Treasure comes in two main forms: wealth (coins, gems, and salable valuables like jewelry, equipment, and art) and magic items (such as magic weapons, rings of invisibility, and so on). Treasures are physical objects. Information, allies, fame, and fulfillment of the party’s goals and ambitions are desirable, and can often be earned along with treasure, but are not treasure.

---

How Much Treasure to Give?

The Narrator decides how much treasure to give out as rewards, but there is no requirement that adventurers must earn a certain amount of wealth—it depends on the style of game and scale of the campaign. The High and Low Treasure Campaigns section below has more information on departing from default treasure levels.

The Treasure by Level table shows the rate of treasure adventurers acquire if their rewards are generated randomly or use the sample treasures in the Monstrous Menagerie. The Narrator can vary widely from these numbers without seriously affecting game balance. 

The Gold Acquired This Level column indicates how much wealth, in gold pieces, a single adventurer is likely to find or earn during the course of that character level. This accounts for their share of the coins found as well as the value of nonmagical treasure.

The Magic Items Acquired This Level column indicates the probability that an adventurer finds one or more magic items each level (roll 1d100 to determine which), and lists the treasure tables that offer appropriate magic rewards for that level. Over the course of their career, an adventurer should find about 24 magic items: 18 consumable magic items or enchanted trinkets as well as 6 permanent magic items.

 

---

Creating Treasure Rewards

The Narrator can give out treasure in one of three ways: crafting unique treasure rewards, rolling on the tables in this chapter to create random treasure, or granting the listed treasure for a particular encounter in the Monstrous Menagerie or in an adventure.

Crafting Unique Treasure Rewards

To determine the gold piece value of all the treasures a party finds at a given level, multiply the number of adventurers by the appropriate amount of wealth from the Gold Acquired This Level column of the treasure table above. Narrators don’t have to stick to this number rigorously by any means—there’s enough latitude to give anywhere between twice this amount and none based on the demands of the story. 

With a total gold piece value worked out, the Narrator divides it into one, two, three, or more individual treasure hoards, each a reward for overcoming a different obstacle. Instead of granting each treasure hoard in gold pieces, these can be customized by using different coin denominations, gems, and valuables of all kinds. See the Treasure Descriptions section below for inspiration.

For example, a 10th level party of four adventurers is expected to find an average of 16,000 gold over the course of leveling from 10th to 11th (4,000 gold x 4 adventurers). The Narrator decides that there are three large treasure hoards available—a hidden cache of 5,000 gold that can only be found by solving a puzzle, a ruby ring worth 5,000 gold which can be earned by finding a noble’s missing relative, and a dragon’s hoard worth 10,000 gold (half in coins and half in gems). This totals more than average treasure for the level, and it could vary even more depending on circumstances. The party could fail to decipher or even notice the puzzle, foregoing one of the treasures, they might be able to bargain the noble up to an even higher reward, or they could suffer defeat at the claws of the dangerous dragon. The PCs might also find other, smaller incidental treasures along the way. 

To determine the average number of magic items found over the course of a level, multiply the number of adventurers by the percentages in the Magic Items Acquired This Level column of the Treasure by Level table. For instance, a single 1st level adventurer has a 60% chance of finding an expendable magic item from Table: Magic Items #1 or #2, and a 35% chance of finding a permanent magic item from Table: Magic Items #4, #5, or #6. Over the course of gaining their first level, a party of three adventurers is likely to find approximately 2 expendable magic items (three times they’ll have 60% chance of finding one) and 1 permanent magic item (three times they’ll have a 35% chance of finding one). Narrators may halve or double these numbers—granting anywhere between 1 and 4 expendable magic items, and 0 and 2 permanent magic items—without straying too far from the default rate of treasure acquisition.

Rolling for Random Treasure

Instead of doling out parcels of treasure, many Narrators like to randomly generate wealth or adopt a hybrid random-custom method: randomly generating a hoard and then altering it by swapping out pieces of wealth and magic items appropriate to the story.

To create a random treasure hoard, use the Random Treasure Tables section below. On average, a typical party finds roughly 1 to 3 random treasure hoards per character level. The Narrator decides the location of each treasure. An important adversary, such as a legendary or elite monster, might guard a massive cache which consists of two random treasure hoards.

Using Premade Treasure

Most monsters in the Monstrous Menagerie include an Encounters section listing one or more treasures, broken down by encounter difficulty. Narrators can use one of these treasures as it stands or modify it to better fit a campaign. When using premade treasure, it’s important to remember that not every encounter gives out treasure! As with random treasure, the average party finds 1 to 3 treasures per level, and additional encounters might yield no treasure or only incidental treasure (see below).

---

Varying Treasure

Whenever considering treasure, the Narrator should customize rewards to the needs of the game, the logic of the ongoing story, and the party’s desires. 

Customizing Magic Items

Randomly assigned treasure doesn’t take into account the party’s classes or favorite weapon types. Some Narrators like to swap randomly assigned magic items for those that are more useful to their adventurers. For example, if one of the PCs is a greatsword-wielding herald, the Narrator might alter a randomly generated sun blade longsword, making it a greatsword instead, or even trade a robe of the archmagi for a holy avenger. In a party containing a wizard, the Narrator might convert some randomly-generated scrolls of cleric spells into wizard spells.

Incidental Treasure

Sometimes the party stumbles into a small amount of wealth that doesn’t constitute a treasure hoard. They might pickpocket a noble, defeat a beast in its lair, or ransack a merchant’s storeroom, but Narrators don’t need to count or keep track of incidental treasure. Grant an incidental treasure whenever it feels appropriate. When in doubt about whether incidental treasure is present (such as after defeating a minor adversary or after searching a room), roll a 1d6. On a roll of 4–6, incidental treasure is found.

To randomly determine incidental treasure, generate a treasure with a Challenge Rating of the party’s average level – 1d6 (minimum 0). A low-level party defeating a bandit sentry is likely to find a handful of silver or gold coins while tier 4 adventurers might win a few hundred platinum in a dice game—in either case, what’s gained is a fairly insignificant amount of money to the party.

High and Low Treasure Campaigns

When using the standard treasure rules, an adventurer finds an average of 6 or so permanent magic items over 20 character levels, along with enough money to buy a seventh, legendary item. Narrators might prefer more frequent treasure rewards and more fabulously wealthy adventurers, or to run a campaign with a lower level of magic or even no magic items at all.

 Narrators that consistently grant more than double the amount of treasures per level (say, one treasure hoard per character per level) should raise the difficulty of combat encounters and exploration challenges. A well-equipped party of mid-level or higher can easily handle a steady diet of hard encounters, and probably has enough tricks to consistently succeed on medium and hard skill checks. Raise the level of challenge by including more deadly combats and more difficult obstacles to overcome, as well as encounter elements.

When running a low-treasure campaign with few magic items, Narrators can expect a combat that’s rated medium to provide a stiff challenge. A combat that’s rated as a hard challenge may offer significant peril. Magic-poor adventurers don’t have as many ways to escape the consequences of failure (extra healing, teleportation, and so on), and the Narrator should design challenges with the awareness that failure is a real possibility.

Treasure for Large and Small Groups

The above random and pre-computed treasure guidelines assume a party consisting of 4 or 5 adventurers. Smaller parties won’t find enough treasure using these guidelines, and large parties will find too many high-level magic items. Use the following modifications to give small parties fewer but richer treasure hoards and large parties more but poorer treasure hoards.

Crafting Unique Treasure Rewards. No changes are necessary to the way treasure is given or crafted, making it a great choice for unusually large or small groups. Just grant the desired amount of treasure per party member.

Rolling for Random Treasure. For small parties of 2 or 3 adventurers, the PCs only find an average of 1 random treasure hoard per level. To generate each hoard, after determining the Challenge Rating of a combat encounter or quest, use the treasure table one band higher. For example, if a treasure’s Challenge Rating is 6 (the Treasure for Challenge Ratings 5–10 table), instead use the Treasure for Challenge Ratings 11–16 table.

For large parties (6 or more adventurers), roll on a random treasure table 3 or 4 times per level (perhaps combining two or three treasure rolls into a single monster’s hoard or quest reward). For each roll on the treasure table, after determining the Challenge Rating of a combat encounter or quest, use the treasure table one band lower. For example, if a treasure’s Challenge Rating is 6 (Treasure for Challenge Ratings 5–10 table), Treasure for Challenge Ratings 3–4 table.

Using Premade Treasure. Narrators can apply the same rules as for generating random treasure when using one of the treasure suggestions from the Monstrous Menagerie. Small groups find around 1 hoard per level, using the treasure for the next hardest encounter, while large groups find 3 or more hoards, each of which uses treasure from the next easiest encounter. If there is no harder or easier encounter, or when using a published adventure module, instead double (for small groups) or halve (for large groups) the number of coins, gems, and valuables they find.

---

Random Treasure Tables

The following tables allow Narrators to generate an appropriate treasure for a combat or noncombat challenge. There are nine tables, each a reward for encounters of different challenge ratings.

