Dungeon Master's Guide

Name Example Monster Effect on Challenge Rating
Light Sensitivity Shadow demon Increase the monster's effective AC by 2.
Magic Resistance Ba lor Increase the effective damage of one attack per round by the amount gained
Magic Weapons Balor from this trait.
Martial Advantage Hobgo blin Increase the monster's effective AC and effective attack bonus by 4 (assuming
the monster hides every round).
Mimicry Kenk u Increase the monster's effective attack bonus by 1.
Nimble Escape Goblin Increase the monster's effective AC by 1.
Double the monster's effective hit points.
Otherworldly Perception Kuo -toa Increase the monster's effective damage for 1 round by the amount it deals
Pack Tactics Kobold with the bonus action gained from this trait.
Parry Hobgoblin warlord Apply the monster's Wisdom modifier to its actual AC if the monster isn't
Possession Ghost wearing armor or wie lding a shield .
Pounce Tiger Increase the monster's effective per-round damage by 2.

Psychic Defense Githzerai monk Increase the monster's effective hit points by 3 x the number of hit points the
monster regenerates each round.
Rampage Gnoll Increase the monster's effective hit points based on the expected challenge
Reactive Marilith rating: 1-4, 7 hp; 5-10, 14 hp; 11 - 16,21 hp; 17 or higher, 28 hp.
Read Th oughts Doppelgange-r Increase the monster's effective AC by 4.
Reckless Minotaur
Redirect Attack Goblin boss See step 13 under "Creating a Monster Stat Block."
Reel Roper
Regeneration Troll Increase the monster's effective AC by 1.
Increase the monster's effective AC by 2.
Rejuvenation Lich Increase the monster's effective damage for 1 round by the amount noted in the
Relentless Were boar trait.
Assume the monster swallows one creature and deals 2 rounds of acid damage
Shadow Stealth Shadow demon to it.
Shapechanger Wererat
Siege Monster Earth elemental In crease the monster's effective hit points based on the expected challenge
Slippery Kuo-toa rating: 1-4, 7 hp; 5-10, 14 hp; 11-16, 21 hp; 17 or higher, 28 hp.
Spellcasting Lich Inc rease the monster's effective AC by 1.
Spider Climb Ettercap
Standing Leap Bullywug Increase the monster's damage for 1 round by the amount noted in the trait.
Steadfast Bearded devil
Stench Trogl odyte
Sunlight Sensitivity Kobold
Superior Invisibility Faerie dragon
Sure-Footed Dao
Surprise Attack Bugbear

Swallow Behir

Teleport Balo r
Terrain Camouflage Bullywug
Tunneler Umber hulk
Turn Immunity Revenant
Turn Resistance Lich
Two Heads Ettin
Undead Fortitude Zombie

Web Giant spider
Web Sense Gia spider
Web Walker Gia spider
Wounded Fury Q aggo h

CHAPTER 9 I DUNGEON MASTER'S WORKSHOP

If you want to take an NPC stat block and adapt it for • You can create an NPC stat block (similar to the ones
a specific monster race, apply the ability modifiers and in the Monster Manual) as you would a monster stat
add the features listed in the NPC Features table. If the block, as discussed in the previous section.
NPC's AC, hit points, attack bonus , or damage changes, You can build the NPC as you would a player
recalculate its challenge rating. character, as discussed in the Player's Handbook.

CREATING NPCs FROM SCRATCH If you decide to build an NPC the same way you build
a player character, you can skip choosing a background
If you need completely new statistics for an NPC, you and instead pick two skill proficiencies for the NPC.
have two options:

~ ~N'P-C-F-E-A-TU-R-E-S------------------------------------------------------~~~~

Race Ability Modifiers Features ·-
Aarakocra· +2 Dex, +2 Wis Dive Attack; talon attack action; speed 20ft., fly 50 ft.; speaks Au ran
Bullywug -2 ln t, -2 Cha -

Dragon born'~ +2 Str, +1 Cha Amphibious, Speak with Frogs and Toads, Swamp Camouflage, Standing Leap; speed

