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Returning 35 results for 'bending before death compels runes'.
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Monsters
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Beheaded Form. When created, a death’s head takes one of three forms: Aberrant Head, Gnashing Head, or Petrifying Head. This form determines the creature’s attack.
Unusual Nature. The
death’s head doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.Gnashing Bite (Gnashing Head Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +3;{"diceNotation":"1d20+3","rollType":"to hit","rollAction":"Gnashing Bite
Feats
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
runes you know with another one from the Rune Spells table.
Rune Spells
Rune
Spell
Cloud
Fog cloud
Death
Inflict wounds
Dragon
Chromatic orb
Enemy
Disguise self
You’ve studied the magic of Giant runes, granting you the following benefits:
Comprehend Languages. You learn the comprehend languages spell. You can cast this spell without expending a spell
Magic Items
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
This set of 1d4 + 2 small paint pots contains pigments mixed from crushed luminescent gemstones. This magical paint bestows temporary magical gifts on creatures with runes drawn on their skin with
this paint.
One paint pot contains enough pigment to paint one rune. A creature can spend 10 minutes to paint one of the following runes onto itself or another creature:
Journey Rune. Difficult
Monsters
Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1
each: circle of death, enervation,* phantasmal killer,symbol;symbol (discord only)2/day each: finger of death, harm, mental prison,*power word pain*1/day each: power word kill, power word stun, symbol
;symbol (death only), weird* Spell from Xanathar’s Guide to EverythingMultiattack. Ygorl makes three attacks: two with its scythe, and one with its Entropic Touch.
Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +14
Monsters
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
One whispers promises of reality-defying knowledge and world-bending power. When a wizard or a warlock hears that whisper and listens too intently, they might set foot on the twisting path toward
becoming an eldritch lich.
Like other liches, eldritch liches are spellcasters who have cheated death, but an eldritch lich does so by allowing a Great Old One to implant a Far Realm parasite in the lich
Monsters
Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
terrain, polymorph
5th level (3 slots): Bigby's hand, geas, wall of force
6th level (2 slots): chain lightning, globe of invulnerability, programmed illusion
7th level (2 slots): finger of death
casting elder runes on them. Halaster’s gates connect the different levels of Undermountain, thus enabling him to bring new monsters into the dungeon to replenish those that die or escape. Even as
Warlock
Legacy
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Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
With a pseudodragon curled on his shoulder, a young elf in golden robes smiles warmly, weaving a magical charm into his honeyed words and bending the palace sentinel to his will. As flames spring to
are comfortable in light armor and know how to use simple weapons. Delvers into Secrets Warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power, which compels them into their pacts and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
). Each time you gain a level, you can replace one of the runes you know with another one from the Rune Spells table. Rune Spells Rune Spell Cloud Fog cloud Death Inflict wounds Dragon Chromatic orb
Rune Shaper Prerequisite: Spellcasting Feature or Rune Carver Background You’ve studied the magic of Giant runes, granting you the following benefits: Comprehend Languages. You learn the comprehend
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
Olanthius Returns If the characters desecrate any of the tombs or disturb the journals in area C7, Olanthius the death knight returns to the crypt on a chariot pulled by two gorgons. Olanthius is
outside. As Olanthius moves through the catacombs, he compels any ghosts he encounters to fight at his side. Any ghosts that the characters summoned from the urns in the funerary chambers (area C2
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
far faster than one would expect; it’s unclear whether this is due to magic, a gnomish technological contraption, or just the laws of physics bending to Rosie’s force of personality.
