both bitter drives complex rather

Isolde

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

archfey named Zybilna, who had forged secret pacts with some of the fiends Isolde and her companions had slain. Rather than be angry at Isolde, Zybilna was impressed by her. She enlisted a powerful fiend

known only as “the Caller” to corrupt and slay all of Isolde’s companions, leaving Isolde alone, bitter, and vulnerable. The insidious archfey then befriended Isolde and offered to

Stalker of Baphomet

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

the antithesis of the artistry that drives the stone giant’s ordning. The Horned King, Baphomet, is an exception. Though he is a merciless hunter, the Prince of Beasts also crafts complex mazes

Snow Sphinx

monsters

logic. Although a snow sphinx can speak, it generally greets its prey with claws and teeth rather than riddles or philosophical conversation. Physically, this fearsome creature is well adapted to harsh

spotted markings as its fur; they are strong enough to withstand the bitter winds that whistle across the tundra.Cold, Necrotic, RadiantFreezing Glare (Recharge 5–6);{"diceNotation":"1d6", "rollType

Reborn

Species Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

sensations or visions of the past to come rushing back. Rather than sleeping, reborn regularly sit and dwell on the past, hoping for some revelation of what came before. Most of the time, these are dark

tears to your eyes. Is it a bitter or cheerful memory? Does recalling it make you feel the same way? 3 You recall a childhood memory. What about that event or who you were still influences you

Vladimir Horngaard

Monsters Curse of Strahd

witnessing Strahd himself slay Vladimir's beloved, his fellow knight Sir Godfrey Gwilym. With the battle won, Strahd surrounded Argynvostholt. Rather than cower in his lair, Argynvost emerged and

battled Strahd's armies to the bitter end. Deadly Vengeance. Unwilling to accept his failure, Vladimir returned as a revenant. So great was his hatred of Strahd and his thirst for vengeance that those

Kelubar Demodand

Monsters Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

farastu minions—rather than fight directly. Demodands Demodands, also called gehreleths, are Fiends from the Tarterian Depths of Carceri. Cast into the prison plane long ago for forgotten

transgressions, these bitter, wicked creatures have appointed themselves the jailers of the plane. Demodands viciously defend the few known portals that lead out of Carceri and ruthlessly torment other

Forlarren

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

of Avernus attempted an expedition to the Feywild long ago, and the forlarren are the bitter reminder of that doomed excursion. The archdevil Fierna—co-ruler of Phlegethos, the fourth layer of the Nine

bound to their fey lord and unable to bargain away their souls. So rather than claim them, Fierna warped and twisted them before returning them to the Feywild, content that the corruption of the satyrs

Tabaxi Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

of the world beyond their home. Barterers of Lore Tabaxi treasure knowledge rather than material things. A chest filled with gold coins might be useful to buy food or a coil of rope, but it’s

its secrets and nature have been laid bare. Tinkers and Minstrels Curiosity drives most of the tabaxi found outside their homeland, but not all of them become adventurers. Tabaxi who seek a safer

Bitter Breath

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

-hardened hobgoblin warlord named High Graj Karkajuk. Bitter Breath drives a Tormentor that has an Infernal Screamer (see "Infernal Screamer") instead of a Harpoon Flinger. Hobgoblins round out the

Bitter Breath Bitter Breath is a resentful, vindictive warlord that fell prey to the cutthroat politics of Avernus. Formerly a pit fiend named L’zeth, it strove to undermine Zariel while courting Bel

Rogue Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

would rather make one precise strike, placing it exactly where the attack will hurt the target most, than wear an opponent down with a barrage of attacks. Rogues have an almost supernatural knack for

an angry thieves’ guild master? Or did you leave your guild in search of bigger risks and bigger rewards? Is it greed that drives you in your adventures, or some other desire or ideal? What

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

empires on the foundation of conquest and trade. Whatever drives them, humans are the innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers of the worlds. A Broad Spectrum With their penchant for migration

, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. Human Names and Ethnicities Having so much more variety than other cultures, humans as a whole have no typical names. Some human parents

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

shapes their lives. This thirst drives warlocks into their pacts and shapes their later careers as well. Stories of warlocks binding themselves to fiends are widely known. But many warlocks serve patrons

gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their goals, which typically means some kind of adventuring. Furthermore, the demands of their patrons drive

Izzet Engineer

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

protocols will lead us toward progress more surely than any belief system. (Lawful) 5 Fun. I love my job! Despite the dangerous working conditions, there’s nothing I’d rather do

former assistants turned out to be a Dimir spy. We’re not on friendly terms anymore, but we have a habit of running into each other. 4 A Golgari assassin killed a bitter rival of mine, leaving

Zombies

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

, merciless, and resilient, and their dead flesh can carry on even after suffering grievous wounds. While they can follow simple orders, they rely on primal drives rather than thought. They fulfill

Chapter 2: Traps Revisited

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

elaborate approach — describing traps in terms of their game mechanics and offering guidance on creating traps of your own using these new rules. Rather than characterize traps as mechanical or magical, these rules separate traps into two other categories: simple and complex.

