both build dead corrupt rather

Book of Vile Darkness

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

Archlich;Vecna authored the Book of Vile Darkness. He recorded in its pages every horrid idea, every corrupt thought, and every example of foul magic he came across or devised. Other practitioners of

attuned to the book, you can cast the following spells (save DC 18) from it: Animate Dead Circle of Death Dominate Monster Finger of Death Once you use the book to cast a spell, you can’t

Cultist of Bhaal

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

. Cultists of Bhaal sometimes form cabals of assassins or mercenaries, but they perform their brutal slaughter for the perverse love of bloodshed and honor to their sinister god rather than for

adventurers Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul seized divinity but were slain for their hubris. All three have been reborn and are now known as the Dead Three. Each of the Dead Three has inspired wicked cults that

Narthus

Monsters Heroes of the Borderlands

before the end of Narthus’s next turn has Advantage.A craven lackey, Narthus serves Ivlis out of fear rather than loyalty. Narthus spends his days groveling before Ivlis and cruelly whipping new

fascinations. He grows the cult’s ranks through macabre rituals, conscripting the dead to serve the cult’s depraved goals.

Sammaster (Dracolich Form)

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

, Speak with Dead 1/Day Each: Create Undead (level 8 version), Power Word KillLegendary Action Uses: 3. Immediately after another creature’s turn, Sammaster can expend a use to take one of the

for his demise. He drew on the warped resurrection of dracoliches to become a lich himself. He continues to lead the Cult of the Dragon from the shadows, developing new ways to control and corrupt

Sammaster (Lich Form)

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

, Prestidigitation 2/Day Each: Speak with Dead, Wall of Force 1/Day Each: Create Undead (level 8 version), Disintegrate, Power Word KillProtective Magic. Sammaster casts Counterspell or Shield in

. He drew on the warped resurrection of dracoliches to become a lich himself. He continues to lead the Cult of the Dragon from the shadows, developing new ways to control and corrupt dragonkind

Manshoon

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

. That Manshoon is dead, and the current Manshoon is one of the original’s many clones. Being a magical copy rather than an original doesn’t make Manshoon any less of a threat, as he’s

someone else in disguise, which is just as Manshoon prefers. Manshoon seeks power and is checked only by the many enemies who want to see him dead. He recently failed to seize control of Waterdeep in a

Crown of Horns

Magic Items Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

The Crown of Horns contains the essence and intelligence of Myrkul, one of the Dead Three. This ghastly crown is a pale silver circlet with four curved bones set around its rim. On the crown's brow

dying essence. Myrkul has since returned to become one of the Dead Three, and the Crown of Horns continues to further his gruesome will by seeking out mortal agents and gradually transforming them into

Spore Servant Octopus

Monsters Dragons of Stormwreck Isle

was creating a spore servant from a dead giant octopus to protect the caves while the leader could not. Unlike a living octopus, this guardian has only basic control over its tentacles. Rather than coiling around intruders to immobilize them, the spore servant simply bludgeons them.

"} bludgeoning damage.Spore servants are dead creatures reanimated by the magical spores of a myconid leader. The final act of the myconid leader in Seagrow Caves before lapsing into its current comatose state

Vampiric Mist Legacy

Monsters Tales from the Yawning Portal

without squeezing. Each foot of movement in water costs it 2 extra feet, rather than 1 extra foot. The mist can’t manipulate objects in any way that requires fingers or manual dexterity. Sunlight

first encountered, a vampiric mist appears as a billowing mass of light clouds. As the creature feeds, its coloration darkens to a deep crimson. In the Temple of Blood inside the Doomvault (Dead in Thay

Elkhorn

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

dead.” Combat Notes Elkhorn’s challenge rating is based on him using Feint to improve his rather weak sword attack. Having been trained in his youth to fight ogres and trolls, he&rsquo

destruction of evil in all its forms. He’s not especially bright, so he fights with his heart rather than his wits. Age has drained much of the strength from Elkhorn’s body. Strongheart

