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Returning 35 results for 'beyond bards diffusing cosmic reason'.
Classes
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
against others through extortion and threats.
Many other bards hate the College of Whispers, viewing it as a parasite that uses a bard’s reputation to acquire wealth and power. For this reason
Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their midst. Bards of the College of Whispers use this to their advantage. They appear to be like other bards, sharing news, singing songs, and telling
Classes
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
learn about terrestrial realms, or does it want you to open cosmic floodgates and drown the world?
Perhaps you were born into a generational cult that venerates the Fathomless and its spawn. Or you
might have been shipwrecked and on the brink of drowning when your patron’s grasp offered you a chance at life. Whatever the reason for your pact, the sea and its unknown depths call to you
Classes
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
against others through extortion and threats.
Many other bards hate the College of Whispers, viewing it as a parasite that uses a bard’s reputation to acquire wealth and power. For this reason
Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their midst. Bards of the College of Whispers use this to their advantage. They appear to be like other bards, sharing news, singing songs, and telling
Classes
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
learn about terrestrial realms, or does it want you to open cosmic floodgates and drown the world?
Perhaps you were born into a generational cult that venerates the Fathomless and its spawn. Or you
might have been shipwrecked and on the brink of drowning when your patron’s grasp offered you a chance at life. Whatever the reason for your pact, the sea and its unknown depths call to you
Monsters
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
’s swiftly pulled back if caught beyond its walls without a host.
Personality Trait. “I might be dead, but there’s no reason I can’t live it up a little.”
Ideal. &ldquo
Bard
Legacy
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Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
of song, speech, and the magic they contain. Bards say that the multiverse was spoken into existence, that the words of the gods gave it shape, and that echoes of these primordial Words of Creation
still resound throughout the cosmos. The music of bards is an attempt to snatch and harness those echoes, subtly woven into their spells and powers. The greatest strength of bards is their sheer
Monsters
Quests from the Infinite Staircase
"} lightning or thunder damage (Nafas’s choice).
Create Vortex. A 10-foot-radius, 60-foot-tall cylinder of swirling cosmic dust forms on a point Nafas can see within 120 feet of him. The vortex
of twinkling stardust follows Nafas wherever he goes, as evidence of his cosmic might.
No bottle, vase, ring, or lamp can contain Nafas. The genie is bound to the Infinite Staircase itself, anchored
Demilich (Variant)
Legacy
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Monsters
Monster Manual (2014)
their quest for power beyond the mortal world. As their patron did, they secure their remains within well-guarded vaults, using soul gems to maintain their phylacteries and destroy the adventurers who
its existence.
Few liches seek to become demiliches, for it means an end to the existence they hoped to preserve by becoming undead. However, time can erode the lich’s reason and memory, causing
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
time). Thus, she has no reason to capitulate to mortals’ demands. As the embodiment of winter’s cruelty, she is incapable of showing mercy or compassion. Play her as a supremely cold and
, Auril is reborn at full strength during the next winter solstice, with divine power far beyond what is reflected in the stat blocks presented here.
After finishing a long rest, Auril regains any of
Firbolg
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
world.
A few rare firbolgs are entrusted by their clan with an important mission that takes them beyond their homes. These firbolgs feel like pilgrims in a strange land, and usually they wish only to
Reason for Adventuring
1
Outcast for murder
2
Outcast for severely damaging home territory
3
Clan slain by invading humanoids
4
Clan slain by a dragon or demon
5
Eye and Hand of Vecna
Legacy
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Magic Items
Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
would allow him to live on as a lich. Beyond death, he became the greatest of all liches. Even though his body gradually withered and decayed, Vecna continued to expand his evil dominion. So formidable
’s lieutenant Kas coveted the Spider Throne for himself, or that the sword his lord made for him seduced him into rebellion. Whatever the reason, Kas brought the Undying King’s rule to an
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
can’t truly die (although the characters can rid the world of her for a time). Thus, she has no reason to capitulate to mortals’ demands. As the embodiment of winter’s cruelty, she is
form, Auril dies. As long as she has mortal followers who worship her, however, Auril is reborn at full strength during the next winter solstice, with divine power far beyond what is reflected in the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
Learning from Experience True bards are not common in the world. Not every minstrel singing in a tavern or jester cavorting in a royal court is a bard. Discovering the magic hidden in music requires
hard study and some measure of natural talent that most troubadours and jongleurs lack. It can be hard to spot the difference between these performers and true bards, though. A bard’s life is spent
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
might prove helpful:
So long as she has mortal worshipers, Auril can’t truly die (although the characters can rid the world of her for a time). Thus, she has no reason to capitulate to mortals
solstice, with divine power far beyond what is reflected in the stat blocks presented here.
