build bad diffusing concerned relatively

Halfling Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

that, avoiding offense. Standing about 3 feet tall, they appear relatively harmless and so have managed to survive for centuries in the shadow of empires and on the edges of wars and political strife

colors. Halfling practicality extends beyond their clothing. They’re concerned with basic needs and simple pleasures and have little use for ostentation. Even the wealthiest of halflings keep their

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

Ideal. “I wish I could make people happy.” Bond. “I would like to find someone—anyone—who isn't afraid of me and who enjoys my company.” Flaw. “When I'm upset, I do bad things.”Poison

Fighter Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

combatants on battlefields and in dungeons alike. Trained for Danger Not every member of the city watch, the village militia, or the queen’s army is a fighter. Most of these troops are relatively

Fighter As you build your fighter, think about two related elements of your character’s background: Where did you get your combat training, and what set you apart from the mundane warriors

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

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

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

Satyr Legacy

Species Mythic Odysseys of Theros

all, and the proper response to such a gift, as far as most satyrs are concerned, is to accept it with relish. Born of the Wild In their physical forms, satyrs embody a fusion of humanoid

amazing things ever. I want to pick them, wear them, and discover their silent secrets. 2 There isn’t a tree or statue that isn’t fun to climb. 3 Nothing wards off bad luck like a

Dragonmarked Characters

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

Dragonmarked Characters Here are examples of characters with the Mark of Warding. Artificer House Agent. Some people want to build a better mousetrap. Better isn’t enough for you — you want to build

. Criminal Rogue. It’s not that you’re a bad person. You’ve just never met a lock you didn’t want to open. It’s like they speak to you, whispering “Free me! Free me!” You’re not even in it for the gold

Ephara's Influence

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

build a city. Ephara and Nylea are almost polar opposites, and there is no shortage of bad blood between the god of the cities and the god of the hunt. Nylea resents the construction of every

culture fall under Ephara’s influence. Scholarship is closely connected to Ephara, as is art—particularly poetry, sculpture, and architecture. Ephara is also highly concerned with civic wisdom and

Variety in All Things

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

settled. When they settle, though, they stay: they 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

Variety in All Things

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

settled. When they settle, though, they stay: they 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

Small and Practical

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

Small and Practical The diminutive halflings survive in a world full of larger creatures by avoiding notice or, barring that, avoiding offense. Standing about 3 feet tall, they appear relatively

among them and mustaches even more so. They like to wear simple, comfortable, and practical clothes, favoring bright colors. Halfling practicality extends beyond their clothing. They’re concerned with

Vladeska's Powers and Dominion

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

, the Talons are terrifying. Their numbers are relatively few, but they’re organized enough to oppress Lekar’s ragged survivors and enforce Drakov’s totalitarian laws. In the face of zombie hordes

executions serve the greater good and impose necessary order, but make it clear that zombies aren’t the realm’s only monsters. Only Bad Decisions. There is one simple truth in Falkovnia: the dead are

Druid Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

elements. Thus, druids oppose cults of Elemental Evil and others who promote one element to the exclusion of others. Druids are also concerned with the delicate ecological balance that sustains plant

? 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

Gnomes

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

forest gnomes, and rubies turned into the deep gnomes. Since the time of their creation, gnomes have settled in hidden places away from other races, concerned that their way of life couldn’t survive

wider exposure. Gnomes gladly socialize and work with humans, elves, and dwarves, but they always keep in mind that, as a small and relatively insignificant race, their interests can become secondary

Small and Practical

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

relatively harmless and so have managed to survive for centuries in the shadow of empires and on the edges of wars and political strife. They are inclined to be stout, weighing between 40 and 45 pounds

concerned with basic needs and simple pleasures and have little use for ostentation. Even the wealthiest of halflings keep their treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have

Factions in Athas

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

important common values and work toward the same end: the destruction of slavery. They fulfill something like the role of the Order of the Gauntlet in Athas. The Free are not directly concerned with

to all who employ defiling magic. No great druid organizations span the entire Tyr Region, but a number of smaller, localized druid circles are concerned with the disturbances and disasters triggered

Chamber Campaign Themes

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

might also get involved. Unfortunately for the adventurers, the dragons are not necessarily any more concerned for their well-being than the Lords of Dust are, and the characters might have to consort

different ways that the demons and the dragons could be interpreting those words. Ultimately, the adventurers might be in the position of having to choose between an outcome that is bad for them but good

Horror in Your Game

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

how to bring it to life through your adventures. Creating Atmosphere. Threatening traps and monsters alone don’t create exciting D&D adventures. This book provides techniques to help you build

attention for both of us. We’ve found no trace of Vhorishkova since arriving, but I feel her watching. It’s like she’s everywhere. It’s bad here, Uncle. Not snake-headed hogs bad. Like, full Delmunster

It's Just Business

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

. What better way to think of the big bad monster at the center of a web of even bigger and badder plans than as the CEO of a megacorporation, using every resource to dominate the market? What is an

these hired helpers to prominence for their importance to the campaign story. And, of course, for comic effect. When the characters are relatively low level, an Acquisitions Incorporated style of play can

Mogis's Villains

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

Mogis’s Villains Unquestionably, Mogis makes an excellent villain. His lust for bloodshed and willingness to fight all comers makes him easy to build a campaign around if you want a straightforward

associated with vicious monsters bent on wholesale destruction. He isn’t at all concerned with subtlety, but rather with creating mayhem. Adventures that bring characters into conflict with agents of

