#dnd-lore

1 messages · Page 20 of 1

magic jackal
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This is basically it.

daring parcel
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I’m really curious about some of the tattoos in bg3. I already posted something in that channel but I wonder if this one is more appropriate? So far I know there are dwarven runes, infernal script, and at least one deity’s iconography. Does anyone have any resources that can help me recognize what’s left? I’m new to dnd

eager bay
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Are Halflings Celtic, Nordic or Their own race?

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Help?

sharp owl
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Celtic and Nordic are real world nationalities/ethnicies, so neither applies to D&D races

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Halflings are a D&D race/species

eager bay
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Ah i see

vital heron
eager bay
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Ah ok

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I was making a oath of glory paladin halfling

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But idk which armor suits lore wise

sharp owl
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Which setting are you playing in?

eager bay
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Well anything aslong as its lore appropriate.

sharp owl
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No, you misunderstand

eager bay
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Plus, its for my OC Marathon thing

sharp owl
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What is lore appropriate depends entirely on what setting you're playing in

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as every setting has it's own lore

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You can't be 'lore appropriate' without having a setting

eager bay
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Ah well for me i assume forgotten realm or eberron

sharp owl
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Ah, well there's not much lore of Oath of Glory in FR due to it being an MtG (Theros) setting

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However, Theros is ancient Rome/Greece adjacent, and I think there are some locales in FR that parallel that, so I'd look to those for inspiration

eager bay
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Ah thanks

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I think celts as ispiration to my OC's appearance would do

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Because both celts and rome beef eachother during the war

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I think

sharp owl
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That has no bearing on official lore

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So not really something for this channel

eager bay
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Ah understandable

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But thanks for the consideration.

final wolf
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Are there more information about Neverwinter or it's just from SCAG?

magic jackal
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Neverwinter is a part of the Forgotten Realms setting in Faerun.

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It has been an established part of said setting lore for a long time, predating 5e and the SCAG.

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if you want to find additional information, and check references you can use to read up more on it, you might benefit from the dedicated Neverwinter Page on the Forgotten Realms wiki.

obsidian gate
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Forgotten realms wiki is a goldmine for this kind of stuff

vital heron
grim siren
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4e lore.gets a bad rap. But the Neverwinter campaign was pretty solid

iron saffron
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It deserves that rep.

hidden current
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i was watching some people playing their campaign and among them there was a romantic relationship with an dragon, lore wise i dont think dragons are able to breed with other races are they? i know some can polymorph but i dont think that is enough to breed with humans is it?

unkempt merlin
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They can

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It's one of the ways a half dragon can be made

hidden current
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oh so lore wise dragons are able to breed with humans i didnt think it would work

sharp owl
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It does happen in lore, that is as far as the topic can go while remaining server appropriate really

hidden current
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ok thanks

hidden current
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i just got the baldur gate 3 full release so i am looking up spells and such, i noticed owlbear is in the list of wildshape options i thought druids couldnt become an owlbear?

white ravine
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They cant by normal rules no

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But WOTC has been getting a little quirky with it

hidden current
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oh so they are doing stuff like the movie "rule of cool"

white ravine
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Mhm.

grim siren
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makes sense really if people's only exposure to dnd was the movie and they picked up the video game they wanna do cool stuff like owlbeared

hidden current
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true but i think that shouldbe like a mod or something not in the actual game which should only use official content

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but that is just my opinion

spark haven
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i mean, it is official content now. Similar to adventure-specific monsters or items

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It's just scoped to a particular product

white ravine
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How long until we get druids that can turn into mimics

iron saffron
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When people complain loud enough.

white ravine
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True that.

shrewd bobcat
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Another strange question but
Is there a Santa Clause type character in any D&D lore?

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Even vaguely?

iron saffron
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No.

unkempt merlin
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Depends on the setting but some do yes

shrewd bobcat
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What are some examples?

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Mystical gift givers or deity-like saints perhaps?

white ravine
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Probably Tymora...? Maybe?

iron saffron
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Not really a Saint Nick.

white ravine
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Eh, im going off memory here

calm carbon
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does anyone know id there are half dragonborn people, maybe a mis between dragon and human ?

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really want make a half dragonborn warlock but dont know if its a thing or not

iron saffron
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Ask your DM.

white ravine
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Dragon + Human = Half Dragon

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Half dragonborn isnt really...too possible? One lays eggs, the other doesnt. Lots of question there

iron saffron
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Half-dragon aren't a playable race.
Dragonborn aren't dragons.
Human/dragonborn mix is "Ask your DM."

shrewd bobcat
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A Dragonborn can easily be Reflavored as a Half-Dragon.

iron saffron
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Flavour is free.

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Regardless, this is veering outside the confines of this channel's purpose.

shrewd bobcat
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Hmmm.. do Dragonborn lay eggs?

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Logical to reason they would as Dragons do

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But is it confirmed?

calm carbon
iron saffron
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Well, as your DM when you find one.

white ravine
restive summit
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How long ago was the fall of Lord Nashar Alagondar (former king of Neverwinter)?

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And what were the conditions surrounding his death?

restive summit
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Also can someone explain Ravenloft and the Domains of Dread to me as though I were dumb.

white ravine
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When someone is a horrible enough person that they make a deal with the dark forces inhabiting the Shadowfell, they can be pulled into it as payment for their bargain to effectively live in their personal hell.

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Strahd von Zarovich the vampire for example drove his love interest, his brother's wife, to suicide and turned into a vampiric monster. His whole land was lifted into the shadowfell to be his own prison, forever tormented and chasing the love of his life that he'll never have.

shrewd bobcat
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Think like the Twilight Zone.
Little bubble planes that exist in their own pocket dimension

runic cave
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why are tiefling subraces a thing again?

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i thought asmodeus took em all

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SCAG

quartz cradle
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I remember reading about this on the forgotten realms wiki--that did happen, yeah, but then other devils eventually started breeding their own bloodlines again

runic cave
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baldur's gate 3 got some wack race choices

unkempt merlin
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tiefling variants, lorewise yea its just "which archdevil is this one linked to in some capacity"

runic cave
quartz cradle
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asmodeus took them all in the past...time has gone on since then and more have been born to other devils

runic cave
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how?

quartz cradle
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well, when a devil and a mortal love each other very much...

unkempt merlin
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one of the archdevils is linked to all of the tiefling variants, they basically simply took inspiration from asmo

quartz cradle
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I've got a question if anyone's up for it. why is all of the lore about warlocks so insistent that they're dark and evil?? like yeah, maybe the fiend pact ones (and even then not all) but that's not the only kind?? if a person agrees to a pact with a summer court archfey, said patron might be a little mischievous or have moments of taking advantage, but they're still good aligned. if a warlock agrees to a pact with a good archfey or even a celestial, are they really THAT fundamentally different from a cleric or paladin who devotes themselves to a deity and gets power for it?? like am I fundamentally misunderstanding what warlock pacts consist of, or is this just the typical “oldschool d&d made everything a very black & white evil or good binary” that hasn’t quite been scrubbed away yet?

old tendon
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Making a pact is a dubious affair at best

unkempt merlin
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why is all of the lore about warlocks so insistent that they're dark and evil
as you evidently understand, this simply isn't true?

spark haven
eager bay
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Stuff from the Lower Planes are evil be definition

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The archfey are their own kind or beast

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and then your Lovecraftian swiggity-swooties

quartz cradle
quartz cradle
spark haven
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it isn't

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if you really need justification: these books are written by in-universe characters, to some extent. they have their opinions and biases

eager bay
magic jackal
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Much of the written lore I've seen does not support that narrative

old tendon
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As a warlock you ask for power directly from an entity and enter a secular contract with them.
Paladins and clerics MUST worship their entity or have their power stripped.
Warlocks can leverage their deal with their entity and are mot required to worship.

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Basically it's more chaotic by nature

magic jackal
old tendon
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Really?

magic jackal
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Yep.

old tendon
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Wild

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What happened to dungeons and dragons

magic jackal
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nothing

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this has been true since before 5e

old tendon
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So as a cleric if I abandon my God I'm still ok?

magic jackal
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That depends

old tendon
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....

magic jackal
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you used the word Must

old tendon
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Then some of it is true dude come on

magic jackal
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No, it might be true in some settings or for some characters based on their relationship with their class, but it's not categorically true for all settings and all characters.

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so the word MUST as you used it was inaccurate, which is what I was pushing back on.

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and as for Warlocks, not all pacts are that direct.

old tendon
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Whatever I don't get the lore anymore and I don't really care

magic jackal
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a pact with a Fiend might be, but a pact with a Great Old One might be entirely incidental and they might not even be aware of your presence

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When is the lore you're referring to from?

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What edition?

quartz cradle
# magic jackal Can you please provide the sources you're referencing when you say "All of the w...

whew okay I'm definitely generalizing, my bad on that. the PHB for instance did dial it back, though it does still use some negatively-coded language like "warlocks are driven by an insatiable need for knowledge and power" (couldn't you say that about wizards, too?). I mostly am making this complaint after reading the wiki page for warlocks on the forgotten realms wiki--which I recognize is not ironclad canon for ALL of d&d lore and mostly covers one particuar setting, but I've found it to be a mostly reliable wiki for lore. but the warlock page is SO incredibly negative that I was like hold up, have I wildly misunderstood orrrr is this just badly written

magic jackal
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A warlock was an arcane spellcaster who gained power through pacts with powerful entities, most commonly devils, elder evils of the Far Realm, fey,[7] or demons.[8] These pacts allowed warlocks to channel powerful abilities of arcane might that would otherwise be closed to them.[1] Those abilities weren't limited to those striking pacts with magical entities. Some were born with them because they belonged to a powerful magical bloodline and those who mastered that power were also called warlocks.
Well, this is the overview on the Wiki. It doesn't read as incredibly negative to me

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So what particular text in the FR wiki page portrays them incredibly negatively?

quartz cradle
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Warlocks had an overall poor reputation, a result of their dealings with otherworldly and often malevolent outsiders. However, not all warlocks were evil, and many used their deadly gifts for benign purposes, but even so, they were regarded with skepticism.[11][12] How far the warlock went to fulfilling their pact was entirely up to them,[11] though corruption was an ever-present danger for warlocks of all stripes.

These forces beheld warlocks to their power, though some broke away from the chains of their servitude to forge their own destiny. More often, warlocks, by choice or by circumstance, became much like the cruel and capricious beings they served.

Warlocks from other races were far more rare,[17] though halflings and half-elves, when given the incentive, made excellent practitioners of the dark arts.

