#dnd-lore

1 messages · Page 44 of 1

jagged apex
agile merlin
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I'm not arguing that it's anything significant in the cosmos
I just think it's neat :p

jagged apex
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but yeah, from the lore i am aware of, as i mentioned earlier @silent atlas, a silver dragon seems the most fitting, should they shift to humanoid form, as depending on the details, it would be the wisest way to approach them even if they mean no harm

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such as how the majority of dragonborn don't really tend to, at least to my knowledge in the forgotten realms, believe dragons are even capable of being good, do to their history

silent atlas
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But arnt they fallen because they were corupted and made evil

agile merlin
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They're like a newer version of draconians, are they?

jagged apex
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no

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they are not related at all other than both being draconic humanoids

jagged apex
agile merlin
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Now what about hags? The Feywild is rather neutral in nature, plus it's an inner plane, I wonder if that matters to the metaphysics of an otherworld

feral lintel
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Silver dragons are often the most trusting or naive too

feral lintel
jagged apex
agile merlin
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Aren't half of the hag subtypes neutral evil tho?

feral lintel
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All of em are

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well, evil

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Sea hags are CE

jagged apex
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hags have fundimentally twisted sort of thinking at least compared to say humans

agile merlin
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They're also certainly capable of love, considering Baba Yaga's adopted daughters (one of whom even being lawful good)

feral lintel
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NE are night hags

jagged apex
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for example, their concepts of beauty and ugliness is basically bizzaro rules

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ie they despite beauty and take great pride in looking as hideous as they do, like a human might in their good looks if they are particularly vain

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hags to my knowledge are as a whole largely evil in nature, granted certain settings have historically had some that are not evil, even being likely to be good, but those have not showed up in official materials since the days of 2e

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fey in general it kind of depends on the species as much as the individual, with the feywilds being largely influenced by nature in abundance and the stories told on the prime material plane, like to my knowledge if a story is told often enough on any worlds in the prime, the more likely such a being is to manifest in the feywild and thus give way to all knew creatures, and is why some of the more ancient parts of the fey are often more rooted in the fear and dangerous unknowns of the wild

agile merlin
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Mm

jagged apex
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is kind of in the name fey, are typically creatures that in our world are heavily associated with folklore

agile merlin
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And why the Baba Yaga uses a giant mortar to fly

jagged apex
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weird magic, is kind of a stable of any hag worth her worts

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like it is magic that is able to, while limited in how many a hag may have, usually associated with their age, such magic can defy the otherwise rules of magic such as divine or arcane magic

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like could effectively have a polymorph spell, that is technically not actually a polymorph spell as far as the cosmos and the forces of magic are concerned, just as an example

agile merlin
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Or how they can use their fingernails as a sort of sending stone

jagged apex
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it basically if more or less a magic that is what you'd get if you just basically made the concept of homebrewing as a specific, ancient, rare, and powerful form of magic in universe

jagged apex
agile merlin
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It's how Annis hags work, they can use some part of themselves as a token that they give to promising children they hope to corrupt

jagged apex
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kind of like how dragons and elemental energies go hand in hand, the way i see it, the same can be said for hags and their weird magic

agile merlin
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There's bheur hags turning a bit of frozen dead wood into a greystaff
Hag got weird megic

jagged apex
agile merlin
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I imagine a hexblood wizard turned lich could be very deadly, with a dozen lifetimes to perfect the weird magic of their blood

jagged apex
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assuming they even can use it, far as i know, unless they become a hag fully, the closest thing they have to weird magic is the stuff detailed in the mechanics of the lineage

feral lintel
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(There's also something in the sidebar where if they do turn into a hag, they just turn into an NPC hag, but not really lore)

jagged apex
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plus undeath would effectively make them something else so odds are that they would not gain weird magic with age as a hag would, since they would not even be alive to begin with, where as hags are biologically immortal, ie they just need to be sure to not suffer a fatal wound and they, at least to my knowledge will live for ever, hexbloods to my knowledge do not share this lifespan, let alone the magic tied to it, as a hag to my knowledge unlocks their first and subsequent uses of weird magic at certain stages of age

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each use being a effectively a spell they can tailer to their liking as they tend to do with their weird magic

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which they far as i know can from that moment onward use as they would any other spell they have access to via innate magics or other sources

feral lintel
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Their spellcastin is innate yee

jagged apex
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basically, is wise to expect some wacky stuff to occure when hags are involved, or to some one may wanna extend this way of logic with dealing with fey in general

feral lintel
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They're usually slightly more unhinged witches

jagged apex
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cuz while a bit unclear to my understanding, they just fundamentally do not think the way mortals and other prime material plane creatures do, their minds are rather alien by comparison, is why elves can sometimes get easily lost in the moment and can be for say a dwarf, rather annoying to deal with, despite being known to ally with one another

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but anyone that is wise will also know, unlike the average poor desperate mortal that often goes to a hag for help, a hag's bargin will always bite you in the backside, and just dig you into more and more trouble, kind of like a drug addiction, though of course most people will likely not even know they are dealing with a hag till after they have made the mistake of making that first deal

jagged apex
feral lintel
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Yee

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I usually just think of hags as psychotic/evil busybodies

jagged apex
feral lintel
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Geez louis, FR had witch hunts too?

jagged apex
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which kind of makes sense given how baba yaga, taught the likes of the notorious tash/iggwilv their basic understanding of magic, and she is one of the most famous and arguably powerful wizards in history, now having managed to become an archfey

jagged apex
# feral lintel Geez louis, FR had witch hunts too?

not to my knowledge, but the history does mention at least one individual being burned at the stake, obviously in a world with magic being real and fundimental part of the universe, would have been no where near like the kind in earth's history

feral lintel
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Ah ic ic

agile merlin
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I like Elminster's definition of a witch, just a rural, mostly self taught magic-user

feral lintel
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Baba Yaga is a night hag tho, right? They seem to be more common than Green hags from what ive seen

jagged apex
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likely such beings were likely killed over the negative conentation that comes with the term more than anything

agile merlin
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Baba Yaga is her own being

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Night Hags live in Gehenna or Hades, I think

jagged apex
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though has a history of when appearing being neutral evil in alignment

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her description is not like the other hags, but if i had to peg it as close to any, to me the most similar seem to be the bier hags

agile merlin
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And of having a big, big walking house filled with weirdos

jagged apex
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a big magical house, with chicken legs

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like literally, from what i recall it will never allow it's door to face you unless she allows it

feral lintel
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Wonder if they taste good

jagged apex
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like the house will literally just turn away from you or walk away

agile merlin
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I think Hexbloods at least have longer lifespans than most humanoids, though
circumstances most hexbloods shun but might come to accept over the course of centuries.
Cuz it feels to me that this is kinda implying they might live for a few hundred years, eventually breaking down and becoming a hag
Of course, since WotC can't just freaking give us lifespans anymore, you can't say for sure

jagged apex
agile merlin
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I feel like getting stomped to death by Squidward's house is the most pleasant outcome of pissing off Baba Yaga or her cadre

jagged apex
feral lintel
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Wait, the Frost Giant demonlord was an adopted child of hers?!

jagged apex
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but from what i recall hearing is possible that if someone were to point you in her direction hoping she'd kill you, she will likely let that poor soul go unharmed

feral lintel
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Heh, Kostchtchie is afraid of women

jagged apex
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depending on the lore you are going by as his past as a human is either not widely known or actively hidden or even a rumor, at least last i checked, the demon prince of wrath most often is said as a having been a frost giant of great power once or at least seems to be the story he sticks to if you were to ask him

agile merlin
feral lintel
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Dang, wish I knew about this while running [nondescript adventure]

jagged apex
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to be fair, you likely would be to if you had freaking baba yaga as a sort of parent or nanny or some other kind of care giver

feral lintel
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And Tasha as a sister lol

agile merlin
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Tasha scawwi

jagged apex
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i mean the lady is literally just as likely to eat her worshipers as she is to aid them, and given how most gods are dependant on the lives and worship of their worshipers, that would probably scare the crap out of anyone

feral lintel
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I get a lot of Girlboss vibes from her. She was able to get a demonlord boyfriend

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Grazz't?

agile merlin
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Yea

jagged apex
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honestly, i'd take tasha over baba yaga any day, at least she is not basically likely to bite my head off at any given second

agile merlin
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She's Iuz's mom
Iuz being (I'm pretty sure) the guy who duked it out with Vecna in Vecna Lives!

jagged apex
agile merlin
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Very tame

feral lintel
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Yeap. Just read her page, apparently its an on/off relationship, to say the least

agile merlin
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I'm pretty sure he maimed Kostchtchie because he was jealous of Tasha over him, at least I believe I read so somewhere

jagged apex
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like they alternated between, lovers, enemies, jailed and jailor, and so much more regularly for so long, she even, at least last i heard still has a place in graz'zt layer of the abyss if she were to ever stay there

feral lintel
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Uh, grazz't did something kinda worse to the poor dude lol

jagged apex
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?

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iggwilv is a woman

feral lintel
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No i meant Kostchtchie

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During this time, Kostchtchie became an unwitting pawn in the endless feud between the Dark Prince Graz'zt and the Queen of the Succubi Malcanthet. Graz'zt infiltrated Kostchtchie's citadel disguised as Malcanthet and seduced the Prince of Wrath, seeking to ultimately pit him against the succubus.

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Dude got catfished

agile merlin
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What a not nice guy

jagged apex
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well he is not called the demon Prince of Wrath for nothing

feral lintel
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Yeah, in retaliation, Kostchtchie went on a long rampage from what Im reading, literally destroying half of his own realm

jagged apex
agile merlin
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He's not worshipped by hill and frost giants for nothing

feral lintel
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... Just saw that he's really mysogonistic

agile merlin
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I mean, he's named after the Russian lich who kidnaps a princess in basically every story he's in

jagged apex
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mainly frost giants, and one of their major importances is strength, proportional to one's size but still, so makes sense if he wants to perpetuate his story of being a powerful frost giant once, makes sence he'd sacrifice a bit of brain power to get swoll

feral lintel
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No wonder I cant pronounce his name

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Dude's hilarious

jagged apex
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plus typically a lot of demon lords tend to become influenced and even to embody some of the things they claim lordship over, and when you are angry, like really really angry, is hard to be rational and thoughtful, let alone intelligent

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he probably is the most likely to pound you into paste the second he things you are disrespecting him in anyway

agile merlin
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There's Demogorgon, Prince of Demons
Naturally, he's always locked in a power struggle against himself that seldom seems to do more than wreak havoc, a microcosm of the Abyss itself

jagged apex
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cuz let's face it, orcus would murder you or worse, just for, well existing

agile merlin
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Murder you and worse for dedicating your entire life to him and making thousands of sacrifices in his name

jagged apex
marsh viper
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Guys, in the 5e lore there is no mention of malcathet, is there?

agile merlin
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Maybe not

iron saffron
agile merlin
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I don't think Othea has been mentioned too much, either? Or the mortal sons of Annam

jagged apex
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closest is maybe the fact she is at least refferenced in the game set in the 5e area and in some drizzt novels, so one could presume she still exists in 5e over all even if she has yet to make a more typical appearance or get stated out in book or adventure

feral lintel
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She was the form Grazz't took when he catfished Kostchtchie

agile merlin
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Othea is mentioned twice in the legacy book, Volo's Guide to Monstahs, at least from searching Beyond

jagged apex
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so technically she is mentioned in 5e lore

feral lintel
agile merlin
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Yes

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That's why his ideal universe consists of him
And everything else would be a mindless, shambling, silent corpse

jagged apex
# feral lintel Doesnt he really prefer undead?

eh, bit of a stretch, he literally aims to have all other beings in the universe, save for himself and the mindless undead that are nothing more than extensions of his will and existence more than anything, so he can enjoy the peace and quietness of an empty cosmos

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he only slightly tolerates the dead more than the living is a bit more accurate a statement

feral lintel
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...I cant get the thought that Orcus is just a really hateful introvert out of my mind.

