#dnd-lore

1 messages · Page 65 of 1

unkempt merlin
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To quote RftLW

The Last War was a bitter struggle that forever changed the shape of Khorvaire. It was a century marked by shifting alliances, with years of stalemate interspersed with periods of intense battles. This grueling conflict left deep scars on the land and the people, but there was worse to come. On 20 Olarune 994 YK, the nation of Cyre was consumed in a magical cataclysm now known as the Mourning. The cause of the Mourning remains unknown; many fear it was caused by unbridled use of war magic. Shock and fear brought the nations to the negotiating table, and the Last War came to an end in 996 YK with the Treaty of Thronehold.

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Lots of stalemates and the like

true saffron
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Oh... right!

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facepalms.

spiral igloo
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If you want the lore, get the campaign books. I feel like I could run an open world sandbox with a few of the campagins as guides.

vague ice
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Do mermaids smell like fish?

crude blaze
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Ask your DM, that's not really a lore question

vague ice
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No lore about it?

crude blaze
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Nope. Nothing I know in the D&D scriptures describes what mermaids smell like

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So as far as it goes, they could smell like fish at one campaign and like cotton candy at another.

vague ice
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Both at once even.

cinder cloud
feral lintel
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I remember seeing a red dragon who was associated with Stars. any idea who it is, or what that star connection is?

crude blaze
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And lunar, if we’re expanding to space dragons as a whole

feral lintel
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Ah, im thinking of Inferno from the Star Mounts

foggy flame
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Does anyone have Ed Greenwood’s elminster’s forgotten realms book? I’m considering getting it. looking at the table of contents and it’s interesting but I’m not sure…

cinder cloud
foggy flame
cinder cloud
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Not yet. I got it after my last campaign ended and I haven't started a new one. But I am incorporating pieces into my adventure writing.

foggy flame
cinder cloud
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It's basically the day-to-day stuff in the Realms. Holidays, festivals, common sayings and slang, religious rites and ceremonies, how trade works, that kind of stuff

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Little details that are too small to justify putting in most adventures

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I think I paid $22 with shipping for a softcover

foggy flame
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It’s currently a bit pricy for a book of this nature (~$40 cheapest I can find), I think I’ll probably keep an eye out for cheap copies and wait for the forthcoming sword coast book in 2025 or whatever

cinder cloud
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Yeah the 2025 setting book will be more high level

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Not in the US, I presume?

foggy flame
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Though if DM’s guild prints it I guess I can look into that

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I’m in the US

cinder cloud
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Oh it's on sale

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$14 softcover printed

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Plus shipping

foggy flame
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Oh snap

cinder cloud
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Sorry wrong product

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I misspoke 😦

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Still $14 tho

finite pendant
white parcel
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Which is stronger between brainstealer dragon or elder brain dragon?

wind edge
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what exactly are Black Balls

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they are also called Deadly Spheres

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Apparently they are also called Umbral Blots

jagged apex
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personally if i had to offer my own conclusion seems mainly in theory the brainstealer dragon is potentially more powerful cuz they still grow in power much like a true dragon, where as the elder brain dragon does not, least far as we know

main canopy
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Is there any more recent official lore on Titans? The FR wiki described them as the most powerful giants but they arent mentioned in modern Ordning talk in Storm King's Thunder. Empyreans are categorized as "(Titan)" in their statblock. Are they the same kinds of titans? Any insight would be helpful

unkempt merlin
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Titans are a type of quasi deity

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Titans are the divine creations of deities. They might be birthed from the union of two deities, manufactured on a divine forge, born from the blood spilled by a god, or otherwise brought about through divine will or substance.

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That's what the tag on a statblock in 5e means

crude blaze
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Yeah, that's about all we've got in 5E. Just anything really directly created by the gods.

main canopy
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dang ok. Was tryna see if I could keep from doing too heavy of homebrew when I run SKT. It might not come up barring a crit history check re: giant history/religion

calm crest
# wind edge what exactly are Black Balls

They are mysterious creatures from Mystara, possibly created by the Old Ones. Blackballs are essentially living spheres of annihilation, although they are mindless and indestructible. Even Immortals struggle to control them. It is unclear whether only one Umbral Blot or several exist, as only one has been encountered at any given time.

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The Immortals suspect, although are not certain, that Blackballs are involved in the process of Immortals transcending that status and becoming Old Ones themselves.

sage prawn
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How should Goblinoid gods be handled now that Goblinoids are fey originally from the feywild? From what I've read, very few fey worship gods, and there don't seem to be any in the feywild. I'm not even 100% sure they can go in there.

crude blaze
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Goblinoids as of MotM are now captives of Maglubiyet

main canopy
crude blaze
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They were fey, then the gods came in and took them over. So they're not progenitor gods anymore, they're tyrants who essentially enslaved them.

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I'd go so far as to say that goblinoids who do worship the goblin gods do so out of fear, not so much out of love

sage prawn
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Yeah that could work. But can God's in the realms be created from scratch only with belief and worship similar to how Discworld gods work?

main canopy
crude blaze
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Let's not get into that per server rules

sage prawn
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Oh my bad

crude blaze
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Not you, that was directed at Shinslap

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When discussing religions and faiths in the context of D&D, it's important to remember the server rule regarding no talk or discussion of real-world religions and faiths, so making comparisons is generally ill-advised

crude blaze
# main canopy ~~inb4 thats all d&d religion~~

Not really. There are species who are officially created by gods. Elves were created by Corellon, dwarves by Moradin, in Exandria humans were actually created by the union between the Wild Mother (goddess of nature) and her wife the Law Bearer (goddess of civilization)

main canopy
crude blaze
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yes

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Elves per the new 2024:

Created by their god Corellon, the first elves could change their forms at will.
Dwarves:
Dwarves were raised from the earth in the elder days by a deity of the forge.

unkempt merlin
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Note: goblinoids have always been from a different plane, and also always had suggestions of fey relations (it's why they were so common in the feywild).

crude blaze
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Yep. They're just now officially descended of fey. Maglubiyet was always, as a god of tyranny, their enslaver who scares them into submission.

cinder cloud
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Similar to what they did with orcs and gruumsh

crude blaze
unkempt merlin
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Guess I should've clarified that the bit I'm referring to is the FR

crude blaze
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Specifics beats general, after all

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Like as we were discussing yesterday, the 2024 PHB officially stating that elves and dwarves were created by Corellon and Moradin respectively, I can imagine that being overwritten in Eberron, where those gods don't exist. But that'll be another case of the specific beating the general.

past verge
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Is there any way the chasm in Neverwinter could be opened again?

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Like how was it sealed? magic or construction?

sage prawn
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I read a really good post on the dndbeyond forums on the history of Goblinoids and their gods. Don't know if I'm allowed to post a link here or not. But the guy says that apparently the old Goblinoid gods were Unseelie Archfeys in the feywild. And then when ol' Maglubiyet came around, he killed them to enslave the goblinoid races. Dont know if that's official or just his theory, but I like it, and I'm borrowing it for my homebrew Feywild centric campaign.

unkempt merlin
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Not directly official no

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But that is presumably based on the parts of the lore that wasn't defined

round terrace
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quick question, isn’t the goblin god like rlly rude

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doesn’t he enslave all his followers

cinder cloud
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As for whether or not it can be opened again, if it was open once it can open again

cinder cloud
cinder cloud
feral lintel
cinder cloud
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Yes that's one of his nicknames, given because he conquered the goblin, hobgoblin and bugbear pantheons

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Maglubiyet is truly the Conquering God. He stiffens the spines of cowardly goblins. He rouses bugbears from their lazy slumber. He sets the thunderous step of hobgoblin legions. Maglubiyet takes three races and turns them into one people.
In bygone times the goblinoids were distinct from one another, with separate faiths and different customs. Then Maglubiyet came and conquered all who stood before him, mortals and deities alike. VGM p 40

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If I were to speculate, it is likely that he is "rude" in addition to being a conqueror and generally evil guy but I can't find anything supporting that specific personality trait.

foggy flame
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In the forgotten realms, as much as there is a current date (is there? Ish?), how long ago was the spellplague?

lean shell
foggy flame
lean shell
foggy flame
lean shell
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ok got it from my firefox

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i’m not driving i’m a passenger princess

lean shell
foggy flame
lean shell
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no worries

foggy flame
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Oh wow so not very long at all since the end of the spellplague. That’s pretty cool

lean shell
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it’s a useful website

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i’m using it for my campaign , we’re playing all the campaigns in order that they happened and keeping the characters throughout

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obvs if a character dies then make a new one like

foggy flame
cinder cloud
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The most recently mentioned year is 1499

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The Spellplague took place in 1385

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It lasted a decade

foggy flame
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Oh, so that prior website maybe had a typo

visual python
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is Sylgar fond of Xanathar? like if i cast speak with animals would Sylgar pine his love for Xanathar or would he be like “get me out of here!”. or would he not care, being a goldfish and all…?

unkempt merlin
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Might depend on which fish it is...

cinder cloud
cinder cloud
feral lintel
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except hunger

cinder cloud
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Without getting too off topic, hunger is not an emotion. It is a biological need.

jagged apex
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far as i know monsters of the multiverse did not change that, just that before they were associated with maglubiyet, they were part of the queen of air and darkness and her court, to partially quote their lore from monsters of the multiverse "Long before the god Maglubiyet conquered them, early goblins served in the court of the Queen of Air and Darkness, one of the Feywild’s archfey. Goblins thrived in her dangerous domain thanks to a special boon from her—a supernatural knack for finding the weak spots in foes larger than themselves and for getting out of trouble. Goblins brought this fey boon with them to worlds across the Material Plane, even if they don’t remember the fey realm they inhabited before Maglubiyet’s rise. Now many goblins pursue their own destinies, escaping the plots of both archfey and gods." end quote

cinder cloud
jagged apex
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they are not fey creatures

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they are decended from fey

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either way, nothing about it changes or even suggests their gods would be any different just by virtue of that multiversal history before maglubiyet conquired the other goblinoid gods

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that and even if they were fey, that does not make them any less god worshiping, least to my knowledge, else they would not have their own pantheons

cinder cloud
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I corrected my comment

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But the statement that MPMM did not change the origin of the goblins is incorrect. That is new lore.

unkempt merlin
jagged apex
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last i checked prior we did not know the details of what they were like before maglubiyet took over

lean shell
merry atlas
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Is Ilsensine really a deity or just the first elder brain or both?

feral lintel
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sensine (meaning "great brain" or "powerful brain" in Undercommon)[14][3][note 1] was the patron deity and creator of the illithids,[2] and the Tentacled Lord embodied their ideals of mental prowess, unlimited knowledge, and willful dominion over all other lifeforms.[10] Although predominantly focused on mind flayers, the God-Brain was the patron of all beings that enslaved the thoughts of others

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Theyre listed as a Greater Deity

pallid delta
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Hello fellow D&Ders! Could someone please tell me if Zelraun Roaringhorn appears in Princes of the Apocalypse, or did the Raymond Swanland just came up with his confrontation with the Howling Hatred? I've been scouring the internet looking for this event, but to no avail.

jagged apex
pallid delta
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Thanks for the reply! I had checked out the fandom wikis earlier, of course. It does provide some background on Zelraun, but it seems to me the two paragraphs refer to Out of the Abyss and Curse of Stradh. Does the Howling Hatred appear in those adventures to?

jagged apex
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not sure of their role in the adventure, but that would likely be more so something for #1029833015423143957 anyways if such a thing were detailed

pallid delta
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@jagged apex Thanks!

balmy garden
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Are ancient time dragons omniscient when it comes to history of everything? Like do they know with 100% accuracy what happened when and where?

feral lintel
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most likely only limited to times theyve been to.

