you’ll notice that they
Strength is, first and foremost, the ability to deal always comprise one ability from the “big three”
damage in melee (toe-to-toe) combat. Secondarily, and one of the other three. That’s intentional.
it’s the ability to resist being grappled or shoved, The Player’s Handbook allows players creat-
either hand-to-hand, by monsters with tentacles, ing new characters to choose their ability scores
or by magic spells such as entangle, gust of wind and (before applying racial modifiers) in one of three
telekinesis. ways:
Dexterity is the ability to avoid damage and to
deal damage with ranged or finesse weapons. It • Assign the default scores 15, 14, 13, 12, 10 and 8
influences combat order (higher-Dexterity charac- to the six abilities.
ters can get the jump on lower-Dexterity charac- • Choose your own scores to assign by distribut-
ters), it determines skill in Stealth, and it’s also the ing a fixed number of points (14s and 15s cost a
ability used for saving throws to dodge magical little extra; higher scores can’t be bought).
projectiles and explosive effects. • Roll 4d6 and total the highest three dice rolled,
Constitution is the ability to absorb damage. It discarding the lowest. Do this six times, then
contributes to a character’s hit points, and it’s also assign the numbers to the six abilities. (I call
the ability used for saving throws to endure poi- this the “YOLO method.”) This method has more
sons, diseases and magic spells that affect a per- variance than the other two methods, meaning
son’s physiology. you may get ability scores higher than 15—and
Intelligence is irrelevant to most characters you may also get ability scores lower than 8.
but important to wizards, because it’s their spell-
casting ability: it determines the number of spells To be effective in combat, every player charac-
they can have prepared, their chances of landing ter has to be able to dish out more damage than he
a spell attack and their opponents’ ability to resist or she takes. Thus, you should decide what your
their spells. character’s primary offensive ability (Strength,
Wisdom is the ability used for saving throws to Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma) and
avoid being charmed or otherwise debilitated by primary defensive ability (Dexterity or Constitu-
magic spells. It’s also the spellcasting ability for tion) will be and assign the two highest scores
clerics, druids and rangers. to these abilities. (Wisdom could be construed
Charisma is irrelevant to many characters but as a defensive ability as well, but it differs from
important to bards, paladins, sorcerers and war- Dexterity and Constitution in that it defends
locks, because it’s their spellcasting ability. It also only against social or magical manipulation, not
determines skill in Deception, Intimidation and against weapon or spell damage.)
Persuasion, which can be used in combat to call for If your character’s primary offensive ability is a
an opponent’s surrender (although neither players mental ability, your character will rely on spell-
nor dungeon masters exercise this option much). casting to do the bulk of his or her damage. If it’s
Dexterity, Constitution and Wisdom are some- Strength, your character will rely on melee weap-
times called the “big three,” because the over- ons; if it’s Dexterity, your character will rely on

5
ranged or finesse weapons. (Finesse weapons are If your character’s primary defensive ability is
a subset of melee weapons that allow you to use Constitution, you don’t need to worry as much
Dexterity, rather than Strength, to determine your about being hit, and you can wear all the armor
character’s chances of hitting and the damage he you want, as long as you’re proficient with it.
or she does.) Pumping points into both Dexterity and Consti-
If your character’s primary defensive ability is tution will result in a PC who’s difficult to kill but
Dexterity, your goal is to avoid being hit. A high who must also make Dexterity his or her primary
Dexterity will improve your armor class if you’re offensive ability, or the character’s ability to deal
wearing medium armor, light armor or no armor, damage will be compromised. Skimping on both
but not if you’re wearing heavy armor. (In medium Dexterity and Constitution will result in a PC with
armor, you’ll get the full benefit of your Dexterity a glass jaw. I advise against it.
only if it’s 15 or lower. A higher Dexterity won’t
help you any further beyond that.)

UNDERSTANDING ABILITY CONTOURS

Certain combinations of high scores—what I call goes on, the more likely an opponent is to land
“ability contours”—favor certain styles of fighting. a lucky hit. Stealth is often important for shock
You may wish to develop a rough character con- attackers, so they benefit most from light or me-
cept ahead of time, decide on a fighting style, then dium armor.
assign ability scores to fit that style. Or you may
wish to assign your character’s ability scores, then
decide on a class and fighting style that fit those THE SKIRMISHER: DEXTERITY + CONSTITUTION
scores. How you develop the concept and stats of
your character doesn’t matter. What does matter This includes ranged and finesse-weapon melee
is that if your character’s ability scores and his or fighters, durable but also highly mobile, who wear
her class and fighting style are at odds, your char- their opponents down by dealing modest but con-
acter won’t be as effective in combat. sistent damage over time. Skirmishers are suited
to drawn-out combat. Finesse weapons tend to do
less damage than other melee weapons, but these
THE FRONT LINE: STRENGTH + CONSTITUTION characters also have more staying power, thanks
to their Constitution, so their damage can add
The role of front-line characters is to occupy the up. This doesn’t mean they should gratuitously
enemy’s attention by charging them and engaging expose themselves to more attacks, however. In-
in melee. The most important ability for this role stead, they should stay on the move, taking their
is Constitution, because this character has to be shots when their opponents’ attention is divided.
able to soak up the damage that would kill other Stealth benefits skirmishers as much as it does
characters. But an offensive ability is also import- shock attackers, so they too should wear light or
ant, because if this character can’t do meaningful medium armor.
damage to opponents, he or she can’t hold their
attention, and the usual choice of primary offen-
sive ability is Strength. Medium and heavy armor THE MARKSMAN: DEXTERITY + WISDOM
benefit front-line fighters the most.
Unless they’re shock attackers wielding finesse
weapons, characters without high Strength or high
THE SHOCK ATTACKER: STRENGTH + DEXTERITY Constitution should stay out of melee and behind
(OR JUST DEXTERITY) cover as much as possible. The idea behind com-
bining Dexterity and Wisdom is to rely on Dexter-
This is a character whose role is to identify key en- ity for both offense and defense (in other words,
emies and eliminate them quickly by doing large attacking at range, because the lack of points in
bursts of damage. Shock attackers don’t want to Constitution makes this ability contour risky for
spend time in drawn-out combat. They hit first, a finesse melee fighter) and on Wisdom to spot
hit hard and get out, because their lack of Con- stealthy opponents who are trying to hide. Marks-
stitution makes them less able to absorb damage men should wear the best armor they’re proficient
themselves. As a defensive ability, Dexterity is with that doesn’t inhibit their own Stealth.
good for avoiding damage, but the longer combat

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THE SUPPORTER: MENTAL ABILITY + THE SPELLSLINGER: INTELLIGENCE/CHARISMA +
CONSTITUTION DEXTERITY

Spellcasters who have the hit points to wade Wizards’ and sorcerers’ smaller hit dice and lack
into battle are in a good position to provide heal- of armor proficiency indicate that, like marksmen,
ing and cast shorter-range spells that strengthen they should stay out of melee and behind cover.
their allies or weaken their enemies. Since they They focus less on controlling the battle and more
must often forgo attacking in order to cast these on dealing direct damage with long-range spells.
spells, they’re better off positioning themselves Choosing Dexterity as their primary defensive
behind the front line rather than on it. Supporters ability, rather than Constitution, helps compen-
should wear the heaviest armor they’re proficient sate for their poor armor class but makes it very
with. important that spellslingers not take hits. This
type of character is sometimes referred to as a
“glass cannon.”

CLASSES AND ROLES

BARBARIAN weapons. They’re better off filling a spellslinger or

supporter role, depending on whether they choose
The barbarian is a natural front-line fighter who Dexterity or Constitution as their primary defen-
can also be built and played as a shock attacker. sive ability.
Your primary offensive ability should always be
Strength, because the damage bonus conferred by
the Rage feature doesn’t apply to finesse or ranged CLERIC
weapons. It’s OK to make Constitution your
third-priority ability rather than your second, be- Wisdom, the cleric’s spellcasting ability, is the
cause the barbarian’s d12 hit die is like getting two class’s only reasonable choice of primary offen-
free points of Constitution modifier for calculating sive ability. Constitution, the customary choice of
your hit points, but go ahead and pump it up if you primary defensive ability, makes the cleric a nat-
want to make your character nigh-invulnerable. ural supporter. However, a cleric of a god in the
Barbarians who choose not to wear armor get Trickery domain may choose to adopt Dexterity as
to add their Constitution modifiers to their armor his or her primary defensive ability instead and
class through the Unarmored Defense feature— play the role of a spellslinger. Clerics don’t make
yet another reason to make Constitution your pri- good marksmen, because they generally want to
mary defensive ability. Put on even a single piece keep one hand free for the holy symbols they use
of armor, though, and it’s Dexterity, not Constitu- as spellcasting focuses.
tion, that matters for your armor class. Although
the stereotypical barbarian fights nearly naked,
you can actually match or exceed the defensive DRUID
benefit of going unarmored by wearing studded
leather or any type of medium armor. The druid is an unusual class, because it doesn’t
get its defining class feature, Wild Shape, until
level 2. A druid spends most of level 1 trying to
BARD survive long enough to reach level 2. Druids need
to choose Wisdom, their spellcasting ability, as
Bards’ dependence on Charisma for casting spells their primary offensive ability. Their weapon pro-
and granting Bardic Inspiration, along with their ficiencies aren’t impressive, so there’s no great
lack of proficiency with medium or heavy armor, incentive to adopt Dexterity for extra offensive
leaves them without much aptitude for melee. power, although it will improve a druid’s armor
They can employ finesse weapons and hope to class. Until they gain Wild Shape, druids should
avoid taking hits, or they can wield ranged weap- act as supporters or spellslingers.
ons and attack from a distance. But since they use With Wild Shape, a druid gains a reservoir of ex-
musical instruments as spellcasting focuses, their tra hit points and—as a boar, wolf or panther—the
hands will usually be too full for them to wield ability to knock enemies prone, allowing him or

7
her to take a place on the front line. At that point, PALADIN
the supporter role is preferable to the spellslinger
role, because you want to be near the front line Paladins are also oddballs, because their depen-
in order to join it when the time comes, and Con- dence on Charisma as their spellcasting ability
stitution emerges as the more valuable choice of clashes with their dependence on Strength for me-
primary defensive ability. lee fighting (paladins do themselves a disservice
by using ranged weapons, since their smite spells
apply only to melee attacks) and forces them to
FIGHTER assign their third-highest scores to their primary
defensive ability. It therefore behooves them to
Fighters may be front-liners or skirmishers, de- armor up as much as they can; to make Constitu-
pending on whether they prefer melee weapons tion, not Dexterity, their primary defensive ability
(front line, primary offensive ability: Strength) or (Dexterity doesn’t help you when you’re wearing
ranged or finesse weapons (skirmisher, primary heavy armor); and to fight on the front line.
offensive ability: Dexterity). Aside from dealing If you’re thinking of creating a paladin, you may
direct damage, it’s their job to attract and absorb want to use the YOLO method of determining
the enemies’ blows so that others don’t have to, ability scores, in order to have a chance of get-
so they should make Constitution their primary ting three exceptionally high rolls, because if you
defensive ability, even though their d10 hit dice spend points and buy three high scores, you’re go-
effectively give them an extra point of Constitu- ing to be stuck with three “dump stats.”
tion modifier. Those who adopt the Archery fight-
ing style should fight as skirmishers; those who
adopt the Protection fighting style should fight as RANGER
front-liners. Fighters who adopt other styles can
go either way. Rangers depend on Wisdom as their spellcasting
ability, but their best 1st-level offensive spells—
ensnaring strike, hail of thorns and hunter’s mark—all
MONK depend on successful weapon strikes to activate
their effects. Thus, they need a weapon attack
Monks are oddballs, because they’re utterly de- ability as well, and Dexterity does double duty as
pendent on Dexterity, but except for shortbows offensive and defensive ability. Fortunately, rang-
and light crossbows, they have no aptitude with ers make awesome marksmen, especially if they
ranged weapons. On the contrary, they’re engi- adopt the Archery fighting style at level 2. A ranger
neered for melee fighting—unarmed and unar- can also fight as a skirmisher by prioritizing Dex-
mored melee fighting in particular. The way the terity and Constitution, or a front-line fighter by
rules manage this is by allowing monks to use prioritizing Strength and Constitution, but spell-
their Dexterity instead of their Strength for un- casting is a substantial part of the ranger’s kit, and
armed attacks and to boost their armor class by you don’t want to play it down too far.
their Wisdom modifier when not wearing armor
(unlike barbarians, who can wear light or medium
armor if they choose, monks have no armor profi- ROGUE
ciency at all and have disadvantage on all attacks,
ability checks and saving throws while wearing it). Rogues are so dependent on Dexterity for both of-
Also, their Ki training depends on their Wisdom. fense (Sneak Attack requires the use of a finesse
The upshot is, monks are all but forced to choose or ranged weapon and practically demands the
Dexterity as both their primary offensive and Stealth skill) and defense (they have proficiency in
primary defensive ability and Wisdom as their light armor only and need the boost to their ar-
second-highest ability. If they want more surviv- mor class) that they can go any number of ways
ability, they have to choose Constitution third. with their second-highest ability score. They can
Monks are therefore shock attackers, and it’s only choose Constitution and fight effectively as a skir-
their Martial Arts feature, which lets them attack misher. They can choose Intelligence if they plan
twice per turn (once as an action, once as a bonus to choose the Arcane Trickster archetype and
action), that enables them to do enough damage fight as a spellslinger. Or they can choose Cha-
to fill this role. risma to maximize their con artistry skills in so-
cial interaction encounters, relegating themselves
to the battlefield role of shock attacker or hidden
sniper—either one a good choice for Assassins. (If

8
they follow the sniper path, it behooves them to go bad. Even though they’re spellslingers at heart,
make Wisdom their third-highest ability.) they need to stay close enough to the action to
make their surges count.

SORCERER/WIZARD
WARLOCK
Sorcerers and wizards are in the same boat, for
the same reasons. Wizards depend on Intelligence Warlocks stand apart from wizards and warlocks
as their spellcasting ability, making it their only because of the few spells they possess, their d8
reasonable primary offensive ability choice, since hit die, and their proficiency with light armor and
they have little in the way of weapon proficien- all simple weapons. They’re not as fragile as other
cies; the same is true of sorcerers and Charisma. arcane spellcasters, but their shortage of leveled
Sorcerers’ and wizards’ d6 hit die is equivalent to spells, together with the fact that most simple
getting docked one point of Constitution modifier; weapons are Strength-based, means they have to
making Constitution your character’s primary de- rely heavily on cantrips (particularly eldritch blast)
fensive ability will make up for this somewhat but for dealing damage. Thus, even though they need
leave him or her with a poor armor class, since to put a lot of points into Charisma, their spell-
sorcerers and wizards have no armor proficiency. casting ability, they’re still a little short in the
Even so, the fewer hit points you have to begin offense department, which gives them a strong
with, the more your Constitution rather than your incentive to choose Dexterity over Constitution
Dexterity determines your survivability. as their primary defensive ability. Plus, warlocks
Despite this, wizard players more often go the don’t make good supporters: they don’t have the
“glass cannon” route of choosing Dexterity as right spells for it.
their characters’ primary defensive ability, mak- If you plan to choose the Pact of the Blade at level
ing them harder to hit at the cost of probably eat- 3, your character absolutely needs Dexterity, both
ing dirt when they do get hit. If you go this route, for attacking with your pact weapon (which has to
play the role of spellslinger, stick to cover as much be a melee weapon—only a finesse weapon makes
as you can, and when an enemy gets anywhere sense, but because the pact gives you proficiency,
near you, yell really loud. Wild Magic sorcerers, it can be a martial finesse weapon) and to boost
however, must give more thought to Constitution. your armor class when you close in. You’ll need
Their Wild Magic Surge effects are often better the to fight as a shock attacker if you go this route, so
closer they are to their enemies—and they need look for ways to maximize your damage. Other-
the extra hit points to survive when those surges wise, fight as a spellslinger.

RACE DOESN’T MATTER (MUCH)

Back when God’s grandma was a little girl, players wizard, he or she can still assign the character’s
rolled 3d6 for their characters’ Strength, then their two highest ability scores to Intelligence and Dex-
Intelligence, and so on, and took what they got. If terity (and even assign the two lowest scores to
you rolled a high Strength and a low Intelligence, Strength and Constitution if he or she wants).
you were destined to play a fighter. If you rolled a Since none of the ability score bonuses is greater
low Dexterity and a high Wisdom, you were play- than +2, and +2 to an ability score translates into
ing a cleric. And so forth. only +1 to an ability modifier, these ability score
In more recent editions, D&D has been much increases are never going to force you into a com-
more generous with character creation. Whatever bat role that isn’t what you want.
numbers you roll, buy or accept by default, you That being said, if you do choose a race that
can assign them to your abilities in any order you aligns with the ability contour and class you’ve
choose. got your heart set on, you can eke out a bit of addi-
Because of this, racial ability modifiers don’t de- tional advantage—but only a bit, at most amount-
fine your role as much as they might have once ing to an extra +1 on each of two ability modifi-
upon a time. Mountain dwarves, for instance, get ers. You won’t gain greatly by doing it or lose out
+2 to their Strength and +2 to their Constitution— greatly by not doing it. Choose whatever race you
but players with mountain dwarf characters don’t feel like playing, and let your ability score assign-
have to make Strength and Constitution their two ments and choice of class determine what tactical
highest scores and play them as front-line fighters. role you’ll fill.
If a player really wants to play a mountain dwarf There is one exception to this rule, however:

9
humans. Not the baseline human, who gets +1 to feat. Feats tie into combat roles in a big way. What-
every ability score across the board—that gives ever role you choose, using the Variant Human
you the same ability contour you’ve already got, Traits rule can give you a substantial advantage
just elevated slightly. I’m talking about the variant when you’re starting out.
human (Player’s Handbook, page 31), who gets +1 to
only two ability scores—but also gets to choose a

FEATS AND ROLES

Players with variant human characters, if they’re MARKSMAN
not choosing their starting feats solely to round out
their characters’ personalities (as long as it makes Marksmen would almost have to be crazy not to
narrative sense, I wholeheartedly endorse this, choose Sharpshooter, although Skulker is a not-
whether it makes tactical sense or not), should too-shabby alternative.
consider choosing feats that harmonize with their
characters’ combat roles. The same goes for all
players as they climb in level and have to choose SUPPORTER
between improving their ability scores and enjoy-
ing the combat and roleplaying enhancements of- Supporters can maintain their concentration on
fered by feats. the battlefield with War Caster; armor up a lit-
tle more (if a bard or druid) with Moderately Ar-
mored; or choose Healer to patch up allies on the
FRONT LINE fly without spending a spell slot.

Front-line fighters can enhance their melee at-

tacks with Great Weapon Master, Polearm Mas- SPELLSLINGER
ter, Savage Attacker or Shield Master; keep their
opponents from escaping with Sentinel; or turn Spellslingers can choose Magic Initiate to gain
themselves into humanoid tanks with Heavy Ar- an extra, limited-use 1st-level spell slot; improve
mor Master. their spell attack range and aim with Spell Sniper;
gain some extra protection with Lightly Armored
or Moderately Armored; or avoid incoming attacks
SHOCK ATTACKER with Lucky.

Shock attackers can get the jump on their enemies

with Alert; enhance their melee attacks with Great
Weapon Master, Savage Attacker or Shield Master;
use Lucky to make sure their first hits land; or, if
they make only one attack per turn, amp up the
damage with Charger.

SKIRMISHER

Skirmishers can improve their ranged attacks

with Sharpshooter; deftly dodge their opponents’
attacks with Defensive Duelist; stay stealthy even
in scale mail with Medium Armor Master; attack
from the shadows with Skulker; or stay in the fight
longer with Tough.

