been before drives 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

Isolde

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

archfey named Zybilna, who had forged secret pacts with some of the fiends Isolde and her companions had slain. Rather than be angry at Isolde, Zybilna was impressed by her. She enlisted a powerful fiend

endlessly overburdens herself, struggling to protect those around her as her hate for the Caller drives her forward at any cost. Personality Trait. “We all contribute so that we all benefit. Those who

Rogue Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

would rather make one precise strike, placing it exactly where the attack will hurt the target most, than wear an opponent down with a barrage of attacks. Rogues have an almost supernatural knack for

an angry thieves’ guild master? Or did you leave your guild in search of bigger risks and bigger rewards? Is it greed that drives you in your adventures, or some other desire or ideal? What

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

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

empires on the foundation of conquest and trade. Whatever drives them, humans are the innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers of the worlds. A Broad Spectrum With their penchant for migration

, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. Human Names and Ethnicities Having so much more variety than other cultures, humans as a whole have no typical names. Some human parents

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and shapes their later careers as well. Stories of warlocks binding themselves to fiends are widely known. But many warlocks serve patrons

gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their goals, which typically means some kind of adventuring. Furthermore, the demands of their patrons drive

Tabaxi Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

of the world beyond their home. Barterers of Lore Tabaxi treasure knowledge rather than material things. A chest filled with gold coins might be useful to buy food or a coil of rope, but it’s

its secrets and nature have been laid bare. Tinkers and Minstrels Curiosity drives most of the tabaxi found outside their homeland, but not all of them become adventurers. Tabaxi who seek a safer

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

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.

Zombies

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

, merciless, and resilient, and their dead flesh can carry on even after suffering grievous wounds. While they can follow simple orders, they rely on primal drives rather than thought. They fulfill

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

Delvers into Secrets

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

Delvers into Secrets Warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power, which compels them into their pacts and shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and

mere study and research. No one makes a pact with such a mighty patron if he or she doesn’t intend to use the power thus gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit

Delvers into Secrets

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

Delvers into Secrets Warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power, which compels them into their pacts and shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and

and research. No one makes a pact with such a mighty patron if he or she doesn’t intend to use the power thus gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their

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

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

Creating a Bronze Dragon

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

strategy. A quick death in combat is its own kind of courtesy. 6 I trust my gut. I’d rather act on incomplete information than be hamstrung by indecision. 7 I’m fascinated by other species

’ military technology, especially magic armaments and siege engines—the bigger, the better! 8 Conflict drives evolution. By sparking wars between nations, I contribute to the advancement of their

Wicked Personality

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

often a negative emotion or destructive behavior—such as fear, hatred, insecurity, jealousy, mayhem, obsession, selfishness, shame—that drives an irrational habit causing the Darklord or others harm

them. 2 Others’ concerns bore me, and I would rather have my lessers handle everything possible. 3 I am always right, and anyone who doesn’t agree with me is cut out of my life. 4

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

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

Personal Characteristics

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

related to each. Either one could be positive or negative: you might work hard to overcome a low score, for example, or be cocky about your high score. Ideals Describe one ideal that drives your

your core belief system. Ideals might answer any of these questions: What are the principles that you will never betray? What would prompt you to make sacrifices? What drives you to act and guides

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

Hazlik's Powers and Dominion

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

items rather than his own spells. Glory Taker. At any given time, Hazlik permits dozens of apprentices to study at his feet. His lessons are infrequent, demanding, and filled with mocking examples

. Those who don’t impress him don’t survive long. He encourages rivalries among his students and drives them to push the boundaries of magical possibilities. His goading results in magical wonders, failed

Alignment

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

plane of lawful evil. A devil does not choose to be lawful evil or tend toward lawful evil, but rather it is lawful evil in its essence. If it somehow ceases to be lawful evil, it changes into something

Describe one ideal that drives your character. Your ideals are the things that you believe in most strongly, the fundamental moral and ethical principles that compel you to act as you do. Ideals

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

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

Modifying a Class

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

opportunity to develop the character’s story and that of your world, rather than shutting down possibilities. Substituting Class Features If one or more features of a given class don’t exactly fit the theme

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

drives your fury. 10 You’ve got buyer’s remorse, and you’re wondering if this is really the deity for you.

Staff

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

concept behind the hirelings and selecting one proficiency for each. The DM can then customize the hirelings as desired, perhaps by adding additional proficiencies or adjusting their combat statistics

(sailors for a seagoing franchise, engineers for a giant hollow statue, and so on). Crew do not leave a franchise and cannot perform franchise tasks. They typically run rather than fight back when attacked

Rejecting the Ordning

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

one their kind traditionally values. These are often giants whose ranking within their kind is low. For example, a contemplative cloud giant might pursue knowledge rather than wealth, or a weak frost

otherwise enjoy in the ordning. When giants join the cults of demon lords, they reject the entire concept of the ordning—the idea that there is any kind of order to the multiverse at all, which is the

Mind Flayer Magic

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

after death would its consciousness be cast into oblivion. Two divine entities have long been associated with mind flayers by the scholars of other races. These aren’t deities, but rather

attitude — actions that have often been misinterpreted by observers as worship. Maanzecorian. The entity/concept called Maanzecorian embodies a complete comprehension of knowledge. It is a state

Shambling Mound

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

, and other natural swamp and forest compost, shamblers can blend into their environs. Because they move slowly, they rarely attempt to pursue and catch creatures. Rather, they remain in place

shambling mound to seek out new sources of food. The Weed that Walks. The instinct that drives a shambling mound is its central root-stem, buried somewhere inside its ponderous form. The rest of a

Satyr

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

much time worrying over why satyrs behave as they do. But satyrs themselves simply are as they are, feeling no need to understand what drives them, much less explain it to others. The Satyr

+ 8 inches + your size modifier in inches Weight in pounds = 100 + (2d4 × your size modifier) Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet. Fey. Your creature type is fey, rather than humanoid. Ram. You

Random Encounters

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

, honor, hard work, and seeing all non-duergar as lesser creatures. Duergar are ruthless but not unnecessarily cruel, and pragmatism drives their every decision. Though they treat the adventurers with

contempt, their first thought is to enslave them or use them rather than kill them. The duergar of Gracklstugh are beginning to suffer the effects of the arrival of the demon lords — and specifically

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