build before diffusing culture rather

Gray Dwarf (Duergar) Legacy

Species Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

bald heads, with the males growing long, unkempt, gray beards. Duergar value toil above all else. Showing emotions other than grim determination or wrath is frowned on in their culture, but they can

obliterated by Moradin’s betrayal. The duergar lead bleak, grim lives devoid of happiness or satisfaction, but they see that as their defining strength — the root of duergar pride, as it were — rather than a drawback to be corrected.

Anthropologist

Backgrounds Tomb of Annihilation

and the ways of their people, who eventually treated you as one of their own. One culture had more of an influence on you than any other, shaping your beliefs and customs. Choose a race whose culture

you’ve adopted, or roll on the Adopted Culture table. Adopted Culture d8 Culture d8 Culture 1 Aarakocra 5 Halfling 2 Dwarf 6 Human 3

Alustriel Silverhand

Monsters Vecna: Eve of Ruin

are to spread kindness, reward virtue, and promote a culture of compassion throughout the multiverse. She is good at building alliances and quick to intervene when she senses a threat to the forces of

in her true form. She helped create Silverymoon’s famous Moonbridge and cofounded the Lady’s College, the first school in Faerûn for mages as students rather than as apprentices in

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

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

, instead assuming that the guests had died in their sleep. But Strahd was not fooled. He came to realize fairly quickly that the clockwork effigy had begun to display a murderous nature. Rather than have

Young Moonstone Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver? 7 I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather spend my time asleep, in the realm of dreams. 8 I find the

1 A young moonstone dragon on the cusp of adulthood refuses to settle down and build a lair. To protect the local populace from the dragon’s chaotic activities, a minor deity sends a deva

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

of those who emigrate from Evermeet are either exiles, forced out for committing some infraction of elven law, or emissaries who come to Faerûn for a purpose that benefits elven culture or

about Mulhorand is alien to someone from the Sword Coast. You likely experienced the same sort of culture shock when you left your desert home and traveled to the unfamiliar climes of northern Faerû

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

cluster of allied city-states. Conquered neighbors were allowed to keep their leaders and culture so long as they paid tribute, swore allegiance to the victors, and incorporated their conquerors

of evil that calls for them to butcher or eradicate all who oppose them. In keeping with their goal of domination, the yuan-ti would rather capture potentially useful opponents than kill them. They use

Halfling Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering. Kind and

communities are threatened. Pastoral Pleasantries Most halflings live in small, peaceful communities with large farms and well-kept groves. They rarely build kingdoms of their own or even hold much

Rogue Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

would rather make one precise strike, placing it exactly where the attack will hurt the target most, than wear an opponent down with a barrage of attacks. Rogues have an almost supernatural knack for

. QUICK BUILD You can make a rogue quickly by following these suggestions. First, Dexterity should be your highest ability score. Make Intelligence your next-highest if you want to excel at

Uthgardt Tribe Member

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

and ruin. But for the last few generations, some bands among the tribes were tempted to settle, make peace, trade, and even to build towns. Perhaps this is why Uthgar chose to raise up the totems

culture (perhaps even Uthgar himself). Your ideal is a personal choice that probably hews closely to the ethos of your people and certainly doesn’t contradict or compromise what being an

Bard Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

necessary, using their magic to bolster their swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a wide-ranging knowledge of many

, making a bargain for a musical gift in addition to your life and freedom, but at what cost? QUICK BUILD You can make a bard quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your

Warlock Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

gained. Rather, the vast majority of warlocks spend their days in active pursuit of their goals, which typically means some kind of adventuring. Furthermore, the demands of their patrons drive

their patrons in dreams or waking visions, or deal only with intermediaries. QUICK BUILD You can make a warlock quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your highest ability

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

, but a human nation or culture preserves traditions with origins far beyond the reach of any single human’s memory. They live fully in the present — making them well suited to the adventuring life — but

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

, but a human nation or culture preserves traditions with origins far beyond the reach of any single human’s memory. They live fully in the present — making them well suited to the adventuring life — but

Suggested Characteristics

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation

to observing proper etiquette and local customs. 3 I would rather observe than meddle. 4 By living among violent people, I have become desensitized to violence. 5 I would risk life and limb to

discover a new culture or unravel the secrets of a dead one. 6 When I arrive at a new settlement for the first time, I must learn all its customs. d6 Ideal 1 Discovery. I want to be the first person to

Verdan

Species Acquisitions Incorporated

. Reality is a descent into chaos punctuated by brief flashes of order, whence we arose and so imagine it to be the norm rather than a distant outlier. That-Which-Endures held entropy back for a mere instant

steeped in a culture, the verdan remain on the lookout for oppression and curtailment of freedoms. They understand the need for laws that protect, but they rail against laws that restrict and oppress