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which is still a lot

balmy garden
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So they still have to experience it?

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To know it?

jagged apex
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they are basically dragons that instead of having innate magic associated with something like elements, psionics, ect..., is time based, their breathweapon is basically them manipulating your personal timeline to your detriment and can do things like time travel naturally once they reach a certain age and power

jagged apex
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who is technically simply a draconic god that manifests as an ancient time dragon

round terrace
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what was the actual extent of netherese magic, and karsus when he became a god for a split second

clear holly
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How big are kobold eggs?

drowsy wraith
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According to races of the dragon in 3.5 they lay a lot of them in a batch so I'd assume they are rather smol

round terrace
reef cape
# balmy garden To know it?

Disregard the information given about Chronepsis, it's false. Chronepsis is a black greatwyrm, as of Fizban's Treasury of Dragons, not a time dragon nor a god.

tepid hinge
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Is the picture from 2024 PHB accurate to understand the D&D Multiverse?

balmy garden
reef cape
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He is a greatwyrm, and became one from killing and eating his echoes throughout the worlds.

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Perhaps if one of his echoes was a time dragon, he would be both?

balmy garden
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yeah I was reading him in SaTO, it seems like he asks players to even time travel back to do some "correcting"

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But the problem is, time travel hasn't been canonically done, and if so, how does it work?

reef cape
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Or perhaps the Chronepsis described in Sigil and the Outlands is a different echo to the black one who became a greatwyrm!

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Oh, that seems like a better explanation

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Or they're just two different dragons that happen to have the same name, as is very common. You probably know a lot of Michaels or Mikes.

reef cape
balmy garden
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idk what model was used

reef cape
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Perhaps the adventure expects you to decide?

balmy garden
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I just want it canon yes

reef cape
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Ah, first, I see. The book says "Chronepsis, the dragon deity of time and fate" and says "Chronepsis typically manifests as an ancient time dragon"

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OK so he's not a time dragon. But it's weird that they call him a deity when Fizban states that he isn't

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Although I suppose the difference between a greatwyrm and a god is pretty much nonexistent

cinder cloud
# round terrace what was the actual extent of netherese magic, and karsus when he became a god f...

Well, your question sort of answers itself. Netherese magic was as high as magic gets, with spells cast up to and including 12th level and the creation of mythallars. When Karsus cast the spell to become a god, the spell didn't work as intended, but it was powerful enough to steal Mystryl's divine power for a brief time. Afterwords, Mystra banned all magic above 9th level.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Netheril
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Karsus's_Folly
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Karsus's_avatar
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mystra's_Ban

cinder cloud
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Or is there a specific picture depicting the multiverse that you are referencing?

tepid hinge
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Specific picture

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Which i can't send

cinder cloud
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I don't own the PHB, but I think it is safe to assume that any depiction of the multiverse that is included in canon material, especially something like the PHB, will be fairly accurate.

honest flower
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Does anybody know what kind of Landscape Abeir is?

cinder cloud
# honest flower Does anybody know what kind of Landscape Abeir is?

We don't have much information about Abeir, but the wiki has this to say:

Abeir had a steel-colored sky due to the arambar, the residual energy left by the death of the primordial of the same name.

The known continents of Abeir were Shyr, Marranth, Irronther, and Laerakond (at least before it was transferred to Toril), as well as a few archipelagos such as the Cold Strait, the Ice Run, and the Khannath; and a region of which little was known, Lhoraun. Among the known bodies of water of Abeir were the Andol Sea, the Arserpent Sea, the Boiling Sea, the Dun Seas, the Frozen Seas, and the Oshlar Sea.

Source: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Abeir

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We also know that it is similar to Toril, as Abeir is its twin.

crude blaze
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So Chronepsis could be a black greatwyrm in one form and a time dragon in another

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I will admit though, it is a bit confusing that Fizban’s says dragon deities are really greatwyrms, then they immediately go into referring to him as a god in Planescape

tired granite
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Fizban can be a somewhat unreliable narrator/source given that in terms of character and personality he is prone to fooling around, exaggerations or understatements

reef cape
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Nobody was talking about Fizban the character, we're talking about Fizban's treasury of dragons

tired granite
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ah my mistake, I saw you say "fizban states that he isn't" and misunderstood

feral lintel
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although, technically, isnt the book somewhat form his perspective?

unkempt merlin
feral lintel
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ah, only on the side bars

crude blaze
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It’s just like Fizban’s, Mordenkainen’s, Tasha’s, and Xanathar’s. The sidebars and commentary are written by the named individual.

balmy garden
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Idk if thats the correct implication

cinder cloud
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You may be interested in the "Restrictions" and "Consequences" sections

balmy garden
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I have read the consequences, but it is still not giving an exact answer

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Also would restrictions still matter to ancient time dragons? I mean they can only a time gate

cinder cloud
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The reason it is not clear is likely to allow you to do whatever is important for your story.

balmy garden
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Hmm

maiden spoke
balmy garden
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So its like multiversal theory then?

cinder cloud
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Those are the two primary sources listed for the "Consequences" section

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And the three theories as to what happens make up the entirety of that section

maiden spoke
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I didnt read the wiki, i just happen to have those two books on my desk for my own homegame and was recently reading it.

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I imagine the wiki is more current than these old dusty things. lol

cinder cloud
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You're not wrong. Just that the wiki article doesn't say one theory or another is the correct one.

maiden spoke
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But according to them all of the limitations are directly controlled by Mystra, and that was 2 or 3 mystras ago, so.... do whatever makes sense to your game.

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Nothign to say that after the 2nd Sundering Mystra doesn't do it differently.

balmy garden
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I wish it was 5e friendly but thats all the lead i have

maiden spoke
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Hopefully they'll start releasing stuff like that now that they've announced the new FR books

balmy garden
maiden spoke
# balmy garden New fr books?

A new Players and DM guide for the forgotten realms were announced recently to be released sometime mid to late next year, i think.

balmy garden
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Oohh nice

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More lore source yay

cinder cloud
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Yeah. So back to the original topic, if the lore isn't clear it's either by design or omission, and in either case you can pick and choose as you see fit. Nobody is going to cross-check you at the table and tell you that's not how things work.

balmy garden
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Hmm

serene crater
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Quick question. I know lathander is noted to be the god of renewal, but he despises evil. I wanted to ask how would he take to someone/ a potential follower who's trying to redeem themselves?

A little bit of context is that an npc was possessed for a while and made to do horrific things (which internally he slightly enjoyed as it gave him a sense of power) but when it ended he blamed himself and genuinely wants to atone, going to a church of Lathander in the hopes of finding it

cinder cloud
jagged apex
reef cape
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It goes every way possible

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Moreover, keep in mind that Chronepsis is, at best, neutral and more generally evil. His definition of a wrongdoing is probably not the same as yours

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Honestly, I think he's the sort of guy who would time travel to prevent the abolition of slavery or something equally odious

jagged apex
# reef cape Or perhaps the Chronepsis described in Sigil and the Outlands is a different ech...

he is explicitly described as a deity in that book, the black dragon one is likely not related to the deity and merely shares a name, else they changed their minds between fizban's and sigil and the out lands to partially quote the depiction in sigil "Chronepsis, the dragon deity of time and fate. Chronepsis typically manifests as an ancient time dragon, though he sometimes takes the form of a black dragon with iridescent scales. Each hourglass within the dragon god’s realm is said to represent the life of a dragon somewhere in the multiverse." so the latest version of Chronepsis is either a god or there is simply two one of which happens to share the same name as the god

jagged apex
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so they exist, but is by no means something you are gunna find short of some cosmic shenanigans

reef cape
jagged apex
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and that is less mechanics and more so a matter of lore, time travel in the narritive to my knowledge was mainly a thing at most back in older editions

reef cape
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Fizban's version is the truth of his origin, Sigil's version is how he likes to present himself

jagged apex
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eh, unlikely

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to partially quote the part from fizban's "Often a chromatic greatwyrm’s ascension involves fusing the power of a single dragon’s echoes across different worlds of the Material Plane. The black greatwyrm Chronepsis, for example, is said to have stalked multiple worlds and devoured many of his echoes before withdrawing to a planar lair in the Outlands. The red greatwyrm Ashardalon worked with a balor to ritually drain the power of his echoes, then infused their power into himself by implanting the balor where his heart had been."

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from what i can tell from this, it is merely something that is said in the mulitiverse, regardless if it is true

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the only part that was fact is regarding Ashardalon

reef cape
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To quote the same book : "The black greatwyrm Chronepsis once accomplished a feat similar to Ashardalon's, with one version of the dragon devouring multiple echoes before leaving the Material Plane and establishing a lair in the Outer Planes."

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This time presented as truth

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Similarly, in that same book: "Chronepsis (a black dragon who now resides in the Outlands, sometimes imagined as a god of fate),"

jagged apex
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where in the book is that? the part i quoted came from the chromatic greatwyvern description

reef cape
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Page 43

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I'll save you some time, Chronepsis is mentioned in Fizban at pages 7, 17, 37, 43 and 168

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All in all, that origin, of him being a black dragon ascended to a greatwyrm by hunting down and killing his echoes throughout the worlds is presented as fact, not as legend.

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Maybe "ascended to greatwyrmdom"? Is that a word?

jagged apex
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i found the part you mentioned the first one, and since i the one in sigil is noted has have different forms, something gods can do but greatwyrms despite their power, can not, so seems likely that if the one from fizban is true it is an unrelated individual that happens to share a name

reef cape
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Seems unlikely. Or perhaps he ascended to divinity after becoming a greatwyrm?

jagged apex
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from what i can tell is either that or they changed their stance on him between the two book's releases and the newer one is the one ment to be taken as the status quo

reef cape
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Or perhaps he has a magic item he uses to shapeshift

jagged apex
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and unless they say it was indeed a retcon, i feel the two beings that share a name, is the most likely of the two

reef cape
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Honestly, I find the idea of two dragons considered to be gods of fate to just happen to have the same name to be quite strange.