10
COMBAT ROLE REFERENCE

COMBAT ROLE ABILITY CONTOUR CLASSES IDEAL POSITION USEFUL FEATS

Front Line Barbarian Directly engaged in melee Great Weapon Master
Druid1 with bulk of enemy force Heavy Armor Master
Fighter Polearm Master
Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha Paladin Savage Attacker
Sentinel
Shield Master
Shock Attacker Barbarian Mobile, engaging with key opponents Alert
Monk when able to strike for maximum Charger
Rogue damage; avoiding prolonged melee Great Weapon Master
Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha Warlock 2 engagement Lucky
Savage Attacker
Shield Master
Skirmisher Fighter3 Mobile, on perimeter of battle, Defensive Duelist
Ranger at a distance from front line of Medium Armor Master
Rogue approximately one’s own Speed Sharpshooter
Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha Skulker
Tough
Marksman Fighter4 Far from opponents (between 30 Sharpshooter
Ranger ft and maximum normal range of Skulker
weapon), with view of as much of
Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha battlefield as possible

Supporter Bard Near front line, at a distance of Healer

Cleric approximately half one’s own Speed Moderately Armored
Druid War Caster
Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha

Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha

Spellslinger Bard Far from opponents (between 30 Lightly Armored

Cleric5 ft and maximum range of shortest- Lucky
Rogue6 range spell), behind as much cover as Magic Initiate
Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha Sorcerer possible Moderately Armored
Warlock Spell Sniper
Wizard

Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha

Str Dex Con  Int  Wis Cha

1  While in Wild Shape form 4  Wielding ranged weapon, Archery Fighting Style
2  Pact of the Blade only 5  Primarily Trickery domain
3  Wielding finesse or ranged weapon 6  Arcane Trickster archetype only

11
12
 Part 2
Tactics in Action

UNDERSTANDING TACTICAL COMBINATIONS

Many video games allow players to combine char- Certain spells, such as the ranger spell hail of
acters’ powers in ways that deal extra damage or thorns and the paladin smite spells, exist solely to
produce other side effects. Generally, these com- set up combinations for their casters. These are
binations consist of a “priming” power, which sets sustained spells requiring concentration, cast as
up the combo, and a “detonating” power, which bonus actions, that contain activating language
completes it—like a volleyball set followed by a such as, “The next time you hit a creature with
spike. a weapon attack before this spell ends . . . .” If you
Fifth-edition D&D includes these combinations, cast one of them as a bonus action at the start of
too. It doesn’t refer to them by this name, nor does your turn, then use your action to Attack and roll
it ever inform players that they should be looking a hit, you can discharge the spell’s effect imme-
to do anything of the kind. But combos do exist, as diately. (The timing matters. To cast the spell as
an emergent property of the rules relating to tim- a bonus action at the end of your turn would be a
ing, conditions, and advantage and disadvantage. mistake: you might take damage and lose concen-
The key to executing a combination in D&D 5E tration before you got to make your next attack
is to identify a sequence of actions (or actions and roll.)
bonus actions) that either gives you or one of your To identify combinations for yourself, look
allies advantage on an attack roll or gives one or through the sections on your character’s class and
more of your enemies disadvantage on a saving feats in the Player’s Handbook and keep your eyes
throw against a spell, and ends with you or your open for any mention of advantage, disadvan-
ally making the attack or casting the spell. Often, tage, bonus actions, reactions or debilitating con-
though not always, this sequence has to be com- ditions. These should give you some ideas about
pleted before the targeted enemy takes its own what stunts you may be able to pull off by yourself
turn. or in conjunction with the rest of your party.

UNDERSTANDING ACTION ECONOMY

“Action economy” refers to how you make use of In addition, a PC may take one bonus action, if he
all the things you’re allowed to do in a combat or she has any available. And every PC, outside his
round. It’s like a budget that you can’t go over. or her turn, can take one reaction, triggered by an
Every PC can do the following on his or her turn: external event. (This is akin to what’s referred to
in some other games as an “instant” or “interrupt”
• Move up to his or her Speed. action.)
• Take one action (Attack, Cast a Spell, Dash, Dis- That’s your budget. That’s everybody’s budget
engage, Dodge, Help, Hide, Ready, Search, Use (except for legendary monsters). You may already
an Object). have realized that since all characters get move-
• Use one uncomplicated object (complicated ob- ment plus one action, but only some characters
jects require the Use an Object action, as does get a bonus action, bonus actions are valuable. If
the use of a second uncomplicated object); this you have one available, chances are, it’s better to
is sometimes referred to as a “free interaction.” use it than not to use it. And if you have a way to

13
grant one to yourself or to an ally, by all means, extra damage or other effects on a PC’s next suc-
do it. cessful attack should be cast in combination with,
If your character carries more than one weapon, and just before, an Attack action.
it’s important for you to be clear—and to clearly Not all actions are created equal. If your PC is a
communicate to your DM—where and how those level 5 or higher fighting class, he or she has Ex-
weapons are carried, because it may affect how tra Attack. The Attack action is far more valuable
you change weapons during combat. A sword in a to a PC with Extra Attack than it is to a PC with-
hip scabbard can be drawn and swung in the same out it; it’s also more valuable to that PC than other
turn. The same isn’t true of a mace that you have actions are. Once you’ve got Extra Attack, you’re
stashed in your pack somewhere.* If you have one usually better off Attacking than taking any other
weapon in your hand and want to switch to a dif- action, unless circumstances (such as being al-
ferent one, you have two choices: spend your turn most out of hit points) compel you to do otherwise.
stowing one weapon (free interaction) and draw- Conversely, if you’re playing a spellcaster who
ing the other (action), or drop the weapon you’re has the power to deny opponents their actions,
holding on the ground, at the risk of its being this denial is most effective against opponents
kicked away or swiped, so that you can both draw who have Extra Attack (or, in the case of monsters,
(free interaction) and use (action) the other. Multiattack). Pay close attention to how many At-
You can take your action, bonus action, free tack actions your opponents are getting each turn.
interaction and movement in any order. You can If you notice that one or more of them are getting
split your movement up, using some of it at the multiple attacks on each turn, those are the ones
start of your turn, some of it between your action you most want to shut down. (I discuss this more
and bonus action, and some of it at the end, if you under “Incapacitated” in the section “Understand-
like. Or you can use it all at the start of your turn, ing Conditions.”)
or all at the end. Spellcasters can’t use both their action and their
Combining actions with bonus actions that en- bonus action to cast leveled spells in the same
hance them will help you get the most out of your turn. They can cast a leveled spell as an action and
action economy. Bonus-action spells that set up do something else as a bonus action, or they can
cast a leveled spell as a bonus action and either
cast a cantrip or do something else as an action.
*  Back scabbards, incidentally, are ahistorical nonsense, For this reason, it’s worth not letting all your can-
promulgated by clever film editing. You can carry a trips gather dust in a drawer. For instance, a wiz-
sword on your back, but you can’t draw it from your ard can cast misty step to teleport to another place
back; it has to be unslung first, and that’s not something on the battlefield, then cast a cantrip such as fire
your opponent will give you room to do in the middle of bolt or ray of frost from the new location, so that he
a fight. Back quivers are usable, though serious archers or she can still deal some damage that turn with-
prefer hip quivers. out having to feebly whack someone with a staff.

UNDERSTANDING OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS

It’s easy to get into a fight. It’s not so easy to get if you’re doing so against your will, you’re subject
out of one. Whenever a character moves out of an to an opportunity attack. Spells such as confusion,
enemy’s melee reach (sometimes called “zone of dissonant whispers and fear can be used in this way
control”), the enemy can use its reaction (if it’s still to force enemies engaged in melee to move away
available—a character or creature gets only one from their foes and incur opportunity attacks in
reaction per round) to take one free swing at the the process.
character. If a character moves out of the reach Because of opportunity attacks, when you en-
of multiple enemies simultaneously, each of those gage in melee, you have to either commit to win-
enemies gets a free swing. ning the fight (by attrition, if you’re a front-line
If some force, such as an explosion, propels you fighter, or by finishing it swiftly, if you’re a shock
out of an enemy’s reach through no effort of your attacker) or possess some efficient means of slip-
own, you’re exempt; you can also execute an or- ping away without incurring an opportunity at-
derly retreat, avoiding or parrying any opportunity tack, such as the rogue’s Cunning Action feature
attack, by using the Disengage action. But if some- or the Mobile feat (essential for skirmishers using
thing compels you to use your movement, action melee weapons rather than ranged weapons).
or reaction to move out of an enemy’s reach, even

14
UNDERSTANDING CONDITIONS
I’m surprised that the Player’s Handbook relegates attack with advantage from hiding, and it’s bad for
conditions to an appendix, because these are opponents trying to find them. To a PC with dark-
one of the most important tactical aspects of the vision, darkness is effectively dim light, and dim
game, especially in combat against monsters or light is effectively bright light. So even a dwarf, elf,
spellcasters. half-elf, half-orc, gnome or tiefling, despite not be-
The most distinctive innovation of D&D 5E is the ing blinded, has disadvantage trying to spot an en-
concept of advantage and disadvantage. It’s a sim- emy hiding in the dark. (Depending on the terrain
ple idea: When you’re making an attack roll, ability or acoustics, your dungeon master might rule that
check or saving throw, certain factors may make hearing, rather than sight, is the sense governing
the task more or less likely to succeed. If you’re whether someone trying to hide is detected.)
rolling with advantage, you roll twice and take the
higher roll; if you’re rolling with disadvantage, you
roll twice and take the lower roll. In practice, this CHARMED
makes about the same amount of difference as a
±4 modifier would. That’s a big modifier. It’s often a waste to charm an enemy on the battle-
It stands to reason that if you have the means field, because the charmed condition has so little
of giving yourself advantage on an attack, ability effect. Charmed opponents can’t attack the char-
check or save, or of giving your enemy disadvan- acters who charmed them, but they can attack
tage, you should always go for it: this situational any of those characters’ allies. At the same time,
factor will benefit you more than any of your own any of those allies’ attacking them back will usu-
abilities, skills or class features will, even if all it ally nullify the charmed condition. Consequently,
does is cancel out some other advantage or disad- a character or creature charmed in combat isn’t
vantage that you or your opponent has. likely to stay charmed for long, nor to suffer much
Thus, the power of imposing any of the follow- from it.
ing conditions—and the danger of being subjected The chief benefit of the charmed condition is
to them—lies first and foremost in the advantages that it gives advantage on Charisma (Deception,
and disadvantages they confer. And unlike combo Intimidation and Persuasion) checks, which are
primers in video games, debilitating conditions far more applicable to social interaction encoun-
don’t reset when they’re detonated. As long as a ters than they are to combat encounters. Thus, if
priming condition exists, you can take advantage you have spells that impose the charmed condi-
of it again and again. tion, it’s usually their side effects, rather than the
condition itself, that will influence the outcome of
a fight. Otherwise, you’ll usually cast these spells
BLINDED outside combat.

The most common cause of the blinded condi-

tion is darkness. This sounds like a joke, but if DEAFENED
your character is human, halfling or dragonborn,
it’s something you always need to be aware of. If This isn’t nearly as debilitating as being blinded
you’re fighting in darkness (and even moonlight is. All it does is impose disadvantage on Wisdom
counts as darkness, unless the moon is full and (Perception) checks that rely on hearing. Certain
the sky is clear) and you don’t have darkvision, all stealthy characters may be able to take advan-
your attacks have disadvantage, and your oppo- tage of this condition in dim light or darkness, but
nents (if they do have darkvision) have advantage there are few situations that cause it other than
on all their attacks against you. If you’re adven- the blindness/deafness spell, and if you’ve got a
turing at night or underground, it’s important that choice, you’re better off causing blindness.
you have a light source with you at all times, even
if it’s just a burning torch. You can carry a torch
or lantern in your off hand and still fight with a EXHAUSTED
weapon in your main hand without penalty; it
simply means you can’t also use a shield. One level of exhaustion isn’t much to worry about,
Note also that dim light, while it doesn’t penal- especially if you have other members in your party
ize attacking, does impose disadvantage on Wis- who can pick up the slack for you if someone has
dom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. This is to make an ability check. Two levels of exhaustion
good for characters (or monsters) using Stealth to

15
halves one’s speed, which can be inconvenient but bles (or triples or quadruples) the offensive value
probably won’t be fatal. of the Attack action, characters with Extra Attack
You do not want a third level of exhaustion, (and monsters with Multiattack) are high-priority
though. At that level, you incur disadvantage on targets for spells or other effects that incapaci-
all your attack rolls and saving throws, danger- tate. So are characters or creatures that get both
ously reducing both your offensive and defensive actions and bonus actions, since if your action is
capacity. Moreover, a long rest takes away only taken away, you can’t take a bonus action either.
one level of exhaustion, so the next day, you’ll still In other words, the more robust an opponent’s ac-
have two levels of exhaustion to contend with. tion economy, the more you want to incapacitate
Once you reach that second level of exhaustion, that opponent.
whatever you’re doing that’s fatiguing you, it’s
time to stop doing it.
The fourth, fifth and sixth levels of exhaustion INVISIBLE
are even more awful to contemplate, but we don’t
need to discuss them, because you’re not going This is a good condition to be under, because it’s
to let yourself get to exhaustion level 3, are you? as if everyone else is blinded with respect to you.
That’s right. Your attacks have advantage; others’ attacks
against you have disadvantage. You can still be
heard, so others may be aware of your presence,
FRIGHTENED but they won’t be able to pinpoint your location.

Being frightened gives a character or creature dis-

advantage on attack rolls and ability checks as PARALYZED
long as the source of that fright is within view. The
important thing to remember is that this condi- This is a cascade failure situation for the afflicted
tion imposes disadvantage on all attack rolls, not character or creature. It can’t take actions or reac-
just attack rolls against whatever the frightened tions, can’t move, can’t speak, and automatically
character or creature is frightened of. It’s an ongo- fails all Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
ing distraction that reduces the affected individ- Attacks against a paralyzed character or creature
ual’s offensive effectiveness. (In this respect, it’s have advantage, and every opponent within 5 feet
like being poisoned, but by something you can see, lands an automatic critical hit with each success-
and only as long as you see it.) ful attack. A front-line fighter can make fast work
Secondarily, it inhibits movement, which can be of a paralyzed opponent, thanks to having advan-
useful if you’re trying to control access to a cer- tage on his or her attack rolls and the “every hit a
tain place or prevent yourself or another character crit” effect.
from being attacked.

PETRIFIED
GRAPPLED
A petrified character or creature is helpless, yet
The grappled condition effectively takes away a this condition is unlikely to result in a fatality. The
character or creature’s movement by reducing its afflicted character or creature can’t take actions or
speed to 0. It doesn’t impose any disadvantage on reactions, can’t move or speak, and automatically
the grappled, nor does it confer any advantage on fails all Strength and Dexterity saving throws;
the grappler. It will keep someone from running attacks against a petrified character or creature
away, but it won’t keep him or her from fighting have advantage. On the other hand, that charac-
back. ter or creature is resistant to all damage—quite a
contrast from the “every hit a crit” effect of being
paralyzed—and is immune to poison and disease
INCAPACITATED for as long as the condition lasts. Use spells or
magic items that petrify opponents if you want to
This one is a big deal: It takes away a character neutralize them but not kill them.
or creature’s action, along with its ability to take
reactions (such as opportunity attacks or the shield
spell). Moreover, several other conditions—para- POISONED
lyzed, petrified, stunned and unconscious—in-
clude this among their own effects. There’s poison damage, and then there’s the poi-
As I mentioned before, since Extra Attack dou- soned condition—two separate things. Inflicting

16
poison damage doesn’t automatically impose being reduced to 0, it gives the restrained char-
the poisoned condition; usually, this condition is acter disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws,
the result of a failed Constitution save against a imposes disadvantage on his or her attacks, and
poisonous substance or magic spell. A poisoned confers advantage on all attacks against him or
character or creature has disadvantage on all at- her. A restrained target is a sitting duck for melee
tack rolls and ability checks, and that’s it. It sig- attacks, spell attacks, and damaging spells that
nificantly reduces ability to function, but it actu- require Dexterity saves to dodge. However, he or
ally has no effect on the poisoned character’s or she does still retain the ability to take actions,
creature’s defenses, nor does it inflict continuous which he or she will usually (but not always) use
damage. Counterintuitively, this is another condi- to try to break free.
tion to impose if you want to neutralize but not
necessarily kill.
STUNNED

PRONE Being stunned is like being paralyzed, minus the

“every hit a crit” effect, and minus being com-
This is what you are when you fall down, are pletely mute—one can stammer out a one- or
knocked down, or are on your hands and knees in two-word answer to a question, but that’s about
the hope of not being seen. A prone character must it. (Casting a spell is out of the question anyway,
crawl, doubling the cost of movement, or spend because being stunned includes being incapac-
half of his or her movement speed to stand up itated.) Stunned opponents are easy targets for
again. More important, all his or her attacks while weapon and spell attacks and damaging spells
prone have disadvantage, and enemies within 5 that require Strength or Dexterity saves.
feet have advantage on attacks against him or her.
However, enemies farther away have disadvan-
tage on their attacks, because the prone character UNCONSCIOUS
presents a smaller target. Thus, you want to target
a prone opponent with melee attacks, not ranged An unconscious character is effectively paralyzed,
attacks. And if enemies are attacking you from and unaware of what’s going on around him or
range and you don’t care to engage with them, it her as well; plus, if he or she happens to regain
costs no movement to intentionally drop prone, consciousness, he or she wakes up prone. Usually,
giving them disadvantage on attacks against you. once an enemy is unconscious, your job is already
done, unless you really can’t have it following you
when it comes to.
RESTRAINED

Being restrained is more serious than being grap-

pled. In addition to his or her movement speed

CONDITIONS AND COMBINATIONS REFERENCE

CONDITION VULNERABILITY
(“PRIMER”) (“DETONATOR”)
Blinded All weapon and spell attacks
Charmed Charisma (Deception, Intimidation or Persuasion) ability checks
Paralyzed All weapon and spell attacks, especially melee attacks (all hits from attackers within 5 ft are critical hits)
Spells that require Strength or Dexterity saving throws
Prone Melee weapon and spell attacks (attacker must be within 5 ft)
Restrained All weapon and spell attacks
Spells that require Dexterity saving throws
Stunned All weapon and spell attacks
Spells that require Strength or Dexterity saving throws

17
18
 Part 3
Playing Your Part

THE READY ACTION

Players whose turns come up early in the initiative Readying Cast a Spell actions, triggered by dis-
order but aren’t ready to act yet, whether they’re advantage on saving throws imposed on targets,
out of position or they’re waiting to see what an can pay off big for spellslingers. But it can also be
ally or enemy does, will often try to say, “I hold my risky, because if the trigger condition doesn’t arise
action.” In D&D 5E, there’s no waiting to take your before the start of the caster’s next turn, the spell
turn until the timing seems better. What we get fizzles, and the spell slot used to cast it is spent.
instead is the Ready action. Readying the Dodge action is redundant, be-
Some things are always reactions: opportunity cause taking the Dodge action gives anyone you
attacks, spells such as shield and counterspell, and can see attacking you disadvantage, and gives you
the Battle Master fighter’s Riposte maneuver. The advantage on Dexterity saving throws, until the
Ready action allows you to perform an ordinary start of your next turn. You don’t need to wait un-
action as a reaction later in the round, upon the til someone attacks you or casts a spell your way
occurrence of whatever triggering condition you to trigger that. Either way, you’re spending your
choose. For instance, you can say, “I Ready an At- action on Dodging.
tack action against the hobgoblin in front of me, Two actions that combine well with the Ready
to occur when I have advantage on the attack.” As action are Dash and Hide. Readying Dash is excel-
soon as anything occurs that grants you advan- lent if you want to immediately pursue an enemy
tage on that attack roll, you can execute your at- that may try to run away, and Readying Hide is
tack as a reaction. useful when an enemy is looking your way on your
Readying Attack actions isn’t a great deal for turn but may be distracted by one of your allies
fighting classes with Extra Attack, because Ex- later in the round (“I Ready the Hide action—I’m
tra Attack grants its additional attack roll(s) only going to hide in the shadows over there as soon as
when you take the Attack action on your turn. If Ludovic attacks that bugbear that’s looking at me
you’re Readying an Attack, you’re not taking the right now”).
Attack action on your turn—you’re taking the The only way to Ready movement is to ready
Ready action on your turn, and you’re taking the the Dash action; otherwise, you have to take
Attack action on someone else’s turn. Thus, you’ll your Readied action where you are. If you Ready
only get to make the one attack roll that round. On the Dash action, you can’t also Ready some other
the other hand, it’s excellent for rogues, who can action as well. Thus, Ready isn’t a good remedy
only ever attack once per Attack action anyway, for being stuck in a hallway in an inconvenient
and whose Sneak Attack gives them extra damage marching order.
once per turn without requiring that the attack
take place on their turn.

‘PLAN B’: DODGE, DASH AND DISENGAGE

Because of the turn-based nature of D&D 5E, a If the combatant uses his or her action to Disen-
combatant who wants to retreat from melee is gage, then uses his or her full movement speed to
confronted with a difficult and unpleasant choice: retreat, the opponent can use its full movement

19
speed to close the distance again, then use its ac- ing can waste your opponent’s time while your al-
tion to Attack. But if the combatant uses his or her lies bombard it with missile weapons or spells—a
action to Dash, he or she risks getting struck by an good option for skirmishers. Dashing past an ally
opportunity attack upon leaving the opponent’s means that any would-be pursuer will have to
zone of control. pass through his or her zone of control to get at
It seems unfair, but retreating from combat is you—a good trick for shock attackers who’ve al-
difficult in reality, too. Even when executing an ready done the most damage they’re going to do.
orderly retreat, real-life combatants have to hope And Disengaging always makes sense if there’s a
that their opponents won’t pursue them. Pursuit less injured or more durable ally willing to step in
can often mean death for those assigned to run and serve as your rearguard.
interference. Conversely, if your opponent has allies, and
D&D 5E provides three ways of getting out of a you’re engaged in melee with more than one of
combat situation: Dodge, Dash and Disengage. them, Dashing away may subject you to multiple
The Dodge action imposes disadvantage on all opportunity attacks, making Dodging or Disen-
incoming attacks from visible opponents (and also gaging more attractive. Front-liners, who are most
grants advantage on Dexterity saving throws). Af- likely to find themselves surrounded, should keep
ter Dodging, you have your full movement speed this in mind.
available; if you move out of your opponent’s Whether your opponent has Extra Attack or
reach, however, you’re subject to an opportunity Multiattack matters, too. An opportunity attack is
attack. Dodge is a good idea for combatants with a reaction, so even enemies with Extra Attack or
high armor class and a bad idea for combatants Multiattack get only one swipe at you as you leave
with low armor class. their reach. But if you Dodge, they get all their
The Dash action effectively allows you to double attacks against you, albeit with disadvantage. In
your speed by granting you your full movement this instance, you’re better off Dashing. It’s always
speed as an action, then granting it again as your worth it to risk one attack in order to avoid a sec-
movement. If you move out of your opponent’s ond, third or fourth.
reach, you’re subject to an opportunity attack. If you truly want more than anything else to get
Dash offers the best chance of escape, regardless away, and you’re engaged with no more than one
of speed or armor class, but at the cost of as much melee opponent, Dash. You may take a hit on the
as one round’s worth of combat damage. way out, but only one.
The Disengage action lets you move out of your If you have backup, a high movement speed
opponent’s reach in an orderly fashion that de- and/or a good measure of confidence that your op-
nies opportunity attacks. After Disengaging, you ponent won’t pursue, or you’re engaged with more
have your full movement speed available. Disen- than one opponent, Disengage.
gage won’t reduce damage from a stubborn pur- If you’re especially hard to hit, because of armor,
suer, but it does offer a faster combatant a chance Dexterity or both, and you want to give your allies
to get away from a slower opponent completely time to land additional hits, Dodge. But be wary
damage-free. of Dodging when you have multiple opponents at-
If you have allies in the area, these actions tacking you or when a single opponent has Extra
open up more options. If your AC is high, Dodg- Attack or Multiattack.

