#dnd-lore

1 messages · Page 85 of 1

tough pebble
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Also correct me if I'm wrong but it's specifically the people of Chult's followers of Ubtao that believe she's under the volcanoes

autumn temple
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Ubtao's followers and likely other Chultan groups. Most of the rest of the world has been unconcerned with Chultan legends and culture.

tough pebble
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OK so watching video yeah no she seems pretty evil

tough pebble
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I'm asking all this as I was planning on having Dendar be my next warlocks patron

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And I'm just trying to figure out the details

tough pebble
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Phew she eats souls that helps a bit

autumn temple
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she also would be interested in the spreading of terror and fear: more nightmares for her to feed off of and gain power from.
and of course getting released from jail so she can go eat the sun again... but that might not be an immediate concern.

tough pebble
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I'm actually making my own warlock subclass for this character and it's pretty focused on eating things

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It wasn't actually made specifically for dendar though

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I was honestly more thinking of Orochi until I learned about her

autumn temple
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well she definitely eats the nightmares, and whatever souls happen by (mostly Kelemvor's cult of suicidal snake harassers it seems).

tough pebble
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The idea of the character before I learned more about Dendar was that they were always hungry

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They've got an ability literally called "Devour Prey" (it's based on a different subclass I found I didn't name the ability

tough pebble
tough pebble
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She seems pretty weirdly chill despite activity striving to destroy the world? I mean she apparently has had a some what favourite mortal

autumn temple
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Biding her (infinite) time I think, she did at one point have the power to stand against multiple gods, and if she's to pop up and eat the sun again she'll need that level of power again, or a really solid distraction. Her more recent status seems to be at best on par with a lesser power or demigod. That's a lot of nightmares she needs to eat.

tough pebble
tough pebble
autumn temple
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yeah, dawn war Dendar was among the strongest primordials. Unfortunately I'm not sure how much of Dendar's power the CR 30 version represents, as that's AL stuff I don't have copies of. The 3e stats had her at CR 26 for whatever that's worth.

grim siren
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Turn Back the Endless Night (DDAL07-18) is Her CR 30 block.

It's what appears as soon as the doors are opened she is not at full strength calling the party a snack before dining.

tough pebble
jagged apex
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the 5e statblock at least is only representative or at least ment to represent her as she is escaping, if she makes it out and into toril, the stat block is effectively useless as they would become at full power

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basically at least in the 5e continuity as i understand it, their statblock is ment to be dendar in a weakened state, and in 5e cr 30 is ment to as i understand represent what mortals, more specifically player characters, are capable of beating in the traditional sense of combat with sufficient support and magical items

tough pebble
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She's a primordial and an elder evil I think they try and nail home the idea of her being unfathomably strong and more like an unstoppable force of nature then a beatable foe

jagged apex
# tough pebble She seems pretty weirdly chill despite activity striving to destroy the world? I...

i don't think i'd call her chill, given their neutral evil alignment and how such a nature's alignment is historically described as the norm for it "Neutral evil characters do whatever they can get away with and are completely out for themselves. They show no remorse for those they kill, and have no love of order or law" cited as being from 3e's players handbook or more recently the revised 5e phb describes such alignment as "Neutral Evil is the alignment of those who are untroubled by the harm they cause as they pursue their desires. A criminal who robs and murders as they please is probably Neutral Evil."

tough pebble
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which honestly is probably the the most you can hope for when it comes to innately evil entities

jagged apex
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as primordials are historically "god-like beings made of manifest entropy and elemental energy" where as gods are more divine and for lack of a better term somewhat spiritual in nature

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but at least last i checked, the cr 30 statblock makes it clear that is specifically dendar in this weaken state and that the intended means of survival is escape and sealing the doors to her prison once more, while you could potentially try to simply beat it, is not the intended or main means of success intended

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is what part of why the deal with Ubtao included him having to guard and make sure Dendar did not escape as in the realms if she wishes to emerge she must go through that gate on chult, but do to the actions of Shar, is unclear if Ubtao will uphold his end of the deal anymore since Shar's actions in chult, even just showing up there, broke the pact they made with the Father of the Dinosaurs

tough pebble
jagged apex
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given their intended jailor/guard was another primordial and patron god of the land the gate was located in, that alone should be a good idea of the idea of how much power is deemed needed to keep her from devouring the sun of realmspace, especially since said being Ubtao as a god had the portfolios of Chult, Chultans, Creation, Dinosaurs, Jungles, making acts relating to those things basically effortless and more powerful than if done by another god with how such things in their portfolio, basically making the land of chult a sort of extension and weapon if need be of the intended being that jails Dendar

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since is unclear if ubtao will or even can, given his own state on toril, hold up is end nobody on toril, least no sane person i'd imagine, wants to see those doors open

tough pebble
jagged apex
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yeah, dendar eats the nightmares of mortals and gods alike, yet another case where the gods greed for power ruled their actions rather than logic or their duties

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though keep in mind, Ubtao was a primordial that betrayed the others in what is now known as the dawn war, less i am mistaken, by striking the deal that made him the god of the region of chult

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his alleged betraying of the other primordials is what is presumed to have earned him the title of "the deceiver"

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as the wiki states, being cited from TSR's faith and pantheons, "Following the imprisonment of Dendar underneath the Peaks of Flame, Ubtao forged an ancient pact with the deities of Faerûn. He was granted the exclusive domain over the human inhabitants of the Chultan Peninsula, and as long as he guarded Dendar's prison, members of the Faerûnian pantheon were to refrain from expanding their influence in that part of the world"

tough pebble
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To me its kinda interesting Shar is directly mentioned in the nursery rhyme of Dendar but its probably 100% a coincidence

jagged apex
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well she is the lady of night and a god of darkness and night, so seems perfectly natural

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though to my knowledge no official connection or alliance between dendar and shar exists, if anything i imagine the lady of loss sees dendar as a sort of tool or means to an end, that end being returning realmspace to that primal void that it was before her sister selune, ignited the local sun

tough pebble
jagged apex
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though this could backfire on her since would kill her worshipers too and unless i am mistaken, neither shar nor selune are anywhere near as powerful as they were in those early days of realmspace, as back then there was not really any life, at least life that could be sentient enough to be worshipers

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only reason i can see shar would even attempt such a thing is she likely is mistakenly overestimating her own power, like she did when she tried to take over the weave when mystra was killed by cyric, in dnd the gods are not infallible and are just as flawed as us mortals

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like if memory serves that particular plan backfiring caused her to nearly lose control of her shadow weave

tough pebble
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counter point, it'd be one hell of a bluff

jagged apex
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eh, i feel is more of a gamble if anything, after all her portfolio is Darkness, loss, night, secrets, forgetfulness, meaning such things empower her as much as her having influence over them to some extent, and endless night, perpetual and the loss of not only the sun but also life, could empower her a considerable deal, but i am uncertain it would be enough to get her back to the level of power she had in those early days

tough pebble
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I do wonder if Shar had any of reason for invading Chult instead of... wait why did she invade? shits and or giggles?

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im actually not really familiar with alot of the gods of dnd

jagged apex
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"Early in the 1370s DR, Eshowdow was killed and his guise taken up by the dark goddess Shar under uncertain circumstances." far as i know this is the most we know

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anything else is at best an educated guess based on what we know about those involved, but to my knowledge has not been officially addressed beyond this

tough pebble
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shame that'll probably never touched

jagged apex
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yeah, but not everything does, some are just enough touched on to where it can get one thinking and make their own ideas for their own stories, is part of the fun of dnd and why not everything is super detailed and there is always gunna be something not fully defined

tough pebble
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thats very fair

jagged apex
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that said, i imagine if anyone had an answer it would be Ed Greenwood himself, assuming he is not under any NDA on the topic or those involved

tough pebble
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I wonder if its ever been asked?

jagged apex
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idk, and not intending to spend hours digging through his twitter and other sources he used to answer questions

tough pebble
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Also if Dendar and Nidhogg are one of the same then why haven't I really heard much about a connection Ysgard?

jagged apex
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to be fair, that name is attributed to them by the ancient Rus, a culture and or people far as i know we got basically no significant info on

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though if you want Mr.Rhexx i know has a video or two that goes into this sort of supposed connection to Ysgard that dendar has

tough pebble
jagged apex
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though to my knowledge officially we just have that case of the ancient rus calling dendar "nidhogg" and nothing more

tough pebble
jagged apex
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and the name being attributed to dendar far as i know is specific to the forgotten realms setting

tough pebble
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got any recommendations?

jagged apex
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AJ Pickett, his lore videos are top tier and some of the most well respected in the community to my knowledge

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but that would be steering away from the topics this channel is ment for, so we should real it back in

tough pebble
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yeah got it

tough pebble
jagged apex
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a while as is from 3e

grim siren
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The New Heroes and Adventures in Faerun are set in 1501 DR.

grim siren
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Here is some helpful dates regarding the forgotten realms! This focuses mainly on major source book releases as well as major in world events. It is not exhaustive and adventures for a given edition can be reasonably expected to fall after the start date of its companion setting guide per edition!