Some treasure hoards are won by defeating monsters in battle. To randomly determine the treasure belonging to enemy combatants, total the Challenge Ratings of all the combatants to get the treasure’s Challenge Rating.

Other treasures are discovered through exploration, given as a reward, or otherwise earned through noncombat encounters. Quests like these can be assigned a Challenge Rating just as combat encounters can. A simple task or a small treasure has a Challenge Rating equal to the party’s average character level. A difficult or rewarding quest can have a Challenge Rating up to twice the party’s average character level. 

Once a treasure’s Challenge Rating has been determined, find the matching Random Treasure Table and roll a d20 three times: once for coins, once for other wealth, and once for magic items. Each price category of gem and valuable (such as ‘10 gp gem’ or ‘25 gp valuable’) has its own subtable, as does each of the random magic item tables, numbered from 1 to 10.

Challenge Rating	Average Value
0	30 gp
1-2	100 gp
3-4	300 gp
5-10	1,000 gp
11-16	3,000 gp
17-22	10,000 gp
23-30	30,000 gp
31-40	100,000 gp
41+	300,000 gp

 

---

Challenge Rating 0 (average value: 30 gp)

 

Challenge Rating 1-2 (average value: 100 gp)

 

Challenge Rating 3-4 (average value: 300 gp)

 

Challenge Rating 5-10 (average value: 1,000 gp)

 

Challenge Rating 11-16 (average value: 3,000 gp)

 

Challenge Rating 17-22 (average value: 10,000 gp)

 

Challenge Rating 23-30 (average value: 30,000 gp)

 

Challenge Rating 31-40 (average value: 100,000 gp)

 

Challenge Rating 41+ (average value: 300,000 gp)

 

---

Coins

Caches of coins are found in denominations of pp (platinum), gp (gold), ep (electrum), sp (silver), and cp (copper). Fifty of any denomination of coins weigh 1 pound. A stack of 2,000 coins weighs 40 pounds and is considered to be one bulky item for the purposes of carrying capacity.

Each ‘coins’ result on the treasure table lists the average number of coins found, and then in parentheses lists the dice expression used to generate a random number of coins. For instance, a result of ‘700 (2d6 × 100) sp’ indicates that 700 silver pieces, or 2d6 × 100 silver pieces, are found.

---

Other Wealth

Treasures can contain non-monetary wealth: gems and valuables. ‘Valuables’ is a catch-all term for jewelry, works of art and craft, and other costly but nonmagical objects.

The primary way that adventurers are rewarded is with experience points (gaining new class levels the more they accrue) and treasure like gold or magic items. These aren’t the only ways that they can advance in level however, nor the only way the Narrator can reward the party. 

---

Experience Points

As adventurers face deadly monsters, solve puzzles, explore new locations, overcome challenges, and navigate complex social situations they earn experience points that represent the knowledge and learning they’ve gained. All characters involved in an encounter divide the experience earned evenly and apply it to their experience point total. If the party was assisted by NPCs, count any NPCs as party members when dividing. 

After winning a combat encounter, the party gains the total experience of all monsters and encounter elements in the encounter (treating encounter elements as monsters of a CR equal to their difficulty increase) divided up by the number of adventurers and NPCs in the party.

When an adventurer accumulates an amount of experience points determined by their character level, they advance a level in their current class or may select a level in a new class if multiclassing.

---

Encounters 

Unlike mundane activities, encounters have stakes. In combat the stakes are clear, but other encounter types can be as impactful or dangerous. Defeating a monster might save a family. Brokering peace between two warring barons could save thousands. It might be impossible for the party to carve their way into a dragon’s vault, but they may be able to gain entry through a super poetry reading, sublime musical contest, or sneak in undetected.

The below list includes a range of encounters that most adventurers will face. Allow PCs to solve encounters in creative ways. If the party tries to turn a combat encounter into a social encounter by convincing a bandit leader that they want to join, let them! 

Combat Encounters. Combat encounters typically involve violence. The goal may be to vanquish all enemies, capture a target, or hold a strategic point until reinforcements arrive.

Skill Encounters. Skill encounters include contests, research, puzzles, and other tasks dependent upon an adventurer’s aptitude with a particular task. Perhaps the party needs to win an audition to gain an audience with a queen, research the location of an ancient temple, or successfully use an ancient device before the new moon in order to stop a ritual. 

Social Encounters. Social encounters often involve swaying the opinions or conclusions of one or more NPCs and include trials, negotiations, or debates.

Stealth Encounters. Sometimes no amount of force can overcome the odds. Stealth encounters might involve sneaking into a palace or breaking into a vault.

Exploration Encounters. Exploration encounters cover a range of potentially dangerous wilderness encounters. The adventurers might need to traverse a dangerous mountain range in the winter, braving blizzards and starvation, or track a criminal through a haunted bog. Perhaps the party needs to climb a crumbling shaft littered with traps in order to activate an ancient elevator. These are often exploration challenges but can be more specific scenarios crafted by the Narrator or introduced in an adventure.

Hybrid Encounters. Hybrid encounters involve elements from two or more of the above categories. Perhaps the party is forced to fight in a gladiatorial pit, fighting waves of enemies until they’re able to win the favor of a spectating warlord, or must distract patrols while sneaking into an enemy encampment to replace a real document with their own forgery.

Encourage Players With Experience

When Narrators award experience points, they assign value to particular tasks. If a Narrator only awards experience for combat, most players will adapt appropriately. Over time this creates narrative fatigue. Provide a range of encounter types with a variety of solutions, and when the party finds clever solutions that subvert or avoid them, give them a bonus for their ingenuity!

Roleplaying Rewards

Level Up is all about roleplaying and Narrators are encouraged to consider awarding additional experience points at the end of every game session based upon how much the player behind an adventurer engaged with the game. While not everyone needs an accent or ten page backstory, if players mostly stay in character and avoid digressions award them with experience points equal to an easy or average encounter. Good roleplay that engages or entertains everyone and showcases character motivation or growth might be worth as much as a hard encounter. Spectacular roleplay that defines an adventurer or a campaign might be worth even more!

---

Absent Characters

Real life often intrudes on adventuring and deprives a party of a companion. The options below can help manage this inevitability.

First, some narrators decide that an adventurer is unavailable for any session that their player cannot attend. If possible, establish an in-game reason as to why the PC was not present. Some Narrators do not award XP to adventurers that do not participate in encounters. Over time, this can produce a level disparity. While a small level disparity is not mechanically disruptive, it can frustrate players that are unable to attend because of circumstances beyond their control. In some cases, this can lead to further absences or a player quitting altogether. 

Alternatively, ask the player to explain why their adventurer was unavailable and award them the same experience points for whatever story they create. Perhaps a mischievous fey that the party encountered previously snatched the PC for a series of ‘games’, or after a night of drinking they woke up with a splitting headache on a boat out to sea. Reward creativity, work collaboratively, and use it as an opportunity to revisit past plots or foreshadow new ones.

Second, a player can request that someone else run their adventurer during combat encounters. Adventurers controlled by another player gain full experience points for a session. While this might disrupt social encounters or other planned interactions, it keeps a party at full strength when facing dangerous odds. Many Narrators decide that an absent player's adventurer automatically stabilizes if they are dropped to 0 unless the whole party is slain to avoid that player returning to find out their PC is dead. 

Regardless of the approach a Narrator takes, the issue of what to do when a player has to miss a game session should be discussed during session zero.

---

Objectives

Instead of awarding experience points after each encounter, the Narrator can also award experience for completing objectives. Objectives are divided into major objectives or minor objectives. When planning an adventure, identify two or three major objectives and four to six minor objectives. For purposes of experience points, treat major objectives as hard encounters and minor objectives as easy encounters

As an option, the Narrator might ask the party to choose a major objective or a couple of minor objectives unrelated to the adventure at the beginning of each game session. This gives them some narrative control, rewards them for engaging with the story, and further ties them to the setting.

Major Objectives

Major objectives represent the major story beats, pivotal encounters, or significant side quests.

• Discover the location of Tancred’s Crypt in the fey-haunted Westerwyld Forest
• Acquire the Tome of Illumination from the Illuminant Order
• Defeat Ogrusk One-Tusk, bandit king of Weepingmere 

Minor Objectives

Minor objectives should represent smaller plot points, optional moments, or ancillary goals. When using a prepublished adventure, try to map them to goals rather than specific encounters. This creates flexibility in how the party accomplishes the objectives rather than dictating a specific set of encounters. 

• Help a halfling farmer at the edge of the Westerwyld Forest pull his prize pig out of a bog
• Identify a way into the Illuminant Order’s Archive
• Investigate rumors of a caravan guard that survived an attack by Ogrusk One-Tusk’s bandits 

---

Leveling Without Experience

Some Narrators eschew standard experience points all together, either because they find tracking it to be tedious or because it better suits a campaign’s narrative structure.