After finishing a long rest, Auril regains any of her forms that were destroyed, provided at least one
Lizardfolk
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
plans, or cultivating other methods to progress beyond their simple existence as hunters and gatherers.
Hapless Soft Ones
At their core, lizardfolk view other humanoids with an indifference verging on
quirk for a lizardfolk character or to inspire a unique mannerism.
Lizardfolk Quirks
d8
Quirk
1
You hate waste and see no reason not to scavenge fallen enemies. Fingers are tasty and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
Learning from Experience True bards are not common in the world. Not every minstrel singing in a tavern or jester cavorting in a royal court is a bard. Discovering the magic hidden in music requires
hard study and some measure of natural talent that most troubadours and jongleurs lack. It can be hard to spot the difference between these performers and true bards, though. A bard’s life is spent
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Cosmic Horror Villains When the cosmic horror villains are mortal, they’re wretched creatures, perpetrating unimaginable horrors in the hope of an outcome they can’t properly articulate. Beyond them
are monstrous beings, the spawn of horrors or those who’ve come to think of themselves as such. Past these harbingers are true cosmic horrors, inscrutable beings, godlike terrors, and the embodiments
Aarakocra
Legacy
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Species
Elemental Evil Player's Companion
beyond — from the boundless vistas of the Elemental Plane of Air.
They are immigrants, refugees, scouts, and explorers, their outposts functioning as footholds in a world both strange and alien
.
Great Purpose
Aarakocra enjoy peace and solitude. Most of them have little interest in dealing with other peoples and less interest in spending time on the ground. For this reason, it takes an
Paladin
Legacy
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Classes
Basic Rules (2014)
undead, and to protect the innocent and those who join them in the fight for justice.
Beyond the Mundane Life
Almost by definition, the life of a paladin is an adventuring life. Unless a lasting injury
has taken him or her away from adventuring for a time, every paladin lives on the front lines of the cosmic struggle against evil. Fighters are rare enough among the ranks of the militias and armies
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Cosmic Horror Cosmic horror revolves around the fear of personal insignificance. The genre is predicated on the idea of entities so vast and so genuinely beyond our comprehension that we cannot
insignificance within an indifferent universe. In addition, consider the following genre tropes when creating your cosmic horror domain: There is no good or evil, no law or chaos. Be vague. Cosmic horror
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
determining the fate of millions in the Material Plane and even places beyond. Characters traverse otherworldly realms and explore demiplanes and other extraplanar locales, where they fight savage balor
existence itself. Characters who reach 20th level have attained the pinnacle of mortal achievement. Their deeds are recorded in the annals of history and recounted by bards for centuries. Their
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
Beyond the Mundane Life Almost by definition, the life of a paladin is an adventuring life. Unless a lasting injury has taken him or her away from adventuring for a time, every paladin lives on the
front lines of the cosmic struggle against evil. Fighters are rare enough among the ranks of the militias and armies of the world, but even fewer people can claim the true calling of a paladin. When
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
Beyond the Mundane Life Almost by definition, the life of a paladin is an adventuring life. Unless a lasting injury has taken him or her away from adventuring for a time, every paladin lives on the
front lines of the cosmic struggle against evil. Fighters are rare enough among the ranks of the militias and armies of the world, but even fewer people can claim the true calling of a paladin. When
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
“food for a tenday or more on the road, and seeds for the future beyond that.” Reason to Visit. Darovik is a useful contact for characters with a connection to the Emerald Enclave. Goldenfields is also an intended destination of the missing delegation, though they obviously never arrived.
