concept races glared to have rather

Anthropologist

Backgrounds Tomb of Annihilation

; Suggested Characteristics Anthropologists leave behind the societies into which they were born to discover what life is like in other parts of the world. They seek to see how other races and civilizations

lost tribe, or the truth about an ancient empire’s downfall. d6 Personality Trait 1 I prefer the company of those who aren’t like me, including people of other races

Feral Tiefling

Species Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

haven’t heard that rubbish before?” “I know you have.” When she glared at him, he added, “It’s not as if I’m plumbing the depths of your mind, dear girl. That

reflect their fiendish heritage. And some younger tieflings, striving to find a place in the world, adopt a name that signifies a virtue or other concept and then try to embody that concept. For some

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to pull his or her weight in the tribe. Typically, such a goliath dies attempting to keep up, or the goliath slips

away in the night to seek the cold will of fate. In some ways, the goliath drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in

Mark of Finding Half-Orc

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

, Tharashk bounty hunter The Mark of Finding sharpens the senses, guiding the hunter to prey. Alone among the dragonmarks, the Mark of Finding is carried by two races: humans and half-orcs. It first

customs of the others. The distinct clans that united to form the house remain important, and heirs of the family usually retain their family names rather than adopting “d’Tharashk” as

Mark of Finding Human

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

, Tharashk bounty hunter The Mark of Finding sharpens the senses, guiding the hunter to prey. Alone among the dragonmarks, the Mark of Finding is carried by two races: humans and half-orcs. It first

customs of the others. The distinct clans that united to form the house remain important, and heirs of the family usually retain their family names rather than adopting “d’Tharashk” as

Mercenary Veteran

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

hiring out as mercenaries to whoever in the North would pay them. Since then the mercenary company has broadened its membership to other races, but every member is an exile, criminal, or misfit of some

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.

Vedalken

Species Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

with ideas than with people. They form close friendships based on mutual interests or compelling disagreements, and their interactions dwell on their thoughts about those issues rather than their

feelings about them. To members of other races, vedalken often seem cold, even emotionless. That assessment isn’t fair—they feel emotion every bit as intensely as other folk do, but they are

Water Weird Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

those its summoner declares as off limits. When slain, a water weird becomes an inanimate pool of water. Good and Evil Weirds. Like most elementals, a water weird has no concept of good or evil

interlopers rather than kill them, while a neutral evil water weird kills its victims for pleasure and might turn against its summoner. A water weird loses its evil alignment if its waters are cleansed

Accursed

races

chosen with a specific character concept in mind. Accursed are so named not because their birth or creation was the result of magical malfeasance, a hag’s bargain, a corrupted scroll, or any

of the other typical senses of “curse” in the game. Rather, accursed reflects the grim sense of how most other folk in the campaign will view such a character, especially those who don

Tiefling Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

haven’t heard that rubbish before?” “I know you have.” When she glared at him, he added, “It’s not as if I’m plumbing the depths of your mind, dear girl. That

reflect their fiendish heritage. And some younger tieflings, striving to find a place in the world, adopt a name that signifies a virtue or other concept and then try to embody that concept. For some

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

the group’s needs, but the effect each action will have on the forest and the rest of the natural world. Firbolg tribes would rather go hungry than strain the land during a famine. Hidden

Shepherds As caretakers of the land, firbolgs prefer to remain out of sight and out of mind. They don’t try to dominate nature, but rather seek to ensure that it prospers and survives according to its

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

reckonings of most worlds, humans are the youngest of the common races, late to arrive on the world scene and short-lived in comparison to dwarves, elves, and dragons. Perhaps it is because of their

shorter lives that they strive to achieve as much as they can in the years they are given. Or maybe they feel they have something to prove to the elder races, and that’s why they build their mighty

Halfling Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have a knack for finding the most straightforward solution to a problem, and have little patience for dithering. Kind and

despite the rise and fall of empires. Many halflings live among other races, where the halflings’ hard work and loyal outlook offer them abundant rewards and creature comforts. Some halfling

Firbolg Names

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

Firbolg Names Firbolg adopt elven names when they must deal with outsiders, although the concept of names strikes them as strange. They know the animals and plants of the forest without formal names

, and instead identify the forest’s children by their deeds, habits, and other actions. By the same token, their tribe names merely refer to their homes. When dealing with other races, firbolgs refer

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

races have little good to say about kobolds, but they do admit that the little reptilians do respectable tunnel work using simple tools. If a band of kobolds is enslaved by more powerful creatures

other useful items, but if they are at risk of discovery, they run away rather than attack anyone in the house. By fleeing before they can be seen or identified, they avoid getting into a situation

Bugbear Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

; Elminster Bugbears feature in the nightmare tales of many races — great, hairy beasts that creep through the shadows as quiet as cats. If you walk alone in the woods, a bugbear will reach out

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

Character Names

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

names, that’s fine. If the group would rather take the characters and their names a little more seriously, urge Bob’s player to come up with a more appropriate name. Player character names should match

each other in flavor or concept, and they should also match the flavor of your campaign world — so should the nonplayer characters’ names and place names you create. Travok and Kairon don’t want to undertake a quest for Lord Cupcake, visit Gumdrop Island, or take down a crazy wizard named Ray.

Background

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

Background There exists an underwater abyss known as the Endless Nadir — a haunted place shunned by the aquatic races of the region, for this realm is the site of a submerged city of aboleths. For

aboleth mulled over the concept of Tharizdun in idle moments, and eventually those thoughts flowered into something alien and repulsive to most aboleths: religious faith.