1e Forgotten Realms Campaign Set 1356 DR
1e Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms 1357 DR

The Time of Troubles 1358 DR

2e Forgotten Realms Adventures 1358 DR
2e The Horde Barbarian Campaign Setting 1359 DR

Grand Army of the Tuigan Invades Faerûn and Kara-Tur 1359 DR
2e Maztica Campaign Set 1362 DR
2e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Both Versions) 1367 DR
2e Al-Qadim The Land of Fate (No date given but assumed) 1367 DR
Twelfth Serôs War in the Undersea Realms 1369 DR

3e Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 1372 DR

Return of the Archwizards of Netheril 1372 DR
3e The Grand History of the Realms 1375 DR
The Spellplague Begins 1385 DR
The Spellplague Ends 1395 DR

4e Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide 1479 DR

The Second Sundering Begins 1482 DR
The Second Sundering Ends 1487 DR
5e Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide 1489 DR
The Absolute Crisis 1492 DR
5e Heroes and Adventures in Faerûn 1501 DR

fluid rapids
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For a second I was like “the Absolute Crisis”?? Duh! 😆
So BG3 is canon?

feral lintel
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Its canon the same way marvel comics are

unkempt merlin
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Its being referenced in the upcoming FR book(s)

jagged apex
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canon is not a simple matter in dnd, there is more than simply canon vs non canon, there are multiple continuities all this means is that it is being confirmed to have happened in some capacity in the continuity of the published materials in addition to bg3 which is otherwise it's own continuity

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anyone that tells you that such a question can simply be a yes or no question likely does not understand what continuity or canon means and are going off the popular idea in most people's heads online

glossy summit
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whats dendar

grim siren
sour wolf
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[Eberron] question: I'll be running Keys from the Golden Vault, set in Sharn. I don't want to use the Golden Vault patron, and instead want the players to be actual thieves and give them more options for morally dubious antics. Before the group decided on Sharn, I was thinking that the main contact would be a devil lawyer who could bail out the party from legal troubles if needed (and due to the contracts the party could have confidence they would get paid, even if they didn't trust him).

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However, Eberron doesn't really work that way in terms of devils, right? Or at least they're not a big part of the Eberron setting.

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So I need inspiration for another criminal organization/front who would put the party in contact with clients (for example, the first heist will have a d'Lyrandar noble as the client).

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If anyone has any ideas on this, please let me know 😄

plain wolf
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What is the lore/flavor text of being instantly killed because you took damage that would’ve sent you at -1xHP or beyond? Is it total bodily destruction? Meaning certain resurrection spells don’t work? Or is it just like, you got stabbed through the heart or something and you quickly fall to your death?

teal rock
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Resurrection spells only don't work in certain situations. Getting instantly killed because the damage number was too high is literally just a mechanic.

mellow ermine
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It's a mechanic that lets a DM or player enjoy a cool moment. Like... You take such a wound that cannot be conventionally healed or stopped. Like a Barbarian burying their axe so deep, it splits you, or you lose your head, or the BBEG gets hit with a magic spell that does so much damage, it becomes a cutscene

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For the DM, it lets them give weight to a PC's death. For the player, it's an epic moment of cool.

pallid flower
# sour wolf So I need inspiration for another criminal organization/front who would put the ...

Some of the most prominent gangs are:
The Boromar Clan (halfling mafia, most political power)
Daask (Droaamite immigrants, high combat power)
Tyrants (mostly Changelings)
House Tarkanan (aberrant marked, hitmen)
To relate to devils, there are planetouched and fiendtouched Tieflings (only a few specified locations for where fiendtouched come from and they’re pretty far away, but you could always change that)
There’s also The Lords of Dust, servants of the Overlords who conspire to free them over plans that span tens of thousands of years, many of which blend in to human society

fathom narwhal
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I'm pretty much completely unfamiliar with the lore of Eberron, but I'm under the impression that the way the planes are organized may be different from how they are in the forgotten realms and other settings, as in they do not ascribe to the wheel format, and that the lore of different planes may diverge from their FR counterparts. How true is this and are there any good sources online for how exactly they differ?

jagged apex
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eberron has what is known as a self contained cosmology, ie it's cosmology is separate from the outerplanes and the like most settings use that you see in the newer setting agnostic core books for 2024

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and some of the similarities to the planes we know are a vauge stretchs at best

fathom narwhal
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That's what I thought, I just couldn't find a straight answer online

jagged apex
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basically in the published continuity, eberron is largely cut off from the multiverse, hidden away in what is basically a massive demiplane of godly proportions that is filled with eberron's cosmology and space, hidden away in the deep ethereal, though for the most part on really in wizards of the coasts continuity do people really ever cross over from eberron, all be it relatively few, the setting's original creator is very much against such a thing, thus it has 2 major continuities, the one put out by wizards and the creator's own personal continuity which is sometimes called kanon with a k cuz the creator's name is keith baker

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and he has a blog where he has answered various questions even how he would incorporate more recent elements that we did not previously have addressed in the setting's published materials such as gem dragons and spelljamming and how he'd fit them into his setting, basically his personal recomendations on if one wishes to use those things in their own eberron games

jagged apex
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far as i know though the planes of eberron don't have any sort of consistant themes they are bound to unlike those in the great wheel cosmology

unkempt merlin
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No, they do

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Each plane is a different theme

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Ex: there's a plane of story (akin to the feywild), and plane of nature, a plane of dreams, etc

jagged apex
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what i ment was the majority of the planes in the great wheel are associated with specific alignments, that far as i could tell those of eberron's cosmology were varied to where i could not decern a consistent theme to them

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plus like how various creatures that normally live on the same plane, in eberron seem far more spread out across it's planes

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like they seem more rooted in similar concepts to some of the more iconic planes but not tied to any sort of alignments like the majority of planes in the great wheel cosmology

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like from what i can tell only 2 are centered around alignments, both being broadly law and chaos in the respective planes of Daanvi and Kythri

unkempt merlin
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What?

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I dont follow any of that sorry

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The only difference between eberron planes and the great wheel is they arent "split" into inner and outer. There is much thematic overlap

jagged apex
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i am not saying they don't have themes, just that they are not as connected as the likes of the outerplanes on the great wheel where each planes embodies one or more alignment

unkempt merlin
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Like I said, the only reason they dont seen connected is because there isnt the split between inner and outer

jagged apex
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and from what i saw via a quick skimming the similarities are rather broad compared to their great wheel equivalents

jagged apex
eager bay
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Are 2024 krakens just big squids now?

feral lintel
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the giant squid was just one common depiction of them

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Ancient weapons of the gods, krakens slumber in the deepest oceanic abysses, awaiting their time to rise and dominate the world. These massive, many-tentacled horrors combine overwhelming physical might with formidable cunning. Their powerful limbs shatter ships and topple spires, and they use their control over storms to rain down lightning on their foes.
Nothing in here implies theyre just squids

jagged apex
# eager bay Are 2024 krakens just big squids now?

more so this shows what a kraken looks like before they choose to modfiy their bodies, hence why the 2014 version had such a monstrous appearance, that instance was showing an example of one choosing to modify their bodies to suit their own goals and desires, naturally they resemble kaiju size squids, this has always been the case

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keep in mind the 2024 versions are settign agnostic in addition to depicting an average example of those creatures

feral lintel
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mhmm, the juvies were a lot more squidlike come to think of it

jagged apex
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is why even before 2024 their younger selves heavily resemble these states as massive squids

eager bay
jagged apex
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no

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their natural state is squid like, but monsterous and titanic, and kraken in the lore modify their bodies to suit their own goals and desires often, which is why the 2014 mature kraken example did not resemble one

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that was literally a monster that felt the more monstrous fish body was more suited towards it's own goals and way of doing things than it's natural form

feral lintel
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looking at the description of some notable ones

Like his origins, Slarkrethel's appearance was disputed. The majority of sages described him as a giant squid, indeed, the giant squid was the symbol of the Kraken Society,[1] however, later images of krakens were described as far less squid-like, with fins as well as tentacles, and recognizable faces.[6] On one aspect, all could agree however, Slarkrethel was a leviathan of a creature, gargantuan in size.

jagged apex
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as you can see on the forgotten realms wiki every edition's prior example is consistently squid like

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the setting agnostic version in 2024 is a more accurate depiction of an average example of the species

feral lintel
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-# much like the statblocks themselves

jagged apex
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where as the 2014 one was more so a specific individual who despite looking different than the majority of their kin, mechanically was no different

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if you specifically want them to resemble the individual depicted in 2014, which most examples were a mix of agnostic and forgotten realms specific, that is your choice for your game and not at all what either version of the lore was intending to pass off as the standard

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this is likely why, especially since many people at least in my experience tend to more often than not when playing for fun just making use of their own settings, and even then when using established settings having differences between their take on the setting and those seen in the books, the newer books made sure to be designed with no specific setting in mind, making it's contents better suited to being used to save the dm some prep work and provide a baseline example for these things across the various settings within the dnd multiverse

pallid flower
slow river
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sorry if this is the wrong channel, why is it that Abyssal tieflings commonly have tusks and fur?

versed hare
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More demon like, like balgura or goristro

eager bay
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Hi

feral lintel
calm crest
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Demogorgon, the most powerful demon, has those traits in spades, just as many Infernal Tieflings have a resemblance to Asmodeus.

feral lintel
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Yeah, Demogorgon, Baphomet, and Yeenoghu were right on my mind as i typed that

unkempt merlin
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Demons are typically portrayed as a bit more. Mammalian.

dire olive
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Who’s Acerak?

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I might have misspelt it

calm crest
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Acererak is an Oerthic demilich cambion mage (and sometimes cleric of Orcus) who was a promising apprentice of Vecna, now most famous for constructing the Tomb of Horrors.

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He was eventually destroyed and became a vestige, a being beyond life and death, mortality and immortality.

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As debated previously in this channel, he may have "survived" by merit of having a Simulacrum of himself grant itself a soul, becoming a true lich (and functionally a new Acererak) in the process.

dire olive
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Cool

calm crest
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His appearance in the 5e'14 continuity is contradictory, as he is mentioned as a demilich, but portrayed as a lich on the DMG cover and in a module.

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(Barring the above theory being true.)

