#dnd-lore

1 messages · Page 7 of 1

stark needle
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Hey does anybody know anything about the prison of neverwinter or even have a map? Thanks in advance!

stuck isle
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Factions within the Zhentarim are an important plot point in ||Waterdeep: Dragon Heist||.

left spindle
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as an MTG player I'm very disappointed with how spotty and undeveloped the worldbuilding has been lately 😝 I used to really want setting books like the Ravnica handbook -- and I do really like the Ravnica handbook -- but for newer worlds a lot of them just don't have any there there

iron saffron
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Owlin?

left spindle
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yeah, thinking about the owlin and Strixhaven as a whole

iron saffron
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I didn't bother with that book. It seemed underdeveloped.

left spindle
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there's no sense of purpose behind Strixhaven, it's presented as a school where you major in different disciplines like history and geometry, but since we never see the greater world outside Strixhaven to any real degree it really lacks a sense of context

iron saffron
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Also, students going from levels 1 to 10. I remember when reaching level 10 was a big accomplishment...

left spindle
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I will say, I really liked Keith Baker's blog post where he contemplated how he'd integrate Strixhaven into Eberron

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He said he'd put it on Argonessen and have the Founder Dragons be this fringe faction of the draconic council that trains mages in advanced magical techniques, some of which are known only to dragonkind, in exchange for those students furthering the Draconic Prophecy on their behalf

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or something along those lines

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and immediately Strixhaven became way more interesting

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now it has a sense of unique purpose, it has much more potential for intrigue and conflict

arctic solstice
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Anyone else like skunks here?

iron saffron
median bobcat
# left spindle as an MTG player I'm very disappointed with how spotty and undeveloped the world...

It's a shame really. In some ways Magic: The Gathering was getting better support, with the PlaneShift freebies and with the ExtraLife adventures.

There was a lot of "Harry Potter" trolling of Strixhaven and I wonder if someone upstairs lost their nerve. Of if M:tG might have been something that Ray Winninger was making happen. 🤔

One thing that the Magic: The Gathering universe badly needs is a book that deals with how people travel between M:tG planes.

M:tG doesn't use Planescape. It doesn't use the Dawn War cosmology or the Great Wheel cosmology. It has it's own rules, and they are interesting and should really get their own book.

median bobcat
crude pond
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Hey just a quick question for a game im.making, if someone like the cult of the dragon wanted to find say, a large amount of dragon eggs, and or young dragons, is there somewhere they would look?

left spindle
# median bobcat It's a shame really. In some ways Magic: The Gathering was getting better suppor...

My position is that worldbuilding on the MTG side has suffered since the game switched from three-set blocks to a completely standalone structure where each expansion has its own mechanics and setting and they rarely carry over to the next set. In the resulting time crunch, the creative team focuses on things that are important to the marketing and the gameplay -- the factions, the aesthetic design -- and neglects the sorts of logistics and storytelling hooks you need for compelling prose or compelling TTRPG play.

For a more extreme example, look at New Capenna from last year. New Capenna is aesthetically excellent, a "roaring twenties gangland" themed set based in an Art Nouveau styled city ruled by rival demonic crime families. However, one of the factions was changed from being corrupt cops to private brokers due to a desire to avoid anything resembling topical political commentary. This resulted in a setting defined by having crime families but no law enforcement, which is fundamentally incoherent and doesn't really try to square the circle on how the setting is meant to work at all.

Strixhaven is a product of that "vibes based" worldbuilding paradigm.

Also I completely agree that a "planeswalker's guide to the blind eternities" sort of book would be very worthwhile.

mellow ferry
wispy terrace
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Anyone know of some good deity options for a Sea Elf Oath of Watchers Paladin?

lime holly
wispy terrace
silent atlas
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So does anyone know if the great gold wyrms that fly around bahamut as canaries each have canon individual names or not?

mellow ferry
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Borkadd the Claw, Kurya the Eye, Sonngrad the Wing, Gruemar the Voice, Marroshok the Tail, Troannaxia the Presence, and Urgala the Fang.

viscid jackal
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im gonna assume u copied that from somewhere vs just knowing that offhand

mellow ferry
sly dune
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Hey everyone. What kind of humans or other races, preferably lore wise, would hate a circus?

spark haven
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that's a broad question

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circuses are loud, they frequently employ animal labor under bad conditions, they're very crowded, one might have personal problems with the staff

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maybe they're scared of clowns?

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this isn't even something like "what kind of playable races would be afraid of snakes?" circuses aren't part of our biological history or functioning so it'd come down to culture

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It's hard to imagine a race or nation as a whole completely forbidding revelry or gathering of any sort

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sentient, non-gestalt citizens need entertainment and distraction, and before radio/television gets invented that has to happen communally somehow

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I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't think any significant group would "hate circuses". I think it's more likely that there's a group that hates animal cruelty, and thus takes umbrage with how circuses that use animals are run

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or something like that

sly dune
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Yeah no fair enough, but maybe a certain subcultural group

spark haven
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it's an interesting gimmick, i just think it needs to have a bit of a speartip to it

sly dune
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Meh, never mind I think I'm trying to pull it too close to reality

spark haven
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it's like the difference between "grrr i hate evil" and "grr i hate evil because i used to work for the bad guy and i've had a change of heart"

sly dune
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Basically I'm circusfolk (custom background) and I need an enemy.

spark haven
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i'd just make it real specific

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someone in your circus troupe...slept with the mayor's daughter, accidentally set prize horses free while drunk

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something

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now there's a grudge

sly dune
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fair enough

spark haven
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it doesn't have to be you if you don't want

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but it could

sly dune
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Im thinking John the Clown.

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We're in a forever feud and we keep leaving things in each others bedrolls that hurts the other.

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Nails, poisonous spiders etc etc.

white ravine
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I'd also imagine goliaths wouldnt be too keen on it. Be like bringing a lumberjack to a rave.

sudden zealot
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General lore question.... My DM likes to have some flavor text when we level up our characters. Generally, what did you do while we were away to gain your new found skills, spells, etc. Since we are all playing classes we have not played before or generally don't play, I am playing a sorcerer. For all the other classes I can get a good feel of how they gain skills, etc. Example, cleric and warlock have a patron that grants things. Wizards study spells and such. Most of the others have a community, tribe or master that they go study with like fighters, monks, rangers, rogues, etc. Sorcerers are tough for me. The description is they are because it's in the DNA (so to speak). So, how does a sorcerer gain skills and spells? Short answer is they just do. That seems a little dull. If they can go to another sorcerer and learn stuff then why can't they just read a spell or book like a wizard? How does a sorcerer get skills? Just wake up one day and poof they have it? Just looking for some input for flavor text. Sorry if I am being a little too literal.

spark haven
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So, how does a sorcerer gain skills and spells? Short answer is they just do
idk, it makes sense to me. just because their skills are innate doesn't mean they have no idea how to use them or practice with them

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your ability to balance yourself relative to gravity is innate, nobody taught you or gave you that ability

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but you can be good or bad at it, and you can practice it

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someone who doesn't understand that your sense of balance is the result of tiny particles floating around inside hollow bones in your ears can still become an expert at the balance beam

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always an extremely confusing sentiment

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"but how do sorcerors practice or learn"

jagged apex
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based on published lore across all editions, what kind of true dragon would be most fitting to be running a casino as a means to basically fuel their hoard? like ideally somewhere in the casino, potentially underground the vault would actually basically be or be part of the dragon's lair, effectively making the casino it's lair to or at least a front proceeding it's lair

burnt iron
jagged apex
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idea would be regardless, like they are not either ally or antagonist in the traditional sense, like they run such an operation and a party would be hired by some anonymous person to heist a specific item from the dragon's hoard

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like chromatic, metallic, doesn't really matter for all intensive purposes, am wondering what kind of dragon would be most inline with the behaviors of regardless of what faction/family of true dragons they fall under

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though those 4 at least potentially narrows things down

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(plus to be technical antagonist just means you are a force in opposition to the main characters, regardless of morality)

burnt iron
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nod for an evil dragon one of the lawful evil ones probably works best. Control, organization, running a sort of organized crime ring from the casino. For a good dragon, an emphasis on luck, hospitality, and a welcoming place for people to enjoy themselves.

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True, though most campaigns will have evil antagonists

jagged apex
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looking at the gems, an abnormal, at least in some ways, emerald dragon could be fitting it seems, as their most notable preference of hoard is specifically coinage

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one of their lair features literally is a sort of vault even, "Preserved Vaults"

hazy pivot
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It also depends on if the knowledge that the head of the casino is a dragon is available to the general public or if its just trusted allies

jagged apex
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given my current thinking is considering an emerald dragon, i am thinking that would be likely kept from being public knowledge for the most part, like most will not know but those persistent, powerful, or skilled enough will be able to find out if they truly wish to know

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plus am thinking have them be an adult in terms of stage of life, so they can shapechange to blend in and keep this info hidden while still managing the casino part

hazy pivot
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Honestly, if you're going the more evil route, you could have the emerald dragon be a hybrid between a chromatic and an emerald, but appears as more of a gem dragon.

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It allows for some space to play around with the dragon's personality a bit, and add and remove what a typical hoard for a gem dragon would look like

stuck breach
pseudo wind
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One of my characters was someone completely incapable of using magic, having been born in a dead zone where it functioned unreliably. He ended up being convinced by an evil sorceress that he could regain magic by unorthodox means, but said sorceress then tricked my character, intending to offer him to alien benefactors as a sacrifice. The ritual misfired, and his mind ended up in the sorceress's body, while her own met an unknown fate. Now he was not only capable of casting magic, but was in a body that was optimized to cast it via being genetically connected to the greater cosmos.

So I've been flavoring him acquiring new spells as translating eldritch lore beamed in from the Astral Sea into safe and reliable techniques that doesn't render him insane. He approaches magic scientifically like a wizard, but draws his power from an increasingly evolving inner power that he ended up stealing from someone else. Approaching it from the mindset of someone who loved magic theory but could never cast it until he only recently ended up swapping bodies with a vicious sorceress has been interesting. (And the sorceress probably isn't happy a "filthy mundane worm" is using her flesh to cast magic.)

silent atlas
iron saffron
pseudo wind
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Anyway lore: Mystara is cool

vapid atlas
# spark haven "but how do sorcerors practice or learn"

Id say that a sorc practice is more of a "F around and find out" mentality, they warp their spells to see if they can come up with new things, vs where a wizard would carefully deconstruct the spell to understand the nature of how it works, then rebuild it into a new spell.

Kinda home cooking vs chemistry

mystic merlin
mystic merlin
burnt iron
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I don't think that's fair or accurate

white ravine
left spindle
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Casinos are inherently exploitative and thus evil aligned. At least in my Faerun. :p

valid prism
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Chaotic or Lawful?

iron saffron
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Mobsters run casinos so lawful.

spark haven
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A casino that doesn't consistently maintain a winrate over 51% (in the house's favor) won't stay open for long

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So yeah, lawful makes sense

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at least, in the framework of operating as a business. you could run a casino using funny-money for a harvest festival or whatever

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chaos would probably be desirable there since it's just for fun

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unless

burnt iron
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I could see chaos as most deities of luck and fortune are chaotic

spark haven
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Depends. Is luck about randomness or about your fate/destiny?

burnt iron
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A casino might actually only have gambling as one of their draws, perhaps, making up the difference by offering food, drinks, and entertainment

zenith dust
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What if the money isn't what the casino cares about

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What if it's corrupting souls

burnt iron
final wolf
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What's the chronological order of events (in universe) of the campaign core books?

unkempt merlin
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Can only really do that with the FR books but... lemme find it

iron saffron
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(that link is linked in Swampellow's link, which links the link)

unkempt merlin
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Ignore the time traveling dragon that appears in a few adventures on the list or you will go mad

cunning girder
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There is a time travelling dragon?

unkempt merlin
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Spoiler SKT and DoIP ||Cryovain is an adult in SKT but a young in DoIP, despite the latter taking place after the former||

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Even if it was reversed the time difference wouldn't make sense for the transformation difference

iron saffron
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This would be under #dm-discussion . This channel deals with official lore.

brisk hawk
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Ah thanks

crude blaze
burnt iron
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New quest: This dragon has discovered the fountain of youth.

unkempt merlin
# crude blaze Huh. I never caught that.

