before birth diffusing current races

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

wisdom in their leadership, for they can rarely count on a wisdom grown with age. Goliath Names Every goliath has three names: a birth name assigned by the newborn’s mother and father, a nickname

assigned by the tribal chief, and a family or clan name. A birth name is up to three syllables long. Clan names are five syllables or more and end in a vowel. Birth names are rarely linked to gender

Dragonborn Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

to another dragonborn clan before seeking aid from other races—or even from the gods. Dragonborn Names Dragonborn have personal names given at birth, but they put their clan names first as a

give up on something. A dragonborn holds mastery of a particular skill as a lifetime goal. Members of other races who share the same commitment find it easy to earn the respect of a dragonborn. Though

Vedalken

Species Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

feelings about them. To members of other races, vedalken often seem cold, even emotionless. That assessment isn’t fair—they feel emotion every bit as intensely as other folk do, but they are

bioengineering or through extensive study, and others concentrate on perfecting society through the careful drafting and application of laws. Vedalken Names Vedalken are given names at birth, but

Courtier

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

circumstances of your birth, could have secured you this position. You might have been one of the many functionaries, attendants, and other hangers-on in the Court of Silverymoon, or perhaps you

gain access to the records and inner workings of any noble court or government you encounter. You know who the movers and shakers are, whom to go to for the favors you seek, and what the current

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

advisor in human society. The very rare offspring of such a union are always purebloods, although they may appear fully human at birth and for several years afterward. The yuan-ti know rituals that

the blood, as it once did. Because their population is so small, the yuan-ti are aware they are vulnerable in open warfare. Instead, their current plans assume they will never rule outwardly in

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

smooth-skins is far greater. Despite their alien outlook, some lizardfolk make an effort to understand and, in their own manner, befriend people of other races. Such lizardfolk make faithful and

rage against their enemies. They simply observe and react as a situation warrants. Lizardfolk lack meaningful emotional ties to the past. They assess situations based on their current and future

Giff

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

divine beings who created giff have likewise been forgotten. Their titanic petrified bodies drift on the Astral Sea, isolated and unrecognizable in their current forms. Although they don’t realize

character is a member of the human race or one of the game’s fantastical races. If you create a character using a race option presented here, follow these additional rules during character creation

Tortle Legacy

Species The Tortle Package

and its siblings inherit whatever tools, weapons, and gifts their parents left behind. Each young tortle is expected to fend for itself. It leaves the place of its birth and finds its own corner of the

set out on their own. Beliefs Tortles don’t have their own pantheon of gods, but they often worship the gods of other races. It’s not unusual for a tortle to hear stories or legends

Water Genasi

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

scales. Their hair can resemble seaweed, waving as if in a current, or it can even be like water itself. Genasi Tracing their ancestry to the genies of the Elemental Planes, each genasi can tap into

. Members of some races, such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries. If typical members of a race can live longer than a century, that fact is mentioned in the race’s description. Height and

Goliath Names

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

Goliath Names Every goliath has three names: a birth name assigned by the newborn’s mother and father, a nickname assigned by the tribal chief, and a family or clan name. A birth name is up to three

syllables long. Clan names are five syllables or more and end in a vowel. Birth names are rarely linked to gender. Goliaths see females and males as equal in all things, and they find societies with

Character Creation

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

makes a hero? Is it a quality of birth that sets some mortals above others? Is it a blessing from the gods? Is it a matter of fate, spun out in the strands of a divine tapestry, charting the course of a

hero’s life from miraculous birth to glorious end? If you’re reading this, the answer is that you make a hero, of course. In Theros, player characters and heroes are synonymous, being rare

Half-Elves

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

actual circumstances of their birth. For most folk in Faerûn, the issue isn’t so cut and dried. Half-elves are generally tolerated wherever they go, or wherever they take up residence — with the

proviso that a society that doesn’t look kindly on elves or humans is likely to feel the same way about someone who has the blood of both races. Conversely, a society that holds humans or elves in high

Human

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

Human The most numerous of Theros’s mortal races, humans embody the mortal will to carve out a place for civilization from the wilds. Although other, smaller settlements exist, the majority of humans

from one another. Some attach their place of birth or residence to their own names. A merchant from Meletis named Brigone, for example, would be Brigone of Meletis. Others link their name to their trade

Time in the Realms

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

races that don’t favor this method of marking time are aware of it, with the result that it is recognized across nearly all races, languages, and cultures. A year on Toril consists of 365 days. In the

name. For example, sages would record an event as occurring on “1 Mirtul” or “27 Uktar.” People might also refer to a given day by its relationship to the current date (“two tendays from today”) or the nearest holiday (“three days past Greengrass”).