By Session. With session based leveling, consider having the adventurers level after each 4 hour session in tier 1, after two sessions in tier 2, after 3 sessions in tier 3, and after 4 sessions in tier 4. This system is easy to track but does not always mesh well with story beats.

Over Time. The Narrator may decide that the adventurers level after time passes in-game. In tier 1, PCs might level at the end of each month. In tier 2, they might level at the end of each season. In tier 3, the party might level at the end of each year. In tier 4, the adventurers might level after 2 or five years. Be sure to tie the timeframe to the narrative beats of the campaign.

Simplified Experience. Encounter points can also be used as an alternative to standard experience points. Whenever a party fights a battle, each adventurer gains XP equal to the encounter point cost of a battle (for example no matter their level, an easy battle is worth half a point of XP, a medium battle is worth 1 XP, a hard battle is worth 2 XP, and so on.) For every 15 XP that an adventurer accumulates they gain a level.

Story-Based. With story-based leveling, the adventurers level after significant accomplishments during the campaign. 

---

Other Rewards

Individuals become adventurers for many reasons, but most are interested in some sort of reward. The below list offers examples of rewards beyond experience points and treasure.

Prestige. While saving a village might not be the most lucrative of ventures, word of the party’s deeds might increase their Prestige ratings.

Property, Assets, and Businesses. Homes, castles, strongholds, ships, and businesses are all fine rewards that can expand adventurers’ scope of operations or add a new facet to the game. 

Relationships. Over the course of their adventure the PCs form relationships with individuals and communities. Consider granting them the use of favors. 

Room and Board. Adventurers touch the lives of common folk and business owners. While these grateful people might lack wealth, they can ensure that heroes never go hungry or without a roof over their heads. This could grant the party a moderate lifestyle at no cost within a particular town or region.

Secret Knowledge. Some individuals may offer knowledge as a reward. This could take the form of a key knowledge, the location of something of interest, or an important secret.

Services. Religious or magical organizations might offer adventurers free or reduced cost spellcasting, and trading companies might allow PCs to travel more safely or at no cost.

Status or Titles. Rulers may bestow status or titles on deserving adventurers. While this can result in privileges, respect, and holdings, many rulers use this as a way to establish a hold over useful individuals.

Status can come from other sources. A tribe of wood elves might grant honorary membership to adventurers that aid them, allowing the party to access ruins in their forest, while a thieves guild might provide information and secret escape routes after the PCs help one of their members escape the noose.

Supernatural Boons. Supernatural creatures might grant some of their power to deserving adventurers. This could replicate the benefit of a magic item that does not require attunement or provide the use of a spell. Perhaps the merfolk priestess that the party saves grants them a blessing that allows them to swim and breathe underwater (as per a cloak of the manta ray).

Treasure. Treasure covers artwork, coins, gems, and jewelry, as well as magic items. 
 

The world can be a dangerous place and the environment might pose a deadly threat all by itself. In addition to their inherent danger, encounter elements offer ways to enhance the perils of exploration challenges or combat to make both more satisfying. A duel atop a bridge or traversing a narrow crossing is all the more exciting when deadly lava runs below rather than rushing water, and a hallway fight or dungeon trap with a plethora of green slime is a different kind of challenge altogether!

---

Challenge Rating Increase

The challenge rating of a combat encounter or exploration challenge can be increased when an encounter element is included so long as it poses an active threat—a cage match near a volcanic pit is more dramatic, but no more dangerous than usual.

---

Acid (+2)

A creature that touches acid takes 5 (2d4) acid damage. When a creature first enters into an area of acid or starts its turn there, it takes 10 (4d4) ongoing acid damage. A creature submerged in acid takes 25 (10d4) ongoing acid damage. This damage persists for 3 rounds after the creature leaves the acid. A creature ends all ongoing damage from mundane acid by using its action to wipe away the corrosive liquid.

---

Brown Mold (+2)

Brown mold subsists on heat, drawing away warmth from the environment and creatures around it. Most patches of brown mold have only a 10-foot radius, but the temperature in a 30-foot radius around it is unnaturally cold.

When a creature moves within 5 feet of the brown mold for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it makes a DC 12 Constitution saving throw , taking 22 (4d10) cold damage on a failure, or half damage on a success.

Brown mold is not only immune to fire damage but rapidly grows when exposed to flames. When any source of fire—the effects of a spell like fire bolt , a lit torch, and so on—happens within 5 feet of a patch of brown mold, the brown mold rapidly expands to surround it in a 10-foot radius. However, any amount of cold damage instantly destroys a patch of brown mold. 

---

Crowd (+1)

Throngs of humanoids are difficult terrain , and a creature surrounded by a crowd has disadvantage on hearing- and sight-based checks to perceive outside of it. 

In addition, making attacks in a crowd risks collateral damage and the wrath of the throng. When a creature attacks from within a crowd or attacks a target within a crowd, on a miss by 10 or more the attack hits a crowd member and the creature makes a Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion check (DC 13 + 2 per previous check) to convince the crowd not to attack it. On a failure, the crowd transforms into a commoner mob and attacks, fighting until the creature is reduced to 0 hit points or the commoner mob is bloodied .

---

Darkness (+½)

Darkness comes in two varieties: magical and nonmagical. In nonmagical darkness, creatures with darkvision can see out to the range specified by that trait as if it were dim light . In magical darkness, all vision is blocked. Creatures without darkvision cannot see in mundane or magical darkness. In addition, a frightened creature unable to see because of magical darkness is rattled . 

---

Dense Smoke (+1)

Creatures and objects in an area of dense smoke are heavily obscured. When a creature that needs to breathe starts its turn in an area of dense smoke, if it is not holding its breath it makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 10 + 1 per round previous turn in the dense smoke, maximum DC 20) or it begins to suffocate. A creature that covers its mouth and nose with a damp cloth has advantage on this save. Finally, smell-based checks to perceive or track creatures that have spent more than 1 round in an area of dense smoke have advantage until the creature finishes a long rest or takes at least 10 minutes to clean the smoke from itself.

---

Extreme Cold (+1)

At the end of every hour a creature is exposed to temperatures at or below 0° Fahrenheit (–18° Celsius), it makes a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or suffers a level of fatigue . Resistance to cold damage, immunity to cold damage, or wearing cold weather gear grants an automatic success on this save. Creatures native to an extreme cold environment also automatically succeed on their saving throw.

Saving throws made against effects or spells that deal cold damage have disadvantage .

---

Extreme Heat (+1)

At the end of every hour a creature is exposed to temperatures at or above 100° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius), it makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 4 + 1 per hour spent in extreme heat) or suffers a level of fatigue . Resistance to fire damage, immunity to fire damage, or keeping a light pack (less than half carrying capacity) grants an automatic success on this save, whereas a creature wearing medium armor, heavy armor, or heavy clothing has disadvantage . Creatures native to an extreme heat environment also automatically succeed on their saving throw.

Saving throws made against effects or spells that deal fire damage have disadvantage .

---

Falling (+1 per 30 feet; maximum +4)

The quickest way to severe harm (or even death) is from falling. Whether from a rooftop, cliff’s edge, treetop, or flying mount, falling can deal a devastating amount of damage. When a creature falls, it takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it falls (maximum 20d6) and lands prone .

A creature that falls into water takes half damage, or no damage if it dives with a successful Athletics check (DC equal to the distance it falls divided by 5).

---

Fire (+2)

An area of fire sheds bright light to 10 feet beyond its edges and dim light an additional 10 feet. A creature that touches fire takes 7 (2d6) ongoing fire damage. A creature may end ongoing damage from mundane fire by spending an action to extinguish the flames. Smoke and heat shimmer lightly obscure anything within or on the other side of an area of fire. 

---

Frigid Water (+1)

After being in frigid water for a number of minutes equal to its Constitution score, a creature makes a DC 10 Constitution saving throw at the end of each minute or it suffers a level of fatigue . Resistance or immunity to cold damage grants an automatic success on this save. Creatures native to an extreme cold environment also automatically succeed on their saving throw.

---

Green Slime (+1)

This sticky, vibrantly green, slopping slime clings to and mercilessly eats away at flesh, plants, and even metal. 

Green slime covers a 5-foot square area or larger, though rarely greater in size than a 20-foot radius. Although it is alive and able to sense with blindsight to a range of 30 feet, green slime has no Intelligence or other ability scores. When green slime senses movement underneath it, it drops towards the ground. A creature in the green slime’s area makes a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw , becoming slimed on a failure.

A slimed creature takes 5 (1d10) ongoing acid damage until the green slime is scraped off with an action. Green slime is destroyed by sunlight, any feature, spell, or trait that cures disease, or any amount of cold, fire, or radiant damage. Wood or metal exposed to green slime instead takes 11 (2d10) acid damage.

---

Heavy Precipitation (+½)

Heavy snowfall makes an area lightly obscured, and Perception checks relying on sight are made with disadvantage . Heavy rain has the same effects, also affecting Perception checks that rely on hearing and extinguishing any open flames.

