born before drives cautious return

Jarund Elkhardt

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

his life, and age has made him cautious. He has seen other kings and queens rise and fall, has made war with friends and peace with his enemies, and has led warriors he knew as babes to their deaths

in battle. The strain of his long years of rule is etched on his weather-worn face. Jarund's late son, Jarund Twice-Born, was killed almost a decade ago while trying to bring down a cave bear, leaving

Baaz Draconian

Monsters Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

a cloak or robe, and baaz draconians disguise themselves to spy for the Dragon Armies. The sight of dragons drives baaz draconians into a deadly furor. When baaz draconians die, their bodies turn to

stone and unleash clouds of petrifying gas that turn their corpses and any nearby creatures into stone. Draconians Draconians are bipedal monsters born from metallic dragon eggs that have been

Strigoi

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

instinctual hunger that drives it to undertake bloodthirsty rampages along with swarms of emboldened, bloodsucking pests. Strigoi drain the blood, marrow, and soft tissues from their victims, leaving behind

nothing but empty husks. Due to the horrifying nature of their deaths, those slain by strigoi occasionally reanimate as boneless. Many strigoi seek ways to return to their former existence while being

Goblin Psi Brawler

Monsters Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

specifics of how a psionic goblin comes to exist vary. Some are born, changed by energy leaking from the Far Realm. Others transform themselves with their psionic power or enter into agreements with

other Aberrations, which help them transform in return for their service as shock troops. Regardless, the result is the same: a goblin with unnatural and barely contained psychic power. Psionic goblins

Yeth Hound

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

hound in the Border Ethereal can return to the Material Plane as an action. Telepathic Bond. While the yeth hound is on the same plane of existence as its master, it can magically convey what it senses

hunting dogs. They race in pursuit of their prey, running it down until it’s too exhausted to fight back. Only the threat of dawn drives the pack back into hiding. A pack of yeth hounds can be

Blindheim

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

travelers. They typically make a cautious approach to stronger creatures, speaking in halting, croaking Undercommon to offer their services in return for fresh food, metal weapons, and trinkets from

Sea Spawn

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

the Forgotten Realms setting) might notice one curious fact about the islands’ human inhabitants: no infants or elderly are among them. This is because babies born to the Rocklanders are claimed

by a kraken (see the Monster Manual) named Slarkrethel. The experience transforms the children into fanatics dedicated to the kraken. They return from the sea as humans, but when they reach old age

Neh-thalggu

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

collectors, neh-thalggu consume the brains of Humanoids and use them as receptacles to enhance their magical abilities. Neh-thalggu are born in the nightmarish Far Realm, but they spread across the

pockets in the neh-thalggu’s head. Once it has collected twelve brains in this fashion, it is overcome by an urge to return to the Far Realm and begins devoting all its energy to finding a way home

Goblin Psi Commander

Monsters Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

Goblins The specifics of how a psionic goblin comes to exist vary. Some are born, changed by energy leaking from the Far Realm. Others transform themselves with their psionic power or enter into agreements

with other Aberrations, which help them transform in return for their service as shock troops. Regardless, the result is the same: a goblin with unnatural and barely contained psychic power. Psionic

Crab Folk

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

, looting and smashing any settlements they know of or encounter. After six days exactly, their rampage ends, and they return to their humble lives. Deep-Seated Memories. When a coastal raid or a theft of

crab folk have little sense of what drives them, but they understand that the effigy represents a mother and creator who must be obeyed. Legend holds that the green hag preferred to travel in the

Yeenoghu Legacy

Monsters Out of the Abyss

, hunched over, and filing their teeth down to points. Yeenoghu wants nothing more than slaughter and senseless destruction. The gnoll;gnolls are his instruments, and he drives them to ever-greater

; 41–60 “I rail against the laws and customs of civilization, attempting to return to a more primitive time.” 61–80 “I hunger for the deaths of others, and am

Rak Tulkhesh

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

impulses that drives many mortals to battle. Fear, greed, hatred — these are seeds that the Rage of War sows in the hopes of producing a bloody harvest. Rak Tulkhesh typically takes the form of a vaguely

cities, the hatred against warforged and Cyran refugees, the calls for a return to war — all these things bear the mark of Rak Tulkhesh's malign influence. Minions of Rak Tulkhesh. Any organization that

