Fifth Edition Rules

New in 1.1.0: the mod plays by the 2014 fifth-edition rules wherever Valheim allows. This page covers ability scores, leveling, spell slots, prepared spells, rituals, rests, class resources, attack rolls and death saves. Server admins can tune or switch off each rule in the [FifthEdition] config section (see the table at the bottom).

Ability scores

Every character has six ability scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. Your race adds its bonuses on top, and each score gives a modifier: (score − 10) ÷ 2, rounded down.

Scores stop at 20. The SRD manuals and tomes an admin can hand out (1.2.6) raise one score by 2 and its maximum by 2, up to 30. See Console Commands.

Session Zero

Session Zero opens by itself once you've picked a class. Choose how to set your scores:

• Standard array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8, already placed for your class. Use the arrows to rearrange them.
• Point buy: 27 points, every score between 8 and 15.
• Roll: 4d6, drop the lowest die, six times. You get two rerolls.

Until you choose, you use the standard array. Reopen the window any time with the abilities console command. A trader's Reset Race, Class & Feats also clears your scores.

Proficiency, saves and spell DC

Your class gives proficiency in two saving throws. Your spell save DC is 8 + proficiency + casting modifier, and your spell attack bonus is proficiency + casting modifier. All of these appear on the Character tab of the character sheet (L).

Leveling

• Hit points: each level adds your class hit die plus your CON modifier (the maximum at level 1, the average after that).

• Level-up screen: every level shows the health you gained, your new spells, slots and class resources.
• Ability Score Improvement: at levels 4, 8 and 12 you can take +2 to one score or +1 to two (maximum 20) instead of a feat. Reopen the screen with the levelup console command.

Spell slots

Leveled spells use spell slots; cantrips never do. Your class decides how many slots you get of each level, following the 2014 tables:

• Full casters (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard) reach 6th-level spells at level 11.
• Half casters (Paladin, Ranger) and the Runesmith start later and reach 3rd-level spells.
• Third casters (the Spellblade and Spellthief subclasses) get a few slots from level 3.
• Warlocks have a small number of pact slots that all come back on a short rest, and a once-per-long-rest Mystic Arcanum 6th-level spell at level 11.

Casting uses your lowest free slot that's high enough. Casting with a higher slot than needed makes the spell 20% stronger per level. Your slots show above the ability hotbar, for example 1st 3/4 2nd 2/3.

Spells from your race, subclass or feats can be cast once per long rest without a slot.

Admins who prefer the old system can set SpellSystem = Eitr: the first cast of each spell per rest is free and later casts cost Eitr.

Spells cost stamina (1.2.3)

Casting a spell also costs stamina, like swinging a weapon: 8 for a cantrip, 10 for a 1st-level spell and 2 more for each level above that (a 3rd-level Fireball costs 14). Without enough stamina the spell doesn't start and the stamina bar flashes. Scrolls and wands cost stamina too.

The Spellcasting skill (in your skills list next to Flying) rises every time you cast and lowers that cost, down to half at skill 100. It drops on death like other skills.

Actions cost stamina (1.2.4)

Class, race, feat and class-feature actions also cost stamina when they go off, and can't start without enough (the stamina bar flashes and you see "Too tired"). Actions that are real spells pay the spell cost once, not twice. Toggles that only arm or switch something are free, and turning Rage or Giant's Might off is always free.

Prepared and known spells

These rules apply to the spells and cantrips you get from your main class list. Race, subclass, feat and class-feature spells (Pact of the Tome, Magical Secrets) are always ready and don't count. Manage your list on the Spells tab of the Adventurer's Log (K). Since 1.2.2 your clicks there are marked with * and nothing changes, and no swap is used up, until you press Confirm changes; Discard undoes them.

• Prepared casters (Cleric, Druid, Wizard): prepare casting modifier + level spells. Paladins and Runesmiths: casting modifier + half level (at least 1). Until you choose, your lowest-level spells are prepared. You can change the list for 10 minutes after a long rest.
• Wizards prepare from their spellbook: 6 spells at level 1 and 2 more each level. Copy a spell scroll into the book on the Spells tab (50 coins per spell level; the scroll is used up).
• Known casters (Bard, Sorcerer, Ranger, Warlock) know a set number of spells by level. New spells fill in by themselves, and you can swap one spell each level: remove one, then pick its replacement.
• Cantrips known (new in 1.2.0): every caster knows a set number of class cantrips, listed at the top of the Spells tab. They fill in by themselves (your class's signature cantrip first), and you can swap one each level.

