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Returning 35 results for 'survival of rules dark variant'.
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
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
against each other, perhaps to determine who rules a war band or because of extreme starvation. Even under ordinary circumstances, gnolls that are deprived of victims for too long struggle to control
service to Yeenoghu or dedicated to the survival of their kin, gnoll war bands seek to soften up foes with surprise attacks and to leave no survivors alive.PoisonRampage. After the witherling reduces a
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
Equipment
parts of Celestials and use them to fuel dark magic. You can harvest a heart, eye, or other useful organ from a Celestial’s corpse with a successful DC 16 Wisdom (Survival) check. You can use a
Spicule’s vast tome contains secrets concerning celestials and how to use them to fuel dark magic. You must spend 50 hours studying this tome to gain the following benefits:
You have
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Dark Devotion. The fanatic has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Spellcasting. The fanatic is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC
he's tight with Levistus. He rules the roost by sheer force of personality, though it chafes him that Hethyl Arkorran has more respect and influence within the cult. Kadroth doesn't involve Avarice
Monsters
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
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
that guide and empower them, but the truth is far darker. The Inspired are the mortal hosts of the nightmare spirits of Dal Quor, and they carry out the foul agenda of the Dreaming Dark.
Any humanoid
Monsters
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
and empower them, but the truth is far darker. The Inspired are the mortal hosts of the nightmare spirits of Dal Quor, and they carry out the foul agenda of the Dreaming Dark.
Any humanoid who can dream
throughout Khorvaire as well. Beggars and generals, mayors and merchants might all be secret servants of the Dreaming Dark. Such Inspired have to willingly accept quori possession, but the Dreaming Dark
Monsters
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
the nightmare spirits of Dal Quor, and they carry out the foul agenda of the Dreaming Dark.
Any humanoid who can dream can volunteer to serve as a quori vessel. But the Inspired of Sarlona are humans
merchants might all be secret servants of the 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
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Dark Devotion. The cultist has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Icy Doom. When the cultist dies, its corpse freezes for 9 days, during which time it can’t be
Levistus, the archdevil who rules Stygia, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells, from the confines of an ice prison from which he cannot escape.
Most of the cultists are Icewind Dale natives who would
Monsters
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
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
they carry out the foul agenda of the Dreaming Dark.
Any humanoid 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
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Dark Devotion. The fanatic has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Spellcasting. The fanatic is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC
","rollDamageType":"piercing"} piercing damage.The Knights of the Black Sword are a secret society of cultists devoted to Levistus, the archdevil who rules Stygia, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells, from the
Monsters
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures
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
called lich-knights or fell horsemen.
In stark contrast to the knights of Eldraine, the deathless riders are without virtue of any kind. They are few in number—unless many more lurk in the dark
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
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
quori's Possession for 24 hours after succeeding on the saving throw or after the possession ends.Quori
Dal Quor is the plane of dreams and is currently dominated by a dark power known as il-Lashtavar
, or the Dreaming Dark. Il-Lashtavar is served by a host of aberrations that are the embodiments of dreams and nightmares — the quori. Because it is difficult for anything to physically travel to or
Monsters
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
after the possession ends.Quori
Dal Quor is the plane of dreams and is currently dominated by a dark power known as il-Lashtavar, or the Dreaming Dark. Il-Lashtavar is served by a host of aberrations
guide the quori race, and the Devourer of Dreams — the personal emissary of the Dreaming Dark — is of this order. Although the kalaraqs never fight one another overtly, each has its own agenda, and
Goliath
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Species
Elemental Evil Player's Companion
mock folk who rely on society’s structures or rules to maintain power.
Survival of the Fittest
Among goliaths, any adult who can’t contribute to the tribe is expelled. A lone goliath has
single mistake can bring doom to an entire tribe, while an individual’s heroic effort can ensure the entire group’s survival.
Goliaths thus place a premium on self-sufficiency and
backgrounds
Ability Scores: Constitution, Wisdom, Charisma
Feat: Survivor or a Dark Gift feat of your choice (see “Feats”)
Skill Proficiencies: Arcana and Survival
Tool Proficiencies: Choose one
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
Vegepygmies are fungus creatures that live in simple bands, hunting for sustenance and spreading the spores by which they reproduce. Also called mold folk or moldies, vegepygmies inhabit dark, moist areas
.
The mold is found only in places that are dark, warm, and wet. Russet mold that spreads out across a metal object can be mistaken for rust, and a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom
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
.
Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Stealth
Tool Proficiencies: One type of gaming set, thieves’ tools
Equipment: A crowbar, a set of dark common clothes including a hood, and a pouch
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
":"Acid Spray","rollDamageType":"acid"} acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.A hive lord rules each kruthik hive. When the hive lord dies, the surviving members of the
floor with their sharp legs.
In addition to having an acute sense of smell, kruthiks can see in the dark and can detect vibrations in the earth around them. They take the scent of their own dead as a
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
in places that are dark, warm, and wet. Russet mold that spreads out across a metal object can be mistaken for rust, and a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) check is
that live in simple bands, hunting for sustenance and spreading the spores by which they reproduce. Also called mold folk or moldies, vegepygmies inhabit dark, moist areas, so they’re most
Monsters
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
spores by which they reproduce. Also called mold folk or moldies, vegepygmies inhabit dark, moist areas, so they’re most commonly found underground or in forests where little sunlight penetrates
explorers found russet mold in a crater left by a falling star, with vegepygmies infesting the forest nearby.
The mold is found only in places that are dark, warm, and wet. Russet mold that spreads out
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
The Book of Many Things
encounter.
Variant: Servants of Living Stars
Some stars in the sky are Elder Evils, alien beings of godlike power from the reality-defying Far Realm.
A living portent can be a fragment of these beings
Whisperer. A purple star whose guidance and minions seem to help for a time but whose influence inevitably leads to disaster.
Hadar, the Dark Hunger. A cinder-red dying star that siphons life from its
Monsters
Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Feedback","rollDamageType":"psychic"} psychic damage.Quori
Dal Quor is the plane of dreams and is currently dominated by a dark power known as il-Lashtavar, or the Dreaming Dark. Il-Lashtavar is
. Hashalaq quori have studied their mortal prey for centuries. Inhabiting human bodies as Inspired (Hashalaq variant);Inspired has granted the hashalaq a deep understanding of the hedonistic urges of
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
Backgrounds
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
: Athletics, Survival
Tool Proficiencies: Navigator’s tools, vehicles (space)
Equipment: A belaying pin (club), a set of traveler’s clothes, a grappling hook, 50 feet of hempen rope, and a
gravity isn’t present, the following rules apply:
Impeded Melee. When making a melee attack with a weapon, a creature that doesn’t have a flying or swimming speed (either naturally or
backgrounds
Ability Scores: Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom
Feat: A Dark Gift feat of your choice (see “Feats” later in this chapter; Mist Walker is recommended)
Skill Proficiencies: Survival and
Backgrounds
Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Prerequisite: Dragonlance Campaign
You have trained to be a valorous warrior known as a Knight of Solamnia. Strict rules guide your every action, and you work to uphold them as you strive to
defend the weak and oppose evil. Your honor is as important to you as your life.
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival
Languages: Two of your choice
Equipment: An insignia of rank, a deck of cards
Backgrounds
The Book of Many Things
successful life even more glorious—only to draw a destructive card that changed your destiny forever.
Your desperation has driven you to the career of adventurer. You don’t seek out dark dungeons
, you could do so again.
Skill Proficiencies: Stealth, Survival
Languages: One of your choice
Tool Proficiencies: One gaming set of your choice (such as playing cards or three-dragon ante cards
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
Backgrounds
Ghosts of Saltmarsh
presence (and that of your companions) a secret.
Suggested Characteristics
In general, smugglers value survival, and then profit, above other things. One could be a part of a larger
’s Code. I uphold the unwritten rules of the smugglers, who do not cheat one another or directly harm innocents. (Lawful)
3
All for a Coin. I’ll do nearly anything if it
Monsters
Infernal Machine Rebuild
. Among the largest was the thessalkraken—a slightly smaller variant of the legendary kraken, resembling that great tentacled titan but with a jagged-toothed maw that drips constantly with
acid.A Thessalkraken’s Lair
A thessalkraken lives in the dark depths, usually a sunken rift or a cavern filled with detritus, treasure, and the remains of sacrificial victims.
Lair Actions
On
backgrounds
Curse of Strahd: Character Options
with a sword or banished with a spell. It might come to you as a shadow on the wall, a bloodcurdling nightmare, a memory that refuses to die, or a demonic whisper in the dark. The burden has taken its
, Religion, or Survival
Languages: Choose two, one of which must be Abyssal, Celestial, Deep Speech, Draconic, Infernal, Primordial, Sylvan, or Undercommon
Equipment: A Monster Hunter's Pack;monster
Aasimar
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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