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Especially since nothing in Sigil and the Outlands outright contradicts Fizban's

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After all, even if he is a god, one can be both a god and a greatwyrm

jagged apex
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but either way it does not change the fact that time dragons are not omniscient despite their time powers given even most gods are not omniscient, i only say Chronepsis might be, because he is noted as manifesting as a time dragon and as the draconic god of time and fate, mainly do to being a god of fate and even that is iffy

reef cape
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Oh yes, that's where it started, did it?

jagged apex
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so a time dragon to know something would still have to experience, witness, or read about to know something from history, assuming said thing was beyond just public knowledge

jagged apex
reef cape
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Well, on that we are agreed. Time dragons are not omniscients, and in general I've rarely seen any D&D book outside of very old publications even use the word omniscient

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Hell, if Ao did not know who stole those bloody tablets, I doubt you'll find a single omniscient being

jagged apex
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far as i know it is never cemented as Ao not knowing who stole them, but is not said he did know, is left to interpretation, but in dnd given the gods themselves are fallible, tradition gods, those below like over deities are known to by that fact not be omniscient, as if you did know everything it would be presumably impossible to make mistakes

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one case of showing gods making mistakes and showing they don't know all, is mystra's confrontation with helm, or shar's attempt to seize control of the weave when cyric murdered mystra, and how badly that blew up in her face to where she nearly lost control of her shadow weave

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or the dead 3 with the whole reason behind why they stole the tablets of fate in the first place, granted you they were once mortal so you could chalk it up to that, but either way you got examples of gods having assumtions only to find out in kind of the worse way they were wrong

reef cape
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Nah, in the book if I remember correctly he made it very clear that he did not know who stole them

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Like, explicit

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Could be lying though

unkempt merlin
reef cape
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True, there are probably a dozen other Chronepsis running around

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Maybe having some sort of club meeting to see how they can deal with the cannibal one

unkempt merlin
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tales are told on multiple worlds of the Material Plane regarding the red dragon Ashardalon. Less widely understood, though, is the fact that as one Ashardalon developed his dragonsight, he concocted a scheme to preserve his existence by consuming his echoes on other worlds. All these different Ashardalons thus became a single, immensely powerful greatwyrm that fed on soul energy

Still, some powerful dragons have so successfully extended their consciousness across multiple incarnations, and so expertly coordinated their activities across multiple worlds, that they can seem godlike even to younger dragons. The black greatwyrm Chronepsis once accomplished a feat similar to Ashardalon's, with one version of the dragon devouring multiple echoes before leaving the Material Plane and establishing a lair in the Outer Planes.

chilly eagle
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can a reborn become a vampire

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not dhampir actual vampire

balmy garden
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I am leaning towards Chronepsis being a guardian or something. In SaTO it is also said that he guards these hourglasses that corresponds to dragons in multiverse.

jagged apex
#

and is less he guards them, so much as monitors them, cuz sure while some can be stolen it also states quote "Chronepsis prefers to be left alone, and he seldom leaves his sanctum. In times of great need, he relies on seasoned adventurers to recover stolen hourglasses, speed the sands of a troublesome wyrm, or travel back in time to mend a past wrongdoing."

#

so while some times in theory these could be stolen, i doubt it happens with any regularity as it is in the divine realm of a dragon god, but his role is very unclear and not very defined especially in the 5e continuity, in the past he was an aspect of Null, but given null has not been mentioned nor has the other aspect been mentioned thus far, seems 5e is leaning in the direction of much like some past editions gods that were considered aspects of one another are being treated as seperate entities in the 5e continuity

calm crest
#

So plausibly a reborn could become a vampire.

jagged apex
#

these days being susceptible to vampirism is more mechanical than lore, but far as i can see what little of what we know of reborn suggests either mechanically or lore wise that they couldn't

#

though one could argue that it would make little sense given their overall lore that we are given before we are given the mechanical details, quote "Death isn’t always the end. The reborn exemplify this, being individuals who have died yet, somehow, still live. Some reborn exhibit the scars of fatal ends, their ashen flesh or bloodless veins making it clear that they’ve been touched by death. Other reborn are marvels of magic or science, being stitched together from disparate beings or bearing mysterious minds in manufactured bodies. Whatever their origins, reborn know a new life and seek experiences and answers all their own." end quote

#

so from what i can tell is arguably more a mechanical question cuz lore wise it does not really give you an answer one way or another far as i am aware

jagged apex
unkempt merlin
#

The lore in SatO and Fizbans are not contradictory

jagged apex
#

yeah i know, but unless talking about all Chronepsis, it seems to make it clear that the main one ie the one from SaTO is a deity

#

and there is like so much less info on the one from fizban's no real reason to assume the two interact or are in the same area or anything like that

jagged apex
unkempt merlin
#

heck, SatO even makes that more clear by saying that he sometimes appears as a black dragon

jagged apex
#

like in more recent years far as i know it has only really been mentioned in passing for the most part

calm crest
#

2e in particular had a fair number of codified means of time travel.

unkempt merlin
# unkempt merlin The lore in SatO and Fizbans are not contradictory

for reference, where fizbans and then sato respectively acknowledge the other

Chronepsis (a black dragon who now resides in the Outlands, sometimes imagined as a god of fate)

Chronepsis, the dragon deity of time and fate. Chronepsis typically manifests as an ancient time dragon..., though he sometimes takes the form of a black dragon with iridescent scales

jagged apex
#

granted some stuff can apply still, but there is likely a bit of a limit given the various changes even just lore wise since then

calm crest
#

Plenty of settings other than Realmspace don’t restrict time travel. Mystara, for example, has time travel as a major element required to become an immortal of Time. Even the Demiplane of Time in the primary cosmology hasn’t been expressly removed, it just can’t be accessed from Toril.

jagged apex
#

from the lore side of things seems chronomancy as a whole kind of fell out of favor with mages in the realms anyway, with us only having a few spells that were technically part of the school as the history part of time travel is from back in 2e when netheril was still a thing

#

so odds are such magic is known by so few people is why we don't see much time travel at least when he tend to focus on the realms, especially since some of the spells that actually allow for time travel have not been used in published materials since 2e it seems

#

time conduit is noted as having previously been the primary means of time traveling via spells

calm crest
#

The wish spell does clearly state that time travel is a possible function of it in an example of a poorly worded casting.

jagged apex
#

well to be fair the wish spell if it fails can do multiple other things too in some cases far as i am aware, though some of that might be edition specific

calm crest
#

Sure, but “wishing that a villain were dead might propel you forward in time to a period when that villain is no longer alive” is expressly time travel in the 5e version.

jagged apex
#

true but is i believe the opposite of what most would typically use time travel for

#

again given the main use back when it was a more wide spread thing was a spell specifically for temporarily going back in time

#

i doubt any time travelers tend to actually go to the future intentionally let alone with any intent on returning to the time they came from

calm crest
#

Regardless of its reliability, a wish is capable of time travel forward definitively, and backward ambiguously.

jagged apex
#

i think the example is ment more so to display an example of the monkey's paw logic the wish spell can do when not replicating a specific spell or otherwise noted certain effect

#

besides i think when the guy ment time travel, i think they ment going back and forth between different time periods as most narritives with time travel tend to involve

calm crest
#

Given that the time travel question was not FR-specific, but rather the main cosmology as a whole, the Toril-specific restrictions aren’t necessarily applicable.

#

So traversing the Demiplane of Time seems to be the most reliable explanation for Planescape.

#

Or getting caught in a maze-based temporal anomaly caused by the Lady of Pain as seen with a certain prisoner/Duke.

#

Given the ||Rowan/Gilfad|| example, which is confirmed in SatO, we do know that A) time travel is possible, and B) you can end up in the same timeline as your past self. Whether this can only be achieved by deific level power and whether you can successfully change past events remain dubious.

past verge
#

Anyone know whats the state of each district of neverwinter in around 1490DR? Didnt play the game

feral lintel
#

is Isolde the name of the girl thats with Van Richten?

cinder cloud
#

But keep in mind much of the information is from 4e which took place a decade or so before 5e

crude blaze
feral lintel
#

ah gotcha

next flame
#

So what does fey and celestial really mean?

feral lintel
#

those are creature types, a catoegory for what type of creature one is

cinder cloud
# next flame So what does fey and celestial really mean?

Fey are magical creatures closely tied to the forces of nature. They dwell in twilight groves and misty forests. In some worlds, they are closely tied to the Feywild, also called the Plane of Faerie. Some are also found in the Outer Planes, particularly the planes of Arborea and the Beastlands. Fey include dryads, pixies, and satyrs.

Celestials are creatures native to the Upper Planes. Many of them are the servants of deities, employed as messengers or agents in the mortal realm and throughout the planes. Celestials are good by nature, so the exceptional celestial who strays from a good alignment is a horrifying rarity. Celestials include angels, couatls, and pegasi.
Source: MM 2014

#

You can read about the other various types of creatures in the same section

next flame
cinder cloud
visual python
#

For characters like Oberon and Titania, can it be safely assumed that certain aspects of their original myth translate to FR lore even if not explicitly stated? Specifically aspects of their family tree and inserting characters adjacent to them not mentioned in forgotten realms lore. Examples of this would be Oberons liege Puck, or Oberon and Titanias children from other stories like like Oriel, Gloriana, Kenna, and the many children from Titanias Palace for instance.

jagged apex
#

anything not explicitly stated or otherwise not stated to be a certain way is up to your own interpriation

limpid karma
#

I was going to say something similar. We take the books and interpret it as we see it. Sometimes we smudge it a little bit here and there add bips and bobs from deep dives into our own mythological studies….. and in some cases omit things that don’t fit at the time but add it later when it makes sense.

It’s like the blurry mythology of AO, Bahumaut, and Asmodeus.

jagged apex
#

just know that like with any myth from our own world, the adaptation of it in fiction, in this case more specific dnd, is more inspired by rather than ment to be that exact same myth pound for pound

limpid karma
#

And Ed Greenwood is still adding to things when it comes to FR. I love his channel.

feral lintel
#

are dragons able to mate with different dragon types? and are children possible in such a combo

crude blaze
feral lintel
#

ah right, forgot about Fizbans

#

ill just have them asexually come into being lol

crude blaze
#

My personal favorite is when a dragon dies and the decomposing body creates dragon eggs

#

No other dragon involved at all. If a party of adventurers kills a dragon and doesn’t dispose of the corpse, that’s 20 more dragons for future generations of adventurers to deal with 😈

feral lintel
#

the thing is tho i want a pair for this two

#

but one is red and the other blue

cinder cloud
jagged apex
cinder cloud
#

aka Purple Dragon

jagged apex
#

they are typically not fond of other breeds as a whole, but individuals can like any other, deviate from these norms

feral lintel
#

gotcha

feral lintel
jagged apex
#

i imagine that it would be a different kind of purple dragon, not all color combos apply with their respective dragons

#

at least from what i recall reading about 2e when they last covered such a subject

feral lintel
#

aye, but it is a funny though

cinder cloud
#

Yeah, sorry, not supporting that with any kind of lore. But found it interesting.

jagged apex
#

plus if somehow you get a chromatic and a metallic the combination is so volatile you are as likely if not more likely to get some sort of random unique kind of dragon rather than a hybrid of the parents

#

but far as i know the last time and maybe even only time dragon breedings are detailed was in the 2e draconomicon

jagged apex
obsidian gate
#

does elistraee exist in exandria (since lolth is a thing there too)?

modest badger
#

Elistraee is FR only as far as I can tell, although 5e did bring her a bit more into the 'core' seldarine.

near musk
#

Dnd cartoon . Is the cleric from the lost unicorn adventure a new addition to the dnd cartoon team or did she exist before?

reef cape
#

Apparently a new character

grim siren
# obsidian gate does elistraee exist in exandria (since lolth is a thing there too)?

While not specifically in Exandria, Elistraee has been a deity of the wider multiverse for some time. She is listed in Planescape material as a general drow goddess in the following books.

