before build details confident reflective

Inheritor

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

determine your inheritance from among the possibilities in the table below. Work with your Dungeon Master to come up with details: Why is your inheritance so important, and what is its full story? You might

prefer for the DM to invent these details as part of the game, allowing you to learn more about your inheritance as your character does. The Dungeon Master is free to use your inheritance as a story

Uthgardt Tribe Member

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

and ruin. But for the last few generations, some bands among the tribes were tempted to settle, make peace, trade, and even to build towns. Perhaps this is why Uthgar chose to raise up the totems

abandoned the soft ways of civilization. BARBARIAN TRIBES OF FAERÛN Though this section details the Uthgardt specifically, either it or the outlander background from the Player

Hobgoblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

to keep the knowledge fresh for new generations. When hobgoblins aren’t waging war, they farm, they build, and they practice both martial and arcane arts. These trappings of civil society do

Maglubiyet, the greater god allows them to retain a measure of their influence over the hobgoblins because their philosophies are in line with his own. Hobgoblins don’t build temples to their gods, lest

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

a talent for learning and memorizing details. Thus, ambitious kenku can excel as superb spies and scouts. A kenku who learns of clever schemes and plans devised by other creatures can put them to use

. The kenku lack the talent to improvise or alter a plan, but a wise Master sets multiple plans in motion at once, confident that underlings can follow orders to the letter. For this reason, many

Chapter 5: Spring Madness

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

the stone, the beholder is no longer confident of the gold’s safety in the Vault of Dragons. Xanathar thinks that the gold would be safer under its watchful gaze, but without the Stone of Golorr, it

so in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. In that adventure, the characters are most likely to approach the beholder’s lair from Skullport (see area X4 for details). As they explore Xanathar’s lair

Ideal Minions

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

create new things, they have a talent for learning and memorizing details. Thus, ambitious kenku can excel as superb spies and scouts. A kenku who learns of clever schemes and plans devised by other

creatures can put them to use. The kenku lack the talent to improvise or alter a plan, but a wise Master sets multiple plans in motion at once, confident that underlings can follow orders to the letter

Darklord's Shadows

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

Darklord’s Shadows A Darklord lurks at the heart of every Domain of Dread. Everything in their realm is inspired by or personalized to them in some way. Some domains might be dismal ruins reflective

? Once you’ve considered these questions, write down your answers and review them. Mark or highlight the words that resonate or feel creepily evocative. As you proceed through domain creation, refer back to these details for inspiration.

Izzet Engineer

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

basic knowledge of the structure of buildings, including the stuff behind the walls. You can also find blueprints of a specific building in order to learn the details of its construction. Such

it was sabotage that destroyed my first laboratory and killed many of my friends, and I seek revenge against whoever did it. 4 I have the schematics for an invention that I hope to build one day

Adirohit's Retribution

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

Adirohit to reveal the following details: Long ago, Jijibisha Manivarshi made a deal with a wicked god to give her fiendish powers that would ensure her victory in the Shankha Trials. Adirohit was

them with (see the following section). Adirohit is unapologetic for his past deeds, even if Amanisha or others ask him to explain Manivarsha’s fate. He’s confident, though, that he can reestablish his

Characters in Airship Combat

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

do in combat, while others prefer to stick with the familiar options their characters bring to any fight. As DM, learn your players’ preferences and try to build encounters that allow players to do

the same types of information that appears on the Airborne and Waterborne Vehicles table in the Player’s Handbook. Refer to that book for details. Note that airships’ speed isn’t affected by either

Notorious Monsters

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

Notorious Monsters Every monster tells a story. The more you treat monsters as unique individuals and foreshadow their threat, the larger they’ll loom in characters’ minds. Build dread by giving

monsters reputations that suggests their form, deeds, or peculiarities while letting players’ imaginations embellish details. For example, tales describe a horrifying skeletal figure that corrupts the

Vellynne's Quest

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

Vellynne’s Quest Vellynne Harpell needs help reaching Ythryn, a quest that propels the characters through the final chapters of this adventure. However, she is reluctant to share details of her

Sunblight is still alive, the characters might want to finish him off before turning their attention elsewhere. Once she’s confident that the characters are ready for the challenges that lie ahead

Group Debriefing

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

isn’t confident the move is strategically sound, she thinks it’s a good idea for the characters to get out of Kalaman for a while to avoid the ire of its citizens. She asks the characters to leave

while she and Darrett discuss details, suggesting they visit the castle’s small library and learn what they can about the Northern Wastes.

