build before dignity completely rather

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

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

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

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

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

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

Inheritor

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

your adventuring career, you can decide whether to tell your companions about your inheritance right away. Rather than attracting attention to yourself, you might want to keep your inheritance a secret

with dignity and respect. (Good) 2 Fairness. No one should get preferential treatment before the law, and no one is above the law. (Lawful) 3 Freedom. Tyrants must not be allowed to

Adult Topaz Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Adventure Hook"} Adventure Hook 1 A pirate ship is found floating on the open sea, the bodies of the crew completely desiccated. The only clue to what happened is a

sun and have no desire to get wet, beyond enjoying a bit of sea spray in the air. But they love being able to see the water, so they build their lairs on the heights of seaside cliffs or near perfect

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

Creating a Bronze Dragon

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

preserve their dignity. It’s really for your benefit. 3 I have no time for chitchat or insinuation. I get to the point and expect others to do the same. 4 I respect law and order, but it’s no

strategy. A quick death in combat is its own kind of courtesy. 6 I trust my gut. I’d rather act on incomplete information than be hamstrung by indecision. 7 I’m fascinated by other species

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

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

NPC Stat Blocks

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

languages it knew in life * See the Player’s Handbook for descriptions of this race’s features, none of which alter the NPC’s challenge rating. Creating NPCs from Scratch If you need completely new

can build the NPC as you would a player character, as discussed in the Player’s Handbook. If you decide to build an NPC the same way you build a player character, you can skip choosing a background and

Area Information

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rrakkma

drive them completely insane. A successful DC 25 Intelligence (Investigation) check turns up a rather sizeable black pearl (pearl of power) that seems to have found its way to the bottom of one of the depressions. Treasure & Rewards The characters may find the following treasure. A pearl of power

Ignoring the Dice

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

make an ability check to do so. This approach rewards creativity by encouraging players to look to the situation you’ve described for an answer, rather than looking to their character sheet or their

character’s special abilities. A downside is that no DM is completely neutral. A DM might come to favor certain players or approaches, or even work against good ideas if they send the game in a direction

Bastion Map

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

of defensive wall takes 10 days to build and costs 250 GP. If a character’s Bastion is completely enclosed by defensive walls and it comes under attack (see “Bastion Events” at the end of this chapter

Ancient Topaz Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

;{"diceNotation":"1d8","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Adventure Hook"} Adventure Hook 1 A pirate ship is found floating on the open sea, the bodies of the crew completely desiccated. The only clue

, beyond enjoying a bit of sea spray in the air. But they love being able to see the water, so they build their lairs on the heights of seaside cliffs or near perfect sunbathing beaches where they can

It's Your World

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

, but they’re not the only set of assumptions that can do so. You can build an interesting campaign concept by altering one or more of those core assumptions, just as well-established D&D worlds have done

champions of the first great empires, such as the empires of Netheril and Cormanthyr in the Forgotten Realms setting. The World Is Known. What if the world is completely charted and mapped, right down to

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.

Character Incarnations

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Turn of Fortune’s Wheel

otherwise be as different or similar as the player wishes. Incarnations might use completely different character options, they might have different physical forms, or they might simply have cosmetic

“Running Glitch Characters” section. Let players discover that dead characters return in new incarnations during play rather than revealing this outright. When an incarnation appears, they are attuned to

General Features

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

the structure collapses completely. Ceilings. Ceilings are 15 feet high unless noted otherwise. Doors. Interior doors are made of wood reinforced with iron bands. They have neither locks nor keyholes

“Cover” in the Basic Rules). DISGUISED CHARACTERS Rather than storm Cragmaw Castle with weapons in hand, clever characters might try to talk their way inside. For example, they might don the scarlet

During the Siege

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

During the Siege Run the siege as a series of encounters rather than one extended battle. As terrible events unfold around the characters, it’s up to them to determine who and how they’ll help. Begin

down the characters’ resources with brief zombie attacks. If the characters feel completely overwhelmed, Talon priests with potions of healing might appear, or an officer can enlist characters to

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

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

until medical attention can be obtained. Harpies in the taverns of Droaam use their hypnotic songs to entertain rather than to harm. When you bring creatures from Droaam into the campaign, consider how

Life in the Sensa Empire

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

and craftspeople to build social and professional connections, better their craft, and organize for improved labor conditions. Each city-state has its own chapter of the guild that pushes back when

. Historically, rather than a single imperial line controlling the throne, each empress or emperor selects an heir from among the eldest children of each city-state’s monarch. While no law prevents rulers

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

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

Inside the Cult

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

has never been completely successful. Now, as tension builds in Ravnica and several guilds attempt to crack down on chaos and criminal activity, the Rakdos cult reacts to this building pressure with

undermining popular and powerful leaders and interfering — often violently — with any effort to build a centralized concentration of authority. The Azorius Senate currently stands as the greatest

The Attack

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

. 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

recover and regroup. Encourage tactical thinking. If one of the sides of the battle consists of savage monsters or mindless undead, give clues that they attack the nearest enemy rather than thinking

Inhabitants

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

captured a pentadrone and afterward became convinced the Maze Engine existed in the Underdark. Unfortunately, the modron’s axiomatic mind couldn’t be broken, and it perished rather than reveal anything

his mind and his will. Shedrak is completely mad, considers Karazikar a god, and brooks no defiance or disrespect toward his “divine master.” Slaves One hundred slaves of various humanoid races serve

Introduction

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

action going. We might face a setback, but we’re never completely out of the game. We can load from a save point, restart from level 1, or kick off a new campaign. If you’ve ever had someone close to

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

The Nematode

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

The Nematode The Nematode is unique among the floating nodules; it is an animate if lethargic creature, akin to a brain parasite on a massive scale, rather than an inert nodule. It is mostly inert

save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature reduced to 0 hit points from this acid damage is completely dissolved. Surgical Precision. Controlling the fluid’s release more carefully

Types of Hags

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

, and most are stout or have a medium build rather than being thin or emaciated. Night hags enjoy corrupting the dreams of good people, compromising the ideals of their victims to get them to

The Role of Rules

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

The Role of Rules Why even have Sage Advice when a DM can just make a ruling? Rules are a big part of what makes D&D a game, rather than simply improvised storytelling. The game’s rules are meant to

direction we took for fifth edition was to lay a foundation of rules that a DM could build on, and we celebrate the DM as the bridge between the things the rules address and the things they don’t. In a

D&D Beyond

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