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Returning 35 results for 'strange of runes defenses variant'.
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Magic Items
Lost Laboratory of Kwalish
heavily muscled warrior, and its great helm is unusual in that it has no openings — only a broad glass plate in the front with a second piece of glass above it. Strange plates, tubing, and large
’s legendary powered armor.
Automatic Defenses. Unless Kwalish deactivates the suit’s automatic defenses, no one can approach the armor without setting those defenses off. Treat the
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
behold, radiating heat from the shell to boil the surrounding water—and any creatures in it. And even if an enemy wears down the dragon turtle’s defenses, magical storms manifest to
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
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
dragon turtle’s defenses, magical storms manifest to shield the dragon turtle and strike at foes.
Creating a Dragon Turtle
Use the Dragon Turtle Personality Traits and Dragon Turtle Ideals tables
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
adventurers trying to infiltrate my lair. How else could I try out new defenses?
4
Give me a storied helmet or scimitar over a pile of gold any day.
5
No creature can outsmart my defenses—if
who will undoubtedly terrorize the area if they win.
8
A sapphire dragon’s lair is so well protected that its inner defenses have never been tested. The dragon spreads rumors of the
Monsters
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
the surrounding water—and any creatures in it. And even if an enemy wears down the dragon turtle’s defenses, magical storms manifest to shield the dragon turtle and strike at foes
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
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->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->Tyranny of Dragons
and are trying to kill him. The characters must figure out the tower’s magical teleportation system, then defeat both the cultists and some of Xonthal’s original defenses to rescue Iskander and claim
chambers and walls are circular when seen from inside. This strange incongruity is another manifestation of Xonthal’s ability to manipulate space.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rise of Tiamat
and are trying to kill him. The characters must figure out the tower’s magical teleportation system, then defeat both the cultists and some of Xonthal’s original defenses to rescue Iskander and claim
chambers and walls are circular when seen from inside. This strange incongruity is another manifestation of Xonthal’s ability to manipulate space.
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->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
Adventures in Bluetspur While Bluetspur’s otherworldly hazards and the mind flayers’ defenses can challenge even the highest-level heroes, the domain’s menace proves most pernicious when it intrudes
, trapping them in caves overrun with vampiric mind flayers (see chapter 5).
3 A strange message leads characters to a silvery vessel full of alien mysteries wrecked on Bluetspur’s surface. The
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->Out of the Abyss
. Unfortunately, they have no means of assuring the slumbering fungal entity of their intentions, and the growing threat posed by Zuggtmoy and the demon lords has roused Araumycos’s defenses. The pastel
behind this strange sensation. Then you feel the ground beneath you shift as something moves — a number of a thick, spiky tendrils bursting from the ground.
Two fungal creatures resembling otyughs
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->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->Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Shape Theft. 3 Testing the Defenses (see below) 4 Highmaster’s Message (see below) A sivak draconian swoops down to attack Testing the Defenses A warning horn sounds from a group of soldiers crewing
outside, possibly on Kalaman’s walls or the city streets. The character with the highest passive Wisdom (Perception) score sees a strange violet light in the sky. After they react, read 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->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
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
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->Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
hopeful beacon to others? Or will you be a source of terror to those who feel the stab of your mind and witness the strange manifestations of your might? As an Aberrant Mind sorcerer, you decide how you
. 4 You were implanted with a mind flayer tadpole, but the ceremorphosis never completed. And now its psionic power is yours. When you use it, your flesh shines with a strange mucus. 5 As a child, you
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->Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
win.
8 A sapphire dragon’s lair is so well protected that its inner defenses have never been tested. The dragon spreads rumors of the treasures within to attract adventurers who can put the traps
the defenses of the dragon’s lair and hoard. Sapphire Dragon Wyrmling Connections d6 Connected Creatures
1 After being robbed by gnomes who had pledged to protect the hoard, a sapphire
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->Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
smooth black stone, form a perimeter around the heart of the Crypt — which can be seen only from a terrifyingly close vantage. Obscured and protected by the towers are several strange plots of land
demesne of the lich-king Larloch himself, who has also been called the Shadow King. Threats and Defenses I warn you: do not come to this place. And if you must, do not tarry, for its defenders are
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
feed on, while Undermountain’s existing defenses offered an unprecedented level of security. Enemies at the Gates Through methods unknown to the illithids, the githyanki vanguard force tracked the
the ulitharid’s imagination. Extremiton intends to enslave the population of Waterdeep, but not before it fully understands this strange city and its people. The telepathic communications the