bards better diffusing contests resort

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

yuan-ti know they can’t resort to direct attacks in order to reclaim their rightful place in the world. Operating out of the subterranean ruins of their buildings in foreign lands, yuan-ti

odds aren’t in their favor. A short retreat might be just the thing to reach a better tactical position, find allies, or to allow the yuan-ti the opportunity to study their opponents and

Gods and Devotion

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros

beings—heroes and monsters alike—often become unwitting pawns in the contests of the gods. Having a powerful champion is an indication of a god’s power—and can potentially increase the god’s own power. A

champion who acts as an agent of a god among other people helps increase those people’s devotion to the god. And if a hero should happen to strike down the agents of a rival god along the way, all the better. The Vanquisher, and the Hunter (CHUCK LUKACS)

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

a feeling of noblesse oblige to their profession: they venture out into the world to challenge its dangers because someone must, and who could be better suited?

Champions of Rock Throwing

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

throwing rocks in ways that hone their skills for hunting and war. One of the most popular contests, especially among fire giants, involves nothing more than taking turns trying to knock each other down with

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

Oath of Redemption

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Oath of Redemption The Oath of Redemption sets a paladin on a difficult path, one that requires a holy warrior to use violence only as a last resort. Paladins who dedicate themselves to this oath

justice. Peace. Violence is a weapon of last resort. Diplomacy and understanding are the paths to long-lasting peace. Innocence. All people begin life in an innocent state, and it is their environment or

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

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

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

Merchant Princes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation

need of gear or supplies must deal through these individuals directly or their consortiums indirectly. The only alternative is to resort to the black markets in Malar’s Throat or Tiryki Anchorage

. Ekene-Afa Deals in weapons, shields, traveling gear, rain catchers, saddles, wagons, and canoes Ekene-Afa (LG female Chultan human gladiator) won numerous gladiatorial contests in Port Nyanzaru’s arena

Camp Alertness

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons

automatic. As the day wears on and the commotion winds down, the camp becomes calmer and better organized. Guards resume their normal routines. If characters haven’t entered the camp before sundown of the

to resort to stealth or subterfuge to get in. For example, characters scaling the plateau from the east could use brush for cover right up to where the cliff overlooks the camp. From there, they

Yugoloths

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

yugoloths demand much for their time and loyalty. Whatever promises a yugoloth makes are quickly broken when a better opportunity presents itself. Unlike demons, yugoloths can be reasoned with, but

opportunities to misinterpret them. The General of Gehenna. Somewhere in the brimstone wastes of Gehenna, there roams an ultroloth so strong that none contests his power: the General of Gehenna. Many

Camp Alertness

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

automatic. As the day wears on and the commotion winds down, the camp becomes calmer and better organized. Guards resume their normal routines. If characters haven’t entered the camp before sundown of the

need to resort to stealth or subterfuge to get in. For example, characters scaling the plateau from the east could use brush for cover right up to where the cliff overlooks the camp. From there, they

Roleplaying a Hag

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

their enemy is asleep). Although a hag can always resort to attacking with her claws, if it comes to that then something has gone very wrong with her plans. Hag Personality Traits d8 Personality Trait

stakes. 4 I laugh at my own jokes — the darker, the better. 5 I never volunteer information, and I respond only to questions. 6 I offer generous terms in my deals, but the cost for defaulting is

Ship of the Dead

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

character who can tolerate undead allies better than he can. When the two parties come to an agreement, Gargenhale bows deeply and invites the characters aboard his ship to celebrate their alliance with a

sensitive to holy praise. While aboard the ship, bards and other musicians are allowed to play only secular tunes. Article 3: Coward’s Consequence. Those who abandon their post or shirk their duty

Leonin of Oreskos

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros

the grasslands for countless generations. They know the way of Oreskos’s beasts and seasons better than any. Both mystical and knowledgeable, the Sun Guides read the messages in plant growth and

Swiftclaws, and many bards and wizards come from these prides as well. Speaker Brimaz looks beyond Oreskos and wonders if there is a future for his people in the outside world (PETER MOHRBACHER)

