before before dealing clever result

Death Ward Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

You touch a creature and grant it a measure of protection from death. The first time the target would drop to 0 hit points as a result of taking damage, the target instead drops to 1 hit point, and

the spell ends. If the spell is still in effect when the target is subjected to an effect that would kill it instantaneously without dealing damage, that effect is instead negated against the target, and the spell ends.

Onyx

Monsters Acquisitions Incorporated

. Dealing with Onyx. Onyx cannot be overcome or killed by combat. Any weapon attack against her that hits AC 12 makes contact but deals no lasting damage. However, if the attack would deal 10 or more

damage, Onyx has disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of her next turn. If Onyx would take 10 or more damage from spells or other effects, it yields the same result. Spells that impose conditions

Returned Drifter

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

the living once more, but their second lives are rarely what they expected—not that they remember what it was they expected. As a result of having followed the Path of Phenax (see chapter 4

effectively another sapient being’s face. Convincing a merchant to buy a Returned mask, or dealing with the ramifications of such a sale, might prove to be an adventure in itself. Returned Nature. The

Returned Sentry

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

second lives are rarely what they expected—not that they remember what it was they expected. As a result of having followed the Path of Phenax (see chapter 4), the Returned lose their identities

. Convincing a merchant to buy a Returned mask, or dealing with the ramifications of such a sale, might prove to be an adventure in itself. Returned Nature. The Returned are undead. They need water

Returned Kakomantis

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

lives are rarely what they expected—not that they remember what it was they expected. As a result of having followed the Path of Phenax (see chapter 4), the Returned lose their identities

. Convincing a merchant to buy a Returned mask, or dealing with the ramifications of such a sale, might prove to be an adventure in itself. Returned Nature. The Returned are undead. They need water

Gnome Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

whenever they can. Their homes are well hidden by both clever construction and simple illusions. Welcome visitors are quickly ushered into the bright, warm burrows. Those who are not welcome are

over time. Gnome names are typically variants on the names of ancestors or distant relatives, though some are purely new inventions. When dealing with humans and others who are “stuffy” about

Feral Tiefling

Species Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

pact struck generations ago infused the essence of Asmodeus—overlord of the Nine Hells—into their bloodline. Their appearance and their nature are not their fault but the result of an

personality to any great degree. Years of dealing with mistrust does leave its mark on most tieflings, and they respond to it in different ways. Some choose to live up to the wicked stereotype, but others

Skabatha Nightshade

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Hourglass Coven. Better known as Granny Nightshade, she offers her assistance to those who are haunted by regret. Her deals often result in cruel twists; for example, a petitioner who asks to be reunited

. 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

Returned Palamnite

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

expected—not that they remember what it was they expected. As a result of having followed the Path of Phenax (see chapter 4), the Returned lose their identities, which manifest as separate beings

a Returned mask, or dealing with the ramifications of such a sale, might prove to be an adventure in itself. Returned Nature. The Returned are undead. They need water and air but not food or sleep

Loggers' Camp

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon of Icespire Peak

Loggers’ Camp “Loggers’ Camp” is balanced for characters of 3rd level, though characters of 2nd level can survive the perils of this quest if they are cautious and clever. Characters of 4th level or higher should have an easy time dealing with the threats to the camp.

Aarakocra Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

versa. The idea of ownership baffles most aarakocra. After all, who owns the sky? Even when explained to them, they initially find the notion of ownership mystifying. As a result, aarakocra who have

. Great Purpose Aarakocra enjoy peace and solitude. Most of them have little interest in dealing with other peoples and less interest in spending time on the ground. For this reason, it takes an

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

, allowing them to lurk in the highest levels and to keep watch on the city below. Hopeless Plagiarists As a result of their lack of creativity, kenku function comfortably as minions of a powerful master

a talent for learning and memorizing details. Thus, ambitious kenku can excel as superb spies and scouts. A kenku who learns of clever schemes and plans devised by other creatures can put them to use