RETREAT ACTIONS REFERENCE

ACTION WHEN TO USE IT WHEN NOT TO USE IT

Dodge High AC Low AC
Stalling while allies attack Engaged in melee with more than one opponent, or
opponent with Extra Attack/Multiattack
Dash Urgent need to escape; can still afford to take Engaged in melee with more than one opponent
one hit from melee opponent Cannot afford to take even a single hit from melee
Opponent has Extra Attack/Multiattack opponent
Disengage Engaged in melee with more than one opponent Opponent(s) very likely to give chase
Faster than opponent(s)
Allies available to engage pursuer(s)

20
PARTY COMPOSITION AND POSITIONING
It’s possible, but difficult, to win a battle with noth- not a total obstruction. And halflings, thanks to
ing but front-line fighters; it’s also possible, but the Halfling Nimbleness feature, can also move
even more difficult, to win a battle with no front- through the square or hex of an enemy. What you
line fighters. Without front-line fighters to occupy can’t do is end your move in the same square or
enemies’ attention, it becomes essential to be able hex as another character.
to quickly and reliably damage or debilitate many When choosing single-file or double-file march-
of them at once. The best class features and spells ing order, players often think about visibility,
for this are not available at level 1. (Entangle, hail of having a front and rear guard, and keeping more
thorns and sleep are about the most you can hope fragile characters in the middle for protection, but
for starting out.) neglect to consider what positions they’ll want to
Thus, a well-rounded party of four to seven be in when they come upon enemies while emerg-
characters should have at least two front-line ing from a narrow passage into a more open area.
fighters and at least one skirmisher, marksman This happens especially often in parties with
or spellslinger. Beyond that, there’s a lot of room rangers, who are always eager to lead the march-
for flexibility. But you should always have ways of ing order but are generally skirmishers or marks-
dealing with both out-in-the-open melee fighters men rather than front-line fighters; and in parties
and enemies attacking from range, and at least that have skimped on light sources when their
half your party members should have Constitu- front-line fighters lack darkvision, instead letting
tion, rather than Dexterity, as their primary de- some other character who does have darkvision
fensive ability. take the lead.
When combat begins, your party should spread If you’re moving through a narrow passage, don’t
out as much as possible while still remaining make the mistake of putting a front-line fighter
within visual and movement range of one an- at the back of your marching order, thinking you
other. Even front-line fighters should move apart need him or her to guard the rear. Give that posi-
a little bit, if they can, so that they aren’t as easily tion to a skirmisher or a supporter. It’s rare that an
targeted by area-effect spells—but not so far apart enemy will sneak around to hit you from behind:
that enemies can dart between them. usually, the only things behind you are locations
Front-line fighters should engage the enemy in that your party has already cleared out. Your next
melee somewhere roughly in the middle of the combat encounter is much more likely to be ahead
battleground. Supporters should take position of you, and you don’t want one of your front-line
behind them, just close enough to cast spells on fighters stuck all the way in the back, having to
either the front line or the enemy, or to reach the elbow his or her way past the rest of you in order
front line with a touch-required healing spell. to take part.
Shock attackers and skirmishers should stay on Yes, you can take cover behind an ally: it’s con-
the move, constantly repositioning themselves to sidered half cover, and it temporarily adds +2 to
maximize their attack capability and (if they’re your armor class. Supporters are the ones who’ll
using Stealth) to stay out of view. Skirmishers, in most often be in a position to do this, but shock
particular, want to try to hit their enemies from attackers and skirmishers may be able to as well.
the side or from behind, especially if your DM is Spellslingers and marksmen, if they’re position-
using the optional Flanking rule (Dungeon Mas- ing themselves properly, will be able to take cover
ter’s Guide, page 251), which I recommend highly. behind allies only in tight quarters.
Marksmen and spellslingers should take up posi- To determine whether an ally is giving you cover
tion more than 30 feet away from the fight, if pos- or not, draw imaginary lines from any one corner
sible, but within the normal range of their weap- of the attacker’s square or hex to every corner of
ons or the maximum range of their spells, behind your square or hex. If at least one of those lines
as much cover as is available, and with the broad- passes through your ally, congratulations: you
est possible view of the action. have half cover. (Your DM may rule, however, that
When fighting in tight quarters, such as emerg- any attack that misses you by just 1 or 2 points
ing from a passageway into a larger chamber, PCs damages your “meat shield” instead, if the attack
may struggle to get themselves into suitable po- roll equals or exceeds his or her AC.)
sitions, especially if those in the back have rolled
higher initiative than those in the front. Remem-
ber, you can move through an ally’s square or hex;
it’s difficult terrain, meaning it costs an extra foot
of movement for every foot you travel, but it’s

21
CLASS TACTICS
Unless you want your combat encounters to bog themselves, it’s more risky. As a general rule, you
down badly, you’ll need to develop skill at making should use Reckless Attack if and only if you’ll get
decisions on the fly. The key to doing this with- to make at least as many attacks in your turn as
out getting stuck, confused or overwhelmed is to all the opponents attacking you will get to make
distinguish between standing decisions and situ- on theirs.
ational decisions. Standing decisions are choices On the Path of the Berserker, the Frenzy feature
that you, as a player, have decided make sense for gives you an additional melee attack as a bonus
your character most or all of the time, so that they action, starting on your second turn of Rage. The
come to define your play style. The more of these cost is one level of exhaustion. Frenzying once
decisions you can make ahead of time, the less per long rest is safe, twice is pushing it, and three
they’ll clutter your thinking mid-game, freeing times is a dangerously bad idea, even for a bar-
you up to think only about the situational deci- barian. Use this feature when you’re certain that
sions you have to make. And if you can decide be- the current combat encounter is going to be your
forehand on criteria for resolving these situational toughest fight of the day.
decisions, they’ll consume less of your cognitive If you follow the Path of the Totem Warrior,
candlepower, too. you’ll have to choose a totem spirit. The Bear to-
Most of the standing and situational decisions tem spirit makes you an even more formidable
you’ll need to make will relate to your character’s front-line fighter, as it gives you resistance to ev-
combat role and class, and they’ll evolve as your ery type of damage except psychic damage while
character advances in level. you’re Raging. If you choose this totem spirit, it
falls to you to take down enemies who wield
magic weapons or deal elemental damage. The
BARBARIAN: RISK VS. REWARD Eagle totem spirit, while you’re Raging, gives ene-
mies disadvantage on opportunity attacks against
The barbarian is a high-risk, high-reward class, you and lets you Dash as a bonus action, making
especially at low levels. As your character goes up you a superior shock attacker, since you can worry
in level, the risks diminish, and the rewards in- less about leaving the zone of control of one op-
crease, but you still have to make decisions about ponent in order to strike another. The Wolf totem
when and how to take these risks. spirit is good for barbarians in a party with other
Take Rage, the barbarian’s defining feature. This front-line fighters, since it gives them advantage
feature grants resistance to physical damage, ad- on melee attacks against enemies adjacent to you.
vantage on Strength checks and Strength saving The more front-line allies, the better.
throws, and extra damage on melee weapon at- At level 14, these totem spirits grant additional
tacks. It’s what makes the barbarian effective as benefits: Bear spirit barbarians monopolize their
a shock attacker. The downside? Limited usage. enemies’ attention in a manner similar to the pal-
At level 1, you can use it only twice per long rest. adin’s compelled duel spell (another front-line en-
You absolutely want to have this feature available hancement), Eagle spirit barbarians can fly short
during your toughest battle of the day, and you distances, and Wolf spirit barbarians can spend a
don’t necessarily know when that’s going to occur. bonus action to knock an enemy prone (enhancing
(You do, at least, get one chance to guess wrong.) their shock attack power).
The level 2 feature Reckless Attack is risk vs.
reward distilled to its purest essence. You get ad-
vantage on all your non-finesse melee weapon at- BARD: THE CONDUCTOR
tacks for one turn; in exchange, your opponents
get advantage on all their attacks against you. If In terms of battlefield positioning, bards are usu-
you need to drop an enemy quickly, Reckless At- ally spellslingers, sometimes supporters. But in
tack may be worth the risk. Also, if you want to terms of their function, it might be more accurate
draw enemies’ attention to yourself, as opposed to describe them as controllers, because so many
to, say, a badly injured companion, this will give of their spells are enchantments or illusions that
them an incentive to attack you instead. On the can manipulate the behavior of others. A bard can
other hand, if you’re surrounded, giving advan- and should use these spells to dictate the course
tage on attacks to multiple enemies is a terrible and tempo of combat, not least by setting up tacti-
idea. Once you reach level 5 and get Extra Attack, cal combinations for his or her allies to finish.
Reckless Attack becomes more powerful; against Bardic inspiration is a bonus action, which you
enemies who have Extra Attack or Multiattack can use a number of times equal to your Charisma

22
modifier per long rest. You can inspire only one Clerics can draw on the favor of the deities they
ally per use, so you need to decide whether to worship; that favor isn’t infinite, though. At levels
spread these uses over multiple encounters, use 1 through 5, they can use their Channel Divinity
them preemptively when you believe a big battle feature only once per short or long rest; at levels 6
is imminent (the effects last 10 minutes) or devote through 17, they can use it twice per rest. A typical
more than one turn’s bonus actions to this pur- adventuring day includes two short rests and ends
pose. The last option poses a conflict only if you with a long rest, so this means having to develop a
have other bonus actions you may want to take good sense for what is and isn’t the right moment
instead, such as casting healing word. to call on You-Know-Who.
Bards of the College of Lore can use the Cut- The one Channel Divinity feature available to all
ting Words feature and spend their Bardic Inspi- clerics is Turn Undead. This doesn’t destroy un-
ration as a reaction to undermine enemies’ at- dead creatures; it only drives them away for one
tack and damage rolls. You need to be alert and minute if they fail their saving throws, and they’ll
announce your use of Cutting Words before your head right for you again if they take any damage.
DM announces the result of a roll. Because Bardic Use this feature to stall for time—time enough to
Inspiration is your stock-in-trade, you don’t want heal up a bit, maybe—or if you can drive the un-
to blow it all on Cutting Words, but this is a use- dead into a room and lock them in there. (Turn
ful addition to your action economy that you can Undead becomes significantly more valuable at
pull out at a key moment to help an ally who’s in level 5, when clerics gain Destroy Undead.)
danger. Mathematically, it’s almost as good as im- Life clerics can Channel Divinity to Preserve
posing disadvantage on your enemy’s attack roll, Life, which heals a generous number of hit points
but at low levels, it’s actually smarter to apply it to but can’t raise any character above half of his or
a damage roll than to an attack roll. If you apply her hit point maximum. The time to use this spell
it to an attack roll, your chances of turning a hit is when you have one or more party members who
into a miss are low, and if the attack hits, it will are seriously injured—down to 40 percent of their
do all the damage it normally would. But if you full hit points or less—too early in the adventur-
apply it to a damage roll, a reduction in damage is ing day for a long rest to be feasible. This boost
guaranteed. may mean they don’t have to spend all their hit
In contrast, bards of the College of Valor can use dice during short rests just to stay ambulatory.
the Combat Inspiration feature and allow an in- Light clerics have Radiance of the Dawn, which
spired ally to add a Bardic Inspiration die to his does impressive radiant damage over a decent
or her own damage, or use it to defend him- or radius. It’s potent against swarms of weak crea-
herself in the same manner as the College of Lore tures and weak against small numbers of strong
bard’s use of Cutting Words. The difference is that creatures. The 30-foot range, implicitly circular, is
the ally gets to see the incoming attack roll be- broad enough that you shouldn’t waste it on fewer
fore deciding whether to spend the die, so there’s than half a dozen enemies.
a much greater degree of control. Nature clerics’ Charm Animals and Plants is one
The level 14 feature Battle Magic enhances a Col- of the few cases in which charming enemies in
lege of Valor bard’s action economy, but the bard combat may be genuinely useful, because you’re
has to somehow be able to cast a spell and wield not charming just one at a time—it has the same
a weapon at the same time. This means the bard range as Radiance of the Dawn, above, so you can
will have to forgo the use of a musical instrument potentially charm a whole pack of wolves at once,
as a spellcasting focus and use material compo- for instance. It’s not a sure thing, though, so don’t
nents for the spell instead. use it without a plan for what to do when only half
College of Valor bards gain proficiency with me- the wolves in the pack are charmed.
dium armor, which gives them more of the dura- Other level 2 Channel Divinity features are ei-
bility they’ll need if they’re going to function as ther self-defense measures (Invoke Duplicity), at-
supporters rather than spellslingers. tack enhancers (Guided Strike, Destructive Wrath)
or largely irrelevant to combat (Knowledge of the
Ages), although Knowledge of the Ages does con-
CLERIC: HOW MAY I HELP YOU? tain one sneaky exploit: If you’re being grappled,
you can use it to gain proficiency in Athletics or
Not only are clerics found more often in a supporter Acrobatics in order to help you escape.
role than in any other, they’re the quintessential The level 10 feature Divine Intervention is even
support class. How they support their allies—aside more tightly restricted than Channel Divinity: not
from healing, clerics’ stock-in-trade—is deter- only can you use it only once per long rest, if your
mined to a great extent by their divine domains, deity does intervene, you can’t use it again for an-
the names of which are self-explanatory. other seven days. So really, this isn’t a once-per-

23
day feature—it’s a once-per-episode feature. Use it that staff that, 90 percent of the time, is just your
accordingly. druidic focus. Otherwise, if you chose Strength as
At levels 6 and 8, clerics gain various domain-​ your dump stat, that staff is going to hit like a wet
specific features not subject to the limitations of noodle.
Channel Divinity. Mostly these are either passive
abilities or attack enhancers, but a couple of them
are more situation-specific. Life clerics’ Blessed FIGHTER: SET ’EM UP, KNOCK ’EM DOWN
Healer feature encourages them to cast healing
spells in the midst of combat, rather than wait till As a fighter, when you choose your Fighting Style,
afterward, since these heal the healer as well as you’ve probably already made your most import-
the target. Light clerics’ Improved Flare lets them ant standing decision: what weapon you’re going
impose disadvantage on attacks against allies, to favor and where on the battlefield you’ll be us-
which they should use when the damage an at- ing it most. If you choose Archery, you’re going to
tacker can deal far outstrips its target’s ability to be a skirmisher. If you choose Protection, you’re
absorb it. Nature clerics can do something similar going to be on the front line most of the time,
with Dampen Elements and should do so in the and fighting as if you were even when you’re not.
same situation. Also, Trickery clerics get an ex- Ditto if you choose Great Weapon Fighting, since
tra Channel Divinity option in Cloak of Shadows, there’s no such thing as a versatile or two-handed
which they can use to set themselves up to attack finesse weapon. Since finesse weapon attack and
with advantage, and War clerics get War God’s damage rolls can be made with either Strength
Blessing, which lets them confer a +10 attack bo- or Dexterity, and light martial weapons are also
nus upon an ally. Shock attackers are especially finesse weapons, Two-Weapon fighters can be ei-
good candidates for this benediction. ther front-liners or skirmishers; Defense and Du-
eling fighters can also go either way.
The second-most important standing decision
DRUID: BEAST OR BACKUP? you’ll make is your martial archetype, at level 3. If
you’d rather swing than think, go Champion, and
Wild Shape is the most significant feature that all you’ll be set for life. If you like the idea of being
druids possess (from level 2 onward, anyway) and able to cast spells on the front line but don’t want
the one that distinguishes them from all other to commit to full-on multiclassing, go Eldritch
classes. The fundamental decision they must Knight. But if you’re reading this guide, you’re a
make is when to use Wild Shape, as opposed to Battle Master at heart. Admit it. Embrace it.
retaining their humanoid form and functioning The Battle Master’s Maneuvers are where the
more or less like a Nature cleric. full tactical glory of the fighter class reveals itself.
Wild Shape gives druids a reservoir of free hit Hands down, this martial archetype is the best
points: if you drop to 0 hp as an animal, you re- thing D&D ever did for the fighter class. Most of
vert to humanoid form with all, or nearly all, of your situational decision-making will involve Ma-
the hit points you had before you transformed. neuvers. The Player’s Handbook explains how each
Also, druids’ beast forms possess melee attacks Maneuver works; here, I’ll explain what each one
that do more damage than a staff does, and some means.
of them (including boar, panther and wolf) can Commander’s Strike. If there’s someone in your
knock their opponents prone, giving adjacent al- party who can do more damage in a single weapon
lies advantage on melee attacks against them. attack than you can, you tell them to take the
Druids in humanoid form are supporters or, less shot in your stead. Especially good if you’ve got a
often, spellslingers, but druids in beast form be- marksman in your party, because he or she will
come front-line fighters. So part of this decision hardly ever need to reposition before attacking.
entails determining which your party needs more Disarming Attack. Divest your foe of that
at the moment: a healer and controller, or another high-damage polearm, magic weapon or powerful
durable damage-dealer. artifact.
Each druid circle imposes a slight bias on this Distracting Strike. A combo primer that sets up
decision. Circle of the Land druids are more ef- an ally’s next attack. Pay attention to the initia-
fective spellcasters, biasing them toward support. tive order, and make sure your ally takes his or her
Circle of the Moon druids transform more quickly turn before your opponent does. Especially good if
and into more powerful beasts, biasing them to- the next party member to attack your opponent is
ward Wild Shape and front-line fighting. a shock attacker, marksman or spellslinger.
If you’re playing the nature cleric role, and you Evasive Footwork. A delaying tactic. Useful when
get engaged by a melee attacker, cast shillelagh (bo- you’re wielding a nonmagical weapon and dis-
nus action) so that you can get some value out of cover that your enemy is resistant to nonmagical

24
weapons, or if you’re a skirmisher and your enemy in the third round of combat, when you’ll want to
is chasing you around instead of vice versa. be wrapping things up. Skirmishers, on the other
Feinting Attack. A combo primer that enhances hand, can get creative with this feature, Attack-
your action economy and sets up your next attack. ing, Dashing, Disengaging, Dodging and/or Hiding
Goading Attack. Takes the heat off allies who in a single turn.
can’t absorb hits as well as you can. If you’re using Action Surge to take two Attack
Lunging Attack. Useless, actually, unless you’re actions, and you have allies close or adjacent to
a Polearm Master attacking a creature with a 10- you, you may consider using your first attack to
foot reach from 15 feet away. Pretend this one isn’t shove your opponent prone, so that you have ad-
here. vantage on your follow-up—and so do your allies.
Maneuvering Attack. Like Goading Attack, but You can even use this tactic once you gain Extra
instead of specifically drawing the enemy’s atten- Attack, since shoving constitutes only one of the
tion to you, you’re occupying it just long enough attacks you’re entitled to on your turn. It has the
for an ally it’s attacking to get away without incur- best chance of working against heavily armored
ring an opportunity attack. opponents, who are more likely to be able to with-
Menacing Attack. As long as your opponent can stand your melee attack than to win the contest
see you, it’s overwhelmed by dread and has dis- between your Athletics skill and their Athletics or
advantage on all its attacks against you or your Acrobatics skill.
allies. A valuable way to hobble a high-damage,
low-Wisdom enemy.
Parry. A good damage mitigator for skirmishers. MONK: THE ACTION HERO
Precision Attack. Turn a near miss into a hit.
Rally. Good for helping out allies who are mod- Monks are shock attackers that can only exist and
erately to seriously wounded. The fewer hit points function effectively because their class features
they had to begin with, the more it helps. bend the heck out of the usual rules to allow them
Riposte. Lets you use your reaction to exploit an to be shock attackers. Monk combat is all about
enemy’s missed attack. It’s like getting an oppor- exploiting your action economy to the max.
tunity attack even though your opponent hasn’t Let’s begin with Martial Arts. This gives you one
done anything to provoke it. Attack action and one unarmed strike as a bonus
Sweeping Attack. Useful if you’re being double-​ action, and the unarmed strike does 1d4 plus your
teamed (or worse). Turns a hit on one opponent primary offensive ability modifier. So while a lot of
into hits on two. weapons are off-limits to you, including all mar-
Trip Attack. A combo primer, most useful once tial weapons other than shortswords, you make
you have Extra Attack. Use it when your first at- up for it by getting an enhancement to your ac-
tack lands to knock your opponent prone, so that tion economy roughly equivalent to Extra Attack,
you have advantage on your second. which fighting classes don’t receive until level 5.
There are two other situational decisions you’ll Then, at level 2, you get 2 ki points per rest.
have to make, even if you’re not a Battle Master: Spending a ki point on Flurry of Blows can give
when to use the Second Wind and Action Surge you a second unarmed strike in your bonus action;
features. spending it on Patient Defense or Step of the Wind
Once per rest, you can use a bonus action to get lets you use your bonus action to Dodge, Dash or
your Second Wind and regain some hit points. You Disengage rather than attack.
don’t want to wait too long, but you’d also rather Ideally, you’d like Flurry of Blows to be your fin-
not regain more hit points than you’ve lost, be- ishing move against the toughest enemy on the
cause any excess points are wasted. My sugges- field. Patient Defense and Step of the Wind are
tion: At levels 1 and 2, use Second Wind when skirmish tactics, which you’ll use mostly against
you’re down to 40 percent of your maximum hit lower-power minions or to extricate yourself if
points or fewer. At levels 3 and above, use it when you’ve bitten off more than you can chew; the for-
you’re down to 50 percent or fewer. If there’s some mer feature allows you to make one token Attack,
other tactically advantageous bonus action avail- then bait out an opportunity attack that probably
able to you, take it at level 3 or above, but at level won’t hit, so that your enemy’s reaction is used up
1 or 2, forget it—it’s more important that you get for the round, while the latter allows stunts such
your Second Wind. as Disengage (bonus action)/move/Hide (action) or
Action Surge, gained at level 2, lets you take Dash (bonus action)/move/Attack to grapple (ac-
an additional action once per rest. As a front-line tion). As a shock attacker, however, you shouldn’t
fighter—especially one with Extra Attack, once use Step of the Wind to Dash into combat, because
you gain that feature—you’ll usually spend this on you’ll get only one weak Attack at the end of that
another Attack action, and a good time to use it is combo. When you hit, you want to hit hard.

