“A generic trademark, also known as a generalized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or services, usually against the intentions of the trademark’s owner.” (from Wikipedia) I am not a lawyer. This is simply my observation and is not intended as legal advice.
I believe that “Dungeons and Dragons” and “D&D” have become generic trademarks. Just like people may ask for a “Kleenex” when asking for a facial tissue, they often refer to all role playing games as “Dungeons and Dragons“.
Not long ago, when talking to most people, if I said that I played Dungeons and Dragons, they wouldn’t know what I was talking about. In the last five or so years D&D has exploded in popularity and most people know the name Dungeons and Dragons, even if they still don’t know much about it. However, this is the only role playing game they have heard of and may know very little about it. If you play a different TTRPG (table top role playing game) chances are the average person will have never heard of it.
A conversation may go something like this: “I play _______ every Friday evening.” [Fill in the blank with any TTRPG other than D&D.] “What is that?” “It’s a tabletop role playing game”. “What is that?” “It’s like Dungeons and Dragons.” “Oh, I’ve heard of that. Isn’t that where you sit around a table, roll dice and pretend to fight monsters?” “Yeah, kinda.”
To most people, any game where you sit around a table, roll dice, move little miniature people around and pretend that your character is fighting monsters, is Dungeons and Dragons. And, to tell the honest truth, that isn’t necessarily a bad definition. If you tried to tell your friend what the difference is between D&D and your preferred game it would boil down to your preferred rules. But, the rules aren’t necessary to understand what the game is about, and why we love it.
If you, like me, love fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons, there are most likely some rules that you think need to be changed. You may have some house rules that you use to improve the game. You are probably looking forward to the release of the updated rules that are scheduled to be released this year. You trust that WoTC (Wizards of the Coast) will make changes to improve on the existing rules. When they are released, you will probably switch to playing with the new rules, but you will still be playing Dungeons and Dragons. The same happened when third edition and v3.5 was released. It was all still Dungeons and Dragons.
So what is it when another company takes the Dungeon and Dragons rules (as are available to anyone in the SRD for fifth edition) and makes changes to improve on the existing rules? There is an argument to be made that these versions are still Dungeons and Dragons. Several different companies have done this. Some made major changes and some only added to the basic rules and made minor changes. I say that if you are plying any of these games you are still playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Why does any of this matter?
Many people, myself included, are unhappy with Hasbro, WoTC included, for many things they have done over the last 12 months. So much so that we are uncomfortable giving them any of our money. But we love the current version of Dungeons and Dragons. Of course, we could just continue playing the same game we have been playing for the last 10 years, but the idea of a new improved version is very appealing. So all I am saying is that if this describes you, don’t worry. You can upgrade your version of Dungeons and Dragons to a new and improved version without supporting WoTC. Just switch to one created by a different company. It will still be the same game, but will have changes that the authors think are an improvement. That is the same thing that WoTC is going to be doing with their new release.
I think that the easiest new version to switch to, the one that will be the most like the new version of D&D from WoTC but perhaps even better, is the one that is coming soon from Kobold Press that they are calling Tales of the Valiant. But I am tempted to call D&D 6E.
Wizards of the Coast (WoTC), the Hasbro subsidiary that owns D&D, had a bad year. 2022 was a banner year for Hasbro and WotC – 2023 not so much. Here are the highlights from this year.
January: The OGL Controversy – A leaked agreement drafted by WoTC threatened to “tighten” the OGL that has been in place since the early 2000s. It would grant WoTC the ability to “make money off of these products without paying the person who made it” and companies that make over $750,000 will have to start paying Hasbro a 25% cut of their earnings. In response to massive negative response from the D&D community, WoTC later announced that it would keep the current OGL intact. In addition, they released the Systems Reference Document (SRD) for the current edition under a Creative Commons license.
Also in January: Hasbro announced it was laying off 800 employees.
February: WoTC published Keys From the Golden Vault. This was originally scheduled for a Winter 2022,
March: The movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was released. The movie is said to have lost around $100 million.
April: WoTC sent the Pinkertons to recover Magic: The Gathering cards. YouTuber Oldschoolmtg uploaded an unboxing video featuring a collection of March of the Machine: The Aftermath booster packs. Evidently somebody sent out the wrong cases, and these were not supposed to be released yet. Pinkerton agents showed up at his home on Saturday morning and began demanding he hand over the “stolen” product.
