before build defending curses rather

Sul Khatesh

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

rose up against them. Armies of dragons fought against the fiends of Khyber. And though the overlords couldn't be destroyed, the couatl sacrificed their lives to build a prison of celestial light: a

surrounding magic, from malevolent warlocks to mad wizards, from deadly curses to magical power that draws those who wield it deeper into darkness. Sul Khatesh is subtler than the Rage of War. She

Pidlwick II

Monsters Curse of Strahd

return the courtesy, the duchess commissioned the legendary toymaker Fritz von Weerg to build a clockwork effigy of Pidlwick as a gift for Strahd's family. Although the duchess's heart was in the right

, instead assuming that the guests had died in their sleep. But Strahd was not fooled. He came to realize fairly quickly that the clockwork effigy had begun to display a murderous nature. Rather than have

Izzet Engineer

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

to begin your career as a mere attendant, you can aspire to become a skilled mage or alchemist, a laboratory supervisor, or even a flamethrower-wielding scorchbringer tasked with defending Izzet

protocols will lead us toward progress more surely than any belief system. (Lawful) 5 Fun. I love my job! Despite the dangerous working conditions, there’s nothing I’d rather do

Young Moonstone Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver? 7 I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather spend my time asleep, in the realm of dreams. 8 I find the

1 A young moonstone dragon on the cusp of adulthood refuses to settle down and build a lair. To protect the local populace from the dragon’s chaotic activities, a minor deity sends a deva

Bard Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

versatility. Many bards prefer to stick to the sidelines in combat, using their magic to inspire their allies and hinder their foes from a distance. But bards are capable of defending themselves in melee if

necessary, using their magic to bolster their swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a wide-ranging knowledge of many

Cleric Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

provoke awe and dread, lay curses of plague or poison, and even call down flames from heaven to consume their enemies. For those evildoers who will benefit most from a mace to the head, clerics depend on

a troublemaker? What are your ultimate goals? Does your deity have a special task in mind for you? Or are you striving to prove yourself worthy of a great quest? QUICK BUILD You can make a cleric

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty

build cities to last for the ages, and great kingdoms that can persist for long centuries. An individual human might have a relatively short life span, but a human nation or culture preserves

Tortle Legacy

Species The Tortle Package

dozen) in a fortified compound enclosed by stone walls that are easily defensible. If no such compound exists, they build one. The parents spend the remainder of their lives guarding the compound

, defending their offspring, and sharing a lifetime of knowledge before they die. When the children are old enough to leave the compound, they pick up whatever weapons and tools their parents left behind and

Halfling Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering. Kind and

communities are threatened. Pastoral Pleasantries Most halflings live in small, peaceful communities with large farms and well-kept groves. They rarely build kingdoms of their own or even hold much

Rogue Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

would rather make one precise strike, placing it exactly where the attack will hurt the target most, than wear an opponent down with a barrage of attacks. Rogues have an almost supernatural knack for

. QUICK BUILD You can make a rogue quickly by following these suggestions. First, Dexterity should be your highest ability score. Make Intelligence your next-highest if you want to excel at

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

invasion and oppression. Although individually they are timid and shy away from conflict, kobolds are dangerous if cornered, vicious when defending their eggs, and notorious for the dangerous

sewer tunnels, paying them with food and tools the kobolds wouldn’t have access to on their own. If they are treated well and left alone to do the job, the kobolds work industriously and build a

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their goals, which typically means some kind of adventuring. Furthermore, the demands of their patrons drive

their patrons in dreams or waking visions, or deal only with intermediaries. QUICK BUILD You can make a warlock quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your highest ability

Human Traits

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

their late teens and live less than a century. Size. Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium

with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on. UNCOMMON

Order of the Emerald Claw NPCs

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

embrace the order, promising eternal life through undeath. 3 A noble with sympathies toward the order hides a cell’s library vault within the grounds of their estate. 4 A suave vampire would rather charm

its enemies than crush them in battle. 5 An artificer is obsessed with infusing necromantic curses into their construct creations. 6 A changeling necromancer often poses as a vampire or a mummy, even though it’s still alive.

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

enact it. Enraged, the entity imposed three dreadful curses upon them. First, the kenku’s beloved wings withered and fell away from their bodies, leaving them bound to the earth. Second, because

kenku, constant attempts to mimic noises can come across as confusing or irritating rather than entertaining. You can just as easily describe the sounds your character makes and what they mean. Be clear

Druid Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

of nature itself or from a nature deity. Many druids pursue a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devotion to a divine entity, while others serve gods of wild nature

? Perhaps your homeland was befouled by evil, and you took up an adventuring life in hopes of finding a new home or purpose. QUICK BUILD You can make a druid quickly by following these suggestions

Human Traits

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

their late teens and live less than a century. Size. Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium

with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on. VARIANT

Lairs and Hoards

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

includes suggestions for the kinds of locales where dragons like to build their lairs, as well as additional regional effects that might manifest around a lair. Additional lair actions round out this

that extend their magical reach, and the items that can link those caches together. It also explores the magical quirks—including hauntings and curses—that can arise as enormous amounts of magical

