backs before dark contested races

Sword of Kas Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

. His successes earned him Vecna’s admiration and a reward: a sword with as dark a pedigree as the man who would wield it. For a long time, Kas faithfully served the lich, but as Kas’s

Kas. The creature must cast the wish spell and make a Charisma check contested by the Charisma check of the sword. The sword must be within 30 feet of the creature, or the spell fails. If the sword

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

reckonings of most worlds, humans are the youngest of the common races, late to arrive on the world scene and short-lived in comparison to dwarves, elves, and dragons. Perhaps it is because of their

shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty

Infernal Calling

Spells Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Uttering a dark incantation, you summon a devil from the Nine Hells. You choose the devil’s type, which must be one of challenge rating 6 or lower, such as a barbed devil or a bearded devil

, you must make a Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion) check contested by its Wisdom (Insight) check. You make the check with advantage if you say the devil’s true name. If your check

Tortle

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Tortles have a saying: “We wear our homes on our backs.” These turtle folk live on many worlds, most often journeying up and down coasts, along waterways, and across the sea. Tortles don

’t have a unified story of how they were created, but they all have a sense of being mystically connected to the natural world. Carrying their shelter on their backs gives tortles a special

Minotaur

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

powerful backs, and some have long patches of hair on their chins and cheeks. Their legs end in heavy, cloven hooves, and they have long, tufted tails. Creating Your Character At 1st level, you

adventure. Members of some races, such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries. If typical members of a race can live longer than a century, that fact is mentioned in the race’s description

Aasimar Legacy

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

dark eyes 3 Starkly colored hair 4 An unusual hue tinting your shadow 5 A ghostly halo crowning your head 6 Rainbows gleaming on your skin Creating Your Character At

violent end on an adventure. Members of some races, such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries. If typical members of a race can live longer than a century, that fact is mentioned in the race’s

Elf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

of many other races. They are slightly shorter than humans on average, ranging from well under 5 feet tall to just over 6 feet. They are more slender than humans, weighing only 100 to 145 pounds

enjoy simple yet lovely jewelry. A Timeless Perspective Elves can live well over 700 years, giving them a broad perspective on events that might trouble the shorter-lived races more deeply. They are

Tortle Legacy

Species The Tortle Package

set out on their own. Beliefs Tortles don’t have their own pantheon of gods, but they often worship the gods of other races. It’s not unusual for a tortle to hear stories or legends

our homes on our backs.” The shells they carry around provide all the shelter they require. Consequently, tortles don’t feel the need to root themselves in one place for too long. A tortle

Chapter 1: Character Creation

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

Chapter 1: Character Creation The skyscrapers of Sharn rise up before you, the spires glimmering with magical lights. Or wind rushes through your hair as the airship you’re riding races toward

the following choices: Race. Choose one of the playable races detailed in this chapter, or pick a race from the Player’s Handbook and learn here how Eberron has affected that species’ development

Acquisitions

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

description of the different locations throughout the outpost as a guide to opportunities. Taking something without being noticed requires a successful Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check contested by the

challenge to escape into the Underdark with little more than the clothes on their backs. For others (including spellcasters who need spellbooks or components), consider placing the party’s captured

Worlds of Adventure

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

villains. Some races have unusual traits in different worlds. The halflings of the Dark Sun setting, for example, are jungle-dwelling cannibals, and the elves are desert nomads. Some worlds feature races

have been published as official settings for the D&D game. The legends of the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Dark Sun, Mystara, and Eberron settings are woven together in the fabric of the

Worlds of Adventure

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

villains. Some races have unusual traits in different worlds. The halflings of the Dark Sun setting, for example, are jungle-dwelling cannibals, and the elves are desert nomads. Some worlds feature races

have been published as official settings for the D&D game. The legends of the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Dark Sun, Mystara, and Eberron settings are woven together in the fabric of the