On Hallowed Ground (TSR, 1996) by Colin McComb

Warriors of Heaven (WOTC, 1999) by Chris Perkins

There is no lore detailing how she interacts or manifests in other worlds but she has been at least in the wider multiverse for a bit.

drowsy wraith
#

DARK SUN question: Do Urik and Raam fight a lot in the lore?

jagged apex
#

from what i found seems they don't interact let alone fight at all, least with what is recorded on the darksun wiki

calm crest
#

My understanding of it is that the Sorcerer-Kings manipulate each others’ kingdoms and scheme from afar, but generally can’t afford to spare the resources needed to engage in full scale warfare, so as to continue appeasing the Dragon with sacrifices en masse.

late storm
#

Is it possible to have an etherial curtain that leads to the abyss

cinder cloud
#

Sorry I didn't realize you asked here too

#

I'll copy paste my answer

#

However, this is no longer the case and travel is restricted to the prime material and the inner planes.

#

The Great Wheel cosmology presented in Manual of the Planes for the core setting of 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons has a simplified Ethereal plane, with no separation between Border Ethereal and Deep Ethereal. However, it also presents the Deep Ethereal as an alternative set of rules, more in line with the earlier 1st- and 2nd-edition descriptions. Core 3rd edition furthermore alters ethereal curtains, such that they can travel to any plane, not only Inner Planes

#

TL:DR; in older lore yes, in recent lore no

static trench
#

I just found out that in Skyrim, the days of the week are not the same as they are irl. Ie, Sunday, Monday, are not referred to as such.
Does anyone know if it's a similar thing for dnd?

jagged apex
paper oasis
#

In Faerun, the calendar of Harptos (the commonly used calendar) has 12 months of 30 days, each divided into 3 equal length tendays. Thus the first day of the week is called First Day, etc.

jagged apex
#

so if there are names for the days of the week, they are at best a local thing and would vary from section to section of the realms

#

even just within faerun

#

but things like "sunday", "monday", ect... do not really exist in any sort of universal manner

#

see the linked sage advice i provided if you want ed greenwood's answer proper

#

ed greenwood being the creator of the forgotten realms setting that has been the main setting of choice for much dnd lore and is one of the most popular established settings

static trench
#

Understood. Thanks everyone!

jagged apex
#

he says it is likely do to the various competing faiths in the realms

#

like some people may still try to make such things catch on, but officially, none have caught on

#

like if one guy were to reffer to a day of the week as monday, or any other day of the week name real or made up, odds are nobody is gunna know what that is the next town over, heck some might not even know within that same area

wet roost
#

Is the border ethereal an ethereal copy of the prime material or like an empty layer that is superimposed on top of the prime material?

What I mean is if you had a house in the Prime Material and you went to the Border Ethereal, would the Ethereal equivalent of the same house be there?

#

The way I understand it is that it is an overlay that ethereal matter can exist in but does not automatically.

reef cape
wet roost
#

So you're interacting with a 'ghost' of prime material stuff then?

reef cape
#

It's a good way to put it, yes

#

And equivalent is not completely the right word, it's more like... From the border ethereal, you can peep into the material plane

#

That's how night hags get you

wet roost
#

I think I understand. So normally you can't affect or be affected by nonliving matter on the Ethereal Plane unless you have the explicit ability to do so.

#

But you would be able to interact normally with matter than is on the Ethereal Plane properly (like another traveler or a plane shifted house).

reef cape
#

Yeah, that's basically exactly that

jagged apex
tardy wasp
#

Now that Moon Druids are explicitly flavored around lunar magic, I wonder, are there any nature gods in Greyhawk that would make sense as deities of this circle?

jagged apex
#

though Tezcatlipoca is apparently it's god of the moon

rapid hare
#

Greyhawk doesn’t fit 5e. It’s much lower magic and human dominant. 1e is the better option for it.

unkempt merlin
#

You've got about 2 more months for that claim (even if I don't necessarily agree). Greyhawk is getting more of a focus in the 2024 DMG

tardy wasp
#

Another one: even after all these years, I’m still not wholly sure about how Warlock magic works. Is it something they actually learn from their patrons, like a teacher and student, or does the power flow from the patron into their caster, like some arcane mimicry of divine magic?

unkempt merlin
#

Flavor wise the answer can be all of the above

#

The specifics of warlock pacts vary, thus the nature of their magic does as well

rapid hare
jagged apex
#

heck we have even had adventures in 5e set in greyhawk, all be it very few

unkempt merlin
#

But that's more mechanics than lore

rapid hare
#

It definitely does. 5e is much higher in magic than 1e.

jagged apex
#

not really

feral lintel
#

and its less of a convo for this channel

jagged apex
#

and again that is more mechanics than anything

#

this channel is LORE

ionic rivet
#

Let's keep things focused on lore folks! Thanks!

rapid hare
ionic rivet
#

Ahem. Back to lore.

jagged apex
#

rules and lore more often than not have no real relation and if one has to give lore wins every time

jagged apex
#

some teach, some gift, some take without the patron knowing, some trade for favors or the like, ect... all are valid dynamics of a warlock and their patron and how the warlock gains their abilities and such

#

to partially quote the description in the newer phb, quote "Warlocks view their patrons as resources, as means to the end of achieving magical power. Some Warlocks respect, revere, or even love their patrons; some serve their patrons grudgingly; and some seek to undermine their patrons even as they wield the power their patrons have given them." end quote

#

from what i am aware either way it is kind of up for interpretation

#

that said, the newer phb lore on what makes a warlock the way they are has more of an emphasis on knowledge that is either ancient, secret, or otherwise hidden and not widely available to what say a wizard could learn

unkempt merlin
#

thats not new phb lore

jagged apex
#

ah, my mistake i thought it was

spice dune
#

Listen I’m pretty
New can someone tell me the difference between a sorcerer and a warlock? I’ve been itching for an answer

pallid flower
spice dune
#

Thank you, I was informed otherwise however I knew it wasn’t the case so thank you for clarifying for me

fading obsidian
#

what blood colour celestial beeings have?

bronze pulsar
fading obsidian
#

ahh good, i creating a contract and it is signed is in blood from the angel and the warlock

bronze pulsar
#

Could also be black. Maybe a bit of flavor?

Like if holy blood is used to write on vellum made from an evil spirit, the blood burns it black?

fading obsidian
#

yeah what i got from you and research i decidet to make it somewhat golden with golden sprinkle like little stars. but honestly i thought its red because of all these "angel crying blood" things

bronze pulsar
#

It could also be storing radiant energy, meaning that celestial blood would be naturally resistant to the undead. Really good for making something to bind a lich into place.

cinder cloud
#

Where are you getting this lore?

ionic rivet
#

As a reminder this channel is for discussing official D&D lore - e.g. the lore printed in official D&D books and materials.

round terrace
#

what character is most like Henry Ford, or Rockefeller

#

basically an uber rich corporate or oil magnate

cinder cloud
#

What setting?

round terrace
#

Uh, basically anyone on the sword coast or that continent (I forgot the name of the continent lol)

#

nothing rlly extraplanar tho

cinder cloud
round terrace
#

Thank you

#

was just curious about the richest of the rich so this helps

cinder cloud
#

There are currently no named figures for these positions, only their respective houses. The last named figures for Amn on the previous Council of Six were in 3rd edition and they are most likely dead.

round terrace
#

Huh neat

#

amn reminds me of like Carthage if it was land locked and didn’t have crazy religious practices

finite pendant
#

Sembian merchant are also rich as well

#

Calimshan is probably one of the richest

gilded trench
#

I have a new character I could use some lore help with. She’s an archaeologist/follower of Deneir (or Oghma) who became linked to Lolth as her (sorta) patron when she took a ceremonial whip (and now uses it as her weapon). Any advice on how to flesh out this character? I’m mainly unsure about Lolth’s interest/interaction with her, and how it might affect my character’s personality and behavior

(If it helps, here’s some build info: 2024 human paladin1/valor14/bladelock1, uses slasher+slow+spiritguardians/giant insect to restrict enemies movement - I imagine her combat is heavily influenced by Lolth/spiders in general)

feral lintel
gilded trench
#

Gotcha, my bad, was directed here by them

#

Lemme try to rephrase and narrow my question, lmk if it’s still better suited to another channel.

What are lolth’s motivations? What would she be like as a warlock pseudopatron? (not mechanically, it’s just a 1 level dip in 2024 rules)

feral lintel
#

Lolth's motivations is basically... chaos and messing with the drow for her amusement

gilded trench
#

Hmm. What if any interest might she take in a human adventurer?

feral lintel
#

if she does, its mostly still to her own amusement

#

she isn CE for no reason

gilded trench
#

Makes sense. So anyone under her influence that would have to be particularly entertaining/useful in order to survive awhile?

feral lintel
#

yeap, and she easily throws them away if they no longer amuse her

gilded trench
#

Does she have any aspirations beyond the underdark?

feral lintel
gilded trench
#

Got it, thanks for the help!

jagged apex
jagged apex
# feral lintel she isn CE for no reason

well her structure of drow society has been described as a sort of ordered chaos and her personality is described as quote "ever since her fall from grace her sanity had frayed and fractured until she became the petty, conniving monster she was commonly known as. Her will was not merely fluid, but often times contradictory, although even if she was mad, the drow placed more importance on a deep and devious sense of cunning than mental stability. Ironically, for all her demands for obedience, nothing demanded her attention and admiration more than treachery, even towards herself (if only temporarily). Guile and political ruthlessness were the signs of her favorite servants, and she ultimately admired ambition more than she did loyalty." end quote

#

so the chaotic alignment could be do to this sort of chaotic and at times contradictory will of hers

#

plus her hatred and desire for vengeance against Corellon does kind of fit the description/example given for chaotic evil alignments in the newer 5e phb, and some of the personality traits suggested for the various parts of the alignment spectrum from both chaotic and evil i at least can see very much being fitting of lolth

#

so there is likely a reason, is just not what people usually associate with the chaotic evil alignment probably

cinder cloud
#

She would likely never enter into a warlock pact with a human (both because she's a deity and has clerics for that sort of thing and also because humans are not drow)

cinder cloud
jagged apex
#

and probably is likely to at any moment toss you away either to further her own plans, desires, or any number of other things, cuz again her personality is described as being so fluid at times she her will in seemingly contradictory

visual python
#

is there another word for humanoid that doesn’t center, well, humans?

lusty ravine
#

Goblinoid is used for a subcategory of well goblin related ones, but no overall option I can think of

jagged apex
#

especailly since more recent years have been sure to show that be you a human, orc, dwarf, drow, ect... neither are more inherently evil by nature than the other

lusty ravine
#

Humanoid is the actual mechanical creature type

#

But you could use some other descriptor

jagged apex
#

granted people in universe are not gunna be of this mind set, but in worlds like toril racism and bias are still very much a thing along with other less than savory practices even if recently people avoid focusing on them, they are still there

cinder cloud
visual python
jagged apex
#

it largely is one of those terms that is mostly nondiegetic

#

least far as i am aware

#

like i can't think of a case where it is said in universe outside of maybe being written in a sage's notes on a subject like vamprism but that kind of rides the line or arguably does not count

cinder cloud
#

Two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, etc.

