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Returning 35 results for 'bards build diffusing contingency reality'.
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
Bard
Legacy
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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
Wizard
Legacy
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Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
. Some aspire to become like the gods, shaping reality itself. Though the casting of a typical spell requires merely the utterance of a few strange words, fleeting gestures, and sometimes a pinch or
other wizard? Perhaps you’re simply eager to put your newfound magical skills to the test in the face of danger.
QUICK BUILD
You can make a wizard quickly by following these suggestions. First
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
bards and philosophers to partake in “the Great Dialogue” in the dragon’s mountaintop lair. But only the dragon knows that the Great Dialogue has no end, and no one can leave the lair
above to build their lairs. Then, like gem cutters seeking the perfect diamond, they spend much of their lives refining, polishing, and enhancing the beauty of their lairs.
Crystal dragons&rsquo
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
the greatest bards and philosophers to partake in “the Great Dialogue” in the dragon’s mountaintop lair. But only the dragon knows that the Great Dialogue has no end, and no one can
seek out frigid, picturesque locations with clear views of the sky above to build their lairs. Then, like gem cutters seeking the perfect diamond, they spend much of their lives refining, polishing
Sorcerer
Legacy
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Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
chaos of Limbo, or a glimpse into the inner workings of reality. Sorcerers have no use for the spellbooks and ancient tomes of magic lore that wizards rely on, nor do they rely on a patron to grant
, the lich who created you as an experiment, or the deity who chose you to carry this power. QUICK BUILD You can make a sorcerer quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer
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 Thelanis. These
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice Compendium
contingency. If the rules tried to do so, the game would become unplayable. An alternative would be for the rules to severely limit what characters can do, which would be counter to the open-endedness of
D&D. The direction we chose for the current edition was to lay a foundation of rules that a DM could build on, and we embraced the DM’s role as the bridge between the things the rules address and the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Build Your Group Naturally, a large portion of the Boromar Clan’s members come from a criminal background. There’s no reason characters with other backgrounds can’t be part of the syndicate, though
give them a broad range of knowledge to support their schemes. Bards, rogues, and wizards are often drawn to this role. Safecracker. The “breaking” part of “breaking and entering” is the Safecracker’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
Creating a Bard Bards thrive on stories, whether those stories are true or not. Your character’s background and motivations are not as important as the stories that he or she tells about them
a story. Some bards acquire their magical music through extraordinary means, including the inspiration of fey or other supernatural creatures. Did you serve an apprenticeship, studying under a master
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Build Your Group A head of state like Prince Oargev requires a variety of adventurers to do the range of tasks they require. Depending on the kinds of work you do, your party might include some or
Charisma to work in the service of the state. These characters often come from a noble background and bring proficiency in skills such as Intimidation and Persuasion to their work. Bards are natural fits in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Build Your Group A wide variety of talents can be useful in the work of an inquisitive, leading the Finders’ Guild to employ specialists with diverse skill sets. Many inquisitives come from
in both Persuasion and Intimidation prove helpful in this role. Bards, paladins, and sorcerers have both the requisite talents and the ability to supplement their interrogations with magic
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
The Dark Powers Unfathomable, hidden forces manipulate life, death, and reality within Ravenloft. These mysterious, deathless beings are the architects of the Domains of Dread, and have secreted
entities, discourse regarding the Dark Powers remains the province of soothsayers, obsessed scholars, and otherworldly beings. Anyone who spreads tales of sinister forces manipulating reality is
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice & Errata
players to bring them to life and a DM to guide their use. The DM is key. Many unexpected things can happen in a D&D campaign, and no set of rules could reasonably account for every contingency. If
direction we took for fifth edition was to lay a foundation of rules that a DM could build on, and we celebrate the DM as the bridge between the things the rules address and the things they don’t. In a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Keys from the Golden Vault
couldn’t have accomplished his goals alone. To make his casino a reality, he sold his soul to Mammon, the archdevil of Minauros (the third layer of the Nine Hells). In turn, one of Mammon’s
subordinates put Quentin in touch with wizards who could help him build and decorate the casino. Roleplaying Quentin Quentin sees himself as Verity’s victim and portrays himself as a martyr for losing to her
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Build Your Group A group sponsored by a university might look very much like any other adventuring party, with a range of diverse skills and capabilities. The only significant distinction lies
skills. Bards and rogues make natural academic Financiers, as do those with the charlatan and noble backgrounds. Research Assistant. Whether their seeking to graduate, get published, or make their
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
communication and cooperation between members of different cultures or species. Khoravar who follow this philosophy often become bards, diplomats, mediators, or translators. Others are fascinated by their