Crook of Rao

Magic Items Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

Ages ago, the serene god Rao created a tool to shield his fledgling faithful against the evils of the Lower Planes. Yet, as eons passed, mortals developed their own methods of dealing with

conjured as a result of this effect appear in random unoccupied spaces within 60 feet of you and are not under your control. Extraplanar Reversal d100 Effect 1–25 A portal to

Aundairian Characters

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

Talent. If you’re not going to play a magic-using class, consider creating a high elf or a human with the Magic Initiate feat. Whether you favor damage-dealing cantrips or more utilitarian ones, every

. Don’t settle for common clothes and a squalid meal when you could wear glamerweave (see chapter 5) and drink the finest wine. If you’re a fighter, focus on finesse instead of crude strength. And never miss an opportunity for a clever quip.

Death Ward

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

would drop to 0 hit points as a result of taking damage, the target instead drops to 1 hit point, and the spell ends. If the spell is still in effect when the target is subjected to an effect that

would kill it instantaneously without dealing damage, that effect is instead negated against the target, and the spell ends.

Phenax as Campaign Villain

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros

thwarting his scheme or, failing that, dealing with the fallout. Whatever the objective, it will require the player characters to confront a being who was clever enough to escape the Underworld

engages in a shadow war with Erebos, causing pandemonium in the Underworld. As a result, droves of Returned flood the mortal world. 2 Phenax undertakes a plot to transform Erebos into one of the

Death Ward

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

would drop to 0 hit points as a result of taking damage, the target instead drops to 1 hit point, and the spell ends. If the spell is still in effect when the target is subjected to an effect that

would kill it instantaneously without dealing damage, that effect is instead negated against the target, and the spell ends.

Proposal

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

determine the outcome. A Charisma check can’t deceive or persuade most devils into a bad deal because the fiends are too clever and experienced in deal-making to be fooled. If devils do get involved in a

character’s check result is higher than the devil’s, the character sees through the devil’s deception. Devils like to slip extra clauses into the fine print of a contract. When this happens, a character who can

6. Rubble-Filled Staircase

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal->a3

out. Any digging, however, will result in further movement of the rubble, dealing 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage to each digger. Each digger must also succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be

Wood Elves: The Tairnadal

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

likely a legendary archmage. Was your ancestor a famous blademaster, a stealthy hunter, or a war chanter? Were they chivalrous or merciless? Bold or clever? Whatever their path, it is your duty to follow

scimitar is a masterpiece, and as a result the double-bladed scimitar is an expensive weapon (100 gp) — few though ever have the opportunity to purchase one. A Valenar blade in the hands of a non-elf is

Encounters North of Waterdeep

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

North of Waterdeep table are those the characters must fight. At the same time, NPC members of the escort are dealing with additional monsters not listed here. Assume that monsters and the travelers are

being alert before these encounters. After each encounter, roll 1d4 – 2. The result is the number of NPC escorts killed elsewhere in the battle. Encounters North of Waterdeep d20 Encounter 1–14

Encounters North of Waterdeep

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

North of Waterdeep table are those the characters must fight. At the same time, NPC members of the escort are dealing with additional monsters not listed here. Assume that monsters and the travelers are

being alert before these encounters. After each encounter, roll 1d4 – 2. The result is the number of NPC escorts killed elsewhere in the battle. Encounters North of Waterdeep d20 Encounter 1–14 No

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

can transform an individual into a more powerful type. The cost and time required to perform the ritual is prohibitive, and as a result most yuan-ti never get the opportunity to undergo such a

get into places their normal forms couldn’t enter. Their immunity to poison gives all yuan-ti a tactical advantage in dealing with other creatures. A pureblood serving as a food taster for a

Bring It to an End

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

. 3 The actions of the adventurers or a villain result in a cataclysmic event that the adventurers must escape. 4 The adventurers race to the site where a villain is bringing a master plan to its

