before battle deciding continues race

Sammaster (Dracolich Form)

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

rule Faerûn. His Cult of the Dragon devotes itself to helping evil dragons become dracoliches to bring this evil new age to fruition. Sammaster was killed in battle, but had prepared contingencies

for his demise. He drew on the warped resurrection of dracoliches to become a lich himself. He continues to lead the Cult of the Dragon from the shadows, developing new ways to control and corrupt

Sammaster (Lich Form)

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

. His Cult of the Dragon devotes itself to helping evil dragons become dracoliches to bring this evil new age to fruition. Sammaster was killed in battle, but had prepared contingencies for his demise

. He drew on the warped resurrection of dracoliches to become a lich himself. He continues to lead the Cult of the Dragon from the shadows, developing new ways to control and corrupt dragonkind

Sahuagin Priestess Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

the sahuagin hunting horn — a call to raid and battle. Coastal settlers refer to sahuagin as “sea devils,” for sahuagin have no compassion in them, slaughtering the crews of ships and decimating coastal

villages. Devils of the Deep. Sahuagin are a predatory, piscine race that ventures from the ocean's black depths to hunt the creatures of the shallows and shore. Though they dwell in the deepest

Sahuagin Baron Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

it. This is the sound of the sahuagin hunting horn — a call to raid and battle. Coastal settlers refer to sahuagin as “sea devils,” for sahuagin have no compassion in them

, slaughtering the crews of ships and decimating coastal villages. Devils of the Deep. Sahuagin are a predatory, piscine race that ventures from the ocean’s black depths to hunt the creatures of the

Armanite

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

", "rollAction":"Lightning Lance", "rollDamageType":"lightning"} lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.Great herds of armanites race across the blasted fields of

the Abyss, bent on slaughter and death, driven by unrestrained bloodlust. Whether they’re controlled by more powerful demons or charging into battle for the sake of it, armanites use their

Asteria

Monsters The Book of Many Things

discovery. She’s as likely to be found climbing trees or poring over arcane texts as she is brandishing her sword in battle. Anyone who engages Asteria in conversation about her interests finds

the first Deck of Many Things. She doesn’t know why this is but surmises her life is tied to that deck; so long as it continues to exist, so will she. She has no way to prove this hypothesis

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the plane of Acheron. It is there in the afterlife where the chosen ones will join Gruumsh and his armies in their endless extraplanar battle for supremacy. Gods of the Orcs Orcs believe their gods

created the orcs and continues to direct their destiny. He is aided and abetted by the other warrior deities, Bahgtru and Ilneval, who bring strength and cunning to the battlefield. The followers of all

Bugbear Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

. Shiftless, Savage Layabouts When they’re not in battle, bugbears spend much of their time resting or dozing. They don’t engage in crafting or agriculture to any great extent, or

. Gang Mentality Since bugbears aren’t a particularly fecund race, their overall population is small and spread over a wide area. Bugbears live in family groups that operate much like gangs. The

Minotaur

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

carve their horns to sharpen their edges, etch symbols of power into them, or sheathe them in bronze to prevent them from shattering during battle. Thick hair extends down minotaurs’ necks and

choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases

Hobgoblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

; entire society forever stands prepared for war. Brutal Civility Hobgoblins hold themselves to high standards of military honor. The race has a long history of shared traditions, recorded and retold

gods unique to their race, the only survivors of a pantheon that was decimated by Maglubiyet so long ago that hobgoblins don’t remember the names of the fallen. Nomog-Geaya is the greater of the

Deck of Many Things Legacy

Magic Items Basic Rules (2014)

30 feet of you. The fighter is of the same race as you and serves you loyally until death, believing the fates have drawn him or her to you. You control this character. Moon. You are granted the

you, warning all others that you must win the battle alone. The avatar fights until you die or it drops to 0 hit points, whereupon it disappears. If anyone tries to help you, the helper summons its

Dwarf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

industrious labor, skill in battle, and devotion to the forge. Individual dwarves are determined and loyal, true to their word and decisive in action, sometimes to the point of stubbornness. Many dwarves

field of battle centuries ago. SLOW TO TRUST Dwarves get along passably well with most other races. “The difference between an acquaintance and a friend is about a hundred years,” is

