best before death carries rules

Planar Binding

Spells Player’s Handbook

commands to the best of its ability. You might command the creature to accompany you on an adventure, to guard a location, or to deliver a message. If the creature is Hostile, it strives to twist your

commands to achieve its own objectives. If the creature carries out your commands completely before the spell ends, it travels to you to report this fact if you are on the same plane of existence. If

Lorwyn-Shadowmoor Elf

Species Lorwyn: First Light

’s death knell, its people’s self-importance and unwillingness to collaborate with other species had already led to the empire’s decline. In Shadowmoor Shadowmoor elves’ horns

heroism and self-sacrifice the highest forms of beauty. Bloomseekers are Shadowmoor elves who study and explore Lorwyn. Each one carries a Reliquary of Twilight (see Lorwyn: First Light). Alongside

Death Dog Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

. Hate burns in a death dog's heart, and a taste for humanoid flesh drives it to attack travelers and explorers. Death dog saliva carries a foul disease that causes a victim's flesh to slowly rot off the bone.

failure. This reduction lasts until the disease is cured. The creature dies if the disease reduces its hit point maximum to 0.A death dog is an ugly two-headed hound that roams plains, and deserts

Holga Kilgore

Monsters Thieves’ Gallery

Equipment. Holga carries a darksteel greataxe, a magic weapon that grants her resistance to lightning damage while she carries it (included above). Unarmored Defense. While Holga isn’t wearing

when her ire is up, Holga wields anything that comes to hand—from weapons to snacks. Her unwavering loyalty makes her a fierce defender of allies, particularly her best friend, Edgin Darvis;Edgin

Shalvus Martholio

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Hand Crossbow","rollDamageType":"piercing"} piercing damage. Shalvus carries ten crossbow bolts. Roleplaying Information Nalaskur Thaelond of Bargewright Inn has

entrusted the shepherd Shalvus with an important assignment: to figure out the best way by which Goldenfields can be brought under the Black Network’s control. Shalvus believes that success will ensure

Cultist (Knights of the Black Sword)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

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

have perished in the wilderness had Levistus not intervened on their behalf. The cultists’ stories are all the same: the archdevil reached out to them in their minds as they were freezing to death

Planar Binding Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

must follow your instructions to the best of its ability. You might command the creature to accompany you on an adventure, to guard a location, or to deliver a message. The creature obeys the letter

of your instructions, but if the creature is hostile to you, it strives to twist your words to achieve its own objectives. If the creature carries out your instructions completely before the spell

Cult Fanatic (Knights of the Black Sword)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

","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

’ stories are all the same: the archdevil reached out to them in their minds as they were freezing to death, offering a second chance at life in exchange for their absolute devotion. After they

Wereraven

Monsters Curse of Strahd

, modestly give money to charity. They take steps to keep magic items out of evil hands by stashing them in secret hiding places. Characters as Wereravens. The Monster Manual has rules for characters

piercing damage (no ability modifier applies to this damage) and carries the curse of lycanthropy; see the “Player Characters as Lycanthropes” sidebar in the lycanthropes entry in the Monster Manual for details.

Shapechange Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

had before you transformed. If you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. As long as the excess damage doesn't reduce your normal form to 0

rules for the original form, with one exception: if your new form has more hit points than your current one, your hit points remain at their current value.

Bheur Hag

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

bluish hue of a person who has frozen to death. The hag’s hair is white, and the hag is emaciated, with pale eyes surrounded by bruise-colored flesh. A bheur hag carries a twisted gray wooden

Control Weather (1/Day). The hag can cast the control weather spell, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability. Graystaff Magic. The hag carries a graystaff, a

Shadar-kai

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Material Plane to forge their own destinies. Once shadar-kai were Fey like the rest of their elven kin; now they exist in a state between life and death, thanks to being transformed by the Shadowfell

race, follow these additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score

Khargra

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

tasty, refined metal their victim carries, they quickly flee—and will flee before that rather than risk death. Stealthy Couriers. A number of clans among the dwarves, duergar, and azers have trained

, digesting the dust but leaving the message lodged in its digestive tract. Trained over long years and with plentiful treats to learn the direction to different underground strongholds and outposts, the khargra carries its burden to its destination, then coughs up the message on command.