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it's like, they put the line or two of "sure not all warlocks are evil" but then keep using phrases that basically say "...but they almost all are tho"

magic jackal
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That does all read as heavily influenced by in-universe bias towards warlocks

quartz cradle
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ah okay so faerun specific lore? I'm not well versed in it at all

magic jackal
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Yeah, Faerun is a Continent in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting

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And the Forgotten Realms wiki is mostly focused on that setting

quartz cradle
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no yeah I know that bit, I'm saying there's history in that setting that makes warlocks feared and looked down on?

magic jackal
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Probably just because people in-universe associate them with Cultists of Fiends or Elder Evils

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and because those entities are probably more driven to make pacts, especially Fiends

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For example Devils need to corrupt humanoids so that they end up in the Nine Hells to fuel their endless Blood War, and pacts are one way in which they do that.

quartz cradle
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makes sense. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something re: warlock pacts. actually the reason I went to that page in the first place was that I wanted to know whether there was any kind of canon lore about exactly how warlock pacts are made & what they consist of. I know about devil contracts, but I mean for all warlocks -- are there set rules about that, or does it totally vary? like, are pacts always written down and signed or is that just a devil thing?

magic jackal
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It does totally vary very extensively because of the necessarily very individualistic nature of each patron

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a pact with a devil might be written down in excruciating detail, whereas a pact with a fey might be a verbal one with tricky double entendres, and a pact with a great old one might be more a subconscious influence than a direct relationship etc.

quartz cradle
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okay great. thanks for clearing that up!

magic jackal
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no problem!

eager bay
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Question. Every plane is its own universe correct?

iron saffron
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Every plane is its own universe with its own set of laws (such as gravity and time).

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The Material Plane is where most mortals live.

eager bay
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And there are undiscovered planes correct?

iron saffron
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Which setting?

eager bay
iron saffron
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Never heard of it.

eager bay
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And ebberon is part of the material plane

iron saffron
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Eberron has its own cosmology

eager bay
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How?

iron saffron
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Because the creator of the Eberron campaign setting said so.

eager bay
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Are you saying every material plane orb has its own planes?

iron saffron
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Yes, there can be multiple "parallel" Material Planes but that's delving into MCU multi-verse shenanigans.

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So you could have different campaign settings within the Material Plane but have different cosmologies but they can be travelled between each other via spelljamming ships.

Forgotten Realms had the World Tree cosmology until 5E when it moved over to the Great Wheel cosmology. However, during that time spelljammers could travel to Toril's Realmspace from other crystal spheres, such as Greyhawk's Greyspace or Dragonlance's Krynnspace.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/World_Tree_cosmology
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Great_Wheel_cosmology

unkempt merlin
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Eberron in official canon is a material plane

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But its a "second degree" material plane, compared to every other material plane being a "primary" one. At least according to fizbans

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This doesn't prevent eberron from having its own cosmology

iron saffron
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Eberron is like a Russian nesting doll of planes...
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Eberron

Eberron was a part of the Great Wheel cosmology and the overall multiverse, being situated in the Deep Ethereal. However, there it lay at the center of its own material plane and its very own cosmology of other planes that orbited it and had profound effects upon it. Furthermore, this cosmology and its Ring of Siberys sealed the world away from the regular Great Wheel planes, preventing outside deities and powers both celestial and fiendish from having an influence there

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So it doesn't sound like it can be reached via spelljammer.

eager bay
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So I could make anything as a secondary material plane?

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And people from the prime can still travel to it

iron saffron
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If it's your table's homebrew setting, you can do whatever you see fit.

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This channel just deals with official D&D lore.

verbal barn
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do all tieflings have a tail?

eager bay
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Well I'm wondering if it's possible for people to travel to ebberon from the prime material plane

iron saffron
eager bay
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So, idk why but the ebberon wiki seems to say something different

iron saffron
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That's the nature of wikis...

eager bay
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Wouldn't the eberron wiki be more accurate possibly?

iron saffron
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¯_(ツ)_/¯

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I'm not an Eberron fan so I don't know.

unkempt merlin
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In official dnd canon, you can

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In the canon of the creator is more maliable

eager bay
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Is the thing that the forgotten realms wiki says it said in fizbans true?

white ravine
eager bay
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That eberron isn't part of the prime material plane?

white ravine
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It's...weird.

unkempt merlin
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Eberron is a material plane

white ravine
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Eberron is in loose terms a material plane stuck inside the ethereal plane

iron saffron
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A Russian nesting doll of planes.

white ravine
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Yeah.

unkempt merlin
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There are "degrees" of material plane that Fizbans introduced, with Eberron being a second degree, while every other one we know about being a first degree

white ravine
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It's a unique case.

eager bay
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Does ebberon have wildspace?

unkempt merlin
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in strict canon? no

white ravine
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If I remember correctly, no.

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Makes me wonder what happens if you fly up, however.

unkempt merlin
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The closest it has is the rings of siberys

eager bay
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Which are what exactly?

unkempt merlin
eager bay
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It has moons past said rings

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So are we sure it isn't in a wildspace orb?

iron saffron
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I don't know if it has a crystal sphere since Eberron is in its own "pocket" Material plane with the Deep Ethereal.

eager bay
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Ah, nvm

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I think I understand

iron saffron
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It seemed like Keith Baker went out of his way to make Eberron separate from the rest of the D&D multiverse.

eager bay
unkempt merlin
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Keith Baker is the creator of the Eberron setting

unkempt merlin
iron saffron
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Yes, I know but I still refer them as such to pertain to the campaign setting's stellar system.

eager bay
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Why remove it so far from normal D&D?

unkempt merlin
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simply because thats how it was created as a setting

eager bay
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What about the dragonlance setting?

iron saffron
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What about it?

eager bay
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What's the story with that? Is it also not part of the prime material plane?

iron saffron
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So its crystal sphere (yes, I know 5E Spelljammer removed it but 5E Spelljammer sucks) is in the Material Plane and thus can be travelled to via spelljamming ship.

eager bay
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What? I thought 5e spelljammer still had the spheres

iron saffron
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They removed the crystal spheres without giving a reason of why or how.

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There are still stellar systems but minus the crystal spheres surrounding them.

eager bay
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Anyways, I ask because I am making my campaign world be in the prime material, but this world has discovered new planes

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Several planes similar to the material plane, but sliightly different

iron saffron
eager bay
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Ok

sharp owl
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This channel is more for discussing official lore, less so about modifying that lore for your own settings

unkempt merlin
sharp owl
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Only one system is stated to have crystal spheres and it's also stated to be a mystery as to how and why

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It's not presented as common through the various wildspace systems

white ravine
eager bay
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If true dragons are hyperomnivorous (as in, they can digest anything)

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there's no waste material, right?

magic jackal
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They're capable of harmlessly consuming almost anything

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Excess food (and presumably what would otherwise be waste material) is instead converted into elemental energy and store metaphysically

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which is then used to charge breath weapons

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from the 3.5e Draconomicon

iron saffron
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Metallic dragons, such as silver and gold, prefer to eat gems rather than sentient creatures.

eager bay
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or ice, lightning, poison, acid, etc.

magic jackal
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It's not poop, it's not a waste material

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it's basically the same as you digesting food and turning it into energy

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it's just more literal in their case, because they turn it into fire breath

eager bay
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Right right

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I was making a joke

magic jackal
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👍

gray ember
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Are any of the races of faerun or any other offical verse particularly known for animal handling?

sonic violet
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So are oni just a subspecies of ogre or what

white ravine
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They look like demonic ogres from a distant relation, but that's about it.

eager bay
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Do you like when true dragons can be whatever alignment?

storm dagger
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I don’t mind expectations, but I normally keep my Dragons to the default portrayal

white ravine
eager bay
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yeye

white ravine
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Then again a red dragon trying to be lawful good but having fits of anger it takes out on several chained up trolls? Never gets old.

eager bay
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Maybe depends on lore and how they came to be

unkempt merlin
eager bay
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it'd make sense that they be a hard-created race, but even if they're created, they're still sapient

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I mean, if their abilities are anything to go by

magic jackal
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Dragons in FR are still entirely capable of being any alignment, they simply have strong influence from their creators

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insert Skyrim Quote here about whether it's better to be born good or overcome your nature through great effort

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they're sentient, sapient, and fully capable of making decisions for themselves, but they have to contend with a supernatural, strong influence towards a particular alignment that's external to them.

eager bay
magic jackal
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I think you may have a different idea about what Worship means to Dragonkind than to other mortal species

eager bay
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probably

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I mean, hell, for all intents and purposes, the race of Dragons navigates on a blue-and-orange morality scale

eager bay
coral ermine
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Is it true that Altzmyr the god of Undeath protects non-evil undead? I’m trying to figure out what Faith my character should follow.

coral ermine
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He is an Undead Skeleton Wizard named Vonmar.

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Who is Chaotic Neutral.

unkempt merlin
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Pretty sure thats a homebrew diety so it would be an ask your DM question

quartz cradle
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gosh okay I phrased that very poorly, I apologize!!! let me try again: any thoughts on what the child of a human/half-elf would be? is there a ruling on whether they would be human or half-elf, or is either one possible?

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(I find the whole concept of half-elves and half-orcs to be kind of confusing and weird, because it implies that you can't be any other combination of mixed race. or can you?)

white ravine
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I believe by 3e rules, they can but the result would be mostly human (mechanically human as well)

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There are many other half races, but 5e only had the 2

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Dwelfs for example (dwarf + elf)

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Though it's important to note some cant mix. Elf + orc for example makes nothin.

quartz cradle
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dwelf sounds so interesting!

white ravine
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Ikr?

quartz cradle
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I hope they bring more of them back

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not even for stat/mechanical purposes, but for roleplay/flair purposes

white ravine
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...Ehhhh. Wouldnt bank on it. If ODND is a metric to go by theyre dissolving hard-labeled mixes entirely

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Going back to the usual WOTC golden rule of 'make stuff up lol'

quartz cradle
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well actually that sounds even better. what would really be ideal is some way to sort of blend different features from different races together if you want to play a mixed-race character

unkempt merlin
white ravine
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HA! Custom Lineage showed how well WOTC could make that.

quartz cradle
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oop

quartz cradle
unkempt merlin
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Ah the answer varies, hence my question

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Especially for other stuff like elf+orc, it exists in some settings but not others

quartz cradle
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hmm okay

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I'm using a homebrew setting so I guess whatever I say goes then 🤷‍♀️

unkempt merlin
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P much

quartz cradle
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is there a devil equivalent of a demonomicron?

iron saffron
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Not that I know of.

quartz cradle
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bummer.

iron saffron
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Hell is a finite place (9 layers) and the devils are well organized.
The Abyss is infinite and very hostile with many layers and demons yet explored.