distant connection to the fey and seek to build bridges between the Material Plane and the Feywild of Thelanis. These Khoravar often become Greensinger druids or warlocks with Archfey patrons
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Build Your Group Espionage agents are typically both highly trained and tightly specialized. The type of missions you undertake can shape your group’s composition; you might be a team of hunters or
cloak or disguise one’s appearance), and proficiency with skills such as Deception, Performance, and Sleight of Hand all greatly benefit the Chameleon. Bards and rogues, as well as characters with
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary
to expel a dybbuk† from a corpse. The exorcist asks the characters to help in dispatch the Fiend. 9 Two bards† in the Heralds of Dust approach the characters and sing a ballad honoring the dead. If the
characters interrupt or otherwise ruin the tune, 1d4 irascible specters emerge from the walls and attack, causing the bards to flee. 10 Three skeleton farmers quietly tend to corpse-white grave
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
, paladins might not swear their oaths to ideals, but instead swear fealty to powerful sorcerers. To capture this story concept, you could build a new paladin spell list with spells meant to protect
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
destiny from the Underworld, Klothys now endeavors to undo the cosmic damage caused by Heliod, Xenagos, and ambitious mortals in recent years. The ways in which they ravaged reality to realize their
Klothys’s delight in the world’s natural cycles. Purphoros’s willingness to build and demolish appeases Klothys—as well as the fact that he despises Heliod as much as she does. Klothys’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Build Your Group Religious orders attract people from all walks of life. It can be fun to play against type—to make a devout character with the criminal or charlatan background, for example
Persuasion (or sometimes Intimidation) and Religion can be useful for this character. Many clerics fill this role, but devout bards can also be effective Teachers. Some Teachers bring skills from the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
to the highest standards of behavior, and wields cold magic. The Brass Order could be a loose affiliation of good-hearted scoundrels, including rogues and bards, who favor fire magic and trickery. An
unique in this system. Alternatively, you could build draconic factions around ideals and goals that aren’t specifically draconic, perhaps applying a dragon overlay to the ten guilds of Ravnica or
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
ambitions, then pursue the goals of their order, and then support the continued well-being of the Conclave. Towers of High Sorcery Thousands of years ago, the Mages of High Sorcery cooperated to build
Reality. Friends, enemies, and loved ones might appear in the test, along with all manner of hazards and puzzles. The applicant has no way of knowing which challenges are illusory and which are real. In
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
decide to create a campaign where the conflicts among the ancients, like the Thousand-Year War between giants and dragons in the Forgotten Realms, are not a matter of ancient history but a present reality
. You could build an entire campaign in the shadow of such a conflict, which is basically taking the ideas described under “Clash of Titans” earlier in this chapter and extending them through many
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries
ballroom’s stage is filled with set pieces, props, and costumes. Treasure. Among the many other instruments stored here is Quill’s instrument of the bards (Cli lyre), which is kept in an ornate wooden case
ability to warp reality and bring to life things from their imagination. Renekor dreamed itself into Wisteria Vale from the Underdark. The beholder believes that the village and its residents are its own
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
, like a hole torn in the fabric of the cosmos. Other Visions As you build your own cosmology, consider the following alternatives. The Omniverse. This simple cosmology covers the bare minimum: a Material
eternal city, or by four cities that each represent a different aspect of reality. The Celtic cosmology has an otherworld, called Tír na nÓg, and the cosmologies of some religions inspired by Asian
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->Monster Manual (2014)
Death Tyrant On rare occasions, a beholder’s sleeping mind imagines a reality in which it exists beyond death. When such dreams take hold, a beholder can transform, its flesh sloughing away to leave
conquest. As each settlement falls, the death tyrant’s zombie forces build to overwhelming numbers. Undead Nature. A death tyrant doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep. Death Tyrant
Large undead
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Sigil and the Outlands
destruction. Trees must be felled and stone cut to build a house, and the house must eventually burn, rot, or wither away. The highest-ranking Doomguard members aside from the factol are the doom lords, who
laws of Sigil, all the while searching for hidden truths that dictate reality. Guvners gather detailed records of every portal and key they find in Sigil and pay well for such information
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
, on his statue in the City of the Dead, and atop the altars of the House of Wonder. Bards perform songs in honor of the wizard all over the city. The Open Lord visits taverns and inns throughout
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
. Ramazith had not been known as either an exceptional mariner or an exceptional arcanist before he came into enough money to build his tower, and the source of his success remains a mystery. Not long after
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
equally vast wealth. Ramazith had not been known as either an exceptional mariner or an exceptional arcanist before he came into enough money to build his tower, and the source of his success remains a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
, they learn three facts from the Ythryn Lore table, which Xerophon shares to build trust. The doppelganger also knows that to bypass the force field around the Spire of Iriolarthas, one must perform the
, and 5 feet away from the pedestal. If a character steps through the doorway, the fabric of reality warps and bends around them as they arrive in the demiplane: a cluttered den 40 feet long and 20