Barovians and Nonhumans

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd

Barovians and Nonhumans Barovians are human. Although they know that dwarves, elves, halflings and other civilized races exist, few living Barovians have seen such “creatures,” let alone interacted

with them. Aside from the secretive dusk elves of Vallaki (see chapter 5), the only nonhumans most Barovians are familiar with are the adventurers that Strahd has lured to his dark realm. Barovians

Q12. Dining Hall

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd

Q12. Dining Hall A twenty-foot-long table with sculpted dragons for legs stands in the center of this hall. The chairs that surround the table have backs carved to resemble folded dragon wings, and

wall. These panels depict silver dragons in flight. Beyond the glass doors lies a dark, misty room that appears to be a chapel. A continual flame spell was cast on the crystal chandelier long ago and has never been dispelled. The knight statues are lifelike but inanimate.

Adventurers at Heart

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation Supplement

Adventurers at Heart Tortles have a saying: “We wear our homes on our backs.” The shells they carry around provide all the shelter they require. Consequently, tortles don’t feel the need to root

form meaningful friendships. They have no inbred animus toward people of other races. In fact, a tortle will often seek out friendships with non-tortles to learn new customs and new points of view.

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

skills. This dedication to competition has a dark side. Goliaths are ferocious competitors, but above all else they are driven to outdo their past efforts. If a goliath slays a dragon, he or she might

, committed by the goliath. Goliaths assign and use nicknames with their friends of other races, and change them to refer to an individual’s notable deeds. Goliaths present all three names when

Piwafwi (Cloak of Elvenkind)

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

Piwafwi (Cloak of Elvenkind) Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement) This dark spider-silk cloak is made by drow. It is a cloak of elvenkind (see chapter 7, “Treasure,” of the Dungeon Master’s

Guide). It loses its magic if exposed to sunlight for 1 hour without interruption. DROWCRAFT ITEMS Magic items crafted by the drow — and often other races of the Underdark — use components and

The Halfling Adventurer

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

their secluded villages, and are also quite happy living in the communities of other races, working as farmers, innkeepers, cobblers and bakers. In the Dragonlance setting, kender are the

storytellers, but they often speak too fast for other races not accustomed to their frenetic cadence. Halflings in the world of Greyhawk live in underground burrows or small cottages in the

Deep Gnomes (Svirfneblin)

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

grandest deep gnome strongholds, which existed for more than two thousand years until it was overrun a little more than a century ago by the dark elves of Menzoberranzan. The deep gnomes recently reclaimed

their old home, and now struggle to rid it of malign influences that have crept into the tunnels and warrens in their absence. Deep gnomes are lean with dark, earthen skin tones of gray. Males are bald

The True Threat

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

aquatic races. The lizardfolk’s main purpose is to form an army to expel the sahuagin from the area. In so doing, they hope to discourage the sahuagin from ever again intruding on the region. The

lizardfolk have not approached Saltmarsh with an offer to join the alliance because Othokent, their queen, considers humans and other land-dwelling races as of little use in a battle to be fought largely

Chapter 1: Prisoners of the Drow

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

races and creatures too numerous to count or list, and foremost among these are the dark elves — the drow. Hated and feared even by their fellow dwellers in darkness, the drow raid other settlements

entertainment in the dark elves’ subterranean cities. The adventurers have all had the misfortune of falling to such a fate. Captured by the drow, they are prisoners at one of the dark elves’ outposts

Self-Sufficient Clans

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

to fail, and they push themselves to extreme efforts before they give up on something. A dragonborn holds mastery of a particular skill as a lifetime goal. Members of other races who share the same

for such help is the clan, and when a clan needs help, it turns to another dragonborn clan before seeking aid from other races — or even from the gods. DRACONIANS In the Dragonlance setting, the

9. Fountain of Evil

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

vortex. A water weird bound to the pool years has been corrupted by the demonic influence infecting these tunnels, turning it evil and giving it a dark hunger. The western path slopes upward to a

follow Droki into this chamber, they see him sneaking carefully along the eastern path. They can attempt to follow him with a group Dexterity (Stealth) check contested by the water weird’s passive

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

races have little good to say about kobolds, but they do admit that the little reptilians do respectable tunnel work using simple tools. If a band of kobolds is enslaved by more powerful creatures

, sorcerer, miner, or crafter is as likely to be female as male. Grow Fast, Die Early Kobolds grow and mature much more swiftly than members of other humanoid races. At 6 years old a kobold is

Diseases

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

wasting illness. A warlock offends some dark power and contracts a strange affliction that spreads whenever he casts spells. A simple outbreak might amount to little more than a small drain on party

might affect only constructs or undead, or sweep through a halfling neighborhood but leave other races untouched. What matters is the story you want to tell.