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5e'24 has pushed the timeline of Greyhawk back to before the demilich's destruction at the hands of adventurers, however.

jagged apex
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the one we see in the 5e adventure is technically not even the original, is unknown if he has been retroactively restored in the 5e continuity but the last i heard he was still destroyed, his infamous history being past tense

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then again other infernal undead such as orcus have returned from utter destruction, so is not entirely unprecedented, so is just a matter of having to wait and see if he is referenced or not or even appears in future materials

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though is not likely is much relevant until we get a new adventure in the greyhawk setting as otherwise his more recent history far as i know is not suggested to have vanished or anything but for what it is work his entry in the lore glossary of the 2024 books reads thus "Acererak (ah-SAIR-er-rack) is a powerful lich who travels between worlds and takes pleasure in devouring the souls of adventurers, whom he lures into trap-ridden dungeons to suffer horrible deaths. The most famous of such dungeons is the Tomb of Horrors, hidden in the Vast Swamp in the Greyhawk setting (see “Greyhawk Gazetteer” in chapter 5); another lies under the lost city of Omu in the jungles of Chult in the Forgotten Realms setting (described in the adventure Tomb of Annihilation)." end quote

jagged apex
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to clarify i mean do we know in universe when the dungeon in chult was constructed?

eager bay
feral lintel
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Art is just art

eager bay
# feral lintel Art is just art

My question is more how is it explained for krakens to vary so much appearance wise. Is that a thing with a canon explanation or is it just handwaved

calm crest
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Krakens are titans. Creations of the gods. They aren’t a uniform species, they’re examples of divine wrath.

jagged apex
eager bay
feral lintel
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There is literally no lore about the one in the MM

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thats just how that one looks like

eager bay
jagged apex
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in their lore they are known to modify their own bodies, thus their appearance can vary a lot

eager bay
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Thanks

jagged apex
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the art and statblocks, unless it is a named individual, are just ment to be average examples

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which is likely why they did not make the art for the 2024 book modified, to better fit that purpose and avoid such confusion

autumn temple
# jagged apex to clarify i mean do we know in universe when the dungeon in chult was construct...

ToA: "A little over a century ago, Acererak entered Omu", subsequent takeover and use of the locals to build the tomb. "Fifty years ago, a brood of yuan-ti" moved into the abandoned city. There's no precise date for when the adventure is set, so everything ends up being a bit estimated, but Acererak would have shown up in the mid to late 1300s DR and been finished his initial setup before ~1440 DR.

jagged apex
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so assuming that he of course make the one in greyhawk first, since it was his home world, the 2024 books would be describing him in what ever state he'd have been in that time frame

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at least when using toril's calanders

autumn temple
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and it is of course a huge mess trying to sort out definitive ideas of what years in Toril match up with which years on Oreth, or even if such a thing is reasonable when jumping between settings.

jagged apex
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cuz 5e tomb of horrors is told as a past event that made it's way to toril alongside several others in an anthology sourcebook "tales from the yawning portal" which i am inclined to think is still ment to be valid for the 5e continuity

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and they use greyhawk in the new books as a sample so i don't think it necessarily means the setting itself is in that time period, it just told to use the setting as it existed in that era

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like since we are getting some new forgotten realms books, it would not be surprising if later down the line we got some greyhawk ones

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especially since for a few adventures in 5e we have already jumped back to the greyhawk setting all be it briefly

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plus the new eberron book that is suppose to have revised artificer i believe is in the pipeline, so new books for the major known settings seems reasonable, greyhawk included

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so would seem more likely if we got an actual idea of the current state of greyhawk, even if the clock was wound back, i imagine it would be in such a book

autumn temple
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Greyhawk might get a full treatment, or it might end up being a slightly more fleshed out Nentir Vale, being the setting they introduce in the DMG and then leave as sketched notes. I wouldn't be surprised either way.

jagged apex
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alternatively, maybe some lore nerds like me are just overthinking it trying to consolidate things where they see the possibility out of a love for the lore

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would not surprise me if they decided to have acererak take a similar direction to orcus, where he potentially has managed to find a means to insure his perpetual existence, always coming back eventually even if destroyed under what normally would have been permeant circumstance, after all both are undead beings and of a fiendish nature, since acererak is a cambion at least in so far as what his body was before undeath, so i could see it at least being reasonable should that happen

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plus he was vecna's apprentice and unlike kaz didn't betray him, so maybe the god of evil secrets would be able to pull some strings?

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lot of ways they could go with it should they square that circle

calm crest
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I mean Acererak is (in some iterations) a cleric of Orcus. Orcus perma-died, came back as Tenebrous, then came back as Orcus and Tenebrous became a vestige. Demilich Acererak perma-died, (seemingly) had a lich-Simulacrum come back as a new version of him while the demilich became a vestige. Definitely parallels there.

serene crater
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Question of curiosity in regards to death giants in FR, are they all linked to the Raven Queen or is it like the drow where theres large sects of them that do but a bunch are unaligned?

jagged apex
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they were really only introduced in the 5e contiunity in the setting agnostic bigby's book

jagged apex
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there is at least 3 different versions of their history each treated seemingly as different accounts of their history

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in the 5e continuity the latest account ties them to the raven queen, so it depends how much if at all the past iterations are ment to be taken into account, but given how each edition is in part it's own continuity i'd presume that at least in 5e forgotten realms they follow the newest lore in the setting agnostic bigby's unless the new setting books or ed greenwood himself happen to say otherwise

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that said, keep in mind these are more so norms for their species, individuals are very much capable of deviating from them, just like other intelligent creatures

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though i would not really expect their lore to deviate much if at all for the species as a whole in the forgotten realms since for the most part they dwell in the shadowfell which is a plane shared across most setting and is not specific to a single setting

autumn temple
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Is there a clear definition of what is actually contained within a material plane? Does each setting have its own, roughly equivalent to the crystal spheres of Spelljammer, with its own set of overlay planes (feywild, shadowfell, ethereal), and possibly other inner planes (if you can only move to another prime via the astral)? Or are multiple settings sharing a single prime material plane, and other associated planes?

calm crest
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In the present cosmology, the main multiverse has only one Material Plane with many worlds.

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There are other settings with different cosmologies. Dark Sun’s Athas has one Material Plane with only one world and no Outer Planes; Eberron is similar but with a different arrangement of planes; BECMI’s Mystara is one world of many on the Prime Material Plane, while many other Material Planes exist in that cosmos. Despite these multiverses not being compatible with the contemporary primary multiverse, various editions shoehorned versions of those settings into the same multiverse as more popular settings.

autumn temple
#

hmm, this has interesting consequences with some of the "same plane" ranged spells. Teleportation and Teleportation Circles work between Waterdeep and Greyhawk, or really absurd ranged Dream spells if somebody knows you exist.

unkempt merlin
#

Notably, at least per fizbans and the myth of the first world, most settings are "Prime" Material Plane(s). Eberron is called out as potentially being something along the lines of a "derivative/secondary" Material Plane. (functionally no difference other than cosmological)

white parcel
#

Are there any more detailed explanation of Dawn Cataclysm of how Lathander tried to "reshape the pantheon"?

jagged apex
#

for further info, check and look up the cited sources

tough pebble
#

I've been looking into alot of dnd lore and unfortunately have developed a few kinda silly questions

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One I was curious to know what The Lady of Pains connection with Sigil was? Does she actually "care" for the place or is it more she's looking after it so no one else can take it over and you know control the centre of the universe?

feral lintel
#

Shes the leader of Sigil essentially

tough pebble
#

So the second one?

feral lintel
#

In Sigil, the Lady of Pain always knows. I hear all the lies whispered into all the tepid ears in the dark bedchambers of all the great manors. I see every hand that slips into an open pocket on every bustling street, and I feel the dagger that burns in the belly of every trusting fool who ever followed a glitter girl into a dark alley. No longer can I tell where Sigil begins and I end; no longer can I separate what I perceive from what the city is. I am Sigil.

tough pebble
feral lintel
#

There doesnt seem to be much information about Sigil before her

#

safe to say she was always there

tough pebble
#

Guessed so

tough pebble
timber nova
#

How is the afterlife handled in d&d?

autumn temple
#

In general souls usually travel to an afterlife on an outer plane that reflects their moral alignment during life, or one run by a god that they had a particular connection with. Exact specifics depend on the setting and gods involved.

timber nova
#

What about the fugal plane?

calm crest
#

The Fugue Plane is basically a checkpoint for petitioners as they get sorted out.

blissful zodiac
#

like can it be travelled through or is it's influence more like some kind of insanity aura? also when it comes to the Far Realms, what are others ways it's influence can be felt and expanded?

storm dagger
tough pebble
storm dagger
# timber nova What about the fugal plane?

It’s a Forgotten Realms thing attached to the Grey Wastes in some versions of the game. Newly dead souls wait there to be sorted by Kelemvor or picked up by agents of their patron gods

storm dagger
tough pebble
#

Also is the whole thing of her being a "Greater Power" Canon? By Canon I mean more implied to be Canon then not

storm dagger
#

Nothing is certain for sure on her, other than that gods and other powers can’t intervene or trespass in Sigil cause she is for sure stronger than them there.

tough pebble
#

Except Vecna managed it?

feral lintel
#

Vecna got his arse whooped

tough pebble
storm dagger
#

Vecna had a complex plan that involved an ancient being.

tough pebble
tough pebble
storm dagger
#

Yeah basically it meant that the Lady couldn’t boot or destroy him, but could cause him agonizing pain

#

Like the Lady the Serpent’s nature is unclear

tough pebble
tough pebble
storm dagger
#

While Vecna was doing his plot in Sigil he was in constant agony

tough pebble
#

Actually is it even confirmed The Serpent is even real?

storm dagger
#

Nope

tough pebble
#

Not a feat many can say they've done

storm dagger
#

When Venca’s ritual was disrupted in the Climax of the adventure it lets the Lady boot him from Sigil

tough pebble
#

Who got closer to controlling Sigil Poseidon or Vecna?

storm dagger
#

I never knew about Posiedon trying but probably Vecna as he was rewriting reality there

feral lintel
#

Poseidon tried going to sigil??

storm dagger
#

Vecna honestly netgained from the experience

#

He started trapped in Ravenloft with Demigod level power

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And ended it free and with lesser god power

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Also no outcome where he dies despite it being called Die Vecna Die

tough pebble
# storm dagger I never knew about Posiedon trying but probably Vecna as he was rewriting realit...

poseidon's attempt happened in a book where he gave this mortal a crystal orb filled with a bunch of false memories as his daughter and tasked the mortal to give it to The Lady, long story short the mortal managed to give The Lady but the orb was damaged so instead of it being a rush of memories overwhelming her it was a slow trickle giving her enough time to think and find flaws in the story

#

From memory she actually admits that it probably could of worked had the orb not been broken

feral lintel
#

which book is this?

storm dagger
#

The Lady doesn’t talk

tough pebble
tough pebble
#

From what I heard she's kinda like a narrator?

tough pebble
tough pebble
autumn temple
#

Pages of Pain is the title of the book, Planescape is the setting it fits into.

brave fable
#

Asking confirmation, the DnD world is flat right? or is that just another misinformation campaign I got caught in

solemn mica
brave fable
#

damnit. Well thank you for the answer!

solemn mica
#

Yeah for sure.