---

High Gravity (+2)

The ranges of ranged weapons are halved, as are all jump distances. When a creature makes its first attack in a round using a weapon that does not have the dual-wielding property, it makes a DC 12 Athletics check or subtracts 1d4 from its attack rolls for 1 round. Falling damage is treated as twice the distance in the area and there is no maximum amount of damage that can be taken from a fall. For every hour spent in the area, a creature not acclimated to it makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + the number of hours spent in the area) or gain a level of fatigue (maximum 4 levels of fatigue).

---

Lava (+4)

A creature that touches lava takes 16 (3d10) ongoing fire damage. When a creature first enters into an area of lava or starts its turn there, it takes 33 (6d10) ongoing fire damage. A creature submerged in lava takes 55 (10d10) ongoing fire damage. This damage persists for 4 rounds after the creature leaves the lava. A creature ends all ongoing damage from lava by using its action to wipe away the molten rock.

---

Low Gravity (-1)

The ranges of ranged weapons are doubled, as are all jump distances. Falling damage is treated as half the distance in the area. In addition, damage from bludgeoning weapons is reduced by half. 

---

Magnetized Ore (+½)

Magnetized ore wreaks havoc on the use of compasses or any natural sense of direction, making both useless within 500 feet.

While within 50 feet of magnetized ore, a creature wearing heavy armor made from metal or attacking with a metal weapon has disadvantage on its attack rolls , Strength and Dexterity, and saving throws made against fatigue .

---

Memory Crystals (+½)

Recognizing a memory crystal for what it is requires a DC 20 Arcana check. When a creature with prepared spells is within 30 feet of a memory crystal, at the start of its turn it must make a DC 15 spellcasting ability check or lose one randomly determined prepared spell. 

When destroyed (DC 17 Strength check, AC 7, 2 hit points) a memory crystal explodes with dangerous magic in a 10-foot radius. Each creature in the area makes a DC 20 Charisma saving throw , taking 14 (4d6) psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. 

An area filled with memory crystals requires a creature to succeed on a DC 8 Acrobatics check at the end of each of its turns to avoid breaking any of the dangerous gemstones.

---

Miring Ground (+3)

Sludge, tar, or sufficiently deep and sticky mud can provide real danger to creatures caught in them. 

Miring ground is difficult terrain . In addition, when a creature starts its turn in miring ground, it begins to sink and makes an Athletics check (DC 12 + 2 per round spent in the area) to continue moving. On a failure, its Speed is reduced by 10 feet. When this reduces a creature’s Speed to 5 feet or less it begins sinking 1 foot deeper into the miring ground at the end of each of its turns. A sinking creature can be freed with an Athletics check equal to the DC of its last failed check against the miring ground. A sinking creature that becomes submerged begins suffocating if it is unable to hold its breath. Any creature trying to aid a sinking creature must have a solid surface to stand on or a fly speed, but can use ropes or similar means to do so at a distance.
 

---

Poisonous Plants (+1)

Spotting the telltale signs of vegetation dangerous to touch requires requires a DC 15 Nature check. Poisonous plants can be as sparse as a few shrubs or as pervasive as fields of harmful groundcover.

When a creature starts its turn within the area or enters the area for the first time on a turn, it makes a DC 10 Constitution saving throw , taking 3 (1d6) poison damage on a failure, or half damage on a success.

---

Rushing Liquid (+2)

Standing in rushing liquid halves the speed of a creature moving against the current and doubles the speed of creatures moving with it. At the start of each of its turns, a creature in knee-high rushing liquid makes an Acrobatics or Athletics check to keep its footing. On a failure, it is knocked prone and moves a number of feet in the direction of the current equal to the amount it failed the check by (rounded up to the nearest 5 feet). The check is DC 11 if the rushing liquid is knee-high, DC 14 if waist-high, DC 17 if chest-high, and DC 20 if the creature’s feet cannot touch the bottom. A creature moving with the current has disadvantage on this check. A creature driven into a solid object by the current (such as a rock) takes damage as if it had fallen a number of feet equal to the distance it was moved by the current (minimum 1d6 bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage). Standing up from prone in rushing liquid requires an Acrobatics or Athletics check with a DC equal to the DC to keep footing. A creature that loses its footing is considered underwater (see below) until it regains its footing. 

---

Strong Winds (+½)

Ranged weapon attacks and Perception checks that rely on hearing have disadvantage in high winds. In addition, it extinguishes any open flames, disperses fogs and smoke, and forces any flying creature to land before the end of its turn or fall.

---

Underwater (+1)

A creature that cannot breathe water begins to suffocate underwater once it cannot hold its breath. In addition, creatures without swim speeds have disadvantage on attacks made using any weapon other than a dagger, dueling dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident. Ranged weapon attacks automatically miss beyond their normal range underwater, and bludgeoning and fire damage are halved. A creature that takes damage while holding its breath underwater must succeed on a concentration check or immediately begin suffocating as if its breath had run out. 

---

Vacuum (+3)

An area of vacuum has no air, so creatures that need to breathe must use another source of air or begin to suffocate once they cannot hold their breath. In addition, the area carries no sound, so hearing-based checks made to perceive automatically fail and spells with vocalized components cannot be cast. A creature with its own air supply may cast spells with vocalized components, but still cannot hear. Vacuum is also utterly chilling, dealing 11 (3d6) cold damage to a creature at the start of each of its turns in the area.

---

Webs (+½)

Whether created by massive insects or swarms of smaller creatures, these sticky strands ensnare and capture creatures that fall afoul of them. An area of webs is difficult terrain, and when a creature starts its turn within the area or enters the area for the first time on a turn, it makes a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or becomes restrained . Restrained creatures can use an action to make a DC 12 Acrobatics or Athletics check, escaping on a success. 

A 10-foot cube of webs has AC 10, 15 hit points, vulnerability to fire, and immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and psychic damage. 

---

Yellow Mold (+2)

This sickeningly yellow mold only grows in dark places and is extremely sensitive to movement nearby. 

Yellow mold covers a 10-foot radius area. When a creature moves within 30 feet of a patch of yellow mold, at the start of its turn spores are released and it makes a DC 15 Constitution saving throw . On a failure, the creature takes 11 (2d10) ongoing poison damage and becomes poisoned for 1 minute, continuing to take ongoing damage until it is no longer poisoned. At the end of each of its turns, the poisoned creature can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. 

Yellow mold is destroyed by sunlight or any amount of fire damage.
 

Creating a world for a campaign might mean putting a castle in the Crawley Hills between Northminster and Holdenshire, including a new settlement or region in another existing setting, or building an entire world for the adventurers to discover and explore. Whether the scope of the undertaking is small or grand, clarifying the goals of worldbuilding and the approach being taken makes the task much more manageable.

Guiding Principle: Player Experience First

Like creating a campaign, keep the player experience at the forefront of the worldbuilding process. This focuses development on elements that players will interact with and enjoy rather than on tangential or superfluous details. 

Approaches to Worldbuilding

Level Up presents two approaches to worldbuilding but there’s no single right way to go about it, and these aren’t the only methods. In practice, most worldbuilders do a mix of two or more approaches, depending upon their time and preferences. When deciding upon the functionalist and simulationist approaches, consider the workload that they both require before making a decision. 

Functionalist Approach

A functionalist approach is only concerned with the elements necessary for the story or set of stories that will be told inside the setting. The narrative of a campaign identifies aspects of the world that need definition—if it doesn’t appear ‘on stage’ or ‘on screen’, there’s no need for it to exist. History is important only insofar as it serves setting and character motivation (whether an adventurer’s or NPC’s). Geography and current events exist to support the plot by creating conflict or highlighting characters.

A functionalist approach to worldbuilding is similar to setting a stage. History, lore, culture, and politics are backdrops. Adventure sites and geography are stage props, and NPCs only matter if they ever make it on stage.

The functionalist approach works well when it is able to draw on broader genre conventions. Many fantasy authors take this approach because it’s flexible and efficient. Do you need a mountain range filled with ruins? Make it. Unless he’s going to play a significant role in the campaign, who cares how the Queen’s cousin impacts her rule? The challenge to a functionalist approach is verisimilitude, particularly if a group of players is prone to sudden turns. Consider adding rumors or stories that imply events from beyond the scope of the game without actually detailing them until it becomes important to do so.

Simulationist Approach

The simulationist approach looks to create a vibrant world that exists independently of a particular narrative or story. Instead, worldbuilders create or adapt cultures, civilizations, economic systems, cosmologies, and histories. 

If a functionalist approach to worldbuilding sets a stage, a simulationist approach seeks to build the house that a stage is trying to depict. Often, a simulation approach attempts to model economics, social systems, politics, and history as accurately as possible. Great attention is given to details that underpin the campaign setting, even if they don’t always have a direct impact on characters directly. 

Time and complexity are the challenges to this method. Building a setting in this fashion often requires research as well as creating a great deal of material that may never be used at the table. While certainly a more daunting and involved task, Narrators that use this approach usually have an answer, NPC, or locale prepared wherever the party’s story might take them. 