Story Overview

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

, a rival goblin gang that often deals in illicit arms. Rumors swirled that Krenko killed Dargig, the youngest of the three brothers, after a weapons drop went bad. The remaining two brothers, Rikkig

Krenko’s freedom, and are desperate to make him pay. GUILDLESS VILLAINS Not every villain in a Ravnica campaign is a member of a guild, and not every scheme originates in the guildhalls. As you build

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

sewer tunnels, paying them with food and tools the kobolds wouldn’t have access to on their own. If they are treated well and left alone to do the job, the kobolds work industriously and build a

, they might build a warren and make a permanent home there, while continuing to expand the town’s sewers as the community grows. These so-called “city kobolds” live underground but

Fensirs

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

resemble relatively small frost or stone giants. They use armor and weapons similar to what other combatants on Ysgard use in the eternal battle. The transformation that created fensirs left them with an

seems like a transparently bad idea. What were those giants thinking? —Bigby And yet, can we fairly say that the existence of fensirs is “transparently bad”? Some might argue they are a

Morgrave University

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

founding: Lord Morgrave himself is said to have made his fortune selling Dhakaani artifacts on the black market, and some have claimed that the true purpose of the university was to help him build his

fortune through such questionable means. Allies. The academic world is relatively small, and people at any one university tend to have connections at others. You might parlay such relationships into

A Treasury of Dragons

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

(supernatural gifts explicitly connected to a dragon’s power). Chapter 3 presents tips, advice, and tables to help Dungeon Masters build encounters, adventures, and whole campaigns around dragons

dragons, but only secondarily a book about Dragons—that is, creatures with the Dragon type. Most of this book is concerned with the chromatic and metallic dragons described in the Monster Manual, as

Battle Balloon

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

Battle Balloon Through the winter clouds that surround the castle on this desolate hill, you see a shape emerge. Something so gigantic, you can’t believe it can actually fly. Airships are relatively

the Dragon has been seen with flying ships of its own. Still, among the small number of factions and organizations known to possess or build airships, Acquisitions Incorporated might be the best known

Reality Dawns

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

. Alustriel correctly supposes that Kas plans to find Vecna and co-opt the lich-god’s ritual to become the most powerful being in existence. This outcome is as bad as Vecna ruling the multiverse, as far as

Alustriel and Tasha are concerned, since Kas is just as evil as Vecna. Because Kas took such pains to manipulate the characters into finding the Rod of Seven Parts, Alustriel realizes the awful truth and

Franchise Downtime

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

, skimming from the coffers of either temple, running illegal gambling at the Sleeping Giant — any of these activities could net a nice profit with relatively limited risk. Staying on the Good Side If

-work miners. Doing so makes acquiring ongoing concessions or information from townsfolk much easier, but puts the characters in the bad graces of Sharna Quirstiron at the Miner’s Exchange. Leads to the

People of Akros

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

the vast majority of Akros’s population, the serfs largely reside outside the protection of the Kolophon, laboring to grow the staple crops that support Akros’s citizens and its trade. A relatively

small number of serfs are skilled artisans who manage to build a more prosperous life for themselves with their crafts. But even these wealthier serfs can’t own the land they live on, and they enjoy few

Meeting Volo

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

embellisher of facts. For all his faults, though, Volo is a soft-hearted sort who cares for nothing as much as his friends. At present, he is grievously concerned for the well-being of one of them. He

Baldur’s Gate! But now I fear I have misplaced a friend amid this odious malevolence. “My friend’s name is Floon Blagmaar. He’s got more beauty than brains, and I worry he took a bad way home a couple

Hidden Rune

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

pause between two great moments in their history. The mission of this scholarly order is to collect the accumulated learning of the past and preserve it so a future giant civilization can build upon

believe they have any active role to play in building the future of giantkind. They are concerned only with preserving the past so that giants of the future—however that grand future might come into being

Creating a Rival

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

Creating a Rival In essence, a rival is a somewhat specialized NPC. You can use chapter 4 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide to build a new NPC for this purpose, or pick one from your current cast of

created for themselves. Example Rivals d20 Rival 1 Tax collector who is convinced the characters are dodging fees 2 Politician who is concerned that the characters are causing more trouble than they

Glory of the Giants

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

, and the relatively small stature of present-day humans is a mark of their degeneracy. Others imagine remote realms—cloud castles or lost continents—where Brobdingnagian people dwell, set apart from

ideas about giants’ organizations and societies. Chapter 3 presents tools to help Dungeon Masters build encounters, adventures, and whole campaigns around giants. The chapter includes tables you can

Dragon Factions

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

adventuring party might include members of any or all of the five Metallic Orders, each concerned with advancing the cause of their own order while cooperating in pursuit of common goals. The Scaled

unique in this system. Alternatively, you could build draconic factions around ideals and goals that aren’t specifically draconic, perhaps applying a dragon overlay to the ten guilds of Ravnica or

Sorcerer

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

attention to themselves if things go bad. Focusing with Flair All sorcerers rely on an arcane focus through which they channel their magic, but traditional focuses lack a singular style. Staffs, orbs, wands

Personal Magic When you cast a spell, you go all in, channeling that magic through body and soul. Often, leftover magic from a casting manifests as a residual effect that can build up over

Elements of a Great Adventure

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

with Clever Twists It might seem stereotypical to build an adventure around dragons, orcs, and wizards in towers, but these are staples of fantasy storytelling. It might also seem trite to begin an

describing the present situation, what the bad guys are up to, and how the adventurers become involved in the story. Heroes Who Matter An adventure should allow the adventurers’ actions and decisions to

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