building before driven common reality

Humanoid Mutate

Monsters Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

as smooth as a salamander’s. Some intelligent Humanoid mutates retain their personalities from before they were exposed to the Far Realm. Some, driven by the allure of otherworldly powers, seek

have tried to create armies of mutates to sweep through the Underdark. However, their efforts always proved fruitless, and eventually the mind flayers gave up their schemes. Several common types of

Ygorl, Lord of Entropy

Monsters Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

of eternity. It has no sense of empathy or compassion, driven only to unmake so that the resulting base elements of reality can fuel the multiverse’s endless cycles of creation and destruction

to parley with Ygorl are known to have been driven to madness in the process. Death and Destruction. Ygorl’s most notable possession is an adamantine scythe with the slaad word for death

Demogorgon

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

long to delirium. As a result, all followers of the Prince of Demons break with reality sooner or later.Demogorgon’s Lair Demogorgon makes his lair in a palace called Abysm, found on a layer

Demogorgon’s followers are typically lone killers driven by the whispering voice of their master. His most blessed followers gain the Two Minds of Chaos trait. Two Minds of Chaos. This creature

Symbol Legacy

Spells Basic Rules (2014)

common triggers are opening the object, approaching within a certain distance of it, or seeing or reading the glyph. You can further refine the trigger so the spell is activated only under certain

Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target is driven insane for 1 minute. An insane creature can't take actions, can't understand what other creatures say, can't read, and speaks only in

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Guild took over your family business, ran it into the ground, and burned the building for insurance money. You were driven into crime yourself, but you’ll never work for the Guild. You take

type of gaming set, thieves’ tools Equipment: A crowbar, a set of dark common clothes including a hood, and a pouch containing 15 gp Criminal Origins Criminals are pervasive in Baldur

Investigator

Backgrounds Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

the mysteries you’re embroiled in are local crimes or realm-spanning conspiracies, you’re driven by a personal need to hunt down even the most elusive clues and reveal what others would

, evidence from a past case (choose one or roll for a trinket from the Horror Trinkets table after this background), a set of Clothes, Common;common clothes, and 10 gp Path to Mystery Your first case

Triton Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

and worse, so you know you can count on them in a fight. — Brego Stoneheart, sea captain Tritons guard the ocean depths, building small settlements beside deep trenches, portals to the

the depths revealed that krakens, sahuagin, and far worse foes had fled the Plane of Water for the Material Plane. The tritons, driven by a sense of duty and responsibility, would not allow their foes

Knight of the Order

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

. The reality of the dangers they faced eventually sank in, as did Lurue’s tenets. Over time the small group grew and spread, gaining a following in places as far as Cormyr. The Knights of the

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

Urchin Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

Hand, StealthTool Proficiencies: Disguise kit, thieves’ toolsEquipment: A small knife, a map of the city you grew up in, a pet mouse, a token to remember your parents by, a set of common clothes

shaped by lives of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better

Hobgoblin

Species Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Hobgoblins trace their origins to the ancient courts of the Feywild, where they first appeared with their goblin and bugbear kin. Many of them were driven from the Feywild by the conquering god

above 20. Languages Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of

Zargon the Returner

Monsters Quests from the Infinite Staircase

another plane—or another reality entirely. When Asmodeus ascended the infernal hierarchy, he and his legions wiped out most of the plane’s earlier inhabitants, but Zargon proved beyond even

Hells in disgust, banishing the elder evil to the Material Plane. The horn was driven deep into the earth where it fell, entombing Zargon below. Eventually a civilization arose above Zargon’s

Half-Elf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

, wandering the wilds as trappers, foresters, hunters, or adventurers and visiting civilization only rarely. Like elves, they are driven by the wanderlust that comes of their longevity. Others, in

. EXCELLENT AMBASSADORS Many half-elves learn at an early age to get along with everyone, defusing hostility and finding common ground. As a race, they have elven grace without elven aloofness and

Deck of Several Things

Magic Items Lost Laboratory of Kwalish

adventure. The Fates. Reality’s fabric unravels and spins anew, allowing you to avoid or erase one event as if it never happened. You can use the card’s magic as soon as you draw the card

common or uncommon magic weapon with which you are proficient, or a spell scroll featuring a spell of a level you can cast, appears in your hands. The DM chooses the weapon or spell, which you

Selesnya Initiate

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

Sylvan Equipment: A Selesnya insignia, a healer’s kit, robes, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 5 gp (Azorius 1-zino coins) Feature: Conclave’s Shelter As a

always straining to peer into another reality that seems to be just beyond my senses. 5 I’m uneasy if I can’t see plants growing or feel soil beneath my feet. 6 Seeing illness

The Inner Planes

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player’s Handbook

The Inner Planes Elemental forces and the building blocks of reality originate from these Inner Planes: Elemental Plane of Air. Winds blow clouds and floating islands across this boundless sky

Urchin - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

in, a pet mouse, a token to remember your parents by, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 10 gp FEATURE: CITY SECRETS You know the secret patterns and flow to cities and

of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better life &mdash

Dwarf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

picks and hammers in deep mines and blazing forges, a commitment to clan and tradition, and a burning hatred of goblins and orcs—these common threads unite all dwarves. Short and Stout Bold

common shades are light brown or deep tan, like certain tones of earth. Their hair, worn long but in simple styles, is usually black, gray, or brown, though paler dwarves often have red hair. Male

Shifter Legacy

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

personality: a feline shifter may be cool and distant, driven by predatory instincts, while a shifter with a lupine spirit might be drawn to find and protect a pack. When a shifter fully embraces this beast

within they physically transform for a short time. A shifter’s beast within is reflected by the shifter’s subrace. Four subraces are especially common: Beasthide often signifies the

Anthropologist

Backgrounds Tomb of Annihilation

survive—or why they did not. Some anthropologists are driven by intellectual curiosity, while others want the fame and recognition that comes with being the first to discover a new people, a

culture—even one in need of aid. (Lawful) 3 Knowledge. By understanding other races and cultures, we learn to understand ourselves. (Any) 4 Power. Common people crave strong

Cults of the Dragon Below

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

. Drive all doubt from your heart and you will see reality through new eyes. The Cults of the Dragon Below are wildly diverse. The tenets above describe the beliefs of three different cults, and the

image of the holy symbol is one common example—a piece of volcanic glass—not something shared by all cults. There are warlocks who draw power from demon overlords and daelkyr cultists who serve mind

Charlatan

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

an upper ward noble. 2 You’ve crafted the identity of a prophet driven by holy visions. If you are a divine spellcaster, your actual faith may be entirely different from the one you profess

You’re a covert operative working for another nation, or for a powerful agency (a dragonmarked house, the City Watch, a criminal organization). Are you carrying out missions, or are you a sleeper agent building a deep cover?

Cults of the Dragon Below

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

, not from faith. Cults driven by madness have a warped view of reality. A cultist might believe aberrations are a higher form of life and that the daelkyr will elevate mortals. Other cultists may not

, and you will see reality through new eyes. The Korranberg Chronicle Raid Reveals Cult Chaos The people of Fairhaven were shocked by the revelation of bizarre cult activity in the center of one of

Ramshackle

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

Ramshackle Closed inn This aptly named building—which used to be the only inn in town—closed after its last owner, a retired sawyer named DeGrootz, hanged himself in the common room two years ago

. Some locals believe that DeGrootz’s hanging was staged to conceal his murder at the hands of some old “friends” of his. Townsfolk are currently using the vacant building for lumber storage, but anyone

Cosmic Horror

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

emerges through imagination and the indescribable, not details. At its best, cosmic horror makes characters feel gradually unmoored from their familiar reality. Cosmic horror is about ineffable forces

driven by motivations humans can’t understand. Cults, forbidden books, and strange symbols form the cornerstones of cosmic horror. The genre has a history of framing marginalized demographics as monstrous and stigmatizing mental illness. Be aware and avoid those tropes.

Golgari Agent

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

: Choose one of Elvish, Giant, or Kraul Equipment: A Golgari insignia, a poisoner’s kit, a pet beetle or spider, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp worth of mixed

the moss-covered building where I took part in my first reclamation mission. 5 I found something in the sewer that must never come to light. 6 I am forever grateful to the reclaimer who

History

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

first iteration of physical reality, which was subsequently sundered into the innumerable realities that now make up the Material Plane. The first inhabitant of this First World was Sardior, a ruby

is worshiped as a god, with clerics at her disposal. Mortals who covet wealth and power pledge their lives to the dragon queen. Tiamat can send a fragment of her power to the Material Plane, which manifests as a titanic, five-headed dragon driven by rampaging greed.

Path of Light

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

are the tool you will use to change reality. Practiced by many kalashtar, the Path of Light seeks to change reality by first bringing change within, using meditation to focus the mind and athletic

light. Violence is never the answer, and the only way to defeat evil is to redeem it. Lightbringers seek to inspire those who live in fear and enlighten those whose evil is driven by ignorance. The

Izzet Engineer

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

and twisted remains of a failed experiment, a hammer, a block and tackle, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 5 gp (Azorius 1-zino coins) Feature: Urban Infrastructure The popular

basic knowledge of the structure of buildings, including the stuff behind the walls. You can also find blueprints of a specific building in order to learn the details of its construction. Such

Undead Attack

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

Undead Attack This encounter occurs at night. As the characters approach the junction of the Triboar Trail and the High Road, set the scene: An oddly shaped building sits at the juncture of the

Triboar Trail and the High Road. Two entrances into the building are apparent: a smaller one at the northern corner, and a larger one, suitable for beasts of burden and wagons, near the first. Right now

Location Overview

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

the planar beacon and are refurbishing the tower for use as a garrison building. These efforts are led by Gallio Elibro, a powerful wizard and ranking member of the Order of the Many-Starred Cloak

, which have driven away his military work crew. Gallio is unaware that Thalivar’s spirit haunts the tower and possesses him each night to carry on its research!

Dragonborn

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

influence of the Lords of Dust. Over time they drifted away from their duties, building an empire in western Khorvaire and clashing with the Dhakaani goblinoids. This came crashing down when one of the

dragonborn believe they’re some exotic type of lizardfolk. If you’re a dragonborn PC, what has caused you to emerge from Q’barra? Are you on a quest to help your people or to oppose the Lords of Dust? Are you driven by wanderlust or curiosity? Did you serve as a mercenary in the Last War?

Genasi Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

, seeing them as accidents. Many feel nothing for their genasi children at all. Some genasi live as outcasts, driven into exile for their unsettling appearance and strange magic, or assuming leadership

bloodlines of those genasi have spread into other lands. Though far from common, air and fire genasi are more likely to be found in the western regions of Faerûn, along the coast from Calimshan north

Dragonborn

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

Lords of Dust. Over time they drifted away from their duties, building a nation in eastern Khorvaire and clashing with the goblinoids of the Dhakaani Empire. This dragonborn nation came crashing down

lizardfolk. If you’re a dragonborn, what has caused you to emerge from Q’barra? Are you on a quest to help your people or to oppose the Lords of Dust? Are you driven by wanderlust or curiosity? Did you serve as a mercenary in the Last War? How might your travels tie to the fate of your people?

Psychological Horror

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

between what characters think and how they behave. When creating adventures rooted in psychological horror, consider common fears and anxieties. These readily become metaphors for villains and monsters

. Uncertainty, paranoia, and blurred lines between reality and fiction also shape psychological horror stories. In your adventures, this might take the form of unreliable information. Characters might experience

Zargon the Returner

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Quests from the Infinite Staircase

-lived devils and occult sages theorize Zargon and its kind were invaders from another plane—or another reality entirely. When Asmodeus ascended the infernal hierarchy, he and his legions wiped out most

. Finally, Asmodeus cast Zargon’s horn from the Nine Hells in disgust, banishing the elder evil to the Material Plane. The horn was driven deep into the earth where it fell, entombing Zargon below

D&D Beyond

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