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Changeling Legacy

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

be. And so it remains. Though the children are shunned by all, the gift of the Traveler protects them still. —Chance, changeling priest Changelings can shift their forms with a thought. Many

specific purpose and then might never be used again. However, many changelings develop identities that have more depth. They build an identity over time, crafting a persona with a history and beliefs. This

Hobgoblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

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

Maglubiyet, the greater god allows them to retain a measure of their influence over the hobgoblins because their philosophies are in line with his own. Hobgoblins don’t build temples to their gods, lest

Shifter Legacy

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

within they physically transform for a short time. A shifter’s beast within is reflected by the shifter’s subrace. Four subraces are especially common: Beasthide often signifies the

different in personality. With any shifter, identifying the beast within is a crucial part of understanding the character. Similar and Diverse Shifters are similar to humans in height and build but are

Tortle Legacy

Species The Tortle Package

dozen) in a fortified compound enclosed by stone walls that are easily defensible. If no such compound exists, they build one. The parents spend the remainder of their lives guarding the compound

feeling homesick. Tortles embrace a simple view of the world. It is a place of wonder, and tortles see beauty in the ordinary. They live for the chance to hear a soft wind blowing through palm trees, to

The Middle Path

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

The Middle Path Many DMs find that using a combination of the two approaches works best. By balancing the use of dice against deciding on success, you can encourage your players to strike a balance

tools to help keep the action moving. At any time, you can decide that a player’s action is automatically successful. You can also grant the player advantage on any ability check, reducing the chance of a

Plasmoid

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

Plasmoids are amorphous beings with no typical shape. In the presence of other folk, they often adopt a similar shape, but there’s little chance of mistaking a plasmoid for anything else. They

different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build&rdquo

Chapter 1: This Is Your Life

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

experience before deciding to become an adventurer? What were the circumstances of your birth? How large is your family, and what sorts of relationships do you have with your relatives? Which people

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.

House Dimir

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

House Dimir ZEZHOU CHEN A vampire appeared out of the darkness, as quiet as a breeze. He was stripped to the waist despite the chill underground, and his eyes reflected light like a cat’s. He

couriers, information brokers, and librarians. But Szadek also used his guild’s expertise at gathering information to build a vast spy network, and before long, the secret operations of the guild

Involving the Characters

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

Involving the Characters Once you’ve identified what your campaign is about, let the players help tell the story by deciding how their characters are involved. This is their opportunity to tie their

characters’ history and background to the campaign, and a chance for you to determine how the various elements of each character’s background tie into the campaign’s story. For example, what secret

Using Ability Scores

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

deciding whether to use a roll, ask yourself two questions: Is a task so easy and so free of conflict and stress that there should be no chance of failure? Is a task so inappropriate or impossible — such

Orcs (p. 71)

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sage Advice & Errata

Orcs (p. 71) The first paragraph of this random encounter has been replaced with “The characters come across 2d6 + 2 orcs. There is a 75 percent chance that the orcs are friendly and looking for a

suitable place to build a homestead. Otherwise, the orcs are hostile and have prisoners in tow. A sample group of prisoners is presented here, but you can create others.”

Marks of Mystery

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

, and they’ve grown increasingly common in recent years. In Eberron: Rising from the Last War, only a character of a particular species could have each dragonmark. Those rules reflected the common

determine to what extent you become drawn into house politics. Taking the background associated with your house (such as House Jorasco Heir) is the best way to build your character as a dragonmarked heir

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

, where they join Gruumsh’s army and fight on his behalf in the endless war against the goblinoid followers of Maglubiyet. Gruumsh sees this conflict as a chance to pit his people against an eager

everywhere in the world around them, and the priests of a tribe are entrusted with the responsibility of identifying these signs and omens — both good and bad — and deciding how the tribe should

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

Proficiency

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

character’s focus on one aspect of an ability. Among all the things a character’s Dexterity score describes, the character might be particularly skilled at sneaking around, reflected in proficiency in the

wooden flute, an Intelligence check to craft a wooden secret door, or a Strength check to build a working trebuchet. However, the proficiency bonus wouldn’t apply to an ability check made to identify

Orcs

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder

Orcs The characters come across 2d6 + 2 orcs. There is a 75 percent chance that the orcs are friendly and looking for a suitable place to build a homestead. Otherwise, the orcs are hostile and have

Quentin Togglepocket

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Keys from the Golden Vault

subordinates put Quentin in touch with wizards who could help him build and decorate the casino. Roleplaying Quentin Quentin sees himself as Verity’s victim and portrays himself as a martyr for losing to her

. He sees the theft and his new casino as his rightful chance to even the scales and reclaim his dignity. Quentin is a classic villain, happy to monologue if given the chance—how will the characters know

1Q. Great Hall

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons

inner ward. Even asleep, the guard drakes are at normal alertness. Treasure The southwest corner of the room is a makeshift carpentry shop, where cultists build new chests and boxes to hold the

plunder. If characters have a chance to paw through the piles and keep what they find, they get 450 gp, 520 sp, 80 pp, 22 semiprecious stones (5 × 35 gp, 6 × 45 gp, 6 × 55 gp, 4 × 65 gp, 1 × 80 gp), and a potion of greater healing. Alternatively, you can create your own expert-level hoard.

1Q. Great Hall

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

inner ward. Even asleep, the guard drakes are at normal alertness. Treasure The southwest corner of the room is a makeshift carpentry shop, where cultists build new chests and boxes to hold the

plunder. If characters have a chance to paw through the piles and keep what they find, they get 450 gp, 520 sp, 80 pp, 22 semiprecious stones (5 × 35 gp, 6× 45 gp, 6 × 55 gp, 4 × 65 gp, 1 × 80 gp), and a potion of greater healing. Alternatively, you can create your own expert-level hoard.

