becoming before driven conduct reason

Monk

Classes Player’s Handbook

to fuel their determination and discipline. Monks generally view adventures as tests of their physical and mental development. They are driven by a desire to accomplish a greater mission than merely

slaying monsters and plundering treasure; they strive to turn themselves into living weapons. Becoming a Monk... As a Level 1 Character Gain all the traits in the Core Monk Traits table. Gain

Kadroth

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

in cult affairs because he fears her spellcasting ability and her connection to the Arcane Brotherhood. She could take over the cult anytime she wanted, and Kadroth doesn't want to give her any reason

charge, if only to keep Caer-Dineval's townsfolk from becoming restless. Thus, when necessary, Kadroth has the town speaker brought to his office to sign official documents.Fire

Stone Giant Dreamwalker

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

themselves become lost in the dream. Other stone giants are banished to the surface as punishment. Regardless of the reason they ended up on the surface, if they don’t take shelter under stone

consequences, dreamwalkers act as they please, becoming forces of chaos. As they travel the world, they collect objects and creatures that seem especially significant to them. Over time, the collected things accrete to their bodies, becoming encased in stone.

Deathlock Mastermind

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

lesser creatures to help them carry out their missions, becoming the masterminds behind vast conspiracies and intrigues that culminate in the accomplishment of great acts of evil. Deathlocks The

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 also discover

Khargra

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

metal with ease, organic matter and gems are repugnant to them. If a khargra eats such morsels for whatever reason, they remain lodged in its gullet for a few days of indigestion before the offending

material is coughed up. Reluctant Predators. Khargras find living flesh disgusting, and they attack creatures only when driven by hunger and a lack of safer options. After securing a meal of whatever

Humanoid Mutate

Monsters Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

as smooth as a salamander’s. Some intelligent Humanoid mutates retain their personalities from before they were exposed to the Far Realm. Some, driven by the allure of otherworldly powers, seek

mutates exist. The individuals with stat blocks presented in this section are found in the preceding adventure, although other mutates exist. Some creatures are more prone to becoming Far Realm mutates

Fog Giant

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

cloud giants in the ordning—the set of values and expectations that determines their rank in giant society—is driven by wealth. Those cloud giants foolish or unlucky enough to have their

treasure plundered fall to the bottom of the ordning, becoming outcasts known as fog giants. Cut off from their proper place in society, they become raiders and marauders who seek to reclaim their

Demilich (Variant) Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

its existence. Few liches seek to become demiliches, for it means an end to the existence they hoped to preserve by becoming undead. However, time can erode the lich’s reason and memory, causing

souls of the insolent intruders to his tomb, magically transferring them to his phylactery. Liches who follow Acererak’s path believe that by becoming free of their bodies, they can continue

Star Spawn Hulk

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

seer nearby. A hulk appears to have little will of its own and is driven to protect its master. Star Spawn The Material Plane represents only one small part of the multiverse. Beyond the best

available for communication. When the signs are right, cultists gather together, read aloud their blasphemous texts, and conduct the mind-searing rituals that guide star spawn into the world. Elder Evil

Waterdhavian Noble

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

Faerûn for being eccentric, spoiled, venal, and, above all else, rich. Whether you are a shining example of the reason for this reputation or one who proves the rule by being an exception, people

conduct yourself in the world at large as a representative of your house. Noble d8 Personality Trait 1 My eloquent flattery makes everyone I talk to feel like the most

Paladin Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

paladins take their work seriously. A delve into an ancient ruin or dusty crypt can be a quest driven by a higher purpose than the acquisition of treasure. Evil lurks in dungeons and primeval forests

angel of death by the gods or driven by your need for revenge? The Gods of the Multiverse section lists many deities worshiped by paladins throughout the multiverse, such as Torm, Tyr, Heironeous

Lhammaruntosz

Monsters Sleeping Dragon’s Wake

Bahamut, which the dragon can use to commune with the deity. In recent decades Lhammaruntosz has retreated inside the shrine, becoming reclusive due to a attack by a disguised demon which has driven her

