both both defending concept rather

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

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

invasion and oppression. Although individually they are timid and shy away from conflict, kobolds are dangerous if cornered, vicious when defending their eggs, and notorious for the dangerous

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

Bard Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

versatility. Many bards prefer to stick to the sidelines in combat, using their magic to inspire their allies and hinder their foes from a distance. But bards are capable of defending themselves in melee if

necessary, using their magic to bolster their swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a wide-ranging knowledge of many

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

Izzet Engineer

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

to begin your career as a mere attendant, you can aspire to become a skilled mage or alchemist, a laboratory supervisor, or even a flamethrower-wielding scorchbringer tasked with defending Izzet

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

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.

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

Music and Magic

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

sidelines in combat, using their magic to inspire their allies and hinder their foes from a distance. But bards are capable of defending themselves in melee if necessary, using their magic to bolster their

swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a wide-ranging knowledge of many subjects and a natural aptitude that lets them do

Flight to Steel Springs

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

outnumbered. Rather than joining the Kalaman forces in their advance, the characters find themselves defending a retreat. The adventure unfolds in one of two ways: With Mass Combat. If you’re using

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

. 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

Music and Magic

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

sidelines in combat, using their magic to inspire their allies and hinder their foes from a distance. But bards are capable of defending themselves in melee if necessary, using their magic to bolster their

swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a wide-ranging knowledge of many subjects and a natural aptitude that lets them do

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

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

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

Special NPCs

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

Special NPCs In this chapter, each player runs not only a player character but also an NPC who has ties to the settlement that the characters are defending. Once you’ve determined where the adventure

encourage players to roleplay these traits accurately, players can portray the NPCs as they choose. Rather than have each player roll initiative for a special NPC, assume that the NPC acts on the same

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

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

Background

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

used it as a headquarters, stocking it with supplies and defending it from assaults by the enemy group. When the war entered its final throes, the ship was in danger of bring overrun by the land

-based forces. In response, rather than staying and fighting it out, the cultists aboard the ship pulled up anchor — and thanks to an offshore wind, they rode the waves and left the island far behind

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

laden wagon or after heroically defending it from thieves gain great respect and advance higher in the tribe’s pecking order. All Are Fighters Most of the orcs that stay behind when the

they are more interested in grabbing plunder and food rather than in wanton slaughter. The elderly, children, and any who seem weak or meek enough might escape death. If they leave the population more

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

Mirabar

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

, since no one in Mirabar wishes to see the surface city wiped out. It would simply be bad for business. Mirabar spares no expense in defending its wealth, and hires as many mages and adventurers as

collections of unusual and rare gems, to use seals made of gems carved into signet rings, and to be investors in ventures (rather than property) up and down the Sword Coast. They are sophisticated and

Life and Outlook

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

mushrooms for food or watching over hatchlings, and they all understand that their actions contribute to the survival of the group. The tribe practices for the eventuality of defending the lair

blows over their differences. Kobolds choose mates primarily for convenience. Their lack of emotional bonding means they have no concept of marriage or permanent family relationships. Their eggs are

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

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

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

Battle Smith

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

them. Tasha Armies require protection, and someone has to put things back together if defenses fail. A combination of protector and medic, a Battle Smith is an expert at defending others and

other than the defender. Extra Attack 5th-level Battle Smith feature You can attack twice, rather than once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Arcane Jolt 9th-level Battle Smith feature

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

Battle Smith

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

expert at defending others and repairing both material and personnel. To aid in their work, Battle Smiths are usually accompanied by a steel defender, a protective companion of their own creation. Many

other than the defender. Extra Attack Starting at 5th level, you can attack twice, rather than once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Arcane Jolt At 9th level, you learn new ways to

Random Encounters

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

Random Encounters As the characters travel toward Araumycos, use the Creature Encounters table in this section rather than the Creature Encounters table in chapter 2. Once the characters enter

feel as if they’re being watched even when they aren’t. While defending its cavernous lair, the tyrant avails itself of its lair actions. Treasure. If the characters defeat the death tyrant, they can

The Skull Dunes

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

that square). The characters continue to move, one square at a time, awakening skeletons and defending themselves until they navigate their way across the dunes to safety, or slay twenty or more

skeletons. Once they slay twenty or more skeletons, phase two begins. Phase Two. All the skeletons within 2 squares of the party animate and attack. Rather than assail the characters individually, half the

Using Survivors

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

Domains of Dread. They don’t always claim their victims bodily, though. Rather, the Mists might steal characters’ minds, placing them into survivors involved in specific terrifying scenarios. Perhaps

characters suddenly find themselves mentally recast into someone defending against a zombie siege in Falkovnia, attending a ball in Dementlieu, or exploring the tombs of Har’Akir (see chapter 3 for

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