best before define compared rather

Snow Sphinx

monsters

whips around a feline face, revealing piercing blue eyes that can freeze foes with a single glance. Compared to its desert-dwelling cousins, this sphinx is far less likely to be defeated with reason or

logic. Although a snow sphinx can speak, it generally greets its prey with claws and teeth rather than riddles or philosophical conversation. Physically, this fearsome creature is well adapted to harsh

Young Deep Dragon Legacy

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

seeing the deepest places in the ocean. 8 I find I rather enjoy the company of people—as long as they remain unaware of my true nature. Deep Dragon Ideals d6;{"diceNotation

rather than acting in haste. (Good) Deep Dragon Spellcasting Age Spell Save DC Spells Known Young Deep Dragon;Young 14 command, dissonant whispers, faerie fire

Auril (Third Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

, define her. Lesser gods in the D&D multiverse are extremely powerful and arrogant, but also fallible and blind to their own flaws. It’s appropriate for Auril to act as though she’s

. A stat block is given for each of Auril’s three forms. These descriptions do not reflect Auril at full power, but rather Auril as she is encountered in this adventure.Lair Actions Auril

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

, striving to leave a lasting legacy. Individually and as a group, humans are adaptable opportunists, and they stay alert to changing political and social dynamics. EVERYONE’S SECOND-BEST FRIENDS

; Elves. “It’s best not to wander into elven woods. They don’t like intruders, and you’ll as likely be bewitched as peppered with arrows. Still, if an elf can get past that damned

Entertainer Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

routines or roll on the table below to define your expertise as an entertainer. d10 Entertainer Routine 1 Actor 2 Dancer 3 Fire-eater 4 Jester 5 Juggler

likely repeat. 5 I have trouble keeping my true feelings hidden. My sharp tongue lands me in trouble. 6 Despite my best efforts, I am unreliable to my friends.

Pidlwick II

Monsters Curse of Strahd

thought it was an accident. In the days that followed, Pidlwick II tried its best to fill its namesake's shoes, but the effigy's mere presence was upsetting to Tatyana, and it was never called on to perform

, instead assuming that the guests had died in their sleep. But Strahd was not fooled. He came to realize fairly quickly that the clockwork effigy had begun to display a murderous nature. Rather than have

Auril (First Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

demystifying her in the eyes of your players. Let her actions, not her words, define her. Lesser gods in the D&D multiverse are extremely powerful and arrogant, but also fallible and blind to their

rather Auril as she is encountered in this adventure.Lair Actions Auril dwells on Solstice, a frozen island hidden among the titanic icebergs in the Sea of Moving Ice. Few creatures know of this

Moonstone Dragon Wyrmling

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

together form a shape that’s reminiscent of a slender crescent moon. Moonstone dragons are playful and impetuous forces of mischief in their early years, but the best of them mature into wise

others is often difficult because I’m so easily distr… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver? 7 I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather spend my

Young Moonstone Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

crescent moon. Moonstone dragons are playful and impetuous forces of mischief in their early years, but the best of them mature into wise teachers and storytellers who anchor Feywild communities. The

… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver? 7 I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather spend my time asleep, in the realm of dreams. 8 I find the

Mighty Servant of Leuk-o

Magic Items Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

conjecture than fact, often referring to otherworldly beings, the mysterious Barrier Peaks in Oerth, and the supposedly related device known as the Machine of Lum the Mad. The best details on the device

instantly and leave behind no remains. This does not destroy the servant permanently. Rather, 2d6 days later, its parts—left arm, left leg, right arm, right leg, lower torso, and upper torso&mdash

City Watch / Investigator

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

easily pick out the dens of criminal activity in a community, although you’re more likely to be welcome in the former locations rather than the latter. Variant: Investigator Rarer

Investigation rather than Athletics. Suggested Characteristics Use the tables for the soldier background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to

Soldier Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

solution is the best path to success. d6 Ideal 1 Greater Good. Our lot is to lay down our lives in defense of others. (Good) 2 Responsibility. I do what I must and obey just

mistake in battle that cost many lives—and I would do anything to keep that mistake secret. 4 My hatred of my enemies is blind and unreasoning. 5 I obey the law, even if the law causes misery. 6 I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong.

Courtier

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

In your earlier days, you were a personage of some significance in a noble court or a bureaucratic organization. You might or might not come from an upper-class family; your talents, rather than the

tirelessly to get the best deal possible. 8 I’m well known for my work, and I want to make sure everyone appreciates it. I’m always taken aback when people haven’t heard of me

Criminal / Spy Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

new place is note the locations of everything valuable—or where such things 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 attention to the risks in a situation. Never tell me the odds. 7 The best way to get me to do something is to tell me

Entertainer - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

; Entertainer Routines A good entertainer is versatile, spicing up every performance with a variety of different routines. Choose one to three routines or roll on the table below to define your expertise as an

follow me around. 4 I once satirized a noble who still wants my head. It was a mistake that I will likely repeat. 5 I have trouble keeping my true feelings hidden. My sharp tongue lands me in trouble. 6 Despite my best efforts, I am unreliable to my friends.