Also in April: WoTC held its Creator Summit. One of the biggest announcements from the summit was that the 2024 core rulebooks will be a continuation of fifth edition and not a new edition. They referred to it as “One D&D”.
EDIT: I mistakenly stated that Hasbro purchased D&D Beyond in May 2023 – It actually acquired D&D Beyond on April 13, 2022 for $146.3 million.
June: WoTC dropped the term “One D&D” and began referring to the current version of the Player’s Handbook as the 2014 Player’s Handbook and the one scheduled for release next year as the 2024 Player’s Handbook. After it is published, it will just be the Player’s Handbook. The same goes for the other core rule books.
July: WoTC announced that they were translating the Systems Reference Document (SRD) into French, Italian, German, and Spanish to be released into Creative Commons.
August: WoTC published Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants. This was originally scheduled for a release in the Spring of 2023.
Also in August: WoTC released Baldur’s Gate 3. The deal that Hasbro made with Larian Studios 6 years earlier resulted in this video game that became the “Game of the Year” and a major money maker for Hasbro.
Also in August: Hasbro announced the sale of its eOne film and TV business, that it bought in 2019 for $4.0 billion, for $500 million (a $3.5 billion loss).
September: WoTC published Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. This was originally scheduled for release in the late summer as The Phandelver campaign.
October: WoTC published Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse which more or less hit its target released date.
November: WoTC launched three official DnD TV programs, but it was mired in confusion, with fans not sure how to access the content and there were many broken links.
December: Hasbro announced a new round of layoffs due to weak toy sales. They are projected to impact 1,100 workers across its global operations. Many WoTC employees have lost their jobs.
One final note: Don’t worry about Chris Cox, the CEO of Hasbro, he is doing just fine. He earns an annual salary of $1.5 million and received total compensation last year of $9.4 million.
To mark the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, the U.S. Postal Service will be issuing a set of 10 official Dungeons & Dragons stamps next year. Just thought you might like to know.
This is one of several reviews I am doing this year of various table top roll playing games. I am specifically comparing them to D&D 5e. I am doing this with the assumption that my readers are already familiar with D&D 5e. The following review is based only upon my reading of the rulebook. I haven’t played this yet, but I will be posting my opinion after I get a chance to play test it.
Tails of the Valiant is scheduled to release early in 2024. I am basing this comparison on the Tails of the ValiantPreview (that they have labeled final) that I downloaded from their site on July 7, 2023. I may update this when the final version is released. When the 2024 version of Dungeons and Dragons is available I will post a comparison of that with 5E.
I am referring here to the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons as 5E and to Tales of the Valiant as ToV. This information is for evaluation purposes, it should not be considered official rules of the game. You can assume things that I don’t list here are basically like 5E with only minor differences.
In ToV the Dungeon Master is called the Game Master.
Summary of the game system
Kobold Press is creating Tales of the Valiant to be compatible with 5E. From their Kickstarter page: “It combines the Creative Commons foundation of 5th Edition with new elements to create a powerful Kobold-style 5E with teeth.” If you know how to play 5E you know how to play ToV, with only a few differences – most of which I will try to summarize here.
Primary differences between Tails of the Valiant and D&D 5e
Character Creation
Choose a Class
Note your Hit Die size
If you have spellcasting, mark your available spell slots and spells known (if applicable)
Any skills you are proficient in
Any equipment and tools you are proficient with
Saves you are proficient with
Your Proficiency Bonus (PB)
Your starting equipment [you may also get additional equipment based on your background]
Determine Ability Scores and use them to calculate the following:
Your hit-point total
Your spell save DC and your spellcasting attack modifier (if applicable)
Choose your lineage and heritage, including:
Your size
Your senses
Your base movement speed (or speeds, if applicable)
Any additional proficiencies
Select or create a background, including:
Any skill or tool proficiencies
Your languages
Your talent
Any additional starting equipment
Your adventuring motivation
Set your Luck points to 0
Come up with a name and basic description
Classes
The rules preview includes the iconic Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, and Wizard. When released, ToV should include the 12 core 5e classes plus the Mechanist. It will also include more subclasses and all classes get their subclass at 3rd level. The preview only includes the class progression through 5th level. As an example, here are the major differences in the Rogue Class between ToV and 5E. These are still in beta testing and may change before the final version is published.
