birds before defeat concept rather

Water Weird Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

those its summoner declares as off limits. When slain, a water weird becomes an inanimate pool of water. Good and Evil Weirds. Like most elementals, a water weird has no concept of good or evil

interlopers rather than kill them, while a neutral evil water weird kills its victims for pleasure and might turn against its summoner. A water weird loses its evil alignment if its waters are cleansed

Forlarren

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

bound to their fey lord and unable to bargain away their souls. So rather than claim them, Fierna warped and twisted them before returning them to the Feywild, content that the corruption of the satyrs

. Unfortunately, when it reaches that breaking point, its diabolical nature asserts itself, and it remains in this scheming, dominating mindset until its plans are foiled and it faces defeat. Then, overwhelmed

Aarakocra Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

. Beak and Feather From below, aarakocra look much like large birds. Only when they descend to roost on a branch or walk across the ground does their humanoid appearance reveal itself. Standing

people forced to live and toil on the ground. Avian Mannerisms The resemblance of aarakocra to birds isn’t limited to physical features. Aarakocra display many of the same mannerisms as

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

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

individual skill. They have a compulsion to keep score, counting their deeds and tallying their accomplishments to compare to others. Goliaths love to win, but they see defeat as a prod to improve their

the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to pull his or her weight in the tribe. Typically, such a goliath dies attempting to keep up, or the goliath slips

Soldier Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

forget the crushing defeat my company suffered or the enemies who dealt it. 5 Those who fight beside me are those worth dying for. 6 I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves

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.

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the group’s needs, but the effect each action will have on the forest and the rest of the natural world. Firbolg tribes would rather go hungry than strain the land during a famine. Hidden

Shepherds As caretakers of the land, firbolgs prefer to remain out of sight and out of mind. They don’t try to dominate nature, but rather seek to ensure that it prospers and survives according to its

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

aggression toward creatures that they could defeat in a fight and that can’t be dealt with in some other manner. They are aggressive toward prey they want to eat, creatures that want to harm them, and

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

Mercenary Veteran

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

never leave a friend behind. 3 My honor is my life. 4 I’ll never forget the crushing defeat my company suffered or the enemies who dealt it. 5 Those who fight beside me are those

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.

Soldier - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

life on the battlefield. To this day, I will never leave a friend behind. 3 My honor is my life. 4 I’ll never forget the crushing defeat my company suffered or the enemies who dealt it

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.

Nib Addlespur

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

birds and will do what I can to look after them.” Flaw. “Deep water terrifies me. I would rather be swallowed by a dragon than get in a boat or go for a swim.”

Nib Addlespur

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon of Icespire Peak

. Use the Spellcaster sidekick stat block to represent her. Personality. “I can’t resist a sure bet or a friendly wager.” Ideal. “The more complicated the scheme, the better.” Bond. “I love birds

and will do what I can to look after them.” Flaw. “Deep water terrifies me. I would rather be swallowed by a dragon than get in a boat or go for a swim.”

Nib Addlespur

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sleeping Dragon’s Wake

birds and will do what I can to look after them.” Flaw. “Deep water terrifies me. I would rather be swallowed by a dragon than get in a boat or go for a swim.”

Nib Addlespur

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Divine Contention

birds and will do what I can to look after them.” Flaw. “Deep water terrifies me. I would rather be swallowed by a dragon than get in a boat or go for a swim.”

Character Names

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

names, that’s fine. If the group would rather take the characters and their names a little more seriously, urge Bob’s player to come up with a more appropriate name. Player character names should match

each other in flavor or concept, and they should also match the flavor of your campaign world — so should the nonplayer characters’ names and place names you create. Travok and Kairon don’t want to undertake a quest for Lord Cupcake, visit Gumdrop Island, or take down a crazy wizard named Ray.

Darklords

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

concept of how long they’ve lived, how many times they’ve died, or why they returned to life. Should a Darklord fall, the temporary defeat lasts until they’re restored by the Dark Powers. In their

adventures rather than saving them for distant climactic plots. Darklords Don’t Realize They’re Darklords. With a few exceptions, Darklords don’t realize they occupy a special place in the world. Their

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

at the burned-out building, a sudden cacophony erupted around us. Birds squawked, cats hissed, and dogs growled. Lidda hustled us back to the city’s safer avenues. Only when we were back within

kenku, constant attempts to mimic noises can come across as confusing or irritating rather than entertaining. You can just as easily describe the sounds your character makes and what they mean. Be clear

Reaching the Tower

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

Reaching the Tower Lolth’s forces surround the tower, but they are focused on the spyder-fiends below rather than on defense. Hundreds of driders, Humanoids, and demons surround the tower, but the

driders, 1d6 giant spiders, and 1d4 assassins. Characters who defeat the squad can try again to infiltrate the tower.

Survival of the Fittest

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

pity for adults who can’t take care of themselves, though a sick or injured individual is treated, as a result of the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to

themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in battle, at the peak of strength and skill, than endure the slow decay of old age. Few folk

Returning War Band

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

heads are trophies from the hobgoblins’ recent victory over an elf hunting party. Clever characters might try to reason with Targor by urging him to think of himself as Grol’s successor rather than

) check. Awarding Experience Points Divide 500 XP equally among the characters if they defeat the hobgoblin war band or come to terms with Targor.

