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Returning 35 results for 'secrets of runes descent variant'.
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Monsters
The Book of Many Things
encounter.
Variant: Servants of Living Stars
Some stars in the sky are Elder Evils, alien beings of godlike power from the reality-defying Far Realm.
A living portent can be a fragment of these beings
minions to avert its own demise.
Khirad, the Star of Secrets. A blue-white star whose gifts grant insight but also reveal terrible truths.
Zhudun, the Corpse Star. A dead star that whispers of the
Criminal / Spy
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Backgrounds
Basic Rules (2014)
; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you.
Variant Criminal: Spy
Although your capabilities are not much different
sold the secrets you uncovered to the highest bidder.
Suggested Characteristics
Criminals might seem like villains on the surface, and many of them are villainous to the core. But some have an
Backgrounds
Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica
5th
dominate person
Your magic often takes the form of blue or golden runes floating and glowing in the air in circular patterns or of shimmering azure barriers of magical energy. If you
recruited me into the Azorius left and joined the Boros.
3
I have a friendship with a Dimir agent who sometimes funnels me secrets about Azorius activities.
4
A Golgari spore druid would love to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Traveler, and Touched by the Far Realm: A Wizard’s Lamentable Descent into Lunacy. Tucked among these mundane tomes is Melissara’s spellbook, which bears the (right side up) Shadowdusk family crest on the
by Melissara. Inside is a small black journal. The first page of the book is trapped with a glyph of warding spell, whose explosive runes deal fire damage (save DC 15). The glyph is keyed to go off if
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
About the Adventure Designed for an adventuring party of four to six 1st-level characters, Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus is a Dungeons & Dragons adventure that begins in the city of Baldur’s
Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. Use the first session of the game to help your players create their 1st-level characters. As part of this process, the players can choose their party’s dark secret (see "Dark Secrets").
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
mystic shapes of our runes.
—Diancastra
You’ve dedicated your life to studying runecraft. Whether you were taught by a master rune carver or learned by poring over ancient engravings, you can tap into
the supernatural power held within runes. The art of runecraft was initially created by giants, but over time, the practice has been adopted by many peoples. As such, though Giant runes are the most
Yuan-ti Pureblood
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
keen intellect and magic to discover the secrets of making steel. Its military shattered rival tribes and developed advanced tactics for fighting in forests and open plains.
The civilization grew into a
can more easily pronounce the name in this altered form. An adopted name of this sort is recognized as a variant of the birth name, rather than a unique name unto itself. A yuan-ti might refer to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer
variant feature that ties the background to a group in Baldur’s Gate, provided to give characters an additional connection to the city. Characters may choose to replace the standard feature of their
background with one of these variant features. Each background also includes a bonus feature that marks a character as a native of Baldur’s Gate who’s familiar with the city — both its streets and its
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
variant feature that ties the background to a group in Baldur’s Gate, provided to give characters an additional connection to the city. Characters may choose to replace the standard feature of their
background with one of these variant features. Each background also includes a bonus feature that marks a character as a native of Baldur’s Gate who’s familiar with the city — both its streets and its
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer
Dark Secrets During character creation, once players have developed their own characters, they should collectively choose a dark secret shared by the entire party. Every member of the party is
blackmail the characters or push them toward a course of action. For more information on the NPCs in this table, see chapter 1 of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus. Who Knows? d8 NPC 1 Captain
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
always occur in shady venues.
Variant Criminal: Spy
Although your capabilities are not much different from those of a burglar or smuggler, you learned and practiced them in a very
different context: as an espionage agent. You might have been an officially sanctioned agent of the crown, or perhaps you sold the secrets you uncovered to the highest bidder.
