before binding distant concern rather

Grippli Warrior

Monsters Candlekeep Mysteries

are raised by the community rather than by a single set of parents, and all of a community’s eggs are kept in freshwater pools until they mature. Protecting their eggs is a major concern for

Vladimir Horngaard

Monsters Curse of Strahd

Order of the Silver Dragon at a young age and quickly earned the friendship of its founder, the silver dragon Argynvost. When he became a knight of the order, he traveled to distant lands to wage war

witnessing Strahd himself slay Vladimir's beloved, his fellow knight Sir Godfrey Gwilym. With the battle won, Strahd surrounded Argynvostholt. Rather than cower in his lair, Argynvost emerged and

Isolde

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

archfey named Zybilna, who had forged secret pacts with some of the fiends Isolde and her companions had slain. Rather than be angry at Isolde, Zybilna was impressed by her. She enlisted a powerful fiend

comfort to Isolde and quelled her thirst for vengeance. Zybilna and Isolde enjoyed a strong partnership for years, but as time wore on, they grew distant until their relationship finally soured

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

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

stars overhead, a wild-eyed tiefling chants the mystic ritual that will open a doorway to a distant world. Warlocks are seekers of the knowledge that lies hidden in the fabric of the multiverse. Through

shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and shapes their later careers as well. Stories of warlocks binding themselves to fiends are widely known. But many warlocks serve patrons

Shifter Legacy

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

animal’s tough hide. A sense of invincibility spread through him. For the moment at least, he felt unstoppable! — Don Bassingthwaite, The Binding Stone Shifters are sometimes called the

personality: a feline shifter may be cool and distant, driven by predatory instincts, while a shifter with a lupine spirit might be drawn to find and protect a pack. When a shifter fully embraces this beast

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

few miles from where they were born. You aren’t one of those folk. You are from a distant place, one so remote that few of the common folk in the North realize that it exists, and chances are

discussed here are all sufficiently distant from the North and the Sword Coast to justify the use of this background. Evermeet. The fabled elven islands far to the west are home to elves who have never

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

pages were tales of bold heroes, strange and fierce animals, mighty primitive gods, and a magic that was part and fabric of that distant land. — Elaine Cunningham, Daughter of the Drow In the

, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. Human Names and Ethnicities Having so much more variety than other cultures, humans as a whole have no typical names. Some human parents

Tabaxi Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

lazy, but when Linene came around looking for a missing broach, she was out the door before I could blink an eye. — Toblen Stonehill, innkeeper Hailing from a strange and distant land

tabaxi rarely stay in one place for long. Their innate nature pushes them to leave no secrets uncovered, no treasures or legends lost. Wandering Outcasts Most tabaxi remain in their distant

Mogis

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

against. Tread carefully when using him as a patron, as his area of concern trends toward villainy rather than heroics.

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow lizardfolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome. Cold and Calculating Most humanoids describe cold-blooded people as lacking in

emotion and empathy. The same label serves as an apt depiction of lizardfolk. Lacking any internal emotional reactions, lizardfolk behave in a distant manner. They don’t mourn fallen comrades or

Verdan

Species Acquisitions Incorporated

. Reality is a descent into chaos punctuated by brief flashes of order, whence we arose and so imagine it to be the norm rather than a distant outlier. That-Which-Endures held entropy back for a mere instant

Dragonshards

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

shells. Eberron shards can be found almost anywhere, but the most significant deposits have been discovered in jungle environments, notably Q’barra and the distant land of Xen’drik. In their raw form

activity. Khyber dragonshards are deep blue or dark violet, laced with gleaming veins. Khyber dragonshards have a affinity for binding magics. Elemental binding—which is behind airships, the lightning

Monks

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

earliest monastic orders in Faerûn arose in the southern lands of Amn and Calimshan, their practices migrating north and east at the same time similar practices filtered westward from distant Kara-Tur

wilderness. Some monastic communities have members numbering in the hundreds, with a presence closer to civilization, and often with correspondingly greater influence, for those orders concern

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

they are more interested in grabbing plunder and food rather than in wanton slaughter. The elderly, children, and any who seem weak or meek enough might escape death. If they leave the population more

rival orcs first and foremost as competitors for food and victims. On some occasions, though, tribes that have a common concern band together. The result is an orc horde — a sea of slavering

New Race: Verdan

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

. Reality is a descent into chaos punctuated by brief flashes of order, whence we arose and so imagine it to be the norm rather than a distant outlier. That-Which-Endures held entropy back for a mere instant, and the Verdan emerged. I’m sorry, was that the question? — K’thriss Drow’b

Who Dwells Here?

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Infernal Machine Rebuild

Who Dwells Here? This version of the Tomb of Horrors takes place in the distant past, when various legendary figures of in-game history (Acererak included) still operate as mere mortals. Several of

such figures have been included as NPCs, but you should not treat this adventure’s approach to those characters as canon. Rather, use them to flesh out this particular adventure in “what-if” fashion

Group Patrons

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

patron. These patrons provide a strong binding element: an individual or an organization that unites a party as a team in service to a greater purpose. A group patron can help set the tone of your

party. Rather than (or in addition to) creating a web of established relationships, players can work with the DM to choose a group patron. And if you’re interested in being your own patron, see the

Delvers into Secrets

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

shapes their later careers as well. Stories of warlocks binding themselves to fiends are widely known. But many warlocks serve patrons that are not fiendish. Sometimes a traveler in the wilds comes to a

mere study and research. No one makes a pact with such a mighty patron if he or she doesn’t intend to use the power thus gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit