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

have more in common with iguanas or dragons than they do with humans, dwarves, or elves. Lizardfolk possess an alien and inscrutable mindset, their desires and thoughts driven by a different set of

quirk for a lizardfolk character or to inspire a unique mannerism. Lizardfolk Quirks d8 Quirk 1 You hate waste and see no reason not to scavenge fallen enemies. Fingers are tasty and

Monk Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

nearby towns or villages and exchanging their service for food and other goods. As versatile warriors, monks often end up protecting their neighbors from monsters or tyrants. For a monk, becoming an

seriously, approaching their adventures as personal tests of their physical and spiritual growth. As a rule, monks care little for material wealth and are driven by a desire to accomplish a greater

Anthropologist

Backgrounds Tomb of Annihilation

; Cultural Chameleon Before becoming an adventurer, you spent much of your adult life away from your homeland, living among people different from your kin. You came to understand these foreign cultures

survive—or why they did not. Some anthropologists are driven by intellectual curiosity, while others want the fame and recognition that comes with being the first to discover a new people, a

Mutated Apprentices

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

Mutated Apprentices Halaster handed over this level to his fervent pupils, almost all of whom were driven mad by their studies and mutated by the magic they wrought, becoming gibbering mouthers and

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

cannibalizing their victims, and then performed a sorcerous ritual while writhing in pools filled with living snakes that enabled them to mix their flesh with that of serpents, becoming like the gods in

rather than among other creatures, including my own kind. 4 I sometimes become consumed by philosophy. 5 I believe I am superior to others of my caste. 6 I am driven by wanderlust

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

undetected and don’t give their targets reason to harm them. For example, a group of city kobolds might sneak into a cobbler’s house at night to loot it of knives, leather bits, nails, and

; animosity, gnomes tend to avoid or abandon settlements that have a severe infestation of kobolds, and conversely kobolds are usually driven out of communities that have a large gnome population

Location Overview

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sleeping Dragon’s Wake

Lhammaruntosz has retreated inside the shrine, becoming reclusive due to a attack by a disguised demon which has driven her mad. She leaves on rare occasions to hunt for food, returning as soon as possible

Dark Sun

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

planes — and they lost. The gods were slain or driven into exile, leaving Athas under the dominion of elemental beings who took little interest in the affairs of mortals. In the grim age that

only the strongest survive. One of the hallmarks of the Dark Sun setting is that the heroes don’t need to seek out forgotten dungeons to find adventure — mere survival is adventure enough. But there is no reason you can’t successfully adapt Princes of the Apocalypse to your Dark Sun campaign.

Sacred Oaths

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

Sacred Oaths Becoming a paladin involves taking vows that commit the paladin to the cause of righteousness, an active path of fighting wickedness. The final oath, taken when he or she reaches 3rd

actual swearing of the oath is a formality, an official stamp on what has always been true in the paladin’s heart. BREAKING YOUR OATH A paladin tries to hold to the highest standards of conduct, but

Sacred Oaths

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

Sacred Oaths Becoming a paladin involves taking vows that commit the paladin to the cause of righteousness, an active path of fighting wickedness. The final oath, taken when he or she reaches 3rd

actual swearing of the oath is a formality, an official stamp on what has always been true in the paladin’s heart. BREAKING YOUR OATH A paladin tries to hold to the highest standards of conduct, but

Adventure Structure

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd

Adventure Structure Much of the adventure’s action is driven by the clash between the adventurers’ decisions and Strahd’s goals, and the adventurers and the vampire are all caught in strands of fate

that are represented by a special card reading detailed in chapter 1, “Into the Mists.” Before you run the adventure, you need to conduct that reading to determine the location of several items that

Adventure Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon of Icespire Peak

Adventure Background Driven from lands farther north by more powerful dragons, a young white dragon named Cryovain has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain

dragon’s domain grows as it ranges farther across the land, preying on anything it can catch with its claws or freeze to death with its icy breath. Sightings of the dragon are becoming more common