Quaggoths

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

can survive on bitter lichens and toxic fungi, they viciously attack anything they can make a meal of, from giant spiders to explorers. Quaggoths sometimes serve as muscle for Underdark-dwelling

—earns the enmity of that quaggoth’s band regardless of reason or fault. These grudges sometimes extend to whole communities rather than individuals. Generations of quaggoths might seek revenge against a

Character Advancement

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

Character Advancement If you want to use story-based level advancement, the characters receive experience points for achieving the following milestones rather than defeating monsters: Encountering a

advancement occurs only once, even if the characters later encounter another faction leader. Entering the Tomb Complex. When the characters enter the fourth tier of the ziggurat for the first time

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

and research. No one makes a pact with such a mighty patron if he or she doesn’t intend to use the power thus gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their

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

mere study and research. No one makes a pact with such a mighty patron if he or she doesn’t intend to use the power thus gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit

Espionage Agency Contacts

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

Espionage Agency Contacts Your assignments come from a superior in the agency who typically works at a desk rather than in the field—compiling intelligence into reports for their superiors and

receive. Agency Contacts d8 Contact 1 A condescending career desk agent who views you as expendable tools 2 A bitter former field agent, now confined to a field office, who envies your work 3 A

Faded Memories

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

. Rather than sleeping, reborn regularly sit and dwell on the past, hoping for some revelation of what came before. Most of the time, these are dark, silent stretches. Occasionally, though, in a moment of

Memory 1 You recall a physically painful moment. What mark or scar on your body does it relate to? 2 A memory brings tears to your eyes. Is it a bitter or cheerful memory? Does recalling

Wicked Personality

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

often a negative emotion or destructive behavior—such as fear, hatred, insecurity, jealousy, mayhem, obsession, selfishness, shame—that drives an irrational habit causing the Darklord or others harm

them. 2 Others’ concerns bore me, and I would rather have my lessers handle everything possible. 3 I am always right, and anyone who doesn’t agree with me is cut out of my life. 4

Creating a Bronze Dragon

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

strategy. A quick death in combat is its own kind of courtesy. 6 I trust my gut. I’d rather act on incomplete information than be hamstrung by indecision. 7 I’m fascinated by other species

’ military technology, especially magic armaments and siege engines—the bigger, the better! 8 Conflict drives evolution. By sparking wars between nations, I contribute to the advancement of their

Life in the City of Blades

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

, the duergar have a culture as rich and complex as any other, and nowhere is this so evident as in Gracklstugh. Work never stops in the City of Blades, and the gray dwarves take pride in efficiency

. Rather, they roll up their sleeves and work harder to increase their prestige through the fruits of their labor. All the honor and honesty the duergar apply among themselves doesn’t apply to

Traps in Play

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

sides, a mechanism inside fires a hail of poison needles toward anyone in front of it. After inspecting the chest and making a few checks, the characters are still unsure if it's trapped. Rather than

24d10 Complex Traps Complex traps work like standard traps, except once activated they execute a series of actions each round. A complex trap turns the process of dealing with a trap into something more

Traps in Play

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

sides, a mechanism inside fires a hail of poison needles toward anyone in front of it. After inspecting the chest and making a few checks, the characters are still unsure if it’s trapped. Rather than

18d10 24d10 Complex Traps Complex traps work like standard traps, except once activated they execute a series of actions each round. A complex trap turns the process of dealing with a trap into something

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

The Great Wheel

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

between Bytopia and Arcadia; rather, this theoretical positioning is based on the philosophical shading among the three planes and the relative importance they give to law and good. Other

deities and Fiends reside Planes arranged in a complex system of orbits, with planes exerting greater influence on the Material Plane the closer they draw to it

Keep Features

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

Keep Features The water cultists are busy repairing Rivergard, but parts of the complex remain inaccessible. For example, the upper floors of the north tower and the water tower are filled with

. He leads bandits, who work for money rather than ideology, and water cultists. Only some of the commoner servants lack loyalty to Grimjaw and the cult. Doors. Interior doors are made of wood. It

Demons

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

promotions never stem from a demon’s deeds or accomplishments. Rather, a demon lord might warp a manes into a quasit when it needs an invisible spy, or turn an army of dretches into hezrous when

, even nations embroiled in bitter conflict will set their differences aside to help contain an outbreak of demons, or to seal off abyssal breaches before these fiends can break free. Signs of

Communication and Disposition

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

refusal to do so automatically prompts an attack. In such an attack, the lizardfolk’s first priority is the expulsion, rather than the death, of the intruders, but they fight to the death if provoked. Once

. Lizardfolk rarely use metaphors or complex sentences. Their speech is almost always literal — halting, but not primitive. They might pick up the meaning of an idiom, but only with some difficulty. Names

Isolde

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

other threats. In time, her heroics caught the eye of an archfey named Zybilna, who had forged secret pacts with some of the fiends Isolde and her companions had slain. Rather than be angry at Isolde

, Zybilna was impressed by her. She enlisted a powerful fiend known only as “the Caller” to corrupt and slay all of Isolde’s companions, leaving Isolde alone, bitter, and vulnerable. The insidious archfey

Hazlik's Powers and Dominion

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

items rather than his own spells. Glory Taker. At any given time, Hazlik permits dozens of apprentices to study at his feet. His lessons are infrequent, demanding, and filled with mocking examples

. Those who don’t impress him don’t survive long. He encourages rivalries among his students and drives them to push the boundaries of magical possibilities. His goading results in magical wonders, failed

Appendix: Festive Monsters

compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->One-Shot Wonders: Holiday Adventure Pack

teeth rather than riddles or philosophical conversation. Physically, this fearsome creature is well adapted to harsh habitats, such as ice-covered mountains or arctic plains. It has wide paws to stop

it sinking into soft snow and thick fur to ward out the cold. The sphinx’s muscular wings carry the same spotted markings as its fur; they are strong enough to withstand the bitter winds that whistle

Vladimir Horngaard

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

tide and was killed, only after the heartbreak of witnessing Strahd himself slay Vladimir’s beloved, his fellow knight Sir Godfrey Gwilym. With the battle won, Strahd surrounded Argynvostholt. Rather

than cower in his lair, Argynvost emerged and battled Strahd’s armies to the bitter end. Deadly Vengeance. Unwilling to accept his failure, Vladimir returned as a revenant. So great was his hatred of

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