broader barriers diffusing concept rather

Water Weird Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

those its summoner declares as off limits. When slain, a water weird becomes an inanimate pool of water. Good and Evil Weirds. Like most elementals, a water weird has no concept of good or evil

interlopers rather than kill them, while a neutral evil water weird kills its victims for pleasure and might turn against its summoner. A water weird loses its evil alignment if its waters are cleansed

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the group’s needs, but the effect each action will have on the forest and the rest of the natural world. Firbolg tribes would rather go hungry than strain the land during a famine. Hidden

Shepherds As caretakers of the land, firbolgs prefer to remain out of sight and out of mind. They don’t try to dominate nature, but rather seek to ensure that it prospers and survives according to its

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to pull his or her weight in the tribe. Typically, such a goliath dies attempting to keep up, or the goliath slips

away in the night to seek the cold will of fate. In some ways, the goliath drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in

Zombies

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

, merciless, and resilient, and their dead flesh can carry on even after suffering grievous wounds. While they can follow simple orders, they rely on primal drives rather than thought. They fulfill

commands by working tirelessly or battering through foes, but they are easily stymied by barriers or unexpected circumstances. Zombies are usually created from Humanoid corpses, but the remains of other

Character Names

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

names, that’s fine. If the group would rather take the characters and their names a little more seriously, urge Bob’s player to come up with a more appropriate name. Player character names should match

each other in flavor or concept, and they should also match the flavor of your campaign world — so should the nonplayer characters’ names and place names you create. Travok and Kairon don’t want to undertake a quest for Lord Cupcake, visit Gumdrop Island, or take down a crazy wizard named Ray.

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

hundreds of miles of the Great Glacier and the Great Ice Sea. No one from your nation makes the effort to cross such colossal barriers without a convincing reason. You must fear something truly

foreign land. 2 I pretend not to understand the local language in order to avoid interactions I would rather not have. 3 I have a weakness for the new intoxicants and other pleasures of this

Survival of the Fittest

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

pity for adults who can’t take care of themselves, though a sick or injured individual is treated, as a result of the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to

themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in battle, at the peak of strength and skill, than endure the slow decay of old age. Few folk

Origin of the Ordning

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

the ordning in some mythic future. Giants on some worlds (including Eberron) have no concept of the ordning at all. Such giants might think of themselves as a single species, with the differences

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

Life in Dayawlongon

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

pious descendants or curses upon those who put their own needs over those of the family and broader community. Bonesingers Artisan-warriors, bonesingers dedicate their lives to maintaining the skybridges

and curses the names of their enemy’s family. Debt of the Soul One of the cornerstones of Dayawlongo culture is the concept of utang ng loob, a debt of the soul. If someone saves another from mortal

Character Advancement

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

taking part in a play session. A character reaches 1 checkpoint for each hour an adventure is designed to last. Note that the award is based on the adventure’s projected playing time, rather than the

designed to take 2 hours, the character reaches 3 checkpoints. Playing time might seem like an odd way to measure experience awards, but the concept is in keeping with how a shared campaign is meant to

Creating a Gold Dragon

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

the motivation to overcome my barriers, then their matter is unworthy of my attention. 8 On a long enough timescale, all actions are meaningless. So why should I deny myself anything? Gold

right every wrong. I encourage others to solve their own problems, and I save my strength for tribulations only I can address. (Any) 3 Stewardship. I do not serve individuals, but rather

Mind Flayer Magic

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

after death would its consciousness be cast into oblivion. Two divine entities have long been associated with mind flayers by the scholars of other races. These aren’t deities, but rather

attitude — actions that have often been misinterpreted by observers as worship. Maanzecorian. The entity/concept called Maanzecorian embodies a complete comprehension of knowledge. It is a state

