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Returning 35 results for 'some of rather depicts variant'.
Backgrounds
Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
easily pick out the dens of criminal activity in a community, although you’re more likely to be welcome in the former locations rather than the latter.
Variant: Investigator
Rarer
Investigation rather than Athletics.
Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables for the soldier background below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to
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
.
As an example, map 5.14 depicts a topaz dragon’s lair in a seaside cavern, but it could be reimagined as a grotto in the side of a coral reef rising from a shelf on the ocean floor, with the
Backgrounds
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
wish to use the background’s standard feature might have gained their standing in Baldur’s Gate from business rather than inheritance.
Skill Proficiencies: History, Persuasion
Tool
; without question, and any corruption among guards or government officials tends to work in your favor, not against you—at least until you make some effort to expose it.
Variant Noble: Knight
A
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
new place is note the locations of everything valuable—or where such things could be hidden.
4
I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy.
5
I am incredibly slow to trust. Those
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
often difficult because I’m so easily distr… oh my goodness, is that circlet made of silver?
7
I find the waking world tedious and mundane and would much rather spend my time asleep
a night hag (coven variant);night hag coven are determined to prevent an adult moonstone dragon from contacting creatures in the dream realm, and the dragon has no idea why.
7
An adult
Yuan-ti Pureblood
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
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
of evil that calls for them to butcher or eradicate all who oppose them. In keeping with their goal of domination, the yuan-ti would rather capture potentially useful opponents than kill them. They use
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Sleight of Hand with Intelligence, rather than Dexterity. This is an example of how to apply the rule in the “Variant: Skills with Different Abilities” section in chapter 7 of the Player’s Handbook.
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
could be hidden.
4
I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy.
5
I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide.
6
I don’t pay
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
to regain spell slots of 6th level or higher. Gritty Realism This variant uses a short rest of 8 hours and a long rest of 7 days. This puts the brakes on the campaign, requiring the players to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things
Inspiration for the DM Another way to use the inspiration deck is to make its effects available to monsters and villains. In this variant, each time a player expends inspiration, the DM also draws a
card from the deck. Rather than adding it to the communal hand, you keep that card secret until you play it on behalf of one of the characters’ opponents. You can play your inspiration cards soon
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
unmolested. If threatened by three or more enemies, it tries to summon 1d6 mezzoloths, 1d4 nycaloths, or another ultroloth (see the “Variant: Yugoloth Summoning” sidebar in the “Yugoloths” entry in the
Monster Manual). Xindulus won’t negotiate with adventurers unless they offer it something immensely valuable, such as a legendary magic item or an artifact. Secret Door. A fresco that depicts dwarves
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
sort is recognized as a variant of the birth name, rather than a unique name unto itself. A yuan-ti might refer to itself by its birth name, by its adopted name, or (especially among purebloods) by a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
Variant Abilities When a beholder’s dream-imagination runs wild, the result can be an offspring that has an unusual or unique set of abilities. Rather than the standard powers of a beholder’s central
eye and eyestalks, the creature has one or more variant abilities — guaranteed to surprise any enemies who thought they knew what they were getting themselves into. This section provides several
classes
Basic Rules (2014)
—knowledge of the people who constructed the monument and the mythic saga it depicts.
A stern human warrior bangs his sword rhythmically against his scale mail, setting the tempo for his war chant
necessary, using their magic to bolster their swords and armor. Their spells lean toward charms and illusions rather than blatantly destructive spells. They have a wide-ranging knowledge of many
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
nalfeshnee named Slaughtertusk to watch over the crevasse and prevent any creature from approaching the device. Slaughtertusk would rather be helping the Horned King track down and kill Yeenoghu. The
nalfeshnee is bored with its assigned task, although it knows better than to disobey the Horned King. Still, rather than immediately destroying any intruders, it toys with them for as long as possible
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse->Turn of Fortune’s Wheel
adventure, the first time a character dies, invite all the players to create two variant versions of their character using the guidance in this section, then continue the adventure. Prepared Incarnations
“Running Glitch Characters” section. Let players discover that dead characters return in new incarnations during play rather than revealing this outright. When an incarnation appears, they are attuned to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
and serve as a final, vexing puzzle for anyone who tries to make use of an item without her consent. A hag’s treasure — like a gift from a fey being — should be doubted and even feared rather than
simply being scooped up and carted away. Treasure-seekers are likely to fare better if they consider a hag’s booty to be trapped, exercising caution rather than giving in to greed or curiosity
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
to pass through it normally. This room contains the following: Tapestry. A blood-spattered tapestry hanging on the west wall depicts scores of demons and devils locked in battle. (A secret door hidden
Devil Devil. Beyond the illusory wall waits a bone devil armed with a hooked polearm (see the “Variant: Bone Devil Polearm” sidebar in the “Devils” entry in the Monster Manual).
