becoming better defusing construct resolve

Quandrix Professor of Theory

Monsters Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

probability to impede attacks and strike at the minds of their foes with lancing equations that disrupt the opponent’s resolve. Professors of theory hold that altering the way a person

interacts with the world can change the world. They impress upon their students to use magic as a tool to shape the overall experience of reality, and in turn make the world a better place. Quandrix

Strahd's Animated Armor

Monsters Curse of Strahd

, or sleep. The magic that animates an object is dispelled when the construct drops to 0 hit points. An animated object reduced to 0 hit points becomes inanimate and is too damaged to be of much use

number of permanent spell effects on it to make the armor a better castle defender. The armor understands Common but obeys only the commands of its master. Lightning, PoisonCold, Fire

Razorvine Blight

Monsters Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

on a successful one. If at least one of the creatures that failed this save isn’t a Construct or an Undead, the blight regains 9 hit points.Travelers of Sigil and the Lower Planes take care to

dangerous, in Sigil they sometimes mimic the behaviors of the city’s other inhabitants—for better or worse. At least one blight, known as Patch, spreads copies of itself across the city, creating a spy network of copies with mysterious goals.

Baba Lysaga's Creeping Hut

Monsters Curse of Strahd

, drink, or sleep. The magic that animates an object is dispelled when the construct drops to 0 hit points. An animated object reduced to 0 hit points becomes inanimate and is too damaged to be of much use

floorboards are out of the way, a creature can reach into the cavity and snatch the gem. But if someone attempts this while the hut is alive, the cavity sprouts wooden teeth, becoming a mouth that bites

Lich Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

":"1d10","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Days"} days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery. Spellcasting. The lich is an 18th-level

haunts the abode it favored in life, such as a lonely tower, a haunted ruin, or an academy of black magic. Alternatively, some liches construct secret tombs filled with powerful guardians and traps

Half-Elf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

Flint squinted into the setting sun. He thought he saw the figure of a man striding up the path. Standing, Flint drew back into the shadow of a tall pine to see better. The man’s walk was

. EXCELLENT AMBASSADORS Many half-elves learn at an early age to get along with everyone, defusing hostility and finding common ground. As a race, they have elven grace without elven aloofness and

Valindra Shadowmantle Legacy

Monsters Tomb of Annihilation

;{"diceNotation":"1d10","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Rejuvenation"} days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery. Spellcasting

a lonely tower, a haunted ruin, or an academy of black magic. Alternatively, some liches construct secret tombs filled with powerful guardians and traps. Everything about a lich’s lair

Arcturia

Monsters Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

":"1d10","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Rejuvenation"} days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery. Spellcasting. The lich is an 18th

lich often haunts the abode it favored in life, such as a lonely tower, a haunted ruin, or an academy of black magic. Alternatively, some liches construct secret tombs filled with powerful guardians

Exethanter

Monsters Curse of Strahd

":"1d10","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Rejuvenation"} days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery. Spellcasting. Exethanter is an

academy of black magic. Alternatively, some liches construct secret tombs filled with powerful guardians and traps. Everything about a lich’s lair reflects its keen mind and wicked cunning, including

Elder Brain Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

much damage on a successful one. On a success or failure, if the creature isn’t a Construct or an Undead, it becomes infested with illithid tadpoles. While infested, the creature takes 16 (3d10

. Even the elder brain dragon’s breath weapon mutates during its transformation, becoming a stream of briny liquid roiling with illithid tadpoles. These tadpoles can swiftly slay victims and transform them into mind flayers, allowing the elder brain dragon to grow its own roving colony.Psychic

Charlatan Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

Characteristics Charlatans are colorful characters who conceal their true selves behind the masks they construct. They reflect what people want to see, what they want to believe, and how they see the

there, I have a child who doesn’t know me. I’m making the world better for him or her. 4 I come from a noble family, and one day I’ll reclaim my lands and title from those who

