bad borders diffusing confer run

Urchin Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

I eat like a pig and have bad manners. 6 I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent. 7 I don’t like to bathe. 8 I bluntly say what other people are hinting at

will run away from a fight. 2 Gold seems like a lot of money to me, and I’ll do just about anything for more of it. 3 I will never fully trust anyone other than myself. 4 I&rsquo

Pirate Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

board—boatswain, captain, navigator, cook, or some other position? Who were the captain and first mate? Did you leave your ship on good terms with your fellows, or on the run? You spent your youth

you may roll for a random trinket on the Trinkets table in chapter 5 of the Player’s Handbook), a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp Feature: Bad Reputation No matter where

Sailor Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

board—boatswain, captain, navigator, cook, or some other position? Who were the captain and first mate? Did you leave your ship on good terms with your fellows, or on the run? Skill

more than one deserving soul to a briny grave. Fear and bloodshed are no strangers to you, and you’ve garnered a somewhat unsavory reputation in many a port town. Variant Feature: Bad

Criminal / Spy Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

. 4 I have a “tell” that reveals when I’m lying. 5 I turn tail and run when things look bad. 6 An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that.

Vladeska's Powers and Dominion

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

executions serve the greater good and impose necessary order, but make it clear that zombies aren’t the realm’s only monsters. Only Bad Decisions. There is one simple truth in Falkovnia: the dead are

about to kill everyone. This sets the stage for countless bad decisions, from leaders making terrible sacrifices or permitting amoral acts to individuals making fatalistic choices. Everyone in Falkovnia

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

, designed to collapse under the weight of any creature heavier than a kobold. On occasion, the route through a kobold lair runs along a ledge that borders a cavern or a crevasse, and the kobolds might

other useful items, but if they are at risk of discovery, they run away rather than attack anyone in the house. By fleeing before they can be seen or identified, they avoid getting into a situation

Sailor - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

fellows, or on the run? Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception Tool Proficiencies: Navigator’s tools, vehicles (water) Equipment: A belaying pin (club), 50 feet of silk rope, a lucky

. Fear and bloodshed are no strangers to you, and you’ve garnered a somewhat unsavory reputation in many a port town. Variant Feature: Bad Reputation If your character has a sailor

Urchin - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

a pig and have bad manners. 6 I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent. 7 I don’t like to bathe. 8 I bluntly say what other people are hinting at or hiding

important person, and I’m wanted for it. 6 No one else should have to endure the hardships I’ve been through. d6 Flaw 1 If I’m outnumbered, I will run away

The Middle Path

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

between relying on their bonuses and abilities and paying attention to the game and immersing themselves in its world. Remember that dice don’t run your game — you do. Dice are like rules. They’re

bad die roll foiling the character’s plans. By the same token, a bad plan or unfortunate circumstances can transform the easiest task into an impossibility, or at least impose disadvantage.

Aarakocra Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

lies on the slopes of the Star Mounts’ southernmost mountains. At the headwaters of the Unicorn Run, the Last Aerie is home to several dozen aarakocra. Recently, aarakocra elders detected

changes in the prevailing winds that they regarded as a bad omen. Unlike the aarakocra of other worlds on the Material Plane, the aarakocra of the Realms rarely travel to the Elemental Plane of Air

Urban Bounty Hunter

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

If there’s a plan, I’ll forget it. If I don’t forget it, I’ll ignore it. 4 I have a “tell” that reveals when I’m lying. 5 I turn tail and run when

things look bad. 6 An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that.

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

tail and run when things look bad. 6 An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that.

Umizu

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

Umizu Residents of the city-state of Umizu enjoy their fair share of luck, but good fortune comes at a cost: a season of bad luck that arrives with the yearly monsoon. During this time, locals pray

-simmering tension. Daimyo Hogishi Takemi does his best to rein in crime, but the city’s lackluster bureaucracy is run by complacent samurai administrators and riddled with corruption. Crime syndicates

Caer-Dineval

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

because they have not received deliveries of mead from the town of Good Mead, and the taverns have run dry. As if things weren’t bad enough, the town’s harbor has frozen over, and the town’s speaker

Second Séance

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

séances or are taking their time exploring, feel free to run this encounter multiple times, allowing the characters to ask more questions. If the borders to the domain are not yet closed, a storm begins brewing at this point.

The Central Market

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries

cloudy blue eyes. They run a flower stall in the market. Friendly and a bit wistful, Astra chats with anyone who stops at their stall, as happy to hear the recent news as to make a sale. Astra was a

. “Gossip nourishes me like a spring rain, but I hate to hear or pass on bad news.” Ideal. “People are like flowers: Some grow best when left alone, others must be carefully cultivated—and some need to be

Domains

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

haze. Domains share neither borders nor common geography, and you can’t peer from one domain into another. The environments, cultures, and residents of one domain don’t influence those of other domains

. Domains Are Cages. Those who run afoul of a Darklord might find that the Mists prevent them from leaving the villain’s domain. Like a haunted house that conveniently seals its doors or summons a deadly

Life in the Big City

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

tremendous scope of its sprawl, and its borders (if it has any) are unknown, except possibly to those who live near the edges. The story of Ravnica focuses on its core. Sometimes called the city proper

when guild conflicts run hot, Ravnicans respect the sanctity of the Promenade as neutral ground. Beyond the core are an uncounted number of other districts, which originated as outlying cities that

It's Just Business

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

. What better way to think of the big bad monster at the center of a web of even bigger and badder plans than as the CEO of a megacorporation, using every resource to dominate the market? What is an

present them with even more hurdles to overcome. The often bizarre, unfeeling, and surreal elements of corporate and business life can add a degree of danger or absurdity to even the most run-of-the

