bards before distant calling rather

Khoravar

Species Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

philosophy often become bards, diplomats, mediators, or translators. Others, fascinated by their distant connection to the Fey, seek to build bridges between the Material Plane and the Feywild of

Edgin Darvis

Monsters Thieves’ Gallery

relies on charisma first—rather than magic or muscle—to escape trouble. Once a member of the Harpers, a spy organization dedicated to protecting Faerûn’s common folk, Edgin has

confidence and rakish demeanor make him a natural leader. With carefully chosen words, he inspires the members of his thieves’ crew to greatness. But when his past mistakes come calling, Edgin must

College of Whispers

Classes Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their midst. Bards of the College of Whispers use this to their advantage. They appear to be like other bards, sharing news, singing songs, and telling

tales to the audiences they gather. In truth, the College of Whispers teaches its students that they are wolves among sheep. These bards use their knowledge and magic to uncover secrets and turn them

Gift of Gab

Spells Acquisitions Incorporated

Jim Darkmagic is said to have invented this spell, originally calling it I said what?! Have you ever been talking to the local monarch and accidentally mentioned how their son looks like your

favorite hog from when you were growing up on the family farm? We’ve all been there! But rather than being beheaded for an honest slip of the tongue, you can pretend it never happened — by

College of Whispers (XGtE)

Classes Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their midst. Bards of the College of Whispers use this to their advantage. They appear to be like other bards, sharing news, singing songs, and telling

tales to the audiences they gather. In truth, the College of Whispers teaches its students that they are wolves among sheep. These bards use their knowledge and magic to uncover secrets and turn them

Bard Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

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

still resound throughout the cosmos. The music of bards is an attempt to snatch and harness those echoes, subtly woven into their spells and powers. The greatest strength of bards is their sheer

Vladimir Horngaard

Monsters Curse of Strahd

Order of the Silver Dragon at a young age and quickly earned the friendship of its founder, the silver dragon Argynvost. When he became a knight of the order, he traveled to distant lands to wage war

witnessing Strahd himself slay Vladimir's beloved, his fellow knight Sir Godfrey Gwilym. With the battle won, Strahd surrounded Argynvostholt. Rather than cower in his lair, Argynvost emerged and

College of Lore Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

Bards of the College of Lore know something about most things, collecting bits of knowledge from sources as diverse as scholarly tomes and peasant tales. Whether singing folk ballads in taverns or

elaborate compositions in royal courts, these bards use their gifts to hold audiences spellbound. When the applause dies down, the audience members might find themselves questioning everything they held

Sailor Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

distant line of the horizon, but the time has come to try your hand at something new. Discuss the nature of the ship you previously sailed with your Dungeon Master. Was it a merchant ship, a naval

relations with (perhaps one captained by a former crewmate). Because you’re calling in a favor, you can’t be certain of a schedule or route that will meet your every need. Your Dungeon

Isolde

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

archfey named Zybilna, who had forged secret pacts with some of the fiends Isolde and her companions had slain. Rather than be angry at Isolde, Zybilna was impressed by her. She enlisted a powerful fiend

comfort to Isolde and quelled her thirst for vengeance. Zybilna and Isolde enjoyed a strong partnership for years, but as time wore on, they grew distant until their relationship finally soured

Cleric Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

his axe in wide swaths to cut through the ranks of orcs arrayed against him, shouting praise to the gods with every foe’s fall. Calling down a curse upon the forces of undeath, a human lifts

her holy symbol as light pours from it to drive back the zombies crowding in on her companions. Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal world and the distant planes of the gods. As varied as the

Sailor - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

the bottomless depths. Your first love is the distant line of the horizon, but the time has come to try your hand at something new. Discuss the nature of the ship you previously sailed with your

you served on, or another ship you have good relations with (perhaps one captained by a former crewmate). Because you’re calling in a favor, you can’t be certain of a schedule or route

Learning from Experience

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

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

hard study and some measure of natural talent that most troubadours and jongleurs lack. It can be hard to spot the difference between these performers and true bards, though. A bard’s life is spent

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

few miles from where they were born. You aren’t one of those folk. You are from a distant place, one so remote that few of the common folk in the North realize that it exists, and chances are

discussed here are all sufficiently distant from the North and the Sword Coast to justify the use of this background. Evermeet. The fabled elven islands far to the west are home to elves who have never

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

pages were tales of bold heroes, strange and fierce animals, mighty primitive gods, and a magic that was part and fabric of that distant land. — Elaine Cunningham, Daughter of the Drow In the

, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. Human Names and Ethnicities Having so much more variety than other cultures, humans as a whole have no typical names. Some human parents

Learning from Experience

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

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

hard study and some measure of natural talent that most troubadours and jongleurs lack. It can be hard to spot the difference between these performers and true bards, though. A bard’s life is spent

Tabaxi Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

lazy, but when Linene came around looking for a missing broach, she was out the door before I could blink an eye. — Toblen Stonehill, innkeeper Hailing from a strange and distant land

tabaxi rarely stay in one place for long. Their innate nature pushes them to leave no secrets uncovered, no treasures or legends lost. Wandering Outcasts Most tabaxi remain in their distant

Halflings of the Five Nations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

