back beings driven carved rites

Book of Vile Darkness

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

, foul rites that allow one to transform into a death knight or lich, or long-lost spells crafted by beings so evil their names ought never to be spoken aloud. Vile Speech. While the book is on your

damage unless the creature is a Fiend or an Undead. Destroying the Book. The Book of Vile Darkness allows pages to be torn from it, but any evil lore contained on those pages finds its way back into the

Incarnation of Transience

Monsters Lorwyn: First Light

condition. Success: Half damage only.The incarnations of transience represent all that is fleeting or ephemeral. Despite their apparent bulk, these incarnations are actually ephemeral beings with only a

spectral existence in material reality. Each incarnation resembles a saurian behemoth with an axolotl face, a many-frilled tail, and a hulking back covered in bright-orange pustules. In Lorwyn

Kraul Death Priest

Monsters Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

linger at the margins of the undercity but now increasingly making their buzzing voices heard in the subterranean Golgari guildhall. These six-legged, insectile beings are hard-headed and literal-minded

, with little grasp of metaphor or nuance. The death priests occupy the highest roles in kraul society. They lead the buzzing chants of the kraul rites. Their inscrutable clicks and buzzing can summon

Skabatha Nightshade

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

eyelashes. Underneath her makeup, her flesh is textured like rotten bark and infested with wood lice and fungus. The windup key sticking out of her back is a part of her body and no easier to remove than one

the past, another reflects the present, and the third reflects the future. These hags are utter wickedness distilled into corporeal forms, driven by a lust for secrets that can be used to manipulate

Kolyarut

Monsters Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

their questions have been satisfied, they report back to their creator, allowing the Kolyarut to impose accurate judgments. Kolyaruts are four-armed beings of magic and machinery. Like maruts, they

judges the needs of planar beings seeking uniquely binding terms and forges ironclad agreements. Those who break these contracts are pursued by marut;maruts (detailed in Mordenkainen Presents

Thanoi Hunter

Monsters Monstrous Compendium Vol. 2: Dragonlance Creatures

beings who dwell in the frozen wastelands of Krynn. They sport thick, ivory tusks, which they use both to defend themselves and to poke breathing holes in sea ice as they swim. Often at odds with the

monstrous creatures that live in the frozen wastes, thanoi are adept hunters. In addition to their tusks, they use harpoons on long ropes that they can quickly reel back. Groups of thanoi hunters work

Endelyn Moongrave

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

reflects the present, and the third reflects the future. These hags are utter wickedness distilled into corporeal forms, driven by a lust for secrets that can be used to manipulate their prey. Skabatha

, surpassed them in power and carved out a Feywild domain for herself in the guise of an archfey named Zybilna. The hags wormed their way into Iggwilv’s good graces, biding their time until they could

Reborn

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

veins making it clear that they’ve been touched by death. Other reborn are marvels of magic or science, being stitched together from disparate beings or bearing mysterious minds in manufactured

sensations or visions of the past to come rushing back. Rather than sleeping, reborn regularly sit and dwell on the past, hoping for some revelation of what came before. Most of the time, these are dark

Mercane

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

portfolios revolve around fair commerce. Standing 12 feet tall, they are lanky blue beings who dress in elegant robes and have elongated heads and long, spindly fingers. Mercanes conduct most of their

unreliable. Once a mercane has been offended by someone, getting back into their good graces is next to impossible.

