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Returning 35 results for 'surviving starting adventurers'.
Monsters
Curse of Strahd
as he can, starting with evil Vistani.
Man with a Plan. Van Richten doesn’t know that his former protégé, a good-aligned Vistana named Ezmerelda d’Avenir, has come to Barovia
Richten becomes aware of Ezmerelda’s presence, he does his utmost to protect her without putting his own plans in jeopardy. If he can manipulate a party of adventurers into keeping an eye on her
Monsters
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
tribes, the tribes banded together against the gnolls and routed them in the autumn of 1333 DR. Tekeli-li and his surviving kin fled across the tundra with the Reghed tribes in pursuit.
The wounded
embodiment of winter’s remorseless consumption.
Tekeli-li exists today as a gnoll vampire that hasn’t fed in decades. Adventurers who use the “Rime of the Frostmaiden” to
Firbolg
Legacy
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Species
Volo's Guide to Monsters
overwhelming attack.
Outcast Adventurers
As guardians of the wood, few firbolgs would dream of leaving their homes or attempting to fit into human society. An exiled firbolg, or one whose clan has been
something that put their homeland at risk, such as starting a forest fire or killing a rare or beautiful wild creature. These firbolgs are loners who wander the world in hope of finding a new place to
Backgrounds
Ghosts of Saltmarsh
of an enemy ship, surviving on brackish water and foolhardy rats. At the right moment, you crept up to the deck and took over the ship on your own.
6
Leave None Behind. You carried an
who rarely lose composure on the battlefield. Marines who leave the service tend to work as mercenaries, but their combat experience also makes them excellent adventurers. Though they are self-reliant
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything
Scout You are skilled in stealth and surviving far from the streets of a city, allowing you to scout ahead of your companions during expeditions. Rogues who embrace this archetype are at home in the
the world. Scout Features Rogue Level Feature 3rd Skirmisher, Survivalist 9th Superior Mobility 13th Ambush Master 17th Sudden Strike Skirmisher Starting at 3rd level, you are difficult to pin
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
Fungi wins the adventurers the eternal gratitude of the surviving myconids of Neverlight Grove. Basidia quickly assumes leadership of the grove, taking steps to heal the minds of those myconids
Achieving Victory If the adventurers succeed, they achieve a great victory with two demon lords banished back to the Abyss. The creatures under the demon lords’ influence eventually return to normal
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War
Gatekeeper Campaign Themes The Gatekeepers are the remnants of an ancient order. Once they saved the world. Now they are all but forgotten, and the world needs saving again. The surviving Gatekeepers
might not have the strength to win the fight alone, and that’s where adventurers come in. Gatekeepers can serve as patrons or advisors, providing crucial information or setting the adventurers on the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Mad Mage’s dungeon, but the adventure hooks described in this section can be used as further motivation. These hooks are divided into two categories: starting quests and future quests. Adventurers are
Adventure Hooks Adventurers who hang around the Yawning Portal often find work delving into Undermountain on the errands of others. The characters might have their own reasons for venturing into the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
Starting Location Begin your campaign in a location you can detail, such as a village, a neighborhood in a larger city, an outpost, or a roadside tavern. Be prepared to give players enough
Free City of Greyhawk, described later in this chapter, is an ideal starting location and illustrates the kinds of things to consider as you detail a starting location. If you’re building your own
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Ten-Towns Quests This chapter presents two starting quests (“Cold-Hearted Killer” and “Nature Spirits”) that the characters can get at the start of the adventure, regardless of which town serves as
their starting point. Every town has its own quest as well, as noted in the Starting Town table. Once you choose a starting quest, the other starting quests go unused. “Cold-Hearted Killer” has the
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Out of the Abyss
Treasure In addition to (or instead of) providing information to the adventurers, the last connection to the surviving Araumycos can bestow a charm of heroism to all the player characters (see “Other
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
services are in demand. Morgrave University is in Upper Menthis Plateau. This is a college for adventurers, and an opportunity to add a little levity to your story. Choosing and developing a starting point
Starting Points Sharn holds the potential for endless adventures. The City of Towers can serve as the foundation of a single adventure or an entire campaign. Defining a starting point is a way to
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
Starting Town Choose one of the ten towns as the starting point for the adventure. It doesn’t matter which one, so pick your favorite or roll randomly using the Starting Town table. If you can’t
decide and don’t want to leave it to chance, choose Bryn Shander; it’s the most cosmopolitan settlement in Icewind Dale, and it has all the amenities a fledgling party of adventurers could hope for
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
Between Adventures Between trips to dungeons and battles against ancient evils, adventurers need time to rest, recuperate, and prepare for their next adventure. Many adventurers also use this time to
description. When starting a new adventure, the DM might simply declare that a certain amount of time has passed and allow you to describe in general terms what your character has been doing. At other
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
Between Adventures Between trips to dungeons and battles against ancient evils, adventurers need time to rest, recuperate, and prepare for their next adventure. Many adventurers also use this time to
description. When starting a new adventure, the DM might simply declare that a certain amount of time has passed and allow you to describe in general terms what your character has been doing. At other
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron
Starting Point: Clifftop Sharn is a city with an appetite for adventure. It’s the gateway to Xen’drik, a land filled with mystery and danger. Eccentric nobles and dragonmarked barons alike need
capable agents for their many intrigues. So Sharn has a steady demand for adventurers, and Clifftop is where you go to find them. A Clifftop campaign focuses on heroic fantasy. You’re a professional
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal->a7
adventure, and if your group is a hack-and-slay gathering, they will be unhappy! Only high-level characters stand a chance of surviving, but every player who braves the tomb will have the experience
is in managing to cope, and those players who do so with even moderate success will appreciate your refereeing properly and allowing them to “live or die” on their own. The starting information given