Training and Asceticism

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

monsters or tyrants. For a monk, becoming an adventurer means leaving a structured, communal lifestyle to become a wanderer. This can be a harsh transition, and monks don’t undertake it lightly. Those who

leave their cloisters take their work seriously, approaching their adventures as personal tests of their physical and spiritual growth. As a rule, monks care little for material wealth and are driven

Deal Breakers

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

Deal Breakers Regardless of how they otherwise conduct themselves, the characters will see their mission end in failure, or at least be seriously compromised, if they perform any of these deeds. Free

view. There is no longer a chance of Saltmarsh becoming allied with the lizardfolk, and if the shamans succeed in their takeover they will withdraw the tribe from any discussions of alliance with other races as well.

Beliard

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

horses or oxen can be driven through the water to bathe them, drive off flies, and let them drink. It’s also home to a tanner, a smith, some horse dealers and trainers who keep extensive stables, and an

aside from a sack of gold coins found walled away behind stones in a chimney, nothing has yet been found — nothing that has become public knowledge, at least. Reason to Visit. Beliard was the last place anyone saw the missing delegation from Mirabar (described in chapter 3).

Temple of Black Earth

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

stopped in their tracks by the daunting defenses of the gate quarter. More than one reckless attack by orcs, trolls, or giants was driven back from the gate. In time, those savage foes found other ways

Urnrayle, the Prophet of Earth, chose the long-wrecked fortifications of Tyar-Besil as the headquarters of his cult for this very reason.

Training and Asceticism

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

monsters or tyrants. For a monk, becoming an adventurer means leaving a structured, communal lifestyle to become a wanderer. This can be a harsh transition, and monks don’t undertake it lightly. Those who

leave their cloisters take their work seriously, approaching their adventures as personal tests of their physical and spiritual growth. As a rule, monks care little for material wealth and are driven

Nupperibo

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monsters of the Multiverse

nupperibos. These pitiful creatures shuffle across the landscape, driven to purposeful action only when the clouds of swarming vermin that surround them find them prey to destroy or when a greater

cannot climb the hierarchical ladder of the Hells. They instead step down, becoming nupperibos. —Mordenkainen Nupperibo Medium Fiend (Devil), Typically Lawful Evil Armor Class 13 (natural

Class Training

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

was smart enough to learn the craft. 5 While exploring an old tomb, library, or temple, I found a spellbook. I was immediately driven to learn all I could about becoming a wizard. 6 I was a prodigy

me push beyond my limitations. 6 My anger needed to be channeled into battle, or I risked becoming an indiscriminate killer. Bard d6 I became a bard because … 1 I awakened my latent bardic

Evil Inchoate

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

particular affinity for their own kind, which is the biggest reason why they seldom cooperate with one another unless they are forced to submit to a demon lord or other leader. Going even farther, every

demon sees itself as the rightful inheritor of the cosmos. It is driven to destroy all other living creatures, or at least command their absolute loyalty. In due time, the laws of the universe will

Kas and Vecna

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

Kas and Vecna Lily Abdullina A young Kas and Vecna muse about the destruction of Oerth Hundreds of years ago, Vecna and Kas were close associates. They were driven men who shared similar evil

had risen again, becoming an evil god of secrets and magic on Oerth. Vecna’s defeat of Kas grates on the warlord’s ego. Kas aches to annihilate Vecna. Meanwhile, Vecna has been building his power, though the lich yearns to finally destroy his former lieutenant.

Campaign Characters

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

following categories: Goal. A character’s goal is a short-term reason for the character to adventure. At the start of a campaign, this might be a desire for treasure, a thirst for excitement, or some need

villain. Ambition. A character’s ambition is a broad, personal aspiration the character hopes to achieve through a lifetime of adventuring. A character might dream of becoming a legendary knight or

Creating a Paladin

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

? Or are you an embittered loner sworn to take vengeance on those who have done great evil, sent as an angel of death by the gods or driven by your need for revenge? Appendix B lists many deities

pursue your holy quest and the manner in which you conduct yourself before gods and mortals. Your oath and alignment might be in harmony, or your oath might represent standards of behavior that you have not yet attained.

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