The Darkening

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Locathah Rising

see the “darkening” up ahead. It’s difficult to see anything clearly within its borders, though you can vaguely make out the outline of a mountain of sunken ships resting on the sea floor, grown over

he opened (Umberlee’s Maw) have created an area in the ocean that acts like a beacon for strong, irregular currents and bad weather. Underwater, the effect manifests as a general darkness in an oddly

Zombie

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)

was fun for a while, but the zombie started to smell real bad, so we doused it in oil and set it on fire. Beek would’ve found that hilarious.” — Fonkin Hoddypeak, on friendship Hideous Forms

. Zombies appear as they did in life, showing the wounds that killed them. However, the magic that creates these vile creatures often takes time to run its course. Dead warriors might rise from a

Caer-Konig

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

that keeps the townsfolk from leaving is the beer at the local tavern, which never seems to run out. As if things weren’t bad enough, the town has suffered several mysterious break-ins recently, with

Living Descent

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros

to the Underworld’s borders. Though Athreos ferries the dead across the Tartyx, he’s not above accepting a one-way fare from those who still breathe. Even the other fearsome Underworld guardians that

through usual magical means. In such a case, consider allowing the player to run a temporary character who assists the party in the rescue or to play their own character as a soul and let them rejoin

Klothys's Influence

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros

insurmountable odds, and Karametra’s taming of nature all run the risk of inspiring ambitious mortals who lust for ever more power and strain to break away from their proper place in the cosmos. Klothys

borders between the realms, as she draws horrors into the mortal realm with her and thereby raises Athreos’s ire. Of course, Klothys trusts no other god as much as she does Kruphix, who also recalls Theros’s earliest hours. The two have a deep respect for one another.

High Forest

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

tribes of wood elves — and a few moon elf tribes — still roam the wood protecting these ruins, the monuments to their golden age. Few beyond the borders of the High Forest know much about these elves, who

the centaurs who make the High Forest their home, claiming the plateaus near the head of the Unicorn Run. For decades, the centaurs have been growing in number, enough so that they may soon divide

Halflings

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

off bad luck or to bring good fortune. Villages or even families might have superstitions observed by no one else, such as the following: For a safe journey through a forest, leave a few seeds or a

looks like a plucked chicken, know that Charmalaine is near — and heed her warning. Put a frog under your cap to bring good luck, but not for too long, or it’s bad luck for a fortnight. If you step on a

Sailor

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

on board — boatswain, captain, navigator, cook, or some other position? Who were the captain and first mate? Did you leave your ship on good terms with your fellows, or on the run? Skill Proficiencies

the Bad Reputation feature (see sidebar) instead of the Ship’s Passage feature. Variant Feature: Bad Reputation If your character has a sailor background, you may select this background feature

Research

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

character astray, especially if the object of the research is known to the rival. The rival might plant false information, bribe sages to give bad advice, or steal key tomes needed to find the truth. In

addition, a character might run into other complications during research. Every workweek spent in research brings a 10 percent chance of a complication, examples of which are on the Research

Difficulty Class

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

, moderate, or hard?” If the only DCs you ever use are 10, 15, and 20, your game will run just fine. Keep in mind that a character with a 10 in the associated ability and no proficiency will succeed at an

say a door requires a successful DC 15 Strength check to be battered down. A fighter with a Strength of 20 might helplessly flail against the door because of bad die rolls. Meanwhile, the rogue with a

The Zhentarim

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

knows that demons at large in the world are bad for business. The organization thus views the possible presence of the demon lords in the Underdark with the same concern as any other external threat

let them run the NPCs. The thugs’ names are Nero Kelvane, Lenora Haskur, Aligor Moonwhisper, Gorath Torn, Saliyra Dalnor, Primwin Halk, Iandro Alathar, and Lhytris Ilgarn. All of them know the route

Simple Traps

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

sown with too many traps, and if the characters are victimized over and over again as a result, they are likely to take steps to prevent further bad things from happening. Because of their recent

experience, the characters can become overly cautious, and you run the risk of the action grinding to a halt as the players search every square inch of the dungeon for trip wires and pressure plates

What You Need

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook

useful: DM Screen. Many DMs like to use a screen to shield their notes and dice rolls from players. It’s bad manners to peek over the screen! Miniatures and Battle Grid. Some DMs use a battle grid and

miniatures to run combat encounters, since they help everyone visualize the action. A battle grid can be anything marked out in 1-inch squares, from disposable sheets of paper to poster maps. And

Consequences

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

, you can offer to let the character succeed at the cost of a complication or hindrance. Such complications can run along any of the following lines: A character gets her sword past an enemy’s defenses

automatic failure is bad enough. And characters typically make so many attack rolls that they’re bound to roll dozens of natural 1s over time. What might seem like an interesting consequence, like breaking the weapon used for the attack, will quickly get tiresome.

Detention Bog Locations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

ascertain that the orange glow around the crate is a bad sign, for it suggests the crate’s contents might have been damaged in a dangerous way. The crate explodes if it is moved or jostled. If the

) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Dealing with the Crate. A character who realizes the crate’s orange glow is a bad sign can gently shake the crate to rearrange

People of Akros

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros

are divided into three types of duty and armed appropriately for the task before them: Alamon. Rugged forces of wanderers patrol Akros’s borders, defending against invasion or attack by monsters that

or their family estates and go about the leisured life of aristocrats. Their households are run by a class of servants made up of lektoi who were unable or unwilling to undertake a military career

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