jagged apex
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hence why i said he'd basically kill you, or worse, so simply existing

feral lintel
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Definitely an introvert to the extreme

jagged apex
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he makes niellists look optimistic by comparison more or less

agile merlin
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I will be the last creature when I am done. The cosmos will then be perfect, free of the braying abominations that are all other living things.
Words of a man you definitely want to start a cult about

feral lintel
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Badass

agile merlin
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He's also known as the Blood Lord, which is kinda funny cuz it makes me think of Mohg

feral lintel
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We dont talk about Mohg 0-0

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Gods, demonlords are so cool

jagged apex
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Orcus is one of my favorite demon lords cuz all though his resurrection after his death as Tenebrous forever denied him the chance of true godhood, he effectively has managed to make himself effectively immortal, no mater what, far as i know he will always return even should someone manage to slay him in his own layer of the abyss, meaning he will win in the end, all he technically has to do in theory is wait for the natural heat death of the multiverse, his efforts more or less are less to achieve his goals but rather to achieve them faster

agile merlin
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I think the wand is a part of it? Cuz it's virtually impossible to even learn how to destroy it

jagged apex
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like even the gods are not truely immortal, in theory when the last mortal dies on old age, the gods will eventually starve to death, with no living mortal worshipers

feral lintel
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Geez yeah, you are right Scarlet, he makes nihilists look optimistic

agile merlin
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I think there are greater deities still in the lore who don't need worship? Like Ao, the Overgod

jagged apex
jagged apex
agile merlin
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So he's like, using his own corpse as his phylactery?

feral lintel
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Gods thats metal

jagged apex
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when i said gods i basically mean everyone under the level of power that Ao has in realmspace

jagged apex
feral lintel
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You know, he sounds like a really cool BBEG... Why did I go Empyrean of Death...

agile merlin
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He found the "Last Word" which is power word, kill but for gods

jagged apex
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which is kind of impressive given somewhere in his layer of the abyss sealed under some sort of structure, forget what kind, is a portal to the positive energy plane that is sealed so he would if it was ever opened, would in theory just annilate his layer of the abyss, potentially the abyss in general

agile merlin
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Orcus could probably just flee to his vacation home in the negative energy plane

jagged apex
agile merlin
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And wait for another bit of bone from a dead universe to remake the Abyss

feral lintel
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Ic Ic. Oh, btw, where is the stats and general lore for Orcus' staff?

jagged apex
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also, a messed up part, even if you were to basically kill and entire world, Orcus would still not be the least bit impressed, as he would be upset that such acts are so few and far between, like is an uphill battle to impress him or make any sort of good impression on him without just letting yourself being exterminated and not expecting anything in return and even then probably not a guaranteed

iron saffron
jagged apex
feral lintel
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Yeye. I kinds remember it having stats for 5e.

jagged apex
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assuming you ment his wand

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but despite the way it was created at the end of the day it is effectively a part of orcus to an extent at least

feral lintel
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... Oh its in the DMG...

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Im dumb

agile merlin
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I know it's sentient, and that it likes to try to tempt wielders into attempting to supplant Orcus, inevitably leading to that wielder's death since the wand is ultimately loyal to Orcus

feral lintel
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But yeah, thanks for the link!

agile merlin
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It's also a wand for the some 20 foot tall demon lord, but it probably does feel more like a staff to most others

jagged apex
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yeah, you would be foolish in the extreme to try to kill orcus with his own wand, probably why when he was first killed it was hidden

agile merlin
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It's like trying to conquer Mordor with the One Ring

jagged apex
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if not more

feral lintel
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It counts as a mace yee

jagged apex
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like despite being a potent castor, orcus will beat you to a pulp and then some if you get too close, he effectively is a battle mage, might or magic, why not both?

agile merlin
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Plus, magic is more likely to just incinerate you fast

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He's gonna make it hurt

jagged apex
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and unlike others, he is the only one that can wield it and out right ignore the detrimental effects that it grants

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literally with his mace/wand he is just even more powerful, and he likely could kill you or your typical adventuring party without it

feral lintel
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He is CR 26

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Also, geez he has a lair action PWK

jagged apex
agile merlin
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Also, confirmed that the mortal progenitors of the main giant races, Masud (fire), Vilmos (storm), Ruk (hill), Ottar (frost), Obadai (stone), Nicias (cloud) aren't mentioned anywhere in 5e sourcebooks

jagged apex
# feral lintel He is CR 26

that is more mechanics than lore, but yeah, he, demogorgon, and graz'zt are in a 3 way tie, ever changing more or less, for a good reason, though demogorgon still has not had the risk of loosing his title

feral lintel
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They arent in Bigby's can tell you thst

agile merlin
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Not at all surprised that Arno and Julian of the ettin are absent, though, a few things considered

jagged apex
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anyone that can give the prince of demons a run for their money, even if demon lords are on the lower end of the powers food chain of the likes of gods and angels, they are still no joke especially compared to mere mortals

feral lintel
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Most demons are already trouble enough

jagged apex
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and by name i mean the name of their kind of giant, ettin

feral lintel
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Owch

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Wait, true giants?!

agile merlin
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And also the og's aren't that great folks

feral lintel
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The rabbit hole goes deeper...

agile merlin
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Yeah, true giants being the ones with the word giant in their names

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I mean, I feel like demon lords are more than a few cuts above most angels, considering the planar corruption of the Abyss in and of itself is the most common source of corruption in angels and even Empyreans

feral lintel
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I though they were just giantkin too

jagged apex
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also is funny, historically, giant kin known as wood giants, were able to pass off as true giants and unlike arno and julian got their own territory in the great giant empire on toril way back in the day

feral lintel
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Wood giants?

agile merlin
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Yeah, cuz they weren't revealed as being "bastards" until later

jagged apex
agile merlin
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Cuz the giant kin are descended from Othea and the iceberg boy or Vaprak, generally

jagged apex
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giant kin basically can only trace their ancestry back to either annam or othea, true giants typically can trace it back to both, is the main difference at least in the forgotten realms to my knowledge

agile merlin
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But curiously, I'm pretty sure Arno and Julian are children of both in the lore
They just got height shamed so hard that wood giants were more respected, despite being even shorter

feral lintel
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Pffft

jagged apex
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also is kind of funny annam gets so miffed at othea's affairs, when literally before coming to toril he fathered many many many other children, such as those that make up the giant pantheon

agile merlin
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Yup

jagged apex
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well way back in the day the ordening between types of giants was height based

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at least for the most part, with fire giants having a more dwarf like ie stocky build but being historically higher ranking than the frost giants

feral lintel
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Now its mostly skill tho, right?

agile merlin
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I think fire giants maybe got their status cuz of their mix of craftsmanship and knack for warfare. Annam was a jack of all trades, supposedly, and got upset that most of his children were all master of one

jagged apex
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well on toril, basically, annam basically broke it, ie "figure it out yourselves" the heirarchy between kinds of giants on toril has been up for grabs ever since the events of the adventure "storm king's thunder" last i checked

agile merlin
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He's still miffed Hartkiller got got

jagged apex
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mainly cuz rather than stop the summoning of one of the mortal enemies, the dragon goddess tiamat, they let us little folk handle it and did nothing, needless to say, given the beef between giants and dragons on toril needless to say the all father was no happy about it

agile merlin
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Tsk tsk tsk

feral lintel
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Bruh

agile merlin
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Back in 2e, ettins didn't even have a strength mod added to their damage, where wood giants did. So I guess enough strength could make up for a lack in inches

jagged apex
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that is more mechanics than lore dude

agile merlin
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:p

jagged apex
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typically in dnd larger creatures are usually stronger than smaller creatures

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otherwise not really any sort of lore to it usually

agile merlin
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Yeah, but wood giants are five feet shorter than ettins, so they're an obvious exception

feral lintel
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Wait, how do goliaths fit in?

agile merlin
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I'm honestly not sure if they're even technically giant kin :P

jagged apex
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it is detailed in bigby's

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they are technically giant kin, how though is unclear

feral lintel
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Imma read over Bigbys before I go to sleep

jagged apex
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they basically have some sort of connection to giants as a whole

feral lintel
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(I know the UA made them closer related to giants)

jagged apex
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UA does not really add to lore, at least not once it gets put back on the shelf to be tackled another time

agile merlin
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When they first got introduced in 3.5e, they were given like four different origins, only one of which having to do with giants (stone giants specifically, since they used to have rocky callouses growing out of their skin). But by now, they're "distantly related to giants" in some completely unknown way

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Giants done get changed all the time

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Firbolgs used to look like Thor and could use alter self instead of disguise self

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Of course, they were actually pretty much the same other than

feral lintel
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No more redhead

agile merlin
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There used to be like ten other types of giants, like for deserts and reefs, and a mountain giant that was just a hill giant with a more level head

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Fomorians didn't used to have Mutant Vision

feral lintel
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Both cursed and non cursed fomorians exist now apparently

agile merlin
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Yea

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I like the addition of the noble Fomorians. Always wondered what they used to be like

feral lintel
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Porple elf giants apparently

agile merlin
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Hill giants used to take pride in the number of hides they wore, whereas now they wear a loincloth if anything and don't leave anywhere near enough of what they eat to craft anything

agile merlin
# feral lintel Porple elf giants apparently

I mean, apparently a lot of Annam's wayward kidduns have something or other in common with elves
The wood giants are sometimes described as looking like giant elves; firbolgs are normally on good terms with nearby elven communities

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Makes it the least bit funny that elf is an ogre's favorite food

feral lintel
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I think in another setting elves were created by giants too

agile merlin
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Ding dang

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Dragonlance? I know ogres used to be like a great civilization of thinkers or something there

feral lintel
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Pfffft

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Ah, Giants creating Elves is Eberron

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Or at least, had them as slaves?

jagged apex
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there are supposidly some that did not move the feywilds generations ago in certain parts we have yet to revisit of faerun

jagged apex
agile merlin
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Funny how that works. Wasn't the Feywild also what turned Fomorians into TITAN goons from the Batman Arkham games?

feral lintel
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Yeap

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They got cursed by someone, forgor who

jagged apex
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lore tends to change over time be it via events or simply continuity differences, or are setting specific

jagged apex
feral lintel
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Well, they tried invading the Feywild then got cursed

jagged apex
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the feywild did not curse them

agile merlin
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Did the noble Fomorians live there too? Maybe that's why they look like big elfs

feral lintel
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Ah yee, the fey did

jagged apex
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eventually though they got too stuck up, power hungry, and entitled and the fey had enough and cursed them

feral lintel
jagged apex
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the nobles are basically those that managed to somehow not get cursed

agile merlin
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The Yagrum Bagarn of giants

jagged apex
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basically they are waht they looked like before they were cursed to what we more often see of them today

agile merlin
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Honestly, with how much giants rely on loincloths and togas to clothe themselves despite being 15+ feet tall, you'd think they'd be getting cursed a whole lot more often. You would never be able to wash that sight out of your eyes

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I'm still a touch disappointed they didn't do anything for Verbeeg in Bigby's

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To be frank, I kinda prefer my giants on the shorter side as opposed to being so big you wonder why they use clubs instead of just stepping on humanoids, so I like the behemoth men

iron saffron
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Bigby's was missing a lot of giants that have appeared throughout the editions.

feral lintel
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Gave us Death Giants and Giant Scions tho

iron saffron
feral lintel
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Oh really? Would ya look at that...

agile merlin
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Why bother doing anything for wood giants or Verbeeg when you can just make two more freaky troll variants? Not even scrags, or some other regionally adapted troll

iron saffron
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There were more trolls in 3E that aren't in Bigby's.

agile merlin
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Besides the aquatic sorts?

iron saffron
agile merlin
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Dang

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Fireproof troll would be a great curveball to toss at a party, and it seems like giant half-breeds like the fell troll are pretty absent overall so that'd be a fresh change

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As opposed to Legion from Castlevania, but made out of trolls

pale stump
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how can warlocks, which gain powers from their patron, gain powers that their patron doesn't even have?