Mortals have a better chance of surviving in Hell than the Abyss so doing research on the Abyss and its demons is more attractive.

pseudo wind
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There probably is an equivalent but it simply hasn't been brought up in material, though I'd love to delve into older editions to see for sure

white ravine
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Hell, they probably don't even have it as an artifact. There's a few...however many billions upon trillions of devils, so someone's gotta be keeping IDs in check.

pseudo wind
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I'll be the odd one out and say it's at least as dangerous as being in Baator as it is in the Abyss, especially if you're a mortal. Not every devil is a master schemer and can and many will probably kill mortals in Hell just because they can. And those that aren't will try to screw you over in ways where death would be a mercy

Thus, having a guide on how to survive in Baator, detailing out the various baatezu, and telling how to deal with them would probably be a thing. The only question is what would it be called? Devilomicon seems too obvious

iron saffron
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Black Scrolls of Ahm is another set of artifacts based around demonology.

timber nova
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Does primus have a chaos counterpartt

iron saffron
white ravine
foggy flame
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Is there some kind of plant-based equivalent to an elemental? Like a living/fighting plant of sorts?

white ravine
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That would be things like Fey, or more specifically beings like Treants

foggy flame
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Thanks

iron saffron
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In the 3.5E Manual of the Planes there's the optional additional Plane of Wood, a plant-based elemental plane. (In Chinese mythology, there are five elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal).

foggy flame
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I love that

heavy fulcrum
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Do any particular races tend to worship Tiamat, excluding Dragonborn?

iron saffron
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Chromatic dragons revere her

covert island
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Sometimes Lizardfolk and Kobolds do to. Also whatever ends up in her cult

fringe rivet
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how do i become a Baelnorn lich and also do i need to be a elf?

iron saffron
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Ask your DM.

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Yes, baelnorn are elves who becomes liches.

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https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Baelnorn#Creation

The method of becoming a baelnorn was a High Magic or divine ritual or a state bestowed by a member of the Seldarine. The process did not generally require the use or creation of a phylactery, meaning that baelnorns wishing to evade destruction relied on the clone spell. Some less fortunate baelnorns did need to store their souls in a phylactery like a normal lich, in which case they kept it near to the places that they protected or worked.

fringe rivet
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@iron saffron yea but it doesnt say what kind of ritual exactly

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i need steps really

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the dm wants to know by the book how to do it indepth so he can make a mission around it

sharp owl
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There isn't a "by the book" way

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So the DM is going to have to come up with one

#

Or find something someone else has made up

#

Neither of which are official lore topics

fringe rivet
#

mm

#

no because the elf litches keep there allingment and memorys and stuff

#

belanorn

#

ones

#

they do the ritual to play certain roles in elf society

#

like protectors or a living library

#

would u say a gem like a diamond would work?

#

altho i do know a cave with tons of crystals

white ravine
# fringe rivet they do the ritual to play certain roles in elf society

Elven high magic (the first method described) requires some heavy magic split between several casters at the same time

Divine ritual can be interpreted the same way, except more clerical than wizardry.

Finally, bestowed by the seldarine would be a literal act of god. Snap their fingers, your now a baelnorn.

#

And being a baelnorn is a BIG DEAL to the elves. Its not something they do for a paycheck.

fringe rivet
#

This kind of thing what level we talking do i have to be

#

Was thinking lvl 15 at least

white ravine
#

Ehhhh...this is more #dm-discussion talk but making a baelnorn would take several archmage level casters I'd imagine. Not caught up on my high magic lore

#

15th is reasonable

fringe rivet
#

I take it

tame locust
# fringe rivet they do the ritual to play certain roles in elf society

I guess if they're not evil like liches, I might not know anything about baelnorns.

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Baelnorn says some things. Is it canon? I don't know

Says the choice was considered a sacrifice, and there's no proof for one bring made after the fall of Myth Drannor, but that the ritual may have persisted in Evermeet or Evreska.

Sounds like you'll probably have to travel to find the ritual.

Not knowing the ritual spell limits my ability to answer questions. You might look at documented baelnorns... they likely cast the spell on themselves, so the lowest level spellcasting baelnorn might indicate the minimum caster level. From that, you can follow spell scribing rules for the money cost.

Animate dead calls for a crystal of a certain GP. Resurrect does too. Depending on the level of baelnorn spell, you might have to extrapolate upward for the cost of the components.

Some DMs use spell's material components as the basis for an adventure. It is possible that a special gem only available in a few places (myth drannor?) Is needed to actually transform onself.

Note for lore that baelnorns also needed approval through their clans.

So... lore wise...
No, we DO NOT have the ritual to role play, but... if my source is reliable, we do know you need approval from the elven clan. Modern elves aren't so keen on Baelnorns, so they may need convincing. We also need to go find the spell. Only then, if you find the spell, will you know the material components, which may lead to further adventures.

The source I found says not ALL baelnorns need a phylactery, so, at DM's discretion, you might need to construct one of those. Since we dont have a baelnorn spell, phylactery rules might be a decent basis for some rules, if needed.

white ravine
#

Eh. You could, you could not. Its all hard to gauge

#

And reliant on the gods whims

fringe rivet
#

More than likely i could see my dm Going the longer route but having the god help me along the way

fringe rivet
#

what clan of elf would more than likely allow a Baelnorn

#

id imagine the drow

#

or a high elf

unkempt merlin
#

What setting

magic jackal
#

In the Forgotten Realms Baelnorns also serve as pseudo cultural and magical guardians don't they? Sacred to the clan, having made a great sacrifice, protectors and lore keepers etc.

#

I can't imagine that the Elven Gods are kept separate from that.

iron saffron
#

Yes.

magic jackal
#

So it follows that a prerequisite for candidacy to even become a Baelnorn is thorough understanding and worship of the Elven Gods, as well as understanding of the Clan's culture, traditions and history

tardy wasp
#

Been reading some of Tome of Foes, and man, the writers REALLY like Corellon. I don’t think Moradin, Garl or Yondalla got nearly as much text as the Protector.

Also, I dislike the way the entire Seldarine and Dark Seldarine is presented as coming from Corellon’s essence, but I’m not quite sure why.

coral ermine
iron saffron
#

If you read about Altzmyr from a certain D&D wiki site then it's 99% homebrewed and not an official D&D lore.

unkempt merlin
coral ermine
#

I changed his faith to Kelemvor because he wants to prove to the gods that Undead aren’t all bad.

iron saffron
#

Kelemvor is from Toril (Forgotten Realms). Again, talk to your DM on the gods of their campaign setting.

tame locust
fringe rivet
tame locust
fringe rivet
iron saffron
#

Ask your DM because the elven clans would be based on their campaign setting.

eager bay
#

I meant like which subrace of elves are these clans you speak of

eager bay
#

Question

#

What exactly is ravenloft?

tame locust
# eager bay What exactly is ravenloft?

Ravenloft is a #dnd-elder-editions campaign setting named after a castle.with a vampire. They had a lot of v3 and v3.5 books. Typically, it features mists that interfere with travel, more undead, less divinity, and magical curses. The BBEG Is usually both cursed, and indestructible.

eager bay
#

There's two 5e books

iron saffron
eager bay
iron saffron
# eager bay Question

Ravenloft was originally a standalone 1E module called Ravenloft. Curse of Strahd is based on this classic module.

eager bay
#

I more mean like, phsycially

iron saffron
#

From that original 1E module it was expanded a campaign setting in 2E.

eager bay
#

Like, is it another plane of existence?

#

A demiplane?

#

A world shoved into the ethereal?

iron saffron
eager bay
iron saffron
#

The domains of dread are small demiplanes so it's not a full plane. They have a finite size and usually no bigger than country at most.

eager bay
#

Wait, how are they all connected then?

iron saffron
#

They're not directly connected, the Mists of Dread separates but also connects them.

eager bay
#

Second question

#

Why do the gods have carceri?

iron saffron
#

It's a prison plane.

eager bay
#

Why not just throw all the things you don't want into the far realm?

iron saffron
#

Because there's no direct way to go to the Far Realm and it's easier to control Carceri.

eager bay
#

There's portals in the astral plane

iron saffron
#

Where did you read that?

eager bay
iron saffron
#

From the DMG:

The Far Realm has no well-known portals, or at least none that are still viable. Ancient elves once opened a vast portal to the Far Realm within a mountain called Firestorm Peak, but their civilization imploded in bloody terror and the portal’s location — even its home world — is long forgotten. Lost portals might still exist, marked by an alien magic that mutates the area around them.

eager bay
#

And neth-lagu wander the astral looking for portals home

iron saffron
#

Part of the mystique of the Far Realm is that very little is known about it other than its native inhabitants are things of nightmares (aka aberrations).

eager bay
#

Where can I post images?

#

Cause I have proof that portals must exist in the astral plane

#

40 1 neh-thalggu*† looking for a portal to the Far Realm

iron saffron
#

The Astral Plane is a transitional plane that connects the Material Plane to the Outer Planes. So regrettably for the Neh-thalggu they'll have to keep searching because AFAIK there are no known portals to the Far Realm because the Far Realm is not party of the Great Wheel cosmology but outside of it (hence Far Realm)

eager bay
#

The Far Realm comprised an infinite number of layers. Unlike the layers of many Outer Planes, these layers were very thin

#

Spelljammer 5e

iron saffron
#

5E Spelljammer sucks. Ignore it.

eager bay
#

That quote I just gave is from the forgotten realms wiki

iron saffron
#

You can post links to the FR wiki.

eager bay
#

Apparently there are layers to the outer planes

#

And the ones connected to the astral are the first layer

iron saffron
#

¯_(ツ)_/¯

eager bay
#

Also, why not imprison things closer to home?

#

And how did eberron become so removed from the material plane unless it was just put there by gods

#

Cause, people can frigging visit carceri

#

Meaning things can escape from there

iron saffron
eager bay
#

But pretty much nothing can reach eberron

#

So why not just shove it all in a world like eberron and cram it in the deep ethereal where no one can get to it? And just put magic around it like the rings around eberron to make it even more unreachable

iron saffron
eager bay
#

Also, I can't see the page?