Hazlik's Powers and Dominion

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

ultimately, to escape. He cares nothing for the domain or its inhabitants, as he’s confident he’ll be able to leave before Hazlan becomes utterly uninhabitable. Magic Hoarder. Hazlik’s magical ability is

limitations and give him a taste of the magic he’s lost. Omnipresent Observer. Hazlik spies on his domain’s inhabitants using his personal sigil, the Eye of Hazlik. The details of his pervasive

Creating Religions

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

Creating Religions A list of gods is a good starting point, and it can be sufficient to get a campaign started. But you can add more depth to your campaign world by fleshing out more details of

the focus of pilgrims who travel long distances to partake in the holy power assumed to linger there. Build Your Own Pantheon Most of the published D&D settings described in chapter 5 have their

Introduction: How to Use a Monster

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

the rules for monster customization and encounter building in the Dungeon Master’s Guide—to build your own adventures. Consult appendix B for monster lists that will help your adventure building. What’s

block has been updated for ease of use and game balance. Enhanced Stat Blocks. New stat block design and language prioritize details vital during play. Versatile Groups. Nonplayer characters now

Uthgardt Tribe Member

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

collapsed into chaos and ruin. But for the last few generations, some bands among the tribes were tempted to settle, make peace, trade, and even to build towns. Perhaps this is why Uthgar chose to

“Uthgardt Lands” section of chapter 2 for details on each tribe’s territory and its activities that will help you choose your affiliation. Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival Tool Proficiencies: One type

Encounter Pace and Tension

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

that structure in an adventure where the players control their characters’ actions, but you can use the encounters you plan to build tension toward a climax. Each encounter in an adventure is an

limited resources. Variety also contributes to a sense of escalating tension. Build variety into your encounters in three ways: Vary Encounter Type. Use a mix of social interaction, exploration, and

Character and Party Creation

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

character’s bond is, “I’m trying to pay off an old debt I owe to a generous benefactor.” If that’s the character’s bond, you should work with the player to decide who that generous benefactor is and build

relevant story lines into the larger campaign. Party Formation During session zero, your role is to let the players build the characters they want and to help them come up with explanations for how their

Guildhall

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

payment in coin (500 GP) or in the form of a favor owed to you by the event’s host, the details of which are left to you and the DM. Brewers’ Guild Foaming mug You assign brewers to deliver fifty 40

perform this work for another character’s Bastion, provided their Bastion is within 1 mile of yours. Each 5-foot square of defensive wall takes 1 day to build instead of 10 (see “Bastion Map

It's Your World

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

element and give details on how to flesh out your world with gods, factions, and so forth. The assumptions sketched out above aren’t carved in stone. They inspire exciting D&D worlds full of adventure

, but they’re not the only set of assumptions that can do so. You can build an interesting campaign concept by altering one or more of those core assumptions, just as well-established D&D worlds have done

Erebos's Villains

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

daughter is restored as a potent Returned who now terrorizes the polis. 4 A wealthy noble drives tenants out of a poor part of a polis so he can build a temple to Erebos. 5 The queen of a remote

MOoT * See chapter 6 for details about these creatures in Theros. Erebos’s minions hunt the Returned and warn those who consider the same folly (CYRIL VAN DER HAEGEN)

Mogis's Villains

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

Mogis’s Villains Unquestionably, Mogis makes an excellent villain. His lust for bloodshed and willingness to fight all comers makes him easy to build a campaign around if you want a straightforward

lion MOoT 3 Manticore MM 3 Minotaur MM 5 Catoblepas* VGtM 6 Cyclops* MM 7 Theran chimera MOoT 8 Blackguard VGtM * See chapter 6 for details about these creatures in Theros. Temples to Mogis can be found scattered across the badlands of Phoberos (SAM BURLEY)

Using This Source

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

area, the Sumber Hills, has become the stronghold where the elemental cults build their bases of power. Chapter 3 begins the adventure in earnest. In this chapter, the characters learn that trouble

-level characters. Chapter 7 details NPCs, new monsters, and new magic items. Appendix A and appendix B contain new material for players to use in creating their characters for the campaign. Appendix C provides advice for adapting this adventure to other D&D campaign settings.

