before been drifts 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

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

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.

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

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

Attack of the Nematode

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

traipsed about inside it and comes looking for revenge. Able to fly as easily as it drifts through the Endless Void, the Nematode slips through the planes until it soars above Phandalin. The Nematode

rather than lightning). Beyond the membrane in the Nematode’s head is a massive, fluid-filled chamber that serves as the Nematode’s brain. The characters must damage each of the five electroreceptors in

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

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

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

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

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

Getting Players Invested

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

describe something you think smells good or something you think a character would like. Or you can ask a player, “The smell of something amazing drifts from around the corner. What is it?” Whatever the

with a comedic flavor—such as flumphs, pixies, faerie dragons, or chatty mimics—in a situation that leads to mischief and humor rather than combat. Missing Pet Episode. Someone’s pet is missing. The

Navigating the Drought Elder

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel

of the Drought Elder’s alien consciousness. It uses the demilich stat block but is an Aberration rather than Undead. It ignores the characters unless they try to harm it or try to enter area D5—either

void begins slowly drifting away from the Drought Elder at a rate of 10 feet per round. Unless the creature has a tether thrown to it or is recovered by another flying creature, it gradually drifts out

Kianna's Farmhouse Locations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel

. Ward stays in the field and documents the strange blight rather than joining the characters inside. F2: Porch A large wooden porch wraps around the front and one side of the farmhouse. Its planks creak

they overheard in Promise. This part of the song tells the story of a young man named Culley. Rather than its usual content, where the boy dies by drowning, the song has been sloppily rewritten to

Mbala

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation

shells rattle in the breeze, and smoke drifts from hut. A creature shuffles slowly around the hut, hunched over in an animal-like posture. You realize it’s a human woman: impossibly old, crippled by

(see “Pterafolk Nest” below), and then to become her meals for several months. She’s not likely to attack them openly. She’d rather get them off their guard and pick them off one by one, as she did with

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

one person, concept, or event that you are terrified of? What are your vices? TIKA AND ARTEMIS: PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS Tika and Artemis have distinct personality traits. Tika Waylan dislikes

Uthgardt Lands

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

call themselves “children of Uthgar.” Though the Uthgardt each belong to a given tribe, these are markers of identity, rather than coherent populations. In my experience, it is rare outside of

size that near the ancient ancestral mound of the Red Tiger tribe. The settlement was founded some time ago by members of the Black Lion tribe, who put down roots here rather than continuing to live

The Lucent Edict

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Light of Xaryxis

The Lucent Edict The vessel is the Lucent Edict, a nautiloid. After the characters sight the craft, read: As the nautilus-shaped vessel drifts closer, Captain Sartell lets out a sigh of relief. “It’s

, Captain Sartell sarcastically apologizes for interrupting their “pleasure cruise” and wonders aloud whether they’d rather stay back and swab the decks while she does all the hard work. If the

Appendix: Roleplaying Cards

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Domains of Delight: A Feywild Accessory

precarious situations when he has an audience, confident that his speed and cunning will see him through danger. He leads by example rather than by dictate. Alignment. Chaotic evil. Personality Trait

everything and is quick to fall head over heels in love. A humble idealist, Amidor never puts its own needs above the needs of others. Alignment. Neutral good. Personality Trait. “My speech drifts

Appendix D: Roleplaying Cards

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

precarious situations when he has an audience, confident that his speed and cunning will see him through danger. He leads by example rather than by dictate. Alignment. Chaotic evil. Personality Trait

drifts into flowery verse, if you’ll pardon the pun. Allow me to demonstrate: Do not cry, my love! Let me catch your tears as faeries collect morning dew. Let me lift your spirits like a seed on the

Random Encounters in Yon

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

the cyclops long enough for the party to escape. Alternatively, a character might use a speak with animals spell to find out what Pollenella wants. The bee would rather stay with Amidor than return to

in love. This statement causes the cyclops to blink in confusion and ask, “What is love?” If the concept is explained to him, Mudlump declares that he’d like to be in love, too, and gives the

Upper Palace Locations

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

apart. They produce eerie, ghostlike reflections off the water. As you take in the scene, an empty sailboat drifts into view from farther down the hall and makes its way toward you. The sailboat

drifts into a lengthy, plodding dissertation about demiplanes and how to construct them) Kingdom of the Ghouls (one adventuring party’s exploration of a subterranean kingdom of ghouls on the world of

Silent Sound Lighthouse

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

drifts toward you, moaning. Creature. The ghost of one of the members of the Order of the Stout Half-Pint (see below) now guards this area, attacking as soon as any character steps into the room or

: This area is gloomy and dancing with shadows. A ten-foot-wide catwalk encircles the fifteen-foot-high lantern room housing the lighthouse’s crystal lens. The lens rotates lazily, but rather than

Tour of the Planes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

draws merchants and travelers from across reality. Syrania is home to a host of angels that devote their immortal lives to serene contemplation. Each angel seeks to achieve mastery of one pure concept

— rather, it’s a domain frozen by its prince’s broken heart. If the prince’s story were changed, the realm would change with it. Time and space are both malleable in the Faerie Court, and a mortal who

Cottage Locations

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

a successful melee attack against a creature that happens to be wearing a helm, a hat, or some other kind of headwear, the darkmantle grabs and removes the headwear and flees with it rather than

(Perception) score of 13 or higher notice that the black-clad figure doesn’t cast a shadow. This is not a trait that darklings possess, but rather the result of Endelyn’s using her scissors of shadow snipping

Wedding Itinerary

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

, several NPCs have secrets triggered by events rather than a specific time. For example, you would provide Tannus’s player with the groom’s secret if at any time Tannus is about to swing a weapon to

players to embrace the roles and enjoy the concept of momentarily placing their NPC’s secret goal as a top priority. Players might be more willing to take this on if you let them know that the scenario

Scions of Giants' Gods

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

creatures as toys rather than serious threats, and it uses its illusion magic to manipulate creatures into fighting each other. If seriously threatened, it wields thunder and wind to demolish its enemies

it drifts too near the ground or the ocean surface, it causes mighty storms or fierce maelstroms. A scion’s slumber is filled with dreams ranging from inspiring visions of Annam’s return to melancholy

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