Reborn

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

Death isn’t always the end. The reborn exemplify this, being individuals who have died yet, somehow, still live. Some reborn exhibit the scars of fatal ends, their ashen flesh or bloodless

veins making it clear that they’ve been touched by death. Other reborn are marvels of magic or science, being stitched together from disparate beings or bearing mysterious minds in manufactured

Orcus

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

will: animate dead (as an action), blight, speak with dead 1 charge each: circle of death, finger of death 2 charges: power word killOrcus can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options

Tail or Necrotic Bolt attack. Creeping Death (Costs 2 Actions). Orcus chooses a point on the ground that he can see within 100 feet of him. A cylinder of swirling necrotic energy 60 feet tall and

Fast Friends

Spells Acquisitions Incorporated

undertakes to perform any services or activities you ask of it in a friendly manner, to the best of its ability. You can set the creature new tasks when a previous task is completed, or if you decide to end

throw to try to end the effect. This save is made with advantage if you or your companions are fighting the creature. If the activity would result in certain death for the creature, the spell ends

Strahd, Master of Death House

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

, Strahd takes 20 radiant damage at the start of his turn, has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks, and can’t use his Change Shape bonus action.Multiattack. Strahd makes two Death Strike

attacks. He can replace one of these attacks with Blighted Fire if available. Death Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +9;{"diceNotation":"1d20+9", "rollType":"to hit", "rollAction":"Death Strike"} to hit

Rictavio

Monsters Curse of Strahd

Special Equipment. In addition to his sword cane, Rictavio wears a hat of disguise and a ring of mind shielding, and he carries a spell scroll of raise dead. Spellcasting. Rictavio is a 9th-level

): augury, lesser restoration, protection from poison 3rd level (3 slots): magic circle, remove curse, speak with dead 4th level (3 slots): death ward, freedom of movement 5th level (1 slot): dispel

Ghost Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

immune to this ghost dragon’s Terrifying Breath for the next 24 hours.A dragon’s attachment to a hoard can be strong enough to bind the dragon’s spirit to existence after death. Such

incorporeal version of the original dragon. Though its breath weapon resembles ghostly flames, lightning, or acid, it carries an otherworldly curse. The breath’s shadowy mist can induce waking nightmares.Acid, Cold, Necrotic, PoisonBludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing

Black Rose Bearer

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

as a guardian. Its name derives from the preserved black rose the bearer carries inside a delicate bell jar. The slightest jostle can cause the bearer to lose its grasp on the bell jar, destroying

black rose bearer bursts into furious violence, attacking indiscriminately. A bearer’s black rose is an homage to the tyrannical Lord Soth, the most powerful death knight on Krynn, who was once a Solamnic Knight of the Order of the Rose.Poison

Frostmourn

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

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

Simon Aumar

Monsters Thieves’ Gallery

Fey Ancestry. Simon has advantage on saving throws he makes to avoid or end the charmed condition on himself, and magic can’t put him to sleep. Special Equipment. Simon carries a bag of

’s dogged by doubt, the brave young mage has earned his place in Edgin Darvis;Edgin's crew. He performs best under pressure, instinctively unleashing his magic in dire moments. How he will continue to unlock his potential and what he will do with his volatile gift are yet to be seen.

Ziraj the Hunter

Monsters Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

hulking shadow that glares from its perch, rains down death in the form of long black arrows, and slinks off without so much as a whisper. Where he comes from — if he even has a home — remains a mystery, as

does the question of where he might show up next. Treasure. Ziraj wears leather,+2;+2 leather armor and carries an oversized longbow. This unique weapon can be used only by a Medium or larger

Orcus Legacy

Monsters Out of the Abyss

with dead. Alternatively, he can expend 1 or more of the wand’s charges to cast one of the following spells from it: circle of death (1 charge), finger of death (1 charge), or power word kill (2