Selenelion Twin

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

.) Gleam and Glister were born during such an event, and they are blessed with magical abilities tied to moonlight (Gleam) and sunlight (Glister), respectively. The twins are easily distinguished by

moonlight. She wears a crescent moon mask and is one-half of an acrobatic duo called the Selenelion twins, alongside Glister, her sunny twin. Gleam wants to reunite with her twin and return to the

Satyr Legacy

Species Mythic Odysseys of Theros

all, and the proper response to such a gift, as far as most satyrs are concerned, is to accept it with relish. Born of the Wild In their physical forms, satyrs embody a fusion of humanoid

eccentricities. Some people spend too much time worrying over why satyrs behave as they do. But satyrs themselves simply are as they are, feeling no need to understand what drives them, much less explain it

Triton Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

foes when they found them and drove the rest into hiding. With their foes banished to the deepest reaches of the sea, tritons settled in to watch for any sign of their return. Over time, the tritons

them. Tritons also have a tendency to emerge from their isolation under the assumption that other folk will welcome them as respected allies and mentors. Again, distance drives much of this attitude

Star Spawn Larva Mage

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Return to Worms. When the mage is reduced to 0 hit points, it breaks apart into a swarm of insects (see the Monster Manual) in the same space. Unless the swarm is destroyed, the mage reforms from it

only one. Cult of Atropus, the World Born Dead Gaze of Corruption (Recharge 6);{"diceNotation":"1d6", "rollType":"recharge", "rollAction":"Gaze of Corruption"}. The cultist targets one creature it

Tabaxi Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

stories, artifacts, and lore. Those who survive this period of wanderlust return home in their elder years to share news of the outside world. In this manner, the tabaxi remain isolated but never ignorant

its secrets and nature have been laid bare. Tinkers and Minstrels Curiosity drives most of the tabaxi found outside their homeland, but not all of them become adventurers. Tabaxi who seek a safer

Nafas

Monsters Quests from the Infinite Staircase

ancient djinni born from the planar winds that blow through the myriad doors of the Infinite Staircase. He’s a timeless force of untold power, a genie made noble by the planes themselves. A cloud

this role, Nafas sends adventurers to distant worlds to fulfill the wishes of creatures beyond his reach. Adventurers who return to Nafas successful receive gifts as rewards. As a noble genie, Nafas

Anthropologist

Backgrounds Tomb of Annihilation

; Suggested Characteristics Anthropologists leave behind the societies into which they were born to discover what life is like in other parts of the world. They seek to see how other races and civilizations

. 2 Having lived among the people of a primeval tribe or clan, I long to return and see how they are faring. 3 Years ago, tragedy struck the members of an isolated society I befriended, and

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

few miles from where they were born. You aren’t one of those folk. You are from a distant place, one so remote that few of the common folk in the North realize that it exists, and chances are

along my way. (Good) 2 Reserved. As someone new to these strange lands, I am cautious and respectful in my dealings. (Lawful) 3 Adventure. I’m far from home, and everything is strange

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

provoke retaliatory attacks from the creatures they steal from. It’s better to be cautious and overlooked than to be considered dangerous and a threat. In a couple of situations, kobolds might

. A kobold’s cautious nature doesn’t mean it can’t get angry. The blood of dragons flows in its veins, and like a raging drake, a kobold that is pushed too far or has its back

Demonic Boons

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

and drives a person toward acts of chaos, evil, and madness. Rejecting a boon likely provokes a demon’s wrath. The Abyss’s infinite varieties of evil are not born only from the souls of mortals

Psionic Goblins

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

Psionic Goblins Claudio Pozas The specifics of how a psionic goblin comes to exist vary. Some are born, changed by energy leaking from the Far Realm. Others transform themselves with their psionic

power or enter into agreements with other Aberrations, which help them transform in return for their service as shock troops. Regardless, the result is the same: a goblin with unnatural and barely

9. Bat Cave

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

spend most of their time clinging to the cavern’s 60-foot-high ceiling, but the noise of the purple worms drives them into a shrieking, flapping frenzy. Whenever a purple worm enters the area 8 (whether

1d4 bludgeoning damage. Development When the purple worm that caused the bats to swarm exits the nursery, the bats return to this cave to roost 10 minutes later.