It's one of the things that makes me laugh about the adventures.

But hey, that type of lore inconsistency is keeping with all other editions doing similar things lol

iron saffron
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Each edition tends to retcon some lore from the previous editions (I'm looking at you, 4E!)

unkempt merlin
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Oh of course there's that
I moreso meant intra edition lol

distant brook
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If a gem or metallic dragon were to make a palace, would they make it human sized or dragon sized?

burnt iron
distant brook
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Yes but not in secret. They’re already considered the protector of the town at this point.

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They were already found out long ago.

burnt iron
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Ah...hmm...in that case it depends on their attitude to the people. They might still choose to live in human form to walk among the people because it makes talking with them and interacting with them easier. If they prefer to be a distant protector then probably they spend much of their time in dragon form only seeing people now and then

distant brook
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Okay then, human sized it is.

valid prism
burnt iron
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True, was thinking more of daemons

white ravine
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Demons wouldnt run a casino, they'd run the gang that beats the crap out of people who walk out of the casino to steal their wallet.

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Yugoloths would be the ones hired by the casino to break the kneecaps of people who are a bit 'too lucky'

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Devils would own the casino and offer soul loans to let people keep playing once they're run dry

valid prism
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Devils run the casino
Yugaloths are paid by devils to break knees
Demons mug you as you leave (killing you then the devil gets your soul)
Don't gamble in the lower Plains

white ravine
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Don't go to the lower planes in general dndLol

valid prism
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But succubi

white ravine
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Succubi also kill you

valid prism
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Yeah but like in a sexy way

white ravine
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That train of thought has gotten many adventurers killed, but it still isn't enough of a fact to stop anyone

valid prism
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That mindset also made the first vampire so guess I'm hell gambling

white ravine
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That's one theory, but fair

valid prism
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That's if she falls in love

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the biggest gamble... Love

white ravine
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Frankly though, I'd hardly count vampirism as worth doing anything

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Worse than living normally, mortal and all

valid prism
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True vampirism not just a spawn

white ravine
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I'm accounting for that

valid prism
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But fair its far from a great existence

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But imagine your a vampire with a succubus girlfriend not bad
Or inccubus boyfriend

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Of course that's IF they can feel love at all

mystic merlin
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They can but traditionally, it’s a weird, twisted emotion.

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This was most notable when it was possible to summon such a creature as your familiar.

valid prism
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What type of fiend is a succubus?

mystic merlin
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Which epoch is it?

valid prism
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So it depends got it

mystic merlin
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They were demons for most of their history, devils in fourth edition, and I’m not sure what they are now

valid prism
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I'm only really familiar with 5e forgotten realms and a little greyhawk

valid prism
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Also watched a lot of dnd lore online in no order

white ravine
valid prism
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But where do they come from

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and where do they go

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where did you come from incubus Joe

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Fiends can't die on the material plan they return home

shrewd sand
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Morning guys, can you help me to find in what age started Out of the Abyss?

iron saffron
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What do you mean age?

shrewd sand
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Like 729 dr

iron saffron
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So the year

shrewd sand
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Right haha sorry

iron saffron
shrewd sand
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Thanks

valid prism
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What's the DR stand for?

iron saffron
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Dale Reckoning
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Marking_the_years#Dalereckoning_(DR)

Dalereckoning is taken from the Year of Sunrise, 1 DR, when the Standing Stone was raised by the elves of Cormanthyr and the human Dalesfolk. Since this time, humans were permitted by the Elven Court to settle in the more open regions of the forests. In some texts, primarily those which do not have direct ties to Dales history, Dalereckoning is called Freeman's Reckoning (FR). The calendar is widely used in Faerûn but has not spread beyond its shores.

fading shell
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do you know why the drow left the elfs and went in the undedark

white ravine
fading shell
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who is corellon

white ravine
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Father of Elvenkind and King of the Seldarine

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Basically the ruler of all elves.

fading shell
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oh ok thanks

white ravine
valid prism
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Araushnee is also Lolth right?

white ravine
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Correct.

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She turned into the demon queen some time after attempting to kill Corellon

valid prism
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After he banished her to the Abyss

white ravine
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Mhm.

valid prism
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or so I heard

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she apparently decided to become the spider queen after seeing an abyssal spider eat its mate

fading shell
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do you know who is the strongest of the demon lords in the abyss

valid prism
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Demigogan

white ravine
valid prism
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demogorgon

fading shell
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also what is primus

valid prism
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Lord of order

fading shell
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yeah but what does he do

white ravine
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Primus is the Supreme Modron, a Lawful Neutral deity from Mechanus. He works to maintain balance and stability across the multiverse.

valid prism
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Couldn't have said it better

fading shell
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i have also another question was tiamat always with 5 heas

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heads

white ravine
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She did, yes.

fading shell
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i mean she was born with them

white ravine
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She was.

valid prism
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She was born at the same time as her brother when a greater dragon god got cut in two

fringe dagger
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Are there any famous delicacies in the Dungeons And Dragons Universe?

valid prism
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Not that I know of but there is that elf bread from LOTR

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Pretty sure there is a dnd cook book if you want a real answer

inland bloom
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Though in 5e, Orcus died and is a shadow of his former self now

distant brook
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How could someone figure out that someone is actually a gem or metallic dragon in disguise?

valid prism
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A dragon never leaves it's horde unguarded for long so they likely disappear often
Other than that dragons smell different
Blue like ozone
Silver like rain and so on

distant brook
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Okay but wouldn't the average person chalk that up to perfume or something?

valid prism
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Yeah

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Especially since metallic smell good

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So the man who smells of saffron and disappears often might be a gold dragon
Or a rich man with a lot to do

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I guess you could hit them with the moon beam spell
Makes things return to there natural form but it also does good damage so you ether have a pissed dragon or a dead man

twin idol
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If you clarify "in disguise" it would help me answer your question. For example: polymorph, true polymorph, alter self, etc

distant brook
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I am referring to their natural shape changing ability.

twin idol
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Gotcha, I'n not seeing any RAW for seeing through this. As a DM I might rule that an insight check against the dragon's CR or spell save.

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The feature words it as being a magical polymorph. Perhaps the spell true seeing could reveal the dragon for what it truly is.

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Detect magic, to some extent might reveal an aura of transmutation.

mellow ferry
thick trout
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Do dhampirs have a reflection?

iron saffron
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Sure because they're not true vampires.

brisk hawk
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My character is an ancient(in my campaign that means it mixed with a demonic entity boosting its life) dragon that is 700,000 years old and is chaotic evil, he pretends to be a hero and he commands a legion of villains but is being manipulated by his sommon

burnt iron
brisk hawk
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Thanks

burnt iron
white ravine
white ravine
valid prism
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Like I said moon beam is about it
And that'll piss of a dragon or kill a person

white ravine
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Most likely yes

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That, and you'd need the suspicion there's a dragon in the first place

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Could burn half the town to ash before realizing there wasn't even a dragon hiding there

white ravine
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Not even as in disguising, as in "I'm done with dragon life, I wanna be a person" and spending a century as a normal human

obsidian gate
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true seeing could do it but that is very high level

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maybe zone of truth?

white ravine
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"Are you a dragon?"
"Do I look like one?"

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Any dragon who can polymorph wouldve accounted for interrogation

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Especially magical

valid prism
white ravine
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I think you underestimate the stress of draconic living

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We have it easy

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Sometimes a dragon...wants to get away from it all

valid prism
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Spoken like a SILVER DRAGON

white ravine
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So they go full human, and dont look back. Other dragons scoff at the idea, and see it as a betrayal.

valid prism
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And that's how you find a silver dragon everyone

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Do you smell like rain?

white ravine
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More how you find out a silver dragon went human. Other dragons wont speak about them without mocking, good luck finding them now though.

valid prism
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Well the 5000 year old is also a give away but they probably have a "family line" so to speak

white ravine
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Nah, usually its just a one-time stint of 100 years ish

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But thats 100 years of no hoard building, no interaction with dragons, and no accruing of power

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Itd be like moving to another country for 10 years on a whim because your "sick of living here"

mellow ferry
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gasps No Xorvintaal!

valid prism
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Silver dragons like human food

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Like meatloaf

burnt iron
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I mean who wouldn't like meatloaf?

stuck breach
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Vegetarians

burnt iron
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Well yes.

hidden depot
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Hello D&D, I found this discord and wondered if anyone had a good suggestion of youtube videos or podcasts that explains the lore behind D&D

magic jackal
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I wouldn't try and absorb all of it at once

hidden depot
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doesn't have to be one big video or one episode, could be a podcast that or video series

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i'm a big lore nerd

stuck breach
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Well, there is no singular D&D lore and the lore that does exist has changed from edition to edition and from setting to setting

hidden depot
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oooh ok

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i thought there was books and stuff that talk about the world and characters in the world

stuck breach
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There are, it's just that there are multiple worlds and the game has existed for nearly 50 years with multiple editions.

grim siren
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If you are looking at lore related to a specific setting I recommend Jorphdan on YouTube. His Forgotten Realms videos are great.

iron saffron
mellow ferry
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Mats Holm doesn't create videos any more (his last one was 3 years ago), but his vids are still worth a watch. He works for EA and had access to all of the Bioware FR lore documents from Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Nights.
https://www.youtube.com/@ForgottenRealmsHistory/videos

valid prism
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Jocat

left spindle
magic jackal
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Which ones the guy who just makes stuff up?

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I know there was someone who was just completely fabricating lore and passing it off as the official thing.

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it was a big deal for like a week

hazy fox
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Well, if you are talking Runesmith, then I think he seems to line between parody and fabrication.

static smelt
valid prism
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Someone already said that one

valid prism
valid prism
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He insulted my favorite god in his orc video
Shargas the orcish god of murder deserved better
He didn't even say what he was a god of

tepid cypress
burnt iron
stuck breach
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You're not going to find any sort of singular canon of D&D lore.

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Unless you count the entirety of the 49 years of D&D's existence to be its canon.

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Which...

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You'll need to embrace inconsistency, retconning, and variations.

serene crater
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for mtg fans, with planeswalkers appearing in Wild Beyond the Witchlight, will this mean the phyrexian incursion is going to be cannon or at least referenced somewhere to 5e due to them invading all planes in the multiverse?

left spindle
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apparently ellywick is from the D&D multiverse which is a separate multiverse from the MTG multiverse

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in canon, they don't mix

serene crater
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huh

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so much for Elesh norn in FR

outer apex
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no compleation for you

serene crater
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I mean with what just happened to Theros, to not include the Phyrexians in dnd is a shame

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Heliod has joined the winning team

left spindle
serene crater
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I wonder if any of the other gods will fall to Phyrexia

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Though wait. I thought Heliod lost all of his followers thanks to Elspeth

left spindle
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Apparently Phyrexia put them back for the sake of weaponizing him

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Also I have to figure if he's compleated they all will be

serene crater
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one theory I had was that Erebos would be leading the charge to liberate Theros, just to spite Heliod

grim siren
# tepid cypress Hey people I found this list about salvatores books. https://www.facebook.com/54...

