building before devote certain respond

Mercion

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

coming for you.” Flaw. “My friends would say I’m inflexible. The truth is, I like things done a certain way.” Combat Notes Mercion counts on her armor to protect her as she

.) Strongheart is always on the lookout for courageous heroes who are willing to devote themselves to a good cause. Only good-aligned characters are allowed to join Valor’s Call.

Leonin

Species Mythic Odysseys of Theros

’s superiority proven), the insult is forgotten—along with the vanquished foe. Pride and Self-Reliance Few leonin devote themselves to the service of the gods. Centuries ago, the leonin

adversaries—incredibly clever and well-prepared to play a long game but ultimately doomed to lose their games. 4 I’m certain every bad thing that happens can ultimately be blamed on the

Knight of the Order

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

You belong to an order of knights who have sworn oaths to achieve a certain goal. The nature of this goal depends on the order you serve, but in your eyes it is without question a vital and honorable

again in ruins, Dove Falconhand decided to reform the group with the primary goal of building alliances and friendship between the civilized races of the world and goodly people in order to combat evil

Ranger Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

grouse and whine about the hardships of the wild, rangers respond with some mixture of amusement, frustration, and compassion. But they quickly learn that other adventurers who can carry their own weight

a magical connection to nature through the necessity of surviving in the wilds. What’s the source of your particular hatred of a certain kind of enemy? Did a monster kill someone you loved or

The Mortuary

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary

interminable building, an upright necropolis that towers over the dismal part of the Hive Ward. Located between Blackshade Lane and Ragpicker’s Square, the Mortuary is one of several megastructures in Sigil

afterlife, the Heralds of Dust devote themselves to caring for the deceased. The Mortuary’s musty halls echo with skeletal figures wheeling squeaking gurneys, shoveling grave dirt, reciting woeful

Simic Scientist

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

spellcasting, forming spirals that reflect the mathematical perfection of nature. Suggested Characteristics The bizarre science of the Simic Combine attracts a certain type of personality and encompasses

1 I helped create a krasis that I love like a pet and would carry with me everywhere … except it’s the size of a building, and it might eat me. 2 In my laboratory, I

Beginning the Adventure

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon Delves

. Sizzling streams of acid flow down the streets. Villagers rush about, shouting for loved ones and struggling to contain the damage. Near the shore, flames leap from the windows of a low-roofed building

! The older human is Vatri Whistlebaum (Medium, Neutral Good Commoner), the owner of the burning Morkoth Tavern. The characters might respond by entering the tavern to free the trapped villagers or by working to extinguish the fire.

Downtime Activities

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

likely to respond to threats to the village and its inhabitants. As your campaign progresses, your players’ characters will not only become more powerful but also more influential and invested in the world

. They might be inclined to undertake projects that require more time between adventures, such as building and maintaining a stronghold. As the party gains levels, you can add more downtime between

Death House Features

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

ceilings, the third floor has 8-foot-high ceilings, and the attic has 13-foot-high ceilings. Haunted Doors When Strahd enters the house later in this chapter, certain doors marked on the map become

the characters arrive. The cultists take oil lamps into the ritual chamber (area D38) when they gather there. The Mists When the characters enter Death House, the Mists surround the building and prevent

Asphodel and the Despair Lands

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

and long, drab robes, making them nearly impossible to distinguish from one another. From the Coliseum of the Aphonai, a perfectly circular stone building that stands at the heart of Asphodel, the

Returned never speak, rendering their judgments only in gestures. Order of Phaios A cabal of mages known as the Order of Phaios defend Asphodel with their magic. The mages of the order devote themselves to

Members Only

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

Members Only Difficulty: Medium A secret club, cultist meeting, or thieves’ guild requires a password to enter. In this puzzle, those who guard a certain door are so secretive that they change the

, “Six.” The figure replies, “Three.” The guard then opens the door, allowing the figure to enter. This building seems to have only one entrance: the oak door with a small slide window. A guard opens the window and speaks a seemingly random number to anyone who knocks on the door.

