born building diffusing cautious reason

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

The Fathomless

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

Tortle Legacy

Species The Tortle Package

born near sandy coastlines, but as soon as they’re able to walk on two legs, they become nomad survivalists eager to explore the wilderness, experience its many wonders, put their skills to the

watch a frog croaking on a lily pad, or to stand in a crowded human marketplace. Tortles like to learn new skills. They craft their own tools and weapons, and they are good at building structures and

The Fathomless (TCoE)

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

Giff Legacy

Monsters Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

brighter the flash, and the thicker the smoke it produces, the more giff love a weapon. Their skill with gunpowder is another reason for their popularity as mercenaries. Giff revel in the challenge of

building a bomb big enough to level a fortification. They gladly accept payment in kegs of gunpowder in preference to gold, gems, or other currency. No Honor in Magic. Some giff become wizards

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

provided. The following section, discussing possible homelands, includes some suggested reasons that are appropriate for each location. d6 Reason d6 Reason 1 Emissary 4 Pilgrim

Auril (Third Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

to be cautious and avoid contact with other creatures that can harm her. Auril’s worshipers know better than to disturb her self-imposed isolation. Terrible blizzards have cut off Icewind Dale

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 (First Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

weak and vulnerable. In her self-inflicted weakened state, Auril is inclined to be cautious and avoid contact with other creatures that can harm her. Auril’s worshipers know better than to

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

Waterdhavian Noble

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

Faerûn for being eccentric, spoiled, venal, and, above all else, rich. Whether you are a shining example of the reason for this reputation or one who proves the rule by being an exception, people

background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a member of a Waterdhavian family. Like other nobles, you were born

Charlatan Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

a born gambler who can’t resist taking a risk for a potential payoff. 5 I lie about almost everything, even when there’s no good reason to. 6 Sarcasm and insults are my

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

pity. Born into the world lacking stout scales and sharp teeth, it’s a wonder they have managed to survive for so long. The typical human would barely make it through a day in the swamps. Still

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

Charlatan - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

want. 4 I’m a born gambler who can’t resist taking a risk for a potential payoff. 5 I lie about almost everything, even when there’s no good reason to. 6 Sarcasm and

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

undetected and don’t give their targets reason to harm them. For example, a group of city kobolds might sneak into a cobbler’s house at night to loot it of knives, leather bits, nails, and

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

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

. Every kenku is born with a desire to take to the air, and those who learn spellcasting do so in hope of mastering spells that will allow them to fly. Rumors of magic items such as flying carpets, brooms

Auril (Second Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

night while also granting spells to her devoted followers leaves Auril weak and vulnerable. In her self-inflicted weakened state, Auril is inclined to be cautious and avoid contact with other creatures

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

Personality

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

. He is lonely and dreams of building a community of spellcasters who support each other. Unfortunately, his ego makes that dream all but impossible. Although Mordenkainen can be brash and off-putting

, he eschews cruelty and sees no reason to cause pointless suffering. The wizard doesn’t like to admit it, but he would put his own safety at risk to quell the pain of innocents.

Lizardfolk Personality

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

waste and see no reason not to scavenge fallen enemies. Fingers are tasty and portable! 2 You sleep best while mostly submerged in water. 3 Money is meaningless to you. 4 You think there are only two

metaphors work. That doesn’t stop you from using them at every opportunity. 7 You appreciate the soft humanoids who realize they need chain mail and swords to match the gifts you were born with. 8 You enjoy eating your food while it’s still wriggling.

Navigation

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation

thorny bushes choke the streets. Statues representing the trickster gods leer from many junctions. Cautious characters can move through the city at a rate of 200 feet every 5 minutes. Even if they

throw caution to the wind, the density of the undergrowth makes it tricky to move faster than 200 feet per minute. If the characters stop to search for treasure, each building takes 30 minutes to clear

Approaching the Lodge

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

and width of any building found in Ten-Towns. The lodge has three tall openings on the east side. On the southern side of the building is a tunnel left behind by a remorhaz that raided the lodge’s

reason why the wolves won’t enter the lodge? No ability check can answer this question; the characters must find out for themselves! In truth, the winter wolves expect Norsu to slaughter the

Halls of the Hunting Axe

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse

with gardens and joined by walls into one vast and sprawling building. It was surrounded by a moat fed by underground springs; splendid stone statues of heroic dwarves stood on high pedestals wherever

one turned. All trace of the gigantic building is gone now except the foundations of its thickest, highest walls, which jut like lines of stone teeth from thickets of trees and creeping vines. For

Valenar Characters

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

opportunities. As one of the vassals, you could be a guild artisan working for the elves, an urchin born in Taer Valaestas, or even a folk hero fighting to protect the common folk. Dreams. What is it you

bond to a patron ancestor, a place in a warband, and a chance at immortality? Or are you more interested in building a homeland for your own people? As a native, do you want to work with the elves or do you want to drive them out—and if so, who do you want to replace them?

