both before dropping combat reserves - Search

Horrid Plant

Monsters Quests from the Infinite Staircase

; 3–4, purple blossom; or 5–6, snapper saw. This form determines certain traits in this stat block. False Appearance. If the horrid plant is motionless at the start of combat, it has

connect the flowers to reserves of acidic sap in the plant’s trunk. Purple blossoms squirt this sap at prey through the flowers’ pistils. Snapper Saw Snapper saws resemble ordinary bushes

Orthon

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

knows which one, but not the exact location there.Explosive Retribution. In response to dropping to 15 hit points or fewer, the orthon explodes. All other creatures within 30 feet of it must each make

value the challenge of the chase and the thrill of one-on-one combat above all else. An orthon’s first loyalty is to its archduke, but one with no immediate assignment might work for anyone who

Part 1: Welcome to Wildspace

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer Academy

Part 1: Welcome to Wildspace Spelljammer Academy’s newest recruits are brought to the Simulations Deck for a quick combat trial so that academy personnel can assess their skills and readiness. The

magic of the Simulations Deck puts a unique spin on the training session, dropping player characters straight into the action.

Going in Style

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated

reserves the right to resurrect characters as indentured servants to work off the loss. The crew that delivered the battle balloon remain with the ship, though the characters are firmly in charge and

have plenty to do on board, as seen in the next section. Appendix C provides combat statistics for the battle balloon (because you know that’s coming), so assume that a suitable number of crew are

The Ritual

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

, while the guards that brought the characters forward stand in shock. They are surprised and can’t move or take an action on their first turn of the combat, and they can’t take reactions until that

of panic through the kuo-toa. The young archpriest calls out “Leemooggoogoon!” just as her father strikes a final, fatal blow, dropping her before the profane altar. (If any character is also engaging the archpriest of the Deep Father, allow that character to strike the final blow.)

Unwelcome Party

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus

had enough reserves of food and water to keep them alive for a time. When those provisions ran out, the family was forced to creep from safety to search for more. The city has been split in two

those NPCs in combat. The easiest option is to have the NPCs stay back and out of the way, limiting their options to following the characters or hiding from enemies. During fights, you can effectively

Horrid Plant Varieties

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Quests from the Infinite Staircase

cup-shaped purple flowers. Tubules within the plant’s branches connect the flowers to reserves of acidic sap in the plant’s trunk. Purple blossoms squirt this sap at prey through the flowers’ pistils

determines certain traits in this stat block. False Appearance. If the horrid plant is motionless at the start of combat, it has advantage on its initiative roll. Moreover, if a creature hasn’t

17. Main Entrance

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

creature uses an action to shake them awake. Living Unseen Servants Attacking a servant, snatching its feather duster, or otherwise disturbing the contents of this room triggers combat. On their first turn

guest’s weapons and gear, then spends the next hour hiding these items throughout the castle. Otto reserves its polymorph spell for a truly dangerous adversary, turning that enemy into a frog before

The Assault

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

reserves, or otherwise planning the fortress’s defense. Areas 1, area 5, and area 19 have particular encounters associated with them (see “Assault Encounters”). For every other area, consult the following

preparing for battle, echoing with clanging weapons and Sahuagin shouting. If the party is wily, they might use the din to their favor and catch their foes unaware. The general combat readiness of the

Using Malaxxix in a Game

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things

Using Malaxxix in a Game Malaxxix is a powerful and violent brute, an ideal enemy for a deadly high-level combat encounter anywhere in the multiverse. The best way to presage such a confrontation is

character becomes afflicted with the yugoloth’s curse. Malaxxix can spy upon any creature so afflicted and can teleport to a cursed creature at will. Malaxxix typically reserves this attention for creatures

Horns of the Beast

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

leading to the lower levels. Dwelling in the ruins are six Minotaurs of Baphomet who are Hostile to all intruders. They are spread out around the ruins but come quickly when they hear combat. The

the end of the adventure, each character earns a bonus 1,000 XP. Destroying the Artifact. The Horns of the Beast can be destroyed only by dropping it in the River Oceanus, which flows through the Upper Planes (see chapter 6). A character can learn this by casting Identify on the Artifact.

Denizens

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder

their caves and wait for enemies to come to them. Once they enter combat, the giants pursue enemies that attempt to flee. The Blue Bear tribe shares Kayalithica’s belief that civilization is a blight on

remain here, dropping onto creatures only when the giant commands them to do so. area 11 2 black puddings The puddings remain here. area 12 1 roper The roper remains here. area 13 2 stone giants The

Movement and Position

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook

feet, take an action, and then go 20 feet. Dropping Prone On your turn, you can give yourself the Prone condition (see the rules glossary) without using an action or any of your Speed, but you can’t

table. That table lists the sizes from smallest (Tiny) to largest (Gargantuan). A creature’s space is the area that it effectively controls in combat and the area it needs to fight effectively. A

Step 4: Select Monsters

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

throws are all useful indicators. Compare the damage a monster can deal to the hit point maximum of each character. Be wary of any monster that is capable of dropping a character with a single attack

can be killed with one blow. Having a significant number of foes drop in the first rounds of combat can make an encounter too easy. Likewise, look at whether a monster’s deadliest abilities call for