Rogue
Hit Points: Same as 5E, except 1d8 (or 4) + your CON modifier per fighter level after 1st [in 5E it is 1d8(or 5).]
Proficiencies, Weapons, Tools, Skills, Saves, and Starting Equipment: Same as 5E
1st Level Features
Expertise: Same as 5E
Sneak Attack: Same as 5E
Thieves’ Cant: Same as 5E
2nd Level Feature
Cunning Action: Same as 5E
3rd Level Feature
Roguish Specialty: called “Roguish Archetype” in 5E – select one form the following:
Enforcer: You get the following features if you choose “Enforcer”:
Ambush: During the first round of combat, you have advantage on the first attack roll you make against any creature involved in the combat. Additionally, whenever you make a successful attack roll against a creature with the surprised condition, that attack is automatically considered a critical hit.
Cold-Blooded: Once per turn when you reduce a creature to 0 hp with a weapon attack, you can use the same weapon to immediately make a weapon attack against a different creature you can see within your weapon’s range. You can’t add Sneak Attack damage to this additional attack.
Expanded Talent List: When you gain a new talent, you can select that talent from the Martial or Technical Talent list. (Refer to Talents)
Thief: You get the following features if you choose “Thief::
Fast Hands: You can use the bonus action granted by your Cunning Action to do any of the following:
Make a DEX (Sleight of Hand) check
Use thieves’ tools to attempt to disarm a trap or open a lock
Take the Use an Object action
Second-Story Work: gives you the following features
You gain a climb speed equal to your base movement speed. If you already have a climb speed when you gain this feature, it increases by 10 feet.
When you make a long jump, you cover a number of feet equal to your walking speed if you move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump. When you make a standing long jump, you can leap half your walking speed. Either way, each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement.
In the event a STR (Athletics) check is required to clear or extend a jump, you can choose to make a DEX (Acrobatics) check instead.
4th Level Feature
Improvement: Add 1 point to any ability and get a Talent. (Refer to Talents)
5th Level Feature
Uncanny Dodge: Same as 5E
Talents (Called Feats in 5E)
Talents are not an optional rule in ToV.
Talent Categories: Talents are divided into three categories: magic, martial, and technical.
At Level 1: Your background gives you one Talent.
At Class Ability Score Improvement: When your class level gives you an Ability Score Improvement you improve an ability by one point and choose a talent from a specified list.
Ability Scores
Abilities and Modifiers
Same 6 abilities, and the modifiers are the same as 5E.
Player Characters can’t have an ability score higher than 20.
Ability Scores start out slightly higher in ToV
The standard array numbers are 16, 15, 13, 12, 10, and 8. (They are 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 in 5E)
Point buy works the same as 5E but you start with 32 points rather than 27 and you can purchase a score of 16, 17, or 18 at the cost of 11, 13, or 16 points respectively.
Roll 4 d6’s and discard the lowest, is just like in 5E but when you have finished, add 2 to one score of your choice that is 16 or below and add 1 to one score of your choice that is 17 or below.
Lineage and Heritage (Race in 5E)
ToV splits what would be your Race in 5E into the traits you get from your biological parents (your Lineage) and those you get from upbringing (your Heritage). You select both your Lineage and your Heritage separately. You could have a dwarf who was raised by elves, for instance.
Lineage
Among other traits, your Lineage affects your age, size and speed.
The Lineages in the preview packet are Beastkin (like a half man/half beast of some kind), Dwarf, Elf, and Human. We know there will be all of the races that are in 5E plus Kobold and perhaps more.
If you want a character that reflects common fantasy archetypes, each Lineage has a couple of recommended Heritages.
Heritage
The languages you know are determined by your Heritage, not your Race as in 5E.
Many of the traits and features you get from your background in 5E – you get from your Heritage in ToV.
Your Heritage affects your cultural elements, such as folklore, traditions, and natural environment.
Background
Different from your Background in 5E, this is a backstory explaining why your character has chosen to become an adventurer.