Ephara's Villains

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

system. 5 A group of mages who follow Ephara want to build a city on an island, heedless of the current residents. 6 An oracle (see chapter 6) leads a cadre of scholars secretly destroying

3 Meletian hoplite MOoT 9 War priest VGtM 11 Gynosphinx* MM 15 Hundred-handed one MOoT 17 Androsphinx* MM 23 Empyrean MM * See chapter 6 for details about these creatures in Theros.

Using the Tables

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

Everything to build appropriately challenging encounters for your party. The guidelines here can help you plan adventures featuring giants for each tier of play: First Tier (Levels 1–4). Ogres are

the most suitable Giant opponents for characters in the first tier of play, and characters at level 4 might face a single hill giant. A lone hill giant can feel confident bullying (or eating) the

Franchise Downtime

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

insight to build a detector that can sense portals or planar disturbances. A portalometer, if you will. The research or scrutineering activities can help the characters uncover the necessary information or

tools, while the crafting a magic item activity can cover the construction of the portalometer. The details of the portalometer are left to the imaginations of the players (including coming up with a

Prepare to Be Scared

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

rules every time something frightening occurs, but your group might use them as a way to highlight individual fears and build an adventure’s overarching sense of dread. FROM THE MISTS OR BEYOND

originate from. The DM can provide details from chapter 3 to help inform your decision. Although humans predominate many of the Domains of Dread, adventurers in Ravenloft can belong to any race in the

Horror in Your Game

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

Horror in Your Game Ominous shadows rise beyond the campfire’s light. Steps echo through the halls of a supposedly empty house. Something whispers from under the stairs. Such details fill horror

how to bring it to life through your adventures. Creating Atmosphere. Threatening traps and monsters alone don’t create exciting D&D adventures. This book provides techniques to help you build

Building Combat Encounters

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

Chapter 13: Building Combat Encounters When creating a combat encounter, let your imagination run wild and build something your players will enjoy. Once you have the details figured out, use

Day,” below), the encounter is going to be tougher than the sum of its parts. Building Encounters on a Budget You can build an encounter if you know its desired difficulty. The party’s XP

Creating a Combat Encounter

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

Creating a Combat Encounter When creating a combat encounter, let your imagination run wild and build something your players will enjoy. Once you have the details figured out, use this section to

the sum of its parts. Building Encounters on a Budget You can build an encounter if you know its desired difficulty. The party’s XP thresholds give you an XP budget that you can spend on monsters to

Glory of the Giants

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

into the history of the giants and details the places where they live in isolation, as well as the ruins they left behind in their decline. Our guide in this exploration is the wizard Bigby, a former

ideas about giants’ organizations and societies. Chapter 3 presents tools to help Dungeon Masters build encounters, adventures, and whole campaigns around giants. The chapter includes tables you can

Magic Item Special Features

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

discovery. Use the following tables to fill in details about a magic item’s history. Some table entries make more sense for certain items than for others. If you roll something that doesn’t make sense

about what the future holds. Butterflies and other harmless creatures might frolic in the item’s presence. 2 Confident. The item helps you feel self-assured. 3 Covetous. You become obsessed with material

Points of Interest

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

amounts of stone became available for building. The laborers also took the time to build a tavern, the Miner’s Respite, and spend their off hours there drinking, swapping tales, and gambling. The game

area. The lizardfolk are not only guarding their territory, they are protecting a young black dragon. It has ordered them to keep its existence secret while it seeks to build an army of followers and

Monster Behavior

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

course of combat. Brian Valeza Kobolds build a barricade to keep adventurers at bay Initial Attitudes A published adventure typically notes or implies whether a creature’s initial attitude toward the

“Nonplayer Characters” section of chapter 3 to flesh out the details of that individual’s personality and aims. For a group of nameless monsters, you can decide on a personality based on the monsters

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