before broader deciding call reflections

Moonblade Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

. 97–98 The moonblade functions as a ring of spell storing. 99 You can use an action to call forth an elfshadow, provided that you don’t already have one serving you. The elfshadow

this creature, deciding how it acts and moves. It remains until it drops to 0 hit points or you dismiss it as an action. 00 The moonblade functions as a vorpal sword. Sentience A

Using Ability Scores

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

doesn’t normally need to make a Dexterity check to walk across an empty room or a Charisma check to order a mug of ale. Only call for a roll if there is a meaningful consequence for failure. When

deciding whether to use a roll, ask yourself two questions: Is a task so easy and so free of conflict and stress that there should be no chance of failure? Is a task so inappropriate or impossible — such

Dark Fantasy

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

keep in mind the role of heroes and ensure places for light in your dark fantasy domain. If a domain holds no place for hope, there’s also little call for resistance and meaningful plots. In addition

and evil are blurred. Choices involve deciding which outcome is least bad. Corruption and suspicion flourish among organizations and individuals. Magic and magic items might be rarer or require a

Ability Checks

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

creature’s efforts. In a contest, the ability checks are compared to each other, rather than to a target number. When you call for a contest, you pick the ability that each side must use, deciding

crowd, lie to someone convincingly INTELLIGENCE CHECK VS. WISDOM CHECK If you have trouble deciding whether to call for an Intelligence or a Wisdom check to determine whether a character notices

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

. It is also not unheard of for an exceptionally strong and charismatic evil human to lead stray orcs that no longer have a tribe to call their own. When Tribes Team Up An orc tribe typically has no

Paladin Orders

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

for travelers. The Order of the Gilded Eye safeguards the hold and serves the surrounding community, but their mission has a much broader focus: to guard the world from dangers originating on other

planes of existence, especially on the Lower Planes. Many paladins and non-paladins have joined the order in response to its call to cast fiendish incursions out of the world. In recent years, many have

Life in the Domains of Dread

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

basis for comparison, domain inhabitants call those who speak of other worlds liars. For them, the following topics are standard aspects of life in their home domain or in a broader collection of

domains they call the Land of the Mists. Culture and Technology Each domain boasts its own culture, either drawn from the Material Plane or a parody manufactured to torment a Darklord. As such, a domain

Getting Players Invested

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

. Home Base. Give the characters a place to call home, such as a tavern, a hideout, or a ship. Bastions, as presented in chapter 8, are ideal home bases for characters. Prominent Friend. Create a

players share, and record them in your campaign journal, as these details might be useful inspiration for later adventures. Scott Murphy In the Dragonlance setting, Tanis and Tika call their local inn

Moonblade

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

moonblade functions as a ring of spell storing. 99 You can use an action to call forth an elfshadow, provided that you don’t already have one serving you. The elfshadow appears in an unoccupied space within

, deciding how it acts and moves. It remains until it drops to 0 hit points or you dismiss it as an action. 00 The moonblade functions as a vorpal sword. Sentience. A moonblade is a sentient neutral good

Initiative Variants

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

example, a fighter wants to turn a winch to raise a portcullis. This is a complex, difficult action. You could rule that it incurs a -5 initiative penalty. Rolling Initiative. After deciding on an action

, everyone rolls initiative and applies modifiers, keeping the result secret. You then announce an initiative number, starting with 30 and working down (it helps to call out ranges of numbers at the

Berbalang

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

, they call forth the spirits of the dead and force them to divulge what they learned in life. Speakers of the Dead. Berbalangs prefer to speak only to dead things, and specifically only to the spirits

they call forth in the hope of learning secrets. They record their stories on the bones that once belonged to these creatures, thus preserving the information they gain. Spectral Spy. The pursuit of

Ability Checks

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

involved.” Sometimes the rules allow for any one of two or more proficiencies to apply to a check. When deciding what check a character should make, be generous in determining if the character’s

the player how long the task takes. Alternatively, you can call for a single ability check and use the result to determine how long it takes for the character to complete the task. Group Checks Group