Dragonmarked Characters

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

associate with different houses but have a common purpose. (See the “Building a Party” section below for suggestions on bringing together a party from different houses.) If the characters work for a single

Agent and various house heir backgrounds in chapter 2 suit characters in this campaign, giving them benefits and capabilities related to their house affiliation. Certain other backgrounds can reflect

General Features

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

Skant If the characters have Professor Skant with them, the professor orb can provide educational commentary on certain features found in the Caves of Hunger, as noted in the text, provided the orb

is in a position where it can view its surroundings. Psychic Hauntings The Caves of Hunger have a way of capturing and holding on to psychic trauma. In certain locations, the text will ask you to check

Yuan-ti Cities

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

yuan-ti content themselves with maintaining these ancient places rather than building new ones for their needs. Although these sites are hundreds or even thousands of years old, they don’t look or feel

or Large snake could pass through, allowing the yuan-ti’s serpentine pets, as well as abominations and malisons in snake form, to bypass human-style doors for convenience or in order to respond

1. Choose a Race

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)

with certain weapons or tools, proficiency in one or more skills, or the ability to use minor spells. These traits sometimes dovetail with the capabilities of certain classes (see step 2). For example

them later. Record the traits granted by your race on your character sheet. Be sure to note your starting languages and your base speed as well. BUILDING BRUENOR, STEP 1 Bob is sitting down to

Idyllglen Features

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

businesses that the gnolls have set ablaze. The buildings’ supplies were taken by fleeing townsfolk or ransacked by Yeenoghu’s horde. Each building is one or two stories tall (DM’s choice) and 10 feet

high per story. The interior rooms of the buildings have 9-foot-high ceilings with 8-foot-high doorways connecting them. A character can climb the walls of a building without equipment by succeeding on

Assignments

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

. Your group’s patron might occasionally come to you and give you an assignment. This can be an easy way to get into an adventure. Of course, it’s up to you how you respond to your patron’s demands, and

you assignments or reward you for achieving certain objectives, but it doesn’t dictate your activities. Adventurers’ guilds, heads of state, immortal beings, inquisitive agencies, religious orders

1. Choose a Race

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

character’s race grants particular racial traits, such as special senses, proficiency with certain weapons or tools, proficiency in one or more skills, or the ability to use minor spells. These traits

sometimes dovetail with the capabilities of certain classes (see step 2). For example, the racial traits of lightfoot halflings make them exceptional rogues, and high elves tend to be powerful

Chapter 2: Dungeon Master's Tools

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

. The chapter opens with optional rules meant to help you run certain parts of the game more smoothly. The chapter then goes into greater depth on several topics — encounter building, random encounters

Keeping Combat Moving

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

respond by putting things back to the way they were before. For example, if a character takes the Disengage action to move away from a group of monsters, don’t respond by having those same monsters

chase the character. Move the monsters somewhere else. Hasten a Monster’s Demise If a combat has gone on long enough and the characters’ victory is almost certain, you can simply have the monster drop

Noncombat Challenges

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

agreement with a clan of surly dwarves, or successfully navigate the Chasm of Doom, you might decide that they deserve an XP reward. As a starting point, use the rules for building combat encounters in

failure. Milestones You can also award XP when characters complete significant milestones. When preparing your adventure, designate certain events or challenges as milestones, as with the following

The Ulmist Inquisition

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

business they have at the house on the far side of the village. However the characters respond, Sarusanda says she is also going to the building. “The locals call it Death House,” she says. “Perhaps we

Elisabeth Durst. It’s an open secret that the Dursts use the building to host cultists who venerate the Darklord of Barovia, Strahd von Zarovich. This minor cult occasionally causes trouble, but until

Event-Based Adventures

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

common example of this type of villain, your villain could be a serial arsonist favoring a certain type of building, a magical sickness that affects spellcasters who cast a specific spell, a thief that

importance. Building an event-based adventure is more work than building a location-based one, but the process can be simplified by following a number of straightforward steps. Several steps include tables

