both both driven common reason

Darkling Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

speak of a seelie fey who betrayed the Summer Queen. His true name has been stricken from history, but the stories call him Dubh Catha ("Dark Crow" in Common). So great was the Summer Queen's wrath

that she cursed every member of his house. Other fey refer to the descendants of Dubh Catha's house as the dubh sith-or, in Common, "darklings." Darklings most often settle in secluded caverns and

Darkling Elder Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

call him Dubh Catha ("Dark Crow" in Common). So great was the Summer Queen's wrath that she cursed every member of his house. Other fey refer to the descendants of Dubh Catha's house as the dubh sith-or

, in Common, "darklings." Darklings most often settle in secluded caverns and chambers beneath the towns of other species. From such enclaves, they quietly ply their trade as thieves and assassins

Barovian Witch

Monsters Curse of Strahd

attack. Brothers and Sisters of Strahd. Barovian witches have no scruples. They will deal with anyone in return for power. They will also betray anyone for the same reason. The only thing they fear is

spell component, a ritual object, or a potion ingredient. Barovian witches use the find familiar spell to call forth familiars. They are particularly fond of cats, though snakes and toads are also common. These animals lurk amid the clutter of the witches' lairs, seldom wandering far from their vile masters.

Ulder Ravengard

Monsters Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

struggled in performing his duties, finding his hands tied at every turn by both overt and invisible bureaucracy. Despite this, he's been a voice of reason and common sense on the Council of Four — if

Khargra

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

metal with ease, organic matter and gems are repugnant to them. If a khargra eats such morsels for whatever reason, they remain lodged in its gullet for a few days of indigestion before the offending

material is coughed up. Reluctant Predators. Khargras find living flesh disgusting, and they attack creatures only when driven by hunger and a lack of safer options. After securing a meal of whatever

Hermit Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

case stuffed full of notes from your studies or prayers, a winter blanket, a set of common clothes, an herbalism kit, and 5 gp Life of Seclusion What was the reason for your isolation, and what

changed to allow you to end your solitude? You can work with your DM to determine the exact nature of your seclusion, or you can choose or roll on the table below to determine the reason behind your

Humanoid Mutate

Monsters Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

as smooth as a salamander’s. Some intelligent Humanoid mutates retain their personalities from before they were exposed to the Far Realm. Some, driven by the allure of otherworldly powers, seek

have tried to create armies of mutates to sweep through the Underdark. However, their efforts always proved fruitless, and eventually the mind flayers gave up their schemes. Several common types of

Symbol Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

common triggers are opening the object, approaching within a certain distance of it, or seeing or reading the glyph. You can further refine the trigger so the spell is activated only under certain

Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target is driven insane for 1 minute. An insane creature can't take actions, can't understand what other creatures say, can't read, and speaks only in

Investigator

Backgrounds Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

the mysteries you’re embroiled in are local crimes or realm-spanning conspiracies, you’re driven by a personal need to hunt down even the most elusive clues and reveal what others would

, evidence from a past case (choose one or roll for a trinket from the Horror Trinkets table after this background), a set of Clothes, Common;common clothes, and 10 gp Path to Mystery Your first case

Charlatan Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

, you promise to deliver. Common sense should steer people away from things that sound too good to be true, but common sense seems to be in short supply when you’re around. The bottle of pink

a born gambler who can’t resist taking a risk for a potential payoff. 5 I lie about almost everything, even when there’s no good reason to. 6 Sarcasm and insults are my

Urchin Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

Hand, StealthTool Proficiencies: Disguise kit, thieves’ toolsEquipment: A small knife, a map of the city you grew up in, a pet mouse, a token to remember your parents by, a set of common clothes

shaped by lives of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

Almost all of the common people and other folk that one might encounter along the Sword Coast or in the North have one thing in common: they live out their lives without ever traveling more than a

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

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

quirk for a lizardfolk character or to inspire a unique mannerism. Lizardfolk Quirks d8 Quirk 1 You hate waste and see no reason not to scavenge fallen enemies. Fingers are tasty and

Dimir Operative

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

;Disguise kit Languages: One of your choice Equipment: A Dimir insignia, three small knives, a set of dark-colored common clothes, and the starting equipment of the background described in this

guildless masses of the city. Consider why you’re embedded in the secondary guild. Create a story with your DM, inspired by rolling on the following table or choosing a reason that suits you

Hobgoblin

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Hobgoblins trace their origins to the ancient courts of the Feywild, where they first appeared with their goblin and bugbear kin. Many of them were driven from the Feywild by the conquering god

above 20. Languages Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

heart of the world and monuments to the durability of life. In their role as caretakers, firbolgs live off the land while striving to remain in balance with nature. Their methods reflect common

Reason for Adventuring 1 Outcast for murder 2 Outcast for severely damaging home territory 3 Clan slain by invading humanoids 4 Clan slain by a dragon or demon 5

