bards better diffusing complex races

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Backgrounds Acquisitions Incorporated

of that system. Even when the law is not on your side, you can use complex terms like ex injuria jus non oritur and cogitationis poenam nemo patitur to frighten people into thinking you know what you

’re talking about. With common folks who don’t know any better, you might be able to intimidate or deceive to get favors or special treatment.

Sun Elves

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

with other art forms, which produces the complex dance of the bladesingers as well as the enchanting music of their bards and the meticulous craftwork of their artisans. Sun elf adventurers often bring

Sun Elves Sun elves, also known as gold elves, or Ar’Tel’Quessir, have a reputation for being arrogant and self-important. Many of them believe they are Corellon’s chosen people and that other races

The Heirs and the War

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

the races of the Five Nations could not be trusted with ruling Khorvaire. It was time for the Dhakaani to return and subjugate the other races to their firm hand once again. The Heirs of Dhakaan are

worship gods, and no clerics or paladins are among them. The Kech Volaar have picked up some of the elven traditions of wizardry, and all clans have bards known as duur’kala (dirge singers), but in general the Dhakaani don’t rely on magic on the battlefield.

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

races have little good to say about kobolds, but they do admit that the little reptilians do respectable tunnel work using simple tools. If a band of kobolds is enslaved by more powerful creatures

provoke retaliatory attacks from the creatures they steal from. It’s better to be cautious and overlooked than to be considered dangerous and a threat. In a couple of situations, kobolds might

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

’ presence is marked by an absence of animals and a strange quiet, as if the forest wishes to avoid attracting attention to itself. The faster travelers decide to move on, the better. If these

forest’s children by their deeds, habits, and other actions. By the same token, their tribe names merely refer to their homes. When dealing with other races, firbolgs refer to their lands by

Modifying a Class

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

modify existing classes to better serve your game’s needs. Changing Proficiencies Changing a class’s proficiencies is a safe and simple way to modify a class to better reflect your world. Swapping

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

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

smooth-skins is far greater. Despite their alien outlook, some lizardfolk make an effort to understand and, in their own manner, befriend people of other races. Such lizardfolk make faithful and

learned to laugh. You use this talent in response to all emotional situations, to better fit in with your comrades. 6 You still don’t understand how metaphors work. That doesn’t stop

Bardic Colleges

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

the bards, each of which is named after one of the colleges. See chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for the game statistics of these magic instruments. Long ago, bards who sought the rank of

tradition fell when the colleges went into decline, but some bards dream of restoring it. College of Fochlucan The original College of Fochlucan once stood on the northeastern edge of Silverymoon. Many years

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Realms

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

varied cultures and races, Faerûn is dominated by human lands, be they kingdoms, city-states, or carefully maintained alliances of rural communities. Interspersed among the lands of humans are old dwarven

others. News and gossip are carried between population centers by caravans and ships that bring in supplies for trade and by traveling bards and minstrels who recount (or invent) stories to inform and

Starting Location

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

adventure locations, such as a haunted house on the outskirts of town or a dungeon complex tucked in the nearby hills. Alexandre Honoré A time of sorrow can bring people together and even launch an

locations the adventurers aren’t likely to visit right away; save those fun tasks for when you and your players have a better sense of where the campaign is headed.

Welcome to Eberron

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

Welcome to Eberron In an ancient ruin beneath the Demon Wastes, a band of heroes races to claim the Reaper’s Heart. If the agents of the Emerald Claw reach it first, they’ll reignite the Last War and

, and to create both wonders and weapons. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, all classes and races. They travel the world, battling villains in instants of over-the-top action. And they unearth fabulous

Immersive Storytelling

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

both the characters and the lords have come to terms with their differing outlooks and agendas. This style of gaming is deep, complex, and challenging. The focus isn’t on combat but on negotiations

, political maneuverings, and character interaction. A whole game session might pass without a single attack roll. In this style of game, the NPCs are as complex and richly detailed as the adventurers

Mielikki

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

attract. She is the patron of rangers in the same way that Milil is the patron of bards, but even rangers rarely pray to her directly. They instead pray to Gwaeron Windstrom, who they believe will

relationships with other deities of the natural world are more complex. Silvanus is sometimes thought of as her father and Eldath is considered her sister, but Mielikki walks her own path through the

Elf Traits

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

is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires. Subrace. Ancient divides among the

Gnome Adventurers

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

of better understanding the workings of the multiverse. A Gnome’s Role Gnomes are valuable members of an adventuring party for a number of reasons, derived from both their innate abilities and their

unique mind-set. Possessed of higher intelligence than most other races, a gnome can be an important source of knowledge, and can devise solutions for many problems an adventuring party encounters. A

Elf Traits

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

is rich and varied, and their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to their repertoires. Subrace. Ancient divides among the

Conflict without End

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

Conflict without End Few others aside from the dwarves and the duergar understand or appreciate the true scope and intensity of the battles between these two races. Viewed on a grand scale, the

and needs that take much of their time and attention, At the same time, the never-ending state of war is never out of mind — every dwarf knows that a chance encounter with a duergar could be fatal, and every duergar would like nothing better than to have such an opportunity.