Childhood

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

to usher a child into the world. They cannot understand how a birth is both a joy and a sorrow, a reunion and a parting. Each birth represents an elf soul that has been to Arvandor and returned

numbers of elves will be needed to withstand. In contrast, if an elven community goes a century or longer without a new birth, members take this as a sign that the community has stagnated and must disband

Dwarves of the Five Nations

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

greatest cities of Galifar. While many of the dwarves of the Five Nations still speak the language of their ancestors, they feel a bond to the lands of their birth. A Brelish dwarf feels a deep, personal

to your relatives or have you had a falling out—or potentially lost your kin in the Last War? Likewise, consider what you did in the war and how that reflects on your current actions. Were you a

The Cogs

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

helped Breland establish vast foundries that tap this mystic resource. Ashblack and Blackbones are industrial districts, largely inhabited by warforged laborers and miserable workers of other races. It

remarkable locations. For example, the Pool of Onatar’s Tears is sacred to the Sovereign of the Forge. The current caretaker is a warforged priest named Smith, who believes that Onatar has plans for

Boromar Clan NPCs

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

Boromar Clan NPCs The Boromar Clan employs people of all races, but most of the organization and nearly all of its inner circle are made up of halflings. Some of the organization’s most important

people are these: Saidan Boromar is the current patriarch of the family. He grew up in Lower Dura and worked as a thief and assassin there before taking over the organization. Mala Boromar d’Jorasco is

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

hatred of the civilized races of the world and their need to satisfy the demands of their deities, the orcs know that if they fight well and bring glory to their tribe, Gruumsh will call them home to

diplomacy. They care only for satisfying their insatiable desire for battle, to smash their foes and appease their gods. Booming Birth Rate In order to replenish the casualties of their endless warring

Protanther

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

. Though he sees both good and bad in the lesser races, he believes that their capacity for attaining great power despite their physical limitations makes them dangerous. For all their capability

evil archmages and liches — including Sammaster, who founded the Cult of the Dragon, and Szass Tam’s Red Wizards. Even the current leader of the Cult of the Dragon, Severin, and a majority of the cult’s

Noteworthy Features

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

or their current lives can join the Carnival. As long as travelers are willing to work and contribute to the community, they’re welcome to stay as long as they like. CARNIVAL CHARACTERS When players

create characters from the Carnival, consider asking them the following questions. What sets you apart from your birth family? Do you have a unique talent or inborn ability? Do you display a

Uncertain Origins

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

dragonborn serve, at least according to the dragonborn’s former masters. Another legend asserts that Io created the dragons at the birth of the world, but dragonborn did not yet exist. Then, during the

other humanoid races, which were pale imitations of dragonborn perfection. Io shaped the dragonborn and fired them with his breath, then spilled his own blood to give them life. The first dragonborn

Human

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

, no current guildmaster is human. But humans are lieutenants, advisors, and strategists in many guilds. Their ambition and drive propel them toward the top, but the sheer might of beings such as

shape the names of most of Ravnica’s humans. Humans sometimes borrow names from other races, but they have a rich pool of traditional names to draw from. The use of family names seems to be a peculiarly

Protanther

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

. Though he sees both good and bad in the lesser races, he believes that their capacity for attaining great power despite their physical limitations makes them dangerous. For all their capability, humanoids

archmages and liches—including Sammaster, who founded the Cult of the Dragon, and Szass Tam’s Red Wizards. Even the current leader of the Cult of the Dragon, Severin, and a majority of the cult’s

Crimes and Punishment

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

deceased elf’s ambitions and current life goals are cut short; the soul will eventually receive another chance at life and fulfillment. Because elves are reincarnated, their society treats the family

engaged in. Of these, exile is the most severe punishment. The surface elves’ attitude toward murder — which some races see as bordering on blasé — is carried to the extreme by the drow, who have elevated

Elf Adventurers

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

crusaders or heroes for hire. This aspect of elven life isn’t as well known among other races as it might be, because elves spend much of their “adventuring” years in places far away from other

elves are born with or develop the qualities that mark them as potential adventurers, as other races define the term. Many traditional adventuring groups are happy to count an elf among their members, and

Gatekeepers

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

the orcs of the region. In her studies of the Prophecy, Vvaraak had foreseen a great threat that could be stopped only by the younger races. So she taught the orcs the secret language of the natural

, the Gatekeepers have shared Vvaraak’s wisdom and druidic magic with humans, shifters, and others who came to Khorvaire. New interpretations of Vvaraak’s teachings gave birth to new druid sects: the

Boros Legion

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

their armor. Their soldiers were a variety of races, including humans, a minotaur with a permanent scowl on her face, an impatient-looking goblin, and even some kind of humanoid fire elemental, whose

guild. Aurelia, the current angelic guildmaster, is the third to hold that title. A PROUD MARTIAL TRADITION Minotaurs have a reputation for being both fierce warriors and clever strategists. Thick of

Nonhuman Deities

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

Nonhuman Deities Certain gods closely associated with nonhuman races are revered on many different worlds, though not always in the same way. The nonhuman races of the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk

share these deities. Nonhuman races often have whole pantheons of their own. Besides Moradin, for example, the dwarf gods include Moradin’s wife, Berronar Truesilver, and a number of other gods thought

Vedalken

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

rather than their feelings about them. To members of other races, vedalken often seem cold, even emotionless. That assessment isn’t fair — they feel emotion every bit as intensely as other folk do, but

Simic bioengineering or through extensive study, and others concentrate on perfecting society through the careful drafting and application of laws. Vedalken Names Vedalken are given names at birth

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