Auril (Second Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

. The less she talks, the less risk you have of unintentionally demystifying her in the eyes of your players. Let her actions, not her words, define her. Lesser gods in the D&D multiverse are

forms. These descriptions do not reflect Auril at full power, but rather Auril as she is encountered in this adventure.Lair Actions Auril dwells on Solstice, a frozen island hidden among the titanic

Adult Moonstone Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

together form a shape that’s reminiscent of a slender crescent moon. Moonstone dragons are playful and impetuous forces of mischief in their early years, but the best of them mature into wise

often difficult because I’m so easily distr… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver? 7 I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather spend my time asleep

Ancient Moonstone Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

nose; the two horns together form a shape that’s reminiscent of a slender crescent moon. Moonstone dragons are playful and impetuous forces of mischief in their early years, but the best of them

Conversing with others is often difficult because I’m so easily distr… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver? 7 I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather

Azorius Functionary

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

successfully prevented a murder, and the would-be perpetrator wants me dead. 5 One of my parents was prominent in the guild, and I resent constantly being compared to that standard. 6 I’ve

best at everything in my legal training, and now I work with the person who was always just a little bit better. 6 A good friend was promoted into work they can’t tell me about. 7 I

Lizardfolk Names

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

Common words. Lizardfolk use active verbs to describe the world. A lizardfolk in cold weather might say, “This wind brings cold” rather than “I feel cold.” Lizardfolk tend to define things in terms of actions, rather than effects.

Alignment

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

, evil, or neutral), and the other describes attitudes toward society and order (lawful, chaotic, or neutral). Thus, nine distinct alignments define the possible combinations. These brief summaries of the

) folk do the best they can to help others according to their needs. Many celestials are neutral good. Chaotic good (CG) creatures act as their conscience directs, with little regard for what others

Urban Bounty Hunter

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

. 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 attention to the risks

in a situation. Never tell me the odds. 7 The best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can’t do it. 8 I blow up at the slightest insult. d6 Ideal 1

Noble - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

wish to use the background’s standard feature might have gained their standing in Baldur’s Gate from business rather than inheritance. Skill Proficiencies: History, Persuasion Tool

Thanks to your noble birth, people are inclined to think the best of you. You are welcome in high society, and people assume you have the right to be wherever you are. The common folk make every

Espionage Agency Contacts

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

Espionage Agency Contacts Your assignments come from a superior in the agency who typically works at a desk rather than in the field—compiling intelligence into reports for their superiors and

kindly bureau chief who views you as a truly special team with invaluable skills 4 A crotchety middle-manager on the cusp of retirement who constantly bemoans the state of today’s agents compared to

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

away in the night to seek the cold will of fate. In some ways, the goliath drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in

. Goliaths see females and males as equal in all things, and they find societies with roles divided by gender to be puzzling or worthy of mockery. To a goliath, the person who is best at a job should be

Something to Lose

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

. Character relationships require players to invest in the story and work best when the DM and player collaborate to develop details (the group patrons in chapter 1 provide a framework for fleshing out

such details). A DM who introduces an old buddy who served with the player characters during the war could describe the person and then ask each player to define a connection to them. Present each

The Material Plane

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

The Material Plane The Material Plane is the nexus where the philosophical and elemental forces that define the other planes collide in the jumbled existence of mortal life and mundane matter. All

abandoned. The best-known worlds in the multiverse are the ones that have been published as official campaign settings for the D&D game over the years — Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Dragonlance, the Forgotten

Transferring Colleges

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

Transferring Colleges The loose association of minstrels and masters that was your bard college helps to define your knowledge and skills. Still, no matter what your original collegiate connections

your wheelhouse. Being able to make friends and influence people is the bread and butter of your profession. Rather than ply this trade in public squares and seedy alehouses, however, you have trained

Continent Scale

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

, huge lakes, and political boundaries. A map at this scale is best for showing how multiple kingdom-scale maps fit together, rather than tracking the movement of adventurers day by day. The same

Ability Checks

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

creature’s efforts. In a contest, the ability checks are compared to each other, rather than to a target number. When you call for a contest, you pick the ability that each side must use, deciding

interpreting what things mean. The character might spot that one section of a wall is clean and dusty compared to the others, but he or she wouldn’t necessarily make the deduction that a secret door is there

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow lizardfolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome. Cold and Calculating Most humanoids describe cold-blooded people as lacking in

portable! 2 You sleep best while mostly submerged in water. 3 Money is meaningless to you. 4 You think there are only two species of humanoid: lizardfolk and meat. 5 You have

Nylea's Influence

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

weather, both natural and supernatural in origin. Nylea is the best archer in the world, and contests of archery are often held in her name. Those who hunt their own food pray to Nylea for success, and

Compared to the other gods, Nylea’s goals are modest. She wants only to keep the natural world free and healthy, shepherd the seasons through their yearly cycle, and enjoy the beauty of the land. But

Soldier - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

strong and like breaking things. 7 I have a crude sense of humor. 8 I face problems head-on. A simple, direct solution is the best path to success. d6 Ideal 1

keep that mistake secret. 4 My hatred of my enemies is blind and unreasoning. 5 I obey the law, even if the law causes misery. 6 I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong.

Exemplars of Ambition

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

, wealth, and fame. More than other people, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. EVERYONE’S SECOND-BEST FRIENDS Just as readily as they mix with each other, humans mingle with members

. “They’re stout folk, stalwart friends, and true to their word. Their greed for gold is their downfall, though.” Elves. “It’s best not to wander into elven woods. They don’t like intruders, and

Exemplars of Ambition

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

, wealth, and fame. More than other people, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. EVERYONE'S SECOND-BEST FRIENDS Just as readily as they mix with each other, humans mingle with members

. “They’re stout folk, stalwart friends, and true to their word. Their greed for gold is their downfall, though.” Elves. “It’s best not to wander into elven woods. They don’t like intruders, and

D&D Beyond

Search Results