before becoming dead creation rites

Book of Vile Darkness

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

attuned to the book, you can cast the following spells (save DC 18) from it: Animate Dead Circle of Death Dominate Monster Finger of Death Once you use the book to cast a spell, you can’t

, foul rites that allow one to transform into a death knight or lich, or long-lost spells crafted by beings so evil their names ought never to be spoken aloud. Vile Speech. While the book is on your

Paladin

Classes Player’s Handbook

forces of annihilation and corruption. Whether sworn before a god’s altar, in a sacred glade before nature spirits, or in a moment of desperation and grief with the dead as the only witnesses, a

;s armies, but even fewer people can claim the calling of a Paladin. When they do receive the call, these blessed folk turn from their former occupations and take up arms and magic. Becoming a

Bard

Classes Player’s Handbook

, disheartening foes, and creating illusions. Bards believe the multiverse was spoken into existence and that remnants of its Words of Creation still resound and glimmer on every plane of existence. Bardic

. But Bards’ depth of knowledge and mastery of magic sets them apart. Becoming a Bard... As a Level 1 Bard Gain all the traits in the Core Bard Traits table. Gain the Bard’s level 1

Wish

Spells Player’s Handbook

your choice: Object Creation. You create one object of up to 25,000 GP in value that isn’t a magic item. The object can be no more than 300 feet in any dimension, and it appears in an unoccupied

result of how you worded the wish. For example, wishing that a villain were dead might propel you forward in time to a period when that villain is no longer alive, effectively removing you from the

Cleric

Classes Player’s Handbook

prayers and rites that help them draw on power from the Outer Planes. Not every member of a temple or shrine is a Cleric. Some priests are called to a simple life of temple service, carrying out their

devotion through prayer and rituals, not through magic. Many mortals claim to speak for the gods, but few can marshal the power of those gods the way a Cleric can. Becoming a Cleric... As a Level 1

Druid

Classes Player’s Handbook

, individual Druids gain their magic from nature, a nature deity, or both, and they typically unite with other Druids to perform rites that mark the passage of the seasons and other natural cycles

regions of unspoiled nature, but when a significant danger arises, Druids take a more active role as adventurers who combat the threat. Becoming a Druid... As a Level 1 Character Gain all the

Kraul Death Priest

Monsters Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

: animate dead, blight, vampiric touch Pack Tactics. The kraul has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the kraul's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally

, with little grasp of metaphor or nuance. The death priests occupy the highest roles in kraul society. They lead the buzzing chants of the kraul rites. Their inscrutable clicks and buzzing can summon

Prismari Professor of Expression

Monsters Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

lightning strikes and searing lashes of flame meet the professors’ foes head on. Professors who embrace the Prismari philosophy of expression focus on magic becoming art in the moment. Whether to

create a spectacle that an audience will never forget or to strike down their foes in a flash, these teachers impress upon their students the beauty of creation. Prismari Scholars The scholars of

Stone Giant Dreamwalker

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

adhered to the giant unless the giant is dead, in which case the magic works normally, freeing the petrified creature as well as ending the petrified condition on it.The surface of the world is an alien

consequences, dreamwalkers act as they please, becoming forces of chaos. As they travel the world, they collect objects and creatures that seem especially significant to them. Over time, the collected things accrete to their bodies, becoming encased in stone.

Jiangshi

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

jiangshi’s choice). It reverts to its true form if it dies.When a soul becomes trapped within its corpse, its bitterness can reanimate its body, creating a jiangshi. These vengeful dead stalk

their descendants and the communities they knew in life, sowing terror and taking retribution for the slights or neglected burial rites that led to their cursed resurrections. Rigor mortis notoriously

Deathlock Mastermind

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

lesser creatures to help them carry out their missions, becoming the masterminds behind vast conspiracies and intrigues that culminate in the accomplishment of great acts of evil. Deathlocks The

