bring before define creating reason

Ancient Red Dragon Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

horns and spinal frill define its silhouette. Its beaked snout vents smoke at all times, and its eyes dance with flame when it is angry.A Red Dragon’s Lair Red dragons lair in high mountains or

lairs, creating hazards that hinder intruders and letting searing heat and volcanic gases wash over a dragon as it sleeps. With its hoard well protected deep within the lair, a red dragon spends as

Adult Red Dragon Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

spinal frill define its silhouette. Its beaked snout vents smoke at all times, and its eyes dance with flame when it is angry.A Red Dragon’s Lair Red dragons lair in high mountains or hills

, creating hazards that hinder intruders and letting searing heat and volcanic gases wash over a dragon as it sleeps. With its hoard well protected deep within the lair, a red dragon spends as much of its

Auril (Third Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

time). Thus, she has no reason to capitulate to mortals’ demands. As the embodiment of winter’s cruelty, she is incapable of showing mercy or compassion. Play her as a supremely cold and

, define her. Lesser gods in the D&D multiverse are extremely powerful and arrogant, but also fallible and blind to their own flaws. It’s appropriate for Auril to act as though she’s

Auril (First Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

can’t truly die (although the characters can rid the world of her for a time). Thus, she has no reason to capitulate to mortals’ demands. As the embodiment of winter’s cruelty, she is

demystifying her in the eyes of your players. Let her actions, not her words, define her. Lesser gods in the D&D multiverse are extremely powerful and arrogant, but also fallible and blind to their

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

provided. The following section, discussing possible homelands, includes some suggested reasons that are appropriate for each location. d6 Reason d6 Reason 1 Emissary 4 Pilgrim

2 Exile 5 Sightseer 3 Fugitive 6 Wanderer Where Are You From? The most important decision in creating a far traveler background is determining your homeland. The places

Veiled Presence

Monsters The Book of Many Things

bring cosmic wrath upon the characters.The Rogue’s Lair This villain resides in a place of power and safety, whether that’s a hidden thieves’ guildhall or a lavish manse. The lair is

action. Regional Effects The region containing a villain’s lair is warped by their presence, creating one or more of the following effects: Corruption Abounds. While within 3 miles of the

Klauth

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

damage and be knocked prone. Klauth can then fly up to half his flying speed.The odor of sulfur and pumice surrounds a red dragon, whose swept-back horns and spinal frill define its silhouette. Its

of abandoned mines and dwarven strongholds. Caves with volcanic or geothermal activity are the most highly prized red dragon lairs, creating hazards that hinder intruders and letting searing heat and

Satyr

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

existence, most often to the Material Plane. There they seek to bring a bit of their home plane’s splendor to other worlds. Creating Your Character At 1st level, you choose whether your character is a

Charlatan Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

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

luxuries faster than I bring them in... 3 I’m convinced that no one could ever fool me the way I fool others. 4 I’m too greedy for my own good. I can’t resist taking a risk if

Dragon Turtle Wyrmling

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

shield the dragon turtle and strike at foes. Creating a Dragon Turtle Use the Dragon Turtle Personality Traits and Dragon Turtle Ideals tables to inspire your portrayal of distinctive dragon turtle

enter symbiotic relationships with other sea creatures that can bring them food or treasure, and they sometimes agree to work for creatures who ply them with generous sums of wealth. Dragon Turtle

Auril (Second Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

might prove helpful: So long as she has mortal worshipers, Auril can’t truly die (although the characters can rid the world of her for a time). Thus, she has no reason to capitulate to mortals

. The less she talks, the less risk you have of unintentionally demystifying her in the eyes of your players. Let her actions, not her words, define her. Lesser gods in the D&D multiverse are

Valenar Wood Elf

Species Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

ground and faced your ancestors, and twenty fell before his singing blades. You are no Dhakaani of old, and a mere twenty of you will bring no honor to the Taeri.” The warlord hissed in fury, and

is why your people constantly seek out conflict; you need to find challenges worthy of a hero. In creating a Valenar, think about your patron ancestor. Your class should reflect their class; if you

Halaster Blackcloak

Monsters Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

exceed those of most mortal wizards. His expertise with magic gates allows him to travel far and wide to engage in magical research. He spends much of his time creating gates, moving them around, and

casting elder runes on them. Halaster’s gates connect the different levels of Undermountain, thus enabling him to bring new monsters into the dungeon to replenish those that die or escape. Even as

Graz'zt Legacy

Monsters Out of the Abyss

(Stealth) checks made to hide. Regional Effects The region containing Graz’zt’s lair is warped by his magic, creating one or more of the following effects: Flat surfaces within 1 mile of

bring me happiness should be enjoyed immediately. There is no point to saving anything pleasurable for later.” Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical AttacksCold, Fire, Lightning

Faceless

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

part of them expressed to an extreme. To define a persona, feel free to choose characteristics from other backgrounds, particularly folk hero, hermit, or noble. For the person behind the persona, the

) 2 Security. Doing what must be done can’t bring the innocent to harm. (Lawful) 3 Confusion. Deception is a weapon. Strike from where your foes won’t expect. (Chaotic) 4

Young Dragon Turtle

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

dragon turtle’s defenses, magical storms manifest to shield the dragon turtle and strike at foes. Creating a Dragon Turtle Use the Dragon Turtle Personality Traits and Dragon Turtle Ideals tables

relationships with other sea creatures that can bring them food or treasure, and they sometimes agree to work for creatures who ply them with generous sums of wealth. Young Dragon Turtle Connections

Aasimar Legacy

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Whether descended from a celestial being or infused with heavenly power, aasimar are mortals who carry a spark of the Upper Planes within their souls. They can fan that spark to bring light, ease

dark eyes 3 Starkly colored hair 4 An unusual hue tinting your shadow 5 A ghostly halo crowning your head 6 Rainbows gleaming on your skin Creating Your Character At

Valenar High Elf

Species Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

ground and faced your ancestors, and twenty fell before his singing blades. You are no Dhakaani of old, and a mere twenty of you will bring no honor to the Taeri.” The warlord hissed in fury, and

is why your people constantly seek out conflict; you need to find challenges worthy of a hero. In creating a Valenar, think about your patron ancestor. Your class should reflect their class; if you

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

insatiable desire for carnal pleasures. 5 In fact, the world does revolve around me. 6 By my words and actions, I often bring shame to my family.