They have omitted personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws.
You can select one of the provided Backgrounds, with advice on customizing it to better fit your character or campaign.
Each Background includes an Adventuring Motivation. You are encouraged to modify it, or create your own. Your Adventuring Motivation provides you with the following:
Proficiency in two skills
Proficiency with one or more tools or additional languages.
Starting equipment
One talent.
Luck (replaces 5E’s Inspiration)
You receive one luck point when you fail an attack roll or save and the GM can give you a luck point whenever he chooses.
You can have a maximum of 5 Luck points.
If you have 5 Luck points and would gain a sixth, you roll a d4 and reset your Luck points to that number.
Unless you have rolled a natural 1, you can spend one of more of your Luck points to add to any d20 roll you make. Or you can spend 3 Luck points to re-roll a d20.
Luck can’t create a natural 20.
Spells
Spell Circles: There is not a separate list of spells for each class. Instead the spells are divided into Circles (arcane, divine, primordial and wyrd). A few spells are included in two or more circles. Your classes will get spells from a specific circle.
Spell Rings: This is just a name change. ToV calls spell levels spell rings instead. [I can see where this will be less confusing to new players.]
Ritual Spells: In 5E certain spells can be cast as a ritual if your class allows you to cast rituals. In Tov they have been moved into a separate type of spell, a Ritual Spell.
For each spell circle, rituals are listed separately from the other spells.
Ritual spells take 1 minute or longer to cast.
Ritual spells don’t use spell slots and can’t be cast at higher rings.
When applicable, your class progression table will have columns for: cantrips known, spells known, rituals known, 1st ring spell slots, 2nd ring spells slots, etc.
Monsters
The Preview includes a few monsters that will be in the ToV Monster’s Vault. I am showing the ToV and 5E stat block for the Goblin side by side for you to see how they differ.
Challenge Rating and XP: ToV shows these at the top – to the right of the monster’s name.
Alignment: The Tov preview doesn’t mention alignment. It appears that they will not be using it for monsters or PCs.
Hit Points: ToV lists the monster’s hit points. 5E shows this as the average number and also shows the die expression used to generate a range of hit points.
Stealth: Tov lists a stealth number for all monsters (15 for the Goblin). Your character must make a Perception check of this or higher to notice the monster if it is trying to hide. 5E lists this as one of the monster’s skills (+6 for the Goblin).
Perception: Tov lists this for every monster (9 for the Goblin). Your character must make a Stealth check of this or higher to sneak past it. 5E lists this as passive Perception for one of the monster’s Senses. [Notice that this changes from the monster doing a perception check to the PC making a Stealth check. In my 5E games I have the player make a stealth check when his PC can hide and later have the monster make a perception check when it might possibly notice him. Doing it the ToV way simplifies and should speed up play.]
Proficiency Bonus: This is not included in the monster stat block in the 5E Monster Manual. [Wizards has started including this in their more recent publications.]
Ability Modifiers: ToV only lists the ability modifier and does not also include the ability score. [This may take a little getting used to but I understand simplifying the stat block. Also, ToV is using the stat modifier to do more.]
For any save or ability check, roll a d20 and add the relevant ability modifier.
Bonus Actions: ToV moves anything the Monster can do with a bonus action to this section. (Nimble Escape in the case of a Goblin.)
Reactions: ToV moves anything the Monster can do with a reaction to this section. (ToV has added Frantic Reflexes to their version of the Goblin.)
Immunities, Resistances, and Vulnerabilities: ToV doesn’t use multiple lines that separate out damage and conditions. For example if a creature is immune to fire damage and the charmed condition, both appear in the Immune line.
Immune
A monster that is immune to a kind of damage takes no damage from it.
A monster that is immune to a condition can’t be affected by it.
Resistant
A monster that is resistant to a kind of damage takes half the damage (rounded down) from it.
A monster that is resistant to a condition has advantage on saves to avoid it.
Vulnerable
A monster that is vulnerable to a kind of damage takes double damage from it.
A monster that is vulnerable to a condition has disadvantage on saves to avoid it.
What you need to get started
All you will need will be the Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide. The Game Master may also want to have the Tales of the Valiant Monsters Vault. There will be no required Game Master’s Guide. Their CFR (Core Fantasy Roleplaying) rules will contain all the basic rules and will always be available as a free download.
