before building defenses continues rather

Animate Dead

Spells Player’s Handbook

chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature takes the Dodge action and moves only to avoid harm. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete. The

creature again before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to four creatures you have animated with this spell rather than animating a new creature

Create Undead

Spells Player’s Handbook

guard a particular place. If you issue no commands, the creature takes the Dodge action and moves only to avoid harm. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow the order until its task is

this spell on the creature before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to three creatures you have animated with this spell rather than animating new ones

Sammaster (Lich Form)

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

. He drew on the warped resurrection of dracoliches to become a lich himself. He continues to lead the Cult of the Dragon from the shadows, developing new ways to control and corrupt dragonkind

can. Sammaster personally checks in on the cult’s most important plots, often surprising his minions with his presence. Rather than keep a soul jar as liches do, Sammaster keeps a magical soul

Sammaster (Dracolich Form)

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

for his demise. He drew on the warped resurrection of dracoliches to become a lich himself. He continues to lead the Cult of the Dragon from the shadows, developing new ways to control and corrupt

efficiently as he can. Sammaster personally checks in on the cult’s most important plots, often surprising his minions with his presence. Rather than keep a soul jar as liches do, Sammaster keeps

Animate Dead Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

issue no commands, the creature only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete. The creature is under your control

-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to four creatures you have animated with this spell, rather than animating a new one. At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell

Create Undead Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature continues to

hours, you must cast this spell on the creature before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to three creatures you have animated with this spell, rather

Swarmkeeper

Classes Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

force in battle, as well as helpful company for the ranger. Some Swarmkeepers are outcasts or hermits, keeping to themselves and their attendant swarms rather than dealing with the discomfort of others

. Other Swarmkeepers enjoy building vibrant communities that work for the mutual benefit of all those they consider part of their swarm. A Swarmkeeper’s swarm and spells are reflections of the

War Magic

Classes Xanathar's Guide to Everything

A variety of arcane colleges specialize in training wizards for war. The tradition of War Magic blends principles of evocation and abjuration, rather than specializing in either of those schools. It

teaches techniques that empower a caster’s spells, while also providing methods for wizards to bolster their own defenses. Followers of this tradition are known as war mages. They see their

War Magic (XGtE)

Classes Xanathar's Guide to Everything

A variety of arcane colleges specialize in training wizards for war. The tradition of War Magic blends principles of evocation and abjuration, rather than specializing in either of those schools. It

teaches techniques that empower a caster’s spells, while also providing methods for wizards to bolster their own defenses. Followers of this tradition are known as war mages. They see their

Swarmkeeper (TCoE)

Classes Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

force in battle, as well as helpful company for the ranger. Some Swarmkeepers are outcasts or hermits, keeping to themselves and their attendant swarms rather than dealing with the discomfort of others

. Other Swarmkeepers enjoy building vibrant communities that work for the mutual benefit of all those they consider part of their swarm. A Swarmkeeper’s swarm and spells are reflections of the

Autumn Eladrin

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

violence in their presence and move quickly to settle disputes, to ensure that peace continues to reign. If an autumn eladrin invites you over for dinner, come with an empty stomach. Their goodwill

eladrin makes this change, they use the stat block of the new season rather than their old stat block. Any damage the eladrin sustained in their previous form applies to the new form, as do any conditions

Alustriel Silverhand

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

are to spread kindness, reward virtue, and promote a culture of compassion throughout the multiverse. She is good at building alliances and quick to intervene when she senses a threat to the forces of

in her true form. She helped create Silverymoon’s famous Moonbridge and cofounded the Lady’s College, the first school in Faerûn for mages as students rather than as apprentices in

Giff Legacy

Monsters Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

refuse to fight other giff, and will never agree to a contract unless it stipulates that they can sit out a battle rather than wage war against their kin. A giff prizes the reputation of its unit above its

building a bomb big enough to level a fortification. They gladly accept payment in kegs of gunpowder in preference to gold, gems, or other currency. No Honor in Magic. Some giff become wizards

Topaz Dragon Wyrmling

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

, but the dragon is too proud to ask for help getting home. 6 A topaz dragon is building a tableau of desiccated creatures and has grown obsessed with catching one treasure hunter who escaped the

Creatures 1 Moved by pity, a giant eagle continues bringing food to an abandoned topaz dragon wyrmling, despite the wyrmling’s attempts to eat the eagle. 2 A pseudodragon who is

Simic Scientist

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

advancing civilization, nature needs some help from biomancers and terraformers. If, along the way, you happen to create super-soldiers and mutant monsters that can bolster the combine’s defenses

1 I helped create a krasis that I love like a pet and would carry with me everywhere … except it’s the size of a building, and it might eat me. 2 In my laboratory, I

Ancient Deep Dragon Legacy

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

rather enjoy the company of people—as long as they remain unaware of my true nature. Deep Dragon Ideals d6;{"diceNotation":"1d6","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Ideal"} Ideal

of my power. (Evil) 6 Patience. All creatures might teach me something, and I’m willing to wait and find out what that might be rather than acting in haste. (Good) Deep Dragon

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

crawl to make progress. In places where a tunnel opens into a chasm and continues on the other side, the kobolds might connect the two passages with a rope bridge or some other rickety structure

, the kobolds are usually put to work enlarging their masters’ living area and protecting vital areas of the lair with traps and other defenses. Some human communities hire kobolds to dig their

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Guild took over your family business, ran it into the ground, and burned the building for insurance money. You were driven into crime yourself, but you’ll never work for the Guild. You take

could be hidden. 4 I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy. 5 I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide. 6 I don’t pay

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

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

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

at the burned-out building, a sudden cacophony erupted around us. Birds squawked, cats hissed, and dogs growled. Lidda hustled us back to the city’s safer avenues. Only when we were back within

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

During the Siege

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

During the Siege Run the siege as a series of encounters rather than one extended battle. As terrible events unfold around the characters, it’s up to them to determine who and how they’ll help. Begin

horde soon begins overwhelming defenses nearby. Once the characters defeat a few zombies, roll 1d6 and consult the Zombie Siege Encounters table. The event rolled unfolds within sight of one of the

I have a readied action. Can I stop readying to take an Opportunity Attack? Or does the Ready action take a full-round commitment?