25
 At level 5, you get Extra Attack yourself, allow- tance of 15 feet. Use it when you’re fighting an
ing you three attacks per turn—four with Flurry enemy that’s vulnerable to fire or that’s already
of Blows. And if you’re using a weapon in your At- engaged with one or more of your allies, so that
tack action and you land a hit, you can make a it can’t come after you. Probably not worth it to
Stunning Strike. This costs only a single ki point spend a second ki point on Flurry of Blows, unless
and is absolutely worth it, because if it succeeds, the enemy is in fact vulnerable to fire, in which
it shuts down your opponent completely. Every at- case, what the heck—spend a third point on the
tack that you or any of your allies makes against extra fire damage and try to take your enemy out
the opponent has advantage, while it stands there in one turn.
unable to move, act or react, until the end of your Fist of Unbroken Air. The cost is steep, but it does
next turn. It’s the best ki point you’ll ever spend, respectable damage, lets you push an enemy to-
unless you blow it on an opponent with too high ward an ally who can then attack it as well, and
a Constitution. Actually, scratch that—it’s worth potentially knocks the enemy prone. Good against
a try anyway, though not a second try if the first enemies you don’t want to get close to.
one fails. Water Whip. Like Fist of Unbroken Air, but in-
The Open Hand Technique in the Way of the stead of pushing the target toward an ally, you
Open Hand tradition turns Flurry of Blows into a can yank it toward yourself—although if you do
combo primer. To execute this tactic, Attack (ac- that, you can’t knock it prone. You also don’t get
tion), then Flurry of Blows (bonus action). (The a bonus action from Martial Arts, because you’ve
Flurry of Blows bonus action must always follow already used your action to do something other
an Attack action.) If your first unarmed strike hits than Attack. So why would you want to use this
and you knock your enemy prone, attack with ad- Elemental Discipline? Well, if there’s a pit be-
vantage on your second. If your second hits, knock tween your enemy and you . . . enough said. Or,
your enemy toward an ally, so that it incurs an op- alternatively, if Fist of Unbroken Air is for dealing
portunity strike if it tries to come back at you. Or, with enemies you don’t want to get close to, Wa-
if there’s no ally close enough, or one is already ter Whip is for dealing with enemies who are al-
adjacent to your enemy, deny it reactions, so that ready badly wounded and whom you don’t want
you can retreat out of reach without incurring an running away. If you can pull them right up next
opportunity strike yourself. to you, you’ll get opportunity attacks when they
In the Way of Shadow tradition, the Shadow try to run. If you’re worried about taking hits from
Step feature is a combo primer you can use to set them, spend another ki point on Patient Defense.
up one of your own attacks, but it does so at the If you decide to follow the Way of the Four El-
cost of your bonus action. Your Attack action has ements, you’re choosing it for the sake of style,
to be exceptionally good for this cost to be worth- not for the sake of effectiveness. Make that choice
while. Since (let’s not mince words) this is essen- with your eyes open.
tially the ninja archetype, you’re only going to use
Shadow Step if you’re attacking with a poisoned
weapon, or if you have at least one level in the PALADIN: POWER AND PROTECTION
rogue class and are making a Sneak Attack. The
Cloak of Shadows feature is Shadow Step without Paladins are a unique combination of front-line
this drawback; yeah, it costs an action, but the im- melee fighter and supporter. Their essential deci-
portant part is, the next time you take an action, sions revolve around which enemy to close with,
you’ll also have a bonus action available. where to place themselves in order to protect their
The Elemental Disciplines in the Way of the allies and whether anyone needs immediate res-
Four Elements tradition all cost both ki points and cuing. Most of the time, they’ll be in the thick of
an action, so many of them can’t be combined things, occupying the attention of the most pow-
with Flurry of Blows, and it’s less than desirable erful enemy in order to keep that enemy off other
to combine them with Patient Defense or Step of party members’ backs.
the Wind. (On the other hand, you do get all your Paladins’ fighting prowess is supplemented by
ki points back with every rest.) Honestly, I’m not spellcasting ability. But the unfortunate reality is,
certain that any of the ones that duplicate spell paladins, as “half-casters,” don’t have that many
effects is worth the ki point cost—in essence, spell slots, and they only come back with a long
you’re denying everything you are in order to pre- rest. Realistically, at lower levels, a paladin will
tend you’re a spellslinger for a round. But there are get to cast just one spell every encounter or two;
three Elemental Disciplines that do fit decently at intermediate levels, one or two per encounter;
well with the monastic modus operandi: and more than that only at higher levels.
Fangs of the Fire Snake. Make unarmed strikes In each encounter, therefore, a paladin player
as your Attack and your bonus action from a dis- has to have a sense of when the tide needs to be

26
turned, so that he or she can cast a spell that turns ly’s rescue with, but you do have to concentrate to
it. maintain it. As long as it’s up, you’re not casting
On the other hand, paladins’ Channel Divinity any more smite spells. There’s also compelled duel,
feature is refreshed with a short or long rest, so which makes you the center of an enemy’s atten-
you can use it every encounter or two. This fea- tion—the idea being, if it’s focused on you, it’s
ture is available to you in addition to your spells. not hurting anyone else. Although you can’t cast
Remember that you have it, and remember to use any other sustained spell while concentrating on
it, because it’s strong. If you’ve taken the Oath of compelled duel, you can make an educated guess at
Devotion, you can use Channel Divinity to tem- when your enemy is on its last legs, then release
porarily enchant your weapon with an attack bo- compelled duel on your own turn, cast a smite spell
nus equal to your Charisma modifier, or to turn as a bonus action and hope to deliver the coup de
fiends or undead; if you’ve taken the Oath of the grâce with your Attack action.
Ancients, you can use it to restrain an enemy Next, there are those that take an action to cast
(a combo primer) or to turn fiends or fey; and if and don’t need to be sustained, such as command,
you’ve taken the Oath of Vengeance, you can use it cure wounds, aid and revivify. Favor the ones that ei-
either to frighten an enemy or to prime your own ther support allies or can be used as combo prim-
attacks against an enemy for what will probably ers (for example, command can force a target to
be the entirety of the encounter. drop prone or incur an opportunity attack against
A paladin has to choose his or her list of spells itself).
for the day from the entire paladin spell reper- Finally, there are the spells that take an action
toire, which can easily result in supermarket fa- to cast and require concentration but are so good
tigue. This is not as momentous a decision as it that you should prepare them anyway. Bless, al-
feels like, though, and to make the decision easier, though it denies you the use of every other con-
it’s helpful to divide them up by casting time and centration spell in your repertoire, significantly
duration. enhances both the offense and the defense of up
All paladin spells that can be cast using just a to three individuals—including you, if you wish.
bonus action also require concentration to sus- It’s hard to weigh the value of this against shield of
tain, with two exceptions: If you’ve taken the Oath faith, compelled duel and your smite repertoire, but
of Devotion, and you’re level 3 or higher, you al- the longer a combat encounter goes on, and the
ways have sanctuary prepared. It’s a bailout spell more allies you can include in the spell’s effect,
with a 30-foot range whose effects last for a full the more it’s worth—especially if you have the
minute without any further input from you. Your foresight to cast it just before the encounter be-
squishy allies will thank you for it. And if you’ve gins. If there’s no one else in your party who can
taken the Oath of the Ancients or the Oath of Ven- cast it, maybe you should. And hold person inflicts
geance, misty step is invaluable for placing yourself paralysis, the demon king of all the debilitating
where you need to be when you need to be there. conditions, on a target that fails its Wisdom save.
Since oath spells are always prepared, you don’t Your smite spells are combo primers for you, but
even have to make this choice—it’s already made hold person is a combo primer for your whole party.
for you. Starting at level 6, paladins radiate auras that
Although they require concentration, most pal- boost saving throws; at level 10, the auras also
adin bonus-action spells (including the Oath of prevent the frightened condition. The range of
the Ancients spell ensnaring strike, the Oath of Ven- these auras is only 10 feet. My opinion is that it’s
geance spell hunter’s mark and all the smite spells) not the paladins’ responsibility to keep shifting
end as soon as you land a hit, so you can cast them position in order to keep as many allies as possible
as a bonus action, then take the Attack action; if within 10 feet of them, because they have to fight
you don’t land a hit this turn, you can keep con- whomever they have to fight. Rather, it’s the allies’
centrating on the spell and hope to hit next turn. responsibility to keep themselves within 10 feet of
The smite spells are your stock-in-trade; you the paladin if they want this protection. Except in
should always have at least one prepared. Wrathful tight quarters, this isn’t going to be practical for
smite and thunderous smite are particularly good at most skirmishers, marksmen or spellslingers, but
low levels, because they’re combo primers: wrath- that’s the way it goes. Paladins can protect these
ful smite can frighten a low-Wisdom enemy, giving allies in other ways, and also, these auras do the
it disadvantage on attacks, while thunderous smite most good where they’re most needed: at the
can knock a low-Strength enemy prone, giving it likely epicenters of area-effect spells.
disadvantage on attacks and giving adjacent allies A paladin’s choice of fighting style is subject to
advantage on attacks against it. the same considerations as a fighter’s, and since
Of the other bonus-action spells, shield of faith paladins aren’t eligible to choose Archery or Two-
is another spell that’s good for coming to an al- Weapon Fighting, they’re strongly biased toward

27
the front-line role. It’s possible to build a Dexterity-­ Prey option at level 3, Escape the Horde at level 7,
first paladin around the Defense or Dueling style, Whirlwind Attack at level 11 and Uncanny Dodge
arm him or her with a finesse weapon, and play at level 15. Marksmen should choose Colossus
him or her as a skirmisher, but it doesn’t fit com- Slayer at level 3 if they’re specializing in attacking
fortably with the paladin’s other responsibility of single targets; Horde Breaker at level 3 if they’re
providing support—unless you’re imagining your specializing in mobs of minions; and Multiattack
paladin as, essentially, the Flash with a first-aid Defense at level 7, Volley at level 11 and Evasion at
kit (if this is what you have in mind, you’ll want level 15 either way.
to pick up the Mobile feat sooner rather than later, Marksman rangers should maintain their dis-
as well as take the Oath of the Ancients or the tance from melee and position themselves where
Oath of Vengeance for misty step). Nor does it take they have the least obstructed view of the entire
advantage of the fact that paladins are proficient battle. Since your own ally can give an enemy half
with heavy armor and get chain mail as part of cover if he or she is standing between you and
their starting equipment, which Dexterity won’t the enemy, you want to move around the perim-
improve upon. eter of the battle to the flank, where you’ll have a
clear shot. Even in a battle that’s more of a faceoff
between two sides, you still want to be as far to
RANGER: TERRAIN AND TARGETING one side as you can get, to give you the clearest
shots. Your preferred distance from your enemies
The most important situational decision rangers is between 30 feet and the normal range of your
have to make is where to position themselves. The weapon.
most important standing decisions they have to Skirmisher rangers wielding ranged weapons
make are what kind of enemies to focus on. should follow the same strategy, though while a
Like paladins, rangers are “half-casters” with marksman might find an optimal firing position
few spell slots, which are refreshed only after a and stop there, a skirmisher should keep moving
long rest. Rangers’ prepared spells are even more around the perimeter of the battle, using his or her
limited than paladins’, and they only get to change Stealth skill to remain hidden if possible. If there’s
them when they level up. But this is as much a an enemy in your path, take that enemy out before
blessing as a curse, because it’s one decision you continuing on your way: you want uncontested
don’t have to make again every adventuring day. ownership of the perimeter. Skirmisher rangers
Early on, figure on casting one spell every encoun- wielding melee weapons should flank around un-
ter or two; at intermediate levels, one or two spells til they’re in a position to hit their preferred tar-
per encounter; and more only at higher levels. gets (either a group of minions or a single, stron-
Marksman rangers should absolutely choose ger enemy) from behind, approach to a distance
one (or more) of three bonus-action spells that en- equal to their movement speed, then strike. Even
hance their attacking power: ensnaring strike, hail of after engaging, they should keep moving around
thorns or hunter’s mark. Ensnaring strike is a combo the enemy, within its reach, to avoid being double-­
primer to use against enemies that your front-line teamed and so that they can move on to the next
allies are also attacking; hunter’s mark is a damage enemy when necessary. With an armor class of 16
increaser to use against enemies that you have or better, if they’re still in relatively good health,
to take down by yourself. Hail of thorns is better they can risk a single opportunity attack in order
against groups of weak enemy minions, while the to go where they’re needed.
other two are better against single, stronger ene- A Beast Master with a boar or panther Ranger’s
mies. As you progress in level, you’re going to spe- Companion can order it to Attack from a distance
cialize more and more in one or the other of these, of 20 to 30 feet, allowing it to Charge or Pounce
so whichever way you decide to go, keep your bias and potentially knock the target down; a wolf
consistent. companion can knock down a target with a suc-
The aforementioned three spells certainly don’t cessful attack from any distance. At level 3 or 4,
hurt skirmisher rangers to have, but they’ll want this should only be done to a target that an ally is
to improve their mobility, too. The first-level spells also engaged with, because you don’t have time
for this purpose are jump and longstrider; later, to get in there and attack yourself before the tar-
you’ll want to snap up pass without trace and free- get gets back up. But at level 5, when the ranger
dom of movement. gets Extra Attack, the Beast Master and his or her
Because animals don’t shoot missiles, the Beast companion, working together, can hit a single en-
Master archetype is a better choice for skirmisher emy from opposite sides. If the DM is using the
rangers than for marksman rangers; the Hunter optional Flanking rule, this gives both of them
archetype works for either one. Skirmisher Hunt- advantage on their attacks, but even if not, a suc-
ers should take Giant Killer as their Hunter’s cessful knockdown from the beast’s attack can

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still give the ranger advantage on the follow-up. sequently retreat to a safe distance, or Attack (ac-
And Pack Tactics gives a wolf companion advan- tion)/Disengage (bonus action)/move to land one
tage on its attack as long as it and the ranger are solid blow, then make his or her getaway. Cun-
engaged in melee against the same enemy. ning Action also includes the ability to Hide as a
bonus action, allowing a rogue to Dash (action)/
move/Hide (bonus action) in order to quickly van-
ROGUE: SNEAK ATTACK! ish beyond enemies’ peripheral vision—or even
Hide (bonus action)/move/Attack (action) to stalk
Whether they fight as skirmishers, shock attack- and pounce (you’ll have to remain hidden until
ers or (as Arcane Tricksters) spellslingers, there’s the moment you Attack if you want to gain advan-
one thing that sets rogues apart from every other tage on the roll). And since a rogue can Disengage
class: Sneak Attack. This bonus damage scales up and Dash in the same turn, he or she should never
quickly as a rogue increases in level, and more have trouble escaping a fight that’s going south.
than anything else, it’s what lets them optimize As a rogue, you’ll often venture into the midst of
their effectiveness in combat. melee, but unless you’re a skirmisher with a good
Once per turn, Sneak Attack adds bonus damage Constitution score (and, preferably, the level 5 Un-
(1d6 at level 1, increasing by one die every two lev- canny Dodge feature), you shouldn’t stay there
els) on a successful hit that meets one of two con- for any length of time. Instead, use your Cun-
ditions: either you have advantage on the attack ning Action feature to get in and out, retreating to
roll, or one of your allies is engaging the target in places of cover and hiding on the perimeter of the
melee. (In the latter case, you can’t have disadvan- battle between strikes. Keep the perimeter clear
tage on your attack, and your ally has to be able to of enemies; bushwhack enemy marksmen and
take actions.) spellcasters.
I’ve made many mentions so far of combo prim- Fast Hands, the level 3 Thief feature, lets you
ers and combo detonators. The rogue is a combo pick someone’s pocket (bonus action) and Dash
detonator, thanks to Sneak Attack. And it’s not (action) away in the same turn, or even swipe
just the various debilitating conditions that can someone else’s weapon (bonus action) and Attack
give the rogue advantage on an attack roll: a rogue (action) him or her with it. You can also Use an
can prime his or her own combos by attacking Object with your bonus action, meaning you don’t
from hiding. have to spend an action to quaff a potion or acti-
In order to Hide (action), you have to be out of vate a device.
sight of anyone and anything you’re hiding from, Assassinate, the level 3 Assassin feature, gives
and you have to be quiet. Hiding requires a Dex- you advantage—and therefore a Sneak Attack—
terity (Stealth) check, which determines the diffi- against any enemy that hasn’t taken a combat
culty class (i.e., target number) for any attempt to turn yet, and automatic critical damage on a hit
spot you, either by actively looking with a Wisdom against one who’s surprised. (If you’re choosing
(Perception) check or just happening to notice you this archetype, get the Alert feat posthaste for the
with passive Perception. In patchy fog, moderate +5 bonus to initiative.) Also, since you’ll also have
foliage or (if your enemy doesn’t have darkvision) proficiency with the poisoner’s kit, know your poi-
dim light, any check to notice you has disadvan- sons (Dungeon Master’s Guide, pages 257–58): most
tage, and any passive Perception contest is made of them merely do direct damage and/or impose
at −5. If your target hasn’t noticed you yet when the poisoned condition, but carrion crawler mu-
you Attack, you get advantage on the roll—and cus paralyzes its target; malice blinds; and drow
can therefore apply your Sneak Attack damage. poison, essence of ether and oil of taggit knock
But you can also Sneak Attack an enemy that their victims unconscious. All are very expen-
knows you’re there, simply by flanking that enemy sive—carrion crawler mucus, at 200 gp, gives you
while it’s engaged in melee with one of your al- the best bang for the buck—so save them for a
lies. In other words, a front-line fighter is a combo special occasion.
primer for you simply by doing his or her job.
At level 1, you need to be careful whom you tan-
gle with, possibly not even entering a fight until SORCERER: MAXIMUM MAYHEM
you’re sure your attack will finish it. But at level
2, you gain Cunning Action, the feature that fully In so many respects, the sorcerer and the wizard
empowers you to fight as a shock attacker or skir- are cut from the same cloth. The key difference be-
misher. A shock attacker can Dash (bonus action)/ tween them: Wizards study; sorcerers improvise.
move/Attack (action) to strike out of nowhere, This allows sorcerers to customize their spells. If
while a skirmisher can move/Attack (action)/Dash you’re a Wild Magic sorcerer, it also causes may-
(bonus action) to take down an enemy and sub- hem. This is not a bug. It’s a feature.