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

other useful items, but if they are at risk of discovery, they run away rather than attack anyone in the house. By fleeing before they can be seen or identified, they avoid getting into a situation

divination (to find raw materials and foresee threats to the tribe). The main reason why kobolds depend on arcane magic rather than divine is Kurtulmak’s imprisonment, which makes it difficult for

Secret

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

holy symbol that represents that divinity. Some clerics, especially in a world like Eberron, serve a whole pantheon, rather than a single deity. In certain campaigns, a cleric might instead serve a

cosmic force, such as life or death, or a philosophy or concept, such as love, peace, or one of the nine alignments. Chapter 1 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide explores options like these, in the section

Darklords

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

adventures rather than saving them for distant climactic plots. Darklords Don’t Realize They’re Darklords. With a few exceptions, Darklords don’t realize they occupy a special place in the world. Their

concept of how long they’ve lived, how many times they’ve died, or why they returned to life. Should a Darklord fall, the temporary defeat lasts until they’re restored by the Dark Powers. In their

Water Weird

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)

. Good and Evil Weirds. Like most elementals, a water weird has no concept of good or evil. However, a water weird bound to a sacred or befouled source of water begins to take on the nature of that site

, becoming neutral good or neutral evil. A neutral good water weird tries to frighten away interlopers rather than kill them, while a neutral evil water weird kills its victims for pleasure and might

Yuan-ti Cities

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

yuan-ti content themselves with maintaining these ancient places rather than building new ones for their needs. Although these sites are hundreds or even thousands of years old, they don’t look or feel

reflects human ideas about art and beauty. Over time this perspective was skewed toward the concept that the snake is the perfect form, so serpents are a common theme in their aesthetic. The major

The Draconic Prophecy

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

The Draconic Prophecy The language of the Draconic Prophecy is richly symbolic and largely conditional. Rather than laying out a predetermined series of events, it explores causation and consequences

the Prophecy, however—primarily the dragons of the Chamber and the fiendish Lords of Dust—view each fragment as a tiny piece of a much larger whole. From this broader perspective, one fragment or verse

Introduction

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

you receive a cancer diagnosis or a similar health news, you probably appreciate that concept a little more than other people. Watching someone you love waste away is a terrible thing. You want a

magic button to bring things back to the way they should be, this person you love so much restored to who they really are rather than what cancer is grinding them down into. It’s easy to give in to

Appendix A: Shared Campaigns

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

hard to keep a campaign going. Enter the concept of the shared campaign. In a shared campaign, more than one member of the group can take on the role of DM. A shared campaign is episodic rather than

Mirabar

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

collections of unusual and rare gems, to use seals made of gems carved into signet rings, and to be investors in ventures (rather than property) up and down the Sword Coast. They are sophisticated and

worldly, and they decry the isolationist and xenophobic attitudes of some dwarves. Mierren dwarves demonstrate their own broader attitudes by being the diplomatic traders and power brokers in trademoots

Using Survivors

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

bored nobles, constables or babysitters. Adventures employing survivors are meant to be asides within broader campaigns or otherwise short experiences. Cut Scenes, Dreams, and Memories Use survivors to

Domains of Dread. They don’t always claim their victims bodily, though. Rather, the Mists might steal characters’ minds, placing them into survivors involved in specific terrifying scenarios. Perhaps

Modifying a Class

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

, paladins might not swear their oaths to ideals, but instead swear fealty to powerful sorcerers. To capture this story concept, you could build a new paladin spell list with spells meant to protect

opportunity to develop the character’s story and that of your world, rather than shutting down possibilities. Substituting Class Features If one or more features of a given class don’t exactly fit the theme

Staff

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated

concept behind the hirelings and selecting one proficiency for each. The DM can then customize the hirelings as desired, perhaps by adding additional proficiencies or adjusting their combat statistics

(sailors for a seagoing franchise, engineers for a giant hollow statue, and so on). Crew do not leave a franchise and cannot perform franchise tasks. They typically run rather than fight back when attacked