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

Gnome Ceremorph

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

of an illithid tadpole in the brain of a humanoid host. After about seven days in its new home, the tadpole transforms its host into a mind flayer. The new creation typically retains no memory of its

while becoming able to speak Deep Speech and Undercommon. It retains fragmented memories of its previous life and previous alignment, not to mention a propensity for invention. Laser Pistol. A gnome

Young Topaz Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

Decay While generally not malicious, topaz dragons embody decay. They view destruction as a natural means of clearing the way for new creation and growth, much as a forest fire clears dead wood

-orange and have a cloudy or filmy look. As they age, their scales harden and clarify, becoming translucent and faceted, and ranging from bright yellow to rich amber in color. Their bodies are wider at the

Lady Illmarrow

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

","rollAction":"Rejuvenation"} days, regaining all her hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within two hundred miles of the location at which she was destroyed. Spellcasting. Illmarrow

missile, shield, sleep 2nd level (3 slots): blur, detect thoughts, mirror image 3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, fireball, fly, lightning bolt 4th level (3 slots): blight, confusion

Death Tyrant Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

and whether the cone is active. Any creature in that area can’t regain hit points. Any humanoid that dies there becomes a zombie under the tyrant’s command. The dead humanoid retains its

creature to 0 hit points, its body becomes a pile of fine gray dust. If the target is a Large or smaller nonmagical object or creation of magical force, it is disintegrated without a saving throw. If

Tarul Var

Monsters Tales from the Yawning Portal

"} days, regaining all his hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery. Spellcasting. Var is a 12th-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is

next 24 hours.After failing in an earlier task for the Red Wizards, the lich Tarul Var is sequestered within the Doomvault (Dead in Thay), where he tries to avoid the attention of Szass Tam

Mind Flayer Lich (Illithilich) Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

":"1d10","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Rejuvenation"} days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery. Spellcasting. The lich is an 18th

arrow, detect thoughts, invisibility, mirror image 3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, dispel magic, fireball 4th level (3 slots): blight, dimension door 5th level (3 slots): cloudkill

Astral Elf Warrior

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

numerous invaders, including psurlons, mind flayers, and githyanki. When dealing with others, astral elves customarily cover their faces with ornate visors, becoming faceless extensions of their gods

configurations to create star moth;star moths (see the Astral Adventurer’s Guide) and other vessels. The elves also reshape the petrified bodies of dead gods found adrift in the Silver Void, transforming

Topaz Dragon Wyrmling

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

; scales are dull yellow-orange and have a cloudy or filmy look. As they age, their scales harden and clarify, becoming translucent and faceted, and ranging from bright yellow to rich amber in color

’s mood. Embodiment of Decay While generally not malicious, topaz dragons embody decay. They view destruction as a natural means of clearing the way for new creation and growth, much as a forest

Astral Elf Honor Guard

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

psurlons, mind flayers, and githyanki. When dealing with others, astral elves customarily cover their faces with ornate visors, becoming faceless extensions of their gods. Their fierce devotion to the

moths (see the Astral Adventurer’s Guide) and other vessels. The elves also reshape the petrified bodies of dead gods found adrift in the Silver Void, transforming them into floating cities and

Lich Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

":"1d10","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Days"} days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery. Spellcasting. The lich is an 18th-level

, detect thoughts, invisibility, mirror image 3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, dispel magic, fireball 4th level (3 slots): blight, dimension door 5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, scrying

Ruinblade

Magic Items Infernal Machine Rebuild

can’t be used until the next dawn. Destructive Ruin. You can cast the disintegrate spell from the weapon, but can target only a nonmagical object or a creation of magical force. Once used, this

property of the weapon can’t be used until dawn seven days later. Curse. This weapon is cursed, and becoming attuned to it extends the curse to you. Until the curse is broken with a remove curse

The Abbot

Monsters Curse of Strahd

spells, requiring only verbal components: At will: detect evil and good 1/day each: commune, raise dead Magic Resistance. The Abbot has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical

in reuniting Strahd with his lost love and, in so doing, ending Barovia's curse. The Abbot has recently completed work on a flesh golem bride made from the body parts of dead women. While the Belviews

