The road curves around a small, forested hill, presenting a terrible scene. Carts are overturned, crates are smashed, and at least twenty people are dead or wounded. One of the survivors, blood on his face, calls out. “Pelor be praised. Please help us. We were attacked by bandits and left for dead. They took everything.” The truth of what happened here differs from the scene presented. A merchant…

In this encounter, the characters come across the scene of a bandit attack on a merchant’s caravan. The scene, however, is partially staged. The supposed survivors the characters encounter are bandits hoping to trick and capture them.

On the Elemental Plane of Earth, galaxies of gemstones twinkle over vaults of treasure. If dao are there, so is wealth worth hunting. —Gundren Rockseeker, Dwarf Treasure Hunter Genies of minerals and gemstones, dao embody the resolve of rock. Using innate magic, they move through the earth unimpeded, exploring depths inaccessible to most. Dao delight in the treasures of the earth, whether raw…

Weapon (rapier), very rare (requires attunement) This item appears to be a sword hilt that has a small hole on either end of it. The hilt is made of clear quartz and contains an hourglass with sand inside it. Despite the holes on the hilt, the sand never seems to flow out of the hourglass. You can take a Bonus Action and use a command word to cause it to magically form a thin blade of sand. The…

Bring Light to Banish Darkness The Light Domain emphasizes the divine power to bring about blazing fire and revelation. Clerics who wield this power are enlightened souls infused with radiance and the power of their deities’ discerning vision, charged with chasing away lies and burning away darkness. The Light Domain is associated with gods of truth, vigilance, beauty, insight, and renewal. Some…

Dark Bargains weave Druskenvald’s essence into the characters who dare to strike them. These ancient agreements bind the land, its magical energies, its creatures.. and you. The effects bring boon and bane alike. It may be best for some sinister characters to offer their bargains plainly, letting the lurking curses reveal themselves only when the time is right. Beware your entry into these…

The characters can find the mundane equipment the bandits were carrying.

You speak a one-word command to a creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or follow the command on its next turn. Choose the command from these options: Approach. The target moves toward you by the shortest and most direct route, ending its turn if it moves within 5 feet of you. Drop. The target drops whatever it is holding and then ends its turn. Flee.…

Devas are emissaries of divine will. These immortal messengers adopt the shapes of mystical beasts or idealized, winged mortals. As with all angels, their true forms are known only to the gods they serve. Rather than literal correspondence from a god, a deva conveys an allegory or quest to mortals, tasking them with delivering something to its rightful place. While the angel might be called on in…

A displacer beast resembles a gaunt, six-legged panther with a barbed tentacle sprouting from each of its shoulders. This predator uses innate magic to displace light so it appears to be several feet away from its actual location. Displacer beasts hunt not just to feed but because they enjoy killing. Once displacer beasts begin stalking prey, they can’t be deterred until either they or their…

Become One with a Cosmic Being Your patron is a cosmic parasite, draining the vitality of entire peoples and worlds. Upon forging a pact with such a patron, you become host to one of its nascent offspring. As you grow in power, the boundary between your identity and the parasitic larva within blurs. Level 3: Spell Siphon Your patron has taught you to siphon magic from your enemies and make it…

One of the best ways to learn how to run a D&D; game is to observe other DMs in action. Another DM can give you a solid foundation for understanding the role—as well as inspire you with cool things you can do in your games. You can use these questions to help you reflect on a game you observe: Beginning the Session. How did the DM start the session? Was there a recap? Body Language. What gestures…

Those who have encountered calignis quickly learn that their method of death involves burning out instead of bleeding out. At times, this dramatic immolation is denied to a caligni and they arise as an undead bright walker. This moniker is a bit of a misnomer, because these undead don’t walk; they instead float a few inches above the ground. Though tied to caligni society, bright walkers don’t…

Each creature of your choice that you can see within range must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have the Charmed condition until the spell ends. For the duration, you can take a Bonus Action to designate a direction that is horizontal to you. Each Charmed target must use as much of its movement as possible to move in that direction on its next turn, taking the safest route. After moving in…

Dreaming Dark Infiltrators are spies sent to gather intelligence. They plant psychic seeds in their minds of their foes that enhance the infiltrators’ combat prowess against those enemies.

A mitflit with the ingenuity to both bully others and cajole loyalty rises to the boss of a mitflit gang. Gremlins Gremlins are cruel fey tricksters and saboteurs who have acclimated to life on the Material Plane, finding distinct niches for their inventive destructiveness.

You create a terrible force that slowly crushes the target from the inside. Choose a creature that you can see within range and roll 2d6 and record the total rolled. At the start of each of your turns, roll another 2d6 and add the number rolled to the total. If the total is greater than the target’s Strength, it has Disadvantage on Strength-based attacks. If the total is greater than the target’s…

Kindred Feat (Prerequisite: Kindred Class) The sun’s light doesn’t harm you as badly as it does other Kindred. You gain the following benefits. Dhampir’s Boon. When you take damage from sunlight, reduce the damage taken by 2. Endure Radiance. As a Bonus Action, you can expend 1 Blood Point to remove your Vulnerability to Radiant damage for 1 minute. Wake with Evening’s Freshness. When you start a…

† See the appendix.

Large Beast (Thyreophoran), Unaligned AC 20 (Extensive Osteoderms) Initiative -3 (7) HP 72 (10d10 + 22) Speed 20 ft.

This section provides tools useful for adventures in the Dalelands.

Weapon (morningstar), uncommon You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. Proficiency with a Morningstar allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it. This weapon has the following mastery property. To use this property, you must have a feature that lets you use it. Sap. If you hit a creature with this weapon, that…

This section provides tools useful for adventures in the Moonshaes, including guidelines on renown, Bastions, and an encounter table for seagoing adventurers.

Weapon (longsword), artifact (requires attunement) Few ever saw the gleaming blade Dämglesvir before the God’s End, as only the emperor was permitted to draw the sword from its sheath. Now its blade and hilt are black, like a weapon dipped in shadow. Aspirant At this tier of Attunement, you have the following benefits:

• You gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with Dämglesvir.
• Any…

Driders combine the features of drow and giant spiders. The wicked god Lolth is fond of transforming her drow worshipers into driders, as either a blessing or a curse. These driders often become fanatical servants of their god, or they are overwhelmed by their transformation and live only to indulge their predatory arachnid instincts. Driders also appear when whole communities are transformed by…