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Volo's Guide to Monsters
Outcast Adventurers As guardians of the wood, few firbolgs would dream of leaving their homes or attempting to fit into human society. An exiled firbolg, or one whose clan has been destroyed, might
their homeland at risk, such as starting a forest fire or killing a rare or beautiful wild creature. These firbolgs are loners who wander the world in hope of finding a new place to call home. Orphaned
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
, roleplaying well, and surviving or avoiding deadly traps. Any such award should be no more than what the characters would earn for defeating a monster with a challenge rating equal to their level. For
example, a fair ad hoc award for a party of 2nd-level adventurers would be 450 XP, which is what the characters would earn for defeating a challenge rating 2 monster. If you dispense with XP tracking
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
life and death in a dungeon or the untamed wilds. This section details the mundane and exotic merchandise that adventurers commonly find useful in the face of the threats that the worlds of D&D present
. Starting Equipment When you create your character, you receive equipment based on a combination of your class and background. Alternatively, you can start with a number of gold pieces based on your
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Volo’s Quest The Yawning Portal serves as the default starting point for this story. One of the first people the adventurers meet there is Volothamp Geddarm. He has just returned from a tour
its whereabouts.) If the characters rescue him, Renaer proves to be a worthy ally to adventurers hoping to make a name for themselves in Waterdeep. As a reward for rescuing Floon, Volo gives
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
Episode 2: Fun in Phandalin THE RUINS OF TRESENDAR MANOR In episode 2, Omin Dran sends the adventurers (now 2nd level) to Phandalin to learn the fate of an Acquisitions Incorporated franchise that
. While in Phandalin, the adventurers have the opportunity to interact with the townsfolk, possibly becoming involved in small-town dramas — including a mayoral election. Those events could have a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Conclusion If the characters accomplish all their objectives — rescuing the surviving hermits, destroying the drowned ones and their leader, and sealing the opening in the Pit of Hatred — things soon
return to normal on Firewatch Island and the communities of the nearby coast. The surviving hermits abandon the island, but a new group settles there before long. Or, Feldrin Kane, the Uskarn bailiff
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide
Start Here Luca Bancone White Plume Mountain is a natural
wonder—and a haunt of evil The City of Greyhawk is a great starting point for a D&D campaign for many reasons, as discussed in the
all begin in the Free City of Greyhawk. Bastion Friendly There are ample places within the city and on the city’s outskirts where adventurers can build Bastions (see chapter 8). Key Conflicts Two of
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
hiding and ambushes its foes. Some traits, such as a night hag’s Etherealness or an imp’s Invisibility, can help a monster escape from an encounter so it can return to haunt the adventurers another day
that appear in existing monster stat blocks, but those are a good starting point. Feel free to invent your own.
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Halaster Blackcloak If the adventurers have made their way to this level, Halaster is equal parts impressed and curious. He is ready to grant the characters an audience, having kept an eye on their
the party. He might suggest that those characters prove their worth by surviving the Mad Wizard’s Lair and “freeing up” an apprenticeship by eliminating Arcturia or Trobriand. If this is done
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Acquisitions Incorporated
“Jim” Darkmagic III have turned a talent for redistribution of property into a reputation as the multiverse’s premier adventurers for hire. Omin Dran, CEO of Acquisitions Incorporated and war priest
and his inheritance for a life on the stage — at least until well-paid heroics came calling. Jim and Omin’s unlikely partnership began when Jim was the only surviving candidate in the running for a
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
allowing others to follow them into the palace: Zybilna’s dragon (the jabberwock) haunts the palace. Only the bravest and hardiest adventurers stand a chance of surviving an encounter with it. There are
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
a magical connection to nature through the necessity of surviving in the wilds. What’s the source of your particular hatred of a certain kind of enemy? Did a monster kill someone you loved or destroy
protecting the borderlands, or a significant change? What made you join up with a band of adventurers? Do you find it challenging to teach new allies the ways of the wild, or do you welcome the relief from solitude that they offer?
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse
Fiery Fangs The fire cult is less concerned with maintaining appearances than the other elemental cults. When Vanifer or her lieutenants receive word that a band of adventurers is trying to ferret
killed and a second is reduced to fewer than half its hit points, whereupon the surviving hounds flee. A mysterious bowl-like symbol (the symbol of the fire cult) marks the iron collars of the hell
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)
Noncombat Challenges You decide whether to award experience to characters for overcoming challenges outside combat. If the adventurers complete a tense negotiation with a baron, forge a trade
agreement with a clan of surly dwarves, or successfully navigate the Chasm of Doom, you might decide that they deserve an XP reward.
As a starting point, use the rules for building combat encounters in
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Player's Handbook (2014)
, measuring gold by the pound rather than by the coin. Only merchants, adventurers, and those offering professional services for hire commonly deal in coins. Starting Wealth by Class Class Funds
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
Starting the Adventure Read or paraphrase the following text to begin the adventure: You are a member of a group of adventurers, united in weeks past by your pursuit of a common prize: the treasures
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Basic Rules (2014)
, measuring gold by the pound rather than by the coin. Only merchants, adventurers, and those offering professional services for hire commonly deal in coins.
Starting Wealth by Class Class Funds
Cleric 5d4 × 10 gp
Fighter 5d4 × 10 gp
Rogue 4d4 × 10 gp
Wizard 4d4 × 10 gp
Compendium
- Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Curse of Strahd
Adventure Structure Much of the adventure’s action is driven by the clash between the adventurers’ decisions and Strahd’s goals, and the adventurers and the vampire are all caught in strands of fate
realm of Barovia. If the characters are 1st level, the character background in appendix A is available to them, and consider starting their time in Barovia with the mini-adventure “Death House” in