concept replacing grace to have rather

Nosferatu

Monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

, undead hunters, nosferatu possess the endless thirst of vampire;vampires but none of their grace. For them, existence is nothing more than an everlasting string of cold, desperate nights punctuated

their lair’s comfort. Rather than retiring to crypts, they seek filthy or inaccessible fissures, places any living soul would avoid. For a few moments after feeding, nosferatu are lucid and

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

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

Downcast

races

divine domain. Some became consumed with enforcing narrow virtues. Others have turned from grace entirely, choosing to embody vice rather than virtue, and becoming feared as Arch Daemons. The

downcast, are far fewer in number than when they first arrived. Many succumbed to despair and sickness after their fall from grace. Of those who remain, some still serve the Arch Seraphs in their twisted

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

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

a while?” Elves. “They’re so beautiful! Their faces, their music, their grace and all. It’s like they stepped out of a wonderful dream. But there’s no telling what&rsquo

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

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.

Cult of Baalzebul

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

Cult of Baalzebul Goals: Restoration of honor and respect, at the cost of those who stole it Typical Cultist: Any NPC or monster that has suffered a fall from grace Signature Spells: Minor illusion

(cantrip), disguise self (1st level), phantasmal force (2nd level), major image (3rd level) Baalzebul typically recruits individuals rather than cults. He offers hope to those whose failures drive them

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

opportunity to develop the character’s story and that of your world, rather than shutting down possibilities. Substituting Class Features If one or more features of a given class don’t exactly fit the theme

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

Variant Abilities

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

Variant Abilities When a beholder’s dream-imagination runs wild, the result can be an offspring that has an unusual or unique set of abilities. Rather than the standard powers of a beholder’s central

monster’s challenge rating. As another option, you can switch any of the damaging eye rays in the Monster Manual to an effect with a different damage type, such as replacing the enervation ray with a

Zariel's Fall

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus

grace. Haruman followed his master into damnation willingly and was transformed into a narzugon devil, while Olanthius, who took his own life rather than bow before Asmodeus, was brought back to serve as a death knight under Zariel’s burning gaze.

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

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

divination (to find raw materials and foresee threats to the tribe). The main reason why kobolds depend on arcane magic rather than divine is Kurtulmak’s imprisonment, which makes it difficult for

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

Talenta Halflings

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

. 6 You don’t understand the concept of “truth.” To you, everything is a story and it’s all about how you tell it. 7 You are annoyed by buildings and tools designed without consideration for

fighting styles based on different dinosaurs. Likewise, in playing a Beast Totem barbarian or Circle of the Shepherd druid, consider replacing the traditional totems with the following. Bear: Hammertail

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

Crimes and Punishment

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

is concerned, elves see things the same way. Even if a murdered creature is brought back to life with magic, that doesn’t negate the crime any more than replacing stolen gold makes up for the original

. 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

Ez d'Avenir

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

reconnect with Erasmus, now a ghost. She and the spirit renewed their friendship and ultimately discovered paths beyond Rudolph van Richten’s obsession. Rather than let her relationship with the

doctor turn sour, Ez departed Mordentshire to hunt evil and find a family on her own terms. Since then, Ez has changed much, learning the ways of the Mists and replacing her leg with a splendid prosthetic

Yuan-ti Cities

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

yuan-ti content themselves with maintaining these ancient places rather than building new ones for their needs. Although these sites are hundreds or even thousands of years old, they don’t look or feel

reflects human ideas about art and beauty. Over time this perspective was skewed toward the concept that the snake is the perfect form, so serpents are a common theme in their aesthetic. The major

Water Weird

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

. Good and Evil Weirds. Like most elementals, a water weird has no concept of good or evil. However, a water weird bound to a sacred or befouled source of water begins to take on the nature of that site

, becoming neutral good or neutral evil. A neutral good water weird tries to frighten away interlopers rather than kill them, while a neutral evil water weird kills its victims for pleasure and might

Secret

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

holy symbol that represents that divinity. Some clerics, especially in a world like Eberron, serve a whole pantheon, rather than a single deity. In certain campaigns, a cleric might instead serve a

cosmic force, such as life or death, or a philosophy or concept, such as love, peace, or one of the nine alignments. Chapter 1 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide explores options like these, in the section

