#dnd-lore

1 messages · Page 23 of 1

balmy pulsar
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I like the idea that an Ellistrae temple is just a nightclub

peak island
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untz untz untz

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Dancing Lights as laser poi? count me in

balmy pulsar
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That’s what “dancing under the moonlight” sound like to me

peak island
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EDM Drow

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dancing under an underpass in Waterdeep

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idk they can I guess if they want I'm not their mother

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(I believe it is a custom in the church yes)

true saffron
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What's the current year for the Dragonlance setting in terms of lore since the 5e adventure is set during the War of the Lance?

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I couldn't find a reliable site that tells me, unfortunately.

modern mirage
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Do male drow have any power in drow society ? I can’t remember to what degree they are subjugated because of Lolth

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I’m watching a video about drow Rn so hopefully it answers my question

unkempt merlin
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In the FR? Not a lot

modern mirage
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Yes in the forgotten Realms

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So far it seems like the clergy is the only part of society actually dominated by women

iron saffron
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Lolthian society is matriarchal, so a lot of female drow tend to be clerics (which only allow female). Males are second class citizens. That said, the arcane and martial schools tend to be male and a lot of male drow venerate Vhaeraun, Lolth's son and the drow god of male drow, thievery, and arrogance.

modern mirage
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Yeah the video I watched mentioned some of those details I just hadn’t gotten to that point yet

modest badger
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Male drow tend to seek power through becoming wizards.
You can get male clerics of Lolth, they're just exceedingly rare.

iron saffron
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Not all drow cities venerate Lolth. The drow city of Eryndlyn was dedicted between Ghaunadaur, Lolth, and Vhaeraun. They city of Sshamath had churches dedicated to non-Dark Seldarine gods.

modern mirage
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Just asking because I was thinking of making a male drow character, wanted to know how they’re treated

iron saffron
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Eilistraee, the daughter of Lolth, is a good-aligned goddess of drow. She wants to sway the drow away from the corrupt influence of her mother. A lot of drow who escape to surface as refugee from the church of Lolth are welcomed by the worshippers of Eilistraee.

obsidian gate
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a male drow in a lolthite society can also wield some power by association with a powerful female drow. in a "favored consort" kind of way

modest badger
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From Tome of Foes (now 'outdated' for 5e, but still has good lore):

A male drow can advance in standing as a combatant, a consort, or both. Physical beauty and fitness are highly prized in male drow, and those who are especially favored in this regard can earn protection and gifts from their matrons. A few males can attain high status in their society, especially those who serve as mages, but they never overshadow the females of their houses. Even the most intelligent, strong-willed, and devious male will never be more than a second-class citizen in any drow city or house. That situation will never change as long as Lolth reigns as their queen.

obsidian gate
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and of course, drow dont have to hail from a dark seladrin run place. See Elistraee, but they also might not have been raised by any elf at all

modern mirage
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Yep I know hehe it’s kinda of the reason I wanna play a drow because I think she’s such a kind goddess

grim siren
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Yup its always good to clarify what type of Drow Society. In the forgotten realms Udadrow (Lolth worshippers in places like menzobarrenzan) is only one type of drow society.

iron saffron
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I think WotC recentrly added to the lore of other subsets of drow. There are drow cities that have no influence by Lolth or other gods of the Dark Seldarine.

obsidian gate
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generally though, most male drow who grew up inside the cult of lolth will have been mistreated most of their life

grim siren
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The Aevendrow of Callidae, and the Lorendrow of Saekolath

obsidian gate
modern mirage
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I asked how men are treated because I was thinking my character would be born in a more traditional drow settlement but escape above ground with help of Eilistraee

iron saffron
grim siren
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Yea the way of the Drow trilogy explores the Aevendrow in the first book

obsidian gate
modest badger
iron saffron
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It was kinda dead when WotC took over publishing it, but I digress...

modest badger
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That'd be Dragon. Which, I'm being pedantic on, but Dragon+ was the online successor to Dragon.

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Which is now also dead.

iron saffron
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Which is when WotC took over from Paizo...

sharp owl
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ahem

iron saffron
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Anyway...

modest badger
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But yes, that article has some info on the non Lolthian drow.
Legendofdrizzt.com does have some more info still up

grim siren
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yea I have to personally archive anytime WOTC uploads lore to their website, with their tendancy to nuke something out of existence with little notice. lmao

iron saffron
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Oh, since my campaign currently has a pit stop in Halruaa and I did a bunch of research for that wizard hermit kingdom. I discovered that to the east is the nation of Dambrath, which have a large population of half-drow among the human majority, the descendants of drow who left the Underdark. The Crinti, are the half-drow ruling class of Dambrath.

grim siren
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Love the Horse loving Crinti

iron saffron
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Originally I had created a person side quest for a half-elf bladesinging wizard PC but that player left due to personal matters. I had created a Halruaan magehound who's half-drow (his long lost half sister (different mothers)) he would have met on his search for his long lost father. The adventure was loosely inspired by Valley of the Mage (yes, that was set in Greyhawk), which had a surface drow wizard on the cover. So I had devised that wizard to be the magehound's mother who was to be found in The Nath, the northeast corner of Halruaa.

hollow vault
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In one of the recent videos about the next book, Shattered Obelisk, they had mentioned that the Obelisk are a recurring theme in past books. What books are those featured in? Feel free to mark response as spoiler. I'm just curious as the few books I have read/played, I have never seen them.

grim siren
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The Obelisks appear in at least

||Out of the Abyss||
||Tomb of Annihilation||
||Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus||
||Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage||
||Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden||

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this is lore tying to the greatest villain in the Forgotten realms

and its not Vecna.

||Its Jergal||

sharp owl
grim siren
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We love Jordphan

sharp owl
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Anyone that cites their sources has a place in my heart

magic jackal
balmy pulsar
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Hey guys, I have a lore question. Some of my players are attempting to catch an Archduke of Hell (Levistus) in a breach of contract by exploiting what they see as a loophole.

The important thing here is this- if they were to bring a grievance against Levistus, how would they do that, and what court of law system would pick it up?

I guess my question is: who enforces devil contracts?

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Is it the hall of concordance in Sigil? Is it Phlegethos in the hells?

iron saffron
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Yes the Hall of Concordance is in Sigil.

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Phlegethos is the 4th layer of the Nine Hells.

balmy pulsar
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And which one of those would the players go to if they wished to litigate a broken devil deal?

iron saffron
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Asmodeus

balmy pulsar
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And Asmodeus looks over the deal and says “yup, that’s broken” or “nope, that’s not broken”?

iron saffron
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From Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes on the Blood War:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/mtof/the-blood-war#Asmodeus

In the end, Primus declined to issue a definitive judgment. He rebuked the angels for their descent into infighting, but didn’t punish Asmodeus for his evil ways. He did, however, order Asmodeus to forever carry a mighty artifact, the Ruby Rod, that would guarantee his adherence to law. The artifact, which has remained at Asmodeus’s side ever since, grants him and his underlings the right to enter into contracts with mortals for their souls but unleashes an inescapable punishment upon any devil that breaches such a contract.

balmy pulsar
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So it’s primus they should go to?

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Or is it the Ruby rod itself?

iron saffron
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Both are very difficult to arrange an appointment. It's like trying to speak with the President of the USA over a contract with a governor. The devils probably have courts for such disputes.

balmy pulsar
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So that’s my lore question- if my players wished to take this to court, which court would they take it to?

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Is this type of disagreement litigated at the hall of concordances, or Phlegethos?

iron saffron
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That's up to you as the DM.

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Which makes more sense for the story you're trying to convey.

balmy pulsar
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So it says nothing about this in Lore? That’s sad, I wanted to know exactly how multiversal trials were conducted for inspiration 😭😭

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Well, thank you anyway, I’ll take a think and see what happens!

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Hoping to get some Pheonix Wright happening!

iron saffron
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Primus has nothing to do (directly) with devils and their contracts.

balmy pulsar
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Ahhh I understand! Very good! That’s a great tidbit!

iron saffron
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Primus only cares about the order of the multiverse.

balmy pulsar
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So if it was the pact primeval, it would eventually find its way to primus, but usual affairs go to the hells. Very good!

iron saffron
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Much like there are different tiers of courts in real life, devils would probably have appeals courts, supreme court, and Asmodeus at the very end.

balmy pulsar
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Certainly. Now, if Levistus was the one on trial, which level do you think he would start at?

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Or at least, if he was the one being appealed against

iron saffron
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Sorry I have to get back to work (I just took a break due to my ADD).

balmy pulsar
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Haha no worries! Thanks for the help!

white ravine
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Any adventures starring Atropus?

jagged apex
# iron saffron From Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes on the Blood War: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sou...

what thing about asmodeus is that even the factually stated stuff said about him by other in universe beings is note definitive fact, his origins truly shadowed in mystery and myth, even among the gods and over deities, with potentially only 2 beings knowing the truth, neither of which is inclined to tell anyone which is true or not, asmodeus himself being one of these two, is what makes him so interesting as a character in the lore

jagged apex
iron saffron
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I think in 2E (sorry this is based on fuzzy memory and not me turning around to look at my D&D libary because I'm still working) that Asmodeus true form is a colossal snake stuck at the bottom of Hell.

jagged apex
jagged apex
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||(save for those unlucky suckers who he devours personally)||

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in the forgotten realms at least he has 3 potential origins known to the multiverse, though as mentioned from what i found in the lore the one agreed apon by most beings, even the gods, since none know for sure, is the fallen angel one ie The Pact Primeval based origin

modern mirage
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How do drow age differently in comparison to humans ?

grim siren
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Since they are elves the same as elves unless otherwise stated

iron saffron
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They mature at the same rate so physical adulthood is around 18-years-old.

modern mirage
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Ok thanks!

modern mirage
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How dose mix breading with drow work ?

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Like I know half elf’s exist is it similar ?

pure pumice
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Yes! There is even a mechanical "half drow" in the dark elf heritage half elf.

modern mirage
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Can I access that on D&D beyond without paying ?

sterile breach
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No, it's in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. You can buy the race separately or the whole book to get access.

modern mirage
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I get it for free through a friend

sterile breach
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Content sharing would be the other option.

jolly bolt
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How are dragonborn made???

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Like through mating or being gifted or something else?

modern mirage
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Do you mean half dragon ?

jolly bolt
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No

modern mirage
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Ah ok!

jolly bolt
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I already know how half dragons are made, is it just the same?

modern mirage
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No Dragonborn are they’re own species

jolly bolt
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Ahhhh

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Ok

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Thanks mate

sterile breach
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Young dragonborn, who hatched from eggs like their draconic relatives, grew at an impressively rapid rate, much faster than most other races, reaching the equivalent maturity of a human child of 10 by age 3.

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Dragonborn

modern mirage
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What are the most common languages ?

pure pumice
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That depends entirely on what kind of campaign your in

modern mirage
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What about in the forgotten realms ?

iron saffron
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Common (hence the name)

pure pumice
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Still, that really depends on the campaign. If you think it'll be a goblin slayer campaign, pick goblin. If you expect a lot of dragon hunting, maybe pick draconic. There isn't really one specific one.

modern mirage
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Yeah my character know common and elvish I’m just trying to think of another language

pure pumice
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Depending on your character background, you could always ask your dm. If you are well travelled, you would know what kind of languages are not only common but useful.

jolly bolt
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But its based on the character

modern mirage
modern mirage
iron saffron
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Also depends on the region the campaign is in. In the Forgotten Realms, humans have their own languages besides Common (which is more of an universal trade language)

jolly bolt
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Good luck finding the right DM for you

modern mirage
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Thanks! Can’t wait I’ve never played before

jolly bolt
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I suggest checking out #dnd-newcomers to ask for some help for certain stuff.

modern mirage
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If I need any help I’ll ask but I’m pretty alright Rn

white ravine
magic jackal
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Draconic Runes (or is it Iokharic?) is also employed by a great deal of other languages as a form of script.

tribal dagger
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Doesn’t draconic use dearvish script in 5e? Or is it different entirely? Also, yeah, dwarvish, elvish, and under common are all fairly common non-common(the language) languishes

magic jackal
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which is also the base script for a number of other langauges, about half the elemental dialects, the now-defunct netherese and loross languages and I believe modern halruuan to name a few

fickle blaze
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So I currently have the 3e's forgotten realms campaign guide, 3.5e's grand history of the realms, and 5e's sword coast adventurer's guide.

