certain writing reveals

Criminal / Spy Legacy

Backgrounds Basic Rules (2014)

. Even criminals who operate outside of such organizations have strong preferences for certain kinds of crimes over others. Choose the role you played in your criminal life, or roll on the table below

. 4 I have a “tell” that reveals when I’m lying. 5 I turn tail and run when things look bad. 6 An innocent person is in prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that.

Cloistered Scholar

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

your cloister, a writing kit (small pouch with a quill, ink, folded parchment, and a small penknife), a borrowed book on the subject of your current study, and a pouch containing 10 gp FEATURE

work is a series of tomes related to a specific field of lore. 5 I’ve been searching my whole life for the answer to a certain question. 6 I sold my soul for knowledge. I hope to do

Book Description

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

, delicate parchment, but any attempt to damage the book fails, confirming that it is indestructible. The writing, in Sylvan, on each of the book’s seventy-two pages is in a fine, spidery hand, using

black ink flecked with silver. A detect magic spell reveals that the book gives off auras of illusion and transmutation magic, but an identify spell does not reveal the magical mark it bestows.

17. Vertrand's Room

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

17. Vertrand’s Room Vertrand. A bald, elderly man (Vertrand Shadowdusk) sits at a writing desk to the north, his back to the doorway. Bed. A simple bed stands against the south wall. Tapestry. A

tapestry hanging on the east wall depicts noble members of the Shadowdusk family, their features distorted in unnatural and frightening ways. (Close examination reveals that the tapestry has been

Languages and Dialects

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

languages can add an element of mystery to inscriptions and tomes that characters encounter. You might invent additional secret languages, besides Druidic and thieves’ cant, that allow members of certain

. In a region where one race has subjugated another, the language of the conquerors can become a mark of social status. Similarly, reading and writing might be restricted by law to the upper classes of a society.

Area Information

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rrakkma

temple marked the tenants of their faith upon these walls, but the writing has been virtually scoured from the walls. Only vague markings in certain places here and there give testimony that the

Opening the Book

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

shows it to be a cunningly contrived container. Its covering is made of supple leather reinforced with thicker strips of hide. Opening the cover reveals three intricately carved, hollow wooden

cylinders and a linen bag of dry clay artfully decorated with a drop of water. Wooden Cylinders The outside of each cylinder is covered with writing and simple images, apparently telling a story in three

Revealing the Wynlings

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

themselves. If a character casts detect evil and good near one of the sabotaged stalls, it reveals the presence of a Fey creature nearby, a wynling drowsing on a nearby stall roof. If approached, the wynling

wynling to appear and try to take the fruit. A character can befriend a wynling once it reveals itself by succeeding on a DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check. If characters who can speak and understand

Activating a Magic Item

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

details how an item is activated. Certain items use the following rules for their activation. Command Word A command word is a word or short phrase that must be spoken or signed for an item to work

they are activated. A Potion of Healing must be swallowed, for example, while the writing vanishes from a scroll when it is read. Once used, a consumable item loses its magic. Spells Cast from Items Some

Activating an Item

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

if it is a potion. The description of each item category or individual item details how an item is activated. Certain items use one or more of the following rules related to their activation. If an

, such as the area created by the silence spell. Consumables Some items are used up when they are activated. A potion or elixir must be swallowed, or an oil applied to the body. The writing vanishes

Where to Use Riddles

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things

: Creatures. Not every adversary wants to engage in mortal combat. Certain creatures might delight in a battle of wits. The reward for answering a creature’s riddle might be a small treasure, a bit of

confounding curio during short rests or while traveling. Sand-combing adventurers might find an incomprehensible message in a bottle that, when decoded, reveals itself to be a treasure map. The

Wiltroot Hall Locations (W1-W7)

