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Returning 35 results for 'bards before desire causing runes'.
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Magic Items
Princes of the Apocalypse
A mighty axe wielded long ago by the dwarf king Torhild Flametongue, Orcsplitter is a battered weapon that appears unremarkable at first glance. Its head is graven with the Dwarvish runes for &ldquo
;orc,” but the runes are depicted with a gap or slash through the markings; the word “orc” is literally split in two.
You gain the following benefits while holding this magic weapon
Monsters
Keys from the Golden Vault
knocked prone.
River Tattoo. Prisoner 13 magically ends any effects causing the grappled or restrained conditions on herself. If she is bound with nonmagical restraints, she slips out of them.Readiness
. Black and gray smoke and shadows coil down her left arm, ending in runes on the fingers of her left hand.
Knotwork. Purple and blue knotwork and runes run down her right arm, across the back of her right
Monsters
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
been. A redcap’s desire to slay is rooted in its will to survive.
VARIANT: MADCAPS
A madcap is a redcap that soaks its hat in demon ichor instead of blood. Contact with demon ichor makes the
creature even more psychotic, causing it to brood over irrational hatreds. A group of madcaps will sometimes band together over a shared hatred of something, such as music, creatures with curly hair
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
abomination is the final stage of a grafter’s transformation—a hulking monster whose corrupted brain is ablaze with desire for treasure. Its abhorrent transformation erases the last
vestiges of its previous life. It sprouts a tail and clumsy wings and grows to enormous size, barely retaining a bipedal shape. Its stomach churns with acid, causing noxious fumes to waft from its mouth and
Monsters
Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1
wrap around the corpse to animate it, causing it to rise and lurch about like a zombie.
Invasive Species. When a great battle is fought in a fey woodland, the plants of the wood sometimes take on the
implacable foe. Driven only by a desire to conquer and rule, it wages endless war with its army of mobile dead against all creatures it views as a threat to its domination. It might even forge treaties with
Bard
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
set bards apart from their fellows. Only rarely do bards settle in one place for long, and their natural desire to travel—to find new tales to tell, new skills to learn, and new discoveries
of song, speech, and the magic they contain. Bards say that the multiverse was spoken into existence, that the words of the gods gave it shape, and that echoes of these primordial Words of Creation
Nilbog
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Monsters
Volo's Guide to Monsters
Maglubiyet, this trickster god survives in splintered form as a possessing spirit that arises when goblinoids form a host, causing disorder in the ranks unless it is appeased. Goblins have no name for
fearless of reprisal. It gives the goblin strange powers that drive others to do the opposite of what they desire. Attacking a goblin possessed by a nilbog is foolhardy, and killing the creature just
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
magic set bards apart from their fellows. Only rarely do bards settle in one place for long, and their natural desire to travel — to find new tales to tell, new skills to learn, and new discoveries
Learning from Experience True bards are not common in the world. Not every minstrel singing in a tavern or jester cavorting in a royal court is a bard. Discovering the magic hidden in music requires
Magic Items
Storm King's Thunder
the ground and is a massive thing made of polished obsidian with oversized feet — the impaled skulls of four ancient blue dragons. Runes glisten in the carved obsidian, winking to life with blue
breaking at least five Ruling Scepters of Shanatar simultaneously on it. This fact has never been recorded or sung of among the dwarves or any bards or storytellers, and it can’t be discovered
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
magic set bards apart from their fellows. Only rarely do bards settle in one place for long, and their natural desire to travel — to find new tales to tell, new skills to learn, and new discoveries
Learning from Experience True bards are not common in the world. Not every minstrel singing in a tavern or jester cavorting in a royal court is a bard. Discovering the magic hidden in music requires
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
facility, magical runes appear on the Demiplane’s walls and last for 7 days. Until the runes disappear, you gain Temporary Hit Points equal to five times your level after spending an entire Long Rest in
the Demiplane. Fabrication. While in the Demiplane, you can take a Magic action to create a nonmagical object of your choice from nothing, causing it to appear in an unoccupied space in the Demiplane
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
. As a campaign villain, Phenax might be driven by a desire to incite conflict against his fellow gods, usually to serve his own ends. Although Phenax doesn’t desire rulership over Nyx, he does love to
engages in a shadow war with Erebos, causing pandemonium in the Underworld. As a result, droves of Returned flood the mortal world.
