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Returning 35 results for 'bards being driven concerns renown'.
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
, it always reflects the patron’s interests, ranging from small-scale concerns to matters of cosmic scope. A deathlock in the thrall of a Fiend might work to destroy a specific temple dedicated to
, a foul Undead driven to serve its otherworldly patron.
An powerful necromancer might also discover the wicked methods of creating a deathlock and then subjugate it, acting as the deathlock’s patron.PoisonNecrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered
Bard
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
experience earns renown among other bards. Indeed, after telling so many stories about heroes accomplishing mighty deeds, many bards take these themes to heart and assume heroic roles themselves
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
experience earns renown among other bards. Indeed, after telling so many stories about heroes accomplishing mighty deeds, many bards take these themes to heart and assume heroic roles themselves.
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->Player's Handbook (2014)
experience earns renown among other bards. Indeed, after telling so many stories about heroes accomplishing mighty deeds, many bards take these themes to heart and assume heroic roles themselves.
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
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
with interests and concerns that transcend local politics and geography, the Alliance has its own cadre of individuals who work on behalf of the organizations, wider agenda. Alliance agents are required
Triton
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
the depths revealed that krakens, sahuagin, and far worse foes had fled the Plane of Water for the Material Plane.
The tritons, driven by a sense of duty and responsibility, would not allow their foes
. The tritons’ limited view of the world leaves them ignorant of the kingdoms, wars, and other struggles of the surface world. Tritons readily see such concerns as minor events, a sideshow to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
like these exist in your world. Wizards (and bards and druids) might be so rare that a player character learns from a single mentor and never meets another character of the same class, in which case
for organizations presented earlier in this chapter. A player character necromancer might cultivate renown within the Cabal of Thar-Zad, while a bard seeks increasing renown within the College of Mac-Fuirmidh.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Radiant Citadel
Court of Whispers The denizens of the Court of Whispers barter for current knowledge. Heralds, criers, bards, and griots buy and sell information from the fifteen founding civilizations active in the
of major concerns in their people’s homelands, as well as potential threats to the Citadel, while the Shieldbearers of the Citadel (see the “Palace of Exile” section) seek information so they can
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel
Court of Whispers The denizens of the Court of Whispers barter for current knowledge. Heralds, criers, bards, and griots buy and sell information from the fifteen founding civilizations active in the
of major concerns in their people’s homelands, as well as potential threats to the Citadel, while the Shieldbearers of the Citadel (see the “Palace of Exile” section) seek information so they can
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
paladins are driven by a personal goal that either complements or transcends the dictates of their oaths. Paladins who swear different oaths might have the same personal goal, differing only in how they
sworn to do, or die trying. 4 Leadership. You will win a great battle that bards will sing about, and in so doing, you will become an example to inspire others. 5 Faith. You know your path is righteous
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
completely reasonable and plausible explanation. Singing songs and strumming lutes might be fine for most bards. Who doesn’t like a rousing shanty now and then? But standing in a crowded tavern playing for
copper pieces tossed by commoners isn’t for everyone — and it certainly isn’t for bards in the Acq Inc world. The power and magic tied up in the voice of a franchise bard is meant for greater things
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
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
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer
Rival Explorers Morgrave University teems with unscrupulous adventurers and researchers driven by avarice. Additionally, the university itself has academic rivals—the University of Wynarn in Aundair
university deserves more renown than the “institute of relic hunting and grave robbing” that is Morgrave University. A Rival Explorers Arc The rivalry between the characters and their foils might
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
proficient in Investigation, enabling them to be adept at snooping and spying. They often seek aid from other Harpers, sympathetic bards and innkeepers, rangers, and the clergy of gods that are
representatives of the cities and other governments that constitute the alliance. But, as a faction with interests and concerns that transcend local politics and geography, the Alliance has its own cadre of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
a lively debate on the current state of the Race of Eight Winds. Detention is run by a halfling who calls herself Brandy. She claims to be a excoriate, driven from House Ghallanda after refusing to
large meeting rooms, and a small concert hall. Rumors say that this is an outpost of the secret Circle of Song, a society of bards and entertainers spread across Khorvaire; others swear that House
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
persuasive than facts. These bards wield a blend of logic and theatrical wordplay, winning over skeptics and detractors with logical arguments and plucking at heartstrings to appeal to the emotions of
next saving throw it makes before the start of your next turn. Unfailing Inspiration 6th-level College of Eloquence feature Your inspiring words are so persuasive that others feel driven to succeed. When
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
warlock who fails to live up to a bargain with an evil patron runs the risk of rising from the dead as a deathlock, a foul undead driven to serve its otherworldly patron from beyond the grave. An
in gathering servants of its own. Whatever the goal, it always reflects the patron’s interests, ranging from small-scale concerns to matters of cosmic scope. A deathlock in the thrall of a fiend might
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
villains are handled and how the characters can gain influence. Villains Some intrigue adventures are driven by the actions of a single villain, such as a noble plotting the assassination of a monarch
to spend influence to gain advantage on a roll relevant to that influence. Another way to handle influence is to treat it like renown (see chapter 1), allowing characters to gain renown at court and within various key factions.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
a former mercenary now seeking adventure. You could be working as an emissary for one of the Ghaal’dar tribes, or even Lhesh Haruuc himself. Or you could have been driven from your tribe by the
Dhakaani. The Heirs of Dhakaan are an agnostic society and don’t have clerics, paladins, or druids. Their focus is on martial excellence, and their spiritual leaders are bards, who inspire their warriors
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
humanoid rather than reflecting the creature’s physical form. Sages postulate that the first perytons were humans transformed by a hideous curse or magical experiment, but bards tell a different tale
peryton is somehow driven away, it stalks lost prey from afar, attacking again when the opportunity arises.