#

I don't own the book

iron saffron
#

We already answered you about Eberron a few days ago.

eager bay
#

I have a horrible memory

iron saffron
#

Sorry, only those who only the digital book can see it.

eager bay
#

Also, just to clarify this is more asking why the gods just didn't slap all that carceri stuff into a world like eberron and stuff it in the deep ethereal

#

Because you can legit have a player character whose backstory is they are FROM CARCERI

iron saffron
#

Remember that the planes of the Outer Planes are loosely based on mythological planes of existense: the Seven Heavens, Olympus, the Nine Hells, the Abyss, etc. (their original names were later changed around 2E to be more sensitive to move away from their original culture origins)

eager bay
#

And if something like a level one fighter can have freely visitied carceri and come back, why tf would anything still be trapped there?

iron saffron
#

Carceri is "prison" in French...

eager bay
#

Like everything should just be able to leave right?

iron saffron
#

¯_(ツ)_/¯

eager bay
#

I'm not crazy?

#

I can't be crazy, you can have a level 1 monk from carceri

#

Nothing should be stuck there

iron saffron
#

Carceri hasn't been visited much narratively throughout the editions as far as I know.

eager bay
#

A prison full of the worlds most hardened criminals doesn't allow children to wander its halls

iron saffron
#

I don't know of any older edition modules/adventures that feature Carceri. It's mentioned in the various Manual of the Planes and Planescape books but not in detail AFAIK.

eager bay
#

You can be from carceri

iron saffron
#

I'm iffy about the upcoming 5E Planescape if 5E Spelljammer is of any indication.

#

I was a big fan of the 2E Spelljammer, Ravenloft, and Planescape and the 5E versions have been meh at best and horribly lazy at worst so far.

eager bay
#

Is there any reason worlds like eberron couldn't exist in other planes?

iron saffron
#

Scroll back up a few days. I'm sure someone more knowledgable on Eberron than me (I know next to nothing about it because I never played that campaign setting) may have answered it already.

eager bay
iron saffron
#

¯_(ツ)_/¯

#

Sorry you'll have to wait for an Eberron lore nerd to show up to answer your question. I'm more of a Forgotten Realms guy.

white ravine
white ravine
white ravine
# eager bay Nothing should be stuck there

The thing about Carceri is that it's easy to get in, but to leave someone has to open it from the OUTSIDE. A level 1 resident of carceri can escape, but it has to be more akin to a prison riot rush than a sneaky escape.

#

Someone opens the door as a few hundred screaming souls go sprinting out in every direction, guy they want comes out, door closes.

iron saffron
#

Most Outsiders (natives of the Outer Planes) can't innately leave their home planes. That's why demons typically need to be summoned via gate or summoning magic.

The Outer Planes are essentially the afterlife (for mortals of the Material Plane) so leaving them isn't easy because you're not suppose to leave...

white ravine
#

Well...eh. That's more a lower planes thing

#

Easy to get out of the upper planes if you wanna go travel.

iron saffron
#

Yeah, the good-aligned gods are not so jerkish.

tardy wasp
#

What do acolytes of Selune’s House of the Moon in Waterdeep do for their community? Is there anything that makes their worship and practice different from other temples and shrines of the Moonmaiden?

I’m trying to come up with some more in-depth backstory for my Cleric, such as what his particular role in the temple was, and what skills he might have become proficient in (besides the obvious Insight and Religion).

timid estuary
#

I have a question about Dragonlance, specifically the Mages of High Sorcery. Before a mage takes their Test, do they just wear whatever?

timid estuary
#

Could also see it as a place where one might train werewolf hunters, since she is not a fan.

white slate
#

I’m running a campaign primarily set a in the shadow fell and I can’t seem to find anything very in depth about it for 5e help!

modest badger
#

It's not been dived much into. The DMG has some info, but 4e is a better bet for lore and info I believe.

#

Mordenkainen's tome of foes has some info on the Shadar-kai and ravenqueen.

white slate
#

Ok thanks il check it out

eager bay
sharp owl
#

That's not an official lore question

eager bay
#

Okay, then let me ask a lore related question

#

How was eberron created?

sharp owl
#

The creation myth of Eberron is that there were three progenitor dragons; Eberron, Siberys, and Khyber

#

Khyber murdered Siberys (creating the ring of Siberys crystals that encircles the world) and Eberron fought Khyber to prevent them from being likewise killed

#

Eberron was unable to defeat Khyber, so instead bound them within themselves, forming the world of Eberron with Khyber deep inside

#

This is why Khyber is Eberrons equivilent of the Underdark

unkempt merlin
#

The dragons above below and between

eager bay
#

Could something like eberron exist in the far realm? And this is a lore question

#

Because I am essentially asking if planets can exist in the far realm

unkempt merlin
#

As said prior, rogue planets sure. A sub universe like eberron? Maybe. I don't believe we have any lore about that specifically.

eager bay
#

Where is Atropus from?

#

Or Ragnorra?

unkempt merlin
#

Ragnorra is a positive energy plane being

eager bay
#

Doesn't atropus just exist passively in the material plane?

unkempt merlin
#

Effectively yes. A planetoid that may be a dead god/a Primordial.

#

Not quite passive but close enough

eager bay
#

And how were aboleths created in 5e?

iron saffron
#

They're originally from the Far Realm.

#

Ecology of the Aboleth in Dragon Magazine #131 has more details if you want.

eager bay
#

Question. What patrons exist for a GOOlock?

iron saffron
#

Ask your DM.

eager bay
#

I am the DM

iron saffron
#

Then you make it up because that's a campaign setting specific question.

eager bay
#

Like, there's no info on potential patrons really

iron saffron
#

You're the DM, you decide based on the warlock patron types.

eager bay
#

And also, this isn't like devils or something

unkempt merlin
#

All sorts of things could be a GOO patron

eager bay
#

Elder gods come from the far realm

unkempt merlin
#

Generally aberration types yes

eager bay
#

Like any great old one isn't a setting specific thing

#

There may be more options than your standard list in certain places

#

But otherwise it's gonna be the same list pretty much

unkempt merlin
#

There are things like Uk'otoa and Quajath as well, which are demigod like beings that function as GOO patrons

iron saffron
#

Again, you decide which Cthulhu-type of aberration is in your campaign setting.

unkempt merlin
eager bay
#

Uhh, like every offical 5e setting has the far realm still

iron saffron
#

But you're referring to your own homebrew campaign setting, no?

eager bay
#

Yes, but that doesn't mean I don't want to stick close to what's official

#

Like I have my custom elder gods

#

But I'm trying to figure out where they originally came from

unkempt merlin
#

Elder gods don't all come from the far realm, as mentioned already

unkempt merlin
#

Not to mention even if they do have a far realm it doesn't necessarily mean they are all the same far realm

eager bay
unkempt merlin
#

The far realm does not exist in the setting of eberron

eager bay
#

It isn't as linked to it but it does exist

#

As eberron exists in the ethereal

unkempt merlin
#

Just because something exists in the dnd multiverse does not mean it exists within a given setting

#

The far realm doesn't exist in eberron.

eager bay
#

Apparently xoriat is eberrons far realm

unkempt merlin
#

It has some similarities to the far realm, but it's also not the same thing.

iron saffron
#

Didn't Keith Baker make Eberron as part of contest to make an atypical D&D campaign setting?

unkempt merlin
#

I don't recall anything about it being "atypical"

#

It was just a contest to make a new dnd setting

iron saffron
#

Okay, I thought it was to make something different than Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms. I stand corrected.

unkempt merlin
#

The two other winners from the contest are still secret and to our knowledge haven't been utilized yet

iron saffron
#

Huh.

zenith dust
#

Notably baker was already a game writer

eager bay
#

I'll porbably just have my great old ones be from unknown planes, like planes between planes like pandorym

#

Like tbh, I forgot that basically anything in D&D can be canon

#

But to summarize, thanks for all the help with lore stuff

#

Also, how rare are dragon bones?

#

Because the augury spell requires things like gem encrusted sticks or dragon bones to cast as examples the spell gives

#

But then it says you just need something worth at least 25 gp

white ravine
# eager bay Also, how rare are dragon bones?

Dragons are decently frequent and between their infighting, old age, or adventurers there are sure to be some dragon bones floating around a larger city or magic school specifically to be scooped up by wannabe diviners.

eager bay
white ravine
#

In the right places of course. Doubt many small villages will keep spare dragon bones around, especially without being reduced to cinders.

unkempt merlin
#

Fwiw nothing about augury requires dragons bones specifically, just bones generically

eager bay
#

So you could use 25 gold pieces

unkempt merlin
#

No you couldn't, but that's moving outside the scope of the lore channel

eager bay
#

Well it requires the stuff to be valued at least at 25 gp

#

Also

iron saffron
eager bay
#

Ok

serene crater
#

Quick question but would t
Thay have any other people except humans? I remember hearing from someone they were pretty racist (at least the red wizards) towards non Mulan humans but I forget if thats the red wizards in specific or thay in its entirety

white ravine
#

Humans, gnolls, orcs, dwarves, goblins, halflings, etc.

#

Thay's got a good mix

#

The red wizards themselves are human, mostly Mulan.

serene crater
#

Any tabaxi

white ravine
#

None in the red wizards, but there's probably a tabaxi or two running around the Thayan countryside.

serene crater
#

Ah

white ravine
#

Though as always, your game your rules.

#

Who knows. Maybe one's a tabaxi with a hat of disguise on.

iron saffron
#

On Toril, the tabaxi originally settled in the Chult peninsula, migrating over from Maztica

serene crater
#

I have a player who wanted to be a tabaxi in an assasins guild with close connections to thay, though I wasn't too sure of that possibility

iron saffron
#

The Red Wizards are pretty racist towards non-humans, no?

#

When I think seminal bad guys in Faeren I think Red Wizards and the Zhents.

white ravine
#

Are they?

#

Genuinely, I don't know anything on Thay lol.

iron saffron
#

Back in the 2E FR days they were the main bad guys in the modules and CRPGs.

white ravine
#

The racism part though?

iron saffron
#

Slavers. Hmm... my memory is foggy about it so I had the assumption they're racist against non-humans.

white ravine
#

Yeah, same

#

I genuinely cant recall

iron saffron
crude blaze
#

Like I think the book mentions that races like orcs and centaurs are tolerated, but only because the Mulani believe they can be employed as strong workers.

#

Not as intolerant as not allowing them into Thayan society, but still really scummy.

thick wing
#

how canon is the Dnd movie?

