causes of death

Wand of Orcus

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide

from it (save DC 18). The table indicates how many charges you must expend to cast the spell. Spell Charge Cost Animate Dead 1 Blight 2 Circle of Death 3 Finger of

Death 3 Power Word Kill 4 Speak with Dead 1 While attuned to the wand, Orcus or a follower blessed by him can cast each of the wand’s spells using 2 fewer charges (minimum of 0

Bone Whelk

Monsters Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Adhesive. The bone whelk can cause Medium or smaller objects to adhere to it. A Medium or smaller creature that touches the bone whelk is grappled by it (escape DC 10). Death Scream. When the bone

whelk dies, it emits a blood-curdling shriek than can be heard out to a range of 120 feet. This shriek causes nonmagical, organic material within 10 feet of the bone whelk to rot. Each creature within

Orcus

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

will: animate dead (as an action), blight, speak with dead 1 charge each: circle of death, finger of death 2 charges: power word killOrcus can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options

Tail or Necrotic Bolt attack. Creeping Death (Costs 2 Actions). Orcus chooses a point on the ground that he can see within 100 feet of him. A cylinder of swirling necrotic energy 60 feet tall and

Orcus Legacy

Monsters Out of the Abyss

with dead. Alternatively, he can expend 1 or more of the wand’s charges to cast one of the following spells from it: circle of death (1 charge), finger of death (1 charge), or power word kill (2

. A Taste of Undeath. Orcus casts chill touch (17th level). Creeping Death (Costs 2 Actions). Orcus chooses a point on the ground that he can see within 100 feet of him. A cylinder of swirling

Eldritch Lich

Monsters Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures

Realm. In 2d4;{"diceNotation":"2d4","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Far Realm Parasite (Days)"} days, the parasite causes the lich to reappear within 1d4;{"diceNotation":"1d4","rollType":"roll

becoming an eldritch lich. Like other liches, eldritch liches are spellcasters who have cheated death, but an eldritch lich does so by allowing a Great Old One to implant a Far Realm parasite in the lich

Tree Blight

Monsters Curse of Strahd

with its heavy branches and crushes prey to death with its roots. It can open its gaping, tooth-filled mouth and bite a creature caught in its roots. The roots of a tree blight can be severed, though

cutting them causes the blight no harm. Blight Animosity. A tree blight will often fight alongside other kinds of blights, but it hates other tree blights and will attack them given the chance. Tree

Returned Kakomantis

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

Bolt","rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage.Although the dead typically recall little of their lives, some have an obsession with magic that survives both death and rebirth as a Returned. These

, which manifest as separate beings known as eidolons. The experience of escaping the Underworld also causes them to lose their faces, which become expressionless surfaces with empty eye sockets and gaping

Oinoloth

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

invulnerability Teleport. The oinoloth teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.Grim specters of death, oinoloths bring pestilence

wherever they go. When armies recognize their awful forms, their mere appearance causes soldiers to break ranks and flee, lest they succumb to one of the awful plagues that oinoloths let loose

Undercity Medusa

Monsters Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

cables, and its hands are scaly claws. The gaze of a medusa's glowing eyes causes living tissue to petrify. The transformation is rapid, leaving the victim as a stone statue, usually frozen in a position

undercity like hungry predators. LUDMILLA, THE TUNNEL VIPER Ludmilla is the last surviving member of the Sisters of Stone Death, the trio of power-hungry medusas who slew Svogthir, the original

Baba Lysaga

Monsters Curse of Strahd

black tentacles, polymorph 5th level (2 slots): cloudkill, geas, scrying 6th level (1 slot): programmed illusion, true seeing 7th level (1 slot): finger of death, mirage arcane 8th level (1 slot

death upon her. Lysaga eventually got her wish, and after Strahd settled in the valley of Barovia, Lysaga moved as close to him as she dared to. In the filth-ridden depths of her heart, Lysaga knows

Returned Palamnite

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

(3d6);{"diceNotation":"3d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Shortsword","rollDamageType":"poison"} poison damage.Even death and the loss of their identities can’t erase the rage that inspires

known as eidolons. The experience of escaping the Underworld also causes them to lose their faces, which become expressionless surfaces with empty eye sockets and gaping mouths. These blank surfaces

