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Cultist (Knights of the Black Sword)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

Dark Devotion. The cultist has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened. Icy Doom. When the cultist dies, its corpse freezes for 9 days, during which time it can’t be

Levistus, the archdevil who rules Stygia, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells, from the confines of an ice prison from which he cannot escape. Most of the cultists are Icewind Dale natives who would

Cult Fanatic (Knights of the Black Sword)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

flame, thaumaturgy 1st level (4 slots): command, inflict wounds, shield of faith 2nd level (3 slots): hold person, spiritual weapon Icy Doom. When the cultist dies, its corpse freezes for 9 days

","rollDamageType":"piercing"} piercing damage.The Knights of the Black Sword are a secret society of cultists devoted to Levistus, the archdevil who rules Stygia, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells, from the

Needle Lord

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

dormant until a humanoid dies near it or a humanoid corpse is dragged close by, whereupon the pod burrows into the corpse's decaying flesh and sprouts ropey vines covered in long, sharp needles. The vines

wrap around the corpse to animate it, causing it to rise and lurch about like a zombie. Invasive Species. When a great battle is fought in a fey woodland, the plants of the wood sometimes take on the

Amnizu

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

have no personalities or memories; they’re driven only by the desire to commit evil. The amnizus that patrol here drill the rules of the Nine Hells into the new arrivals’ minds and marshal

Barrowghast

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

a barrowghast. Though it looks like little more than an animated corpse, a barrowghast is filled with necrotic energy and driven by spite and malice. Its blood is a thick and toxic ichor that gives

Frostmourn

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

manner—perhaps poisoned, stabbed in the back, or killed while sleeping—the slain giant can rise as a frostmourn. Driven by its desire for vengeance, the frostmourn can turn the living into

keep them roaming the wilds for years after their murderers are slain. A frostmourn looks like a desiccated corpse mummified by exposure to bitter cold. It carries the marks of its death on its body: a

Amnizu (Summoner Variant)

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

, where it flows through Dis and Stygia. They collect the souls arriving in the form of lemure;lemures (see the Monster Manual). Lemures have no personalities or memories; they’re driven only by the

desire to commit evil. The amnizus that patrol here drill the rules of the Nine Hells into the new arrivals’ minds and marshal them into legions.Fire, PoisonCold; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered

Neothelid

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

within 10 feet of the neothelid. If the neothelid dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 20 feet of movement, exiting prone. Acid Breath

external assault, and the elder brain is killed, the colony’s tadpoles are suddenly freed from their fate. They no longer serve as food—and are no longer fed by their caretakers. Driven by

Investigator

Backgrounds Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

the mysteries you’re embroiled in are local crimes or realm-spanning conspiracies, you’re driven by a personal need to hunt down even the most elusive clues and reveal what others would

corpse. Ever since, other spectral clients have sought you out to help them find rest. 4 You revealed that the monsters terrorizing your home were illusions created by a cruel mage. The magic-user

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

underbelly of civilization, and you have survived up to this point by flouting the rules and regulations of society. Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Stealth Tool Proficiencies: One

Avarice

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

Icy Doom. When Avarice dies, her corpse freezes for 9 days, during which time it can’t be thawed, harmed by fire, animated, or raised from the dead. Special Equipment. Avarice wields a staff

challenge, even when the odds are clearly stacked against her. Seeing other wizards as a threat, paranoia rules her life. Avarice has been a member of the Arcane Brotherhood for almost two years. She

Hobgoblin

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Hobgoblins trace their origins to the ancient courts of the Feywild, where they first appeared with their goblin and bugbear kin. Many of them were driven from the Feywild by the conquering god

fantastical race. If you select a fantastical race, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

the responsibility to earn a place in the tribe or die trying. Driven Competitors Every day brings a new challenge to a goliath. Food, water, and shelter are rare in the uppermost mountain reaches. A

skills. This dedication to competition has a dark side. Goliaths are ferocious competitors, but above all else they are driven to outdo their past efforts. If a goliath slays a dragon, he or she might

Bavlorna Blightstraw

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

time: one reflects the past, another reflects the present, and the third reflects the future. These hags are utter wickedness distilled into corporeal forms, driven by a lust for secrets that can be

. Bavlorna can have only one creature swallowed at a time. If Bavlorna dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained and can escape from the corpse using 5 feet of movement, exiting prone.

Monk Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

seriously, approaching their adventures as personal tests of their physical and spiritual growth. As a rule, monks care little for material wealth and are driven by a desire to accomplish a greater

important mission beyond the cloister? Perhaps you were cast out because of some violation of the community’s rules. Did you dread leaving, or were you happy to go? Is there something you hope to

Triton Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

and worse, so you know you can count on them in a fight. — Brego Stoneheart, sea captain Tritons guard the ocean depths, building small settlements beside deep trenches, portals to the

the depths revealed that krakens, sahuagin, and far worse foes had fled the Plane of Water for the Material Plane. The tritons, driven by a sense of duty and responsibility, would not allow their foes

Encounter Building

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

Encounter Building This section introduces new guidelines on building combat encounters for an adventure. They are an alternative to the rules in “Creating Encounters” in chapter 3 of the Dungeon

Master’s Guide. This approach uses the same math that underlies the rules presented in that book, but it makes a few adjustments to the way that math is presented to produce a more flexible system. This

3. Guardhouses

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

requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to force open. Piled behind the doors are broken chairs, shattered benches, and empty chests. Inside the building, characters find the following: Arch

in this guardhouse, believing that act would prevent the will-o’-wisp from reaching him. An examination of his corpse and a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that he died from several

Mutated Apprentices

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

Mutated Apprentices Halaster handed over this level to his fervent pupils, almost all of whom were driven mad by their studies and mutated by the magic they wrought, becoming gibbering mouthers and

nothics. A mezzoloth summoned from the Lower Planes to serve as a wizard’s assistant now rules over them all.