Gnome Adventurers

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

of a rare metal, willing to travel the world high and low in search of it. Even a deep gnome might be born with an irrepressible urge to leave the Underdark and join a group to pursue a life of shared

instructions to bring back information and new ideas for the community. Most of these folk return to the burrow at the appointed time or even sooner, their curiosity having been satisfied. But a few

Arborea

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

. Elves born on this plane have the celestial type and are wild at heart, ready to battle evil in a heartbeat. Otherwise, they look and behave like normal elves. Optional Rule: Intense Yearning Keep track

becomes afflicted with a yearning to return to Arborea. As long as the effect persists, the creature has disadvantage on ability checks. At the end of each long rest, the creature can repeat the saving

Goblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

was conquered by Maglubiyet, after all, and now when the Mighty One calls for it, even their souls are forfeit. It is this realization that drives them to dominate other creatures whenever they can

know a goblin is unlikely to be able to uphold its end of any bargain. Even when a goblin is born with the ability to become a spellcaster, the knowledge and talent necessary to carry on the

Dragon, Shadow

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

Dragon, Shadow Shadow dragons are true dragons that were either born in the Shadowfell or transformed by years spent within its dismal confines. Some shadow dragons embrace the Shadowfell for its

bleak landscapes and desolation. Others seek to return to the Material Plane, hungry to spread the darkness and evil of the Plane of Shadow. Dark Portals. Portals to the Shadowfell manifest in forlorn

Strigoi

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

outlandish scientific experiments, and from stirges draining well-fed vampires. When a strigoi arises, the unnatural creature is overwhelmed by instinctual hunger that drives it to undertake

nature of their deaths, those slain by strigoi occasionally reanimate as boneless (detailed earlier in this chapter). Many strigoi seek ways to return to their former existence while being compelled to

Bugbears

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

Bugbears Bugbears are born for battle and mayhem. Surviving by raiding and hunting, they bully the weak and despise being bossed around, but their love of carnage means they will fight for powerful

bully hobgoblins into giving them gold and food in return for serving as scouts and shock troops. Even when paid, bugbears are at best unreliable allies, yet goblins and hobgoblins understand that no

Tazmikella

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat

cautious. If the party contains any character with a personal reputation for shady dealings (particularly a rogue or bard), she is unfriendly. Concession. Pick one magic item owned by a member of the

play through chapter 15. Tazmikella can even return the item the characters gave to her as a concession. (She does not covet it when it might do others good, but simply resents having had it stolen.)

The Scars of War

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

dragonmarked houses remained neutral in the war and made considerable profit selling their services to all sides. War drives innovation; House Cannith developed many new weapons during the war, including the

gnome nation of Zilargo, and they held the Demon Wastes in name only. Other states were born in violence: the elves of Valenar and the goblins of Darguun seized their realms by force. But Aundair

Yeth Hound

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monsters of the Multiverse

fight back. Only the threat of dawn drives the pack back into hiding. A pack of yeth hounds can be created by powerful Fey such as the Queen of Air and Darkness. Each pack’s master can telepathically

hounds as if they were made of fog, but magic weapons and silvered weapons can strike true. Yeth hounds can’t stand sunlight. A pack hunts at night and seeks to return to its dark den before dawn. If a

Tazmikella

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons

cautious. If the party contains any character with a personal reputation for shady dealings (particularly a rogue or bard), she is unfriendly. Concession. Pick one magic item owned by a member of the

chapter 15. Tazmikella can even return the item the characters gave to her as a concession. (She does not covet it when it might do others good, but simply resents having had it stolen.)

Worshiping Klothys

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

young world of Theros was the godlike race of titans, born from the same swirling chaos as the world itself. Before any order could be imposed on the world, the titans had to be contained. Kruphix and

them, infecting them with a pernicious destiny that Klothys herself tore from the natural order. None can say what terrible destiny the Smoking Strand drives its possessor toward, but the ruins within

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