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Hat of Vortexes

Magic Items Netheril’s Fall

This hat has 3 charges and regains all expended charges daily at dawn. You can take a Magic action and expend 1 charge while holding the hat to release a magical vortex from it. The vortex fills a 10

-foot Cube originating from you and lasts for 1 hour. While the vortex is present, its area is Difficult Terrain. You decide a vortex's visual details when you create it. For instance, the vortex might be multicolored or glittery.

Temple of the Gods

Spells Xanathar's Guide to Everything

the door. The temple’s interior is an open space with an idol or altar at one end. You decide whether the temple is illuminated and whether that illumination is bright light or dim light. The

). The temple is made from opaque magical force that extends into the Ethereal Plane, thus blocking ethereal travel into the temple’s interior. Nothing can physically pass through the temple’s

Into Neverwinter's Catacombs

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye

the western ruins of the city. Unless you decide otherwise, the characters encounter no difficulties following the eyeball’s directions to a dilapidated entrance into the city’s western catacombs

moldering wood boards, propped up just enough to block a dark tunnel leading below the surface. The boards blocking the entrance to the catacombs can be moved easily, revealing a sloping tunnel (area N1).

Hat of Vortexes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Netheril’s Fall: Tales of Terror, Treasure, and Time Travel

hat to release a magical vortex from it. The vortex fills a 10-foot Cube originating from you and lasts for 1 hour. While the vortex is present, its area is Difficult Terrain. You decide a vortex’s visual details when you create it. For instance, the vortex might be multicolored or glittery.

Ready

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

before the start of your next turn. First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to

but hold its energy, which you release with your reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of 1 action, and holding onto the spell's magic requires concentration

Ready

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

before the start of your next turn. First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to

occurs, you can either take your reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore the trigger. When you ready a spell, you cast it as normal but hold its energy, which you release with your reaction

Set Expectations

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

, the tone, and major themes. Telling players what to expect prepares them as they imagine what sorts of characters they could create and launches conversations about content to be embraced and avoided

genres of horror from chapter 2 interest you. Being transparent with your players allows them to decide if this is a game they want to play, which is best to know before play begins.

Lords of Dust Campaign Themes

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

release an overlord, but they help to sustain it. To release an overlord, the Lords of Dust must ensure that the Prophecy unfolds along a specific path. Often, following this path requires specific

devious that it is often impossible to discern a pattern to their actions until their plans have come to fruition and the connections have finally been made clear. (You could retroactively decide that what you intended as unconnected encounters were all part of the plan from the beginning!)

Horror Content Survey

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

Horror Content Survey Take advantage of the time before your first game session to learn about your players’ thoughts related to horror adventures. To do this, create a brief list of questions

use them to guide what sort of adventures you’ll create. Content and Themes Questions Start your survey by listing common story and horror elements to determine your players’ comfort with them. The

What Caused the Mourning?

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

What Caused the Mourning? There will never be an official answer to the cause of the Mourning. As a DM in Eberron, we want you to decide the cause of this tragedy… or if you prefer, to leave it as a

mystery that will never be solved. With that said, people in Eberron itself have many theories about the cause of the Mourning; it’s up to you to decide if any of them are correct. The Mourning was

Ready [Action]

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook

your next turn. First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your Reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your

release with your Reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of an action, and holding on to the spell’s magic requires Concentration, which you can maintain up

Unity of Self

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Turn of Fortune’s Wheel

, more powerful self. If a character doesn’t release their lost incarnation, it might make the following chapter more challenging. Let each character decide what to do with their trapped incarnation

. If they decide to release it later, they can do so by returning to the House of Liars or by magical means available in Sigil. CoupleOfKooks “You never stop being a hero. You might take a break, you

Ready [Action]

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules

your next turn. First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your Reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your

release with your Reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of an action, and holding on to the spell’s magic requires Concentration, which you can maintain up

Bottom Card: Reward or Ruin

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

: Encounter. The characters’ failure leads to a difficult combat encounter. Use the card to help you decide what kind of creature is encountered. Exhaustion. The stress of overcoming the challenge

this setback: perhaps the characters became lost in the woods or encountered an obstacle blocking their path. Add two more cards to the spread. Lost Gear. The characters lose their rations or are

Temple of the Gods

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

an idol or altar at one end. You decide whether the temple is illuminated and whether that illumination is bright light or dim light. The smell of burning incense fills the air within, and the

, thus blocking ethereal travel into the temple’s interior. Nothing can physically pass through the temple’s exterior. It can’t be dispelled by dispel magic, and antimagic field has no effect on it. A

Where Next?

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

negotiate for his release if the characters capture him. He suggests that it would be most unwise to oppose a duke of Baldur’s Gate without leverage. If the characters decide to attack Vanthampur Villa

Tower of Urm

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

here to assassinate Mordenkainen. If they overhear his discussions with the characters, the assassins decide to alter their plans. Both fiends turn invisible and follow the party in hope of an

opportunity to kidnap one or more characters and deliver them to Zariel. If they succeed, Zariel invites the rest of the group to her flying fortress to negotiate terms for their comrades’ release (see “Zariel’s Flying Fortress”).