Final Thoughts
Quoting from their web site: “ToV moves the independent 5th Edition community forward with a system that is open and available to all … Our goal is to keep 5E products vibrant, both in print and on VTT partner platforms, by keeping a set of rules available under an open, perpetual, and irrevocable license.” Where Wizards of the Coast has their SRD (System Reference Document), Kobold Press will have their CFR (Core Fantasy Roleplaying) rules, which will contain the basic ToV rules. They have also indicated that they intend to be publishing their CFR under the ORC (Open RPG Creative) license, rather than Wizards of the Coast’s OGL (Open Game License). The ORC and the OGL are both public copyright license systems. Where the OGL was created by Wizards of the Coast for publishers to use when using elements of their SRD, the ORC is an agnostic, perpetual, irrevocable open gaming license created and made available to all by Paizo. Wizard’s attempt to change their OGL (in a very bad way) earlier this year prompted Kobold Press to create Tales of the Valiant.
I am a big fan of Kobold Press. I have several of their books. I fully expect their Tales of the Valiant to be at least as good, and most likely better, than Wizards of the Coast’s new version of D&D (that they now say they will be calling D&D 2024). For one thing, Kobald Press isn’t hampered by WotC’s need to keep all the rules basically the same as the current version with “enhancements”, where Kobold Press is making a brand new RPG that will be compatible with 5E. This allows them to re-think the way “Races” work and come up with new ones. The same is true with Classes and sub-classes, the spells, and all of the rules. They don’t need to make theirs compatible with all of the sourcebooks that WotC has published. Their goal isn’t to keep all the rules the same, but to make them “better” where they can and try to make everything so that it can still be used with their published adventures and campaign settings. There are no game designers that I think are better up to this task than Kobold Press.
Kobold Press successfully ended their ToV Kickstarter (June 23, 2023) with over $1,000,000.00 pledged. Congratulations! I’m looking forward to receiving my stuff early in 2024.
I just updated the Downloads Page (on the “Downloads” tab above). It hasn’t been updated in a while. You may want to see if you missed anything. I no longer link directly to the file but to the page that contains the link and its description.
Comparing Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons (D&D 5e) to other Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPG) – Key Features and Differences
I am going to be reviewing several TTRPGs. These reviews are going to specifically compare them to D&D 5e. I am doing this with the assumption that my readers are already familiar with D&D 5e. But I am not assuming any knowledge of earlier editions of D&D.
These different game systems will all be in the same “Swords and Saucery” genre, what many refer to as “classic” high-fantasy, with warriors battling monsters alongside magic users in a medieval setting. They all focus on fantasy combat, with exploration and opportunities for social interaction. This will include some ‘old school’ retroclones harkening back to the early days of Dungeons & Dragons. They all include comprehensive rules set that cover character creation, spells, combat resolution, weapons and equipment, monsters, treasure and the key dice and play mechanics tying it all together.
Their primary system mechanic is rolling a die (typically a d20), but this varies somewhat. These should all be easy for the current D&D player to understand because they all have many of the same basic features although the specifics may vary. These are things like: races, classes, ability scores, experience points, class levels, weapons, armor, hit points, magic spells, etc. So if you know the current version of D&D most of the rules for these other games are using concept that you are already familiar with.
For each game system, I intend to provide a basic summery of each of these topics:
Summary of the game system
Primary differences to D&D 5e
Races
Classes
Stats
Character creation
Character sheet
Combat
Magic and spell casting
XP and character level advancement
What you need to get started
Pathfinder
EDIT: 7/28/2023 – I posted a more complete review of Pathfinder 2nd EditionHERE.
After saying all of that, I’m not doing it for the most popular alternative to D&D, which is Pathfinder 2nd edition. The reason is that I am not interested in doing that. Here is my opinion of Pathfinder.
The Pathfinder role playing game is, in my opinion, better that Dungeons and Dragons 5e in almost every possible way. I’ll say that again. Pathfinder is a better role playing game than D&D. However, it is not a game that I enjoy playing. This is because of its massive rules bloat which, for one thing, results in combat being too slow.