For the Realms I would grab a copy of the 3e campaign guide or for the history, Grand History of the Realms. These do not cover the Spell Plague and the Second Sundering.

As those happened in 4e and 5e respectively. But the 4e campaign guide and Sword Coasts Adventurer's guide can cover those. Another book to learn as much as possible for value is Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms.

This final one is all about the minuate of the realms. How people live, what common laws there are, local cuisine ideas, economy, religion, and magic. Its edition neutral so that is a good one to have no matter what. Below are DMsGUILD links to these old Realms books. Some are even in Print on Demand,

Grand History of the Realms: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/51644/Grand-History-of-the-Realms-35

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3e: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/28729/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Setting-3e

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 4e: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/57376/Forgotten-Realms-Campaign-Guide-4e

Ed Greewood Presents Eliminster's Forgottten Realms: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/166568/Ed-Greenwood-Presents-Elminsters-Forgotten-Realms

tepid cypress
mystic merlin
grim siren
#

That was common, in the height of the novel line they gave out sections of the realms to authors and told them to have at it. With the realms creator Ed Greenwood taking his own section and overseeing everything with insights and aid to other authors along with TSR employee Jeff Grub.

#

The main reason Salvatore chose Icewind Dale was because he was a newcomer to the team and was getting frustrated that the realms sections were already handed off so he pointed to a small corner of the realms and was like "Can I have this desolate place?"

#

Drizzt was not even meant to be a main character the Dark Elf Trilogy was retroactively written to flesh him out after reception of the side kick in the crystal shard novel was so great.

median bobcat
#

If you are interested in Forgotten Realms lore, Ed Greenwood is running a Patreon, where the backers are paying him to make free Realms content. (I'm not sure yet, if it's videos or written stuff, but keep an eye on it, and see what he makes.))

eager bay
#

Would travel between different Material Planes be harder?

iron saffron
#

There's only one Material Plane. There are infinite worlds in the Material Plane.

#

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/appendix-d-the-planes-of-existence#TheMaterialPlane

The Material Plane is the nexus where the philosophical and elemental forces that define the other planes collide in the jumbled existence of mortal life and mundane matter. All fantasy gaming worlds exist within the Material Plane, making it the starting point for most campaigns and adventures. The rest of the multiverse is defined in relation to the Material Plane.

The worlds of the Material Plane are infinitely diverse, for they reflect the creative imagination of the DMs who set their games there, as well as the players whose heroes adventure there. They include magic-wasted desert planets and island-dotted water worlds, worlds where magic combines with advanced technology and others trapped in an endless Stone Age, worlds where the gods walk and places they have abandoned.

#

This is why Spelljammers were used to traverse between the worlds of the Material Plane. 5E Spelljammer threw that out with introducing the Astral Sea, which makes no sense as the Astral Plane connects the Material Plane with the Outer Planes.

eager bay
storm dagger
#

The Astral Sea has existed for a long time

eager bay
storm dagger
#

And it still works I think the Material Plane is a bunch of pockets divided by Wildspace and the Astral

#

While you can get to the Outer Planes via the Astral, it can also bring you to various Material Plane Worlds

iron saffron
#

Wildspace is the void that between worlds (aka campaign settings).

#

I personally ignore the 5E Spelljammer Astral Sea nonsense about using it to traverse worlds.

storm dagger
#

But that works fine then with what you said

#

Astral connects Material to Outers. So using the Astral to connect the other worlds of the Material Plane also connected to it makes sense

eager bay
#

so how would an isekai story work in this context?

storm dagger
#

Stumbled into a portal

white ravine
#

It's not unheard of to randomly be portaled yeah

#

That or kidnapped

storm dagger
#

Sigil in particular is famous for randomly portaling people there then portaling them somewhere else

storm dagger
eager bay
#

Hmm, like a Stargate

storm dagger
#

For the Sigil example in particular is known as the City of Doors cause every inch of it is covered with invisible portals that lead everywhere in the multiverse. However each portal only activates if a key unique to each portal is brought to it.

#

And the key can be anything. From an object, creature or even an emotion or feeling that has to be felt near it.

eager bay
#

Aah

#

I was thinking the possibility of accidentally finding the other world either inside a cave or after getting lost in a forest. Not even need to be an explicit portal; the crossing over can be more fluid

storm dagger
#

The Sigil Portals can be pretty subtle people that stumble into Sigil due to unknownly having a key and walking into the right spot tend to just find themselves there all of a sudden

#

A smaller amount there then can be suddenly in a new world for the same reason

eager bay
#

For example, you get out of the cave only to realize you're in another world

polar moon
#

tl;dr I need some lore on Vecna

I'm working on this concept for an in-person game I'm going to run soon. The players are flying in on a dragon to invade a Gith fortress. I've been so excited about coming up with mechanics for dragon fights and breaking archer lines that I forgot the most important part: why are they invading the fortress.

They're supposed to be pursuing an artifact. This game is an annual game, which I run for my twin sister every year for our birthday. I always give her an important Artifact of Vecna, with the idea that eventually, her little archeologist is going to be fighting Vecna himself. She's gotten the Middle Finger of Vecna and the Book of Vile Darkness. So I need to come up with an artifact she's pursuing, and a reason why she's flying heedlessly into a fortress rather than trying to sneak on.

storm dagger
#

What lore about Vecna are you interested in?

polar moon
#

I don't know much about Vecna besides "he's mentioned sometimes in the DMG" and that he's a lich. I get the sense that he's a major baddie in some adventure module. I suppose I could just look him up online, but I'm curious what the playerbase at large says about him, if they've encountered him in their campaigns or had an effect at all in their games.

#

Or if, like, I could just make up my own stuff and accidentally make my sister reassemble him Osiris-style

storm dagger
#

Well Vecna is only missing his hand and eye

#

Rest of his lichy body is intact

polar moon
#

So no Osiris

storm dagger
#

I can give a run down on the dude.

white ravine
polar moon
#

I'd love that

#

Oh...considering that my sister's halfling is a Divination Wizard/Circle of Stars Druid, traveling through space and time is definitely in her wheelhouse

white ravine
#

Definitely.

#

He's a deity that frequently passes into other realms and timeframes to do his enigmatic business, all under the noses of the rest of the gods.

storm dagger
#

The Vecna Dossier that came with his statblock gave a good write up so looks like I don’t have to

white ravine
#

If you want answers to the unanswerable, you ask Vecna...for a price of course.

#

That, or if you need something buried in a place where nobody could ever hope to find it.

#

For liches, that something would be themselves.

storm dagger
#

Delete

polar moon
#

I haven't read up on the Book of Vile Darkness since last February and I'm now reading the effects it has on a non-evil person. I'm pretty certain that she thinks of her druizard as Good.

white ravine
#

The book of vile darkness would outright vanish away from someone who doesnt use it for evil

#

And I say evil as in puppy kicking evil, if your doing vigilantism its still gonna bail unless you have a bigger scheme in mind

storm dagger
#

“On countless worlds, his name evokes tales of terror and cruelty. Vecna the Undying King. Vecna the Whispered One. Vecna the Lord of the Rotted Tower. Over more than a hundred thousand years, incandescent hatred carried him from the humblest of origins to a conqueror’s throne, then to the realms that lie beyond life and death, and finally to godhood. Many have suffered his terrible wrath, but few can recount how a lowly scribe left an aeon-deep scar on the multiverse before ascending beyond the material altogether. Only a few fragments of Vecna’s story have ever been unearthed.”

#

“It is said that Vecna was born into a lowly caste on the world of Oerth, son of a hedge witch and a father he never knew. An order of wizards exiled Vecna’s mother into the wastes for practicing the forbidden art of necromancy. The order bound her orphaned son into servitude and employed him as first a bootblack, then a scribe. Vecna spent the better part of his childhood secretly educating himself in his masters’ arts, stealing into their library of magical treatises each night after midnight. It was during these intense study sessions that he first heard a soothing voice in his head, a whisper from another world that promised him revenge if he would only yield to the hatred that was festering in his heart. Once Vecna learned all he could from his masters and their books, he massacred them. On that very night, the voice urged him to record his every foul thought and dream, and he started to pen his Book of Vile Darkness.”

#

“According to legend, Vecna went on to forge a kingdom in the world of Greyhawk. He ruled for several centuries from an obsidian tower that rose from the bottom of the black waters of the Nyr Dyv to stretch far above its surface. During this era, at the urging of the voice, Vecna conquered vast realms and swept great cities beneath earth and rock. Generations later, when his physical form finally started to succumb to the ravages of time, Vecna’s festering hatred would not permit him to perish. He called upon the forbidden arts of necromancy to transform himself into a lich, a frightful being beyond the reach of death.”

white ravine
#

OH YEAH!

#

THE SNAKE!

#

How could I forget about the snake

storm dagger
#

“At some point, Vecna grew bored with his kingdom on Oerth and started visiting his evil on other worlds, still driven by the mysterious voice and his unquenchable hatred for all things true and pure. For a time, he is said to have inhabited a palace known as the Citadel of Cavitius, located in a vast field of ash somewhere near the border between the Planes of Earth and Fire.”

#

“Eventually, a fallen paladin known as Kas the Bloody-Handed rose through the ranks of Vecna’s vile minions to become the archlich’s personal guard and regent over many of the kingdoms and cults Vecna established across the multiverse. As a symbol of Kas’s authority, Vecna forged him a terrifying weapon, the blade now known as the Sword of Kas. Later, Kas turned on Vecna and used the sword to sever the archlich’s hand and put out his eye. No one knows why Kas betrayed Vecna. Some believe the mysterious voice that spoke to Vecna for eons grew to fear the archlich and began whispering to Kas instead.”

#

“After their clash, Kas and Vecna disappeared for ages. The former later emerged as the ruler of the wasteland domain of Tovag in the Shadowfell. The latter spent several centuries hopping from world to world, questing for his severed hand and eye. More recently, Vecna decamped to the Outer Planes, where he grew so powerful that he became a god. He has many ardent worshipers, all hungry for a taste of his immense power.”

polar moon
#

Hmm, interesting. When I'd last left my sister's character, she was planning on planehopping to the Plane of Fire to visit the City of Brass.

#

So she loses the Book in the City of Brass (but really, it leaves her). Given the City's proximity to the Citadel of Cavitius, she probably figured out what the Book was and why it disappeared. She no longer has the book, but she does still have the Middle Finger of Vecna.

#

I will have to ask my sister what she would do with that information, and based on her reasoning, I'll put a relevant MacGuffin in the Gith Fortress and get the dragon battle I want.

#

I'm considering having another form of Evil awaiting her in the Fortress, like an emissary of Mephistopheles.

white ravine
#

The book most likely would warp over to the closest major source of evil around, from a master thief to a warmongering tyrant

#

So once it vanishes you can start all sorts of chaos with this new threat

polar moon
#

"The heart of [the City of Brass] is the towering Charcoal Palace, where the tyrannical sultan of the efreet reigns supreme, surrounded by efreet nobles and a host of slaves, guardians, and sycophants."