#

I have never looked that much into dnd lore as I have only ever played homebrew campaigns

#

but seeing the dnd film. and now a while later playing baldur's gate 3

#

it got me thinking about how canon the dnd film is

#

since elminster aumar appears in baldurs gate 3, and is technically shown in the dnd film, but is mostly referenced. as he is not alive during the time period of the film. but he does appear when simon aumar attempts to attune with the helmet of disjunction

#

So my main question is, is the dnd film canon? and do we know if there is a chance for anything to happen involving the characters in the film. or referencing the events in it

iron saffron
#

I would say neither BG3 nor the D&D movie are "canon" because they're not official books published by WotC.
https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/dungeons-dragons-canon-roleplaying-game-novels/

"If you're looking for what's official in the D&D roleplaying game, it's what appears in the products for the roleplaying game," Crawford said. "Basically, our stance is that if it has not appeared in a book since 2014 [the year that Dungeons & Dragons' Fifth Edition core rulebooks came out], we don't consider it canonical for the games."

#

That said, Ed Greenwood considers the events in the movie canon:
https://www.cbr.com/neverwinter-forgotton-realms-ed-greenwood-brett-norton-interview/

Greenwood: Yes. I realized that it's difficult to reconcile cannon. There are two super fans of the realms -- Eric Boyd and George Krashos, who have published official stuff as well -- who have made an entire career of pouncing on apparent contradictions and explaining them away by generating new lore that actually explains away that contradiction, and I love it! They always pass them to me, and I go, "Oh, goody!" Gleeful, jumping, leaping around. I will always try [to] reconcile contradictory or apparently contradictory canon. Of course, one of the big ways of doing that is everything we know about the Forgotten Realms comes to us through unreliable narrators.

magic jackal
thick wing
magic jackal
#

it was most likely never really Elminster to begin with, just a manifestation of his lack of self confidence externalized in a magical way

thick wing
magic jackal
#

so in that way it doesn't necessarily 'break' canon

thick wing
#

Whilst he is related to elminster

#

That wasnt elminster himself

#

Just a manifestation of simons doubts?

iron saffron
#

Elminster hasn't officially appeared in 5E yet, correct?

thick wing
#

Also, funny coincidence that most of the people that use this channel are dm’s

iron saffron
#

Why would that be a funny coincidence? I would say DMs tend to care more about lore than players since they have more of a hand to shape their campaign setting.

thick wing
thick wing
iron saffron
#

I don't miss him. He's been too prevalent in all editions...

thick wing
iron saffron
thick wing
iron saffron
#

That's why I asked if he has officially appeared in 5E yet.

thick wing
iron saffron
#

Nope. Apparently he has been mentioned.

thick wing
#

Tracking back to if the dnd film itself is canon

#

Ed greenwood seems to have stated that the film is canon

#

But idk the validity of his claims

iron saffron
#

I linked that above already

thick wing
#

I copied that from the imdb website so I thought it was a different link. Sorry

thick wing
iron saffron
#

Sorry I linked an interview with him mentioning the movie and canon.

thick wing
#

Sorry that came off as a bit mean

#

Getting tone across with only text is a hard thing to do

iron saffron
#

No worries.

thick wing
#

Getting back on track. What classes as canon?

#

For the FR that is

iron saffron
#

Which edition?

thick wing
#

5e. Cus that’s what I’m most familiar with ig

#

Is it the information from the campaign books? Minus the story of it, as that is down to player and dm choice

iron saffron
#

Pretty much.

thick wing
#

And the dnd film is considered canon? Cus the guy in charge said so?

sage hearth
#

would that make us cannon by watching it or is that too meta

iron saffron
#

There was an article that went into more specifics but it seems like WotC only considers its published books 2014 and forward to be canon.

thick wing
iron saffron
thick wing
#

Cus I assume older versions would have more books and therefore more lore which could contradict the new 5e lore?

sage hearth
#

wait that would make xanathars guide to everything non-cannon thenn

iron saffron
#

?

sage hearth
#

same thing with tasha's couldren

iron saffron
#

2014 and onwards...

#

Those two books were published after 2014.

sage hearth
#

ohhh i misread whoospeis

thick wing
#

I wont lie. This is still very confusing. Not the whats canon part. I’ve got the grips of it

#

But like. I barely understand what the forgotten realms are

iron saffron
#

Like DC Comics' glut of lore, there were a lot of crappy D&D novels and comics in the 2E and 3E era...

spark haven
#

"Canon" isn't as binary as it seems

#

There's many many many canons

thick wing
#

I know the key words. Faerun, baldurs gate. Neverwinter. But like. Idk what they mean

spark haven
#

even official canons

#

and many of them overlap significantly

thick wing
#

I know neverwinter is the city in the film. And baldurs gate is a city too

iron saffron
sage hearth
iron saffron
#

Think the of the Sword Coast as the Pacific-Northwest of the US.

thick wing
iron saffron
#

Faerun is like Europe.

thick wing
# sage hearth pov dnd lore https://i.imgflip.com/2rj8rq.png

Me like an hour ago when I whent on a ramble in a server with my friends about how in my version of bg3. Since my character is called edgin darvis. And has met someone of the aumar bloodline. There will be 2 bards called edgin darvis who have met an aumar. And some other stuff. I can’t remember whay I said. I was too hyper

thick wing
thick wing
iron saffron
#

I highly doubt it. They haven't been mentioned in the past 30+ years.

magic jackal
#

And now WoTC is slowly moving away from the Forgotten Realms as a default setting

torpid quartz
neat snow
#

so are we ever going to explore the region of kara-tur again? The one that is heavily inspired by various east asian cultures and mythologies?

Seems like it'd be a great change of pace from the usual Western European based Fantasy

sharp owl
#

Given that the setting is less "inspired by" and is more "insulting caricatures of with zero sensitivity or respect for", it's very unlikely

#

The products associated with that setting, and the setting itself, is a myriad of tropes, cliches, and appropriated culture elements

#

Don't just take my work for it, check out Asian's Represents on youtube. They do a deep dive on the books across multiple editions and really do some great analysis

neat snow
#

feel like that could be easily solved by getting people who are good writers and actually know the mythology of those regions and cultures - and would do a good job translating them to D&D.

Also be good opportunity for more genuine and respectful cultural diversity and representation

sharp owl
#

I think the setting is too mired in harmful tropes to be worth saving

neat snow
#

If the old books are that bad - then scrap it and re-do it. It's no different than ignoring it

#

They have the resources now to make teams that are dedicated to making sure it is respectful and treated with sensitivity

sharp owl
#

it doesn't work like that, it'd still draw attention to the old content

#

They can't erase all the old kara-tur stuff from existence

neat snow
#

But they already are by just ignoring it

sharp owl
#

No they're not?

#

They're just not drawing attention to it

#

Doesn't matter how good a hypothetical new release was, someone searching for more info on Kara-tur is still going to come across the older content

#

What's more likely is stuff like Radiant Citadel; a fresh start with none of the old baggage

neat snow
#

Isn't that the point of PR to just say; "Hey that old stuff was terrible so we decided to re do all of it with teams composed of people that it is representing to get it right - and not based on views rooted in stereotypes"

sharp owl
#

Eh, I would just say "don't hold your breath"

neat snow
#

All I'm saying is - if there's clearly a demand for more fantasy based on asian mythos considering franchises like Naruto, One Piece, Demon Slayer, and the Last Airbender - why can we not see that mythos translated to D&D?

Especially as a way to get more representation into the world - there are more cultures than just Western European ones

sharp owl
#

That's a different proposition from "bring back this setting with a very long, problematic history of representation of pan-asian culture"

#

You can have what you're asking without Kara-tur and all it's garbage

neat snow
#

what other regions are there that would fit that idea? Do we just say that it's a neighboring region of Kara-Tur and continue ignoring the latter?

And if a region was so poorly written and executed why keep it if there is clearly shame in its existence - its effectively useless - unless completely scrapped and rewritten. It could even have a totally different name.

I just don't see the practicality and I think that ignoring it just makes it worse

#

The Asian Represent Podcast, their deep dive of Kara-Tur, as they break down the problems with it while also offering their alternatives to improve it.

This is what I'm talking about, getting a team of people who know what they're talking about and do translating it to D&D fantasy properly

sharp owl
#

That's part 1 of a series and that part alone clocks in at 1h48m so excuse me if I'm incredulous that you have taken in what they have to say on the topic in 14 minutes

#

There are 14 episodes total, so that should convey the scope of problems with the setting

neat snow
#

I'm still listening to it. So no I have not listened to the whole thing yet. I put a link there for people to easily find it, since you mentioned it previously.

But it's good so far - making excellent critiques - and has been proving my point that a team like this podcast who know what they are talking about would be good for completely scrapping and redoing what was done.

It just further cements that if what is there is so bad and problematic, then the best thing would be to get rid of it and announce it as non-cannon. There is literally zero point in keeping it.

And if the concern is any attention given to old Kara-Tur, well any attempt of adapting asian fantasy to Forgotten realms is going to do that regardless.

Because all one has to do is type "D&D Asian inspired Fantasy" or "Forgotten Realms Asia" and Kara-Tur will be at top of the list or there will basically be no resources available whatsoever and then people will wonder why and then stumble upon Kara-Tur.

I know because that's exactly what happened to me.

And fear of old material being talked about shouldn't stop progress from being made to make things right.

Because what that starts to sound like is that doing any translation of asian fantasy to D&D is problematic - when that clearly doesn't have to be the case as there are people from various asian countries and backgrounds have made their own D&D worlds based on Asian myths and fantasy.

like we see in this article: https://anthropolitan.org/2021/10/11/homebrewing-asia-how-dungeons-dragons-in-singapore-is-remaking-western-fantasy/

or a homebrew game called "Desis & Dragons" which is inspired by Indian mythology

I'd also add that getting a team who handles Asian culture and mythological representation would be a good thing even now with creatures like the Naga (mythical serpents from places like Korea and India) already existing in the game. Ensuring that the Asian aspects already in the game are done right.

neat snow
#

in that video, at about 40 min in, the Podcast host talk about how despite that Kara-Tur was published in 1998 - it still effects modern D&D as it is mentioned in both the current Dungeon Masters Guide and the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide.

because it's outdated caricature is till described in modern D&D.