29
 Your choice of sorcerous origin is the single big- tack from an enemy so that you can cast shield and
gest standing decision you’ll make, because the set off your surge outside your own turn! (This
Draconic Bloodline and Wild Magic styles are com- assumes that you have the spell slot to burn, of
pletely different. course, but Font of Magic can give you that.) After
Draconic Bloodline is far duller than the name your surge, retreat to the backline and take up the
might imply. It makes you tougher, and it gives you spellslinger role again, until the next time you use
a boost to damage of a particular elemental type, Tides of Chaos. This crazy maneuvering is easier
as well as a measure of resistance to that dam- with expeditious retreat going.
age type. Also, at level 14, you can fly, and at level Sorcery points, granted by the level 2 Font of
18, you can frighten enemies. None of this (except Magic feature, let you either gain additional spell
for whether to spend sorcery points on that dam- slots or (starting at level 3, with the Metamagic fea-
age resistance) requires any situational decision- ture) customize your spells. The biggest mistake
making. Which is fine, if you want to avoid having you can make at this point is to choose Metamagic
to make a lot of tactical decisions. options that don’t harmonize with your spell rep-
But it’s nothing compared to the tactical havoc ertoire. Conversely, as you pick up new spells in
of the Wild Magic origin, in which you start off at the future, you’ll want to make sure they harmo-
level 1 with the Tides of Chaos feature: advantage nize with your chosen Metamagic options.
on one attack roll, ability check or saving throw, Here’s what each Metamagic option is for:
whenever you want it. The cost? A Wild Magic Careful Spell. Normally, when you cast an area-­
Surge the next time you cast a leveled spell— effect spell, you have to take care that none of
which resets Tides of Chaos, so that you can use it your allies is in the area of effect. This lets you
again without taking a long rest first. cast such a spell with allies inside the area of ef-
Maybe you’re hesitating to use Tides of Chaos fect. Note that automatic saving throw successes
because you’re afraid of what your Wild Magic don’t usually negate damage, only halve it, so
Surge might cause to happen. If so, you should be even a Careful fireball spell may displease your
playing a wizard. Only three outcomes on the Wild allies. This option works much better with spells
Magic Surge table are really bad for you (and as a that have effects other than direct damage—in
DM, I’ve seen a player roll one of those outcomes— particular, those that require Wisdom saves. Al-
turning into a potted plant for a turn—and have it ternatively, you can use it with a damaging spell
actually save him). Nearly half of them are helpful, to kill a bunch of enemies but leave one alive for
about one in seven spectacularly so. And at level questioning.
14, you get to roll twice and choose the effect you Distant Spell. Mainly useful for ranged spell at-
want; at that point, there’s no longer any excuse tacks, but also works with area-effect spells that
to be timid. you’d like to cast from a very safe distance. Note,
Tides of Chaos is a combo primer that you can though, that range is not the same thing as area of
detonate instantaneously and that produces ad- effect: this option lets you double the distance of
ditional effects without your having to spend an the point the spell is centered on, not double the
action or bonus action on them. It’s a profound area of effect. It does nothing for spells that affect
(albeit unpredictable) enhancement to your action a conic area, since these are always centered on
economy. It’s also an incentive to choose spells you.
that require you to make spell attack rolls, rather Empowered Spell. Works with any damaging
than require your enemies to make saving throws, spell—and can be layered on top of another Meta­
because you can use Tides of Chaos only on your magic option, which no other option can. But it’s
own rolls, not on theirs. And while sorcerers are especially good with area-effect spells, because
allowed fewer leveled spells than wizards, they the cost doesn’t increase with the number of
can learn more cantrips—and the damaging ones targets.
are all spell attacks. Extended Spell. OK with concentration spells, if
As a general rule, sorcerers are spellslingers, you don’t mind concentrating for all that time, but
whether they choose Dexterity or Constitution better with spells that last 1 minute or longer and
as their primary defensive ability; their d6 hit die don’t require concentration.
more or less mandates that. But after using Tides Heightened Spell. Useful only with spells that
of Chaos, you need to be ready to charge up to require saving throws to resist their effects—and
the front the next time you cast a leveled spell, best with spells that permit only one saving throw.
because if a Wild Magic Surge goes off, you want These are usually ones with instantaneous ef-
it to go off near as many enemies as possible. In fects. It has a high point cost and affects only one
other words, between using Tides of Chaos and target, so use this option to take down bosses.
casting a leveled spell, you temporarily become a Quickened Spell. Obviously, not useful with any
supporter. You may even want to bait out an at- spell that already takes only a bonus action to

30
cast. Also, you can’t use this option to cast a lev- sooner than half-casters do, on the same schedule
eled spell as a bonus action, then another one as as full casters. Third, they cast every spell at the
an action. But you can use it to cast a spell and highest level available to them. A level 9 wizard
either Attack, Dash, Dodge, Disengage, Hide or Use has one 5th-level spell slot, three 4th-level slots,
an Object in the same turn. You can also use it to three 3rd-level slots, three 2nd-level slots and four
cast a cantrip in addition to your Quickened lev- 1st-level slots, and has to make these 14 slots last
eled spell. It’s a big enhancement to your action all day. A level 9 warlock has only two spell slots,
economy, and it functions with most of the spells but they’re both 5th-level, and the warlock gets
you’ll want to cast. them back at lunchtime and dinnertime.
Subtle Spell. Lets you cast a spell from hiding. To put it another way: In a day comprising six
Also lets you cast a spell while restrained or under combat encounters, a warlock can cast a 5th-level
the effect of a silence spell. There is no spell that spell in each encounter, while across all of them, a
doesn’t require either a verbal or a somatic com- wizard can cast a whole bunch of lower-level spells
ponent, so this works with everything. but just one 5th-level spell—most likely saved for
Twinned Spell. Works with any ranged spell the day’s most challenging encounter. This gives
that affects only one target. Especially handy for warlocks an incentive to build strategies around
spellslingers. Practically unfair when applied to the use of one hard-hitting spell every encounter
hold person or haste. or two, plus cantrips, patron powers and eldritch
Use these guidelines to make some standing invocations that in many cases duplicate the effect
decisions about which Metamagic options you’ll of spells without costing any spell slots to cast.
use with which spells, under what circumstances. And finally, their spells don’t top out at 5th
Then, as you go through your adventuring day, level—only their spell slots top out at 5th level. At
you’ll develop a sense for whether you’re likely to level 11, they gain the Mystic Arcanum feature,
use Metamagic or not. If not—specifically, if you which lets them gain 6th- through 9th-level spells
think you’re going to need to cast more spells on the regular full-caster schedule. The catch is
more than you’re going to need to cast custom- that they can cast these spells only once per long
ized spells—then you may as well use those sor- rest, and they don’t get boosted as warlocks ad-
cery points you’re not spending on Metamagic to vance further in level.
give yourself another spell slot or two. In fact, at As a warlock, you start with two cantrips. One
level 2, this is the only thing you can use sorcery of these had better be eldritch blast. If not, you’re
points for, so don’t even think about it: get up in crippling yourself for no good reason. It’s a can-
the morning, eat breakfast, convert your 2 sorcery trip, it deals more damage than any weapon you’re
points into a fourth 1st-level spell slot. proficient with, it’s ranged damage, and whatever
Once you reach level 6, you may want to keep your preferred combat role, there’s an eldritch in-
a couple of sorcery points in reserve in case you vocation that can make this spell better for you:
need the Wild Magic feature Bend Luck to save an Agonizing Blast lets you add your Charisma mod-
ally or take down an especially formidable foe. ifier to its damage; Eldritch Spear lets you strike a
This is expensive for what you get, though, so use target up to 300 feet away, as opposed to just 120
it only in crucial situations. And if you’re on your feet (although either range is overkill for most in-
fifth or sixth encounter of the day, and you really door and underground encounters); and Repelling
want to spend your points on Metamagic or a spell Blast adds up to 10 feet of knockback. There’s no
slot, go ahead and do it. warlock class feature that enhances chill touch or
poison spray this way.
Three other eldritch invocations to take a close
WARLOCK: MAKE EVERY SPELL COUNT look at are Armor of Shadows, Devil’s Sight and
Fiendish Vigor. Armor of Shadows is simply a
Warlocks aren’t like wizards and sorcerers. They nice gimme. Devil’s Sight grants a form of su-
know fewer spells than wizards, know fewer per-darkvision that has double range, lets you see
cantrips than either and have a rather astonish- in darkness as if you were bright light and pen-
ing scarcity of spell slots. At first glance, they etrates even the magical darkness of a darkness
seem not to be true spellcasters but rather “half- spell, which thwarts ordinary darkvision. This
casters,” whose spells top out at 5th level. means you can combine this with a darkness spell
But this is deceiving. First, sorcerers have to and run amok among your enemies while they’re
take a long rest to replenish their spell slots, and all blinded. (Your fellow party members may not
wizards can replenish only a small fraction of appreciate this, so be judicious about when and
theirs with a short rest, but warlocks can replen- where you cast it.) And Fiendish Vigor gives you,
ish all their expended slots with just a short rest. effectively, an extra hit die for one hour at no
Second, they get their 2nd- and higher-level spells expense. Warlocks fighting as shock attackers

31
should snap this up, but it’s not bad for spellsling- WIZARD: SPECIALTY SPELLCASTING
ers, either. At lower levels, the 5 to 8 temporary hp
it gives you are significantly better than the ex- Players who choose to play wizards are usually
tra three points of armor class Armor of Shadows keenly aware of what fragile flowers they are. By
gives you; later on, as you start fighting enemies default, wizards are spellslingers, practicing their
that do more damage, you’ll be more interested in craft a generous distance from danger. If they’re
avoiding blows than in absorbing them. smart, they also do so from behind cover—physi-
Warlocks have access to two unique action cal cover, visual cover or “meat cover” (i.e., hiding
economy–enhancing spells: hellish rebuke and hex. behind an ally for the +2 half-cover bonus to ar-
Hellish rebuke is a reaction to taking damage, which mor class).
lets you instantly deal one or two dice of fire dam- But that doesn’t mean that wizard combat has
age right back. Hex is a bonus action that boosts to be static, nor does it mean that there aren’t tac-
the damage of each subsequent attack for as long tical decisions to make. Every Arcane Tradition
as you sustain it; since eldritch blast is a cantrip, emphasizes a different kind of magic, and conse-
you can cast hex and eldritch blast in the same turn quently, each will add a slightly different flavor to
and benefit immediately. a wizard’s spellslinging.
When you reach level 3, the pact boon you Abjurers have the Arcane Ward feature, which
choose will commit you to either the spellslinger increases their durability and makes it feasible for
or the shock attacker fighting style. Choose Pact of them to position themselves closer to the center
the Blade if you want to play as a shock attacker; of the action, as supporters. Their Projected Ward
either of the other two pact boons works for a feature, gained at level 6, gives an abjurer a posi-
spellslinger. tive incentive to play the supporter role, since he
The pact blade weapon is always a melee or she has to be within 30 feet of an ally to extend
weapon, so if your primary offensive ability is the benefit of Arcane Ward to that ally. And Spell
Dexterity, as it most likely is, choose a finesse Resistance, gained at level 14, gives advantage on
weapon—it doesn’t have to be a weapon you’re all saving throws against spells, so it’s not such a
proficient in already. Blade pact warlocks will ab- disaster if they get caught alongside their allies in
solutely want to learn hellish rebuke and hex, as well an area-effect spell.
as armor of Agathys, because all these spells give Abjurers also have an incentive to cast abjura-
you an incentive to take damage. It sounds crazy, but tion spells often, since these create and replenish
you want opponents to engage you in melee with the ward. Since shield is an abjuration spell, it’s
this pact boon. Get in their faces and bait out their not so bad if an abjurer takes a hit: if the incom-
attacks for free damage outside your turn. Choos- ing blow is blocked by the shield spell, the Arcane
ing the Fiend as your patron gives you access at Ward is beefed up by 2 hp (up to its maximum),
level 7 to the spell fire shield, which snaps neatly and if not, the ward is beefed up anyway, and the
into this strategy. Choosing the Archfey gives you damage still goes into the ward first.
access at level 6 to Misty Escape, which effectively Conjurers’ Minor Conjuration feature seems
lets you cast a double-range misty step as a reac- pointless . . . until you use it to conjure a hat. Which
tion to taking damage, without costing a spell slot. you put on your head. Where it radiates dim light
Combined with armor of Agathys or fire shield, this out to 5 feet. If you’re attacked in the dark, at least
allows you to vanish in a puff of ouch. As a bonus, you’ll be able to see your opponent. Better than be-
since it turns you invisible, it’s a combo primer for ing blinded. Benign Transportation, gained at level
your next attack. The Great Old One’s level 6 Entro- 6, is a handy escape feature for when an enemy
pic Ward feature is also a combo primer, though gets too close to your position. Unfortunately, it
not a very reliable one. takes an action, so you can’t combine casting this
The Pact of the Chain lets you conjure an imp, spell with a Hide action, and you have to be able
pseudodragon, quasit or sprite as a familiar. This to see your destination space, so you can’t use it
won’t win you any friends at the local tavern, but to teleport into cover (unless you teleport to, say,
if you grant your Attack action to your familiar, the space just above and behind a wall, then let
a pseudodragon or sprite can poison its target or gravity do the rest). But if your relations with the
cause it to fall unconscious, while a quasit can rest of your party are good, you can agree in ad-
poison or frighten its target. Either way, the target vance with a skirmisher ally that the two of you
has disadvantage when attacking or trying to use will swap places if you find yourself in a jam.
a skill. (An imp’s attacks don’t impose any of these Diviners’ Portent is a terrific feature that can
conditions, but they’ll do at least as much damage turn the tide of a battle—and the beautiful thing
as yours will.) is, since you make your rolls when you finish a
long rest, you’ll know in advance for the rest of
the day whether the kind of tide-turning you’ll be

32
doing will be good for you and your allies, bad for or as a way of covering your escape. You can trap
your opponents or a little of both. Expert Divina- an ogre in a giant birdcage. You can make an an-
tion, gained at level 6, extends your spellcasting vil appear over the deck of a boat (it can’t smash
juice: its net effect is to turn a spell slot into a slot through the hull, but it can capsize it). You can cre-
one level lower, rather than expend it entirely, ate a door and go through it. (Just make sure there’s
anytime you cast a divination spell, making spells someplace to go on the other side of it.) The bonus
from this school near-freebies by comparison with action has to be taken after the action in which
other spells. the illusion spell is cast.
Enchanters’ Hypnotic Gaze feature can impose Necromancers’ school features don’t lend them-
incapacitation, which is huge, but it works only at selves to tactical exploitation, but the Grim Har-
melee range, where the enchanter doesn’t want to vest feature gives you an incentive, when casting
be. And it’s not quite reliable enough to count on damaging spells, to target enemies that are al-
as a way of stopping an enemy who’s outflanked ready badly wounded, so that you’re the one fin-
your party and reached your position, although ishing them off. Your allies’ kills don’t help you.
it’s worth a try if you have a very good spell save The Transmuter’s Stone feature, gained by
DC (say, 15 or better) and you have no reason to transmuters at level 6, offers a variety of handy
think your opponent possesses exceptional Wis- options. Choose darkvision if you’ll be sneak-
dom. Instinctive Charm, gained at level 6, is use- ing around underground or stalking an enemy at
ful for self-defense in tight quarters, but in other night, the speed increase when you’re adventur-
circumstances, you’re going to have to be mind- ing in the great outdoors, elemental resistance
ful of your positioning, since for you to use this when you’re anticipating exposure to a particular
feature, your assailant has to be within 30 feet of type of elemental damage, and Constitution sav-
you (therefore more likely a melee attacker than a ing throw proficiency the rest of the time, because
ranged attacker) and you have to be close enough that’s never bad.
to an ally to divert the attack. Also, if you don’t Beyond the features of your Arcane Tradition,
want to be a jerk, you shouldn’t be diverting at- memorize this list of spells: expeditious retreat,
tacks to allies who are as squishy as you are, but feather fall, shield, magic weapon, misty step, counter-
rather to front-line fighters or skirmishers who spell. Almost all wizard spells require a full action
can take the hits. That means you’ll need to main- to cast; these are the blessed few that enhance
tain situational awareness and rush to the side of your action economy because they’re cast as bo-
a tougher ally anytime there’s a chance that an nus actions or reactions. Of these, only expeditious
enemy may blitz you. retreat and magic weapon require concentration.
Evokers’ Sculpt Spells feature is what sorcerers’ The more wide-open the battlefield, the more
Careful Spell Metamagic option almost is, but not valuable expeditious retreat is, keeping you far from
quite: It lets allies within the area of effect of a danger while positioning yourself wherever you
damaging spell you cast completely avoid taking need to be to get the most out of your other spells.
damage themselves. Go ahead, cast that fireball at (Despite the word “retreat” in the name, you can
ground zero—as long as you don’t have to protect use it to charge forward or move laterally if you
more than four people, including yourself. And want. It simply grants you the ability to Dash as
with Potent Cantrip, gained at level 6, acid splash a bonus action, so that you can use your action
and poison spray aren’t crapshoots anymore, so the to Cast a Spell, Attack, Dodge, Hide, Dash some
latter becomes more of a legitimate self-defense more, use a class feature, or whatever else you’d
measure, while the former offers cheap damage like to do.) Use magic weapon when you’re forced
you can lob from long range when your front line into melee against your will: cast it as a bonus ac-
is being mobbed by minions. tion, then Attack. Shield is your interrupt defense
Illusionists’ Improved Minor Illusion feature, against incoming attacks, including magic missile
used creatively, can create a diversion before darts; counterspell is your interrupt defense against
combat ensues, absorbing your enemies’ atten- enemy spellcasters.
tion and giving your party a chance to attack with Finally, as you’re choosing spells, keep an eye out
surprise. Illusory Self, gained at level 10, is a deus for ones that act as combo primers or detonators,
ex machina ability to bust out when it’s extra-​ that enhance an ally’s action economy or that in-
important that you not take a hit—but be aware terfere with an enemy’s. The most valuable primer
that it protects you only from attack rolls, not from spells are those that impose the blinded, incapac-
attacks that you have to make a saving throw to itated, paralyzed, prone, restrained or stunned
avoid or resist. Illusory Reality, gained at level 14, condition on their targets: these are the ones that
is a bonus action, and wizards don’t have access give you and your allies advantage on your attacks
to many of those, so you should never stop think- against them. Good detonator spells are those that
ing of creative ways to apply it, either in combat target the weaknesses created by those debilitat-

33
ing conditions: these include damaging spells that for Cunning Action or monk for Martial Arts. Look-
require Dexterity saving throws (e.g., fireball and ing at 1st-level spells (if you’re multiclassing, you
lightning bolt), along with ranged spell attacks (e.g., want to earn the boost to your action economy
chromatic orb and scorching ray). Haste supercharges as soon as you can), you might choose paladin or
an ally’s action economy, while slow sabotages the ranger for their damage-­enhancing bonus action
action economy of up to half a dozen opponents. spells; sorcerer or wizard for expeditious retreat and
When you choose spells that require concentra- shield; or bard, cleric or druid for healing word.
tion to maintain, make sure you pair them with Beyond that, multiclassing is largely a matter of
spells that don’t—if too many of the spells in your discovering new tactical combos—as always, pay-
repertoire are concentration-required, you’ll find ing special attention to features that give you ad-
yourself tied in knots, casting the fire bolt cantrip vantage on attack rolls directly or that impose the
again and again because it’s the only other thing blinded, paralyzed, prone, restrained or stunned
you can do while sustaining confusion. condition on an enemy.

WHAT ABOUT MULTICLASSING?

Choosing to multiclass takes away some of your

access to raw power in the form of advanced class
features in exchange for the flexibility of having a
new set of class features to draw on. Multiclass-
ing isn’t going to change your ideal combat role—
that’s determined by your ability scores, not by
your choice of class. You’ll simply be supplement-
ing your existing features with additional ones,
creating new tactical combo possibilities.
Of course, this assumes that your second choice
of class is one that fits your combat role as well
as your first one did. If you’re a front-line fighter,
multiclassing in ranger isn’t going to make you
any more effective, because rangers rarely fight
on the front line; if you’re a skirmisher fighter,
however, multiclassing in ranger offers excellent
synergy, especially if your Fighting Style is Ar-
chery. Similarly, rogue/cleric produces an awk-
ward clash of styles (except in the single, specific
case of the rogue’s being an Arcane Trickster who
worships a deity in the Trickery Domain—a strong
spellslinger combination), but rogue/monk can
produce a devastating shock attacker. A paladin
can easily multi­class in bard (College of Valor, of
course) but for most bards, trying to multiclass
in paladin (instead of, say, some full-caster class)
would be bonkers. To make it work in that direc-
tion, you’d have to have high Strength, Constitu-
tion, Wisdom and Charisma from using the YOLO
method of generating ability scores.
Your ability scores constrain your ability to
multi­class, so the system already protects you
somewhat against producing horribly unworkable
combinations. But what you really want isn’t just a
class combination that kinda-sorta works, but one
that multiplies your effectiveness.
One of the surest ways to do this is to pick a sec-
ond class with an early-level feature that not only
matches your combat role but also enhances your
action economy. You can gain this benefit directly
by multiclassing in fighter for Action Surge, rogue

34
 Part 4
Tactics in Practice

In each of the following scenarios, an adven- spect to their composition. Sometimes a front-line
turing party takes on an enemy that would be fighter will be confronted with a battle that has no
rated Hard according to the “Creating a Com- real front line, or a spellslinger will have no suit-
bat Encounter” section of the Dungeon Master’s able spell for the occasion. These things happen.
Guide (page 81–84) and an appropriate multiple- Even so, by following the general principles appro-
monster challenge according to the Un­ priate to one’s combat role, a character can still
earthed Arcana “Encounter Building” guidelines have a positive effect on the battle’s outcome.
(m e d i a .w i z a r d s ​.c o m /2 016 /d n d /d o w n l o a d s There’s a lot of action in these scenarios, so
/Encounter_Building​ .pdf). These are not “min- you may find it helpful to print these pages out so
maxed” characters—that is, characters optimized that you can have the maps handy to refer to (and
at the time of creation to squeeze out every pos- scribble on) as you read the play-by-plays.
sible advantage. Many are characters that “real Characters’ stat blocks omit some class features
roleplayers” might create. One high-concept char- not directly relevant to combat. Descriptions of
acter, Micklehast the Wrathful—a half­ling barbar- features in stat blocks are paraphrased for brevity
ian—is downright loony. Yet with good tactics, and should not be taken as complete or official.
their effectiveness can still be optimized. When in doubt, consult a real rulebook.
Also, the encounters are tailored to the parties All die rolls are authentically random . . . and all
only with respect to their difficulty, not with re- that that implies.