#

Well I guess the tyrannical sultan of the efreet has the Book now

storm dagger
#

Should note the book only teleports away if you are attuned to it and don’t do evil

#

Fun fact the new Golden Vault book has an adventure about stealing the book of Vile Darkness from an Efreet Fortress

polar moon
#

Well! I guess I've gone from "probably" buying the Golden Vault book to "definitely"

clear pine
#

Guys, i'm currently making an adventure in the FR about a lich from the Netherese empire who escaped the downfall of high netheril and sealed himself in a tomb and eventually succumbed to a demilich state and was recently awoken by explorers who entered his tomb and now is back as a lich and causing a ruckus. I'm not very familiar with the netherese lore, can someone give me a general direction to stuff i should know about netherese magic so i can place them on the adventure?

#

most of the netherese magic stuff should be gone because of the spellplague right?

gusty apex
#

I decided to read "Homeland" by R.A. Salvatore. It definitely adds depth to the drow. I'm fairly new to dnd (been into it for a couple months), so I'm trying to catch up and immerse myself in all the lore. I'm definitely excited since there's so much material!

mellow ferry
# clear pine most of the netherese magic stuff should be gone because of the spellplague righ...

So things like mythallars (magic items that fuelled other magic items and made spells more powerful in a local area - giving the Netherese earthmotes the ability to fly) still work, even though it's practically impossible to make a new one. However, most of them are malfunctioning in some way.

Mystra placed a soft ban on the 10th and 11th level spells that the Netherese were able to cast during their heyday. These became epic spells in 3rd edition, so you could only cast them or make new ones if you were above 20th level and had appropriate feats (and even then, the gods of magic would automatically be made aware of your attempt to cast said spells and might try to directly intervene). Mystra placed a hard ban on 12th level magic.

Otherwise, everything that a Netherese arcanist could do before the fall of Netheril, they could still potentially do, even after the Spellplague.

clear pine
#

oh i see

#

i was planning to have the dungeon be warded by a mythal with effects similar to the knot in the weave in undermountain

#

but have some weirder effects like making evocation spells damage being transformed in necrotic so the lich can be less affected

#

ressurection spells costing a price in HP and all sorts of nasty effects

#

does the netherese had the knowledge to create mythals?

grim siren
#

To my knowledge no they did not. They had the power to create Mythallars but true elven Mythals escaped even the netherese.

mystic merlin
mystic merlin
grim siren
#

Imaskar is better than Netheril anyway. as far as ancient empires go XD

restive summit
#

Can someone describe the City of Neverwinter to me briefly?

#

And don’t just say that “it’s never winter there”

sterile breach
mellow ferry
clear pine
#

aparently they have similar powers but maybe lesser in potency

grim siren
#

Yup the ancient Imaskari could make them with Undermountain in waterdeep having one.

clear pine
#

oh so the knot in the weave is indeed considered one

#

well then i guess i can make a near-mythal in the dungeon

mellow ferry
# restive summit Can someone describe the City of Neverwinter to me briefly?

Port city known for it's craftsmen. Volcanic river keeps the place warm in winter, and hot enough in summer to grow food that you'd only find much farther south otherwise.

Was a stronghold for the faith of Tyr. Not so much any more after a series of more...unjust rulers.

Survived a major cataclysm about 40-odd years ago. Has pretty much recovered from it now.

clear pine
#

i'm considering implementing it as some sort of difficulty scaler

#

like

#

pick those effects to enhance the difficulty of the dungeon

#

you could either go with the deffault ones or make a super hardcore dungeon crawl and go full bonkers

#

similar to ToA and the optional rule that made death saves DC15

#

but more brutal

final wolf
#

Storm Lord's Wrath, Sleeping Dragon's Wake, and Divine Contention immediately happened after Dragon of Icepspire Peak or Storm King's Thunder? If not between the 2 what year prolly they happened? 1491 or 1492?

clear pine
final wolf
#

is that immediately after Icespire Peak?

clear pine
#

i believe so

mellow ferry
clear pine
#

icespire peak and SKT are very far in the chronology because Cryovain in SKT is an adult

#

while in icespire peak he is young

#

it can technically retcon the presence of Cryovain in SKT because he can be killed

#

so i would consider the canon status of icespire peak as dubious

final wolf
#

damn cryovain is in SKT!!

#

time for call backs

#

wait but they killed it on doip 😦

clear pine
#

you can say that it was a dragon who usurped Cryovain's identity

#

or they brought him back to life

#

i checked and aparently SKT is said to be after 1985DR while Doip is 1492-93 DR

#

i seem some people saying that SKT is 1490 DR at a minimum

#

because Laeral replaced Neverember as Open Lord

#

and in Candlekeep an orc reads a book called SKT that described the events of the campaign

#

so it probably is 1490-91 DR

#

also @final wolf i found this bit in the wiki about cryovain in icespire

#

"Cryovain is given as an adult male white dragon in Storm King's Thunder (p. 165), but as a young white dragon with intentionally unspecified sex or gender in Dragon of Icespire Peak (p. 33)."

#

so we could be dealing with a coincidence or identity theft

final wolf
#

also is there a chronological order (in universe events) of the hardcovers or is the one on the internet accurate

#

the one from alphastream

# 
Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat (1489 DR)
Storm King’s Thunder (1490 or 1491 DR)
Lost Mine of Phandelver (Starter Set) (1491 DR)
Princes of the Apocalypse (1491 DR)
Curse of Strahd (1491 DR)
Tomb of Annihilation (1490 or 1491 DR)
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage (1492 DR)
Dragon of Icespire Peak (Essentials Kit) (1492 DR)
Candlekeep Mysteries (1492 DR)
Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden (Winter 1489 DR or later, likely 1492 DR)
Descent Into Avernus (1494 DR)
Acquisitions Incorporated (1496 DR)

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight (Date unknown, presumably after Rise of Tiamat)```
#

also AI is canon?

clear pine
#

idk if AI is canon

#

also i mixed up the dates Doip is not 1482 it is 1492

#

so it's after SKT

#

well that makes things confusing

#

i think they just made Cryovain being a young dragon for mechanical purposes because it's an introductory adventure

#

that or identitiy theft

#

i can't find other logical reasons

unkempt merlin
#

Ah nvm you got the correct list after. Thanks for scrolling down discord lol

#

Either way, time traveling dragon is present yes

clear pine
#

dude drank an age regression potion lol

#

dude went:

clear pine
#

bro i just looked at anauroch and the shadow sea is gone

#

it's dry

#

i got this map from 1479DR but when checking the 1489 map it's just bone dry and it does not even has a name

eager bay
#

Is Ao still super god?

#

Or I mean the all knowing all powerful being above the others

clear pine
#

well he still is mentioned in SCAG as Overgod

iron saffron
#

Yes, Ao is the overgod of the gods in Realmspace

storm dagger
mystic merlin
zinc halo
clear pine
#

but i really believe they made Cryovain a young dragon mostly to maintain the starter kit formula

#

so mostly a mechanical thing and that we can still consider him an adult

storm dagger
#

Were it was used to justify why the Lady could not auto kill Vecna

#

When was it first mentioned

white ravine
viscid jackal
# storm dagger Pretty sure it was the third Vecna thing.

it was mentioned in die vecna die and then later in a dragon magazine article. forgot where, but one source states the serpent is actaully the true form of that serpent magic god in greyhawk. name starts with an M. and the true serpent is literraly the random chaos energy of magic that creates all magical existence. so literally like speaking to the soul of magic i guess? not necessarily a true being in itself. BUT its vague. apparently future planescape books were gonna tie dead gods, guide to hell, die vecna die, etc and give answers to stuff like that. but wotc bought tsr, and stuff happened mid/late 90s so the later planescape stuff never got made

#

there's mentions to old posts in the original i guess mailing groups for planescape from the 90s

#

ok so apaprently that greyhawk thing (Mok'slyk) is from a D&D comic/graphic novel from 2002. they give a visual representation of Mok'slyk as a floating serpent thing. translucent.

#

(Vecna Hand of the Revenant)

fringe dagger
#

After a discussion in the OGL channel, I would like to say, I like Eberron for it’s dragon lore, where dragon types don’t determine a dragon’s alignment.

spark haven
#

yeah, biological essentialism is wack

burnt iron
sick tide
#

Fellas if i as a character build a shrine of raven queen, will I earn her favor?

white ravine
#

That's a question for your DM

sick tide
#

@white ravine but do you think earning her favor will come with boons or it's a futile exercise?

white ravine
#

Ehhhh...professional opinion? Depends. If you just stack some rocks and wood together and mumble some words I doubt anything'll happen. Raven Queen has her motives, and her interests aren't pulled by sweet talking. Gotta give something back if you want her attention.

hot shadow
#

The Raven Queen is notorious for her true intentions being unknown, so it's difficult to surmise what'll make her tick

sick tide
white ravine
#

She does have an obsession with memories however

#

So it's uhhhh...you could offer some uhhh...a bit of your erm...a little smidge of...your brain matter.

fringe dagger
stuck breach
fringe dagger
#

Oh OK.

#

Thanks for telling me.

grim juniper
#

Racism with extra steps

fringe dagger
fringe dagger
sharp owl
sharp owl
spark haven
#

Essentialism has a particularly insidious component of...these properties being immutable

#

If you're a member of an "evil race", you couldn't be good if you tried or wanted to

sharp owl
#

Or even if you could be good, you're an exception to your essential nature

spark haven
#

And all it does is making worldbuilding harder

grim juniper
#

Every time they retcon a lore and make the supporters of it cry I am elated with happiness

spark haven
#

and alienate people

fringe dagger
#

Honestly, I kind of like the idea of the Chromatic Dragons being either neutral or good because they are themed after one of the most basic stuff of all: colour. Plus they resembled usually depicted dragons instead of having very weird designs like some of the primary Metallic Dragons.

grim juniper
#

Which to be fair, they’ve done a good job at removing the icky stuff out

fringe dagger
#

Of course I can’t make my own fantasy setting have purely coloured themed dragons as the good guys as WOTC and Paizo would sue me for copyright infringement. So instead I come up with…

sharp owl
#

That's not how that works

fringe dagger
#

…the Base Dragons. I’ll explain more.

sharp owl
#

And this channel is for discussing official D&D lore

fringe dagger
#

Oh OK. Sorry.

grim juniper
#

But collectively ideas might be shared among the same kind of dragons

#

Sorta like how religion works

fringe dagger
grim juniper
#

A set of principles that they follow

fringe dagger
#

Let me share it there instead.

distant brook
#

Does strixhaven have a graduate program?

crude blaze
#

Not that I recall. iirc they say that they’re often offered faculty positions at the school and many take the chance to further their own studies while they’re there.

jagged apex
valid prism
#

Like pearls

jagged apex
#

not really a color

spark haven
#

"opalescent" is a good vague but cool adjective

#

and works with the gem motif

jagged apex
#

i am looking for a COLOR

spark haven
#

but based on the png you could also just say "light green"

jagged apex
#

thank you

spark haven
#

or aquamarine

#

it's not a very clear image

#

you could probably pick a few, whatever your favorite is

#

they also seem kinda hazy white

unkempt merlin
#

I'd probably call it a blue that is a tone lighter than it's scales

#

But with the aforementioned opalescent quality

spark haven
#

which is why i opted for opalesecent: it conveys changing colors, gem-like attributes

unkempt merlin
#

A pale opalescent blue is how I would probably describe it to players

jagged apex
#

i'd decided to go with describing them as "opalescent aquamarine"

haughty olive
#

The color... Of moonstone.

mystic merlin
severe storm
#

Not sure if here is correct, but need some help figuring out what kinda beings might exist in Forgotten Realms that would be powerful enough to be making hexblade warlocks. And where I could read up on them, trying to get a better answer to a patron then just the raven queen

unkempt merlin
#

The nice thing about hexblade warlock is it could be basically any patron that is powerful and has the ability to weave hexes or weapons

#

You could have a fiend be a hexblade patron for example

obtuse tinsel
#

Hey guys. I'm thinking about playing a religious fighter stylized for a knight, who is also a member of Order of the Gauntlet. However I do not know a lot about the FR lore, and I've bee wondering: which god could a lawful good, experienced and zealous knight worship? Especially if lawfulness is his major trait.

iron saffron
#

Are you playing in a campaign that is set in the Forgotten Realms?

severe storm
iron saffron
# obtuse tinsel Hey guys. I'm thinking about playing a religious fighter stylized for a knight, ...

