both beings driven chief reflected

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

the responsibility to earn a place in the tribe or die trying. Driven Competitors Every day brings a new challenge to a goliath. Food, water, and shelter are rare in the uppermost mountain reaches. A

skills. This dedication to competition has a dark side. Goliaths are ferocious competitors, but above all else they are driven to outdo their past efforts. If a goliath slays a dragon, he or she might

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

pacts made with mysterious beings of supernatural power, warlocks unlock magical effects both subtle and spectacular. Drawing on the ancient knowledge of beings such as fey nobles, demons, devils

relationship between warlock and patron is like that of a cleric and a deity, though the beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are not gods. A warlock might lead a cult dedicated to a demon

Star Spawn Hulk

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

seer nearby. A hulk appears to have little will of its own and is driven to protect its master. Star Spawn The Material Plane represents only one small part of the multiverse. Beyond the best

-known planes of existence lie realms alien to mortal life. Some are so hostile that even a moment’s contact is enough to break a mortal’s mind. Yet beings do exist that are native to these

Shifter Legacy

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

personality: a feline shifter may be cool and distant, driven by predatory instincts, while a shifter with a lupine spirit might be drawn to find and protect a pack. When a shifter fully embraces this beast

within they physically transform for a short time. A shifter’s beast within is reflected by the shifter’s subrace. Four subraces are especially common: Beasthide often signifies the

Genasi Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

Those who think of other planes at all consider them remote, distant realms, but planar influence can be felt throughout the world. It sometimes manifests in beings who, through an accident of birth

, seeing them as accidents. Many feel nothing for their genasi children at all. Some genasi live as outcasts, driven into exile for their unsettling appearance and strange magic, or assuming leadership

Dwarf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

some areas are off limits even to them. The chief unit of dwarven society is the clan, and dwarves highly value social standing. Even dwarves who live far from their own kingdoms cherish their clan

up the adventuring life might be motivated by a desire for treasure—for its own sake, for a specific purpose, or even out of an altruistic desire to help others. Other dwarves are driven by the

Paladin Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

sacred glade before nature spirits and fey beings, or in a moment of desperation and grief with the dead as the only witness, a paladin’s oath is a powerful bond. It is a source of power that

paladins take their work seriously. A delve into an ancient ruin or dusty crypt can be a quest driven by a higher purpose than the acquisition of treasure. Evil lurks in dungeons and primeval forests

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

have more in common with iguanas or dragons than they do with humans, dwarves, or elves. Lizardfolk possess an alien and inscrutable mindset, their desires and thoughts driven by a different set of

; Instead, aggressive, stronger creatures register to the lizardfolk as fearsome beings to be avoided if possible. If such creatures attack, lizardfolk flee, fighting only if cornered. Lizardfolk aren

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

chief can plan where to send raiders next. The territory that orc war parties cover can extend for many miles around the lair, and any encampment or settlement of elves, dwarves, or humans in that

strongholds, and then decorated with uniquely orcish accessories. A war wagon is a source of great pride for a war chief, comparable to a human army’s banner or flag. Many are clad in armor and

Adventure Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon of Icespire Peak

Adventure Background Driven from lands farther north by more powerful dragons, a young white dragon named Cryovain has descended upon the Sword Mountains, claiming the snow-capped range as its domain

, as are its attacks. A crumbling fortress on the northeast spur of Icespire Peak serves as the dragon’s lair. Cryovain seized the icy fortress from a tribe of savage orcs, killing the orc war chief and

Dark Fantasy Adventure Sites

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

Dark Fantasy Adventure Sites Evil is entrenched and effective in dark fantasy domains, truths reflected by grandiose adventure locations. Their size and grandeur seem out of proportion with the

expanding labyrinth that grows to protect the evil imprisoned at its heart 2 A forest where every tree grows from the body of a mummified hero 3 A magical factory that distills living beings

Dark Sun

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

planes — and they lost. The gods were slain or driven into exile, leaving Athas under the dominion of elemental beings who took little interest in the affairs of mortals. In the grim age that

