conflicts rather grim to have race

Gray Dwarf (Duergar) Legacy

Species Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

obliterated by Moradin’s betrayal. The duergar lead bleak, grim lives devoid of happiness or satisfaction, but they see that as their defining strength — the root of duergar pride, as it were — rather than a drawback to be corrected.

grim, ashen-skinned dwarves now take slaves of their own and are as tyrannical as their former masters. Physically similar to other dwarves in some ways, duergar are wiry and lean, with black eyes and

Vampirate Mage

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

use them to draw vital fluids from prey, which vampirates consider an unsavory act. Rather, a vampirate drains life energy from another creature by touching it or by siphoning off its energy from a

they’re not sleeping or marauding, a crew of vampirates whiles away the hours by drinking rum and singing grim chanteys. A ship crewed by vampirates usually has one or more Shadow;shadows aboard—the Undead remains of some of the vampirates’ victims.Cold, Necrotic, PoisonRadiant

Vampirate

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

vampire’s but doesn’t use them to draw vital fluids from prey, which vampirates consider an unsavory act. Rather, a vampirate drains life energy from another creature by touching it or by

coffin and sleep amid their cargo. When they’re not sleeping or marauding, a crew of vampirates whiles away the hours by drinking rum and singing grim chanteys. A ship crewed by vampirates usually

Vampirate Captain

Monsters Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

parchment. A vampirate has fangs like a vampire’s but doesn’t use them to draw vital fluids from prey, which vampirates consider an unsavory act. Rather, a vampirate drains life energy from

ship’s hold as one big coffin and sleep amid their cargo. When they’re not sleeping or marauding, a crew of vampirates whiles away the hours by drinking rum and singing grim chanteys. A ship

Autumn Eladrin

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

by feelings of goodwill. In this aspect, they defuse conflicts and alleviate suffering by using their magic to relieve any ailments that afflict the people who come to them for aid. They tolerate no

eladrin makes this change, they use the stat block of the new season rather than their old stat block. Any damage the eladrin sustained in their previous form applies to the new form, as do any conditions

Way of Mercy Legacy

Classes Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

bring a swift end as an act of mercy. Those who follow the Way of Mercy might be members of a religious order, administering to the needy and making grim choices rooted in reality rather than idealism

Kalashtar

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

-Lashtavar. —Lakashtai, servant of the light The kalashtar are a compound race created from the union of humanity and renegade spirits from the plane of dreams — spirits called quori

. Kalashtar are often seen as wise, spiritual people with great compassion for others. But there is an unmistakable alien quality to the kalashtar, as they are haunted by the conflicts of their otherworldly

Anthropologist

Backgrounds Tomb of Annihilation

and the ways of their people, who eventually treated you as one of their own. One culture had more of an influence on you than any other, shaping your beliefs and customs. Choose a race whose culture

. 2 I’m a stickler when it comes to observing proper etiquette and local customs. 3 I would rather observe than meddle. 4 By living among violent people, I have become

Goliath Legacy

Species Elemental Evil Player's Companion

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

Shifter Legacy

Species Eberron: Rising from the Last War

weretouched, as many believe they are the descendants of humans and lycanthropes. Whatever their origins, shifters have evolved into a unique race. They are humanoids with a bestial aspect; while they

names” with strangers. These are usually tied to a physical or personality trait. Shifter Names: Badger, Bear, Cat, Fang, Grace, Grim, Moon, Rain, Red, Scar, Stripe, Swift, Talon, Wolf

Far Traveler

Backgrounds Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

subterranean cities or settlements, you are probably a member of the race that occupies the place—but you might also have grown up there after being captured and brought below when you were a child

foreign land. 2 I pretend not to understand the local language in order to avoid interactions I would rather not have. 3 I have a weakness for the new intoxicants and other pleasures of this

Verdan

Species Acquisitions Incorporated

then passing through the shadow of That-Which-Endures changed them forever. Now the newest race to call Faerûn home, the verdan do their best to find their way in an unfamiliar world

. Reality is a descent into chaos punctuated by brief flashes of order, whence we arose and so imagine it to be the norm rather than a distant outlier. That-Which-Endures held entropy back for a mere instant

Accursed

races

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

’s a sort of “catch-all” for unique characters who don’t fit into another heritage, but can still fit into Grim Hollow. Accursed typically don’t represent a people or a

Arisen

races

unique construct created by magic, mysterious science, or both. Arisen are never born in their current form. They are not undead, nor have they been raised from death by divine magic. Rather, each

. Their rarity among the peoples of Etharis and the grim rumors that swirl around them most often leave arisen socially isolated. But not all arisen are driven to nihilism by the bleakness of their

Human Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

seek adventure are the most daring and ambitious members of a daring and ambitious race. They seek to earn glory in the eyes of their fellows by amassing power, wealth, and fame. More than other people

, 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

Shadar-kai

races Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

’s grim energy. Shadar-kai have ashen skin tones, and while they’re in the Shadowfell, they also become wizened, reflecting the somber nature of that gloomy plane. Like other elves

, shadar-kai can live to be over 750 years old. Creating Your Character At 1st level, you choose whether your character is a member of the human race or of a fantastical race. If you select a fantastical

Human

races

homelands. The period written in history as the Era of Expansion is often portrayed as an endless eruption of violence that lasted centuries as humans spread to every corner of Etharis. Rather, the

Era of Expansion describes many separate conflicts that occurred in the wake of human migration. Humans didn’t send armies initially, but settlers. They cut trees from the Grove Maze to build