Collaborative Worldbuilding

Another strategy involves harnessing the creative power of players. As players develop their characters, consider asking them to provide details about the towns, regions, or nations that their adventurers hail from. This can be a great way to engage players with their characters and the campaign setting. It also adds depth by going beyond the Narrator’s own conceptual framework. 

Another way to work collaboratively is during session zero or at another time prior to the campaign. Create worldbuilding exercises or shared activities around cultures, myths, gods, or any other aspect of the campaign setting.

Collaborative worldbuilding can also be used after a campaign has started. If the party ventures to a new town, ask them to name taverns or a location. If the adventurers have already been to a place, ask them to share details. The Narrator can encourage players to create details during the course of their roleplay with one another or with NPCs. Unless there is a compelling reason not to, incorporate the events, locations, and characters into the tapestry of the world!

Create a Concept

A campaign setting is a foundation upon which we tell stories. The types of stories that we want to tell should inform the world that we create. As with building a campaign, consider the types of adventures that might be run within that world. For example, a Narrator intending to run light and whimsical games that explore the secrets of a wondrous feywood are in for a tough time if playing in a campaign setting in which the gods have been devoured by elder evils that now raise mortals like cattle. Similarly, a game of gothic horror isn’t going to work in a setting where the adventurers are literal demigods. 

When thinking about a campaign setting concept, consider its defining or iconic elements. Is it a duchy holding to an uncertain peace or a world recently ravaged by a demonic invasion? Is it a continent that once hosted an ancient civilization whose secrets are now being plundered? What does the campaign setting look like at the beginning of play—and how will it change? 

Here are some example setting concepts:

• A world being rediscovered after an extraplanar invasion forced the few remaining survivors to hide underground for centuries.
• A recently discovered continent that holds the secret to an ancient magical catastrophe.
• A post-apocalyptic wasteland ruled by demonic overlords.
• A conventional fantasy kingdom at the precipice of a civil war due to a conflict between the church and the royal wizards academy.
• A recently annexed city in the midst of an industrial revolution where the body of a dead god is harvested to fuel ghastly new technologies.

Work Backwards & Outwards

Start with the world state informed by the concept’s premise and work backwards. While the present is predicated upon the past, often the past is unclear to the present. History becomes increasingly unclear as we move backwards. Events and individuals lose definition, are transformed into myth, or are forgotten entirely. When worldbuilding, this historical process provides the freedom to focus on the present and its immediate precursors.

Similarly, start with the location of the adventurers and work outward. Pay attention to the immediate setting and allow details to blur as distance grows from the campaign’s lens. There is no need to exhaustively detail the geography of a mountain chain on the other side of the world.

Remember Conflict

As the name implies, a campaign setting serves to inform a campaign, and all campaigns need conflict. How does the setting assist this? What are the key conflicts?

Creating a New World

Regardless of which approach to worldbuilding is taken, creating a new campaign setting is an undertaking. These questions can help define some key characteristics. 

• Cosmogony: How was the world created? Was it literally forged by the gods or was it shaped by natural processes?
• Cosmology: What are the other planes like? Is there an afterlife? How is it reached or achieved? Where do the gods reside?
• Distinctive Environmental Characteristics: Is your world an arid husk? Does it experience extreme storms caused by magical or astronomical phenomena?
• Key Powers: Who holds power? Who is oppressed? What resources create conflict?
• Layout and Structure: Is your setting a spherical hunk of stone orbiting a star or does it exist entirely within the mind of a sleeping god?
• Mythology: Are myths an explanation for history or natural phenomena or were the seas truly created when Jamir spilled the blood of Kareth during the Dawnfire War? 
• Nature and Role of the Gods: Do the gods predate the setting, or are they manifestations of natural processes or metahuman thought and emotion?
• Nature of Magic: Is magic energy left over from the creation of the world or shaping the dreams of the Great Sleeper? Does power come within individuals or are they conduits?
• Prevalence of Magic: How prevalent is magic? How common are magical practitioners?
• Technology Level: What is the highest level of technology achieved? Do airships sail the skies, or have ruthless dragon overlords kept metahumanity in the dark ages?
• World’s Age: Have the gods just finished shaping it, or does the star above gutter a dim red as it approaches death? 

Worldbuilding in Established Settings

If the idea of building an entire world seems daunting, consider creating a smaller setting within a pre-existing campaign setting. Even the most well-developed campaign settings have gray spaces that the creators have not defined. This space can serve as a canvas for customized characters, locations, and stories. New Narrators in particular can make good use of these gray spaces as building in an established setting is an excellent way to manage the scope of new material. Additionally, being able to draw upon the cultures, history, and politics of the current campaign setting can save a lot of time and help keep these elements of the game feel cohesive with the rest.

Questions

Adventurers are usually curious so considering what they’ll be asking ahead of time is a reliable method for figuring out what things need to be addressed in new material when worldbuilding in an established campaign setting.

• What heritages and cultures from the established campaign setting are represented?
• What governmental system or economic systems are in place?
• What natural resources does this region have?
• What is the relationship with neighbors?
• What are its primary conflicts?
• What makes it distinct from other locations in the campaign setting?
• What differences need to be communicated to the players?

The Narrator’s job in Level Up is to guide the story and create the world for the other players to adventure in. This includes all of the elements required to create that adventure. The Narrator builds a world and populates it with monsters, people, treasure and traps. They create villains in their towers, allies met on the road, angry blacksmiths and bar staff in posh parlours. The Narrator also runs combat, acts as rules referee, lore repository, and of course improvises when the unexpected happens.

Level Up is a Game for the Narrator Too!

The Narrator is a player too, albeit one with many, ever-changing roles. If any part of the Narrator role isn’t fun, there’s no rule against changing it so it is. If a Narrator doesn’t enjoy doing voices, all NPCs can sound the same. If maps and miniatures don’t work for the Narrator, encounters can be designed that won’t rely on them. Some elements of the Narrator role—such as tracking initiative or double checking rules—can even be delegated entirely to players to make things easier and more fun for the Narrator.

The Narrator

The Narrator’s main role is to outline the adventures that the players will navigate. Usually this involves coming up with a problem for them to solve or a task to complete in order to get a predetermined reward. 

An adventure can be as short as a single session of a few hours, or it could involve many such sessions over a span of weeks or months. A longer running adventure such as this is called a campaign, and is generally a big adventure made with building blocks of smaller adventures each session. For example, a single adventure may involve solving the mystery of a string of violent break-ins in a small village. That adventure could be the start of a campaign to take down a dangerous organized crime network that puts an entire realm in jeopardy.

To prepare an adventure, the Narrator usually outlines locations, monsters and enemies, treasure, traps, and notable NPCs (non-player characters), as well as the overall mission for the players. How the players interact with all of these things will be unpredictable, and so a Narrator’s job is to guide players towards their end goal, adapting and changing the environment in response to their actions. 

Scheduling Your Campaign

Getting player schedules to line up for regular gaming sessions is magic far beyond anything described in the Level Up rules. However, some best practices include:

• Maintain the same day and times for game sessions—when everyone knows to keep Wednesday night from 7 PM to 11 PM open, it’s easier to schedule time away from other activities.
• If the group is social with one another, plan an appropriate amount of time for people to catch up before the session starts to better anticipate how much material will be needed with that in mind.
• When it becomes clear that a player will often be late, plan in some padding time for the sessions they aren’t punctual.
• Keep a group discussion going with texts or chat between sessions to keep everyone engaged, and use it to remind the players when the game is coming up.

Is Planning Even Possible When Player Actions Are Unpredictable?

Yes! With a good session zero the Narrator can let the players know the rough aims and outline of the campaign or adventure (without spoilers) so they can make appropriate characters, and air any concerns they have about any topics or activities that may come up in the adventure (see Safety Tools ).

In the example campaign centered around taking down an organized crime network, without a session zero uninformed players could well create criminal or shady characters who would have no problem allying with and joining the network. A lot of the Narrator’s planning around making enemies of the network would be wasted, leaving them scrambling to improvise new scenarios for their party of ne’er-do-well adventurers each session.

Conversely, a campaign designed to aid and grow the criminal network would be cut short if a largely good and law-abiding group slaughter their criminal contacts in the first session. 

A productive session zero allows the Narrator and the players to play along with each other’s expectations and make sure that everybody has fun. 

How to Run a Game

Most of the Narrator’s adventure or campaign planning will happen away from the gaming table. So are things handled while at the table? The Narrator is the player whose job it is to get things going and keep them on track, so other players will look to them for guidance and structure.

Most rules expectations and table-specific rules can be ironed out in session zero, but here’s some insight into the most vital parts of a Narrator’s role.

Setting Up

Setting the players up so they can decide how to react is the fundamental part of the Narrator’s job. Here’s an example of how to begin a gaming session.

"Okay everyone. If you remember you’d gone down to the basement to investigate possible escape routes for the thief, because Oswin the innkeep said she’d heard a door slam downstairs on the night of the theft. The stairs down to the basement are narrow and made of stone. Cold air along with the smell of stagnant water and mold greet you as you descend in single file. 

