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Returning 35 results for 'before back defusing could retreat'.
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
backbone of many devils’ protective retinues. They shrink from no task, no matter how dangerous. Unless ordered to fall back, they never retreat from a fight.Fire, PoisonCold; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered
Monsters
Tomb of Annihilation
can use his action to polymorph into a Medium snake or back into his yuan-ti form. His statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment he is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. He doesn't change
level (4 slots): expeditious retreat, false life, magic missile, shield
2nd level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, hold person, misty step
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, fireball
4th
Yuan-ti Mind Whisperer
Legacy
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Monsters
Volo's Guide to Monsters
Shapechanger. The yuan-ti can use its action to polymorph into a Medium snake or back into its true form. Its statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't
, crown of madness, detect thoughts, expeditious retreat, fly, hypnotic pattern, illusory script
Sseth's Blessing. When the yuan-ti reduces an enemy to 0 hit points, the yuan-ti gains 9 temporary hit
Monsters
Princes of the Apocalypse
Shapechanger (2/Day). The fathomer can use its action to polymorph into a Medium serpent composed of water, or back into its true form. Anything the fathomer is wearing or carrying is subsumed into
regains after finishing a short or long rest, and knows the following warlock spells:
Cantrips (at will): chill touch, eldritch blast, mage hand
1st level: armor of Agathys, expeditious retreat, hex
2nd
Half-Elf
Legacy
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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
Demilich (Variant)
Legacy
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Monsters
Monster Manual (2014)
assume a wraithlike form. The skull then emits a terrifying howl that can slay the weak-hearted and leave others trembling with fear. Left alone, it sinks back down and returns to the empty peace of
it to retreat into its ancient tomb and forget to feed on souls. The spells it once knew fade from its mind, and it no longer channels the arcane energy it wielded as a lich. However, even as a mere
Monsters
Curse of Strahd
sneak out of the closet in the middle of the night, smother the guest with a pillow, and then retreat back to the closet. The castle staff never considered that the effigy might be responsible
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin
archmages Mordenkainen and a version of Tasha from Oerth, though Alustriel and Tasha don’t yet know that Mordenkainen is Kas the Destroyer in disguise. These Wizards Three retreat to a sanctum Alustriel
keeps in Sigil. Using their combined magic, the archmages weave a Wish spell in hopes of sabotaging Vecna’s accumulated power and defusing his ritual. Instead of any expected effect, the Wish spell shunts
Monsters
Sleeping Dragon’s Wake
, mending
1st level (4 slots): charm person, detect magic, expeditious retreat, sleep
2nd level (3 slots): darkness, invisibility,suggestion
3rd level (3 slots): dispel magic, protection from energy
rating no higher than her own, or back into her true form. She reverts to her true form if she dies. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying is absorbed or borne by the new form (Lhammaruntosz's choice
Yuan-ti Pureblood
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
’ serpent gods into their religions. These victories sent a constant influx of food, ore, and slaves back to the home cities.
The wealth of the empire allowed the ruling elite plenty of time to
of purebloods and slaves are thrown at opposing forces in the hope of allowing the malisons and abominations time to escape.
Survival First
Yuan-ti are likely to retreat or flee from conflict if
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
Troll Pursuit If the party is forced to retreat from the lodge, the four-armed troll Trepsin (see area 2 and the “Four-Armed Troll” sidebar) pursues them and tries to bring at least one of them back to the lodge for questioning.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Troll Pursuit If the party is forced to retreat from the lodge, the four-armed troll Trepsin (see area 2 and the "Four-Armed Troll" Sidebar) pursues them and tries to bring at least one of them back to the lodge for questioning.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Swift Retreat When the characters reunite with Kalaman’s soldiers, Darrett welcomes them back, but he keeps the conversation short. The Dragon Army is mustering and soon will strike at Kalaman’s
Monsters
Curse of Strahd
Shapechanger. If Strahd isn’t in running water or sunlight, he can use his action to polymorph into a Tiny bat, a Medium wolf, or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form.
While in
the reach of melee combatants and spellcasters, or he flies away (using summoned wolf;wolves or swarm of bats;swarms of bats or swarm of rats;rats to guard his retreat).
Strahd observes the characters
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Dealing with the Soldiers If the characters confront the Dragon Army soldiers on the cliffs, the messenger attempts to retreat to the Dragon Army camp on her warhorse rather than aiding her allies
. With the Dragon Army soldiers gone, Cudgel is eager to ride out to meet her mercenaries. She plans to bring them back to a defensible position just north of the village. If the characters don’t attack the Dragon Army soldiers on the cliffs, skip to the “Preparing for the Worst” section.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat
Plan of Attack
Dragon Cultist
This encounter should challenge the adventurers in every way. The characters should be no easy match for the attacking force, such that retreat and escape might be
their best option if they hope to survive. However, if the characters haven’t made escape plans ahead of time, the attackers will have taken steps to make retreat impossible. The specifics are up to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
Plan of Attack This encounter should challenge the adventurers in every way. The characters should be no easy match for the attacking force, such that retreat and escape might be their best option if
they hope to survive. However, if the characters haven’t made escape plans ahead of time, the attackers will have taken steps to make retreat impossible. The specifics are up to you, but should be
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Divine Contention
back to its hiding place in the mere. Ularan Mortus withdraws in victory to his headquarters. Stormsworn’s troops intercept his entourage outside town, but her reduced forces are beaten back. The remaining members of both sides retreat to their respective headquarters.