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

hatred of the civilized races of the world and their need to satisfy the demands of their deities, the orcs know that if they fight well and bring glory to their tribe, Gruumsh will call them home to

to be invincible. They see the principles that define them and their deities at work every day in the world around them — nature rewards the strong and mercilessly eliminates the weak and the

Soldier - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

other soldiers. You can also pass through the city’s gates without question — although you can’t bring guests into the Upper City as a member of the Watch might. Additionally, you&rsquo

soldiers, shaping their ideals, creating strong bonds, and often leaving them scarred and vulnerable to fear, shame, and hatred. d8 Personality Trait 1 I’m always polite and

Charlatan - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

want. 4 I’m 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

gains on decadent luxuries faster than I bring them in... 3 I’m convinced that no one could ever fool me the way I fool others. 4 I’m too greedy for my own good. I can’t

Aarakocra Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

it hard not to pluck the treasure and bring it back to their settlement to beautify it. An aarakocra who spends years among other races can learn to inhibit these impulses. Confinement terrifies the

. Great Purpose Aarakocra enjoy peace and solitude. Most of them have little interest in dealing with other peoples and less interest in spending time on the ground. For this reason, it takes an

Ancient Dragon Turtle

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

. Creating a Dragon Turtle Use the Dragon Turtle Personality Traits and Dragon Turtle Ideals tables to inspire your portrayal of distinctive dragon turtle characters, and use the Dragon Turtle Spellcasting

relationships with other sea creatures that can bring them food or treasure, and they sometimes agree to work for creatures who ply them with generous sums of wealth. Ancient Dragon Turtle Connections

Studies and Philosophy

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

intellectual fortitude to delve into those secrets. Quandrix mages who embrace this view use magic to bring numerical concepts to life, creating or altering physical reality out of mathematical

or to define what could be? The perspective of substance emphasizes physical reality. In this view, math is embodied in the natural forces of the multiverse, waiting to be discovered by those with the

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

creatures wouldn’t feel safe. Kobolds take advantage of their size by creating small-diameter tunnels that they can easily pass through, but that require larger creatures to hunch over or even

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

Chapter 2: Creating a Multiverse

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

Chapter 2: Creating a Multiverse When adventurers reach higher levels, their path extends to other dimensions of reality: the planes of existence that form the multiverse. The characters might be

Limbo to contact a wizened githzerai sage. Planes of existence define the extremes of strange and often dangerous environments. The most bizarre locations present settings undreamed of in the natural

Druids of Khorvaire

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

help each understand the other. All druids look after the natural world, but they act in different ways. Five well-established paths define most of Khorvaire’s druids. In creating a druid character

, consider whether you have ties to one of these traditions, and what led you to leave your order. Are you on a mission? Are you exploring the world? Have you been banished, with good reason or otherwise?

Monsters and Motivations

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

Monsters and Motivations See chapter 3, “Creating Adventures” for guidance on creating encounters with monsters. To foster variety and suspense, be sure to include encounters of varying difficulty

adventurers. Characters might be able to appease a hungry beast by offering it food, and smarter creatures have complex motivations. The Monster Motivation table lets you use a monster’s goals to define its

Creating a Monster

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

Creating a Monster The Monster Manual contains hundreds of ready-to-play monsters, but it doesn’t include every monster that you can imagine. Part of the D&D experience is the simple joy of creating

new monsters and customizing existing ones, if for no other reason than to surprise and delight your players with something they’ve never faced before. The first step in the process is coming up with

Crime Syndicate Contacts

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

. This person might be a criminal mastermind who plans all your exploits, or they could leave the planning to your group. In any case, the Syndicate Contact table can help you define the personality of

cynic who only cares about how much money you bring in to the syndicate 8 A former law enforcement officer who is full of cheerful tips for avoiding the law

Chapter 1: This Is Your Life

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Chapter 1: This Is Your Life The character creation rules in the Player’s Handbook provide all the information you need to define your character in preparation for a life of adventuring. What they

backstory for your character — an autobiography of sorts — that you can use to inform how you roleplay the character. Your DM can draw from this material as the campaign proceeds, creating situations and scenarios that build off your previous life experiences.

Sinister Reflections

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

Sinister Reflections A Darklord’s memories, desires, mistakes, and evil deeds shape the domain’s twisted lands, inhabitants, and features. You need not create these in a vacuum, though. When creating

your own Darklord, consider the relationship that will define their evil in your adventures: their conflict with your players’ characters. Just as a Darklord is the inspiration for a domain, players

Chapter 1: Group Patrons

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

Chapter 1: Group Patrons When creating characters for an Eberron campaign, consider choosing a patron for your adventuring party. This section describes general categories of patrons and also

adventuring group that has a powerful backer as a patron has a clear place in the world, access to additional resources, and a reason to work together in pursuit of a common cause.

Using Enclaves

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

adventure hooks that might attract characters to the enclave or give them a reason to draw on its magic. The adventure hooks also suggest specific creatures or encounter tables appearing in the “Encounters

” section in chapter 3. And several of these hooks point to other enclaves, creating paths to string locations together into larger adventures. When developing these enclaves into adventure sites, let

D&D Beyond

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