Iggwilv the Witch Queen

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

damage and be frightened of Iggwilv for 1 minute. A target can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success and thereby becoming immune to Iggwilv’s Dark

path to greatness began when she was adopted by the mother of all witches, Baba Yaga, who named her Natasha. On the worlds of the Material Plane, she was better known as Tasha, the inventor of Tasha's

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

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

Kobold

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

a scale color more akin to that of a chromatic or a metallic dragon. A kobold’s cry can express a range of emotion: anger, resolve, elation, fear, and more. Regardless of the emotion expressed

, Beast, Celestial, Construct, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity, Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures

Falthrax's Resolve

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries

focusing on the positive aspects of his life and his service to knowledge. Though his struggles aren’t over, a new inner resolve promises to leave him in a better position to face those struggles.

Falthrax’s Resolve With the curse lifted, Falthrax Loderr is ready to return to Candlekeep. The experience of having sought and then rejected a magical return to youth has taught him much about

Charlatan - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

. Suggested Characteristics Charlatans are colorful characters who conceal their true selves behind the masks they construct. They reflect what people want to see, what they want to believe

. 3 Somewhere out there, I have a child who doesn’t know me. I’m making the world better for him or her. 4 I come from a noble family, and one day I’ll reclaim my lands and

Creeping Hut

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

animate and attack them. If this happens, read: The giant roots beneath the hut come to life and pull themselves up out of the mire. The hut and the roots lurch and groan, becoming a lumbering mass that

cracks as it walks, crushing all in its path. Baba Lysaga’s creeping hut (see appendix D) is a ponderous construct that heeds Baba Lysaga’s instructions and no one else’s. It fights until destroyed

Why Are You Here?

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

who thinks you’re better than everyone else? As an urchin, did you somehow earn a scholarship, or are you literally sneaking into your classes? As a criminal, you could be the daughter of a Boromar

an entertainer you might be a prodigy whose talent is only just emerging. A Morgrave story is about coming of age and unlocking your potential. So think about your background as a way to set up the person you’re becoming, as opposed to representing adventures that you’ve already had.

Tiers of Play

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

hopes of striking a useful alliance. The tiers of play represent the ideal milestones for introducing new world-shaking events to the campaign. As the characters resolve one event, a new danger arises

about the details of the next tier as the characters approach it. Even better, as the campaign takes unexpected turns in response to the players’ choices, you don’t have to worry about redoing much work.

Frequency of Bastion Turns

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

in your Bastions. Go ahead and resolve six Bastion turns.” The characters return to their Bastions in the midst of an adventure. You might say, “You have just enough time to take a Bastion turn

take one now.” You can slow the frequency of Bastion turns to better serve the needs of your players and your campaign. For example, if the characters have months between adventures, you can call for

Moral Quandaries

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

Moral Quandaries If you want to give the characters a crisis that no amount of spellcasting or swordplay can resolve, add a moral quandary to the adventure. A moral quandary is a problem of

Respect quandary Ally Quandary. The adventurers have a better chance of achieving their goal with the help of two individuals whose expertise is all but essential. However, these two NPCs hate each

2. Unhappy Cultists

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm Lord’s Wrath

Stormlord to be forced into playing the part of glorified longshoremen. The cultists here (spies) number two per character, including sidekicks. A Better Offer? The party could avoid a fight here

if they understand the frustration of the cultists and go in immediately with a better offer. To get the dialogue started on a good note, one of the characters must approach the group and talk to them

Dissecting the Adventure

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

Khorvaire, the Flotket Alps of Wildemount, or some other mountain range while preserving the plot elements. You can also strip out the story about an evil duergar building a dragon construct and have

the duergar doing something else instead. Alternatively, you could jettison everything but the map of the fortress, populating it with new creatures that better suit your campaign. Sometimes a good map is all a DM needs!

