This document and the 2024 Playerโs Handbook contain all you need to run the adventure. The following appendixes are included: Appendix A provides stat blocks for the creatures encountered in this adventure. Their names appear in bold in the adventure. Appendix B provides maps of the fortress defense zones; you will need only one of these maps. Text that appears in a box like this is meant to beโฆ
Klobiodon is a Jurassic (166 million years old) European pterosaur found in the Taynton Limestone Formation. Design Philosophy Life is diverse. We find that the current 5.5e system of normal, proficiency, and expertise for saves/skills/attacks/etc. calculations based on one chosen stat is insufficient to express that diversity. To give us more granularity in our designs and to better representโฆ
Move in Harmony with the Cosmos Bards of the College of Dance know that the Words of Creation canโt be contained within speech or song; the words are uttered by the movements of celestial bodies and flow through the motions of the smallest creatures. These Bards practice a way of being in harmony with the whirling cosmos that emphasizes agility, speed, and grace. Level 3: Dazzling Footwork Whileโฆ
Abvekus are demons that embody assassinsโ sadistic professionalism. Patient killers, they prefer to stalk targets from afar before striking. These targets might be the abvekusโ enemies or the enemies of demon lords or powerful villains the abvekus serve. Abvekus are bipedal, insectile demons whose arms end in scythe-like claws. They take pride in their kills and sometimes wear or otherwiseโฆ
Type: Vehicle (Water) Cost: -- Weight: -- The smallest of the flat-keel longships, the karvi can traverse shallow waters to transport goods, fish, and even raiders. While a karvi can be used in battle, it is often used as a general-purpose river and coastal ship. Its size and shallow keel make it less ocean-worthy than other longboats. While a knarr is used for transporting livestock, it isโฆ
You hurl a disorienting magical force toward one creature within range. The target makes a Constitution saving throw; Constructs and Undead automatically succeed on this save. On a failed save, the target takes 2d4 Force damage, its Speed is halved until the start of your next turn, and on its next turn, it can take only an action or a Bonus Action (but not both). On a successful save, the targetโฆ
Wondrous Item, common While holding or wearing this item, you can take a Magic action to summon or dismiss a dome of energy that manifests just above your head. This energy repels moderate quantities of frozen and liquid water, such as rain, snow, bird droppings, or other similar nuisances, but canโt be used to protect against harsh environmental hazards or attacks. The energy field is typicallyโฆ
Be a Master of Classes Bards from the College of Adventurers learn from heroes of old and stories of legend. Bards are jacks of all trades, and, for the College of Adventurers, this statement rings even truer. They combine all the skills of their companions into one, allowing them to be versatile and supportive. While not having a direct goal, many adventurer-studying Bards live to tell tales ofโฆ
The gods show their favor toward mortals in myriad ways. A fortunate few have their minds and souls opened to the power of magic. There is no formula for who receives this divine insight, as the gods keep their own counsel concerning their selections. Some of the favored ignore or deny their gift, while others embrace it wholeheartedly. Some who display the potential for divine magic develop andโฆ
The mysterious fortune teller Madam Eva shrouds herself in a carefully woven web of lies. Though she appears to be in her seventies, she is much older. She sets herself apart from any group, guarding the secrets of her origins and centuries-spanning agendas. Madam Eva is a legendary figure known across the Land of the Mists. Few can rival her skill at interpreting omens, reading tarokka cards, orโฆ
You have Immunity to all damage until the start of your next turn, including the triggering damage. For the duration, your Speed canโt be reduced, any current reductions to your Speed are suspended, and no effect can move you against your will. Available For: Paladin (Legacy), Paladin, Paladin
This supplement includes the tools you need to play Dungeons & Dragons adventures set in ancient Netheril, a long-fallen empire in the Forgotten Realms. Monster stat blocks referenced appear in the Monster Manual or appendix B. This introduction gives an overview of ancient Netheril and its history. Although this introduction is suitable for all playersโ eyes, the remainder of this supplement isโฆ