Drow''' +2 Dex, +1 Cha 20ft. , swim 40ft. ; speaks Bullywug

Dwarf>~ +2 Str or Wis , +2 Con -

Elf>'' +2 Dex , +1 lnt or Wis Breath Weapon (use challenge rating instead of level to determine damage), Damage

Gnoll +2 Str, -2 lnt Resistance, Draconic Ancestry; speaks Common and Draconic -
Gnome''' +2 lnt, +2 Dex or Con
Fey Ancestry, Inn ate Spellcasting feature of the drow, Sunlight Sensitivity; darkvision
Gnome, deep +1 Str, +2 Dex
120ft.; speaks Elvish and Undercommon
Goblin -2 Str, +2 Dex
Grim lock +2 Str, -2 Cha Dwarven Resilience, Stonecunning; speed 25ft.; darkvision 60ft.; speaks Common and

Half-elf1' +1 Dex, +1 lnt, +2 Cha Dwarvish -
Half-ore* +2 Str, +1 Con Fey Ancestry, Trance; darkvision 60ft. ; proficiency in the Perception skil l; speaks

Halfling''' +2 Dex, +1 Con or Cha Common and Elvish --
Hobgoblin None Rampage; darkvision 60ft.
Kenku +2 Dex Gnome Cunning; Small size; speed 25ft.; darkvision 60ft. ; speaks Common and --~

Kobold -4 Str, +2 Dex Gnomish

Kuo -toa None ·-

Lizardfolk +2 Str, -2 lnt Gnome Cunning, Innate Spellcasting, Stone Camouflage; Small size; speed 20ft.;

Merfolk None darkvision 120ft.; speaks Gnomish, Terran, and Undercommon
Ore +2 Str, -2 lnt
Skeleton +2 Dex, -4 lnt, -4 Cha Nimble Escape; Small size; darkvision 60ft.; speaks Common and Goblin

Tiefling1' +1 lnt, +2 Cha Blind Senses, Keen Hearing and Smell, StoAe Camouflage; can't be blinded; blindsight 30

Troglodyte +2 Str, +2 Con , -4 lnt, ft. , or 10ft. while deafened (blind beyond this radius); speaks Undercommon -
-4 Cha Fey Ancestry; darkvision 60ft.; proficiency in two skills; speaks Common and Elvish -
Zombie +1 Str, +2 Con, -6 lnt, Relentless Endurance; darkvision 60ft.; proficiency in the Intimidation skill; speaks
-4 Wis, -4 Cha
Common and Ore

Brave , Halfling Nimbleness , Lucky; Small size; speed 25ft.; speaks Common and Halfling

Martial Advantage; darkvision 60ft.; speaks Common and Goblin

Ambusher, Mimicry; understands Au ran and Common but speaks only through the use

of its Mimicry trait

·-

Pack Tactics, Sunlight Sensitivity; Small size; darkvision 60ft.; speaks Common and

Draconic

Amphibious , Otherworldly Perception , Slippery, Sunlight Sensitivity; speed 30ft. , swim

30ft.; darkvision 120ft.; speaks Undercommon

Hold Breath (15 min.); +3 natural armor bonus to AC; speed 30ft., swim 30ft.; speaks

Draconic -
Amphibious; speed 10ft., swim 40ft.; speaks Aquan and Common --
Aggressive; darkvision 60ft.; speaks Common and Ore

Vulnerable to bli.jdgeoning damage; immune to poison damage and exhaustion; can't be

poisoned; darkvision 60ft.; can't speak but understands the languages it knew in life

Infernal Legacy (use challenge rating instead of level to determine spells), resistance to

fire damage; darkvision 60ft.; speaks Common and Infernal

Chameleon Skin, Stench , Sunlight Sensitivity; +1 natural armor bonus to AC; darkvision

60 ft. ; speaks Troglodyte

Undead Fortitude; immune to poison damage; can't be poisoned; darkvision 60ft.; can't

speak but understands the languages it knew in life -

( ,., See the Player's Handbook for descriptions of this race's features , none of which alter the NPC's challenge rating.

