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Returning 35 results for 'strange of runes defense variant'.
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Backgrounds
Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
You have served the community where you grew up, standing as its first line of defense against crime. You aren’t a soldier, directing your gaze outward at possible enemies. Instead, your
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
Magic Items
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
weapon is searching for a new owner.
Azuredge has a solid steel handle etched with tiny runes, wrapped in blue dragon hide with a star sapphire set into the pommel. The axe head is forged from silver
defense against the axe, which passes through that spell’s barrier of magical force.
When you hit a fiend or an undead with the axe, cold blue flames erupt from its blade and deal an extra 2d6
Aarakocra
Legacy
This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore.
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Species
Elemental Evil Player's Companion
beyond — from the boundless vistas of the Elemental Plane of Air.
They are immigrants, refugees, scouts, and explorers, their outposts functioning as footholds in a world both strange and alien
back into the air. Those that make it to a world in the Material Plane find it a strange place. They sometimes forget or ignore vertical distances, and they have nothing but pity for those earthbound
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
inscribed into a flat stone hilltop. The stones bear Giant runes, carved constellations, and strange symbols. On the ground, an enormous circle of Giant runes of power links the monoliths and circumscribes smaller circles of runes. Carved lines throughout the circle link different strings of symbols.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hold Back The Dead
Waterdeep (Northeast) The siege weapon in Waterdeep’s defense zone (see Map 1.5) is a small bronze cannon inlaid with arcane runes and mounted on a heavy tripod. It launches balls of crackling
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Locathah Rising
in her head and pull her tentacles up into the shell protectively, like a strange hermit crab. Whymsee (Kraken Priest Variant)
Medium humanoid (human), neutral evil
Armor Class 17 (natural armor
next turn.
Shell Defense. Whymsee withdraws into her shell. Until she emerges, she gains a +4 bonus to AC and has advantage on Strength and Constitution saving throws. While in her shell, Whymsee is
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Book of Many Things
inscrutable runes carved onto a cursed bow might hold the key to undoing the weapon’s evil magic. Locations. Mystical grottoes, forgotten temples, and secret hideouts might all be locked behind befuddling
riddles. A lich might enchant the statues outside her innermost sanctum to ask a magical riddle before opening the way. The strange poem on a tombstone could be a clue to the whereabouts of a buried
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
Talismans: Effigy of Great Cthulhu, starmetal rod or amulet with eldritch runes, sahuagin-tooth fishing lure
Aligned Tarokka Card: Bishop
Opposed Tarokka Card: Donjon
Pam Wishbow Hidden amid
thalassic titan. From noxious fumaroles, miasmic pillars lurch from this accursed isle into a sky inconsistently lit by a distant, drowned light. Strange ruins dot this island’s rocky coasts, some
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal->a3
. Written on the side of this figurine are strange runes. On the slimmer end is a small arched square panel.
The runes are in a script similar to Elvish and spell out the name Ilnedraw. Deft fingers
coffer is unlocked, but it is latched, so the lid will not come open unless the characters touch the box. Inside the coffer is a strange copper figurine, narrow, with fins, looking somewhat fish-like
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries
. The final diary entry reads: I stole close to Lord Viallis today, and saw that he had chalked a circle marked with strange runes across the floor of his study. A puddle spread within the circle and
the diary, dated just over five years earlier, change in tone as Sarah worries about the strange conduct of Lord Yellowcrest, and his habit of spending too much time with ancient books in his study
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
the room. You see glowing moonstones, thumb-sized emeralds, shining silvery mithral wands, and strange spheres covered in turquoise and gold, as well as dozens of copper levers and golden spheres
glowing white runes wink into existence, drifting about the room like snowflakes.
