build blessings down could 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

Bugbear Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

rather than perform the work or confront the foe. Even when subsumed into a goblinoid host and drawn into war, bugbears must often be roused from naps and bribed to get them to do their duties. This

natural state. Thanks to Grankhul, they can use their size and strength to work as stealthy assassins rather than blundering around like ogres. Bullying, murder, and engaging in battle are all holy

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

Orc Legacy

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

order from the encroachments of Fiends and other extraplanar threats. Gruumsh’s blessings have made orcs tireless guardians and mighty allies wherever they are found, even when they turn their

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” section for your character’s

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

God-Based Adventures

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

God-Based Adventures Three elements combine to form the adventures recounted in the epics of Theros: heroes, gods, and monsters. Each god’s section in this chapter provides the ingredients to build

your own epics: champions and blessings, villains and monsters, divine schemes, and adventure locations.

Tower of Traitors

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

of Arijani and Reeva. Ramya’s skeletal soldiers continue to build the tower as part of her plan to rid Kalakeri of evil and receive the gods’ blessings.

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

the head with a single ring to keep them from flapping about. Changes in gender are also a known and accepted part of verdan life. These fluid aspects of form and identity are seen as blessings

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

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

Encounters with Hulgaz

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things

Encounters with Hulgaz Hulgaz makes a good adversary for players who especially enjoy roleplaying. If your players prefer to talk to enemies they encounter rather than fight them, consider using

Hulgaz first probes the characters to test their virtue, then tries to tempt them, and finally confronts them. At the end of each encounter, Hulgaz offers the characters one or more infernal blessings

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

, every village assembles a communal offering to the gods to request blessings, chief among them protection from disaster. The gathered offerings are carried by a caravan of walkers and wagons to a

Erebos's Villains

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

populace. Some become death-crazed killers or dispassionate murderers, unable to see the difference between dying now and dying later. Others abuse their blessings to cheat death for themselves or their

daughter is restored as a potent Returned who now terrorizes the polis. 4 A wealthy noble drives tenants out of a poor part of a polis so he can build a temple to Erebos. 5 The queen of a remote

Ephara's Villains

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

system. 5 A group of mages who follow Ephara want to build a city on an island, heedless of the current residents. 6 An oracle (see chapter 6) leads a cadre of scholars secretly destroying

few foes likely to serve the god’s will. Ephara’s urn is a fountain of blessings (NOAH BRADLEY) Ephara’s Monsters Challenge Creature Source 1/8 Guard MM 1/2 Anvilwrought raptor MOoT

Secrets of Immortality

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

supplemented with a rare reagent called Dragon’s Blessing. The primary ingredient of this reagent is powdered eggshell from a legendary being known as the Dragon of Heavenly Blessings. Normally, a

creature can benefit from only a limited number of potions of longevity before continued consumption is likely to age the drinker rather than reduce their age. When a pinch of Dragon’s Blessing is added to a

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.

Champions and Quests

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

, and blessings the god might bestow. Serving Two or More Masters Often, each of the characters in an adventuring party is the champion of a different god—or no god at all. What brings the characters

example, you might build a campaign around the idea that Erebos, Mogis, and Pharika are conspiring to unleash slaughter and plague on the mortal realm. Perhaps heroic champions of Ephara, Heliod

Loose Pantheons

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

religious rites and festivals. Priests at such sites relate stories of the gods, teach the ethics of their patron deities, offer advice and blessings, perform religious rites, and provide training in

gods the locals revere. To quickly build a pantheon for your world, create a single god for each of the eight domains available to clerics: Death, Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery

Worshiping Kruphix

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

created the divine artisan Nykthos and ordered him to build altars to the gods. Nykthos’s story isn’t widely known among mortals, but the Shrine to Nyx is still called Nykthos in his honor. Kruphix’s

, he etched all their names—including his own—in the bark of his great tree at the edge of the world. Immediately, the gods’ oracles could no longer hear them, their blessings faded, and the night sky

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

Circle of Dreams

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

Shadow 10th Hidden Paths 14th Walker in Dreams Balm of the Summer Court At 2nd level, you become imbued with the blessings of the Summer Court. You are a font of energy that offers respite from

teleportation circle is special. Rather than opening a portal to a permanent teleportation circle, it opens a portal to the last location where you finished a long rest on your current plane of

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

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

NPC Stat Blocks

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

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

affect a monster’s challenge rating are listed in the Monster Features table. The NPC’s proficiency bonus is determined by its level, just like a character, rather than by its challenge rating. If the

Topaz Dragon Lairs

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

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 best accomplish this. Their preference for lair sites

. Her desire is born not of greed, though, but rather from her study of the Material Plane, its magic, and dragons’ interconnection with both. Dragons on many worlds acknowledge Astilabor as they establish new lairs to host their hoards, linking them to the magic of the surrounding region.

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

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 Compendium

The Role of Rules Why even have a column like 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

D&D. The direction we chose for the current edition was to lay a foundation of rules that a DM could build on, and we embraced the DM’s role as the bridge between the things the rules address and the

D&D Beyond

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