Delvers into Secrets

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

shapes their later careers as well. Stories of warlocks binding themselves to fiends are widely known. But many warlocks serve patrons that are not fiendish. Sometimes a traveler in the wilds comes to a

and research. No one makes a pact with such a mighty patron if he or she doesn’t intend to use the power thus gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their

Chapter 2: The Dessarin Valley

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse

off from these parts. If the Dessarin Valley isn’t quite as wild and lawless as it once was, it’s still lightly settled territory that serves as a route to distant lands. Residents in places such as

, apples, and hops, then ship them downriver (or drive them down the Long Road) to the coast. Few people become rich from farming, but farmers in the region do well for themselves provided the weather cooperates. (That’s one reason why the unusual weather lately has been a concern.)

Halflings of the Five Nations

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

influence can be felt across the nation and even in the distant city of Stormreach. If you decide to play a halfling rogue—or any character with a criminal or charlatan background—you should decide if you

, who occasionally pulls you into their problems. Or you could even be the reluctant heir of a powerful Boromar leader; you’ve gone on the run rather than taking your place in this criminal empire, but someday your past may catch up with you.

Hidden Shepherds

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

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 own laws. Firbolgs use their magic to keep their presence in a forest secret. This approach allows them to avoid the politics and struggles of elves, humans, and orcs. Such events concern the

Halflings of the Five Nations

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

Boromars are based in Sharn, but their influence reaches across the nation and even to the distant city of Stormreach. If you decide to play a halfling rogue, or a character with a criminal or charlatan

the syndicate, who occasionally pulls you in to criminal affairs. Or you could even be the reluctant heir of a Boromar leader; perhaps you’ve gone on the run rather than take your appointed place in

Deep Gnomes

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

is marked by smooth, curving shapes rather than straight lines and hard edges. Svirfneblin are intensely community-minded and have little concern about privacy among themselves. Thus, they don’t

6. Captive Balor

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Infernal Machine Rebuild

6. Captive Balor At the end of this hall, some sort of horrible binding process is underway. A balor is held against the wall, pressed in against the stonework design of a great green devil’s face. A

focuses his wrath on Moghadam and Phenex, hunting both down before vanishing into the rift to the Lower Planes in area 16. If the balor is released, the sphere binding him becomes a sphere of annihilation

Giantkind

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

them a distant and distorted connection to Annam. Oni are often said to be distantly related to ogres, but at this point they are more fiendish than Giant. Cyclopes. Contradictory legends explain the

and the resulting corruption of their physical forms. One myth suggests cyclopes are descendants of Karontor like the fomorians, but stemming from a line that began after Karontor’s banishment rather

The Lords of Dust

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

overlords were bound at the end of the Age of Demons by the power of the Silver Flame, and an overlord can be released from this binding only if doing so can be made to fulfill the Draconic Prophecy

operate as an alliance of like-minded cabals rather than a single monolithic organization. Each cabal serves its particular overlord above all others, and the conditions that release one overlord could

Darklake District

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

here, as you spy drow, svirfneblin, derro, orcs, and other races in the crowds. The shouting of people blends with the sound of distant hammering to create a constant, distracting din. Behind the

restricted to the Darklake District, and the characters have better luck asking other outsiders for directions rather than trying to engage the duergar locals. They are directed to the Blade Bazaar if

The God-Brain's Powers and Dominion

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

is wracked by extreme electrical storms, and alien vapors rise at the domain’s distant edges and within its hidden tunnels. Rather than barring creatures’ escape, these Mists repress memories. Any non

Shadow of Soth

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

. Foreshadow that threat after characters decide where they’re headed by reading the following description: To the southwest, the crack of shearing stone sounds from a distant temple whose grounds teem with

get at whoever’s in charge in there!” Rookledust encourages the characters to find the Dragon Army’s leaders within the city rather than pursing Soth. The gnome is confident that Kalaman’s forces

Breaking the Contract

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

Breaking the Contract Voiding the infernal contract between Zariel and Thavius Kreeg causes the hellish chains binding Elturel to crumble to ash. This can be accomplished by either killing Zariel or

possesses, the devil Thavius is a coward who would rather grovel than fight. Killing him marks a wretched end to a wretched life. If the characters left Thavius alive in chapter 1, they must find a way

Zilargo

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

Zilargo Capital: Korranberg Noted for Gnomes, alchemy, education, elemental binding, entertainment, precious stones Zilargo is the homeland of the gnomes, and at first glance it appears to be a

gnome charlatan to connive another gnome out of a jewel mine—as long as this is accomplished through cunning, negotiation, or deception rather than violence or outright theft, and as long as the mine

Blood Will Tell

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

come off as coarse, blunt, or rude in dealings with other people. With the directness of an orc, they speak their minds with no apparent concern for how their opinions are received. No matter where

they live, half-orcs usually find themselves defined by others in terms of their usefulness as heavy laborers and soldiers. It is the rare and fortunate few who are judged by their character and their deeds rather than their ancestry.

Zilargo

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

Zilargo Capital: Trolanport Hallmarks: Alchemy, education, elemental binding, entertainment, gnomes, precious stones At first glance, the homeland of the gnomes appears to be a paradise. City streets

gnome—as long as the charlatan accomplishes the deed through cunning, negotiation, or deception rather than violence or outright theft, and as long as the mine stays in Zil hands. The same applies to

D&D Beyond

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