Shadow of the Coast - Player Options

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### 
**Campaign Materials:** [Shadow of the Coast Campaign Setting](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M-RGFjicVrHafKzTNQt), [Shadow of the Coast Player Options](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M-REVzqMvZSPIg37-fF)
___
**Cohorts:** [Dala Hablininbay](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M-pKHeAUFBuGlkfEID7), [Strike](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M-pKBfBxtilxR-wART9), [Ezekiel](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M-p6OLOJHy4LFRhqs-B), [Gowla](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M-k4pHTBKROaV8r-IiS)
___
**Handouts:** [Ayres](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M-r6LnoAyxOQwVGjs2e), [Logs](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M1bIIdMAKxUgJCjAxyQ)
###
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<div class='cover-header'>Shadow of the Coast: Player's Guide</div>

<div class='cover-footer'>Adventuring on the High Seas</div>

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# PART 1
##### Character Options

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# Chapter 1: Who you are
Sailing the inlet seas along the coast creates its own way of life. Those adventurers who make their way here may be former city state military, merchant marines, swashbucklers, or even ex-pirates. Each city state has their own microcosm of culture that can modify a character's background. The options below allow for a more high seas feel to the character, and takes into account the world as characters perceive it living along the coast.

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# Variant Classes

## Coastal Ranger
Rough and wild looking, a human stalks alone through the shadows of trees, hunting the orcs he knows are planning a raid on a nearby farm. Clutching a shortsword in each hand, he becomes a whirlwind of steel, cutting down one enemy after another.

After tumbling away from a cone of freezing air, an elf finds her feet and draws back her bow to loose an arrow at the white dragon. Shrugging off the wave of fear that emanates from the dragon like the cold of its breath, she sends one arrow after another to find the gaps between the dragon's thick scales.

Holding his hand high, a half-elf whistles to the hawk that circles high above him, calling the bird back to his side. Whispering instructions in Elvish, he points to the owlbear he's been tracking and sends the hawk to distract the creature while he readies his bow.

Far from the bustle of cities and towns, past the hedges that shelter the most distant farms from the terrors of the wild, amid the dense-packed trees of trackless forests and across wide and empty plains, rangers keep their unending watch.
### Deadly Hunters
Warriors of the wilderness, rangers specialize in hunting the monsters that threaten the edges of civilization—humanoid raiders, rampaging beasts and monstrosities, terrible giants, and deadly dragons. They learn to track their quarry as a predator does, moving stealthily through the wilds and hiding themselves in brush and rubble. Rangers focus their combat training on techniques that are particularly useful against their specific favored foes.

Thanks to their familiarity with the wilds, rangers acquire the ability to cast spells that harness nature's power, much as a druid does. Their spells, like their combat abilities, emphasize speed, stealth, and the hunt. A ranger's talents and abilities are honed with deadly focus on the grim task of protecting the borderlands.

###Independent Adventurers
Though a ranger might make a living as a hunter, a guide, or a tracker, a ranger's true calling is to defend the outskirts of civilization from the ravages of monsters and humanoid hordes that press in from the wild. In some places, rangers gather in secretive orders or join forces with druidic circles. Many rangers, though, are independent almost to a fault, knowing that, when a dragon or a band of orcs attacks, a ranger might be the first—and possibly the last—line of defense.

This fierce independence makes rangers well suited to adventuring, since they are accustomed to life far from the comforts of a dry bed and a hot bath. Faced with city-bred adventurers who grouse and whine about the hardships of the wild, rangers respond with some mixture of amusement, frustration, and compassion. But they quickly learn that other adventurers who can carry their own weight in a fight against civilization's foes are worth any extra burden. Coddled city folk might not know how to feed themselves or find fresh water in the wild, but they make up for it in other ways.

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### Creating a Ranger
As you create your ranger character, consider the nature of the training that gave you your particular capabilities. Did you train with a single mentor, wandering the wilds together until you mastered the ranger's ways? Did you leave your apprenticeship, or was your mentor slain—perhaps by the same kind of monster that became your favored enemy? Or perhaps you learned your skills as part of a band of rangers affiliated with a druidic circle, trained in mystic paths as well as wilderness lore. You might be self-taught, a recluse who learned combat skills, tracking, and even a magical connection to nature through the necessity of surviving in the wilds.