Life in the Domains of Dread

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

basis for comparison, domain inhabitants call those who speak of other worlds liars. For them, the following topics are standard aspects of life in their home domain or in a broader collection of

domains, locals measure time by “moons” rather than months. As a measurement of time, each moon begins on the first night of a full moon and lasts a full lunar cycle. A year consists of twelve moons, or

Rejecting the Ordning

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

one their kind traditionally values. These are often giants whose ranking within their kind is low. For example, a contemplative cloud giant might pursue knowledge rather than wealth, or a weak frost

otherwise enjoy in the ordning. When giants join the cults of demon lords, they reject the entire concept of the ordning—the idea that there is any kind of order to the multiverse at all, which is the

Components

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

the spell’s power; rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion. Thus, a character who is gagged or in an area of silence, such

, although some rules refer to the schools. Abjuration spells are protective in nature, though some of them have aggressive uses. They create magical barriers, negate harmful effects, harm

Getting Players Invested

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

threats. But every so often, at least once every three to five levels, give the characters a break—a low-stakes session or adventure that has nothing to do with the overarching plot or broader perils

with a comedic flavor—such as flumphs, pixies, faerie dragons, or chatty mimics—in a situation that leads to mischief and humor rather than combat. Missing Pet Episode. Someone’s pet is missing. The

Goblinoid War Camp

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

. If an enemy force does approach, though, these barriers do a good job of delaying any incursion until the goblinoids can rally their defenses. Inside the surrounding bulwark, the goblinoids all have

maintain their own battle gear, but ammunition and replacement gear are kept on hand, as well as other nonperishable supplies. Rather than being contained in a building, these items are on wagons

Military Force

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

force. 2 Mercenary Company. Hard-bitten veterans of numerous conflicts, mercenaries serve an employer for coin rather than out of loyalty. 3 Expeditionary Force. This military force is far from home

bridge or seaport. 3 Special Forces. You are assigned to a covert operation behind enemy lines. This is similar to the work of a spy or an assassin but with a broader scope. You engage in equipment

Beholder Lairs

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

barriers to gain access to the tunnel. As with the tunnels between chambers, escape tunnels are usually a steep climb or nearly vertical to make it difficult for non-flying creatures to follow. A tunnel

the beholder’s favorite pieces of sculpture. Vestibule Beyond the lair entrance lies the vestibule. Rather than being sculpted with tools or eye rays, the entrance and the vestibule are left in their

Alignment

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

plane of lawful evil. A devil does not choose to be lawful evil or tend toward lawful evil, but rather it is lawful evil in its essence. If it somehow ceases to be lawful evil, it changes into something

one person, concept, or event that you are terrified of? What are your vices? TIKA AND ARTEMIS: PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS Tika and Artemis have distinct personality traits. Tika Waylan dislikes

Uthgardt Lands

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

call themselves “children of Uthgar.” Though the Uthgardt each belong to a given tribe, these are markers of identity, rather than coherent populations. In my experience, it is rare outside of

size that near the ancient ancestral mound of the Red Tiger tribe. The settlement was founded some time ago by members of the Black Lion tribe, who put down roots here rather than continuing to live

Annam and the Ordning

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

her father of her clever deeds rather than her feats of strength: she solved a sphinx’s riddles, plumbed the secrets of the ocean, and stole a string of pearls from a god of the kuo-toa. Through these

pray to Stonebones, the Great Creator, in a much broader range of circumstances, eager for divine insight as they carry out their daily lives. His priests undertake frequent pilgrimages into the

The Greyhawk Setting

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

great white moon, also called the Mistress) and Celene (a smaller blue moon, also called the Handmaiden). Greyspace’s sun orbits Oerth, rather than the other way around. The sun takes 360 days to

have also transcended their origin on this world to impact the broader multiverse. Two of these, Tharizdun and Vecna, are described in appendix A. The greater gods of Greyhawk rarely get directly

D&D Beyond

Search Results