Nicrone Dendallen is a human Wizard whose passion for self-improvement has become an obsession, focused on removing the inherent limits of his own mortality. His focus on gaining power through sacrifice at any cost attracts dedicated sycophants. Their beliefs make them eager to recklessly endanger their lives for the chance to earn powerful rewards from his hand. Dedicated and tenacious followersโฆ
Wondrous Item, unknown rarity (requires attunement by a DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) check) This strange tome is reputed to have been originally penned by the first human civilization that long ago disappeared beneath the rising seas. It grants its bearer insights needed to peer into secretive realms, at the cost of a growing suspicion of others. Language: Celestial. Attunement Check: Intelligenceโฆ
The Ruinbound are mutants that can be born to any humanoid species that has contact with the Daelkyr or their minions. A Ruinbound is born with a personal symbiontโan unnatural entity bound to the child. Unlike most symbionts, this entity cannot be separated from its host, and the two are permanently fused. Many Ruinbound have additional disturbing mutations; you can roll on the Ruinboundโฆ
Custodians are caligni high priests or prophets who lead other calignis in worship, usually to their mysterious and sinister demigods known as the Forsaken. The Forsaken warped the calignis into tough survivors, but at a price: every caligni that dies transforms into energy as a scrap of their soul feeds the Forsaken. Calignis Calignis lurk in subterranean cities, creeping to the surface toโฆ
Weave Beguiling Fey Magic The College of Glamour traces its origins to the beguiling magic of the Feywild. Bards who study this magic weave threads of beauty and terror into their songs and stories, and the mightiest among them can cloak themselves in otherworldly majesty. Their performances stir up wistful longing for forgotten innocence, evoke unconscious memories of long-held fears, and tug atโฆ
โClo-bi-oh-donโ (Cage tooth) This whole area was filled with lilโ fish-snatching pterosaurs. They kept their distance from us โ I guess theyโre used to being plucked off of the ground by small predators. Still, beautiful creatures to see flyinโ and fascinatinโ to observe perchinโ on rocks. They fed by flyinโ low over the water and quickly dippinโ their heads in, nabbinโ unaware fish. Nifty stuff.โฆ
Gilnid was renowned in Booty Bay for his unusually large size and for making mechanical bodyguards. He was exiled after his machines went haywire and slaughtered their charges. The Defias found him and paid him well to arm the Juggernaut; Gilnid is using the money to fund his pet project, a harvest golem called the Foe Reaper 4000. Early prototypes of the Foe Reaper guard the foundry. Gilnid is aโฆ
Armor (shield), uncommon (requires attunement) While holding this large Shield, you gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class. This bonus is in addition to the Shieldโs normal bonus to AC. The bonus becomes +2 while you have at least 1 Temporary Hit Point. While you have Temporary Hit Points, the Shield emits a slight blue glow. In addition, you can channel the heroic resolve within the Shield as a Magicโฆ
Amplify Your Magical Power Magic suffuses the multiverse and fuels both destruction and creation. Clerics with the Arcana Domain view magical knowledge not as power to be used in pursuit of personal ends, but as a gift they have the responsibility to share. Gods associated with the Arcana Domain know the secrets and potential of magic intimately. These gods are often connected to knowledge,โฆ
Domain of the First Vampire Darklord: Strahd von Zarovich Genre: Gothic horror Hallmarks: Undead despot, notorious haunted stronghold, tragic resurrection Mist Talismans: Barovian wine bottle, von Zarovich crest, Mark of the Raven talisman Aligned Tarokka Card: Darklord Opposed Tarokka Card: Mists In Barovia, the night is a curse. As darkness falls, wicked souls slip from the spires of Castleโฆ
Wondrous Item, very rare Some people have no qualms about exploiting any opportunity for profit, including the sorrow caused by the loss of a loved one. Such people would appreciate the Collar of the Undead, whether as con artists looking for bereaved individuals to fleece, or as dark sorcerers in need of souls. As a Magic action, you can place this collar around the neck of a Humanoid creatureโฆ
Mother Lorinda desires a family over all else, not realizing sheโs destroyed every family sheโs ever had. A creator of monstrosities, this ancient green hag obsesses over unnatural maternalistic pursuits. Over generations, Tepestโs villagers have come to view Lorinda not as a powerful witch, but as a god of the land and fertility called Mother. Lorinda doesnโt dissuade her fragile mortalโฆ
This content is part of the Hold Back The Dead.