35
A LEVEL 1 PARTY

Áine Filiméala Fey Ancestry. Advantage on saving throws vs. being

charmed; immune to magical sleep.
High elf wizard, level 1
Spellcasting. Level 1 spellcaster (Int, spell save DC 13,
Armor Class 13 (unarmored, 16 with mage armor)
spell attacks +5). Has the following spells prepared:
Hit Points 6
Speed 30 ft • Cantrips: light, message, minor illusion, ray of frost
Str 8 (−1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 10 (0), Int 16 (+3), Wis 12 (+1), • 1st level (2 slots): charm person, mage armor, magic
Cha 13 (+1) missile, sleep
Saving Throws Int +5, Wis +3
Skills Arcana +5, History +5, Insight +3, Perception +3 ACTIONS
Senses darkvision (60 ft), passive Perception 13 Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach
5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d4 + 3 piercing.

Daria Hrast Sharpshooter. No disadvantage at long weapon range;

Human ranger, level 1
ignore one-half/three-fourths cover; may attack at −5 to
Armor Class 13 (leather) hit for +10 damage.
Hit Points 12
Speed 30 ft ACTIONS
Str 10 (0), Dex 14 (+2), Con 14 (+2), Int 12 (+1), Wis 16 (+3),
Cha 13 (−1) Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range
Saving Throws Str +2, Dex +4 150/600 ft, one target. Hit: 1d8 + 2 piercing.
Skills Athletics +2, Nature +3, Perception +5, Stealth +4, Hand Ax. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit,
Survival +5 reach 5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d6 slashing.
Senses passive Perception 15

George Sneak Attack (1/turn). +1d6 damage when attacking

Human rogue, level 1
with advantage, or with non-incapacitated ally within 5
Armor Class 14 (leather) ft of target when not attacking with disadvantage.
Hit Points 8
Speed 30 ft ACTIONS
Str 9 (−1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 11 (0), Int 14 (+2), Wis 13 (+1),
Cha 15 (+2) Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft,
Saving Throws Dex +5, Int +4 one target. Hit: 1d6 + 3 piercing.
Skills Animal Handling +3, Deception +4, Insight +3, Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach
Investigation +4, Perception +5, Persuasion +6 5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d4 + 3 piercing.
Senses passive Perception 15

Lennie Skills Animal Handling +2, Athletics +6, Intimidation +2

Senses darkvision (60 ft), passive Perception 10
Half-orc fighter, level 1
Armor Class 17 (chain mail) Second Wind (1/rest). Regains 1d10 + 1 hp.
Hit Points 13
Speed 30 ft ACTIONS
Str 19 (+4), Dex 8 (−1), Con 17 (+3), Int 7 (−2), Wis 10 (0),
Cha 11 (0) Stick. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft, one
Saving Throws Str +6, Con +5 target. Hit: 1d8 + 4 bludgeoning.

36
 Tolmac Yew Senses passive Perception 14
Lightfoot halfling druid, level 1
Spellcasting. Level 1 spellcaster (Wis, spell save DC 12,
Armor Class 15 (leather, shield) spell attacks +4). Has the following spells prepared:
Hit Points 10
• Cantrips: guidance, shillelagh
Speed 25 ft
• 1st level (2 slots): cure wounds, entangle, healing word
Str 8 (−1), Dex 14 (+2), Con 14 (+2), Int 13 (+1), Wis 15 (+2),
Cha 11 (0) ACTIONS
Saving Throws Int +3, Wis +4
Skills Medicine +4, Nature +4, Perception +4, Religion Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 5 ft, one
+3 target. Hit: 1d6 − 1 bludgeoning (+4 to hit, 1d8 + 2 with
shillelagh).

These novice adventurers are walking on a trail (+2 AC). Goblin 2 also shoots at Lennie, rolling a 16;
through a dense forest in single file, with Daria, his chain mail protects him from both shots. Gob-
the ranger, in front, followed by Lennie, George, lins 3 and 4 both have clear shots at Daria. Goblin
Tolmac and Áine. (Based on combat roles, Lennie 3 hits with a 17, for 3 points of damage, and gob-
should be in front, but Daria’s Perception is much lin 4 misses; Daria is now at 9 hp. Goblin 5 shoots
better than his, and they’re not confined by walls at George and rolls 23, nailing him for 8 points of
on either side, so there’s room to be flexible.) damage. George is already down!
About 50 feet ahead of them, they see an indis- Unfortunately for our heroes, these goblins
tinct lump lying in the middle of the trail, which weren’t born yesterday: after attacking, they all
could be the body of a person or animal. This has immediately move to new positions and try to
been left there by a group of five goblins, which Hide again, which they can do as a bonus action
are waiting to ambush passers-by. They’re hiding because of their Nimble Escape feature. Their
among the trees around the trail. They’ve rolled Stealth rolls are 24, 11, 14, 9 and 14. Goblin 5 acci-
a 20 (modified) on their Stealth check, so they’re dentally stumbles out into plain view of Áine and
well hidden. None of the adventurers has a pas- Tolmac and has to backtrack, so now they know
sive Perception high enough to notice them. exactly where it is.
“Wait here,” Daria says to Tolmac and Áine.
“George will check it out”—he has the best Inves-
tigation skill—“and Lennie and I’ll go with him.” ROUND 2
Daria has the best Perception of the bunch, along
with George, so she’ll watch for danger; Lennie Daria’s a marksman, so her immediate thought is
doesn’t have great Perception, but he’s tough and to find a place of cover. Unfortunately, she’s in an
well-armored. Thus, the three of them are stand- exposed area and surrounded; her normal move
ing around the mystery lump (which turns out won’t be enough to get her someplace she can
to be a dead donkey, wearing empty saddlebags) Hide. She saw where goblins 2, 3, 4 and 5 relocated
when the goblins launch their attack (figure 1). to, so she takes the Dash action and runs 55 feet to
the southeast, then drops prone to make herself a
Initiative order: Daria (20), Áine (17), Tolmac (16), smaller target.
George and Lennie (9), goblins (7) Áine, a spellslinger, witnesses the ambush and
also sees goblin 5 dart out of the trees, then back.
From where she is, it’s got only half cover, if she
ROUND 1 wants to hit it with a ray of frost cantrip. But get-
ting to cover herself is more important, so she
Daria was keeping an eye out for danger, but her does that first. Once she’s behind a tree, she casts
Perception roll of 9 wasn’t good enough to spot the ray of frost. Her ranged spell attack roll is 17—a
goblins. Thus, they get a surprise round. However, hit, despite the cover. The cantrip does 4 points
since they’ve all been watching the area around of damage. Goblin 5 is seriously frostbitten, not to
the dead donkey, they haven’t spotted Tolmac mention slowed.
or Áine yet, and they aim all their shots at the Tolmac sees George struck by an arrow and casts
other three. Because they’re hidden, they roll with healing word on him as a bonus action. George gets
advantage. 6 hp back (nice roll, Tolmac!). As a halfling, Tol-
Goblin 1 could shoot at any of the three, but it mac has only 25 feet of movement, and the area
chooses Lennie, who’s closest. It rolls a 17, which northwest of him is wide open. Even though he
isn’t good enough, because Lennie has half cover saw Áine’s ray of frost and the effect it had, neither

37
 4

Figure 1

38
exposing himself to goblin 5 nor moving closer to ment), draws her bow and shoots; unfortunately,
it is a sensible option for a spellslinger/supporter she rolls only a 9, missing the shot.
with no fighter nearby to help out; he also he gave Áine didn’t see goblin 1 cross the trail, and all
away his position by shouting “Wella!” at George, her companions except Tolmac are out of view.
so Hiding isn’t an option. He retreats southwest, She at least needs to get close enough to the battle
toward Áine’s position, and uses his action to to use her longest-range spell, magic missile, which
Dodge. has a range of 120 feet. She uses her movement
George is a shock attacker, so simply lying prone to get closer and her action to Search for targets,
won’t do. He decides to try to double-team one of and she rolls a 14 on her Perception check. That’s
the goblins with Lennie. Since he and Lennie share enough for her to spot goblin 2, up the trail, and it’s
an initiative roll, the players agree that Lennie will within range. She’ll be able to target it on her next
take his turn first (Player’s Handbook, page 189). turn. “Up there!” she hisses to Tolmac, pointing.
Unfortunately, Lennie has lost track of all the Tolmac also needs to get closer to the action and
goblins except goblin 4, which is too far away for uses his own movement to advance to the next
him to attack. Lennie starts heading in that gob- place of cover. Following Áine’s cue, he looks up
lin’s direction anyway, Dashing to get to it. Even the trail, but his line of sight to goblin 2 is blocked,
though Lennie won’t be able to attack this turn, and goblin 1 is too well hidden for him to notice
if he can get next to the goblin (he thinks), he can it passively. When he uses his action to Search,
make an opportunity attack if it tries to get away.* however, he rolls a 15 and spots goblin 1 between
George groans and lurches to his feet, using half two trees. He then uses his bonus action to cast a
his movement to stand up. He has only 15 feet of shillelagh cantrip on his staff.
movement left if he doesn’t Dash. Lennie knows “Hey! Come back here!” shouts Lennie. He can’t
where all the goblins except goblin 1 are. Fifteen see any of the goblins now, so he uses his action to
feet of movement will get him to a location where Search for them. His Perception roll of 9 isn’t good
he’s either out of view of goblins 2 and 5 but ex- enough. He has a choice: run across open terrain
posed to goblins 3 and 4 or out of view of goblins 3 in the direction he saw goblin 4 go or stay put. He
and 5 but exposed to goblins 2 and 4. It seems that can already tell that goblins are faster than he is,
George must Dash, so he uses the extra movement so he decides to stay put.
to get out of the middle of the action and hopefully George, however, can see goblins 1, 2 and 3, and
outflank goblin 4 (figure 2). He presses himself up goblin 1 is just near enough for him to close and
against a tree and hopes for the best. engage with. To get there, however, he’d have to
Goblin 1 has a shot at Tolmac, but it still doesn’t run straight at it, so a Sneak Attack isn’t an option.
know he’s there! It knows where Lennie’s gone, He decides to stay put for now and Hide where
though, and stalks him. Its Stealth roll of 15 is he is. He rolls a 14 on his Stealth check. It’s good
enough for Lennie not to notice its approach. Gob- enough: goblin 1 doesn’t see him (figure 3).
lins 2 and 3 do the same, rolling 14 and 12 on their Right now, all the goblins have their eyes on
Stealth checks, but use their actions to Hide, since Lennie, while he can’t see any of them. He has half
they don’t have to go as far. Goblin 4 Disengages cover against goblins 1, 2 and 3, but to goblin 4,
as a bonus action, nimbly slipping out of Lennie’s he’s fully exposed. They all shoot at him, attack-
reach, and runs behind a tree; once it’s out of his ing with advantage. Goblin 1 rolls an 11: the shot
sight, it makes a Stealth check, rolls a 19, and man- strikes the tree Lennie is hiding behind. Goblin
ages to get behind a different tree, then Hide. Len- 2 rolls an 18, failing to penetrate Lennie’s chain
nie, who rolls a 2 on his Perception check, loses mail. Goblin 3 rolls a 22, which is a hit; it does 8
track of it. Goblin 5, seriously wounded, flees. points of damage. Goblin 4, incredibly, rolls an 8
and misses completely. As before, all the goblins
scamper to new positions after attacking and try
ROUND 3 to Hide again. They roll 12, 22, 19 and 18 on their
Stealth checks.
Lennie may not notice goblins 1, 2 and 3 sneaking
up on him, but Daria notices. She has no clear shot
at goblin 1 or 3, but goblin 2 has only three-fourths ROUND 4
cover—and her Sharpshooter feat allows her to
ignore that. She stands up (using half her move- Goblin 1 didn’t hide very well—Daria can see ex-
actly where it is. From where she’s standing, it’s
got only half cover, which she can ignore. She rolls
*  Lennie doesn’t know that Nimble Escape also lets the a 17 and plugs it for 6 points of damage.
goblin Disengage as a bonus action. In the absence of Áine saw the goblin run across the trail, but the
this knowledge, however, his decision makes sense. trees block her view of where it went, so magic

39
 3

Figure 2

40
 3 4

Figure 3

41
missile will have to wait. She moves up 25 feet for her, so she moves her full speed in that direction
a better view, but it’s not enough. She Searches and takes cover behind another tree. From there,
again, rolling a 19 on her Perception check, but with her passive Perception of 13, she can see gob-
from her position, all she can see is that there’s no lin 3, 70 feet away, and goblin 4, 60 feet away—
goblin within her line of sight. both within range of magic missile! Finally! (They’re
Tolmac, however, can see goblin 1 from his new also close enough for her to catch both in a sin-
position after moving up 25 feet as well. He can gle sleep spell, but she doesn’t have line of sight
also see that it’s seriously wounded, so it’s proba- to where that spell would have to be centered.)
bly not worth spending a spell slot to finish it off. She aims two darts at goblin 3 and one at goblin 4.
He uses his action to Dash back across the trail, They hit for 5, 2 and 4 points of damage. Goblin 3 is
where it sounds like there’s more going on. felled; goblin 4 is moderately wounded and greatly
“Ow! That hurt!” Lennie cries. He has only 5 hp annoyed.
left, so he uses his Second Wind bonus action and Tolmac breathes a sigh of relief that he didn’t
regains 3 hp, bringing him up to 8 hp. Then he waste his last spell slot on the wounded goblin 1
steps behind a tree, because even Lennie can tell before and casts healing word on Lennie, bringing
he’s not in a good position, and Searches for gob- him back up from 1 to 4 hp. Then he moves for-
lins, rolling a 12 on his Perception check. He’s still ward another 30 feet.
not finding any. Lennie has had about enough standing around
George’s view of goblin 1 is blocked, and the and moves 25 feet toward the one goblin he can
other three goblins are too well hidden. He moves see, flanking a little to his left to head it off in case
25 feet to a spot with better tree cover, but as it tries to run back that way. If it runs the other
he moves, he rolls only a 6 on his Stealth check. way, it will have to go past Daria.
Knowing he’s given himself away, he decides his George knows he’s visible; what he doesn’t
action will be to Dodge (figure 4). know is what can see him or from which direc-
Goblin 1, having only 1 hp left, runs away. Gob- tion. He decides to retreat about 20 feet from the
lins 2 and 4, attacking from hiding, keep shooting trail into a thicker stand of trees and try Hiding a
at Lennie, who has half cover from both; they roll little better this time. He rolls a 13 on his Stealth
23 and 20, both hits, doing 5 and 3 points of dam- check (figure 5).
age. But Lennie is a half-orc with the Relentless That’s enough for him to goblin 2 to lose sight
Endurance feature, so he’s not down, just badly of George, but Tolmac hasn’t tried to be stealthy,
hurt and very angry. Meanwhile, Goblin 3 wants and goblin 2 likes its range to target. The unseen
to shoot at George, but he’s got three-quarters goblin attacks with advantage, rolling a 15 to hit.
cover, so it adjusts its position first, to a spot where Tolmac looks up just in the nick of time and blocks
George has only half cover, before shooting. It rolls the arrow with his targe shield. Goblin 2 runs be-
a 19 on its Stealth check, so George doesn’t see it, hind another tree and Hides, rolling a 21 on its
and it can still attack with advantage. But it rolls a Stealth check. Meanwhile, Lennie has gotten too
13 to hit, just grazing George’s armor. It returns to close for goblin 4’s comfort; it also wants to find
its previous position and Hides again, rolling a 13 that booyahg who did the bad magic thing to it.
on its Stealth check. George knows where it is . . . It Dashes past Daria into a more thickly wooded
and so does Daria. At the same time, goblins 2 and area to the south, then tries to Hide. It rolls a 19 on
4 also reposition and Hide: goblin 2 rolls a 23 on its its Stealth check.
Stealth check, but goblin 4 rolls a measly 8.

ROUND 6
ROUND 5
Daria makes a slight adjustment to her position,
Daria has to choose whether to attack goblin 3 or moving 15 feet west and south, to give her a better
4. Because of her Sharpshooter feat, their cover line of sight not just to the south, where goblin 4
doesn’t matter—but what they can do to her and ran, but also to the west, where she knows goblin
her companions does. Goblin 4 doesn’t have a good 2 must be, even though she can’t see it. She Read-
shot against any of them, but Daria is fully exposed ies an Attack action against any goblin that comes
to goblin 3, which has line of sight on George and into view in either of those directions.
Lennie as well. Goblin 3 it is. Daria moves 15 feet Áine has line of sight on goblin 4’s new position,
to a position with better cover for herself and a but it’s too well hidden for her to see it. She moves
good view of both goblins, then shoots at goblin 3. south 5 feet to a position with slightly better cover
She rolls a 6 and curses. This is not her day. and Readies a ray of frost cantrip.
Áine can’t see goblin 2, but she can hear stuff Tolmac is out of spell slots, but he’s still got shil-
going down in the woods ahead and to the right of lelagh on his staff: time to go hunting. He crosses

42
 2 3

Figure 4

43
 3

Figure 5

44
the trail and takes cover behind a tree 15 feet
to the north. He, too, Readies an Attack action
against any goblin that comes within reach.
Lennie Dashes south, since that’s the direc-
tion goblin 4 ran in, stopping between two trees.
George heads the same direction, moving, then
Hiding. His Stealth roll is a 12 (figure 6).
Tolmac picked a good position: he has total cover
from goblin 2, which therefore has to flank him in
order to get another shot. There’s more cover to
the south than to the north, so it goes south—and
botches its Stealth check, rolling an 8. Daria spots
it through a narrow gap in the trees and takes her
shot. She rolls a 19 and does 4 points of damage
to it. Áine sees it for a split second, but it’s out of
range of her cantrip. Meanwhile, the now-exposed
goblin takes a shot at Tolmac, but it rolls a natu-
ral 1—a wild miss. As for goblin 4, the lumbering
half-orc is too attractive a target for it to pass up.
It shoots, rolling a 6 and missing, then darts west-
ward. Its path brings it into Áine’s line of sight.
She rolls a 20 to hit and does 6 points of frost dam-
age to it. Also, since it had already used 30 of its
40 feet of movement when Áine hit it with her ray
of frost, it can’t go any farther and is frozen out in
the open.

ROUND 7

There are too many trees between Daria and gob-

lin 4, but her 30 feet of movement are enough to
get her to a position where she can see it clearly.
She rolls a 21 to hit and does 10 points of damage,
killing it instantly.
Áine moves 15 feet to the west, where she can
draw a clear bead on goblin 2, and casts ray of frost
one last time. She rolls a 17 to hit and does 6 hp of
damage. The frozen goblin crumples to the ground
(figure 7).

Final result: Three goblins slain, two fled. Áine, Daria

and Tolmac are uninjured. Lennie has 4 of 13 hp remain-
ing; George has 6 of 8 hp remaining. Áine has one 1st-
level spell slot left; Tolmac is out of spell slots.

These goblins in this lengthy combat encounter exploit their

movement speed and Nimble Escape feature to the fullest.
Many DMs won’t have goblins show so much tactical so-
phistication. Still, this scenario illustrates that in a well-
balanced encounter, even at the lowest levels, good player
tactics are a match for good monster tactics. Also, Len-
nie shows his value as a front-line fighter even though he
never lands a hit and even though this is a battle with
no real front line: his aggression and ability to soak up
damage hold the enemy’s attention and give the rest of
the party the chance to position themselves well.

45
 3

Figure 6

46
 3

Figure 7

47
A LEVEL 5 PARTY

Ami Toros Cutting Words. Use reaction to spend Bardic Inspiration

die to subtract from attack or damage roll.
Human bard (College of Lore), level 5
Spellcasting. Level 5 spellcaster (Cha, spell save DC 15,
Armor Class 13 (leather)
spell attacks +7). Has the following spells prepared:
Hit Points 26
Speed 30 ft • Cantrips: light, minor illusion, vicious mockery
Str 8 (−1), Dex 14 (+2), Con 10 (0), Int 14 (+2), Wis 12 (+1), • 1st level (4 slots): charm person, dissonant whispers,
Cha 18 (+4) faerie fire, healing word, heroism
Saving Throws Dex +5, Cha +7 • 2nd level (3 slots): calm emotions, crown of madness
Skills Acrobatics +5, Arcana +5, Insight +7, Performance • 3rd level (2 slots): hypnotic pattern
+10, Persuasion +7, Religion +5
Senses passive Perception 11 ACTIONS
Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft, one
Bardic Inspiration (d8, 4/rest). Use bonus action to give target. Hit: 1d8 + 2 piercing.
ally Bardic Inspiration die to add to ability check, attack
or saving throw in next 10 min. Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach
5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d4 + 2 piercing.