What’s your marching order please?... 

Okay, Naivara and Whisper, if you’re at the front, you’re the first to see the basement. Water runs down the stone brick walls, they’re about ten feet high. The water has flooded the space up to about three or four feet. It doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, it’s stagnant. You hear the occasional drip echo as the water descends, but nothing else. 

Rotting, broken furniture floats in the murk. With your passive perception and the light from Whisper’s torch you can see that it used to be much finer and more ornate than any of the furniture in the inn upstairs... 

So what are you two doing? Remember Nia and Gregor, you can’t see this yet."

Here the Narrator has: 

• reminded the players of their actions last session.
• described the next scene in their adventure.
• used a few sensory cues in their description to create an immersive experience.
• asked an open-ended question to give players a chance to act or ask clarifying questions.

All in just a few sentences that take only a couple of minutes to run through.

Dice Rolling

Every table will have slightly different rules for dice rolling, and each player will have different expectations based on their previous gaming experiences. The Narrator can determine what everyone expects during session zero. It’s important that everybody is on the same page so miscommunications and tension don’t interrupt the adventure once it begins.

  Some good dice-specific questions for a Narrator to ask at session zero are:

• Who will roll openly and who can roll in secret?
  • Some tables welcome the Narrator or sometimes players rolling in secret, while others may feel cheated.
• Can players roll skill checks when they see fit, or should they wait for the Narrator to ask for a specific check?
  • Some Narrators welcome players who take the initiative, while others find it difficult to keep track of the outcomes of rolls they weren’t expecting.
• Can players roll to attack without the Narrator calling for an initiative roll?
  • Again, some Narrators would enjoy the chaos, while others might prefer to keep a tighter handle on combat.
• Can the Narrator ever make rolls on a player’s behalf?
  • Sometimes tension and immersion for players can be enhanced if the Narrator rolls a check on their behalf. For example, being uncertain whether a character has rolled high or low on a Stealth check in a high risk situation could make things more exciting for some players. Other players may not enjoy this, or feel as though their agency has been taken away.

  None of the options in the above list are right or wrong, but they’re variations that should be discussed for each table before the adventure begins, and as the person taking charge the Narrator leads these discussions.

Ability Scores

Another of the Narrator’s key roles is to set the Difficulty Class (DC) for skill checks, as well as deciding which skill check should be made in a given situation to move the adventure along.

  A player’s basic ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma) affect their ability to perform the many possible skill checks a Narrator can call for. For all of the rules around skills and ability checks, see Chapter 6: Ability Scores.

Example Skill Check

Gregor: Can I see any signs that a thief has come through this way?

Narrator: Let’s see! Make a Survival or Investigation check for me.

Gregor: I’m trying to rely on my experience with hunting, but instead of using my intuition I’m focused on keeping an eye out for clues and deducing what they could mean. Can I make an Intelligence check with Survival?

Narrator: That sounds reasonable—roll it!

Gregor: Can do! Got a 17.

Narrator: You notice some moss on the wall to your left has been disturbed, as though someone had grabbed it to keep their balance.

In some situations, more than one check may make sense, and ultimately it’s the Narrator’s decision which ability check and skills are used and how high the DC is. However the Narrator may also give a player options of which ability check or skill they use in a particular situation. Which ability score can be used with each skill depends on the circumstances and how an adventurer is trying to achieve an objective. In this case, Gregor wanted to use Intelligence with his Survival check because it’s his highest ability score, and his reasoning for it made good sense.

 

Narrators in Level Up are tasked with providing a whole world for the group to play in and all that entails—dungeons to explore, intrigues and subterfuge, monsters to slay, treasure to find—and though it can be difficult, there are few more rewarding things than a solid session of tabletop roleplaying so the burden is worth it. While there are plenty of campaign settings and modules to make the work of the Narrator easier, even someone making up everything on the fly can use a little help and that’s what this chapter is about. 

Running the Game . What does it mean to be the Narrator? This section covers the basics—what the Narrator does, what the Narrator needs to know, and how to do it.

Player Archetypes . This section offers ways for the Narrator to better understand what the members of their group are really enthusiastic about and looking to get out of a campaign, allowing for the story and gameplay to better suit their player’s passions.

Safety Tools . Cooperative games like Level Up are just that: cooperative. Whether the campaign is gripping with mature themes or much more light-hearted quests, safety tools are an essential part of keeping everyone at the table happy and coming back for more.

Creating a Campaign . The telling of epic tales at the table is a fine goal but where does a Narrator start this process? This section offers guidance on how to build a campaign from session zero to finish. 

Worldbuilding . Whether the Narrator is designing a castle for the party’s next session or planning out an entire world, they are worldbuilding. These pages are all about the process and choosing the right approach for the campaign or game session a Narrator is preparing for.

Designing Encounters . Campaigns in Level Up have three basic kinds of encounters (combat, exploration, social) that are largely concerned with other sections of this book (like the Critters and NPC appendices, Chapter 9: Exploration, and Chapter 6: Using Ability Scores), but the thinking behind how to construct them and their purpose in a game are detailed here. 

Encounter Elements . When the Narrator wants to offer a greater challenge for the adventurers or put a spin on an exploration challenge or fight there are a plethora of ways to make things more exciting. There are more than two dozen encounter elements to introduce onto the field of battle or in a dungeon, ranging from green slime to lava and yellow mold.

Experience and Other Rewards . Most adventurers increase their class levels by accruing experience points, but the Narrator has a variety of ways to employ them or advance the game through entirely different means! So too are there different ways to reward the party than new magic items or heaps of gold.

Treasure . When the battle is ended and the day won, what do the adventurers find amongst the spoils? This section is all about artwork, coin, gems, jewelry, magic items, and how to create unique hoards of treasure for the party to find in the aftermath of successful encounters.

Diseases  and Poisons . The Narrator needs options when adventurers have spent too much time in the sewers or are facing a cult of assassins, and this section of the chapter provides dozens of afflictions to choose from.

Mental Stress Effects . Often faced with horrors from beyond the mortal pale or forces of nature given form with scaled wings and fiery breath, many an adventurer has felt the effects of stress weigh heavily upon them. This section of the chapter provides short-term, long-term, and indefinite mental stress effects for campaigns interested in that aspect of play.

 

---

• Introduction to Monsters
• Monster Lists
• Designing Monsters
• Templates

The influence of the plane Amrou has enhanced the effectiveness of mundane items in fending off the supernatural. What once were mere superstitions now can have meaningful effect, such as using a line of salt to block the advance of a ghost, or ringing a bell to drive back a demon. 

Nonmagical items that possess the ability to avert evil influences are collectively called apotropaics, and they are particularly common in Crisillyir, where such threats are most famous. 

Below are common apotropaics, some of which are duplicated from the normal equipment list in the core rulebook.

Holy Symbol. A holy symbol is a representation of a god or pantheon. A brandished holy symbol can briefly hold back fiends and undead.

Holy Water (flask). As an action, you can splash the contents of this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a target creature, treating the holy water as an improvised weapon. If the target is a fiend or undead, it takes 2d6 radiant damage.

Jade (pendant). A small pendant of green stone. Jade repels and can injure aberrations. If jade touches an aberration, it deals 2d6 radiant damage, and then the object shatters.

Jade-Accented Weapon. A weapon accented with jade (such as on its blade or a striking head) deals an extra 2d6 radiant damage to an aberration, but after one strike the jade is expended. The cost listed is in addition to the weapon’s normal price.

Jade, Powdered (bag). Collected dust from a workshop that polishes and sets jade. As an action, you can pour out the powder to draw a line across three adjacent squares. 

Alternately, you can spend an action to throw a handful at a creature within 5 feet of you. Make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the dust as an improvised weapon. On a hit, if the target is an aberration it takes 2d6 radiant damage.

The bag has sufficient dust for ten uses – ten thrown handfuls, 150-ft. worth of lines, or some combination.

Oil (pint flask). Oil usually comes in a clay flask that holds 1 pint. As an action, you can splash the oil in this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the oil as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target is covered in oil. 

If the target takes any fire damage before the oil dries (after 1 minute), the target takes an additional 5 fire damage from the burning oil. You can also pour a flask of oil on the ground to cover a 5-foot-square area, or to draw a thin ring 10 feet in diameter, provided that the surface is level. If lit, the oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 5 fire damage to any creature that enters the area or ends its turn in the area. A creature can take this damage only once per turn.

Burning oil lines and rings can block the movement of celestials. A celestial that is covered in burning oil is entangled.

Portable Chiming Clock. A dense and durable clock in a wooden frame designed to be held with relative ease. Built as an adventurer’s tool to keep fey away, its chimes are as loud as a grandfather clock’s. You can flick a switch as a bonus action so that it begins to chime, which lasts until the end of your next turn. During that time, fey within 30 feet are repelled. Afterward, it must be wound before it can be used again, which requires an action.

(Chimes that aren’t part of actual clocks do not repel fey, but might annoy them.)

