Search Results
All Results
Characters
Compendium
Spells
Items
Monsters
Vehicles
Forums
Returning 35 results for 'bards before domain contract run'.
Monsters
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
within 10 feet of Bavlorna uses at least 10 feet of movement to run in place counterclockwise, Bavlorna is overcome by a fit of sneezing and can’t cast spells until the end of her next turn. In
moment, is all that matters.”
Bond. “I’m safe in my cottage. Why should I leave it when I can make others come to me?"
Flaw. “Watching someone run widdershins makes me sneeze
Monsters
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
rest. The curse lasts until it is lifted by a remove curse spell or similar magic.
Summon Erinyes (1/Day). Mahadi summons Ilzabet, an erinyes bound to him by an infernal contract. The erinyes appears
services rendered, guests need not fear being trapped within, since Mahadi is very serious about maintaining the contract between host and guest. Each guest must agree to this formal arrangement
Classes
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Bards of the College of Swords are called blades, and they entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. Blades perform stunts such as sword swallowing, knife throwing and juggling, and mock
have often run into trouble that makes maintaining their secret activities impossible. A blade caught stealing or engaging in vigilante justice is too great a liability for most troupes. With their
Classes
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Bards of the College of Swords are called blades, and they entertain through daring feats of weapon prowess. Blades perform stunts such as sword swallowing, knife throwing and juggling, and mock
have often run into trouble that makes maintaining their secret activities impossible. A blade caught stealing or engaging in vigilante justice is too great a liability for most troupes. With their
Monsters
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
emotions to run rampant and is more likely to find herself in the grip of happiness, anger, or melancholy. This is the price she pays to exert control over the Feywild and impose her will on the domain
a spectacular domain for herself. Gradually, Iggwilv transformed into a Fey creature, though she outwardly appears human. Her disposition changed over time as well, as she became less interested in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
zero.” Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything outlines how to run session zero discussions, but in general, use this session to discuss the game’s content, social contract, and house rules, and to create
. Discuss Campaign Themes. If you already have ideas for the sorts of adventures you plan to run or your own Darklord and domain, share the general concepts you’re interested in and see what players
Monsters
Curse of Strahd
, “Into the Mists”, to understand his personality and goals.
Although Strahd can be encountered almost anywhere in his domain, the vampire is always encountered in the place indicated by the
intelligently and do everything you can to make him a terrifying and cunning adversary for the player characters.
When you run an encounter with Strahd, keep the following facts in mind:
Strahd
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
run a special session—colloquially called session zero—to establish expectations, outline the terms of a social contract, and share house rules. Making and sticking to these rules can help ensure
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Domains of Delight: A Feywild Accessory
Fey Contracts A fey contract is formed when a creature receives a gift (or the promise of a gift) from a Fey and is expected to give the Fey something in return. The gift can be almost anything, and
the contract forms as soon as the gift is received. Accidental Fey Contracts A creature can accidentally stumble into a fey contract in a number of ways. The one bit of good news for the novice
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
prove equally useful for burglars, grifters, and other criminals. Of particular note is the halfling-run criminal enterprise of the Boromar Clan, the most powerful crime syndicate in Breland. The
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
, who occasionally pulls you into their problems. Or you could even be the reluctant heir of a powerful Boromar leader; you’ve gone on the run rather than taking your place in this criminal empire, but someday your past may catch up with you.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
, speaking in measured sentences or noticing pleasant details about the environment or a character’s clothing. Patience. Devils are rarely in a rush to make a deal or sign a contract. As masters of the
long con, devils make genuinely good deals with mortals to buy appreciation and trust that can be leveraged during more consequential dealings later on. Civility. Devils like to pretend that they run
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
Magic Initiate feat to learn a little druidic magic. Most of these traditions work with the druidic Circles of Land, Moon and Shepherd; Beast Totem barbarians; clerics with the Nature domain; or rangers
fey creatures. Bards and archfey warlocks are often found among the Greensingers, and the Circles of Dreams works well for Greensinger druids. The Gatekeepers protect the natural world from unnatural
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
. 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
from countries or geographic regions to a single city, structure, mobile conveyance, or specific location. Domains Are Isolated. Each domain is surrounded by the Mists, its boundaries fading away into
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Muhar With a population of approximately 3,000 people, Muhar is the largest settlement in Har’Akir and the center of trade, agriculture, art, and religion in the domain. The Temple of Ese towers over
order is maintained, leaving Rehkotep to run Muhar largely as she pleases. Those who displease Rehkotep or oppose her priest-guards are thrown into the Mouth of Oru, a pit that connects to the Labyrinth.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Darklord? Don’t get bogged down with the particulars of a working society. It doesn’t matter how a village in a domain of endless night grows crops, but it does matter that the supplies are about to run
Cultural Specifics As you develop your domain, consider the culture and how it emerges from this tragic setting. What might be most unsettling for the Darklord: if the culture is one with familiar
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd
Appendix B: Death House You can run Curse of Strahd for 1st-level characters with the help of this optional mini-adventure, which is designed to advance characters to 3rd level. Players creating 1st
Strahd’s domain, steer them to the village. For the duration of this introductory adventure, any attempt by the characters to explore other locations in Strahd’s domain causes the mists of Ravenloft to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Creating Domains of Dread Ravenloft is a place where your nightmares can run wild, where anything you can imagine in moments of dread or despair can come to frightful life among the Mists. The
setting as a whole is made up of countless isolated domains, each one a perfect expression of a particular flavor of the macabre. Creating your own domain allows you to blend legendary evils, unexpected
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel
The Shy Scholar Once the contract is signed, Secretary Wei directs the characters to take the scroll to the Ministry of Finance to collect their first payment. With the shy excitement of someone who
can’t believe they’re in the presence of heroes, Zhong Yin escorts the characters to the ministry offices in the domain of the Octadic Council (see the “Yongjing Gazetteer” section for more
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
, allowing travel to and from the Feywild domain of Prismeer. The characters are free to explore the carnival as they please. There are many paths through this chapter, so it can play out differently each
time you run it. The Witchlight Carnival visits a world once every eight years,
bringing wonder and whimsy to the Material Plane
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
rendered, guests need not fear being trapped within, since Mahadi is very serious about maintaining the contract between host and guest. Each guest must agree to this formal arrangement prior to
establishment fall under a special contract and therefore rank most highly in his esteem. Of course, guests leaving Infernal Rapture are expected to pay their bills in full prior to departure. If a guest
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
a way of life in this forested domain, with everyone from the bards of Skald to the actors of Emherst pursuing dazzling dreams. Here, the people live by a simple rule: never let an audience grow bored
Kartakass Domain of Tarnished Dreams Darklord: Harkon Lukas Genres: Dark fantasy and gothic horror Hallmarks: Hidden identities, dangerous performances, exploitative ambitions, werewolves Mist
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
basis for comparison, domain inhabitants call those who speak of other worlds liars. For them, the following topics are standard aspects of life in their home domain or in a broader collection of
domains they call the Land of the Mists. Culture and Technology Each domain boasts its own culture, either drawn from the Material Plane or a parody manufactured to torment a Darklord. As such, a domain
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Adventures in Kartakass The desires and secrets of Kartakass’s people run in parallel with those of the lycanthropes that flourish here. The domain’s residents consider lycanthropes to be legendary
. Kartakass also presents a fantastic domain in which to explore surreal twists on nature. The Dark Powers might give animals and plants friendly voices and welcoming aspects, but every being in the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin
piece is located in the village of Barovia, in the domain of Strahd von Zarovich. Although it’s a small village, Barovia teems with supernatural threats—including the forebodingly named Death House, the
Elisabeth Durst, who run a small cult devoted to Barovia’s Darklord, Strahd von Zarovich. Given the domain’s many greater threats, this minor cult and the house draw scant attention. If the characters ask
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
splinter-realms. EIGHT AND THREE
As you run The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, look for ways to bring the numbers eight and three to the fore. For example, characters who take a long rest in the fey domain
to keep track of where the characters are in the carnival at any given time. The reverse side of the poster map shows the Feywild domain of Prismeer, now divided into three splinter-realms called
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Domains of Delight: A Feywild Accessory
Coming and Going Travelers who don’t have access to plane shift spells or similar magic must rely on other means to travel to and from a Domain of Delight. Fey crossings are the most common means of
enter and leave the archfey’s domain and may protect these Fey crossings or leave them unguarded. Some Fey crossings operate only at certain times or when certain conditions are met. The Fey Crossings
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
built (either by you or your players) using the character creation and advancement rules in the Player’s Handbook. It’s easiest on you if you let the players create and run these supporting characters
options. Good candidates for supporting characters include a cleric with the Life domain, a fighter with the Champion archetype, a rogue with the Thief archetype, and a wizard specializing in Evocation.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder
dragon form and enters the temple through the giant doors (area 4). If the characters have an airship outside, she ignores it and makes her way inside, expecting to run into trouble. If the airship’s
of her way. They know the following information about her: Iymrith lives in the desert of Anauroch and is known as the Doom of the Desert. The dragon is a spellcaster and a shapechanger. She and Klauth know each other, but rarely meet. Her presence in Klauth’s domain is provocative.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
aggression and violence. Tarokka decks allow you run encounters where fortune-tellers predict characters’ fates. Once you’re familiar with the cards and their meanings, you can interpret them in ways that tie
same world as the domain of Barovia, but it and its users have since spread throughout the Domains of Dread. Further details and a complete tarokka deck appear in the adventure Curse of Strahd.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
might think they’re heading toward one part of Hither, only to find themselves arriving somewhere else.) Ideally, you should run all three encounters in the following order before the characters arrive
a native of Prismeer who remembers what the domain was like before the Hourglass Coven shattered it. Agdon Longscarf, a nefarious bandit leader, can tell the characters how to reach Downfall if they get the better of him.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Travelers in the Mists Adventures in the Domains of Dread often indulge in a single domain’s distinctly frightful themes. But if you plan to run whole campaigns set in the Land of the Mists, creating
. Strangers in the Mists d6 Encounter
1 Someone from another world who’s just been drawn into a domain by the Mists
2 Someone fleeing the Darklord of another domain
3 A raven
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
esoteric lore. If a high-level adventurer establishes a stronghold of some kind, he or she might hire a whole staff of servants and agents to run the place, from a castellan or steward to menial
laborers to keep the stables clean. These hirelings often enjoy a long-term contract that includes a place to live within the stronghold as part of the offered compensation. Service Pay Coach cab
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
life in the domain. The following families are Borca’s most prominent, though dozens of lesser branch families orbit each: Boritsi. The Boritsi name is a mark of quality and innovation, appearing across
line. She pours her family’s wealth into supporting art in Levkarest and endlessly building her estate both taller and deeper. Ivliskova. The Ivliskovas run dozens of orphanages and the elite Ivliskova
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
lore. If a high-level adventurer establishes a stronghold of some kind, he or she might hire a whole staff of servants and agents to run the place, from a castellan or steward to menial laborers to keep
the stables clean. These hirelings often enjoy a long-term contract that includes a place to live within the stronghold as part of the offered compensation. Services Service
Pay
Coach cab