~

CHAPTER 9 I DUNGEON MASTER'S WORKSHOP

The NPC Features table summarizes the ability healing spells, for example, and adding a healing spell I,
modifiers and features of variou nonhuman races, as to the wizard class list would step on the cleric's turf.
well as various creatures from the Monster Manual with
a challenge rating lower than 1. Apply these modifiers SPELL DAM--A-G--E------------------------
and add these features to the P Cs stat block, then
determine the NPC's challenge rating just as you would For any spell that deals damage, use the Spell Damage
for a monster. Features that can affect a monster's table to determine approximately how much damage is
challenge rating are listed in the Monster Features table. appropriate given the spell's level. The table assumes
The NPC's proficiency bonus is determined by its level, the spell deals half damage on a successful saving
just like a character, rather than by its challenge rating. throw or a missed attack. If your spell doesn't deal
damage on a successful save, you can increase the
If the monster you want to use isn't listed on the table, damage by 25 percent.
use the process described below under "Monsters
with Classes." You can use different damage dice than the ones
in the table, provided that the average result is about
MONSTERS WITH CLASSES the same. Doing so can add a little variety to the spell.
For example, you could change a cantrip's damage
You can use the rules in chapter 3 of the Player's from ldlO (average 5.5) to 2d4 (average 5), reducing
Handbook to give class levels to a monster. For example, the maximum damage and making an average result
you can turn an ordinary werewolf into a werewolf with more likely.
four levels of the barbarian class (such a monster would
be expressed as "Werewolf, 4th-level barbarian"). CHAPTER 9 I DUNGEON MASTER 'S WORKSHOP

Start with the monster's stat block. The monster gains
all the class features for every class level you add, with
the following exceptions:

The monster doesn't gain the starting equipment of
the added class.
For each class level you add, the monster gains one
Hit Die of its normal type (based on its size), ignoring
the class's Hit Die progression.
The monster's proficiency bonus is based on its
challenge rating, not its class levels.

Once you finish adding class levels to a monster,
feel free to tweak its ability scores as you see fit (for
example, raising the monster's Intelligence score so
that the monster is a more effective wizard), and make
whatever other adjustments are needed. You'll need
to recalculate its challenge rating as though you had
designed the monster from scratch.

Depending on the monster and the number of class
levels you add to it, its challenge rating might change
very little or increase dramatically. For example, a
werewolf that gains four barbarian levels is a much
greater threat than it was before. In contrast, the hit
points, spells, and other class features that an ancient
red dragon gains from five levels of wizard don't
increase its challenge rating.

CREATING A SPELL

When creating a new spell, use existing spells as
guidelines. Here are some things to consider:

If a spell is so good that a caster would want to use it
all the time, it might be too powerful for its level.
A long duration or large area can make up for a lesser
effect, depending on the spell.
Avoid spells that have very limited use, such as one
that works only against good dragons. Though such
a spell could exist in the world, few characters will
bother to learn or prepare it unless they know in
advance that doing so will be worthwhile.
• Make sure the spell fits with the identity of the class.
Wizards and sorcerers don"t typically have access to

SPELL DAMAGE

Spell Level One Target Multiple Targets

Cantrip ldlO ld6
l st 2dl0 2d6
2nd 3dl0 4d6
3rd SdlO 6d6
4th 6dl0 7d6
5th 8dl0 8d6
6th lOdlO lld6
7th lldlO l2d6
8th l2dl0 l3d6
9th lSdlO l4d6

HEALING SPELLS

You can also use the Spell Damage table to determine
how many hit points a healing spell restores. A cantrip
shouldn't offer healing.

CREATING A MAGIC ITEM

The magic items in chapter 7, "Treasure," are but a few
of the magic treasures that characters can discover
during their adventures. If your players are seasoned
veterans and you want to surprise them, you can either
modify an existing item or come up with something new.

MODIFYING AN ITEM

The easiest way to invent a new item is to tweak an
existing one. If a paladin uses a flail as her main
weapon, you could change a holy avenger so that it's a
flail instead of a sword. You can turn a ring of the ram
into a wand, or a cloak ofprotection into a circlet of
protection, all without altering the item's properties.

Other substitutions are equally easy. An item that
deals damage of one type can easily deal damage of
another type. A flame tongue sword could deal lightning
damage instead of fire , for example. One capability
can replace another, so a potion ofclimbing can easily
become a potion ofstealth.