. A Taste of Undeath. Orcus casts chill touch (17th level). Creeping Death (Costs 2 Actions). Orcus chooses a point on the ground that he can see within 100 feet of him. A cylinder of swirling

Wildspacer

Backgrounds Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

recurring nightmare. Roll on the Close Encounter table to determine which creature nearly got the best of you. Creatures marked with an asterisk appear in Boo’s Astral Menagerie; the others are

gravity isn’t present, the following rules apply: Impeded Melee. When making a melee attack with a weapon, a creature that doesn’t have a flying or swimming speed (either naturally or

Dusk Hag

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

waits behind a silver skull.” 3 “Three days, three deaths, three eyes, three breaths.” 4 “Doom falls on the peacock and the sparrow alike. Best be a raven.” 5 “A white hand on a black field holds

the golden key.” 6 “Beware the black horse.” 7 “The fish is your friend.” 8 “The stairs downward lead to that which you seek.” 9 “Look for two crossed swords. There your goal lies.” 10 “If you see two crows, turn back. Beyond is death.”

Eater of Hope

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

’ greed to turn them against one another and their own best interests. Some foul souls can’t let go of the miserable lives they had. Having been despicable in life, these spirits fester in

death. The worst of these hateful dead, through ages of bitterness, gradually transform into fiends, the tormentors of the Underworld. The people of Theros know these fiends as demons. Immortal Nature

Armor Class Legacy

Rules

modifier. Not all characters wear armor or carry shields, however. Without armor or a shield, your character's AC equals 10 + his or her Dexterity modifier. If your character wears armor, carries a shield

, or both, calculate your AC using the rules in the Equipment section. Record your AC on your character sheet.

Golgari Agent

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

You are a member of a teeming horde — one small part of a sprawling organism. Just as you are part of the swarm, the swarm is part of a larger ecosystem, a never-ending cycle of life, death

Golgari, no fear of death or taboo about the dead, just a fierce affirmation of the cycle. Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Survival Tool Proficiencies: Poisoner’s kit Languages

Shadar-kai Gloom Weaver

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

the heart, causing those nearby to feel the approach of death. If detected, gloom weavers use their shadow magic to reduce enemies to ghastly corpses. Shadar-kai In the gloom of the Shadowfell live

shadar-kai, elves whose ancestors served the Raven Queen, a god of death and memory. They were brought to that realm in ages past, so long ago that they’re now adapted to its cheerless

Nightmare Shepherd

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

destroyed. They disappear when the shepherd dies.A nightmare shepherd is a gaunt, ashen fiend with leathery wings. It carries a shepherd’s crook, which it uses to direct a flock of wandering

miserable lives they had. Having been despicable in life, these spirits fester in death. The worst of these hateful dead, through ages of bitterness, gradually transform into fiends, the tormentors of

Orzhov Representative

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

concentrates the spoils at the top of the hierarchy. As a functionary in that system, your best hope is to claim as much as possible of the money that passes through your hands on its way up, so that

command, illusory script 2nd enthrall, ray of enfeeblement, zone of truth 3rd bestow curse, speak with dead, spirit guardians 4th blight, death ward

Smiler the Defiler

Monsters Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Equipment. Smiler wears leather, +2;+2 leather armor. He carries seven soul coin;soul coins in a bag and a shortsword, +1;+1

shocking recklessness. Smiler thinks he can accomplish anything with a positive attitude and some death-defying stunt. Although he admits others might end up getting killed by his actions, he believes he

Shadar-kai Soul Monger

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

, finger of death, gaseous form, seeming Wave of Weariness (Recharge 4–6);{"diceNotation":"1d6", "rollType":"recharge", "rollAction":"Wave of Weariness"}. The shadar-kai emits weariness in a 60-foot cube

bottomless well of tragedy. Shadar-kai In the gloom of the Shadowfell live shadar-kai, elves whose ancestors served the Raven Queen, a god of death and memory. They were brought to that realm in ages

Owlin

Species Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

additional rules during character creation. Ability Score Increases When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one of those scores by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or

, has a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature they are. Most player characters, including owlin, are of the Humanoid type. Creature types don’t have rules themselves, but

D&D Beyond

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