Yeenoghu Legacy

Monsters Out of the Abyss

atrocities in his name. Yeenoghu takes pleasure in causing fear before death, and he sows sorrow and despair through destroying beloved things. He doesn’t parlay; to meet him is to do battle with him

hands before ripping out its throat with his teeth.Yeenoghu’s Lair Yeenoghu’s lair in the Abyss is called the Death Dells, its barren hills and ravines serving as one great hunting ground

Yeenoghu

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

them into flind;flinds. Yeenoghu takes pleasure in causing fear before death, and he sows sorrow and despair through destroying beloved things. He doesn’t parlay; to meet him is to do battle with

at will, although he is as likely to tear his prey apart with his teeth.Yeenoghu’s Lair Yeenoghu’s lair in the Abyss is called the Death Dells. Its barren hills and ravines serve as a

Storm Giant Quintessent

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

end of their natural life spans seek an escape from death. They plumb the depths of their powerful connection to the elements and disperse themselves into nature, transforming into semiconscious storms

of the following effects: Downpour. Rain, snow, or blowing dust or sand (whichever is most appropriate) is constant within 1 mile of the lair. Rain causes rivers and streams to fill or overflow

Staff of the Forgotten One

Magic Items Tomb of Annihilation

known on many worlds as a sign of death. Beneficial Properties. While the staff is on your person, you gain the following benefits: Your proficiency bonus to Intelligence (Arcana) and Intelligence

destroys both the staff and the life force trapped within it. The staff doesn’t explode if destroyed in this manner, but its destruction causes the sphere to be destroyed as well.

Auril (Second Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

Short or Long Rest). Auril causes a magical blast of cold air to erupt from her hand. Each creature in a 60-foot cone must make a DC 21 Constitution saving throw, taking 36 (8d8);{"diceNotation":"8d8

damage from swirling ice, and nonmagical, open flames in that area are extinguished. Splinter (Costs 3 Actions). Auril uses Create Ice Mephit or causes one to ice mephit she can see within 60 feet of

Halaster Blackcloak

Monsters Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage

terrain, polymorph 5th level (3 slots): Bigby's hand, geas, wall of force 6th level (2 slots): chain lightning, globe of invulnerability, programmed illusion 7th level (2 slots): finger of death

feet of him, turning the open space to solid, worked stone or vice versa. Halaster causes one door or archway within 30 feet of him to disappear and be replaced by a blank wall, or he restores a door

Zariel

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

evil and good, fireball, invisibility (self only), major image, wall of fire 3/day each: blade barrier, dispel evil and good, finger of death Teleport. Zariel teleports, along with any equipment

damage no more than once per round. Smoke. The area within 2 miles of the lair, but no closer than 500 feet, is filled with smoke, which causes the area to be heavily obscured. The smoke can’t be

Death Dog Legacy

Monsters Basic Rules (2014)

. Hate burns in a death dog's heart, and a taste for humanoid flesh drives it to attack travelers and explorers. Death dog saliva carries a foul disease that causes a victim's flesh to slowly rot off the bone.

failure. This reduction lasts until the disease is cured. The creature dies if the disease reduces its hit point maximum to 0.A death dog is an ugly two-headed hound that roams plains, and deserts

Darkling Elder Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

Death Burn. When the darkling elder dies, magical light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its body and possessions, other than metal or magic objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area

must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 7 (2d6);{"diceNotation":"2d6","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Death Burn","rollDamageType":"radiant"} radiant damage and

Darkling Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

Death Flash. When the darkling dies, nonmagical light flashes out from it in a 10-foot radius as its body and possessions, other than metal or magic objects, burn to ash. Any creature in that area

chambers beneath the towns of other species. From such enclaves, they quietly ply their trade as thieves and assassins. The Killing Light. The Summer Queen's curse causes a darkling's body to absorb light

Eye and Hand of Vecna Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

power, Vecna couldn’t escape his own mortality. He began to fear death and take steps to prevent his end from ever coming about. Orcus, the demon prince of undeath, taught Vecna a ritual that

would allow him to live on as a lich. Beyond death, he became the greatest of all liches. Even though his body gradually withered and decayed, Vecna continued to expand his evil dominion. So formidable

Wand of Orcus Legacy

Magic Items Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

or more of its charges to cast one of the following spells (save DC 18) from it: animate dead (1 charge), blight (2 charges), circle of death (3 charges), finger of death (3 charges), power word kill

imprisoned the hero’s soul and keeps it hidden and well guarded. Bathing the wand in positive energy causes it to crack and explode, but unless the above conditions are met, the wand instantly reforms on Orcus’s layer of the Abyss.