And to be fully clear, A d&d world could totally be flat. And some planes of existence are flat. But I wouldn't say it's the default. Setting worlds are more often full-on planets.

tough pebble
heady sleet
#

Hello! I’m new here and to DnD. Could someone please explain how magic works in this world and if it’s passed down through bloodlines or if praying to certain gods puts that magic in your veins? And if so, does it get passed on? I know it’s a lot to ask for a first time question, but I’m really curious as to how magic works in this world.

cedar viper
#

also a bit of a newbie to dnd, but I think it really depends. Warlocks and paladins get magic from gods (warlocks from selling their souls, paladins from praying), wizards get magic from books, clerics also get magic from gods (i think), bards from songs/music (?), and sorcerers where born with it (?)

autumn temple
#

Clerics and Paladins are granted their magic as a boon from their gods. Wizards and Bards learn how to access magic through study and practice, though their styles are very different; Wizards tend to be academic and Bards artistic. Warlocks start by studying, but use their initial skill to enter a pact with a powerful entity (usually not a god) who provides them with access to stronger magic in exchange for some form of payment. Sorcerers have a natural ability to access magic, often through lineage.

#

Different settings can add some wrinkles to the system, but most of that is reliable across settings.

#

As for family inheritance of magic, it's fairly common. Sorcery often runs in family lines, and the children of other magic users are well positioned to learn the skill from their parents.

heady sleet
#

Okay, but like my last character was a resist Dark Urge Sorcerer. She was a good person all the way through. Later in the game, Jaheria asked if she (my character was afraid of passing on the evil bloodline to my kids) and that made me think. Was my Tav able to stop that if she chose not to have children? Would Bhaal be able to make that happen if he wanted to? Would he be able to make more spawn even if my Tav chose not to? Sarevok did say he’d wish for my Tav to be able to reproduce with Orin….

My Tav said “No.” but would have it been possible?

#

This is the shit I think of late at night! Someone help me!

autumn temple
#

Hmm that's not exactly related to magical capability, but more to do with being one of the Bhaalspawn, and the Dark Urge is unique even among them.

autumn temple
#

The limited number of known descendants of the original Bhaalspawn makes generalization tricky, but it does seem that some amount of that power can be passed down. So I'd say there could be a risk of it.

#

That said, Bhaal has very limited influence over his spawn, particularly those who reject his nature. He would be unlikely to be able to force them to carry on the bloodline if they refused.

#

Unfortunately there's nothing in particular stopping him from making more spawn on his own, either through the original methods or the parthenogenesis that resulted in the Dark Urge.

blissful zodiac
#

Heyo, I have a few questions about the Far Realms. I wanted to know a bit more about the Living Gate, and how exactly it works like can it be travelled through or is it's influence more like some kind of insanity aura? Also when it comes to the Far Realms, what are others ways it's influence can be felt and expanded?

autumn temple
#

Not familiar with the Living Gate, but the wiki article on it suggests it can at least summon nasty things from the Far Realm. Using it as a two way gate is ill advised, as most non-natives find the Far Realm a very bad place to be.

#

As for influence of the Far Realm on the Material Plane. It's a corrupting force with an aberrant theme to it. Many forms of mental distress are appropriate. As are mutations of local lifeforms and environments. Possibly even abnormal changes to fundamental laws of physics or magic.

blissful zodiac
#

could/has the far realm ever tried using manipulation or deception to spread its influence?

mossy scroll
#

Hey guys, I'm making a new character and I've gotten some conflicting answers from some friends. I want him to be a Red Wizard exile, just not when there was a mass departure of them. He's somewhat recent.

Is it realistic for the Red Wizards to exile people or is it more likely they'd be killed? And if so, how long would an escapee be hunted for if at all?

obsidian gate
#

I dont think the Red Wizards would invest a lot of resources to hunt a beginner wizard who fled outside of thay

autumn temple
mossy scroll
#

I generally play Wizards that way because it seems weird that they get spells on level up without studying. Feels better that he remembers how to cast the spell rather than figuring it out in the spot.

#

Thats a me thing though.

thorny hound
#

is Radiant only delegeted for things holy ?

ionic rivet
#

Not really a lore question but radiant damage typically stems from "holy" things, yes.

topaz bay
#

Can someone explain the Dawn Wars, it’s a topic of FR history I’m not that educated on and I’m kinda keen to learn, or any articles asw

scarlet urchin
#

Super fun stuff though

#

I can give a quick overview, but there are lots of things happening with it, and you would be better served to finish your knowledge journey on the wiki

topaz bay
scarlet urchin
#

The Dawn War was the massive war between gods and Primordials. It started when the Oerthian god Tharizdun found the Shard of Pure Evil™ (goofy, I know) and tried to wield it thinking it was going to be a godweapon that would bring him more power.
It didn't.
What it did do was cause him to spiral into madness. Tharizdun threw the Shard of Pure Evil™ into the Elemental Chaos (ancient elemental planes, before they separated). Once he did that, the Shard of Pure Evil™ began to create the Abyss and its infinite layers. Miska the Wolf Spider took control of the Cult of Elemental Evil then launched an attack on the gods in the Astral Sea, which started the war.

Many of the gods banded together in groups of three to take down larger Primordials, which was largely successful.
This explanation could go on forever so I will cover a few more points then let you read for yourself at the link below:

The Dragon god Io (before there was Tiamat & Bahamut, they were one being) fought Erek-Hus and was split in two halves, making the dragon god/goddess we know today
Shar and Selune brought in many dieties from other realities and universes. This war was fought on nearly every canonical setting.
The war ended when the Nature Spirits enacted a ban of Outsiders on the Prime Material Plane unless summoned by an inhabitant.

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

topaz bay
#

As in the primordials were banned?

scarlet urchin
#

Correct!

#

Except one

topaz bay
#

Didnt some frog/amphibian people bring them back?

scarlet urchin
#

uuuhhhh yeah but they can do whatever they want because of their weird heritage

#

but the one that wasn't banned was....

#

shit I forget the name

#

Ubtao

#

that was his name

#

He was a defector in the Dawn War, helping the Gods defeat the Primordials

topaz bay
#

Great guy then

scarlet urchin
topaz bay
scarlet urchin
#

it would probably be solar-punk type stuff. Solar panels worked into high fashion that is hyper functional

gloomy charm
blissful zodiac
#

What exactly is the lore on the Book of Exalted Deeds?

tribal sparrow
feral lintel
#

Depends on which setting really

fringe terrace
#

What typically happens when the Darklord of a domain of dread in Ravenloft is killed? Does it depend on the Darklord and the domain in question?

calm crest
#

Typically the Dark Powers eventually restore them to life.

fringe terrace
#

Are there any official ways that mortals end up in Domains or Dread, or are they usually manifested there when the Domain is created? Or does the Dark Powers sweep away fitting subjects for the Darklords to rule over?

#

I'm making my own Domain of Dread using VRGR and I want to make sure it's as lore-consistent as I can with how domains of dread work

calm crest
#

Some of the mortals in the Domain are those who were swept up when it was created. Many of the others, however, are soulless puppets of the Dark Powers used to fill out the environment and improve the torment.

fringe terrace
#

Would mortals swept up in it's creation only be mortals that are tied to the deeds of the Darklord that resulted in the Darklord being imprisoned? I feel like mine kinda needs people from outside of it to still get brought in

autumn temple
#

If a Darklord's prison needs such a thing, and the Dark Power's own NPCs are insufficient, then the Dark Powers would provide for it, probably via the mists.

fringe terrace
#

I suppose the thing for me to work out is how adventurers get into the Darklord's domain

#

I can't imagine Barovia being the only one that's been adventured in

autumn temple
#

"Random" adventurers getting in is relatively easy. Getting the attention of the Mists with intent might be something more involved. Finding a specific domain intentionally within the Mists would require a guide: the Vistani, or somebody like Van Ritchen who might have their own methods of wayfinding; or the Dark Powers to permit it.

fringe terrace
#

Yeah my players aren't looking to get into this specific one, but they will end up there and likely want to find a way out.

fringe terrace
autumn temple
#

Generally the most reliable one is the storyline, defeating (whatever that may look like) the Dreadlord generally weakens the prison and lets the adventurers (and possibly other people who aren't soulless) escape through the mists freely.

#

Joining a vistani group can get them out of a particular domain, but they'll likely just end up in another.