Hobgoblin Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

; entire society forever stands prepared for war. Brutal Civility Hobgoblins hold themselves to high standards of military honor. The race has a long history of shared traditions, recorded and retold

gods unique to their race, the only survivors of a pantheon that was decimated by Maglubiyet so long ago that hobgoblins don’t remember the names of the fallen. Nomog-Geaya is the greater of the

Halfling Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

, even by the standards of his diminutive race, with the fluff of his curly brown locks barely cresting the three-foot mark, but his belly was amply thickened by his love of a good meal, or several, as

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

Shared World

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

from one DM’s region of the world to another’s, creating continuity in the campaign even as characters might be involved in several plotlines. Rather than dividing a campaign geographically, you and

the other DMs in your group could divide it thematically. Using the setting in chapter 5 of this book as an example, each DM could focus their campaign on one of the three overarching conflicts of that

Character Creation

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

adventures. Lineages. Consider an origin that ties you to a grim progenitor or inexplicable experience. Lineages can serve as your character’s race or overshadow your previous race. Dark Gifts. Determine

nightmares. This chapter explores how to create a character prepared to face the horrors of Ravenloft, while also forging ties to the haunted pedigrees and grim fates common to the Domains of Dread

Bugbear Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

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

. Gang Mentality Since bugbears aren’t a particularly fecund race, their overall population is small and spread over a wide area. Bugbears live in family groups that operate much like gangs. The

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

body, thought, and emotion. Freed from the limitations of their human bodies, the yuan-ti used their new abilities to conquer new lands and expand their borders. One Race, Many Forms The bodies of all

that the yuan-ti have prepared a special ambush at the end of the pursuit. Capture, Not Kill The objective of the yuan-ti as a race is to conquer and enslave others; they don’t espouse the sort

Kalashtar

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

-Lashtavar. —Lakashtai, servant of the light The kalashtar are a compound race created from the union of humanity and renegade spirits from the plane of dreams—spirits called quori. Kalashtar are often

seen as wise, spiritual people with great compassion for others. But there is an unmistakable alien quality to the kalashtar, as they are haunted by the conflicts of their otherworldly spirits.

Chapter 3: Sunblight

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

Chapter 3: Sunblight Adventurers race against time to stop Xardorok Sunblight from unleashing terror upon Ten-Towns. Sequestered among the crags of the Spine of the World is a grim fortress hewn out

Duerra, who inspired Xardorok Sunblight to become the first duergar to leave the Underdark and carve out a kingdom for himself on the surface. Adventurers race against time to stop Xardorok Sunblight from unleashing terror upon Ten-Towns

Kenku Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

. Flock leaders enforce discipline and minimize conflicts, but they fail at effective planning or crafting long-term schemes. Although unable to speak in their own voices, kenku can perfectly mimic any

kenku, constant attempts to mimic noises can come across as confusing or irritating rather than entertaining. You can just as easily describe the sounds your character makes and what they mean. Be clear

Chapter 4: Salvage Operation

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

. ABOUT THE ORIGINAL Drawn from Dungeon 123, Mike Mearls’s 2005 adventure “Salvage Operation” is a rare tale that takes place entirely at sea. This grim story features an epic assault by a titanic

octopus and a race to escape a sinking, monster-infested ship. Decrepitude and decay (along with a bit of demon worship) persist throughout this unusual dungeon crawl, with the characters’ courage being tested just as much as the seaworthiness of the Emperor of the Waves!

Creating a Race or Subrace

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

questions: Why does my campaign need the race to be playable? What does the race look like? Where do the members of this race live? Are there interesting conflicts built into the race’s history that make

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

Flavors of Fantasy

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

rulebooks. Heroic Fantasy Conflicts. Heroic fantasy campaigns often revolve around delving into ancient dungeons in search of treasure or to destroy monsters or villains. Consider conflicts like these

characters years ago resurfaces, giving the characters a chance to finally bring the villain to justice. Sword and Sorcery A sword-and-sorcery campaign features a grim world of evil spellcasters and

Character Alignment

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

Character Alignment Some common misconceptions about alignment can cause conflicts between players and DMs. The following sections can help you navigate how player characters interact with alignment

character’s beliefs aren’t what they profess. Alignment doesn’t limit the actions characters can take; rather, the actions they take indicate what their alignment is. It’s OK to stray from the tenets of one’s

Knowledge of Avernus

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin

would be fruitless to fight every Fiend the characters come across in Avernus, since conflicts invariably escalate as infernal combatants join in against interlopers in the Nine Hells. To accomplish

. A foul haze perpetually shrouds the skies. Ambient light swells above the horizon in a grim mockery of a sunset, but the sky is bereft of celestial bodies. Searing gusts of wind blast across the

New Race: Verdan

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

New Race: Verdan The verdan owe their existence to chaos. Descended and transformed from a large clan of goblins and hobgoblins, those who became the verdan were simply living their lives, doing

goblinoid things. But then passing through the shadow of That-Which-Endures changed them forever. Now the newest race to call Faerûn home, the verdan do their best to find their way in an unfamiliar world

Humans

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

throughout the Savage Frontier. Humans are famous for their adaptability. No other race lives in so many diverse lands or environments, from lush jungles to burning deserts, from the eternal cold of the

than those of other races, making humans one of the dominant races in much of the world today. It has also led to conflicts between communities of humans because of their cultural and political

How and When to Use the Tables

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

from among the possibilities on a table. Of course, you also have the option of disregarding the result of a die roll if it conflicts with another result. Likewise, if the text instructs you to roll on

character’s race — but you could also wait until later in the process. You might prefer to establish more facts about your character’s game identity — such as your class, ability scores, and alignment — before supplementing that information with what’s offered here.

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

D&D Beyond

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