#

It's for us to understand, not for the characters to use

jagged apex
#

pretty sure humans don't really even call themselves "humanoid"

#

or if they do, it is likely do to ego and them making it up themselves, as elves god their own words for their people and those who are not

#

Tel'Quessir which is described as "the collective name elves use for their race. translates into common to mean, "The People"."
and
N'Tel'Quess which is noted as ""Not-people". A derogatory term elves use to describe non-elves."

solar parcel
#

Bipedal?

jagged apex
#

and even got a term for what may be someone who is kind of in between "sha'Quessir" meaning "elf-friend"

jagged apex
# solar parcel Bipedal?

points to giants, some elementals, monstrosities, undead, ect...
i really think that rooney is just worrying about/thinking about it too hard

calm crest
#

“Humanoid” as a creature type means sapient, bipedal non-giants with little to no supernatural powers.

jagged apex
#

not every term is diegetic

cinder cloud
jagged apex
#

diegetic more or less meaning something used in universe

calm crest
#

“Humanoid” is not an easily translatable idea to the diegetic understanding, absolutely.

jagged apex
#

and even then, the elves don't even use the word to reffer to themselves anyway unless maybe they were speaking common with a human or something

#

either way is not really an issue if you remember it is more a mechanical term than anything on the lore side let alone in terms of things used in regular conversation

jagged apex
rain phoenix
#

(ping when replying, p l e a s e)
What exactly is Acquisitions Incorporated? Is it a sort of adventurer's guild or smth?

paper oasis
# rain phoenix (**__ping when replying, p l e a s e__**) What exactly **is** Acquisitions Incor...

Acquisitions Incorporated is a Dungeons & Dragons party starring in a series of online adventures since 2008, originally in podcast format but expanding to live shows, comics, Twitch shows, and more. A collaboration between Penny Arcade and Wizards of the Coast, the series was originally created to showcase the then-new 4th Edition of D&D, but soon evolved into something of an improvisational Comic Fantasy.

rain phoenix
paper oasis
rain phoenix
feral lintel
#

whats this i hear about Ashardalon and the Guthlias tree?

cinder cloud
#

Gulthias was a vampire of another world and a follower of the great wyrm Ashardalon

feral lintel
#

ooh, ic

cinder cloud
#

The tree was the first to create blights

eager bay
#

Hi there, quick question, any information on the dates where the Shattered Obelisk takes place?

finite pendant
eager bay
#

Is a remake? I understood it was a "sequel"

#

Oh no, you are right, is a remake with continuation

#

Wow, this is interesting

finite pendant
eager bay
#

Does any of the 6 adventures from the Infinite Staircase take place in the Forgotten Realms?

grim siren
thorn raptor
#

So how exactly do classes work?

#

as in at what point do you go from not having a class to having a class

#

what are the requirements to obtain a class?

#

why does everyone who follows a particular class gain the same features like all fighters having action surge or all monks just getting stunning strike

thorn raptor
#

Why are there not more classes if something like fighter or rogue exists?

#

why does a fighter even exist as a class of its own?

#

and if fighter exists then why aren't paladins or barbarians or whatever else subsets of the fighter?

#

what is the difference between a warlock and a cleric, that ones in a contract and the other is a warshipper? If a cleric then made a contract with their god would they become a warlock? If a warlock warships their patron are they then a cleric?

jagged apex
#

not everything is lore diagetic, especially classes

#

as for the warlock part, if you mean worship, no

#

cuz clerics specifically get their powers from their god, and gods are something that are a bit more certified, you can have got like power but that does not make you a god even if you have minions that worship you as though you were a god

#

the rest of your questions, far as i am aware are not even a lore based thing and are more so mechanics and or meta

jagged apex
#

also fighters are all about training and skill, barbarians and paladins are not that, neither is the rogue, their core identities and what they are centered around are objectively different

#

and again, not everything, especially classes are lore diagetic

pallid flower
#

Classes and PC options aren’t necessarily available to NPCs

thorn raptor
jagged apex
#

well typically is not that simple, many wizards attend schools for such things are apprentices under more seasoned mages such as Blackstaff and their pupils in the forgotten realms setting

#

wizards are all about studying magic which is tackled similarly to how science in our own world is

clever path
#

Post the exact wording

#

Also wait that’s a rules question this is the wrong channel

#

Pretty sure it affects every die rolled. Make sure you ask in the right channels next time or the mods will get mad

feral lintel
#

wrong channel mate

split crystal
#

Oops sorry!

feral lintel
#

all good, just confused as to why i thought i was in the rules channel twice dndLol

split crystal
#

Finger likely slipped and pressed the channel next to the one I was looking for

pallid flower
jagged apex
#

and in an empire like netheril given the widespread use and access to magic magical items are a bit cheaper than they are these days

#

magic and it's accessibility is one of those things that seems to vary from place to place, or in some cases time period to time period, even within any given setting, likely being based on a handful or so of factors

trim mountain
#

I have questions about Orcs

visual python
#

yes shoot

trim mountain
#

are there any good sides to orc/halforc culture or communities or are they fully brutes?

feral lintel
#

Depends on settings, but they arent inherently evil as of late

visual python
#

orcs are somewhat in the throes of a retcon currently

trim mountain
#

I have an idea for a halforc character who is a do gooder and wants to fight for the good name of orcs and halforcs and I wanna know if it's possible in the faerun lore

feral lintel
#

theyre just as nuanced as any other humanoid race now, although they still might lean towards war and carnage

#

but really, its only for the Forgotten Realms

trim mountain
feral lintel
#

*throes im assuming

visual python
#

they used to be seen/portrayed as strictly evil, with half orcs being a compromise. in recent lore they’ve moved away from species being inherently evil, like the drow or goblins for instance. in this regard orcs culturally are currently somewhat split amongst their alignments and allegiances. Gruumsh (evil god of orcs, and their creator) hasn’t been retconned so it can assume that any good orcs reject his divinity in the same way that good aligned drow reject lolth. we’re getting into conjecture territory but like i said orcs are currently being retconned in the new edition.

#

the way i see it, orcs are kinda like klingons. a race of warlike people with their own sense of honor that initially clashed with other races before reaching peace and understanding.

trim mountain
feral lintel
#

Depends on setting

#

in Eberron, they arent necessarily evil

unkempt merlin
#

Lots of good orcs in eberron

trim mountain
#

the dm mentioned something about neverwinter

feral lintel
#

then youre set in the Forgotten Realms

visual python
#

good ole faerun

feral lintel
#

good orcs can exist, but are rare due to Gruumsh's influence

trim mountain
#

hmmm, it will be tough

#

but ig it's doable to make a halforc fighting for the good name of orcs and halforcs

feral lintel
#

best to consult with your DM for specifics on their rendition of FR

visual python
#

yes your DM might have a more modern or lax approach with orcs. it depends on their vision of the world.

trim mountain
feral lintel
#

yeah, but generally, this channel is more for official published lore

#

it can change from table to table, and thats where the other channels come into play

jagged apex
jagged apex
jagged apex
# feral lintel good orcs can exist, but are rare due to Gruumsh's influence

and you know prejudice, something a tiefling and a half-orc in the realms can often relate to one another on is being treated as evil by others just do to their bloodline or heratage, which sometimes pushes them to embrace these monsterous accusations if they wollow in the darkness and sadness that such treatment can lead to, but having someone to relate to is likely one of the things that can keep you from falling down the darker path

jagged apex
#

the 2024 books even paint the orcs who do follow grummsh in a more pleasant light to partially quote "Orc youths on some worlds are told about their ancestors’ great travels and travails. Inspired by those tales, many of those orcs wonder when Gruumsh will call on them to match the heroic deeds of old and if they will prove worthy of his favor. Other orcs are happy to leave old tales in the past and find their own way."

#

in the realms according to some myths part of why gruumsh and by extension his pantheon and children is do to them being cheated out of a land of their own by the other gods when they were dividing up the world for their people, in some cases this was someone's idea of a prank, but either way gruumsh at least from his perspective has reason to dislike and be antagonistic to other races/species at least on worlds like toril
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Gruumsh#History

grim siren
eager bay
#

Is there any canon lore about how DnD dhampirs age? I would assume it’s similar to half elves.

jagged apex
#

in 5e there is no mention on their lifespan so you'd mainly have to look to past editions for such lore if it exists

wet flower
#

Could a dead god in the astral plane become resurrected if someone finds out their name?

cinder cloud
wet flower
cinder cloud
#

Merely learning of a dead gods name would not be enough

wet flower
#

Hmm..... So active worship? Since they die as a concept when they became forgotten.

cinder cloud
#

And even then they'd need Ao to give them the thumbs up

cinder cloud
wet flower
#

Well they kinda cant.... Can they? I am literally standing on their skeleton.

cinder cloud
#

Deities, while immortal, were capable of dying.[21] Conflict with other deities, conflict with great mortal heroes, and neglect were the most common causes of a divine demise, though it was also possible for a god to lapse into apathy, drift into sleep on the astral plane, and eventually perish. Ulutiu was a prime example of this last possibility.[22]

Though a deity could die, at least a part of them would always remain. There were instances of worshipers of these deities tapping into these remnants to wield divine magic.[23] Dead deities also had the potential to be resurrected if they maintained some kind of physical or metaphysical presence and a significant base of worshipers. For example, Garagos was thought to have revived himself in this way.

feral lintel
#

how do you think we have three Mystras after all

jagged apex
jagged apex
# wet flower Hmm..... So active worship? Since they die as a concept when they became forgott...

deities in dnd are not just mere concepts, they are entities that feed both on worship and acts that occur in the mortal world, ie the prime material plane relating to their portfolio, the worship is a reliable source of sustenance where as the acts are a bit of a gamble and while they can grant a lot of divine power they can wear off comparatively quickly, most gods need this to simply survive like you or i would food and water, given gods can be worshiped in any setting they have a presence or influence in, the minimum requiring at least one devout worshiper to "get their foot in the door" so to speak, but without enough worship in total they effectively fall into a divine comma, which is usually what death is like to a deity vs death in the traditional sense, at least to my knowledge

feral lintel
#

oh scarlet its you, didnt recognize your PfP

Is Tartarus a thing in DnD cosmology?

jagged apex
feral lintel
#

ah, prison plane? Makes sense.

jagged apex
#

i call it that cuz i could not spell the proper name off the top of my head XD

crude blaze
#

More adventurers should go to Carceri tbh

jagged apex
#

good thing we got their self appointed wardens reintroduced in planescape 5e

#

so is not like you are gunna only be facing beings like cronos the titan that literally went on a murder spree against the gods

crude blaze
#

16 spokes on the Great Wheel and people only ever go to Baator

feral lintel
#

Oh, so the Titans are in Carceri?
inner greek mythos lover happy

jagged apex
#

as far as i know

#

some giant gods live there historically like Grolantor and Karontor

feral lintel
#

oooh

jagged apex
#

and according to that, at least was described on the wiki, was more so they basically broke the part that connected it and mount Olympus

crude blaze
jagged apex
#

and the rest is more so tehre is only 1 portal that lets anyone in the Carceri to leave the plane, hense it's titles

#

least to my knowledge there is only one at least one known one and that is what the demodands more or less guard

jagged apex
crude blaze
#

Yeah, I’m pretty sure Annam’s canonically chilling out there

feral lintel
#

... Welp, that answers my question about Annam

crude blaze
#

Well, “canonically”

jagged apex
#

yeah i know in the current cosmology Annam's is in the outlands, being one of the ones detailed or at least mentioned in it

crude blaze
#

But nobody knows where in the Outlands specifically. I think the implication as that you can only really wander into it, but nobody’s been able to place it on a map.

