back bonding detail clusters reason

Quasit (familiar variant) Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

Shapechanger. The quasit can use its action to polymorph into a beast form that resembles a bat (speed 10 ft. fly 40 ft.), a centipede (40 ft., climb 40 ft.), or a toad (40 ft., swim 40 ft.), or back

shares the quasit’s Magic Resistance trait. At any time and for any reason, the quasit can end its service as a familiar, ending the telepathic bond.Claws (Bite in Beast Form). Melee Weapon Attack

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

Hederan

races

lies a network of green, sap-filled muscle. Twigs and berries sprout unpredictably, with the brightest clusters gathered around their heads. Their leaves and bark vary in colour, and are as diverse as

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

Prisoner 13

Monsters Keys from the Golden Vault

tattoo across her back, filling a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on her. Each other creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 13 (3d8

steal away most of the clan’s gold, leaving only a pittance. Prisoner 13 is a cunning schemer, ruthless and patient. She listens and watches, absorbing every detail she can, and shares as

Caradoc

Monsters Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

’s swiftly pulled back if caught beyond its walls without a host. Personality Trait. “I might be dead, but there’s no reason I can’t live it up a little.” Ideal. &ldquo

Ulder Ravengard

Monsters Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

. Following the deaths of two council members amid a cloud of corruption and scandal, he persuaded the Parliament of Peers to back his election to grand duke. Upon ascending to the highest position in the

struggled in performing his duties, finding his hands tied at every turn by both overt and invisible bureaucracy. Despite this, he's been a voice of reason and common sense on the Council of Four — if

Ancient Amethyst Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

restriction. 4 An amethyst dragon recruits a group of adventurers to psychically trade bodies with adventurers from another world, so that each can carry out certain tasks before swapping back. 5

portion of an amethyst dragon’s hoard before burrowing back into the deep Underdark. The dragon has a magic crystal that can trace the worm’s movement. 3 An ancient amethyst dragon is

Adult Amethyst Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

before swapping back. 5 A cult devoted to a Great Old One of the Far Realm seeks an alien monolith that can summon its master, but the site is guarded by an amethyst dragon. 6 An amethyst

Merfolk dwelling near an adult amethyst dragon;adult amethyst dragon's lair are under threat from sahuagin raiders. 2 Clusters of shrieker;shriekers serve as a warning system in the tunnels of an

Gauth

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

can survive on meat but prefers to sustain itself with power drained from magic objects. If starved of magic for several weeks, it is forced back to its home plane, so it constantly seeks new items

. Gauths are less xenophobic than beholders, so they might form small clusters and work together, though they’re just as likely to ignore each other entirely.

Kasimir Velikov

Monsters Curse of Strahd

led her down a path of evil and deceit. For that reason, Kasimir wants to see the vampire destroyed so that his sister can be rescued from her eternal damnation. Secrets of the Amber Temple. Patrina

more important, he believes that the Amber Temple holds the secret to bringing the ancient dead back to life. With the characters' help, Kasimir thinks he might be able to find out how to restore

Demilich (Variant) Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

assume a wraithlike form. The skull then emits a terrifying howl that can slay the weak-hearted and leave others trembling with fear. Left alone, it sinks back down and returns to the empty peace of

its existence. Few liches seek to become demiliches, for it means an end to the existence they hoped to preserve by becoming undead. However, time can erode the lich’s reason and memory, causing

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

at the burned-out building, a sudden cacophony erupted around us. Birds squawked, cats hissed, and dogs growled. Lidda hustled us back to the city’s safer avenues. Only when we were back within

. The kenku lack the talent to improvise or alter a plan, but a wise Master sets multiple plans in motion at once, confident that underlings can follow orders to the letter. For this reason, many

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

undetected and don’t give their targets reason to harm them. For example, a group of city kobolds might sneak into a cobbler’s house at night to loot it of knives, leather bits, nails, and

, giving each individual and every generation a reason to feel pride and self-respect. The kobolds prefer to run away than fight, to live off the scraps of others, and they are often dominated by larger

