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Amnizu

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

Deathlock Mastermind

Monsters Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

door, dispel magic, fly, invisibilityThough deathlocks exist to serve their patrons, they retain some freedom when it comes to devising tactics and carrying out plans. Powerful deathlocks recruit

to live up to a bargain with an evil patron runs the risk of rising from the dead as a deathlock, a foul Undead driven to serve its otherworldly patron. An powerful necromancer might also discover

Necrichor Legacy

monsters Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

sludge in the crypts of failed liches. Despite the loss of a solid physical form, these foul creatures retain their terrible intellects and aspire to megalomaniacal goals—the first of which

difficult to destroy, since they leave a trace of their essence within the veins of every creature they’ve controlled and can regenerate themselves from those creatures’ blood. Unable to

Inspired (Hashalaq variant)

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

who can dream can volunteer to serve as a quori vessel. But the Inspired of Sarlona are humans bred to be such vessels. They have no choice in this destiny, since they can't resist quori possession

Dreaming Dark has long experience in weaving dreams that can convince mortals to surrender their bodies. VARIANT: QUORI VESSEL The Inspired are vessels for quori spirits, allowing the quori to

Inspired (Tsucora variant)

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

can volunteer to serve as a quori vessel. But the Inspired of Sarlona are humans bred to be such vessels. They have no choice in this destiny, since they can't resist quori possession. Physically

has long experience in weaving dreams that can convince mortals to surrender their bodies. VARIANT: QUORI VESSEL The Inspired are vessels for quori spirits, allowing the quori to manifest a portion

Humanoid Mutate

Monsters Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

as smooth as a salamander’s. Some intelligent Humanoid mutates retain their personalities from before they were exposed to the Far Realm. Some, driven by the allure of otherworldly powers, seek

Inspired (Kalaraq variant)

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

choice in this destiny, since they can’t resist quori possession. Physically, Inspired resemble the kalashtar, possessing an almost supernatural beauty. Most of the people of the Five Nations have

Dreaming Dark. Such Inspired have to willingly accept quori possession, but the Dreaming Dark has long experience in weaving dreams that can convince mortals to surrender their bodies. VARIANT: QUORI

Inspired

Monsters Eberron: Rising from the Last War

bred to be such vessels. They have no choice in this destiny, since they can’t resist quori possession. Physically, Inspired resemble the kalashtar, possessing an almost supernatural beauty

surrender their bodies. VARIANT: QUORI VESSEL The Inspired are vessels for quori spirits, allowing the quori to manifest a portion of their power while the vessel is possessed. An Inspired can

Sailor Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

Master will determine how long it takes to get where you need to go. In return for your free passage, you and your companions are expected to assist the crew during the voyage. Variant Sailor: Pirate

more than one deserving soul to a briny grave. Fear and bloodshed are no strangers to you, and you’ve garnered a somewhat unsavory reputation in many a port town. Variant Feature: Bad

Sailor - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

the Gray Wavers—the Flaming Fist harbor guards—and have a sense of how to operate the city’s mechanized cranes. Variant Sailor: Pirate You spent your youth under the sway of a

. Fear and bloodshed are no strangers to you, and you’ve garnered a somewhat unsavory reputation in many a port town. Variant Feature: Bad Reputation If your character has a sailor

Entertainer Legacy

Backgrounds Player’s Handbook (2014)

liking to you. Variant Entertainer: Gladiator A gladiator is as much an entertainer as any minstrel or circus performer, trained to make the arts of combat into a spectacle the crowd can

for that “special someone.” 4 Nobody stays angry at me or around me for long, since I can defuse any amount of tension. 5 I love a good insult, even one directed at me. 6

Astral Drifter

Backgrounds Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

For longer than you can remember, you have traversed the Astral Sea. There, you experienced firsthand the wonders of the Silver Void: you stopped aging and no longer felt hunger or thirst. Driven by

wanderlust, you drifted from one part of the Astral Sea to another, like a mote of dust on the wind. You have lost count of the decades that have passed since you arrived here. In your travels, you

Criminal - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Guild took over your family business, ran it into the ground, and burned the building for insurance money. You were driven into crime yourself, but you’ll never work for the Guild. You take

; but what you learn you pass on to the Guild. 4 The inequality of Baldur’s Gate has driven you to take matters into your own hands. You steal from patriars and rich Lower City residents

Investigator

backgrounds Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

the mysteries you’re embroiled in are local crimes or realm-spanning conspiracies, you’re driven by a personal need to hunt down even the most elusive clues and reveal what others would

corpse. Ever since, other spectral clients have sought you out to help them find rest. 4 You revealed that the monsters terrorizing your home were illusions created by a cruel mage. The magic-user

Elf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

. Since they are so long-lived, they can enjoy centuries of exploration and discovery. They dislike the pace of human society, which is regimented from day to day but constantly changing over decades, so

humans translate their family names into Common, but others retain the Elvish version. Child Names: Ara, Bryn, Del, Eryn, Faen, Innil, Lael, Mella, Naill, Naeris, Phann, Rael, Rinn, Sai, Syllin

Entertainer - Baldur's Gate

Backgrounds Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

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

, since I can defuse any amount of tension. 5 I love a good insult, even one directed at me. 6 I get bitter if I’m not the center of attention. 7 I’ll settle for nothing

Yuan-ti Pureblood Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

— yuan-ti make perfect courtiers. And, worse for the rest of us, rulers. — Elminster The physical and magical prowess of the yuan-ti empire allowed the former humans to retain their

rather than among other creatures, including my own kind. 4 I sometimes become consumed by philosophy. 5 I believe I am superior to others of my caste. 6 I am driven by wanderlust

Background

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Infernal Machine Rebuild

, creating dangerous hybrids and a spreading corruption. Opposing the hags’ evil is a female unicorn named Banrion. After years of skirmishes, the hags have driven Banrion to an isolated pinnacle of

rock. This pinnacle stands among the ruins of an ancient city that once housed the Infernal Machine, until Baron Lum the Mad discovered and claimed it for himself. A fallen clock tower still holds some of the machine’s components, which retain enough power to manipulate time.