What it is: D&D Adventure Anthology Adventures Included: 13 Adventures Theme: Adventures inspired by world folklore Starting Location: The Radiant Citadel—a magical city in the Ethereal Plane Contents: 13 adventures for characters levels 1–14, 11 monsters, and introduction of the Radiant Citadel Best for: Dungeon Masters
I have just ordered my copy. Let me know what you think about this.
I have previously posted my D&D 5E House Rules rules on for drowning, casting spells underwater, and entire supplements on running nautical adventures. I have recently given more thought to these matters. I have never adequately presented rules to handle issues such as standing above the water and attacking a creature below the water. In this post I address this and other issues as well as reimagining some of my earlier rules. Enjoy!
A few words about “Swim Speed” • Having a swim speed does more than effect your speed when you are swimming. It implies a familiarity with the underwater environment that effects other things you do underwater such as speaking and using weapons. These abilities are reflected in the sections below.
How fast do you swim? • Unless you have a swim speed, your movement speed is halved.
Swimming in Armor • Light Armor: Requires a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check each round. Failure means you have a speed of 0 for that round. • Medium Armor: Requires a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check each round. Failure means you have a speed of 0 for that round and you sink 10 feet. • Heavy Armor: Requires a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check each round. Failure means you have a speed of 0 for that round and you sink 20 feet.
Swimming to Exhaustion • You must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw each hour that you are swimming or you gain one level of exhaustion. The check is made every half hour if wearing medium armor or every 15 minutes if wearing heavy armor.
Holding Your Breath • You can hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier. If you have a Constitution score of less than 10 you can hold your breath for 30 seconds. At that point, you fall unconscious. • When you don’t have time to prepare to enter the water, like if you were surprised, the time that you can hold your breath is halved, to a minimum of 30 seconds. • Once unconscious, you can survive for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round.) At that point, you drop to zero hit points, begin to drown and must start making death saving throws. • When drowning, a you cannot regain hit points or be stabilized until you are once again able to breathe. • When in combat, if you take any action other than the dodge action, at the end of combat you lose 1 minute from the time that you can hold your breath. For a long combat, for every 10 rounds you lose 2 additional minutes. • When you are hit, you must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. On a failure you lose an additional 30 seconds from the time you can continue to hold your breath. If it was a critical hit, you must instead make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. On a failure you loose your breath and fall unconscious.
Melee Weapons • When your target is underwater, if you don’t have a swim speed, your weapon attacks are made at disadvantage unless you attack with a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident. And your unarmed strikes are made at disadvantage.
Ranged Weapons • If your target is underwater, all ranged weapon attacks other than crossbows, nets, javelins, spears, tridents, and darts are made with disadvantage and even for these, attacks made beyond the weapon’s normal range automatically miss.
Shooting and Casting Spells Into Water • From the point of view of a creature out of the water, creatures that are underwater are considered to have 3/4 cover (+5 to the creature’s AC).
Speaking or Casting Spells While Underwater • Speaking underwater expends some of your air. Each round that you speak or attempt to cast a spell with a verbal component removes 30 seconds from the time you can hold your breath. If you are talking, this can be no more than about 10 words. • You are harder to understand when you talk while underwater. If you don’t have a swim speed, there is a 50% chance that you won’t be understood when speaking, and a 50% chance that your spell will fail when uttering the verbal component. • Sound travels further underwater. The verbal component of a spell will be heard at least 40 feet away. The same for normal speech. Anyone further than 40 feet away will have to succeed in a perception check with a DC = the number of feet beyond 40 feet to understand what is said. • You can’t whisper or yell underwater. • Creatures that aren’t in the water with you can’t hear you well. If you don’t have a swim speed and you are underwater, anyone that is not in the water will not be able to understand anything that you are saying. • If you can breathe underwater you can talk and cast spells without restriction.
Fire Spells • All creatures have resistance to fire damage when submerged underwater. • The range and AoE of fire spells are both halved. In the case of AoE spells, creatures have advantage on their saving throw.
Lightning Spells • Creatures have disadvantage when attempting to make a save against an AoE lightning spell. The range and AoE of lightning spells are doubled underwater.