Ritual casting

Bards, Clerics, Druids and Wizards can cast a spell with the ritual tag without a spell slot, by performing it as a ritual. In the mod these are Find Familiar and Speak with Animals.

• Casting one of these performs the ritual: you kneel for 10 seconds and a bar shows the time left. When it finishes, the spell goes off and no slot is used.
• Moving more than a step, taking damage, attacking or casting another leveled spell breaks the ritual. Nothing is spent.
• Hold Shift while casting to skip the ritual and cast at once with a slot.

Rests

With spell slots on, the Rested buff no longer refreshes anything.

Class resources

Class abilities use their 2014 number of uses. Uses left show above the ability hotbar, on each hotbar slot and in each ability's description.

Some abilities cost a use each time (Stunning Strike spends 1 ki per stunning hit, Hand of Healing 1 ki). Utility abilities such as Blink Strike and Otherworldly Leap stay at will.

Attack rolls and advantage

With AttackRolls on, every hit you land rolls d20 + your attack bonus (proficiency + STR, DEX or casting modifier) against the target's armor class. Valheim creatures don't have an armor class, so the mod works one out from how tough the creature is: 10 for weak creatures up to 19, and bosses get +2.

• Hit: normal damage. Miss: a glancing blow for half damage. Natural 20: double damage.
• Advantage (roll two d20s, keep the higher): attacking a target that can't see you, from high ground, or against a prone, restrained, stunned or staggered target, and more. Disadvantage (keep the lower): when you're frightened, prone or poisoned, and more. The damage popup shows the reason.
• Halflings reroll a natural 1 (Lucky).
• Help (1.2.7): press V (or fef assist) while looking at another player within 4 m. Their next attack roll or ability check in the next 12 seconds has advantage. 6 seconds between uses.
• Flanking (1.2.7): a melee attack has advantage when another player stands on the far side of your target. Flanking below turns it off.

Inspiration (1.2.7)

A player with Inspiration rerolls their next failed ability check or saving throw once, and the Inspiration is used up. The DM (the host or a server admin) hands it out with fef inspire <player>; a player can pass theirs to a nearby friend who has none with fef inspiration give <player>. The party window and fef info show who has it.

Death saving throws

With DeathSaves on, reaching 0 health doesn't kill you at once. You're Downed:

• You lie on the ground and can't move or attack. A death save is rolled every 5 seconds: 10 or higher is a success, a natural 1 counts as two failures, and a natural 20 gets you straight back up.
• Three successes: you come to with a little health. Three failures: you die.
• Taking damage while down is a failed save (two for a big hit).
• Any healing from someone else (a healing spell, Lay on Hands, a Cleric's or Paladin's ability) gets you back on your feet. Food regeneration doesn't.
• Downed means helpless (1.2.7): you can only look around and chat. You can't cast spells (not even on yourself), use abilities, drink or eat, use items, build or interact, and a flyer falls gently to the ground. Stunned and paralyzed characters are held to the same rules.

Helping a downed friend

• Everyone nearby sees a pulsing DOWNED tag over your body with your death saves (green successes, red failures), gets an "is down!" alert, and sees a skull pin on their map until you're up.
• Stabilize: stand next to a downed player and hold Use (E) for 3 seconds. You make a Medicine check: d20 + Wisdom modifier (+ proficiency for Clerics, Druids and Paladins) against DC 10. On a success they stop rolling death saves, their tag turns yellow (STABLE), and they wake with 1 health 10 seconds later. On a failure, try again. Getting hit interrupts you.
• Damage to a stable player starts their death saves again.
• In a turn-based fight, helping up and Stabilize cost your action on your turn instead (1.3.9).