What's the source of your particular hatred of a certain kind of enemy? Did a monster kill someone you loved or destroy your home village? Or did you see too much of the destruction these monsters cause and commit yourself to reining in their depredations? Is your adventuring career a continuation of your work in protecting the borderlands, or a significant change? What made you join up with a band of adventurers? Do you find it challenging to teach new allies the ways of the wild, or do you welcome the relief from solitude that they offer?

## Class Features
As a Coastal Ranger, you gain the following class features
#### Hit Points
___
- **Hit Dice:** 1d10 per Coastal Ranger level
- **Hit Points at 1st Level:** 10 + your Constitution modifier
- **Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per ranger level after 1st

#### Proficiencies
___
- **Armor:** Light armor, medium armor, shields
- **Weapons:** Simple weapons, martial weapons
- **Tools:** Choose one from Cartographer's Tools, Navigator's Tools, and Vehicles (Water)

___
- **Saving Throws:** Strength, Dexterity
- **Skills:** Choose three from Animal Handling, Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Survival

#### Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- *(a)* scale mail or *(b)* leather armor
- *(a)* two shortswords or *(b)* two simple melee weapons
- *(a)* a dungeoneer's pack or *(b)* an explorer's pack
- A longbow and a quiver with 20 arrows

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##### Coastal Ranger
| Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Spells Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|:---:|:---:|:---|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| 1st | +2 | Favored Foe, Natural Explorer | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Fighting Style, Spellcasting | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +2 | Ranger Archetype, Primal Awareness | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 6th | +3 | — | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 7th | +3 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement, Fleet of Foot | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 9th | +4 | ─ | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 10th | +4 | Expedition Leader | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 11th | +4 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — | — |
| 13th | +5 | ─ | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 14th | +5 | Vanish | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 15th | +5 | Ranger Archetype Feature | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 17th | +6 | ─ | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Feral Senses | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +6 | Foe Slayer | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
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### Favored Foe
You can call on your bond with nature to mark a creature as your favored enemy for a time: you know the hunter's mark spell, and Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it. You can use it a certain number of times without expending a spell slot and without requiring concentration—a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

When you gain the Spellcasting feature at 2nd level, hunter's mark doesn't count against the number of ranger spells you know.

### Natural Explorer
You are a master of navigating the natural world, and you ract with swift and decisive action when attacked. This grants you the following benefits:
* You ignore difficult terrain
* You have advantage on intitiative rolls
* On your first turn during combat, ykou have advantage on attack rolls against creatures that have not yet acted

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In addition, you are skilled at navigating the wilderness. You gain the following benefits when travelling for an hour or more:
* Difficult terrtain doesn't slow your group's travel
* Your group can't become lost except by magical events
* Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger
* If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace
* When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would
* While tracking other creatures, yoku also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ao they passed through the area

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### Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options.

You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

#### Archery
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

#### Defense
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

#### Dueling
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

#### Two-Weapon Fighting
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

#### Druidic Warrior
You learn two cantrips of your choice from the druid spell list. They count as ranger spells for you, and Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for them. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of these cantrips with another cantrip from the druid spell list.

### Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to use the magical essence of nature to cast spells, much as a druid does. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the ranger spell list.

#### Spell Slots
The Ranger table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your ranger spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, if you know the 1st-level spell animal friendship and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast animal friendship using either slot.

#### Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the ranger spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Ranger table shows when you learn more ranger spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the ranger spells you know and replace it with another spell from the ranger spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

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#### Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your ranger spells, since your magic draws on your attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a ranger spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

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 **Spell Save DC** </font> = <font face='scalysans' size='2'> 8 + your proficiency bonus + 
 
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 <center> your Wisdom modifier </center>
 
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 **Spell attack modifier** </font> = <font face='scalysans' size='2'> your proficiency bonus + 
 
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 <center> your Wisdom modifier </center>
 
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### Spell Versatility
Whenever you finish a long rest, you can replace one spell you learned from this Spellcasting feature with another spell from the ranger spell list. The new spell must be the same level as the spell you replace.
 
### Spellcasting Focus
You can use a druidic focus as a spellcasting focus for your ranger spells. See chapter 5, "Equipment," of the Player's Handbook for a list of things that count as druidic focuses.
 
### Ranger Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.

### Primal Awareness

You can focus your awareness through the interconnections of nature: you learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class if you don't already know them, as shown in the Primal Awareness Spells table. These spells don't count against the number of ranger spells you know.