Vampirate

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

","rollDamageType":"piercing"} piercing damage.Vampirates are the walking, talking husks of dead pirates who refused to go quietly into the afterlife. They ply the void in their ships, plundering unsuspecting

vampire’s but doesn’t use them to draw vital fluids from prey, which vampirates consider an unsavory act. Rather, a vampirate drains life energy from another creature by touching it or by

Returned Kakomantis

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

Bolt","rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage.Although the dead typically recall little of their lives, some have an obsession with magic that survives both death and rebirth as a Returned. These

’t build meaningful relationships or establish new lives. Instead, most experience fleeting emotions and follow hollow routines, their existences reduced to shadow plays without weight or substance

Bugbear Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

rather than perform the work or confront the foe. Even when subsumed into a goblinoid host and drawn into war, bugbears must often be roused from naps and bribed to get them to do their duties. This

natural state. Thanks to Grankhul, they can use their size and strength to work as stealthy assassins rather than blundering around like ogres. Bullying, murder, and engaging in battle are all holy

The Abbot

Monsters Curse of Strahd

spells, requiring only verbal components: At will: detect evil and good 1/day each: commune, raise dead Magic Resistance. The Abbot has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical

some much-needed light to Barovia. His efforts worked for a while, but then the Dark Powers began to corrupt him. Imperfections. The Abbot's fall from grace started when the Belviews—a family of sickly

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

Vampirate Captain

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

as a crawling claw or a Will-o'-Wisp;will-o'-wisp. Vampirate Vampirates are the walking, talking husks of dead pirates who refused to go quietly into the afterlife. They ply the void in their

parchment. A vampirate has fangs like a vampire’s but doesn’t use them to draw vital fluids from prey, which vampirates consider an unsavory act. Rather, a vampirate drains life energy from

Caradoc

Monsters Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

at his core, the seneschal didn’t return as a skeletal knight but rather as an intangible spirit. Caradoc’s Undead form suits him well, allowing him to possess the living and use unwilling

’s swiftly pulled back if caught beyond its walls without a host. Personality Trait. “I might be dead, but there’s no reason I can’t live it up a little.” Ideal. &ldquo

Vampirate Mage

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

Vampirates are the walking, talking husks of dead pirates who refused to go quietly into the afterlife. They ply the void in their ships, plundering unsuspecting vessels and feeding on the life

use them to draw vital fluids from prey, which vampirates consider an unsavory act. Rather, a vampirate drains life energy from another creature by touching it or by siphoning off its energy from a

Rahadin

Monsters Curse of Strahd

. Exile. Rahadin was exiled for refusing to bow down to a dusk elf prince whom he considered weak and corrupt. When the dusk elves later declined to pay fealty to King Barov, Rahadin helped Barov

elves. Rahadin slew the female elves so that the males couldn't breed. He also sliced off the ears of Patrina's brother, Kasimir, who had orchestrated the stoning. Screams of the Dead. So dreadful a

Auril (Third Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

her divine spark vanishes. She is dead until the next winter solstice, when she reappears at full health in a cold, remote location of her choosing. Frigid Aura. So long as Auril has at least 1 hit

heart of the diamond. If Auril is killed in her third and final form, she is dead until the next winter solstice. While she is dead, her mortal worshipers lose their god-granted spells and abilities

Madam Eva

Monsters Curse of Strahd

from evil and good 2nd level (3 slots): lesser restoration, protection from poison, spiritual weapon 3rd level (3 slots): create food and water, speak with dead, spirit guardians 4th level (3 slots

): divination, freedom of movement, guardian of faith 5th level (2 slots): greater restoration, raise dead 6th level (1 slot): find the path, harm, true seeing 7th level (1 slot): fire storm

Pidlwick II

Monsters Curse of Strahd

return the courtesy, the duchess commissioned the legendary toymaker Fritz von Weerg to build a clockwork effigy of Pidlwick as a gift for Strahd's family. Although the duchess's heart was in the right

