System	
  Reference	
   Document	
  5.1 	
   91	
  
specified,	
  and	
  anything	
  that	
  deprives	
  you	
  of	
  your	
  
ability	
  to	
  take	
  actions	
  also	
  prevents	
  you	
  from	
  taking	
  
a	
  bonus	
  action. 	
  
Other Activity on Your Turn 
Your	
  turn	
  can	
  include	
  a	
  variety	
  of	
  flourishes	
  that	
  
require	
  neither	
  your	
  action	
  nor	
  your	
  move. 	
  
	
   You	
  can	
  communicate	
  however	
  you	
  are	
  able,	
  
through	
  brief	
  utterances	
  and	
  gestures,	
  as	
  you	
  take	
  
your	
  turn.	
  
	
   You	
  can	
  also	
  interact	
  with	
  one	
  object	
  or	
  feature	
  of	
  
the	
  environment	
  for	
  free,	
  during	
  either	
  your	
  move	
  or	
  
your	
  action.	
  For	
  example,	
  you	
  could	
  open	
  a	
  door	
  
during	
  your	
  move	
  as	
  you	
  stride	
  toward	
  a	
  foe,	
  or	
  you	
  
could	
  draw	
  your	
  weapon	
  as	
  part	
  of	
  the	
  same	
  action	
  
you	
  use	
  to	
  attack. 	
  
	
   If	
  you	
  want	
  to	
  interact	
   with	
  a	
  second	
  object,	
  you	
  
need	
  to	
  use	
  your	
  action.	
  Some	
  magic	
  items	
  and	
  other	
  
special	
  objects	
  always	
  requ ire	
  an	
  action	
  to	
  use,	
  as	
  
stated	
  in	
  their	
  descriptions. 	
  
	
   The	
  GM	
  might	
  requir e	
  you	
  to	
  use	
  an	
  action	
  for	
  any	
  
of	
  these	
  activities	
  when	
  it	
  needs	
  special	
  care	
  or	
  when	
  
it	
  presents	
  an	
  unusual 	
  obstacle.	
  For	
  instance,	
  the	
  GM	
  
could	
  reasonably	
  expect	
  you	
  to	
  use	
  an	
  action	
  to	
  open	
  
a	
  stuck	
  door	
  or	
  turn	
  a	
  crank	
  to	
  lower	
  a	
  drawbridge. 	
  
Reactions 
Certain	
  special	
  abilities,	
  spells,	
  and	
  situations	
  allow	
  
you	
  to	
  take	
  a	
  special	
  action	
  called	
  a	
  reaction.	
  A	
  
reaction	
  is	
  an	
  instant	
  response	
  to	
  a	
  trigger	
  of	
  some	
  
kind,	
  which	
  can	
  occur	
  on	
  your	
  turn	
  or 	
  on	
  someone	
  
else’s.	
  The	
  opportunity	
  attack 	
  is	
  the	
  most	
  common	
  
type	
  of	
  reaction.	
  
	
   When	
  you	
  take	
  a	
  reaction,	
  you	
  can’t	
  take	
  another	
  
one	
  until	
  the	
  start	
  of	
  your	
  next	
  turn.	
  If	
  the	
  reaction	
  
interrupts	
  another	
  creature’s	
  turn,	
  that	
  creature	
  can	
  
continue	
  its	
  turn 	
  right	
  after	
  the	
  reaction. 	
  
Movement and Position 
In	
  combat,	
  characters	
  and	
  monsters	
  are	
  in	
  constant	
  
motion,	
  often	
  using	
  movement	
  and	
  position	
  to	
  gain	
  
the	
  upper	
  hand. 	
  
	
   On	
  your	
  turn,	
  you	
  can	
  move	
  a	
  distance	
  up	
  to	
  your	
  
speed.	
  You	
  can	
  use	
  as	
  much	
  or	
  as	
  little	
   of	
  your	
  speed	
  
as	
  you	
  like	
  on	
  your	
  turn,	
  following	
  the	
  rules	
  here. 	
  
	
   Your	
  movement	
  can	
  include	
  jumping,	
  climbing,	
  
and	
  swimming.	
  These	
  different	
  modes	
  of	
  movement	
  
can	
  be	
  combined	
  with	
  walking,	
  or	
  they	
  can	
  
constitute	
  your	
  entire	
  move.	
  However	
  you’re	
  moving,	
  
you	
  deduct	
  the	
  distance	
  of	
  each	
  part	
  of	
  your	
  move	
  
from	
  your	
  speed	
  until	
  it	
  is	
  used	
  up	
  or	
  until	
  you	
  are	
  
done	
  moving.	
  