##### Primal Awareness Spells
| Ranger Level  | Spell |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  3rd  | *detect magic, speak with animals* |
|  5th  | *beast sense, locate animals or plants* |
|  9th  | *speak with plants* |
|  13th  | *locate creature* |
|  17th  | *commune with nature* |

You can cast each of these spells once without expending a spell slot. Once you cast a spell in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

### Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

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### Fleet of Foot
At 8th level, your movement speed increases by 10 feet.

### Expedition Leader
At 10th level when you make a group check, gain advantage on the roll and you can add two successes instead of one when you make the ability check.

### Vanish
At 14th level gain proficiency in Stealth if you do not have it or Expertise if you do. You can use the Hide action as a bonus action on your turn. Also, you can’t be tracked by nonmagical means, unless you choose to leave a trail.

### Feral Senses
At 18th level, gain Blindsight 30 feet. In addition, you gain proficiency on Perception checks. If you already have Perception, gain Expertise instead.

### Foe Slayer
At 20th level, add your Wisdom modifier to attack and damage rolls.

## Beastmaster
The Beast Master archetype embodies a friendship between the civilized races and the beasts of the wild. United in focus, beast and ranger fight the monsters that threaten civilization and the wilderness alike.

### Animal Companion
At 3rd level, you gain a beast companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is trained to fight alongside you. Choose a beast that is no larger than Medium and that has a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower.

If your animal companion is ever slain, the magical bond you share allows you to return it to life. With 8 hours of work and the expenditure of 25 gp worth of rare herbs and fine food, you call forth your companion’s spirit and use your magic to create a new body for it. You can return an animal companion to life in this manner even if you do not possess any part of its body. If you use this ability to return a former animal companion to life while you have a current animal companion, your current companion leaves you and is replaced by the restored companion

### Companion’s Bond
The companion obeys your commands as best it can. In combat, the drake shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action.
That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the drake can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

When using your Natural Explorer feature, you and your animal companion can both move stealthily at a normal pace. Your animal companion has abilities and game statistics determined in part by your level.

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___
> ## Beast of the Air
> ___
> - **Armor Class** 13 + Proficiency Bonus
> - **Hit Points** 5 + five times Ranger Level
> - **Speed** 10 ft., Fly 60 ft.
>___
>|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA|
>|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
>|6 (-2)|16 (+3)|13 (+1)|8 (-1)|14 (+2)|11 (+0)|
>___
> - **Saving Throws** Dex, Con, Wis
> - **Skills** Perception, Stealth
> - **Senses** Darkvision 60 ft.
> - **Languages** understands the languages you speak
> ___
> **Flyby.** The beast doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.
> 
> **Shred Foe.** Without any command, your beast companion will attack an enemy affected by your Hunter's Mark on its turn.
> 
> **Ready Companion.** As a bonus action, you can command the beast to make its shred attack against one enemy or to Hide on its turn.
> ___
>
> ### Actions
> **Shred.** Melee Weapon Attack: Dex + Proficiency to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + Dex + Proficiency slashing damage.

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Whenever you gain the Ability Score Improvement class feature, your companion’s abilities also improve. Your companion can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or it can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, your companion can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature unless its description specifies otherwise.

Your companion shares your alignment, and has a personality trait and a flaw that you can roll for or select from the tables below. Your companion shares your ideal, and its bond is always, "The ranger who travels with me is a beloved companion for whom I would gladly give my life."

### Beast’s Defense
At 7th level, while your companion can see you, it has advantage on all saving throws.

In addition, the beast's attacks now count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

### Bestial Fury
Starting at 11th level, when you command your beast companion to take the Attack action, the beast can make two attacks. At 20th level, your beast makes two attacks whether or not you command it to attack.

### Superior Beast’s Defense
At 15th level, when either you or your beast companion takes damage while you're within 30 feet of each other, you can use your reaction to give yourself or the companion resistance to that instance of damage.

### Share Spells
At 15th level, when you cast a spell targeting yourself, you can also affect your beast companion with the spell if the beast is within 30 feet of you.