Rosie referees
insists on roleplaying only “monsters” and delights in chasing down participants to “eat” them. Many a participant has heard giggling approaching them at high speed before their character’s death
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Keys from the Golden Vault
next game (assuming the participant wants to keep playing). Life and Death Life and death is a dice game played between the house (represented by a dealer) and a player. While up to five players can
life and death, they can opt to push their luck on their next bet. In this case, they bet everything they won on the last roll (their ante plus the winnings from the house). If they win, the house
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
a great hoard. Its leonine nature compels it to hunt and kill powerful creatures that threaten its territory. Its goat head grants it a vicious, stubborn streak that compels it to fight to the death
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
geas spell cast by Halaster compels Zorak to hunt down and destroy the creature bearing the death mark, singling out that target above all others. Zorak knows the exact location of the marked creature
27. Mark of Death Halaster captured a dwarf vampire named Zorak Lightdrinker and magically bound him here. Open Pit. A 20-foot-long, 40-foot-deep pit spans the width of the corridor. Blood stains the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen
glowing white runes wink into existence, drifting about the room like snowflakes. This is the castle’s steering chamber. When no one is present, the castle is under the control of the spirit of Esclarotta
, who is bound to the fortress by powerful magic that cannot be dispelled. Touching one of the glowing runes issues a specific command to Esclarotta’s spirit. A character who understands Dwarvish or
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
glowing white runes wink into existence, drifting about the room like snowflakes.
This is the castle’s steering chamber. When no one is present, the castle is under the control of the spirit of
Esclarotta, who is bound to the fortress by powerful magic that cannot be dispelled. Touching one of the glowing runes issues a specific command to Esclarotta’s spirit. A character who understands Dwarvish or
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
torment influences its behavior.
Banshee Sorrows 1d6 Torment Compels the Banshee To...
1 Appear prior to a family member’s death.
2 Haunt the site where it was executed.
3 Lament
Banshee Wailing Harbinger of Death Habitat: Any; Treasure: Relics Heralds of doom and plagues on the living, banshees are spirits obsessed by unresolved bitterness or sorrow. These storied phantoms
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
Ghoul Devourers of Flesh. Like maggots or carrion beetles, ghouls thrive in places rank with decay and death. A ghoul haunts a place where it can gorge on dead flesh and decomposing organs. When it
compels them to consume. A ghoul’s undead flesh never rots, and this monster can persist in a crypt or tomb for untold ages without feeding. Abyssal Origins. Ghouls trace their origins to the Abyss
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
one of the corpses. (The gnome is really a troll named Xlorp, transformed by the runes in area 11b.)
In its current form, the troll has the statistics of an unarmored (AC 12), chaotic evil deep gnome
character who examines the bodies and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that four drow are covered in burn marks consistent with lightning strikes, three were torn to pieces by large claws, and one was crushed to death (a victim of the behir’s coils).
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
it is littered with yuan-ti bones. 17b. Death of a Naga The phantasmal scene of a spirit naga battling four yuan-ti purebloods plays out for characters who set foot on this island. As characters view
statistics of a yuan-ti pureblood with 2d20 hit points remaining. Hexacali, a spirit naga with 35 hit points, is trapped on the island and fights yuan-ti characters to the death. Yuan-ti characters who drop
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
and collect magic items and occult lore. Have you gazed on the Runes of Chaos, held the Death Moon Orb in your trembling hands, entered the Devouring Portal and walked the Paths of the Doomed, or sat
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
draped over one corner of a tall black crystal chair, is a fist-sized, gleaming black gemstone — the control gem for the death slaad on level 8 (a legend lore spell or similar magic confirms as much
opens the book triggers an elder rune that targets that individual (see “Elder Runes”). Draw a card from the Elder Runes Deck (see appendix B) to determine which rune appears. Treasure. Most of the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin
a sleek red coat. But Ilren is a disguised death slaad who can cast the spell Modify Memory (spell save DC 15) once per day. Ilren is the reason the camp suffers Aberration attacks; the death slaad
front of the ship. During the Lambent Zenith’s crash, arcane wards should have sealed the safe room’s doors. The safe room is inaccessible while the wards are active. Ward Runes. Two runes hidden on the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
issue a challenge that compels other creatures to do battle with you. Each creature of your choice that you can see within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a creature
advantage on death saving throws while within 30 feet of you. You have advantage on Wisdom saving throws, as do your allies within 30 feet of you. This effect ends early if you are incapacitated or die. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin
mate, Figaro, are encamped on this segment. A death slaad recently infiltrated the camp, sowing chaos and magically manipulating Figaro’s mind. This drove Figaro into a paranoid state, causing him to
lock himself in his quarters, where one of the safe room’s ward runes is located. Characters approaching this wreck segment can land on either the sterncastle deck (area Z1a) or in the companionway
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder
grants immortality to its wearer, was last seen in the possession of a human adventurer (and former Harper) named Artus Cimber. Guided by magical runes of tracking, Storvald plans to find the ring and
empower his runes. Unbeknown to Storvald, the runes are steering the frost giants not to Artus Cimber but to other, closer individuals who carry the Cimber bloodline — Artus’s living relatives, most of whom
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel
, all its answers support Awa’s story from the “Death in the Mines” section. Multiple Paths. Awa wasn’t sure which of the southern tunnels he fled through. Characters who search the area and succeed on
follow any other tunnel, they reach a dead end after 10 minutes and have a 50 percent chance of encountering two aurumvoraxes gnawing on a seam of gold ore. These aurumvoraxes fight to the death and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
is watched over by two invisible nycaloths.