Session Zero

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

run a special session—colloquially called session zero—to establish expectations, outline the terms of a social contract, and share house rules. Making and sticking to these rules can help ensure

that the game is a fun experience for everyone involved. Often a session zero includes building characters together. As the DM, you can help players during the character creation process by advising them to select options that will serve the adventure or campaign that awaits.

Charlatan

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

an upper ward noble. 2 You’ve crafted the identity of a prophet driven by holy visions. If you are a divine spellcaster, your actual faith may be entirely different from the one you profess

You’re a covert operative working for another nation, or for a powerful agency (a dragonmarked house, the City Watch, a criminal organization). Are you carrying out missions, or are you a sleeper agent building a deep cover?

General Features

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

General Features Many of Thundertree’s buildings have crumbled in the years since the town was abandoned, even as nature threatens to swallow what remains. Buildings. A building in Thundertree is

terrain (see “Difficult Terrain” in the Basic Rules). Intact buildings are rundown, ramshackle stone cottages that are otherwise still standing. Their wooden doors are swollen and require a successful

Interacting with Objects

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

describes what happens. Sometimes, however, rules govern what you can do with an object, as detailed in the following sections. What Is an Object? For the purpose of the rules, an object is a discrete

, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone. It isn’t a building or a vehicle, which are composed of many objects. Time-Limited Object Interactions When time is short, such

Interacting with Objects

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

describes what happens. Sometimes, however, rules govern what you can do with an object, as detailed in the following sections. What Is an Object? For the purpose of the rules, an object is a discrete

, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone. It isn’t a building or a vehicle, which are composed of many objects. Time-Limited Object Interactions When time is short, such

Objects

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

before the wall does. For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone, not a building or a vehicle that is composed of many other objects.

Objects

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

before the wall does. For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone, not a building or a vehicle that is composed of many other objects.

Dracolich

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

, driven to rule over all. A dracolich is a fiendishly intelligent tyrant that crafts complex webs of foul schemes, attracting servants motivated by greed and a lust for power. Acting from the shadows

destroyed, its spirit returns to the gem as long as the two are on the same plane. If the gem comes into contact with another dragon’s corpse, the dracolich’s spirit can take possession of that corpse to

Learning by Observing

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

the DM change the pitch or tempo of narration in different situations? Player Participation. Did the players participate in the world-building or make decisions that seemed to send the adventure in an

unexpected direction? How did the DM handle it? Rules Adjudication. To what extent did the DM lean on the rules to adjudicate outcomes? Did the DM adjudicate situations wisely or in ways that made the

Learning by Observing

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

the DM change the pitch or tempo of narration in different situations? Player Participation. Did the players participate in the world-building or make decisions that seemed to send the adventure in an

unexpected direction? How did the DM handle it? Rules Adjudication. To what extent did the DM lean on the rules to adjudicate outcomes? Did the DM adjudicate situations wisely or in ways that made the

Chapter 2: Dungeon Master's Tools

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

. The chapter opens with optional rules meant to help you run certain parts of the game more smoothly. The chapter then goes into greater depth on several topics — encounter building, random encounters

you. It gives you new rules options, as well as some refined tools for creating and running adventures and campaigns. It is a supplement to the tools and advice offered in the Dungeon Master’s Guide

Nagas

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

history. When this race died out, the nagas deemed themselves the rightful inheritors of their masters’ treasures and magical lore. Industrious and driven, nagas occasionally venture out from their

days, ready to continue its eternal work. Benevolent Dictators and Brutal Tyrants. A naga rules its domain with absolute authority. Whether it rules with compassion or by terrorizing its subjects, the

Wight Lifedrinker

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Heroes of the Borderlands

Wight Lifedrinker Life-Leeching Corpse Warrior Wights are the withered corpses of relentless warriors whose wickedness sustains them beyond death. After dying and returning from the grave, a wight

continues its villainous ways, but it is now driven by a hunger for life. A wight drains living essence through its attacks. Wight Lifedrinker Medium Undead, Neutral Evil AC 14 Initiative +4 (14) HP

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

New in the 2025 Version? This is the 2025 version of the fifth edition Monster Manual. If you’ve read the 2014 version, much of this book will feel familiar, since the fundamental rules and variety

Location Overview

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm Lord’s Wrath

the planar beacon and are refurbishing the tower for use as a garrison building. These efforts are led by Gallio Elibro, a powerful wizard and ranking member of the Order of the Many-Starred Cloak

, which have driven away his military work crew. Gallio is unaware that Thalivar’s spirit haunts the tower and possesses him each night to carry on its research!

Dragonborn

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

influence of the Lords of Dust. Over time they drifted away from their duties, building an empire in western Khorvaire and clashing with the Dhakaani goblinoids. This came crashing down when one of the

dragonborn believe they’re some exotic type of lizardfolk. If you’re a dragonborn PC, what has caused you to emerge from Q’barra? Are you on a quest to help your people or to oppose the Lords of Dust? Are you driven by wanderlust or curiosity? Did you serve as a mercenary in the Last War?

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