Suggested
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
intellects to stalk through the Mists. A wandering scholar, Firan Zal’honan is quick to claim his descent from a noble pedigree. In another life, he claims, he could have ruled as a wizard-king. But his
seeks assistance traversing them. His most noteworthy partner is the Vistani leader Madame Eva, who secretly allows him to barter strange secrets for her agents’ guidance through the Mists. Firan is an
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
Chapter 10: Descent into the Depths Having survived Mantol-Derith and obtained Ghazrim DuLoc’s ring, the adventurers and their allies continue on into the Underdark. This time, rather than escaped
its secrets. The events described in chapters 13 through 16 can be interspersed among the material in this part of the adventure, as the characters work to fully understand the new menaces that have
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
came here to learn secrets and receive divine guidance. While attuned to the room and inside it, a dwarf can cast the divination spell at will. Answers provided by the spell come from an unknown source
(perhaps the Keeper of Secrets under the Mountain, perhaps the mountain itself). Too many castings of the spell in a short amount of time can lead to false readings, as noted in the spell’s
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Turn of Fortune’s Wheel
cleft surrounded by foul, bleeding runes. Inside is the Book of Vile Darkness. Secrets of Eternity If a character agrees to let the Scholar share a forbidden secret, the baernaloth requests that the
was meant to know with one interested character (see the “Secrets of Eternity” section below). If the characters ignore the baernaloth, leave its cave, or refuse its offers, it lets them go. If the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
; it isn’t maug, but it isn’t maat, either. Mastering the secrets of magic, though, demands a degree of devotion that would take giants away from pursuits that are valued by the ordning. As a
consequence, it’s a path rarely taken. The exception is rune magic. Giants are drawn to the solidity and permanence of magical runes. Stone giants are great practitioners of rune carving, both because of the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual
Archmage Archmages have mastered incredible magical power. While some use their magic to protect the world, others become tyrants or pursue forbidden secrets. Many archmages retain magical servants
and collect magic items and occult lore. Have you gazed on the Runes of Chaos, held the Death Moon Orb in your trembling hands, entered the Devouring Portal and walked the Paths of the Doomed, or sat
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
. Slaughtertusk is happy to let a fight drag on, feasting on its enemies’ pain before finally slaying them. If reduced to fewer than 100 hit points, it uses its Summon Demon feature (see the “Variant
if the adventurers have it at their mercy, promising to tell them the secrets of the Maze Engine or anything else they want. At the first opportunity, it teleports away, summoning demonic aid to cover its retreat if possible.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
rules from chapter 6 of the Player’s Handbook, your Dungeon Master might allow you to take a feat as a variant supernatural gift. You gain one feat of your choice. This list suggests twelve feats from
my strength when I rest on it. (Durable)
The stars of Nyx are never hidden from my sight, revealing their secrets to my eyes. (Keen Mind)
I hear the echoes of the gods’ speech in every mortal
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
with the Giant type, or you could write enmity toward giants into the tenets of your paladin’s Sacred Oath. Giant Lore You might have learned magic, martial techniques, or other secrets from studying
) might use the magic of Giant runes, or a paladin’s Sacred Oath could involve allegiance to the tenets of a philosophy or organization of giants (such as those described in chapter 2). Giant-Made
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
descent dominate the central lands of Faerûn, around the Inner Sea. Chondathan Names: (Male) Darvin, Dorn, Evendur, Gorstag, Grim, Helm, Malark, Morn, Randal, Stedd; (female) Arveene, Esvele, Jhessail
, Ramondo VARIANT HUMAN TRAITS
If your campaign uses the optional feat rules from chapter 6, your Dungeon Master might allow these variant traits, all of which replace the human’s Ability Score
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk
include Chalnefaaz, a community of myconids that bud tiny, wailing faces, and the Bulwark of Secrets, an abbey of guardian nagas who protect dangerous lore. You can use the nodules in the Endless Void
interlocked links of Ilvaash’s runes (knots of tentacles, brains, and jagged lines reminiscent of jaws). A brain breaker uses the stat block of an infected elder brain (see chapter 7) with the following
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
approach the characters take, remember that learning the full scope of the orrery’s history, the secrets of its creator, and the range of its powers is the goal of the whole campaign. Whatever small bits
Waterdeep can undertake research to study its mysterious runes, which can lead to information regarding That-Which-Endures (see the sidebar in the “New Race: Verdan” section in chapter 3.) Gorkoh the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
”). Each apparition takes a harmless swing at any creatures that pass through the area before sinking back into the fog. 9c. Unpleasant Descent This 10-foot-high passage slopes down gently as it runs
higher to pass through this gate (see “Jhesiyra Kestellharp”). The first creature to pass through the gate triggers an elder rune (see “Elder Runes”). A creature that passes through the gate appears in area 34a on level 6, in the closest unoccupied space next to the identical gate located there.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
broke in half during its descent, its bow section gone missing but its stern plunged backward into the seafloor like a spike.