Breaking Up Your Move 
You	
  can	
  break	
  up	
  your	
  movement	
  on	
  your	
  turn,	
  
using	
  some	
  of	
  your	
  speed	
  before	
  and	
  after	
  your	
  
action.	
  For	
  example,	
  if	
  you	
   have	
  a	
  speed	
  of	
  30	
  feet,	
  
you	
  can	
  move	
  10	
  feet,	
  take	
  your	
  action,	
  and	
  then	
  
move	
  20	
  feet.	
  
Moving between Attacks 
If	
  you	
  take	
  an	
  action	
  that	
  includes	
  more	
  than	
  one	
  
weapon	
  attack,	
  you	
  can	
  break	
  up	
  your	
  movement	
  
even	
  further	
  by	
  moving	
  between	
  those	
  attacks.	
  For 	
  
example,	
  a	
  fighter	
  who	
  can	
  make	
  two	
  attacks	
  with	
  
the	
  Extra	
  Attack	
  feature	
  and	
  who	
  has	
  a	
  speed	
  of	
  25	
  
feet	
  could	
  move	
  10	
  feet,	
  make	
  an	
  attack,	
  move	
  15	
  
feet,	
  and	
  then	
  attack	
  again. 	
  
Using Different Speeds 
If	
  you	
  have	
  more	
  than	
  one	
  speed,	
  such	
  as	
  your	
  
walking	
  speed	
  and	
  a	
  flying	
  speed,	
  you	
  can	
  switch	
  
back	
  and	
  forth	
  between	
  your	
  speeds	
  during	
  your	
  
move.	
  Whenever	
  you	
  switch,	
  subtract	
  the	
  distance	
  
you’ve	
  already	
  moved	
  from	
  the	
  new	
  speed.	
  The	
  
result	
  determines	
  how	
  much	
  farther	
  you	
  can	
  move.	
  
If	
  the	
  result	
  is	
  0	
  or	
  les s,	
  you	
  can’t	
  use	
  the	
  new	
  speed	
  
during	
  the	
  current	
  move. 	
  
	
   For	
  example,	
  if	
  you	
  have	
  a	
  speed	
  of	
  30	
  and	
  a	
  flying	
  
speed	
  of	
  60	
  because	
  a	
  wizard	
  cast	
  the	
   fly	
  spell	
  on	
  you,	
  
you	
  could	
  fly	
  20	
  feet,	
  then	
  walk	
  10	
  feet,	
  and	
  then	
  
leap	
  into	
  the	
  air	
  to	
  fly	
  30	
  feet	
  more. 	
  
Difficult Terrain 
Combat	
  rarely	
  takes	
  place	
  in	
  bare	
  rooms	
  or	
  on	
  
featureless	
  plains.	
  Boulder -­‐‑strewn	
  caverns,	
  briar -­‐‑
choked	
  forests,	
  treacherous	
  staircases —the	
  setting	
  
of	
  a	
  typical	
  fight	
  contains	
  difficult	
  terrain. 	
  
	
   Every	
  foot	
  of	
  movement	
  in	
  difficult	
  terrain 	
  costs	
  1	
  
extra	
  foot.	
  This	
  rule	
  is	
  true	
  even	
  if	
  multiple	
  things	
  in	
  
a	
  space	
  count	
  as	
  difficult	
  terrain. 	
  
	
   Low	
  furniture,	
  rubble,	
  undergrowth,	
  steep	
  stairs,	
  
snow,	
  and	
  shallow	
  bogs	
  are	
  examples	
  of	
  difficult	
  
terrain.	
  The	
  space	
  of	
  another	
  creature,	
  whether	
  
hostile	
  or	
  not,	
  also	
  counts	
  as	
  difficult	
  terrain. 	
  
Being Prone 
Combatants	
  often	
  find	
  themselves	
  lying	
  on	
  the	
  
ground,	
  either	
  because	
  they	
  are	
  knocked	
  down	
  or	
  
because	
  they	
  throw	
  themselves	
  down.	
  In	
  the	
  game,	
  
they	
  are	
  prone,	
  a	
  condition	
  described	
  in	
  appendix	
  
PH-­‐‑A.	
  
	
   You	
  can	
  drop	
  prone	
  without	
  using	
  any	
  of	
  your	
  
speed.	
  Standing	
  up	
  takes	
  more	
  effort;	
  doing	
  so	
  costs	
  
an	
  amount	
  of	
  movement	
  equal	
  to	
  half	
  your	
  speed.	
  