both build dying corrupt rather

Sammaster (Dracolich Form)

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

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

efficiently as he can. Sammaster personally checks in on the cult’s most important plots, often surprising his minions with his presence. Rather than keep a soul jar as liches do, Sammaster keeps

Sammaster (Lich Form)

Monsters Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

. 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

can. Sammaster personally checks in on the cult’s most important plots, often surprising his minions with his presence. Rather than keep a soul jar as liches do, Sammaster keeps a magical soul

Crown of Horns

Magic Items Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn

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

powerful Undead scions. Should a wearer prove unworthy of this honor, the crown teleports away to find a new mortal to corrupt for its master. Cursed. The crown is cursed. Attuning to the crown extends

Mercion

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

(spell save DC 13): At will: light, spare the dying 2/day each: command, create food and water, cure wounds, faerie fire, hold person, revivify 1/day: death wardMercion strikes the balance of a

natural leader and a protective caregiver. She has a direct manner that reassures and inspires those around her. Mercion does not worship a deity, but rather an ideal: that truth gives life to artistry

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

City Watch / Investigator

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

easily pick out the dens of criminal activity in a community, although you’re more likely to be welcome in the former locations rather than the latter. Variant: Investigator Rarer

Investigation rather than Athletics. Suggested Characteristics Use the tables for the soldier background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to

Soldier - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

the behaviors common to corrupt guards and military officers a mile away. While awareness of such corruption doesn’t equate to evidence of it, and your sense certainly isn’t foolproof, your

. 5 Those who fight beside me are those worth dying for. 6 I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. d6 Flaw 1 The monstrous enemy we faced in battle still

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

Soldier Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

forget the crushing defeat my company suffered or the enemies who dealt it. 5 Those who fight beside me are those worth dying for. 6 I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves

mistake in battle that cost many lives—and I would do anything to keep that mistake secret. 4 My hatred of my enemies is blind and unreasoning. 5 I obey the law, even if the law causes misery. 6 I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong.

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

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

Selesnya Initiate

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

1 I never raise my voice or lose my temper. 2 I feel the pains and joys of everyone around me, friend or foe. 3 I would rather make a friend than thwart an enemy. 4 I’m

plants of all kinds, and am loath to harm them. 3 A healer nursed me to recovery from a mortal illness. 4 I’ll sing the invitation of Mat’Selesnya with my dying breath. 5

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

Hobgoblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the dreams that inspire them. Its horrors don’t feature in their nightmares. Cowardice is more terrible to hobgoblins than dying, for they carry their living acts into the afterlife. A hero in

to keep the knowledge fresh for new generations. When hobgoblins aren’t waging war, they farm, they build, and they practice both martial and arcane arts. These trappings of civil society do

Faction Agent

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

knowledge, rather than brute force. Harper agents are often proficient in Investigation, enabling them to be adept at snooping and spying. They often seek aid from other Harpers, sympathetic bards and

relic of my faith that was lost long ago. 2 I will someday get revenge on the corrupt temple hierarchy who branded me a heretic. 3 I owe my life to the priest who took me in when my

Mercenary Veteran

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

worth dying for. 6 I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. d6 Flaw 1 The monstrous enemy we faced in battle still leaves me quivering with fear. 2 I have

enemies is blind and unreasoning. 5 I obey the law, even if the law causes misery. 6 I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong.

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

to and from your contact, even over great distances; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you. BALDUR’S GATE

could be hidden. 4 I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy. 5 I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide. 6 I don’t pay

Bard Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

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

, making a bargain for a musical gift in addition to your life and freedom, but at what cost? QUICK BUILD You can make a bard quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

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

their patrons in dreams or waking visions, or deal only with intermediaries. QUICK BUILD You can make a warlock quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your highest ability

Druid Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

of nature itself or from a nature deity. Many druids pursue a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devotion to a divine entity, while others serve gods of wild nature

? Perhaps your homeland was befouled by evil, and you took up an adventuring life in hopes of finding a new home or purpose. QUICK BUILD You can make a druid quickly by following these suggestions

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

it was sabotage that destroyed my first laboratory and killed many of my friends, and I seek revenge against whoever did it. 4 I have the schematics for an invention that I hope to build one day

Coins

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

wealth for the benefit of a charity or a just cause. On the side of evil, it embodies the worst aspects of greed. It speaks to the power of gold, and how that power can build or destroy nations. Coins

, innocence, friendship, or reputation Eight of coins Tax Collector Corruption; honesty in an otherwise corrupt government or organization Nine of coins Miser Hoarded wealth; those who are irreversibly unhappy or who think money is meaningless

Bluetspur

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

Bluetspur, and none who witness them remember. This alien domain etches itself not upon the waking mind, but rather upon the body as inexplicable scars and on the psyche through nightmares. Not all the

, oily spires twist in semi-organic contortions, caustic fumaroles yawn and snap shut hungrily, and above it all hangs a dying red orb. Little can survive this wasteland, which is why Bluetspur’s masters

Zariel's Fall

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

weapon and hide it, so that the devils would not destroy or corrupt it. Yael took the sword and fled, along with Zariel’s faithful hollyphant companion, Lulu. Zariel’s other two generals, Olanthius

grace. Haruman followed his master into damnation willingly and was transformed into a narzugon devil, while Olanthius, who took his own life rather than bow before Asmodeus, was brought back to serve as a death knight under Zariel’s burning gaze.

Erebos's Villains

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros

populace. Some become death-crazed killers or dispassionate murderers, unable to see the difference between dying now and dying later. Others abuse their blessings to cheat death for themselves or their

daughter is restored as a potent Returned who now terrorizes the polis. 4 A wealthy noble drives tenants out of a poor part of a polis so he can build a temple to Erebos. 5 The queen of a remote

Roleplaying Devils

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

with mortals, devils are constantly figuring out how to exploit and corrupt them, often behind thin smiles of feigned concern and false charm. A devil that successfully corrupts a mortal gets the

a superior form of devil. That’s how, over ages, a lemure might become a pit fiend. But devils do more than corrupt. They also fight in the Blood War. Asmodeus attests that serving in his infernal

Types of Hags

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

, and most are stout or have a medium build rather than being thin or emaciated. Night hags enjoy corrupting the dreams of good people, compromising the ideals of their victims to get them to

form and seeks to attack, deface, or corrupt it so it has the opposite effect on its viewers. One is more likely to defile the inspiring statue in a town square, making it into a symbol of fear and

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

Eldath

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

such places, particularly those that serve as druid groves. Eldath is a goddess of comfort, healing, and calm. Her blessed waters heal the sick, cure madness, and comfort the dying. Most rural places

of Eldath avoid conflicts rather than attempting to quell them. Those who serve Eldath are happy to preside over peaceful negotiations and to certify treaties, but they can’t force others to engage in harmony.

Origin of the Ordning

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

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

different kinds might not recognize each other as kindred at all. All these giants build a range of social structures in the same manifold ways other peoples do, without regard to an overarching ordning.

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

Mercion

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Mercion Mercion strikes the balance of a natural leader and a protective caregiver. She has a direct manner that reassures and inspires those around her. Mercion does not worship a deity, but rather

save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Spellcasting. Mercion casts one of the following spells, using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 13): At will: light, spare the dying

Secrets of Immortality

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel

creature can benefit from only a limited number of potions of longevity before continued consumption is likely to age the drinker rather than reduce their age. When a pinch of Dragon’s Blessing is added to a

rule. End of an Emperor The emperor of Great Xing is dying—he just doesn’t know it yet. In a few months, when he next uses a potion of longevity to extend his life, he’ll learn that the imperial supply

D&D Beyond

Search Results