Using This Book

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

the game. It includes information on the various races, classes, backgrounds, equipment, and other customization options that you can choose from. Many of the rules in part 1 rely on material in parts

2 and 3. If you come across a game concept in part 1 that you don’t understand, consult the book’s index. Part 2 (chapters 7–9) details the rules of how to play the game, beyond the basics described

Survival of the Fittest

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

pity for adults who can’t take care of themselves, though a sick or injured individual is treated, as a result of the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to

themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in battle, at the peak of strength and skill, than endure the slow decay of old age. Few folk

Mind Flayer Magic

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

after death would its consciousness be cast into oblivion. Two divine entities have long been associated with mind flayers by the scholars of other races. These aren’t deities, but rather

power. Since they are capable of planar travel, illithids don’t view the afterlife and the Outer Planes in the mythic way that most other races do. Illithids don’t believe they possess souls whose

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Realms

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

varied cultures and races, Faerûn is dominated by human lands, be they kingdoms, city-states, or carefully maintained alliances of rural communities. Interspersed among the lands of humans are old dwarven

extraplanar exploration, “Faerûn” is more than large enough of a concept for them to comprehend. Except in the most remote or insular places, Faerûnians are accustomed to seeing people of different

The True Threat

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

them to participate rather than the elves. Members of these four races have come together, overlooking their previous rivalries and differences, to negotiate an agreement of cooperation. But even as

aquatic races. The lizardfolk’s main purpose is to form an army to expel the sahuagin from the area. In so doing, they hope to discourage the sahuagin from ever again intruding on the region. The

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

smooth-skins is far greater. Despite their alien outlook, some lizardfolk make an effort to understand and, in their own manner, befriend people of other races. Such lizardfolk make faithful and

pleasurable creatures and things are ones that allow lizardfolk to assess more situations as benign rather than fearsome. Cold and Calculating Most humanoids describe cold-blooded people as lacking in

Origin of the Ordning

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants

the ordning in some mythic future. Giants on some worlds (including Eberron) have no concept of the ordning at all. Such giants might think of themselves as a single species, with the differences

among giant kinds reflecting a cultural or geographical distinction rather than an inherent one. They might live in bands composed of multiple giant kinds or family groups of a single kind. Or giants of

Character Advancement

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

taking part in a play session. A character reaches 1 checkpoint for each hour an adventure is designed to last. Note that the award is based on the adventure’s projected playing time, rather than the

designed to take 2 hours, the character reaches 3 checkpoints. Playing time might seem like an odd way to measure experience awards, but the concept is in keeping with how a shared campaign is meant to

Suggested Characteristics

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

Suggested Characteristics Anthropologists leave behind the societies into which they were born to discover what life is like in other parts of the world. They seek to see how other races and

lost tribe, or the truth about an ancient empire’s downfall. d6 Personality Trait 1 I prefer the company of those who aren’t like me, including people of other races. 2 I’m a stickler when it comes

Otaaryliakkarnos

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

Otaaryliakkarnos Female Silver Dragon The representative of the silver dragons believes that among the lesser races, neither good nor bad is ever absolute. The humanoids are in need of protection and

guidance, and should be shown Bahamut’s righteous way of living rather than ignored and treated as children. If the dragons refuse to engage the humanoids and focus only on their own advancement, the

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

of other races. They get along with almost everyone, though they might not be close to many. Humans serve as ambassadors, diplomats, magistrates, merchants, and functionaries of all kinds. Dwarves

Otaaryliakkarnos

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

Otaaryliakkarnos Female Silver Dragon The representative of the silver dragons believes that among the lesser races, neither good nor bad is ever absolute. The humanoids are in need of protection and

guidance, and should be shown Bahamut’s righteous way of living rather than ignored and treated as children. If the dragons refuse to engage the humanoids and focus only on their own advancement, the

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

of other races. They get along with almost everyone, though they might not be close to many. Humans serve as ambassadors, diplomats, magistrates, merchants, and functionaries of all kinds. Dwarves

Crimes and Punishment

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

. Justice in such cases is geared toward their benefit rather than toward avenging the individual whose life was ended. Punishment for the murderer depends to some extent on the nature of the crime and

engaged in. Of these, exile is the most severe punishment. The surface elves’ attitude toward murder — which some races see as bordering on blasé — is carried to the extreme by the drow, who have elevated

Appendix B: Character Names

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

determine a name. Even though names are associated with races in this appendix, a character might not have a name from their own race. For instance, a half-orc might have grown up among dwarves and

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.

Modifying a Class

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

, paladins might not swear their oaths to ideals, but instead swear fealty to powerful sorcerers. To capture this story concept, you could build a new paladin spell list with spells meant to protect

different races or cultures. The bardic colleges might be closed to everyone except elves, dragonborn might be the only creatures capable of becoming sorcerers, and all warlocks in your world might be human

Darklords

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

adventures rather than saving them for distant climactic plots. Darklords Don’t Realize They’re Darklords. With a few exceptions, Darklords don’t realize they occupy a special place in the world. Their

concept of how long they’ve lived, how many times they’ve died, or why they returned to life. Should a Darklord fall, the temporary defeat lasts until they’re restored by the Dark Powers. In their

D&D Beyond

Search Results