Portable Tolling Bell. Four feet tall, with wheels to help move it, this adventurer’s tool resembles a wooden saw horse with an iron bell hung from the middle. As an action, you can pull a lever to toll the bell, which repels fiends within 30 feet. This lasts until the end of your next turn.

Salt (bag). Normally used with food. As an action, you can pour out the powder to draw a line across three adjacent squares. Salt repels fiends and undead.

Alternately, you can spend an action to throw a handful at a creature within 5 feet of you. Make a ranged attack against a target creature or object, treating the salt as an improvised weapon. On a hit, if the target is undead or a fiend it takes 2d6 radiant damage.

The bag has sufficient dust for ten uses – ten thrown handfuls, 150-ft. worth of lines, or some combination.

Apotropaics

Item	Price	Weight
Holy symbol	-	-
Holy water (flask)	25 gp	1 lb
Jade (pendant or ammunition)	5 gp	-
Jade-accented weapon	100 gp	-
Jade, powdered (bag)	100 gp	5 lb
Oil, pint (flask)	1 sp	1 lb
Portable chiming clock	100 gp	20 lb
Portable tolling bell	20 gp	40 lb
Salt (bag)	1 sp	5 lb

---

Apotropaic Mechanics

Various items are anathema to different types of creatures, and can repel and in some cases even harm those creatures. However, whenever a creature is attacked, it can ignore any repelling effect until the end of the encounter in order to approach and attack the creature or group that antagonized it.

Apotropaics function in coexistent planes, bleeding from Waking to Dreaming and to the Bleak Gate, and from any world into the Ethereal Plane, which can keep ethereal creatures like ghosts from bypassing them. 

Harm. A harmful item has an effect similar to holy water on undead and fiends, dealing 2d6 radiant damage on impact. Each such strike uses up roughly a handful of the substance, or causes larger objects to crack after one use. 

Using excessive amounts of the material might cause ongoing damage (such as by burying a fiend in a mound of gold), but not more than 2d6 per round.

Repel. Creatures cannot willingly touch materials that repel them, nor even use tools to manipulate such items. They can, however, create circumstances to move the repellant item. For instance, a ghost might telekinetically shatter a window so a breeze from outside disperses salt.

If a material repels a creature, a line of that material prevents a creature from crossing. For the purpose of blocking flying creatures, the effect of a repulsive line extends as far vertically as the line is long, and if the material is in a ring, it functions as a dome of the ring’s radius.

A character can spend an action to brandish a repellant item, which prevents the repelled creature from approaching within five feet and from making melee attacks against it for one minute. When you use this action, you can make an opposed Charisma check against the creature, and if it fails it must move out of your path if you come within 10 feet of it.

A creature can attempt to overcome this repellent effect, such as by trying to cross a barrier or attack a creature brandishing the item. If it succeeds a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw , it can ignore the repulsion from that particular item – and anything similar within 30 feet – for one hour. If they fail, their turn ends and they cannot try again in that area for a day.

However, if a creature is attacked in any way by a creature protected by a repellant item, it can freely ignore the repellant effect as if it had succeeded its saving throw.

---

Aberrations

Aberrations are hurt and repelled by jade. 

Celestials

Celestials are repelled by burning oil.

Fey

Fey are repelled by the sound of chiming clocks for as long as the chimes ring. This was always the case, even before Amrou appeared in the night sky, but the plane’s influence has strengthened the effect. 

The ticking of a small pocketwatch will bother but not actually repel anyone. A grandfather clock chime affects a 30 foot radius, and something the size of a clocktower toll affects hundreds of feet. Experts on the Dreaming suspect that this is because that plane has an unsteady flow of time, and the presence of a clock forces time into a specific pace.

Whirring gears often repel fey in Risur, though many fey in other parts of the world have no problem with gears, nor any sort of non-timepiece technology, suggesting that the reaction is based either on what the fey believe, or what the people in those lands think the fey believe.

In addition to these more concrete defenses, fey still respond to the same favors they always did. Leaving out offerings of food or milk can earn small boons, or simply attract cats.

Fiends

Fiends are repelled by salt and by brandished holy symbols. They also are repelled by ringing bells the same way fey are repelled by chiming clocks, with larger bells affecting a wider area.

Holy water still hurts fiends, but that is due to its own magical properties, not because of Amrou.

Gold hurts fiends, but only if it is a pound or more (worth at least 50gp). If a fiend is damaged this way, it cannot teleport for one round. However, after a strike damages a fiend, the gold turns to lead.

Undead

Undead are repelled by salt, and can be repelled by brandished holy symbols the same as fiends.

Holy water still hurts undead, but that is due to its own magical properties, not because of Amrou.

 

Most armories will include pistols, carbines, shotguns, and muskets, with each nation’s manufactories producing subtle differences. Those who can afford costlier investments carry superior rifled firearms. Additional innovations such as metal cartridge ammunition are known to exist, but they are the domain of specialized gunsmiths, and as yet are only produced in limited quantities, almost never for sale.

Usually only soldiers bother to carry grenades. Most countries have restrictions on civilian use.

---

Compatibility with the Core Rules

For the specific period of firearm development of ZEITGEIST, we are not using the example firearm mechanics presented in the core rules. These firearms are slightly prone to occasional misfiring, and few people use them as a primary weapon.

For the sake of weapon proficiencies, everyone is proficient with grenades. Any character proficient with a hand crossbow is proficient with a pistol. Likewise a light crossbow is equivalent to a carbine and shotgun, and a heavy crossbow is equivalent to a musket. Effects such as feats that work with crossbows should function the same with firearms, with the exception of Crossbow Expert.

Similarly, if you’re using a starter kit for a character’s equipment, you can swap firearms for their comparable crossbows.

(Note that every class except druids is proficient at least with light crossbows, so everyone but druids are able to use carbines and shotguns.)

---

Muzzle Loading a Firearm

Reloading involves drawing and tearing open a paper cartridge, which contains firedust and a bullet. The gunner pours firedust down the barrel, then packs in the bullet with a ramrod. The gunner aims and pulls a trigger, which releases the firing hammer. The hammer strikes a firegem set at the back of the barrel, which acts as a percussion cap, producing a spark inside the barrel. The firedust ignites, and the expansion of gases propel the bullet at lethal speed. 

A typical firegem percussion cap must be replaced every few dozen shots or else there is a risk the gem will crack and misfire, but the cost is negligible.

Once a firearm is fired, a character must spend an action or bonus action to reload it. Thus you can only ever fire a single shot in a turn, regardless of how many attacks you can normally take with a single action. You might then holster your gun and use other attacks in melee, or perhaps if you don’t mind looking threatening you could carry multiple pistols.

The intention is that a firearm is a great weapon to open up an engagement with, such as by shooting and then moving into melee, but in the heat of battle you might not always have time to reload it.

---

Common Firearms

These weapons can be acquired easily in almost any small town.

Weapon	Cost	Damage	Weight	Properties
Pistol	75 gp	1d10 piercing	3 lb	Ammunition (range 20/60), muzzle-loading
Carbine	75 gp	1d12 piercing	5 lb	Ammunition (range 50/150), muzzle-loading, two-handed
Musket	90 gp	2d8 piercing	10 lb	Ammunition (range 60/180), heavy, muzzle-loading, two-handed
Shotgun	75 gp	1d10 piercing	6 lb	Ammunition (range 30/90), muzzle-loading, two-handed, scatter

 

Advanced Firearms

These weapons are more expensive, and so are usually only available in cities. While a well-heeled gunner will likely want to arm themselves with one, common criminals and soldiers are unlikely to possess these firearms. Arcane fusils – sometimes called lantern blasters – are rare outside of Danor, and are illegal everywhere except Elfaivar.

Weapon	Cost	Damage	Weight	Properties
Arcane Fusil, Fire	300 gp	1 fire	3 lb	Trigger charge (range 20/60), burn
Arcane Fusil, Lightning	300 gp	1d8 lightning	3 lb	Trigger charge (range 20/60), shock
Grenade	50 gp	1d4 bludgeoning*	1 lb	Thrown (range 20/60)
Target pistol	300 gp	1d10 piercing	3 lb	Ammunition (range 40/160), muzzle-loading, rifled
Rifled carbine	300 gp	1d12 piercing	5 lb	Ammunition (range 80/320), muzzle-loading, two-handed, rifled
Rifled musket	315 gp	2d8 piercing	10 lb	Ammunition (range 100/420), heavy, muzzle-loading, two-handed, rifled

* Grenades do not add your ability score modifier to damage.

 

Simple Melee Weapons

Weapon	Cost	Damage	Weight	Properties
Short bayonet	5 gp	1d4 piercing	2 lb	Finesse, light
Standard bayonet	10 gp	1d6 piercing	3 lb	Versatile (1d8)
Long bayonet	15 gp	1d8 piercing	4 lb	Heavy, reach, two-handed

 

Ammunition and Explosives

Item	Price	Weight
Ammunition, bullets and firedust (20 shots)	1 gp	2 lb
Firedust, cask	20 gp	20 lb

 

---

Weapon Descriptions

Arcane Fusils. A few gunsmiths have learned to integrate planarite into their weapon designs, though these weapons are forbidden by international treaty. They resemble normal pistols, but the inside of their barrels are lined with planarite, and most are exquisitely decorated along their handles.

