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Returning 35 results for 'shadow of rules despair variant'.
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shadow of rules despair variants
Monsters
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
Amorphous. The shadow can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the shadow can take the Hide action as a bonus action
.
Sunlight Weakness. While in sunlight, the shadow has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.Strength Drain. Melee Weapon Attack: +4;{"diceNotation":"1d20+4","rollType":"to hit
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Variant Rules A shared campaign might use some variant rules to handle certain aspects of the game. The Adventurers League, for instance, has variant systems for gaining levels and acquiring treasure
. These “house rules,” presented below, serve as a sort of common language, ensuring that the rewards all characters receive are equivalent no matter what kind of adventure a character experienced.
Monsters
Monster Manual
its next turn.Shadow Dragon Lairs
Shadow dragons lair in places of darkness and despair, such as accursed ruins, the depths of the Underdark, or the Shadowfell.
The region around a shadow dragon
Resistances. See Living Shadow.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Living Shadow. While in Dim Light or Darkness
Monsters
Monster Manual
its next turn.Shadow Dragon Lairs
Shadow dragons lair in places of darkness and despair, such as accursed ruins, the depths of the Underdark, or the Shadowfell.
The region around a shadow dragon
Resistances. See Living Shadow.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day, or 4/Day in Lair). If the dragon fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Living Shadow. While in Dim Light or Darkness
Magic Items
The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
next dawn.
The shadow (variant);detached shadow is rooted to the spot where it was snipped until you use a bonus action to cause it to behave in one of the following ways, either of which is possible
As an action, you make a few snips with these iron shears and cause the shadow of a Humanoid creature you can see within 5 feet of you to detach from its source. If the creature is unwilling to give
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
drow to sleep.
Sunlight Sensitivity. While in sunlight, the drow has disadvantage on attack rolls, as well as on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.Multiattack. The drow makes three Shadow
Sword attacks. One of the attacks can be replaced by a Hand Crossbow attack. The drow can also use Spellcasting to cast darkness.
Shadow Sword. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +9;{"diceNotation":"1d20+9
Monsters
Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
"} slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it is wracked with despair and has disadvantage on attack rolls until the end of its next turn.
Illuminating Shadow Breath (Recharge 5–6);{"diceNotation
":"1d6", "rollType":"recharge", "rollAction":"Illuminating Shadow Breath"}. Shadrix exhales an entwined burst of blinding radiance and unnerving shadow in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that area
Spells
Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
You call forth a shadowy spirit. It manifests in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. This corporeal form uses the Shadow Spirit stat block. When you cast the spell, choose an emotion
: Fury, Despair, or Fear. The creature resembles a misshapen biped marked by the chosen emotion, which determines certain traits in its stat block. The creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points
Monsters
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures
disadvantage if it can see the rider, ending the condition on itself on a success.Legends told in the courts of Eldraine suggest that the deathless riders serve a warlock-queen, known simply as the Shadow
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
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
have no personalities or memories; they’re driven only by the desire to commit evil. The amnizus that patrol here drill the rules of the Nine Hells into the new arrivals’ minds and marshal
them into legions.
Amnizu (Summoner Variant);Variant: Devil Summoning
Some amnizus have an action that allows them to summon other devils:
Summon Devil (1/Day). The amnizu summons 2d4
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
speed reduced by 20 feet until the start of that creature’s next turn.Multiattack. The shadar-kai makes two Shadow Dagger attacks.
Shadow Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7
;{"diceNotation":"1d20+7", "rollType":"to hit", "rollAction":"Shadow Dagger"} to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (4d4 + 3);{"diceNotation":"4d4+3", "rollType":"damage", "rollAction":"Shadow
Variant Human
Legacy
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Species
Basic Rules (2014)
If your campaign uses the optional feat rules from the Player’s Handbook, your Dungeon Master might allow these variant traits, all of which replace the human’s Ability Score Increase trait.
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
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
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
characters, and use the Dragon Turtle Spellcasting 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
Species
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
echo of discovery—but also the desiccation of despair.
Creating Your Character
When you create your D&D character, you decide whether your character is a member of the human race or one of
the game’s fantastical races. If you select one of the dragonborn races in this chapter, follow these additional rules during character creation.
Ability Score Increases
When determining your
Monsters
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
eyebinders — entities formed of pure shadow that is outlined by a nimbus of energy. A host of disembodied eyes whirl around a kalaraq, each reflecting a consciousness the creature has consumed.
Kalaraq quori
Inspired (Kalaraq variant);Inspired.Cold, Necrotic, Poison, Psychic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Criminal / Spy
Legacy
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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
; 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
monsters
over.