Any other recommendations for books to get for forgotten realm lore? Can be any edition

tribal dagger
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Please dont ping me in the future, but yeah, I made a mistake, draconic does have a different script, just called draconic in the phb, but it very well could have a different name(im just going off 5e), but primordial seems to use dwarvish in 5e, no?

magic jackal
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I'm talking Forgotten Realms lore

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sorry about the ping btw

tribal dagger
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all good

magic jackal
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Forgotten Realms Lore has Dwarvish using the Dethek Script, which is used in the Terran Dialect of Primordial

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Draconic uses the Iokharic Script which is used in the Auran and Ignan Dialects of Primordial

tribal dagger
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Ah, looking at the wiki, yeah the phb is completely different, it just lumps in all the primordial languages with dwarven script(also known as dethek, as you said)

magic jackal
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Primordial sometimes uses Dethek, other times uses Barazhad

magic jackal
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Aquan apparently also uses Esperar, which is the same Script Elven is written in

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*Espruar

eager bay
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are githzerai dnd original?

tribal dagger
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I've memorized most of the books in terms of where to get the info(not the actual info), so I tend towards the books, rather than any other sources

magic jackal
magic jackal
tribal dagger
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Again, please dont ping me, but yeah, that makes sense, any good recommendations for sources for lore?

white ravine
white ravine
tribal dagger
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dnd lore in general, not anything specific

white ravine
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Uhhhh...that's a hard one.

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Manual of the Planes from older editions is a good place to start

magic jackal
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Forgotten Realms?

tribal dagger
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I'll see if I can obtain that

iron saffron
iron saffron
modern mirage
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What is a half elf ? Like only elf and human ? I know there’s a term of a half elf dwarf so I know they’re not included

eager bay
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Human and Elves

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PHB says they combine the best of both races, making a reference to these two

modern mirage
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Oh ok! Thanks

pearl hinge
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Ygorl, Lord of Entropy. He looks like a Xenomorph Humanoid looking hybrid outside of Limbo with adamantine armor. He is very cunning, cold, and calculating Slaad Lord. The "de facto" ruler of Limbo and Slaad. The total opposite of Shar, he isn't a sadist and cruel like her. But matches her in being void of anything as well and wishing to return all of creation to nothingness.

No Demon Lord of the Abyss can harm him and he freed Tharizdun, before fighting him for aeons within his prison in The Gary Gygax's novels for his hero Gord. So he could be the multiverse's end not Tharizdun, but lost though he survived. Great guy to have as a Warlock Patron too.

Wonder how a alliance would go between him and Shar. Besides another alliance as well with Lolth. As of late recently too in one of Salvatore's novels Drizzt Do'Urden and his party couldn't beat him as well.

jagged apex
# iron saffron Yes, they first appeared in the 1E Fiend Folio.

from what i recall they were part of a setting that had a contest for, but eberron wound up winning that contest in terms of settings, but that setting associated heavily with the gith had their god, who had basically lost a shit load of power when they broke free of the illithid's oppression, was in the core of the planet of that setting and basically the source of magic on that world, forget the world's name

jagged apex
sharp owl
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There were two other settings in the top three that Eberron won, but the other two were locked behind NDAs

jagged apex
sharp owl
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One of the creators said he'd seen some of the stuff he worked on out there, but never said what it was due to the aforementioned NDA

jagged apex
sharp owl
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AFAIK the NDAs haven't expired

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The gith were created by Charles Stross for the Fiend Folio section of White Dwarf magazine

cloud marten
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so what are gith anyway?

jagged apex
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am not saying is a hundred percent confirmed or true, just is what i recall about the world i knew of that is heavily associated with the gith, i could be misremembering some details

sharp owl
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They existed long before the contest that gave us Eberron

cloud marten
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but now they are also part of FR?

jagged apex
sharp owl
# cloud marten so what are gith anyway?

They're former slaves of the Illithids who liberated themselves, then went through an ideological scism, resulting in two factions; the hedonistic githyanki, and the contemplative githzerai

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Their history is shrouded in mystery, but it's believed they are descendents of humans (or some humanoid race) that were modified heavily by the illithids, granting them psionic abilities amongst other changes

jagged apex
cloud marten
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ah so that's why they have conection to illithids then

magic jackal
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Though 5e appears to be keeping it vague.

sharp owl
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Both the githyanki and githzerai seek to hunt down and destroy all gith, but while the githzerai will at least give thought to avoiding colatoral damage, the githyanki will happily destroy an entire plane to eradicate mindflayers found there

sharp owl
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ty

cloud marten
sharp owl
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Illithid society is built around the use of psionics

magic jackal
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The Mind Flayers must feed on Intelligent, primarily Humanoid races with Psionic talent

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Latent or otherwise

sharp owl
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I believe even their doors require some amount of psionic ability to open

jagged apex
sharp owl
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Also psionics have a weirdly contagious nature to them

placid acorn
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this might be a weird question, but do the sun and moon rise and set in the same direction in faerun?

sharp owl
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Yeah, same as on Earth

magic jackal
magic jackal
jagged apex
cloud marten
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I can image that it's different on Krynn when it comes to moon since they have 3 of those

jagged apex
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with krynn, since they are tied to alignments, you would potentially only ever be able to percieve 2 of the 3 moons

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as one is basically evil, another netural, and the other good

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at least from what i am able to recall from memory

cloud marten
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stupid mind being junk food for them would be funny if it wasn't for how horrifying them feeding on minds is

sharp owl
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More psionic energy = more sustenance

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(from Volo's Guide to Monsters)

magic jackal
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illithids ate brains moreso for the psychic quotient of sentient gray matter than the physical nutrients

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(FR Wiki)

jagged apex
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fair, though psionic energy far as i am aware is basically brain power or brain magic and thus even without talent for using it is possible for the mind to be rich in such energies

sharp owl
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Yes, but as Epic said, they try and cultivate victims who have as much psionic ability as possible

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Grotesquely like breeding cattle for more muscle

magic jackal
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It's amusingly sisyphean that they push the "enhance the psychic talents of their slave cattle race" boulder up the hill only to have it roll back down when they rebel, and then they try again.

jagged apex
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though some illithid can find alternative food sources from what i recall mainly sea food, but can't find it listed on the wiki so that is either me recalling info from a lore video or may not be an actual thing, so take that with a grain of salt

sharp owl
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Elder Brain: "This time, HUMANS!"
Illithid 1: "But what about the dwarves?"
Elder Brain: "What's the chance of it happening a second time?"
Illithid 2: "And the fish people?"
Elder Brain: "Three times is basically impossible"
Illithid 3: "And the..."
Elder Brain: "I SAID HUMANS!"

sharp owl
jagged apex
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from what i recall regardless they can go as long as i believe it is 3 months, at least historically without consuming an intelligent brain before it will start to result in a decline in health akin to malnutrition

magic jackal
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There are renegade Mind Flayers in lore iirc

jagged apex
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so they can at least space out their meals or have some time between them if they for one reason or another are strictly keeping to the minimum they need to survive potentially

magic jackal
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I don't remember where they get their nourishment but they do abstain from eating sentient beings iirc

jagged apex
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also lycanthropy can at least keep you off the menu apparently, at least according to the wiki which cites the information as being from the "ecology of the mind flayer" from dragon #75

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"Also avoided as food were the thick-skinned beholders, those diseased with lycanthropy, practically brainless beings like mites"

sharp owl
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What effect does being devoured by an illithid have on your soul? Do you pass on to the afterlife or is it destroyed?

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And the same for ceramorphosis?

magic jackal
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Unclear, but I do recall that Psionic Energy does have some interaction with the soul, or the personality, or something.

sharp owl
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Oh, so the outlook isn't good?

magic jackal
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I do know that Ceromorphosis does destroy the Soul.

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Or something to that effect, since you can't be revived.

sharp owl
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Because afair destroying a soul is one of the most evil acts you can perform, right?

jagged apex
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from what i am aware the soul is destroyed in the process if it is completed but more recently i have heard it to move on to the afterlife with no hope of resurrection cuz your physical body is no longer your's and no magic can undo it once the process is completely, at least not any known magic, though faint memories are known to linker from the minds of the hosts or those they consume, which we actually see in BG3, but will will not specific the example as to avoid spoilers

sharp owl
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Because that's the utter destruction of a person?

magic jackal
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Pretty much

sharp owl
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😬

jagged apex
magic jackal
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Yeah Mind Flayers are Evil with a capital EVIL

jagged apex
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part of what makes traditional lichdom so vile, do to how they sustain themselves

sharp owl
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Yeah

jagged apex
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also according to the 5e monster manual they have basically 3 dietary needs that the minds of intelligent humanoids are the only thing, at least known, to offer all 3 "The sustenance of mind flayers were the brains of other creatures, mainly those of humanoids. Only brain tissue provided the required combination of the three essential components needed to sustain the mind flayer physiology: hormones, enzymes, and psychic energy."

magic jackal
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Yup.

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Apparently particularly exceptional animals could also theoretically provide it, but Mind Flayers who embraced such a dietary restriction were rare.

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Also there's a line in the wiki that seems to suggest simply being in the vicinity of Mind Flayers for any length of time exposes a sentient being's mind to 'the taint of psionic energy'

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which is interesting because that harkens back to the earlier discussion about how exactly the cattle races of the mind flayers invariably became changed

jagged apex
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like it literally just feels good to consume brains for them

sharp owl
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Part of it seems to be that illithids can't seem to resist tinkering with other species

jagged apex
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and memories and experiances are basically like topings, spices, or sauses for the illithid, influencing the tastes of those minds further

magic jackal
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Interesting if evolutionarily speaking Mind Flayers have that affect on creatures in their vicinity to improve their taste

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and possibly nutritional content

sharp owl
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Would make sense

balmy pulsar
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Hmmm… would they be able to feed upon a diet of awakened animals?

magic jackal
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potentially

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seems incredibly unethical but that's par for the course with mind flayers

jagged apex
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Derro apparently are a known canonical favorite food stuff to them "In the Underdark, the sense of grandeur felt by the derro made them favored foodstuff" cited from 3.5e's lords of madness

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interestingly the same citation also mentions "while drow, deep dwarves, and deep halflings were also highly valued"

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so apparently deep halflings are a thing historically, literally was not aware of a such a kind of halfling subrace or offshoot till just now

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also according to both volo's and lords of madness, "In particular, duergar brains were considered delicacies. Kuo-toa were also a great treat, although only if eaten raw and untainted by psionic energy, meaning they were eaten immediately upon capture"

balmy pulsar
jagged apex
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poor little crazy fish people, they have a hard enough life as is

balmy pulsar
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That’s a really interesting idea… mind flayers can’t seriously perform farming because their “food” gets easily tainted by their presence

jagged apex
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and by volo's by the way i mean "Volo's Guide to Monsters"

balmy pulsar
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It kind of helps you see that they’ve still got a natural ecological niche in some ways

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That’s pretty cool

magic jackal
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And prior to recently they lived in smaller colonies almost exclusively

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In small colonies, having a small, but manageable population of psionically awakened livestock is beneficial, it only becomes largely detrimental when they attempt to create a slave-cattle race.

quasi oracle
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Hypothetically, if the demon lords warring for the Abyss all intensified to the point where one demon lord prevailed over all others and established even temporary total control of the Abyss... like there's no stopping that, right? That much power?

magic jackal
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There is already a Demon Lord who rules the Abyss

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and his name is Demogorgon

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his power is so great that no individual Demon Prince could challenge him, and all Demons fear and respect him

iron saffron
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They're also distracted by the Blood War.

magic jackal
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and the rest of the Demon Princes who could conceivably band together to usurp him (which is no guarantee, mind you) are also obsessively egomaniacal, to the point that they would immediately wish to claim the throne themselves

#

which makes working together difficult.

iron saffron
#

In past editions, the demon lords have tried to "work together" (as much as CE demon lords could) to topple Demogorgon, such as the 3.5E Dungeon Magazine adventure path, Savage Tide (which I'm converting over to 5E and running as my campaign).

magic jackal
#

It's possible Orcus and Graz'zt could work together to usurp Demogorgon, but they're nowhere near powerful enough to do that and keep the throne when they inevitably vie for their own power, and so would quickly dissolve into infighting.

iron saffron
#

Graz'zt is busy with his love-hate relationship with Iggwilv and he has three layers to control.

magic jackal
#

Infighting whilst the Blood War rages would quickly lead to their defeat, it's a very stupid strategy, and those Demon Princes are many things, but not stupid.