Clifford Toros maximum.

Human cleric (Life Domain), level 5 Destroy Undead. Turned undead of CR 1/2 or lower are
destroyed.
Armor Class 18 (chain mail, shield)
Hit Points 36 Disciple of Life. When casting healing spell, heal
Speed 30 ft additional 2 + spell level hp.
Str 14 (+2), Dex 11 (0), Con 14 (+2), Int 11 (0), Wis 16 (+3),
Spellcasting. Level 5 spellcaster (Wis, spell save DC 14,
Cha 13 (+1)
spell attacks +6). Has the following spells prepared:
Saving Throws Wis +6, Cha +4
Skills Insight +6, Medicine +6, Persuasion +4, Religion • Cantrips: guidance, light, resistance, thaumaturgy
+3 • 1st level (4 slots): bless, cure wounds, healing word,
Senses passive Perception 10 sanctuary, shield of faith
• 2nd level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, hold person,
Channel Divinity (1/rest). Choose one: lesser restoration, prayer of healing, spiritual weapon
• 3rd level (2 slots): beacon of hope, dispel magic, mass
• Turn Undead. All undead within 30 ft must make
healing word, revivify
Wisdom save or be turned for 1 min or until they
take damage. ACTIONS
• Preserve Life. Restore 25 hp to creatures within 30 ft
(except constructs or undead), up to half their hp Mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft, one
target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 bludgeoning.

48
Garregwen • Commander’s Strike. Use bonus action to give one
attack to ally.
Wood elf fighter (Battle Master), level 5
• Distracting Strike. On hit, add superiority die to
Armor Class 16 (chain mail) damage roll; next attack on target by ally has
Hit Points 42 advantage.
Speed 35 ft • Trip Attack. On hit, spend superiority die: target
Str 15 (+2), Dex 14 (+2), Con 14 (+2), Int 10 (0), Wis 12 (+1), must make DC 13 Str saving throw or fall prone.
Cha 10 (0)
Polearm Master. When attacking with glaive, use bonus
Saving Throws Str +5. Con +5
action to attack with butt end (1d4 + 2 bludgeoning); as
Skills Athletics +5, Intimidation +3, Perception +4,
reaction, make opportunity attack when enemy enters
Survival +4
reach.
Senses darkvision (60 ft), passive Perception 14
Second Wind (1/rest). As bonus action, regain 1d10 + 5
Action Surge (1/rest). Take one additional action on hp.
your turn.
Combat Superiority (d8, 4/rest). Spend 1 superiority die ACTIONS
to use one Maneuver. Extra Attack. Attack twice when using Attack action on
Fey Ancestry. Advantage on saving throws vs. being own turn.
charmed; immune to magical sleep. Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft, one
Fighting Style (Great Weapon Fighting). Reroll 1 or 2 target. Hit: 1d10 + 2 slashing.
on Versatile or Two-Handed weapon damage dice; use Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft,
new rolls. one target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 piercing.
Maneuvers. Choose one per attack: Hand Ax. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
reach 5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d6 + 2 slashing.

Guthrún Björnhjarta Rage (3/long rest). For 1 min, advantage on Str checks
and saves, +2 to Str-based melee damage, resistance to
Human barbarian (Bear Totem Warrior), level 5
all damage except psychic.
Armor Class 15 (chain shirt)
Reckless Attack. On first attack of turn, gain advantage
Hit Points 48
on melee weapon attacks until next turn; incoming
Speed 40 ft
attacks also have advantage.
Str 16 (+3), Dex 14 (+2), Con 15 (+2), Int 11 (0), Wis 13 (+1),
Cha 9 (−1)
Saving Throws Str +6, Dex +5 ACTIONS
Skills Athletics +6, Perception +4, Survival +4 Extra Attack. Attack twice when using Attack action on
Senses passive Perception 14 own turn.

Danger Sense. Advantage on Dex saves vs. visible Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft,
effects. one target. Hit: 2d6 + 3 slashing.

Great Weapon Master. On critical hit or kill with melee Hand Ax. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit,
weapon, use bonus action to make one melee attack; reach 5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d6 + 3 slashing.
with Heavy weapon, may attack at −5 to hit for +10 Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach
damage. 5 ft, range 30/120 ft, one target. Hit: 1d6 + 3 piercing.

49
 Ketterlin Funkenregen Gnome Cunning. Advantage on Int, Wis and Cha saving
throws vs. magic.
Forest gnome wizard (School of Illusion), level 5
Spellcasting. Level 5 spellcaster (Int, spell save DC 15,
Armor Class 13 (unarmored, 16 w/mage armor)
spell attacks +7). Has the following spells prepared:
Hit Points 25
Speed 25 ft • Cantrips: dancing lights, mending, minor illusion,
Str 8 (−1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 13 (+1), Int 18 (+4), Wis 10 (0), prestidigitation, shocking grasp
Cha 13 (+1) • 1st level (4 slots): chromatic orb, color spray, detect
Saving Throws Int +7, Wis +3 magic, mage armor
Skills Arcana +7, Investigation +7 • 2nd level (3 slots): invisibility, mirror image, misty step
Senses darkvision (60 ft), passive Perception 10 • 3rd level (2 slots): hypnotic pattern, major image

Arcane Recovery (1/day). During short rest, recover 3 ACTIONS

spell slot levels. Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach
5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d4 + 2 piercing.

These mid-level adventurers have invaded the ice strides forth and casts bless on Garregwen, Guth-
fortress of a frost giant to put an end to its ma- rún and himself.
rauding. The enormous doors to the giant’s throne Finally, Garregwen also Dashes up to the front.
hall offer no chance for either side to be surprised. She wields a glaive, so she can actually strike the
Garregwen and Guthrún are in the front, followed giant from outside the hypnotic pattern spell’s area
by Ami and Clifford, with Ketterlin bringing up of effect (figure 9).
the rear (figure 8).

Initiative order: Ami (21), Guthrún and Ketterlin (17), ROUND 2

frost giant (11), Clifford (5), Garregwen (4)
Ami takes a step to her left, uses her bonus ac-
tion to grant Bardic Inspiration to Garregwen and
ROUND 1 Readies a vicious mockery cantrip to cast when
Garreg­wen attacks.
Ami, a spellslinger, bets that the party may be Guthrún, holding her greatsword in one hand,
able to inflict some serious damage on the frost draws a hand ax with the other and Readies her-
giant right out of the gate if she can incapacitate self to throw it as soon as Garregwen attacks, and
it, so she casts hypnotic pattern in an area that en- Ketterlin similarly Readies herself to cast a fiery
velops the throne on which the giant is sitting. It chromatic orb.
works—the frost giant needs to beat a DC of 15 The giant stares at the pretty. Pretty.
on its Wisdom saving throw and rolls only a 10. Clifford moves forward 20 feet—no more. He’s
The giant is charmed and incapacitated. Ami then going to try to keep himself on the opposite side
plays a rousing ballad to grant Bardic Inspiration of Guthrún from the frost giant. As a bonus action,
to Guthrún as a bonus action and begins to move he casts spiritual weapon, and a mace of shimmer-
into the hall. ing light hovers in the air before him. For the time
Guthrún and Ketterlin’s players agree that being, he decides, his action will be to Dodge.
Guthrún will take her turn first. Guthrún, a hardy Finally, it’s time for Garregwen to set it off. She
front-liner, rushes the frost giant using the Dash makes a normal attack with her glaive, rolling a
action. She doesn’t attack yet—no one is going to 24—a solid hit—and dealing 11 points of damage
risk doing any damage to the giant until all the to the giant. This breaks the giant out of its hyp-
party members are in position to take advantage notic reverie, and Ami lets the spell drop. Mean-
of Ami’s successful gambit. while, Garregwen swings her weapon around
Ketterlin, the party’s other spellslinger, dashes and, as a bonus action, strikes the giant with the
into the hall and takes position near the door on butt end, rolling another 24 and dealing another 6
the opposite side from Ami. points of damage. On her second attack, she rolls
The giant stares at the pretty moving patterns a 10, doing no damage.
in the air. Now all the Readied actions trigger at once. The
Clifford, a supporter, knows it’s going to take the giant rolls a 4 on its Wisdom save against Ami’s
party everything it’s got to defeat this giant, so he vicious mockery cantrip, which does 8 points of psy-
chic damage. Guthrún hurls her hand ax and rolls

50
Figure 8

a 20 to hit, doing 5 points of damage. Ketterlin rolls Guthrún uses her bonus action to Rage. She then
a 24 on her ranged spell attack, and the chromatic takes a step forward and Attacks, striking twice
orb burns the giant for 17 points of damage (figure with her greatsword, with advantage (because of
10). The giant is already moderately wounded. Ami’s faerie fire) and with the extra d4 conferred by
bless. Her first roll is a 21; her second is a 20. Both
hit, and each hit does 11 points of damage.
ROUND 3 Ketterlin throws another chromatic orb, with
advantage. She rolls a 19—a hit—and does 18
Ami casts faerie fire on the frost giant’s throne, and points of damage. The frost giant is now seriously
the giant rolls a 4 on its Dexterity save, so it’s lit up wounded.
like a Christmas tree. She also uses a bonus action Finally, the giant gets a turn. It stands up and
to give Bardic Inspiration to her brother. swings its greatax at Guthrún, rolling a 24—a hit—

51
Figure 9

and dealing 19 points of damage, but the raging with her first slashing thrust (she rolls a 7, even
barbarian feels only 10 of them. It swings again, with bless—not worth spending her Bardic Inspi-
hitting with a roll of 15 and dealing 23 points of ration die to try to improve). Jabbing and feint-
damage, of which Guthrún takes 11. She’s down to ing at the giant, she spends a superiority die on a
27 of her 48 hp. Commander’s Strike and calls to Guthrún, “Take
Clifford moves 10 feet forward, lays his hands the shot!”—using her bonus action to transfer her
on Guthrún and casts cure wounds, restoring 9 hp second attack to the barbarian. Guthrún swings,
to her, then moves 15 feet back. Meanwhile, as a adding Garregwen’s superiority die to her attack
bonus action, he wills his spectral mace to take a roll. The roll is an amazing 30—not, alas, a critical
whack at the giant, rolling a 19 and doing 6 points hit, but the barbarian nevertheless does another
of damage with it. 13 points of damage to the giant. For good mea-
Garregwen attacks with her glaive, missing sure, Garregwen chooses this moment to use her

52
Figure 10

Action Surge feature to Attack again. Her first at- trip. This time, however, the giant rolls a 16 on its
tack, thanks to the advantage conferred by faerie Wisdom save, enough to ignore Ami’s sass.
fire, is a 26—a natural 20, and a critical hit, dealing But now Guthrún’s up to bat. With bless, she rolls
16 points of damage. Her second attack roll is a 23, a 23, a solid hit, for 15 points of damage. The gi-
but it does only 4 points of damage (figure 11). ant stumbles back and sprawls across its throne,
fatally wounded.

ROUND 4 Final result: The frost giant is slain. Guthrún has 36

of her original 48 hp. Every other party member is un-
The frost giant is obviously hanging on by a scathed. Ami used one 3rd-level and one 1st-level spell
thread, so Ami does what any good bard would do slot, Clifford used two 1st-level and one 2nd-level slot,
at this moment: casts another vicious mockery can- and Ketterlin used two 1st-level slots. Ami awarded

53
Figure 11

three of her four Bardic Inspiration dice, Garregwen used perfect position for his or her combat role, and her faerie
one of her four superiority dice and her Action Surge, fire gave all of them advantage on their attacks. Clif-
and Guthrún used one of her three Rages. ford’s bless spell buffed everyone’s attacks further, and
Garregwen, knowing that Guthrún had a higher to-hit
For a party of five level 5 characters, the Dungeon modifier and could deal more damage, substituted one
Master’s Guide rates a CR 8 frost giant as a Hard en- of the barbarian’s attacks for one of her own. This was
counter. The Unearthed Arcana “Encounter Building” a team working in perfect harmony—and it could have
guidelines similarly rate a CR 8 monster as an appropri- accomplished the same even if it had been limping and
ate solo boss creature for five level 5 characters to fight. bleeding from previous encounters elsewhere in the ice
Why did this giant seem like such a pushover? Because fortress.
of how the party members synergized. Ami’s hypnotic
pattern gave each of them time to maneuver into the

54
A LEVEL 9 PARTY

Andralamusia Fawkes • Quickened Spell. Spend 2 sorcery points and use

bonus action to cast spell with casting time of 1
Tiefling sorcerer (Wild Magic), level 9
action.
Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
Spellcasting. Level 5 spellcaster (Cha, spell save DC 16,
Hit Points 52
spell attacks +8). Has the following spells prepared:
Speed 30 ft
Str 10 (0), Dex 14 (+2), Con 14 (+2), Int 13 (+1), Wis 8 (−1), • Cantrips: blade ward, fire bolt, mage hand, minor
Cha 18 (+4) illusion, shocking grasp, thaumaturgy
Saving Throws Con +6, Cha +8 • 1st level (4 slots): chromatic orb, shield
Skills Deception +8, Intimidation +8, Sleight of Hand • 2nd level (3 slots): mirror image, scorching ray
+6, Stealth +6 • 3rd level (3 slots): counterspell, fireball, slow, haste
Damage Resistance fire • 4th level (3 slots): confusion
Senses darkvision (60 ft), passive Perception 9 • 5th level (1 slot): animate objects

Bend Luck. As a reaction, spend 2 sorcery points to roll Tides of Chaos (1/long rest). Gain advantage on attack,
1d4 and add or subtract it from an attack, ability check ability check or save. Resets on Wild Magic Surge.
or saving throw. Wild Magic Surge. Immediately after casting leveled
Font of Magic. Spend sorcery points (9/long rest) to spell, roll d20: on 1, roll for random Wild Magic Surge
create spell slots or use Metamagic. effect.

Lightly Armored. Proficient with light armor.

ACTIONS
Metamagic. Choose either Quickened Spell or both
Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range
Quickened Spell and Empowered Spell:
80/320 ft, one target. Hit: 1d8 + 2 piercing.
• Empowered Spell. Spend 1 sorcery point to reroll up
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach
to 4 spell damage dice; must use new rolls.
5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d4 + 2 piercing.

Antje Gagnon One With Shadows. While in dim light or darkness, use
action to become invisible. Ends with movement, action
Human warlock (Archfey, Pact of the Tome), level 9
or reaction.
Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
Pact Magic. Level 9 spellcaster (Cha, spell save DC 15,
Hit Points 53
spell attacks +7). Has the following spells prepared:
Speed 30 ft
Str 11 (0), Dex 14 (+2), Con 13 (+1), Int 16 (+3), Wis 11 (0), • Cantrips: eldritch blast, guidance, mage hand, minor
Cha 16 (+3) illusion, prestidigitation, vicious mockery
Saving Throws Wis +4, Cha +7 • 5th level (2 slots): charm person, faerie fire, darkness,
Skills Arcana +7, Deception +7, Investigation +7, hold person, mirror image, blink, dispel magic,
Persuasion +7, Stealth +6 dimension door, greater invisibility, dominate person
Senses darkvision (120 ft), passive Perception 10
ACTIONS
Agonizing Blast. +3 to eldritch blast damage.
Light Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range
Fey Presence (1/rest). Each creature in 10-foot cube
80/320 ft, one target. Hit: 1d8 + 2 piercing.
(centered on self) must make DC 16 Wis save or be
charmed or frightened. Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach
5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d4 + 2 piercing.
Misty Escape (1/rest). As a reaction to taking damage,
turn invisible and teleport up to 60 ft to visible
unoccupied space.

55
 Micklehast the Frenzy. During Rage, use bonus action to make melee
attack; take 1 level of exhaustion when Rage ends.
Wrathful Mindless Rage. Can’t be charmed or frightened during
Lightfoot halfling barbarian (Berserker), level 9
Rage; Rage suspends charmed or frightened condition.
Armor Class 15 (unarmored)
Rage (4/long rest). For 1 min, advantage on Str checks
Hit Points 82
and saves, +3 to Str-based melee damage; resistance to
Speed 35 ft
bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage.
Str 8 (−1), Dex 17 (+3), Con 15 (+2), Int 15 (+2), Wis 8 (−1),
Cha 9 (−1) Reckless Attack. On first attack of turn, gain advantage
Saving Throws Str +3, Con +6 on melee weapon attacks until next turn; incoming
Skills Animal Handling +3, Intimidation +3, Survival +3 attacks also have advantage.
Senses passive Perception 9
Savage Attacker (1/turn). Reroll weapon damage dice;
use either total.
Brutal Critical. Roll additional damage die on critical
hit.
ACTIONS
Charger. After Dash action, use bonus action to make
melee weapon attack or shove; if moving 10 ft in Extra Attack. Attack twice when using Attack action on
straight line first, gain +5 bonus to damage or push own turn.
target up to 10 ft. War Hammer. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft,
Danger Sense. Advantage on Dex saves vs. visible one target. Hit: 1d10 − 1 bludgeoning.
effects. Hand Ax. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit,
Feral Instinct. Advantage on initative rolls; can Rage reach 5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d6 − 1 slashing.
immediately and act normally if surprised and not Javelin. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach
incapacitated. 5 ft, range 30/120 ft, one target. Hit: 1d6 − 1 piercing.

Pedangmenari opportunity attacks against them unless ally attacks or

casts spell against it, or you and target move more than
Dragonborn rogue (Swashbuckler),* level 9
60 ft apart; nonhostile creature is charmed.
Armor Class 13 (leather)
Rakish Audacity. Add +1 to initiative rolls; don’t need
Hit Points 62
advantage to make Sneak Attack if no creature other
Speed 30 ft
than target is within 5 ft.
Str 16 (+3), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 10 (0), Wis 8 (−1),
Cha 13 (+1) Sneak Attack (1/turn). +5d6 damage when attacking
Saving Throws Dex +6, Int +4 with advantage, or with non-incapacitated ally within 5
Skills Acrobatics +11, Athletics +11, Perception +10, ft of target when not attacking with disadvantage.
Sleight of Hand +11
Uncanny Dodge. When hit by weapon or spell attack,
Damage Resistance acid
use reaction to halve damage.
Senses passive Perception 20

Cunning Action. Use bonus action to Dash, Disengage ACTIONS

or Hide. Rapier. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft, one
Defensive Duelist. When hit by melee attack, use target. Hit: 1d8 + 3 piercing.
reaction to add +4 to AC. Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft,
Fancy Footwork. When making melee attack, no one target. Hit: 1d6 + 3 piercing.
opportunity attack provoked from target. Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach
Panache. As action, make Persuasion vs. Insight check: 5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d4 + 3 piercing.
on success, for 1 min, hostile creature has disadvantage Breath Weapon (1/rest). Creatures in 5 ft × 30 ft line
on attacks against other targets and can’t make must make DC 14 Dex save or take 3d6 acid damage.

*  Roguish archetype from Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide.

56
Nhay Khi Martial Arts. After Attack action, use bonus action to
make one unarmed strike.
Human monk (Way of the Open Hand), level 9
Mobile. On Dash action, difficult terrain costs no extra
Armor Class 16 (unarmored)
movement; when making melee attack, no opportunity
Hit Points 71
attack provoked from target.
Speed 50 ft
Str 13 (+1), Dex 16 (+3), Con 14 (+2), Int 11 (0), Wis 16 (+3), Patient Defense. Spend 1 ki point and use bonus action
Cha 9 (−1) to Dodge.
Saving Throws Str +5, Dex +7, Wis +7
Slow Fall. Use reaction to reduce falling damage by up
Skills Acrobatics +7, Medicine +7, Religion +4, Stealth +7
to 45 hp.
Senses passive Perception 13
Step of the Wind. Spend 1 ki point and use bonus action
Deflect Missiles. When hit by ranged weapon attack, to Dash or Disengage; jump distance doubled.
use reaction to reduce damage by 1d10 + 12; if reduced
Stillness of Mind. Use action to remove charmed or
to 0, catch missile and spend 1 ki point to make ranged
frightened condition.
attack as part of same reaction, with proficiency.
Stunning Strike. On melee weapon or unarmed hit,
Evasion. Take no damage on successful Dex save, half
spend 1 ki: target must make DC 15 Con save or be
damage on failed.
stunned until end of next turn.
Flurry of Blows. After Attack action, spend 1 ki point
Unarmored Movement. Can move along vertical
and use bonus action to make two unarmed strikes. On
surfaces and across liquids without falling.
hit, choose one:
Wholeness of Body (1/long rest). As action, regain up to
• Target must make DC 15 Dex save or be knocked
27 hp.
prone.
• Target must make DC 15 Str save or be pushed up to
15 feet. ACTIONS
• Target cannot take reactions until the end of next Extra Attack. Attack twice when using Attack action on
turn. own turn.
Ki. Spend ki points (9/long rest) to use other features. Staff. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft, one
Ki-Empowered Strikes. Unarmed strikes count as target. Hit: 1d8 + 3 bludgeoning.
magical with respect to resistance and immunity. Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5
ft, one target. Hit: 1d6 + 3 bludgeoning.