Darklake District

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

here, as you spy drow, svirfneblin, derro, orcs, and other races in the crowds. The shouting of people blends with the sound of distant hammering to create a constant, distracting din. Behind the

restricted to the Darklake District, and the characters have better luck asking other outsiders for directions rather than trying to engage the duergar locals. They are directed to the Blade Bazaar if

Silverymoon

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

lost language, to learn the proper intonation of a complex song, or to better understand the cryptic writings of a long-dead sage, there is no better place to seek aid than Silverymoon. It is an easy

, peaceful realm, where many races live together for common knowledge, celebration, and defense. The city is peopled primarily by the “goodly” races (humans, dwarves, gnomes, elves, halflings, and half-elves

Assigning Assets

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat

decide that assassins provided by the Zhentarim should counter the sacrificial prisoners by infiltrating the cult complex and escorting those prisoners to freedom. In that case, you might remind the

players that the Black Network’s expert killers can be put to better use against the cult leaders of Severin’s inner circle, while Harper agents or forces of the Lords’ Alliance help in the tunnels

Nightspider Dead Ahead

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Light of Xaryxis

on nightspiders. The Ebonsnare is crewed by eight neogi pirates (see Boo’s Astral Menagerie) and twenty commoners of various races and alignments, whom the neogi have enslaved. The neogi also keep

of a lawful neutral githyanki buccaneer (see Boo’s Astral Menagerie) named Daar’vik. The Stalwart’s crew consists of eighteen bandits of various races and alignments. The crew of the Incorrigible

Champions of Rock Throwing

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters

, and sport — is a tradition that goes back to the ancient times of the giants. Other races developed the sling, the spear-thrower, or the bow to artificially improve the strength and accuracy of their

giant who took on a better thrower will stumble away, nursing its injuries, as a lesson that arrogance has a price. In battle against puny creatures, giants use boulders that fit in one hand. When

Quandrix Faculty

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

mathematics to better understand nature. She places an emphasis on practical magic that improves daily life through applied calculations. She rolls her eyes at Dean Imbraham’s theories, dismissing them as

beak. He is known for the unnerving habit of fully rotating his head around to address his students, while still rapidly chalking up complex theorems and equations on a chalkboard. Imbraham loves

Bard

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

Halflings

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

Scholars, wizards, druids, and bards of other races have different ideas about how halflings escape peril, suggesting that by virtue of something in their nature, they occupy a special place in the

warm to creatures of other races that don’t try to do them harm, in large part due to the lack of guile that goes along with their innocent nature. Appearance doesn’t matter; what counts is a creature’s

Dungeon Inhabitants

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

monsters in a dungeon are more than a collection of random creatures that happen to live near one another. Fungi, vermin, scavengers, and predators can coexist in a complex ecology, alongside intelligent

over a cavern complex or a gang of trolls inhabiting an aboveground ruin. Other times, particularly in larger dungeons, multiple groups of creatures share space and compete for resources. For example

Rumors and Legends

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Laboratory of Kwalish

Rumors and Legends Countless legends have arisen regarding the mysterious Barrier Peaks, and those tales circulate constantly among adventurers, explorers, and bards. Rumors specific to Kwalish and

exist escaped from its hold and now populate the mountains. 16–25 Kwalish did not perish on his expedition. He alone survived, taking shelter in some complex he found in the peaks. 26–30 Fey woods

Lorehold Student

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

Lorehold. Bards thrive in Lorehold, and wizards (particularly those of the School of Divination) are numerous among its students. Clerics (often with the Knowledge or Light domains) are also quite common

. The more obscure the historical references I can include in everyday conversation, the better. 2 By searching for these lost artifacts, I hope to find who I really am along the way. 3 I can barely go

Random Encounters

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

telepathically asks the characters to rid the cave complex of the derro cultists (see area 14) because it knows what they’re trying to do and wants to stop them. If the characters agree and seem friendly, the

keep to themselves, feeding on fungi and vermin. The derro have tried to enslave them, without much success. In a weird example of détente, members of the two races have learned to avoid one another

Forest Gnomes

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

humans and other races, but they aid individuals and small groups whom they deem worthy of their help. They create lovely gardens, organic sculptures, and wondrous emerald jewelry — that precious green

communication — and sometimes for no reason other than artistic considerations. A simple illusion can often express a complex idea, such as when the memory of a location is triggered by the illusory sound of a

Life and Outlook

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters

more successful neighbors. As demonstrated by their hatred of gnomes, kobolds have a persecution complex and easily take offense at the actions or deeds of other races. They aren’t forgiving of other

other humanoid races. At 6 years old a kobold is considered an adult. Most succumb to violence, accidents, or disease by age 20, but a kobold can live for up to 120 years — a longevity they attribute to

Wood Elves

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

large realm of their own since the kingdom of Eaerlann was destroyed millennia ago. Instead they maintain a number of smaller settlements, the better to keep those communities hidden or protected. Wood

elves don’t come across members of other races. Adventurers, diplomats, couriers, and those who pursue similar professions are the exceptions, traveling far outside their sylvan domains and meeting a wide

Cloud Giant

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

Cloud Giant Cloud giants live extravagant lives high above the world, showing little concern for the plights of other races except as amusement. They are muscular with light skin and have hair of

, or on the solid clouds that once held their fiefs. Still gracing the skies on occasion, these magic clouds are a lasting remnant of the giants’ lost empires. Better spellcasters than most other

Citadel Felbarr

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

races other than dwarves moved even the slightest to aid Citadel Felbarr, when more assistance and better coordination might have prevented not only that citadel’s fall, but Sundabar’s as well

Citadel Felbarr Among the eldest and grandest of the Delzoun holds, Citadel Felbarr was built more than three thousand years ago — a span of time beyond the ability of younger races to comprehend

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