d8

Food

1

Hand pies—often filled with meat (but known for their adaptability to foreign flavors), these palm-sized pies are popular food from both street vendors and taverns along the coast.

2

Sharp cheese—a popular food in the Heartlands, usually served by the wheel at feasts. Best served with nuts or olives inside, or even flavored with zzar or cordials.

3

Talyth—a wafer-thin, palm-sized cracker covered in a spread of herbs and butter and any sort of leftover foodstuffs imaginable crushed thin, and then topped with a thin slice of sausage. Usually savory, and highly adaptable, with fillings made of everything from hardboiled egg and snails to spiced worms and cheese.

4

Quipper ‘n chips—a take on fish ‘n chips popular among adventurers. Most non-adventuring folk look strangely at it, and feel that adventurers eat this fish as some form of vengeance for a bad run-in with this nipping menace in a dungeon crawl gone awry.

5

Sugar cakes—a straightforward petit-four iced with sugar icing and filled with jam or chocolate. An expensive dessert that is a staple of noble teatimes and a once-in-a-year delight for common folk.

6

Date or fig cakes—a dessert popular in Calimshan and known to most in the Lords’ Alliance because of the Little Calimshan district of Baldur’s Gate. Oval-shaped and sweet, and best served with honeyed goat cheese.

7

Zzar—a potent wine beloved in Waterdeep and a common sight at the Yawning Portal. Made by fortifying sluth, a dry, sparkling white wine, with almond liqueur.

8

Darndarr—a cheap beer, but not without a pleasant nutty flavor. A favorite for drinking with seared meats and fish.

d8

Food

1

Charred rothé—the beef of the rothé is beloved across the North, but chefs in the dwarfholds cook their meat so well-done as to be inedible to unaccustomed palates.

2

Salt-baked cave fish—cave fish are common catches in the caverns beneath the dwarfholds, and are often baked in quantities of salt abhorrent to anyone not from the holds.

3

Wrigglers—a common bar food in dwarfhall dens (that is, alehouses found in cellars), wrigglers are nothing more than a mélange of raw, wriggling earthworms and cave-worms. 

4

Baked stirge on toast—a surprisingly hearty meal for adventurers, made of pan-fried stirge cooked in fat, white wine, and lemon juice, served with parsley on toasted bread. Only the muscle at the base of a stirge’s wings are free from blood-borne contaminants, so careful preparation is required!

5

Sweet potato mash—the sweetest tuber commonly found in the dwarfholds, when mashed, heavily salted, and served with rothé cream, becomes a smooth and calming bedtime delight.

6

Gutbuster—a dwarven ale so powerful that only the truly strong of stomach can drink it without being sick all over the alehouse’s floor.

7

Fire ale—a strong beer made even stronger by fortifying it with hard, clear liquor. In the dwarfholds, stronger is better, but fire ale preserves that nice, hoppy taste.

8

Sparkling evermead—an imported Waterdhavian drink often found at noble parties. It has enticed folk in the dwarfholds with its high-class connotations.

d8

Food

1

Bread and cheese—a simple meal for simple folk, and often the only meal common folk on the isles can afford. Such people are equally fond of and dismayed by a meal of simple bread and cheese.

2

Salted pork—rarely are common folk able to eat meat at all, let alone fresh meat. Thus, salted and pickled pork is a great delicacy among peasants and mercenaries alike.

3

Mawmenee—a sweet pheasant stew with rare spices of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, dates, and pine nuts. Artificially colored red by sandalwood. A rarity served at noble feasts on the Moonshaes.

4

Frumenty—a thick porridge of cracked wheat boiled with milk. Served simply, it’s a staple of the common folk. When it appears on a noble table, it’s often served with eggs, currants, or even venison.

5

Blodkorv—a Northlander sausage made of offal and blood from domestic animals, mixed with raisins and apple sauce. Though not exactly a Waterdhavian delight, the Northlanders are used to using every part of their lifestock.

6

Honey glazed roots—A sweet and savory dish made from boiled turnips, carrots, cabbage, and leeks, then sautéed and glazed with honey.

7

Skyr with wild berries—a dessert made from buttermilk yogurt and topped with sweet Northlander berries like tharberry, laumberry, and blooddrops. Favored by common folk.