Halflings of the Five Nations Halflings can be found in every city in Khorvaire. Quick and charming, halflings are often found as merchants, politicians, barristers, and bards. Of course, these same

influence can be felt across the nation and even in the distant city of Stormreach. If you decide to play a halfling rogue—or any character with a criminal or charlatan background—you should decide if you

Ranger Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

whistles to the hawk that circles high above him, calling the bird back to his side. Whispering instructions in Elvish, he points to the owlbear he’s been tracking and sends the hawk to distract

the creature while he readies his bow. Far from the bustle of cities and towns, past the hedges that shelter the most distant farms from the terrors of the wild, amid the dense-packed trees of

Faction Agent

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

knowledge, rather than brute force. Harper agents are often proficient in Investigation, enabling them to be adept at snooping and spying. They often seek aid from other Harpers, sympathetic bards and

Music and Magic

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

. 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 still resound throughout the cosmos. The music of

bards is an attempt to snatch and harness those echoes, subtly woven into their spells and powers. The greatest strength of bards is their sheer versatility. Many bards prefer to stick to the

Music and Magic

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

. 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 still resound throughout the cosmos. The music of

bards is an attempt to snatch and harness those echoes, subtly woven into their spells and powers. The greatest strength of bards is their sheer versatility. Many bards prefer to stick to the

Halflings of the Five Nations

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

Halflings of the Five Nations Quick and charming, many halflings put their natural talents to use as bards, barristers, merchants, and politicians throughout Khorvaire. Of course, these same talents

Boromars are based in Sharn, but their influence reaches across the nation and even to the distant city of Stormreach. If you decide to play a halfling rogue, or a character with a criminal or charlatan

Walking a Different Path

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

the Ancestral Guardian Rather than calling upon the spirits of your ancestors, you are in communion with the franchise executives and corporate raiders who have traveled your path before. These paragons

you still can’t invoke the power of a totem creature when you need it. Rather than calling upon the bear, eagle, or wolf as your totem, you might gain the same features by calling upon more urban

Druid Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

. Whether calling on the elemental forces of nature or emulating the creatures of the animal world, druids are an embodiment of nature’s resilience, cunning, and fury. They claim no mastery over

of nature itself or from a nature deity. Many druids pursue a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devotion to a divine entity, while others serve gods of wild nature

The Gods of Two Peoples

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

. Half-elves often revere the gods of the culture in which they were raised, although some rebel against their upbringing, seeking out the gods of the other aspect of their heritage, or feeling a calling

or need to do so. As with any people, half-elves often choose a favored deity based on their calling or profession: Corellon Larethian, Azuth, or Mystra for wizards, Solonor Thelandira or Mielikki

Inheritor

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

your adventuring career, you can decide whether to tell your companions about your inheritance right away. Rather than attracting attention to yourself, you might want to keep your inheritance a secret

. (Neutral) 6 Destiny. Nothing and no one can steer me away from my higher calling. (Any) d6 Bond 1 I have a family, but I have no idea where they are. One day, I hope to see

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

stars overhead, a wild-eyed tiefling chants the mystic ritual that will open a doorway to a distant world. Warlocks are seekers of the knowledge that lies hidden in the fabric of the multiverse. Through

gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their goals, which typically means some kind of adventuring. Furthermore, the demands of their patrons drive

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow lizardfolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome. Cold and Calculating Most humanoids describe cold-blooded people as lacking in

emotion and empathy. The same label serves as an apt depiction of lizardfolk. Lacking any internal emotional reactions, lizardfolk behave in a distant manner. They don’t mourn fallen comrades or

Cleric

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

swings his axe in wide swaths to cut through the ranks of orcs arrayed against him, shouting praise to the gods with every foe’s fall. Calling down a curse upon the forces of undeath, a human lifts

her holy symbol as light pours from it to drive back the zombies crowding in on her companions. Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal world and the distant planes of the gods. As varied as the

Verdan

Species Acquisitions Incorporated

. Reality is a descent into chaos punctuated by brief flashes of order, whence we arose and so imagine it to be the norm rather than a distant outlier. That-Which-Endures held entropy back for a mere instant

Cleric

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

swings his axe in wide swaths to cut through the ranks of orcs arrayed against him, shouting praise to the gods with every foe’s fall. Calling down a curse upon the forces of undeath, a human lifts

her holy symbol as light pours from it to drive back the zombies crowding in on her companions. Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal world and the distant planes of the gods. As varied as the

Mount Makab

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

Mount Makab Calling Makab a mountain is a wild misnomer; it is a malignant deformation on a planetary scale, a spire with no apparent summit. Its contorted slopes stretch into the toxic heavens, and

its form occupies the periphery of viewers’ attention no matter which direction they look. Mount Makab is not a natural feature, but rather part of a colossal, illithid-designed device. Its purposes

College of Lore

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

College of Lore Bards of the College of Lore know something about most things, collecting bits of knowledge from sources as diverse as scholarly tomes and peasant tales. Whether singing folk ballads

in taverns or elaborate compositions in royal courts, these bards use their gifts to hold audiences spellbound. When the applause dies down, the audience members might find themselves questioning

College of Lore

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

College of Lore Bards of the College of Lore know something about most things, collecting bits of knowledge from sources as diverse as scholarly tomes and peasant tales. Whether singing folk ballads

in taverns or elaborate compositions in royal courts, these bards use their gifts to hold audiences spellbound. When the applause dies down, the audience members might find themselves questioning

D&D Beyond

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