before bad driven complete risk

Deathlock

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

warlock. The consequences of breaking that pact can be dire and, in some cases, lethal. A warlock who fails 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 the wicked methods of creating a deathlock and then subjugate it, acting as the deathlock’s patron.PoisonNecrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered

Deathlock Mastermind

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

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

Deathlock Wight

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

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 the wicked methods of

Phantom Warrior

Monsters Curse of Strahd

soldier or knight who perished on the battlefield or died performing its sworn duty. It appears like a translucent version of its living self. Task Driven. Although one is often mistaken for a ghost, a

phantom warrior isn't bound by a yearning to complete some unresolved goal. It can choose to end its undead existence at any time. Its spirit lingers willingly, either out of loyalty to its former

Khargra

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

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

tasty, refined metal their victim carries, they quickly flee—and will flee before that rather than risk death. Stealthy Couriers. A number of clans among the dwarves, duergar, and azers have trained

Urchin Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

shaped by lives of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better

I eat like a pig and have bad manners. 6 I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent. 7 I don’t like to bathe. 8 I bluntly say what other people are hinting at

Crab Folk

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

bad luck a gull might happen to land near a crab folk lair and utter the right combination of cries to summon up this ancient compulsion. Driven to action, the crab folk rampage along the coast

Skabatha Nightshade

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

. Personality Trait. “When dealing with outsiders, I present myself as a kindly old grandmother.” Ideal. “Children are better off working for me than picking up lots of bad habits

the past, another reflects the present, and the third reflects the future. These hags are utter wickedness distilled into corporeal forms, driven by a lust for secrets that can be used to manipulate

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

the responsibility to earn a place in the tribe or die trying. Driven Competitors Every day brings a new challenge to a goliath. Food, water, and shelter are rare in the uppermost mountain reaches. A

skills. This dedication to competition has a dark side. Goliaths are ferocious competitors, but above all else they are driven to outdo their past efforts. If a goliath slays a dragon, he or she might

Satyr Legacy

Species Mythic Odysseys of Theros

Satyrs have a well-earned reputation for their good spirits, gregarious personalities, and love of revels. Most satyrs are driven by simple desires, to see the world and to sample its every pleasure

importantly—it feels really good. Driven by instinct and intuition, most satyrs prove unpredictable, following their sense of wonder wherever it leads. Very Odd Indeed Satyrs are known for their

Arasta

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

it a risk, though, for those who Klothys finds unworthy might be driven mad. There, within Enorasi’s hollow trunk, Arasta awaits the next would-be prophet to make her meal. Her webs stretch

; petty rivalries, Arasta was once one of Nylea’s most beloved dryad companions. Phenax’s bitterness saw her transformed into an arachnid monstrosity and driven into the darkest depths of the

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

something that put their homeland at risk, such as starting a forest fire or killing a rare or beautiful wild creature. These firbolgs are loners who wander the world in hope of finding a new place to

complete their quests and return home as quickly as possible. The Firbolg Adventurers table can serve as inspiration for determining why a firbolg character leaves home. Firbolg Adventurers d8

Selesnya Initiate

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

proven to be a danger to them. The members of the enclave will shield you from the law or anyone else searching for you, though they will not risk their lives in this effort. In addition, as a guild

conclave has a deeper connection to the Worldsoul than I do. 6 I’m trying to atone for the life of crime I led before I joined the Selesnya, but I find it hard to give up my bad habits

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Guild took over your family business, ran it into the ground, and burned the building for insurance money. You were driven into crime yourself, but you’ll never work for the Guild. You take

; but what you learn you pass on to the Guild. 4 The inequality of Baldur’s Gate has driven you to take matters into your own hands. You steal from patriars and rich Lower City residents

Young Topaz Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

abhor being wet. 4 Why should I risk damaging my splendid physique when I can fight with the power of my mind? 5 I am predictable only in my unpredictability. 6 It takes true

topaz dragon their monarch, despite the dragon’s complete lack of interest and growing annoyance toward them. Cold, Necrotic

Urchin - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better life &mdash

a pig and have bad manners. 6 I think anyone who’s nice to me is hiding evil intent. 7 I don’t like to bathe. 8 I bluntly say what other people are hinting at or hiding

Hermit - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

a frivolous lark. You’ve maintained a solitary vigil outside the cavern entrance ever since. 2 You crossed the Guild in a bad way. Fortunately, its members think you’re dead. Less

a patriar’s scion in an illegal duel. The family swore revenge, and you fled to the slums rather than risk bringing their wrath down on your kin. 6 You aren’t originally from Baldur

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

area is at risk. If orcs come upon a target that is too large to assault directly, they will lurk along supply routes, taking out their frustration on caravans and travelers. Left unchecked, a tribe can

; their loyalty by turning them into slaves. If a tribe is defeated and driven from its lair, the survivors might come under the sway of a strong but dimwitted creature, such as a hill giant or an ogre

Orzhov Representative

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

the flesh as long as possible, and as a spirit afterward. (Any) Bonds d6 Bond 1 The unbearable weight of my debt has driven me to desperation. 2 I’m duty-bound

convinced that everyone I know is plotting against me. 3 I’ll brave any risk if the monetary reward is great enough. 4 I am convinced that I am far more important than anyone else is

