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Dhergoloth

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

brutes, employers must use caution when instructing them. They can handle simple orders that don’t take a lot of time to resolve. When given anything complex to do, however, they either forget what

Elf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

enjoy simple yet lovely jewelry. A Timeless Perspective Elves can live well over 700 years, giving them a broad perspective on events that might trouble the shorter-lived races more deeply. They are

insults with vengeance. Like the branches of a young tree, elves are flexible in the face of danger. They trust in diplomacy and compromise to resolve differences before they escalate to violence. They

Giff

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

Giff are tall, broad-shouldered folk with hippo-like features. Some have smooth skin, while others have short bristles on their faces and the tops of their heads. As beings of impressive size and

blossom into hard feelings, loud arguments, and head-butting contests, but they rarely escalate beyond that. Creating Your Character When you create your D&D character, you decide whether your

Rogue Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

variety of skills as they do to perfecting their combat abilities, giving them a broad expertise that few other characters can match. Many rogues focus on stealth and deception, while others refine the

world where dire rats—and wererats—haunt the sewers. As adventurers, rogues fall on both sides of the law. Some are hardened criminals who decide to seek their fortune in treasure hoards

Powered Armor

Magic Items Lost Laboratory of Kwalish

heavily muscled warrior, and its great helm is unusual in that it has no openings — only a broad glass plate in the front with a second piece of glass above it. Strange plates, tubing, and large

Power. Powered armor originally required energy cells to fuel it, but was adapted by Kwalish to be fueled by the life energy of the creature wearing it. You might decide that the armor can also draw

Attack Rolls

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

Attack Rolls In combat, an attack roll is used to determine whether an attack hits. You can also use attack rolls to resolve noncombat activities that are similar to attacks in combat, such as an

archery contest or a game of darts. Assign an Armor Class to the target, decide whether the character is proficient with the weapon used, then have the player make an attack roll. (See also “Degrees of Success” in this chapter.)

Running This Chapter

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

archaeologists. The archaeologists are in dire straits, and it’s up to the characters to decide whether to help. Eventually, the characters realize that the sixth piece of the Rod of Seven Parts is located

in the complex the archaeologists were exploring: the Tomb of Wayward Souls. The archaeologists haven’t explored far into the deadly complex, so the characters must face its challenges without much

Top Card: The Challenge

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things

road, or a situation the characters are asked to resolve. You decide the scope of the decision the characters must make. You can ask them to make a simple choice (“Do you want to take the path along

ability checks (though another character can help, at your discretion). Whatever choice or challenge you decide the top card represents, the characters’ success or failure while dealing with that situation determines how you read the bottom card.

Interacting with Objects

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

Interacting with Objects A character's interaction with objects in an environment is often simple to resolve in the game. The player tells the DM that his or her character is doing something, such as

moving a lever, and the DM describes what, if anything, happens. For example, a character might decide to pull a lever, which might, in turn, raise a portcullis, cause a room to flood with water, or

Types of Espionage

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

Types of Espionage Espionage activities can be classified in three broad categories: counterintelligence, covert action, and intelligence gathering. Your party might focus on one of those areas, or

perhaps you’re the team that handles situations that other teams bungle. As a group, work with your DM and consult the Espionage Missions table to decide what kinds of missions you might undertake

A Timeless Perspective

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

A Timeless Perspective Elves can live well over 700 years, giving them a broad perspective on events that might trouble the shorter-lived races more deeply. They are more often amused than excited

branches of a young tree, elves are flexible in the face of danger. They trust in diplomacy and compromise to resolve differences before they escalate to violence. They have been known to retreat

A Timeless Perspective

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

A Timeless Perspective Elves can live well over 700 years, giving them a broad perspective on events that might trouble the shorter-lived races more deeply. They are more often amused than excited

branches of a young tree, elves are flexible in the face of danger. They trust in diplomacy and compromise to resolve differences before they escalate to violence. They have been known to retreat

Leaving the Past Behind

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

has conveyed their broad thoughts about their character’s situation, inform them that their character has come to possess a cryptic message and directions to an unfamiliar but nearby meeting place

. Work with the players to decide the message’s contents, how each character mysteriously receive the message, and why they’ve decided to follow the directions. The message should be vague but enticing to the character, such as “They need your help,” “Prove yourself,” or “Reclaim what you’ve lost.”