You can also modify an item by fusing it with
properties from another item. For example, you could
combine the effects of a helm ofcomprehending
languages with those of a helm oftelepathy into a
single helmet. This makes the item more powerful
(and probably increases its rarity), but it won't break
your game.

Finally, remember the tools that are provided for
modifying items in chapter 7, "Treasure." Giving an item
an interesting minor property, a quirk, or sentience can
alter its flavor significantly.

CREATING A NEW ITEM

If modifying an item doesn't quite do the trick, you can
create one from scratch. A magic item should either let a
character do something he or she couldn't do before, or
improve the character's ability to do something he or she
can do already. For exa mple, the ring ofjumping lets its
wearer jump greater distances, thus augmenting what
a character can already do. A ring of the ram , however,
gives a character the ability to deal force damage.

The simpler you r approach. the easier it is for a to start with the story behind the race or subrace you
character to use the item in play. Giving the item wish to create. Having a firm idea of a race's story in
charges is fine, especially if it ha several different your campaign will help you make decisions during the
abilities, but simply deciding that an item is always creation process. Ask yourself several questions:
active or can be used a fixed number of times per day is
easier to rna nage. Why does my campaign need the race to be playable?
What does the race look like?
POWER LEVEL How would I describe the race's culture?
If you make an item that lets a cha racter kill whatever Where do the members of this race live?
he or she hits with it, that item will likely unbalance your Are there interesting conflicts built into the race's
game. On the other hand , an item whose benefit rarely history and culture that make the race compelling
comes into play isn't much of a rewa rd and probably not from a storytelling standpoint?
worth doling out as one. • What is the race's relationship to the other
playable races?
Use the Magic Item Power by Rarity table as a guide • What classes and backgrounds are well suited to
to help you determine how powerful an item should be, members of the race?
based on its rarity. What are the race's signature traits?
• In the case of a new subrace, what sets it apart from
MAGIC ITEM POWER BY RARITY the other subraces of the parent race?

Ra rity M ax Spell Level Max Bonus Compare the race you have in mind with the other
Common l st race options available to players, to make sure that the
Uncommon 3rd +l new race doesn't pale in comparison to the existing
Rare 6th +2 options (which would result in the race being unpopular)
Very rare 8th +3 or completely overshadow them (so that players don't
Legendary 9th +4 feel as if the other options are inferior).

Maximum Spell Level. This column of the table When the time comes to design the game elements
indicates the highest-level spell effect the item should of the race, such as its traits, take a look at the game's
confer, in the form of a once-per-day or similarly limited existing races and let them inspire you.
property. For example, a common item might confer
the benefit of a 1st-level spell once per day (or just once, CosMETIC ALTERATIONS
if it's consumable). A rare, very rare, or legendary item A simple way to modify an existing race is to change
might allow its possessor to cast a lower-level spell its appearance. Changes to a race's appearance need
more frequently. not affect its game elements. For example, you could
transform halflings into anthropomorphic mice without
Maximum Bonus. If an item delivers a static bonus changing their racial traits at all.
to AC, attack rolls, saving throws, or ability checks, this
column suggests an appropriate bonus based on the CULTURAL ALTERATIONS
item's rarity. In your world, elves might be desert nomads instead of
forest dwellers, halflings might live in cloud cities, and
ATTUNEMENT dwarves might be sailors instead of miners. When you
Decide whether the item requires a character to be change the culture of a race, you can also make minor
attuned to it to use its properties. Use these rules of alterations to the race's proficiencies and traits to reflect
thumb to help you decide: that culture.

If having all the characters in a party pass an item For example, imagine that the dwarves of your world
around to gain its lasting benefits would be disruptive, are seafarers and inventors of gunpowder. You could
the item should require attunement. add the pistol and musket to the list of weapons that
If the item grants a bonus that other items also dwarves are proficient with, and give them proficiency
grant, it's a good idea to require attunement so that with waterborne vehicles instead of artisan's tools.
characters don't try to collect too many of those items. These two small changes tell a different story than
the default assumptions about dwarves in the Player's
CREATING NEW Handbook, without changing the power level of the race.

