build before down code rather

Clockwork Horror

Monsters Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures

precious metal. They roam Wildspace in commandeered spelljamming ships, gathering the precious metals and crystals they need to build more of their kind. Clockwork horrors have no goal beyond replication

and will stop at nothing to create new clockwork horrors. The time it takes for a clockwork horror to build another of its kind, assuming it has the requisite materials, is approximately ten days

Vampirate Captain

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

vampirates conducts itself depends entirely on the mood and disposition of the captain. The crew of one ship might behave like a murderous mob, while another might abide by an ancient code of chivalry. One

parchment. A vampirate has fangs like a vampire’s but doesn’t use them to draw vital fluids from prey, which vampirates consider an unsavory act. Rather, a vampirate drains life energy from

Mighty Servant of Leuk-o

Magic Items Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

, the servant’s two crew members can cause it to explode. The self-destruct code is not revealed to crew members when they attune to the artifact. If the code is discovered (the DM determines how

), it requires two attuned crew members to be inside the servant and spend their actions on 3 consecutive rounds performing the command. Should the crew members begin the process of entering the code

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

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

Urchin - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

their torch-based code. From the lighting, placement, and type of torch arranged on or near a structure, you can gather a great deal of information about those who live or do business there, particularly

from a fight. 2 Gold seems like a lot of money to me, and I’ll do just about anything for more of it. 3 I will never fully trust anyone other than myself. 4 I’d rather

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

Paladin

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

Paladin The Oath of the Crown’s utility for your campaign comes from its ability to capture neutral paladins, those whose code of conduct is focused on the law rather than on moral principles. Its

Dimir Operative

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

d6 Flaw 1 I like secrets so much that I’m reluctant to share details of a plan even with those who need to know. 2 I would let my friends die rather than reveal my true

through a series of code phrases we exchange. 3 An ostentatiously wealthy vampire is my secret guild superior, summoning me to a luxurious estate by means of coded messages. 4 I have never

Adult Topaz Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

beauty of the ocean. (Good) 6 Code of Combat. I despise most other dragons, but I meet them face to face without resorting to the base trickery I use on lesser creatures. (Lawful) Topaz

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

Faction Agent

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

choice, as appropriate to your factionLanguages: Two of your choiceEquipment: Badge or emblem of your faction, a copy of a seminal faction text (or a code-book for a covert faction), a set of common

knowledge, rather than brute force. Harper agents are often proficient in Investigation, enabling them to be adept at snooping and spying. They often seek aid from other Harpers, sympathetic bards and

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

how to run a shared campaign and seeing how the Adventurers League handles certain issues, then the rest of this appendix is meant for you. CODE OF CONDUCT Time and time again, the core rulebooks

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

strong code of honor or sense of propriety that others don’t comprehend. 4 I express affection or contempt in ways that are unfamiliar to others. 5 I begin or end my day with small

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

Birth of the Poleis

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

Akros and Skophos were born from that bloodshed, inspired by the martial doctrines of Iroas and Mogis rather than the legal code of Ephara. Eventually the years of war settled into an uneasy peace with

together, established its legal code, and defended it for decades. After the fall of Agnomakhos and the other archons of Trax, humans and minotaurs waged a bloody war in the highlands. The poleis of

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

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

Ancient Topaz Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

the sight of the vast beauty of the ocean. (Good) 6 Code of Combat. I despise most other dragons, but I meet them face to face without resorting to the base trickery I use on lesser creatures

, 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

Clockwork Horror

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monstrous Compendium Volume One: Spelljammer Creatures

, gathering the precious metals and crystals they need to build more of their kind. Clockwork horrors have no goal beyond replication and will stop at nothing to create new clockwork horrors. The time it

takes for a clockwork horror to build another of its kind, assuming it has the requisite materials, is approximately ten days. The body of a clockwork horror is about two feet in diameter, but the legs

Life in the City of Blades

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

. Rather, they roll up their sleeves and work harder to increase their prestige through the fruits of their labor. All the honor and honesty the duergar apply among themselves doesn’t apply to

their lives: the calassabrak, meaning “the flawed who aren’t to be trusted” in Dwarvish. They are shunned by other duergar, many eventually taking their lives rather than face an existence apart from

Mighty Servant of Leuk-o

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

button presses, the servant’s two crew members can cause it to explode. The self-destruct code is not revealed to crew members when they attune to the artifact. If the code is discovered (the DM

code, though, the servant uses its Ghost in the Machine property and turns the crew members against each other. If the crew members successfully implement the code, at the end of the third round, the

Suggested Characteristics

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

code of honor or sense of propriety that others don’t comprehend. 4 I express affection or contempt in ways that are unfamiliar to others. 5 I honor my deities through practices that are foreign to this

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

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.

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

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

Guilds and Guild Law

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

in the legal code of Waterdeep, but guilds are mentioned in the oldest surviving legal documents — penned by Ahghairon himself — and the rules of Guild Law are respected by wise city folk. Guilds

the outsider. In Neverwinter, if you want to construct a building, you simply purchase the land and hire workers to build it. In Waterdeep, the Surveyors’, Map-, and Chart-makers’ Guild must first be

Mire of Doubt

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

. The spirit naga Valsyx lurks here, composing abstruse riddles unless the characters encountered him elsewhere. He knows confusion rather than blight. Valsyx is at home in the mire and isn’t slowed

solve a riddle. The riddle he loudly expounds has no answer; it is simply a series of words that contains a hidden code. “What is NEW when it is made old, brings TROUBLE when first seen by its MAKERS

Gnomes of Zilargo

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

goals — of which there are many — often still prefers to use trickery and cunning rather than the unreliable tools of honesty or brute force. Most Zil gnomes belong to the forest gnome subrace. Their

code. 6 You know the location of a wanted war criminal, and you’ve been trying to decide whether to turn them in or try to get something in exchange for your silence. 7 You’ve been selling false

Customizing the Puzzle

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

those presented in the Player’s Handbook. Alternatively, you can create an entirely new code to replace the letters, requiring the characters to find a cipher to reveal the tiles’ meanings before they

can undertake the puzzle and cross the room safely. You can also increase the difficulty by introducing trap variants, as described below. Trap Variants Rather than have the same poison gas trap on

Alignment

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

they want, within the limits of a code of tradition, loyalty, or order. Devils and blue dragons are typically lawful evil. Neutral evil (NE) is the alignment of those who do whatever they can get away

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 new—a

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