The Harpers

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

foes, at which point the deep friendships between them forge the kind of fighting force needed to overthrow tyranny and eradicate evil. Harper scouts engaged in charting and blocking off Underdark

unbeatable, you can decide that Zelraun, ever the gracious winner, loans the shield guardian and amulet to the party on the provision that the characters vow to redeem themselves with a rematch upon

Nightmare Logic

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

how long will that remain certain? The answers are for you to decide. THIS BOOK GIVES CHARACTERS NIGHTMARES Ravenloft is a setting designed to bring nightmares to life—for characters, not for

and fun for the entire group. Revisit these considerations and safety tools often, until they’re just as much a part of your game as character sheets and dice. Content Warning. With this in mind, be

Horror in Your Game

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

suspense and mystery with familiar features of D&D, creating gloom so your heroes’ light shines all the brighter. Genres of Horror. Horror comes in broad varieties. You and your players decide what

threat. Use this book to help you and your players communicate about a game’s rules, plots, and other content, assuring it includes only the elements you all enjoy. Focus on Fun. Suspenseful stories don’t

31. Amber Cavity

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

! Take these lives and release me!” Amber Monolith. The amber monolith is a rough block of solid amber 8 feet tall, 5 feet wide, and 5 feet thick. Within drifts a smoky wisp, the last lingering vestige of

and don’t leave area 31. Destroying the monolith causes the limbs and the vestige within to vanish without a trace. Whether the vestige is destroyed or released is for you to decide. Mark of the Raven

Menzoberranzan

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

Menzoberranzan The characters might decide to visit Menzoberranzan before heading to Gravenhollow, either to learn what the drow know about the arrival of the demon lords or to assess their

release her prisoner. If the characters refuse to turn back, Ryzliir kills Aljanor and orders her own force to attack. If the characters leave Aljanor behind or allow him to die, members of the party’s

Devils

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)

mortal’s soul before death, it can instantly return to the Nine Hells with the soul in its possession. Only divine intervention can release a soul after a devil has claimed it. DEVIL TRUE NAMES AND

devil seizes every opportunity to corrupt its summoner so that the summoner’s soul ends up in the Nine Hells. Only imps are truly content to be summoned, and they easily commit to serving a summoner as a familiar, but they still do their utmost to corrupt those who summon them.

Goblin Ambush

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver

feet ahead of you, blocking the path. Each has several black-feathered arrows sticking out of it. The woods press close to the trail here, with a steep embankment and dense thickets on either side. If

the “Goblin Trail” section). The characters might not find the goblin trail, or they could decide to continue to Phandalin. In that case, skip ahead to part 2, “Phandalin.” Elmar Barthen (the owner of

Ready

Actions

you act by taking a Reaction before the start of your next turn.First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your Reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that

to cast it) but hold its energy, which you release with your Reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of an action, and holding on to the spell's magic

Example Simple Traps

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

the dungeon, the portcullis closes off the dungeon entrance, which is hundreds of feet away, meaning that adventurers don’t know they are trapped until they decide to head for the exit. Trigger. A

creature that steps on the pressure plate triggers the trap. Effect. An iron portcullis drops from the ceiling, blocking an exit or a passageway. Countermeasures. A successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception

Mutual Respect

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules

conversations about content to be embraced and avoided. You don’t need to reveal the major plot points or twists in your story, but share the themes you’re interested in exploring, the kinds of stories you’re

inspired by, and which flavors of fantasy interest you. Being transparent with your players allows them to decide if this is a game they want to play, which is best to know before play begins. Being

The Mourning

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

Mourning? A DM running an Eberron campaign can decide the cause of the Mourning or leave it as a mystery that will never be solved. People in Eberron have many theories about the cause of the Mourning

. It’s up to the DM to decide if any of them are correct: The Mourning was the result of a century of extensive use of war magic. If the nations continue to use this magic, the Mourning will expand. The

M10. Treasury

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Laboratory of Kwalish

, Intimidation, or Persuasion) check, the brain warns them of the risks of tampering with the journal (see below). It then negotiates for the characters’ aid, claiming that only it can safely release

which is worth 750 gp if the characters decide to shop it elsewhere) 515 cp, 11,215 sp, 1,925 gp, and 85 pp stored in various containers and coffers 425 tiny gemstones worth 1 gp each, 44 small

The Nematode

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

decide whether to be outside the Nematode or inside its closed mouth. There is no light in the cave once it shuts unless the characters have light sources with them. When the mouth closes, two intellect

save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature reduced to 0 hit points from this acid damage is completely dissolved. Surgical Precision. Controlling the fluid’s release more carefully

Introducing Characters

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Borderlands Quest: Goblin Trouble

Initiative order remains the same from round to round for the whole combat. If there’s a tie, I’ll decide which character or creature goes before the other. Attacks. Each character can make attacks

are defeated. The players can decide if this means a creature is dead or unconscious. When a character reaches 0 Hit Points, they are unconscious. In this adventure, a character at 0 Hit Points

Mutual Respect

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

conversations about content to be embraced and avoided. You don’t need to reveal the major plot points or twists in your story, but share the themes you’re interested in exploring, the kinds of stories you’re

inspired by, and which flavors of fantasy (outlined in chapter 5) interest you. Being transparent with your players allows them to decide if this is a game they want to play, which is best to know

Master Manipulators

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

its soul goes to the Nine Hells. Hags are usually content to wait and conduct their own business, allowing mortals to come to them when the perceived need is great enough. Instead of being interested

local leaders won’t allow any outsiders to act against her (which includes sabotaging adventurers who might decide to confront her).

Outpost Locations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

) and the overlook (area O3) run down to release the ogre zombie from its cage and attack intruders who breach this hall. The zombie sides with the duergar in any fight. Duergar that fall below half

pulling the lever a second time. This trap is designed to isolate a single enemy in the western part of the room, blocking it from its allies with the spikes. Creatures can see through the gaps between

Staff

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

. Skilled hirelings can be fired and hired as needed. A franchise might bring on a couple of thugs to act as distraction during a street fair, then release those NPCs to hire a different set of skilled

, though the DM can decide otherwise. If a mobile franchise headquarters requires more crew than is granted by the franchise’s rank, the characters must hire the remainder (typically at the skilled

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