CHARACTER OPTIONS CREATING A NEW SUBRACE
Creating a new subrace is more involved than making
If the options for player characters in the Player's some minor tweaks to existing racial features, but it
Handbook don't meet all the needs of your campaign, does have the advantage of increasing the diversity of
consult the following sections for advice on creating options for a particular race, rather than replacing some
new race, class, and background options. options with other ones.

CREATING A RACE OR SUBRACE- - - - The following example walks through the creation of
an elf subrace: the eladrin. This subrace has history in
This section teaches you how to modify existing races, the D&D multiverse, so you already have some stories to
as well as create new ones. The most important step in draw on when building its traits.
customizing or designing races for your campaign is
CHAPTER 9 I DUNGEON MASTER'S WORKSHOP

ExAMPLE SuBRACE: ELADRIN limited use of the misty step spell. Since misty step is
a 2nd-level spell, this ability is potent enough that the
Creatures of magic with strong ties to nature, eladrin subrace doesn't need additional traits. This leaves us
live in the twilight realm of the Feywild. Their cities with the following features for the eladrin subrace:
sometimes cross over to the Material Plane, appearing
briefly in mountain valleys or deep forest glades before Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score
fading back into the Feywild. increases by 1.

The elf subraces in the Player's Handbook include ElfWeapon Training. You have proficiency with the
an ability score increase, a weapon training feature, longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow.
and two or three additional traits. Given the story of
the eladrin and their magical nature, an increase to an Fey Step. You can cast the misty step spell once usin
eladrin character's Intelligence is appropriate. There's this trait. You regain the ability to do so when you finish
no need to alter the basic weapon training shared by a short or long rest.
high elves and wood elves.
CREATING A NEW RACE
An ability that sets the eladrin apart from other elves When creating a race from scratch, begin with the
is their ability to step through the boundary between the story and proceed from there. Compare your creation
planes, disappearing for a moment before reappearing to the other races of your world, and borrow freely
somewhere else. In the game, this is reflected in a from the traits of other races. As an example, consider
the aasimar, a race similar to the tiefling but with a
celestial heritage.

EXAMPLE RACE: AASIMAR
Whereas tieflings have fiendish blood in their veins,
aasimar are the descendants of celestial beings. These
folk generally appear as glorious humans with lustrou
hair, flawless skin, and piercing eyes. Aasimar often
attempt to pass as humans in order to right wrongs and
defend goodness on the Material Plane without drawin
undue attention to their celestial heritage. They strive -
to fit into society, although they usually rise to the top,
becoming revered leaders and honorable heroes.

You might decide to use the aasimar as a counterpoin·
to the tiefling race. The two races could even be at odd
reflecting some greater conflict between the forces of
good and evil in your campaign.

Here are our basic goals for the aasimar:

• Aasimar should make effective clerics and paladins.
Aasimar should be to celestials and humans what
tieflings are to fiends and humans.

Given that aasimar and tieflings are like two sides of
the same coin, the tiefling makes a good starting point
for coming up with the new race's traits. Since we wam
aasimar to be effective paladins and clerics, it makes
sense to improve their Wisdom and Charisma instead o:
Intelligence and Charisma.

Like tieflings, aasimar have darkvision. Instead of
resistance to fire damage, we give them resistance
to radiant damage to reflect their celestial nature.
However, radiant damage isn't as common as fire
damage, so we give them resistance to necrotic damage
as well, making them good at facing undead.

The tiefling's Infernal Legacy trait is a good model
for a similar trait to reflect a magical, celestial heritage.
replacing the tiefling's spells with spells of similar leveL
that more closely match the aasimar's celestial ancestrY.
However, the aasimar's expanded resistance might -
require limiting this trait to basic utility spells.

Filling in the rema ining details, we end up with the
following racial traits for the aasimar:

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases
by 1, and your Charisma score increases by 2.