8

Fritter—a honey-sweetened ring of apple fried in dough. Favored by nobles.

d8

Food

1

Trollfingers—a nourishing Heartlands dish made from dreel (fat river eels) fried with large quantities of spices to drown out their mucus-like flavor.

2

Darblalatha soup—an elven soup made from boiled mushrooms, then fried with leeks, and boiled again into a soup

3

Roasted cockatrice—a surprising delicacy outside of the big cities, made from a well-seasoned plucked cockatrice cooked in Lythton wine and served with hot brown Merithian sauce.

4

Marruth—elven trail food, a baked pastry made from spiced vegetable mash, which are then protected from the elements in oily rallow leaves. 

5

Orthin on sourdough—crusty sourdough bread smeared with halfling cheese with a mildly pungent flavor and a butter-like consistency.

6

Sornstag—venison cooked in roasted hotspice, which imparts a curry-like flavor to the meat.

7

Honeycake with orosk jam—a sweet elven honeycake topped with a spiced jam made from orosk, a golden-skinned citrus common to the hidden elven realm of Evereska

8

Gnomespice currant pudding—a gnomish pudding with deep, dark, rich flavors.

d8

Food

1

Blackened pyrimo—a type of carnivorous cave fish, charred to a crisp and served with fresh mushrooms.

2

Ripplebark roast—a fire-roasted cut of ripplebark fungus. Despite resembling rotting flesh, it has a mild, savory flavor when roasted.

3

Rothé satchel—a cut of deep rothé wrapped in bluecap mushroom dough and roasted in a hot oven. Often served plentifully as the centerpiece at svirfneblin feasts.

4

Bluebread with firespread—a simple slice of mushroom bread topped with a wickedly spicy spread made of fire lichen.

5

Sporecake—a vaguely sweet cake made from zurkhwood mushroom spores. Favored by many poor male drow as the only dessert they can afford.

6

Waterorb sponge—a cake made from the spongy flesh of the waterorb mushroom and infused with sweet duergar brandy until it becomes a soggy, syrupy dessert.

7

Green wine—a common drow wine made from distilled orbloren and marrult, both types of Underdark fungus.

8

Lampoil brandy—a duergar liquor made from fermented fire lichen.

d20

Secret

1

While traveling through Elturgard, I had a waking vision that the Companion which glows above Elturel was eclipsed and began to sink into the ground. (Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus)

2

An agent of the Lords’ Alliance once begged my mother to “reconsider their offer,” but she spat in her face and said “that’s what I think of your offer!” I’ve seen strange people watching her ever since.

3

I remember growing up in a dank and dismal town of pirates called Skullport. My family escaped when I was a child, and we had to leave something very valuable behind. I’ve been trying to get back there ever since. (Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage)

4

I discovered a passage to the Underdark that no one knows about while exploring in the woods. I see it in my dreams on strange nights—worse, I sometimes see things coming out of it, or climbing into it.

5

While sleeping in an inn in Waterdeep, I overheard a conversation through my window about a gold dragon living somewhere beneath the city. That can’t be right, though—the dragonward keeps all dragons out of Waterdeep. (Waterdeep: Dragon Heist)

6

A cleric of Tyr once sheltered in my home for the night. My parents let him stay. When I awoke, he was gone—and when I asked my parents when he had left, no one remembered his arrival. 

7

I met a priest of Myrkul once on the streets of Baldur’s Gate. I was quickly pulled away, but not before she cackled and pointed at me, saying, “In time, the curse of death will claim you. It will claim everything!” (Tomb of Annihilation)

8

I stole from a beautiful Waterdhavian nobleman as a child, and later discovered that among the things I stole was his signet ring. I’ve seen wanted posters seeking the thief my entire life.

9

I lived for a year in Ten-Towns in Icewind Dale. One day while living there, a wild-eyed man grabbed me by the collar and shook me, demanding that I tell him where to find the Ring of Winter. His friend slapped his hand and told him I wasn’t the one he was looking for, and they quickly vanished down an alley. (Storm King’s Thunder)

10

One night, I discovered a golden coin with the face of a beautiful lady on one side. In the morning, the face was gone, and a leering, demonic face was there in its place. Whenever I try to get rid of it, I awaken with it in my pocket.