Chapter 1: Ten-Towns

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

formation of Ten-Towns, most folk are here because they were born here, grew up here, and expect to die here. They’re fishers, loggers, miners, hunters, trappers, furriers, and traders accustomed to the

cut from the slopes of the Spine of the World or the depths of the Lonelywood Forest. Stone from the hills and valleys surrounding Kelvin’s Cairn supplements wood as a building material in Ten-Towns

Personalities

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

unique mannerism. Lizardfolk Quirks d8 Quirk 1 You hate waste and see no reason not to scavenge fallen enemies. Fingers are tasty and portable! 2 You sleep best while mostly submerged in water

the soft humanoids who realize they need chain mail and swords to match the gifts you were born with. 8 You enjoy eating your food while it’s still raw and wriggling.

The Rose Stage

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

The Rose Stage A popular outdoor performing space, the Rose Stage holds benches for spectators, an orchestra pit, and a large main stage decorated with a huge rose. An enclosed annex building behind

, pledgemages, and professors from the different colleges. SETTING UP SEDGEMOOR The characters will have heard about Sedgemoor during their first year at Strixhaven, but they have likely had no reason

Sumber Hills

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse

become homes to bandits and monsters. Those who quarry the Sumber Hills for building stones and gravel often trade tales of finding gemstones and rich veins of ore in the hills — but for the most part

figures have increased, too. Reason to Visit. The characters likely traipse all over the Sumber Hills in chapter 3 of the adventure as they seek out the Haunted Keeps.

Adventure Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Heroes’ Feast: Saving the Children’s Menu

Homestead” sidebar). Arthur Holrow was one of twelve children, born to parents of hardy country stock. Naturally quite shy, Arthur kept to himself. While his siblings were drawn to lofty pursuits and

Homestead are extraordinary. That’s partly due to Arthur’s magical experiments and his skill with druidic magic. But there’s another, more ominous reason for the land’s fecundity. The hill at Holrow

Marcher Characters

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

independence and suspicious of the houses. Your ties to the Marches might be distant because you were born to a family that left years ago. Do you want to rediscover your ancestral roots? Madness and

, building towns and working with steel. If you were raised in one of the clans, the ways of civilization aren’t that strange to you; you’ve seen the city of Zarash’ak and worked with House Tharashk. By

Able Scavengers

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

give their targets reason to harm them. For example, a group of city kobolds might sneak into a cobbler’s house at night to loot it of knives, leather bits, nails, and other useful items, but if they

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 abandon this careful approach. First, because of their

Valenar Characters

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

, a sailor, or a guild artisan working to support the elf army, or you might be a charlatan seeking opportunities. As a human from Valenar, you could be an urchin born in Taer Valaestas, or a folk hero

—granted a bond to a patron ancestor and a chance at immortality—or are you more interested in building a homeland for your people? As a human whose land the elves reclaimed, do you want to work with

14. Wizards' Quarters

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

amassed in life is in the scorched chest (see the “Treasure” section). No longer corporeal, he cannot touch or possess the wealth he enjoyed in life. This building served as a guesthouse for visiting

wraith first rises up from the floor, it says, “Your presence is offensive to me, your life forfeit. My treasures are mine alone, not yours to plunder!” If the characters make no attempt to reason with

Trading Post

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

Trading Post As the coastal mist clears, you get your first good look at the grippli trading post. Ramshackle shelters are clustered around a large permanent building. The low rumble of many voices

large building. Assuming the characters are cooperative, the grippli guards take the visitors directly to her. If the party seems trustworthy, she speaks to them. She prefers Primordial (it’s easier on

Asphodel and the Despair Lands

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

and long, drab robes, making them nearly impossible to distinguish from one another. From the Coliseum of the Aphonai, a perfectly circular stone building that stands at the heart of Asphodel, the

studying arcane mysteries that could never be unraveled in a single life. Like all Returned, though, they have difficulty remembering what they learn. For this reason, the rooms of their order’s

Magic Items

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

Libram of Souls and Flesh Yes Rare Lyre of Building Yes Rare Outer Essence Shard Yes Rare Planecaller’s Codex Yes Rare Protective Verses Yes Rare Reveler’s Concertina Yes Rare Shadowfell Brand Tattoo

tattoos are a reason robes are so popular with wizards. Robes cover the ankle and lower-back tattoos so many of us got as apprentices. Don’t even ask. Tasha

Goblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

goblin tribe has to nobility is the caste of lashers — families of goblins trained in the ways of battle, and also possessed of key skills such as strategy, trap-building, beast taming, mining

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

Jacqueline Renier

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

Jacqueline RenierJacqueline Renier A century ago, Richemulot was a lively place. In those days, not a building stood vacant as merchants from both ends of the Musarde set up shop along the broad

, wiping out the nation’s royal dynasty and leaving power vacuums filled and then quickly emptied by ailing nobles. Only the Reniers proved immune, and eventually Jacqueline stood as the highest-born noble

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