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

) check reveals illegible scrawls in the dirt that match the writing in the journal the characters found in Sedgemoor last academic year. Some pests in Sedgemoor, eluding capture, grow to prodigious

table’s cabinet inside the hut reveals a pest mascot (see chapter 7) gnawing on a cracked, strange-looking stone. The pest is one of the mascots the characters must catalog for Professor Sharpbeak, as

To the Edge of Wildspace

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Spelljammer: Adventures in Space->Light of Xaryxis

To the Edge of Wildspace Once the characters are aboard the Second Wind and safely off the Rock of Bral, Krux reveals his plan to them: to travel to another Wildspace system called Doomspace, where

, though, so the ship’s immediate destination is a lonely tower on an asteroid, where a wizard-cartographer named Topolah lives. Topolah is Krux’s friend, and he’s certain she will be able to provide him

10. Drider Lair

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

wall at the south end of the cave. The arch is not visible from the cave entrance because of the webs concealing it.) The driders while away the days carving zurkhwood figurines and writing poems on

mountain with a full moon symbol above it. Close inspection of the moon reveals a half-inch-diameter hole in the middle of it. The arch is one of Halaster’s magic gates (see “Gates”). Its rules are

Vistani Curses

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

end: The target is unable to perform a certain kind of act involving fine motor control, such as tying knots, writing, playing an instrument, sewing, or casting spells that have somatic components. When

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

Eldritch Mist

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

–4 Shadowfell Fog 5–6 Wild Magic Fog Mist Thickness Mist lightly obscures the area it fills. Depending on its density, it heavily obscures an area beyond a certain distance from creatures within. Use

contains the souls of murder victims whose bodies were thrown into the sea. A DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals that this mist is ghost fog. The souls of the dead want the living to join them

Orc Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the gods has no clear explanation, the priests might have to meditate for hours or days to get a vision of its meaning. Every group of orcs has particular superstitions and recognizes certain omens

rarely keep records or write down their thoughts. When orcs need to communicate in writing, they use crude symbols to convey basic information, such as “food stored here,” “danger close

Loyalists of Kalakeri

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

and a symbol of undying loyalty. Benefits of Renown. Those who gain certain thresholds of renown with the loyalists can make requests of that faction and Maharani Ramya. These requests and the

a renown score of 25 or higher as trusted advisors and reveals her undead nature to them. Loyalist Benefits Renown Threshold Request Renown Adjustment 1 Moving unimpeded through loyalist

Mapping a Wilderness

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

uneven ground. Valleys and ridges channel travel in certain directions. Mountain ranges present forbidding barriers traversed only by remote passes. Even the most trackless desert reveals favored

Using a Magic Item

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver

identify spell on the item then reveals its properties. Alternatively, a character can concentrate on the item during a short rest, while being in physical contact with the item. At the end of the rest

, the character learns the item’s properties. Potions are an exception; a little taste is enough to tell the taster what the potion does. Certain magic items require a user to attune to them before their

L12. Textile Mill

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

have advantage on this check. The boggles avoid combat, surrendering if they face certain harm. If Squirt is with the party, it encourages the characters to acquire as much slippery boggle oil as

converse with strangers until the area is cleared of boggles. If the characters ask the children for help navigating the hag’s lair, Yevelda reveals that she knows a secret route into Skabatha’s bedroom

40. Arcturia's Chambers

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

Door and Trap. A secret door in the east wall opens into area 40c. The 10-foot-square space in front of the secret door contains a polymorph trap (see “Polymorph Traps”). A detect magic spell reveals

, 20 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Under certain conditions, it transforms into a nalfeshnee (see area 40c). The pedestal also transforms if it takes damage. With Halaster’s

Khea the Sage

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

direct, being a line from a paean to Phenax. As for the rest, Khea reveals that not only is it a cipher, but an incomplete one; letters have been removed from the message in some indiscernible pattern

. Without knowing what the other letters are, the writing is impossible to decode—even with magic—since it isn’t a meaningful message in its partial form. Buried in the Court of Orestes Although Khea can’t