Bringing back the dead (1.2.7)

Revivify and Raise Dead also work on a player who really died: cast the spell while standing at their tombstone (within 4.5 m) and nobody Downed is in reach. Revivify works within 1 minute of the death, Raise Dead within 40 minutes. The fallen player comes back at their body, and the skill levels they lost on death come back too. Their items stay in the tombstone. Both windows are server settings (RevivifyWindowSeconds, RaiseDeadWindowSeconds).

Turn-based fights (1.3.0, experimental)

Off by default. The host or a server admin chooses which fights are turn-based (1.3.1):

• Off: no automatic turn-based fights. The DM can still start one with fef combat start, anywhere.
• Realms: a fight that starts inside a Realm Forge place switches to rounds and initiative.
• Everywhere: any monster fight in the world switches too. Out in the world the fight covers the area around you (1.5 x EncounterRadius); creatures that run well out of it drop out. Deer and other animals never start a fight.

Set it with fef combat mode off|realms|everywhere, the three buttons at the top of the DM combat window (fef combat window), or [TurnBased] Enabled and Everywhere in the config. Only a creature that newly notices you starts a fight, so a fight the DM ends doesn't start again by itself.

On the map (1.3.2): every enemy in the fight shows as a red marker on the map and minimap ([TurnBased] MapEnemies). Your own companions are blue and other players' companions are green.

Battle time (1.3.2): the day/night clock pauses during a fight and moves on 6 seconds per round, like the tabletop ([TurnBased] BattleClock).

Rings (1.3.1): in a fight, a red ring sits under every enemy in the initiative order and a green ring under every ally: players, companions, tames and summons. Whoever's turn it is gets a wider, brighter ring. Each player can turn them off with [TurnBased] ShowSideMarkers.

• Initiative: every player rolls d20 + Dexterity modifier (+5 with Alert). Creatures of the same kind share one roll. Creatures that hadn't noticed you are surprised and lose the first round.
• On your turn you have the 2014 budget: your speed in feet (30 for most races, 25 for dwarves, halflings, gnomes and other small folk, 35 for wood elves; fly speed for flyers; Monk and Barbarian movement, Fleet-Footed, heavy armor without enough Strength, exhaustion and grapples all count), one action, one bonus action and one reaction per round. 5 ft is 1.5 m, and a ring on the ground shows what's left.
  • A weapon attack is the Attack action (Extra Attack is already part of each swing). Casting a spell is an action, or a bonus action for bonus-action spells. Class, race and feat abilities, potions and food also cost an action.
  • Dash (your speed again), Disengage and Dodge (attacks against you have disadvantage) are on the fef turn commands and optional hotkeys.
  • Press Backspace to end your turn. It also ends by itself once everything is spent.
• While you wait you can look around, chat, and open your character sheet and inventory, but not move or act.
• Flyers stay in the air when a fight starts, between turns and once their movement is used up; they just hover until their next turn (1.3.2).
• Monsters take their turns with their SRD speed and Multiattack. Legendary creatures get legendary actions between turns and a lair action at the top of each round.
• Conditions and spell effects tick once per round, at the end of each character's own turn.
• The fight ends when one side is gone. It's written to the campaign journal.

Since 1.3.3:

• Combat log: every attack roll, hit, miss, damage, save, opportunity attack and turn goes into one log. The last lines show on the left during a fight ([TurnBased] CombatLogLines), and fef combat log opens the whole thing. When the fight ends you see who dealt and took what, and the summary goes into the campaign journal.
• Encounter rating: every fight is rated Easy, Medium, Hard or Deadly by the 2014 XP thresholds when it starts. fef encounter rate rates the creatures around you before you start one.
• Monster tactics ([TurnBased] MonsterTactics): monsters pick a target they can reach, prefer the wounded and use all their attacks.
  • Pack animals (wolves, worgs, hounds, kobolds) gang up on one target.
  • Brutes (trolls, giants, golems, bosses) charge the nearest enemy.
  • Clever monsters go for spellcasters and healers.
  • Archers back off and shoot, and avoid targets behind full cover.
• Opportunity attacks: leave a monster's melee reach on your turn without Disengaging and it swings at you with its reaction ([TurnBased] MonsterOpportunityAttacks). Your own opportunity attacks fire when a monster moves out of your reach, not when you step away.
• Ready: fef turn ready (or the TurnReady hotkey) spends your action; the first enemy that comes into your reach (or into bow range, if you hold a bow) before your next turn gets a strike, using your reaction.
• Cover and high ground ([FifthEdition] Cover): ranged attacks against a target partly behind walls, trees or rocks face half cover (+2 AC) or three-quarters cover (+5 AC). Monsters shooting from well above their target get advantage.
• DM dashboard: the DM combat window shows everyone's initiative, HP, AC, reaction, concentration and conditions. fef combat control lets the DM play the current monster's turn: middle mouse moves it, Shift + middle mouse attacks. fef combat legendary list | auto on/off | <action> | lair <action> picks legendary and lair actions by hand.