#

Getting the attention of the Dark Powers can get you out of a domain... and into a new one of your very own. Not really recommended.

fringe terrace
#

I see. I'll have to look further into the Vistani and the Mists

autumn temple
#

Wandering into the mists might get you out, but it's not likely, as both the Dreadlord and the Mists/Dark Powers have the ability to prevent somebody from leaving should they wish.

fringe terrace
#

It is feasible for my domain of dread that the Dark Powers would bring in mortals or people that fit certain criteria in an effort to further the Darklord's suffering

#

I'll post a blurb about my Dreadlord in #dm-world-building since the specifics of how I'm implementing things in my own Domain of Dread is probably more appropriate for that channel

autumn temple
#

For moving between domains of dread there's also a handful of mobile domains that can pop up in somebody else's domain, potentially providing a method of cross-domain travel.

calm crest
#

Mist talismans also allow travel to specific domains, similar to Planescape portal keys.

fringe terrace
#

What an interesting plane

#

Ravenloft that is

meager lotus
#

Would a Chosen still retain their powers upon leaving the Realmspace and going elsewhere, such as the Astral Sea or Krynn? More specifically, a Chosen of an intermediate deity like Ilmater. Or would it be like clerics who lose their powers until they return home?

unkempt merlin
#

(Note: clerics dont lose their powers)

On the matter of chosen i think the only example i can think of is elminster but I dont recall anything specifically weird going on with him losing powers when leaving

meager lotus
#

Huh. I swear I thought they did. I suppose that's a good point about Elminster though, the man has been basically everywhere and seemingly always has his powers beyond the normal wizard stuff

unkempt merlin
#

They used to, they dont anymore

dusty dust
#

What year was Baldur’s Gate story?

#

I’m pretty sure it was 1360s, but can’t recall the specific date

round umbra
#

I mean, it makes no sense for a cleric to retain their power in realmspace where their deity holds no dominion unless that deity has some sort of agreement with the local deity similair to their portfolio in whatever new realmspace they're in.

#

When lore contradicts itself, I choose the edition that is more logical, so to me that's canon.

unkempt merlin
#

Clerics don't always work that way for one thing, but it can be explained as simply as "they hook up to another power source"

left vessel
grim siren
mossy heath
#

Is there somewhere to read up on the Dwarven gods of Faerun?

sterile breach
mossy heath
calm crest
surreal parcel
jagged apex
scarlet sigil
#

It shows up in OD&D Supplement 1: Greyhawk as well.

#

There, it didn't really have any lore. It was basically just a free level up for lawful priests and unusable or even dangerous for all others.

true patio
# blissful zodiac What exactly is the lore on the Book of Exalted Deeds?

God no one answered this?

Okay the Book is basically a book crafted by many authors and is filled with each's own ideals about virtue, faith, and goodness. Gods of many pantheons, celestials, and the saints of countless worlds are but a few who count amongst its authors. It does not ascribe to any one faith and is full of lessons from all who wished to contribute.

It is a source of wisdom and enlightenment and all who learn the lessons within, should they be goodly mind and heart, will find themselves the better for it in every way.

Such is the story anyway. Mechanically this is usually represented by a free level up on the part of the player but there's been cases it's just given people the cleric class and sent them on quests of virtue against the forces of evil.

#

As reading material I imagine it's something similar to Plato's Dialogs, lots of thinking about thinking.

blissful zodiac
true patio
#

Like full on the 1e DMG had a list of artifacts with lore blurbs but not a lick of in game effects even mentioned, leaving it up to the DM what any given artifact they wanted to incorporate into their game did.

#

Complete with a lines of empty text for you to write into your DMG what that was.

#

In short: ya sure if you want it to turn your player into an aasimar and have it give any sort of story effect you want go for it

zenith dust
feral lintel
#

yeah, right here

long rampart
#

anyone know what books i could use to find info on divine cults? mordenkainen has alot of great info on devils and their cultish abilities but i havent found anything celestial? like a cult that started as a church / temple to a celestial god that ends up going so far into lawful good that it becomes lawful evil
or just any spooky cults that worship a god not a devil or demon

#

or where i could find statblocks for corrupted celstials

marsh glacier
#

How much lore is there on the Arcadia plane

My player wants to visit for a few sessions but don’t know how much conflict would actually go on there considering the alignment of the plane

#

And there’s not much lore or adventuring material on it either

feral lintel
calm crest
#

Arcadia is very strict about purging perceived evil, which could lead to issues even for good characters.

autumn temple
#

The old Planescape (2e) books could be really good for finding ideas for conflicts on these sorts of planes. Planes of Law describes it as a place of highly regimented laws, for the common good, and a bunch of people very willing to back those laws up with pointy things. Situations where those sorts of laws are major inconveniences for the individual, or come into conflict with actually being able to do good could create conflict. It also describes the whole place as being particularly suspicious of strangers since the third layer got itself shunted off to Mechanus in the somewhat recent (by planar standards) past.

calm crest
#

I believe the DMG’24 indicated that Arcadia is currently amassing an army for an attack on Mechanus to reclaim that lost layer.

autumn temple
#

They could be doing a draft then. Everyone must join the army, for the common good. No is not an acceptable answer.

#

There could be a societal expectation that you would help anyone in need, a presumably competent looking adventurer could find themselves with a truly obnoxious number of sidequests, and how could you be so selfish as to put your own needs first and not do these things for your fellow people.

true patio
# long rampart anyone know what books i could use to find info on divine cults? mordenkainen ha...

That's a devil cult. Good gods would actively send an agent to correct any over zealous sheep and members of such an organization would find their divine magic not working. Devils are afterall literally celestials who "went too far" against evil and are "corrupted celestials". Such a devil cult would appear on the surface to operate as a part of the normal church but they'd have a patron archdevil who took notice and started giving them divine magic instead.

#

Its members might not even know this and would still think their god approves of them. Eventually an agent of the archdevil will infiltrate the cult and rise to power or take the form of a prominent member and very slowly (like over the course of years) corrupt the teachings further until the inner circle of the cult secretly worship the archdevil outright.

calm crest
#

There are also just evil-aligned Celestials, just as there can be good-aligned Fiends. It’s not especially common, but it happens. Only some evil Celestials become Fiends.

long rampart
calm crest
true patio
#

Gods are fueled by their followers sure but they're also pillars of concepts given sentience and not so easily "fallen" because they can't

#

Literally Gruumsh is worshiped as Talos by humans but he's still Gruumsh

#

The whole idea of the default setting, known as the Great Wheel Cosmology, hinges on the fact that the outer planes are static and immutable as concepts given form.

#

I'm not saying you as the DM can't change things but at that point you're decidely not playing "traditional D&D setting" your doing your own thing (which is 100% cool and the entire point of the game)

long rampart
true patio
#

Well in default Forgotten realms they use the "Gods are immutable" rule and its enforced by Ao

#

cause if a god does "fall" and no longer represent their domain Ao just kills them and gives the job to someone else

#

So in FR it can happen it just "doesn't"

#

Ao being the God to the gods of FR who meticulously polices divinities on the planet

#

that said you can have situations where one god is encrouching on the followers of another slowly corrupting them while trying to steal that god's job

long rampart
#

That's a great idea! So my basic campaigns like quest/overarching mission is to defeat this cult that is set on purging the hell and the abyss so that all three realms can belong to their one God. For this leader to do this he has been using wish ** spells to hop through different timelines until he finds the one where he is successful however my party of heroes has been stopping him. But they do not know that they have been hopping timelines with the BBEG. So I am going to have my players get stuck in the mirror dimension that is briefly mentioned and Tasha's cauldron of everything, and that's when they're going to be knocked down to level one and have these fragmented memories from these other timelines that they're not supposed to know about!

#

So I could have the God that they're following start encroaching on other gods territories and maybe AO is the one who is trying to contain this God by bouncing him around?

true patio
#

Ah okay this Monogamy god is 100% going to need an answer to Ao then since he'd be the biggest obstacle. You'll want to encorperate the Tablets of Destiny, a magical artifact Ao has divested a large chunk of his overgod divinity into to help police the other gods more automatically

long rampart
#

Where can I read up on that?

true patio
long rampart
#

I really appreciate you answering and being patient/explaining!

true patio
#

Hey man we all start somewhere

#

You'll want to read this comic if you can find it online

long rampart
#

Okay awesome thank you!

#

I have spent a good trunk of today going back-and-forth between a couple of the supplement books and the Dnd week to make sure that I can justify any questions my players might have 🤣

true patio
#

Totally fair! This stuffs older than most of us it's got enough content to be staggering

#

To be honest It's looking like the story you want to tell just might be simpler for you if you used a fully homebrew setting but you're more than welcome to try and do it in the FR

long rampart
#

Unfortunately I have completely fallen in love with the realms so I'm gonna find a way with some home brew funky time magic BS

teal rock
#

Who's Abil-Dazim?

jagged apex
#

from what i can find via a google search seems to be a legendary necromancer from the greyhawk setting, assuming that is correct, and seems to have an association with droughts

#

and associated with a being called "Incabulos, the god of diseases, droughts, and nightmares"

#

though not sure how accurate that info is as it comes from several cites i have not really visited before, one called "canonfire" and the other "greyhakwery"

proud moat
#

Anyone know if there is some kind of folklore/historic source that the old/legacy prohibition on druids touching metal came from? Was it just a random addition to a previous addition of D&D? Or did it come from somewhere else outside of D&D ?

calm crest
#

I know BECMI explained it as Druids loathe things that are lifeless (not made from organic materials) and thus are prohibited from using metal or stone.

feral lintel
#

ive heard somehwere that wearing metal also inhibits/cuts off their connection to the natural world

jagged apex
#

at least in dnd it is a tradition, something that is done by choice

#

there is to my knowledge no actual rule even in their cultures for such a prohibition, it is largely as i understand it simply a misconception

jagged apex
glossy summit
#

are there any more rangers in dnd lore other than drizzt

proud moat
# jagged apex at least in dnd it is a tradition, something that is done by choice

I’m not worried about rules. I’m trying to find information about the origins. Like much of D&D lore comes from Scottish folklore, but I’m not aware of anything in Celtic mythology about druids not liking metal… so wondering if that was a thing in another culture, or where it came from. Everything comes from somewhere

jagged apex
#

it is not from strictly 1 folklore, dnd takes many things from many different cultures

proud moat
jagged apex
#

but is largely a misconception and was mainly a thing back when the class first showed up, most iterations since it is more of a choice made out of tradition, basically most druids chose not too as those who came before them did, same way we celebrate a tradition in our own world

proud moat
#

So just a random choice by a game designer in an early edition?