Flight to Steel Springs

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

outnumbered. Rather than joining the Kalaman forces in their advance, the characters find themselves defending a retreat. The adventure unfolds in one of two ways: With Mass Combat. If you’re using

Music and Magic

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

sidelines in combat, using their magic to inspire their allies and hinder their foes from a distance. But bards are capable of defending themselves in melee if necessary, using their magic to bolster their

swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a wide-ranging knowledge of many subjects and a natural aptitude that lets them do

Kruphix as Campaign Villain

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

the gods rely on mortals for their existence, rather than the other way around. When this idea gains adherents, Kruphix curses the polis so that no one can speak or read. 4 After a minor

status quo rather than overturn it, so his schemes often begin as reactions to the activities of another god. The Kruphix’s Divine Schemes table presents a few examples of how Kruphix’s inflexible

Life of a Tortle

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation Supplement

by stone walls that are easily defensible. If no such compound exists, they build one. The parents spend the remainder of their lives guarding the compound, defending their offspring, and sharing a

Shambling Mound

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

rudimentary cunning. Such conditions include strikes from magical lightning, nature defending itself, or druidic curses. Roll on or choose a result from the Shambling Mound Cultivation table to inspire a

Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hold Back The Dead

. Rather than abandon the fortress, the five cities supporting the reconstruction efforts committed to defending Ironspine Keep against Szass Tam’s horde. When the characters arrive for what they expect to

Music and Magic

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

sidelines in combat, using their magic to inspire their allies and hinder their foes from a distance. But bards are capable of defending themselves in melee if necessary, using their magic to bolster their

swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a wide-ranging knowledge of many subjects and a natural aptitude that lets them do

30. Natural Cavern

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

Monster Manual). The flying spiders are giant spiders that have wings and a flying speed of 40 feet. They zip around the cavern and build web nests in the caps of zurkhwood mushrooms. The drow cut down

zurkhwood when they need to build furniture or rafts, while gardens of barrelstalk and trillimac provide food, water, and parchment (see “Fungi” for more information on barrelstalk, trillimac, and

Goals

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

locations, so knights travel widely in pursuit of even faint leads. Inevitably, many of these leads turn out to be the effects of curses and corrupt magic. Rather than ignore these situations, knights

), who seek to use the original Deck of Many Things to destroy the multiverse. Combat Curses and Wicked Magic Decks of Many Things are notoriously resistant to divination magic that would reveal their

Using an Overarching Story

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

and using it to defeat a cosmic threat. Example 2: Agents of X You can also build a campaign around the idea that the adventurers are agents of something larger than themselves — a kingdom or secret

lies beyond the realm of a known enemy and forces them to navigate hostile territory. The characters could be pilgrims in search of a holy site or members of a secret order dedicated to defending the

Origin of the Ordning

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

among giant kinds reflecting a cultural or geographical distinction rather than an inherent one. They might live in bands composed of multiple giant kinds or family groups of a single kind. Or giants of

different kinds might not recognize each other as kindred at all. All these giants build a range of social structures in the same manifold ways other peoples do, without regard to an overarching ordning.

Special NPCs

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder

Special NPCs In this chapter, each player runs not only a player character but also an NPC who has ties to the settlement that the characters are defending. Once you’ve determined where the adventure

encourage players to roleplay these traits accurately, players can portray the NPCs as they choose. Rather than have each player roll initiative for a special NPC, assume that the NPC acts on the same

Using This Book

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

on the characters and adventures found in these haunted lands. Chapter 4 offers tools for Dungeon Masters running frightening adventures, from rules for creating curses and running out-of-body

place. The crimes and tragedies that transpired here. I know we’d both rather forget them—this whole accursed land—but the Mists drew me back. Now that I’m here, I know. The past we both hoped to bury

Worshiping Nylea

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

a First Hunt celebration in disguise. If she finds herself duly honored during the revelry, she blesses the event and might personally participate. If she finds no mention of her works, she curses

hoped to win Nylea’s favor by defending her honor in this way, but she was outraged to be associated with the creation of these abominations. To this day, Nylea offers a boon to anyone who hunts down a

The Path to Perfection

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

of time. Rather than imparting his skills to them, he fueled their spirits with a burning desire to follow his example. His gifts of durability and purpose gave the dwarves all they needed to devote

. Dwarves don’t change their minds easily, and once set on a course rarely alter their strategy. Their commitment to following a plan serves them well when they build a stone bridge designed to last for

Droaam

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

Droaam are learning to work together and finding ways to use their supernatural gifts to help build and sustain society. A medusa might use its petrifying gaze to preserve the life of an injured ally

until medical attention can be obtained. Harpies in the taverns of Droaam use their hypnotic songs to entertain rather than to harm. When you bring creatures from Droaam into the campaign, consider how

Life in the Sensa Empire

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

and craftspeople to build social and professional connections, better their craft, and organize for improved labor conditions. Each city-state has its own chapter of the guild that pushes back when

. Historically, rather than a single imperial line controlling the throne, each empress or emperor selects an heir from among the eldest children of each city-state’s monarch. While no law prevents rulers

D&D Beyond

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