Interacting with Objects

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)

Interacting with Objects A character's interaction with objects in an environment is often simple to resolve in the game. The player tells the DM that his or her character is doing something, such as

moving a lever, and the DM describes what, if anything, happens. For example, a character might decide to pull a lever, which might, in turn, raise a portcullis, cause a room to flood with water, or

Encounters

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

characters don’t need to take turns, but you need to give each player a chance to tell you what their character is doing so you can decide how to resolve everyone’s actions. In combat, everyone takes

the DM, you decide how much to tell the players and when. All the information the players need to make choices comes from you. Within the rules of the game and the limits of the characters’ knowledge

Encounters

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->D&D Beyond Basic Rules

bookshelf. Outside combat, the characters don’t need to take turns, but you need to give each player a chance to tell you what their character is doing so you can decide how to resolve everyone’s

sections offer more detailed information on how an encounter typically unfolds, in three steps. Step 1: Describe the Situation As the DM, you decide how much to tell the players and when. All the

Assignments

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

interesting stories can emerge if you decide to refuse an assignment. Even a patron that isn’t heavy-handed can significantly motivate your group. Maybe you’ll seek adventures based on what pleases your

patron and so earn a reward. A university, for example, might not send you on a particular mission, but you might decide to follow leads to an ancient artifact hoping the university might reward you

Neighbors, Rivals, and Allies

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

. Baldur’s Gate joined the Lords’ Alliance, a coalition of independent cities that includes Neverwinter and Waterdeep, largely because of disputes with Amn. Should Amn decide to attack Baldur’s Gate

, the city can count on the other members of the Lords’ Alliance to come to its defense. This arrangement infuriates Amn, which is not prepared to test the alliance’s resolve. To the east, the nations of

Neighbors, Rivals, and Allies

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer

. Baldur’s Gate joined the Lords’ Alliance, a coalition of independent cities that includes Neverwinter and Waterdeep, largely because of disputes with Amn. Should Amn decide to attack Baldur’s Gate

, the city can count on the other members of the Lords’ Alliance to come to its defense. This arrangement infuriates Amn, which is not prepared to test the alliance’s resolve. To the east, the nations of

Immersive Storytelling

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

Immersive Storytelling Waterdeep is threatened by political turmoil. The adventurers must convince the Masked Lords, the city’s secret rulers, to resolve their differences, but can do so only after

both the characters and the lords have come to terms with their differing outlooks and agendas. This style of gaming is deep, complex, and challenging. The focus isn’t on combat but on negotiations

Using This Source

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

’ travel from the great city of Waterdeep. A handful of small towns and outposts are scattered through the region, linked to more populous lands by ancient roads and the broad river. The heart of this

, the characters discover that the four cults occupy a sprawling dungeon complex beneath the Sumber Hills. The temples serve as the base for the cultists’ insidious attacks against the Dessarin Valley

The Code Legal

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

other citizens. Those bystanders generally return the favor by giving altercations between criminals and the Watch a wide berth. Waterdeep has a complex library of law and custom set by precedent, the

gates and in the harbor. Be aware that the Code Legal provides only an outline of typical sentences for various offenses, and magisters have broad discretion when meting out justice as they see fit. Any Masked Lord can overturn a magister’s ruling, but there’s rarely a Masked Lord around when you need one.