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice & Errata

I have a readied action. Can I stop readying to take an Opportunity Attack? Or does the Ready action take a full-round commitment? Think of the Ready action as a preparatory action rather than a

continues, you can decide to take this readied Reaction—or, if plans change, you can take any other Reaction you might have access to, such as an Opportunity Attack. But remember that you have only one

Settlements

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

settlement — a home base for your adventurers — is a great place to start a campaign and begin your world building. Consider the following questions as you create any settlement in your world: What purpose

does it serve in your game? How big is it? Who lives there? What does it look, smell, and sound like? Who governs it? Who else holds power? Is it part of a larger state? What are its defenses? Where

Goblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the fringes of a society first test its defenses by stealing objects, and if these crimes go unpunished, they begin stealing people. Enslaved creatures receive the worst treatment the goblins can dish

goblin tribe has to nobility is the caste of lashers — families of goblins trained in the ways of battle, and also possessed of key skills such as strategy, trap-building, beast taming, mining

Fate of the Hourglass Coven

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

one of the hags is still alive. The surviving hags can sense when Zybilna is released from temporal stasis—or, rather, they can sense when their hold over Prismeer is lost. The instant Zybilna regains

is beyond the scope of this adventure; flesh out its occupants and defenses as you see fit if the characters decide to pay the hags a visit. Zybilna takes no immediate action against the surviving hags

Recent Events

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

expected the pirates to rebel, confident in their undead defenses even if they did. Unfortunately for the clerics, the pirates had enough numbers to barely make it through the skeleton horde. After

suffering considerable losses against the undead, they proved to be in such a vengeful mood that they set fire to the abbey. With the structure aflame, they didn’t bother looting the building or searching

Capture

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

hit points, those characters are knocked out rather than dying (see “Knocking a Creature Out” in chapter 9 of the Player’s Handbook). Even if one or more of the characters are accidentally killed

before Ilvara has the opportunity to torture them or sell them into slavery in the City of Spiders. If they escape her clutches again, the drow priestess continues her pursuit until she is dead or the party leaves the Underdark (see chapter 7).

Across the Fungal Fields

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

. Unfortunately, they have no means of assuring the slumbering fungal entity of their intentions, and the growing threat posed by Zuggtmoy and the demon lords has roused Araumycos’s defenses. The pastel

rise up and attack the characters. Created by Araumycos to perfectly duplicate the abilities, traits, and actions of otyughs, these creatures are plants rather than aberrations. They attack until slain

Approaching the Spire

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

that the stone is neither naturally formed nor manually hewn, but rather shaped by magic. If the check succeeds by 5 or more, the character also discerns that that the protruding rock is of the top of

a larger structure that continues underground. Slippery Entrance Characters who search the area around the protrusion find a slippery, 5-foot-diameter tunnel that enters the ground at a steep angle

Mission to Red Larch

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

the absence of any breeze. Purple light continues to seep out through roof tiles, shuttered windows, and the closed front door. Even in daylight, the building is shrouded by shadows, as if every part

defenses the Six have set up around the ritual. They might choose a stealthy incursion in the dead of night, to roar straight in aboard a mobile franchise headquarters at midday, or any approach in between

Dissecting the Adventure

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

Dissecting the Adventure You can dissect this adventure and use pieces of it rather than the whole thing. Nothing in this adventure is too sacred to tamper with and repurpose to serve your own needs

Khorvaire, the Flotket Alps of Wildemount, or some other mountain range while preserving the plot elements. You can also strip out the story about an evil duergar building a dragon construct and have

Wandering Monsters

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

continues to make bite attacks against that character on subsequent rounds as it feeds. The carrion crawlers are too stupid and hungry to flee in the face of certain death. Goblin Skull-Hunters Pibble

flee when confronted by adventurers. If one or both goblins are captured, they can lead adventurers to the nearest Xanathar Guild watch post as well as describe its defenses, since they have observed

Goblinoid War Camp

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

maintain their own battle gear, but ammunition and replacement gear are kept on hand, as well as other nonperishable supplies. Rather than being contained in a building, these items are on wagons

. If an enemy force does approach, though, these barriers do a good job of delaying any incursion until the goblinoids can rally their defenses. Inside the surrounding bulwark, the goblinoids all have

Mirabar

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

drink, and to work underground, so do a minority of dwarves take to the open sky, doing dock work, or even manning and building ships. The lower levels beneath Mirabar are all dwarven, as even the most

maintains docks, ships, and fortified harbors on many of the islands in the Sea of Swords, and as such the city is always seeking magical and military support for these defenses. Where other cities

Create Undead

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

guard a particular place. If you issue no commands, the creature takes the Dodge action and moves only to avoid harm. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow the order until its task is

the creature before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to three creatures you have animated with this spell rather than animating new ones. Using a

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