Tabaxi Legacy

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

hand, which you constantly fidget with. 7 You are always in debt, since you spend your gold on lavish parties and gifts for friends. 8 When talking about something you’re obsessed

Half-Elf Legacy

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

human energy without human boorishness. They often make excellent ambassadors and go-betweens (except between elves and humans, since each side suspects the half-elf of favoring the other). Half

The Pudding Court

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss

the “Royal Oozes” sidebar). Since his return, the Pudding King has been using the power granted him by Juiblex to summon and command every ooze in the region. ROYAL OOZES Princess Ebonmire is a

as the black pudding’s Pseudopod attack. Prince Livid is a gray ooze with 30 hit points (use the psychic gray ooze variant).

Rest Variants

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

within an inch of their lives, yet still be ready to fight again the next day. If this approach doesn’t fit your campaign, consider the following variants. Epic Heroism This variant uses a short rest

of 5 minutes and a long rest of 1 hour. This change makes combat more routine, since characters can easily recover from every battle. You might want to make combat encounters more difficult to

Teeth of Dahlver-Nar

Magic Items Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

;green hags in a Green Hag (Coven Variant);coven When you damage a target that hasn’t taken a turn in this combat, the target takes an extra 3d10 slashing damage from ghostly blades. 5

property, it can’t be used again until the next dawn. Whenever you finish a long rest, if you haven’t used the tooth to counter a spell since your last long rest, your hit point maximum is

Humanoid Mutate

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

. Its skin becomes clammy and as smooth as a salamander’s. Some intelligent Humanoid mutates retain their personalities from before they were exposed to the Far Realm. Some, driven by the allure of

Shadow Dragon Template

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)

dragon, since it loses its draconic nature when it becomes undead. When a dragon becomes a shadow dragon, it retains its statistics except as described below. The shadow dragon might retain or lose any

Kobold Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

; animosity, gnomes tend to avoid or abandon settlements that have a severe infestation of kobolds, and conversely kobolds are usually driven out of communities that have a large gnome population

who’ve known each other for over a decade might consider each other friends or enemies, but the strength of this sentiment is much fainter than any comparable human emotion. Since most of their

Bone Devil (Osyluth)

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)

Bone Devil (Osyluth) Driven by hate, lust, and envy, bone devils act as the cruel taskmasters of the Nine Hells. They set weaker devils to work, taking special delight in seeing fiends that defy

in combat with their claws, bone devils also wield hooked polearms made of bone, which they use to subdue enemies before striking with their venomous tails. VARIANT: BONE DEVIL POLEARM Some bone

Gods, Celestials, and Fiends

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

outlook means that religion is driven by faith, as opposed to the concrete actions of deities. The faithful believe that their triumphs reflect the assistance of a divine influence. They don’t expect a god

invested in their own affairs and have little interest in Eberron. Demons and angels battle one another in Shavarath, but they’ve been doing this since before humanity existed, and they dare not leave

Dragonborn

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

. They have remained there ever since, guarding against corruption and fighting the evil forces of the Poison Dusk — which is sometimes described as a cult devoted to a dragon, and sometimes as an army

lizardfolk. If you’re a dragonborn, what has caused you to emerge from Q’barra? Are you on a quest to help your people or to oppose the Lords of Dust? Are you driven by wanderlust or curiosity? Did you serve as a mercenary in the Last War? How might your travels tie to the fate of your people?

3H, I, J. Spiders' Lair

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons

their recesses. A trapdoor is closed across the steps from area 2K and jammed shut with two iron spikes driven between the door and the frame. See the description of area 2K for notes about opening the

door. The door is sufficient to keep the spiders out of the lower levels of the tower, since the spiders and the lizardfolk have an unspoken understanding to leave each other alone. That doesn’t extend to strangers such as the characters.

3H, I, J. Spiders' Lair

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen

their recesses. A trapdoor is closed across the steps from area 2K and jammed shut with two iron spikes driven between the door and the frame. See the description of area 2K for notes about opening the

door. The door is sufficient to keep the spiders out of the lower levels of the tower, since the spiders and the lizardfolk have an unspoken understanding to leave each other alone. That doesn’t extend to strangers such as the characters.

Diplomats or Wanderers

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->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 contrast

ambassadors and go-betweens (except between elves and humans, since each side suspects the half-elf of favoring the other).

Diplomats or Wanderers

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (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 contrast

ambassadors and go-betweens (except between elves and humans, since each side suspects the half-elf of favoring the other).

Rakshasa

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

with demonic fury, rushing into battle seeking vengeance against those who bound their fiendish masters. Rakshasas are described in the Monster Manual. A martial variant—the zakya rakshasa—is

presented here. Zakya Rakshasa Zakya rakshasas are the bloodthirsty foot soldiers of the rakshasa horde. They are driven to free their fiendish rulers, seeking vengeance against the dragons and those who

Wight

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual

them beyond death. Unlike mere zombies, they retain the memories and evil agendas they harbored in life. After dying and returning from the grave, a wight continues its villainous ways, but it is now

driven by a hunger for life. A wight drains living essence through its attacks. Humanoids slain by a wight’s life-sapping grip reanimate a day later and serve the wight as obedient zombies. Valera

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