build before drive cause realize

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

Kalashtar Legacy

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

an orphan kalashtar raised among strangers. The bond to the spirit can cause some kalashtar to display unusual quirks. Consider rolling or selecting a trait from the Kalashtar Quirks table

. Kalashtar Quirks 1d10 Quirk 1 You try to understand the motives and feelings of your enemies. 2 You prefer using telepathy over speaking aloud. 3 You feel a strong drive to

Nilbog

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

that cause disorder unless they are appeased. Goblins have no name for this deity and dare not give it one, lest Maglubiyet use its name to ensnare and crush it as he did their other deities. They

of reprisal. This nilbog also gains strange powers that drive others to do the opposite of what they desire. Attacking the possessed goblin is foolhardy, and killing them just prompts the spirit to

Paladin Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

an orc war band celebrating its recent victory. Silently, he stalks into their midst and whispers an oath, and two orcs are dead before they even realize he is there. Silver hair shining in a shaft

turns a devout warrior into a blessed champion. The Cause of Righteousness A paladin swears to uphold justice and righteousness, to stand with the good things of the world against the encroaching

Barbarian Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

of his drow foe, then turns to drive his armored elbow into the gut of another. These barbarians, different as they might be, are defined by their rage: unbridled, unquenchable, and unthinking fury

by the promise of riches? Did you join forces with soldiers of those lands to face a shared threat? Did monsters or an invading horde drive you out of your homeland, making you a rootless refugee

Baernaloth

Monsters Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

Hades, to turn friends against each other and then savor the horror that rises when their victims realize how they’ve betrayed one another. Baernaloths use their wicked power to keep mortally

wounded foes alive, sometimes indefinitely, to prolong their suffering. Even striking against a baernaloth brings misery—they can cause an attacker’s old wounds to painfully reopen. All the

Morkoth Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

to take lair actions. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the morkoth takes a lair action to cause one of the effects described below: The morkoth uses its Hypnosis action, originating

each of its turns to enter the lair and to move toward the morkoth's location (the target doesn't realize it's heading toward a creature). The target moves toward the morkoth by the most direct route

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

determine how big a part your pact will play in your character’s adventuring career. Your patron’s demands might drive you into adventures, or they might consist entirely of small favors you can

Selesnya NPCs

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

civilization and untamed nature. But the guild’s drive isn’t only to draw people into a peaceable community: the Selesnya aim to build an army. They aren’t naive; they realize that the ambitions of other guilds

Adult Topaz Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

drive the giant away. 2 An adult topaz dragon and an adult bronze dragon are finding their centuries-old enmity turning into a more romantic passion. 3 A djinni hopes to convince a topaz

realize they enjoy hunting together. 5 A tempestuous marid continually floods the carefully dried-out lair of a topaz dragon. 6 A sahuagin baron attempts to gain the support of other sahuagin

Giff

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

divine beings who created giff have likewise been forgotten. Their titanic petrified bodies drift on the Astral Sea, isolated and unrecognizable in their current forms. Although they don’t realize

. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which

Adult Crystal Dragon

Monsters Fizban's Treasury of Dragons

drive the yetis out. 3 An adult crystal dragon and an elf archmage have been friends for centuries and often go stargazing together on the peaks of their favorite mountains, but the dragon is

antics sometimes cause avalanches that threaten nearby villages. 5 An adult crystal dragon enjoys shaping the ice and snow near a den of troll;trolls into a labyrinth and watching the trolls try to

Cleric Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

her holy symbol as light pours from it to drive back the zombies crowding in on her companions. Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal world and the distant planes of the gods. As varied as the

a troublemaker? What are your ultimate goals? Does your deity have a special task in mind for you? Or are you striving to prove yourself worthy of a great quest? QUICK BUILD You can make a cleric

Rogue Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

was the trigger that led you away from your previous life? Did a great con or heist gone terribly wrong cause you to reevaluate your career? Maybe you were lucky and a successful robbery gave you the

. 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

Loxodon

Species Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

ingrained that they are often at a loss when they try to impart that knowledge to others. Among the Selesnya, it primarily falls to loxodons to build the guild’s magnificent, cathedral-like arboretum

structures. Relentlessly Loyal Loxodons believe in the value of community and life, and thus are most often found in the Selesnya Conclave. Some find fulfillment in the cause of order by joining

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

few miles from where they were born. You aren’t one of those folk. You are from a distant place, one so remote that few of the common folk in the North realize that it exists, and chances are

can face any adversity in this strange land. 2 The gods of my people are a comfort to me so far from home. 3 I hold no greater cause than my service to my people. 4 My freedom is my

Ranger Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

destroy your home village? Or did you see too much of the destruction these monsters cause and commit yourself to reining in their depredations? Is your adventuring career a continuation of your work

relief from solitude that they offer? QUICK BUILD You can make a ranger quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Dexterity your highest ability score, followed by Wisdom. (Some rangers who

Hobgoblin Warfare

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

Hobgoblin Warfare The drive to subjugate and pillage is part of hobgoblins’ supernatural nature, though a few might repress their warlike tendencies or turn them to more useful ends. Roll on or

choose a result from the Hobgoblin Strategies table to inspire how a hobgoblin carries out its conquest. Hobgoblin Strategies 1d6 The Hobgoblin Works To... 1 Build a vessel to carry hobgoblin armies

G11. Inventors' Workshop

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon of Icespire Peak

Gnomengarde’s foremost inventors, they are trying to dream up an invention that will cure King Korboz’s madness. Fibblestib’s proposal is a “sanity ray.” Dabbledob thinks that’s dumb, and wants to build

something called a “straitjacket” instead. If the characters interrupt them, the gnomes realize that the new arrivals might have another solution, so they fill in what’s been happening and ask for any

