build both during cosmic 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

Paladin Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

has taken him or her away from adventuring for a time, every paladin lives on the front lines of the cosmic struggle against evil. Fighters are rare enough among the ranks of the militias and armies

, and even the smallest victory against it can tilt the cosmic balance away from oblivion. Creating a Paladin The most important aspect of a paladin character is the nature of his or her holy quest

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

Sorcerer Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

otherworldly influence, or exposure to unknown cosmic forces. One can’t study sorcery as one learns a language, any more than one can learn to live a legendary life. No one chooses sorcery; the power

, the lich who created you as an experiment, or the deity who chose you to carry this power. QUICK BUILD You can make a sorcerer quickly by following these suggestions. First, Charisma should be your

Inhabitants

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Sigil and the Outlands

do, authorities maintain order and stifle cosmic peril. Only when these eruptions threaten the city on a grand scale does the Lady of Pain intervene. Humans are the earliest known inhabitants of the

City of Doors. Some sages track the existence and spread of humans back to Sigil itself, rather than to a deity or its creations. Various factions handle the day-to-day governance of Sigil, enforcement

Secret

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

holy symbol that represents that divinity. Some clerics, especially in a world like Eberron, serve a whole pantheon, rather than a single deity. In certain campaigns, a cleric might instead serve a

cosmic force, such as life or death, or a philosophy or concept, such as love, peace, or one of the nine alignments. Chapter 1 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide explores options like these, in the section

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

Creating Religions

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

among the gods, deeds of creation, past interactions with mortals, or battles between gods and other cosmic forces. Given the incomprehensible nature of the gods, these myths might not actually reveal

the focus of pilgrims who travel long distances to partake in the holy power assumed to linger there. Build Your Own Pantheon Most of the published D&D settings described in chapter 5 have their

Klothys's Influence

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

, granting them understanding of cosmic truths and insights into how the future should unfold. Klothys withdrew to the Underworld ages ago to keep watch over the imprisoned titans and ensure they couldn’t

destiny from the Underworld, Klothys now endeavors to undo the cosmic damage caused by Heliod, Xenagos, and ambitious mortals in recent years. The ways in which they ravaged reality to realize their

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

cosmic implications of Maglubiyet’s attacks. To prevent the goblinoids from outstripping her people in population, she urges the orcs to have many offspring and teach them the ways of battle not only

herself and claw Maglubiyet’s beady eyes from his face to prevent him from taking them from her. The cosmic battle between the two pantheons has raged for eons without resolution, leading those

Bluetspur

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

Bluetspur Memories of Bluetspur prove as impossible as they are inescapable Domain of Alien Memories Darklord: The God-Brain of Bluetspur Genre: Cosmic horror Hallmarks: Alien abductions

Bluetspur, and none who witness them remember. This alien domain etches itself not upon the waking mind, but rather upon the body as inexplicable scars and on the psyche through nightmares. Not all the

The Great Wheel

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

between Bytopia and Arcadia; rather, this theoretical positioning is based on the philosophical shading among the three planes and the relative importance they give to law and good. Other

Configurations For your campaign, you can use a different model of the planes. Here are several examples: Planes situated among the roots and branches of a great cosmic tree (literally or figuratively) Material

Using an Overarching Story

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

and using it to defeat a cosmic threat. Example 2: Agents of X You can also build a campaign around the idea that the adventurers are agents of something larger than themselves — a kingdom or secret

Band

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

Bands table offers hooks you can use to build an adventure around a band of giants. Bands d6 Adventure Hook 1 A band of giants is spotted near a town, and the adventurers are asked to

Devout giants live a monastic life at a sacred site with vast magical power—power the adventurers require to deal with a cosmic threat. From the perspective of smaller people, a roving giant

Breaking the Contract

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

Zariel voids all the active contracts she has made with beings across the multiverse. This causes no small amount of cosmic chaos. The Fate of Thavius Kreeg If the characters killed Thavius Kreeg in

possesses, the devil Thavius is a coward who would rather grovel than fight. Killing him marks a wretched end to a wretched life. If the characters left Thavius alive in chapter 1, they must find a way

Gnoll Allies

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

accompanied by other beings of evil. Demons A fang of Yeenoghu is sometimes gifted with the cosmic insight needed to summon forth mindless demons. When Yeenoghu deigns to allow it, a war band might find

incursions into the world, leucrottas are bigger, smarter, and faster than gnolls. When one joins a war band, it doesn’t strive to lead the group (which would cause unneeded conflict) but rather to serve

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.

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

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

of some omen or in a personal epiphany. Such a revelation isn’t always positive, though, as Kruphix often imparts a glimpse of cosmic truths for which mortals have no possible context.

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

Nyx

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

cosmic phenomena. Its power slips into the world in the same form, with star fields filling the shadows of Nyxborn beings that are infused with its power (see chapter 6 for details on Nyxborn). While

territory. He doesn’t maintain a central residence. Rather, his influence binds the conflict, encompassing all perspectives and preventing the battle from spilling forth into the rest of Nyx.

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

Gnome Adventurers

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

the Stars Because of their extensive travels, gnome adventurers often become fascinated with the grandeur of the cosmos as seen in the motion of the stars across the sky. They view the cosmic array as a

cautious, brings a sense of duty rather than a sense of humor to an adventuring group. With their grit and iron will, deep gnomes meet adversity with hammers, picks, and their dour, dry wit — or no wit at all — as their weapons of choice.

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

D&D Beyond

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