forced to fall back and regroup. As Ularan Mortus’s army forces its way into Leilon, Ebondeath reaches the House of Thalivar and searches for the ruinstone. Unless stopped, it claims the stone and flies
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
destroy evil in the multiverse, rather than stand back and watch demons and devils annihilate one another, destroying vast swaths of the multiverse in the process. In defiance of her superiors, Zariel
to the archdevil Bel and his infernal legions. Many of Zariel’s warriors fought bravely, but for others, the horrors of the Nine Hells proved too great. They fled back through the portal, sealing it
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
sixteen troglodytes in varying stages of decay. Feasting on the remains are seven drow ghouls that were created by Vlonwelv to devour the dead. The ghouls retreat into the back tunnels when one or more drow enter the room. If a drow is not among those who enter, the ghouls attack.
throughout is silty and wet. 24c. Morgue A foul stench wafts through the double door, which stands ajar. Piled near the tunnels at the back of the room are the stripped corpses of eight drow and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
one wagon. The wagon starts to burn, and the attackers flee back toward their camp. Anyone pursuing them is led up over a ridge, straight into an ambush of the massed bandits waiting below the crest
. They use the light of the burning wagon to target individuals. The bandits prefer to harry the caravan from cover and mount an attack once the defenders are weakened. None of the bandits is willing to die. They retreat so they can attack the caravan again later.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
door, and retreat to area 7a, leaving the characters to deal with the troll on their own. The mutated troll has an extra pair of arms sprouting from its chest and a fifth arm growing out of its back. The
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
soul by swearing to hunt down his own kind. Later, he volunteered to join Zariel on her crusade into the Nine Hells. Stirges now swarm back and forth from Jander’s body, preserving his existence by
: Jander and Haruman were both part of a host of warriors who joined the angel Zariel in her assault on the Nine Hells. After charging through the portal into Avernus, Jander panicked and fled back to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
quaggoth spore servants, and four awakened zurkhwoods (see appendix C) loyal to Sovereign Phylo cut off their retreat. They surround the characters and their followers, offering to escort them to Phylo
afflicted by Zuggtmoy’s spores, as described in chapter 5. If the characters take Basidia’s advice and turn back, the myconid sovereign promises to contact them again when “the time is right to oppose Zuggtmoy” (as described in chapter 16, “The Fetid Wedding”).
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
, winged shapes gliding toward you — giant vultures! Each bird carries on its back a warrior in dull blue armor with a dirty white cloak.
The attackers include one Feathergale knight and two Howling
reduced to half its hit points or less, its rider disengages and retreats. If any two riders are killed or retreat, the third flees. Treasure None of the riders carry treasure, but one of them has a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
first and can choose whether to avoid or deal with the encounter. If characters in the scouting party notice the encounter without being seen themselves, they can retreat back to the main force to
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
underneath the Sacred Stone Monastery, linked by the Ancient Stair. Earth cult raiders can strike at the surrounding settlements and retreat to the safety of the Black Earth temple with ease. Marlos
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monsters of the Multiverse
their unshakable loyalty, merregons form the backbone of many devils’ protective retinues. They shrink from no task, no matter how dangerous. Unless ordered to fall back, they never retreat from a fight
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
berserker, they make a fighting retreat through the pastures to steal sheep and ponies. Nettlebees in Hiding. Once the barbarians make it to the ranch, Javor bursts into the house’s cellar. The Nettlebees
halfling pluck and dark devotion make the wicked Nettlebees unlikely to back down easily. In fact, Wiggan tries to bribe the characters into defending Bertram and him “against these savages.” He also uses
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
. It pauses before the figure, who climbs onto the undead terror’s back. Together, they rise into the air and circle the city before flying south and out of sight.
The character with the highest
can retreat safely, telling the characters she has a few tricks in store for their pursuers. Make it clear the characters don’t need to rush their exploration of the city to return to their allies.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
and allowed to retreat here in mist form, Keresta returns to this sarcophagus and remains here, paralyzed in vampire form for 1 hour. At the end of the hour, she regains 1 hit point and is no longer
Mural The mural depicts Lord Vanrak Moonstar as a skeletal death knight, riding on the back of Umbraxakar, the shadow dragon. Lying at the dragon’s feet are piles of withered corpses with hideous
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen
race across the street into more shadows, and a woman carrying a round shield and a broken spear turns and faces back in the direction from which they came. Seven kobolds stream out of the alley on the
cultists. If the group contains six kobolds, one is a winged kobold (urd). Characters can fight these enemies, sneak past them, retreat to avoid them entirely, or try something clever such as bluffing. If
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer Academy
hit points remaining, Qitru orders the star lancer to retreat. On its next turn, the star lancer uses Invisibility Cloak and flies back toward the asteroid. If the star lancer dies before it can
hornlike protrusion on its head. An armored figure rides on its back. The rider says, “Hail to you. I’ve come to retrieve something that is of interest to my employer. Please produce the human named Miken
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
7. Mad Wizard’s Retreat A human wizard, the lone survivor of an expedition to the Underdark, has taken refuge in this 30-foot-high cave. The cave contains the following: Light. Phosphorescent moss
wearing tattered gray robes over black pants sits on a 2-foot-tall toadstool. Her long black hair is tied back with a swatch of gray cloth that matches her robe. A quasit in toad form sits on her knee
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
retreat. Three galeb duhr led by the ghost of Burrow Warden Jadger arrive to take the characters to safety. If the svirfneblin of Blingdenstone didn’t already have a friendly attitude, they become
friendly toward the characters after the battle. Development Back in Diggermattock Hall, the gnome leaders make good on their promise, giving the characters a stone of controlling earth elementals along with