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

(except for those few who seek undeath or divine ascension to escape death’s clutches) they achieve it by ensuring that they will be remembered when they are gone. Although some humans can be

, 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

Zariel Legacy

Monsters Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

), detect evil and good, fireball, invisibility (self only), wall of fire 3/day each: blade barrier, dispel evil and good, finger of death Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Zariel fails a saving throw

take this damage no more than once per round. The area within 2 miles, but no closer than 500 feet, of the lair is filled with smoke, which causes the area to be heavily obscured. The smoke can&rsquo

Fall of Grimskalle

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

Fall of Grimskalle When her final form is reduced to 0 hit points, Auril emits a death-howl that causes the two uppermost floors of Grimskalle (the battlement level and the palace level, as shown on

map 5.2) to crack and begin to collapse. Creatures have 1 minute to escape these levels of the fortress before they are crushed to death by icy rubble. Grimskalle’s entry level (areas G1 through G6) and dungeon level (areas G10 through G23) remain intact and accessible after the collapse.

Mortuary Features

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

commune with the dead through them. A speak with dead spell cast on a death mask causes the face to animate as if it were the corpse of the deceased creature that bore its likeness. The Heralds of Dust

throughout. Death Masks. The walls of the Mortuary are adorned with thousands of death masks imprinted with the faces of Sigil’s dead. Planar magic flows through the masks, allowing spellcasters to

Quest Goals

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sleeping Dragon’s Wake

Quest Goals To complete the Death Knight-Dreadnaught Quest (see “The Quest Board”), the adventurers must rescue Tarbin Tul from the dreadnaught’s hold or otherwise stop him from singing to the vessel. Doing so causes the dreadnaught to cast off from the rocks and return to sea.

22. Under Black Sheets

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

Moonstar as a death knight.) Vision. Any character who lifts or pulls away a black drape experiences one of Umbraxakar’s visions. Dragon’s Vision In this vision, the character is in the presence of

Vanrak Moonstar, a death knight wearing a mithral chain shirt and clutching a bladeless sword hilt. “This is not the fate either of us deserved,” he says mournfully. “In darkness, we have lost our way

Death Dog

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)

explorers. Death dog saliva carries a foul disease that causes a victim’s flesh to slowly rot off the bone. Death Dog Medium monstrosity, neutral evil Armor Class 12 Hit Points 39 (6d8 + 12

Death Dog A death dog is an ugly two-headed hound that roams plains, deserts, and the Underdark. Hate burns in a death dog’s heart, and a taste for humanoid flesh drives it to attack travelers and

Astral Projection

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

a dream. A character’s death — either in the Astral Plane or on the destination plane — causes no actual harm. Only the severing of a character’s silver cord while on the Astral Plane (or the death

of his or her helpless physical body on the Material Plane) can result in the character’s true death. Thus, high-level characters sometimes travel to the Outer Planes by way of astral projection rather

Death Dog

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

when a creature no longer has the Poisoned condition from a death dog’s Bite. Death Dog Malady Symptoms 1d6 The Death Dog’s Malady Causes... 1 Marks from canine jaws to appear on the victim’s

Death Dog Two-Headed Spreader of Disease Habitat: Desert; Treasure: None Daren Bader ...and his sorrows will stalk your land like hungry dogs until the seas turn to sand and the sun burns to cinders

Introduction

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation

dead but also causes creatures that were previously raised from the dead to wither and die. The source of this death curse lies in a trap-riddled tomb hidden beneath a lost city in the depths of a vast

Introduction Something evil is trapping the souls of the dead and draining life from all who have been raised from death by magic. This worldwide “death curse” not only prevents the raising of the

Samurai

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

immediately take an extra turn, interrupting the current turn. While you have 0 hit points during that extra turn, taking damage causes death saving throw failures as normal, and three death saving

Strike, Fighting Spirit (15 temp. hp) 18th Strength before Death Bonus Proficiency When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice

Heralds of Dust

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

exceptions for magic that causes individuals to rise as Undead—a transformation Dusters view as a natural stepping stone on the path to True Death.

breaking an endless cycle of mortality for themselves and others. Alix Branwyn Symbol of the Heralds of Dust The Heralds of Dust—or the Dusters, as they’re commonly called—see death as a spectrum

D&D Beyond

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