Orc Culture and Beliefs

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

have to meditate for hours or days to get a vision of its meaning. Every group of orcs has particular superstitions and recognizes certain omens. These tenets vary from tribe to tribe, and are often

have a written language adapted from that of the dwarves, but they aren’t a literate culture and rarely keep records or write down their thoughts. When orcs need to communicate in writing, they use

The Forgotten Realms

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

worshiped locally, by individual tribes, small cults, or certain sects of larger religious temples. Deities of the Forgotten Realms Deity Alignment Suggested Domains Symbol Auril, goddess

or a blooming rose over grain Cyric, god of lies CE Trickery White jawless skull on black or purple sunburst Deneir, god of writing NG Knowledge Lit candle above an open eye Eldath, goddess of peace NG

14. Little Box of Horrors

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

a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. Opening the box without the proper key, however, causes the acid overhead to plunge. The box’s interior is lined with thin sheets of lead to thwart certain forms

of divination magic, including the detect magic spell. Inside the box is the dry, withered heart of a tiefling wizard (see area 24b). A detect magic spell reveals an aura of necromancy magic around the

2. Hall of Many Pillars

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

loudly as it hits the floor. Warning. The words “Certain death this way!” are carved in Common on the southeast wall, with an arrow pointing toward the southern exit. The bugbears detect the approach

. Secret Compartment. Inspection of the southernmost pillar reveals a loose stone in its base. Behind the stone is an empty compartment, its contents discovered and plundered long ago.

Caer Locations (C20-C24)

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

. Avarice’s Quarters This room is the private quarters of an albino tiefling who sits at a small desk in the dark, writing in a book with white leather covers. An ink-black crow perches on one of her

. Levistus sent a telepathic message to Avarice, urging her not to antagonize a certain party of adventurers until they’ve helped her reach her goal: the lost Netherese city of Ythryn. Realizing that the

The Maze

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat

The Maze The hedge maze surrounding the central tower is an astounding work of magical construction. In certain regards, it’s even more impressive than the tower because of the powerful ways it

are quick to point out this anomaly, to prove to the characters that the maze is nothing to take lightly. The view from above reveals the maze as it exists in the real world. The view up the path from

The Maze

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons

The Maze The hedge maze surrounding the central tower is an astounding work of magical construction. In certain regards, it’s even more impressive than the tower because of the powerful ways it

quick to point out this anomaly, to prove to the characters that the maze is nothing to take lightly. The view from above reveals the maze as it exists in the real world. The view up the path from

After the Fire

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

doesn’t know who or what caused the fire, but she’s certain it wasn’t her. If the characters played a part in her rescue, she thanks them for saving her life. Edith then asks the characters to find the

succeeding on a DC 12 Intelligence (History) check reveals the roll was made at a local bakery owned by a dwarf named Fill Flourforge (see “Fill’s Bakery”). Family Portrait. A character who searches the

L14. Study

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

a human skull resting on an open rolltop desk. Skabatha Nightshade spends part of her day here (see Where’s Skabatha? earlier in the chapter); if present, she is seated at the writing desk and

their magic to drive others to do the opposite of what they desire. All the book’s writing is backward. Pity He’s an Elf is a collection of illustrated short stories about an elf adventurer named Aethyn

Empty Bridge

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

. The wizard’s headless corpse sits at his desk, which is covered with gore. A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that the corpse’s skull exploded a few

writing is dismissive and arrogant; in multiple places, the writer confidently insists that his magic amulet makes him utterly immune to Ilvaash’s detection. The journal contains the following notes

Trades Ward

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

a creature. Now, every four years, the ward reveals a new object for its mascot, declaring it to be the mimic. The nature of the object is subject to much speculation and rumor until its unveiling

fakes out of cake or paper that are easily crushed when assumed to be real, and so on. As of the writing of this enchiridion, the current mimic is a tankard.

D&D Beyond

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