Elturel

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

Frume’s company, provided they consider continual drinking, arm-wrestling, horseback riding contests, sparring, and weapon training to be a good time. If the players don’t realize it, Erlanthar finds

a quiet moment to be sure the characters understand that impressing Frume with their prowess, their honesty, and their drive is in their long-term interest. The characters can make a positive

Lords of Dust Campaign Themes

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

, and his minions are always eager to cause strife. The servants of Sul Khatesh entice cruel and selfish people to become warlocks, drawing mystical powers from their mistress. These activities won’t

take a while for adventurers to realize that an apparently unconnected series of encounters early in a campaign are actually all part of the complex schemes of the Lords of Dust. These fiends are so

Bound to Spirits

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

spirit or the source of their psychic gifts. The bond to the spirit can cause some kalashtar to display unusual quirks of behavior. You can roll or select a trait from the following table. Kalashtar Quirks

1d10 Quirk 1 You try to understand the motives and feelings of your enemies. 2 You prefer using telepathy over speaking aloud. 3 You feel a drive to protect the innocent

Bound to Spirits

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

, such as an orphan kalashtar raised among strangers. The bond to the spirit can cause some kalashtar to display unusual quirks. Consider rolling or selecting a trait from the Kalashtar Quirks table

. Kalashtar Quirks d10 Quirk 1 You try to understand the motives and feelings of your enemies. 2 You prefer using telepathy over speaking aloud. 3 You feel a strong drive to protect the

Elturel

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

, provided they consider continual drinking, arm-wrestling, horseback riding contests, sparring, and weapon training to be a good time. If the players don’t realize it, Erlanthar finds a quiet moment

to be sure the characters understand that impressing Frume with their prowess, their honesty, and their drive is in their long-term interest. The characters can make a positive impression on Frume by

Inside the Conclave

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

vision is centered on the idea of harmony between civilization and nature. To advance the cause of civilized society, the conclave believes in the need for an ordered structure that orients the group

tolerate selfishness or ambition, instead urging its members to put the needs of others ahead of their own desires and to use the power of nature — including nature’s wrath — to drive away those whose

Mogis's Champions

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

between the poleis, hoping to ignite an all-out war. In part, he wants to cause so much carnage that his brother eventually has no choice but to face him in a duel to the death. The Mogis’s Quests table

fealty. As the characters become immersed in their plans for vengeance, Mogis, acting through his agents, pushes them farther down a dark path until, at last, they realize what they have become. The

Religious Order

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

Religious Order Your group acts in the service of one of Khorvaire’s most prominent or obscure religious institutions. Perhaps you’re a team of devotees pursuing a cause for your faith, or maybe

the church’s coffers. Your faith might drive you to hunt evil monsters or stave off interplanar invasions, to protect and defend the powerless from oppression and exploitation, or to spread the

Coins

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd

wealth for the benefit of a charity or a just cause. On the side of evil, it embodies the worst aspects of greed. It speaks to the power of gold, and how that power can build or destroy nations. Coins

5. Village Well and Square

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

spends an hour or more in the village asking questions, getting a meal or rest, or otherwise not getting aboard the castle might miss the boat. The castle leaves one hour after the cultists realize the

either kill them as sacrifices or drive them out of the village. Othelstan can also call for reinforcements in the form of three dragonclaws, one of whom takes the time to release the two wyverns in the

5. Village Well and Square

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

, or otherwise not getting aboard the castle might miss the boat. The castle leaves one hour after the cultists realize the village has been infiltrated. After the castle is gone, the villagers drop all

pretense of friendliness and send Captain Othelstan (see appendix D), one veteran, and six guards to attempt to capture the intruders and either kill them as sacrifices or drive them out of the

Giff Traits

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Astral Adventurer’s Guide

target with a simple or martial weapon, you can cause the target to take extra force damage equal to your proficiency bonus. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus

disadvantage on your attack roll. Hippo Build. You have advantage on Strength-based ability checks and Strength saving throws. In addition, you count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Olanthius Returns

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus

knight once they realize he’s willing to help them. Development Characters who parley with Olanthius can gain a valuable ally in the fight against Zariel. To stand any chance of swaying the death

knight to their cause, the characters must have read his journals and learned of his hatred for Zariel. Otherwise, he tries to annihilate them for their impudence. Olanthius is willing to reveal the

The Cold War

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

Mourning will eventually be solved. Either someone will learn how to control the power that caused the Mournland, or the precise cause will be determined and people will be able to tell if it still poses

realize that it has a secret magical compartment until enemy spies come looking for whatever is inside it. Or a dying spy presses an amulet into the hand of one of the adventurers, saying, “The fate of

Dreaming Dark Campaign Themes

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

Dark has three objectives in Khorvaire. The first is to cause chaos and strife whenever possible, turning allies against one another and spreading fear. The second is to promote their chosen champions

light. Given those objectives, the Dreaming Dark can drive events on a small scale, by setting bandits in motion or triggering local feuds, or the adventurers might uncover evidence of plans that could reignite the Last War or bring an entire nation or religion under the sway of the Dreaming Dark.

DM Tips

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

something, correct yourself and move on. No one expects you to memorize every rule or detail. Even if you don’t realize your mistake until after a game session is over, it’s OK to acknowledge the mistake

. Expanded and Revised Magic Items. Chapter 7 is packed with new magic items and old ones that have been revised. Bastions. Chapter 8 has rules that allow player characters to build, maintain, and enjoy

D&D Beyond

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