In their grim and blood-spattered lairs, necromancers experiment with skeletal remains the way chefs tinker with recipes. Many wizards produce variations on the animated skeleton, and undead legions boast their own skeletal officers, specialists, and fearsome elite soldiers.

Heroes of all kinds are called upon by nature whether they wield blade, claw, spell, or tooth. Some of those who answer the need utilize all of these, however, and few are as remarkably effective at protecting sacred places from trespassers, stopping fell prophecies from coming to pass, and taking revenge for lands despoiled as the brutal, ferocious, and vicious Saurian Three. These creatures have been blessed by nature with unmatched cunning and know how to utilize the tools of their most common foe—adventurers—to defend it.

The Saurian Three can be utilized as enemies, allies, recurring NPCs, or potentially even player characters, depending on the needs of your game. As always, be sure to consult your Narrator before coming to the table with a magically intelligent dinosaur for a PC.

Abtazri the Brutal. Born with an incredibly keen mind, the allosaurus Abtazri realized the responsibility of her impressive intellect after defeating her third fearsome predator and began seeking out sacred places in need of protection.

Kadderia the Ferocious. Kadderia’s fierce intelligence was gained unintentionally when their territory happened to surround a place where an important bit of nature magic gestated. Near its zenith, adventurers attacked, and, when it seemed that the sorcerous pteranodon was doomed, Abtazri burst out of the brush to dispatch them.

Xeraz the Vicious. Less fortunate was Xeraz, whose raptor pack was murdered by ambitious adventurers searching for a mystic artifact. The power unlocked by the relic enchanted the dinosaur instead, and he followed the murderers to their camp, first silently dispatching their scout before killing the remainder in their sleep. Abtazri and Kadderia arrived in the morning too late to prevent the massacre, finding instead their final and sneakiest companion.

• Heritages of the Coral Climes || Galeoni (heritage) | Pode (heritage)
• The Arcane Knight || Arcane Knight (combat tradition/maneuvers)
• Heaven's Roof || Altitude Sickness (exploration challenge) | Elsenian Span (exploration challenge) | Lip-Service Potion (potion) | Chotion (potion) | Concentrated Tincture (potion) | Skywing (magic item) | Heaven's Roof Ring (magic item)
• Heirs of Command: Marshal Archetypes || Chief Enforcer (archetype) | Knight Commander (archetype) | Sea Scourge (archetype) | Ship (stronghold) | Sailor (follower)

• When Warlocks Take Note || Dread Knight (archetype) | Unnaturalist (archetype)
• Grim Beginnings || Convict (background) | Eccentric Experimenter (background) | Monster Slayer (background)
• Howl! || Garoul (heritage) | Blood Pack (culture) | Moonkeeper (culture)
• Halloween Haunt || Poltergeist (monster)

• Cunning Curses 2: Hauntingly Hexed || Axe of Chilling Fear | Crest of Putrid Endurance | Hand of the Night | Hope's Final Light | Mask of Relentless Fury | Shackle of the Ghostheart Covenant
• Streamlining Your Dungeons: Delving Activities
• To Go On Account: Archetypes for a Pirate Crew || Lionheart (marshal) | Seadog (fighter) | Stormwalker (druid)
• Sea of Sand || Heat Haze Mirage (exploration challenge) | Guardians of the Forgotten Kingdom (exploration challenge) | Bow of the Viper (magic item) | Scale Milk (magic item) | Stalking Cat (magic item) | Sandpit Vipers (monster) | Rock Dragon (monster)

A free-spirited and inquisitive lot, rover bands are ever on the move, and usually accompanied by their famously well-trained canine companions. Often mistaken for being feckless and flighty, the truth is merely that rovers instead value their freedom and a zest for life over great works and grinding industry. They do, however, value more transitory works, such as unique, sensory-based art. Individual bands are usually made up of multiple families, with a loose hierarchy and an inclination towards mutual cooperation.

Characters raised in the rover culture will usually share a variety of traits in common with one another.

Dog Lover. You have a pet mastiff (or similar big dog) that follows you and is loyal to you. The mastiff is capable of independent action and excellently trained. Using verbal and non-verbal cues you can make simple requests of your mastiff (such as delivering or retrieving small objects, opening doors, activating simple switches or buttons, or even administering an opened potion vial to an incapacitated creature) as a bonus action. In combat, the mastiff rolls its own initiative and acts on its own turn. The mastiff won’t attack except as a reaction to being attacked, but it can take other actions as normal, and makes death saving throws. Over the course of a long rest , you can train another mastiff to follow your commands, but you cannot keep more than one dog at such a high level of training. Additionally, people from outside your culture are incapable of keeping up with the constant training that such a dog needs and cannot command it as you do.