Soth was trapped in Sithicus, escaped, and was trapped again, perpetuating a cycle of despair. Soth’s story and where characters encounter him are for you to detail in your adventures
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
Monsters
Mythic Odysseys of Theros
relationships or establish new lives. Instead, most experience fleeting emotions and follow hollow routines, their existences reduced to shadow plays without weight or substance.
Returned Masks. Adventurers
. They think and speak and even feel emotions based on their new experiences, but given their circumstances, those emotions tend to be muted.
VARIANT: RETURNED KAKOMANTIS
Although the dead typically
Dhampir
Legacy
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Species
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
to one of the following Domains of Dread (detailed in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft):
Barovia. In the shadow of Castle Ravenloft, tales flourish of those who love or descend from vampires
lineage option, follow these additional rules during character creation.
Ability Score Increases
When determining your ability scores, you increase one of those scores by 2 and increase a different
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
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->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Creating a Dragonmarked Character Dragonmarks manifest on certain members of a few species, represented in the rules by variant race options: For humans and half-orcs, a dragonmark is a variant race
that replaces traits associated with those races. For half-elves, a dragonmark is a variant race that lets you keep some half-elf traits and replace others with the traits associated with your mark
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
Undead haunt this bleak plane, as do other creatures that thrive in the gloom, including cloakers and darkmantles. Julian Kok The Shadowfell is a realm of death, despair, and dread Shadow Crossings Shadow
Shadowfell The Shadowfell, also called the Plane of Shadow, is a gloomy dimension whose sky is a black vault with neither sun nor stars. The Shadowfell overlaps the Material Plane in much the same
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
From the Oasis Theater’s spectacular singers and acrobats to the pantomimes and shadow puppeteers of the Wide, Baldur’s Gate hosts a colorful array of performers. Good acts can always
occupation or social class that frequents the establishment. This contact is delighted to talk with you, and to listen.
Variant Entertainer: Gladiator
A gladiator is as much an
classes
Basic Rules (2014)
exhales and a blast of fire roars from his mouth, engulfing his foes.
Moving with the silence of the night, a black-clad halfling steps into a shadow beneath an arch and emerges from another inky
shadow on a balcony a stone’s throw away. She slides her blade free of its cloth-wrapped scabbard and peers through the open window at the tyrant prince, so vulnerable in the grip of sleep
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
Creating a Dragonmarked Character Dragonmarks are associated with race, depicted by a combination of variant races and subraces. For humans and half-orcs, a dragonmark is a variant race that replaces
normal traits associated with those races. For half-elves, a dragonmark is a variant race. You keep some of the standard half-elf traits and replace others with the traits associated with your mark
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
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
murders, but the real culprit is something else.
Connected Creatures Shadow dragons often attempt to blunt their despair by dragging others into their gloomy lives with them. These are generally
blame each other for their transformation.
6 A family of deep gnomes adopts a shadow dragon wyrmling, hoping to show the dragon a noble path through gloom and despair.
Young Shadow Dragon
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Umbraxakar The shadow dragon Umbraxakar used to be a lawful good bronze dragon named Glyster. Fond of assuming human form, Glyster was Vanrak Moonstar’s friend and companion, remaining by the noble’s
side even after Vanrak’s fall from grace. Glyster tried to turn Vanrak away from the worship of Shar, to no avail, and the dragon sank into despair. In this forlorn state, he allowed Shar’s priests
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
shadows under his command try to destroy intruders as quickly as possible, enabling the shadow dragon to revel in their misery rather than his own. Umbraxakar’s Despair. The dragon has spent more than
32. Umbraxakar’s Lair Umbraxakar the shadow dragon dwells here and cannot be surprised by the characters, whose presence he has sensed since they first stepped into the Shadowfell. Characters who
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Rewards Adventures in a shared campaign that uses variant rules for gaining levels and acquiring treasure (such as those described below) don’t include experience point awards or specific amounts and kinds of treasure.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
Creating a Shadow Dragon Use the Shadow Dragon Personality Traits and Shadow Dragon Ideals tables to inspire your portrayal of distinctive shadow dragon characters. If you use the variant rule in the
Monster Manual for making a dragon a spellcaster, shadow dragons typically have the spellcasting ability of their original forms. Over time, some shadow dragons might replace one or more of their
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
shadowy spirit. It manifests in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. This corporeal form uses the Shadow Spirit stat block. When you cast the spell, choose an emotion: Fury, Despair, or
higher level wherever the spell’s level appears in the stat block. Shadow Spirit
Medium monstrosity
Armor Class 11 + the level of the spell (natural armor)
Hit Points 35 + 15 for each spell level
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
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 Increase trait
with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on. VARIANT