Introduction

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Fiendish Folio Volume 1

you receive a cancer diagnosis or a similar health news, you probably appreciate that concept a little more than other people. Watching someone you love waste away is a terrible thing. You want a

magic button to bring things back to the way they should be, this person you love so much restored to who they really are rather than what cancer is grinding them down into. It’s easy to give in to

Appendix A: Shared Campaigns

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

hard to keep a campaign going. Enter the concept of the shared campaign. In a shared campaign, more than one member of the group can take on the role of DM. A shared campaign is episodic rather than

Purple Dragon Knight

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

high standing are expected to conduct themselves with grace. At 7th level, you gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill. If you are already proficient in it, you gain proficiency in one of the

, rather than one. Bulwark Beginning at 15th level, you can extend the benefit of your Indomitable feature to an ally. When you decide to use Indomitable to reroll an Intelligence, a Wisdom, or a

Nosferatu

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

Nosferatu Vicious, undead hunters, nosferatu possess the endless thirst of vampires but none of their grace. For them, existence is nothing more than an everlasting string of cold, desperate nights

their lair’s comfort. Rather than retiring to crypts, they seek filthy or inaccessible fissures, places any living soul would avoid. For a few moments after feeding, nosferatu are lucid and capable

Small and Practical

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

concerned with basic needs and simple pleasures and have little use for ostentation. Even the wealthiest of halflings keep their treasures locked in a cellar rather than on display for all to see. They have

faces, their music, their grace and all. It’s like they stepped out of a wonderful dream. But there’s no telling what’s going on behind their smiling faces — surely more than they ever let on

Lynx Creatlach

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Infernal Machine Rebuild

, including multiple images of her namesake lynx. She has also lost one eye from old adventuring misfortunes, replacing it with a glass eye of hazy crystal. Several of her teeth have also been replaced

with precious stones and metals. In truth, Lynx is an active agent of Zariel but is no longer among the living. Rather, she’s a lawful evil undead tiefling, with her skeleton specially crafted to retain

Cleric

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

Faith in Diversification Despite their supposed wisdom, many common clerics fail to grasp the simple concept of using the best tool for the job. To the devoted priest of Tempus, every problem is just

Those other clerics don’t love your deity like you do. 8 You were raised religious, but you only really go to church on the high holidays. 9 Your deity’s grace gives you peace. Their anger

Creating a Race or Subrace

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

increasing the diversity of options for a particular race, rather than replacing some options with other ones. The following example walks through the creation of an elf subrace: the eladrin. This

, replacing the tiefling’s spells with spells of similar levels that more closely match the aasimar’s celestial ancestry. However, the aasimar’s expanded resistance might require limiting this trait to basic

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

attitude — actions that have often been misinterpreted by observers as worship. Maanzecorian. The entity/concept called Maanzecorian embodies a complete comprehension of knowledge. It is a state

Staff

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

concept behind the hirelings and selecting one proficiency for each. The DM can then customize the hirelings as desired, perhaps by adding additional proficiencies or adjusting their combat statistics

(sailors for a seagoing franchise, engineers for a giant hollow statue, and so on). Crew do not leave a franchise and cannot perform franchise tasks. They typically run rather than fight back when attacked

Rejecting the Ordning

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

one their kind traditionally values. These are often giants whose ranking within their kind is low. For example, a contemplative cloud giant might pursue knowledge rather than wealth, or a weak frost

otherwise enjoy in the ordning. When giants join the cults of demon lords, they reject the entire concept of the ordning—the idea that there is any kind of order to the multiverse at all, which is the

Encounters in the Crypt

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus

blames himself for not seeing warning signs of Zariel’s fall from grace early on — her single-minded determination to slay demons at all costs. Olanthius took his life rather than face damnation, but

and transformed into fiends. One of Zariel’s generals, Olanthius, killed himself rather than embrace tyranny. Zariel raised him as a death knight to ensure his loyalty. The knights’ souls are cursed

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