Fire Snake

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

emerges as a fire snake. A fire snake matures into a salamander adult within a year. Enslaved by the Efreet. Long ago, the efreet hired azer to build the fabled City of Brass, but then failed in

salamanders dedicated to the cults of Elemental Evil, they slay them rather than enslaving them. Domineering Nobles. Although salamanders follow the destructive impulses of their fiery nature

Druid Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

of nature itself or from a nature deity. Many druids pursue a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devotion to a divine entity, while others serve gods of wild nature

? 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

Izzet Engineer

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

protocols will lead us toward progress more surely than any belief system. (Lawful) 5 Fun. I love my job! Despite the dangerous working conditions, there’s nothing I’d rather do

it was sabotage that destroyed my first laboratory and killed many of my friends, and I seek revenge against whoever did it. 4 I have the schematics for an invention that I hope to build one day

Kinds of Treasure

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

the Player’s Handbook) rather than coins 2–3 Coins from an ancient culture local to this region, ancestral to the people who live here now 4–5 Coins from an ancient culture in a distant

region 6–7 Coins from a nearby contemporary culture 8–9 Coins from a local contemporary culture 10 Coins from another world You might decide that all the coins in a dragon’s hoard

Appendix B: Character Names

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

have a dwarven name. Or, as DM, you might decide that dragonborn in your campaign have a culture reminiscent of ancient Rome and therefore use Roman names, rather than the dragonborn names suggested here.

Life in San Citlán

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

Life in San Citlán Molded through generations of cosmopolitan mingling, San Citlán’s culture is ever-evolving but not without honored traditions. Food and Recreation Food is a particular point of

Lucha, where luchadores don colorful masks, adopt epic personas, and battle using acrobatic maneuvers. Faith and Festivals Worship is ingrained in city culture, and major religions have temples ranging

Roleplaying a Yuan-ti

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

Personality Trait 1 I see omens in every event and action. The serpent gods continue to advise us. 2 I have very high standards for food, drink, and physical pleasures. 3 I prefer to be alone rather

far from our cities. 7 I am interested in modern human culture, even as primitive as it is. 8 I await the day when we again conquer lands by force, as we did in the old times. Yuan-ti Ideals d6 Ideal

Human Names and Ethnicities

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

Dwarvish or Elvish (pronounced more or less correctly), but most parents give names that are linked to their region’s culture or to the naming traditions of their ancestors. The material culture and

. Calishite Shorter and slighter in build than most other humans, Calishites have dusky brown skin, hair, and eyes. They’re found primarily in southwest Faerûn. Calishite Names: (Male) Aseir, Bardeid

Human Names and Ethnicities

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

Dwarvish or Elvish (pronounced more or less correctly), but most parents give names that are linked to their region’s culture or to the naming traditions of their ancestors. The material culture and

. Calishite Shorter and slighter in build than most other humans, Calishites have dusky brown skin, hair, and eyes. They’re found primarily in southwest Faerûn. Calishite Names: (Male) Aseir, Bardeid

Life in Tletepec

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

you haven’t met.” Tletepecs build villages near the land’s many volcanoes, but travel between villages can be challenging, as the dirt paths that connect them often shift or are blocked. Therefore

, Tletepecs make great efforts to sustain the common culture and values that unite them, embodying that culture in their food and festivals. Spicy dishes are a specialty; the hotter the feeling on the

Ephara's Influence

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

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

those who build new cities and those who free others from tyranny. Ephara knows that not all threats to a city come from outside it, and she encourages her followers to watch out for tyranny and

Life in Umizu

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

from dark brown to black. Social Mores Umizu is a matrilineal culture with a preference for succession by women. Most families live in multigenerational homes, and the wealthiest favor polyamorous

gender. Titles such as “daimyo” are gender-neutral, as are most names. Clothing varies by class status rather than gender—instead, people express their gender through perfumes. Bright citrus scents

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

Origin of the Ordning

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

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

different kinds might not recognize each other as kindred at all. All these giants build a range of social structures in the same manifold ways other peoples do, without regard to an overarching ordning.

Languages

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

Languages In Eberron, languages reflect culture and geography; a dwarf raised in Breland might not know Dwarvish, but a halfling raised in the Mror Holds might. The historical development of

languages and cultures also explains the scripts used to write various languages. For example, the Orc language is written using the Goblin script (rather than Dwarvish, as stated in the Player’s Handbook

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

primitive — the yuan-ti empire was once very advanced, and although it has declined, its culture is still thriving on a smaller scale. Because the yuan-ti were previously human, their architecture

Suggested Characteristics

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

so secretly) convinced of the superiority of my own culture over that of this foreign land. 2 I pretend not to understand the local language in order to avoid interactions I would rather not have. 3 I

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

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