11

I was given a card from a mysterious street performer. It’s in black and white with a disturbing illustration. The card is labeled The Executioner. (Curse of Strahd)

12

I was saved from an angry bear as a child when a giant elk leapt in front of me. After it scared the bear off, the elk turned to look at me with such compassion it its eyes, I knew it must be a forest spirit, or even druid in an animal’s form.

13

I once overheard my parents saying that, when I was born, my father saw a group of drow with a strange Y-shaped mark on their foreheads gazing in through the window. I’ve seen that Y-shaped mark out of the corner of my eye my entire life, always disappearing when I look closely for it. (Out of the Abyss)

14

As a child, I once saw my father meet with a man in full plate armor and a face-covering helm, who called himself Pereghost. When I asked him who that was, he told me he was an old friend and quickly changed the subject. I’ll never forget the look of that armored man.

15

I have a vague memory that I joined a cult when I was young, and I have a tattoo shaped like the cult’s symbol on my bicep. I can’t remember anything else about it, and my head hurts when I try to remember it. (Princes of the Apocalypse)

16

I was inducted into the Harpers when I was young, and I’ve been spying on the corrupt leaders in my hometown for years.

17

I found a dragon egg in the forest when I was young. I figure it must be a fake, since it’s never hatched over all these years. But I keep it safe and secret anyway. (Hoard of the Dragon Queen/Rise of Tiamat)

18

While traveling along the Trade Way, I discovered a book from Candlekeep lying in the mud. No one else could see it, and when I opened it, all the pages were blank (save for the mark of Candlekeep on its inner cover). I’ve kept the book, but have never written in it. 

19

I’ve heard the sound of waves crashing in my dreams for the past five years. Recently, they’ve gotten louder, and I can hear a sinister voice quietly speaking in a language I can’t understand underneath the sound of waves. (Lost Mine of Phandelver)

20

A paladin in the service of the Order of the Gauntlet killed my uncle for worshiping the evil god Bane. To this day, I don’t know if he truly worshiped dark forces or not.

d20

Prophecy

1

I will uncover a deep corruption at the heart of the Lords’ Alliance. However, this will destabilize the alliances that unify the Sword Coast, inviting even greater danger.

2

I will slay a dragon that has terrorized the North for ages, but this will draw the greed of leaders across the land.

3

I will become a member of the Gray Hands, and I will try but fail to join Force Grey.

4

I will be the catalyst that sparks a revolution in Luskan, but it will come at the cost of a close friendship.

5

I will discover the secret to a power that should have remained forgotten within the Warlock’s Crypt. It will allow me to save the life of one I love, but it will force me to make a choice that no mortal should ever have to make.

6

I will gain the opportunity to take down the Xanathar Guild from the inside. The friends I make within this gang of thieves and villains will make it hard for me to decide if I should destroy it after all.

7

I will uncover a tome of lost knowledge from deep in the archives of Candlekeep, but the being that hid that knowledge will learn that I rediscovered it.

8

I will touch the boundary of the Far Realm and gain great power. It will make me feared throughout the land.

9

I will hesitate at a crucial moment. Another person will suffer for it.

10

I will kill a double agent trying to poison the Harpers from within. Later, I will learn information that makes me wonder if this person was actually trying to save the Harpers.

11

I will bring light to the Underdark, but doing so will cost me my life.

12

I will meet Blackstaff Vajra Safahr without realizing her identity. What I say (or don’t say) in that meeting will shape the fate of the Sword Coast.

13

I will encounter a remnant of the departed world of Abeir. Strange dragonborn will start stalking me after that day.

14

I will find a long-lost family member in a dungeon. They will tell me about a terrible destiny I was prophesied to commit.  

15

I will steal a vast amount of wealth from the Bregan D’aerthe, but I will make enemies that will haunt me until I die.

16

I will bring a matter of great importance to Open Lord Laeral Silverhand, but someone will conspire to prevent me from speaking to her.

17

I will learn that one of the gods still walks the land as a mortal, and has kept this secret hidden for over 100 years. After learning this, their church will send assassins to silence me.

18

I will find an item that belongs to a legendary figure of the realms such as Elminster, Wulfgar, or Farideh. This item portends this hero’s inauspicious disappearance.

19

I will shelter a mysterious stranger from the coast of the Moonsea. The dark past that follows them will put us both in danger.

20

I will heal the rift between Corellon and Lolth, but in doing so I will unwittingly unleash an even greater evil than Lolth upon the world.