Details on the lawful good Order of the Gauntlet organization.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Order_of_the_Gauntlet

The Order of the Gauntlet was a coalition of morally upstanding warriors, knights, paladins and clerics who dedicated themselves to the destruction of evil in Faerûn in the 15th century DR. They were a unified group, bonded by either their fervent religious beliefs or staunch dedication to enforcing justice in the realms. To these brothers and sisters in arms, evil had to be dealt with and could not be ignored

obtuse tinsel
iron saffron
#

Helm, Hoar, Tyr, and Torm are the main patron deities of the Order of the Gauntlet.

obtuse tinsel
#

I think I'll go for Tyr. Thanks a lot

wraith shoal
#

Who rules Citadel Adbar in Faerun

#

Is it Harnoth?

#

did research, it is until 1485 when he's ||replaced by a Doppelganger||

white ravine
#

Hey, sometimes you get bored hopping between households and trying the meals of freshly-widowed wives and wanna play king for a bit. Just how doppleganger life goes

wraith shoal
#

It was placed there by the elders of the city apparently to impersonate the now dead king

fringe dagger
#

Are there any Metallic Dragon Riders in the Dragonlance reboot?

sharp owl
#

It's not a 'reboot', it's more of a prequel

hard solstice
#

Got a qn yall: were psions affected by the spellplague? Cos I'm not sure whether the weave affects psionics

iron saffron
#

I don't see/think why they were as psionics isn't magic per se, as it doesn't derive the power from the Weave.

#

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Psionics#Nature_of_Psionics

Psionics was fueled by the internal magic of one's own mind and life-force, similarly to ki, using this power to produce psionic effects. In contrast to the spellcasting of conventional magic, psionics did not draw power from the Weave (nor the Shadow Weave, or any other external power) and did not need it to function. Instead, a psionic creature was itself its own Weave. Not even deities of magic like Mystra and Shar could stop a psionic creature using its powers. However, like with normal magic, wild psionic zones and dead-psionic zones were both fully possible.

grim siren
#

They were affected! But not in the way you think!

The number of people gifted with psionics increased exponentially in Toril ever since after the Spellplague. Some scholars believed this was a reaction against the Far Realm-defiling energy of the Spellplague.

iron saffron
#

However... (the Spellplague happened between 1385 DR and 1395 DR)

Nevertheless, after the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, the results of psionic powers were magical in nature and psionics and conventional magic were fully transparent to one another, interacting just as magic did with itself, though not all spellcasters were aware if this was possible.

grim siren
#

Ari Marmell, Robert J. Schwalb (August 2010). Psionic Power. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 110. ISBN 978-0-7869-5560-2.

#

Some more info

The decline of psionics changed after the Spellplague of the Year of Blue Fire, 1385 DR. In the following century, the number of people gifted with psionic magic increased exponentially. Scholars came out with three possible theories for this. The first one attributed the expansion of psionics to the Spellplague, posing that the twisting of magical energy and reality itself had somehow permitted psionic power to flourish again. Other believed psionic magic came directly from Abeir, although this theory was hotly debated because Abeir had no more psionically gifted individuals than Toril. A third theory stated that psionics returned as an unconscious response of the world against a threat from the Far Realm. This theory wasn't as accepted as the other two because evidence to prove it was hard to get.

#

But there is something to point out when it relates to Psionics and the Realms....

Psionics has had a long history in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, right from the 1st-edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Set, where many NPCs were given wild talents. However, its integration has been highly variable, from full inclusion in 1st edition, to its complete removal at the beginning of 2nd edition, then its eventual return later in 2nd edition, its disappearance at the beginning of 3rd edition, and its return in a moderate form in v.3.5. As a result, it has only been a minor aspect of the setting, limited to a small number of NPCs, monsters, and organizations

restive dagger
#

The feywild is just a really big time machine. Get lost in it long enough, you're bound to step out into an unrecognizable future.

hard solstice
#

Wah ask 1 qn all the wiki citation come out

#

Tqtq

indigo ginkgo
#

Are Barbed Devils encountered as roaming demons in Faerun? I thought they were like cool folklore forest devils, but then checked the lore & nope... They belong somewhere in Baator.

#

And to my understanding, Baatorians aren't really found in Faerun, unless summoned?

burnt iron
#

I mean devils come to the prime material for all sorts of reasons. Summoning is one, but sometimes they can be there on errands for infernal masters or just because they are pursuing their own goal

unkempt merlin
#

Strictly speaking no, but you could have one that slipped out through a portal as well

hard solstice
loud totem
#

Which race was the first to discover gunpowder in Toril?

burnt iron
#

I thought it was gnomes but I could be misremembering.

crude blaze
#

I think it's called smokepowder too. But I could be wrong about older editions.

iron saffron
#

The Lantanese were gifted with smokepowder by Gond.

burnt iron
#

I knew Gond was involved somewhere and it was during the time of troubles

crude blaze
iron saffron
#

Gond forbade gunpowder but allowed smokepowder.

crude blaze
#

Gond said, "No gunpowder", then just changed the name to smokepowder so he could allow it on a technicality

iron saffron
#

He did it to monopolise it.

loud totem
#

The people are called Lantanna, Lantanese is the language.

#

It's said that female Shield Dwarves are the only female Dwarves to shave their beards. I can't imagine them bothering to do this unless they have the highest likelihood among Dwarf women to court men from other races.

hard solstice
stuck breach
#

Monks bother to regularly shave their heads out of tradition

#

(Not referring to D&D monks here, but rl monks of various sorts who shave their heads)

loud totem
#

How did the tradition start, I wonder?

arctic solstice
#

How did the Achaierai species suddenly go lawful evil after being a generally chaotic evil species in earlier editions?

indigo ginkgo
#

Is there any specific way a barbed devil is colored? Are they all olive green as the images I search up?

unkempt merlin
crude blaze
unkempt merlin
#

It's supposedly "less deadly"

hazy fox
#

That or whenever someone wanted guns in DND.
One thing why I kinda like Warhammer Fantasy.

white ravine
#

Smokepowder was entirely made by Gond so he could have a monopoly over firearms

#

His reason was buried under the guise of "safety" however.

#

If you want to make guns, you gotta go through Gond's clergy, or run a sword through them.

outer apex
#

Or be in Kara tur

scarlet sierra
#

Are there nicknames in any lore for cleric of certain domains?
(I want something cooler sounding than "Cleric of...", but is this more of a question for #1045165827068002374?)

fringe dagger
#

I feel like the Deep Dragon is the only true dragon that looks like a wyvern.

white ravine
mellow ferry
#

Smokepowder is mildly magical, so it can't be discovered by accident, like gunpowder could be, and can be rendered inert by anti-magic fields. Gond awarded the formula to the Lantanna for sheltering his avatar during the Time of Troubles (not because he wanted a monopoly on firearms), and in Faerun, the clergy of Gond were the only people who knew the precise measurements of the ingredients needed to make it without risking the stuff exploding in your face. The Shou of Kara-Tur also knew how to make it, because they'd been studying the substance for centuries after they stole it from some spelljammers. Everyone else who knew how to make it, only knew the ingredients, not the proper proportions, and therefore it's a lot more volatile and risky to use.

It's been alternately stated that either Gond or Kossuth is responsible for making gunpowder useless on Toril.

mellow ferry
mellow ferry
mellow ferry
indigo ginkgo
mellow ferry
indigo ginkgo
#

Nice.

mellow ferry
#

My theory is that they were made olive green in 3rd edition based on the 2nd edition Planescape art, which is ever-so-lightly tinged green. That was only because the hamatula in that picture was holding a bright ball of light though.

indigo ginkgo
#

Could be.

grim siren
#

the 2e planescape art style was so vivid

arctic solstice
mellow ferry
#

Their native plane is Acheron, which is a plane of law

outer apex
#

in Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix, they were chaotic evil

arctic solstice
mellow ferry
#

I was just about to say the same

arctic solstice
#

So how did they become a lawful monster and become attuned to the planes of law?

mellow ferry
#

Well the Fiend Folio MC explicitly states that they're from an unnamed ancient lower plane, but the entire species was summoned to the material plane long ago, and no achaierai exist anywhere else, so it truly is a retcon

outer apex
#

yeah, they were changed in the planescape boxed set to be lawful

arctic solstice
outer apex
#

yarp

iron saffron
#

It's not the first nor last time there were in-edition retcons.

storm dagger
#

"Is my plumage not glorious? I think the red adds a little something.”
— An achaierai to its bloodied prey

mellow ferry
#

Thanks for trying to update the wiki @arctic solstice . With infoboxes though, there's a separate field for references. Adding an in-line citation as you would elsewhere on the page will just throw up an error. I've fixed that now.

simple bolt
#

wasn't there a place in one of the evil planes that was a jungle and had a ruler that wanted everything to be brutal and might-based or something?
maybe I'm conflating the gaping maw and something else but I swear there was a place like that

iron saffron
#

The Lower Planes is vast. You need to be more specific.

#

The Gaping Maw is the 88th layer of the Abyss, the jungle home of Demogorgon.

frozen lance
#

Lore wise, how long does it take for a draconic ancestor's power to become virtually non-existent within a bloodline

#

I'd assume it would be like maybe 5 generations at most?

hazy pivot
#

I'd say depends on the circumstances

frozen lance
#

Before the number of people exhibiting draconic power drops off significantly

#

The power of the dragon I'd imagine plays a role yeah

#

Some dragons are stronger than others

hazy pivot
#

Also, if they go all England Royalty and interbreed

frozen lance
#

That too. I'd imagine some cults do that

hazy pivot
#

Wouldn't surprise me tbh

#

A dragon cult, trying to "keep the bloodline pure"

#

Sounds like chromatic dragon tendencies

white ravine
#

I dont think it's been explicitly listed, however it's rare to manifest if it DOES exist (your not gonna have whole families of sorcerers after all) so I'd imagine it sticks around a long while.

frozen lance
#

And also, the dragon blood would probably counter most of the negative side effects of in breeding

#

So there's that

frozen lance
hazy pivot
#

That's an interesting question

frozen lance
#

Most half dragons are literally mistakable for dragonborn no?

hazy pivot
#

Is it more common in half dragons than other humanoids?

frozen lance
#

At least from the official art

#

Though they're not as broad shouldered

white ravine
# frozen lance Even among half dragons?

