concept races great to have refer

Star Lancer

Monsters Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures

the githyanki interlopers, who promptly suggested an alliance. The winged creatures quickly developed a fondness for the githyanki. The githyanki refer to the winged creatures as star lancers (&ldquo

to the Great Cavern that forms the hollow heart of the dead god. There, the soul becomes housed in the body of a new, fully grown star lancer that rises magically from the cavern floor. As long as

Daemogoth

Monsters Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos

heal.Slipping through the darkest corners of the world, daemogoths are powerful fiendish creatures that feed on misery and other negative emotions. Some sages refer to daemogoths as tear lickers, owing to

the fiends’ tendency to lurk near battlefields and other sites of great tragedy to consume the anguish saturating the area. Daemogoths are creatures of forbidden knowledge and magic, all fueled

Princess Serissa

Monsters Storm King's Thunder

thumb have abandoned her court and set out to impress the gods in ways that could all but destroy the civilizations of the small folk. Serissa fears warfare among the six giant races as they strive to

despite their size, they are capable of great feats of heroism. But Iymrith and Uthor have advised Serissa to steer clear of them. Uthor believes (incorrectly) that an alliance with the small folk

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

, committed by the goliath. Goliaths assign and use nicknames with their friends of other races, and change them to refer to an individual’s notable deeds. Goliaths present all three names when

goliath, and fewer still can claim friendship with them. Goliaths wander a bleak realm of rock, wind, and cold. Their bodies look as if they are carved from mountain stone and give them great

Clan Crafter

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

shield dwarf clans learned long ago that only proud fools who are more concerned for their egos than their craft turn away promising apprentices, even those of other races. If you aren’t a dwarf

1 The workshop where I learned my trade is the most important place in the world to me. 2 I created a great work for someone, and then found them unworthy to receive it. I’m still looking

Feral Tiefling

Species Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

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

personality to any great degree. Years of dealing with mistrust does leave its mark on most tieflings, and they respond to it in different ways. Some choose to live up to the wicked stereotype, but others

Auril (First Form)

Monsters Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

. Protruding from her feathery owl’s head is a pair of curved goat horns. A cloak and cowl made of pristine white snow conceals much of her tripartite form, which her worshipers refer to as the

realm in the far north and, after a time, plunged it into frigid darkness using her magic. Casting such great magic night after night while also granting spells to her devoted followers leaves Auril

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

to the folk of the Sword Coast. If you come from Kara-Tur, the people of Faerûn likely refer to you as Shou, even if that isn’t your true ethnicity, because that’s the blanket term

hundreds of miles of the Great Glacier and the Great Ice Sea. No one from your nation makes the effort to cross such colossal barriers without a convincing reason. You must fear something truly

Knight of the Order

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

, and Dove Falconhand, one of the famous Seven Sisters, was one of them. The band took its name to honor the great but fallen city, just as the new Knights of Myth Drannor do today. With the city once

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

Uthgardt Tribe Member

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

abandoned that path, you find yourself adrift. Or you might come from a segment of the Uthgardt that adheres to tradition, but you seek to bring glory to your tribe by achieving great things as a

traditions of your people. You will never cut down a still-living tree, and you may not countenance such an act being done in your presence. The Uthgardt ancestral mounds—great hills where the

Aereni High Elf

Species Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

godlike power and has protected your island home for thousands of years. The greatest heroes of your people join the Undying Court after death; if you achieve great things in your life, you too could

master of these skills? Do you have ancestors in the Undying Court, and if so, what’s your relationship with them? Do you find dealing with the short-lived races to be a challenge, or are you patient with them?

Giff

Species Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

unforgettable appearance, giff are noticed wherever they go. Giff put their great size to use in all sorts of ways, from lifting heavy loads and tying tight knots to opening stuck doors and seeing over

character is a member of the human race or one of the game’s fantastical races. If you create a character using a race option presented here, follow these additional rules during character creation

Aereni Wood Elf

Species Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

godlike power and has protected your island home for thousands of years. The greatest heroes of your people join the Undying Court after death; if you achieve great things in your life, you too could

master of these skills? Do you have ancestors in the Undying Court, and if so, what’s your relationship with them? Do you find dealing with the short-lived races to be a challenge, or are you patient with them?

Aarakocra Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

it hard not to pluck the treasure and bring it back to their settlement to beautify it. An aarakocra who spends years among other races can learn to inhibit these impulses. Confinement terrifies the

. Great Purpose Aarakocra enjoy peace and solitude. Most of them have little interest in dealing with other peoples and less interest in spending time on the ground. For this reason, it takes an

Sahuagin Baron Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

it. This is the sound of the sahuagin hunting horn — a call to raid and battle. Coastal settlers refer to sahuagin as “sea devils,” for sahuagin have no compassion in them

as allies and don’t prey on them. Elven Enmity. The sahuagin might control the oceans if not for the presence of their mortal enemies, the aquatic elves. Wars between the two races have raged

Sahuagin Priestess Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

the sahuagin hunting horn — a call to raid and battle. Coastal settlers refer to sahuagin as “sea devils,” for sahuagin have no compassion in them, slaughtering the crews of ships and decimating coastal

might control the oceans if not for the presence of their mortal enemies, the aquatic elves. Wars between the two races have raged for centuries across the coasts and seas of the world, disrupting

