both both distant case rather

Vladimir Horngaard

Monsters Curse of Strahd

Order of the Silver Dragon at a young age and quickly earned the friendship of its founder, the silver dragon Argynvost. When he became a knight of the order, he traveled to distant lands to wage war

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

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

comfort to Isolde and quelled her thirst for vengeance. Zybilna and Isolde enjoyed a strong partnership for years, but as time wore on, they grew distant until their relationship finally soured

Cradle of the Cloud Scion

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

feet tall and wields a morningstar made from magically dense clouds. It tends to regard other creatures as toys rather than serious threats, and it uses its illusion magic to manipulate creatures into

this case, each scion is enclosed in stasis inside a powerful Elemental called a cradle. The cradle protects the slumbering scion and follows its subconscious wishes, including driving off intruders

Scion of Memnor

Monsters Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

made from magically dense clouds. It tends to regard other creatures as toys rather than serious threats, and it uses its illusion magic to manipulate creatures into fighting each other. If seriously

’ gods are enormously powerful beings who infuse the world around them with primeval magic. In many worlds, they slumber and have become part of the landscape. In this case, each scion is enclosed in

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

few miles from where they were born. You aren’t one of those folk. You are from a distant place, one so remote that few of the common folk in the North realize that it exists, and chances are

discussed here are all sufficiently distant from the North and the Sword Coast to justify the use of this background. Evermeet. The fabled elven islands far to the west are home to elves who have never

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

pages were tales of bold heroes, strange and fierce animals, mighty primitive gods, and a magic that was part and fabric of that distant land. — Elaine Cunningham, Daughter of the Drow In the

, 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

Tabaxi Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

lazy, but when Linene came around looking for a missing broach, she was out the door before I could blink an eye. — Toblen Stonehill, innkeeper Hailing from a strange and distant land

tabaxi rarely stay in one place for long. Their innate nature pushes them to leave no secrets uncovered, no treasures or legends lost. Wandering Outcasts Most tabaxi remain in their distant

Hermit - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Languages: One of your choice Equipment: A scroll case stuffed full of notes from your studies or prayers, a winter blanket, a set of common clothes, an herbalism kit, and 5 gp Hermit Origins Any

a patriar’s scion in an illegal duel. The family swore revenge, and you fled to the slums rather than risk bringing their wrath down on your kin. 6 You aren’t originally from Baldur

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

stars overhead, a wild-eyed tiefling chants the mystic ritual that will open a doorway to a distant world. Warlocks are seekers of the knowledge that lies hidden in the fabric of the multiverse. Through

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

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow lizardfolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome. Cold and Calculating Most humanoids describe cold-blooded people as lacking in

emotion and empathy. The same label serves as an apt depiction of lizardfolk. Lacking any internal emotional reactions, lizardfolk behave in a distant manner. They don’t mourn fallen comrades or

Charlatan - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

. In any case, characters with this background have a plan to hit the big time; all they need is audacity and a little time. You have always had a way with people. You know what makes them tick, you

one that you’re perfectly willing to use for your advantage. You know what people want and you deliver, or rather, you promise to deliver. Common sense should steer people away from things that

Verdan

Species Acquisitions Incorporated

. Reality is a descent into chaos punctuated by brief flashes of order, whence we arose and so imagine it to be the norm rather than a distant outlier. That-Which-Endures held entropy back for a mere instant

Dwarf Rangers

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

Dwarf Rangers Most dwarves prefer to hunker down under a mountain, rather than roam the wilderness of the surface or the Underdark. Most often, a dwarf ranger is either a shield dwarf cast out of a

clanhold or a clanless dwarf seeking a place in the world. Sometimes dwarf rangers are prospectors who explore the world seeking new veins of ore. In any case, there are two deities who appeal to such dwarves: Marthammor Duin and Dumathoin.

New Race: Verdan

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

. Reality is a descent into chaos punctuated by brief flashes of order, whence we arose and so imagine it to be the norm rather than a distant outlier. That-Which-Endures held entropy back for a mere instant, and the Verdan emerged. I’m sorry, was that the question? — K’thriss Drow’b

Who Dwells Here?

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

Who Dwells Here? This version of the Tomb of Horrors takes place in the distant past, when various legendary figures of in-game history (Acererak included) still operate as mere mortals. Several of

such figures have been included as NPCs, but you should not treat this adventure’s approach to those characters as canon. Rather, use them to flesh out this particular adventure in “what-if” fashion

Chamber Campaign Themes

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

for the world in the long term, or a short-term triumph that carries tremendous risk for the world in the distant (or not too distant) future. Another possibility is that the adventurers are openly

working with the Chamber to gather information on the Prophecy and fight the Lords of Dust. In this case, the Chamber could act as a group patron; see the “Immortal Being” section of chapter 1.

Letters of Recommendation

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

Letters of Recommendation A benefactor might provide adventurers with a letter of recommendation rather than payment. Such a letter is usually enclosed in a handsome folio, case, or scroll tube for

Survivors

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

lives transformed into waking nightmares. In most horror adventures, your players will employ familiar, adventure-ready characters. That doesn’t need to be the case, though. Instead, for short, low

provides guidance for using survivors, characters designed for one- to three-session adventures focused on survival rather than saving the day. Using survivors helps create horror experiences focused on

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

Halflings of the Five Nations

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

influence can be felt across the nation and even in the distant city of Stormreach. If you decide to play a halfling rogue—or any character with a criminal or charlatan background—you should decide if you

, who occasionally pulls you into their problems. Or you could even be the reluctant heir of a powerful Boromar leader; you’ve gone on the run rather than taking your place in this criminal empire, but someday your past may catch up with you.