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it's like, a certain devil is like "I'll give you some of my powers in exchange for your servitude", and then the warlock gains powers that don't resemble anything the devil has??

#

same question goes for sorcerer with ancestry tied to a certain creature

pale stump
#

how does it make sense?

#

I get that from a mechanical perspective it would probably be tough to give every single fiend the powers of a high level fiend warlock, or every single dragon the powers of a high level draconic sorcerer

sharp owl
#

The patrons give warlocks power not just specific powers

pale stump
#

but from a lore perspective it was always pretty weird to me

sharp owl
#

The warlock then shapes that power into specific forms

#

Sometimes the patron will also give the warlock knowledge

pale stump
#

and the same goes for a bunch of other features too like feats and whatnot that tie with certain features

sharp owl
#

On Faerun, those features give the character access to the Weave, which allows them to manifest abilities

pale stump
sharp owl
#

The patron/sorcerous origin isn't copy/pasting their abilities onto the individual

sharp owl
pale stump
#

maybe, yeah

#

but yeah, there are tons of features like that

sharp owl
#

For example, mechanically speaking, no dragons don't have advantage on perception checks. But an ancient red dragon does have +16 perception and Detect as a legendary action
So from a narrative sense they do have exceptional senses

#

Therefore draconic gift grants exceptional senses to the recipient. However, from a game balance perspective those exceptional senses are represented mechanically a different way

sharp owl
pale stump
#

yeah ig

sharp owl
#

Like, think of it this way
If lore was to perfectly reflect mechanics, that'd make for disjointed and incoherent lore
If mechanics were to perfectly reflect lore, that'd make for impossibly rigid and limiting mechanics

thorny hound
#

Mirage Dragons look like huge Faerie Dragons

jaunty light
#

anyone like Raistlin from Dragonlance? He's a cool wizard and is an interesting addition to the party

little tiger
#

tell me about kobold. i thought it's a miniature dragon. are there more forms of kobold?

unkempt merlin
#

Kobold aren't mini dragons per say. But they do have relations to dragons.

wet flower
#

Is Duke Ravengard in Elturel during the events of descend into avernus or is that something that BG3 added?

serene crater
wet flower
serene crater
#

DIA

open brook
#

Are grimoires used for magic users? Like can my character use a grimoire instead of a wand or staff?

sharp owl
open brook
jagged apex
#

in the tsr days, kobolds were more so associated with goblins and orcs

little tiger
#

ohh, interesting

jagged apex
#

they are draconic and connected to dragons in most editions, but to say they are miniature dragons is not entirely accurate

little tiger
#

ah i see

#

oh, thank you for the information!

chilly grove
#

[Dragonlance]

Hey, would any loremasters familiar with Dragonlance lore be able to help answer this apparently very niche & unusually specific question:

What happend to the Greygem in the thousands of years between Gargath, The Acolyte of Zivilyn, finding & containing it for the last time on the Isle of Gargath and it's initial destruction at the start of the Chaos War?

I've scoured the internet looking for answers and apparently nobody has ever committed the relevant lore, if it even exists, to the ever-growing digital tapestry of the world wide web.

silent atlas
#

So is there any living dragon in fearûn old enough to reconize a dinosaur

iron saffron
#

Dinosaurs exist in "current" day in the jungles of the Chult Peninsula.

silent atlas
#

What does that havta do with a dragon reconizing a dino

iron saffron
#

Dinosaurs already exist in current day.

silent atlas
iron saffron
#

Toril is not millions of years old.

#

Don't equate our world with Toril.

silent atlas
#

I was making a example

iron saffron
thorny hound
#

which Gods can "use" dragons for their bidding?

obsidian gate
#

weil Tiamat and Bahamut obviously

#

Vlaakith isnt a real god but pretends to be, and she can use red dragons to some extend

iron saffron
#

Dragons are sentient beings and very haughty ones at that. Tiamat and Bahamut may be draconic deities but most dragons don't worship them but rather revere them, so they may serve their gods voluntarily rather than being "used."

agile merlin
#

Like the cadre of golden greatwyrms that follow Bahamut everywhere his avatar goes

iron saffron
#

They're not being used by Bahamut. Those seven great wryms serve him willingly.

obsidian gate
#

I think you might be putting to much emphasis on the word used, when it was put in quotation marks to begin with.

no one here is saying that these gods force the dragons to do anything against their will

iron saffron
#

It was because that word was emphasized.

#

I make no assumptions on what the OP meant by using "use."

agile merlin
#

Yeah, that's what I meant

#

They probably would see themselves as knights, at the humblest

obsidian gate
# iron saffron It was because that word was emphasized.

Ah, I read the message completely differently. putting "use" in quotation marks like that usually indicates that the term isnt entirely fitting for what is being conveyed. I never would have considered it to mean an emphasis

silent atlas
#

Is it uncommon for dragons to have pets

feral lintel
#

No, neither is it uncommon for them to have servants. Well, except for white dragons, They usually end up eating them

upbeat forum
#

[Forgotten Realms] I have a sidequest idea and I'd like to know if it makes sense with the lore: So there was Vargo Kent from the Cult of the Dragon who transformed himself into a half dragon. So my idea is that some leader of a smaller Cult of the Dragon cell wanted to do the same, but didn't have the original recipe for the potion needed. Thus, he asked an alchemist who worked for him to do some research and try to replicate it. The alchemist tried his best and tested it on some animals first, resulting in the creation of hideous acid-spitting crows (it also had a side effect causing insanity if it was actually used on humans). Some of these acid-spitting crows escaped from their cages and are now causing destruction in a forest where they settled. The players now have to fix this mess. Does that make sense?

iron saffron
#

#dm-discussion would be a better place to ask if this is related to the adventure.

#

Think of D&D lore as the history of world/multiverse.

thorny hound
#

Vlakith isn't a goddess?

#

thought she was

feral lintel
#

No

iron saffron
#

If you want to ask a lore question about the Cult of Dragon then this channel would be it. But if you're asking a "what if this happened in this adventure..." then #dm-discussion or #1029833015423143957 would be better places to ask.

feral lintel
#

Shes a lich pretending to be a goddess

thorny hound
#

so are there any other Gods besides obvious Tiamat and Bahamut that have some dealings with dragons?

obsidian gate
thorny hound
#

she's doing good job then

obsidian gate
agile merlin
#

Didn't Tiamat and Bahamut used to be part of the same guy

feral lintel
#

Io, iirc

upbeat forum
silent atlas
#

How is Io pronounced

feral lintel
#

Ee-oh, I think

agile merlin
#

They're the one with a 500' wingspan or something right?

feral lintel
#

Im not sure. Fairly sure gods can take any form or size hto

magic jackal
agile merlin
#

Bro is Akatosh

#

Or maybe sis

silent atlas
#

Aassuming gods where susceptible to the alignment fliping card from the deck of many thing if bahamut or tiamat drew it would it affect the others aliegnment

magic jackal
magic jackal
silent atlas
feral lintel
#

Fairly sure gods cant be affected by the Deck of Many Things

feral lintel
magic jackal
#

Not worth debating, because that's not Lore, that's completely up to the DM.

agile merlin
#

I see D&D as being largely dualistic in its cosmology, so if that could happen, it might cause them both to flip alignment resulting in a zero sum

iron saffron
agile merlin
#

Oh, is it known why the Red Wizards shave their heads? Or if other Thayan humans do so as well?

flint orchid
#

They do

#

Or at least the nobility does

#

As for why maybe to make room for the magic symbols they put on their heads

agile merlin
#

Fair enough

chilly grove
agile merlin
#

Wish I could help, but I didn't even know what Dragonlance was until a few years ago

chilly grove
#

Probably.

agile merlin
#

Yeah probably

storm dagger
#

Near any god could get a dragon to do something for them if they give the right incentives

jagged apex
agile merlin
#

Goodness me that is the best emoji this server could have used

cedar dragon
#

Speaking of gods, does anyone know anything about the Traveler?

iron saffron
modest badger
#

That could apply to a few gods. Do you know which setting?

jagged apex
modest badger
cedar dragon
#

That would be the one

verbal barn
#

Are satyr a male only race?

forest rock
#

What give you that idea?

modest badger
#

Not in 5e

#

Was the case in earlier editions and in folklore/myth

verbal barn
#

Oh okay, so there are also female satyr too, do they always have beards like the males?

modest badger
#

Sometimes the men don't have beards either. But no, no lore suggests that. Art in Theros (which has satyr of many genders) implies they do all have fuzzy arms though, which is also reflected in the PHB art (which depicts a male satyr) and in MotMM (which depicts a male satyr with no beard)

verbal barn
#

I was watching a Mr Rex video on the topic and he says that they are mostly male too and that they reproduced with dryads

#

But I'm totally in with the idea of female satyr too

modest badger
#

Mr Rhexx uses older edition lore and doens't always seperate between sources and editions.

#

That was true in older editions.
It might still be true in some settings, however MotMM doesn't restrict Satyr's gender to male, and that version of satyr is 'generic setting'.
Theros Satyr were more for, well, Theros.

#

MM 5e lore did still imply that 'setting generic' satyr were all male to that point:

Satyrs **resemble stout male humans **with the furry lower bodies and cloven hooves of goats. Horns sprout from their heads, ranging in shape from a pair of small nubs to large, curling rams' horns. They typically sport facial hair.

  • 5e Monster Manual
#

So it's not really incorrect to say they were 'all male' even into 5e (from 2014), but that Playable Satyr (originally from Theros setting (2020), now generic from MotMM (2022)) are not gender or sex locked.

Different settings might still keep to them being 'all male' however. This is the stance that the FR wiki has taken as FR lore previously has stated they are all male, and no new FR specific rule book has challenged that. While you could try and make a case that MotMM might, but also that it only presents Satyr as they do in the multiverse and doesn't override how they appear in FR

verbal barn
#

Thanks for the description, I used a female satyr Npc in my campaign without knowing this and honestly I don't regret it, I think it was a fun twist and experience

modest badger
#

I'm curious to see if 2024 MM changes if the 'core' Satyr is still gender/sex restricted.

#

Although MotMM might have already done so:

** Companion to the Monster Manual**, this book collects monsters from many different planes of existence, each creature ready to imperil D&D heroes of different levels. The book also includes game statistics for nonplayer characters, who may assist or oppose the heroes, and an array of fantastical races for players to consider for their characters.

Chapter 1, "Fantastical Races," presents over 30 race options for player characters, complementing the options in the Player's Handbook and other D&D books.** These races debuted elsewhere and appear all together for the first time here, each of them revised to fit into the current state of the game.**

Chapter 2, "Bestiary," contains over 250 monsters and NPCs, each one represented by a stat block and story text. When you're preparing to run an adventure as the DM, consider sprinkling these creatures into your games, mixing them with the monsters and NPCs from the Monster Manual. The creatures in this chapter fit seamlessly with the ones you use from other D&D books

It's not intended to be setting specific and is intended to be a companion/expansion on the core books (PHB and MM) options.

charred gazelle
#

Think I might need to be lore checked a bit, probably going to adjust things but would like to know exactly what makes someone a Devil.

I'm running chains of asmodeus, which involves some of the PCs searching for their own souls in hell. They have been resurrected by a special ritual for this purpose, with some brief rules in the book for playing without a soul

I'd like the archdevils to really hammer home that they arent so different from these PCs, they as well as devils are essentially Soulless beings of questionable morals that roam the nine hells

If the archdevil was able to sign them into her service, could they technically count as being devils themselves?

reef coral
#

Possibly

flint orchid
elder bloom
#

So i think this question is for here
Is there like a special mode of transport in the Astral Plane cannonically? A character i was thinking was an astral elf that works for a "Scroll Delivery Company from space" but idk if there's an actual thing for transporation or travel in the astral plane apart from convenience of not entering kingdoms at war or such

flint orchid
#

But I suppose a soul doesn't have a soul

unkempt merlin
haughty olive
#

Githyanki ride red dragons on the astral plane 🤷‍♂️ I don't think there's a standard form of transit though.

iron saffron
dense crow
#

Canonically speaking, how would Jarlaxle Beanre treat a male half-drow in an adventuring party who is a devout paladin of Eillistraee and member of the Lord's Alliance?

haughty olive
#

Canonically, Jarlaxle would probably be distant and apparently aloof while paying close attention to the character and the behavior of said paladin.