jagged apex
#

to be fair it is mainly his the giants on toril he abandoned, they just kept messing up, the all father had all that he could take of it, hence the events between tyranny of dragons and storm kings thunder

crude blaze
#

And to tie it to Bigby Presents, which is another very recent release. WOTC does love their Easter egg-y crossovers.

jagged apex
#

at best there are some ideas and claims by people in universe where but is not confirmed

#

to partially quote that paragraph "After the decline of giants, Annam the All-Father disowned his children and left Ysgard, swearing never to answer the prayers of giants again until they restored their ancient kingdom and reclaimed their rightful place as mighty rulers. " end quote, he is basically waiting for them to more or less get their act together

feral lintel
#

Makes sense, def gonna use this knowledge to use in my giants game

jagged apex
#

the full paragraph is located in the "other realms" section of "sigil and the outlands" chapter 3

crude blaze
jagged apex
crude blaze
#

My personal theory is that he doesn’t stay in one place. He just moves around, builds a tower, then knocks it down before moving on, but that’s obviously just personal lore.

jagged apex
jagged apex
crude blaze
#

Yep. Let the kids get it together in their cosmic “getting along” shirt that is the Ordning while he goes out for a beer

feral lintel
#

.. kinda wanna see an adventure all about him coming back

jagged apex
#

i know the outer planes are technically infinite in scale, but is bound to happen eventually i'd imagine

crude blaze
jagged apex
#

from the images we have of him on his forgotten realms wiki page one of them is from 1e and the other is not super clear or detailed so is fair, not like he makes a lot of appearances anyway

crude blaze
#

They're also gods. They can look like anything they want

spiral igloo
crude blaze
#

In fairness, didn't the most recent one just take Mystra's name to make things less confusing?

jagged apex
jagged apex
# spiral igloo Mystra, the one god who needs a bodygaurd.

honestly, she doesn't, at least outside of the specific narratives where she was killed as part of explaining a change between editions in universe, but at least one of those cases you can definitely attribute it to her own fault, mainly when she tried to just bypass helm during the time of troubles

#

like she knew helm very well to where she should have known that he was not gunna go against the orders he was given by lord Ao, so she was foolish to try especially when she attacked him, helm acted arguably in self defense, but just cuz of the sheer difference between true body and being stuck in an avatar, helm's counter attack was fatal

jagged apex
crude blaze
#

Yeah, I remember reading the novel years ago about her, Kelemvor, and Cyric's ascension

jagged apex
#

i know eventually kelemvor and mystra eventually abandoned their mortal attachments/memories to better do their jobs at some point, forget if cyric did that at any point, before he basically accidently sent himself down the road to crazy town and got locked up

#

and the dead three given their incompetence when ever they try a scheme together, probably safe to say they never made such a change after they ascended, least not far as i am aware or have ever heard

raven marsh
#

I just stumbled across a 2e monster entry for "Shadowperson," a people from Krynn setting that really look like hadozee. Is anyone aware of any connection?

jagged apex
#

never heard of them, but the last time prior to 5e spelljammer was a thing, which the hadozee are associated with, was 2e, so seems plausible at least

#

but i believe the old krynn stuff was more by it's original creators rather than wizards of the coast, so it might just be a coincidence for all i know

steady dagger
#

I'm not sure if this falls under lore specifically but what would the dnd equivalent of an army brat be? Like someone who grew up traveling between bases all over.

crude blaze
#

Definitely not lore, but idea. Maybe a commoner? Or a guard?

jagged apex
#

would likely depend on the setting and whether or not the area has a proper guard or military of any sorts

steady dagger
#

Since the armies seem to be more location specific I can't imagine someone getting bounced around much which is why I'm curious.

paper oasis
#

You're probably looking for, not a soldier, but a merchant. Buying goods at point A, travelling and selling them to point B, refilling stock at point B and going to point C. A week in town, a week on the road, repeating as necessary.

cinder cloud
#

But as others pointed out, this is not a lore question.

round terrace
#

Is there any hero of ages past in DnD, or someone or something similar to Link and his recurring cycle?

crude blaze
round terrace
#

there ain’t nobody like Link, or Zelda or Ganon who like pass on their spirit kinda thing?

crude blaze
#

Not that I can think of. A lot of famous NPCs are very long lived either because of magic or because they’re naturally just a long-lived race.

#

The whole “passing on their spirit” thing is very much a unique to Legend of Zelda type of thing.

round terrace
#

ok legend of Zelda is scratched off my DnD bingo card

#

time for lord of the rings

#

is there anybody like Sauron, Morgoth, or any of their top generals?

crude blaze
#

Lord Soth comes to mind. He’s a tyrannical undead death knight who is known for committing atrocities in life so bad that he was cursed with undeath to live with the guilt of it for eternity.

#

Except the plan kinda backfired cuz he doesn’t really feel guilty and goes on to do more bad things.

round terrace
#

that seems very Sauron like

#

now I leave to go play eow

#

thank you

jagged apex
#

sauron i have heard compared more so to a powerful lich or wraith more so than an undead knight

#

so i would not really say lord soth fits the bill entirely

crude blaze
#

Kinda depends on which version of Sauron we’re talking

jagged apex
#

fair

crude blaze
#

The film Sauron is definitely portrayed a lot more like a death knight, but in the books (especially his Hobbit era) he’s literally referred to as a necromancer

#

In fact, the Necromancer

jagged apex
#

i mainly am reffering to the description AJ Pickett gave during his lore video on wraiths in dnd

crude blaze
#

Plus, he’s technically the same race as the wizards iirc, so a lich could definitely fit the bill more with what’s in the source material

jagged apex
crude blaze
#

More so in aesthetic. iirc he’s also mentioned to be Sauron in a weakened and sicklier state.

#

So he’s kinda in lich form, which is still pretty strong, but he’s not feeling good about it

jagged apex
#

from what i have heard technically he and other similar powerful characters are akin to what in dnd would be angels of some sort, Sauron being obviously one that fell from grace/to evil, so you could argue Asmodeus depending on the origin you are going with could fit the bill

round terrace
crude blaze
#

The gods who in turn serve the Overgod Eru Iluvatar

cinder cloud
round terrace
#

Sauron was one of his top generals and military leaders

#

So it’s understandable to see why he’d be the next major evil power after Morgoth

cinder cloud
#

Might want to stick to dnd lore here though

round terrace
#

but a fallen angel turned lich or fallen angel turned undead commander/master blacksmith would work well as a dnd alternative to Sauron

cinder cloud
#

I meant more that LotR isn't a relevant topic for this channel, as it isn't really D&D lore.

round terrace
#

ok

#

well goodbye

dry tusk
#

So how do giants see other giants that don't abide by the ordning or flat out ignore it?

#

I was wondering this since I read about giants that follow the elemental evils

cinder cloud
# dry tusk So how do giants see other giants that don't abide by the ordning or flat out ig...

Some giants reject the ordning, in part or entirely. This rejection most commonly takes one of three forms.
...
Third, giants who turn from the worship of Annam's children to other powers (as described under "Gods and Religion" later in this chapter) also reject the ordning. In some cases, as in the hierarchical cults of Elemental Evil, the new religion replaces the giants' ordning with a different structure that offers the same sense of order, purpose, and meaning. Such cults place giants at a higher position than the giants would otherwise enjoy in the ordning.

#

Source: "Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants", p. 26

#

It is safe to assume that those giants who subscribe to the idea of the ordning look down on those who reject it, as the ordning represents the Giant pantheon and its divine structure within said pantheon.

#

But as far as specifically stating how one group of giants views the other, I could not find any such lore.

serene ravine
#

So, I come across interesting lore related to Dhamphyrs. It mention ancestors as vampires, or parents being a vampire. How does a vampire (undead) is able to procreate and sire living children? Aren't they... dead?

cinder cloud
#

Magic.

#

And to be technical, they are undead, not dead.

serene ravine
#

I thought undead is just dead something reanimated by necrotic energy, but still dead.

cinder cloud
#

If it's dead, it's not going to be very animated. 🙂

#

Zombies, for example, are created from a corpse by imbuing it with a "foul mimicry of life" via necromantic spells.

#

They are no longer dead, they are undead.

#

They have been transformed from something dead into something else entirely.

feral lintel
#

undead refers to anything that has dies and returned to life through... dark means

rich lantern
#

Hi, I read about silverymoon lores and interested to know more about its mythal. The mythal covers the entire city and forms a dome above that can prevent snowfall. Do we know how deep can the mythal penetrate down, is the sewer system also covered by mythal? Thanks

cinder cloud
rich lantern
#

Awesome, thanks

foggy flame
#

Has it ever been stated in dnd which creatures have souls?

#

Let’s say in the FR, but even in general

calm crest
#

In AD&D, who had souls and who had spirits was pretty specific. The current stance seems to be that all animate creatures have souls.

cinder cloud
# foggy flame Has it ever been stated in dnd which creatures have souls?

For the realms, you can find the answers you are looking for here: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Afterlife#What_Is_a_Soul?

To expand on what Thanazrael said, every mortal creature possesses a soul. The exceptions are plants, oozes and vermin. Undead and constructs do not have a soul, but the creatures from which they were made might have once possessed one. Fiends, elementals and celestials were not mortal and thus do not have souls.

That leaves:

  • Beasts
  • Dragons
  • Fey
  • Giants
  • Humanoids
  • Monstrosities
foggy flame
#

Lovely, thank you

jagged apex
#

some undead have something similar to a soul but not technically a soul or do involve the soul of the previously living in some way and elemental life is fundamentally different so they also have souls sort of but not in the sense you or i do

jagged apex
#

that is why your soul manifests in the afterlife in a physical form when you die and move on to the afterlife

cinder cloud
#

Please feel free to cite your sources if they differ from the above.

unkempt merlin
#

It's a little bit awkward as well because the default assumption with 5e lore in general (with some specific written out exceptions for specific creatures) is that every creature has a soul

cinder cloud
#

I'm not aware of any such assumption.

#

I'd be happy to review any relevant lore.

unkempt merlin
#

The 5e DMG has a section about Bringing Back the Dead, and just talks creatures in general and them having souls

#

Also at least in regards to fiends, with devils specifically saying they don't have souls is a little bit of an awkward space because in the most literal sense, they are souls

cinder cloud
#

A general statement about what happens when a creature dies does not support the idea that all creatures have a soul. Many creatures do not: undead, constructs, fiends, etc.

unkempt merlin
cinder cloud
#

Please cite the line that supports your claim.

#

Because there is nothing I can see in that section that says which creatures possess a soul and which do not.

unkempt merlin
#

It's a general statement. Ie: it applies to all creatures unless a creature specifies otherwise

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

cinder cloud
#

It merely talks about what happens when a mortal creature dies

unkempt merlin
#

It does not say mortal creatures though

#

Just creature

cinder cloud
#

If a creature isn't mortal, it can't die. That's what the word means.

#

Hence, any creature that isn't mortal doesn't apply.

unkempt merlin
#

That's not true? By that logic you can't kill a fiend. But you can

unkempt merlin
cinder cloud
#

The fiend doesn't die. It is permanently destroyed.

unkempt merlin
#

Not necessarily?

#

And many fiends literally are souls. Both demons and devils

#

Other demons (such as manes) are created from mortal souls shunned or cursed by the gods, or which are otherwise trapped in the Abyss.