Halflings of the Five Nations

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

Boromars are based in Sharn, but their influence reaches across the nation and even to the distant city of Stormreach. If you decide to play a halfling rogue, or a character with a criminal or charlatan

the syndicate, who occasionally pulls you in to criminal affairs. Or you could even be the reluctant heir of a Boromar leader; perhaps you’ve gone on the run rather than take your appointed place in

Capture

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

hit points, those characters are knocked out rather than dying (see “Knocking a Creature Out” in chapter 9 of the Player’s Handbook). Even if one or more of the characters are accidentally killed

gagged. The drow march them back to Velkynvelve unless Menzoberranzan is closer, in which case Ilvara takes them there instead. The characters will need to come up with a new plan of escape, ideally

D2. Shrine Entrance

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

the mountain rather than built from fitted stonework. Two dwarf guards stand watch atop this stony shelf. Instead of spears and shields, they carry warhammers that they wield with two hands (1d10 + 1

to be stealthy, the guards are here, talking quietly in Dwarvish. In the latter case, the faint sound of hammering can be heard from somewhere beyond the courtyard (see area D7).

Welcome to Phandalin

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

residents are quiet, hard-working folk who came from distant cities to eke out a life amid the harsh wilderness. They are farmers, stonecutters, blacksmiths, traders, prospectors, and children. The town

has no walls and no garrison, but most of the adults keep weapons within easy reach in case the need for arms should arise. Visitors are welcome here, particularly if they have coin to spend or

4. Elite Barracks

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

quaggoth is also present, carrying out chores such as cleaning up or delivering water. Either reacts hostilely to intruders, but they might choose to flee and warn the outpost rather than attack, depending

on the odds. Treasure The equipment of the resting drow warrior is stowed beneath his pallet: a shortsword, a hand crossbow with a case of 20 bolts, a chain shirt, and a 100-foot coil of silk rope

Ignoring the Dice

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

DM decides whether an action or a plan succeeds or fails based on how well the players make their case, how thorough or creative they are, or other factors. For example, the players might describe how

make an ability check to do so. This approach rewards creativity by encouraging players to look to the situation you’ve described for an answer, rather than looking to their character sheet or their

Darklake District

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

here, as you spy drow, svirfneblin, derro, orcs, and other races in the crowds. The shouting of people blends with the sound of distant hammering to create a constant, distracting din. Behind the

restricted to the Darklake District, and the characters have better luck asking other outsiders for directions rather than trying to engage the duergar locals. They are directed to the Blade Bazaar if

The God-Brain's Powers and Dominion

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

is wracked by extreme electrical storms, and alien vapors rise at the domain’s distant edges and within its hidden tunnels. Rather than barring creatures’ escape, these Mists repress memories. Any non

Shadow of Soth

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

. Foreshadow that threat after characters decide where they’re headed by reading the following description: To the southwest, the crack of shearing stone sounds from a distant temple whose grounds teem with

get at whoever’s in charge in there!” Rookledust encourages the characters to find the Dragon Army’s leaders within the city rather than pursing Soth. The gnome is confident that Kalaman’s forces

What Coalition?

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Light of Xaryxis

interest in battling the Xaryxian Empire, which seems only a distant threat to them. They would rather fight among themselves. You saw for yourselves how prickly the aartuks were. My peaceful entreaty

Giantkind

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

them a distant and distorted connection to Annam. Oni are often said to be distantly related to ogres, but at this point they are more fiendish than Giant. Cyclopes. Contradictory legends explain the

and the resulting corruption of their physical forms. One myth suggests cyclopes are descendants of Karontor like the fomorians, but stemming from a line that began after Karontor’s banishment rather

Eladrin

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

statue, or a glittering jewel. When they encounter people of comely form or luminous spirit, they use their magic to delight those folk or, in the case of evil eladrin, to abduct them. CHANGEABLE

stat block of the new season, rather than its old stat block. Any damage the eladrin sustained in its original form applies to the new form, as do any conditions or other ongoing effects affecting it.

The Noble Knife

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

for the greater good. The organization doesn’t “take jobs” as such. Rather, its leadership assesses the moral and political landscape of the realm and selects targets thusly. The Noble Knife is named

faction, you’d almost never see two teams in the same place at the same time — unless they had been given opposite tasks for some reason. If that’s the case, get out of there quick, because whatever happens next isn’t going to be pleasant. — Omin Dran

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

in cold weather might say, “This wind brings cold” rather than “I feel cold.” Lizardfolk tend to express concepts in terms of actions, rather than effects. Parley and Surrender The lizardfolk are

Marks of Mystery

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

related to the other dragonmarked heirs of the house. In this case, you have much in common with the NPC heirs of your house. The actions of your house influence you, although you and your DM can

heirs sometimes manifest their marks years after failing the Test of Siberys. Distant Offshoot You are a distant offshoot of a dragonmarked family line, sharing the species that most commonly manifests

D&D Beyond

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