The Beast Within

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

personality takes shape. The beast within is a pool of powerful instincts, and its influence is revealed by a shifter’s personality: a feline shifter may be cool and distant, driven by predatory instincts

is reflected by the shifter’s subrace. Four subraces are especially common: Beasthide often signifies the bear or boar: stoic, stubborn, and thick-skinned. Longtooth shifters typically have lupine

Material Echoes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

Material Echoes The Material Plane is a richly magical place, and its magical nature is reflected in the two planes that share its central place in the multiverse. The Feywild and the Shadowfell are

for the Unseelie to hunt their prey. Fey creatures, such as those brought to the world by conjure woodland beings and similar spells, dwell in the Feywild. The Shadowfell, also called the Plane of

The Beast Within

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

takes shape. The beast within is a pool of powerful instincts, and its influence is revealed by a shifter’s personality: a feline shifter may be cool and distant, driven by predatory instincts, while

a shifter with a lupine spirit is drawn to find and protect a pack. When a shifter fully embraces this beast within they physically transform for a short time. This beast within is reflected by the

Heirs to Elemental Power

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

their mortal offspring, seeing them as accidents. Many feel nothing for their genasi children at all. Some genasi live as outcasts, driven into exile for their unsettling appearance and strange magic

, or assuming leadership of savage humanoids and weird cults in untamed lands. Others gain positions of great influence, especially where elemental beings are revered. A few genasi leave the Material Plane to find refuge in the households of their genie parents.

Delvers into Secrets

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

Delvers into Secrets Warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power, which compels them into their pacts and shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and

student’s mind is opened to realities beyond the material world and to the alien beings that dwell in the outer void. Once a pact is made, a warlock’s thirst for knowledge and power can’t be slaked with

The Hunt for Food

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

The Hunt for Food Chief Guh has driven away all the other female hill giants in her clan and taken their husbands as her own. She tasks her many husbands with bringing her food, and she doesn’t care

Delvers into Secrets

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

Delvers into Secrets Warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power, which compels them into their pacts and shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and

is opened to realities beyond the material world and to the alien beings that dwell in the outer void. Once a pact is made, a warlock’s thirst for knowledge and power can’t be slaked with mere study

Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Infernal Machine Rebuild

those adventurers driven to seek and destroy him — and partly to claim those adventurers’ souls to feed his phylactery. Even after Acererak eventually became an archlich whose dark plots would threaten

, the characters arrive with the place still under construction. The artificer Moghadam serves as the tomb’s chief architect, overseeing its construction in initial areas dug out by enthralled umber

Dragons

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

Chamber. A dragon in Khorvaire that isn’t part of the Chamber could be an exile driven from Argonnessen for some crime or a scholar pursuing independent research. Some orphaned dragons grow up in

don’t consider the impact of their actions on lesser beings; if a Chamber dragon must destroy a human village to foil the plans of a demon, it will do so without hesitation.

Slaadi

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

of Limbo Unpredictable slaadi devour and multiply across the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo. These toad-like, extraplanar beings embody the endless potentiality of their home plane of existence

. While slaadi aren’t inherently evil, their impulses are wild and often destructive. Many are driven to propagate through supernatural processes. Unfortunately, these processes typically are fatal for

Yarana

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

Yarana Born nearly one thousand years ago in Atagua, Yarana (neutral good, human scout) was the most talented of the elite Cababa warriors of ancient times. Days before becoming her people’s chief

and Nene and restored them to be protectors of the spirit’s mountain. Over ages, Yarana has protected Chimagua and learned the ways of the Feywild. But everything changed in recent days when beings

Daughters of Sora Kell

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

possess powers far beyond what’s usual for their kind. They are creatures of legend, beings who have defeated many of the greatest heroes of Galifar. Sora Katra is the voice of the Daughters

in the vaults of the Great Crag. If you’d rather use the Daughters as straightforward villains, they could be driven by a thirst for power or a desire to end humanity’s dominance over Khorvaire. Sora