Statue. A raised stone
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries
, the spirit of Sylphene manifests in the room as a poltergeist that uses the specter stat block, with the modifications in the “Variant: Poltergeist” sidebar that appears alongside the stat block in the
painting depicts three deer grazing on a hilltop, backlit by the dawn. Another shows a gray mastiff with a dead duck in its mouth. A third depicts an armored human knight on a hippogriff, both shown in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
rolls and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it's in the smaller space. VARIANT: PLAYING ON A GRID If you play out a combat using a square grid and
miniatures or other tokens, follow these rules.
Squares. Each square on the grid represents 5 feet.
Speed. Rather than moving foot by foot, move square by square on the grid. This means you use your speed
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
take a coastal map and translate it to an underwater environment or use the map as-is if the dragon turtle is content to lair near the surface. As an example, map 5.14 depicts a topaz dragon’s lair in a
descends to a dark plain twelve hundred feet below. Coral Reef. The rocky cliff side depicts the contours of a coral reef that rises 80 feet above the shelf. The exterior face of the reef is covered
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
tier 2 adventure. 1 treasure point is awarded for every 1 hour played in a tier 3 or tier 4 adventure. As with the variant rules for gaining levels, this award is based on the adventure’s projected
playing time, rather than the actual time a group spent at the table. If a character completes an adventure of a tier higher than that character’s tier, the character receives 1 additional treasure point
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
emphasize action-packed heroics. For such campaigns, consider allowing inspiration to be spent after a d20 roll, rather than before. This approach turns inspiration into a cushion against failure — and
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->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
opportunity to develop the character’s story and that of your world, rather than shutting down possibilities. Substituting Class Features If one or more features of a given class don’t exactly fit the theme
an existing feature that can be used as a model? How does the new class feature compare to other features of the same level? Variant: Spell Points One way to modify how a class feels is to change how
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
could be hidden. 4 I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy. 5 I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide. 6 I don’t pay attention to the risks in a
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
could be hidden. 4 I would rather make a new friend than a new enemy. 5 I am incredibly slow to trust. Those who seem the fairest often have the most to hide. 6 I don’t pay attention to the risks in a
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
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
Given the opportunity, I eat to excess and then fall into a long, deep sleep.
4 I would rather let my fearsome reputation scare away intruders than fight them off.
5 Other dragons would
proficiencies, particularly if the dragon spends time in Humanoid form. Spells. The Monster Manual’s variant rule about making dragons innate spellcasters is an easy way to add variety to dragons
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
fears. Mind flayers will sometimes harvest a brain rather than devour it, using it as part of some alien experiment or transforming it into an intellect devourer. QUALITH
On the rare occasion that
the effect on itself on a success.
VARIANT: MIND FLAYER ARCANIST
A few mind flayers supplement their psionic power with arcane spells. However, they are regarded as deviants by their illithid
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
every foot it moves there, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it’s in the smaller space. VARIANT: PLAYING ON A
GRID
If you play out a combat using a square grid and miniatures or other tokens, follow these rules.
Squares. Each square on the grid represents 5 feet.
Speed. Rather than moving foot by foot
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
make areas of effect tactile and fun. To use this method, grab some dice or other tokens, which you’re going to use to represent your areas of effect. Rather than faithfully representing the shapes of
the area of effect. It’s that simple. Diagrams 2.3 through 2.6 show this method in action, using dice as the tokens. Circles. This method depicts everything using squares, and a circular area of effect
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
north.
The statue is life-size and depicts a dwarf king standing atop a 3-foot-high stone pedestal. Sprouting from the king’s neck is a deformed, mostly featureless second head with an elongated
gold rather than stone. Treasure. The gold circlet is a circlet of blasting. 39b. Bugbear Den Three bugbears sit in the middle of the floor, eating from a sack of dead rats and stirges. One of them
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
handiwork. Everywhere I go, I’m surrounded by rivals. Variant Guild Artisan: Guild Merchant Instead of an artisans’ guild, you might belong to a guild of traders, caravan masters, or shopkeepers. You
shop. In some ways, the traveling merchant’s life lends itself to adventure far more than the life of an artisan. Rather than proficiency with artisan’s tools, you might be proficient with navigator’s tools or an additional language. And instead of artisan’s tools, you can start with a mule and a cart.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monster Manual (2014)
, which have no rules of their own. Aberrations are utterly alien beings. Many of them have innate magical abilities drawn from the creature’s alien mind rather than the mystical forces of the world
to make it into something more useful for you, perhaps by borrowing a trait or two from a different monster or by using a variant or template, such as the ones in this book. Keep in mind that modifying
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Quests from the Infinite Staircase
-square tapestry depicts Caerwyn and Porphura, is worth 1,000 gp, and weighs 300 pounds. Julianna and Orlando’s possessions are stored in the secret closet behind the tapestry and include two sets of
, and a tapestry covering one wall depicts two female mages, an elf and a human, holding hands. Their free hands are raised, producing magic that causes a magnificent garden to spring up around them as
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
the hobgoblins run it accordingly. A war camp might be a permanent settlement that a hobgoblin legion uses as a garrison. The accompanying map depicts one such place, and it can also be used to
maintain their own battle gear, but ammunition and replacement gear are kept on hand, as well as other nonperishable supplies. Rather than being contained in a building, these items are on wagons