Half dragons are a different story yeah. You don't really need direct bloodline to a dragon to be a draconic sorcerer, but a half dragon usually comes from it (they have a lot of overlap). However, a draconic sorcerer is a lot more...mundane in its expression of power when a half dragon is...well...you can tell.

hazy pivot
#

I now have an idea for a draconic bloodline sorcerer who is obsessed with his genealogy, and travels the world trying to find his history

frozen lance
#

I'm asking for a reason as if I run a campaign I had an idea for a macguffin who's basically a child that has ancestry from sardior. But his first ancestor was thousands of years ago

#

So I wasn't sure if that would count

#

As that's tens of generations

#

But sardior is a minor deity

hazy pivot
#

I mean, it's your world, so you do you. It does seem like an interesting idea though

#

It could have been an aspect of Sardior

#

Like how Bahamut and Tiamat have aspects, what's stopping Sardior from having one?

frozen lance
#

Basically he's the last survivor, a very distant survivor, of a tribe of men who was blessed by sardior, as in part of them became as he is, so they could work as a bulwark to protect the entrance to his realm from tiamat

hazy pivot
#

That seems interesting

#

I say do it

frozen lance
#

Cool

loud trout
#

is it possible that drow elves and moon elves (teu tel quessir in forgotten realms) could be related races?

magic jackal
#

well, yes.

loud trout
#

see i think so too, but i was hoping people here could help me come up with a more elaborate explanation

magic jackal
#

You'll wanna look up elven lore and the crown wars, and the history of the dark elves when they turned into the drow.

loud trout
magic jackal
#

¯_(ツ)_/¯

loud trout
#

So basically just copy and paste that message into Google. Got it.

iron saffron
loud trout
iron saffron
#

No because the drow are descended from dark elves.

void egret
loud trout
#

apparently drow are cursed dark elves

iron saffron
#

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Drow#History

The drow descended from the dark elves of Ilythiir, the first and one of the most powerful elven nations, and, in minor part, from the survivors of Miyeritar

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_the_Drow#Crown_Wars

According to Wendonai, a balor fiend of corruption, Corellon let his clerics channel his magic because he considered the dark elves too dangerous.The elves believed that the unjust punishment was collateral damage originated by their lack of a proper understanding of elven high magic. In truth, it was all Aryvandaar's plan: the ritual itself had the goal to tie the dark elves of Ilythiir and Miyeritar to the faerzress without discrimination, and to create a mental compulsion to enter the Underdark and remain there.

stuck breach
#

Drow are sometimes referred to as dark elves

frozen lance
#

Drow and dark elves are synonyms, usually today, dark elf is either used as an insult (usually by other tribes of elves) or just a term used by people who aren't overly familiar with them.

white ravine
#

In the terms of dnd, a dark elf is a bit different from a drow

frozen lance
#

Do dragonborn eggs look different depending on the color or type of the dragon within it?

#

Will a bronze dragonborn egg look different from a red or sapphire dragonborn egg?

magic jackal
gentle lotus
#

Does anyone have the time to help me write lore for my homebrew campaign?

round solstice
gentle lotus
mellow ferry
iron saffron
sturdy perch
#

moin
I'm working on a hag coven encounter in the neverwinter woods for my party of 6 lvl 6 characters
i got a little map ready and have reaserched a few hags and how they function
has anyone of you perhaps got some resources i could use for this?
not too sure how i'll incorperate the encounter into the session yet thx

iron saffron
#

Or if you still have access to the now out-of-print Volo's Guide to Monsters, the book has a section on hags.

#

If you just want hags, then the Monster Manual has you covered.

iron saffron
clear pine
#

do we have any notable evil wizard groups near Thunder Peaks? i want to include in my adventure.

#

if there is not do you think it could make sense to have some red wizards there?(there is a dungeon with a netherese lich in this adventure and he has lots of old magical knowledge stored in the depts of his tomb)

#

it would actually be cool to use since we just got a book in the dms guild from Ed himself about the red wizards with some details and a 5e version of circle magic

iron saffron
#

The lore in the Thunder Peaks region probably hasn't been officially touched upon since SCAG.

iron saffron
mellow ferry
#

There's Red Wizards in the Thunder Peaks in the official AL epic module Wings of Death, otherwise, no such group comes to mind.

clear pine
frozen lance
#

Do dragonborn eggs look different depending on the color or type of the dragonborn within it? Will a bronze dragonborn egg look different from a red or sapphire dragonborn egg?

white ravine
#

Id imagine they would, yes

stuck breach
#

Or, since most dragonborn are kinda just a semi-metallic brown because they've all mixed, are most dragonborn eggs the same, but sometimes a dragonborn hatchling has a more "pure" color?

eager bay
stuck breach
#

Dragonborn are a race unto themselves, they're not half dragon/half humans

eager bay
#

Aah ok

#

then what’d a human/dragon halfblood be like

stuck breach
#

That would be a half-dragon, they're detailed in the Monster Manual and aren't a PC option

#

They were an option in 3/3.5e however. There was a special system for creating monster PCs in those editions.

#

That said, dragonborn basically are 5e's option for creating a dragonperson PC.

covert island
#

pretty much yeah

simple bolt
white ravine
iron saffron
#

The Endless Maze is the 600th layer of the Abyss.

eager bay
iron saffron
#

Nope, the Abyss is infinite now...

stuck breach
#

I still have people in my world refer to the Abyss as 666 layers, though it is infinite

serene crater
#

that or at least more than 666

stuck breach
#

In 1e, it's referred to as 666 layers

serene crater
#

huh

iron saffron
#

The lore was changed back in 2E (I think?) that the Shard of Pure Evil fell into the Abyss and is continuously "drilling" new layers.

viscid jackal
#

yes. 2e planesacpe is when abyss became infinite

#

it was 666 before that

eager bay
#

@iron saffron yeye, so dwarves and elves be not native to our world then

iron saffron
#

At least not on Toril.
Rule of thumb is that if a race has a creator god then their creator god created them in their image. There are exceptions of course — I believe that Maglubiyet, the chief god of the goblinoids, isn't the goblins' creator god but rather uspered the title from a feylord.

eager bay
#

in that case, it become a race as to which races have creator deities and which don't

iron saffron
#

If you're curious then look at the past editions' 1E Deities & Demigods, 2E Legends & Lore, 3E Faiths & Pantheons (Forgotten Realms specific), and 2E Monster Mythology.

eager bay
#

thx

trim parcel
#

hi

mellow ferry
#

Elves, specifically, come from the Feywild. This has been the case since the tail end of second edition, but 4th and 5th have really run hard with the concept.

The origin of the dwarves has been lost, but the dwarves themselves believe they were made from the world itself, and then given life by Moradin.

eager bay
safe grotto
#

I made a goblin priest that attacks people with big branches and nets

iron saffron
safe grotto
#

Oh sorry Nevermind

dense thunder
#

In a Strixhaven setting, what school(s) could be appropriate for a Rune Knight Fighter?

iron saffron
magic jackal
#

If I personally were DMing it, I would make it like, ancient runes discovered that were once used by the ancient warriors of Arcavios, because of its very war-filled past.

#

Which would slot nicely into Lorehold, because they're all about digging up the past

unkempt merlin
#

Fwiw Strixhaven is referenced as having people from various worlds, so you could go for the giant flavor still

magic jackal
#

Technically it only has knowledge from various worlds. Planeswalkers are still very few and far between. The only reason the twins Rowan and Kenrith came there was because of Kasmina, who sent them a letter because she is also a Planeswalker. Lilliana attended there centuries ago after her spark awakened, and she randomly planeswalked.

#

But the "Knowledge of various spells from different planes" angle could still work.

unkempt merlin
#

I'm talking 5e strixhaven, not mtg

#

Strixhaven draws students and faculty from across the world and from other realms in the multiverse

magic jackal
#

Ah damn, they messed up the lore

#

/s but I do prefer the mtg lore of arcavios

left spindle
#

I don't think it breaks the lore to suggest that Strixhaven has more planeswalking students than we know about. I doubt the Kenriths are the first walkers Kasmina has recruited... and Lili had to find out about Strixhaven somehow, so I bet that there's been at least one figure going around the multiverse looking for inexperienced walkers to invite for generations

sharp owl
#

The sets tagline is that Strixhaven is the "most elite University in the Multiverse"

#

As for recruiting planeswalkers, that would be extraordinarily hard. They are exceptionally rare and finding/detecting them is incredibly difficult. Project Lightning Bug, an invention by the second smartest member of the Izzet League (Ral Zarek) was only able to detect planeswalkers leaving or arriving on Ravnica. The War of the Spark, where Project Lightning Bug was 'reversed' to act as a beacon, combined with the Immortal Sun, an ancient artifact taken from Ixalan that traps planeswalkers on a plane, drew planeswalkers from all across the multiverse to Ravnica and trapped them there, and that only summoned a few hundred. From the entire multiverse

magic jackal
#

Well it's 1) implied in several places the Multiverse is finite and energy from planes is constantly repurposed into new planes over time so yeah, not too many Walkers in the universe rn.

  1. as I said Kasmina recruited the Twins, elsewise there's no planeswalkers we know of that were deliberately recruited, and Liliana visited Arcavios herself some centuries ago on her own journey pre-mending to study magic which is a whole other can of worms I won't get into

  2. it's also implied that the closeness of plans to each other matters. I mean Arcavios was formed from two planes crashing into each other. The original Sylex created a bubble around 12 planes near Dominaria and Dominaria is the center of the multiverse etc.. I'll agree the War of the Spark is incredibly poorly written, and doesn't make a ton of sense, and it should've been spelled out but I kinda envisioned it as the signal reaching out to the nearest walkers, and the ones further away didn't hear it or didn't hear it as strongly but that's headcanon.

D&D has the luxury of not making the lore work with every other bit of lore MTG has made for their MTG setting, so saying "Yeah bro it just exists across the multiverse go nuts" works there. MTG it makes sense, the only thing that's generally unexplained is how the Biblioplex contains 'every spell in the multiverse'

eager bay
#

quick question: is the false hydra actually part of dnd or was it somet else and someone used it in their story and that got some attention

cunning girder
#

It is a homebrew creature

sharp owl
left spindle
#

The false hydra is such a wild cultural moment for D&D. Like this is just someone's homebrew blog but it went viral and I keep hearing people talk about it in a way that puts it up there with mind flayers and beholders

#

Also, honestly, Strixhaven doesn't really make sense in MTG either. A lot of recent MTG settings have focused very heavily on aesthetics, tone, and broad tropes and neglected logistics and fine details that make it feel like a real place where people live and not just a stage full of scenery.

#

It's just not as important there when the focus is on making cards that are fun to play with and placing them in color coordinated factions players can identify with.

#

The story from the most recent Dominaria set, Brothers' War, was extremely good, though. I'd enjoy a setting book for that plane.

sharp owl
#

Not really channel relevant, critique of MtG lore belongs in #non-dnd-topics

spark haven
clear pine
#

would the spellplague affect how constructs works or sever the connection to their master making them not obey commands?

iron saffron
#

By 1395 DR, the majority of the effects of the Spellplague had come to an end and most arcane magic had returned to a semblance of normality, with a handful of major changes to the way spells are cast

clear pine
serene crater
left spindle
serene crater
#

Yep

#

they still forgot to do a plane shift of new phyrexia.....

left spindle
#

I think they stopped doing those after Dominaria

#

Like, there wasn't one for Ikoria or Kamigawa, was there

eager bay
dusty meteor
#

Are the Phaerimm still around

#

like are they locked behind the sharn wall or are they ALL dead

crude blaze
# dusty meteor Are the Phaerimm still around

Sort of. WOTC published a splat doc on DriveThruRPG called Minsc and Boo’s Journal of Villainy that reintroduced them into 5E. But it’s not really an official book, if we really wanna get super technical about it.

dusty meteor
#

I just want to know if having a couple still around in some broken part of the world would be lore accurate

crude blaze
#

It’s one of those weird scenarios of WOTC not publishing something through their official means, but like… it’s also still WOTC content.

dusty meteor
#

Might be a topic for a future campaign, like a reverse out of the abyss where the PCs have to venture down into the sharnlands

crude blaze
#

Them still being around, per the Journal, is true. But again, whether it’s canon or not is gonna fully depend on your table.