Khur Joins

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Khur Joins Early 349 AC The Green Dragon Army was dispatched to the steppes of Khur to subdue the tribes there. Rather than fight a protracted campaign, Ariakas allowed the cunning Khur leader Salah

-Khan to defeat the Green Dragon Army’s original highlord in battle, then offered to make Salah-Khan highlord in his place. In exchange for control over Khur and the surrounding lands, Salah-Khan

Origin of the Ordning

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

the ordning in some mythic future. Giants on some worlds (including Eberron) have no concept of the ordning at all. Such giants might think of themselves as a single species, with the differences

among giant kinds reflecting a cultural or geographical distinction rather than an inherent one. They might live in bands composed of multiple giant kinds or family groups of a single kind. Or giants of

Character Advancement

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

taking part in a play session. A character reaches 1 checkpoint for each hour an adventure is designed to last. Note that the award is based on the adventure’s projected playing time, rather than the

designed to take 2 hours, the character reaches 3 checkpoints. Playing time might seem like an odd way to measure experience awards, but the concept is in keeping with how a shared campaign is meant to

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

other useful items, but if they are at risk of discovery, they run away rather than attack anyone in the house. By fleeing before they can be seen or identified, they avoid getting into a situation

divination (to find raw materials and foresee threats to the tribe). The main reason why kobolds depend on arcane magic rather than divine is Kurtulmak’s imprisonment, which makes it difficult for

Secret

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

holy symbol that represents that divinity. Some clerics, especially in a world like Eberron, serve a whole pantheon, rather than a single deity. In certain campaigns, a cleric might instead serve a

cosmic force, such as life or death, or a philosophy or concept, such as love, peace, or one of the nine alignments. Chapter 1 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide explores options like these, in the section

33. Illusion Classroom

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

. White marble benches encircle a central fountain with a trident-wielding sahuagin statue as its centerpiece. Flora and Fauna. Ivy creeps up the walls, and birds flutter about as they perch on the

, in a rather exhaustive and encyclopedic manner. A successful dispel magic spell (DC 17) cast on Professor Figment ends the illusion. The first creature that tries to dispel the illusion of Professor

History of Eberron

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

embodying a concept. Their final work was the Material Plane, where all ideas would become manifest: a realm that could know war and peace, life and death, order and chaos. But cruel Khyber sought ultimate

dominion over this new reality. She struck Siberys without warning and tore him apart. Eberron wrestled with Khyber and bound the traitor in her coils but could not defeat her. So Eberron became a

Alien Minds

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

understand that a troll is a fearsome, dangerous creature and react accordingly. Lizardfolk never become angry in the way others do, but they act with aggression toward creatures that they could defeat in a

for lizardfolk. Pleasurable things should be preserved and protected, sometimes at the cost of the lizardfolk’s own safety. The most pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow lizardfolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome.

Lord Soth

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

them to defeat. Rather than presenting him as a foe to be challenged in combat, portray Soth as a terrifying example of the villains in the Dragon Queen’s service—a lurking threat to be avoided. By the

High Deck

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd

High Deck The cards that compose the high deck aren’t considered to be one suit, although they are often denoted with a crown icon to mark their importance. Rather, each card is an important power in

or lurking just below the surface Broken One Defeat, failure, and despair; the loss of something or someone important, without which one feels incomplete Darklord A single, powerful individual of an

Water Weird

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

. Good and Evil Weirds. Like most elementals, a water weird has no concept of good or evil. However, a water weird bound to a sacred or befouled source of water begins to take on the nature of that site

, becoming neutral good or neutral evil. A neutral good water weird tries to frighten away interlopers rather than kill them, while a neutral evil water weird kills its victims for pleasure and might

Creating a Bronze Dragon

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

lie outright, though I choose my words carefully. I will fight to the death rather than break my word or abandon a comrade. (Lawful) 4 Discipline. Disorganization breeds defeat. I demand self

strategy. A quick death in combat is its own kind of courtesy. 6 I trust my gut. I’d rather act on incomplete information than be hamstrung by indecision. 7 I’m fascinated by other species

Yuan-ti Cities

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

yuan-ti content themselves with maintaining these ancient places rather than building new ones for their needs. Although these sites are hundreds or even thousands of years old, they don’t look or feel

reflects human ideas about art and beauty. Over time this perspective was skewed toward the concept that the snake is the perfect form, so serpents are a common theme in their aesthetic. The major

Resolving the Mystery

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries

regardless of their approach. Bloodbath It’s possible to kill or defeat the Amberdune Pack without ever hearing their side of the story. With no one to stop them, characters in this situation can

Digressions and see the book safely back to Candlekeep, if they so desire. NIDALIA The true leader of the Amberdune Pack, Nidalia is a lamia who delights in hoarding books rather than in corruption and

Attack of the Nematode

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

Nematode writhing 500 feet above the town like a malevolent cloud. The creature is far too large to defeat by conventional attacks or spells, so the characters must once again explore the Nematode from

rather than lightning). Beyond the membrane in the Nematode’s head is a massive, fluid-filled chamber that serves as the Nematode’s brain. The characters must damage each of the five electroreceptors in

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