Evil Inchoate

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

Evil Inchoate I will be the last creature when I am done. The cosmos will then be perfect, free of the braying abominations that are all other living things. — Orcus As beings of utter chaos and

demon sees itself as the rightful inheritor of the cosmos. It is driven to destroy all other living creatures, or at least command their absolute loyalty. In due time, the laws of the universe will

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

; animosity, gnomes tend to avoid or abandon settlements that have a severe infestation of kobolds, and conversely kobolds are usually driven out of communities that have a large gnome population

they were demigods — mighty beings of divine descent. This isn’t a casual sort of worship or lip service; kobolds are awed in the presence of a dragon, as if an actual avatar of a deity

Tarrasque

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

mighty tail while swallowing smaller beings whole. It seems to take instinctual offense at the works of lesser beings, venting its rage at buildings, bridges, ships, and monuments. The larger a structure

table to inspire what marks the monster’s rampages. Tarrasque Evidence 1d4 Amid Destruction, the Tarrasque Leaves... 1 Evidence of a magic spell reflected back on its caster, like Ice Knife or Melf’s

Stewards of the Eternal Throne

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

chapters. Each chapter encompasses all the stewards who live across a wide geographical region, perhaps a continent or an entire world of the Material Plane, and is led by a chief steward. Each

chapter is independent from all others, and the chief stewards of different chapters rarely meet and coordinate their efforts, except in cases where evils arise that threaten an entire world or multiple

Rangers

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

, the chief orc of the region, but as time went on, the ranger began to suspect differently. — R.A. Salvatore, Sojourn Long have rangers walked the wilds of the Sword Coast and the Savage Frontier

, and even druids might not understand them. As a whole, rangers serve to help societies survive and thrive in the wilderness. Much of the Sword Coast and the North are unsettled. Rangers are driven to

Cults of the Dragon Below

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

, not from faith. Cults driven by madness have a warped view of reality. A cultist might believe aberrations are a higher form of life and that the daelkyr will elevate mortals. Other cultists may not

recognize the true nature of the beings they serve. A cult of Rak Tulkhesh might truly believe their lord will bring peace to the world, even if that peace must begin with bloody war. Joining such a

Introduction

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

Introduction The Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game is about storytelling in worlds of swords and sorcery. It shares elements with childhood games of make-believe. Like those games, D&D is driven by

capabilities. This increase in power is reflected by an adventurer’s level. There’s no winning and losing in the Dungeons & Dragons game—at least, not the way those terms are usually understood

Introduction

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

Introduction The Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game is about storytelling in worlds of swords and sorcery. It shares elements with childhood games of make-believe. Like those games, D&D is driven by

new capabilities. This increase in power is reflected by an adventurer’s level. There’s no winning and losing in the Dungeons & Dragons game—at least, not the way those terms are usually understood

Hill Giant

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

obeyed. A hill giant tribe’s chief is usually the biggest giant that can still move about. Only on rare occasion does a hill giant with more brains than bulk use its cunning to gain the favor of giants

are decaying plants and even mud. Farmers fear and loathe hill giants. Where a predator such as an ankheg might burrow through fields and consume a cow or two before being driven off, a hill giant

Gods of the Orcs

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

signifies acceptance into his inner circle. Those who are visited by Gruumsh are transformed psychologically and often physically by the experience. Some are driven to the brink of madness, reduced to

chosen by Ilneval and are groomed to serve as blades of Ilneval. These individuals are battle captains that follow the orders of the tribe’s chief, leading a portion of the tribe’s warriors into the thick

Creating a Race or Subrace

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

their ability to step through the boundary between the planes, disappearing for a moment before reappearing somewhere else. In the game, this is reflected in a limited use of the misty step spell. Since

: Aasimar Whereas tieflings have fiendish blood in their veins, aasimar are the descendants of celestial beings. These folk generally appear as glorious humans with lustrous hair, flawless skin, and

D&D Beyond

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