Since 1.3.9:

• Companions roll their own initiative and take their own turns with their race's speed, attack rolls against AC and Extra Attack. Healers cast Healing Word or use Lay on Hands, archers shoot from up to 80 ft, a Fighter uses Second Wind, a Rogue Cunning Action and a Monk its Martial Arts strike. They make and provoke opportunity attacks like everyone else.
• Death saves: a downed player rolls one death save at the start of each of their turns, then the turn passes; a natural 20 gets you up with your turn still to play. Damage while down is a failure (two for a melee hit from within 5 ft), and damage of at least your maximum health kills outright. Three successes make you stable until healed or the fight ends. A downed companion rolls on its turn too.
• Helping someone up and Stabilize cost your action, on your turn, and happen at once.
• Reactions come back at the start of each creature's own turn instead of once a round.
• Ranged attacks have disadvantage with an enemy next to the shooter, and backing away from a monster provokes an opportunity attack. Monsters Dash when they can't reach anyone, standing up from prone costs half your movement, and a bonus-action spell and a levelled spell can't both be cast in one turn.

Since 1.5.1:

• Timers run in rounds: during a turn-based fight your spell durations, concentration and class, race, feat and subclass cooldowns stand still in real time and move on 6 seconds at the start of each of your turns. A 30-second spell lasts 5 rounds, a 4-second cooldown is ready on your next turn, and spells that pulse (Spirit Guardians, Moonbeam, Call Lightning) pulse once a round. Outside turn-based fights nothing changes. [TurnBased] RoundTimers.
• Speed: Longstrider gives +10 ft and Haste doubles your speed, alongside Fleet-Footed (the rulebook's Mobile, +10 ft). Haste also gives an extra action that can only make one weapon attack, Dash, Disengage or Use an Object.
• Object interactions: one a turn is free: opening or closing a door, opening a chest, picking something up, drawing or stowing a weapon, shield or tool. The next one takes your action (Use an Object).
• Mobile: with Fleet-Footed, a creature you made a melee attack against this turn, hit or miss, gets no opportunity attack when you move away.
• Delay and reroll (DM): fef combat delay <who> [after <who>] moves someone later in this round (to the end of the round by default), and fef combat reroll [all|<who>] rolls initiative again from the next round; players roll their own. Both are also buttons in the combat window.

There's no turn timer unless the DM sets one (fef combat timer 30). The DM can pause the fight, skip or reorder turns, give someone another action, add creatures, and freeze or unfreeze anything with the freeze tools (see Console Commands).

Skills and checks

Everyone has the 18 skills (Athletics, Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion, Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, Survival, Deception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion). A check is d20 + the ability modifier, plus your proficiency bonus if you're proficient. See them on the Skills tab of the Adventurer's Log (K).

• Proficiency comes from your class (pick your class skills on the Skills tab), your background and your race.
• Expertise (Rogue levels 1 and 6, Bard 3 and 10) doubles your proficiency bonus on the chosen skills. Jack of All Trades (Bard 2) adds half your proficiency to every other check. Reliable Talent (Rogue 11) turns any d20 below 10 on a proficient check into a 10.
• Passive Perception is 10 + your Perception bonus.
• Guidance and Enhance Ability help your checks.

