Tools and Taverns

Rules Reference

Search or browse the 5e rules you need most at the table.

Conditions
  • Blinded
    • Cannot see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.
    • Attack rolls against the creature have advantage; the creature has disadvantage on its attack rolls.
  • Charmed
    • Cannot attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful abilities or magical effects.
    • The charmer has advantage on any ability check to interact socially with the creature.
  • Deafened
    • Cannot hear and automatically fails any ability check that requires hearing.
  • Frightened
    • Has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of fear is within line of sight.
    • Cannot willingly move closer to the source of its fear.
  • Grappled
    • Speed becomes 0 and cannot benefit from any bonus to speed.
    • Ends if the grappler is incapacitated, or if the creature is moved out of the grappler reach by an effect.
  • Incapacitated
    • Cannot take actions or reactions.
  • Invisible
    • Impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense; counts as heavily obscured for hiding.
    • Attack rolls against the creature have disadvantage; the creature has advantage on its attack rolls.
  • Paralyzed
    • Is incapacitated and cannot move or speak.
    • Automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
    • Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
    • Any attack that hits is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet.
  • Petrified
    • Transformed, along with nonmagical objects it wears or carries, into a solid inanimate substance; weight increases by a factor of ten and it stops aging.
    • Is incapacitated, cannot move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
    • Attack rolls against the creature have advantage; it automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
    • Has resistance to all damage; is immune to poison and disease, though existing poison or disease is only suspended.
  • Poisoned
    • Has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
  • Prone
    • Only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition.
    • Has disadvantage on attack rolls.
    • An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet, otherwise disadvantage.
  • Restrained
    • Speed becomes 0 and cannot benefit from any bonus to speed.
    • Attack rolls against the creature have advantage; the creature has disadvantage on its attack rolls.
    • Has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.
  • Stunned
    • Is incapacitated, cannot move, and can speak only falteringly.
    • Automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
    • Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
  • Unconscious
    • Is incapacitated, cannot move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
    • Drops whatever it is holding and falls prone.
    • Automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
    • Attack rolls against the creature have advantage; any attack that hits is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet.
Actions in Combat
  • Attack
    • Make one melee or ranged attack. Some features (such as Extra Attack) let you make more than one attack with this action.
  • Cast a Spell
    • Cast a spell with a casting time of 1 action, subject to the rules for spellcasting.
  • Dash
    • Gain extra movement equal to your speed for the current turn, after any modifiers.
  • Disengage
    • Your movement does not provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn.
  • Dodge
    • Until the start of your next turn, attacks against you have disadvantage if you can see the attacker, and you make Dexterity saving throws with advantage.
    • You lose this benefit if you are incapacitated or your speed drops to 0.
  • Help
    • Aid another creature in a task (they gain advantage on their next ability check), or aid an ally attack against a creature within 5 feet of you (the ally gains advantage on their next attack roll before your next turn).
  • Hide
    • Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check to attempt to hide, following the rules for hiding.
  • Ready
    • Choose a trigger and a response action (or a move). When the trigger occurs, you may use your reaction to take the readied action. A readied spell must be cast as a reaction and you hold the spell with concentration.
  • Search
    • Devote your attention to finding something; the DM calls for a Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence (Investigation) check.
  • Use an Object
    • Interact with a second object (the first free interaction is part of your move or action), or use an object that requires an action to operate.
Cover
  • Half Cover
    • Grants a +2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws.
    • Examples: a low wall, a large piece of furniture, a narrow tree trunk, or another creature.
  • Three-Quarters Cover
    • Grants a +5 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws.
    • Examples: a portcullis, an arrow slit, or a thick tree trunk.
  • Total Cover
    • Cannot be targeted directly by an attack or spell, although some spells can reach into the area with an area of effect.
    • A target has total cover if it is completely concealed by an obstacle.
Exhaustion
  • Level 1
    • Disadvantage on ability checks.
  • Level 2
    • Speed halved.
  • Level 3
    • Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws.
  • Level 4
    • Hit point maximum halved.
  • Level 5
    • Speed reduced to 0.
  • Level 6
    • Death.
  • Recovery
    • Effects are cumulative: a creature suffers the effect of its current level and all lower levels.
    • Finishing a long rest reduces a creature exhaustion level by 1, provided it has also ingested some food and drink.
Death Saving Throws
  • Making a Death Save
    • When you start your turn at 0 hit points, roll a d20 (no modifiers). 10 or higher is a success; 9 or lower is a failure.
    • On your third success you become stable. On your third failure you die.
    • The successes and failures do not need to be consecutive; reset all three when you regain any hit points.
  • Rolling 1 or 20
    • A roll of 1 counts as two failures.
    • A roll of 20 means you regain 1 hit point.
  • Damage at 0 HP
    • Taking any damage at 0 hit points causes one death save failure; a critical hit causes two failures.
    • If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.
  • Stabilizing a Creature
    • Use an action to make a DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check to stabilize a creature at 0 hit points.
    • A stable creature does not make death saves and regains 1 hit point after 1d4 hours.
Resting
  • Short Rest
    • A period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, with no more than light activity.
    • You may spend one or more Hit Dice at the end of the rest, up to your maximum, to regain hit points (roll the die and add your Constitution modifier).
  • Long Rest
    • A period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, with no more than 1 hour of light activity.
    • You regain all lost hit points and regain spent Hit Dice up to a number equal to half your total (minimum of one die).
    • You cannot benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period, and you must have at least 1 hit point to begin one.
Environmental Hazards
  • Falling
    • A fall deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6.
    • The creature lands prone, unless it avoids taking damage from the fall.
  • Suffocation
    • A creature can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + its Constitution modifier (minimum of 30 seconds).
    • When out of breath or choking, it can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round).
    • At the start of its next turn after that, it drops to 0 hit points and is dying, and cannot regain hit points or be stabilized until it can breathe again.
  • Drowning
    • A creature without enough air follows the Suffocation rules above.