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

undetected and don’t give their targets reason to harm them. For example, a group of city kobolds might sneak into a cobbler’s house at night to loot it of knives, leather bits, nails, and

; 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

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

type of gaming set, thieves’ tools Equipment: A crowbar, a set of dark common clothes including a hood, and a pouch containing 15 gp Criminal Origins Criminals are pervasive in Baldur

Guild took over your family business, ran it into the ground, and burned the building for insurance money. You were driven into crime yourself, but you’ll never work for the Guild. You take

Waterdhavian Noble

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

Faerûn for being eccentric, spoiled, venal, and, above all else, rich. Whether you are a shining example of the reason for this reputation or one who proves the rule by being an exception, people

wonderful and important person in the world. 2 The common folk love me for my kindness and generosity. 3 No one could doubt by looking at my regal bearing that I am a cut above the unwashed

Half-Elf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

, wandering the wilds as trappers, foresters, hunters, or adventurers and visiting civilization only rarely. Like elves, they are driven by the wanderlust that comes of their longevity. Others, in

. EXCELLENT AMBASSADORS Many half-elves learn at an early age to get along with everyone, defusing hostility and finding common ground. As a race, they have elven grace without elven aloofness and

Charlatan - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

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

sound too good to be true, but common sense seems to be in short supply when you’re around. The bottle of pink-colored liquid will surely cure that unseemly rash, this ointment — nothing

Noble - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

bestowed? How much influence do they wield, and over what area? What kind of reputation does your family have among the other aristocrats of the region? How do the common people regard them? What&rsquo

visit prosperous Bloomridge to try a fashionable restaurant or boutique, or watch a spectacle at the Oasis Theater, the patriars have little reason to venture into the dirtier, more dangerous parts of the

Beliard

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

horses or oxen can be driven through the water to bathe them, drive off flies, and let them drink. It’s also home to a tanner, a smith, some horse dealers and trainers who keep extensive stables, and an

inn: the venerable, popular, and several-times-expanded Watchful Knight. The inn was originally named for an inoperative helmed horror that stood in the common room, but the creature mysteriously

Urchin - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

in, a pet mouse, a token to remember your parents by, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp FEATURE: CITY SECRETS You know the secret patterns and flow to cities and

of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better life &mdash

Dwarf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

picks and hammers in deep mines and blazing forges, a commitment to clan and tradition, and a burning hatred of goblins and orcs—these common threads unite all dwarves. Short and Stout Bold

common shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth. Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, gray, or brown, though paler dwarves often have red hair. Male

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

Anthropologist

Backgrounds Tomb of Annihilation

survive—or why they did not. Some anthropologists are driven by intellectual curiosity, while others want the fame and recognition that comes with being the first to discover a new people, a

culture—even one in need of aid. (Lawful) 3 Knowledge. By understanding other races and cultures, we learn to understand ourselves. (Any) 4 Power. Common people crave strong

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

past that could rewrite history. It might be information that would be damaging to the people who consigned you to exile, and hence the reason for your return to society. Work with your DM to

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

only the strongest survive. One of the hallmarks of the Dark Sun setting is that the heroes don’t need to seek out forgotten dungeons to find adventure — mere survival is adventure enough. But there is no reason you can’t successfully adapt Princes of the Apocalypse to your Dark Sun campaign.

Temple of Black Earth

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

stopped in their tracks by the daunting defenses of the gate quarter. More than one reckless attack by orcs, trolls, or giants was driven back from the gate. In time, those savage foes found other ways

Urnrayle, the Prophet of Earth, chose the long-wrecked fortifications of Tyar-Besil as the headquarters of his cult for this very reason.

Scrivening and Symbology Exam: Symbol Glyphs

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

on their knowledge of scrivening and symbology as expressed in the symbol spell. The multiple choice portion of the Exam focuses on identifying common surfaces used for inscribing symbol glyphs. The essay portion then requires students to reason out how best to avoid the effects of a symbol spell.

Genasi Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

, 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

bloodlines of those genasi have spread into other lands. Though far from common, air and fire genasi are more likely to be found in the western regions of Faerûn, along the coast from Calimshan north

Triton Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the depths revealed that krakens, sahuagin, and far worse foes had fled the Plane of Water for the Material Plane. The tritons, driven by a sense of duty and responsibility, would not allow their foes

readily sacrifice themselves for the common good. They will fight and die for humans, merfolk, and other creatures without question. Their self-absorbed nature makes them overlook the history of other

Evil Inchoate

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

particular affinity for their own kind, which is the biggest reason why they seldom cooperate with one another unless they are forced to submit to a demon lord or other leader. Going even farther, every

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

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

. The kenku lack the talent to improvise or alter a plan, but a wise Master sets multiple plans in motion at once, confident that underlings can follow orders to the letter. For this reason, many

. Kenku thieves, con artists, and burglars adopt animal noises, typically those common in urban settings. In this manner, kenku can call out to each other while those who overhear them mistake them for

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