57
 Sarnai Jalair Divine Smite. On melee weapon hit, spend 1 spell slot
to deal 2d8 radiant damage + 1d8 per spell slot level
Mountain dwarf paladin (Oath of Vengeance), level 9
above 1st (maximum 5d8); +1d8 vs. undead and fiends.
Armor Class 18 (chain mail, shield)
Lay On Hands. As action, heal up to 45 hp; spend 5 hp
Hit Points 81
from pool to cure disease or poison.
Speed 25 ft
Str 16 (+3), Dex 10 (0), Con 16 (+3), Int 10 (0), Wis 10 (0), Relentless Avenger. On hit with opportunity attack,
Cha 14 (+2) move up to half speed as part of same reaction; does
Saving Throws Wis +4, Cha +6 not provoke opportunity attack.
Skills History +4, Intimidation +6, Persuasion +6,
Shield Master. On Attack action, use bonus action to
Religion +4
shove adjacent creature with shield; on Dex save to take
Senses darkvision (60 ft), passive Perception 10
half damage, take no damage; +2 on Dex save if only
target of effect.
Alert. +5 to initative; can’t be surprised while conscious;
hidden attackers don’t gain advantage. Spellcasting. Level 5 spellcaster (Cha, spell save DC 14,
spell attacks +6). Has the following spells prepared:
Aura of Protection. Allies within 10 ft gain +2 bonus to
saves. • 1st level (4 slots): bane, bless, hunter’s mark,
thunderous smite, wrathful smite
Channel Divinity (1/rest). Choose one:
• 2nd level (3 slots): misty step, hold person
• Abjure Enemy. As action, denounce one creature • 3rd level (2 slot): aura of vitality, blinding smite, haste,
within 60 ft. Creature must make DC 16 Wis save protection from energy, revivify
(fiends and undead have disadvantage): on failure,
creature is frightened for 1 min or until it takes
ACTIONS
damage, speed reduced to 0; on success, creature’s
speed is halved for 1 min or until it takes damage. Extra Attack. Attack twice when using Attack action on
• Vow of Enmity. As bonus action, gain advantage own turn.
on attacks against creature within 10 ft for 1 min or
Battle Ax. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft, one
until it drops to 0 hp or falls unconscious.
target. Hit: 1d8 + 5 slashing.
Divine Health. Immune to disease.
Hand Ax. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit,
Divine Sense (3/long rest). Know locations of celestials, reach 5 ft, range 20/60 ft, one target. Hit: 1d6 + 5 slashing
fiends and undead within 60 ft, unless behind total (1d6 + 3 slashing when thrown).
cover; know type but not identity.

These heroes of the realm are exploring an under­ menari (16), ghouls (15), wraith (14), Antje (12), wights
ground compound and have come across what (9), Andralamusia (7), Nhay Khi (6)
looks like some kind of crypt. Because only An-
dralamusia, Antje and Sarnai have darkvision (in-
dicated by eyes next to their counters), the rest of ROUND 1
the party depends on a hooded lantern, carried by
Pedangmenari, who wields a one-handed weapon Sarnai’s darkvision doesn’t extend beyond the
without a shield. Beyond the reach of the lantern, current reach of the lantern, so all she sees are
the compound is pitch-dark. Micklehast and Sar- one lone ghoul off to the left and a cluster of them
nai march in front, Pedangmenari and Nhay Khi ahead of her. She moves forward to engage the
behind them, and Andralamusia and Antje in the closest ghoul in the cluster, which happens to be
rear. ghoul 6. (As she does this, she catches a glimpse
The crypt they’ve entered is inhabited by a of ghoul 7 off in the distance and takes note of
wraith, two wights and eight ghouls. The wraith, its presence. She doesn’t notice wight 2, which is
incorporeal, reposes in the sarcophagus at the sitting still with a Stealth roll of 14—her passive
rear of the crypt. The wights crouch atop their Perception isn’t nearly good enough to detect it in
own sarcophagi, flanking the wraith’s. The ghouls what for her is dim light.) For her first ax swing,
mill randomly and restlessly around the crypt, she rolls an 18, a hit, and does 8 points of damage.
and these are the first enemies the adventurers For her second, she rolls a 16, also a hit, and does
notice (figure 12). another 6 points of damage.
Micklehast charges at ghoul 6 (he knows from
Initiative order: Sarnai (25), Micklehast (18), Pedang- experience to leave the lone ghoul 2 to Pedang-

58
 Wr

G5

dark
W1 W2

G7

G3

dim G8

G4 G1

G6

G2

bright

Figure 12

59
menari), using his bonus action to make an ex- pinpricks; Pedang decides not to use Uncanny
tra melee attack with +5 to his damage. He rolls Dodge to halve the damage, in case he needs it for
a 21 to hit, the blow lands, and he deals 8 points something else before his next turn. Wight 1 then
of damage to the ghoul. It falls. He then uses his begins advancing on Pedang. Wight 2 creeps for-
Attack action to take two more swings at ghoul ward a bit, but in so doing makes a terrible Stealth
4, rolling 14 (a hit) and 7 (a miss). The hit does 7 check roll—only a 5. Sarnai hears it coming and
points of damage. looks in its direction. No longer hidden, it shoots
Pedangmenari’s Rakish Audacity feature lets twice, rolling a 13 and a 15. Both shots deflect off
him make a Sneak Attack against any opponent Sarnai’s armor.
as long as no other creature is within 5 feet. Still Andralamusia curses—she knows a little about
carrying his lantern in his left hand, he seizes the wraiths, and she doesn’t have any spell that does
opportunity to attack ghoul 2 with the rapier in damage they’re not resistant to. She moves as far
his right. (This has the effect of dimly illuminating away from the wraith as she can get, then casts
wight 1, but still, no one in the party has a passive scorching ray using a 4th-level spell slot, targeting
Perception high enough to notice it.) Pedang rolls a ghouls 3, 4, 5 and 7 (twice) and invoking Tides of
19 to hit and does 19 points of Sneak Attack dam- Chaos for advantage on her first attack roll. She
age on top of his 4 points of normal damage. Ghoul rolls a natural 20 (total 28) against ghoul 3, 15
2 is slain. against ghoul 4, 21 against ghoul 5, and 24 and 19
The famished ghouls, frenzied by the presence against ghoul 7—all hits. Ghoul 3 takes 16 points
of living flesh, close in. Ghouls 1 and 8 go for Sar- of damage, ghoul 4 takes 4 points, ghoul 5 takes 10
nai; ghouls 3, 4, 5 and 7 go for Micklehast. Ghoul 1 points, and ghoul 7 takes 11 points.
slashes wildly at Sarnai with its claws and misses. Nhay Khi lets his staff drop to the floor—it’s not
Ghoul 3 claws at Micklehast, rolls a 16 and hits the going to help him in this fight. Instead, thanks to
unarmored halfling barbarian for 6 points of dam- his Ki-Empowered Strikes class feature, which
age. Mick must make a Constitution save vs. pa- lets him bypass the wraith’s resistance to physi-
ralysis. He’s standing next to Sarnai, whose Aura cal damage from nonmagical weapons, he’s going
of Protection grants him +2 on the roll. He needs a to rely entirely on unarmed strikes. He gets two
10 and rolls a 12. Ghoul 4 also claws at him, rolling strikes as part of his Attack action and spends a
a 22 and dealing 8 points of damage. This time he ki point on Flurry of Blows to get two more with
rolls 11 on his Con save, thanks to Sarnai’s Aura, his bonus action. His first two attack rolls are a 10
which keeps it from being a 9. Whew! He won’t and a 26—a miss and a hit. The hit does 7 points
be taking any more damage from the ghouls this of damage. His first Flurry attack roll is a 14, a hit,
turn, because ghouls 5 and 7 had to Dash in order for another 7 damage. He uses Open Hand Tech-
to reach him. Ghoul 8 claws at Sarnai and rolls a nique to prevent the wraith from taking reactions
14: her chain mail protects her. until the end of his next turn, and in addition, he
The wraith hears activity outside its sarcopha- spends a second ki point to make his hit a Stun-
gus and rises. It sees the ghouls rushing toward ning Strike. The wraith rolls a 23 on its Con save,
Mick and Sarnai and decides it would be satisfying though, so it’s not stunned. Finally, he rolls a 21 on
to murder them. It starts flying toward Sarnai, but his second flurry attack and does 5 points of dam-
as it does, it spots an even more attractive target: age. Because his Open Hand Technique has pre-
Nhay Khi. (Wraiths are drawn to the pure of heart, vented the wraith from making an opportunity
and Nhay Khi is the only one in this bunch who attack, he moves away from the spellslingers and
comes anywhere near that standard.) It Dashes to- toward the front line, hoping to bait the wraith
ward him and stops right in front of him. into following him (figure 13).
Antje had been considering whether to cast faerie
fire on the clustered ghouls (and leaning against it,
since it could also have lit up Mick and Sarnai), but ROUND 2
the sudden appearance of the wraith rearranges
her priorities. She casts eldritch blast instead, firing Sarnai takes a swing at ghoul 1 and rolls a 15—a
two bolts of force at the wraith. She rolls 16 and 12, hit. The ax blow does 7 points of damage. She
a hit and a miss. The hit does 6 points of damage. strikes again and rolls a 24, for 9 damage.
She then tries to put some distance between her- Micklehast, using his bonus action, flies into a
self and the wraith, hoping Nhay Khi will keep it Rage, opting to Frenzy—if being quadruple-teamed
occupied for a moment. by ghouls isn’t the worst thing he’s going to have
Wight 1 raises its bow and takes two shots at to deal with today, he doesn’t want to know what
Pedang, who hasn’t seen it, rolling an 18 and a 22, is. Swinging his warhammer at ghoul 4, he hits
both hits. The first shot does 4 points of piercing with a roll of 16, for 4 points of damage. He swings
damage. The second does 3 points. Those were again and rolls a 7, a miss.

60
 W2

W1

G5 G3 G4

G7 G6 G8

G1

G2

Wr

Figure 13

61
 Pedangmenari decides to deal with the wight give herself advantage on one roll. She aims one
that just shot at him. He runs up, lunges at the ray at ghoul 5 (using her advantage on this roll),
wight with his rapier and rolls a 25 to hit, doing one at ghoul 7 and one at ghoul 8. Her attack rolls
only 4 points of weapon damage but 20 points of are 21, 21 and 26. Ghoul 5 takes 5 points of dam-
Sneak Attack damage. The wight is alarmingly un- age, ghoul 7 takes 8, and ghoul 8 takes 4. Ghoul 7,
perturbed: Pedang stabbed it pretty good, but the burned to a crisp, falls.
attack seems to have inflicted only minor injury. Nhay Khi closes with the wraith again; as be-
Thanks to his Fancy Footwork, the wight doesn’t fore, he strikes twice with his Attack action and
get an opportunity attack against him, so he uses spends a ki point on Flurry of Blows to strike twice
Cunning Action to Dash as a bonus action and more with his bonus action. He rolls 20 on his first
heads back toward his previous position. attack, for 9 points of damage, but 9 on his sec-
Ghouls 1, 3 and 4 immediately decide that this ond, a miss. For his first bonus attack, he rolls 17,
much pain is worse than their perpetual hunger, for 7 points of damage, and once again uses Open
and they take off running. Sarnai gets an oppor- Hand Technique to prevent the wraith from tak-
tunity attack at ghoul 1 as it leaves her reach, and ing a reaction. Finally, for his second bonus attack,
she rolls a 23, cutting it for 6 points of damage; it he rolls 24, for 9 more points of damage. Seeing
sprawls at her feet. Micklehast takes a swing at Andra out of the corner of his eye, he uses some
ghoul 4 as it runs away, and he rolls a 19, clout- of his remaining movement to interpose himself
ing it for 4 points of damage. Ghouls 5, 7 and 8, between them (figure 14).
meanwhile, keep fighting. Ghoul 5 claws at Mick
but rolls a natural 1, missing wildly. Ghoul 7 rolls
an 18 and lands a hit, doing 7 points of damage. ROUND 3
Mick rolls a 20 on his Con save. Ghoul 8 slashes at
Sarnai and rolls a 15 to hit; her armor protects her. Sarnai hacks at ghoul 8, rolling an 18 to hit and
The wraith, unexpectedly, doesn’t go after Nhay doing 12 points of damage. She swings again, but
Khi but rather turns its attention back to Sarnai, her roll of 10 is a miss.
attacking her from behind. Because it’s flanking Micklehast turns to Attack ghoul 5, rolling a 14
her—she’s engaged with ghoul 8, on the opposite to hit for 8 points of damage. Ghoul 5 crumples
side—the wraith attacks with advantage. It rolls beneath the blow. Mick is ten pounds of angry in a
a 16 to hit; Sarnai manages to get her shield be- two-pound bag, and he ain’t done bashing things
tween the wraith and herself. yet, so he looks around for another target and sees
Antje casts eldritch blast at the wraith again. For the wraith directly behind him. For his Extra At-
her first bolt, she rolls a natural 1; for her second, tack, he rolls an 11 to hit, and his Frenzy attack
an 11. Both bolts miss. She swears, then moves to roll is a 12. The wraith sidesteps both his hammer
take cover behind a sarcophagus. blows.
Wight 1 comes after Pedangmenari, grinning Pedangmenari, still dueling with wight 1, rolls a
malevolently. It draws its longsword and swings. natural 20. His critical hit does 11 points of dam-
With a roll of 9, it misses. It swings again and rolls age, plus 16 points of Sneak Attack damage from
17—a hit, but for only 3 points of damage. Wight his Rakish Audacity, for a total of 27, of which the
2 moves closer and shoots at Sarnai, rolling 17 to wight takes 13. He also notices that the wight
hit. Sarnai blocks the arrow with her shield. The could easily get past him and attack Antje, so us-
wight shoots again and misses with a roll of 8. ing his Fancy Footwork, he backs off just enough
Andralamusia likes the result she got with her to put himself between them.
first scorching ray spell and decides to try it again. Ghoul 4 Dashes out of the crypt and is never seen
Striding toward the melee, she casts her spell us- again. Ghoul 8 has also had enough and makes a
ing just a 2nd-level slot this time, against ghouls 3, run for it, but Sarnai rolls a 12 on her opportunity
5 and 7. She rolls 15, 14 and a natural 1. Crazily, be- attack and just catches it with her ax, doing an-
cause ghoul 5 has half cover from standing behind other 8 damage to it. That’s the last of the ghouls.
ghoul 7, the ray meant for ghoul 5 strikes ghoul 7 Surrounded and agitated, the wraith attacks
instead, even as the one meant for 7 misses wildly. Nhay Khi: it rolls a 17 on its Life Drain attack and
Ghoul 3 takes 6 points of damage and falls in a succeeds in doing 24 points of necrotic damage.
smoldering heap, and ghoul 7 takes 7. Ouch! Fortunately, he makes his Constitution
Meanwhile, magical energy has been building save, with a roll of 20.
up within her. Rolling 82 on the Wild Magic Surge Antje tries eldritch blast once more, rolling a 24
table, she feels the world around her slow down— and a 19 to hit. Finally! The first bolt hits for 10
she has time to take another action! Scorching ray points of damage, the second for 6. The wraith’s
has been working great for her so far, so she casts form flickers and wavers. Seeing Pedang back up to
it one more time, again invoking Tides of Chaos to

62
 G5 W2

G7 G6 G8

W1 G3

G2 Wr G1 G4

Figure 14

63
her, she notices how close wight 1 has gotten and wight 2 and decides, for his second action, to see
moves around to the far side of the sarcophagus. how these malevolent spirits handle getting a face
Wight 1 slashes at Pedangmenari with its sword. full of acid. The answer is, not well: the wight rolls
It rolls a 22, a hit, and does 8 points of damage; a 10 on its Dexterity save, short of the 14 it needs,
Pedang decides to use Uncanny Dodge to reduce and takes 8 points of damage from Pedang’s Breath
it, so he takes only 4. The wight’s follow-up blow Weapon, against which it has no resistance. It falls
hits him as well, and he takes another 7 points to the floor, unmoving (figure 16).
of damage. Wight 2 closes with Sarnai, draws its
own sword and attacks, rolling a 12 to hit. Sarnai’s Final result: One wraith, two wights and seven ghouls
chain mail protects her from the blow. The wight slain; one ghoul fled. Andralamusia, Antje and Sarnai
swings again and rolls a 13—same result. are uninjured; Micklehast is lightly wounded, with 61 of
Andralamusia looks around quickly, notes that his 82 hp; Nhay Khi is moderately wounded, with 47 of
the wights are too far apart for her to cast slow on 71 hp; and Pedangmenari is moderately wounded, with
both of them, and decides instead to cast haste on 41 of 62 hp. Andra used two 2nd-level spell slots, one
Pedangmenari, then backs up about 10 feet. Once 3rd-level slot and one 4th-level slot; Antje has all the
again, the magical energy surges. Andra rolls 21, spell slots she started with; and Sarnai spent one 1st-
and she feels her hands crackle and tingle. The level slot and one 2nd-level slot. Mick used one Rage,
next spell’s gonna be a good one. Nhay Khi used 3 of his 9 ki points, and Pedang used his
Nhay Khi strikes at the wraith and rolls a 19 to Breath Weapon.
hit. The strike does 6 points of damage, and the
wraith shrieks and dissipates. Closing with wight Another Hard encounter from which the adventurers
2, he attacks again, but with a roll of 10, he misses. emerge victorious at modest cost, with no casualties—
He still has his bonus unarmed attack, though. despite being level 9 characters with not a magic weapon
Deciding to forgo Flurry of Blows for the moment, among them, nor a cleric capable of turning or destroy-
he makes a single unarmed strike, rolls a 22, and ing undead creatures. (They did, at least, have a high-
does 4 points of damage (figure 15). quality light source.) Antje’s potential as a spellslinger
gets short shrift in this scenario, since she only gets to
cast a single cantrip over and over, but it should be noted
ROUND 4 that she and Nhay Khi are the only two members of the
party whose normal attacks can bypass the wraith’s
Sarnai rolls 23 to hit wight 2 and spends a 1st-level damage resistances and immunities. By focusing their
spell slot on a Divine Smite. Her weapon does 7 attacks on the wraith, they ensure that its Life Drain
points of damage, of which the wight takes only feature doesn’t wreck the party.
3, but because the target of her smite is undead,
it does 3d8 bonus radiant damage—another 14
points. As a bonus action, she casts blinding smite
before taking her second attack roll, which is a 25.
She does 13 points of damage with her weapon, of
which the wight takes 6, and another 13 radiant
damage from the spell. The wight rolls a 15 on its
Constitution save, though, so it’s not blinded.
Micklehast runs over to help Pedang with wight
1. Using his bonus action, he charges the wight,
rolls a 16 to hit, and does 11 points of damage, of
which the wight takes 5. He uses his Attack action
to take two more hammer swings, rolling a 21 and
a 15 to hit. Both blows land, doing 8 and 4 points of
damage; the wight takes 4 and 2.
This is fine by Pedangmenari—he can Sneak At-
tack just as well with an ally occupying his tar-
get’s attention. He jabs at wight 1 with his rapier
and rolls a 26 to hit. The 11 points of damage from
the sword plus the 19 from the Sneak Attack total
30 points of damage, and even though the wight
takes only 15, that’s more than enough to destroy
it. Then, grinning a dragonish grin, his speed dou-
bled by Andra’s haste spell, he zips across the room
to a position where he has a clear line of sight to

64
 G5

G7 G6 G8

G3 W2

W1 G2 G1

Figure 15

65
 G5

G7 G6 G8

G3 W2

W1 G2 G1

Figure 16

66
 Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I’m indebted to my wife, Jenni- I also thank my friend and fellow DM Steve
fer Marshall, for asking me whether I’d run a Dun- Long and his wife, Christine Fedruk Long, for their
geons and Dragons group for her and some of her feedback on the manuscript; and my first DM,
coworkers, leading me to pick up the fifth-edition Julian Jackson, for thirty years of friendship and
D&D rulebooks and discover just how much the innumerable hours of shared gaming experience,
game system had changed—for the better—since whose epic imagination I can never hope to equal
I’d played it last. —a shortcoming I’ve learned to make up for with
Next, I want to thank the current and former obsessive verisimilitude.
members of that group—Jennifer (Tola Illvidri), Finally, a huge shout-out to the readers of The
Jeremy Cozad (Kukl), Sam Luchsinger (LeGuardeus Monsters Know What They’re Doing, whose enthusi-
Masters), Ginny Barrett (Sir Paris Camembert), astic comments have kept the project going, even
Seaghan Brien (Thesselus Elsulmun), Kay Brown though my posting rate has dropped from an ar-
(Tilda Forgeborn), Chelsea Ball (Shava), Laurel Sal- ticle each weekday to an article every [mumble
lack Macupa (Dorris) and Mattias Darrow (Cull)— mumble]. I wasn’t sure a demand existed for tactical
for their enthusiasm and their patience as they analyses of monster behavior, but you’ve shown
learned the rules and I relearned them, and Jer- me that not only is there demand for it, there’s a
emy especially for hosting our weekly sessions hunger for it. Thanks for letting me feed you.
in his home. We’re telling some great stories to- —K.A.
gether, and I look forward to telling many more.

67