Rules Reference

What the six scores actually do, how modifiers work, and why ability priorities decide whether a build feels coherent at the table.

The 2024 build flow: class, background, species, origin feat, and starting equipment in the order they actually matter.

How ability checks, proficiency, passive use, and DCs work so the skill compendium reads like a play aid instead of a glossary.

Where training applies, how Proficiency Bonus scales, and why tools matter as real rules objects instead of dead inventory.

The other half of defense: how creatures resist spells, hazards, forced movement, and hostile effects that are not ordinary attack rolls.

Travel pace, marching order, and the exploration rules that shape the world between fights.

Bright Light, Dim Light, and Darkness — how vision actually works and what it changes about a scene.

Turn order, action economy, movement pressure, and the status effects that turn a fight from math into tactics.

Every SRD condition — what it actually restricts, how it stacks, and how it ends.

Hit point loss, healing, temporary hit points, dropping to 0, and the rules that turn ordinary danger into an actual recovery crisis.

Short rests, long rests, Hit Dice, death saves, and the recovery rules that decide whether the party can keep pushing.

Spell slots, concentration, and preparation — the mechanics every caster build actually runs on.

When concentration breaks, how saves scale with damage, and why stacking concentration spells never works the way players hope.

How to read a spell block — casting time, range, components, duration — without guessing at what a term actually means.

Attunement, rarity, activation, and how to read treasure like a rules object instead of a loose narrative reward.

Weapons, armor, tools, and starter loadout logic — the gear side of a build, separate from spellcasting.

Animal companions, familiars, and other bonded creatures — how they scale with their owner and what they actually add at the table.

Using tools, kits, and downtime activities as real mechanical options instead of narrative-only flavor.

Pace, navigation, and the practical rules for getting a party from one place to another without skipping the interesting parts.