#

Demogorgon especially is also not stupid, chaotic, and frequently disharmonious within his own mind(s?) certainly, but he's described as very cunning and has held onto power for a very long time in the Abyss, that should speak for itself.

quasi oracle
#

Well I also imagine any attempt to usurp that much power would be met with...hostility, to say the least? I'm trying to come up with a scary powerful demon prince BBG for my campaign but I'm still learning the lore and wasn't sure if "oh crap they own the entire Abyss" was overdoing it lol

iron saffron
#

Dagon is an obryinth demon and he is powerful enough to take over the title of the Prince of Demons but instead he appears to be sated just to consult for Demogorgon.

jagged apex
magic jackal
#

you just have to know you'll get burned with him lmao

#

any of the *Demon Princes, that is.

#

they should know him all too well by this point

iron saffron
#

Iggwilv knows that first hand.

jagged apex
#

yeah, plus with how he conducts himself and the name they gave his 3 layers, the little hells, probably would not sit right with them

#

hus basically he is one of the most devilish fiend to ever fiend without technically being a devil, at least in the current continuity

#

like probably throws people off when they see is canonical alignment as chaotic evil, given the way he often conducts himself, being much more devil like

jagged apex
#

when one gains ground, one of the other two take a bit from them, rinse and repeat

iron saffron
#

In the Savage Tide campaign the PCs align themselves with Orcus, Malcanthet, and Iggwilv (but strangely enough not Graz'zt) to get their aid to defeat Demogorgon.

jagged apex
#

despite their aliances they do have with other demon lords, neither can gain the advantage over the other two for a prolonged period of time, at least canonically

jagged apex
magic jackal
iron saffron
jagged apex
#

i was reffering to iggwil and grazzt

serene crater
#

Quick question. Would the netherese empire had existed alongside dinosaurs (not including chult)

jagged apex
#

yes

#

as far as i know even in the early days of toril dinosaurs were still around, and they are canonically still around, even outside of chult, all though rarely spotted

magic jackal
#

Yep, but whether the empire would've interacted with Dinosaurs much if at all is another story

iron saffron
jagged apex
#

the theory in unvierse of dragons potentially evolving from dinoaurs likely would not exist if dinosaurs did not exist around that time period which would have been after the arrival of dragons

serene crater
#

Ah. Im trying to do a little bit of planning for my group as with bigby's trying to get them into something equivalent to hollow earth with there being people (if not descendants) from those times that survived the fall within the world

iron saffron
#

You can always use Isle of Dread, which is a massive island full of dinosaurs.

jagged apex
#

oh annam's cradle would likely predate the netherise by a hefty bit, so those super dinos and any other dinos you throw in down there, easily fair game

magic jackal
#

ngl a defunct fallen enclave under the earth that nobody's discovered sounds neat

#

although hollow earth that just sounds like underdark

jagged apex
#

as the majority of these kind of enclaves in bigby's are from the days of the giant empire, at least in case of any you may find on toril, that are just now more recently being discovered AND documented by Bigby and the goddess Diancastra

serene crater
#

I figured having it all below chult, explaining why dinos still exist but why the super dinos aren't around on the surface

jagged apex
# magic jackal although hollow earth that just sounds like underdark

on toril this "hollow earth esc aera" would likely just be one specific part, to quote it's description in bigby's "Giants from an ancient empire created an empowered form of the life rune that channeled Annam the All-Father’s raw creative might. The giants sought to create their own world as he once did, and invoked the rune in an immense cavern deep underground, which they named Annam’s Cradle. The result was a permanent rift in the fabric of reality leading to the Positive Plane—the source from which radiant energy flows throughout the multiverse to fuel light and life.

This rift, an incandescent slash in the cavern’s “sky,” is known as the Radiant Sun. It floods the vast cavern with light and unchecked life. Fed by this sun, the cavern is a sprawling tropical jungle ecosystem where massive creatures thrive."

#

so it either would be in the underdark or just before the underdark, depending how you interpret "Deep underground"

magic jackal
#

Probably just before I imagine

jagged apex
#

though the uppermost part of the upperdark is definitned as "The first 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) below the surface. It was here where the surface dwellers and those in the Underdark most often met."

#

so at most part of the upperdark, hell could be in the lowerdark or even lower potentially, is rather vauge, the lowerdark definited as being "10 miles (16 kilometers) or more below the surface, the Lowerdark was where even those who knew the Underdark were loath to go."

#

if taking into count it's recent discovery and documentation, my guess would be likely somewhere in the Lowerdark

#

they likely worded it the way they did as the book is technically ment to be setting agnostic, given why often it only uses things like toril as examples

jagged apex
#

"Greatest Game
A frost giant loves to hunt dangerous creatures. She intends to divert the Endless Rockslide and use its force to break open a rock formation sealing off Annam’s Cradle (in this chapter). Opening the path frees beasts from the Megafauna World Encounters table (see chapter 3), which then threaten a settlement of deep gnomes and duergar."

eager bay
#

Someone explains me Hexblades? If they made a pact with a weapon shouldn't they start with a magical weapon at 1st level? And be able to create it?

#

Do they only do this: "The influence of your patron also allows you to mystically channel your will through a particular weapon"

#

Or their pact isn't with the weapon itself but from a sentient force?

#

If so how this pact is made?

white ravine
#

Hexblade magic comes from the shadowfell, using the weapon as a telephone

#

Its not actually a knife yelling orders at you, its your patron yelling at you through your sword

unkempt merlin
#

Yea they don't make a pact with a weapon, it's just the most common bit of confusion because the subclass has a completely different naming scheme than all the others (every other patron option actually describes the patron, the hexblade describes the warlock)

#

A hexblade patron is (traditionally) a forger of magical weapons from the shadowfell. But in lore is not limited to beings from the shadowfell. There are non shadowfell related demigods who function as hexblade patrons

magic jackal
main glen
#

how much alcohol can a goblin consume before death

modest badger
#

Not given.

white ravine
# main glen how much alcohol can a goblin consume before death

Good question? Well, first we need to define how much kills a man. Usually, it's around 0.60%-0.80% blood alcohol content that'll do you in, with 0.40% being dangerous.

BAC is calculated (in the widmark formula) by grams of alcohol divided by body weight in grams (varied on gender) times 100.

With that, then we need to handle the goblin, which we need the weight for. Goblins clock around 4 foot and 60 pounds, so that's settled.

Finally, lemme point out that I'm not a goblinoid doctor.

Using hard liquor as an example, at 1.5 ounce shots at 40% alcohol content you'd need about 5-6 drinks before the goblin gets seriously sick near 0.40% BAC. By 8 drinks, they are in extreme danger at 0.60%, and by 11 they're most likely dead already at 0.80%.

For context, by the time that goblin is thoroughly dead at 11 drinks, a normal guy at around 180 pounds would be somewhat messed up at 0.27%. Not even at a major health risk yet.

#

Though this is more...biology than lore dndLol

main glen
#

true

white ravine
#

However, there's your answer. Around 11 drinks.

#

(This also works for cans of beer and glasses of wine)

tribal dagger
#

I’d argue that there’s probably some aspect of “fantasy bs biology”, which allows goblins to drink more

#

That being said, thanks for the bio/science answer, it warms my nerd heart

white ravine
#

For goblins? Maybe a little. They're a bit tough for being so rough.

tribal dagger
#

They have short lifetimes only due to the wars they fight in iirc, their avg lifespan is 100+ iirc

white ravine
#

Those're kobolds, goblins croak at 60.

magic jackal
#

Although that begs the question whether Death by God is natural

white ravine
#

Eh, I find it funnier if they can live a fulfilling life and still end up jammed into Acheron when they die.

magic jackal
#

fair

tribal dagger
#

Also, anyone have any info on when elven high magic was used on a large scale(think sundering scale, or maybe a bit lower)

white ravine
#

Uhhhh...yeah, The King Killer Star.

#

That horrifying...thing elves kinda just did.

magic jackal
#

man the king killer star is so cool

#

and terrifying

#

and tragic

white ravine
#

Not even tragic, it's just horrifying.

magic jackal
#

It's absolutely tragic

white ravine
#

I'm not saying the dragons didn't deserve it, but...good god man.

tribal dagger
#

oh yeah, i forgot about that, its the dracorage mythallar right?

white ravine
#

Yeah.

#

The literal worst magic I can think of, beyond godly powers.

magic jackal
#

"The red star murdered me."
Said a dragon who was nothing but good to his subjects, who were loyal to him, and who were forced to kill him because of the Dracorage, only for him to emerge from the spell's effects in his last breath.

#

Absolutely tragic.

#

My boy Orchtrien

fallow leaf
#

i didnt know about this thing, thats metal as hell

tribal dagger
#

and Imo they deserved it to a extent, but there should've been some extensions to ignore non-hostile dragons

magic jackal
#

I don't think 'they deserved it' is an excuse or a valid statement really

fallow leaf
#

also i guess its still 5e canon apparently with it ||being in the starter set apparently||

magic jackal
#

I think a better way to phrase it would be something akin to 'the elves and the dragons were waging epic war and it was causing great destruction'

#

the elves were really not better in the early days

tribal dagger
magic jackal
#

also like, nobody deserves that lmao

#

maybe some fiends

white ravine
#

Some? All.

#

Kill em.

magic jackal
#

True.

#

But not all dragons.

tribal dagger
#

yeah, I didn't say all of them, I said some

white ravine
#

Well, given the circumstances? Elves weren't wrong in doing it.

magic jackal
#

Eh. Wrong is a subjective matter, they were at war, they saw this as the way to end it.

white ravine
#

The dragon empire was probably the most oppressive thing to come across the mortal races since...ever at that time.

magic jackal
#

Except many dragons weren't party to that, but were affected anyways

white ravine
#

Pair that with the Jotun starting fights constantly meant that any of us little folk were in heavy crossfire.

magic jackal
#

the war needed to end, yes

#

wars

#

plural, soryr

tribal dagger
magic jackal
#

It did not ignore "friendly" dragons

#

the elves did not see dragons as friendly, nor did they discriminate

#

they just threw the star in the sky and massive collateral damage ensued

tribal dagger
#

I didnt say it ignored them, I said there was probaly some magic that couldve allowed the mythal to ignore them, but it wasnt used

white ravine
magic jackal
#

you could almost say that the star inflicted as much damage as the wars themselves did, because of the dracorage causing indiscriminate harm from the dragons to the other peoples

white ravine
#

If the elves left some dragons alone, then nothing would change.

tribal dagger
#

this is getting into a more philosophy/politics debate, so we should probaly stop, I guess we can agree to disagree

magic jackal
tribal dagger
#

Any other uses of elven high magic?

#

(on that scale)

magic jackal
#

The dragons controlled some territory, but they'd just had it substantially reduced by a thousand year war coming to an end, and then negotiating with the giants.

tribal dagger
#

Ive read the wiki, but I couldnt exactly find much else

magic jackal
#

Elves and Dragons did have prior peaceful interactions prior, it's not as if they were owned by them.

#

and Dragons had founded kingdoms, in which mortals elected to reside, in which they were loyal to their ruler, not enslaved.

