both begged dangers concept rather - Search

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

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

Inheritor

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

, and might have set you on the path to adventure, but it could also come with many dangers, including those who covet your gift and want to take it from you — by force, if need be. Skill

your adventuring career, you can decide whether to tell your companions about your inheritance right away. Rather than attracting attention to yourself, you might want to keep your inheritance a secret

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

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

away in the night to seek the cold will of fate. In some ways, the goliath drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in

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.

Group Patrons

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

Group Patrons Each adventuring group is bound together by the quests it embarks on and by the dangers its members face together. This chapter offers another way to bind your party together: a group

’ relationships, their backstories, and the types of dangers they face. During character creation, every player has the opportunity to weave connections between their character and the other members of their

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

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

Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hold Back The Dead

reclaim the fortress. The fortress would allow the Lord’s Alliance to keep a closer watch over dangers in the region. The characters are initially hired to help guard Ironspine Keep, which is expected to

. Rather than abandon the fortress, the five cities supporting the reconstruction efforts committed to defending Ironspine Keep against Szass Tam’s horde. When the characters arrive for what they expect to

Nautical Adventures

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

and dangers heroes might encounter when they venture out to sea. RUNNING NAUTICAL ADVENTURES Running adventures involving ships and the sea doesn’t need to be daunting, especially not in a world as

brave crews sail along with them. Feel free to think of the ship your heroes travel upon less in the terms of a pirate story (full of commonplace duties and dangers) and more like a vessel in a space

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

Journal of Rudolph van Richten

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

certain cause of many deaths, and the loss of many good friends. Mistake me not! I do not merely feel sorry for myself. Rather, I come to grips with a devastating realization: I now see that I am the object

young man’s life. In fear of their retribution, I begged the Vistani to take anything of mine if only they would withhold their terrifying powers, of which I knew nothing. To my lasting astonishment

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

Daring Dancer

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel

keeps their distance only if threatened or rebuffed in extremely clear terms. Ollin Ollin is a chaotic good tiefling. They use the priest stat block but have Performance +3 rather than Persuasion, and

. Ollin uses their skillful dances and optimistic view of the power of the gods to lighten others’ hearts. With the increasing dangers in the region, Ollin has decided to head to Twin Gods Observatory

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

Darklords

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

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

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

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

Other Military Forces

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

dangers of the jungle. Valenar. The elves of Valenar have no interest in peace, but they participated in the talks that led to the Treaty of Thronehold to gauge the measure of their enemies and gain

contain members of races other than elves and perhaps half-elves, but such a band could make an interesting military party. Running Your Own. Rather than join an existing force, you might choose to form

Gauntlgrym

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

mine. When they delved too deeply, the dwarves there discovered the presence of a great being of flame, sealed the mines, and left. Only later, when the humans begged the Delzoun dwarves to build one

dangers those places now faced. Gradually, as the orcs were pushed back and the dwarven cities secured anew, those delvers began to recall their promises to their ancestors. Further, when the war ended

Introduction

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

you receive a cancer diagnosis or a similar health news, you probably appreciate that concept a little more than other people. Watching someone you love waste away is a terrible thing. You want a

magic button to bring things back to the way they should be, this person you love so much restored to who they really are rather than what cancer is grinding them down into. It’s easy to give in to

Appendix A: Shared Campaigns

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

hard to keep a campaign going. Enter the concept of the shared campaign. In a shared campaign, more than one member of the group can take on the role of DM. A shared campaign is episodic rather than

Respect for the Players

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

talking, and make sure you check in about what every character is doing, especially during periods of exploration and social interaction, rather than focusing just on one player’s character. Sometimes

everyone can see it. Overly Cautious Players Overly cautious players can slow down the game by checking every flagstone, door, and wall in a dungeon for traps and hidden dangers. Sometimes this

Harpy

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

despair by her longing, she begged the gods to help her. Aerdrie Faenya, elf goddess of the sky, heard the elf’s cries and was moved to her aid. She appeared as the bird whose song had entranced the

have no interest in a fair fight, and they never attack unless they have a clear advantage. If a fight turns against a harpy, it lacks the cunning to adapt and will flee and go hungry rather than risk