Seven Secrets of Ravenloft

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

Dark Powers Control All. Sinister entities known as the Dark Powers manipulate the Domains of Dread and all who dwell within. Immortal, unknowable, and omnipotent, the Dark Powers revel in sowing

serve as the prisons of Darklords, villainous beings trapped and tormented by the Dark Powers. The specifics of each domain exist to ironically twist its Darklord’s desires, capturing them and their

Robust Patronage

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated

operatives of rival organizations, a bit of well-timed sabotage on some manufacturing equipment, or intimidating contractors into turning their backs on a rival are all regular business for an Acq Inc

warlock. Standard Dark Spellcaster Franchise Rules No summoning circles in the bathroom. No “tentacle talk” during mealtimes. You must wear a gag at bedtime. That constant screaming makes it hard for

Young Race, Old Roots

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

significant populations of half-elves. It is only in the past thousand years or so, as the races have intermingled more and more, that the number of half-elves has increased so that they are now found

conquered by the dark elves years ago, and in the Underdark, where House Ousstyl of Menzoberranzan is particularly infamous for having mated with humans.

6. Shrine to Lolth

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

dark silken mats with a pale web-strand pattern woven through them in silvery thread. In the middle of the chamber (at the center of the web) stands a broad pedestal carved from zurkhwood, with a 10

(Perception) check contested by the spider’s Dexterity (Stealth) check to spot it before it moves. Treasure The altar is flanked by a pair of heavy silver candlesticks worth 25 gp each. They hold thick

Random Settlements

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

powerful monster 12 Mysterious, anonymous cabal 13 Contested leadership, open fighting 14 Cabal seized power openly 15 Doltish lout 16 On deathbed, claimants compete for power 17–18 Iron-willed but

Tough warriors 9 Dark magic 10 Decadence 11 Piety 12 Gambling 13 Godlessness 14 Education 15 Wines 16 High fashion 17 Political intrigue 18 Powerful guilds 19 Strong drink 20 Patriotism Current

Elf Traits

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

feet. Darkvision. Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in

is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires. Subrace. Ancient divides among the

General Features

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver

filters through the arrow slits around the castle. During the day, this provides dim light in most areas. At night, all areas are dark. Walls. Exterior walls and load-bearing interior walls are 5 feet

) check contested by the monsters’ Wisdom (Insight) checks, and give the characters advantage on their checks if the deception is particularly well planned or roleplayed. If at least one character wins

Infernal Calling

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Infernal Calling 5th-level conjuration Casting Time: 1 minute Range: 90 feet Components: V, S, M (a ruby worth at least 999 gp) Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour Uttering a dark incantation, you

Persuasion) check contested by its Wisdom (Insight) check. You make the check with advantage if you say the devil’s true name. If your check fails, the devil becomes immune to your verbal commands for

Elves

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

kingdoms lasting three thousand years. These battles devastated much of the world and resulted in the dark elves’ flight into the Underdark. Reeling from these calamities, the elven empires went into a

long, slow decline, and many of their kind took part in the great Retreat to their refuge on Evermeet. As the elves increasingly withdrew from the world, other races and civilizations rose to prominence

Barbarians

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

Barbarians Closest to the dark elves, Pwent lowered his head, with its long helmet spike, and impaled one elf through the chest, blasting through the fine mesh of drow armor easily and brutally. The

consort with fiends. Dwarf barbarians are famed and feared warriors among the fiercely proud clans that have reclaimed territories like Mithril Hall and Gautlgrym. Barbarians of most other races hail

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