Darkling Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

speak of a seelie fey who betrayed the Summer Queen. His true name has been stricken from history, but the stories call him Dubh Catha ("Dark Crow" in Common). So great was the Summer Queen's wrath

that she cursed every member of his house. Other fey refer to the descendants of Dubh Catha's house as the dubh sith-or, in Common, "darklings." Darklings most often settle in secluded caverns and

Darkling Elder Legacy

Monsters Volo's Guide to Monsters

call him Dubh Catha ("Dark Crow" in Common). So great was the Summer Queen's wrath that she cursed every member of his house. Other fey refer to the descendants of Dubh Catha's house as the dubh sith-or

Yuan-ti Malison (Type 3) Legacy

Monsters Monster Manual (2014)

or were defeated by those who fought against their cannibalism and slavery, and the serpent folk were left in the ruins of their great capitals, far removed from other races. Cold of Heart. Humanoid

Elder Thing

monsters

elder things, not the gods, are the true architects of the universe. While no serious scholar takes such ramblings seriously, the concept of a species so ancient that it counts its origin to before the

, forbidding corners of the world. In their heyday, the elder things dug deep into the lore around the Cthulhu Mythos. They crafted the first shoggoths, and used them to erect great, cyclopean cities. They

Firbolg Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

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 to their lands by

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

Firbolg Names

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

, 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

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

Firbolg Names

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

, 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

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

Flying Polyp

monsters

Shadow Out of Time Almost nothing is known of the dreaded flying polyp. The details of their culture, the motivations behind their actions, and even the name they use to refer to themselves are

the stars, driven by some unknowable urge to leave the terrestrial realms behind. Abandoned Domains. The flying polyps once gathered in great cities. They constructed vaults deep within the earth

Dragonborn Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

best attributes of dragons and humanoids. Some dragonborn are faithful servants to true dragons, others form the ranks of soldiers in great wars, and still others find themselves adrift, with no clear

give up on something. A dragonborn holds mastery of a particular skill as a lifetime goal. Members of other races who share the same commitment find it easy to earn the respect of a dragonborn. Though

Keeping Time from Day to Day

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

their arrangements around such expressions. The concept of hours and minutes exists mainly where wealthy people use clocks, but mechanical clocks are often unreliable, and rarely are two set to the same

time. If a local temple or civic structure has a clock that tolls out the passing of the hours, people refer to hours as “bells,” as in “I’ll meet you at seven bells.”

Keeping Time from Day to Day

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

their arrangements around such expressions. The concept of hours and minutes exists mainly where wealthy people use clocks, but mechanical clocks are often unreliable, and rarely are two set to the same

time. If a local temple or civic structure has a clock that tolls out the passing of the hours, people refer to hours as “bells,” as in “I’ll meet you at seven bells.”

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

capable of flight, and similar objects provoke a great desire for the kenku to acquire the items for themselves. Despite their lack of wings, kenku love dwelling in towers and other tall structures

clang of a mace against armor or the sound made by a breaking bone. Non-kenku refer to the kenku by describing this noise. Examples of this type of name include Smasher, Clanger, Slicer, and Basher

Triton Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

to escape so easily. A great conclave of tritons chose volunteers skilled in weapons and magic as part of an expeditionary force to enter the Material Plane and seek out their enemies. Those tritons

extended their stewardship over the sea floor from their initial settlements and built outposts to create trade with other races. Despite this expansion, few folk know of them. Their settlements are so

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

Time in the Realms

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

races that don’t favor this method of marking time are aware of it, with the result that it is recognized across nearly all races, languages, and cultures. A year on Toril consists of 365 days. In the

name. For example, sages would record an event as occurring on “1 Mirtul” or “27 Uktar.” People might also refer to a given day by its relationship to the current date (“two tendays from today”) or the nearest holiday (“three days past Greengrass”).

Time in the Realms

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

races that don’t favor this method of marking time are aware of it, with the result that it is recognized across nearly all races, languages, and cultures. A year on Toril consists of 365 days. In the

name. For example, sages would record an event as occurring on “1 Mirtul” or “27 Uktar.” People might also refer to a given day by its relationship to the current date (“two tendays from today”) or the nearest holiday (“three days past Greengrass”).

Hobgoblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

little to conceal an underlying brutality that hobgoblins practice on each other and perfect upon other races. Punishment for infractions of hobgoblin law are swift and merciless. Beauty is something

for the achievement to mean anything, a hobgoblin must abide by the race’s code of honor in doing so. Glory can be earned by discovery of great resources (such as finding a new vein of iron or

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

kingdoms and hidden elven enclaves, assimilated populations of gnomes and halflings, and more exotic folk. A great deal of adventure is to be had in the Realms, for those willing to seek it out. The

The Balance

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

eternity. A third point of view exists, held by those who take both sides at their word and strive to make sure that neither outcome ever comes to pass. The adherents of this viewpoint refer to the

concept they espouse as the Balance, and they seek to maintain equilibrium across the cosmos above all. Mordenkainen and his compatriots are among its most notable devotees. Since a true appreciation of

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