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Returning 35 results for 'driven intellect are based'.
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Monsters
Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
, fomorians ordered themselves based on achievements of knowledge and magical power. Before Karontor urged his descendants into an ill-fated assault against the Feywild, some of the most ambitious
occupied a place in the giants’ ordning between hill and stone giants. In ancient times, they were scholars of magic known for their keen intellect—but also for their inflated egos and sense
Monsters
Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica
Council of Five. The ghost has a trait based on who it is, as shown below:
Enezesku: Enfeebling Ray. Enezesku’s Innate Spellcasting trait includes ray of enfeeblement, which he can cast at
Obzedat function as a unit, driven by their shared desire to accumulate ever more wealth for the guild. In times of disagreement, the eldest of the council exerts his seniority to bend the council to
Backgrounds
Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica
Armed with an inventive intellect, a love of magical technology, and an unquenchable energy, you are an enthusiastic participant in the research work of the Izzet League. Though you’re likely
conception of the Izzet League is based on mad inventions, dangerous experiments, and explosive blasts. Much of that perception is accurate, but the league is also involved with mundane tasks of
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
their torch-based code. From the lighting, placement, and type of torch arranged on or near a structure, you can gather a great deal of information about those who live or do business there, particularly
of desperate poverty, for good and for ill. They tend to be driven either by a commitment to the people with whom they shared life on the street or by a burning desire to find a better life &mdash
Tabaxi
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
, wandering tabaxi are catlike humanoids driven by curiosity to collect interesting artifacts, gather tales and stories, and lay eyes on all the world’s wonders. Ultimate travelers, the inquisitive
on a particularly interesting item when an owner refuses to sell or trade it.
Tabaxi Names
Each tabaxi has a single name, determined by clan and based on a complex formula that involves astrology
Half-Elf
Legacy
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Species
Basic Rules (2014)
, wandering the wilds as trappers, foresters, hunters, or adventurers and visiting civilization only rarely. Like elves, they are driven by the wanderlust that comes of their longevity. Others, in
-Elf Variants
Some half-elves in Faerûn have a racial trait in place of the Skill Versatility trait. If your DM allows it, your half-elf character can forgo Skill Versatility and instead take the elf trait Keen Senses or a trait based on your elf parentage:
Yuan-ti Pureblood
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
with that of snakes, producing a caste-based society of hybrids in which the most snakelike are the leaders and the most humanlike are spies and agents in foreign lands.
Humans Transformed
The
caste system based on how complete a person’s transformation was. The vast majority of yuan-ti fall into three categories — abominations, malisons, and purebloods — while the mutated
Lizardfolk
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
have more in common with iguanas or dragons than they do with humans, dwarves, or elves. Lizardfolk possess an alien and inscrutable mindset, their desires and thoughts driven by a different set of
rage against their enemies. They simply observe and react as a situation warrants.
Lizardfolk lack meaningful emotional ties to the past. They assess situations based on their current and future
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
as the elemental prophets, the cults’ use of devastation orbs, and the search for the missing delegation make this a much more far-reaching and event-driven adventure than the original site-based campaign.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
campaign isn’t driven by material wealth. Even when you go on expeditions, the University will lay claim to most of the treasures you find. Instead, the rewards of Morgrave adventures are measured in
use story-based advancement instead of standard XP. Level advancement could be based on time: player characters gain one level each semester, leveling up after finals. Alternately, advancement could
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin
the Cerulean Hall The Cerulean Hall is home to games of strategy and intellect, such as dragonchess and three-dragon ante. The room is divided into three sections based on skill: an amateur players
wins the dragonchess match or Nyssa concedes, Nyssa compliments the character’s intellect and thanks the character for the most thrilling match she’s had in a while. She then offers the character and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
Dragon as Monster For all their vast power, great intellect, and range of possible motivations, dragons are often simple creatures at heart. They want food, a secure lair, and treasure. Many tropes
only solution is to slay the dragon An adventure featuring a dragon in a monster’s role lends itself to a location-based structure. That location is likely the dragon’s lair, since it’s difficult to pin
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Intrigue Intrigue adventures are event-based adventures that revolve around power struggles. Intrigues are common in the courts of the nobility, but power struggles can play out just as easily in
the event-based goals discussed earlier in this section lend themselves to intrigue adventures. For example, if the adventurers must uncover a conspiracy, negotiate a peace treaty, or secure aid from
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
many human cities are built on goblin foundations. This empire collapsed into savagery, and when humanity arrived, goblins were driven from their ancestral lands or enslaved. Galifar ended the
hobgoblin clans known as the Ghaal’dar were based in the Seawall Mountains, but during the Last War the demand for mercenaries drew an ever-increasing number of goblins out of the mountains to fight
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
, favoring the wounded or infirm. They attack recklessly, infecting as many creatures as possible with their diseased jaws. If driven off, death dogs linger close to their victims, letting infection weaken
their prey before they attack again. Legends tie death dogs to malicious death gods, the underworld, and cursed rulers. These stories are based on the malady death dogs spread. Roll on or choose a result
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
of experience and science-driven deductive methods. As a young detective in Darkon, Alanik revealed his father’s criminal empire and oversaw its destruction. His success launched his career as a
mysteries wherever need and novelty take them. Arthur lends his practicality and martial skill to Alanik’s dazzling intellect during the pair’s exploits. Sedgwick also chronicles their adventures and has
Orc
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
; their loyalty by turning them into slaves.
If a tribe is defeated and driven from its lair, the survivors might come under the sway of a strong but dimwitted creature, such as a hill giant or an ogre
. These tenets vary from tribe to tribe, and are often based in events that the tribe has experienced. Here are a few examples:
If a dwarf or a human invokes its god upon dying, you must carry the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
of a greater whole. Cults of the Dragon Below are based on madness or power. A cult that seeks power chooses to serve a dark force because of the gifts they receive from it. A cabal of scholars might
, not from faith. Cults driven by madness have a warped view of reality. A cultist might believe aberrations are a higher form of life and that the daelkyr will elevate mortals. Other cultists may not
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
water.
Stake to the Heart. The vampire is destroyed if a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into its heart while it is incapacitated in its resting place.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The vampire
damage resistances, darkvision, traits, and actions. Attack and damage rolls for the vampire’s attacks are based on Strength. The save DC for Charm is 8 + the vampire’s proficiency bonus + the vampire’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd
presenting a D&D adventure that was as much story-driven as location-based, featuring a villain who was complex and terrifying. Castle Ravenloft, with its amazing three-dimensional maps, remains to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Infernal Machine Rebuild
her former skills and intellect, and bonded to an equally special flesh golem that she wears as a costumed skin. (If you are playing through Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, this setup was one of
artists or subjects, however, Lynx describes each painting based on where she stole it from. Servants. The house is also occupied by a dozen servants—all cultists of Zariel disguised in stolen livery
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
all. Rules for Everything Devils are evil schemers by nature, but they must operate within the bounds of the Nine Hells’ intricate legal code. A devil’s attitude toward the law is in part driven by its
fulfill their obligations, but they fight just as furiously when they are engaged. A devil receives credit for each foe it slays, based on the worthiness of the opponent and whether the devil scored
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
secretly being driven to war by the machinations of a black dragon, who hopes to revel in the resulting carnage.
4 When swamplands shrink due to a prolonged drought, two black dragons form a temporary
avatar of their deity. The dragon now uses the cult to destabilize the local sovereign’s rule.
3 Ruins rumored to hold the treasury of a lost empire are guarded by an elaborate network of ooze-based
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
be driven to murder by passion. A refugee could become a cutpurse out of desperation. The rowdy Brelish veterans who call themselves the Brokenbridge Brawlers don’t think of themselves as criminals
information about them that’s more or less common knowledge in Sharn. This section explores the roles that each one could play in a Sharn-based campaign. Although the powerful organizations in Sharn have a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd
driven berserk, she fights until the Abbot reasserts control or until she is destroyed. She has the supernatural strength of a typical flesh golem despite her smaller size. The Abbot has no desire to
can’t be convinced otherwise. The Abbot shares his beliefs openly, claiming that his decisions are based on the Morninglord’s guidance. He will give visitors a tour of the abbey if they seem friendly
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd
, the order is a dedicated group of like-minded individuals driven by religious zeal or a finely honed sense of justice and honor. The order is ready to lash out the moment evil acts, and not a moment
return to Barovia through some kind of ancient portal. (This is a deduction on Eravien’s part, based on the werewolf prisoner’s vague description of how the pack gets to and from Barovia.) Eravien believes
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
guild and accumulate even larger fortunes. Mostly Unanimous. The ghosts of the Obzedat function as a unit, driven by their shared desire to accumulate ever more wealth for the guild. In times of
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Council of Five. The ghost has a trait based on who it is, as shown below:
Enezesku: Enfeebling Ray. Enezesku’s Innate Spellcasting trait includes ray of enfeeblement, which he
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
vegetation might be its work.
Kyrzin. The cults of the Prince of Slime are based in the Shadow Marches and are infamous for cultivating gibbering beasts. Kyrzin creates sentient slimes that can enter
the living artillery of the daelkyr forces, shattering hobgoblin armies with their deadly eye rays. When the Gatekeepers drove back and imprisoned the daelkyr, most of the beholders were driven into
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
and evil. Even adventure villains are more often driven by human motives than by cosmic concepts of good and evil. People sometimes do evil things for good reasons. Exercise some caution when
the setting. Ultimate Evil. Some mysterious villains wield enough power to threaten the entire world through colossal strength, mastery of magic, dizzying intellect, or overwhelming charisma (or
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
intellect—but also for their inflated egos and sense of entitlement. Karontor exploited these qualities, tempting them with promises of higher standing in the ordning, and incited his descendants to
Fomorian Noble Before their banishment to the Underdark, fomorians ordered themselves based on achievements of knowledge and magical power. Before Karontor urged his descendants into an ill-fated assault
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder
Underdark. A hill giant chief with a headband of intellect performing rituals that can transform people into pigs. The Emerald Enclave The Emerald Enclave is a group of wilderness survivalists who
to take place sometime after 1485 DR, the Year of the Iron Dwarf’s Vengeance, during which a horde of orcs waged war on the North before being driven back into the mountains. This conflict is referred
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
informed and inspired by the cultures, myths, legends, and fantasies of any culture: an epic fantasy campaign could draw on French romances or Chinese wuxia stories, a mythic fantasy campaign could be based
characters are driven by a higher purpose than selfish gain or ambition. Characters might struggle with moral quandaries, fighting the evil tendencies within themselves as well as the evil that
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
great empire known as Kal-Thax. They have long been split into several clans based on traditional roles that were established in Kal-Thax and its successor settlements. Yet, as with much on Krynn, the
merchants and builders. Driven mad by their love of quicksilver, the wild Klar serve as Thorbardin’s scouts and fiercest warriors. Gully Dwarves. The Aghar clan is an anomaly among the dwarves of Krynn
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
rule all the affairs of giantkind. Among mortal giants, the same accusation is often leveled against his priests. But giants who revere him for his charisma and intellect insist he has the welfare of all
target of resentment and complaints from other giants. Surtur Surtur is the elder twin of Thrym, and rivalry has driven the two gods from the moment of their birth. Surtur is generally depicted as the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
wise advisors or of a dictatorial tyrant who governs based on whim. Taxes might be funneled into the dragon’s hoard, but some dragons in this position regard the collective wealth of their empire as part
train in monasteries established by dragons in past generations. Warlord The combination of ego and intellect can lead a dragon to become a military leader. Minions help keep the dragon’s territory in