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___
> ## Beast of the Earth
> ___
> - **Armor Class** 15 + Proficiency Bonus
> - **Hit Points** 10 + five times Ranger Level
> - **Speed** 40 ft.
>___
>|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA|
>|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
>|16 (+3)|14 (+2)|16 (+3)|8 (-1)|14 (+2)|11 (+0)|
>___
> - **Saving Throws** Dex, Con, Wis
> - **Skills** Perception, Stealth
> - **Senses** Darkvision 60 ft.
> - **Languages** understands the languages you speak
> ___
> **Charge.** If the beast moves at least 20 feet straight toward a target and then hits it with a maul attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 1d6 slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be knocked prone.
> 
> **Maul Foe.** Without any command, your beast companion will attack an enemy affected by your Hunter's Mark on its turn.
> 
> **Ready Companion.** As a bonus action, you can command the beast to make its shred attack against one enemy or to Hide on its turn.
> ___
>
> ### Actions
> **Maul.** Melee Weapon Attack: Str + Proficiency to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + Str + Proficiency slashing damage.

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## Backgrounds

### Variant Sailor: Naval Officer
You sailed as an commander, navigator, or other officer on a military vessel. Your upbringing from the upper class of society or you often interacted the upper class because of your exemplary military service. Either way it is a lifestyle that you're accustomed to, and you fit in well with the upper crust of society and sailors alike.
___
**Skill Proficiencies:** History, Persuasion  
**Tool Proficiencies:** Navigator's Tools, Vehicles (water)  
**Equipment:** 50 feet of silk rope, a set of fine clothes, an old medal of service, and a belt pouch containing 20 gp

#### Feature: Veteran
You were a decorated officer of some renown. You earned a medal of honor that is proof of some deed you did, which did not go unnoticed. As a result you are seen as capable on the sea. Wherever you go, you may use your identity to gain an audience with local upper class in order to get simple jobs or short term investments.

#### Suggested Characteristics
Use either the PHB Noble or Sailor characteristics.

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# Houserules
## Character Creation
### Bonus Feat
All PCs gain one bonus feat at level 1. When making characters of a higher level, keep in mind that you are limited to feats that you could have taken at first level.

### Racial Changes
Various races have slight changes to their rules.

#### Dragonborn
The breath weapon ability usage is a bonus action, and it recharges on a rest.

#### Gnomes
Gnomes have two new subraces available.

#### Humans
No variant humans, due to the bonus feats house rule.
## Actions 
### Skill Usage
While in combat, a character who attempts to use a skill and fails will use the Interact action, only using their Action if the attempt was a success. This should encourage more usage of skills, since failure isn't as large a penalty.

### Healing Potions
Drinking a healing potion uses a Bonus action, not an Action. All other types of potions use an Action.

### Resting
Short rests take 20 minutes.

## Combat

### Exhaustion
The progression for exhaustion is slightly changed. Instead of the 6th stage being death, it is instead incapacitated. Once incapacitated in this manner levels of exhaustion cannot be recovered automatically. Instead, either magical removal of the exhaustion is required or the character must be tended by a character who is helping recovery.

Once per day while at the 6th stage of exhaustion, a character rolls a death saving throw as if they were dying. A character tending them can make a Medicine check to replace this roll. Once three death saving throws are failed, the character dies. There is no stabilization or recovery as per the death and dying rules. An exhausted character must keep rolling death saving throws until healed by another character or they die.

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### Death and Dying
Every time a character recovers from being at 0 hit points (dying), the character gains a level of Exhaustion. Each level of exhaustion gained this way can be removed during a rest by spending 2 Hit Dice.

## Skills
#### Knowledge
Characters can identify information about creatures using a variety of skills.
___
**Arcana:** Aberrations, Constructs, Dragons, Elementals, Oozes  
**History:** Dragons, Humanoids, Giants, Monstrosities  
**Nature:** Beasts, Giant, Humanoids, Fey, Plants, Oozes  
**Religion:** Aberrations, Celestials, Fiends, Undead  
**Language:** Advantage on races that speak the language

| DC  | Result |
|:---:|:-----------:|
|  HD  | Basic ecology information |
|  HD+4  | At will abilities and immunities |
|  HD+6  | Resistances and vulnerabilities |
|  HD+8  | Attacks and special powers |
|  HD+10  | Weaknesses |

## Magic Items
### Identifying Magic Items
Characters who take a short rest to learn what a magic item does must attune to the item if it uses an attunement slot.

In order to learn what an item does without attuning, the *identify* spell must be cast. The base *identify* spell can only learn the properties of Common magic items. In order to learn the properties of more powerful items, the caster must cast at a higher spell level: uncommon as 2nd level, rare as 3rd level, very rare as 4th level, legendary as 5th level.**

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<div class='footnote'><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">By Chas Williams</span></div>

of the

Coast
 
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 ##### More Credits
 
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