#

I think he would be the type to not judge a book by it's cover, so just knowing those things about a person says little about who they are. How devout are they to God and Alliance? Morally flexible at all?

iron saffron
short jewel
#

What type of person would hire a bone devil as a assassin

iron saffron
#

Not really a lore question.

crude sparrow
#

Are there any major Faerun gods of hunting? I wanna know to give suggestions for my cleric subclass

#

I have Atermis, Neith, Woden and Ullur in mind already but who else could fit for a DND Specific diety?

forest rock
#

Have you looked at the dnd pantheon?

iron saffron
crude sparrow
#

ty

iron saffron
#

You should be more specific which campaign setting. Not all settings have the same gods.

crude sparrow
#

This is for a Cleric Subclass, which usually give some examples of dieties so I didnt think of that didnt know itd be needed sorry

iron saffron
#

Consult your DM which gods are in their setting.

crude sparrow
#

This is for a generic homebrew that anyone can use though. Not just my game

iron saffron
#

Taps channel's sign:

Discuss WotC-published game settings, and the events and characters that shaped them. Wherever possible, please indicate which setting you're discussing: [Forgotten Realms]/[FR], [Eberron], [Dragonlance], etc.

#

This channel is for specific official D&D campaign setting lore, not generic homebrew ones.

crude sparrow
#

Right? Which is why I asked here. My initial question was for Faerun Hunting gods then the other post was an explanation for that.

#

Do you think I should include a god suggestion for each official campaign setting? Or no

iron saffron
#

Ask your DM. This isn't a lore question.

modern mirage
#

What are species (animals) that are going extinct in the forgotten realms ?

iron saffron
#

¯_(ツ)_/¯

#

FR lore doesn't really cover that.

modern mirage
#

Ok!

silent atlas
#

Beside faerûn what other countrys are in toril

iron saffron
#

Faerun is a continent, not a country.

silent atlas
#

Continents then

feral lintel
#

Its quite a lot

iron saffron
feral lintel
iron saffron
#

I would recommend you check out the FR wiki and dive into the rabbit hole. Most of us will link to it anyway.

silent atlas
#

Also why does almost ever thing seem to happen in the swords coast

feral lintel
#

Because the Sword Coast is the current poster boy of DnD

iron saffron
#

Not really a lore question.

silent atlas
#

Is it true dogs arnt alowed in bualders gate or is that just somthing bg3 made up

unkempt merlin
#

Baldurs Gate bans any animals larger than a peacock

agile merlin
#

What if the animal is under the effect of a reduce spell

feral lintel
#

Well, Enlarge/Reduce only works for a minute...

agile merlin
#

Oh right

#

That darn Spellplague

silent atlas
spark haven
#

Seems like a pretty effective way to prevent a large set of dangerous things from entering the city.

#

It's definitely weird that peacock is the benchmark

jagged apex
#

the point i think is the city is known to be crowded as is, allowing pets of various sizes would only make it more cramped presumably

#

so if any, only those that are rather small would be viable without causing trouble

feral lintel
#

It would also stink up a lot, cuz poop

jagged apex
#

again, something that some parts of the city are known for enough already

oblique scarab
#

I want to run a campaign where a devil is beefing with Asmodeus and as such is hiding out in a different plane, but I can't figure out which one would be safe enough for them to live on but also is difficult enough to traverse that the forces of hell wouldn't bother going after them until they really became a threat.

I'm leaning towards Gehenna because (quoting the FR wiki) Gehenna was often a plane of exile for the less powerful archdevils and daemon taskmasters.

thorny hound
#

who is Elminster?
is he just your friendly neighbor Gandalf ?

modest badger
#

Based a little on Gandalf and Odin, yeah. Wondering eccentric wizard, favoured by the goddess of magic. Ed Greenwood's bestest boy.

iron saffron
crude blaze
#

Yeah, he’s canonically a big deal. Even if he can be a little goofy at times.

iron saffron
#

He looked like Ed Greenwood (at least the earlier illustrations).

crude blaze
#

Almost like he’s a self-insert or something

iron saffron
#

I mean Ed Greenwood inserted himself to meet a bunch of the big name archmages numerous times in his Dragon Magazine articles...

jagged apex
#

he is basically the creator of the forgotten realm's in universe counterpart who is also one of the most powerful mages alive

feral lintel
#

A wizard with a love for Dr Pepper, iirc

iron saffron
jagged apex
#

i noticed, but did not until after i linked it myself, srry

#

i know gandolf has his own big deals, but from what i have seen of the two, both as mortals, elminster is easily many times more powerful than someone like gandalf, and to my knowledge he does not necessarily have inspiration from gandalf and odin, just happens to fit in similar character archetypes, depending on which depiction of odin you are talking about

#

but i think calling him just "your friendly neighbor gandalf" would be underselling his character

#

cuz he is far more than just an elderly and powerful mage, if anything such a comparison would probably be an understatement given his known adventures

#

pretty much is known by any wizard on the forgotten realms worth their spellbook as someone to at the very least respect, like when he says something regarding your use of magic or gives you advice, it would be unwise to dismiss it, like from what i can tell out of the chosen of mystra he is potentially the most influencial and respected one, which is odd given some of her chosen include her own daughters, but yeah being a big deal is probably an understatement

modest badger
#

Ed has mentioned a few times he imagines Elminster to sound like Nicol Williamson as Merlin in EXCALIBUR, implying that as a source of inspiration.
But there are certain paralells with Gandalf, being a meddling old wizard with a big hat and beard and smoking a pipe, with a touch of divinity thanks to him being chosen of mystra.

But you're right that he's not the direct inspiration- That'd be Merlin.

Q: Elminster bears a strong resemblance to Gandalf, whether gray or white, both in appearance and behavior (helping young adventurers become heroes in their own right).** Was Gandalf a chief source of inspiration for Elminster?
Also, do you see other incarnations of Gandalf in other pieces of literature, such as Obi-Wan, Dumbledore, and Fizban, or do the characteristics of Gandalf/Elminster/Merlin (the wise old wizard) date back further than I can imagine?** Is the wise old wizard something that has always existed?

A: As I blathered on regarding, on the radio show, Merlin is the real inspiration for Elminster, not Gandalf. I originally needed Elminster as an "unreliable narrator" for DRAGON Realms articles, and an "unreliable sage" for PCs to consult in my original Realms campaign. He's far more of a rogue than Gandalf, and far less sane, though it's true some of the illustrations of him over the years have looked very similar to some of the illustrations of Gandalf (but then, I recall hearing Tolkien say that he didn't much like a lot of said illustrations, either). I think the "wise old wizard" figure has always existed, and as I've said before, if "I was running TSR" I'd never have featured El as a main character in a novel, only as a supporting character. Taking him center stage makes comparisons with Gandalf inevitable.
Q&A from Candlekeep Forum, Archived on Candlekeep

jagged apex
#

well, learn something new every day

modest badger
#

So Ed was inspired by Merlin (particularly Nicol Williamson's Merlin it seems), but over time artists and other writers do seem to have drawn from Gandalf (who in turn was often likened to Odin, and just the general 'wandering old man wizard' archtype from norse mythology)

jagged apex
#

seems to me was fair to say that the similarities with gandolf was more so just cuz of being in similar character archtypes

iron saffron
modest badger
#

You know, when I first saw that design, I loved it and then was heart broken to find out it was elminster dndLol

jagged apex
#

which seems mtg and bg3 keep in line with

modest badger
#

I love 5e's design too. But you can see where people see 'Big hat, long beard, staff and sword, wizard, (used to have a pipe)' and go 'Gandalf?'

jagged apex
#

i again, blame the archtype more so than the character

#

cuz big hat logan from darksouls have the biggest wizard hat to ever wizard hat, but never see anyone calling him anything remotely related to gandalf even though he is likely as old

#

so i blame people just recognizing the archtype and likely being aware of gandalf before elminster, so when they see the hat, staff and beard, their brain just naturally thinks "gandolf"

#

cuz they just associate him so strongly with that archtype in their head

agile merlin
#

Honestly Gandalf just looks like the painting of Odin the Wanderer, plus there's Merlin who's a stock character you pull out any time someone needs to consult a wise man in a fairy tale
It seems a bit disingenuous to rank any hatted wizard in comparison with Gandalf alone, for sure

#

If you were a traveling wizard, you'd be wearing a hat, too
Or else that sun's gonna cook your tush, magic or no

modest badger
#

It's more just when it comes to trying to explain Elminster 'a gandalf like figure' is more likely to be understood, especially with how much Tolkien's work influenced D&D, Gygax's disapproval or no.
It's not saying he is based on Gandalf, or that he is Gandalf, but it's a well known reference to use to describe him.

jagged apex
#

assuming elminster ever watched or read lord of the rings during any of his visits to Ed's house, i imaigne he would not appreciate the comparison to say the least, may not take offense given this quote of his toward larloch in 1487 DR "Archlich, I mock everyone. Myself, most of all. It's how I guard my heart against the flailing lashings of life"

agile merlin
#

Oh yea, and Elminster has totally read Lord of the Rings when he came to Earth :p

#

And probably wondered what Fensir devourers were doing on the material plane when Gandalf turned the trolls to stone in

jagged apex
agile merlin
#

I love that goofy ahh picture so much

feral lintel
#

Them drinking cola sends me

agile merlin
#

Back before Mordenkainen got cursed with lice and started shaving his head

jagged apex
#

that pic with ed hiding in the armor while elminster and mordenkainen just help themselves to some snacks and refreshments is just so funny to me, love when i have the chance to bring it up in a lore context even if possibly only partial

agile merlin
#

For real they stole his grilled cheese and popcorn

#

Do you think Mordenkainen ever found one of Gary's old character sheets of himself and had an existential crisis?

jagged apex
#

doubt it, besides, given the stuff they have faced, no guaranteed he'd have one even if he did, elminster literally met his creator, and being as smart as he is as a rather powerful and long lived sage, i doubt elminster would not have discovered or at least suspect the true nature of his and ed's for lack of a better term, relationship, but is hard to say, love it when the lore gets a bit meta like that, but also tends to make some things confusing as while it is earth it is not our reality

#

plus odds are mordenkainen would not who that is, let alone have a reason to search threw his stuff

agile merlin
#

Fair

#

It's like a more direct version of the whole dream thing Kirkbride wrote for Elder Scrolls

jagged apex
#

not sure what that is, but sounds like it would be deviating a little too much from the topics of the channel

agile merlin
#

Yea

jaunty bluff
#

Are there any Monarchical human kingdoms in Faerun? I can't seem to find any clearly "Kingdom with a King/Queen" situation anywhere where humans have settled.

iron saffron
modest badger
jaunty bluff
#

Thanks!

jagged apex
#

where as the two mentioned by oldman are within those criteria at least to my knowledge with cormyr and halruaa both technically being majority human in terms of their population as far as we know as of last time we got info on the two

agile merlin
#

Isn't Hartsvale a predominantly human monarchy too? Their first king was half-giant, but there's not exactly a wealth of Hartkiller-descended giants running around unless you count that king's own descendants

jagged apex
#

not really as there is no percentages so the ratios are unclear, but from what i know of it, giant kin, both those of and and of the royal bloodline likely outnumber the humans living in the kingdom

#

from what i can find on the forgotten realms wiki, the info that we do have is a bit too vague to say it is predominantly human, though the giant blood in them likely has diluted over the generations https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Hartsvale

#

is not as clear cut as the other two examples which had percentages for the races that made up the inhabitants

#

it is technically described as a human kingdom, but to me at least seems would be more accurate to say it is one of humans and giant kin, namely firbolg

agile merlin
#

Yeah, cuz it was fromed from the human and giantkin tribes Hartkiller was allied with, right?