jagged apex
#

well seems to be mainy a superstitious thing, done because they tend to believe it interfears with their ability to connect with the natural world, but is not a proven thing

#

basically most druid orders tend to have this believe and practice it, though not all druid circles do this

#

like any individual druid could go against this common belief of their identity of as a mystical order

#

is kind of the same vain of believing stepping on a crack will break your mother's back

#

is something most of them believe and thus tend to avoid using metal equipment for that reason, though is not necessarily true

proud moat
#

I’m wanting to know what influences outside of D&D were the origins of it, not about actual D&D lore.

jagged apex
#

and keep in mind, in most of the dnd multiverse, magic is real, so likely they do this to avoid risking being powerless

proud moat
#

Like where did a game designer get the idea from

jagged apex
#

well that is beyond the scope of this channel to my understanding

#

but much like monk presumably from the collective subconsious of people much like how the monk came about as a sort of martial artist class, but that depends on if that was what gary gygax did, but that is not really lore that is more a meta thing

#

closest thing in lore, at least for the forgotten realms setting may be what you can discern from their culture in universe which basically is mostly trying to reflect what mechanics that can be into more in universe terms and such if that makes sence https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Druid#Culture

#

while i am not an expert seems to draw heavily from druidism, just cuz of things like magic and gods being real in most worlds in the dnd multiverse, it is a lot more fantastical than it is here on earth

#

much like some things in the feywild is presumably just as far as the lore is concerned a common collective belief by most mortals in the prime material plane, like in an infinite multiverse, certain trends are bound to arise among mortal races across many worlds

#

but if wanting to know and talk about the source from a meta perspective, #dnd-discussion might be a better place for talk of such a topic, at least in my opinion

true patio
# proud moat Anyone know if there is some kind of folklore/historic source that the old/legac...

My best guess based on what I know is the following.

Know- Gygax made Druid as one of the first "Prestige" classes for the game's 1e version of the advanced ruleset alongside bard. Such rules were created to reward high level PCs and reflect such a character's exceptional nature.

This would be someone whose PC somehow survived leveling up and nearly maxxing out multiple classes. A "Druid" in this context would be like meeting a Jedi in the original Star Wars Online MMO. A prestigious accomplishment of the player that likely took many play sessions to accomplish. As such these classes were full of powerful abilities other classes wouldn't have access to. These awesome powers however came with certain restrictions to make them not overwhelming better than other paths.

Fey in folklore dislike worked iron because it is "unnatural" and as such iron weapons in such folklores are how you deal with bad fairies, demons, and other such things in germanic traditions.

Guess- my best is Gygax knew of the fey's dislike of worked iron and choose to incorporate it into drudic lore as shunned by his druids as both a mechanical nerf to druids using their awesome powers and magic weapons+armor which are typically metal and to more easily have then party with Barbarians who get EXP for smashing magic items. (Oweing to their dislike of nondruidic/shamanism magics)

proud moat
trail path
#

What are good free resources to learn more about the older versions of Ravenloft, with the Domains being more connected? I quite like how they're laid out in VRGtR, but I'm interested in seeing how I might add references to other Domains within Barovia for my Curse of Strahd campaign, maybe as like, hints to secret ways to traverse Domains beyond Strahd's gaze.

#

Would make most sense to keep it to the ones directly bordering Barovia, but some far-flung secret portals could also be interesting

true patio
jagged apex
#

like the differences in past editions likely were partially do to the state of the cosmology at the time of those editions

#

as it was not always a specific portion of the shadowfell

jagged apex
mossy heath
#

Do Forgotten Realms Dwarves pick specific Dwarven gods to worship if they aren't clerics, or do they worship them as a pantheon?

thick sentinel
#

The original Druid was a non-prestige class invented by B Denis Sustare that Gygax added in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement. I know this because of the recent The Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons book has the supplement in-detail, and it's easy to go check the source

The penning by Gygax therein about certain items such as wooden shields and not being able to wear metallic armor says nothing about inability to touch metal -- in the same paragraph it is said that Druids may use daggers, spears, sickles, and curved swords. In later versions of the Druid, such as the 1990s Rules Cyclopedia, Druids become prestige classes instead of a Cleric subclass -- and in 3.x on the Druid is its own class -- a core class, a base class. I'm not sure any TSR or WotC source has ever said that the Druid can't touch metal -- my guess is that there isn't one that does

thick sentinel
# proud moat Thank you! I’m now finding a tonne of information on old (and even not that old)...

It's any guess how the Druid was formulated, but William Stukeley's portrait in Stonehenge (published in 1740) is likely the most-popular visage of any visual content that Gygax or Sustare sourced, and if so, that means that they likely also imagined the characteristics of the Druid as a D&D subclass from those same roots. In addition, the Druid was first elucidated in writing via Book 16, section 249 of Pliny the Elder’s Natural History

jagged apex
tepid hinge
#

IDK if that's the right channel but:

I was searching about runes and giants among different D&D content (Rune Knight, Rune Shaper, magic items, etc)

So, if i understood it right, Hill Rune is more about nature/earth, and for some reason, Rune Knight is the only time where it is about resilience?

feral lintel
tepid hinge
#

Forgot about that

#

Although the feat is more about embodying giants than using the power of runes

#

So basically:

Hill Rune: Nature/Earth (as in, ground)
Hill Giant: Resilience

And for some reason Rune Knight's Hill Rune is actually about gaining the resilience of Hill Giants

?

feral lintel
#

The earth is about resilience

tepid hinge
#

I'm lost

graceful abyss
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Rock hard

#

Earth strong like rock

jagged apex
tepid hinge
#

And Ground is super-effective against Rock (i think) dndLurk

feral lintel
#

Yeah, the runes encompass lots of concepts

jagged apex
#

what bigby's says regarding runes in general "When Annam created the giants, he also taught them language and gave them runes of power. These symbols are pictographs: each symbol represents a whole word or concept rather than a single letter or sound. Each rune holds latent magical power, much like the glyphs inscribed in magic circles of protection, teleportation circles, and magical traps like the glyph of warding spell. Thus, the first giants treated these runes as a sacred secret and rarely wrote them." end quote

feral lintel
#

Hill giants are about eating and consumption, and are known for their resilient stomachs

feral lintel
jagged apex
#

the hill rune in their language means "Haug", so a giant would read that when reading the specific hill rune

feral lintel
#

Yeah, hill is just a "Common" translation iirc

jagged apex
#

if you are familiar with 40k, is very similar to the orks and their language, rather than single letters or words, each one is an entire concept and often multiple terms depending on context

tepid hinge
#

So a single rune doesn't necessarily mean a single concept?

Like how Fire Giants are also blacksmiths and how Storm Giants are also diviners, so a Fire/Storm rune could also be about forge/divination?

feral lintel
#

Much like how a single word can mean many things, yes

tepid hinge
#

Got it

jagged apex
#

it basically would be a number of things depending on the usage, context, and other factors, for example, in the rune carver feat, you can use the hill rune to cast goodberry

#

as much of what the hill giants as the smaller races know relates to food as their society is all about eating as much as one can, bigger, fuller, fatter, better, that is the logic of hill giants as most others understand it, and the rune knight likely channels their natural hardyness because of the context of how they are channeling it or envisioning to use it, as channeling and envoking their legendary hardyness and resilience, thus becoming more resistant to poison and and soak up some hits while under it's effects to a limited degree, basically you are using the rune to channel their concept of their legendary gut without actually being one of those massive eaters with their resilient bellies

#

plus as both indicate in their lore/flavor text, the methods of these runes being carved and channeled can vary, would be reasonable that that as well as the perception and such of the carver could influence how the rune's concept is manifested

#

like you can see this somewhat all be it in a less obvious manner with many of the magical items from bigby's many of which have unique powers that happen when you envoke ie activate the rune on the item

#

like to use the example of fire you hinted at, it could express anything relating to the concept of fire, from just straight up elemental fire to a forge or anything else within those ball parks

carmine creek
#

Okay so if I understood it, interviews and Descent into Avernus confirms that the dead three chose to stay in the mortal realm and in return was made into much weaker quasi deities?

#

So with that in mind it should be possible for a party to track down and kill one of them right

tepid hinge
jagged apex
#

least far as i know

feral lintel
tepid hinge
#

Got it, thanks

carmine creek
jagged apex
#

they are mortal in the sense as their physical forms can be killed

#

the dead 3 would be closest to a vestige, the difference them not being in the divine comma that gods who "die" are in

#

the versions of bane and myrkul that you can potentially fight and kill in bg3 is them transforming their chosen into their avatar, which is not the same as their own physical/true body and to my knowledge neither of the dead 3 left their divine realms, which are technically located on different planes of existance

silver sphinx
#

Someone just brought up the shadar-kai changing between different game versions and im wondering whether these should be seen as actual changes within the world or basically just a retcon

jagged apex
#

different editions of the game are as much a different continuity as it is a continuation

#

plus there are technically 3 kind of beings that are known as shadar-kai that coexist in the current continuity, in 5e the elven sort are the most commonly encountered

silver sphinx
jagged apex
#

just remember, there are always multiple continuities, is never gunna be a single consistent timeline and what not, some times they are retcons and others just an addition to what came before, and not everything will be fully define and that at times works to the lore's advantage, nothing from prior editions is considered invalid unless newer lore directly contradicts it

#

this is more or less why both terms like "shadar-kai" and "eladrin" refer to many different creatures and races, not just any one specific one from any specific edition, thus the context is important in differentiating them

silver sphinx
jagged apex
#

at least for the forgotten realms setting, the forgotten realms wiki often does it's best to consolidate the lore from different editions into as consistent a collection as possible where able

jagged apex
storm dagger
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Auril in Rime of the Frostmaiden did the same thing

jagged apex
#

as i know for a fact auril did not give up her divine realm

storm dagger
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Well she could go back to it

jagged apex
#

and she was not reduced to a quasi-deity, she became a lesser deity and was constantly using up much of her power, thus in the adventure she is a part of she is in a weakened state