286 CHAPTER 9 I DUNGEON MASTER'S WORKSHOP

Age. Aasimar mature at the arne rate as humans but CHANGING SPELL LISTS
live a few yea rs longer. Modifying a class's spell list usually has little effect on
a character's power but can change the flavor of a class
Alignment. Due to their celestial heritage, aasimar significantly. In your world, paladins might not swear
are often good. However, some aasimar fall into evil, their oaths to ideals, but instead swear fealty to powerful
rejecting their heritage. sorcerers. To capture this story concept, you could build
a new paladin spell list with spells meant to protect
Size. Aasimar are built like well-proportioned their masters, drawn from the sorcerer or wizard lists.
humans. Your size is Medium. Suddenly, the paladin feels like a different class.

Speed. Your base walking s peed is 30 feet. Be cautious when changing the warlock spell list.
Darkvision. Thanks to your celestial heritage, you Since warlocks regain their spell slots after a short rest,
have superior vision in da rk and dim conditions. You they have the potential to use certain spells more times
can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were in a day than other classes do.
bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You
can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. RESTRICTING CLASS ACCESS
Celestial Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic Without changing the way a class functions, you can
damage and radiant damage. root it more firmly in the world by associating the class
Celestial Legacy. You know the light cantrip. Once with a particular race or culture.
you reach 3rd level , you can cast the lesser restoration
spell once with this trait, and you regain the ability to do For example, you might decide that bards, sorcerers,
so when you finish a long rest. Once you reach 5th level, warlocks, and wizards represent the magical traditions
you can cast the daylight spell once with this trait as a of four different races or cultures. The bardic colleges
3rd-level spell, and you regain the ability to do so when might be closed to everyone except elves, dragonborn
you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting might be the only creatures capable of becoming
ability for these spells. sorcerers, and all warlocks in your world might be
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common human. You could break that down still further: bards
and Celestial. of the College of Lore could be high elves, and bards
of the College of War could be wood elves. Gnomes
MODIFYING A CLASS discovered the school of illusion, so all wizards who
specialize in that school are gnomes. Different human
The classes in the Player's Handbook capture a wide cultures produce warlocks with different pacts, and
range of character archetypes, but your campaign world so on. Similarly, different cleric domains might reflect
might have need of something more. The following entirely separate religions associated with different
section discusses ways to modify existing classes to races or cultures.
better serve your game's needs.
You decide how flexible you want to be in allowing
CHANGING PROFICIENCIES a player character to break these restrictions. Can a
Changing a class's proficiencies is a safe and simple way half-elf live among the elves and study their bardic
to modify a class to better reflect your world. Swapping traditions? Can a dwarf stumble into a warlock pact
out one skill or tool proficiency for another doesn't make despite having no connection to a culture that normally
a character any stronger or weaker, but doing so can produces warlocks? As always, it's better to say yes and
change the flavor of a class in subtle ways. use the player's desire as an opportunity to develop the
character's story and that of your world, rather than
For example, a prominent guild of rogues in your shutting down possibilities.
world might worship a patron deity, performing secret
missions in that deity's name. To reflect this cultural SUBSTITUTING CLASS FEATURES
detail, you could add Religion to the list of skills that a
rogue character can choose as a proficiency. You could If one or more features of a given class don't exactly
even mandate that skill as one of the choices for rogues fit the theme or tone of your campaign, you can pull
who belong to this guild. them out of the class and replace them with new
ones. In doing so, you should strive to make sure
You can also change armor and weapon proficiencies that the new options are just as appealing as the
to reflect certain aspects of your world . For example, ones you are removing, and that the substitute class
you could decide that the clerics of a particular deity features contribute to the class's effectiveness at social
belong to an order that forbids the accumulation of interaction, exploration, or combat just as well as those
material goods, other than magic items useful for their being replaced.
divine mission. Such clerics carry a staff, but they
are forbidden from wearing armor or using weapons Ultimately, a class exists to help a player express a
other than that staff. To reflect this, you could remove particular character concept, and any class feature you
the armor and weapon proficiencies for clerics of this replace is also removing an aspect of that character.
faith, making them proficient with the quarterstaff and Substituting a class feature should be done only to fit a
nothing else. You could give them a benefit to make up specific need for your campaign, or to appeal to a player
for the loss of proficiencies- something like the monk's trying to create a specific kind of character (perhaps one
Unarmored Defense class feature, but presented as a modeled after a character from a novel, TV series, comic
divine blessing. book, or movie).