Modifying a Class

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

, paladins might not swear their oaths to ideals, but instead swear fealty to powerful sorcerers. To capture this story concept, you could build a new paladin spell list with spells meant to protect

opportunity to develop the character’s story and that of your world, rather than shutting down possibilities. Substituting Class Features If one or more features of a given class don’t exactly fit the theme

Respect for the Players

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

talking, and make sure you check in about what every character is doing, especially during periods of exploration and social interaction, rather than focusing just on one player’s character. Sometimes

everyone can see it. Overly Cautious Players Overly cautious players can slow down the game by checking every flagstone, door, and wall in a dungeon for traps and hidden dangers. Sometimes this

Staff

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

concept behind the hirelings and selecting one proficiency for each. The DM can then customize the hirelings as desired, perhaps by adding additional proficiencies or adjusting their combat statistics

(sailors for a seagoing franchise, engineers for a giant hollow statue, and so on). Crew do not leave a franchise and cannot perform franchise tasks. They typically run rather than fight back when attacked

Rejecting the Ordning

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

one their kind traditionally values. These are often giants whose ranking within their kind is low. For example, a contemplative cloud giant might pursue knowledge rather than wealth, or a weak frost

otherwise enjoy in the ordning. When giants join the cults of demon lords, they reject the entire concept of the ordning—the idea that there is any kind of order to the multiverse at all, which is the

Mind Flayer Magic

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

after death would its consciousness be cast into oblivion. Two divine entities have long been associated with mind flayers by the scholars of other races. These aren’t deities, but rather

attitude — actions that have often been misinterpreted by observers as worship. Maanzecorian. The entity/concept called Maanzecorian embodies a complete comprehension of knowledge. It is a state

Additional Encounters

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

the dwarves fend off an attack by 4 ogres and a half-red dragon veteran named Yggran. The dwarves are hopelessly overmatched and flee rather than fight. If her fellow cultists can’t save Cheela, they

might kill her rather than leave her in the adventurers’ hands. Fallen Hero The adventurers meet a seriously injured elf ranger—a well-known hero named Cylanestriel. She speaks of her capture by the

Additional Encounters

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

dwarves fend off an attack by 4 ogres and a half-red dragon veteran named Yggran. The dwarves are hopelessly overmatched and flee rather than fight. If her fellow cultists can’t save Cheela, they

might kill her rather than leave her in the adventurers’ hands. Fallen Hero The adventurers meet a seriously injured elf ranger—a well-known hero named Cylanestriel. She speaks of her capture by the Cult

Additional Encounters

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

the dwarves fend off an attack by 4 ogres and a half-red dragon veteran named Yggran. The dwarves are hopelessly overmatched and flee rather than fight. If her fellow cultists can’t save Cheela, they

might kill her rather than leave her in the adventurers’ hands. Fallen Hero The adventurers meet a seriously injured elf ranger—a well-known hero named Cylanestriel. She speaks of her capture by the

Goals

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

and assist the deck’s owners. They make sure the owners understand the rules of drawing cards, the wide range of possible effects, and the dangers of keeping a Deck of Many Things long enough to draw

locations, so knights travel widely in pursuit of even faint leads. Inevitably, many of these leads turn out to be the effects of curses and corrupt magic. Rather than ignore these situations, knights

Solitary but Social

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

events and possible dangers. Even a hag living in a remote, isolated location is aware of goings-on that involve her neighboring hags, whether through magical communication, personal visits, or

superstition and adapted it to their own uses, although some among the oldest hags claim to have invented the concept or at least named it. Alternative Coven Spells Some covens gather for a specific

The Path to Perfection

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

of time. Rather than imparting his skills to them, he fueled their spirits with a burning desire to follow his example. His gifts of durability and purpose gave the dwarves all they needed to devote

centuries, but the same inflexibility can bring problems when applied to the unpredictable dangers of the world. A clan might continue to depend on the same plan for defending its stronghold that has

Search Results