2 Phenax undertakes a plot to transform Erebos into one of the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
and succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check sees that one of the gears has popped out slightly. If it is pressed, the gear locks in place, causing all the gears to turn and the gate to open for
1 minute. When the gate closes, a different random gear pops out slightly, causing all the gears to lock again. Characters must be 11th level or higher to pass through this gate (see “Jhesiyra
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation
48. Shagambi’s Tomb Each character who teleports into this tomb from area 47C appears atop a randomly determined teleportation rune (see “Teleportation Runes” below). Characters can also enter the
this area: Nervous Unkh suggests that her host leave the tomb at once using one of the teleportation runes, though she can’t decide which rune is best. Impulsive Wongo thinks it’s a good idea to shatter
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
A Bard’s Muse Naturally, every bard has a repertoire of songs and stories. Some bards are generalists who can draw from a wide range of topics for each performance, and who take pride in their
versatility. Others adopt a more personal approach to their art, driven by their attachment to a muse — a particular concept that inspires much of what those bards do in front of an audience. A bard who
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder
archway is 40 feet wide and 40 feet tall. Six different runes are carved into it, each one inlaid with mithral, and a glowing mist fills the arch. Niches in the walls on either side of it contain empty
weight of each weapon and the archway rune associated with each weapon (see “Archway and Runes”). Each statue has AC 20, a damage threshold of 10, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. The statue of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
bones of ancient, mysterious creatures festoon the ship. Potent runes crawl across these remains, emitting a sickly green radiance. When a humanoid dies aboard the ship, that creature must make a DC
days. Taskmaster’s Drums This 4-foot-tall bronze drum comes with a pair of iron mallets. A creature can activate the drums as an action, causing the hammers to float above the drum and strike it to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook
Bard Subclasses A Bard subclass is a specialization that grants you features at certain Bard levels, as specified in the subclass. Bards form loose associations, which they call colleges, to preserve
Harmony with the Cosmos Bards of the College of Dance know that the Words of Creation can’t be contained within speech or song; the words are uttered by the movements of celestial bodies and flow
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
urge to stand against evil. Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1. Radiant Soul. Starting at 3rd level, you can use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself, causing
this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest. Scourge Aasimar Scourge aasimar are imbued with a divine energy that blazes intensely within them. It feeds a powerful desire to destroy
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
Dwarvish runes for “orc,” but the runes are depicted with a gap or slash through the markings; the word “orc” is literally split in two. You gain the following benefits while holding this magic weapon
telepathy to bring to the wielder’s mind a couplet or stanza of ancient Dwarvish verse. Personality. Orcsplitter is grim, taciturn, and inflexible. It knows little more than the desire to face orcs in battle
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Giant Runes (Area J2) Dod (Death Rune)
Fjell (Mountain Rune)
Krig (War Rune)
Liv (Life Rune)
Vind (Wind Rune)
Wyrm (Dragon Rune)
J3. Curved Tunnel There is nothing remarkable
, causing the gold key to turn back to its original position. The portal closes instantly if the gold key is removed from the chest’s lock. Treasure. The gold key is worth 25 gp. Inside the chest, held in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
and falling as the Dark Powers desire. Tales attribute ominous powers to the Mists, from cloaking monsters to causing entire villages to vanish. The Mists are not bound to Ravenloft and slip across
undergo terrifying transformations, whole villages disappear unnoticed, and the Mists bar every method of escaping a threat. Any surreal development you desire is also the will of the Dark Powers, assuring
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
or higher to pass through this gate (see “Jhesiyra Kestellharp”). The first creature to pass through the gate triggers an elder rune (see “Elder Runes”). A creature that passes through the gate
, causing the fog to pool to a depth of 4 feet. Whenever two or more creatures are inside the cave, the sound of an old man giggling can be heard everywhere in the area. No one outside the cave can hear the giggling, which ends as soon as the cave is no longer occupied by two or more creatures.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin
mate, Figaro, are encamped on this segment. A death slaad recently infiltrated the camp, sowing chaos and magically manipulating Figaro’s mind. This drove Figaro into a paranoid state, causing him to
lock himself in his quarters, where one of the safe room’s ward runes is located. Characters approaching this wreck segment can land on either the sterncastle deck (area Z1a) or in the companionway
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
Dragonflesh Abomination A dragonflesh abomination is the final stage of a grafter’s transformation—a hulking monster whose corrupted brain is ablaze with desire for treasure. Its abhorrent
transformation erases the last vestiges of its previous life. It sprouts a tail and clumsy wings and grows to enormous size, barely retaining a bipedal shape. Its stomach churns with acid, causing noxious fumes
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Halaster’s voice, “Terrible and painful magical death! Fireballs and lightning bolts! Begone!” It speaks and understands Common, but voices nothing but empty threats and a desire to continue its “work
points or if a successful dispel magic spell (DC 15) is cast on it. Hidden inside the puppet is a flask of alchemist’s fire that shatters as the puppet falls to pieces, causing its remnants to catch
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
status, and they typically don’t set impossible goals — a lesser demon, for instance, might simply run amok when unleashed into the world, its only desire to spread chaos, but a marilith or other
powerful demon usually has an intent that goes beyond merely causing carnage, and a plan to achieve it. DEMONIC AMULETS: BLESSING AND CURSE
Some demon lords have a way of cheating death, but this great
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
city of Sharn, which is both the cultural heart of Breland and a nexus for intrigue and diplomacy. Bards have much to gain from the company of other bards, as they exchange news, stories, and songs
. For this purpose, long ago a group of the finest bards in Sharn founded the Circle of Song, an alliance of entertainers and adventurers. The Circle of Song is an informal organization, open to any
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
College of Creation One bard’s song of creation is the score to another person’s nightmares.
Tasha
Bards believe the cosmos is a work of art—the creation of the first dragons and gods. That
creative work included harmonies that continue to resound through existence today, a power known as the Song of Creation. The bards of the College of Creation draw on that primeval song through dance
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
firmly in the world by associating the class with a particular race or culture. For example, you might decide that bards, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards represent the magical traditions of four
. You could break that down still further: bards of the College of Lore could be high elves, and bards of the College of War could be wood elves. Gnomes discovered the school of illusion, so all wizards
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary
characters interrupt or otherwise ruin the tune, 1d4 irascible specters emerge from the walls and attack, causing the bards to flee. 10 Three skeleton farmers quietly tend to corpse-white grave
to expel a dybbuk† from a corpse. The exorcist asks the characters to help in dispatch the Fiend. 9 Two bards† in the Heralds of Dust approach the characters and sing a ballad honoring the dead. If the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
” section in chapter 3 can issue this challenge. Why a Challenge? Choose one of the following grudges as the reason for the challenge: Dangerous. The Rival accuses the characters of causing the dangerous
to participate in this challenge, the Rival tries to compel the character to participate. This could include any of the following coercions: Offering the characters something they desire or important
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
least once every three days, the redcap vanishes as if it had never been. A redcap’s desire to slay is rooted in its will to survive. Redcap
Small Fey, Chaotic Evil
Armor Class 13 (natural armor
redcap that soaks its hat in demon ichor instead of blood. Contact with demon ichor makes the creature even more psychotic, causing it to brood over irrational hatreds. A group of madcaps will sometimes
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
desiccated and skeletal humanoid corpses litter the floor of this small chamber. The stone of the north wall has been etched with intricate runes, but the pattern ends abruptly.
Bodies and Runes. A closer
examination of the still-intact bodies reveals that each bears tattoos matching the runes carved on the walls. The corpses wear a wide range of clothing and armor, but have been stripped of all
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
otherwise avoid combat. Southeast Door This door has a stone wall behind it, inscribed upon which is an elder rune (see “Elder Runes”). Determine the rune randomly by drawing a card from the Elder Rune Deck
butterfly swarm is an instrument of the bards (Anstruth harp). The yellow sapphires carried by the animal-headed guards fit into the pillars in area 8. Each gemstone is worth 1,000 gp.