jagged apex
#

from what i recall he founded it, or at least seems heavily implied given that not only does it say he cleared the area of giants for the humans, but also his own son was their first king https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Brun

#

after all, remember, despite being a direct son of annam, he was only 12ft tall, which was extremly short for a giant, let alone a true giant

#

and since that blood would likely dilute over generations, i doubt most could tell his descendants after some time from pure blooded humans

agile merlin
#

Yeah

#

He was only ogre-sized, and his brothers thought Othea was lying about her pregnancy ti begin with

jagged apex
#

assuming they even knew to begin with

agile merlin
#

Also a possibility

jagged apex
#

cuz do to his size alone, they dismissed him when he came to basically fulfill the prophecy and wound up killing him, needless to say was a major uh oh in giant history on toril

agile merlin
#

Biggest uh oh, Annam's last straw

jagged apex
#

i doubt knowing of his would be birth would have swayed them much since giants very much prioritized size over pretty much everything else

agile merlin
#

Plus, short round supposedly lasted a hundred days against the strongest storm giant of the time so joke's on them

#

Yeah

#

They're probably not gonna make Annam proud again any time soon

jagged apex
# agile merlin Biggest uh oh, Annam's last straw

eh, i'd say that was more so when he broke the ordining on toril between different giants as punishment and anger over their inactiveness when tiamat was trying to summon herself to faerun, that was the pont he to my knowledge basically gave up on the giants of toril, cuz otherwise eventually someone from hartkiller's lineiage was suppose to arise one day to finish what hartkiller attempted to do

#

though after that i doubt this is still the case or even matters since he more or less has left them to squabble among themselves

#

all father was not at all pleased that the giants sat and did nothing while the small folks and freaking dragons actually bothered to stop the reemergence of one of their ancient enemies

#

that given what he did after to me seems like it was truely the last straw

subtle marsh
#

Is there a timeline for the Dragonlance World?

iron saffron
subtle marsh
#

Thanksssss

shrewd bobcat
#

Very odd question here but
In there any creatures in lore that has Pink fur?

rustic vessel
#

Does anyone know any lore on Throrgar? (the abyss in the underdark beneath Baldurs Gate) I wanna make an adventure there but can't find much info

iron saffron
jagged apex
gray ember
#

Is there somewhjere I can find a good collection of the demons in 5e? One of my players has a storyline regarding having a demon's blood injected into them and I'm looking to see what kind it'd end up being. Might make them fight it

jagged apex
#

funny thing about demons in dnd, the ones we actually ever had stats for or even confirmed existance of, in universe is just a drop in a bucket, cuz the abyss is constantly making demons infinitely and chaos allows for pretty much any possibility

gray ember
#

True, I was considering making a new one but I thought to mnaybe see what's already tehre

jagged apex
#

well, hope you got time, cuz plenty to read up on, especially if not limiting youself to those with statblocks

agile merlin
#

Basically anything goes with making a new demon, too, since demon means anything from "soul eating gargoyle made of sapient darkness" to "giant freaking minotaur"

iron saffron
slow river
#

apologies, what book would be best to look at the lore for lizardfolk?

modest badger
#

In 5e it would have been Volo's Guide to Monsters

muted kettle
#

Hey just wanting to ask, idk if its the right channel, but anyway: how does the soul work in D&D

iron saffron
#

When a mortal dies their soul goes typically goes to their gods' domain in the Outer Planes. Sometimes devils would make bargains with mortals, which they would take the soul to the Nine Hells, in exchange for whatever the mortal wants (such as power).

muted kettle
iron saffron
#

Souls are used to create new devils.

muted kettle
# iron saffron Souls are used to create new devils.

Ohh that's so sick. Cus my party is pretty mid-late game rn. We've been playing for a while and a dark entity ''dropped'' the book of vile darkness, but a homebrew magically and physically sealed version where they need to find a way to open it if they want to. And i was wonderin if a devil would be interested in the book (surely to give him power or else) enough to make a pact with the player so that both would take this power (this player tends to be more on the evil, non-murder hobo side). Would devils be interested in this ?

iron saffron
muted kettle
iron saffron
#

Book of Vile Darkness is an artifact so devils would take it of course.

muted kettle
iron saffron
#

Lore doesn't really deal with "what if?" questions.

muted kettle
iron saffron
#

Also you don't need to ping me when I'm the only other person in the chat.

muted kettle
#

Ight anyway thanks

iron saffron
#

Please don't ping me when I'm the only person responding to you.

muted kettle
#

Ping ? you mean respond ? didn't know it pinged, just thought it could lead to an efficient conversation where if people chatted too we wouldn't get lost ight man

iron saffron
#

Yes...

tough summit
#

Does anyone know what year Lost Mine of Phandelver takes place in?

charred valley
#

1481 DR

#

i looked it up

grim siren
#

Well Yes but actually maybe.

charred valley
#

"Pages 30-31 of Lost Mine of Phandelver describe the eruption of Mount Hotenow (1451 DR) as occurring “30 years ago”, which would place the adventure in 1481 DR. However, the Acquisitions Incorporated book suggests Phandelver and Princes take place at the same time (and Princes is stated as taking place in 1491 DR)."

iron saffron
charred valley
#

here is what i found

grim siren
#

Even Ed Greenwood says the 1490s

iron saffron
#

1491 DR – Princes of the Apocalypse adventure takes place. The novel Death Masks takes place, and those events reference the adventure Curse of Strahd, which therefore takes place in 1491 or slightly earlier. Lost Mine of Phandelver, from the Starter Set, likely takes place here (probably before Princes). Pages 30-31 of Lost Mine of Phandelver describe the eruption of Mount Hotenow (1451 DR) as occurring “30 years ago”, which would place the adventure in 1481 DR. However, the Acquisitions Incorporated book suggests Phandelver and Princes take place at the same time (and Princes is stated as taking place in 1491 DR). Ed Greenwood said on Twitter, “Lost Mine is officially a bit nebulous in date for DM convenience, though there are detailed internal WotC timelines so as to keep things straight (i.e. novels). Safe to say: 1490s DR.” The date of the eruption is incorrect in another 5E product, so 1491 is likely the correct date for LMoP. Dragons of Stormwreck Isle lacks dates in the adventure, but the pregens are revised and yet include the same text as the original ones in Lost Mine. It is likely the pregen dates are incorrect in the same way, and thus Stormwreck takes place during the same year as Lost Mine, so 1491.

grim siren
#

Granted as long as its in that 2 decade span its not really gonna matter too much. WOTC being "Internally Consistent." Is not really a thing when it comes to timeline.

tough summit
#

So, I'm preparing to start the campaign with new players, as a new dm, is there anything I should research or know about the lore before hand?

grim siren
#

Which setting?

tough summit
iron saffron
#

Neverwinter is nearby

grim siren
#

Look up Jorphdan he has a video about Lost mines and the surrounding area. That will be plenty.

tough summit
#

Thanks!

grim siren
#

Faerun only seems daunting when you try to eat the entire buffet at once. Which is the exact opposite way it was intented to be enjoyed at the gaming table.

fathom rapids
#

How does "outerspace" work in FR? traveling straight up takes you to the astral plane and wildspace, right? So then are the Sun and Moon actual objects in the sky, or something else?

iron saffron
#

Wildspace.

#

You need a spelljammer to go to the Astral Plane/Sea (grumbles about 5E Spelljammer use of Astral Sea to travel between systems...).

fathom rapids
#

ok the planets and sun and such are actual things in realmspace, but the in-between is more magical than in real life?

#

I'm still not quite sure what the difference between wildspace, realmspace, and the astral sea is

iron saffron
#

In 2E Spelljammer, the twinkling stars in the night sky would be from the Crystal Sphere and not other systems.

unkempt merlin
iron saffron
#

Realmspace = the stellar system of the Forgotten Realms.
Greyspace = the stellar system of Greyhawk.
Krynnspace = the stellar system of Dragonlance.
Athaspace = the stellar system of Dark Sun.

#

Wildspace is the empty void between worlds (aka "outer space").

unkempt merlin
fathom rapids
#

so it more or less works like normal then?

iron saffron
#

Astral Sea is the Astral Plane, it was called that in 4E and WotC decided to use it for Spelljammers to travel through instead of the phlogiston that 2E Spelljammer did.

unkempt merlin
#

Wildspace is the "irl outerspace" equivalent, but it doesn't function exactly the same

iron saffron
fathom rapids
#

So, before I asked this question, I was under the impression that wildspace/realmspace was a different plane. That's why I was confused about the sun and moon. But it sounds like this is still similar to real life, in that there are celestial bodies that physically exist, and actual distance between them that can be traveled

unkempt merlin
#

Correct

#

Varies slightly based on the specific wildspace system and what it entails, but yes

iron saffron
#

The Material Plane contains countless stellar systems (aka Crystal Spheres). In order to travel between them without spells you use spelljamming ships called spelljammers. Spelljammer is also the name of the special "throne" that powers a ship to travel through the Astral Sea (grumbles again...). They are named after the Spelljammer, a city-size manta ray-shaped spelljammer ship.

fathom rapids
#

So then if someone were to cast a spell that takes you to a random location on the material plane (such as banishment) would there be a chance that it could send you to space or another planet?

unkempt merlin
#

Theoretically

fathom rapids
#

🤔

unkempt merlin
#

Wildspace is the area of overlap between the Material and Astral, so I guess it would be considered both planes

iron saffron
#

Near infinite number of worlds you could randomly go to.

plucky forge
#

Does anyone know where I could find resources talking about the value of soul coins? In terms of both material wealth and... less than material

iron saffron
plucky forge
#

I went through the FR wiki and BG3 but there's little on the like... market value? I guess?

crude blaze
#

I think the intent is that there shouldn’t be

plucky forge
crude blaze
#

I think what’s regarded as “currency” for devils is supposed to feel alien to humanoids

iron saffron
#

They have no value for mortals in the Material Plane.

plucky forge
#

I don't know how to play them from a DM perspective. How valuable is one of my players carrying 4 coins in Avernus?

iron saffron
plucky forge
#

Like I'm not entirely clear on their value to devils either

crude blaze
#

All you really have to do imo is consider their rarity

#

They’re uncommon magic items from a humanoid perspective. That doesn’t necessarily need a monetary value.

plucky forge
iron saffron
#

There isn't much lore to Soul Coins since they were only introduced in BG:DiA

#

What you see in that wiki entry is what you have on it. This is your job as DM to fill in the rest. Hence, #dm-discussion would be a better place to ask.

crude blaze
#

Yep. They’re as rare and valuable as you ultimately make them at your table.

modest badger
#

#1029833015423143957 for BG:DiA might also have advice on how the adventure intends to handle them.
You might note that even in BG3 their use and value is... not really clear.
I'd look into how valuable souls are to devils. Soul Coins just seem to be an easy way to pass a soul around as a favour. It might possible differ between devils and the quota's they need to reach. A single soul might be worth a lot more to a lower devil, than a higher one that needs to obtain many souls.

jagged apex
#

to my knowledge both in BG:DiA and BG3 we only get any detail really in their relation to infernal machinery

snow laurel
jagged apex
#

i could be wrong, but not to my knowledge, i would have to reread my copy of the adventure to be sure

#

assuming you mean The Wandering Emporium

jagged apex
#

so seems that one of the few confirmed ones that accepts them as a form of currency is Mahadi, the rakshasa that runs the emporium

fervent laurel
#

In the Forgotten Realms, how are Warforged even made?

iron saffron
#

There are no warforged on Toril. Warforged are an Eberron race.

fervent laurel
#

Oh

#

How are they made in Eberron?

iron saffron
#

They were created by House Cannith in magical 'creation forges' to fight in the Last War.

burnt forge
#

How does a litches phylactery work?

sharp owl
#

Depends on the lich and the setting

burnt forge
#

cause im thinking its like a horcrux from harry potter

sharp owl
#

It's not

#

Generally speaking souls are 'fed' to the vessel, destroying them in the process, and this sustains the liches existence

drowsy wraith
#

In Eberron there's a lich whose phylactery is her magical tattoo iirc

burnt forge
#

Just wondering if theres any limit for what one of them can be

sharp owl
#

Again, depends on the setting and lich

burnt forge
sharp owl
#

It's typically an object for more "traditional" liches

#

But it can vary

burnt forge
#

cause im thinking

drowsy wraith
burnt forge
#

whats stopping the phylactery from being a warforge or something like that

sharp owl
burnt forge
#

wasnt on my list

sharp owl
rustic isle
#

Been digging and digging but have come up empty.