The sandy bed around the wreckage is scattered with partially buried
to be inscribed with ancient runes. A character who succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check deduces that the slab is the product of magic. A subsequent successful DC 16 Intelligence
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Storm King's Thunder
grants immortality to its wearer, was last seen in the possession of a human adventurer (and former Harper) named Artus Cimber. Guided by magical runes of tracking, Storvald plans to find the ring and
empower his runes. Unbeknown to Storvald, the runes are steering the frost giants not to Artus Cimber but to other, closer individuals who carry the Cimber bloodline — Artus’s living relatives, most of whom
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
, after which Halaster will seize power as the city’s Shadow Lord. The Shadowdusk family motto used to be “No secrets without truth.” After the family’s fall, its motto changed to “We do not fear the
darkness.” The family’s crest is a lit torch with three embers rising from the flame, set against a purple background. In the wake of the family’s descent into Undermountain and madness, this crest has
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation
obvious risks, Orvex looks forward to exploring more of the city and unlocking its secrets. If he’s still with the characters when they retrieve all nine puzzle cubes, he jumps at the chance to accompany them on their descent into the Tomb of the Nine Gods.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Vecna: Eve of Ruin
front of the ship. During the Lambent Zenith’s crash, arcane wards should have sealed the safe room’s doors. The safe room is inaccessible while the wards are active. Ward Runes. Two runes hidden on the
ship power the wards. Kycera knows one rune was placed in the ship’s stateroom, but she doesn’t remember the second rune’s location. She believes that magic or a pass phrase can deactivate the runes
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things
world. Living portents seek out beings who will play a part in the prophecies they serve, and as the living portents search, they relate fragments of the prophecies to those they encounter. Variant
demise.
Khirad, the Star of Secrets. A blue-white star whose gifts grant insight but also reveal terrible truths.
Zhudun, the Corpse Star. A dead star that whispers of the power to defy death
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
span in width. From that time onward, they struggle to survive at all costs, growing throughout their lives. Those ixitxachitl that master the secrets of survival gain powers of regeneration and feed
+ 3) piercing damage.
VARIANT: IXITXACHITL CLERIC
Some ixitxachitl and vampiric ixitxachitl are able to cast divine spells. Such a creature gains the following feature.
Spellcasting. The
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
and Darkness is an invisible presence around it, her voice thundering from the Night Diamond or whispering secrets directly in the ears of her courtiers, and sometimes both at once. The Prince of Frost
collects warlocks like one might collect butterflies. His favorite collection, the Troil Thirteen, includes warlocks of blood descent from the thirteen who first made a pact with Asmodeus. Malkizid is a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
can’t help but spend a night in a haunted house to learn its secrets. They probably also go off alone when they shouldn’t. If the party splits up, consider giving each character inspiration. A sensible
your campaign is one where you let the dice fall where they may. It’s a good option for gritty campaigns or ones where the DM focuses on playing an impartial role as a rules arbiter. Variant: Only
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Sigil and the Outlands
accompany fools on their descent for cheap. Monsters and unusual pests plague Undersigil and its inhabitants. Screams of terror echo in its deserted halls, muffled by the leathery wings of vargouilles
, cling to life in the darkness, searching the underground for secrets that could lead to their ascension. Undersigil Encounters d6 Encounter 1 A vargouille reflection (see Morte’s Planar Parade
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
prison for a crime that I committed. I’m okay with that. Variant Criminal: Spy Although your capabilities are not much different from those of a burglar or smuggler, you learned and practiced them in a
very different context: as an espionage agent. You might have been an officially sanctioned agent of the crown, or perhaps you sold the secrets you uncovered to the highest bidder.