before better dealing compare relation

Vertebrae Sword

Equipment

The jagged vertebrae sword of a fishfolk warrior can barely be called a sword. Locals would say it’s better described as a makeshift weapon crafted from a fish skeleton and sea trash. Its poor

vertebrae sword, you can use a bonus action to rake and twist the weapon, breaking off some of the sword’s boney barbs and dealing an extra 1d8 piercing damage. The vertebrae sword can only be used in this way 5 times before it becomes unusable as a weapon.

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

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

Skylla

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Eldritch Staff","rollDamageType":"bludgeoning"} bludgeoning damage when used with two hands, and Skylla can expend up to 3 of the staff’s charges, dealing an

into allowing her to serve as the primary liaison between the League of Malevolence and the Hourglass Coven, claiming her pact with Baba Yaga made her better suited for the role than anyone else

Vecna the Archlich

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

response to being hit by an attack, Vecna utters a fell word, dealing 10 (3d6);{"diceNotation":"3d6", "rollType":"damage", "rollAction":"Fell Rebuke", "rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage to

scribe. He spent the better part of his childhood secretly educating himself in his masters’ arts. Once Vecna learned all he could, he massacred the wizards. He then recorded his every foul thought

Azorius Functionary

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

(though it might cause more problems than it solves when you’re dealing with incorrigible lawbreakers). If you abuse this privilege, though, you can get in serious trouble with your superiors and

best at everything in my legal training, and now I work with the person who was always just a little bit better. 6 A good friend was promoted into work they can’t tell me about. 7 I

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

odds aren’t in their favor. A short retreat might be just the thing to reach a better tactical position, find allies, or to allow the yuan-ti the opportunity to study their opponents and

implement better tactics. Any enemy who chases a group of fleeing yuan-ti might be on the victorious side of a rout or could be heading into a trap; if the enemy has been encountered before, it is likely

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

’ presence is marked by an absence of animals and a strange quiet, as if the forest wishes to avoid attracting attention to itself. The faster travelers decide to move on, the better. If these

forest’s children by their deeds, habits, and other actions. By the same token, their tribe names merely refer to their homes. When dealing with other races, firbolgs refer to their lands by

Keresta Delvingstone

Monsters Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

);{"diceNotation":"1d8+4","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Unarmed Strike","rollDamageType":"bludgeoning"} bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, Keresta can grapple the target (escape DC 18). Bite

stranger to hardship. Hoping to make a better life for herself, she became an adventurer and sought fame and fortune in Undermountain. Keresta met her end in the lair of a vampire and became a vampire spawn

Urchin

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

. The rest of your crew was wiped out in a brutal gang war, and now you’re looking for a new team. 3 You grew up crawling the walls, and you know the city better than anyone. The world’s a ugly

you. Sharn itself is an adventure, and you’re dealing with the horrors of your past by exploring your new home.

Upper Dura

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

Upper Dura This ward is full of activity. Its people are prospering, but there’s an edge of desperation about them; many folk are on the lookout for opportunities to better themselves. Upper Dura has

the general properties of a middle ward, with most goods and services priced for a modest or comfortable lifestyle. The merchants and artisans are accustomed to dealing with unusual individuals, and

Lay Out the Premise

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

campaign is the series as a whole. But while it’s worthwhile to compare an adventure to these other forms of storytelling, remember that an adventure isn’t a complete story until you play it. Your players

. 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

Approaching Castle Naerytar

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

to win Snapjaw’s trust or they’ve treated him no better than bullywugs would have, then he tells the guards that the characters are nothing but trouble, and the lizardfolk attack. If Snapjaw is not

Dexterity (Stealth) check for the lizardfolk guards, with advantage (they’ve had plenty of time to conceal themselves). Compare their result to the characters’ passive Wisdom (Perception) scores to

Approaching Castle Naerytar

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

to win Snapjaw’s trust or they’ve treated him no better than bullywugs would have, then he tells the guards that the characters are nothing but trouble, and the lizardfolk attack. If Snapjaw is not

Dexterity (Stealth) check for the lizardfolk guards, with advantage (they’ve had plenty of time to conceal themselves). Compare their result to the characters’ passive Wisdom (Perception) scores to

Chapter 3: Balance

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

markings can be assigned additional meanings. Choose from a Hand. Many card games rely on dealing hands of cards. You can use hands to represent a limited set of options in a situation, such as possible

card spread, each card’s intrinsic meaning changes depending on whether that card is upright or reversed (top oriented downward), or where it lies in relation to other cards in a spread. Stacked Deck

Hazards

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

things right, lest they risk mutiny or worse. Each day a ship spends dealing with a crew conflict requires those aboard to make a group check. The check’s DC is randomly determined or chosen from the

compare that check to the DC. Determine how many of the group’s checks succeeded — the officers’ and the crew’s — then consult the Crew Conflict Check Results table. Crew Conflict DCs DC Description

Rogues

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

cities, but can be placed to good use in dealing with dangerous monsters and lost treasure. Most large cities in the Realms have a number of thieves’ dens that compete with one another. A few places, such

better-known thieves and assassins. Such rogues blend more easily into civilized society, more often acting as grease in the wheels than a wrench in the works.