#

Like the Kingdom formerly ruled by the poor Gold Dragon Orchtrien

tribal dagger
white ravine
magic jackal
#

I think it's fair to say the response was disproportionate, tantamount to genocide, reckless, and symptomatic of the elven abuse of power in the early days.

white ravine
#

Baelnorns are another place we can start from.

magic jackal
#

Baelnorns are made through high magic?

tribal dagger
#

thats what I was about to say

#

According to the fr wiki, yes, high magic, divine ritual, or selddarine blessing

magic jackal
#

Oh yeah i tis

magic jackal
#

though many of them have since fallen into disrepair

#

I also recall there was something saying that Elven High Rituals could still cast 10th+ level magic, though at great risk, since Mystra prohibited any single spellcaster from casting 10th+ level spells.

tribal dagger
#

Again, its in my username, please dont ping, but yeah, I wonder what 5e would be like if we still had truly epic level powers still

magic jackal
#

Oh yeah, sorry, keep forgetting.

#

You can also look at the achievements of the Netherese for an example of what's conceivably possible through high magic

#

they taught The Art™️ to the Netherese after all

tribal dagger
#

Didnt the netherese mainly learn from the nether scrolls?

magic jackal
#

and the Netherese went on to put it to incredible use, creating mythallars to keep their many flying cities afloat, and producing untold quantities of magic items, some of which are still around and incredibly powerful today.

magic jackal
#

Apologies.

#

The scrolls were I believe discovered after they'd already spent several centuries learning The Art from the Elves.

tribal dagger
#

Al good, and yeah, I just reread, the elves taugh the netherese the basis of magic, but the scrolls catapulted the netherese forward. I wonder if karsus had chosen a different deity, what would the world of dnd be like today

#

He tried to save his people, but he made the one wrong choice

magic jackal
#

Well, for one, the Netherese Empire would probably still be dominating the world

#

Although no guarantee, as Karsus's Folly was not the only thing which led up to the Spellplague.

#

It was sort of a perfect storm that happened to coincide with Karsus's folly, leading to spectacular disaster

tribal dagger
#

I'm wondering if the belief system would have allowed Mystra to defend herself better, since deities gain more power the more people that pray to them

magic jackal
#
  • The Shadow Weave is created
  • The War between the Phaerimm and the Netheril weakening the Weave itself
  • Karsus's Folly
  • The Ban on 10th+ Level Magic by the new Mystra
  • The Assassination of Mystra by Cyric
  • The Breaking of the Weave and the Shadow Weave

The Spellplague

#

LIke, one god sized turd hit one planet-sized fan

fallow leaf
#

i cant believe karsus's dad was named radman, like why arent there any named spells by him survivingg to this day

tribal dagger
#

I'm running under the assumption that Karsus would have been able to kill all the phaerim, and 10+ magic was not banned, if Karsus had chosen a different deity

magic jackal
tribal dagger
#

Yeah, and mystra is probaly the greatest deity other than ao

magic jackal
magic jackal
tribal dagger
#

was it really his ambition? Wasn't his motivation to save the people of netheril?

#

I guess, she has the most potential power, but its constantly in use

magic jackal
#

In fact, once, she tried to defy the will of Ao, and got killed by Helm who was enforcing it.

magic jackal
tribal dagger
#

So a bit of both

magic jackal
#

A less ambitious Karsus would probably not have chosen the Goddess of Magic thinking that he was capable of managing all of her duties, but then again a less ambitious Karsus would probably never have developed the spell in the first place.

tribal dagger
#

Thanks a lot for refreshing my memory of dnd lore

magic jackal
#

Nor would he have done half the things he did do, or been accounted as the most brilliant arcanist of his age.

#

but yeah Karsus is a prime example of the difference between Intelligence and Wisdom.

white ravine
#

Okay, in fairness: How could he have known Mystra's universe-spanning power drain she had goin on?

#

He tried his best

magic jackal
#

Well, he could've had an inkling of caution like 'hey maybe the Goddess of Magic has a lot of important jobs, maybe I'll take over a different God instead'

tribal dagger
#

Hindsight is 20/20

magic jackal
#

and I feel like in the first place supplanting a God is a spell you cannot have enough caution in undertaking, but it kinda reads like he just used it out of desperation

#

and like, fair ig, desperation does poor choices make

clear pine
#

Sp the FR wiki says that mind flayers use their psionics to create their own versions of magic items. Do they only make their own magic items in this way or do they replicate regular arcane magic items with this method?

#

like a psionic +2 sword

#

or something like that

white ravine
#

Both, for the most part. You might get a psionically enchanted blade that does that funny vibration thing like in star wars, or you could get a little brain in a cage that you can throw like a psychic bomb.

clear pine
#

that would be quite

#

mind blowing

jagged apex
jagged apex
#

no wonder in the brief time he was a god, Ao gave him the portfolio of hubris, really made it clear he messed up XD

jagged apex
jagged apex
magic jackal
#

Synonyms my friend.

magic jackal
jagged apex
#

no, pretty sure genocide is where you kill an entire people, and there were definitely both dragons and dark elves alive even just on that world in those days after the effects of the mythal passed till the comet was next over head

magic jackal
#

Okay then it's "attempted genocide"

jagged apex
#

pretty sure either way it would still be a war crime since it messed with the dragon's minds putting them in a murderous frenzy

#

in some cases from what i recall some dragons would actually die of exhaustion do to how long they would be in such a state at times

magic jackal
#

oh I'm saying it's way more than 'just a war crime'

jagged apex
#

well i was not saying it was "just a war crime" as if that some how is less vile an act that specifically something such as genoside, attempted or otherwise

#

pretty sure war crimes in general being so vile is why earth has the Geneva convention

#

which makes me wonder, would war domain deities in dnd support or hate such documents? cuz in dnd as i understand it a peaceful solution must be possible for war to qualify as such and not just slaughter

magic jackal
#

depends on the war domain deity

frank lagoon
#

I have a general question about 5e:
Why are Unicorns Celestial not Fey? ||maybe some place here will have any part of an answer||

jagged apex
#

is cuz they are both in mythology that they are based off of

#

in 4e they were categorized as fey, and the edition before that magical beast

#

in 5e though if just from the lore is likely do to their close ties to the various good aligned gods and thus the upper planes "Divine Guardians. Good deities placed unicorns on the Material Plane to ward away evil and preserve and protect sacred places. Most unicorns protect a bounded realm such as an enchanted forest. However, the gods sometimes send a unicorn to guard sacred artifacts or protect specific creatures. When the forces of darkness strike against an individual the gods wish to protect, they might send that individual to a unicorn’s forest, where evil creatures pursue at their peril.

Unicorns most often serve deities of the forest and woodlands, including the gods of benevolent fey. Although all unicorns have natural healing power, some serve the gods in greater capacities, performing miracles normally reserved for high priests."

#

most if not all creatures from the upper planes are typically categorized in 5e as celestials

#

in short, is do to where they come from

jagged apex
uncut surge
#

Are there any organizations in faerun out there that genetically modify their soldiers and are mercenaries?

iron saffron
#

Genetics modification isn't really a thing in D&D.

uncut surge
#

magically enhanced soldiers?

iron saffron
#

Not really.

uncut surge
#

what the hell

modest badger
#

I do recall one source having a potential plothook of lizardfolk using.. a chemical or potion on unhatched eggs to grow 'super lizardfolk' but can't find which source now.

uncut surge
#

that’s fine, I may as well just hb an organization at this point

#

also, heard Elturel used to be ruled by vampire spawn or something?

calm crest
#

Yugoloths/daemons are—in a very loose sense—genetically modified mercenaries that could show up in Faerûn.

#

More tinkering with the essence of capital-E Evil and souls than genetics, but they’re in the ballpark.

#

Also, on the unicorn thing, part of me suspects the shift from fey to celestial in 5e is so there were more options of celestials to summon, as the pickings are a bit slim. I suspect this is the reason why couatl are CR 3, too. Granted this is less of a lore explanation. Given that unicorns have been part of D&D lore for far longer than the Feywild, they could be a nod to the various faerie-themed outsiders like the Arborean celestials which are also named “eladrin” but have nothing to do with the elven ones.

queen sand
#

Like, how would a wraith come about? Are they undead wizards or sorcerers transformed by the plane of shadow?

pure pumice
# queen sand Like, how would a wraith come about? Are they undead wizards or sorcerers transf...

"Vile Oblivion. When a mortal humanoid lives a debased life or enters into a fiendish pact, it consigns its soul to eternal damnation in the Lower Planes. However, sometimes the soul becomes so suffused with negative energy that it collapses in on itself and ceases to exist the instant before it can shuffle off to some horrible afterlife. When this occurs, the spirit becomes a soulless wraith — a malevolent void trapped on the plane where it died. Almost nothing of the wraith’s former existence is preserved; in this new form, it exists only to annihilate other life."

this is the official description

queen sand
#

Shame, I was hoping for something more sentient

pure pumice
#

maybe something more like a deathlock then?

queen sand
#

Hmm. I was thinking of an Arc where one of the main character's is linked with an undead entity in some way, and a wraith from that description won't fit the bill, devoid of much intelligence and is just a void.

#

So probably a ghost.... I was thinking a Shade of the Shadowfell, but those aren't really disembodied spirits either.

white ravine
severe stump
#

I'm just kind of curious. Are there Forgotten Realm lore about the Upside Down and the Demogorgan?

modest badger
#

Upside down is a Stranger Things concept.

#

Demogorgan as it exists in Stranger Things is very different to the Demogorgon in D&D

#

The 'Vale of Shadows' mentioned in Stranger Things by Dustin as the concept behind the upside down also doesn't exist in AD&D, and was made up by the show as well. Closest thing would be the Negative Energy Plane or Shadow Plane in AD&D and 3.5, and later the Shadowfell in 4e and 5e

crude blaze
#

I think the Upside Down in Stranger Things is a Shadowfell thing, but yeah. The monsters mentioned in Stranger Things 100% do not reflect with how they appear in D&D.

#

The kids refer to the monsters as things like “Demogorgon” and “Mind Flayer” Because the abilities of those monsters are reminiscent of the monsters they know from their D&D games.

unkempt merlin
forest rock
modest badger
#

Because it was bothering me and I had to look into it-
Lizard folk do a lot of 'Gotta make our babies stronger' stuff in various sources.

In Spelljammer they higher ships to bring their eggs closer to the sun as this is proven to make the hatching lizardfolk smarter and stronger. (Remembering off top of head, will try to find exact source later)
In Monster Manual 4, 3.5, the Dark Talon clan are using alchemical infusions of black dragon blood on their young to make them stronger. (MM IV, pg 83)
In the City of Greyhawk box set, a Mistmarsh clan of lizardfolk have embued a clutch off eggs with a specific type of potion of enlargment to hatch a new generation of monstrously large lizardfolk. (Box set, page 30)

spark haven
#

unironically, i think that's a really interesting incentive to create for a terrestrial culture

modest badger
#

I don't think canonical, but our DM played around with this with one 'airbody' world in spelljammer that was mostly avian and reptillian species. So Aarocokra and Lizardfolk mainly. And 'naturally' the Aarocorkra lived in the floating isles above, and the lizardfolk lived in the darker, damper forests near the 'core'.

And a while into spending time on the world and speaking with the lizardfolk, who were inquiring if we could grant passage to some of their eggs to be sunborn we realised '...Hang on. If the lizardfolk are being made to live in the darker core, with little access to spelljamming ships or even sunlight, but sunlight is a vital part of hatching healthy children...'

Not the most subtle representation of literal social stratification, but one we might have just gone 'yeah makes sense, lizards love damp jungles and stuff right, and birds like flying up high' if there wasn't that lore titbit about the sun being a big part of their culture and biology like that in spelljammer.

spark haven
#

see, the angle i was considering was uh....these sunborn lizardfolk. they're smarter, they're stronger. they're probably going to have a higher status in society for a multitude of reasons. now the question is...how many more sunborn do the sunborn want to help create? are they students or competition?