#

WOTC’s official stance on what is and isn’t canon is, “Whatever you decide for your table.”

dusty meteor
#

got it

#

is there a list of spells credited to the phaerimm?

#

(I know they'd all be older edition spells)

iron saffron
dusty meteor
#

o dear god

#

those aren't the spells tho, just the books that they were in

iron saffron
#

Yup! You can look 'em up in those books!

dusty meteor
#

Oh

#

Yeah I’d rather not

#

I was hoping for concise descriptions on the FR wiki like with a lot of the older edition spells

dusty meteor
final wolf
#

Is there an in universe explanation of people on faerun spelljamming? Like how does it happen?

left spindle
#

My understanding is, on Faerun they don't have access to spelljamming technology, but spelljammers do travel there relatively often

#

like, a beholder ship might crash land somewhere, or a gith skiff might show up at a gith colony

#

there's also spelljammer space at the Waterdeep harbor

sharp owl
#

Spelljamming is moderately well known in Faerun, Beholder ships have crashed landed a few times, the elves of Evermeet maintain a small fleet, githyanki of Stardock (an asteroid in orbit around Toril) trade with terrestrial races

white ravine
#

Dont forget nautiloids...existing in FR

modest badger
#

I think one way of thinking of Spelljamming and Wildspace for most settings is that other planets and wildspace are just other countries in a sense. Most people on Faerun won't really care if you've sailed seven seas or across wildspace to visit them- if the trade isn't profitable they're not going to be massively interested.

To us we think of travelling space and peopl coming from space as something incredibly new and exciting, but that's because we think we're the only intelligent life in the universe. For most D&D people, that was never the assumption.

cunning girder
#

Where is the stardock stuff in the published material? Doing a Faerun based campaign that will go spelljamming

crude blaze
magic jackal
mellow ferry
#

Toril has 8 known spelljamming ports.

The cities of Waterdeep and Calimport both allow trade with spelljammers - though ships must sail in off the sea rather than land directly at the port from the sky.
There's a place simply called 'The Dock' in the mountains which separate Faerûn from Kara-Tur and Zakhara.
The city of Chunming in Shou Lung is a major dock too, but contrary to it's Faerûnian counterparts, attempting to sail in rather than fly in is seen as tax evasion since spelljammers are taxed differently to sailing ships.
The city of Iiso in Wa also allows for spelljammers, but the people there are not at all happy about it.
As mentioned, Evermeet has spelljammers too.
The Spelljammer Academy is located on the island of Nimbral, which is a ways west of Chult.

Then, finally, there's Stardock, which is an asteroid that's accessible from a portal in Undermountain.

#

They used to have spelljammers in ancient Netheril, but that didn't go well.

icy vortex
#

I have a question regarding a part of the general lore that i'm not too familiar with: Monks and Ki.

So as far as i'm aware, Ki is essentially a kind of not-really-magic that comes from the soul and understanding oneself, right? And monks harness this to augment their own abilities? but then why are they, to my knowledge, often depicted as highly disciplined and patient people? Not everyone's inner self is like that, so wouldn't there also be monks who are erratic or cruel, because that's how they really are deep inside?

For example: a (stereotypical) goblin monk would be very chaotic and tricksy with little patience (the opposite of what monks are usually depicted as), while a (stereotypical) dwarven monk would be as stubborn and gruff as the mountain they came from (far from having an open mind). Meanwhile a (stereotypical) rock gnome monk would be constantly tinkering, trying to invent new stuff, seeming more like an inventor rather than a traditional monk

Am i correct in this or am i misunderstanding how monks work in the general lore?

mellow ferry
#

There are three prevailing theories as to what Ki is, but the general consensus is that it's an energy source created by mind, body, and spirit which can only be harnessed through intense training, self-discipline, and contemplation.

Cruelty is not a barrier to harnessing Ki at all, nor is not having an open mind. Erratic, chaotic monks have never really shown up in the lore before - largely I think, because monks used to have to have a lawful alignment in previous editions of the game

icy vortex
#

i see

#

thanks for the insight

#

so a chaotic monk, as long as they are true to themself and still contemplate and train themself, would be feasible?

mellow ferry
#

Absolutely.

icy vortex
#

thank you

magic jackal
#

Looooooore

iron saffron
#

There's the love-hate relationship between Grazzt and Iggwilv.

#

Devil and demons don't have much dealings with each outside the Blood War though (although probably in safe neutral ground such as Sigil).

copper inlet
#

Can some tell me what will happen if a player eat a dragon's heart?

iron saffron
#

¯_(ツ)_/¯

weak tendon
#

What’s with the heart eating lately

white ravine
obsidian gate
#

the general backstory and interesting exploits of every archedevil and demon prince should be out there, in the FR wiki or in Tome of foes if you are looking for 5e lore specifically

zenith dust
#

Bring me the Head of Prince Charming, by Roger Zelasny and Robert Shackey

ebon holly
#

I'm seeing tje usual DnDmemes dunks on Forgotten Realms bonfire and it really makes me appreciate Eberron even more lol. Those of you who play the setting, do y'all have some location of feature of the world in mind that is your favourite

grim siren
#

For the realms or Eberron?

fallen harness
#

@rugged rivet probably best here, your question...

rugged rivet
#

would it be, when i am just trying to figure out mechcanically if i can do so?

fallen harness
#

Well it sounds like your question is lore based. RAW only covers a small bit of the game. But yeah if you are like an AL player and trying to accomplish something that you want to defend to the DM as RAW, then perhaps the rules channel is the best place. But rules is better for specific questions imho. So I'd start here, discuss and collect your ideas, then ask those in RAW and see what support there is and what the arguments are.

rugged rivet
#

i justy want to find a way to age somthing 100 years, or summon somthing i know of, 100 years back to myself

mellow ferry
#

There was a 6th level cleric spell in 2nd edition that could do it - couldn't age a creature beyond it's natural lifespan though

rugged rivet
#

was it specifically for creatures?

mellow ferry
#

Yes. You looking for objects?

rugged rivet
#

Yes

#

I was hoping there was somthing than can age an object 100 years

mellow ferry
#

I'll have a look in the Chronomancy book

rugged rivet
#

thank you, im doing all i can to age a magic book, to force it to regain its magic

mellow ferry
#

3rd level ninja spell. Only affects objects, not creatures

#

Yeah, definitely the ninja spell - the Chronomancy stuff is a lot...weirder.

#

Age to Destruction (Alteration, Necromancy)
3rd level Ninja spell
Range 2ft. per level
Components: Somatic
Casting time: 1 round
Duration: Instantaneous
Area: 1 object (3 cubic feet)
Saving throw negates

With this spell, the ninja can age any nonliving material (of a maximum volume of 3 cubic feet) by about 100 years. An object affected by the spell makes an item saving throw vs. disintegration to avoid the spell's effect.

rugged rivet
#

would that destroy the object?

mellow ferry
#

It's intended to destroy stuff, but considering your book is magical, it should be fine

rugged rivet
#

oh dam, i should see if my DM would let me get that spell

#

what does that spell come from

mint ravine
#

how silly

mellow ferry
rugged rivet
#

thank you

mellow ferry
# mint ravine "Ninja" spell? 🤨

There was a spellcasting kit for 2e ninjas called the Spirit Warrior. You could also be another class, such as a wizard, and still be shinobi, gaining access to the unique ninja spells

#

You also had the latter mechanic in 1e

snow laurel
#

Is Xavier, Renegade Angel an ardling?

#

also is he a cleric, druid or bard?

mellow ferry
#

I think I'd make him a satyr or a simic hybrid

#

Either way, this probably isn't the right channel for such questions

open wolf
#

Guys, what was the name of the green dragon from like 3.5 who was evil but got tired of it and became good aligned, the last i know we heard of her; her scales were shifting to Copper (?)

iron saffron
open wolf
#

Cause I am trying to determine what is the ramifications of a dragon changing alignment besides angering their respective dragon god and brethren

iron saffron
scarlet sierra
#

Can I get a for dummies explanation of Dragonlance?

iron saffron
scarlet sierra
#

I'm looking for just a basic explanation.

iron saffron
#

There's a war involving Takhisis.

scarlet sierra
#

Ok, based off of just reading the background I would have thought there would have been more dragon stuff.
Also, I was trying to see if what I"m working on was in anyway to close to Dragonlance.
So, I'm good, thank you for helping.

mellow ferry
open wolf
snow laurel
# scarlet sierra Can I get a for dummies explanation of Dragonlance?

Dragonlance is a pretty standard "heroic fantasy" world not unlike that of LotR, but the most interesting thing about it isn't anything about the setting itself but the specific economics and business practice of publishing that surrounded it.

In the 80s when Dragonlance was being rolled out by TSR the game books were accompanied by a lot of tie-in prose novels. Unlike other D&D novels like Forgotten Realms, these prose novels were coordinated with tabletop adventures and the status quo of the world changed according to the newest published novel, and oftentimes novels directly lead into or followed from adventures, and oftentimes dragonlance campaigns also effectively did double duty as book clubs, players were expected to be caught up on the events of the novel between sessions or major adventures. This gave players a feeling like they were part of the world of Krynn, and while their characters may never have met, the progression of story and the aggressive publication schedule gave lots of players in the time a feeling like they were adventuring alongside their favorite heroes like David Tasselhoff or whatever the hell they were named (I was born in the 90s).

Effectively, asking why people like Dragonlance as a setting is like asking why people like Warcraft as a setting; it's not so much that the world itself is great or the stories are great, but it was a groundbreaking advancement in medium that gave fans a feeling that they were "in" the world.

#

The fact of the matter is I've never met a single "dragonlance fan" who got into the setting after the novel series ended, everyone who loves dragonlance were between the ages of like 10 and 30 when the books were being published alongside the tabletop supplements. It's all nostalgia, which isn't necessarily a "bad thing."

left spindle
#

Huh. That actually goes a long way to explaining why Dragonlance has such a cult following when it's always seemed completely unremarkable to me.

snow laurel
#

Yeah from what I understand it's very much a "you had to be there" phenomenon

scarlet sierra
iron saffron
#

I loved Dragonlance as a novel series. The original modules felt railroaded because they were based on the heroics of the Companions.

hazy fox
#

For some reason, the Kender character isn’t as hated as Kender itself.

#

That or “basing entire race’s trait from one character who actually develop” isn’t a good idea and remembered as a meme for their infamy.

mellow ferry
#

Kender are hated because of how players played them, not because of how kender are described in the lore.

Kender have a different concept of personal property, but they always give what they take back - so long as they remember to. Players of kender used that as an excuse to steal valuables from other party members. The books didn't portray characters like Tasslehoff Burrfoot like that.

stuck breach
#

I always thought kenders were really cool; it's unfortunate that so many players chose to play them in such a bad faith style

snow laurel
crude blaze
#

I’d argue they’re incredibly useful when the party actually wants to steal something important. Otherwise, kender players have often had a bit of a history of just stealing from any and everybody, leading to a whole lot of unfun.