Awarding XP

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

point, use the rules for building combat encounters in chapter 4 to gauge the difficulty of the challenge. Then award the characters XP as if it had been a combat encounter of the same difficulty

. Milestones You can also award XP when characters complete significant milestones. When preparing your adventure, designate certain events or challenges as milestones, as with the following examples

L. Lake Zarovich

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

doesn’t respond to anything or anyone unless attacked. His boat is 400 feet from the nearest shore. Tied up in the boat is a seven-year-old Vistana named Arabelle (LN female human commoner with 2 hit

returned to her family’s camp outside Vallaki (chapter 5, area N9). She is certain that her father, Luvash, will give the characters a reward for doing so. A descendant of Madam Eva with the blood of

The Signaling System

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

characters to make a successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check to determine how the system works — although certain facts are not written on the parchment. Alternatively, you can allow the

: Long–short–short–short: “Is it safe?” (The ship initiates the exchange with this signal.) Short–long–short–long: “Everything safe.” (The smugglers respond with this signal.) Long–long–long: “Ready to

Biblioplex

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

for first-year students, and for apprentices, pledgemages, and professors from the different colleges. STRIXHAVEN ACCESSIBILITY The buildings on campus feature magic steps and staircases that respond

mobility devices, depending on users’ needs. In certain multistory buildings (including the Biblioplex and Captain Dapplewing’s Manor), magic transport circles also allow characters quick access between different levels.

2. Northern Terraces

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

2. Northern Terraces The terraces lining the northern walls are suffused with faerzress, and the myconids reserve these areas for cultivating certain fungi. Water trickling from the walls of this

seldom seen in myconids. It asks for exasperatingly minor details such as the precise dimensions of bricks or the density of lumber. Gasbide reveals through the rapport that it dreams of building a

Duties in Leilon

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

spend money and resources, as well as time, building their home. Of course, such a place would also need to serve a purpose to the town, like having an extra root cellar to store food, or a secret

themselves, others, or the town. For some items, of course, the certain components must be collected, and that could be an adventure of its own.

Miner's Exchange

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

with Halia, the guild master says tersely that she’ll be happy to talk after she’s certain the building won’t collapse. Hex Sharpe The destruction of the cornerstone weakened the foundation of the

building’s foundation. Standing to one side is Guild Master Halia, her expression tense as she barks orders. Guild Master Halia Thornton leads the building repair efforts. If a character attempts to talk

Goblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

goblin tribe has to nobility is the caste of lashers — families of goblins trained in the ways of battle, and also possessed of key skills such as strategy, trap-building, beast taming, mining

stone 14 Special breed of rat kept as pet 15 Teeth pulled out in certain places 16 Owlbear-feather cloaks 17 Scars from lashings 18 Orc-tusk lip piercings 19 Umbrellas

Horror Pacing

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

of calm. The best horror adventures are like roller coasters, ratcheting up suspense and releasing it before building toward the next harrowing moment. Also, mix up social interaction, exploration

thing that could happen right now. Describe feelings of being watched. Hint that the characters are being hunted. Let characters respond to these stray thoughts. Sometimes these impressions should

Business Rival: Emmek Frewn

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

, he bought a smaller, less impressive building in the same alley and turned it into a pub, which he calls Frewn’s Brews. If you decide to introduce Emmek as a business rival, choose an unmarked building

certain kinds of expenses and foolish with his coin in other ways. He tends to spend a lot on big, showy items and cut corners on the little amenities. Because he doesn’t have much coin to throw

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

the wrath of the legion down on their heads. The overreaching of the Azorius and the self-righteous wrath of the Boros engender true fear in the anarchic Rakdos cultists, and the Rakdos respond to fear with bloodshed. MATHIAS KOLLROS

Prepare to Be Scared

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

atmosphere of the adventure. Don’t consider fear a tactical disadvantage or something to be avoided. As part of playing a frightening game, you’re a participant in building and reinforcing a sense of dread

might they throw themself into battle, perhaps recklessly or for too long? Record a default reaction on your character sheet so you can respond consistently when shocking events occur. Beyond this

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