Haunted One

Backgrounds Curse of Strahd: Character Options

, common;set of common clothes, and 1 sp. Harrowing Event Prior to becoming an adventurer, your path in life was defined by one dark moment, one fateful decision, or one tragedy. Now you feel a darkness

. Sometimes it beckons you in the dead of night. 3 An apparition that has haunted your family for generations now haunts you. You don’t know what it wants, and it won’t leave you alone

Staff of the Forgotten One

Magic Items Tomb of Annihilation

, remove curse, or similar spell ends the curse on the target. The Forgotten One. The bodiless life force of a dead archmage empowers the staff and is imprisoned within it. The rune carved into the

force tries to possess the staff wielder. The wielder must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma saving throw or be possessed, becoming an NPC under the DM’s control. If the intruding life force is targeted

Reborn

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

of Dread (detailed in chapter 3): Har’Akir. You died and endured the burial rites of this desert realm, yet somehow a soul—yours or another’s—has taken refuge in your

perfectly preserved remains. Lamordia. You awoke amid the bizarre experiments of an amoral scientist. They consider you their finest creation or have a task for you to fulfill. Mordent. You emerged from the mysterious device known as the Apparatus, your body a lifeless shell and your past a mystery.

Mummy Lord Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the mummy lord's heart. Spellcasting. The mummy lord is a 10th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability

(at will): sacred flame, thaumaturgy 1st level (4 slots): command, guiding bolt, shield of faith 2nd level (3 slots): hold person, silence, spiritual weapon 3rd level (3 slots): animate dead

Lineages

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

overshadow their original race, if any, becoming their new race. A character might choose a lineage during character creation, their transformation having occurred before play begins. Or, events might

subsequent to character creation. Creating Your Character At 1st level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of one of the game’s fantastical races. Alternatively, you

Phantom

Classes Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

. These rogues take knowledge from the dead and become immersed in negative energy, eventually becoming like ghosts. Thieves’ guilds value them as highly effective information gatherers and

Phantom (TCoE)

Classes Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

. These rogues take knowledge from the dead and become immersed in negative energy, eventually becoming like ghosts. Thieves’ guilds value them as highly effective information gatherers and

Adult Amethyst Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

foundations of creation. 5 To experience a thing is to truly understand it. Direct and personal experience is the most valuable form of knowledge. 6 I see a far more kaleidoscopic reality than

, anything is possible—including the creation of a more orderly and perfect cosmos than this one. Amethyst Dragon Ideals d6;{"diceNotation":"1d6","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Ideal

Yuan-ti

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Yuan-ti were originally humans who transformed themselves into serpent folk through ancient rituals. Most yuan-ti were corrupted into monsters by those rites, but some yuan-ti instead became a new

during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores

Astral Elf Commander

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

, and githyanki. When dealing with others, astral elves customarily cover their faces with ornate visors, becoming faceless extensions of their gods. Their fierce devotion to the pantheon of elven

Astral Adventurer’s Guide) and other vessels. The elves also reshape the petrified bodies of dead gods found adrift in the Silver Void, transforming them into floating cities and citadels. Although

Hexblood

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

. Heir of Hags One way hags create more of their kind is through the creation of hexbloods. Every hexblood exhibits features suggestive of the hag whose magic inspires their powers. This includes an

considered a gift from the town’s patron deity, who is known as Mother. BECOMING A HAG Hags can undertake a ritual to irreversibly transform a hexblood they created into a new hag, either one of

Valindra Shadowmantle Legacy

Monsters Tomb of Annihilation

;{"diceNotation":"1d10","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Rejuvenation"} days, regaining all its hit points and becoming active again. The new body appears within 5 feet of the phylactery. Spellcasting

3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, counterspell, dispel magic, fireball 4th level (3 slots): blight, dimension door 5th level (3 slots): cloudkill, scrying 6th level (1 slot): disintegrate, globe

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