Is there any official descriptor/indicator on what drow do with their dead?

sharp owl
#

Which setting?

rustic isle
#

I'll take any and every tid bit of info I can get my hands on.
Haven't been searching setting specific. Just through as many drow/lolth sources as I can find

sharp owl
#

Well given that lore varies wildly between settings, that's key information

#

Assuming we're talking about Udadrow
In the Forgotten Realms, if I'm remembering correctly, high ranking drow (usually priestesses, but also matriarchs) would be entombed in a sanctum or mausoleum. Less esteemed drow would be buried in a plot owned by their house, while the poorest would be discarded to the rot farms to be reclaimed by the various fungi that are common throughout the underdark

#

However, if we're talking non-udadrow, it would depend on what deity you worshipped

#

That becomes almost universally true once you venture beyond the forgotten realms

#

However, this isn't something the lore for even FR goes super deep on from my recollection

rustic isle
#

Lolth specific.
Setting wise forgotten realms which you generously covered or perhaps ravenloft if it's darker/different.
Initially wasnt setting specific as our current game is in a homebrew setting

rustic isle
jagged apex
pale stump
#

another question I have, kinda similar to the one from not too long ago about creatures that have player options related to them

sharp owl
#

Remember that this channel largely ignores mechanics

#

Just something to keep in mind with regards to your question

pale stump
sharp owl
#

That's a mechanics question

#

Lore likely doesn't reflect, respect, or interact with that

#

That's a purely mechanical option to give DMs the tools to adjust their encounters

pale stump
#

but is it stated anywhere in the lore how they get the power to grant others magic that they themselves don't possess?

sharp owl
#

It's then down to the DM to come up with a narrative reason (which isn't the same as lore) as to why that's the case

sharp owl
unkempt merlin
#

I'm also not sure it clarifies such a thing? Unless it's somewhere other than here

Legendary creatures, such as ancient gold dragons and unicorns, sometimes grace their allies with charms, and some explorers find themselves bearing the magic of a charm after discovering a long-lost location that is drenched in primeval magic.

iron saffron
#

Think of "lore" as "history"

pale stump
#

the clarification that they mean a creature with legendary actions, that is

jagged apex
#

and otherwise in universe stuff, dnd is a game to us, but to the characters and creatures in it, it is reality

pale stump
#

"A charm is typically the work of a powerful spirit, a location of ancient magic, or a creature that has legendary actions."

unkempt merlin
#

(As for the second part of "any magic even resembling the DMG charms": those charms are explicitly all examples)

pale stump
#

interesting

unkempt merlin
pale stump
#

so the charms are just examples?

#

didn't know that

unkempt merlin
#

Example charms are provided below.
A typical charm mimics the effects of a potion or a spell, so it is easy to create more charms of your own

sharp owl
#

Let's stay on topic (lore, not mechanics)

soft pendant
#

I’m hoping this is the right place to ask this- I’ve been researching but still remain a bit confused on elf aging

agile merlin
#

Like, when do they start to show signs of being over 640 years old?

soft pendant
#

Maybe? So like it says on dndbeyond that elfs mature physically at the same rate as humans but until about 100 years old, other elves don’t see them as adults. My question is, does that mean a 100 year old elf LOOKS like a 100 year old human? Cause like humans can’t age to let’s say 750 years old so what would an elf even look like by then?

#

Or even 300 years old? Would the elf still be full of life and vigor while simultaneously looking like a decrepit old person?

agile merlin
#

I read "mature" as being different from aging. They mature at the same rate, as in they're fully developed by their mid 20s. But they must only actually age very, very slowly

sterile breach
#

I'd agree with that distinction. Also:

Elves were universally long-lived, achieving what they consider adulthood at 110 years of age and living for up to 700 and more years thereafter. [13] However, wood and wild elves matured at roughly the same rate as humans, but did not display many signs of ageing past adulthood, with the most obvious changes being a change in hair color, alternatively graying or darkening. Most of these elves remained healthy and full of life up until their death, which was usually well over two centuries.[14]

From here, which cites the 3.5e and 4e Player's Handbooks.

agile merlin
#

So they don't show any outward signs of aging at all?

soft pendant
#

Ah perfect thank both of you so much for the clarification!!

sterile breach
agile merlin
#

Ah

#

So their hair probably doesn't thin or go gray (with elves whose hair isn't already white or silver anyway) typically, but you could tell a 700 year old elf from a 300 year old one

alpine monolith
#

Can there be ways for races to live longer or will magic items or spells be the only way for them to extend their life?

unkempt merlin
#

Important thing of note with elves is the "adult at 100" is a cultural thing

agile merlin
#

Yup

#

They pick their adult name and start bearing their clan name by then, right?

sterile breach
agile merlin
#

Regular exercise?

#

Unrelated I know, but it could work like the athletics challenge in Sims 3 where your lifespan triples after running 500 kilometers or something

alpine monolith
alpine monolith
unkempt merlin
alpine monolith
#

Ohhh, thought that was the official rules on their lifespans is why

feral lintel
#

There's a boon that lets creatures become immortal.

#

Druids and monks have something about living longer

iron saffron
#

If you want to know the game mechanics of longevity then ask in #dnd-discussion

#

What Timo wrote are gameplay mechanics, not lore...

unkempt merlin
feral lintel
alpine monolith
iron saffron
#

Think of "lore" as history.

alpine monolith
#

Thank you tho!

iron saffron
#

In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, the Halruaan wizard-king Kirkson lived for hundreds of years because he discovered and created elixir of longevity that extended his life for a couple hundred years.

alpine monolith
iron saffron
gray ember
#

Does selune have any particular opnions regarding undead or is it the usual deal of it being heretical

raw fulcrum
#

Can someone give me a rundown of lore on Neverwinter?

magic jackal
#

here's a good rundown

eager bay
#

For the short version: Founded, like most of the middle of the coast, on the ruins of Illefarn (elven nation that was a trailblazer in racial tolerance through its open admittance of basically anyone, especially dwarves and humans), settled by Illuskan (human ethnicity that's basically northern europeans), not as big as Waterdeep, but more centralized and stable. Then the volcano happened.

#

Currently led by Dagult Neverember after the loss of the Alagondar dynasty. Dagult Neverember leads a financial empire and got named "lord protector" through paying to rebuild the city. Well, he named himself lord protector and few people argued otherwise. After he got ousted from Waterdeep due to basically a lot of financial crimes, he started living in Neverwinter full time.

#

Currently, some sources indicate Neverember's rule over Neverwinter is draconian and brutal.

#

Most of its history is defined by wars with their northern neighbour of Luskan.

icy tendon
#

Hi everyone! I'm doing a session on the period of trouble, can you tell me if there is a manual somewhere? For now I'm managing everything myself, but it's a lot of work and I would like to rely on something that encompasses the entire period
Time of Troubles*

eager bay
#

Sadly, nothing is in one book.

#

The time of troubles was mostly a series of novels and comics.

icy tendon
#

:(( rip

eager bay
#

You want the Avatar Series

#

Basically, the Time of Troubles, as originally published, was mostly the adventures of a band of adventurers (three of them would later ascend to become the gods Cyric, Mystra and Kelemvor) and their search for the stolen tablets of fate.

#

If you want to do a game in that time period... I would suggest erasing them out of existence and give the PCs the role of the adventuring band questing for the tablets

icy tendon
#

yeah

#

I'm doing this, but I would like to connect all the events of that period

eager bay
#

Considering that almost every god active in Realmspace was banished to various different places in Toril... I don't know if that's possible.

icy tendon
#

The party is level 13, they will soon have teleports so they will be able to move to various points of toril rather easily
I think time of trouble is a campaign for high level characters, only in that way does it make sense

iron saffron
#

Time of Troubles was when the gods were cast down to Toril in their mortal (aka avatar) forms.

icy tendon
#

yes

iron saffron
#

So good luck for clerics getting their spells.

#

The Time of Troubles took place between 1E and 2E.

icy tendon
#

For clerics and paladins I'm creating a system. Technically AFTER the time of trouble, Ao causes a God without believers to lose his powers and the more he has, the more powers he has. I am reversing this decision and already managing in the present. A god reduced to mortal, with an Avatar, the more believers he has, the more power he receives, thus being able to distribute it to believers more faithful than him. It's not easy to create a campaign in that period, but I think having the Gods in the form of Avatars plus the thousand problems of that period is fantastic.

#

Since there is no manual, I'm managing as I find most 'logical'

iron saffron
icy tendon
#

Thanks for introducing me to the correct section!

iron saffron
#

Just what was in the novels.

formal girder
#

thoughts on a green dragon "taking care" of a young black dragon. like green dragon hides and black dragon takes credit till green dragon stomps him out one day and takes reign on the area.

#

does that seem green dragony enough

iron saffron
formal girder
#

they told me to refer to here cause of the lore accuracy of green dragons or smt

iron saffron
#

Green dragons live in forests while black dragons live in swamps. They would tend to try to kill each other (and their young) if they crossed into the other's territories. Both being evil chromatic dragons they would have no reason to raise the others' young.

formal girder
#

k

iron saffron
#

Real life animals tend not to raise the young of others because it's a waste of energy keeping someone else's DNA around.

#

That said, there are always exceptions and you as the DM can make up those exceptions.

rancid saddle
#

hi

#

is it true that being monosexual is a minority in the forgotten realms ?

rancid saddle
#

social animals do that

#

because their species is more important that their personal genetics

#

even social insects a lot of times can't reproduce by desing

#

but still raise others

#

genetics at grand scale favor a lot of times individuals that can't reproduce, because a lot of genes they have are recessive genetic traits, so the group that they benefit retain those traits.

#

genetics are complex

iron saffron
rancid saddle
#

sorry

#

I just wanted to say a green dragons would represent an reptilian apex predator, so it make sense they eat each other and don't rise even their own children.

next sage
#

is there any info on the Westgate underground, other than just "it's prevalent i guess"? (forgotten realms)

magic jackal
rancid saddle
#

i just said the equivalet

#

in some ways

magic jackal
#

If a Dragon were to raise the other's young, rest assured it would not be for reasons that we normally assign to wild animals lol.

rancid saddle
magic jackal
rancid saddle
#

i said represent

#

like

magic jackal
#

That's not really the same, but w/e

rancid saddle
#

idk

magic jackal
#

And they still aren't really, because as mentioned they're not reptiles in any sense except certain aesthetic details.

#

Not in the Forgotten Realms at any rate.

#

(Also genetics isn't really a thing in D&D anyways)

jagged apex
jagged apex
# formal girder thoughts on a green dragon "taking care" of a young black dragon. like green dra...

if their territories did overlap in some places like the jungles of chult for example, to my knowledge, the green dragon would most likely manipulate the black dragon into working for it, especially if it is the older of the two or if they are of the same age category, though they would be keen to be manipulative of the black dragon, as not only is it one of the key aspects of their nature or norms as green dragons, but a black dragon normally would rather fight to the death than have someone other than themself as their master

jagged apex
steady verge
#

In the Forgotten Realms, specifically the Sword Coast, is there any organized goblin civilization/army? I’m writing my own Sword Coast campaign, and am wondering if I need to write one in or if it already exists

#

I know how clan and tribal hierarchies work for them, but is there a united banner I could put all the tribes and clans under.

rancid saddle
#

Hi

steady verge
rough fractal
#

So cannons are a no-go thanks to Gond. You can typically expect FR in 5e to be around late medieval and breaching into Renaissance

#

Regarding goblins, I don't recall any goblinoid organizations outside of tribe on the Sword Coast. I think there's some element of goblinoids MAYBE being accepted into Many-Arrows?