#

Each abishai was once a mortal who somehow won Tiamat's favor before death and, as a reward, found its soul transformed into a draconic devil to serve at her pleasure in the Nine Hells.

cinder cloud
#

Created from souls.

#

And "transformed"

#

Not a soul.

unkempt merlin
#

Will-o'-wisps are the souls of evil beings that perished in anguish or misery

#

If an enemy sets foot inside a warded location, the eidolon plunges into a statue specially prepared to house its soul

cinder cloud
#

Yes, mortal souls that haven't gone to their respective planes

grim siren
#

Yea, outsiders less have souls and more are Souls given physical form or souls twisted and malformed into their current state by Good, Evil, Law or Chaos. Much less than like a human or an elf has a soul within them.

unkempt merlin
grim siren
#

They don't have souls. They are souls.

unkempt merlin
#

Unless you are trying to say being a soul is not having one

#

Because that doesn't make any type of sense

#

Bodaks are one of the specific examples that don't have souls for example

A bodak is the undying remains of someone who revered Orcus. Devoid of life and soul, it exists only to cause death.

cinder cloud
#

Also, citing lore from individual monsters does not speak to the larger picture. I'm confident you'll find some strange exception to the rule, but the rule still exists

grim siren
#

A spirit does not have a spirit. because it is a spirit.

cinder cloud
unkempt merlin
cinder cloud
#

As I demonstrated

unkempt merlin
#

Where does it say mortals?

Because by your logic of "it can die", gods are mortals

cinder cloud
#

If you aren't mortal, you don't die.

#

That's what mortal means.

unkempt merlin
#

So gods are mortals then. Good to know

cinder cloud
#

Gods don't die either, not permanently

grim siren
#

cries in Bhaal

unkempt merlin
grim siren
#

In the realms specifically even when a god "dies" their power is less destroyed and more subsumed by another being.

cinder cloud
unkempt merlin
#

And things with souls can be resurrected, same difference

cinder cloud
#

We're not talking about creatures any more

unkempt merlin
#

As of 5e, generically and specifically, creatures have souls unless otherwise specified.

Yes that might disagree with some statements from the wiki, but it wouldn't be the first time the wiki disagrees with 5e lore

cinder cloud
#

The original question was about which creatures have a soul.

cinder cloud
unkempt merlin
#

Nowhere does it say mortal nor does 5e use mortal in the way you are describing

But like i said. I'm gonna dip. Please do not ping me back in again.

crude blaze
#

I do tend to find that wikis tend to not be updated to 5E lore quite frequently tbh

cinder cloud
#

"When a creature dies" excludes creatures that can't die

crude blaze
#

Can’t help but feel like that’s by design

unkempt merlin
#

Dude. I literally just said twice do not ping me back in

cinder cloud
#

I was typing before you wrote that

unkempt merlin
#

You still had time to turn off the ping before sending it

So for a third time. Do not ping me back in again

cinder cloud
#

Please consider the fact that I didn't see it until after

crude blaze
#

Probably best to just move on

cinder cloud
#

Agreed

sage prawn
#

In older editions, were the Archey considered or treated as deities? From what I've read the Feywild itself is somewhat new, from 4E I think, could be wrong.

But reading up on all lot of Archfey on the forgotten realms wiki, it seems like they're treated like deities.

I'm assuming that before the Feywild was a thing, they were treated like deities. Then when it came around they were depowered a bit to fit in their own realm.

jagged apex
#

no, at least to my knowledge

#

cuz not only were they not worshiped as widely as deities, they often were below them in terms of power at least on average

#

some deities have been mistaken for archfey and vice versa though to my knowledge

#

just cuz some archfey are deities of sorts like Titania does not mean the same applies for all archfey, and they did not exist before the feywild existed

jagged apex
#

in short, you assumption while fine as your own head canon, objectively seems to be incorrect at least with actualy published materials

sage prawn
#

So when exactly was the Feywild itself introduced? Cause according to forgotten realms wiki, a lot of Archfey have been around since 2E apparently. I don't know if thats strictly in the novels or what.

jagged apex
#

4e

sage prawn
#

Maybe in earlier editions these creatures were just referenced here and there?

unkempt merlin
#

Fairly sure that Titania at the very least has been regularly treated as a diety

Not all archfey are

jagged apex
#

remember, changes both great and small can happen to anything between editions, just cuz one being is an archfey does not mean they always were

sage prawn
#

Right

jagged apex
sage prawn
#

But I'm just a bit confused how strong they would have been considered before Archfey

jagged apex
#

that is up to you, cuz there is not really any indication, there are requirments for becoming an archfey but how close or far you are from that before becoming one is as varied as the multiverse itself

sage prawn
#

See that's exactly where I'm confused. Pantheon of Fey deities. So they were considered deities at some point LOL

jagged apex
#

no

#

as not all archfey are of those beings

unkempt merlin
#

Archfey =/= power level necessarily

#

It's almost more of just a title in many cases

jagged apex
#

yeah archfey is just as much a title as it is anything else

#

if not more so

sage prawn
#

Right. The ones in the Seelie and Unseelie courts are I guess. At least the inner circles

crude blaze
jagged apex
#

at bear minimum archfey means they have control and dominion over a section of the feywild

#

in 5e some of these are known as domains of delights, the sort of opposite of the domains of dread, to an extent, and one of the known ones is so small it fits within another domain of delight

sage prawn
#

Okay. Makes sense now. I was hoping there was more to this history but its all good. Reading on the wiki was just confusing me because I was like fey deities? Wtf???

jagged apex
#

so it can be anything from a patch of grass the size of a baseball, to the size of an entire country, it varies from archfey to archfey

#

fey deities are just that, fey deities, archfey are something else, just cuz some are both does not mean they are one in the same

crude blaze
jagged apex
#

and are god LIKE in power

#

in dnd being a god requires more than just a certain level of power

#

from what i am aware of and have head it described if a god walks into the feywild that area will be influenced by the god if they were to say take a nap, the feywild is very dream like and even archfey will be subseptable to the whims of said god

#

so they may seem like a god to the average mortal who does not know any better, but in fact be it from someone familiar with the gods or from the reader/meta side, they are not deities just by virtue of being an archfey

#

much like an archmage is just a very powerful mage, an archfey is akin to that but with fey

crude blaze
#

The way I see it, archfey is more like a title or occupation that a show of power

jagged apex
#

many of them are more like fey nobility than deity so the ones that are both archfey and deities are theoretically in the minority given the nature of the multiverse

crude blaze
sage prawn
#

On that note, I have another related question:

I read that normal people or fey can influence the feywild, like weather or the roads, based on their emotions.

So is there any concrete rule that makes sense how they can do that when the Archfeys do that for their own domains?

I'm assuming it's just cause the Feywild is very fickle, has no master, and is very easily influenced.

jagged apex
#

like last i checked we know of more archfey that are objectively not gods in the same way as beings like Selune or Shar, than we do archfey that are also deities

#

to my knowledge it is basically strong emotions, like a matter of will, though archfey tend to baring the influence of a deity have full control over their domain/realm/territory

#

normal people are more likely to if at all do this by accident if anything

crude blaze
#

Right. A fairy or sprite might have influence over a much smaller space within a Domain, but ultimately the archfey’s influence is the Domain

#

Best analogy I can think of right now is, parents may own a house but give a modicum of control to their kids over their own bedrooms.

jagged apex
#

the feywild is largely shaped by the stories of the worlds on the prime material in addition, least to my understanding, to just being an echo or mirror of the prime material plane but with arcane magic and nature cranked up to the extremes, thus why the ancient feywild when we hear mention of it was supposidly a much more primal place when the mortal races of the world were still basically like cavement where the wilderness was a place of fear and various horrors thay they would tell stories about mainly as warning to the others in their tribes or what have you

#

but those changes from stories basically really only manifest when the same or similar enough story is shared and widespread enough on the prime material plane as i recall

gloomy brook
#

Where do Beholders come from?

crude blaze
#

Far Realms

jagged apex
#

and in regards to emotion to my knowledge the feywild supposedly more so response to strong positive emotions, and some negative ones, but far as i know most of the more dark and negative emotions such as sorrow and despair tend to be more so the sort of thing known for holding sway in the shadowfell, much like the fey themself the feywild is kind of weird and random

jagged apex
#

some origins i have heard range from them being the children of the child of the great mother, from the far realm, or are manifested when an astral dreadnaught decides to for some reason take a nap or otherwise sleep, despite not needing to, either way there is not to my knowledge one definitive origin

soft falcon
#

How are Dragonborn civilizations organized? Are they tribal? Do they live in large cities?

unkempt merlin
#

Which setting?

feral lintel
#

it varies from world to world

soft falcon
cinder cloud
soft falcon
obtuse shell
#

So gods can have different names in different settings and still be the same gods. Do they sometimes have totally different relationships on different worlds?

unkempt merlin
#

It might be more accurate to say they have the same "essence" rather than necessarily be the same god

And yes, they very often do have different relationships among one another. Assuming they all exist anyway

cinder cloud
crude blaze
#

I think the idea they’re aiming for is that the Dawn War deities exist across all worlds, but maybe we’ll see more in the DMG.

royal marsh
#

If a vampire is wounded, does it bleed?

cinder cloud
#

However, with regeneration they may not bleed for very long

jagged apex
jagged apex
visual python
#

hey guys. so the new DMG is gonna be focused around greyhawk. i’m not super familiar with the setting, but i know the basics.

what i’m curious about, however, is greyhawks relation to planar cosmology. is greyhawks relationship to the shadowfel, the feywild, and the outer planes like mt celestia and the nine hells of baator similar to torils? if yes or no, how? thanks a ton friends.