Bane of the Mountains. Perytons roost atop mountain ridges and lair in high caves. They prey
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
clergy are eventually overwhelmed by the region’s emotionally fatiguing problems. Disease, famine, cruelty, and brutality weigh so heavily on the Styes that well-meaning clerics are driven to despair
organized faith exists in secret in the Styes, and it plays a central role in the adventure — the cult of Tharizdun. Health Disease and infection are real concerns in the Styes. Most residents suffer
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
Dungeons & Dragons campaign to explore. A vast, sprawling city that covers the whole of the known world, Ravnica teems with intrigue and adventure, driven by the conflicts among the ten powerful guilds that
character archetypes, competing factions that player characters can join, and abundant opportunities to develop and drive a campaign driven by the guilds’ schemes and interactions. This book, then, is
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
Waterdeep — extend their influence into nearby regions, often creating or accepting vassal settlements, but in the end, these realms are cities, driven to consider their own protection and future
before other concerns. In the years soon after its founding more than one hundred fifty years ago, there was more interest in membership, and the Alliance accepted some members from farther south. Since
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
of Dweomerheart. This act ripped asunder the fabric of magic in the world, unleashing its raw power in a catastrophe called the Spellplague. Thousands of practitioners of the Art were driven mad or
had been touched by the gods and granted strange powers. Some of these so-called Chosen were at the root of the conflicts that grip the land. Some seemed driven by divine purpose, while others claimed
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monsters of the Multiverse
warlock who fails to live up to a bargain with an evil patron runs the risk of rising from the dead as a deathlock, a foul Undead driven to serve its otherworldly patron. An powerful necromancer might
. Whatever the goal, it always reflects the patron’s interests, ranging from small-scale concerns to matters of cosmic scope. A deathlock in the thrall of a Fiend might work to destroy a specific
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1
believe that their appearance derives from the primal fear inspired by fiendish creatures, while bards assert that panic, being such a repulsive emotion, is embodied by an equally ugly creature
—broken and consumed by the march of eternity. It has no sense of empathy or compassion, driven only to unmake so that the resulting base elements of reality can fuel the multiverse’s endless cycles of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
, and I knew it could never be sated. Yet I felt driven to feed my lord. I killed and devoured a goat while linked to the gnoll’s mind. I had set aside a knife for the deed but killed it with my bare
hands instead. The flesh was warm. I fed myself. I fed Yeenoghu.
Day 16: Third use of ritual. As my connection to my lord deepens, I leave my old concerns behind. His hunger is all that matters. It is
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
townsfolk. Chaotic Neutral. (CN) creatures follow their whims, holding their personal freedom above all else. Many rogues and bards are chaotic neutral. Lawful Evil. (LE) creatures methodically take
, Artemis is more than a criminal assassin—he is an antihero, driven by his rivalry with Drizzt. His bond might be phrased as “I will not rest until I have proved myself better than Drizzt Do’Urden
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
. Although some of the dancing is wanton and performed for show, large-scale ring dances in the street for all ages are also popular. All the dancing ends at dusk, after which bards and minstrels perform at
depiction, for it represents one of a handful of dragons the city has faced in its history. After being paraded to a square near where the dragon was defeated or driven off, the enormous effigy is burned
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder
. Two magic items are displayed here as well. Anstruth Harp. An exquisitely crafted harp sized for a human rests on a shelf. This instrument of the bards was acquired from a human bard who counseled
driven like his sister to gain and flaunt wealth and power, and thus he is lower in the cloud giant ordning and must follow her orders. However, he swore an oath to his parents to advise and protect
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
, and were driven to seek out the cult in the Styes. Being near the temple soothes their psychic torment, so they spend most of their time hidden in a secret, submerged grotto beneath areas T4 and T5
a tightly sewn oilcloth — an instrument of the bards (Cli lyre) found by a cultist years before. The lyre is the cult’s greatest treasure, and has been kept as a gift for the leader that the cultists
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
creature driven insane by the influence of the demon lords. Roll a d4 and consult the table to determine what appears. Then roll on the Indefinite Madness table in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide
of them (their concerns are with the Underdark, after all). If the characters seem intent on reaching the surface, a society member might suggest they look for a guide in one of the Underdark’s larger
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
be with. Stories of Hanali’s romantic adventures among elves and other mortals are perennial favorites when sung by elf bards and poets. In Arvandor, Hanali maintains a hidden pool called Evergold
least a century. More than a few elves claim to have experienced this benefit, and the truth of it is attested by many bards — sometimes in all earnestness, sometimes with a knowing wink. Priests of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
patriars, traveling nobles, famed bards, and socially ambitious Lower City residents hoping to rub shoulders with the elite. The inn is unfussy, but conducts its service with flawless technique and the
of the early knights achieved renown for their heroics. Today, the Knights of the Unicorn continue to call the Helm and Cloak their informal headquarters. The establishment is even run by two retired
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer
patriars, traveling nobles, famed bards, and socially ambitious Lower City residents hoping to rub shoulders with the elite. The inn is unfussy, but conducts its service with flawless technique and the
of the early knights achieved renown for their heroics. Today, the Knights of the Unicorn continue to call the Helm and Cloak their informal headquarters. The establishment is even run by two retired