Crook of Rao

Magic Items Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

crook was again lost. Occasionally it reappears, but the famed artifact is not what it was. Whether or not the artifact’s bearers realize its full threat, few risk using the Crook of Rao&mdash

years to complete, at the end of which the gate becomes a permanent portal to Pazunia, the first layer of the Abyss. Destroying or Repairing the Crook. The Crook of Rao can either be destroyed or

Aarakocra Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

brightly colored, with feathers of red, orange, or yellow. Females have more subdued colors, usually brown or gray. Their heads complete the avian appearance, being something like a parrot or eagle with

changes in the prevailing winds that they regarded as a bad omen. Unlike the aarakocra of other worlds on the Material Plane, the aarakocra of the Realms rarely travel to the Elemental Plane of Air

Anthropologist

Backgrounds Tomb of Annihilation

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

desensitized to violence. 5 I would risk life and limb to discover a new culture or unravel the secrets of a dead one. 6 When I arrive at a new settlement for the first time, I must learn all its

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

caste system based on how complete a person’s transformation was. The vast majority of yuan-ti fall into three categories — abominations, malisons, and purebloods — while the mutated

they don’t believe they have a reasonable chance of success. This reaction isn’t out of cowardice, but practicality—yuan-ti value their own lives much too highly to risk them when the

Genasi Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

, seeing them as accidents. Many feel nothing for their genasi children at all. Some genasi live as outcasts, driven into exile for their unsettling appearance and strange magic, or assuming leadership

self-assurance in one genasi and as arrogance in another. Such self- confidence can sometimes blind genasi to risk, and their great plans often get them and others into trouble. Too much failure can

Triton Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the depths revealed that krakens, sahuagin, and far worse foes had fled the Plane of Water for the Material Plane. The tritons, driven by a sense of duty and responsibility, would not allow their foes

arrogant. They see themselves as caretakers of the sea, and they expect other creatures to pay them deep respect, if not complete deference. This attitude might grate on others, but it arises from a seed

Simic Scientist

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

confident in my ability to adapt to any situation and handle any danger. 5 I’ll take any risk to earn recognition for my scientific brilliance. 6 I have a tendency to take shortcuts in

my research and any other tasks I have to complete. Contacts The fluid nature of clades, whose rosters span different laboratories and change as researchers discover new interests, creates

Noncombat Challenges

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

Noncombat Challenges You decide whether to award experience to characters for overcoming challenges outside combat. If the adventurers complete a tense negotiation with a baron, forge a trade

chapter 3 to gauge the difficulty of the challenge. Then award the characters XP as if it had been a combat encounter of the same difficulty, but only if the encounter involved a meaningful risk of

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

where the townsfolk would try to hunt down all kobolds and put the tribe’s survival at risk. Some aggressive individual kobolds and tribes do exist, but in general kobolds don’t purposely

Able Scavengers

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

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 where the townsfolk would try to

hunt down all kobolds and put the tribe’s survival at risk. Some aggressive individual kobolds and tribes do exist, but in general kobolds don’t purposely provoke retaliatory attacks from the creatures

Hermit

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus

where to go in the Lower City and Outer City for anonymity. In these slums and alley camps, you can get a damp bed and a bad meal, but also a degree of privacy and no questions asked. Living here

. 2 You crossed the Guild in a bad way. Fortunately, its members think you’re dead. Less fortunately, maintaining that deception might require you to stay in hiding until you actually are. 3

Hermit

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer

where to go in the Lower City and Outer City for anonymity. In these slums and alley camps, you can get a damp bed and a bad meal, but also a degree of privacy and no questions asked. Living here

crossed the Guild in a bad way. Fortunately, its members think you’re dead. Less fortunately, maintaining that deception might require you to stay in hiding until you actually are. 3 You study the

Outcast Adventurers

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

their homeland at risk, such as starting a forest fire or killing a rare or beautiful wild creature. These firbolgs are loners who wander the world in hope of finding a new place to call home. Orphaned

firbolgs are entrusted by their clan with an important mission that takes them beyond their homes. These firbolgs feel like pilgrims in a strange land, and usually they wish only to complete their quests

Winter Encounter Chain

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

, they’re willing to thumb their noses at local authorities and risk death in pursuit of the Stone of Golorr. Summary The stone is delivered to Thrakkus, a dragonborn butcher in the Field Ward (encounter

(encounter 4, “Mausoleum”). Weather Effects Until the encounter chain is complete, the following weather effects are in play. Blizzard. Shrieking wind and falling snow impose disadvantage on Wisdom

Chapter 17: Tiamat's Return

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons

The Rise of Tiamat should be played only after all the other episodes of the adventure are complete and the characters have reached 14th or 15th level. In the episodes leading up to this one, both the

from prisoners questioned directly by the characters during any of the incidents in chapter 13. However it happens, from the moment this episode kicks into action, events escalate rapidly. There is no turning back from that point onward, and characters who hesitate risk losing everything.

Chapter 17: Tiamat's Return

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat

climactic finale of The Rise of Tiamat should be played only after all the other chapters of the adventure are complete and the characters have reached 14th or 15th level. In the chapters leading up to

rapidly. There is no turning back from that point onward, and characters who hesitate risk losing everything.

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