Bayonets. These weapons are affixed to a firearm. Short bayonets affix to pistols, standard affix to carbines or shotguns, and long affix to muskets. These hybrid weapons function as two distinct weapons, and each would need to be enchanted separately. Their main benefit is to allow a wielder to switch between ranged and melee attacks without having to draw a new weapon.

Some firearms integrate a bladed weapon into their designs, such as a dagger with a pistol that fires along the crosspiece. This sort of weapon is treated the same as a firearm with an affixed bayonet, except the blade cannot be removed. The Narrator can decide whether other combinations are feasible. A shotgun/axe that does 1d8 slashing damage could theoretically work, but a whip/musket is ridiculous. (Some groups might like ridiculous, though.)

Carbine. Like a pistol, but with a stock and barrel, with a total length of three to four feet.

Grenade. This heavy metal hand-thrown explosive resembles a somewhat rounded dodecahedron. Small firegem percussion caps at its vertices ignite the firedust inside when they are struck with sufficient force, which sends shards of metal in all directions. Sometimes these caps do not ignite at first impact, so grenades hold the risk of bouncing and exploding somewhere other than their intended target. Grenades are destroyed after use.

When you throw a grenade, make a ranged attack roll against an unoccupied 5-foot space (AC 10) or a creature. (If the creature occupies more than one 5-foot space, choose one of the squares it occupies.) If the attack misses by 5 or more the grenade veers off course, missing by 5 feet in a random direction, or 10 feet if the target area was at long range. Each creature in a 5-foot radius of where the grenade lands makes a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or takes 3d6 bludgeoning damage. If you targeted a creature and the attack roll is a critical hit, the creature receives no saving throw and takes double damage. Other creatures in the area are affected normally. 

Musket. The extended barrel of this firearm, bringing it to a total length of over five and a half feet, is an attempt to grant long range accuracy. 

Pistol. A muzzle-loaded one-handed firearm with a firegem percussion cap. Pistols fire lead ball ammunition.

Rifled Carbine. This weapon is a carbine which has had the last few inches of the barrel rifled. These weapons use different ammunition—the Latimer bullet, which is more conical. The bullet’s hollow flared tail expands from the force of the ignited firegems, forcing the edges of the bullet against the spiral grooves of the inside of the barrel, imparting a spin that stabilizes the bullet and enhances accuracy at range.

Rifled Musket. This design is similar to the modern conception of a rifle, with a total length of three and a half to four feet, and a barrel that is fully rifled.

Shotgun. This smoothbore weapon fires pellets that spread out, striking a roughly 5-foot radius at a range of 90 feet. It is not particularly effective at distance, but can be devastating point-blank.

Target Pistol. A pistol with a rifled barrel.

---

New Weapon Traits

Burn. The fire fusil only deals 1 fire damage but the target also catches aflame, taking 1d10 ongoing fire damage until an action is used to extinguish the flames.

Muzzle-Loading. After each shot, it takes an action or bonus action to reload the weapon.

Sometimes irregular packing of a barrel causes the weapon not to function properly. Whenever you roll a natural 1 on an attack roll with a firearm, the gun misfires – nothing happens, and the gun remains loaded. Clearing the barrel requires an action, and makes the gun safe to use. You can continue using the misfired gun without clearing the barrel, but attacks with the weapon have disadvantage , and if you roll a second natural 1, the weapon has a mishap and explodes. It is destroyed and deals its base damage die to you (e.g., 2d8 with a musket).

Magical guns never misfire or have mishaps.

Rifled. Rifling extends the range a firearm can accurately hit a target. You can spend an action to aim down the weapon’s sight, and choose a creature you can see. Until you stop aiming, quadruple the weapon’s short and long ranges for the purpose of attacking that target.

Each turn thereafter you can spend an action or bonus action to continue aiming at the same target or switch to another target you can see. If you move or take damage, your aim is ruined and you have to start over again.

Scatter. If you are wielding a shotgun and have advantage on an attack roll and both rolls hit the target, the weapon deals an extra 1d10 damage. If you have disadvantage, if one attack roll hits but the other misses, the target takes 1d4 damage. This graze damage is not increased by anything else (not ability modifiers, feats, sneak attack, etc.), though resistances and vulnerabilities still apply.

Shock. When you attack a creature wearing metal armor with a lightning fusil, you have advantage on the attack roll.

Trigger Charge. An arcane fusil requires no ammunition, but you cannot simply shoot it by pulling the trigger. The planarite takes a moment to gather the necessary energy. To charge the fusil, you spend a bonus action and pull back a firing hammer. At the start of your next turn, the fusil is charged, and can be used for a single attack. 

The shot of an arcane fusil is either a pellet of flame that engulfs a target hit, or a shaft of crackling lightning that coruscates over a target it hits.

Once you have fired an arcane fusil, you cannot charge it again on the same turn; it can only be fired every other turn.

If you charge a fusil but do not fire it on your next turn, the weapon suffers a misfire. Similar to a muzzle-loading weapon, you can clear the barrel by spending an action, but until you do the weapon has disadvantage on attacks. If you suffer a second misfire without clearing the barrel, the fusil explodes and deals its base damage die to you.

---

Firearm Enhancements

Gunsmiths can craft these items. Such custom work is in high demand, however, and finding a gunsmith capable of crafting these is as difficult as locating an uncommon or rare magic item. The price can be similarly exorbitant.

Alchemical launchers, sniper scopes, and suppressors can be retrofitted onto existing weapons. Ammunition cartridges and reinforced barrels can only be added when a weapon is crafted, not retrofitted.

Alchemical Launcher. As an action, you can load one grenade or similar item such as alchemist fire or holy water into this underslung launcher. You can use the item as if it were in your hand. If the item normally requires a ranged attack, it uses your gun’s attack bonus and range.

Ammunition Cartridge. For a pistol, a revolver cylinder lets you fire six shots before you need to reload. For a carbine, musket, or shotgun, a stripper clip instead holds five rounds. Replacing a cartridge requires an action or bonus action.

Reinforced Barrel. You’ve modified your barrel to fire heavier rounds. If your Narrator uses the alternate rules of attacks hitting cover, if you hit cover you deal half the weapon’s damage to its target, unless the attack fails to damage the cover.

You can also attack a creature with total cover ; you take a -5 penalty to your attack roll (and probably have disadvantage since you likely cannot see it), and if you hit you deal half damage.

These rounds usually only work through less than a foot of wood or dirt, a few inches of stone, or a half-inch of metal.

Cover-piercing ammunition costs twice as much as normal ammunition.

Sniper Scope. This enhancement is only effective on rifled weapons. You can aim down this finely-tuned telescopic sight without needing to spend an action. However, you are considered blind except against creatures in a direct line from you to your target. The blindness lasts until your next turn.

Suppressor. Your shots are relatively quiet. If you are hidden when you attack, you remain hidden from creatures more than 50 feet from you. A creature struck does, however, know the direction the shot came from.

Item	Price	Weight
Alchemical launcher	1,000 gp	5 lb
Ammunition cartridge	1,000 gp	1 lb
Reinforced barrel	500 gp	1 lb
Sniper scope	1,000 gp	2 lb
Suppressor	500 gp	1 lb

 

Early firearms used smoky black gunpowder as propellant for its ammunition, but alchemical advances produced ruby-red firedust. This powdered variant of alchemist’s fire produces no smoke when used in firearms, has a lower risk of fouling or corroding the weapon’s internals, and is hydrophobic, allowing it to burn even after immersion in water. 

Many other firearm accelerants exist, including magmite (a granular black substance rendered in alchemical furnaces) and phlogistite (transluscent red vapor slime that floats in globules if exposed to open air), but firedust is by far the most widely used. Steam engines use a variant, firegems, which burn slower but longer

While it is the source of a firearm’s deadly power, firedust is relatively harmless as a weapon in its own right, since it burns too fast to cause serious wounds like traditional alchemist fire. If someone ignites a cask full of firedust, though, the resulting explosion could seriously hurt those nearby. National militaries field grenadiers who use hand-held explosives, particularly in Drakr, but city-dwellers – even criminals – find little use for such indiscriminate destruction.

---

Example Explosion

A twenty pound cask of firedust, roughly a foot across, explodes in a 10-ft. radius, dealing 7d6 damage (Dexterity save DC 12 for half damage). A one-ton pallet that explodes deals 7d6 damage in a 30-ft. radius, while those within 10 ft. instead take 15d6 damage (Dexterity save DC 12 for half damage). Any attack that dealt at least 5 fire damage to a space containing the cask or pallet would be sufficient to cause an explosion; simply shooting firedust with a bullet won’t cause it to explode.