been before done concept rather

Water Weird Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

those its summoner declares as off limits. When slain, a water weird becomes an inanimate pool of water. Good and Evil Weirds. Like most elementals, a water weird has no concept of good or evil

interlopers rather than kill them, while a neutral evil water weird kills its victims for pleasure and might turn against its summoner. A water weird loses its evil alignment if its waters are cleansed

Gift of Gab

Spells Acquisitions Incorporated

favorite hog from when you were growing up on the family farm? We’ve all been there! But rather than being beheaded for an honest slip of the tongue, you can pretend it never happened — by

how he got anything done in that outfit. I have since learned that most of his talents involve standing and talking. His outfit is perfect for that. — Môrgæn

Mercion

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

natural leader and a protective caregiver. She has a direct manner that reassures and inspires those around her. Mercion does not worship a deity, but rather an ideal: that truth gives life to artistry

coming for you.” Flaw. “My friends would say I’m inflexible. The truth is, I like things done a certain way.” Combat Notes Mercion counts on her armor to protect her as she

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

, working for someone who has more than they deserve. But the Guild offered you a way to fix that. You keep doing what you’ve always done — guard work, dock labor, business accounting &mdash

work, do what needs to be done, and get paid. Anyone who pursues crime for thrill-seeking, to strike back at unjust authorities, or anything else are amateurs, and they’re liable to get you

Bugbear Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

rather than perform the work or confront the foe. Even when subsumed into a goblinoid host and drawn into war, bugbears must often be roused from naps and bribed to get them to do their duties. This

natural state. Thanks to Grankhul, they can use their size and strength to work as stealthy assassins rather than blundering around like ogres. Bullying, murder, and engaging in battle are all holy

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the group’s needs, but the effect each action will have on the forest and the rest of the natural world. Firbolg tribes would rather go hungry than strain the land during a famine. Hidden

Shepherds As caretakers of the land, firbolgs prefer to remain out of sight and out of mind. They don’t try to dominate nature, but rather seek to ensure that it prospers and survives according to its

Verdan

Species Acquisitions Incorporated

. Reality is a descent into chaos punctuated by brief flashes of order, whence we arose and so imagine it to be the norm rather than a distant outlier. That-Which-Endures held entropy back for a mere instant

discoveries is that their physical forms change as they age, signifying that the mutative power of That-Which-Endures is not done with them. The first verdan emerged from the Underdark as creatures of goblin

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to pull his or her weight in the tribe. Typically, such a goliath dies attempting to keep up, or the goliath slips

away in the night to seek the cold will of fate. In some ways, the goliath drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in

Dimir Operative

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

d6 Flaw 1 I like secrets so much that I’m reluctant to share details of a plan even with those who need to know. 2 I would let my friends die rather than reveal my true

identity. 3 I have trouble trusting anyone but myself. 4 I have a particular vice that puts all my secrets at risk if I’m not careful. 5 I’m pretty sure I’ve done

Character Names

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

names, that’s fine. If the group would rather take the characters and their names a little more seriously, urge Bob’s player to come up with a more appropriate name. Player character names should match

each other in flavor or concept, and they should also match the flavor of your campaign world — so should the nonplayer characters’ names and place names you create. Travok and Kairon don’t want to undertake a quest for Lord Cupcake, visit Gumdrop Island, or take down a crazy wizard named Ray.

Survival of the Fittest

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

pity for adults who can’t take care of themselves, though a sick or injured individual is treated, as a result of the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to

themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in battle, at the peak of strength and skill, than endure the slow decay of old age. Few folk

Origin of the Ordning

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

the ordning in some mythic future. Giants on some worlds (including Eberron) have no concept of the ordning at all. Such giants might think of themselves as a single species, with the differences

among giant kinds reflecting a cultural or geographical distinction rather than an inherent one. They might live in bands composed of multiple giant kinds or family groups of a single kind. Or giants of

It's Your World

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

, but they’re not the only set of assumptions that can do so. You can build an interesting campaign concept by altering one or more of those core assumptions, just as well-established D&D worlds have done

Character Advancement

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

taking part in a play session. A character reaches 1 checkpoint for each hour an adventure is designed to last. Note that the award is based on the adventure’s projected playing time, rather than the

designed to take 2 hours, the character reaches 3 checkpoints. Playing time might seem like an odd way to measure experience awards, but the concept is in keeping with how a shared campaign is meant to

Fate of the Hourglass Coven

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Fate of the Hourglass Coven If all three hags of the Hourglass Coven are dead, there’s nothing more to be done with them. This section discusses what happens next if Zybilna is set free and at least

one of the hags is still alive. The surviving hags can sense when Zybilna is released from temporal stasis—or, rather, they can sense when their hold over Prismeer is lost. The instant Zybilna regains

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

other useful items, but if they are at risk of discovery, they run away rather than attack anyone in the house. By fleeing before they can be seen or identified, they avoid getting into a situation

divination (to find raw materials and foresee threats to the tribe). The main reason why kobolds depend on arcane magic rather than divine is Kurtulmak’s imprisonment, which makes it difficult for

Religious Order Contacts

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

what needs to be done. Of course, some priests (as well as lay functionaries) are more interested in their own agendas than any supposed divine will. Consult the Order Contact table to determine your

as a ticket to advancement in the hierarchy 5 A retired adventurer who would rather do your work than direct you in it 6 A pious priest who sees the hands of the divine in every event, even the

Secret

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

holy symbol that represents that divinity. Some clerics, especially in a world like Eberron, serve a whole pantheon, rather than a single deity. In certain campaigns, a cleric might instead serve a

cosmic force, such as life or death, or a philosophy or concept, such as love, peace, or one of the nine alignments. Chapter 1 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide explores options like these, in the section