About the Rules Quick-Reference

This free D&D 5e rules quick-reference is built for the moment combat stalls and someone asks what "restrained" actually does. Type a word into the search box and every matching entry expands: conditions, actions in combat, cover, exhaustion, death saving throws, resting, and environmental hazards. It runs entirely in your browser, with no login and no server call for lookups, so it stays fast even when the table wifi does not.

The reference gathers the rules that most often interrupt play into seven sections: 14 conditions written out in full, 10 actions in combat, the three degrees of cover, the six levels of exhaustion, the death saving throw rules, short and long rests, and hazards like falling, suffocation, and drowning. Every entry is drawn from the SRD 5.1 (the 2014 ruleset), so the numbers match the document a DM can cite at the table.

Tips for Using the Quick-Reference

  • Search matches rule text, not just headings, so typing "advantage" or "5 feet" surfaces every entry that mentions it, not only the rule named after it.
  • Conditions stack: paralyzed, stunned, and unconscious all include incapacitated, so read the incapacitated entry too when you layer them onto a creature.
  • Keep the page open on a phone or second screen during a fight; sections stay collapsed until you open one, so the whole table of contents fits on a single screen.
  • Treat the suggested numbers as the baseline the SRD gives; adjust a DC or a hazard die to fit your table when the story calls for it.

For how to build and run the fights these rules govern, read the guide: How to Run a Great D&D Encounter

Common Questions

Is this rules reference free?
Yes. Every tool on Tools and Taverns is free, with no account, signup, or generation limit.
Which edition of the rules does it cover?
The entries come from the D&D 5e System Reference Document 5.1, the 2014 ruleset, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Values such as the plus 2 to AC from half cover or 1d6 falling damage per 10 feet match that document.
What rules are included?
Seven sections: 14 conditions, 10 actions in combat, three degrees of cover, six levels of exhaustion, the death saving throw rules, short and long rests, and environmental hazards including falling, suffocation, and drowning.
Is exhaustion handled like the other conditions?
It lives in its own section because it works differently. Exhaustion is tracked in six cumulative levels, so a creature suffers the effect of its current level and every level below it, and a long rest with food and drink reduces the level by one.
Can I use it without an internet connection?
Once the page has loaded, lookups run entirely in your browser with no further network requests, so searching and browsing keep working even if your connection drops mid-session.

Related Tools

  • Initiative Tracker: track turn order and who is suffering which condition while you reference the rules here.
  • Encounter Generator: build a balanced fight, then look up the actions and conditions it will involve.
  • Monster Generator: stat a creature whose attacks impose the conditions listed above.
  • Dice Roller: roll death saves, falling damage, and hit dice without leaving the browser.
  • Session Dashboard: open this reference inside the dashboard alongside your other run tools.
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