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

crawl to make progress. In places where a tunnel opens into a chasm and continues on the other side, the kobolds might connect the two passages with a rope bridge or some other rickety structure

populated areas, practice cannibalism, believing it is foolish to waste good meat. In any case, kobolds that eat humanoids don’t simply start consuming corpses or prisoners right after a battle

Ileuthra

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

knowledge, but the dragon is cagey on that point. Seeing good and bad in equal measure among the lesser races, Ileuthra recognizes that helping the humanoids is less a case of deciding whether they are worthy

of aid, and more about deciding whether these adventurer ambassadors can be trusted to properly lead the factions. Desire. Ileuthra has no preconceived sense of what might be the best course, and he

Goblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

appreciation for the finer things! — Volo Goblins occupy an uneasy place in a dangerous world, and they react by lashing out at any creatures they believe they can bully. Cunning in battle and

. Beast Masters and Slave Drivers Goblins know they are a weak, unsophisticated race that can be easily dominated by bigger, smarter, more organized, more ferocious, or more magical creatures. Their god

Ileuthra

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

knowledge, but the dragon is cagey on that point. Seeing good and bad in equal measure among the lesser races, Ileuthra recognizes that helping the humanoids is less a case of deciding whether they are worthy

of aid, and more about deciding whether these adventurer ambassadors can be trusted to properly lead the factions. Desire. Ileuthra has no preconceived sense of what might be the best course, and he

Chapter 9 Summary

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

Chapter 9 Summary Chapter 9 starts in Sigil and continues in Pandesmos, the first layer of the chaotic plane of Pandemonium. The rest of the adventure takes place on that plane. With all pieces of

Tasha. Kas flees to Pandemonium to free Miska the Wolf-Spider and usurp Vecna’s ritual. The characters must race to Pandemonium in pursuit of Kas, who has discovered where Vecna’s ritual is taking place.

Chapter 10 Summary

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

demonic forces of Kas, who is attempting to free Miska the Wolf-Spider from his prison in the nearby Ruinous Citadel, and the demon-god Lolth, who is allied with Vecna. The characters can manipulate the battle, or they can race straight to Kas, who eventually reveals the location of Vecna’s ritual.

Chapter 10 Summary In chapter 10, the characters follow Kas through Pandemonium toward the Ruinous Sea, an ocean of swirling, impassable, chaotic magic. On the coast, a battle rages between the

Resolving the Battle

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

. Deciding the Winner The team with the highest total of successful ability checks wins the Battle of Strixhaven.

Resolving the Battle The game takes place over three phases. In each phase, you should make ability checks for the student NPCs on the opposing team. The Battle of Strixhaven is among the most

How and When to Use the Tables

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

, they don’t occupy a specific place in that process. You can use some of them early on — for instance, it’s possible to determine your parents and other family members immediately after deciding your

character’s race — but you could also wait until later in the process. You might prefer to establish more facts about your character’s game identity — such as your class, ability scores, and alignment — before supplementing that information with what’s offered here.

Humanoids and the Gods

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

cataclysmic shift to replace him. With that in mind, consider the role of the gods in your world and their ties to different humanoid races. Does each race have a creator god? How does that god shape that

race’s culture? Are other folk free of such divine ties and free to worship as they wish? Has a race turned against the god that created it? Has a new race appeared, created by a god within the past few

Council of Dragons

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

Council of Dragons Five ancient dragons make up the council charged with deciding their metallic kin’s response to the cult. Though they are not necessarily the wisest or most powerful specimens of

the factions’ battle against Tiamat. As such, if the dragons side with the humanoids, it will be as a statement of personal faith in the party—and in the party’s ability to bring all the factions into the fight.

Gith

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

single race enslaved by the mind flayers. Although they attempted to overthrow their masters many times, their rebellions were repeatedly crushed until a great leader named Gith arose. After much

bloodshed, Gith and her followers threw off the yoke of their illithid masters, but another leader named Zerthimon emerged in the aftermath of battle. Zerthimon challenged Gith’s motives, claiming that her

Retreat!

