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Returning 35 results for 'both before defenses contain read'.
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both before defense contact rest
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both before defenders certain read
both before defense certain reach
Magic Items
Dungeon Master’s Guide
When you take a Magic action to read this scroll, a particular titan named in the scroll appears in an unoccupied space on the ground or in water that you can see within 1 mile of yourself. The DM
disappears when it drops to 0 Hit Points. If the titan is summoned into a space that isn’t large enough to contain it, the summoning fails, and the scroll is wasted.
1d100
Titan
01-15
Monsters
Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica
equipment he is wearing or carrying isn't transformed.
Psychic Defenses. Unless Lazav is incapacitated, he is immune to magic that allows other creatures to read his thoughts, determine whether he is
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
hoard is usually a cataloged, orderly collection of war gear, which can contain ancient relics of immense power.
Creating a Sapphire Dragon
Use the Sapphire Dragon Personality Traits and Sapphire
out new defenses?
4
Give me a storied helmet or scimitar over a pile of gold any day.
5
No creature can outsmart my defenses—if they do, they obviously cheated.
6
Any creature
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
, which can contain ancient relics of immense power.
Creating a Sapphire Dragon
Use the Sapphire Dragon Personality Traits and Sapphire Dragon Ideals tables to inspire your portrayal of distinctive
by amassing powerful arms and armor.
3
I secretly look forward to adventurers trying to infiltrate my lair. How else could I try out new defenses?
4
Give me a storied helmet or scimitar
Monsters
The Book of Many Things
can’t be targeted by divination magic or features that would read its mind or determine its creature type.Multiattack. The infiltrator makes two Poison Blade attacks and can use Beguiling
’s a hidden thieves’ guildhall or a lavish manse. The lair is filled with clever defenses to disorient, weaken, and kill intruders.
The villain’s challenge rating increases while the
Monsters
The Book of Many Things
Alien Mind. Magic and other features can’t determine the corrupter’s creature type. If a creature tries to read the corrupter’s thoughts, that creature must succeed on a DC 20
Lair
This villain resides in a place of power and safety, whether that’s a hidden thieves’ guildhall or a lavish manse. The lair is filled with clever defenses to disorient, weaken, and
Monsters
The Book of Many Things
Inviolate Presence. The veiled presence can’t be targeted by divination magic or by features that would read its mind or determine its creature type.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the
filled with clever defenses to disorient, weaken, and kill intruders.
The villain’s challenge rating increases while the villain is in this lair:
Veiled Presence. Challenge 22 (41,000 XP
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
protect against psychic damage or mental intrusion. The centerpiece of a sapphire dragon’s hoard is usually a cataloged, orderly collection of war gear, which can contain ancient relics of
.
3
I secretly look forward to adventurers trying to infiltrate my lair. How else could I try out new defenses?
4
Give me a storied helmet or scimitar over a pile of gold any day.
5
No
Monsters
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Legendary Resistance (1/Day). If the slasher fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Shrouded Presence. The slasher is immune to any effect that would sense its emotions or read its
into a monster.
5
The killer used its body to contain an evil entity.
6
The killer appears to be an ordinary person who doesn’t realize it turns into a killer when enraged
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
intrusion. The centerpiece of a sapphire dragon’s hoard is usually a cataloged, orderly collection of war gear, which can contain ancient relics of immense power.
Creating a Sapphire Dragon
Use
adventurers trying to infiltrate my lair. How else could I try out new defenses?
4
Give me a storied helmet or scimitar over a pile of gold any day.
5
No creature can outsmart my defenses—if
Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
have lived on the worlds of the Material Plane since the worlds’ creation. Gifted by the gods with remarkable physical defenses and a mystical connection to the natural world, lizardfolk can
follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can’t raise any of your scores above 20.