#

same focus on stratification, i just went internal first

modest badger
#

TBH, we didn't even think of it like that, because it felt like to us more just the sun being a part of their biology in ways like 'Yeah if kids have proper nutrition they grow up stronger and healthier' and it'd be odd to be like 'We resent the children who are not malnourished' (Although, class stratification does end up working out like that- money buys education and nutrition, which can lead to healthier children, and so on).

So less 'this is a new social class' and more 'these kids got a good dose of vitamin D which really improves their health', and playing around with how seemingly innocuous rules and systems (like living in a darker place) actually causing a form of malnutrition. But might be getting a bit off topic of canonical lore now.

uncut surge
#

Are there benevolent vampire lords on the sword coast

iron saffron
#

Vampires tend to be evil (feeding on sentient mortals is considered an evil act) so benevolent isn't the first thing that comes to mind when describing a vampire. That said, the most notable non-evil vampire is Jander Sunstar, a gold elf vampire who sees his vampirism as a curse he wants to be rid of, even if it means his destruction (he's been around since 2E Ravenloft and appears in 5E Van Richton's and ||Descent into Avernus||).

uncut surge
#

You know, Jander is a fantastic idea

modern mirage
#

What do you call someone who doesn’t worship a god but still recognise they exist ?

iron saffron
#

Deist?

modern mirage
#

That’s someone who believes in god but not miracles

#

Some of the founding fathers of America were Deist

spark haven
#

in most settings, gods have a very material presence in the world and people's lives

#

it's almost impossible to be an atheist in most settings

iron saffron
#

In the Forgotten Realms, the souls of the faithless would be stuck in the Fugue's Wall of the Faitheless since no deities' proxies (such as angels) would pick them up to bring them to a god's realm in the Outer Planes.

modern mirage
#

No my character wouldn’t refuse to believe gods exist just he doesn’t worship anyone

modest badger
#

With that line being the entirety of 5e's lore on such:

The Truely false and faithless are mortared into the Wall of the Faithless, the great barrier that bounds the City of the Dead, where their souls slowly dissolve and begin to become part of the wall itself.

white ravine
unkempt merlin
pastel moth
waxen zinc
#

Do homunculus servants have souls?

iron saffron
#

They're constructs, so no.

#

(However, some constructs are infused with spirits/elementals to power them)

waxen zinc
#

Thank you

modest badger
#

Well... in 5e that distinction is not clear.
Contructs can be raised and ressurected in 5e. Which previously couldn't be done, because it required a soul, which contructs were assumed not to have

waxen zinc
#

So for an artificer?

iron saffron
#

It's not a naturally born creature.

modest badger
#

That doesn't prevent having a Soul in D&D >.>

iron saffron
modest badger
#

No. It's always been so in 5e. It's rare that a construct specifically says it cannot be raised.

Raise dead only forbids undead creatures:

This spell also neutralizes any poison and cures nonmagical diseases that affected the creature at the time it died. This spell doesn't, however, remove magical diseases, curses, or similar effects, if these aren't first removed prior to casting the spell, they take effect when the creature returns to life. The spell can't return an undead creature to life.

As does Ressurect

You touch a dead creature that has been dead for no more than a century, that didn't die of old age, and that isn't undead. If its soul is free and willing, the target returns to life with all its hit points.

True Rez doesn't even have that limit >.>

You touch a creature that has been dead for no longer than 200 years and that died for any reason except old age. If the creature's soul is free and willing, the creature is restored to life with all its hit points.

And nothing in most constructs stat blocks forbid being raised/rezzed

waxen zinc
#

Cool, there was just confusion because it can take necrotic & radiant damage

iron saffron
#

Necrotic / radiant damage has nothing to do with a creature having a soul or not though.

unkempt merlin
iron saffron
#

Radiant damage can be anything from radiation, lasers, and positive energy.

waxen zinc
#

Fair, necrotic damage, however I thought needed a soul

iron saffron
#

No, damage is damage unless it's statblock says it's immune/resistance to it.

molten osprey
#

radiant and positive/holy have been different long before 5e, radiant is from the quasi plane between fire and positive

iron saffron
#

5E radiant and necrotic is more of catch-all for various energy types than specific to positiive and negative energy like in earlier editions.

waxen zinc
#

Specifically the servant is only immune to poison damage. I didn’t think it had a soul, but I wanted to check

iron saffron
waxen zinc
#

All good

modest badger
# unkempt merlin And the basic rules on revival in the DMG (the part about souls needing to be wi...

Oh huh- this does imply all creatures have souls RAW. It's funny how rules can drastically change how a world works. in AD&D raise and rez and reincarnate worked on very specific creatures and distinguished between spirit and soul. And in 3.5 constructs template had a basic rule that none could be raised. But in 5e if a spell doesn't say it works, or a creature stat block forbids soemthing, you assume general rule- and in this case general rule is creature's have a soul, and to be raised, you bring their soul back.

When a creature dies, its soul departs its body, leaves the Material Plane, travels through the Astral Plane, and goes to abide on the plane where the creature's deity resides. If the creature didn't worship a deity, its soul departs to the plane corresponding to its alignment. Bringing someone back from the dead means retrieving the soul from that plane and returning it to its body.

(...)

A soul can't be returned to life if it doesn't wish to be. A soul knows the name, alignment, and patron deity (if any) of the character attempting to revive it and might refuse to return on that basis.

#

So, with the fact RAW you can raise and ressurect most constructs (I recall a few like steel defender and Simulacrum being a bit weird on that front), they must have souls.

#

Really changes the War forged debate.

unkempt merlin
#

Ironically it doesn't change the warforged one at all. Intrinsically and specifically in lore they explicitly have souls. It's the matter of them having souls being an in universe debate, not a meta one

modest badger
#

Ah, very fair

#

Although I'd still say this affects the debate as now all contructs can be raised. Previously, constructs could not, because they didn't have souls.

iron saffron
#

Warforged have always been Humanoid.

modest badger
#

Which is one of these lore changes where you have to question if you need to retcon people's perspectives or if something has actually changed in universe an.

#

They've been living constructs before

#

Which was a specific type of construct which allowed them to be raised. Which caused the alarm and debate in universe

#

Living Construct Subtype (Ex): Warforged are constructs with the living construct subtype. A living construct is a created being given sentience and free will through powerful and complex creation enchantments. Warforged are living constructs that combine aspects of both constructs and living creatures, as detailed below.
-3.5

#

And there is a lot of 'unlike other constructs' caveats below this

white ravine
#

I mean given how Eberron has tight connections to demonic/unholy stuff, and there's the whole thing about soul magic in DND, and the fact that Soul Coins and Warforged both have similar symbols engraved upon them...

#

There's some dark implications there.

modest badger
#

Including:

As a living construct, a warforged can be raised or resurrected.

unkempt merlin
modest badger
#

Which is a change from the Construct type which has:

Since it was never alive, a construct cannot be raised or resurrected.

modest badger
#

Which a very different nuance to having the humanoid type back in 3.5

white ravine
#

Honestly, unlike god damned autognomes I would've been fine if WOTC puffed out their chest and gave warforged construct instead of humanoid

unkempt merlin
#

Nah

white ravine
#

With the taglines of spells like resurrection workin on em

modest badger
#

Ressurection already works on constructs

unkempt merlin
#

Waforged being constructs is way worse for their lore with how the creature type is in 5e

white ravine
modest badger
#

That has been the point above.
in 5e, Constructs have souls

modest badger
white ravine
#

Right...right.

Though, I will say that beyond the RAW nonsense of it having all constructs in 5e with souls raises MANY questions.

modest badger
#

Which is why the 'do warforge have souls' in universe debate takes a very different nuance in 5e.
Because in 3.5, constructs were specifically not alive and couldn't be raised... but warforged could. They were alive. A living contruct.

in 5e though?... yeha all contructs can be raised. Warforged aren't special anymore. Everything has a soul, we can prove it by raising/rezzing them.

#

Heck even undead with True Rez

#

Reincarnate now only works on humanoids. Raise and Rezz work on any creature but undead. Revivify and True Rez works even on undead.

white ravine
#

Flying swords...mechanical birds...iron cobras...

I would say that trying to classify all constructs in 5e as soul-bearing just on the wording of a spell more than an actual lore statement is dubious at best

modest badger
# modest badger Oh huh- this does imply all creatures have souls RAW. It's funny how rules can d...

When a creature dies, its soul departs its body, leaves the Material Plane, travels through the Astral Plane, and goes to abide on the plane where the creature's deity resides. If the creature didn't worship a deity, its soul departs to the plane corresponding to its alignment. Bringing someone back from the dead means retrieving the soul from that plane and returning it to its body.

(...)

A soul can't be returned to life if it doesn't wish to be. A soul knows the name, alignment, and patron deity (if any) of the character attempting to revive it and might refuse to return on that basis.

unkempt merlin
#

Oh indeed the lore of various settings and creatures and how much if a soul they have is very different than the mechanics of 5e baseline

#

There are creatures in 5e described as not having a soul

modest badger
#

Lore says to bring them back, they gotta have a soul.
5e, if it's a creature and has nothing in it's stat block saying it can't be raised, or is soulless... it has a soul it seems.

#

Which i agree is weird but is now the implication. You can raise constructs. To raise something, you bring back it's soul- so contructs have a soul. (Unless specifically stated otherwise)

#

Like I don't even think Autognome has anything special about raise or rezz in it's stat/info

#

People just assume it does

molten osprey
#

ehh, that's just the side effect of 5e's menagerie default. If something is soul less it can't be a player character

white ravine
modest badger
#

I mean, the above is the contradiction. You can raise constructs.

#

Which you explicitly couldn't in earlier editions

unkempt merlin
white ravine
molten osprey
#

so it a construct can be raised because it has a soul then that means the creator of said construct is capable of creating a soul

modest badger
#

Yep

white ravine
modest badger
#

Or least, awakening, or imbuing or something.

white ravine
#

Well, there is some rough precedent but not in terms of actual souls. Golems specifically, since they usually have elemental spirits jammed into them.

molten osprey
#

so why does necromancy suck so much in 5e? 😄

modest badger
crude blaze
#

That’s how you make a Warforged

modest badger
#

This is a good example of how changes in rules and layouts change the lore.

#

Previously healing was positive energy and hurt undead.
Now it does not.
This is reflect and the implied lore through mechanics.

#

5e shifted things away from template and blanket rules, and now such mechanical lore is within the individual spells and statblocks. Most healing spells don't work on undead- but some do (goodberry, Paladin's aura of vitality, although not a spell), and so 'Healing doesn't work on undead' is no longer the lore. Because now it's about specific healing spells don't work on undead.

#

In AD&D raise and reincarnate and such had limited list of creatures it could actually effect. And that was based on the implication of spirit or soul. The mechanics change the lore.
DMG 1979
AD&D Raise Dead:

Restores life to a creature (such as a dwarf, halfling, gnome, half-elf, or human) which has been dead for no longer than 1 day per caster level and whose body is largely intact.
Note- not Elf or half-orc.

AD&D Reincarnation:

The table below gives the reincarnation possibilities of this spell: Any sort of player character can be reincarnated.

Although Dieties and Demigods (1980) at least explained this rule later:

AD&D assumes that the anima, that force which gives life and distinct
existence to thinking beings, is one of two sorts: soul or spirit. Humans,
dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and half-elves (those beings which can have
a raise dead or resurrection spell cast upon them) all have souls; all other
beings that worship deities have spirits. This latter group includes (but is not limited to) elves, orcs, half-orcs, and the other creatures specifically mentioned in the NON HUMANS' DEITIES section of this work. The DM may decide on a case-by-case basis whether other creatures have spirits and worship deities; the only parameter is that monsters with spirits must have at least on intelligence rating of Low. Please note that the following system is only a suggested one. Individual Dungeon Masters should use a different system if they find this one unsuitable.
(Included more of the quote because there's some fascinating stuff going on there existentially- to have a spirit, you need to have an intelligence of at least low and worship a deity)

#

Which funnily enough bring that lore foward- if you can raise /rezz it, it has a soul. And now you can bring back pretty much any creature.
And this is also the explicit lore in 5e- to bring a creature back from the dead you bring back it's soul.