So clearly, pretending it doesn't exist is Not solving the problem which the podcast demonstrates with their analysis.

spark haven
#

It's helpful to remember that Wizards isn't a artists' commune. It's a business. Yes, creatively, it'd be super satisfying to bring better representation and variety to the world. But they'd have to pay artists to do that, and they'd have to make that money back on sales after. They're spinning a lot of plates and "re-do Kara-Tur" just isn't high on the list

#

And let's not forget how well a "simple facelift" went with the hadozee

crude blaze
#

Aside from the fact that WOTC hasn’t really developed that robust of a system for psionics, there’s just a lot of ick factor to that setting that isn’t just as easy as cutting out or glossing over.

spark haven
#

don't get me wrong, I'd love source-books that aren't basically racist chick tracts. but i acknowledge the reality of the "free" market

#

i actually don't know anything about Dark Sun

#

probably before my time?

#

or at least a source book none of my friends ever had

crude blaze
#

I wanna say it’s from 91?

#

Anyways, it’s a setting based on nigh-apocalyptic sword-and-sandals. Conan the Barbarian, John Carter of Mars, that kind of stuff.

spark haven
#

okay, not a catastrophe so far

crude blaze
#

Except it has a heavy focus on slavery that makes it kinda tough for a wide audience to want it back

spark haven
#

there it is

#

yeah i was just thinking in my head "okay let women and people of color have character agency, and don't be pro-slavery and you're fine"

#

so it makes sense they'd do the obvious thing you wouldn't want to do

crude blaze
#

Problem is, like with every other classic setting that gets redone, WOTC has to find a balance of what to change to make newer customers happy, and what stays the same to make the older customers happy

#

And it has been pretty clear, even within this server that it’s a pretty mixed bag.

#

So I think WOTC decided that, especially after the hadozee incident, it’s probably best to just not touch Dark Sun.

spark haven
#

Maintenance is hard. I'm a sysadmin, I know a thing about maintaining legacy systems

#

Sometimes, you have to drop the whole thing and start from scratch

crude blaze
#

Plus, as mentioned earlier, Dark Sun had a big focus on psionics, which 5E really hasn’t done particularly robustly aside from just calling it flavor.

spark haven
#

Regulatory requirements change, your market demographics change

#

Your staffing capabilities and company values change

#

heck, users just grow up over time

#

physically aging and acquiring new, different responsibilities and inerests

#

all of this to say i think it's perfectly fine and good to ditch some of the old stuff

#

An unreasonable fixation on the way things used to be done is arguably part of why we're in this situation to begin with

crude blaze
sharp owl
#

I think with both Kara-tur and Dark Sun, the amount of work that would be required making the settings less problematic could be committed to making new settings that aren't (in theory) problematics from the outset. Then you get the added benefits of not dredging up all the gross stuff before and emboldening people to say "Oh, I see they've released X but taken all the stuff I like out of it, I'm just gonna put it back in as it once was", or worse, having people go "Oh wow, a setting that represents me" (in the case of Kara-tur) only for them to deep dive and find it wasn't always that way

#

Literally the only benefit of reincarnating these settings is cashing in on nostalgia value, which imo isn't a compelling reason

#

Elgate has the recipts, but the lore for Dark Sun is terrible and Kara-tur isn't much better. Ignoring it isn't erasing it, but I think it's the best it deserves. Kara-tur isn't the only way to represent pan-asian culture, so you can't equate "Ignore Kara-tur" with "ignore pan-asian culture". Likewise we can do grim, desperate, sword-and-sandles post apocolapytic settings without suggesting (or outright saying) "hey, sometimes slavery is okay..."

chilly jay
#

Hey guys, quick lore question, Way of the Astral Self Monk, is it a new concept in dnd in general or has it appeared before in other editions? I want to read more about their lore to make something special for one of my players but Tasha's entries about the subclass are lacking

sharp owl
#

it's a new concept, yeah

#

It's a take on giving classes some psionic flavour without focusing on psionics

#

As such, there's not really much lore about them

chilly jay
#

Right right, so I'll hit the books still, just perhaps focusing on psionics

sharp owl
#

4th edition monks were, if I remember correctly, much more psionc inspired so you might find some good lore there

chilly jay
#

Gotcha, thanks!

iron saffron
# neat snow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrXEbcRUZfE

Watch Youtuber Don't Stop Thinking's series of reimagining Kara-Tur to make it more up to date and properly have East and South-East Asia influences.

Kara-Tur hasn't been touched in 30 years so IMO (I'm Chinese-Canadian who has played D&D since 1981) there's no problem updating it rather than throwing it out. (Ironically, one of the podcasters wrote an adventure for Candlekeep Mysteries and he used kung fu movie tropes for it...)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4KY5E2XiF8&list=PLJmFJXf3BXjx_y5md19s6ouu0dz7C8CwK

neat snow
sharp owl
#

Ironically, one of the podcasters wrote an adventure for Candlekeep Mysteries and he used kung fu movie tropes for it...)
I'm not sure how that's irony?

#

Person who advocates sensitive depictions of culture, ideally by people from that culture, writes adventure that sensitively (from his lived experience) depicts an aspect of their own culture

iron saffron
#

It's also my culture

#

So I have get to have an opinion on his take on it.

sharp owl
#

That doesn't change the meaning of irony though....

iron saffron
#

I find it ironic. That's an opinion.

neat snow
# sharp owl Literally the only benefit of reincarnating these settings is cashing in on nost...

Except in this case it’s not the only reason.

The other reason being would be to explore the rest of the world of Faerun.

Yes, the old stuff is bad - we can all see that. But are we just going to say that entire region of a popular world (even more so now thanks to Baldur’s Gate 3) should just be ignored?

Do we just move where the cultures they are based on live? Or do we just say “Nah we are never going to explore the cultures those regions are based on ever again because our previous attempt was bad”

sharp owl
#

You can explore the rest of Faerun without going to an existing place

#

There's loads of blank space in Faerun, and wider Toril beyond that

#

There's zero necessity to revisit any place

neat snow
#

And what if we want Chinese or Japanese inspired fantasy?

Just trying to wrap my head around this - are you saying that we essentially do a take 2 of that but do it somewhere else in Faerun?

If so great - when is WotC going to do that rather than just keeping descriptions of Kara-Tur. Why not just stop mentioning that region altogether in 5E and make up a new one that does a better job

sharp owl
#

I have literally been saying that the whole time; that people with lived experience get brought on to sensitively represent pan-asian cultures from all across the east-asian region without

  1. Smashing them all together to make some insulting abberation like Kara-tur
  2. Without forcing them into the existing corpse of Kara-tur
#

Which is getting beyond the scope of this channel, as is "when", that's not a question anyone can answer

neat snow
#

Hm I see, in that case - wouldn’t it make sense, in some eventuality when there’s a ‘global map’ of sorts, that the region just doesn’t exist anymore.

modest badger
#

I mean that happens. Kara-tur was at one point in Greyhawk in the Fate of Istus modules, before being removed.

sharp owl
#

They may simply avoid ever presenting a comprehensive map

#

And instead leave things open for people to build their own Faerun

grim dagger
#

Also look at what has happened with things like Abeir-Toril.

modest badger
#

Blackmoor also jumps through different settings.
Greyhawk had an extended map at times too, but then often new editions and modules ignore what snippets were previously said about those other places. Retcons, removals and such are common. So them ignoring some of the old lore and making a new location and lore wouldn't be unheard of.

sharp owl
#

From what I've seen, the map of the Outlands has been changed for the new Sigil book

#

Nothing significant, but still, don't ever treat lore as a factual, historical thing

#

It mainly seems to be the renaming of some locations plus a few new ones

neat snow
#

Well in that case I guess I’ll be waiting for a team to do it right. Would really enjoy a setting with pan-Asian cultural representation and does it right. Would like to explore how they interpret creatures and gods in those mythologies.

Does anyone have any recommendations for Asian inspired regions in Faerun besides Radiant Citadel?

sharp owl
#

(Radiant Citadel isn't in Faerun)

neat snow
#

Ok well in Faerun

unkempt merlin
#

Yea just cause a pan asian setting doesn't exist in faerun (which is a weird turn of phrase anyway) doesn't mean a new setting couldn't be made.

modest badger
#

One thing about Kara-tur I find interesting is that is actually only had a short life in D&D.
The 1985 Oriental Adventures and 1988 2nd editon Karatur book. Nine adventures between 1986 and 1990. It was then occasioanally referenced in Dragon/ Dungeon magazine or breifly mentioned in some other Faerun books (and one of the AD&D comic books):
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_source_material_on_Kara-Tur
It never really survived past 2e.

sharp owl
#

AFAIK there's a lot of space unexplored over the ocean west of the Sword Coast

unkempt merlin
#

There are two entire completely unexplored continents

modest badger
#

I Suppose there is one 4e Dungeon magazine module for Karatur and... Hmmmmmmmmm:

The town of Kudoku is in despair. Its magistrate (called a daikan in Kara-Tur) recently challenged the power of a group of assassins known as the Five Deadly Shadows, but died in the attempt. The Shadows represent the corruption of the virtues of Bushido, a code of conduct used by samurai warriors in feudal Japan. The seven virtues are used in this adventure to represent the principles that guide Kara-Tur society. Each event focuses on one virtue, allowing the players and their characters to gain an understanding of these societal principles. By mastering the seven virtues, the characters can more easily defeat the Five Deadly Shadows.

HMMMMMM.

sharp owl
#

😬

neat snow
neat snow
modest badger
#

There are 3PP content for 5e that focus on other cultures.
Sina Una I've heard a lot fo good things about as a Filipino inspired setting for 5e.

unkempt merlin
#

I think the big thing to remember is they are intentionally moving away from the FR as the default setting for 5e

#

(Which isn't as big a deal as people act, as the FR has never been the sole default setting for all of dnd's history)

sharp owl
#

Moving away from it being the default doesn't mean no content for FR though

unkempt merlin
#

Yes

sharp owl
#

It just means it won't be the assumed setting for not setting/adventure books

#

Well, I say that, even Bigby's was still kinda FR adjacent more so than any other setting

unkempt merlin
#

Just cause they are intentionally doing it doesn't mean they are doing a good job at it. Most of the books being released are still heavily linked to the FR if they aren't a specific setting book

sharp owl
#

Well I think it's more a case of some game elements, such as giant, have more developed lore within certain settings

#

Or the lore is so varied and disparate between settings that you kinda have to pick one

#

I suspect the Bigby lore isn't even intentionally FR adjacent, it's just that the FR lore has the most generic giant lore anyway

unkempt merlin
#

Or MMM making a bunch of races linked with specific FR centric gods

#

Despite being multiversal

sharp owl
#

ok

neat snow
#

Its getting to a point where it might be better if game rules and game settings are different books/materials. But that immediately gets complicated when considering how things like Warlocks and Sorcerers work across settings or if every setting has those types of spell casters - but this is venturing into #dnd-rules

crude blaze
#

They hang out in their astral summer villas between Wildspaces

sharp owl
#

I love and hate that mental image

crude blaze
#

Big Love and Thunder vibes

sharp owl
#

"Oh, I winter in Faerun, summer in the Astral Sea, but spend the off season in Krynn where i go by 'Tarkisis', hehe"

crude blaze
#

I can’t wait to visit an astral dominion in my Spelljammer game

#

Or a dead god

sharp owl
#

The Githyanki live on the corpse of a dead god, right?

crude blaze
#

Yep

neat snow
crude blaze
#

I gather dead gods make for good dungeons

sharp owl
crude blaze
#

Tu’narath

sharp owl
#

Just rolls off the tongue

thick wing
#

petition to make dnd place names easier to pronounce

#

my dislexic ass does not appreciate it

#

haha

eager bay
#

What does limbo contain?

grim siren
thick wing
white ravine
#

It's the type of place where a loaf of bread can explode into butterflies that turn into droplets of water that rain down onto a giant rock which goes from basalt to gold and back twice every picosecond.