Aarakocra Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

back into the air. Those that make it to a world in the Material Plane find it a strange place. They sometimes forget or ignore vertical distances, and they have nothing but pity for those earthbound

it hard not to pluck the treasure and bring it back to their settlement to beautify it. An aarakocra who spends years among other races can learn to inhibit these impulses. Confinement terrifies the

Unspeakable Horror (Malleable Mass)

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

vaporous visions amid the fog, mysterious eddies in the Mists sometimes gather such evils, forcing them into unique, misshapen bodies untethered from the laws of reason or reality. Such unspeakable

can’t persist for long outside the Mists: after 1d4;{"diceNotation":"1d4","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Mist Horror"} rounds outside the Mists, they lose cohesion and collapse back into

Unspeakable Horror

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

into unique, misshapen bodies untethered from the laws of reason or reality. Such unspeakable horrors might continue to haunt the misty netherworld between the Domains of Dread, or they might slink

","rollAction":"Mist Horror"} rounds outside the Mists, they lose cohesion and collapse back into harmless vapor. Body Composition d4;{"diceNotation":"1d4","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Body

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

relieved of their other roles and taken to the lair’s whelping pens, where they are tended to by Luthic’s followers. Orcs don’t take mates, and no pair-bonding occurs in a tribe

raid just as another group returns, laden with severed heads, sacks of loot, and armfuls of food. Warriors also serve as scouts, bringing back detailed reports about the surrounding area so that the

Unspeakable Horror (Loathsome Limbs)

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

eddies in the Mists sometimes gather such evils, forcing them into unique, misshapen bodies untethered from the laws of reason or reality. Such unspeakable horrors might continue to haunt the misty

Mists: after 1d4;{"diceNotation":"1d4","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Mist Horror"} rounds outside the Mists, they lose cohesion and collapse back into harmless vapor. Body Composition d4

Unspeakable Horror (Oozing Organs)

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

, forcing them into unique, misshapen bodies untethered from the laws of reason or reality. Such unspeakable horrors might continue to haunt the misty netherworld between the Domains of Dread, or they

":"roll","rollAction":"Mist Horror"} rounds outside the Mists, they lose cohesion and collapse back into harmless vapor. Body Composition d4;{"diceNotation":"1d4","rollType":"roll","rollAction

Unspeakable Horror (Aberrant Armor)

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

unique, misshapen bodies untethered from the laws of reason or reality. Such unspeakable horrors might continue to haunt the misty netherworld between the Domains of Dread, or they might slink forth into

":"Mist Horror"} rounds outside the Mists, they lose cohesion and collapse back into harmless vapor. Body Composition d4;{"diceNotation":"1d4","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Body Composition

Setting the Adventure

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel

outside Yeonido. If you wish to further detail the city and its surroundings, use the “Yeonido Gazetteer” section at the end of this adventure. Dragonlance. Either the island of Enstar or the New

Coast region could host Yeonido. The distant relationship between the people of Krynn and their gods could be another reason why some of the city’s dead have difficulty finding peace. Forgotten Realms

Cults of the Dragon Below

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

organizations with global reach, the cults have no organizing structure or principle. They are an infection inflicted on the world without reason. “Cult of the Dragon Below” is a term that outsiders use

eyes in a deep vault, while new eyes grow in strange places on their own bodies. 2 A cult of Dyrrn the Corrupter seeks to transcend humanity by bonding with aberrations and symbionts. 3 A cult of

Mournland Villains

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

Mournland Villains Few people have reason to spend time anywhere near the Mournland. Among the exceptions are those who seek to plunder the riches of lost Cyre, such as Ikar’s Salvage (described

Blades (described in more detail earlier in this chapter and in chapter 6) is a major force in the Mournland. The Mournland Villains table suggests other possible evil schemes and influences that might

Creating a Campaign

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

a daunting task, but you don’t have to plot out every detail right from the start. You can start with the basics, running a few adventures, and think about larger plotlines you want to explore as the

campaign progresses. You’re free to add as much or as little detail as you wish. The start of a campaign resembles the start of an adventure. You want to jump quickly into the action, show the players