CHAPTER 9 I DUNGEON MASTER'S WORKSHOP

The first step is to figure out what class feature or Once you have the concept for the class option in
group of class features you're going to replace. Then mind , it's time to design the specifics. If you're not sure
you need to evaluate what each feature provides to the where to begin, look at the existing options and see w -
class, so that the features you are adding don't make the class features they provide. It's perfectly acceptable for
class over- or underpowered. Ask yourself the following two class options to have similar features, and it's al o
questions about a feature you're replacing: fine to look at other classes for examples of mechanics
you can draw on for inspiration. As you design each
What impact does replacing the feature have on class feature , ask the following questions:
exploration, social interaction, or combat?
Does replacing the feature affect how long the party How does the class feature reinforce the story or
can continue adventuring in a day? theme of the class option?
Does the feature consume resources provided Is there an existing feature that can be used
elsewhere in the class? as a model?
Does the feature work all the time, or is it regained How does the new class feature compare to other
after a short rest, a long rest, or some other features of the same level?
length of time?
VARIANT: SPELL POINTS
Armed with answers to these questions, you can start
designing new features that replace the ones you are One way to modify how a class feels is to change how _
removing. It's fine if the new class features drift closer uses its spells. With this variant system, a character \
to exploration, social interaction, or combat than the has the Spellcasting feature uses spell points instead
ones you are replacing, but be wary of going too far. spell slots to fuel spells. Spell points give a caster more
For example, if you replace an exploration-focused flexibility, at the cost of greater complexity.
feature with something purely combat focused, you've
just made that class more powerful in combat, and it In this variant, each spell has a point cost based on - ~
could overshadow the other classes in a way that you level. The Spell Point Cost table summarizes the cosr -
didn't intend. spell points of slots from 1st to 9th level. Cantrips don··
require slots and therefore don't require spell points.
There's no formula that can tell you how to design
new class features. The best place to start is by looking Instead of gaining a number of spell slots to cast you;-
at other class features, or at spells, feats, or any other spells from the Spellcasting feature, you gain a pool
rules for inspiration. You're almost certainly going to of spell points instead. You expend a number of spell
have some missteps, as features that seem good on the points to create a spell slot of a given level, and then us~
surface fall apart in play. That's all right. Everything that slot to cast a spell. You can't reduce your spell po--
you design will need to be playtested. When introducing total to less than 0, and you regain all spent spell poin -
new class features, be sure the players using them are when you finish a long rest.
comfortable with the fact that you might need to go back
and make some changes after seeing them in play., Spells of 6th level and higher are particularly taxing-
cast. You can use spell points to create one slot of each
CREATING NEW CLASS OPTIONS level of 6th or higher. You can't create another slot of · -
Each class has at least one major choice point. Clerics same level until you finish a long rest.
choose a divine domain, fighters choose a martial
archetype, wizards choose an arcane tradition, and The number of spell points you have to spend is ba
so forth. Creating a new option doesn't require you to on your level as a spellcaster, as shown in the Spell
remove anything from the class, but any new option Points by Level table. Your level also determines the
you add should be compared to existing options to maximum-level spell slot you can create. Even though
make sure it's no more or less powerful, yet remains you might have enough points to create a slot above this
distinctive in flavor. Like anything in class design, be maximum, you can't do so.
prepared to playtest your ideas and make changes if
things aren't playing out the way you want them to. The Spell Points by Level table applies to bards,
clerics, druids, sorcerers, and wizards. For a paladin o~
ranger, halve the character's level in that class and the
consult the table. For a fighter (Eidritch Knight) or ro
(Arcane Trickster), divide the character's level in that
class by three.

This system can be applied to monsters that cast
spells using spell slots, but it isn't recommended that
you do so. Tracking spell point expenditures for a
monster can be a hassle.

SPELL POINT COST

Spell Level Point Cost Spell Level Point Cost

lst 2 5th 7
2nd 3 6th 9
3rd 5 7th 10
4th 6 8th 11
9th
13

288 CHAPTER 9 I DUNGEON MASTER'S WORKSHOP