#

The place is a complete nightmare

eager bay
#

How much could I sell a staff of the python for?

white ravine
#

Depends on the buyer, tbh.

spark haven
#

a very poor person who needs it very badly would offer more than a very rich person who doesn't

eager bay
#

50pp is beyond ridiculous though

#

Right?

iron saffron
#

Ask your DM. Not really a lore question. (5E's magic prices are vague. There are third parties on DMs Guild that offer a better guide to magic item price values)

spark haven
#

the thing is, money only has value insofar as there are things to spend it on. You could offer me a billion billion billion platinum pieces for my waterskin in the middle of the desert. Even if you had that much money, it'd be completely useless and i'd be a fool to sell it to you

#

and the DM is the one who decides what's available for purchase

eager bay
#

So I'm trying to figure out if the DM may have just been trying to take back their mistake since this is their third time DMimg

spark haven
#

I can't speak for that DM, but if you're a player and I offer you 50PP, that's a quantity of money i never expect you to actually spend

#

it's a prop for something

#

Unless we're playing a game that's explicitly about personally bankrolling a brand-new city-state or something.

#

and even then i probably wouldn't offer it in coin form

#

it'd probably mostly be equity or assets of some sort

#

But you could, you know, just ask

#

Your DM is a human being, I'm guessing yall speak a common language. "I feel" statements can be helpful here. "When we lost all that money in the casino, I feel like it might've been an attempt to undo a perceived mistake, is that true?"

iron saffron
spark haven
#

This is a long shot: anyone familiar with the Unbandig [sic] Sea? I'm working with this adventure module from the may/june 1993 edition of Dungeon and the whole thing is framed as a self-contained adventure so like i said it's a long shot that it was situated anywhere particular, but I've got several groups of players who are all attached to their characters so I'm looking for threads/connections i might use to pivot

#

i did some cursory research and came up with nothin

iron saffron
#

Greyhawk?

spark haven
#

I'm honestly not sure, the PDF I have doesn't say as far as I've seen

#

and I've transcribed 90% of it into Obsidian

#

like i said it's incredibly likely that this is just a self-contained place, just thought i'd give it a shot here

#

Oh yeah, Volkrad is the only other named location

#

Two clues

iron saffron
#

I wouldn't be surprised if was a self contained. I don't see any sea with that name on the Oerth map.

spark haven
#

Makes sense

#

No sweat, that means I can just drop it wherevere's convenient

#

time to improvise

iron saffron
#

What's the name of the adventure?

spark haven
#

Old Man Katan and the Incredible, Edible Dancing Mushroom Band

#

i've adapted it to 5e and i'm having a blast

iron saffron
#

The Dungeon Magazine adventures tend to be campaign setting agnostic and if they aren't they would mention which setting it's set in.

#

I'll have to check it out.

spark haven
#

yeah, that's how i'd run it too

eager bay
#

I know this is a bit of a longshot, but

#

I've always wondered why gods would bother giving their powers to a mere mortal

#

Is there the possibility that who a cleric thinks is their patron deity is in fact a sugar daddy?

white ravine
eager bay
#

And then there's the question as to how many clerics a deity would need anyway

#

different from your run-of-the-mill priest ofc

white ravine
#

Well, for a god to be a god the minimum requirement is 100k worshippers

#

A god doesn't necessarily need clerics, but a cleric helps spread influence at the cost of a god's total power

spark haven
narrow silo
#

Hi guys, which god is the most connected to the… domain (?) of “defending the realm against a threat from the Far Realms”?

spark haven
#

They can only be in so many places (even if it's multiple), they have limited/imperfect knowledge, and they only have so much power ( even if it's greater than the power held by any single mortal )

#

Effective leaders delegate.

eager bay
spark haven
#

Godhood comes in many flavors

#

Ao is arguably tri-omni

#

But Selune? Gruumsh? Bhaal?

eager bay
#

there's also the matter of that maybe the gods themselves could be unable to intervene directly at all, so they need mortals to act on their behest

spark haven
#

They're all explicitly finite

eager bay
#

I'm not sure how to word this, but it's basically that they exist as 12-dimensional beings compared to the 4-dimensional space you, me, and your dog live in.

spark haven
#

I mean, it's basically just the allegory of the cave with math words in it. What we see is a projection, an approximation of some more complex reality

eager bay
#

Their existence is such that they are basically incapable of interacting in 4-dimensional space, since it'd be like me saying to you "Deezy, turn into a 1-dimensional being for me."

white ravine
#

It's also important to note that unlike us, gods can see things we can't. We exist in the world, they are part of the world. They're operating on a whole other echelon.

spark haven
#

A great point

eager bay
#

^

spark haven
#

Gods have perspectives and senses we can't even imagine

#

Finite or not, they're making choices based on information we don't have access to.

eager bay
#

Another power move inbound, did we create the gods in our image or vice versa?

white ravine
#

It's a chicken and the egg situation, but we know that the start was the chicken.

#

Gods came first, then created things including us. Then we began to worship, and gods split and fragmented down into more gods. Those gods also created, and the cycle repeated.

eager bay
#

I'm gonna go with MegaTen's take on it, where Ao (who for our intents and purposes be an avatar of the Axiom) would be the chicken, but all the other gods were made by us in our image

#

since those gods are basically thoughtforms given sentience for lack of a better way to put it

white ravine
#

Well...not every.

#

IIRC, Ao even took a hand in the god-making process.

eager bay
drowsy wraith
#

Do lolth and tiamat get along

#

One is kinda infernal and the other sorta abyssal so I'm guessing not but was wondering what you think of them plotting to rule hell and the abyss together

sharp owl
#

"Get along" is a very mortal concept

#

Deities generally either have aligned goals in which case they may cooperate, or opposed goals in which case they come into conflict

#

Otherwise they don't interact

modest badger
#

In the forgotten realms it's associated with Chult and based on the Ikwla :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assegai#Iklwa
In that way it's not setting specific- it's a weapon based on a RL weapon and so could be used in any campaign.

sharp owl
#

I think it can still be setting specific in the sense that it doesn't exist in any other setting, while still being based on a real world weapon

#

Like, I think the double bladed scimitar (Eberron) and Hoopak (Krynn) are based (loosely) on real world weapons?

#

Not meaning to be too contrary, I just don't necessarily agree with (or maybe understand?) the assertion that because it's based on an IRL weapon, it's not setting specific?

modest badger
#

Sling staffs do exist in a few cultures yeah.
I guess that is true from a D&D lore perspective it's just very strange to me to think a weapon get's limited to a setting, despite being a real life weapon, just because it's exotic to us

sharp owl
#

While I get that from a non-diegetic, design perspective, from a lore perspective it is what it is, right?

#

The weapons in the basic rules are assumed to exist across all settings, and weapons specific to a setting are introduced in the context of that setting

#

Basically, we have nothing to go on to suggest double bladed scimitars exist on Toril, yklwa's exist on Krynn, or hoopaks exist on Eberron?

modest badger
#

I know it just seems strange like if someone asked "Hey so is a Guisarme setting specific, I've only heard of (insert FR city) guards using it?" I feel like more people would answer "Oh no, it's just another type of european polearm like the glaive, that module was just being specific about what type" where as when it's something that sounds 'exotic' it's only allowed to exist in a setting if previously mentioned?

But then that is kinda what D&D implies, when it has a section in the DMG for introducing 'Wuxia' (AKA, Asian weapons mostly from Japan and China) weapons as if they are a variant and not the norm.

sharp owl
#

Whereas we have lots of suggestions that shortswords, glaives, and longbows exist on all those settings

#

Oooooh, okay, now I'm tracking you

#

The BR weapons represent templates of weapon archtypes and why shouldn't the yklwa, hoopak, or dbs be treated just the same just because they're based on "exotic" weapons rather than familiar ones?

#

We don't have a gladius because that's basically a shortsword, so why isn't the same true for the hoopak being a in relation to any form of sling staff?

modest badger
#

Yeah basically. It's the feeling of accidently treating a real life thing as a unique fantasy thing, where as things like the Drow tentacle whips feel like they are fantasy and thus specific only to the setting that have drow with those whips (although bad example as those whips are treated as pretty universal now). But along those lines. It's not like these are unique to that setting made up fantasy weapons.

But then I guess this falls into D&D being very European based and similar to a player asking if they can have a Katana in any setting. It feels like the Katana shouldn't be setting specific, while it also doesn't yet feel part of the norm in most settings.

sharp owl
#

I think there's two discussions happening here; what is and what ought

#

As it stands, I think what is is that the weapons are setting specific, and this is a reflection of some core biases in the way different cultures are viewed

modest badger
#

I feel like this is the Lore version of RAW and RAI

sharp owl
#

What ought is that the bias shouldn't exist and those weapons shouldn't be setting specific. Or more accurately they should have generic names and then setting specific names

#

ie "A sling staff, known as a hoopak on Krynn..." or "a shortspear, known as a yklwa in Chult..."

#

Is that a fair take?

modest badger
#

Yeah that's my take on this like:

LAW (Lore as written)- Yklwa are only mentioned in FR (Afaik) and being used in Chult. In 5e they are in ToA.
LAI- Yklwa are real weapons, but not assumed as part of the base game, so similar to Katana and other weapons not listed in the PHB equipment weapons would need to be discussed with the DM before using, but shouldn't be assumed to be 'setting specific'.