Movement and Position

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules

have a Speed of 30 feet, you could go 10 feet, take an action, and then go 20 feet. Dropping Prone On your turn, you can give yourself the Prone condition (see the Rules Glossary) without using an

shown on the Creature Size and Space table. That table lists the sizes from smallest (Tiny) to largest (Gargantuan). A creature’s space is the area that it effectively controls in combat and the area

Orthon

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

and the thrill of one-on-one combat above all else. An orthon’s first loyalty is to its archduke, but one with no immediate assignment might work for anyone who promises it a worthy struggle against a

attack roll. Reactions Explosive Retribution. In response to dropping to 15 hit points or fewer, the orthon explodes. All other creatures within 30 feet of it must each make a DC 17 Dexterity saving

Hobgoblins

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

other peoples. Hobgoblins have little appreciation or patience for art. They leave little space for joy or leisure in their lives, and thus have no reserves of faith to call upon when in dire straits

less-predictable scouts and spies more. — Volo Iron Shadows A few hobgoblins have mastered a system of unarmed combat called the Path of the Iron Shadow. Its practitioners are known as Iron Shadows

Battle in the Skies!

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated

characters each have a round to cast a spell or drink a potion. But otherwise, the action is continuous. Dropping out from behind a dark cloud is an airship held aloft by a large balloon — emblazoned with

the captain board the characters’ vessel, hoping to draw the characters into one-on-one combat. Round 3 A second airship drops out of the clouds! This ship has no visible crew and no weapons, but it

Ooze Grottos

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal->a5

perfect assassins.” If she and her wights have the upper hand in combat, or if all the wights are destroyed, she calls for a break in hostilities. She proudly talks of the sentient oozes that will wreak

three contain ochre jellies (O). Usually, wights use ooze prods to keep the oozes in the vats. If the wights are engaged in combat, roll a d6 at the end of every round. If the indicated ooze is still in

Geode Locations

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

(Deception) check contested by the guards’ Wisdom (Insight) checks; if all the characters succeed, the guards are fooled and allow them to pass. If combat erupts here, two earth elementals burst up

mouth atop its stony ovoid body. Casually dropping gemstones into the creature’s gaping mouth is a creepy-looking earth cultist. A stonemelder (see chapter 7) named Keltar keeps vigil with a xorn he

Cragmaw Castle Locations

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

intruders that enter the area before dropping down to strike. Characters in the hall must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check or be surprised. The grick knows that goblins are not to be eaten unless

(Religion) check to identify the deities that were once revered here: Oghma (god of knowledge), Mystra (god of magic), Lathander (god of dawn), and Tymora (god of luck). Development. If combat erupts

Cragmaw Castle Areas

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

room. It quietly observes intruders that enter the area before dropping down to strike. Compare the grick’s Dexterity (Stealth) check to the characters’ Wisdom (Perception) checks (or their passive

knowledge), Mystra (goddess of magic), Lathander (god of dawn), and Tymora (goddess of luck). This is an obvious sign that the builders of the castle were human. Developments If combat erupts here, the

Howling Caves Locations

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

loud enough that sounds of combat in this cave can’t be heard elsewhere. N16. Tortured Cavern The walls have a smoothed, rippled look about them, as if the stone was melted. Squat stalagmites and

be sacrificed to Yan-C-Bin in area N19. Two invisible barlguras guard the prisoners. The demons lurk among the columns in the upper reaches of the cave, dropping down to attack intruders who dare free

Tomb Locations

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

bejeweled necklaces are conjured above it and immediately attack any creatures in the room. On their first turn in combat, the genies target intruders with their phantasmal killer spells, maintaining

, four on either side of the room. It can be reached by descending the ramps, dropping a rope down from above, or any other way the characters might devise. Each canopic jar is ceramic and approximately 2

Faerûn

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

populace. Where once a long royal line sat its throne and ruled over a unified kingdom, now a Grand Council sits around a table and struggles to combat the presence of demons, and demon worship, within the

overextend themselves and fall — sometimes crumbling over time, and sometimes dropping like stones from the sky. Now that Netheril and Myth Drannor have fallen, those two great powers can no longer exert

Redbrand Hideout Locations

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

construction with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check. Any creature, including Ssarnak, can dislodge one end of either bridge, dropping it into the crevasse, as an action. A creature that falls into

demanding he join their band, but the terrified Droop just wants to go home. When combat breaks out, Droop hides and avoids the fight. Droop knows the general layout of the Redbrands’ hideout, as well as the

Areas of the Water Temple

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

its highest point almost 50 feet above the water. The lake is 20 feet deep near the cavern walls, dropping to 60 feet in the middle. The lake earns its name from a trick of acoustics. A mere whisper

round of combat. C8. Ancient Silos There are two of these rooms, both identical. This large room is strewn with crumbling masonry. A dry pit lies in the middle of the floor, ringed by a five-foot-wide

Tomb Locations

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

count 20 of the next round (losing initiative ties). The ceiling is too heavy to be stopped by any braces, but an Immovable Rod or similar item can prevent it from dropping so far as to crush anyone. T11

Wisdom (Insight) check without taking an action. On a successful check, the character discerns a melancholy tone to Rerak’s words, as if he loathed that he must kill them. During combat, a character can

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