Skabatha Nightshade

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

comes to a dead stop. Alignment. Neutral evil. Personality Trait. “When dealing with outsiders, I present myself as a kindly old grandmother.” Ideal. “Children are better off working for me than

Skabatha Nightshade Skabatha is the oldest member of the Hourglass Coven. Better known as Granny Nightshade, she offers her assistance to those who are haunted by regret. Her deals often result in

Acquisition as a Holy Chore

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

fundamental urge for survival. If gold is power and power is life, then the more gold you accumulate, the better and longer your life will be. Why is it that people who have money and power are admired

Incorporated characters to be aware of. Mask is the god of acquisition, after all, and governs the secrets that any successful Acq Inc franchise will be dealing in. Whether personal, professional, or business

City Watch

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

members of the Watch know the streets they patrol and that area’s residents better than you do, even if you stay in Waterdeep for ten seasons. The City Watch has watch posts throughout the city

Elturgard. As long as you don’t engage in unlawful behavior, you can expect to be left untroubled by the Watch. WATCH TALK Members of the City Watch employ a sort of slang in dealing with the public

Ambushed Thri-Kreen

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

against the griffon. Roll initiative. The characters can drive off the griffon by dealing damage to it or by succeeding on a DC 18 Charisma (Intimidation) check. If they don’t drive it off, the griffon

. Characters who can communicate with the anteaters find them to be lazy, well-fed beasts. If asked about the tall termite mound, the anteaters explain that they live in that mound but the eating’s better

Camp Alertness

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

automatic. As the day wears on and the commotion winds down, the camp becomes calmer and better organized. Guards resume their normal routines. If characters haven’t entered the camp before sundown of the

—then compare their Charisma (Deception) checks to Mondath’s Wisdom check to determine whether she believes them. You can allow advantage or disadvantage on the roll when someone’s lies are especially

Overkill Attacks

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Flee, Mortals! Rule Primer

damage immediately knocks them out. But wait, it gets better—if the initial attack’s overkill damage exceeds the second minion’s hit point maximum, the leftover overkill damage can roll over to a

of goblin minions (each with 6 hit points). She hits a goblin minion with her longsword and uses Divine Smite, dealing 8 slashing damage and 11 radiant damage to the target for a total of 19 damage

Skylla

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

Yaga made her better suited for the role than anyone else. Endelyn Moongrave foresaw that Skylla’s allies would turn on her one day and shared this information with the warlock. Skylla reacted to that

, dealing an extra 4 (1d8) lightning damage for each expended charge. Spellcasting. Skylla casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability

Tips for New Dungeon Masters

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

until circumstances warrant otherwise, as discussed below. Armor Class. When characters make attacks against a creature, you compare those attacks to the creature’s Armor Class to determine whether the

the characters have hit the creature at least once, allowing players to know without asking if attacks made against the creature hit or miss. Hit Points. It’s better not to tell players how many hit

Traps in Play

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

actively looking for a trap can attempt a Wisdom (Perception) check against the trap's DC. You can also compare the DC to detect the trap with each character's passive Wisdom (Perception) score to

24d10 Complex Traps Complex traps work like standard traps, except once activated they execute a series of actions each round. A complex trap turns the process of dealing with a trap into something more

Emotionless Evil

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

own lives much too highly to risk them when the odds aren’t in their favor. A short retreat might be just the thing to reach a better tactical position, find allies, or to allow the yuan-ti the

opportunity to study their opponents and implement better tactics. Any enemy who chases a group of fleeing yuan-ti might be on the victorious side of a rout or could be heading into a trap; if the enemy has

Traps in Play

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

actively looking for a trap can attempt a Wisdom (Perception) check against the trap’s DC. You can also compare the DC to detect the trap with each character’s passive Wisdom (Perception) score to

18d10 24d10 Complex Traps Complex traps work like standard traps, except once activated they execute a series of actions each round. A complex trap turns the process of dealing with a trap into something

D&D Beyond

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