Turlang

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

takes a bonus action to turn it back into an inanimate tree. The tree then takes root if possible. Spellcasting. Turlang casts one of the following spells, requiring no material spell components and

, pass without trace, speak with animals 1/day each: commune with nature (cast as 1 action), conjure woodland beings, hallucinatory terrain (cast as 1 action)A xenophobic, moss-covered treant named Turlang.Bludgeoning, PiercingFire

Gith Legacy

Species Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

to plunder the Material Plane and other worlds, bringing treasures and slaves back to their ageless realm. At the same time, they hunt down and kill mind flayers whenever possible, as recompense for

can manipulate the stuff of chaos and use it to their benefit; thus, they have carved out a stronghold for themselves on the plane of Limbo that is virtually impervious. Though the githzerai are

Elder Tempest

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone.Terrifying storms manifest in the bodies of elder tempests. Beings carved from clouds, wind, rain, and lightning, elder

Jiangshi

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

that is Medium or Small or back into its true form. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying is absorbed or borne by the new form (the

their descendants and the communities they knew in life, sowing terror and taking retribution for the slights or neglected burial rites that led to their cursed resurrections. Rigor mortis notoriously

Frostmourn

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

manner—perhaps poisoned, stabbed in the back, or killed while sleeping—the slain giant can rise as a frostmourn. Driven by its desire for vengeance, the frostmourn can turn the living into

Lhammaruntosz

Monsters Sleeping Dragon’s Wake

rating no higher than her own, or back into her true form. She reverts to her true form if she dies. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying is absorbed or borne by the new form (Lhammaruntosz's choice

of metallic dragons, in a cliff overlooking the sea. The shrine’s face is carved in Lhammaruntosz’s likeness and includes quarters for the rest of the Scaly Eye and a magic statue of

Bavlorna Blightstraw

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

time: one reflects the past, another reflects the present, and the third reflects the future. These hags are utter wickedness distilled into corporeal forms, driven by a lust for secrets that can be

Yaga’s adopted daughter, surpassed them in power and carved out a Feywild domain for herself in the guise of an archfey named Zybilna. The hags wormed their way into Iggwilv’s good graces

Equinal Guardinal

Monsters Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

powerful, hocked legs carry them over great distances. These good-natured, boisterous Celestials boast their might in contests of strength and rarely back down from a challenge. Tough and courageous

supernatural virtue puts them at odds with the evil beings of the Lower Planes. Guardinals abhor wickedness and strike out against injustice and villainy without hesitation, determined to eradicate forces that threaten beauty and peace.Radiant

Orcus Figurine

Magic Items Candlekeep Mysteries

Carved from an ogre’s petrified heart, the gray figurine depicts the Demon Prince of Undeath in ghastly detail, clutching his skull-topped wand in one hand and three severed heads by the hair

properties: Undead within 30 feet of the figurine can’t be turned. Dead creatures within 30 feet of the figurine can’t be brought back to life. A creature that holds the figurine while

Dwarf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

“Yer late, elf!” came the rough edge of a familiar voice. Bruenor Battlehammer walked up the back of his dead foe, disregarding the fact that the heavy monster lay on top of his elven

ye in trouble if I came out an’ looked for ye!” — R. A. Salvatore, The Crystal Shard Kingdoms rich in ancient grandeur, halls carved into the roots of mountains, the echoing of

Hederan

races

Hederans are living embodiments of alpine trees, sentient beings of bark and leaf whose bodies host moss, holly and fungi. Their outer skin is made of thick bark that toughens with age, and beneath

its body release pollen and a single silver seed forms upon its back. The seed must be planted within a week, or it will wither away, but from it a new hederan sapling will grow. Once planted by their

Tloques-Popolocas

Monsters Tales from the Yawning Portal

needing to make an ability check. Shapechanger. If Tloques-Popolocas isn't in sunlight or running water, it can use its action to polymorph into a Tiny bat, or back into its true form. While in bat

Running Water. Tloques-Popolocas takes 20 acid damage when he ends his turn in running water. Stake to the Heart. Tloques-Popolocas is destroyed if a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into his

Humanoid Mutate

Monsters Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

as smooth as a salamander’s. Some intelligent Humanoid mutates retain their personalities from before they were exposed to the Far Realm. Some, driven by the allure of otherworldly powers, seek

deliberately change themselves, seeking to embrace the fell powers they worship. Creatures that become mutates often inexplicably change back to their previous forms once the Far Realm influence abates