Goldenfields Goldenfields is a huge walled temple-farm dedicated to Chauntea, the goddess of agriculture. Called “the granary of the North,” it’s the only reason many Northerners ever taste soft
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
be perfect beings. No matter how death tyrants come into being, bizarre impulses drive their deathless existences. Their motivations tend to be extreme or beyond the reason of living creatures.
Death Tyrant Beholder beyond Death Habitat: Underdark; Treasure: Any Simon Dominic A death tyrant is a beholder that pursues aberrant goals beyond its death. Ten magical singularities—all that
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
17. Cosmic Hallway Steps descend to a walkway that appears to stretch across infinite space. Thousands of stars twinkle in unfamiliar constellations, and meteors streak through the vastness above and
below the path. Just past the base of the stairs, a door framed by nothingness rises from the path. Fifty feet beyond that, the path meets an intersection, with another door straight ahead.
This
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat
17. Cosmic Hallway Steps descend to a walkway that appears to stretch across infinite space. Thousands of stars twinkle in unfamiliar constellations, and meteors streak through the vastness above and
below the path. Just past the base of the stairs, a door framed by nothingness rises from the path. Fifty feet beyond that, the path meets an intersection, with another door straight ahead.
This
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
College of Whispers Most folk are happy to welcome a bard into their midst. Bards of the College of Whispers use this to their advantage. They appear to be like other bards, sharing news, singing
songs, and telling tales to the audiences they gather. In truth, the College of Whispers teaches its students that they are wolves among sheep. These bards use their knowledge and magic to uncover
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd
, most Barovians realize that they have nowhere to go and no reason to leave. A few depart, fearing the return of the darkness or longing to see their ancestral homelands. Those who have souls can leave
the valley, while those without souls fade into nothingness as they take their first steps beyond the edge of Strahd’s former domain.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Build Your Group Naturally, a large portion of the Boromar Clan’s members come from a criminal background. There’s no reason characters with other backgrounds can’t be part of the syndicate, though
give them a broad range of knowledge to support their schemes. Bards, rogues, and wizards are often drawn to this role. Safecracker. The “breaking” part of “breaking and entering” is the Safecracker’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
The God-Brain The scope of what mind flayers call history exists on a cosmic scale. Through ages of empire and conflict, the illithid elder brains indulged experiments without comparison or reference
for lesser beings, explorations beyond the boundaries of time, reality, immortality, and the multiverse. Many failed—at least one catastrophically so. To summarize an eon of atrocities, one elder
Orc
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
cosmic implications of Maglubiyet’s attacks. To prevent the goblinoids from outstripping her people in population, she urges the orcs to have many offspring and teach them the ways of battle not only
herself and claw Maglubiyet’s beady eyes from his face to prevent him from taking them from her. The cosmic battle between the two pantheons has raged for eons without resolution, leading those
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
the cosmology of Eberron is specifically designed to prevent such travel, to keep the world hidden away from the meddling of gods, celestials, and fiends from beyond. The three progenitor wyrms worked
together to form Eberron and its planes as a new cosmic system in the depths of the Ethereal Plane. They recreated the elves, orcs, dragons, and other races found throughout the multiverse and placed
compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
straightforward. I highly recommend it as one of D&D's earliest and best dungeons.
Instead, we decided to consider Elemental Evil as cosmic threat. As creatures of the planes, the elemental princes
?
Simply posing that question kicked off a groundwell of ideas and concepts. It pushed us to think of elemental evil as a power beyond that of the original adventure.
The results of that exercise are
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
, consider what circumstances brought you into the wider world. The Leaving the Shadow Marches table offers some inspiration. Leaving the Shadow Marches d8 Reason for Leaving 1 You’re associated with
the Gatekeepers, and you’re on a quest to combat a daelkyr-related threat beyond the bounds of the Shadow Marches. 2 House Tharashk recruited you from the Marches to serve as a mercenary in the Last