Dungeon Master's Guide 5E

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

II2


If the Wisdom (Survival) check succeeds, the party
travels in the desired direction without becoming lost.
If the check fails, the party inadvertently travels in the
wrong direction and becomes lost. The party's navigator
can repeat the check after the party spends ld6 hours
trying to get back on course.

WILDERNESS NAVIGATION
Terrain
Forest, jungle, swamp, mountains, or open sea
with overcast skies and no land in sight
Arctic, desert, hills, or open sea with clear skies
and no land in sight
Grassland, meadow, farmland

SETTLEMENTS


DC
15

10

5

A village, town, or city makes an excellent backdrop for
an adventure. The adventurers might be called on to
track down a criminal who's gone into hiding, solve a
murder, take out a gang of wererats or doppelgangers,
or protect a settlement under siege.
When creating a settlement for your campaign, focus
on the locations that are most relevant to the adventure.
Don't worry about naming every street and identifying
the inhabitants of every building; that way lies madness.

RANDOM SETTLEMENTS
The following tables allow you to quickly create a
settlement. They assume that you've a lready determined
its size and its basic form of government.

RACE RELATIONS
d20 Result
1-10 Harmony
11 - 14 Tension or rivalry
15-16 Racial majority are conquerors
17
18
19
20

Racial minority are rulers
Racial minority are refugees
Racial majority oppresses minority
Racial minority oppresses majority

RULER'S STATUS
d20 Ruler
1-5 Respected, fair, and just
6-8 Feared tyrant
9 Weakling manipulated by others
10 Ill egitimate ruler, simmering civil war
11 Ruled or controlled by a powerful monster
12 Mysterious, anonymous cabal
13 Contested leadership, open fighting
14 Cabal seized power openly
15 Doltish lout
16 On deathbed, claimants compete for power
17-18 I ron-willed but respected
19-20 Religious leader

CHAPTER 5 I ADVENTURE ENVIRONMENTS

NOTABLE TRAITS
d20 Trait
Canals in place of streets
2 Massive statue o r monument
3 Grand temple
4 Large fortress
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Verdant parks and orchards
River divides town
Major trade center
Headquarters of a powerful family or guild
Population mostly wealthy
Destitute, rundown
Awful smell (tanneries, open sewers)
Center of trade for one specific good
Site of many battles
Site of a mythic or magical event
Important library or archive
Worship of all gods banned
Sinister reputation
Notable library or academy
Site of important tomb or graveyard
Built atop ancient ruins

KNOWN FOR ITS •••
d20 Feature d20 Feature
Delicious cuisine 11 Piety
2 Rude people^12 Gambling
3 Greedy merchants^13 Godlessness
4 Artists and writers 14 Education
5 Great herojsavior^15 Wines
6 Flowers^16 High fashion

(^7) Hordes of beggars 17 Political intrigue
8 Tough warriors^18 Powerful guilds
9 Dark magic 19 Strong drink
10 Decadence 20 Patriotism
CURRENT CALAMITY
d20
2
3
4
5-6
7
8-9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Calamity
Suspected vampire infestation
New cult seeks converts
Important figure died (murder suspected)
War between rival thieves' guilds
Plague or famine (sparks riots)
Corrupt officials
Marauding monsters
Powerful wizard has moved into town
Economic depression (trade disrupted)
Flooding
Undead stirring in cemeteries
Prophecy of doom
Brink of war
Internal strife (leads to anarchy)
Besieged by enemies
Scandal threatens powerful families
19 Dungeon discovered (adventurers flock to town)
20 Religious sects struggle for power

Free download pdf