Religious Institutions

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

for oneself. Let each worshiper commune in their own way, as the saying goes. Divine magic also provides a means of communing with the gods and can be used to call upon their guidance. Divine

pronouncements of this sort are often personal in scope and brief, and those edicts that concern broader matters tend to be open to interpretation or debate. Priesthood Priesthood is a vocation like any

Human Ethnicities in Faerûn

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

deep respect for nature, and are primarily farmers, worshiping the goddess they call the Earthmother and keeping to old druidic ways. Ffolk shipwrights are well regarded, having proven their ability to

golden cast to their skin and dark hair, but they tend to have darker skin and broader features. Each has only a single name (sometimes handed down from one’s parent); Tuigans don’t use surnames. No

Annam and the Ordning

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

Annam and the Ordning Most giants revere a pantheon of gods comprising Annam and his divine children—a pantheon they call “the Ordning” because it is the archetype of the ordning that structures

pray to Stonebones, the Great Creator, in a much broader range of circumstances, eager for divine insight as they carry out their daily lives. His priests undertake frequent pilgrimages into the

Upper City Gazetteer

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

of the early knights achieved renown for their heroics. Today, the Knights of the Unicorn continue to call the Helm and Cloak their informal headquarters. The establishment is even run by two retired

already prepared. This results in a certain degree of corruption, naturally, which is compounded by the proxy judge’s near-absolute discretion in deciding whether to accept a conviction or exonerate a

Ruinous Citadel Locations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

characters search the room or call out for Naxa, she reveals herself. Naxa is Vaeve’s twin sister. She doesn’t want to fight and is looking for a safe exit from the citadel. As Vaeve feared, Naxa snuck into

troops fighting elsewhere, and Jallizanx is deciding how to give directions the dim-witted kakkuus can be reasonably expected to convey. When they see the characters, the kakkuus rush into melee while

Upper City Gazetteer

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer

of the early knights achieved renown for their heroics. Today, the Knights of the Unicorn continue to call the Helm and Cloak their informal headquarters. The establishment is even run by two retired

already prepared. This results in a certain degree of corruption, naturally, which is compounded by the proxy judge’s near-absolute discretion in deciding whether to accept a conviction or exonerate a

Headquarters Features

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

Headquarters Features Acquisitions Incorporated Head Office provides the members of each franchise with a place to call their own. It might not be initially impressive (cleaning any old blood stains

players and the DM. Group Design When selecting a feature, the characters must make decisions together — meaning the players must do the same. Deciding on the features of a headquarters should be a team

Dragon Organizations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

center around goals broader than a single dragon’s territory or concerns. This section discusses several organizations whose plots can unfold across small regions, whole worlds, or even multiple

World’s destruction.” To some dragons, this closing couplet of “Elegy for the First World” is not merely an exhortation to dominate the Material Plane, but a call to recreate the original world of the

Tomb Locations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries

ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the number, but it must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds

room, notices that one of the mirrors near the corner of the room has a shimmer in its reflections. A creature that touches that mirror takes no damage and causes the mirror to turn sideways, revealing

N4. Wachterhaus

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd

staircase railing. Framed portraits and mirrors festoon the walls, surrounding you with judging looks and dark reflections. You hear something scratching at one of the many doors. The scratching noise

comes from the door to area N4n, which is locked. If the characters call out, a plaintive female voice meows like a cat and says, “Can little kitty come out to play? Little kitty is sad and lonely and

Upper Palace Locations

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

apart. They produce eerie, ghostlike reflections off the water. As you take in the scene, an empty sailboat drifts into view from farther down the hall and makes its way toward you. The sailboat

beneficial properties (see appendix A). The hags hope to buy time until they can turn the tables on the characters and make them suffer for their insolence. Leader of Valor’s Call. The helmed knight, named

D&D Beyond

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