#

Like it'd be strange to say 'Katana are setting specific to Forgotten Realms' because they've only been mentioned in a few FR sources, but not yet any Greyhawk or Eberron so on. But saying 'So far Forgotten Realms is the only setting that has had Katana canonically' is also correct.

#

(Other settings might have katana, using more as an example here)

sharp owl
#

Yeah, makes sense

#

Also I like the idea of

  • LAW (lore as written): what has been explicitly stated about the lore of a setting
  • LAI (lore as inferred): what can be inferred about a setting based on reading between the lines and looking a the game from a meta level
marble sail
#

is the Yklwa a setting specific weapon?

sharp owl
marble sail
#

k

#

Thank you both

hazy fox
#

Also I found an excerpt from Kara-Tur on Shou Lung.
Like not having swords or at least swordplay due to "not having thousandfold techniques like Kozakura and Wa".
Then have an art of two not!Chinese fighters using swords with one of them using Jian.
Then magical items being long swords.

sharp owl
hazy fox
sharp owl
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Doesn't seem relevant

#

There was no mention of Kara-tur there

hazy fox
#

Yeah.
Just that part of me want to discuss on How do you say like…trying to make even more exotic…by trying to pigeonhole weapon style.
Sorry about that.

sharp owl
#

Not everything has to be about Kara-tur and OA.....

hazy fox
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True, kinda jump the gun on this one and maybe reduce my obsession about talking it.

sharp owl
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Might be advisable, all things considered

hazy fox
#

Part of me had a topic in mind about it, but maybe another time.
But in a change of subject.

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Is there any mentions of there is trade and diplomatic mission of Evermeet in Forgotten Realms lore?

#

Like maybe specific open port for non Elves, or chartered merchant organization to keep tabs on other kingdoms.

quartz cradle
#

are there set guidelines about how much a dhampir does/doesn't have the same features as a vampire? mostly in terms of powers and weaknesses.

#

or is that kinda loosey goosey "take as much or as little as you like"

sharp owl
#

Dhampir is a lineage intended to cover a lot of options, from you being a failed transformation to one your parents being a vampire to you being exposed to vampiric magic

unkempt merlin
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Powers are pretty well defined however.

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At least in terms of mechanics

sharp owl
#

As such, there are no fixed rules by design on what features you have

#

You might look completely mortal except for slightly elongated canines
You might be paler than average
You might sparkle in the sunlight or look like a gaunt skeletal figure

#

Dhampir's aren't one thing, they're an umbrella option

crude blaze
#

Same with the other two lineages (though I personally have a hard time seeing the Hexblood as anything other than the hag origin).

sharp owl
#

I've seen it used to represent people affected by magic or the fey or other eldritch sources

tardy wasp
#

To anyone who already has Glory of the Giants on DnDBeyond, does it provide any new lore on goliaths and firbolgs, or at least restate some of the lore from Volo's since that's no longer in print?

sharp owl
#

It does provide some new lore, yeah. Not a load and I don't think it restates anything from Volo's

crude blaze
#

But still, I feel like the lore as-written doesn’t quite lean itself into being anything more than hag child

timid estuary
sharp owl
#

It's generally not good discord ettiquette to ping someone in response to a message that's multiple days old

eager bay
tame locust
#

Is there lore o the changelings? Do they favor any religions?

unkempt merlin
#

What setting

tame locust
unkempt merlin
#

then I don't think anyone can help. Changeling lore is pretty varied depending on setting. Changeling in Eberron are very different than in the FR for example.

tame locust
#

I'm looking for a deity that has interests in shapeshifting, cloning, or otherwise making multiple versions of people

eager bay
#

Are Duergar the Drow of Dwarves?

white ravine
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Pretty much. Some differences lore-wise, but pretty much.

iron saffron
magic jackal
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They're looking for a God of that domain from any setting I gather, to import to their own setting.

static oracle
coral ermine
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Can you change a God’s thinking?

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Like prove them wrong.

white ravine
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Yup. They're not omniscient.

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However it's hard to convince gravity that down goes up.

coral ermine
#

Yeah.

magic jackal
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Theoretically, but impossibly unlikely

coral ermine
#

I want my Undead character to make Kelemvor think that not all Undead that choose to live do it for evil.

#

He is a Neutral Good skeleton Wizard

wintry elm
#

Hey how tall can aOwlin and Aaracockra get? like their smallest to their tallest

magic jackal
magic jackal
wintry elm
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And like the guy looked at least 6-7ft compared to the person

magic jackal
#

Owlin are people too

wintry elm
#

Lol

iron saffron
#

WotC seem to have done away with the height and weight range of playable races because "Hey, players, you make it up!"

magic jackal
#

Yeah they just say "Small or Medium"

hazy fox
#

Last time they try Large was Dark Sun...and I think it was videogame.
Plus unless DM prepared, not many modules are Large or Tiny friendly.

magic jackal
#

They didn't make anything for Dark Sun for 5e. Prior editions did have Large Size races, although I think 4e did away with them as well.

unique bough
#

does anyone know much info about kara-tur and shou lung. a lot of info is behind like 30 year old books which are hard to find and based when dnd was in it's early stages so lots of lore and creatures would be very different

modest badger
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That's just it- Kara-tur was really a 2e only setting, with only some dungeon and dragon magazines in later editions. It was a very short lived location

modest badger
# modest badger One thing about Kara-tur I find interesting is that is actually only had a short...

One thing about Kara-tur I find interesting is that is actually only had a short life in D&D.
The 1985 Oriental Adventures and 1988 2nd editon Karatur book. Nine adventures between 1986 and 1990. It was then occasioanally referenced in Dragon/ Dungeon magazine or breifly mentioned in some other Faerun books (and one of the AD&D comic books):
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_source_material_on_Kara-Tur
It never really survived past 2e. It had one 4e dungeon magazine module which was.. bad.

#

It did have two 3.5 Dragon Magazine articles, and a bunch of 4e Dragon magazine articles.

errant owl
#

Is there any reference to the Living Gate and Shardminds in 5E?

sharp owl
#

Nope, 4e exclusive

#

They're part of the 4e cosmology and take on the Dawn War

heavy fulcrum
#

Asked this in the newcomers channel and got directed here. I'm playing a Shar Cleric in a new campaign and I'm trying to get some information on what perspective my character should have on other deities based upon his own worship? I know that Selune is the clear and primary enemy of Shar, but I'm not sure how I should react to others. I also know that Mystra's a big thing with the shadow weave.

From what I know, evil deities are going to be a big theme in the campaign in the long run so what's the view on other evil deities like Talos from a Sharan's perspective?

vital heron
#

My vibe on Shar is that secrets are such a big deal for her, that a worshipper would probably try to hide their allegiance unless there was some damn good reason to reveal it.

She would probably be uncomfortable collaborating with any god that revels in broadcasting their actions. Cyric and Myrkul both deal with lies and mysteries respectively, while Talos might be a bit flash for her tastes.

#

talos is sort of a "son" of shar, any I think she would be a bit embarrassed by him - so unsubtle!

foggy flame
#

In the forgotten realms, can/do giants live in the material plane?

sharp owl
#

Yes, they pretty much live exclusively in the material plane

vital heron
sharp owl
#

And Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants

quartz cradle
#

also gonna second what Jale said

#

I've got a question. I know archdevils are essentially trapped in the nine hells, but I assume they must be reasonable capable of communicating with the material plane in order to tempt mortals, right? do they have to wait around to be summoned by some mortal opening a channel, or is there anything they can do on their end to sort of reach through the weave and speak to mortals?

crude blaze
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They can reach out if/when they want to

white ravine
crude blaze
#

That’s often (though not always) how you get Warlocks. They reach out to a poor desperate individual and offer them the deal they can’t refuse.

quartz cradle
#

ok, cool. just wanted to make sure I wasn't overstepping by doing that 👍

white ravine
#

Though archdevils are usually FAR too busy to bother spending time talking to mortals

quartz cradle
#

and erinyes are the only(?) devils that can come and go at will, right

#

so they're probably messengers a lot?

white ravine
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Send an imp messenger, if the cultists (or players) cant tolerate an imp giving them orders then thats on them

crude blaze
#

Yeah, the individual has to be extraordinary enough to get the attention of an archdevil. Much like PCs.

white ravine
quartz cradle
#

cool cool. and now for a second, completely unrelated question: is there any precedent for deities of different pantheons/groups/backgrounds/etc. to ever "team up" or ally?

#

I have an idea in mind of the "big good" for my campaign being an alliance of good goddesses who all share similar ideals

#

(tangentially: are fey royalty like Queen Titania considered deities?)

iron saffron
#

Yes, the fey lords of the Seelie Court and Dark Seelie Court are gods (at least in 3.5E's Deities and Demigods).

crude blaze
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What’s classified as a deity or a patron in 5E isn’t that clear

#

Deities and patrons are less about the individual being you’re aligned with and more about the nature of the relationship between the two parties. At least as far as I know in 5E.

quartz cradle
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yeah I've been a little confused! my takeaway is that if enough people worship/revere them then they would qualify?

iron saffron
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Yes, that was the gold standard in 3.5's Deities and Demigods

crude blaze
#

I.E. Asmodeus. A god of devils and tyranny, but also a fairly common Fiend patron.

#

Less about him, more about the relationship between him and the other individual in question.

quartz cradle
#

so I have an important NPC who's a really powerful warlock of a summer court archfey, has been for a century. I wrote that her son is a divine soul sorcerer as a result of that "lineage." does that make sense?

iron saffron
#

In early D&D lore (1E AD&D), Asmodeus and Lolth were just an archdevil and demon lord, respectively, but in later editions they became gods (the former a greater god and the latter an lesser/intermediate goddess) as their lore of their origins were expanded.

crude blaze
#

Yeah, a lot of the lore has changed throughout editions. Admittedly I’m not as knowledgeable about older editions as OMYAC here.

quartz cradle
#

living up to the username with that first edition lore knowledge there 😂

iron saffron
#

I've played/DMed all editions except for OD&D (that was before my time).

quartz cradle
#

impressive! which edition is your favorite?

iron saffron
#

Each editions tend to expand the lore but sometimes retcon it (I'm looking you 4E!)

iron saffron
eager bay
#

Question. What would make a good messager for cults related to elder evils?

sharp owl
shrewd bobcat
#

Gnomes are no longer Fey in 5e but is there still any lore stating they are?

unique bough
#

like Plain of Horses i believe is based on the mongol empire, Malatra seems to be based on India and such

unkempt merlin