Tiny Servant

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

and isn’t being carried by another creature. The target animates and sprouts little arms and legs, becoming a creature under your control until the spell ends or the creature drops to 0 hit points. See

Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you can animate two additional objects for each slot level above 3rd. Tiny Servant Tiny construct, unaligned

Preludes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Silence” heralds the gods’ return and provides participating characters with a better understanding of their relationship to the gods. “Eye in the Sky” sets participating characters on the path to

becoming members of the Mages of High Sorcery (see chapter 1). “Scales of War” reveals the mysterious draconians. Before starting the adventure in chapter 3, review the encounters here and choose one or

Large Groups

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

Large Groups The biggest considerations with large groups are maintaining order at the table and keeping combat from becoming too slow. Structured Turns If you find yourself in a situation where

Information. If you tell the players what the Armor Class of their opponents is, you reduce the steps of interaction needed to resolve an attack. Instead of telling you a number and asking if it hits

Breaking the Archetypes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated

clear why you make a great addition to any franchise. Cavalier An Acquisitions Incorporated franchise is a heady mix of adventuring and business, and both those pursuits require travel. Who better to

, providing a boon to your franchise’s standing in the community. Any franchise could do worse than having you as its public face — especially when your sense of quiet resolve is needed to quietly resolve some unexpected business disaster.

Necromancer

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal

Necromancer Necromancers are specialist wizards who study the interaction of life, death, and undeath. Some like to dig up corpses to create undead thralls. A few use their powers for good, becoming

creature that is neither a construct nor undead with a spell of 1st level or higher, the necromancer regains hit points equal to twice the spell’s level, or three times if it is a necromancy spell

Re-created by the Doctor

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

Re-created by the Doctor If the characters oppose Dr. Mordenheim, they face droves of her bizarre creations. They also risk becoming her newest experimental subjects. Dr. Mordenheim’s experiments

such possibilities. It’s better to tip your hand about the plot than to lose a player’s investment in the game. When delivering characters into the Darklord’s clutches, employ scenarios where the

Immersive Storytelling

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

Immersive Storytelling Waterdeep is threatened by political turmoil. The adventurers must convince the Masked Lords, the city’s secret rulers, to resolve their differences, but can do so only after

against the player’s better judgment, because “that’s what the character would do.” Since combat isn’t the focus, game rules take a back seat to character development. Ability check modifiers and skill

Animated Objects

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

require air, food, drink, or sleep. The magic that animates an object is dispelled when the construct drops to 0 hit points. An animated object reduced to 0 hit points becomes inanimate and is too

sprouts wooden teeth, becoming a mouth that bites anything that tries to remove the gem; a creature trying to remove the gem must make a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, the creature

Mechanical Guides

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Infernal Machine Rebuild

. Each guide can return to its agent’s manor at any time. Each guide is an unaligned Medium construct with AC 20, 50 hit points, and a speed of 20 feet. It has no attacks, and has a +0 modifier for all

sabotage and destroy its counterpart. Or you might decide that they develop a mutual respect for each other, perhaps even becoming friends as a result of their shared adventures. If on friendly terms, a

Thessalar

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Infernal Machine Rebuild

owlbear. In recent years, he has also researched the prolonging of life—namely his own. Thessalar hopes that by becoming a lich, his research and experiments can continue indefinitely. Over time

piercing or slashing weapon. Several of Thessalar’s prized sculptors have been lured away from the temple by Moghadam, his rival artificer, with promises of false payment to help construct the Tomb of

Gond

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

a better paddock gate, dig a new well, or mend pots or furniture that might otherwise go to waste. All priests of Gond keep journals in which they record ideas, inventions, and innovations discovered

in their travels, and take great delight in meeting fellow priests and sharing their finds. In large cities, the Gondar construct temples that serve as great workshops and inventors’ labs. Wandering

Roleplaying a Yuan-ti

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

1 Greed. I display my wealth as a sign of my power and prosperity. (Evil) 2 Aspiration. I strive to follow the path toward becoming an anathema. (Evil) 3 Unity. No leader shall put personal goals

I frequently overindulge in food and wine, and I am impaired and lethargic for days afterward. 4 I worship a forbidden god. 5 I secretly believe things would be better if I was in charge. 6 If I could get away with it, I would gladly kill and eat a superior yuan-ti.

D&D Beyond

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