Urchin Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

shaped by lives of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better

of questions. 3 I like to squeeze into small places where no one else can get to me. 4 I sleep with my back to a wall or tree, with everything I own wrapped in a bundle in my arms. 5

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

goliath, and fewer still can claim friendship with them. Goliaths wander a bleak realm of rock, wind, and cold. Their bodies look as if they are carved from mountain stone and give them great

the responsibility to earn a place in the tribe or die trying. Driven Competitors Every day brings a new challenge to a goliath. Food, water, and shelter are rare in the uppermost mountain reaches. A

Returned Sentry

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

work well together, sharing the unified goals of overcoming their foes and getting back to the task at hand. Returned have escaped the Underworld and dwell among the living once more, but their

, which manifest as separate beings known as eidolons. The experience of escaping the Underworld also causes them to lose their faces, which become expressionless surfaces with empty eye sockets and gaping

Vampire Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

Shapechanger. If the vampire isn’t in sunlight or running water, it can use its action to polymorph into a Tiny bat or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into its true form. While in bat form

water. Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the vampire’s heart while the vampire is incapacitated in its resting place, the vampire is paralyzed until the stake is

Vampire Spellcaster Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

Shapechanger. If the vampire isn't in sunlight or running water, it can use its action to polymorph into a Tiny bat or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into its true form. While in bat form, the

from one of the occupants. Harmed by Running Water. The vampire takes 20 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water. Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

pacts made with mysterious beings of supernatural power, warlocks unlock magical effects both subtle and spectacular. Drawing on the ancient knowledge of beings such as fey nobles, demons, devils

relationship between warlock and patron is like that of a cleric and a deity, though the beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are not gods. A warlock might lead a cult dedicated to a demon

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

realizing the connection. You got the Guild to back off demands for your death by offering to make amends by working for the criminals, but even so the kingpin still plots a personal revenge. 2 The

Guild took over your family business, ran it into the ground, and burned the building for insurance money. You were driven into crime yourself, but you’ll never work for the Guild. You take

Vampire Warrior Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

Shapechanger. If the vampire isn't in sunlight or running water, it can use its action to polymorph into a Tiny bat or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into its true form. While in bat form, the

from one of the occupants. Harmed by Running Water. The vampire takes 20 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water. Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the

Star Spawn Hulk

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

seer nearby. A hulk appears to have little will of its own and is driven to protect its master. Star Spawn The Material Plane represents only one small part of the multiverse. Beyond the best

-known planes of existence lie realms alien to mortal life. Some are so hostile that even a moment’s contact is enough to break a mortal’s mind. Yet beings do exist that are native to these

Zorak Lightdrinker

Monsters Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

Shapechanger. If Zorak isn't in sunlight or running water, he can use his action to polymorph into a Tiny bat or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form. While in bat form, Zorak can't

acid damage if he ends his turn in running water. Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into Zorak's heart while he is incapacitated in his resting place, Zorak is paralyzed

Crab Folk

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

spell gave the crab folk an insatiable love for silver. When they see it, all crab folk feel an irresistible urge to seize it and carry it back to their lairs. If necessary, they resort to violence to

bad luck a gull might happen to land near a crab folk lair and utter the right combination of cries to summon up this ancient compulsion. Driven to action, the crab folk rampage along the coast

Half-Elf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

Flint squinted into the setting sun. He thought he saw the figure of a man striding up the path. Standing, Flint drew back into the shadow of a tall pine to see better. The man’s walk was

, wandering the wilds as trappers, foresters, hunters, or adventurers and visiting civilization only rarely. Like elves, they are driven by the wanderlust that comes of their longevity. Others, in

Cradle of the Hill Scion

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

standing stones, a village, or a city on a scion’s back, unaware of the mighty power beneath them. Such settlements can thrive for centuries, as the scion’s magic causes crops to flourish

Myth” in chapter 3 for additional inspiration.) Scions of giants’ gods are enormously powerful beings who infuse the world around them with primeval magic. In many worlds, they slumber

D&D Beyond

Search Results