#

But that's based on what we saw in the Onslaught pack for Many-Arrows

steady verge
#

I’m thinking of placing them in a cave system near Laskan. A mix of cave systems and small above ground huts and camps

#

Either Laskan or the land between Neverwinter and Waterdeep

magic jackal
#

Called Bombards tho ^

rough fractal
magic jackal
#

Mhm. But they do technically exist

rough fractal
#

Like who is rich enough and has enough Smokepowder for that

magic jackal
#

Yeah definitely not enough to arm a Navy for sure

#

But a few ships financed by extremely wealthy benefactors might

steady verge
#

I was wondering because I’m trying to incorporate a navy battle off the coast of Waterdeep. And figuring out the tech for such a engagement

rough fractal
#

Also, what a waste

magic jackal
#

And don't forget the occasional mage.

steady verge
#

Ship to ship would have trebuchets?

magic jackal
#

Ships irl have historically had and supported trebuchets.

#

I think it's reasonable at the FR level of tech for them to exist.

steady verge
#

Fair

#

They have siege weapons, they’d have them

rough fractal
steady verge
#

I think I’m going to have super limited muskets in the very final stage of the campaign, but as snipers exclusively

#

Rogues and rangers carrying them.

magic jackal
#

Firearms exist in the FR, you can look into them on the FR Wiki.

steady verge
#

I know they do, I just hate, hate, hate guns in D&D

#

But in this case, they work and make more sense than crossbows.

#

The concept for this campaign is taking all the major campaigns for the Forgotten Realms this edition and making them one interlocked story. First half is about the fight against Tiamat. The second half is a self written story, that I’m incorporating the campaigns into

unkempt merlin
jagged apex
#

the Burntbone Horde hangs around waterdeep

#

else, i blame that misconception of dnd being just medieval fantasy, a personal pet peeve of mine

#

to my knowledge, tech in the forgotten realms and other settings is not too far removed from our own, but the major difference is mainly what those things are rooted in, in worlds like toril with magic, sciences and technology are rooted in magic unlike our own world

jagged apex
# rough fractal So cannons are a no-go thanks to Gond. You can typically expect FR in 5e to be a...

the one i have heard, though a dated lore video, from AJ pickett compared the technology of toril at the time to comparable to around the industrial revolution of our own world, though likely not as widely available, so cannons are very much a thing, just not widely used cuz as shown in the dmg and dnd beyond, in most settings, mainly the forgotten realms, firearms are rather pricy not even including the ammo, and remember, not everyone in the realms makes multiple gold pieces like adventurers do, heck most working class folk to my knowledge are lucky to make a single gold piece worth in a whole year

unkempt merlin
#

The FR, along with most official settings (alongside the mechanics of the games in most editions), portrays Renaissance based stuff with plenty of anachronisms

jagged apex
#

the one established setting that i know canonically does NOT have firearms yet, is funny enough Eberron, which most probably would expect to have guns XD

#

like to my knowledge, in no continuity by it's creator of wizards of the coast, has anyone on eberron, or in the setting, has invented firearms

jagged apex
#

honestly, especially in dnd, once technology gets advanced enough, is more or less identical to a magical item

#

especially since as i mentioned earlier, worlds where magic is known to exist and can be wielded, that is what their technology is rooted in, where as worlds like earth being massive dead magic zones or just us not being able to use magic, we make do with things pullies and what not

agile merlin
#

Is it known what the "elvish" name is for different elven subraces? Since they call themselves "Tel'Quessir" instead of elves, I don't imagine they call a wood elf a wood elf

jagged apex
#

to my knowledge, would not be hard information to gather, as i believe it is what the various elves know one each other as among the shared elven language

agile merlin
#

Also wonder if there's some information on the literal translations of those titles, like the Elven Dictionary page on the wiki listing an archaic word for "traitor" that Drow derives from
Cuz it says sun elves are called Ar'Tel'Quessir, so I wonder what "ar" means there
I can guess Ruar'Tel'Quess (star elf) actually is just star elf, at least, because Rua is elven for star. Maybe it is all literal

#

Okay I think it is literal because I'm inferring teu means moon

jagged apex
#

not everything can be broken down to every tiny bit, to my knowledge the case with drow is that it something that happened over time, either as a shorter form or a corruption/mispoken version of the original term, not sure which

jagged apex
#

seems more likely that much like japanese in our own world, elvish is likely more of a contextual language rather than one that translates directly from one language to another

agile merlin
#

Fair

#

I mean, the literal translation for the word for non elven people is "not people"

jagged apex
#

if there is not a recorded translation for a term or phrase, that likely is intented as dnd always has bits of the lore left vauge and up for interpriation, no matter how detailed the published lore gets

jagged apex
feral lintel
#

Elvish as Japanese was not something i was expecting to hear lol

jagged apex
#

well they seems similar enough in the context of being more so contextual languages, where the intent, meaning, and context all can change minor and important details in the words

#

at least since there seems to be no consistant word to word translation between elven and other languages

#

the language of our world you compare it too is not important, as i said the point was it being a contextual language

#

at least that seems like the most likely case looking at y'alldabaoth's theory of trying to break down the elven language

agile merlin
#

I once had someone improv that an Indonesian word was from Elvish before, "Siswa" like in the Xanathar's encounter

jagged apex
#

is funny cuz for all their brilliance and intelligence, beholders typically are insane, so it oddly works XD

feral lintel
#

Xenophobic and paranoia does things to a mf

jagged apex
#

especially when you got the smarts to back it up and are not bound to typical organic anatomy or biology, after all they are aberrations and last i checked reproduced via dreams

feral lintel
#

Yeap

#

And they usually try to kill each other once that happens

jagged apex
#

only if they are aware of the other, cuz if memory serves the range of where one may manifest when dreamed into existance by accident, can vary a lot

feral lintel
#

Ah yeah. I usually thought it was close by though, wityin disintegration range

jagged apex
#

from what i can find it simply says "a nearby space" which is vauge and could easily have something obscuring line of sight of one other between the two

#

as despite being treated as legacy, to my knowledge nothing newer than "volo's guide to monsters" addresses the subject in 5e

agile merlin
#

I wasn't sure if the "xenophobic and paranoid" comment was about beholders or elves at first

jagged apex
#

definitely beholders, if it were elves, definitely would be setting specific if at all to my knowledge

agile merlin
#

True

#

But I think every setting has a token "haughty isolationist" type of elf

#

It's just that, in Greyhawk, that's every elf

feral lintel
#

Are they the typical elves are supreme type?

agile merlin
feral lintel
#

Now, see this is why i prefer rock and stone compared to leaf and bark

agile merlin
#

Apparently dwarves are too greedy for leprechauns to trust them, tho

#

The old lore where everybody was just vehemently racist is almost kinda funny in retrospect

feral lintel
#

Greed i can respect. Love my shiny rocks too

agile merlin
#

Fair

#

And those same leprechauns will trade three entire wishes in order to not give up a single gold coin of theirs, so it seems just a bit like the pot calling the kettle black

feral lintel
#

Pffft

agile merlin
#

And, of course, being fey creatures, they'll also try to screw you over by offering a fourth wish afterwards which, if taken and regardless of how it's worded, will undo every other wish and banish you from their home, never to see that particular leprechaun ever again

#

Fairy magic is fun

lusty surge
#

Just started reading DnD books this month (more specifically the Forgotten Realms stuff). Started with the Dark Elf Trilogy and I'm about to finish Book 2: Exile. Gonna try and go through Sojourn tomorrow because I want to try out the Avatar trilogy next.

#

I really like the underdark stuff (I loved Homeland) but I'm getting a little tired of it after two books in a row. I figure I'll try for a series set on the surface next with some new characters to give myself a break from Drizzt stuff.

#

I'm finding that reading novels makes me understand the world a lot better than reading through sourcebooks or watching videos online though. Like I 'get' the underdark/drow now and I'm finding it really easy to develop a drow character I'm planning on playing. I want to get some more perspectives from different characters though that way I can make some backup characters.

eager bay
# icy tendon What do you mean?

OK so I went to sleep about that time, so I couldn't explain. Hoping you read that message: There are lots of gods, doing lots of things throughout the world. You can't include all of that. Sure, the dead three, the tablets, the death of Mystra, all that stuff can be included...But the elven god Labelas having a breakdown and almost going mad because he just can't get used to temporarily not being divine is completely disconnected and has nothing to do with the rest

#

Some events of that period are just disconnected and trying to connect them all will just give you a slow campaign that goes all over the place

icy tendon
eager bay
#

I would honestly say it's a mistake to involve your players in everything. Too much goes on in the Time of Troubles, too many gods are involved

icy tendon
# eager bay I would honestly say it's a mistake to involve your players in *everything*. Too...

Not necessarily involve them directly. They must find allies to defeat Bane and find the Tablets of Destiny, so if a God on the list dies - they learn how he died. If one God declares war on another, they know about it. With the goal of finding as many allied Gods as possible, it is clear that they must have a good list. Will they choose those FAR from their continent? I don't think so, but it's a very open campaign - they could just as well not care and live the time of trouble on a beach as an alcohol smuggler (which they don't do, they play the plot well)

#

A manual or a more well-argued story would have helped, but I'll use what I have

subtle marsh
#

Do gem dragons exist in Dragonlance?

magic jackal
#

I do not believe so, no.

iron saffron
#

When Dragonlance was first published back in early 2E (1984) gem dragons didn't exist (they first appeared in 2E Monstrous Compedium: Fiend Folio in 1992).

modest badger
#

Dragonlance also avoids psionics, which gem dragons rely on.

subtle marsh
#

Thank you

jagged apex
#

from what i could find, back in 3e it became a sort of controversial subject in that setting, though am not sure how viable this info in this article is, so would take it with a grain of salt, but seems that going by some examples from the novels, that in general, much like 5e does as the norm, treats psionics to be a form of magic, though the article does not suggest any reasons for gem dragons themselves to exist, it then largely becomes a subjective matter for the dm running a campaign in that setting and would be better discussed, if at all in #dm-world-building https://dragonlancenexus.com/psionics-in-dragonlance/

#

but also seems to depend on the edition of the setting you are following as apparently "unsung heroes" of 2e states that psionics do not exist on Krynn, according to that same article

#

though looking at the 5e materials, fizban's potentially does seemingly suggest the possibility as gem dragons are included among the kinds who's eggs are used in the creations of those kinds of draconians included in that book

#

where as the adventure specific to the setting in question, shadow of the dragon queen, which was released after fizban's, makes no mentions of these and only describes them by the names in that setting and attributes them to seemingly exclusively metalic dragon eggs

#

honestly, seems even to this day they are unsure what to make the norm for their published continuity on the matter

iron saffron
#

The 5E Dragonlance adventure takes place early in the War of the Lance and there were no gem dragons (again for the reasons I posted earlier).

jagged apex
#

fair, though to me that still makes the two seemingly conflicting sources we have officially for the 5e continuity less than clear on that matter

#

and my lore loving self can't help but be curious

iron saffron
#

5E Fizban source isn't the same as what happened in the War of the Lance (the original novels).

modest badger
#

There are previously chromatic draconians as well, appearing in the 2004 D20 System (related to 3.5) 'Bestiary of Krynn' book, but the metallic ones are the 'core' draconians made by Takhisis to corrupt metallic dragon eggs.

Bestiary of Krynn:

Noble Draconians were created in an act of desperation by the dragonarmies during the latter days of the War of the Lance. When the good dragon eggs (the source of the original draconian types) were liberated from the temples in Sanction, Lord Ariakas commanded that the draconian creation ritual be performed on the eggs of evil dragons.
(This made them good, the same way that the ritual made the metallics evil, which wasn't the intention)

5e PHB:

In the Dragonlance setting, the followers of the evil goddess Takhisis learned a dark ritual that let them corrupt the eggs of metallic dragons, producing evil dragonborn called draconians. Five types of draconians, corresponding to the five types of metallic dragons, fought for Takhis is in the War of the Lance-auraks (gold), baaz (brass), bozak (bronze), kapak (copper), and sivak (silver). In place of their draconic breath weapons they have unique magical abilities.