Dog Sled Riders. As a rover you are expected to be proficient in Animal Handling and are also proficient in the use of land vehicles.

Life’s a Game. You have proficiency with a gaming set of your choice.

Sharp Eyes, Sharp Ears. Rovers need to keep their wits about them and be aware of their surroundings. You are proficient in Survival and Perception.

Languages. You can speak, read, write, and sign Common and another language of your choice.

Madrai Traits

Characters with the mycelial heritage share a variety of traits in common with one another.

Age. When they mature, they can reach nearly 60 years old.

Size. A madrai can be anywhere from 3 to 6 feet high and weigh between 45 and 250 pounds. Your size can be either Small or Medium.

Speed. Your Speed is 30 feet.

Helpful. When using the Help action to aid an ally in combat, the range at which you can do so is 30 feet.

Sharp Scent. You are marvelously well-equipped to sniff out things around you. You gain an expertise die to Perception checks involving smell and other rolls where scent is important.

Wagging Tail. A madrai rarely wins at cards due to their obvious tell. You gain an expertise die on Persuasion checks, but a d4 is subtracted from the results of your Deception checks.

Madrai Gifts

While there are no clearly-defined lines, many madrai broadly resemble various categories of dogs. In addition to the traits found in your madrai heritage, select one of the following gifts.

Best Friend

Just as mundane dogs are known for following their master everywhere, so too does a madrai follow their allies. You have the following trait:

Doggedly Loyal. If your movement speed is not equal to zero and you would expect to be able to move normally, then whenever a creature you consider an ally moves out of your reach, you may use your reaction to follow them until they have finished their movement, where physically possible and up to your movement score. In addition, if you are within 5 feet of an ally who is incapacitated and an enemy would enter your reach, then you may use your reaction to make an opportunity attack against that enemy.

Pack Hunter

Even more than most madrai, you are able to work in sync with others. You have the following trait:

Teamwork. You may take the Help action as a bonus action during combat.

Shepherd Dog

Some madrai resemble those dog breeds meant to move or protect livestock, or at least share their inclination towards acute concentration. You have the following trait:

Herder’s Focus. As a bonus action you may focus totally upon the task at hand. So long as you do not move from the spot you are on and no enemies are within 5 feet of you, your movement score becomes zero and you gain an expertise die on the first D20 roll you make this turn. In addition, whilst you are focusing in this way, you gain an expertise die on concentration rolls caused by the object or creature you are focusing on.

Sight Hound

Like certain dog breeds, some madrai have wiry frames built for speed and jumping. You have the following trait:

Bounding Return. As a bonus action, you can take the Dash action but must be within 5 feet of an ally at some point during that movement whilst doing so. In addition, when jumping, you are not required to move 10 feet to gain your full jump distance or height.

Madrai Paragon

When you reach 10th level, you become a better madrai and gain one paragon gift from the following list.

Peerless Tracker

Your expertise die for scent-related rolls becomes a d6. Additionally, once you’ve caught a scent you can track it to a near-supernatural degree, such as following tracks over open water or through anything other than a surface impermeable to air. If you have an item personal to a creature you wish to track, for the next hour you have advantage on Perception or Survival checks made to find it.

Finally, you can also cast locate object a number of times a day equal to your proficiency bonus, recovering all uses on a long rest . Your spellcasting ability for this spell is your choice of Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma.

Boon Companion

So long as you are with a creature you consider an ally, you gain advantage on initiative rolls. In addition, when a creature that is 10 feet or more away from an ally makes an attack roll against that ally, you may use your reaction to move up to half your Speed to interpose yourself between the ally and the creature. The attack is then considered to be targeting only you, even if that would not normally be possible, and proceeds as normal, which may cause the attack roll to miss. If half your Speed is not enough to interpose yourself, you cannot use this feature. Once you have used this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency modifier, you can’t use it again until you have finished a long rest .

Madrai Culture

Similarly to the canines they resemble, madrai are given to amiable, communal living, often happily taking up residence in cities predominately populated by other heritages. However, they are also a diverse lot, with some preferring to make permanent homes to pass down to their families and others preferring a life on the move. Regardless of where or how they live, madrai are often a joyous people eager to make friends. Once a madrai pack has chosen a place, people, or way of life, however, there are few more loyal and strident in their defense.

Suggested Cultures. While you can choose any culture for your madrai character, the following cultures are linked closely with this heritage: caravanner , circusfolk , godbound , itinerant , mischief maker, motley crew , nomad , rover , stoneworthy , wildling .