Lure Lights

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

Lure Lights When aboleths die, their souls sometimes gather in clusters called lure lights. These 100-foot-diameter collections of pale, yellow lights are found in the deep ocean below depths of

can’t willingly move out of line of sight of them and defends them to the death. If forcibly moved away from the lights, the creature tries to find its way back to them. The creature can’t take a short

Appendix: Player Species

compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->One-Shot Wonders: Holiday Adventure Pack

with age, and beneath lies a network of green, sap-filled muscle. Twigs and berries sprout unpredictably, with the brightest clusters gathered around their heads. Their leaves and bark vary in colour

when the flowers on 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

Running This Chapter

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

chapter describes the fortress of Sunblight in detail, in the event the adventurers decide to attack it. But the characters are in for a surprise: by the time they arrive, Xardorok has already finished his

succeed if they take frequent rests or have an edge, such as plenty of healing magic or allies to back them up.

Gravity Planes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Astral Adventurer’s Guide

Gravity Planes The reason everything pulls its own atmosphere along through space is the force of gravity. It’s also the reason why creatures can stand on a spacefaring ship without falling off the

gravity plane is that an object that falls off the side of a ship can end up oscillating back and forth across the gravity plane. It drops in one direction until it crosses the plane, then reverses direction back toward the plane again, continuing until something causes it to stop.

Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(money, ale, or both), confesses to having wandered in the back door of the house a couple of years before, hoping to acquire some food. Encouraged by the prospect of free wine in the cellar, he

started to descend the stairs, heard ghastly shrieks and piercing wails, and ran, frightened out of his wits. He knows where the back door is and also noticed a nearby well. He can vaguely describe the

Appendix 3. Dungeon Master Tips

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rrakkma

detail regarding potentially hostile creatures. You can always go back after the fight is over, or after it has been established that a fight won’t be happening and elaborate on your description of the

adventurers are likely to see them initially. If creatures are clearly visible, consider providing a minimum of detail (size, shape, and lighting only) for the area description, in favor of providing greater

A Decision

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm Lord’s Wrath

A Decision At some point, the characters must decide which vessel and captain they prefer. The town covers the cost of passage there and back for the characters, and both captains ask the same fare

are. If for any reason the characters attack Kristoffen because they learn of his affiliation with the Cult of Talos, he defends himself. Kristoffen (use half-red dragon veteran statistics but

Adventure Hooks

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth

hooks: Iggwilv’s Rival. An archmage who was once embroiled in a heated rivalry with Iggwilv has reason to believe she isn’t dead. The archmage recruits the characters to search the Lost Caverns for

successful expeditions in recent years. Most of the agents the margrave sent came back battle worn and empty-handed, if they returned at all. The margrave hires the characters to recover Iggwilv’s hoard before it falls into the hands of his rivals.

17. Vertrand's Room

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

17. Vertrand’s Room Vertrand. A bald, elderly man (Vertrand Shadowdusk) sits at a writing desk to the north, his back to the doorway. Bed. A simple bed stands against the south wall. Tapestry. A

Intelligence (Investigation) check to decipher. The notes detail Vertrand’s research into magical vortices, and how to widen and destabilize planar portals. Treasure. Vertrand’s spellbook is in the

Jander Sunstar

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus

soul by swearing to hunt down his own kind. Later, he volunteered to join Zariel on her crusade into the Nine Hells. Stirges now swarm back and forth from Jander’s body, preserving his existence by

: Jander and Haruman were both part of a host of warriors who joined the angel Zariel in her assault on the Nine Hells. After charging through the portal into Avernus, Jander panicked and fled back to

Quest Goals

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm Lord’s Wrath

at the Wayside Inn previously, the ritual being performed by the cultists could incorporate movement that harkens back to that dance. Although it’s a small detail that a typical player might overlook, if even just one of your players gets chills or a laugh because of the echo, it’s worth the effort.

D&D Beyond

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