#

But as mentioned above, less an issue with the player race, more an issue with bad-faith players.

rotund jay
#

Can someone explain true names to me? The wiki didn’t explain it in a way for me to understand

#

Would asmodeus’ name not be known to many? Or is his true name completely different?

sharp owl
#

A true name is just that, the true name of something

#

Asmodeus isn't Asmodeus' true name, just his most well known one

#

For example, a demon might have the true name Grassalax Thrangletooth, Bane of Endleron, Seventh Blood of Seventh Blood, Fellwind and Direstorm, Drinker of Sorrows and Devourer of Hope
However, to some he might only be known as Grassalax, to others the Bane of Endleron, and to some cultists, the Seventh Blood
No one person would (in theory) know his full name, the title that is tied to his fundamental identity, like a computers MAC address

#

The main thing is that for mortals, their true names tend to change as their identities evolve over time, whereas for other creatures, it doesn't as they have more fixed identities

#

True names can also factor in not just the actual words that make up the name, but how they're pronounced and other, more subtle elements

rotund jay
#

Okay so I asked this question because I’m playing the ||son of malkizid. Malkizeem is the name I chose but I was wondering if I have to adopt the name Malachi so I don’t give up my true name||

sharp owl
#

I'm not sure how your true name factors into that, unless your DM is going to make true names a key part of the game

mellow ferry
#

A truename is what the multiverse names a creature, not what a parent names their child, or what a person chooses for themselves

iron saffron
#

True names hold special importance creatures like fiends because they would be summoned by magic-users who used spells to bind them into service.

sharp owl
mortal storm
#

Wouldn't you use true names to summon entities whose bodies no longer exist with true resurrection

sharp owl
#

A mortals true name is much more malleable than that of say a dragon or a giant, and certainly more so than the true name of a fiend or celestial

merry scaffold
#

I have a question regarding Waterdeep's Trollwars, I'm pretty sure i've read that a turning point in one of the trollwars was caused by a wizard whom while flying rained down fire on the trolls, but the only relevant thing i can find is Nimoar fire enchanted spiked shield, can someone help me? i've searched in the wiki but it's pretty scarce

stuck breach
#

Because the true name is such a powerful thing, you probably don't want it to be anything like the name you go by

mellow ferry
#

Nimoar used a lot of mundane, and a little magical fire in the First Trollwar.

Ahghairon's appearance and prodigious use of magic during the Second Trollwar did indeed do a lot to turn the tide.

stuck breach
#

Giving the world hints as to what your true name is is just tempting fate

rapid stratus
#

ill dm you the book theyre possibly in but its on the wiki

open wolf
rapid stratus
#

np now to avoid spoilers

#

Hedrun Arnsforth

#

anyone here familar with legacy of the crystal shard?

iron saffron
rapid stratus
#

no the novel is the crystal shard as far as im aware

#

im talking the se4cond sundering 3.5/4e/dnd next module

#

unless shes also written about ina novel

#

my question is how often do druids manifest powers without training

#

becaus ei think she's writen more like a sorcerer

iron saffron
rapid stratus
#

ytep

#

got it right here

#

shes writen as growing up with this aura of turning food cold around her (cuz shes chosen of auril from birth) making fires require more fuel and being cold to the touch

#

just by being around

#

with no real control

#

accidentailly froze her first love

#

and shes supposed to be a druid?

#

i dont know if the 3.5 and 4e versions of druid justify this

#

but it sounds like in 5e she should be a divinesoul or stormsorcer with the extra spells from the tasha classes

#

but i wonder if there lore implications

#

anyne know how the classes worked in older editions? i onkly have some pathfinder and 5e

iron saffron
rapid stratus
#

i was interestsd in class lore but ill assk there

runic cave
#

Spelljamming hubs in mystaraspace?

jaunty light
#

I got a question for all the Greyhawk Grognards out there, is there a reason why Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins is delisted from Dtrpg?

iron saffron
#

Delisting isn't lore

jaunty light
#

Alright. It was a setting book, so

green sparrow
#

Bowmen are often portrayed as lean not as strong fighters, whilst the real soldiers use melee weapons. When in reality the bowmen were the strongest of the bunch, elite fighters trained from a young age where you could see english longbowmen changing their bone structure from training young enough. Other professional fighters like the Samurai mainly used bows, where the katana was a last resort. Thus elite use ranged & cavalry, whilst melee infantry was meat shield conscripts

I like realism where hard magic can be fantastical but follow rules, even if those are beyond mortals to understand. Like to think real world mechanics apply. Would hope bow was dependent on strength, not just dexterity.

magic jackal
#

Well I think the design intent is that it's an abstraction not precise realism.

iron saffron
#

And yes, back in 3.5E there were composite bows that allowed you to use your Str mod to add to damage.

tulip temple
#

Where do bards get their magic from? Cause like wizards study for years, sorcerers are born with it, clerics get it from the gods, warlocks make a pact, etc

iron saffron
#

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules/classes#MusicandMagic

In the worlds of D&D, words and music are not just vibrations of air, but vocalizations with power all their own. The bard is a master of song, speech, and the magic they contain. Bards say that the multiverse was spoken into existence, that the words of the gods gave it shape, and that echoes of these primordial Words of Creation still resound throughout the cosmos. The music of bards is an attempt to snatch and harness those echoes, subtly woven into their spells and powers.

tulip temple
#

So is that like an innate ability or something they had to learn

iron saffron
#

They go to college...

tulip temple
#

It's not a literal college

iron saffron
#

That was a joke...

tulip temple
#

Oh

sterile breach
#

And it goes on to say that they did have organized institutions for passing on knowledge, so probably closer to literal colleges in some cases than you might think.

tulip temple
#

Interesting

sick tide
#

Man does anybody know about the radiance

#

Like it's origins, it's motive and all the lore surrounding it

iron saffron
#

The Radiance?

#

Which setting is it from?

rocky osprey
#

I have never heard about "Radiance" in DnD, but... this is litterally the name I gave to the beings which has the power of the concepts of the universe on my DnD world

stuck breach
#

There's the radiant damage type

#

Typically from celestials or spells themed as holy magic

oblique compass
#

Hello, Are there any canonical ways of saying hello, giving greetings?

iron saffron
#

In which language/culture and setting?

oblique compass
#

Common language, Faerun, Sword Coast, Waterdeep

#

Keen to read any resources if those exist!

stuck breach
#

Have you looked at the Forgotten Realms Wiki?

oblique compass
#

Yes, haven't fished anything yet.

snow laurel
#

Four sessions into my planescape game and I finally figured out the plot: Someone is gentrifying Sigil and even the Lady of Pain is powerless in the face of urban renewal!

iron saffron
#

Well, Sigil has very limited space to build new buildings.

left spindle
#

Guessing there's some aggressive demolition and rezoning involved.

iron radish
#

For worldbuilding, would an atropal be able to affect death on an entire continent ? Like transforming people into undead when they die

#

An whats the power order between an empyrean, an aboleth and an atropal (most powerful to less powerful) ? ( i feel like i can't trust the CRs ) my guess would be Empyrean - aboleth - atropal

runic cave
#

What is a “power word”

magic jackal
#

A word with power

runic cave
#

Who invented them

stuck breach
#

Gary Gygax, probably

tame jacinth
#

In world im pretty sure all power words where invented by veckna

white ravine
#

Nah. Kill for example was found by a netherese wizard.

#

However, the info on them roughly prescribes their origin to the beings that made...existence.

stuck breach
#

Where'd they find it tho?

white ravine
#

Gooood question!

#

...spellweavers or smth idk lol

queen sand
#

Hey, was curious as to the limits of Hengeyokai as a race of fey. Are they as numerous as there are species of animals? Like could there be Bird, or even bear Hengeyokai? Any edition

white ravine
#

The ones officially mentioned are as follows

#

Carp
Cat
Crane
Dog
Drake
Fox
Hare
Monkey
Raccoon Dog (tanuki)
Rat
Sparrow

#

DEEP INHALE

queen sand
white ravine
#

Also, more unique ones such as pandas tigers and dolphins are RUMORED to exist but have no confirmation, so thats a fun little hook you can chew on.

queen sand
white ravine
#

Your the DM, go nuts

delicate ruin
#

I would love it if a power word was discovered by accident by someone getting tongue tied during a public speech. The chaos would be tasty

shrewd bobcat
#

As someone who doesn’t own the book about this(SCAG), can anyone explain to me what the Uthgardt tribes are about? Is it like a general region with different races that are all considered Uthgardt tribes?

delicate ruin
distant brook
#

Btw what is the population capacity of a typical kobold tribe?

magic jackal
mystic merlin
mellow ferry
distant brook
#

What is truename magic?

mellow ferry
#

Using the names given by the multiverse to things to exert control over those things

distant brook
#

Huh, okay then.

cold tree
#

When lore documents talk about the multiverse, do they mean the different worlds like Forgotten Realms, Eberron, etc., or do they mean the outer planes?

#

One D&D says that Sigil is the center of the multiverse. Do all the universes have their own version of Sigil, or do all share the same Sigil? Is that the case for the outer planes too, like the Nine Hells and Ysgard? I’m so confused…

mellow ferry
#

The Multiverse in D&D is the collective term for all of the planes that exist in D&D, including all of the material planes upon which the campaign setting worlds are set on.

cold tree
#

Then there’s also things like the ships of the mind flayers, which can also supposedly “travel the multiverse.” Does that mean that a mind flayer colony from the Forgotten Realms can travel to Dragonlance, or are they just traveling to the Astral plane or something?

mellow ferry
#

Before the new Spelljammer books were released, spelljammers afforded travel to other material planes via a realm called the phlogiston. That's now been retconned to the astral plane

cold tree
#

Okay see the definition of “multiverse” seems a bit inconsistent.

#

When were these new books released? Idk what Spelljammer is, is that a campaign setting?

mellow ferry
#

The Spelljammer books were released last August. It is a campaign setting, yes, but one that's connected to other campaign settings.

#

Basically, "D&D in space"

cold tree
#

So do all worlds share the same Astral Plane and outer planes? Or the same Sigil?

mellow ferry
#

Dark Sun's Athas, and Eberron don't. The rest do.

#

Athas is cut off from the planes (though there's a tenuous connection to the inner planes, like the elemental ones, it's incredibly difficult to get to them from Athas). Eberron is similar, but different. They effectively have their own astral plane that's not connected to the main one.

runic cave
#

Why is there Spanish moss in mystara

mellow ferry
runic cave
crude blaze
cold tree
#

Do all the worlds (except for Dark Sun and Eberron) share the same Elemental Planes as well?

crude blaze
#

At least in Kanon (Keith Baker’s Eberron) they can spelljam in and out of Eberron now, so I think it’s safe to say it isn’t as locked away as it was in prior editions.

runic cave
#

Cant speak for eberron for whenever I look for eberron lore I get “it’s entirely arbitrary)

crude blaze
#

Much like WOTC’s current stance on their own idea of canon, the only canon is what applies to your table.

unkempt merlin
#

Officially eberron is in the deep ethereal, which makes it super hard to access and functionally separate

crude blaze
#

But the fact that Baker is still producing lore books for Eberron should be evidence enough that there is lore to utilize.

runic cave
cold tree
#

So there’s an infinite number of Material Planes and their Echoes, then one set of Elemental Planes, Outer Planes, Sigil, and Transitive Planes that they all share?

zenith dust
#

much of eberron lore is set. just the future, and some mysteries are set to not be revealed/canonised, so that you can create your own stories in the space

#

you want to have the players find out what the mourning is all about, or play chess with the lord of blades or slay the resurrection of vol? cool do it

foggy seal
#

In lore, does Demogorgon ever fight devils? Does he strike fear into devils’ hearts? What about the other demon lords?

crude blaze
#

Demons v devils is a pretty common thing. At least in Forgotten Realms lore. They call it the Blood War.