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Returning 35 results for 'dead instead are better'.
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death intend are better
deeds intend are better
draw intend are better
dead instead are bearer
dead instead are bitter
Spells
Player’s Handbook
You mentally contact a demigod, the spirit of a long-dead sage, or some other knowledgeable entity from another plane. Contacting this otherworldly intelligence can break your mind. When you cast
question). If a one-word answer would be misleading, the DM might instead offer a short phrase as an answer.
On a failed save, you take 6d6 Psychic damage and have the Incapacitated condition until you finish a Long Rest. A Greater Restoration spell cast on you ends this effect.
Magic Items
Dungeon Master’s Guide
some fell goal.
The wand is topped with a skull that once belonged to a human hero slain by Orcus. The wand can magically change in size to better conform to the grip of its user. All Holy Water
from it (save DC 18). The table indicates how many charges you must expend to cast the spell.
Spell
Charge Cost
Animate Dead
1
Blight
2
Circle of Death
3
Finger of
Monsters
Monster Manual
Legendary Resistance (4/Day, or 5/Day in Lair). If the lich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Spirit Jar. If destroyed, the lich reforms in 1d10;{"diceNotation":"1d10
Hand, Prestidigitation 2/Day Each: Animate Dead, Dimension Door, Plane Shift 1/Day Each: Chain Lightning, Finger of Death, Power Word Kill, ScryingProtective Magic. The lich casts Counterspell or Shield
Monsters
Monster Manual
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair). If the mummy fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. The mummy has Advantage on saving throws against spells and
":"1d20+9", "rollType":"to hit", "rollAction":"Spellcasting"} to hit with spell attacks):
At Will: Dispel Magic, Thaumaturgy 1/Day Each: Animate Dead, Harm, Insect Plague (level 7 version)Whirlwind of
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
, the oblex—a slime capable of assaulting the minds of other creatures. These pools of jelly are cunning hunters that feed on thoughts and memories. The sharper the mind, the better the meal, so
plunders the creature’s mind, leaving its prey befuddled and confused—or dead.
When oblexes feed on thoughts, they can form weird copies of their prey to use as lures, which helps them harvest even more victims for their mind flayer masters.
Orcus
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Monsters
Out of the Abyss
tampering with the dead in my search to better understand death.”
61–80
“I want to achieve the everlasting existence of undeath.”
81–00
“I am awash in
Wand of Orcus. The wand has 7 charges, and any of its properties that require a saving throw have a save DC of 18. While holding it, Orcus can use an action to cast animate dead, blight, or speak
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
success, the zombie drops to 1 hit point instead.
Unusual Nature. The zombie doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.Javelin. Melee Weapon Attack: +1;{"diceNotation":"1d20+1","rollType":"to hit
Vellynne Harpell has Icewind kobold guides in her employ, including a pair that died and were turned into zombies using animate dead spells. The cold climate helps to preserve their dead flesh.Poison
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
her divine spark vanishes. She is dead until the next winter solstice, when she reappears at full health in a cold, remote location of her choosing.
Frigid Aura. So long as Auril has at least 1 hit
to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Auril has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Unusual Nature. Auril doesn’t require air, food, drink, or
Monsters
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
from a critical hit. On a success, the zombie drops to 1 hit point instead.
Unusual Nature. The zombie doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.Multiattack. The zombie makes two Slam attacks
":"Flesh Entomb","rollDamageType":"bludgeoning"} bludgeoning damage, and if the target is a Large or smaller creature, it becomes entombed in dead flesh.
A creature entombed in the dead flesh is
Monsters
Acquisitions Incorporated
the person you've shot first is already dead? Still, when the situation calls for it, this protector of the woodlands is equally at home on missions of subterfuge and social interaction in the big city, provided her well-known love of ale, wine, and other intoxicants doesn't get the better of her.
Monsters
Princes of the Apocalypse
Oreioth dies, he can use an action on his next turn to cast animate dead on that humanoid’s corpse, instead of using the spell’s normal casting time.Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +3
(3 slots): crown of madness, misty step
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, vampiric touch
Swift Animation (Recharges after a Long Rest). When a living Medium or Small humanoid within 30 feet of
Monsters
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
Hourglass Coven. Better known as Granny Nightshade, she offers her assistance to those who are haunted by regret. Her deals often result in cruel twists; for example, a petitioner who asks to be reunited
key between her hunched shoulders that rotates quickly when she’s in a good mood and slows down as her mood sours. When she is furious, the key comes to a dead stop.
Alignment. Neutral evil
Monsters
The Book of Many Things
Spellcasting.Aleron was once a tiefling adventurer, but unlike so many victims of the Deck of Many Things, he never drew the Skull card. Instead, when one of his allies drew the card and faced the avatar of death
Undead in the Grim Harrow, considering himself better than all of them and unjustly condemned to the Gardens of Decay for an act of altruism.
Though the weakest of the Harrow’s three leaders
Monsters
Dragon of Icespire Peak
Brave. Don-Jon has advantage on saving throws against being frightened.
Not Dead Yet (Recharges after a Long Rest). If damage reduces Don-Jon to 0 hit points, he drops to 1 hit point instead and
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Orcus fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Orcus has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects
.
Master of Undeath. Orcus can cast animate dead (at will) and create undead (3/day). He chooses the level at which the spells are cast, and the creatures created by them remain under his control
Monsters
Storm King's Thunder
: dancing lights, mage hand, message, thaumaturgy
1/day each: augury (cast as 1 action), bestow curse, cordon of arrows, detect magic, speak with dead, spirit guardiansThe Uthgardt are suspicious and
resentful of most kinds of magic. Seldom do they choose to become shamans. Instead, the role is thrust upon those who are born with a strong connection to the spirit world. To be a shaman is to stand
Monsters
Vecna: Eve of Ruin
Legendary Resistance (5/Day). If Vecna fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Special Equipment. Vecna carries a magic dagger named Afterthought. In the hands of anyone other than
spells, requiring no material components and using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 22):
At will: Animate Dead (as an action), Detect Magic, Dispel Magic, Fly, Lightning Bolt
Magic Items
The Book of Many Things
This enormous telescope allows you to view distant celestial objects, including stars, Wildspace systems, and Astral Sea phenomena like the cities of deities or the petrified husks of dead gods
at the intended destination. On a failed check, a mishap occurs instead. The DM rolls on the Telescope Travel Mishaps table to determine the mishap or chooses a mishap that’s good for the
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
with its body, making them look like irregularities in the surface. The creature might instead attach itself to a nearby wall or a ceiling, using the remnants as bait; any creature that stops to
hibernation that can last for months, though it is still aware when prey comes near. A trapper on the verge of starvation might defy its instincts and abandon its old territory in search of better hunting.
Magic Items
Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
limbs, with the effect of such loss determined by the GM. If the creature has no limb to sever, you lop off a portion of its body instead.
In addition, you can speak the sword’s command word to
, fine art, and poetry. Vain, the weapon strives to improve its appearance. It craves gemstones and seeks out better ones with which to adorn itself. Most of all, it longs to return to the forests around
Monsters
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
connected to one another.
False Appearance. If the yggdrasti is motionless and rooted in the ground at the start of combat, it looks just like a dead tree and has advantage on its initiative roll. Moreover
Conduit. If the yggdrasti is subjected to lightning damage, it is unhurt, and the lightning damage is instead divided evenly among all creatures it is grappling. In addition, the yggdrasti regains one
Monsters
The Book of Many Things
’ will. These living portents are Aberrations instead of Celestials and are typically chaotic evil. They replace any radiant damage in their stat block with necrotic or psychic damage (DM&rsquo
;s choice). Their spells might also be different. Some known Elder Evils include the following:
Acamar. A dead star that consumes other stars or sidereal bodies it encounters.
Caiphon, the Dream
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
":"piercing"} piercing damage. If the leucrotta scores a critical hit, it rolls the damage dice three times, instead of twice.
Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +6;{"diceNotation":"1d20+6","rollType":"to
like doing their own killing, since leucrottas are meticulous in their cruelty and able to draw out kills for better and longer sport. And when there are no victims to be had, a leucrotta can mimic the
Monsters
Mythic Odysseys of Theros
Legendary Resistance (2/Day). If Aphemia fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Aphemia has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical
travelers and settlements.
Cruel, corpse-eating creatures, harpies endlessly seek their next meal, careless of whether it comes from the living or the dead. With equal zeal, these vicious scavengers set
Monsters
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the specter fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. The specter has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical
essence to the dead body, giving the corpse the semblance of life as a rider. The two function as a single creature, more powerful for their unnatural union.
Humans of Eldraine view specters as
Monsters
Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the lich fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Regeneration. The lich regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the lich takes fire or
, ray of sickness
2nd level (3 slots): Melf's acid arrow, ray of enfeeblement, spider climb, web
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, bestow curse, fear, vampiric touch
4th level (3 slots): blight
Monsters
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
Voice from the Past (1/Day). The professor can cast the contact other plane spell to contact a long-dead spirit, using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability.Multiattack. The professor makes two
saving throw or be restrained for 1 minute, but the restrained target’s speed is halved instead of being reduced to 0. At the start of each of its turns, the restrained target takes 4 (1d8
Monsters
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
success, the zombie drops to 1 hit point instead.
Unusual Nature. The zombie doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Viral Aura. Any creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the
Manual) 1 minute later. The zombie acts immediately after the plague spreader in the initiative count.Among the undead, a lone zombie ranks far from the most menacing. The horror of the shambling dead lies
Monsters
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures
advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and the rider can force an attack targeted at its mount to target the rider instead.
Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces the rider to 0 hit points, it must make
the wilds? Beware the dead riders who serve the Shadow Queen.”
—Scalan, Edgewall innkeeper
PoisonNecrotic
Monsters
Mythic Odysseys of Theros
until the start of the Returned’s next turn. If the target is missing any of its hit points, it instead takes 17 (2d12 + 2);{"diceNotation":"2d12+2","rollType":"damage","rollAction":"Underworld
Bolt","rollDamageType":"necrotic"} necrotic damage.Although the dead typically recall little of their lives, some have an obsession with magic that survives both death and rebirth as a Returned. These
Monsters
Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
can choose to succeed instead.
Misty Escape. When she drops to 0 hit points outside her resting place, Keresta transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling
, command, inflict wounds, ray of sickness
2nd level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, ray of enfeeblement, spiritual weapon
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, bestow curse, dispel magic, spirit guardians
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
sharper the mind, the better the meal, so oblexes hunt targets more likely to be intelligent, such as wizards and other spellcasters. When suitable fare comes within reach, an oblex draws its body up to
engulf its victim. As it withdraws, it plunders the creature’s mind, leaving its prey befuddled and confused—or dead.
When oblexes feed on thoughts, they can form weird copies of their
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
jelly are cunning hunters that feed on thoughts and memories. The sharper the mind, the better the meal, so oblexes hunt targets more likely to be intelligent, such as wizards and other spellcasters. When
suitable fare comes within reach, an oblex draws its body up to engulf its victim. As it withdraws, it plunders the creature’s mind, leaving its prey befuddled and confused—or dead.
When
Monsters
Tales from the Yawning Portal
can choose to succeed instead.
Rejuvenation. If Var is destroyed but his phylactery remains intact, Var gains a new body in 1d10;{"diceNotation":"1d10","rollType":"roll","rollAction":"Rejuvenation
next 24 hours.After failing in an earlier task for the Red Wizards, the lich Tarul Var is sequestered within the Doomvault (Dead in Thay), where he tries to avoid the attention of Szass Tam
Monsters
Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Jarad fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Jarad has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects
level (4 slots): entangle, ray of sickness, sleep
2nd level (3 slots): Melf's acid arrow, ray of enfeeblement, spider climb, web
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, plant growth, vampiric touch
4th level