#

and to my knowledge the only thing that was effected when they ignored Ao's demand, was they lost much divine power and were reduced to quasi-deity status, nothing to my knowledge even suggests they lost their divine realms or connection to them

#

the trade off is this loss of most of their power, unlike the other gods they are able to more directly influence mortal affairs if they so choose

#

as even bane despite his status was forced to this status

#

and another thing, nothing says quasi-deities can't have divine realms

storm dagger
#

Auril lost power by staying on Toril, and then lost more by keeping her ritual going she was for sure Quasi Deity level at best

jagged apex
#

the term has many nuances these days, but in the context of the dead 3 it is that of being a true and proper god

jagged apex
#

she is a lesser diety after upsetting her former allies among the gods of fury, but used most of her power in her ritual, leaving her avatar in a drastically weakened state

storm dagger
#

||She can also outright die in the Adventure with her Divine Spark being her final form, she just revives during the Winter Solstice ||

jagged apex
#

and her and the dead 3's choices took place at entirely different points in time

storm dagger
#

The wiki doesn’t matter here I am talking adventure text

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||If she is defeated during the adventure after she revives she chooses to go back to her Divine Realm to regain her strength ||

jagged apex
#

yeah, i know, i am also reffering to the adventure but also to other materials that fill in some of the gaps

#

and i have the adventure itself too

#

at no point was she said to have become a quasi deity, you may have thought so, but that does not make it so, the fact is she dropped to a lesser deity, and that adventure while unclear it's place in the timeline it was before Ao demanded the gods stop getting directly involved in mortal affairs, where as the dead 3 and their choice to stay on toril was after

#

the fact she goes back to her divine realm and is not permently destroyed, goes against the idea you were trying to propose

#

the body in the adventure is her avatar, the solstice is when she would have been able to create a new avatar, do to her lower station than when she was above the status of lesser deity

#

the fact is, at least based on the way you have been saying things, your understanding of the situation is flawed from what actually was going on and what happens

sweet quail
#

How does the aging for Aasimar work? Would an 100 year old Aasimar look super old and decrepit?

jagged apex
#

not really

#

to quote the relevant part of their latest setting agnostic lore "Aasimar can arise among any population of mortals. They resemble their parents, but they live for up to 160 years and have features that hint at their celestial heritage, such as metallic freckles, luminous eyes, a halo, or the skin color of an angel (silver, opalescent green, or coppery red). These features start subtle and become obvious when the aasimar learns to reveal their full celestial nature." end quote

#

plus do to their celestial blood, i'd imagine much like elves they would look more young for their age compared to humans

#

to my knowledge there is not really any info regarding anything more nuanced like how some other races like elves, lizardfolk, goblins, and the like do

storm dagger
#

Elves got info on their aging process

#

The most recent lore for it is basically Elves don’t age. Once fully grown the only difference between a young Elf and old one is their attitudes.

#

When an elf reaches near the end of their lifespan normally cataracts appear in their eyes that resemble an hourglass. Which is the warning they need to get their affairs in order, but how long they will last after that is variable. Could be days, could be decades

jagged apex
#

not really relevant to the question that was being asked

#

and as i said, elves, lizardfolk, and goblins have info on their ageing progress, but aasimar do not, at least to my knowledge

feral lintel
#

Just wanted to clarify, are there true giants in dragonlance? Or is it just ogres, oni, and other giantkin?

peak terrace
#

So can anyone explain the spider goddess

graceful abyss
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Llolth?

peak terrace
#

Is she who the drows worship

graceful abyss
#

She’s one of the main ones, yes. Pretty fickle, likes turning people into spiders or half-spider things when they upset her

glossy summit
#

lolth is also a goddess the githyanki worship?

calm crest
#

She is not, no.

#

Githyanki solely worship the Lich-Queen Vlaakith CLVII.

glossy summit
#

ooooh yay!

autumn temple
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The adventure module has a single line, from the player backgrounds, that ogres and giants reside in Southern Ergoth, but no giants actually seem to be involved in the adventure so there's no clarity there.

#

Unfortunately I don't have any of the earlier DL stuff at hand, so I can't comment on how this fits into existing lore, or whether it's shoehorning.

jagged apex
autumn temple
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Did some wiki diving. The Irda are established lore, most of them were turned into Ogres, but some avoided that fate, they may have blown themselves up later though. They might be roughly analogous to Cloud Giants?

#

A sourcebook called Rise of the Titans describes unusually large Ogres, which seem analogous to Hill Giants.

#

and there was mention that the Races of Ansalon sourcebook describes other types of giant as existing but being particularly rare examples of Ogres infused with elemental magic.

jagged apex
#

from what i know of the irda were similar to the famorians, at least their stories of being turned into lesser cursed beings is a common element of their stories if i am not mistaken

jagged apex
#

else it seems there are giants, but there is no page for them on the wiki so you'd have to check the old dragonlance books

#

did some digging and while there is a type of giant that might be considered a true giant the desolation giant apparently were previously humans so not sure if you'd count them or not

drowsy wraith
#

Are there any minotaur nations in FR?

feral lintel
#

not really. In FR, theyre usually either:

  • Creations of Baphomet
  • stupid brutes
jagged apex
#

closest thing in forgotten realms were the minotaurs that use to live along side humans in Omu, but acereack basically ruined that when he enslaved the city

#

or i guess you could argue the district of the city of Kushk in the Hordelands, known as minotaur city, would be a close candidate for such a thing

#

but not an entire nation

jagged apex
calm crest
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The yakfolk resemble minotaurs in some ways and have a civilization near Zakhara, but the connection is largely superficial—evil-aligned bipedal bovines. That’s the only thing I can think of being close to minotaur nations.

median furnace
#

Could a tiefling ranger beast master make sense

#

Or are animals naturally repulsed by tieflings

calm crest
#

I do not think anything indicates that animals are repulsed by the average Tiefling.

jagged apex
#

the bias/distain of tieflings is more of a thing done by other intelligent races do to believing that their fiendish blood makes them inherently evil, which in reality is untrue

#

nothing i know of has ever even suggested that it was something that extended to things like mere animals

calm crest
#

For what it’s worth, plenty of Fiends—mostly demons—are associated with animals, too.

jagged apex
#

honestly a tiefling ranger especially a beast master would make perfect since especially in a setting where prejudice against tieflings are a thing, they likely would love that the animals don't judge them so shallowly and likely prefer the company of animals

median furnace
#

Oooh actually

#

I think a swarmkeeper might make more sense since tieflings are naturally good at the arcane

#

Maybe my tiefling would use the swarm for comfort

carmine creek
#

Is Baldur's Gate 3 canon?

#

and in that case is that what Myrkul canonically looks like in this time period?

jagged apex
#

yes and no

#

canon is not a cut and dry thing in dnd period

#

but some version of the events did indeed happen, but we don't know currently in exactly what capacity

jagged apex
#

but yes that is what his avatar tends to look like

carmine creek
jagged apex
#

basically all bg3 did was adapt the description with if anything only minor artisitic liberties

#

and gods are not really like mortals, they are metaphysical in nature

#

and while he use to be a mortal, he and the other dead 3 have long since left that part of their lives behind for the most part, at most merely still thinking like mortals when doing their divine dastardly deeds, which often blows up in their faces

carmine creek
jagged apex
#

no

#

killing an avatar is not the same thing as killing the god

#

and if you pay attention they merely grant their chosen the ability to transform into their avatar, so either way you slice it they are not the real deal

carmine creek
#

Yeah but I mean if you find for example Bhaal as he exists in the mortal plane

#

Not an avatar or chosen

#

Since they are said to now exist in the mortal plane at the expense of their power

jagged apex
#

and they likely are still in their divine realms as a quasi-deity in the context of them are not forced to exist on the prime material plane and they still have divine realms and killing a god in any meaningful way is no easy feat

jagged apex
#

nothing says they have to be on the prime material plane, they simply lost most of their divine power, especially bane, for not listening to lord Ao and his demand that the gods stop directly interfering with the affair of mortals, it saying he was in mortal form, likely means that he has a main physical body, does not say it is on the prime material plane

carmine creek
jagged apex
#

yeah looking at the exact source of the quote info, nothing about it actually says they are on the prime material plane

#

it is broad category that has always changed over the years, most recently in 5e in terms of what counts as a quasi-deity

#

"Quasi-powers varied widely in origin and in power from one to the next. It included old or forgotten gods, local powers, and some demigods" this is cited from 2e

#

the thing that likely confuses you is their choice to use the term "mortal" to describe their form which without proper context can be misleading

carmine creek
#

''While the sundering saw the other gods of the Forgotten Realms withdraw their direct influence from the world, the dead three remained behind as quasi-divine beings. While their power was diminished, they remain a formidable trio and play a malevolent role in influencing events in Faerun'' - Descent into Avernus

#

Them remaining behind makes it seem like they exist on the mortal plane IMO

jagged apex
#

no, but it is misleading and could be taken that way

#

basically in this case "staying behind" more so means they continued to have a more hands on involvement in the material plane and influencing mortals unlike the other gods who have to rely on their chosen and their faithful and no longer are allowed to intervene directly

#

is one of the reasons why mystra did not just annihilate the elder brain during the absolute crisis for example despite the threat it posed to all of the gods

#

she knew if she did, regardless of the reason she would be seen by Ao as ignoring his ruling and likely be punished for it, and given the importance of her role, made clear that various times she has died and magic been sent reeling cuz of he not being able to tend to the weave properly, especially in a weakened state like the time of troubles, she couldn't in good contended take that risk, it would fix one problem but potentially cause countless more that she would be unable to do anything about

carmine creek
#

Agree to disagree I guess, from what im reading the Dead Three seems to be on a demigod level and immensly weakened. If they are killable or not is a another question but I dont think they are tied to their domains anymore

jagged apex
#

well that just ain't true, cuz they still have their divine domains listed for the current cosmology