#

i’ve only ever played games in toril/the sword coast. generally, do we substitute toril for greyhawk (or eberron for example) and use the same planar cosmology? or do those setting have their own unique planes?

naive dragon
#

Greyhawk and Toril have the same outer planes

#

Most settings have the regular planes (nine hells, abyss, mt celestia).

visual python
#

that’s good to hear. i was worried i would have to memorize a bunch of new lore 😅

crude blaze
#

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Eberron is the only official setting that utilizes its own separate cosmology. Which is in part why their original lore stated they lived in their own isolated universe that couldn't be reached from other universes

jagged apex
jagged apex
#

else far as i know officially the only known self contained cosmology is that of eberron

crude blaze
cinder cloud
crude blaze
#

If anything, they're using it as an example of how a full campaign setting can look.

cinder cloud
#

Precisely.

crude blaze
#

It's also an homage to the fact that D&D turned 50 and Greyhawk is the first official setting of D&D

eager meteor
#

how does the afterlife work in the forgotten realms?

crude blaze
#

iirc, when you die, you go to the Shadowfell. If you served a certain god faithfully in life, you end up in their realm.

eager meteor
#

and if you didn't?

crude blaze
#

Shadowfell

eager meteor
#

you just stay there?

jagged apex
jagged apex
eager meteor
jagged apex
#

is just that the undead and kind of the afterlife in general are connected to the shadowfell to a degree do to how shar altered it to make it from the plane of shadow to the shadowfell, else to my knowledge it is the Fugue Plane, where they are judged before going on to their corresponding afterlife

#

the shadowfell being where they pass through is not a hard fact, just something that some believe to be the case in some cosmologies

#

in the forgotten realms historically the process is your soul and your memories are severed from one another at some unclear point in the process, you are brought before the god of the dead, the current one being Kelemvor, are judged, and if you are not picked up by your patron god to go to your afterlife in their domain or don't make a deal with a devil during the 10 days your soul is more or less in waiting, you are sent off to the afterlife in the corresponding plane of existence that matches your alignment

#

basically the sections you wanna mainly look at on the afterlife page on the forgotten realms wiki are "The Journey from Life to Death" and "The Fugue Plane"

#

one thing that is noteworthy and worth keeping in mind is the faithless have more or less been retconned from the current 5e cosmology so you can disregard the existance of the wall of lost souls where ever you may see it mentioned

eager meteor
jagged apex
#

also while your memories can be reunited with your soul's new self in the afterlife, this is rarely done as is extremely difficult to do even with the gods, so such a thing is a luxury to keep in mind most souls don't get

jagged apex
# eager meteor so basically if I understand correctly dead -> shadowfell (maybe?) -> fugue plan...

more or less, but the shadowfell is from what i can tell in universe just a believe by some people depending on the cosmology and is not really the case in the current edition, though if memory serves the shadowfell and the fugue plane are connected to a degree so the dead or undead can potentially to use it as a way from going from the lands of the dead back to the world of the living if they have the proper means to escape the shadowfell
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Shadowfell#Cosmologies

eager meteor
#

also how do the nine hells work? I understand now that lawful evil souls go there but why are there nine layers?

crude blaze
eager meteor
#

no idea what that is

#

is it just "you go based on what kind of bad you did"?

crude blaze
#

In essence

#

In Dante’s Inferno, each circle is representative of punishment for a specific type of sin. D&D’s Nine Hells emulates that.

eager meteor
#

and what if you committed 2 different sins?

visual python
#

devils have an elaborate system of heirarchy where they ascend and transform into gradually more powerful devils. the higher up the hierarchy the more they get to partake in pleasures of the flesh, like eating or intimacy (something lower devils don’t get to do)

almost all devils were once mortals so they crave the things they lost in mortalhood. the only way to ascend is to collect souls, usually though bargains. if a devil collects enough souls they ascend to a more powerful devil form.

long ago asmodeus bargained (tricked) the gods and celestials to allow devils to do this to fight the blood war, claiming they would only take the souls of the willing and damned. needless to say the celestials had their eyes covered in wool when that happened.

#

if you’re wondering what the blood war is, it’s an endless incursion/war in the hells between demons of the abyss and the devils of the hell

#

if i got anything wrong pls, someone correct me. this is my general understanding of the lore.

jagged apex
#

there are simply 9 layers of the realm known as baator, aka the hells, nothing about the the degree of evil has any influence on your place in the hells

eager meteor
visual python
jagged apex
#

cuz that is their job and the devils have to replinish their resources, mainly souls, for their constnat war with the demons

visual python
jagged apex
#

cuz unlike the demons, the devils are not infinite in number and constantly being created by the plane itself

eager meteor
visual python
#

devils only ever have to obey the letter of a contract, never the spirit. so most of these deals are very bad for mortals.

eager meteor
jagged apex
jagged apex
visual python
eager meteor
jagged apex
#

often the best and most ideal souls they gotta go get from hades, as the souls in baator are a lot harder to manipulate into the desired being as they are very lawful and thus rigid and resistant to change

visual python
#

it depends on the devil and the nature of the deal

jagged apex
#

basically with most contracts on their end the mortal is agreeing that the devil "gets my soul apon my death" basically legally giving the beings of baator claim to their soul regardless of their alignment or how the god of the dead would judge them, is a sort of "do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, ect..." you skip proccessing and your soul goes straight to the hells

eager meteor
#

ok I think I get it now

#

and lawful evils just go there without deals?

jagged apex
#

i definitely would recommend giving the video of AJ Pickett's on the soul trade as the info that covers it in that video explains a lot about the nature and uses and what not of evil souls in general and why the lower planes their hole sort of economy for lack of a better term, built around them

eager meteor
#

yeah I can't watch it rn but I'll definitely check it out later

jagged apex
#

he also has a similar video on what happens when good souls die, no indications there is a similar soul trade in the upper planes but provides similar insight and provides insight of what happens to souls that go there naturally as part of their afterlife

visual python
#

wait what happens to true neutral souls then? do they go to sigil?

jagged apex
#

at least historically those vids are a few years old so some stuff may or may not still be relevant, more so would have to see what if anything on newer lore says anything that directly contradicts that previous info

jagged apex
#

sigil is not a plane, it is a city in the plane known as the outlands

#

sigil is more or less the capital of the dnd multiverse

visual python
#

ah. i mean the outlands then. i can’t think of another true neutral plane, besides the material one.

jagged apex
#

like if there was one place in the dnd multiverse every being would want to visit at least once between now and the natural death of the multiverse, it would be sigil

jagged apex
#

planes corresponding to alignments is something specific to the outer planes and is what defines them from things like the elemental planes and other similar realms in the multiverse

visual python
#

you know speaking of alignment, if you were to add a third axis of it, what would that look like?

jagged apex
#

nothing, besides that is beyond the scope of this channel

#

fundamentally the natural axis of the multiverse happens to be based on alignment with the axis of lawful to chaotic and good to evil with neutral being the middle of all them

#

basically as i understand it these 4 forces are the most core and primodial forces that make up the dnd multiverse before anything like space, time, gravity, ect...

#

alternatives to this sort of structure are detailed in part of an old dnd beyond article i linked you in a pm/dm, so hopefully that is helpful else might be more so something to ask about in i'm guessing #dm-world-building would be a more fitting channel

cinder cloud
# visual python wait what happens to true neutral souls then? do they go to sigil?

Souls go to their respective planes where they become petitioners collected by one or more deities which they worshiped or are aligned with. Sometimes they end up going elsewhere (wandering, etc.)

Petitioners are former mortals. They've lived, ceased living, and now exist on the Outer Planes. They typically inhabit a plane that shares their alignment or the realm of a deity they worship. Some, however, become lost and wander the planes or make new homes for themselves elsewhere on the Great Wheel.
Mort's Planar Parade, p. 4

So a true neutral soul would end up in the Outlands if they weren't picked up by a god they worshipped in life.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Outlands

jagged apex
#

for context the great wheel is the name of the cosmology used in 5e by most published settings

#

and if memory serves, in universe is currently the most popular/widely accepted cosmology structure, but is largely more of a construct made by mortal sages to try to understand the multiverse, as with the metaphysical nature of the planes, the astral plane being ruled by thought, things like distance and physical location like we are use to in the mortal world, ie the prime material plane, are rarely at all relevant in such planes let alone in the same way

#

especially with them being infinite, is kind of part of what makes adventuring in places like avernus a bit more of a hassle even without taking into account the various hazards you otherwise would not have to deal with nearly as often

spark dragon
#

You know what one of the wildest pieces of D&D lore is to me? That the Imaskari Empire opened portals to Earth - like actual Earth - and kidnapped a bunch of Egyptian, Akkadian/Assyrian, and Babylonian people at various times in history to use as slaves. This absolutely pissed off the Egyptian and Mesopotamian pantheons, so they bypassed the defenses the Imaskari had placed, showed up on Toril, and wrecked EVERYTHING.

undone sleet
#

I can dump lore here?

feral lintel
#

This channel is for official DnD printed lore

undone sleet
#

Okay thanks!

cinder cloud
spark dragon
#

I don't see why it should. There's periods in that ancient IRL history that you can glean something like that being the cause of some civilizational disasters. 4.2 Kiloyear being (fictionally) caused by Imaskari archmages would be on point.

cinder cloud
#

From what I've read, and this is anecdotal mind you, some fans felt those areas to be ideosyncratic and not really fitting with the rest of the Realms. Not necessarily my personal opinion, either, just what I've read. Considering the content of the Realms is a massive amalgamation of dozens of writers over multiple decades, all contributing their various spins on things, it further lent itself to the idea that the Realms was a "kitchen sink" setting (which, admittedly, it is.)

spark dragon
#

It's a bit silly, but at the same time the Egyptian pantheon makes for some phenomenally cool D&D gods. I'm admittedly not AS fascinated by Imaskar as much as I am Netheril and the elf lore, but it also is true that at least two super-apocalypse beings are tied to Imaskar and I really, really like the elder evils.

spare smelt
#

Are there any tribes of all Orc or Elf barbarians similar to the Uthgart humans? Or were they the only group mentioned

jagged apex
#

also to my knowledge if elf barbarians do exist in published lore they are extremely rare

#

seems one possible match might be the Ear Seekers tribe

jagged apex
vocal mortar
mint wave
#

How come Large Luigi thinks that good and evil need to be balanced? Isn't evil bad by definition?

clever path
#

Who?

crude blaze
#

Large Luigi is a beholder on the Rock of Bral (Spelljammer NPC)

jolly ivy
#

Because D&D good and evil are really just diluted forms of Positive and Negative energy, which are both horrific

mellow goblet
#

I was so imagining huge Mario's brother sitting there pondering alignments with his ghost vacuum

jolly ivy
#

As I remember it, if either side gets a leg up, they "skew" the core equations of existence in favor of either. Which creates a positive feedback loop, and so eventually everything is dumped into Good or Evil. Which is a bad thing, because then reality stops existing.

#

Also, "Good" is sort of vaguely defined in D&D - it works out as long as the powers of Good are similarly vague and fleeting, but if you bring them further into reality, you get all the philosophical "what is good" stuff going on.

unkempt merlin
#

Good and evil in dnd (in general) is ill defined. What exactly it "is" depends on the setting (and even then it can even depend on where in a setting)

cinder cloud
#

The Book of Exalted Deeds and the Book of Vile Darkness do address the nature of good and evil in quite some detail. I wouldn't call them ill-defined, but I would say that lots of people with different personal philosophies tend to reject them out of hand.

unkempt merlin
#

Sorry, should've said ill defined in a unified sense

You can be the exact same in two different parts of the FR and be considered two different alignments

cinder cloud
# mint wave How come Large Luigi thinks that good and evil need to be balanced? Isn't evil b...

He only made friends with those of a similar lawful mindset and had no close friends who did not also maintain a balance between evil and good. He believed that good and evil must be balanced, that each had a purpose and one could not exist without the other, and he never would give out information that he felt would upset that balance, even if it was vital information to the one asking, which could be frustrating to those in need—even simple things like the location of a legendary ruin or the home of a wise hermit might need to be withheld.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Large_Luigi#Personality

jolly ivy
cinder cloud
#

I'm talking about the physical books released for 3.5e.

jolly ivy
#

I see

#

Xammux, am I right?

spark dragon
jagged apex
jolly ivy
#

Wrong server

jagged apex
#

it is like land and water, they are opposing forces, but alignments in dnd have a lot more nuances than people like to give it credit for

jolly ivy
#

Lot of Platon-style philosophy

#

Rilmani are criminally underused...

jagged apex
#

or perhaps light and darkness would be a better analogy

#

both naturally are ment to exist, to entirely get rid of one or the other would not be a wise thing to do regardless of which

mint wave
jagged apex
jolly ivy
#

New MPP has much better art

jagged apex
#

to be fair, they only relatively recently got reintroduced and don't really leave the outlands so give it time