#

So metallic draconians are the 'main' ones. chromatics draconians are potentially possible but not really expanded upon much in dragonlance media. Gem draconians though.. don't think even Fizban really hints to them.

jagged apex
#

well they mention gem dragons along side a chromatic and metallic for the draconians in that book

unkempt merlin
#

Just cause gem derived draconians are mentioned doesn't mean they are inherently in the DL setting

jagged apex
#

fair

modest badger
#

Oh, you're right:
"The most numerous draconians are the foot soldiers, who are born from brass, white, or **crystal **dragon eggs. "

#

So yeah, gem draconians exist.

#

And then has the note "On the world of Krynn, draconian foot soldiers formed from brass dragon eggs are called baaz draconians."

#

So does seem that the Crystal and White 'foot soldiers' are more generic setting, where on Krynn, it'd specifically brass draconians.

jagged apex
#

ah, ok, that makes sense, given from what i understand, the whole dynamic of Takisis and her aspect Tiamat, involves the souls of abashai supposedly, would make sense that in theory worlds other than krynn could be taught this canonically vague ritual, as the abashai thing is just one explanation i heard from one of AJ's lore videos but to my knowledge the books themselves, especially in 5e leave it still vague

jagged apex
torpid quartz
#

Does anyone have a compilation of all of X the Mystic’s rules to dungeon survival?

thorny hound
#

so I'm playing BG3 and there is this bit about Gond/Nebelun where you can say "There is no Gond" what is the meaning behind it? Is it because Nebelun is more popular ? or they aren't a real diety but something akin the lines of Vlakith?

modest badger
#

Seems like that might be potential spoilers for BG3, as that seems very context dependent, but you can always look into Gond:https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Gond

It could mean 'Gond's real name is Nebelun'. Because Gond absolutely is a full deity.

#

Or it could be any number of more esoteric meanings of trying to say 'This concept of this being is false/ incomplete'

thorny hound
#

why is there an alingment shift between Gond and Nebelun?

modest badger
#

or 'I reject your non-gnomish understanding of this god'

iron saffron
#

Nebelun is the gnomish god of invention.

#

4E FR lore merged a bunch of deities together to reduce the number of deities. 5E reverted that.

modest badger
#

Gods are strange. From Demihuman deities(2e, 1998):

Although the Meddler is a deity and is venerated as such on other worlds, in the Realms, Gond the Wonderbringer has assumed Nebelun's aspect and is venerated by the Forgotten Folk in his stead. It remains to be seen whether or not the followers of Nebelun will eventually separate from the church of the Wonderbringer. This seems unlikely for the foreseeable future given Gond's widely heralded appearance in the form of a gnome on the shores of Lantan during the Time of Troubles. As such, Gond/Nebelun is currently counted as a member of both the gnome pantheon and the human Faerunian pantheon.
(...)
Nebelun (NEHB-eh-luhn) the Meddler is the name by which the Forgotten Folk of the Realms refer to Gond the Wonderbringer, although a new, small but emerging cult believes that Nebelun and Gond are separate gods. See the entry for Gond in the "Faerunian Pantheon" chapter in Faiths & Avatars. In truth, Gond is a distinct entity unrelated to the lesser god Nebelun venerated by gnomes of other worlds, but that gnome power is not active in the Realms. Gond has assumed his aspect within the crystal sphere of Realm-space.

iron saffron
#

So Gond is Nebelun's proxy.

modest badger
#

In FR. Gods, especially in 2e, were a lot harder to pin down.
A god could have different names in different settings/spheres, but be the same god, and alternatively, a god could use the name of another god when in that sphere.
Nebulun and Gond are seperate... but also connected and could be the same. A cleric of Gond might be empowered by Nebulun and vice versa. In 5e they seem more seperate, but perhaps BG3 is calling on this older lore where some gnomes might believe that Gond is merely Nebulun under a different name (or that Gond is trying to steal Nebulun's aspect) so on.

#

Can't see any mention of it in SCAG which would be the main 5e FR source on this

jagged apex
#

though they don't reference him and gond in the same sections or at the same time it seems

modest badger
#

I meant that there is no mention of Nebulun and Gond's connection in SCAG

jagged apex
#

ah

#

from what i can find, seems like bg3 goes with the idea of nebulun and gond being one and the same, different aspects of the same being, for their version of the forgotten realms, this seems to be one of the cases where larian took the liberties as dm and went with their interpretation, as seems likely is something left up to interpretation in and out of universe given the forgotten realms mentions that is very much normal for Gond to have many different forms and names

#

more or less as i understand it, aspects of a god in a way are just as much individuals as they are parts of a god's self or personality

shrewd bobcat
#

Is the 5th Edition depiction of Firbolg the canon one?
previous editions all had them depicted as large humans
but the 5e version depicts them as blue fey giants

unkempt merlin
#

5e is canon yes

jagged apex
#

4e onwards was if memory serves when they moved the majority to the feywild, resulting in their new average 5e depcition when they were reintroduced

#

but is still even then but an average example of the race, like is the case for most creatures and beings depicted that are not named individuals

jagged apex
# shrewd bobcat Is the 5th Edition depiction of Firbolg the canon one? previous editions all had...

in short, most firbolg spending a generation or more in the fey wild will make you more fey like, to my knowledge they have not fully ruled out those that resemble the none fey touched firbolg, just the majority of those people see have lived in or were born from those who lived in the feywild for quite some time, granted i could be wrong, but i try to keep as up to date on the lore as possible and what is or is not ruled out or basically different at their core between the 5e continuity and past ones

#

to partially quote their lore from their latest 5e version in monsters of the multiverse, which is setting agnostic, "Distant cousins of giants, the first firbolgs wandered the primeval forests of the multiverse, and the magic of those forests entwined itself with the firbolgs’ souls. Centuries later, that magic still thrums inside a firbolg, even one who has never lived under the boughs of a great forest." which is reiterated in bigby's glory of the giants, where the latest official artwork for an example of a firbolg primeval warden kind of resembles a middle ground between how they have looked vs how they look after wandering the feywilds https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/gotg/YGa7uVZhrRWLTUnV/06-070.firbolg-primeval-warden.png

agile merlin
#

Is he wearing sleeves or are his arms just that hairy

gray ember
#

In the offical art the Firbolg is sleeveless but with bracelets. Hard to know if that's the standard for his kind

feral lintel
#

Red head firbolgs go hard

agile merlin
#

Bro's part bugbear

modest badger
# shrewd bobcat Is the 5th Edition depiction of Firbolg the canon one? previous editions all had...

This is a bit of a debate, especially in the FR wiki.

The FR wiki's stance is 'Firbolg depicted as blue-grey with fuzzy ears are an artist mistake'. Because the text doesn't say they should be. When you point out that this wasn't a one off art design, but repeated design they go 'Well it's mistaken art based on mistaken art', and when you point out there now is 'official' text in novels backing up this design they go 'Well it's mistaken text based on mistaken art'.

Essentially 'We don't like the new design and refuse to acknowledge it'.

Now to be fair, art can be mistaken. Gnomes have been, since 1e, in the text always described as having skin colour of tans and browns. Yet always the art drew them with pale skin. That is a mistake born of artists habit to default to Caucasian features.

But in the case of the firbolg? No, that art was intentional.

We can see from the concept art in Dragon+ issue 11 this was a chosen design from Shawn Wood. This same artwork is reused in Mordenkainen Present's Monsters of the Multiverse. Also this design is used again in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything page 147 (A picture caption 'Warriors,left to right: an aasimar, a firbolg, and a wolf" by April Prime), and again on page 5 of MotM (by Zuzanna Wuuyk I believe- can't find it on her sites, but this is the image I am mentioning). And again in link Scarlet posted. This isn't 'an assumed artist's error' as the note says this is clearly the new 5e design of Firbolg as applied to FR and in general. We can also see some of these new design choices appear in the novels, such as "Her bright red hair made her gray skin shine in the dappled light under the trees" a description of Jowenys, a firbolg, from 'Honor Among Thieves: The Druid's Call'.

#

It's a consistent and intentional design in 5e. So yes, it's official, and canon unto the TTRPG and apparently the novels based on the movie too.

orchid ocean
#

Hadar is a far Realms infected star.
Are there any more far Realms infected stars like him?

modest badger
#

Some neogi use magic-the result of a pact between the neogi and aberrant entities they met during their journey from their home world. These entities look like stars and embody the essence of evil. They are known by such names as Acamar, Caiphon, Gibbeth, and Hadar.
VGtM, p.179 under 'Neogi'
Might be of help. Not sure if there are others beyond that too.

#

Also check Nihal. I'm sure there were more names in City of Torment, 2009 novel.

#

Yeah City of Torment page 219 mentions Acamar, Caiphon, Delban, Khirad, Nihal.

#

We also went into this abit up here. 'Corrupted Star' vs 'A being that looks like a star' is a bit vague when it comes to these beings and how they're actually described in the text. Most are beings that look like stars.

summer latch
#

Are there any examples in realmslore of giants working with devils to achieve some sort mutual benefit?

jagged apex
#

devils? to my knowledge no, closest thing would potentially be the demon lords who are known to have stolen some giants as followerrs/worshipers, in forgotten realms and other settings too, such as detailed in bigby's

feral lintel
#

Are the bigby ones working with demons or devils?

unkempt merlin
#

Historically Frost giants in the FR are those most likely to turn to working with/worshipping demons

feral lintel
#

Yeah, i remember that, since there is a "frost giant" demonlord

#

Ko-something

magic jackal
#

Kostchtchie

feral lintel
#

I just cant remember if the Fire Hellion was devils or demon

magic jackal
#

Devils

jagged apex
#

though there is the fire hellion, which is a devil associated one

#

though to my knowledge all the other examples are associated with demon lords and elemental evils

feral lintel
#

Ah ic ic. Thanks Scarlet!

summer latch
#

Thanks, those were both great refs, perfect inspiration to work with

jagged apex
#

not specific to forgotten realms, but in the case of the hellion, they are fire giants that turned to working with devils

#

to quote part of their lore from bigby's "Fire giants study war in its many forms across the multiverse, which sometimes leads the giants to a fascination with the Blood War—the endless conflict between demons and devils across the Lower Planes. Such a giant might enter into a pact with a powerful devil, hoping to learn tactics the devils have fine-tuned over millennia and to acquire magical gifts to help the giant rise in the ordning."

lusty surge
#

Just finished the Darl Elf Trilogy last night. Now I'm typing out a big document featuring the basic stories of all the books and interesting bits of lore I noticed in them. Gonna try and do this for all Forgotten Realms stuff I'm reading through since it's so many books.

#

The document is already a lot lmao

#

I feel like if I'm going to even go through the Drizzt books alone I need this as not to forget things.

jagged apex
#

remember, each medium is it's own continuity as is each edition, so know that not everying is always gunna line up 1 to 1

lusty surge
#

It is nice though because I think I have a decent understanding of the Underdark now (at least the area near Menzoberranzan).

#

Yeah I imagine a lot of stuff has changed. Especially since the 90s.

iron saffron
jagged apex
#

well yeah, before salvador came around and fleshed out drow society via drizzt and his life in menzoberro, drow had like a very small and straight forward lore as evil elf like monsters that live to fight and kill

lusty surge
#

Is it sort of like modern Star Wars where technically no EU novels are canon but a lot of stuff (especially a lot of prequel era books) are referenced so heavily that you can sort of headcanon some version of them as happening?

jagged apex
jagged apex
agile merlin
#

Did they even have Eilistraee back then, or was every god that wanted anything to do with Drow an irredeemably evil demonspawn?

jagged apex
lusty surge
#

Yeah I'm sort of thinking about it more as 'hey if you end up DM-ing one day and want to explore this area this is how this book saw the lore of these things'.

#

Like ideas you can draw from if you want to.