Languages
Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
Scroll of Titan Summoning Scroll, Legendary When you take a Magic action to read this scroll, a particular titan named in the scroll appears in an unoccupied space on the ground or in water that you
toward all other creatures and disappears when it drops to 0 Hit Points. If the titan is summoned into a space that isn’t large enough to contain it, the summoning fails, and the scroll is wasted
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen
, twelve bullywugs lounge in the squalor. That number doubles at night. If characters walk into the barracks during daytime, read the text below aloud. If they sneak in or enter in the middle of the
staircase on the third round. Three mud-spattered chests are shoved into the sheltered space behind the staircase. These contain much of the bullywugs’ accumulated pay. Dralmorrer Borngray pays them with
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
Entering Candlekeep Although some visitors travel to Candlekeep by air, most arrive on foot or on horseback. When the characters arrive at the gatehouse, read the following boxed text to the players
or scroll, you decide whether the monks accept it as a gift. If the characters try to sneak or force their way into Candlekeep, the fortress’s defenses are brought to bear as described in the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hold Back The Dead
Using This Supplement This document and the 2024 Player’s Handbook contain all you need to run the adventure. The following appendixes are included: Appendix A provides stat blocks for the creatures
like this is meant to be read aloud or paraphrased for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance, as described in the text.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
, twelve bullywugs lounge in the squalor. That number doubles at night. If characters walk into the barracks during daytime, read the text below aloud. If they sneak in or enter in the middle of the
staircase on the third round. Three mud-spattered chests are shoved into the sheltered space behind the staircase. These contain much of the bullywugs’ accumulated pay. Dralmorrer Borngray pays them
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lorwyn: First Light
contain visible traps meant to keep intruders at bay. Smiths and engineers work together to create ingenious ways to capture prey both in the wild and on the battlefield. The task of keeping the city
defenses for Ballynock from her office in the doun’s central watchtower, where the city watch is based. The largest open space among the doun’s tight confines is Trapper’s Square, which is crowded
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
, gemstones, and rare minerals
Organizations: The Miners’ Guild, the Stoneheart Enclave
The defenses in Outer Blingdenstone paint a picture of a paranoid people under siege, but once past the final gates
, the true character of the settlement is revealed. Warm, cozy, and welcoming, Blingdenstone is a rarity in the Underdark. Read the following boxed text when the characters first arrive in Inner
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Entrance to Kalaman The trek from the villagers’ landing spot to Kalaman spans two miles. As the characters and Darrett approach the city, read the following: Statues of titanic soldiers line
Kalaman’s mighty walls. These ancient stone knights stare into the distance, daring invaders to dash themselves against defenses that withstood even the Cataclysm. A disorganized neighborhood of tents and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sleeping Dragon’s Wake
Arrival As the characters approach the ruins of Iniarv’s Tower, read the following boxed text aloud: Atop an escarpment on the eastern side of the High Road stands a crumbling keep with thirty-foot
-high walls supported by a gatehouse, two short towers, and one tall tower more than twice as tall as the keep’s walls. There is a large opening in the north wall where the defenses crumbled long ago
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
. Unfortunately, they have no means of assuring the slumbering fungal entity of their intentions, and the growing threat posed by Zuggtmoy and the demon lords has roused Araumycos’s defenses. The pastel
, whereupon each bursts into a cloud of sweet-smelling spores as its body dissolves back into the larger mass of fungi filling the cavern. Read the following to the players when the final creature is
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal->a3
40. Dragon Breath When the party reaches the bottom of the stairs, read: A staircase leads upward into the gloom. It seems as though you have found the entrance to another layer within the complex
head of the steps. The statue has the statistics, defenses, and traits of a stone golem, but it has no action options. As soon as it stops after emerging, it opens its mouth and breathes a gust of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation
meant to be read aloud or paraphrased for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance, as described in the text.