To flatter Netherskull, Halaster assigned a would-be apprentice to chronicle the death tyrant’s history in a series of journals. This biographer is a
spellbook, though Kavil is unaware of this.) As Netherskull’s appointed biographer, Kavil is expected to earn the death tyrant’s trust, but Netherskull trusts no wizard, and has been reluctant to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
Pack Lord Most war bands are led by pack lords. These champions of Yeenoghu curry their lord’s favor with living sacrifices. They mark their hides with bloody runes, which sometimes grant supernatural
springs into action, its blades and teeth turn it into a whirling dealer of death, able to dash from one target to the next as though it had been shot from a bow. Gnoll Witherlings A war band might go for
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
open the door, read: This room reeks of filth and death. The corpse of a dragonborn rots in a rusty cell of iron bars to the north. To the south, a similar cell holds two living prisoners.
The cell
desiccated and skeletal humanoid corpses litter the floor of this small chamber. The stone of the north wall has been etched with intricate runes, but the pattern ends abruptly.
Bodies and Runes. A closer
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
through. Stone Braziers. Any character who understands Dwarvish or Giant can interpret the runes on the six braziers as follows: dod (death), fjell (mountain), krig (war), liv (life), vind (wind), and
betrays and attacks them as Reggaryarva’s throne rises into the air. A winter wolf sent by the Frostmaiden joins the fray on Yselm’s side. Both villains fight to the death. When the full moon disappears
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
supernatural beings. Cult members often have abilities tied to the forces they worship. Aberrant Cultist Aberrant cultists pursue mind-bending powers from alien forces. Aberrant cultists align with
spellcasting ability as Spellcasting.
Death Cultist Death cultists revel in nihilistic forces, embracing them as paths to undeath, multiversal purity, or entropic inevitability. These cultists serve
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monstrous Compendium Volume One: Spelljammer Creatures
Eldritch Lich From beyond the stars, a Great Old One whispers promises of reality-defying knowledge and world-bending power. When a wizard or a warlock hears that whisper and listens too intently
, they might set foot on the twisting path toward becoming an eldritch lich. Like other liches, eldritch liches are spellcasters who have cheated death, but an eldritch lich does so by allowing a Great
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
Giantkind Encounters This section includes encounter tables themed around each of the six kinds of giants in the Monster Manual, plus death giants (found in chapter 6) and fomorians. Each table
Death Giant Encounters
3 Fire Giant Encounters
4 Fomorian Encounters
5 Frost Giant Encounters
6 Hill Giant Encounters
7 Stone Giant Encounters
8 Storm Giant
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
inciting the fomorians to assault the Feywild, the All-Father also excluded the fomorians from the ordning. Death Giants. Once cloud giants, death giants (introduced in chapter 6 of this book) technically
giants—as well as the death giants that appear in chapter 6 of this book. These giants are the focus of this book, so it’s safe to assume that’s what is meant when you see the word “giant” and it’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Giant Runes (Area J2) Dod (Death Rune)
Fjell (Mountain Rune)
Krig (War Rune)
Liv (Life Rune)
Vind (Wind Rune)
Wyrm (Dragon Rune)
J3. Curved Tunnel There is nothing remarkable