Assigning Assets

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat

decide that assassins provided by the Zhentarim should counter the sacrificial prisoners by infiltrating the cult complex and escorting those prisoners to freedom. In that case, you might remind the

Assigning Assets When you’ve noted which assets are fighting against the cult, it’s time to decide how those forces of good attack. The characters are key figures in the allied force marching on the

Actions in Exploration

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

in action.) In such situations, have the characters take turns, though it’s usually not necessary to roll Initiative as you would in a combat encounter. Resolve one character’s actions before moving

something during exploration, you decide whether that action requires an ability check to determine success (as described in the earlier “Resolving Outcomes” section). Certain situations might call

Attitude

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

kind gesture at a future date, or challenging the characters to a friendly drinking contest. Ability Checks in Social Interaction You decide the extent to which ability checks shape the outcome of a

social interaction. A simple social interaction might involve a brief conversation and a single Charisma check, while a more complex encounter might involve multiple ability checks helping to steer the

Lords of Dust Campaign Themes

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

take a while for adventurers to realize that an apparently unconnected series of encounters early in a campaign are actually all part of the complex schemes of the Lords of Dust. These fiends are so

devious that it is often impossible to discern a pattern to their actions until their plans have come to fruition and the connections have finally been made clear. (You could retroactively decide that what you intended as unconnected encounters were all part of the plan from the beginning!)

Dhergoloth

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

than dumb brutes, employers must use caution when instructing these fiends. They can handle simple orders that don’t take a lot of time to resolve. When given anything complex to do, they either

Dhergoloth

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monsters of the Multiverse

dhergoloths are little more than brutes, employers must use caution when instructing them. They can handle simple orders that don’t take a lot of time to resolve. When given anything complex to do, however

Adventure Hooks

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things

the original palace on the site of Cair Ophidian decide the new complex is an outrageous insult. With a retinue of extraplanar servants, they drive Euryale out. This conflict could be resolved

Nyxborn Creatures

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

direct servants of one of the gods, but occasionally they escape from the realm of Nyx and pursue their own goals—which might be as simple as violent rampage, or as complex as a far-reaching plan to

break the power of the gods. You can use the Nyxborn Monster Origin table to help you decide what brought a Nyxborn creature into existence. Nyxborn Monster Origin d6 Origin 1 A god created

Adventure Duration

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

two complex ones Three or four scenes involving significant exploration or social interaction Within these constraints, it can be difficult to create open-ended adventures. A time limit assumes a

working with the temple’s enemies, add a layer of tension. Consider leaving some details or plot points for the DM to decide. For example, the DM might have the option to pick which member of the temple guards is the traitor, ensuring that the scenario is different for each group.

Large Groups

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

Information. If you tell the players what the Armor Class of their opponents is, you reduce the steps of interaction needed to resolve an attack. Instead of telling you a number and asking if it hits

know each character’s AC, you don’t need to ask whether a monster’s attack hits. Help Players Keep Up. If a player isn’t sure what to do on their turn in combat, help the player decide by offering a

Designing Dungeon Rooms

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

necessary. Burrowing creatures might dig their own exits. Common dungeon rooms fall into the broad categories described below. Crypts Although it sometimes resembles a vault, a crypt can also be a series

sentries play a dice game, or it might be a pair of iron golems backed up by spellcasters hiding in balconies overhead. When you design a guard post, decide how many guards are on duty, note their

The Watch Arrives

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

, Barnibus wants to find out the gnome’s identity and whether he was known to anyone. The characters, having never met Dalakhar, have little information to offer unless they decide to lie. Neither

suspects by virtue of their proximity to the crime scene, it hardly seems plausible that they would unleash destructive magic so close to their place of business in broad daylight. Consequently

Street Chase: Summer

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

into the tunnel can hear the sounds of splashing water and children’s voices in the distance and might decide to follow them. (The children are holding hands in the dark and being guided by Squiddly

, who has darkvision.) Next Encounter If the characters follow the street urchins into the sewer, proceed with encounter 9, “Cellar Complex.”

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