The Monster Manual and Volo’s Guide to
Monsters contain stat blocks for most of the creatures found in this adventure. You don’t need the latter reference to run Tomb of Annihilation, as all the necessary stat blocks from Volo’s Guide to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
, various townsfolk can point in the direction the verbeeg went after stealing the casks. As the characters make their way to the edge of the forest, read: A figure in cold weather clothing lurches out of
the woods into plain view, running as fast as he can through the deep snow. Slung over his back are a pair of animal traps, one of which appears to contain a panicked fox.
The figure is Fef Moryn
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
interrupt her if news comes from Darrett’s forces. When her aide leads the characters into the castle’s council chamber, read the following: This familiar conference hall and its large round table
? How can it be destroyed? How can Kalaman stand against a fortress that soars over the city’s defenses? The characters are unlikely to have answers to all these questions, and Marshal Vendri doesn’t
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
in a secret vault. As a security precaution, he arranged for all knowledge of the vault’s location and defenses to be magically erased from his mind and the minds of his subordinates. The wizard who
clutches of Xanathar. The Stone of Golorr is actually an aboleth transformed by magic. In this inanimate state, the aboleth can read the mind of any creature that attunes to the stone, as well as
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries
Beginning the Adventure Read the following boxed text to the players to kick off the adventure: A fungal plague is ravaging the Sword Coast, spreading quickly from one settlement to the next
. Although magic has proven effective at ridding individuals of the spore infection, the plague is spreading too quickly to contain. Creatures that become infected fall ill with a fever and sprout disgusting
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
Scriptoria Collections When the characters head down the stairs to the Scriptoria Collections, read or paraphrase the following: As you make your way down the winding staircase, the passage’s gloom
his career, Quenthorne shifted his interest to the evolution of magical creatures, especially those associated with spellcasters, so the records contain a dazzling assortment of information.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Shape Theft. 3 Testing the Defenses (see below) 4 Highmaster’s Message (see below) A sivak draconian swoops down to attack Testing the Defenses A warning horn sounds from a group of soldiers crewing
outside, possibly on Kalaman’s walls or the city streets. The character with the highest passive Wisdom (Perception) score sees a strange violet light in the sky. After they react, read the following
Kobold
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
earth are strong or weak, are bearing a load or are safe to excavate, or are likely to contain minerals or offer access to water. This ability enables them to fashion secure homes in places where other
, the kobolds are usually put to work enlarging their masters’ living area and protecting vital areas of the lair with traps and other defenses.
Some human communities hire kobolds to dig their
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries
Crumbling Tower When the characters approach the tower site, read the following: Amid a grove of gnarled scrub trees stands a half-fallen stone tower. Rough workers’ tents, piles of timbers, and
rusted. The tents show signs of recent occupation (cultists who don’t live in the village bunk here, near the temple) but contain no personal effects. Characters who search the site can see that inside
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon Delves
characters might be locals. Or they might be dragon hunters who’ve heard of a black dragon in the area, a threat they’re determined to end. To begin the adventure, read or paraphrase the following text
. Sizzling streams of acid flow down the streets. Villagers rush about, shouting for loved ones and struggling to contain the damage.
Near the shore, flames leap from the windows of a low-roofed building
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Divine Contention
can mop up any crew left alive on deck (see “Dreadnaught Locations” for information on both these defenses). Characters whose ship was destroyed earlier are instead “rescued” by the galleon. When the
characters sight the vessel, read the following boxed text aloud: An armored dreadnaught made from metal and bones ploughs through the fog, driven by banks of bonelike oars. Flames leap from a brazier
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries
Adventure Overview This adventure begins when the characters read the story of the lost golem in Alkazaar’s Appendix and discover the magic picture in the book. The picture-portal can teleport the
known as the Hall of Rainbows that could contain clues to the golem’s origin. But the Bedine also warn that the cave complex is in the territory of a deadly purple worm. The adventurers travel to the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation Supplement
Guide to Monsters and Tomb of Annihilation. Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud or paraphrased for the players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a
specific circumstance, as described in the text.
The Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, and Tomb of Annihilation contain stat blocks for most of the creatures found herein, and a handful of new