In the world:

• Locked chests: some dungeon treasure chests are locked. E picks the lock (Dexterity, plus proficiency with thieves' tools); Shift+E forces it (Athletics), which is loud enough for nearby creatures to hear.
• Hidden caches: some zones hide a cache. Walking past rolls your passive Perception; crouching still nearby searches actively.
• Haggling: once per trader per day, a Haggle button on the store uses your best of Persuasion, Deception or Intimidation.
• Creature lore: look at a creature for a moment to recall what you know about it (Arcana, Nature, Religion or History, by creature type). On a success its challenge rating and damage traits show on its health bar from then on.

Saving throws and conditions

Many spells and monster abilities call for a saving throw: d20 + your save bonus against the caster's DC. Your spells use your spell save DC from the character sheet. A damaging leveled spell deals half damage on a successful save.

The mod has the full list of 5e conditions: blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, grappled, incapacitated, invisible, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, stunned and unconscious. They show as status icons, and many let you repeat the save every few seconds to shake them off. Attacks against a paralyzed or unconscious target are automatic critical hits.

Exhaustion

Six levels, following the 2014 table. You gain a level when you get back up after failing death saves, for every minute you spend Freezing (on a failed Constitution save), and for going more than a day without a long rest. A long rest removes one level. Level 1 gives disadvantage on ability checks; higher levels slow you, weaken your attacks and saves, and cut your health. Level 6 is lethal unless the server turns that off.

Reactions

You get one reaction per round (6 seconds). Reactions trigger on their own when their moment comes; switch any of them off on the Reactions tab of the Adventurer's Log.

Reactions don't play an animation by default (1.2.6): the strike, Shield or Counterspell still happens, but your character isn't stopped or turned. ReactionAnimations = true under [FEFHud] brings the animations back.

Armor class and monster attacks

Your armor class (armor, Dexterity, shield, Mage Armor, Unarmored Defense...) is on the character sheet. Monsters roll d20 + their attack bonus against it: a miss is a glancing blow for reduced damage, and a natural 20 is a critical hit.

Armor rules (1.5.1)

• Heavy armor needs Strength: in heavy armor with a Strength score below 13 you move 10% slower (the rulebook's -10 ft). Dwarves, Highland Dwarves and Duergar are never slowed. [FifthEdition] HeavyArmorStrength and HeavyArmorStrengthSlow.
• Armor proficiency (off by default, [FifthEdition] ArmorProficiency): armor heavier than you're proficient with gives disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity checks, saves and attack rolls, and you can't cast spells. Proficiency comes from your class, a multiclass (the smaller multiclass list), a heavy-armor cleric domain (Life, Storm, Battle, Wild), the Highland Dwarf (light and medium) and the armor training feats.
• An item's tooltip says "Not suited to you" with the Strength it needs or the proficiency you lack.

Cantrip damage (1.5.1)

Damage cantrips grow the 2014 way: twice the dice at character level 5 and three times at level 11 (four times at 17, past the mod's level cap), instead of +6% a level. Your casting ability still adds its 5% a point. Blade Guard and Shillelagh keep the old curve on their durations. The level-up summary tells you when the next step comes. [FifthEdition] CantripDamageTiers.

Damage types

Spells and monsters use the 5e damage types (acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant, thunder and the physical types), mapped onto Valheim's damage. Creatures have 5e resistances, immunities and vulnerabilities: undead resist necrotic and take extra radiant damage, constructs ignore psychic, and so on.

Legendary bosses

Valheim's bosses are legendary creatures. Each has Legendary Resistance (3 per day: turn a failed save into a success), takes Legendary Actions between its attacks, and uses a Lair Action every 20 seconds while fighting near where it was summoned. A line under the boss's health bar shows its legendary resistances left.

Alignment

Choose your alignment in Session Zero (lawful, neutral or chaotic; good, neutral or evil). It shows on your sheet and when other players inspect you, and some deities only grant their full boon to followers of a matching alignment. With the server option AlignmentDrift on, repeated acts nudge it one step at a time.

Changing race, class or subclass

Your first race, class and subclass picks are free. After that, the character sheet says "Already chosen": visit a trader and use Reset Race, Class & Feats (200 coins) to choose again. The reset also clears your ability scores, Ability Score Improvements and prepared spells.

Config options

All of these are in the [FifthEdition] section. In multiplayer the server's values apply, except for the two marked per player.

Other new sections: