calling religions groups to have rather

Book of Exalted Deeds

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

The definitive treatise on all that is good in the multiverse, the Book of Exalted Deeds figures prominently in many religions. Rather than being a scripture devoted to a particular faith, the book

Edgin Darvis

Monsters Thieves’ Gallery

relies on charisma first—rather than magic or muscle—to escape trouble. Once a member of the Harpers, a spy organization dedicated to protecting Faerûn’s common folk, Edgin has

confidence and rakish demeanor make him a natural leader. With carefully chosen words, he inspires the members of his thieves’ crew to greatness. But when his past mistakes come calling, Edgin must

Gift of Gab

Spells Acquisitions Incorporated

Jim Darkmagic is said to have invented this spell, originally calling it I said what?! Have you ever been talking to the local monarch and accidentally mentioned how their son looks like your

favorite hog from when you were growing up on the family farm? We’ve all been there! But rather than being beheaded for an honest slip of the tongue, you can pretend it never happened — by

Mercion

Monsters The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

natural leader and a protective caregiver. She has a direct manner that reassures and inspires those around her. Mercion does not worship a deity, but rather an ideal: that truth gives life to artistry

administers healing. She uses Radiant Fire against groups of foes when there’s no chance of harming allies or innocent lives, otherwise resorting to hold person spells and Divine Radiance attacks

Faction Agent

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

, and their members operate anywhere the organization deems necessary. These groups employ listeners, rumormongers, smugglers, sellswords, cache-holders (people who guard caches of wealth or magic for

knowledge, rather than brute force. Harper agents are often proficient in Investigation, enabling them to be adept at snooping and spying. They often seek aid from other Harpers, sympathetic bards and

Inheritor

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

your adventuring career, you can decide whether to tell your companions about your inheritance right away. Rather than attracting attention to yourself, you might want to keep your inheritance a secret

. (Neutral) 6 Destiny. Nothing and no one can steer me away from my higher calling. (Any) d6 Bond 1 I have a family, but I have no idea where they are. One day, I hope to see

Mercenary Veteran

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

few organizations operating in the North are described below. The Chill. The cold and mysterious Lurkwood serves as the home of numerous groups of goblinoids that have banded together into one tribe

enemies is blind and unreasoning. 5 I obey the law, even if the law causes misery. 6 I’d rather eat my armor than admit when I’m wrong.

Book of Exalted Deeds Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

The definitive treatise on all that is good in the multiverse, the fabled Book of Exalted Deeds figures prominently in many religions. Rather than being a scripture devoted to a particular faith, the

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. Human Names and Ethnicities Having so much more variety than other cultures, humans as a whole have no typical names. Some human parents

. In the Forgotten Realms, nine human ethnic groups are widely recognized, though over a dozen others are found in more localized areas of Faerûn. These groups, and the typical names of their

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

. Gang Mentality Since bugbears aren’t a particularly fecund race, their overall population is small and spread over a wide area. Bugbears live in family groups that operate much like gangs. The

Druid Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

. Whether calling on the elemental forces of nature or emulating the creatures of the animal world, druids are an embodiment of nature’s resilience, cunning, and fury. They claim no mastery over

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

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

’ serpent gods into their religions. These victories sent a constant influx of food, ore, and slaves back to the home cities. The wealth of the empire allowed the ruling elite plenty of time to

of evil that calls for them to butcher or eradicate all who oppose them. In keeping with their goal of domination, the yuan-ti would rather capture potentially useful opponents than kill them. They use

Paladin Legacy

Classes Basic Rules (2014)

of the world, but even fewer people can claim the true calling of a paladin. When they do receive the call, these warriors turn from their former occupations and take up arms to fight evil. Sometimes

their oaths lead them into the service of the crown as leaders of elite groups of knights, but even then their loyalty is first to the cause of righteousness, not to crown and country. Adventuring

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

beyond the horizon—makes an adventuring career a natural calling. Every adventure is an opportunity to learn, practice a variety of skills, enter long-forgotten tombs, discover lost works of magic

Walking a Different Path

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated

the Ancestral Guardian Rather than calling upon the spirits of your ancestors, you are in communion with the franchise executives and corporate raiders who have traveled your path before. These paragons

you still can’t invoke the power of a totem creature when you need it. Rather than calling upon the bear, eagle, or wolf as your totem, you might gain the same features by calling upon more urban

Mount Makab

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

Mount Makab Calling Makab a mountain is a wild misnomer; it is a malignant deformation on a planetary scale, a spire with no apparent summit. Its contorted slopes stretch into the toxic heavens, and

its form occupies the periphery of viewers’ attention no matter which direction they look. Mount Makab is not a natural feature, but rather part of a colossal, illithid-designed device. Its purposes

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

groups called flocks. A flock is led by the oldest and most experienced kenku with the widest store of knowledge to draw on, often called Master. Although kenku can’t create new things, they have

kenku, constant attempts to mimic noises can come across as confusing or irritating rather than entertaining. You can just as easily describe the sounds your character makes and what they mean. Be clear

Loyalty

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

can track the loyalty scores of groups of NPCs, such as those belonging to each faction, rather than having to track NPCs individually. The characters must balance the goals and bonds of their followers in order to maintain and improve their loyalty.

Dragonmarked Characters

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

Dragonmarked Characters Some examples of characters with this mark: Paladin Soldier. You’re a Sentinel Marshal, and you feel a divine calling to the cause of justice. You may follow Dol Arrah or the

enforcement, rather than soldiers. Monk Entertainer. You love being in the thick of battle, but you’ve never had an interesting in being a mercenary. Instead, you found your path as a gladiator. You

Other Religious Systems

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

Other Religious Systems In your campaign, you can create pantheons of gods who are closely linked in a single religion, monotheistic religions (worship of a single deity), dualistic systems (centered

on two opposing deities or forces), mystery cults (involving personal devotion to a single deity, usually as part of a pantheon system), animistic religions (revering the spirits inherent in nature

Beyond the Mundane Life

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

front lines of the cosmic struggle against evil. Fighters are rare enough among the ranks of the militias and armies of the world, but even fewer people can claim the true calling of a paladin. When

they do receive the call, these warriors turn from their former occupations and take up arms to fight evil. Sometimes their oaths lead them into the service of the crown as leaders of elite groups of

Beyond the Mundane Life

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

front lines of the cosmic struggle against evil. Fighters are rare enough among the ranks of the militias and armies of the world, but even fewer people can claim the true calling of a paladin. When

they do receive the call, these warriors turn from their former occupations and take up arms to fight evil. Sometimes their oaths lead them into the service of the crown as leaders of elite groups of

The Undertakers

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

The Undertakers A gang of neutral evil human bandits calling themselves the Undertakers prey on gullible adventurers, demanding a toll of 10 gp per character for safe passage through this level of

defeat, the bandits try to orchestrate a conflict between the adventurers and the goblinoids, which they hope will get rid of one or both groups.

Shared World

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

Shared World Some groups take a large, established campaign setting and divide it up geographically so different DMs can run separate campaigns in the same setting. In theory, characters can travel

from one DM’s region of the world to another’s, creating continuity in the campaign even as characters might be involved in several plotlines. Rather than dividing a campaign geographically, you and

Tyr

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide

the deliverance of vengeance. This devotion isn’t necessarily concerned with equality or fairness, but rather the discovery of truth and the punishment of the guilty. Those who favor Tyr tend to be

contempt others who can’t live by it — it wouldn’t be an honorable calling if everyone could muster the strength of will to follow it. Many orders of knighthood are devoted to Tyr, including the

Gift of Gab

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated

have invented this spell, originally calling it I said what?! Have you ever been talking to the local monarch and accidentally mentioned how their son looks like your favorite hog from when you were

growing up on the family farm? We’ve all been there! But rather than being beheaded for an honest slip of the tongue, you can pretend it never happened — by ensuring that no one knows it happened. When

Preparing for Battle

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

and calling for aid if someone gets hurt. To prepare for the battle, Mayor Raven calls out to those assembled, explaining the mercenaries will charge up the west side of the hill while the militia

and other participants charge down. The two groups will clash midway in a mock fight, with the mercenaries’ Istarian forces eventually retreating. Participants are encouraged to use their own armor but

Exemplars of Ambition

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

, wealth, and fame. More than other people, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. EVERYONE’S SECOND-BEST FRIENDS Just as readily as they mix with each other, humans mingle with members

Exemplars of Ambition

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

, wealth, and fame. More than other people, humans champion causes rather than territories or groups. EVERYONE'S SECOND-BEST FRIENDS Just as readily as they mix with each other, humans mingle with members

Appendix B: Character Names

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

character race in the Player’s Handbook or a real-world ethnic or language group, with a focus on groups from antiquity and the Middle Ages. You can select from the possibilities here, or use dice to

have a dwarven name. Or, as DM, you might decide that dragonborn in your campaign have a culture reminiscent of ancient Rome and therefore use Roman names, rather than the dragonborn names suggested here.

Espionage Agency Contacts

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

Espionage Agency Contacts Your assignments come from a superior in the agency who typically works at a desk rather than in the field—compiling intelligence into reports for their superiors and

coordinating the activities of multiple groups. Use the Agency Contacts table to determine the character of your superior, which can shape the kinds of missions you undertake and the degree of support you

Travel in Anauroch

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries

roads and paths that crisscross Anauroch. Some of these paths are invisible on the ground, and the Bedine navigate by using the stars at night. Groups of Bedine might be traders carrying goods

, scouts looking for food, or bandits hoping to raid merchant caravans that try to shortcut their way across the desert rather than circumnavigate it. The Bedine nomads can act as guides for lost characters, offer clues for stuck players, and provide food and water for adventurers in desperate need.

Inhabitants

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

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

of laws, and maintenance of civic infrastructure. These groups each follow a philosophy inspired by a cosmic aspect of the multiverse, and they actively recruit visitors and citizens into their ranks

Splitting Loyalties

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

agent of the Sunweaver—deemed service in the Brightguard a holy calling, the group’s ranks swelled. Most members have unshakable resolve, but recent revolutionary acts have the order on edge. The

they defend the order and its members like lions protect their prides. They resent other revolutionary groups whose violent ways cause the people to distrust the Silent Roar by extension. Many Silent

Into the Wilds

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

that can tear down the walls of the mightiest fortress. They tested it in the Katachthon Mountains and plan to use it against any who don’t pay tribute. (False) 3 A minotaur calling himself King

greatest wish. (False) 5 Groups of gold-masked Returned from Odunos have been harassing travelers, demanding to know if anyone’s seen a Returned wandering alone. (True) 6 An immense hydra

D&D Beyond

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