City Celebrations

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

alongside its residents. Better yet, if you’re of an adventuresome bent, register in your favored ward and compete! Who knows? Your name or visage might soon have a place in the House of Heroes

Other Nonplayer Characters

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

long before everyone in the caravan knows to steer clear of Tyjit Skesh. She is quick to anger and quicker to resort to her blades when something sets her off. She is honest to a fault and never fails to

handle a team of horses or mules better than anyone on the Trade Way. She has an uncanny knack for making animals understand what she wants from them with only a twitch on the reins, a whistle, and a snap

Other Nonplayer Characters

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons

before everyone in the caravan knows to steer clear of Tyjit Skesh. She is quick to anger and quicker to resort to her blades when something sets her off. She is honest to a fault and never fails to let

team of horses or mules better than anyone on the Trade Way. She has an uncanny knack for making animals understand what she wants from them with only a twitch on the reins, a whistle, and a snap of her

Factions in the North

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder

last resort. The Harpers were instrumental in defeating Tiamat and ending the tyranny of dragons, and with reports of giant attacks on the rise, they see giants as an emergent threat to peace in the

lost souls to its organization with the promise of a better life. Its agents are evil and grasping. When they are not gathering information for the kraken, they lurk in the shadows and indulge in

Alignment

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

Factions

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse

least discretion. Bards and wizards are their most prominent members. Harpers operate in small cells throughout the North. One is based in Triboar: Darathra Shendrel, the Lord Protector, belongs to the

Uthgardt to be little better than orcs. Two tribes are the most troublesome to folk of the Dessarin Valley: the Tree Ghosts and the Elk. See chapter 2 for more about the Uthgardt.

Maglubiyet's Will Be Done

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

on each head that direct the beast by controlling the view of its blinkered eyes. Former slaves, often soldiers who once fought against the host, who now fight alongside the host to gain better

the host do the goblinoids resort to slaughter and slavery to empty it of enemies. A host that gains many victories might end up claiming vast amounts of territory and eventually become a true nation

Roleplaying a Giant

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

be displayed, and the more ostentatious the display, the better. In a cloud giant family’s home, extravagance is omnipresent. One might boast windows framed in gold leaf, rare perfume stored in vials

. (A gift from one family member to another doesn’t prove anything about the family’s largesse.) No cloud giant truly believes that it’s better to give than to receive; a family does so only with an

Kir Sabal

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation

anyone suggested he would make a better monarch than Mwaxanaré. WHEN GARGOYLES ATTACK The gargoyles of Omu and the aarakocra of Kir Sabal are bitter enemies. Aarakocra scouts watch over the distant

holding four potions of poison that are easily mistaken for potions of healing. Asharra might resort to these if the characters’ presence in Kir Sabal becomes inconvenient. 4. Dwellings The dwellings

Lady's Ward

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Sigil and the Outlands

, lamenting, “May your luck be better than mine.” 2 A deluxe sedan chair carried by four veterans stops in front of the characters. A gloved Humanoid hand parts its privacy curtain, extending them an

, supposedly impartial magistrate appointed by the Guvners. Punishments are tailored to fit the crime, and advocates are strongly encouraged. Lawyers and orators, these civil servants include bards

Lair Locations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon Delves

neat piles labeled in Draconic: “keep,” “trade,” and “dump.” Many of these items were gifts from travelers or admirers; the remaining items the dragon acquired during her efforts to better understand

clasps an Instrument of the Bards (Ollamh harp), which she acquired in her youth. Taking the harp, plucking one of its strings, or removing the glass key from around Yemi’s neck ends the Sequester spell

Locations E - H

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder

present proof of Wormblod’s death as an offering to the altar, see “Development.” If anyone damages the altar, the couatl emerges and tries to frighten them off, attacking only as a last resort. Ancient

pitched to better shed the snows that blanket the mountains in the winter. The shield dwarves and rock gnomes in Hundelstone get a chuckle out of warning visitors to stoop low as they walk about town, lest

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