, instead assuming that the guests had died in their sleep. But Strahd was not fooled. He came to realize fairly quickly that the clockwork effigy had begun to display a murderous nature. Rather than have

Criminal / Spy Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you. Variant Criminal: Spy Although your capabilities are not much different

new place is note the locations of everything valuable—or where such things could be hidden. 4 I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy. 5 I am incredibly slow to trust. Those

Yakfolk Warrior

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

evil overlords. Yakfolk care for their hapless prisoners only to the extent that a live one is more useful than a dead one, and putting a prisoner to work is easier than laboring oneself. It’s not

and dark knowledge that might serve to corrupt or dominate others. Knowledge that the yakfolk can’t gain or use is to be destroyed. Unsentimental by nature, yakfolk parents pack children off to

Yakfolk Priest

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

culture, they are enormously evil overlords. Yakfolk care for their hapless prisoners only to the extent that a live one is more useful than a dead one, and putting a prisoner to work is easier than

secrets of elemental magic and dark knowledge that might serve to corrupt or dominate others. Knowledge that the yakfolk can’t gain or use is to be destroyed. Unsentimental by nature, yakfolk

Thorny Vegepygmy

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

. Among themselves, vegepygmies communicate by hissing, gestures, and tapping. Vegepygmies build and craft little; any gear they have is acquired from other creatures or built by copying simple

the infestation. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the mold dies. If the dead creature is a Beast, a Giant, or a Humanoid, one or more vegepygmies emerge from its body 24 hours later: one from a

Vegepygmy Chief

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

tapping. Vegepygmies build and craft little; any gear they have is acquired from other creatures or built by copying simple construction they have witnessed. Russet Mold Few know for sure where

. If the dead creature is a Beast, a Giant, or a Humanoid, one or more vegepygmies emerge from its body 24 hours later: one from a Small corpse, two from a Medium corpse, four from a Large corpse, eight

Vegepygmy

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

speak in a conventional sense. Among themselves, vegepygmies communicate by hissing, gestures, and tapping. Vegepygmies build and craft little; any gear they have is acquired from other creatures or built

poison or cures disease kills the infestation. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by the mold dies. If the dead creature is a Beast, a Giant, or a Humanoid, one or more vegepygmies emerge from its body 24

Returned Palamnite

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

they cover with distinctive golden masks. Returned reenter the world blank and undead. No longer possessing the ability to form long-term memories, they generally can’t build meaningful

. They think and speak and even feel emotions based on their new experiences, but given their circumstances, those emotions tend to be muted. VARIANT: RETURNED KAKOMANTIS Although the dead typically

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

utility and importance. Nowhere does this come through as strongly as when lizardfolk deal with the dead. To a lizardfolk, a comrade who dies becomes a potential source of food. That companion might have

Young Moonstone Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver? 7 I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather spend my time asleep, in the realm of dreams. 8 I find the

1 A young moonstone dragon on the cusp of adulthood refuses to settle down and build a lair. To protect the local populace from the dragon’s chaotic activities, a minor deity sends a deva

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty

build cities to last for the ages, and great kingdoms that can persist for long centuries. An individual human might have a relatively short life span, but a human nation or culture preserves

Halfling Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering. Kind and

communities are threatened. Pastoral Pleasantries Most halflings live in small, peaceful communities with large farms and well-kept groves. They rarely build kingdoms of their own or even hold much

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

. QUICK BUILD You can make a rogue quickly by following these suggestions. First, Dexterity should be your highest ability score. Make Intelligence your next-highest if you want to excel at

Hermit - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

a frivolous lark. You’ve maintained a solitary vigil outside the cavern entrance ever since. 2 You crossed the Guild in a bad way. Fortunately, its members think you’re dead. Less

contradictions, fills your hours. 4 You tend to some part of the city’s forgotten history: the unmarked graves in Cliffside Cemetery, the crumbling remains of dead patriar families’ manors, or

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