Gift of Gab

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

growing up on the family farm? We’ve all been there! But rather than being beheaded for an honest slip of the tongue, you can pretend it never happened — by ensuring that no one knows it happened. When

seconds. Those creatures then remember that you actually said the words you speak as the verbal component of the spell. When I met Jim Darkmagic, I wondered how he got anything done in that outfit. I

Evil Inchoate

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

Evil Inchoate I will be the last creature when I am done. The cosmos will then be perfect, free of the braying abominations that are all other living things. — Orcus As beings of utter chaos and

absolute evil, demons have no concept of empathy. Each demon believes that only its needs and desires matter. This self-centeredness applies even with regard to other demons. These fiends have no

Water Weird

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

. Good and Evil Weirds. Like most elementals, a water weird has no concept of good or evil. However, a water weird bound to a sacred or befouled source of water begins to take on the nature of that site

, becoming neutral good or neutral evil. A neutral good water weird tries to frighten away interlopers rather than kill them, while a neutral evil water weird kills its victims for pleasure and might

Darklords

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

adventures rather than saving them for distant climactic plots. Darklords Don’t Realize They’re Darklords. With a few exceptions, Darklords don’t realize they occupy a special place in the world. Their

concept of how long they’ve lived, how many times they’ve died, or why they returned to life. Should a Darklord fall, the temporary defeat lasts until they’re restored by the Dark Powers. In their

Yuan-ti Cities

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

yuan-ti content themselves with maintaining these ancient places rather than building new ones for their needs. Although these sites are hundreds or even thousands of years old, they don’t look or feel

reflects human ideas about art and beauty. Over time this perspective was skewed toward the concept that the snake is the perfect form, so serpents are a common theme in their aesthetic. The major

Talenta Halflings

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

concept of “facts.” To you, everything is a story, and truth is in how you tell it. 7 You are annoyed by buildings and tools designed without consideration for small people. 8 You seek vengeance for a

wrong done to your people. 9 You never forget an insult or injury. 10 You ascribe everything to the work of spirits.

Talenta Halflings

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

. 6 You don’t understand the concept of “truth.” To you, everything is a story and it’s all about how you tell it. 7 You are annoyed by buildings and tools designed without consideration for

small creatures. 8 You seek vengeance for a wrong done to your tribe or family. 9 You never forget an insult or injury. 10 You see the hand of the spirits in everything that occurs

Modifying a Class

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

to help a player express a particular character concept, and any class feature you replace is also removing an aspect of that character. Substituting a class feature should be done only to fit a

, 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

Mercion

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Mercion Mercion strikes the balance of a natural leader and a protective caregiver. She has a direct manner that reassures and inspires those around her. Mercion does not worship a deity, but rather

coming for you.” Flaw. “My friends would say I’m inflexible. The truth is, I like things done a certain way.” Combat Notes Mercion counts on her armor to protect her as she administers healing. She uses

Fire Snake

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

their attempt to enslave that mystical race when the azers’ work was done. Turning instead to strike against salamanders, the efreet conquered and enslaved them, then sent them out to unleash war and

salamanders dedicated to the cults of Elemental Evil, they slay them rather than enslaving them. Domineering Nobles. Although salamanders follow the destructive impulses of their fiery nature

Using This Book

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

place. The crimes and tragedies that transpired here. I know we’d both rather forget them—this whole accursed land—but the Mists drew me back. Now that I’m here, I know. The past we both hoped to bury

is not done with us yet. Something terrible festers here in Darkon, sir, lurking in your own family home. My investigations begin with the sealing of this letter. This time, I hope our families can stand together against whatever haunts us both. Yours, Ez d’Avenir

Introduction

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

you receive a cancer diagnosis or a similar health news, you probably appreciate that concept a little more than other people. Watching someone you love waste away is a terrible thing. You want a

magic button to bring things back to the way they should be, this person you love so much restored to who they really are rather than what cancer is grinding them down into. It’s easy to give in to

Meeting the Queen

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

table, giving them benefits and penalties according to what they have done so far. The characters might have a negative score at this point if they were hostile toward the lizardfolk prior to their

knows about the outside world but feigns ignorance in an attempt to catch the characters in a lie. She respects those who show her respect and treat her people as their equals, rather than as primitive

Appendix A: Shared Campaigns

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

hard to keep a campaign going. Enter the concept of the shared campaign. In a shared campaign, more than one member of the group can take on the role of DM. A shared campaign is episodic rather than

Sundabar

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

recognition of a human saving his life during the fight, the Forgemaster permitted the refugees to settle on the surface, rather than forcing them to depart once the battle was done. The partnership that grew

region does what it can to recover from the recent conflicts. Sundabar’s losses in buildings and in population have done nothing to diminish the contents of its overflowing coffers, and despite its current

Let This Be Their Battlefield

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

characters might choose to stay with Vizeran during the nine-hour performance of the ritual, whether to guard against treachery or to reclaim Gromph’s grimoire once the ritual is done. If this is the case

, you can add some action for those who remain behind by having a small number of the demons summoned by the ritual attracted to the site of the ritual rather than the location of the dark heart

Cleric

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

Faith in Diversification Despite their supposed wisdom, many common clerics fail to grasp the simple concept of using the best tool for the job. To the devoted priest of Tempus, every problem is just

the dark of the moon, or whenever the fighter kicks you awake to tell you your long rest is done, get healing already! Either way, it’s good to incorporate a regular ritual into your daily devotions

D&D Beyond

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