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I am currently DMing a 5e homebrew campaign, and I was looking at the Drow monster stat block.

They have innate spellcasting abilities and one of those spells is Faerie Fire. In the description, it states that the targets must make a Dex saving throw or be outlined in color.

How do I determine the DC that is needed to pass the Dex saving throw against the Drow's Faerie Fire spell? It is not stated, and I am just a bit confused as to how to arrive at this number.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Possible duplicate of How do I determine the result of a Saving Throw? \$\endgroup\$
    – Lauren Moylan
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 16:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ That question covers the DC for PCs. This is about monsters. \$\endgroup\$
    – Derek Stucki
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 16:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to RPG.SE! Take the tour if you haven't already, and check out the help center for more guidance. \$\endgroup\$
    – V2Blast
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 23:16

3 Answers 3

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DC 11

The Monster Manual entry for the Drow states under Innate Spellcasting (emphasis mine):

The drow’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 11). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components.

Generally, the spell save DC will be listed in a similar section for all monsters with Innate Spellcasting.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Ahhh Okay! I get that, so the DC is based on whatever their spellcasting ability is, so in this case for the Drow it's based on their Charisma arriving at 11. Now the monster that the spell was cast on must make a DEX saving throw of at least 11. I think what was throwing me was I was thinking of it in terms of basing it on that ability, like it's a DEX saving throw so I was thinking what is the DEX DC calculation. Thank you again so much!! \$\endgroup\$
    – Semilucid
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 17:35
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    \$\begingroup\$ @AaronFeuerstein Right, the Dex bit is for whomever is making the save. \$\endgroup\$
    – NotArch
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 17:38
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DC 11

Typically a spell save DC is 8 + spellcasting ability modifier + proficiency bonus (PHB p205). In the case of the Drow that would be 8 + 1 + 2 = 11.

Proficiency bonus is based on the creature's CR. There's a chart in the Monster Manual (p8) that you can use to check it.

However. I don't know what version of the Monster Manual you're reading because both of mine (Yes I have two, I'm a nerd) state the spell save DC for the drow at the start of the "innate spellcasting" section.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Welcome! You can take the tour as an introduction to the site and check the help center for further guidance. Good luck and happy gaming! \$\endgroup\$
    – Sdjz
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 16:30
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    \$\begingroup\$ +1, but you're going to need way more versions of the Monster Manual to establish nerd cred with this crowd. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tim Grant
    Commented May 31, 2019 at 15:02
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The saving throw DC for a monster with a spellcasting ability is stated in the stat block of the monster. It's in the details your eyes naturally gloss over between the bolded name of the feature and the spell list.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Love the mention of eyes glossing over. I've often missed important information because of that. But, you didn't actually answer the question... \$\endgroup\$
    – CasualViking
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 18:10
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    \$\begingroup\$ @CasualViking Actually, he did answer the question. The question wasn't asking what the save DC was, it was asking how to find it. \$\endgroup\$
    – lee A.
    Commented May 31, 2019 at 19:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ More accurately, they asked how to find it and described the situation as one where it's not stated. Responding with "it is stated" isn't an answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – CasualViking
    Commented May 31, 2019 at 20:02

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