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

Retreat! If the adventurers retreat from the sounds of battle, they barely escape from a partial collapse of their local section of Araumycos’s cavern complex. They race ahead of a small horde of

Facing Manshoon

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

Facing Manshoon A head-on battle with Manshoon isn’t likely to go well for the characters. That said, the wizard’s greatest weakness is that he has powerful enemies in Waterdeep. The risk of exposure

keeps him hidden, and the characters can thwart him by furnishing his enemies with proof that he’s alive (after a fashion) and operating in Waterdeep. When it comes to Manshoon clones, deciding to

Council of Dragons

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

Council of Dragons Five ancient dragons make up the council charged with deciding their metallic kin’s response to the cult. Though they are not necessarily the wisest or most powerful specimens of

the factions’ battle against Tiamat. As such, if the dragons side with the humanoids, it will be as a statement of personal faith in the party — and in the party’s ability to bring all the factions into the fight.

Snail Racing

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

, fast-paced sport that draws a lively crowd. Characters can participate in the race as snail jockeys, but it costs 1 ticket punch to enter. On the Story Tracker, jot down the names of any characters who

take part in the snail racing, as the experience might prove useful in chapter 2 (see “Reaching the Bottom”). If at least half the characters participate in a snail race, the carnival’s mood rises by

The Order of Combat

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

cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents about 6 seconds in the game world. During a round, each participant in a battle takes a turn. The order of turns is determined at the beginning of a combat

encounter, when everyone rolls initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to the next round if neither side has defeated the other. COMBAT STEP-BY-STEP Determine surprise. The

Let Them Speak Now …

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

into the Abyss. Characters reduced to 0 hit points in the battle on the Astral Plane are catapulted back to their bodies on the Material Plane. Their rapport with Araumycos is broken, and they are

adventurers entered into rapport with Araumycos, so that characters shunted out of that rapport can defend their compatriots’ helpless bodies while the fight continues. If all the characters are defeated on

Initiative Variants

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

completed their turns. If more than two sides take part in a battle, each side rolls for initiative. Sides act from the highest roll to lowest. Combat continues in the initiative order until the battle

initiative that introduces more uncertainty into combat, at the cost of speed of play. Under this variant, the participants in a battle roll initiative each round. Before rolling, each character or

Chapter 2: Character Races

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

Chapter 2: Character Races Heroes come in many shapes and sizes. This chapter presents character races that are some of the more distinctive race options in the D&D multiverse. They supplement the

consider the implications for their world before adding a new race. Your DM may say yes or no to you using a race or may modifiy it in some way. The following races are detailed in this chapter: Aasimar

The Order of Combat

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

cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents about 6 seconds in the game world. During a round, each participant in a battle takes a turn. The order of turns is determined at the beginning of a combat

encounter, when everyone rolls initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to the next round if neither side has defeated the other. COMBAT STEP-BY-STEP 1. Determine surprise. The

Magical Physiologies Exam: Slaadi

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

as studying how best to either avoid a fight with such creatures or battle them and emerge triumphant. The class’s professor is Verelda Lang (chaotic neutral dryad professor from Witherbloom College

events of the “A Great Frog Race” section and sees students tested on their knowledge of the creatures known as slaadi. The rules for Exams can be found earlier in this chapter.

Orc Culture and Beliefs

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

around them, and the priests of a tribe are entrusted with the responsibility of identifying these signs and omens — both good and bad — and deciding how the tribe should react to them. As a race, orcs

stones, mushrooms, or any other kind of circle. Seeing a shooting star before a battle is bad luck. To ward it off, you must swallow a stone. A tribute of elf ears brings favor from Gruumsh. If you bury

Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Quests from the Infinite Staircase

, Iggwilv’s ambitions proved excessive, and a climactic battle with Graz’zt broke her power. The Witch Queen then vanished. As her evil influence waned, Iggwilv’s realm was sundered, and her lair, the

surfaced over the last few decades, and three nations that border the mountains where it hides now race to claim Iggwilv’s hoard—or, if they can’t claim it, at least ensure that their rivals don’t either

D&D Beyond

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