This is the castle’s steering chamber. When no one is present, the castle is under the control of the spirit of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen
the room. You see glowing moonstones, thumb-sized emeralds, shining silvery mithral wands, and strange spheres covered in turquoise and gold, as well as dozens of copper levers and golden spheres
glowing white runes wink into existence, drifting about the room like snowflakes. This is the castle’s steering chamber. When no one is present, the castle is under the control of the spirit of Esclarotta
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation Supplement
strait. When the separation occurred, tortles living in the vicinity claimed the island as their domain. The strait provided a natural defense against aggressive mainland predators. The tortles of the
occasionally try to explore it as a rite of passage. Few of them get far before strange monsters frighten them away.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk
earlier in this chapter as examples of strange locales the characters might visit as they explore the Far Realm. Ilvaash’s Revenge Any place of safety in the Far Realm soon comes under attack, however, as
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->Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
with strange runes and weeping tar-like sap. Stone giant hermits tend these groves and set deadly traps against trespassers. Har-Thelen Har-Thelen is largely abandoned. Its gates stand open, and only a
of Inza Kulchevich, a hateful witch who can speak to shadows and believes all virtue is a lie. Despite her cynicism, she might perform prophetic fortune-telling or share strange lore in return for
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
, sacrifices to strange gods or placations to lurking monsters are everyday events. For outsiders, though, these practices reveal the subjectivity of normalcy, societal truth, and taboos. Folk horror explores
those beliefs provide no defense against those who reject them. In such stories, characters discover their perception of the way the world works is in the minority as those around them practice
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Force Grey named Meloon Wardragon (see appendix B), but the weapon is searching for a new owner. Azuredge has a solid steel handle etched with tiny runes, wrapped in blue dragon hide with a star
made with this magic weapon. The shield spell provides no defense against the axe, which passes through that spell’s barrier of magical force. When you hit a fiend or an undead with the axe, cold blue
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Candlekeep Mysteries
Lower Level B10-B13 B10. Ossuary This dark, dead-end chamber holds a mound of charred bones, desiccated body parts, and skulls scattered across a linen sheet. Strange red-black runes mark the sheet’s
proficiency in the Arcana skill or who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check can interpret the runes to realize that these remains are being collected to fuel a huge ritual at a later date—one
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Hoard of the Dragon Queen
rope: probably a young boar, though the flies make it hard to tell. Beneath it is a bowl circled by runes written in blood. The runes are written in Giant. Trepsin is a follower of the demon lord
Baphomet, lord of hunters and slayers. The strange and rusted spear-altar has rotted meat on it as a sacrifice to the demon lord. Four-Armed Troll
Sometimes when a troll loses a limb, it regenerates two
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
ancient pact to advise a monarchy on matters of defense—until someone bests the dragon’s security measures.
3
A sapphire dragon seeks adventurers to lead into battle against the mind
of psychic forces has begun to affect the local fauna in strange ways.
Sapphire Dragon Lairs
Sapphire dragons make their lairs in enormous caverns and complex tunnel systems. As they grow
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tyranny of Dragons
carcass hangs from the tripod by a rope: probably a young boar, though the flies make it hard to tell. Beneath it is a bowl circled by runes written in blood.