#

Which yeah, raise all sorts of existential questions

keen kiln
#

So what’s the deal with Hexblade patrons? I’m so confused since I’m trying to create a Hexblade character and I can’t figure out what the patron for them is. Any help would be appreciated

white ravine
#

Hexblades are shadowfell entities that use their hexblade weapons as telephones for their power

unkempt merlin
#

Not just shadowfell entities

#

Entities of general darkness and/or entities that are known to forge weapons also function as hexblade patrons

keen kiln
#

What would those entities be if you don’t mind me asking?

unkempt merlin
#

The only explicitly listed one in the subclass itself is the Raven Queen

#

However, there are demigods like Ukotoa that also function as hexblade patrons

keen kiln
#

Ok, so could entities of the forge could also be Hexblade patrons or do they have to be dark in some aspect

unkempt merlin
#

Its... iffy

keen kiln
#

Fair enough

#

Alr thanks for the help! : )

brisk mesa
#

requesting ooze lore

#

and/or juiblex lore

iron saffron
quartz cradle
#

so my setting is homebrew but I've been pulling a lot from forgotten realms lore, so let's just say that's the setting. I have a question that's a bit subjective but I'm just wondering like, what would be the case in a "typical" faerunian campaign:

would it be likely that the higher-leveled wizards in a country would know of each other, even if they live far apart/have never met? obviously not every wizard is gonna know every other wizard, but I'm talking like, the most skillful ones of the lot. are there few enough high level wizards, generally, that they'd kinda keep tabs on the other ones? are there any kind of like, wizard enclaves that they might all be members of?

iron saffron
#

How much of the FR lore do you know? That's quite the broad strokes you're asking for.

#

The epic-level wizards, who are almost always Chosen of Mystra, know each other.

quartz cradle
#

I haven't played anything in that setting, just have read a lot of the wiki 😂

brisk mesa
quartz cradle
#

I guess part of what I'm asking is how common it would even be for someone to reach a high level of wizardry?

#

wizards in general aren't that common, right? let alone the real advanced ones?

balmy pulsar
# quartz cradle so my setting is homebrew but I've been pulling a lot from forgotten realms lore...

So I’ve read a lot of the Drizz’t Do’Urden books, and it’s kind of a 50/50. Because magical knowledge isn’t widely taught, it obviously means that many wizards gained their choosing from similar or related places. The three places on the Sword Coast that hold the knowledge and wisdom for such things are the Ivy Manor in Longsaddle (Where the Harpell family live and occasionally tutor others), the HostTower in Luskan (Seat of the Arcane Brotherhood) and Candlekeep (the Library Monestsry to the south).

Wizards from these places will often know of one another- indeed in one of the novels, a Harpell wizard is dating a lady from the Arcane Brotherhood!

That being said, some other wizards accomplish their knowledge of the art from their own study- and of course the elves have their own, ancient knowledge, and are more likely to be reclusive.

#

So yeah- even low-level wizards don’t seem to be that common in the Forgotten Realms, let alone high level ones!

jagged apex
#

a lot of noteable or otherwise wise significant wizards in dnd, even those involved in the realms seem to be familiar with one enother and are more or less collegues, and have worked together to some extent, 2 examples of this at opposite extremes are elminster and volo using the forgotten realms, and mordenkainen, even though technically he and tasha aka iggwil are from oerth of the greyhawk setting

jagged apex
#

like a lot of the ones we know of today are from long ago and have been around for many lifetimes learning more and more arcane knowledge

#

and that is not counting some of the powerful liches such as Szass Tam, who in 3e was listed mechanically as CR 31, making him one of the if not the strongest non draconic mages on the planet, and though no source seems to be given 5e stats are listed as cr 30

quartz cradle
#

Thanks for the thorough answers!!

final hazel
#

What would be the nearest school of magic to Baldur's Gate? (Building a character with a father that teaches in a wizard college, and they live in Baldur's Gate)

sterile breach
magic jackal
#

The result was Briel's School of the Arcane, but it too ultimately failed some time before 1374 DR

sterile breach
#

That's what I said: it's there, up to a point.

magic jackal
#

There are few proper "Schools" of magic in the world of the Forgotten Realms, namely because the profession is inordinately expensive, teachers are difficult to find, and The Art is difficult to learn (not to mention those with the proper talent/instigating/inciting events/ambitions for it are rarer than you'd think)

#

What's more common are masters and apprentices, who are often less attached to a specific location (though not exclusively)

#

You could always just ask your DM to invent a new 'Wizard's College' for their instance of Faerun.

iron saffron
#

There's a lot of room that the official lore doesn't cover for DMs to fill in.

jagged apex
#

though they are a bit picky, ie you ain't getting in unless you are of the proper lineage or just that dang good

jagged apex
next tusk
#

Tiamat question:
How is it that she is able to have so much influence in the Dragonlance setting, while being trapped in Avernus and seemingly much less influence over, say, Faerun?

jagged apex
#

because of the events and amount of followers on those worlds and do to them being aspects of herself

#

even if her true body is trapped in avernus, it does not effect her influence at all so long as she has worshipers on those worlds

#

only real limit she has do to her imprisonment is mostly on toril, where she can't manifest on the prime material plane, save for the very specific process that was used in the tyranny of dragons storyline, she can't just manifest an avatar these days on toril or the prime material plane in general, least to my knowledge

#

though is unclear if this extends to her aspects such as Takhisis, especially with that setting having a different over god

#

honestly is one of those things where if you think about it too hard you may go mad or just ruin the concept for yourself

#

like one could argue that the concept of aspects are also rather wierd as they are both a part of that god, but also to a degree their own individual

iron saffron
jagged apex
#

each setting, historically in universe called a crystal sphere, is semi isolated, a god's status and influence does not carry over and can vary compared to aspects on other worlds

white ravine
#

Then crawford said: "🤤 hehe funneee"

sharp owl
#

Crawford isn't in charge of lore, that's Perkins

unkempt sand
#

Can somebody help me with lore on the lesser known demon lords such as rakdos?

iron saffron
#

Rakdos is MtG lore, no?

white ravine
#

Mhm.

iron saffron
#

¯_(ツ)_/¯

#

I don't play MtG.

unkempt sand
#

Well I've apparently done a bad. I made a custom homebrew item researching lesser known demon lords from DND and Rakdos popped up with the perfect description of what I needed. It's a warlute rendition that can call upon spectral bards to perform a song with you.

iron saffron
unkempt sand
#

Thank you sir

wheat cradle
#

Hello! What deity is most likely to transform their followers into twisted creatures of evil?

iron saffron
#

Which campaign setting?

wheat cradle
#

This is for a homebrew game, so I'm open to suggestions from any setting.

iron saffron
#

So why not make up your homebrew deity that does that?

wheat cradle
#

If there's already one that exists, I'd rather use established lore than create something new.

modest badger
#

Malar maybe?

white ravine
tame locust
#

I hear Magic is kind of a no-no in Dark Sun. Are there any deities behind that?

iron saffron
#

There are no deities in Athas (aka Dark Sun).
Basically magic sucks the life out of the environment.

tame locust
iron saffron
#

The deities are legends if acknowledged at all. They long left Athasphere. The Sorcerer Kings are closest thing to "gods" on Athas.

pearl hinge
#

Do you guys think they will link DnD to MTG canonically in lore someday?

magic jackal
#

Nope

woeful zealot
#

Dang discord

tame locust
woeful zealot
#

is neverwinter a city or a city state? I don't know how countries work inin toril

iron saffron
#

City state.

woeful zealot
#

Thankyou

iron saffron
#

The cities along the Sword Coast are city states.

pearl hinge
# woeful zealot Thankyou

And locked in a mutual defense pact too called the
Lords' Alliance. Though most of the time it's to keep the balance of power in check between all of the city states.

#

Do you guys think the Shadovar and Netherese Human Shadar-Kai will rally to Larloch? Since he is the only Netherse Wizard King left. Unless one of the other Wizard Kings pulls their floating city enclave to traven through time to the modern era of the Forgotten Realms to remake Netheril again.

white ravine
#

Shadar Kai hold the Raven Queen above all else, so likely not them

pearl hinge
wild comet
#

I’m interested in the Aasimar

#

Specifically what grants a child born from human conception the blessing of a god, is there something specific your bloodline did to earn this favor or is it all prophetical ?

#

And does the breeding between the immortal and mortal races go against a law established by said appointed god or is this taboo within dnd and has no serious repercussions ?

iron saffron
#

Which setting?

soft silo
#

Are orcs in forgotten realms, more specifically orcs of the sword coast, known for ever working with stones?

#

I'm trying to conceptualize a mountain monastery for a brotherhood of orcs, and I'm wondering if it would be weird for them to construct with intricate stonework

#

At the very least I could just have it be that the monastery was built by dwarves or some other more civilized group and occupied by orcish monks, but it made me very interested in knowing how advanved orcish construction is or can be

spark haven
#

Imagine less of Moria and more of Stonehenge. I suspect their structures would be large, architecturally imposing, but not intricate or elaborate

#

not to discount Stonehenge's complexity

#

but it's definitely a different type of undertaking than say, the Colleseum

wild comet
iron saffron
#

What you have read about the aasimar in Volo's/MtMM is basically what you get in FR.

#

As a playable races aasimar are new to 5E, although they existed as far back as 2E Planescape as monsters.

serene crater
#

Quick question but what would happen if mechanus became corrupted (looking for ramifications to the multiverse)

white ravine
iron saffron
#

Kinda hard to corrupt an entire plane. The closest was Orcus killing Primus and temporary taking over Mechanus and the Great Modron March was started 150+ years early. This disrupted the multiverse and left countless modrons rogue and stranded elsewhere.

slow river
#

Is it 100% unlikely that a half-orc would be the daughter of nobility/be from a high class family? I'm not sure what half orcs are like generally

serene crater
iron saffron
iron saffron
serene crater
#

Touche, I just wasn't sure if there were consequences in lore if it fell. Pardon me for a min as I move it

iron saffron
#

It's like asking historians what would happen if Julius Caesar wasn't assassinated? Well, you're not dealing with history any more.

soft silo
#

There's mechanical beings called inevitables from Mechanus who literally enforce rules of the multiverse

#

Things like death etc

iron saffron
unkempt hull
#

damn watching a vid saying karsus swapped places with mystra

white ravine
#

Yup. Then instantly died.

#

Both, that is.

obsidian gate
#

pro tip: dont use magic to kill the god of magic

cloud marten
#

Mystra did get better

magic jackal
#

I'm pretty sure he mantled Mystryl, not Mystra

#

Notable distinction

#

Mystra was the reincarnation and second Goddess of Magic

#

And he didn't really "swap places" exactly, "possessed" would be closer. And "then they both instantly died" is an understatement of the century 😂

#

He tried to use her power to win a desperate war and save his people, unfortunately the Goddess of Magic's power and duties were too much for him to handle and the weave began to crumble, Mystryl sacrificed herself, which killed Karsus but sorta saved the Weave from complete destruction.

#

And ironically that caused most of the people he was trying to save to die.

#

Good ol' Karsus, hubris is thy name.

cloud marten
#

ah I see

#

and yeah from what I read about Karsus' Folly lot of floating cities did end up falling

#

didn't some one take Mystra's place for while after whole thing that all FR deities were kicked out because some stone tablets were stolen or is that even canon?

magic jackal
magic jackal
#

She died when Karsus did his thing.
She was assassinated by Cyric.
Then Helm killed her when she tried to bypass him to talk to Ao about the theft of the tablets to plead her innocence.

#

Yeah so thrice.

cloud marten
#

well it has been more than 20 years since I read novel that was about that time

quasi oracle
#

Say hypothetically that some once-an-age hero were to go into a layer of the Abyss with other similarly-driven heroes, and they are able to slay the demon lord of that layer, but became too corrupted in the process to return... what type of demon would they turn into? Would they skip the normal heirarchy of demons and go right to a twisted type of demon lord, or would they start at the lowest form of demon?

serene crater
#

Typically they would become their own with twisted perversions of their original personalities (if going off of Kostitochies ascension) though they can be influenced by the previous demon lord depending if they were inflicted by madness. But this would be more for #dm-discussion rather than lore

quasi oracle
#

Ah, I figured since it was more "Abyssal process" question than anything specific, but noted

clear pine
#

since mind flayers hate arcane magic and want it gone for good, would this make them not use arcane spellcasters as thralls?

#

probably would avoid using wizards since halving their inteligence stat seems like a bad move lol

serene crater
balmy pulsar
#

Wouldn’t they usually eat the brains of wizards because they’re high intelligence?

clear pine
#

yeah but what about sorcerers

jagged apex
# clear pine since mind flayers hate arcane magic and want it gone for good, would this make ...

"Mind flayers considered arcane magic an abomination. They viewed it as an inferior and corrupt form of psionic power that should disappear from the universe once the illithids regained control of it. It was speculated that this hatred was related to the role of magic in the gith rebellion." - (November 2016). Volo's Guide to Monsters. Edited by Jeremy Crawford, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 71–81.

#

if anything those they use as thralls they simply view as inferior, much like they do everyone else, coming back from near extinction and reestablishing their empire is typically the higher priority

#

in 5e psionics are more recently, ie after volo's was written, a form of magic, so slight context change, but overall not much one could argue

jagged apex
#

plus there is a psionic origin for sorcerers so that gives some more logic toward the test subject possibility

clear pine
#

oh that makes a lot of sense

#

thanks

jagged apex
#

np

restive summit
#

Are Narzugons, Orthons and Merregons Lesser Devils or Greater Devils, respectively?

white ravine
restive summit
#

Thank you

white ravine
#

Aye.

jagged apex
pale hornet
#

Something for people to add to their games. There is a book that is probably worse than the Book of Vile Darkness. The reason is this: The Book of Vile Darkness was created in the mortal realms within the confines of the multiverse and as evil as it is, it is only full of comprehensible and mortal evil. The book I am about to reveal is not. Go to the module, The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, and these is a book called The Lament to the Lost Tharizdun. It was created by the cult of Tharizdun and hold Tharizdun's eldritch knowledge in it. Keep in mind Tharizdun is an elder evil and a being so powerful ALL of the gods had to get together to bind it. For added depth, you can make it so the Lament to the Lost Tharizdun was penned by Tharizdun's avatar, Shothragot.

#

Another thing to add is this: It's heavily implied that Tharizdun in its form as a Dawn War Deity is in actuality a primordial abomination from outside of the multiverse. It's also implied that there is a connection between Juiblex, Ghaunadaur, The Lost God, and the Elder Elemental Eye. Some works even posit they are all but different facets of the same being.

jagged apex
#

it also claims that said elder evil was a powerful being made by tharizdun

serene crater
#

Is it me or is Tharizdun slowly becoming the talk of the town

jagged apex
#

lol, ironically the people who know his name can't free him, truly tiz the work of the chained god 😛

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plus kind of makes sense, the stuff going on in the upcoming black obelisk adventure definitely has tharizdun vibes, or that of similar entities

serene crater
#

plot twist, Vecna plans to free Tharizdun if everyone's theories are correct

jagged apex
#

would be odd, as keeping the chained god locked up is one of his known secrets he keeps for his own benefit

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like would have to have come up with a way to escape the destruction of the multiverse and all in it to even consider helping him get loose, as vecna is many things, but dumb is not one of them unless your dm plays him poorly, dude is one of the most notorious liches in dnd history and one of the few if not the only one to achieve godhood via lichdom, nothing about him suggest he would take such a risk without knowing he could survive the resulting chaos

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or maybe, tharizdun, in one of his brief moments of lucidity, corrupted one of those obelisks?

serene crater
#

Wait. How many obelisks are there

jagged apex
#

as from what i recall in those rare moments some of his followers hear him, but can't understand what he says as it drives them mad and he can't be prayed to in the traditional sense so his clerics are reliant of places touched by his power especially with his name being striken from any mortal record

jagged apex
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like at least 7, but i could be wrong, i know jorphdan did a video consolidating all the ones we know of from published material thus far

serene crater
#

If it was 6 itd explain their appearance. At least if its like exandria's Tharizdun with six chains

jagged apex
#

though according to that theory, the most recent one being in icewind dale, suposibly is a sort of time travel plot to turn back the cosmos to before the fall of the netheril empire

serene crater
#

In surprised with this much lore we could build an entire theory

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Perhaps the netherese were close to freeing him but failed

jagged apex
#

especially by accident, look at what karsus did do to his unrivaled hubris

serene crater
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Vecna could use Tharizdun as a weapon to threaten the multiverse if he doesn't get what he wanted

jagged apex
#

i doubt it, as part of the reason he keeps secrets like that is for his own continued existance, if he could have, presumably he'd have pulled that trick back when he tried to invade sigil, since he was so close that it took adventurers tipping the scales ever so slightly against him

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though i could see someone in their campaigns have that sort of a thing set up, like if they ever were to try to stop his conquest of the cosmos for good, he could have plans set in place to should he be destroyed for good, that information would be leaked to the various mortals that follow him and spread like a wild fire

serene crater
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Then the only question remains. What does Vecna want

jagged apex
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well to my knowledge his ultimate end goal is to conquer the multiverse, gods and all

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interestingly, at least according to the greyhawk wiki, vecna has one of the same titles as tharizdun

serene crater
#

With Vecna's current connection to the far realm. I doubt there will be no connections to Tharizdun

jagged apex
#

also seemingly randomly, much like on exandria, vecna also has a history on the world of eberron

serene crater
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Im not gigantic on eberron lore so you'd have to clue me in on that one XD

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Walking home so I can't open any links

jagged apex
#

basically, it is a self contained cosmology cut off from the wider dnd multiverse and the number of differences in continuity are great to where wizards and keith baker, both have different continuities

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one notable difference to other settings is divine ie clerical magic is 100% powered by the users belief as the gods are more so concepts than actual definitive entities

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like on eberron whether the gods are real or not is arguably similar to our own world, but with divine magic still being a thing

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but on eberron apparently he was supposidly quote "Vecna was a wizard who became the first human lich in the history of Khorvaire. One of the greatest acolytes of the Shadow and the Keeper, Vecna's mastery of dark magic made him one of the mightiest human wizards in the continent's history."

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Khorvaire being the main continent and nation stuff happens around eberron

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his final fate on eberron is left unclear, either he died in some way or that "he stepped into darkness and became the herald of The Shadow."

#

his lab was also known as the "Labyrinth of Vecna" and he spread terror for over a century before simply vanishing entirely from the world

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though my current theories behind the stuff going on in the upcoming adventure is either in a moment of brief lucidness, tharizdun corrupted the obolisk in that town, or simple it is a side effect of what ever broke it into pieces around the time the adventure is gunna be set in

serene crater
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My only other theory ties into how did the nine hells get control of one of the obelisks

jagged apex
#

lol, maybe vecna traded asmodeus one for the secret of what his true origin is :3

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cuz presumably after securing the secret of their creation all to himself, he'd be the one able to make more and nobody else since he wiped out the original creators of the obelisks

serene crater
#

Hmm

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If the snake theory is true with Azzy, it would mean a great deal because Vecna would practically be able to play god

jagged apex
#

yeah, basically, since even in godhood he conducts himself much like a wizard, he could develop a spell that could force him to leave baator, which according to that origin would cause the entire cosmos to return to a churning primordial sea of chaos where most other entities would die

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basically would be able to have a "nuke the cosmos" button ready in that case for when ever he wants

serene crater
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A part of me thinks he intentionally put the obelisks to screw with us if he's self aware

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He knows we be theorizing

half scroll
#

Just found out about the 3rd type of dragons in game something called a gem dragon why have I never seen this

serene crater
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They weren't really talked about in 5e asides the sapphire dragon until fizbans

iron saffron
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Gem dragons has existed since 2E, they're typically neutral and have psionic powers instead of magical powers.

forest rock
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Tiefling character I’m guessing?

amber falcon
iron saffron
#

Your background doesn't need to be "lore" accurate. Talk with your DM.

amber falcon
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Ah man I was pointed here.

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Lolol

iron saffron
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Especially when there's no universal lore in D&D as it's campaign specific.

amber falcon
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Ill move the post

forest rock
jagged apex
median furnace
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can half orcs have orc moms? Like what are the chances of that

sharp owl
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Either parent can be an orc

distant brook
#

How do Druidic circles typically view dryads?

eager bay
# distant brook How do Druidic circles typically view dryads?

Good question: My interpretation is that they would not be inclusive of Dryads in their view of natural order, as they are Fey in origin. To me, Fey are not of the typical Druid’s natural world. A Druid knows they exist, may even know about the multiverse, but would ultimately side against a Dryad.

median furnace
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would a human male and orc female raise a child together or what? Like how similar to idk say warcraft orcs are dnd orcs in terms of being civil

spark haven
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i'm not sure what answer you're expecting. this is raising a child, not a assembling an h2o molecule. there's an effectively infinite number of ways that arrangement can shake out

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mom or dad could be orc, mom or dad could be in the picture or not, the union and child might be supported by the community or not. even within specific settings, these details are circumstantial

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a half-orc wouldn't draw anyone's attention in waterdeep or baldur's gate, but a tiny thorp beset by orcs for generations might feel differently about one showing up for daycare

median furnace
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ah ok i was jw because i wasnt sure if the orcs in dnd were supposed to be like barely sentient savages which might make the whole consenual thing murky

iron saffron
white ravine
median furnace
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@iron saffron im asking in terms of bladurs gate 3

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i like doing lil backstories for my characters in that game lol

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im a lil new to all the dnd lore sorry

white ravine
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Orcs by dnd's standards are fairly barbaric but exceptions to every rule of course

iron saffron
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In Faerun, the ondontis are LG pacificist orcs that had turned their backs on the teachings of Gruumsh and instead embraces Eldath, the goddess of peace and quiet places.

iron saffron
median furnace
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Pppph o see

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*oooh

iron saffron
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Some official settings, such as Dragonlance, actually don't have orcs.

median furnace
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really? Thats neat.

static trench
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I see, sorry about that

jagged apex
jagged apex
iron saffron
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Remember that not all druids are treehuggers. There are some who believe that nature is destructive as it is nuturing.

jagged apex
# white ravine Orcs by dnd's standards are fairly barbaric but exceptions to every rule of cour...

though the most recent setting agnostic, ie not tied to any one setting, for the dnd mulitverse is those in monsters of the multiverse "Orcs trace their creation to the one-eyed god Gruumsh, an unstoppable warrior and powerful leader. The divine qualities of Gruumsh resonate within orcs, granting them a reflection of his toughness and tenacity that can’t be matched, and the god equipped his children to be able to live above or below ground.

On some worlds, such as Eberron, orcs were among the first defenders of the natural order from the encroachments of Fiends and other extraplanar threats. Gruumsh’s blessings have made orcs tireless guardians and mighty allies wherever they are found, even when they turn their devotion to other gods."

jagged apex
iron saffron
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Yes, this is why I posted earlier that it is campaign setting specific.

jagged apex
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so the one thing universal about orcs in dnd currently is basically just how tuff they were made, even if they don't follow gruumsh

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which is more a biology thing than anything i guess

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in regards to druids, the basic rules on dnd beyond some up the norms and basics pretty well arguably

serene crater
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Oh yeah @jagged apex pardon me to ping you but there's been an update on the obelisk theory but it's spoilers to phandelver. All I will say is it ties into icewind dale, A Lot

slow river
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sorry im a newbie and ive been directed here. what is the difference, lore wise between a paladin a cleric and a warlock? all three seem very similar to me and im having dificulties understanding whats unique about them

serene crater
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Paladins get strength from their oaths, not necessarily a god. Clerics get theirs from their faith or powers bestowed by their God. Warlocks typically make deals to gain powers, that or unwittingly become agents in their patrons plans

white ravine
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Paladins work for it
Clerics ask for it
Warlocks pay for it

serene crater
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Huh. That is the shortest way I've seen it

slow river
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oh okay

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so a paladin doesnt need to worship a god?

ionic rivet
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correct a paladin does not need to worship a deity - and technically a cleric doesn't either but D&D lore typically has clerics following a deity.

slow river
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to be a cleric does a person need to actually do stuff, prior to the campaign

ionic rivet
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Usually the player will select a background that may help explain why their character is a cleric

slow river
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oh ok

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thanks

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im trying to understand this game before my first sessions

jagged apex
slow river
jagged apex
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no

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that is purely optional

slow river
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but its divine magic

jagged apex
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yeah, but not all divine magic involves the gods

slow river
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isnt it in the name?

jagged apex
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such as druids, currently in 5e they are divine casters, using either from a god or nature itself

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another way to look at it is paladins tap into the same magic the gods do, but cuz they are mortal and drastically less powerful, they can only channel a more limited extent

slow river
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oh okay

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i think i get it

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and warlocks dont deal with gods at all?

jagged apex
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they can, but basically any powerful enough entity can be a patron

slow river
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oh okay

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thanks

jagged apex
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gods, demons, devils, celestials, archfey, noble genie, ect...

slow river
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this is so much information lol

jagged apex
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also regarding paladins the way the class summary page on dnd beyond puts it "A paladin swears to uphold justice and righteousness, to stand with the good things of the world against the encroaching darkness, and to hunt the forces of evil wherever they lurk. Different paladins focus on various aspects of the cause of righteousness, but all are bound by the oaths that grant them power to do their sacred work. Although many paladins are devoted to gods of good, a paladin’s power comes as much from a commitment to justice itself as it does from a god.

Paladins train for years to learn the skills of combat, mastering a variety of weapons and armor. Even so, their martial skills are secondary to the magical power they wield: power to heal the sick and injured, to smite the wicked and the undead, and to protect the innocent and those who join them in the fight for justice."

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though there are evil paladins, the most evil of which being the oathbreakers described in the dmg

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so while a paladin can be your classical holy knight type, their oath is just as important if not more so than if they serve a god or not

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oath of the crown paladins for example often serve the likes of kings and goverments

slow river
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i think im gonna not do a cleric/warlock/paladin

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they all seem too confusing for me rn

jagged apex
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honestly one of the most simple classes is barbarian, and they recently got a new subclass via recent bigby book

white ravine
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Or fighter

slow river
jagged apex
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all the classes have subclasses

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for paladins this is associated with your oath, warlocks is associated with your patron, and clerics with the domain of the god you serve

iron saffron
jagged apex
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true

slow river
iron saffron
slow river
iron saffron
#

Taps on channel's sign:

For discussion of the lore of the various WotC published D&D settings. Wherever possible, please indicate which setting you're talking about, eg [Forgotten Realms]/[FR], [Eberron], [Dragonlance], etc

iron saffron
cloud marten
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in lore paladins function differently than clerics in that they have oaths that they follow instead of getting power from faith to some god

jagged apex
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and as i mentioned, it's their conviction in those oaths and the princibles they dedicate themselves to, that gives them their powers

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batman for example, conceptually, add some magical powers and you basically got an oath of vengeance paladin

calm crest
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(Now I can’t help but picture people’s edgy vengeance hexadins as Adam West…)

mellow knot
#

Can someone summarise the aracokra lore in the forgotten realms setting?

white ravine
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Depends. What're they doing?

jagged apex
mellow knot
mellow knot
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Can you explain their tribes and culture if possible?

white ravine
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Hatchlings of dragons?

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What kinds?

jagged apex
jagged apex
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but in short they share property, like the concept of farm animals is foriegn so far as to where one is likely to hunt a farmer's cattle for dinner as much as they are wild game and see no difference or their actions as wrong, from what i recall they are very communal people because of this sharing among their people kind of behavior but not sure if that is specifically applicable to forgotten realms setting off the top of my head

mellow knot
white ravine
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Ehhhh sort of relevant. Even a baby chromatic is still going to rip a man in half if given a chance.

jagged apex
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gods are very different from one another in their personalities, even evil deities of the same sort

white ravine
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On the other hand, a baby silver dragon likely wouldn't commit murder

jagged apex
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if the murders were ritualistic in any way i'd point to the likes of Bhaal, or if just murder for the sake of the act of the slaughter, the demon lord Yeenoghu, at least in the forgotten realms

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well Bhaal's worshipers literally consist canonically of quote "compulsive killers"

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plays heavily into the twist of ||the dark urge|| origin in bg3

#

so again, at least in the forgotten realms, Bhaal and Yeenoghu are likely candidates for someone just murdering people for the sake of doing so/no reason

jagged apex
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literally they are known to be the cruelest and most sadistic of the chromatics

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personally do to that i imagine their breath weapon since is acid, likely burns and kills you slowly, not gunna be quick and painless like some others might be, plus to my knowledge we have not seen examples of this being contradicted in published material so seems reasonable to me, if there is such an example i am unaware of it

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@subtle charm by the way, if it also helps, bhaal's domain in 5e ie the subclass of clerics of his, is death

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you mean Yeenoghu? yeah since he is not a proper god he has no domains

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and none of the ones he had in 3e have made it to being adapted into 5e yet

#

though while the death domain may not sound interesting the practices of the specific god, their wills, and goals add nuance to them as many domains in 5e encompass more than one thing

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"Bestial, Chaos, Demonic, Evil, Fury"

#

chaos domain likely would just a be an inverse of the order domain, which is in 5e

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in 3e bhaal's domains were "Death, Destruction, Evil, Retribution, Hatred, Law"

#

unfortunitely fury does not have a wiki page unlike the other domains of 3e, so you'd have to dig it up via old sourcebooks the old fashion way for more info

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and bhaal was once a mortal, and arguably still somewhat acts or thinks like a mortal with godly power would, can learn more about him via the forgotten realms wiki and his church if wanting to learn more so you can add some nuance to your character via rp, though take anything not cited with a source with a grain of salt https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Bhaal

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some people have late night snacks, followers of bhaal have late night murders

#

or go from oath of vengeance down to the darker path of oathbreaker if your dm allows it

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"An Oathbreaker is a paladin who breaks his or her sacred oaths to pursue some dark ambition or serve an evil power. Whatever light burned in the paladin’s heart has been extinguished. Only darkness remains."
is found in the dmg so will require dm approval

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lol

#

well if they are oath of vengeance, the important part is making it clear they know the difference between vengeance and just murder, and historically an oathbreaker can take an oath again, but if they break that second oath, there is no going back, and basically they become irredeemable, and probably valid for becoming a death knight as their punishments from the gods if using the way they are in the 5e continuity's lore

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np

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honestly, Baldur's Gate 3 provides a good example of how one can become an oath breaker, there is a dedicated npc that may or may not be some sort of spirit and everything

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is really cool especially in the scene where you can choose to purse that dark path

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i'll dm the scene to you if you want to potentially take inspiration from that depicting of the transition

jolly bolt
#

I want to know, what exactly is the Hexblade? A god? A patron obviously, but what exactly is it?

jagged apex
#

the rather common gith specific in universe term of similar nature that you may have heard do to the popularity of it among players over the years is "gish"

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in short is it no so much a patreon as a kind of relationship or type of power a patron can grant

#

it is not really an entity other than just as it describes in 3.5e's "complete warrior" sourcebook
"A hexblade was an arcane spellcaster who combined magical power with martial skill. A hexblade's power could manifest itself spontaneously, similarly to a sorcerer's magic"

jagged apex
magic jackal
#

They were asking what the patron of the Hexblade Warlock is...

jagged apex
#

the one known patron of such a type is the raven queen

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but that much is told in the example of the class itself, so i doubt that was the answer they were looking for

magic jackal
#

There's generally nebulous undefined dark forces which forge weapons that are the means by which these forces create pacts with mortals.

The most notable of these creators (and only known named one) is the Raven Queen.

wintry robin
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I wondering is there anyway for someone to stop vecna teleporting

magic jackal
#

A common misconception is that in established lore the patron is the blade, but in fact whatever or whoever one's patron is works through the Blade or other weapon.

magic jackal
jagged apex
# magic jackal There's generally nebulous undefined dark forces which forge weapons that are th...

though often is just generic unknown forces some associated with magical items that are even sentient "You have made your pact with a mysterious entity from the Shadowfell — a force that manifests in sentient magic weapons carved from the stuff of shadow. The mighty sword Blackrazor is the most notable of these weapons, which have been spread across the multiverse over the ages. The shadowy force behind these weapons can offer power to warlocks who form pacts with it. Many hexblade warlocks create weapons that emulate those formed in the Shadowfell. Others forgo such arms, content to weave the dark magic of that plane into their spellcasting.

Because the Raven Queen is known to have forged the first of these weapons, many sages speculate that she and the force are one and that the weapons, along with hexblade warlocks, are tools she uses to manipulate events on the Material Plane to her inscrutable ends."

magic jackal
#

Yes, thanks for posting the class description I summarized.

jagged apex
wintry robin
#

I am making Vecna bbeg and I was wondering all outcomes is there a possible way to stop Vecna from teleporting away

magic jackal
wintry robin
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But I'm asking a lore question about a lore character

#

If in lore is there

magic jackal
#

You're making something new based on lore, if he's a bbeg and not a God it is already distinct from established lore

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When he was a mortal, all the things that could stop a mortal spellcaster could stop him.

wintry robin
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I thought he never was able to become a god he tried but failed

jagged apex
#

pre-godhood, even still not really unless there is some spell or magical item that prevents teleportation, all you need is likely in the vecna dossie a while back which gave him an official 5e statblock based off him pre-godhood and arguable acts as a sort of avatar if using him post godhood even if on the weaker side of things

magic jackal
#

In fairness there's many items and spells and other things which stop teleportation.

jagged apex
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i know there is a type of yugoloth that can do so in a limited area

magic jackal
#

Teleportation is not unstoppable and Vecna as far as I'm aware did not discover some super unique form of teleportation that bypasses all of those.

wintry robin
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Ah I am still new to lore I want him to scare my party then if they try to fight him Early have him punish them without killing and teleport away

jagged apex
#

Canoloths

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their dimension lock trait "Dimensional Lock. Other creatures can’t teleport to or from a space within 60 feet of the canoloth. Any attempt to do so is wasted."

magic jackal
#

the lore is not that specific

#

you're the DM you can write it whatever way you want

jagged apex
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though one can argue if using him post godhood he can easily override this, but is not something i believe is properly addressed in any lore i know of or how much this extents to other creatures

magic jackal
#

And you're already not using the lore "accurate" Vecna anyways

jagged apex
#

like early on he is more likely to use proxies and his followers to confront the party rather than get his hands dirty, "Don't Say Vecna" is a 20th level one shot free adventure after all

#

so anyone below that is definitely getting bodied even if vecna is holding back

unkempt merlin
jagged apex
#

was not aware of that one

molten osprey
#

i mean, collateral damage from the battle between Vecna and Celene resulted in the the Bright Desert before he was even a Lich

crisp needle
#

hi how do u guys play human fighter at dnd

spark haven
ripe tinsel
#

When does Franz Ferdinand come into the DnD lore again ?

spark haven
#

the Austrian Arch Duke?

ripe tinsel
#

Yeah

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Also real question where does all this lore come from ?

#

Are there like books that detail the lore ?

spark haven
#

books, magazines, movies, adventure modules, all contribute to one or more settings

#

there's no singular "lore"

ripe tinsel
#

Ok I see

spark haven
#

Forgotten Realms is one place where adventure might happen, but there's decades and decades of material written about it so

ripe tinsel
#

It's like an accumulation of all the DnD content