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Returning 35 results for 'dark settings rules'.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Dark Fantasy Settings Sinister individuals leave their marks upon dark fantasy domains, whether as oppressive architecture, unavoidable propaganda, or scars upon an exploited environment
. Alternatively, the setting might exhibit the effects of a disaster—perhaps an event that gave rise to brutal powers. Such scars appear both upon the setting and upon its inhabitants. Dark Fantasy Settings d8
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Dark Devotion. The fanatic has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Spellcasting. The fanatic is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC
he's tight with Levistus. He rules the roost by sheer force of personality, though it chafes him that Hethyl Arkorran has more respect and influence within the cult. Kadroth doesn't involve Avarice
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Dark Devotion. The cultist has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Icy Doom. When the cultist dies, its corpse freezes for 9 days, during which time it can’t be
Levistus, the archdevil who rules Stygia, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells, from the confines of an ice prison from which he cannot escape.
Most of the cultists are Icewind Dale natives who would
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Dark Devotion. The fanatic has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Spellcasting. The fanatic is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC
","rollDamageType":"piercing"} piercing damage.The Knights of the Black Sword are a secret society of cultists devoted to Levistus, the archdevil who rules Stygia, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells, from the
Monsters
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures
Queen, who rules from a castle called Dynnistan. It isn’t known whether these legends are based on any true experience or are simply the result of imagination trying to account for a terrifying and
called lich-knights or fell horsemen.
In stark contrast to the knights of Eldraine, the deathless riders are without virtue of any kind. They are few in number—unless many more lurk in the dark
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
":"Acid Spray","rollDamageType":"acid"} acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.A hive lord rules each kruthik hive. When the hive lord dies, the surviving members of the
floor with their sharp legs.
In addition to having an acute sense of smell, kruthiks can see in the dark and can detect vibrations in the earth around them. They take the scent of their own dead as a
monsters
Dragonlance and Ravenloft campaign settings. If you want to give Soth a unique relationship to the Domains of Dread, consider these possibilities:
The nature of Soth’s curse creates aspects of
effects end immediately.
Lord Soth’s Lair
Lord Soth rules from Nedragaard Keep, a twisted, copy of his accursed fortress on Krynn, Dargaard Keep. Nedragaard Keep grows and withers over time like
Criminal / Spy
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Backgrounds
Basic Rules (2014)
than most people to the world of murder, theft, and violence that pervades the underbelly of civilization, and you have survived up to this point by flouting the rules and regulations of society
.
Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Stealth
Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set, thieves’ tools
Equipment: A crowbar, a set of dark common clothes including a hood, and a pouch
Aasimar
Legacy
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Species
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
dark eyes
3
Starkly colored hair
4
An unusual hue tinting your shadow
5
A ghostly halo crowning your head
6
Rainbows gleaming on your skin
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 race, follow these additional rules during character creation.
Ability
Reborn
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Species
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
sensations or visions of the past to come rushing back.
Rather than sleeping, reborn regularly sit and dwell on the past, hoping for some revelation of what came before. Most of the time, these are dark
, but you aren’t any longer. You now possess only your lineage’s racial traits.
When you create a character using a lineage option, follow these additional rules during character creation
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
table to help select spells for a spellcasting dragon. (Though the Monster Manual doesn’t explicitly include dragon turtles in the variant rules for making a dragon a spellcaster, you can apply
those rules to these aquatic dragons.)
Dragon Turtle Personality Traits
d8;{"diceNotation":"1d8","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Trait"}
Trait
1
I speak slowly and deliberately
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
have been published as official settings for the D&D game. The legends of the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Dark Sun, Mystara, and Eberron settings are woven together in the fabric of the
villains. Some races have unusual traits in different worlds. The halflings of the Dark Sun setting, for example, are jungle-dwelling cannibals, and the elves are desert nomads. Some worlds feature races
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
have been published as official settings for the D&D game. The legends of the Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Dark Sun, Mystara, and Eberron settings are woven together in the fabric of the
villains. Some races have unusual traits in different worlds. The halflings of the Dark Sun setting, for example, are jungle-dwelling cannibals, and the elves are desert nomads. Some worlds feature races
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and Mystara don’t stray very far from those assumptions. Settings such as Dark Sun, Eberron, Ravenloft, Spelljammer, and Planescape venture further away from that baseline. As you create your own world, it’s up to you to decide where on the spectrum you want your world to fall.
The Big Picture This book, the Player’s Handbook, and the Monster Manual present the default assumptions for how the worlds of D&D work. Among the established settings of D&D, the Forgotten Realms
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
and now rules the mortal realm. Villain Torments In dark fantasy adventures, a villain’s power is often rooted in the villain’s own suffering. Choose from or roll on the Dark Fantasy Torments table to
desperate or reluctant heroes resisting evil. Even in the grimmest settings, desperation and hope fan the flames of resistance. Adventure Hooks Plots in dark fantasy adventures range from street-level
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Heroes of the Borderlands
Resting Unlike in the other two adventure settings, the keep is a safe place to rest and resupply. The characters can freely take Long Rests in the keep. For more on resting, see the D&D Beyond Basic Rules.
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
underbelly of civilization, and you have survived up to this point by flouting the rules and regulations of society.
Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Stealth
Tool Proficiencies: One
type of gaming set, thieves’ tools
Equipment: A crowbar, a set of dark common clothes including a hood, and a pouch containing 15 gp
Criminal Origins
Criminals are pervasive in Baldur
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver
adventure. It also introduces the world of the Forgotten Realms, one of the game’s most enduring settings, and it teaches you how to run a D&D game. The Basic Rules contain the rules you need to adjudicate situations that arise during the adventure.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Dark Fantasy Torments For Darklords in dark fantasy settings, power is at the root of their suffering. Perhaps their rise to dominance led them to sacrifice what mattered to them most, or they
secretly seek to be rid of their might but fear being without it. Dark Fantasy Torments d8 Torment
1 The Darklord’s regime is fraught with spies and saboteurs, increasing the Darklord’s paranoia
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
similar to settings that appear in your Darklord’s past, or take inspiration from the Settings tables in the “Genres of Horror” section later in this chapter. Combine Locations and Visceral Details
creations of the Dark Powers and the domain is the only reality they know, but what logical and psychological leaps might an outsider need to make to sleep at night?
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
dozen adopted grandparents inviting you in for a meal.
3
Seeing a lost patriar after dark in the Outer City, you guided the wayward noble through back streets to safety. The patriar repaid your
1
The tyrant who rules my land will stop at nothing to see me killed.
2
I’m convinced of the significance of my destiny, and blind to my shortcomings and the risk of failure.
3
Goliath
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Species
Elemental Evil Player's Companion
skills.
This dedication to competition has a dark side. Goliaths are ferocious competitors, but above all else they are driven to outdo their past efforts. If a goliath slays a dragon, he or she might
mock folk who rely on society’s structures or rules to maintain power.
Survival of the Fittest
Among goliaths, any adult who can’t contribute to the tribe is expelled. A lone goliath has
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Body Horror Adventure Sites Body horror is exceptionally unnerving in juxtaposition with mundane settings, particularly in places where the characters are isolated from help, treatment, or
cavernous gut of a dead, multi-eyed behemoth
4 An inn in the valley, its insides dark and smoke-drowned
5 An asylum, abandoned save for vermin
6 A cave system, slick and comprised
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
roots of the game. Here you’ll find a dark, gritty world of evil sorcerers and decadent cities, where the protagonists are motivated more by greed and self-interest than by altruistic virtue. Fighter
civilization, and wizards are the classic villains of these settings. Magic items are therefore rare and often dangerous. Certain Dungeons & Dragons novels follow in the footsteps of classic sword-and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
The Environment By its nature, adventuring involves delving into places that are dark, dangerous, and full of mysteries to be explored. The rules in this section cover some of the most important ways
in which adventurers interact with the environment in such places. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has rules covering more unusual situations.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
abandoned. The best-known worlds in the multiverse are the ones that have been published as official campaign settings for the D&D game over the years — Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Dragonlance, the Forgotten
Realms, Mystara, Birthright, Dark Sun, and Eberron, among others. Each of these worlds boasts its own cast of heroic adventurers and scheming villains, its own ancient ruins and forgotten artifacts, its
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Forge of the Artificer
Mobile Bastions The Bastion rules in the Dungeon Master’s Guide assume that characters establish their Bastions in a fixed location and that their adventures might take them away from their Bastions
at times, perhaps even for long periods. But in Eberron (and perhaps other settings), characters might establish a permanent base of operations that isn’t linked to a fixed location—maybe on a sailing
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
your needs, which has the added benefit of challenging your players’ expectations. The D&D Settings table describes several established campaign settings. D&D Settings Setting Description Dark Sun
material about the campaign setting, other than what you create for yourself. Whether you create a setting from scratch or borrow elements from established settings, the result needs to resonate with
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
The Environment By its nature, adventuring involves delving into places that are dark, dangerous, and full of mysteries to be explored. The rules in this section cover some of the most important ways in which adventurers interact with the environment in such places.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
full of creatures that perfectly suit a storyline of supernatural horror. The most important element of such a campaign, though, isn’t covered by the rules. A dark-fantasy setting requires an
Dark Fantasy Vampires brood on the battlements of their accursed castles. Necromancers toil in dark dungeons to create horrid servants made of dead flesh. Devils corrupt the innocent, and werewolves
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
or endeavoring to mount a rescue themselves. Alternatively, adventures might have an investigative feel, requiring the heroes to uncover the dark secret that lies beneath the mundane. Adventure Hooks
infestation uses the townsfolk as incubators for giant insects. 10 Something is stealing the tongues of the city guards. Adventure Settings Body horror can occur anywhere, from mundane settings to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Dark Powers Control All. Sinister entities known as the Dark Powers manipulate the Domains of Dread and all who dwell within. Immortal, unknowable, and omnipotent, the Dark Powers revel in sowing
serve as the prisons of Darklords, villainous beings trapped and tormented by the Dark Powers. The specifics of each domain exist to ironically twist its Darklord’s desires, capturing them and their
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
reserved or unassuming until they reveal their true nature. Any intriguing figure with a dark secret can serve as a gothic horror villain. Villain Identities Gothic villains are most effective when
dilapidated mansion; those who visit are never seen again. 10 As the result of abhorrent experiments, blood-drained creatures roam the streets. Adventure Settings Gothic horror settings have an
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
chapter 2. Not all domains need to be elaborately detailed settings. As the domains in this section demonstrate, creating a simple concept for a Darklord and the horrors surrounding them can be a
Ravenloft table to randomly determine where the Dark Powers have guided the party. Domains marked with an asterisk are described earlier in this chapter. Domains of Ravenloft d100 Domain
01–04
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Weather Conditions The dragon begins its attacks under dark, clear skies. That changes shortly after it leaves Termalaine, its sixth target, for that’s when a winter storm sweeps down from the Reghed
contend with strong wind and heavy snowfall (for rules, see “Strong Wind” and “Heavy Precipitation” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide). The dragon ignores these effects, having been built by Xardorok to overcome such debilitating weather.