Spells and Magic Items:
Water Walk [PHB p. 287] 3rd-level transmutation (ritual) Casting Time: 1 Action Ritual Range: 30 ft Components: V, S, M (a piece of cork) Duration: 1 Hour This spell grants the ability to move across any liquid surface – such as water, acid, mud, snow, quicksand, or lava – as if it were harmless solid ground (creatures crossing molten lava can still take damage from the heat). Up to ten willing creatures you can see within range gain this ability for the duration. If you target a creature submerged in a liquid, the spell carries the target to the surface of the liquid at a rate of 60 feet per round.
Ring of Water Walking [DMG p. 193] Ring, uncommon While wearing this ring, you can stand on and move across any liquid surface as if it were solid ground.
House Rules for the Water Walk spell. The second part applies only when you target a creature submerged in a liquid, i.e. at the time of casting.
House Rules for Ring of Water Walking • This does not mention the “Water Walk” spell. The spell says “as if it were harmless solid ground”. Note that the word “harmless” has been omitted from the ring’s description. So walking across acid or any other harmful liquid would inflict damage. It also won’t carry you to the surface if you put it on while underwater.
House Rules for both the Water Walk spell and the Ring of Water Walking • You can chose to dive under the water whenever you choose. In combat, this will be considered part of your move action. • If you are underwater and swim to the surface, it will take an action to climb back onto the surface of the water. • The effect of the spell or the ring will allow you to stand, walk, run, jump or engage in combat. It will also support the weight of your body and everything you are carrying even if you aren’t on your feet. So you can sit, lay down, or stand on your hands or head if that is what you want to do. Any object you are carrying can enter the water as it normally would if your intention is not to support your weight with it. As an example, you could use a walking stick or crutch and a monk could do a kick jump with his staff. • Your movement is not affected by the current. But, the surface of the water can change (such as with the tide) so the surface you are walking can raise or lower with the surface of the water. This means that waves will cause the surface to rise and fall. Breaking waves could present a problem. • While you are on the surface you can attack any underwater creature that is within range with your sword or ranged weapon. • While you are on the surface you can dip up some water in a bowl or even with your hands. You can also reach under the surface to do other things with your hands such as picking up items that you can reach, or open a chest. • Don’t forget and set your backpack down beside you, it will sink!
“To target something [with a spell], you must have a clear path to it, so it can’t be behind total cover. If you place an area of effect at a point that you can’t see and an obstruction, such as a wall, is between you and that point, the point of origin comes into being on the near side of that obstruction.”
This isn’t especially clear and and leads to many questions. A clear definition of “line of effect” would clear up much of the confusion. However, neither the Player’s Handbook nor the Dungeons Master’s Guide use this term at all. Because fifth edition doesn’t define a line of effect, below is my unofficial definition. I went back to the definition in third edition and modified it to account for the differences in 3rd and 5th edition. Because the following is not official, you should consider it a house rule.
Line of Effect [for Spells]
You must have a clear line of effect to any target that you cast a spell on or to the point of origin for any spell’s area of effect. A spell’s area of effect affects only an area, creature, or object to which it has line of effect from its origin. Line of effect is a straight, unblocked path that indicates what a spell can affect. A line of effect is canceled by a solid barrier. It’s like line of sight for ranged weapons, except that it’s not blocked by fog, darkness, and other factors that limit normal sight. A line of effect is also blocked by a solid barrier that doesn’t block sight, such as clear glass. An otherwise solid barrier with a hole of at least 1 square foot through it does not block a spell’s line of effect. Such an opening means that the 5-foot length of wall containing the hole is no longer considered a barrier for purposes of a spell’s line of effect. Line of effect is required for spells unless the spell description specifically states otherwise. Any spell that says that you need to see the target still requires a line of effect. If the spell description says that an effect spreads around corners that effect doesn’t require a line of effect.
Concentration Spells
If a spell must be maintained with concentration, you must have a line of effect to cast the spell, but you do not need to maintain a line of effect to maintain concentration. However, if the concentration spell allows you to use an action, bonus action or reaction to effect a creature or object then any round that you perform that action you must have line of effect to the target.
Line of Effect [for Auras]
The line of effect for an Aura is different than for spells. To be effected by (or to detect) an Aura there must be a straight path to the source of the aura that isn’t blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
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