The runes are written in Giant. Trepsin
is a follower of the demon lord Baphomet, lord of hunters and slayers. The strange and rusted spear-altar has rotted meat on it as a sacrifice to the demon lord. FOUR-ARMED TROLL
Sometimes when a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk
Shrine of Luck Built from material scavenged from the surrounding wilds, the Shrine of Luck consists of a strange assemblage of rocks and stones. Unbeknownst to the townspeople, one such stone in the
the glint of an axe embedded in the wall of one of the nearby buildings. The Clue. A character who examines the axe and succeeds on a DC 17 Intelligence (History) check recognizes the runes etched into
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal->a4
will tell the party only that she is charged with keeping the kelpies and other denizens of the dungeon fed. There are strange gaps in her memory concerning her employer or any section of the dungeon
(worth 10 gp) and Snarla’s spellbook. The book contains the spells that she has prepared and no others. It is protected by an explosive runes glyph of warding that deals 5d6 fire damage.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk
Spawn Hollow Locations Many slaadi reproduce by implanting Humanoid hosts with eggs that transform into slaad tadpoles. In the weird dimension of the Far Realm, however, biology takes strange turns
explosive runes variety in each passage. The explosive runes deal thunder damage. If the glyph activates, Chalaag casts invisibility on itself and investigates. S2: Crystal Pit The floor of this funnel-shaped
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Journeys through the Radiant Citadel
failed check, the creature lands 5 feet away from its intended spot and is suspended in the area’s strange gravity. Suspended creatures are restrained until they use an action to pull themselves onto a
the characters should “welcome the endless” and “escape the tyranny of breath.” D4: Vestige of Consciousness The chitinous tunnel widens into a domed, circular area. At its center, a ring of strange
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
dragon wants to settle (using the sowing rumors activity from the Dungeon Master’s Guide), hoping to get the locals used to the idea. Altared States Characters interested in the strange altar under
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->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Random Tricks Tricks are quirkier and less deadly than traps. Some are effects left behind by the dungeon’s creators, while others might be manifestations of the strange magical energy suffusing the
jar 3 Burning fire 4 Cracked gem 5 Door 6 Fresco 7 Furniture 8 Glass sculpture 9 Mushroom field 10 Painting 11 Plant or tree 12 Pool of water 13 Runes engraved on wall or floor 14 Skull 15 Sphere of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
want them out, while others propose an alliance of mutual defense. A merchant from Gracklstugh says there’s an influx of surface-world coins there, but nobody knows where they come from. (See chapter 4
celebration,” which is strange considering that myconids don’t celebrate or have weddings. (See chapter 5 for more information.) The characters can spend a few hours socializing in the taproom of the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Monstrous Compendium Volume Four
The Wilds Past the courts, across the stream, into the woods—there lie the wilds, the most magical, strange, and dangerous lands in all Eldraine. In contrast to the order and structure of the realm
in strange and often beautiful ways. It can be alluring, empowering, and restorative. It can also be repellent, enervating, and destructive. Countless species of sapient creatures dwell in the wilds
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Mythic Odysseys of Theros
thwart his insights or their defense of the status quo and sends his agents to enlighten them. The campaign might end with the adventurers unraveling a troublesome prophecy, proving themselves of
unique physical laws and strange truths. Some of the inhabitants escape the isle and begin infecting the rest of Theros with their alternate reality.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check notices that the lock of the stone door is connected to wires that run into the tower’s stone walls. This custom-built franchise defense system is rigged to
, and both wear ornate collars of silvery metal. Each stands within a square scribed onto the floor, ten feet on a side and edged with runes. The rune-marked boundaries appear to push the creatures back
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
an action. Applying an oil might take longer, as specified in its description. Once used, a potion takes effect immediately, and it is used up. VARIANT: MIXING POTIONS
A character might drink one
potion while still under the effects of another, or pour several potions into a single container. The strange ingredients used in creating potions can result in unpredictable interactions.
When a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Keys from the Golden Vault
. Schnella refused to leave and died fending off Tockworth’s clockwork defenders. Her restless soul lurks in this building, manifesting as a troublesome specter known as a poltergeist (see the “Variant
the warehouse is a strange metal vehicle with treads. Quartz gemstones embedded in the hull shine light in all directions. Mounted to the front of this contraption is a large, cone-shaped drill. At
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ravenloft: The Horrors Within
traditions, sacrifices to strange gods or placations to lurking monsters are everyday events. For outsiders, though, these practices reveal the subjectivity of normalcy and societal truth. Examples
include Midsommar and The Wicker Man. Folk Horror Principles Consider the following principles when creating Darklords and domains with folk horror themes: Isolation Begets Weirdness. Strange and
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
with strange symbols and wrapped in silver chains. An explorer tried to open the door, but a jolt of lightning from the door’s runes nearly killed her. Shortly afterward, strange spirits and capering
Keoland have observed the Wild Flame Pact — a treaty that calls for mutual defense against the Dreadwood’s horrors. The outpost is commanded by its castellan, Kiara Shadowbreaker (LG female half-elf