, forcing the adventurers to close the portal while dealing with a villain at the same time. 8 The dungeon begins to collapse while a villain attempts to escape in the chaos. 9 The adventurers must choose

Lay Out the Premise

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

as you’re planning adventures. If your adventure relies on certain events, plan for multiple ways they might come about, or be prepared for clever players to prevent those events from happening as

. See “Respect for the DM” in chapter 1 and “Draw In the Players” later in this chapter for advice about dealing with this situation. One way to give players impactful choices is to keep multiple

Demogorgon

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

result is an entity that is capable of devising and enacting the most clever strategies, paranoid at all times about threats to his rule (which certainly exist in the chaos of the Abyss), and

The Deck as Narrative

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things

predicting those events or causing them? If a character draws the Flames card, and soon after, minions of Aurnozci (see chapter 20) try to capture them, is this a direct result of drawing the card, or would

, don’t put off card effects for too long. It’s okay for players to wonder for a session or two exactly when and how the effects will manifest, and you can use that time to devise clever and memorable

Introduction

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

—yet they need not do so alone. Groups like the Harpers, the Lord’s Alliance, and even the wicked Zhentarim might be rallied to oppose the Cult of the Dragon, but only if clever souls convince them to

previously presented in the adventures Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat. The result of a collaboration with Kobold Press, those adventures comprised the first fifth edition Dungeons

Introduction

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

them—yet they need not do so alone. Groups like the Harpers, the Lord’s Alliance, and even the wicked Zhentarim might be rallied to oppose the Cult of the Dragon, but only if clever souls convince

tale previously presented in the adventures Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat. The result of a collaboration with Kobold Press, those adventures comprised the first fifth edition Dungeons

Introduction

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

them—yet they need not do so alone. Groups like the Harpers, the Lord’s Alliance, and even the wicked Zhentarim might be rallied to oppose the Cult of the Dragon, but only if clever souls convince

tale previously presented in the adventures Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat. The result of a collaboration with Kobold Press, those adventures comprised the first fifth edition Dungeons

Black Pudding

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

black puddings into being. Roll on or choose a result from the Black Pudding Sources table to inspire a pudding’s origins. Black Pudding Sources 1d6 The Black Pudding Formed From... 1

pudding with a melee attack roll takes 4 (1d8) Acid damage. Nonmagical ammunition is destroyed immediately after hitting the pudding and dealing any damage. Any nonmagical weapon takes a cumulative −1

Religious Service

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

Result 1–10 No effect. Your efforts fail to make a lasting impression. 11–20 You earn one favor. 21+ You earn two favors. A favor, in broad terms, is a promise of future assistance from a

representative of the temple. It can be expended to ask the temple for help in dealing with a specific problem, for general political or social support, or to reduce the cost of cleric spellcasting by 50

Adventure Summary

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

sending them on their way. The characters explore the island, dealing with horrifying undead, surviving clergy, brutal mercenaries, and living constructs in trapped tunnels. Once they have cleared the

. As a result, they have hired mercenaries to remove the threat on the Abbey Isle, located between North Isle and Fire Island. The cult could be followers of Alphaks, inspiring Thyatian privateers to set out from Terentias and brave Minrothad territory to wipe out the renegade cult.

Daughters of Sora Kell

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

. Charismatic and clever, she is an accomplished illusionist and shapeshifter who rarely wears the same face twice. Stories say that she weaves curses on her loom, and that she loves to match wits with heroes

the whole thing and still be hungry. She binds the souls of her victims to their skulls, which she keeps in her lair. Though many stories depict her as merely a brute, she is a clever strategist and

Elves of Valenar

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

you’re a ranger, was your ancestor a famous blademaster, or a stealthy hunter? Was your ancestor chivalrous or merciless? Bold or clever? Whatever their nature, it’s your duty to follow their example

tens of thousands of years, these blades are strong, sharp, and remarkably light. Each scimitar is a masterpiece, and as a result the double scimitar is an expensive weapon, but few people ever have an

D&D Beyond

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