Encounter Pace and Tension

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

that structure in an adventure where the players control their characters’ actions, but you can use the encounters you plan to build tension toward a climax. Each encounter in an adventure is an

limited resources. Variety also contributes to a sense of escalating tension. Build variety into your encounters in three ways: Vary Encounter Type. Use a mix of social interaction, exploration, and

2. Vast Cavern

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

four articulated metal legs. Zox Clammersham is using the scaladar under his control to build the Simulacrux and to defend it, should it come under attack. The Simulacrux is designed to replicate

scaladar through a variation of the simulacrum spell that uses rust as a component instead of snow. The arch is still months away from completion, and there’s a good chance it won’t function as intended. A

Merfolk

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

their people are as varied in color, culture, and outlook as the human races of the surface. Land folk and merfolk rarely meet except by chance, though starry-eyed mariners tell tales of romance with

face a common threat or to complete a conquest. Such unifications can be the beginning of undersea kingdoms with dynasties lasting hundreds of years. Merfolk Settlements. Merfolk build their settlements

Droaam

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

Droaam are learning to work together and finding ways to use their supernatural gifts to help build and sustain society. A medusa might use its petrifying gaze to preserve the life of an injured ally

chance to explore a land untethered by the laws of the treaty nations, a realm where they are the outsiders and the monsters are at home. Adventurers might have to pursue a fugitive or a war criminal

Using Your Journal

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

reminded of the cameo. It inspires you to plan a chance encounter with another halfling, whom the characters might recognize as the one depicted in the cameo. What happens if the characters return the

whatever your players throw at you, and you can even borrow pieces of various ideas to incorporate into future adventures. Not every adventure needs to build on earlier plots; a good stand-alone

Combat Encounter Difficulty

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

slim chance that one or more characters might die. High Difficulty. A high-difficulty encounter could be lethal for one or more characters. To survive it, the characters will need smart tactics, quick

budget of 50 × 4, for a total of 200 XP. With that, you could build any of the following encounters: 1 Bugbear Warrior (200 XP) 2 Giant Wasps (100 XP each), for 200 XP total 6 Twig Blights (25 XP each

Combat Encounters

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

adventurers. Weaker characters might get taken out of the fight, and there’s a slim chance that one or more characters might die. High Difficulty. A high-difficulty encounter could be lethal for one

below: Example 1. A low-difficulty encounter for four level 1 characters has an XP budget of 50 × 4, for a total of 200 XP. With that, you could build any of the following encounters: 1 Bugbear Warrior

L1. Stele Forest

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries

a slim, athletic build and stares at you with piercing green eyes. Around him are four younger individuals who are similarly balanced on other stone slabs. With the grace of a bird, he floats down

from his perch, silently landing on the ground as he draws a nine-sectioned chain whip from around his waist. “You’ve got courage. I’ll give you that. But before you get a chance to fight Bak Mei

The Attack

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm Lord’s Wrath

characters. When the adventurers begin to feel a sense of hopelessness or peril beyond their capability, then have the other sides focus on each other for a while, giving the characters a chance to

. Three-sided battles can sometimes take longer because of the number of combatants participating. Use your discretion as the DM to have the excitement of the battle build up rather than fizzle out

Franchise Downtime

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

chance that the characters are successful in stopping the Six’s plans, they’ll have bills to pay. All the activities mentioned in this section are introduced or talked about in the “Franchise Tasks and

insight to build a detector that can sense portals or planar disturbances. A portalometer, if you will. The research or scrutineering activities can help the characters uncover the necessary information or

Camp Alertness

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

the hue and cry, which quickly draws a crowd. A roll of 10 or lower means someone has recognized the character from the fight in Greenest. The characters have a chance to get away if they immediately

effect is the same as if they’d been recognized. If characters lie to Mondath — claiming they are new recruits and this is all a mistake, for example, or that they are studying the cult before deciding

Initiative Variants

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

and take them out before they have a chance to act. Speed Factor Some DMs find the regular progression of initiative too predictable and prone to abuse. Players can use their knowledge of the initiative

example, a fighter wants to turn a winch to raise a portcullis. This is a complex, difficult action. You could rule that it incurs a -5 initiative penalty. Rolling Initiative. After deciding on an action

Khoravar

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

shared; these meals are a great chance to hear about local events and opportunities. Many Khoravar espouse the idea of “the bridge between,” the notion that the Khoravar are called to facilitate

distant connection to the fey and seek to build bridges between the Material Plane and the Feywild of Thelanis. These Khoravar often become Greensinger druids or warlocks with Archfey patrons

8. Klarg's Cave

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver

himself in the third person (“Who dares defy Klarg?” or “Klarg will build a throne from your bones, puny ones!”). The goblins under his command resent his bullying. Fire Pit. The hot coals in the

characters when they enter the cave. If Klarg and company are not warned about possible attackers, the characters have a good chance to surprise them. The easiest way for the characters to achieve this is to

Building Combat Encounters

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

Chapter 13: Building Combat Encounters When creating a combat encounter, let your imagination run wild and build something your players will enjoy. Once you have the details figured out, use

taken out of the fight, and there’s a slim chance that one or more characters might die. Deadly. A deadly encounter could be lethal for one or more player characters. Survival often requires good

Creating a Combat Encounter

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

Creating a Combat Encounter When creating a combat encounter, let your imagination run wild and build something your players will enjoy. Once you have the details figured out, use this section to

there’s a slim chance that one or more characters might die. Deadly. A deadly encounter could be lethal for one or more player characters. Survival often requires good tactics and quick thinking, and

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