#

besides, even if they were, killing a god even at that level of power is entirely different kettle of beans than killing their avatar

#

an avatar only has a fraction of their power, the main body would be them with all their power at their disposal, full strength which would be near impossible for a mortal to defeat in a meaningful way with out specific additional aid

#

if they were stranded on toril and not have access to their divine realms, i feel that would be mentioned as that is far too significant a chance to ignore as even as quasi-deities they would have a divine realm

#

also their status as quasi-deities is closer to vesstage rather than a a demi-god

jagged apex
#

though if you wanna be absolutely sure, you could always hit up the setting's creator, Ed Greenwood, and ask him

glossy summit
glossy summit
#

the lore is so good

round umbra
#

There are dozens of Elder Brains already in Faerun, mostly in Underdark.

jagged apex
#

it is not a normal elder brain for 1

#

gods need worshipers, this threatened to take away them to where there was not even a soul to pass on

frank marsh
#

The absolute was used by the dead three

#

It was to exterminate the world. Souls included

jagged apex
#

yeah it was literally what this specific elder brain was and how it was being used that was the threat, not the simple fact it was an elder brain

frank marsh
#

There a netherese elder brain that still around

dire olive
#

Is there anything more about Hadar other than its spells and it’s a viable choice for great old one patron warlocks?

tepid hinge
#

Silly question, but is there a in-lore reason for Warlocks to have Pact Slots? Like, does having a Patron for some reason make them cast their spells as strong as possible?

#

Or is that 100% a mechanical thing without lore explanations?

dire olive
#

I think it’s just mechanical. Pact magic really embodies the feeling of “borrowed power”

#

Like they can’t reign in the power of each spell because it isn’t theirs

tepid hinge
#

That makes sense, thanks dndLurk

jagged apex
dire olive
#

Ty

slow river
#

apologies if this is a silly question, how common are last names for the common people in the forgotten realms?

barren portal
#

pretty common but i would reccomend a set list and pick random

true patio
#

Mask the god of tricks killing sword, as weilded by the then mortal Kelimvor, dunking on them even hundreds of years later

jagged apex
#

yeah, that was a long time ago during the time of troubles

#

what is unique about them is the context of their current status as quasi-deities as they are not like other quasi deities

carmine creek
jagged apex
#

yeah but not in the same manner

#

their power is greatly lesser, but an avatar is even less than what they currently have

#

plus there is also the fact that an avatar being slain has no meaningful impact on the god proper, even if it is a weaker one, they just can't make a new avatar for a period of time relevant to their divine status, the higher status a deity, the more avatars they can have and control at once and the less time it takes for a new one to be made should one be destroyed

carmine creek
#

Hence why a level 8 party can deal with one avatar in BG3 i guess

jagged apex
#

you could argue the avatars seen in bg3 are more so what historically has been known as incarnations, but the fact a group of mortal adventures could kill them without being of the upper caliber, ie level 20, and have certain magical items, is the reason they could defeat them, realistically based on the lore is unlikely they could win in a conventional sense unless they had a means of bypassing the divine protections all gods historically had, funny enough one of the few known items on toril to have such properties was previously used by the dead 3 back when they were mortals https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Jathiman_Dagger

#

you stab a god to death with this dagger, they are dead as if another god of equal or greater power had killed them, ie it kills them in a meaningful manner

true patio
#

Of course the biggest hurdles about killing a god is their omnipresence. The god is going to know, long before you even arrive, about every detail of your plan to kill them. There are ways around this but....

#

Ironically however this selfsame problem is why the dead three succeeded. Their target, the god of death at the time, wanted to retire and basically guided them to him.

grim siren
#

And when they lost their Divinity it was a mad house like when Cryic made homemade Shish KeBhaal

jagged apex
#

gods in dnd can exist at multiple places at once and even beyond linear time, but there is context and conditions that makes it not "all present"

jagged apex
# true patio Of course the biggest hurdles about killing a god is their omnipresence. The god...

plus if they are in their divine realm, where they have to be killed to be killed in a meaningful manner once you get past the other divine protections, and are constantly at full power and have control over the environment of, they can simply keep you from being able to even enter, meaning you'd have to find some other means or aid with enough power to force your way in, and then you still have to deal with fighting them in a realm they have full control over and are constantly at their strongest in

round umbra
#

not to mention have armies inside their realm...

fair remnant
#

So what is the point of this channel

ionic rivet
#

Check the channel description but it is to discuss lore from official D&D sources

fair remnant
#

Ohh

median furnace
#

so in bg3 even if your a ranger it says your baldurian. would reason would a ranger have for movin g to baldurs gate

#

mind you im a beast master

jagged apex
#

not really a lore question other than maybe why would a ranger be living in a city, to which rangers are sort of the ones who keep the piece between the civilized world and nature keeping one from hurting the other unnecessarily

feral lintel
#

Are there any metals only found/native to the Abyss?

calm crest
#

Presumably an infinite number, given the infinite highly variable layers of alien substances. Lemme see if I can find more specific ones.

jagged apex
#

which from what i found is cited as being from "Planar Handbook" not sure what edition though

tepid hinge
#

I understand the difference between Clerics and Paladins: one wields literal divine power, as in, either from a god or the energy from their realms, while the other embodies certain principles so well they get powers from it or something

Now what's the difference between Druid's and Ranger's source of spellcasting?

jagged apex
#

they historically are also divine casters, druids getting it from nature itself or just any nature god willing to lend it, ranger not so sure

#

if i had to guess they would also be drawing it from nature but to a lesser degree than a druid, but that is speculation on my part

median furnace
#

Hey what would lead a dwarf to move with his wife and kids to another city, let's say he's a smith and wants to open a forge in baldurs gate, would he be seen as a outcast for abandoning his clan? I know for hill dwarves/gold dwarves it would be a big drama but are shield dwarves still that traditional?

spare smelt
spare smelt
true patio
# jagged apex gods in dnd can exist at multiple places at once and even beyond linear time, bu...

My guy they are aware of everything that happens within a given range of any of their temples or locations their name has been spoken as if they were physically there. Sure the number of such locations is actually finite but still. Point is that if you're talking about killing X god, they probably know as soon as you voice that plan. Source: my players who have difficulty not ruining themselves when they talk about their plans to kill Vecna in my Doomed Forgotten Realms game. Also Deities and Demigod 3.0 source book I physically have (with nothing new contradicting this as far as I'm aware)

true patio
true patio
true patio
# tepid hinge I understand the difference between Clerics and Paladins: one wields literal div...

The source of Paladin powers has changed throughout editions mostly because of differing opinions amongst players and shifting societal norms and views on mortality.

Originally Paladins got their power from the Cosmic Force of Good. No specific god granted their power but the very nature of "Good" as an alignment force just granted them special powers like how a saint or an angel would get power.

Then there was the introduction of Godly Patronage for a given paladin but still the throughline of "no specific god is giving them power but this god likes this person a whole lot and is probably the source of their spells" which was introduced shortly after in AD&D 2e I think? WotC kept that as the norm for a bit but reinforced the notion that if your a good enough hero you don't need to worship a specific god.

Then 5e added Oaths because they wanted to scrap the whole idea of Alignment in the first place to prevent online feuds about Alignment.

#

Generally it's just safe to assume that like most Divine Spellcasters they get their spells from the gods but Paladins are a sort of "shared resource" that all the gods can give spells to if they want because the gods of good are more willing to cooperate than the gods of evil. That said it's really all about how your DM wants to interpret the new and old lore. So, just go with what they think.

round umbra
true patio
#

Yes/no it's not exactly a spell. You can't just cast Screen and be done with it. You'd need some sort of way to block a god's sight specifically

#

Something like an Aboleth Shardstone would do the trick. Magic items that diminish godly power in their vicinity.

round umbra
#

Why not? Anything that would negate divination would work in my opinion.

true patio
#

Because it's as if the god is physically in the room their name was spoken in

#

Being conceptual creatures, their name is tantamount to their body.

round umbra
#

I mean, take the Amulet of Proof against Detection and Location, which is the only example off the top of my head that counters divination:

'While wearing this amulet, you are hidden from divination magic. You can't be targeted by such magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors.'

Gods rely on magic/scrying, gods are not -physically- in the room, only 3 gods are even on prime Faerun, which are the dead 3. All else left by Ao's decree and are forbidden from taking direct and active involvement with mortals.

#

You can only argue for them being physically there for Myrkul, Bane and Bhaal.

#

And even that's iffy.

true patio
#

Okay so. This is a concept of spiritualism vrs us being nerds needing quantifiable rules. In the Demigods and Deities book it goes over what gods can actually do.

Those rules basically spell out a spiritualism concept of "god is in his house". Is the avatar of god actually standing in the church? No but the god can perceive, as if by a natural sense, anything in their temple and for a set radius around that temple

#

This self same sense is what applies to an area when you speak their name

#

It's not treated "As the scry spell" it's treated in the rules as if the god was standing where the name was spoken. Only another divinity of equal or higher rank can block this (usually). If it was treated "As the Scry Spell" 3.0 is such a neurotic system that it would use those specific key words.

#

This book was written by the same people who made Magic the Gathering. They're very exact in their wording.

true patio
#

You made me doubt myself but yup just checked. It actually directly calls out mortal methods of blocking divination as nonfunctional agianst this ability on page 28.

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Remote Sensing: As a standard action, a deity of rank 1 or higher can perceive everything within a radius of one mile per rank around any of its worshipers, holy sites, or other objects or locales sacred to the deity. This supernatural effect can also be centered on any place where someone speaks the deity's name or title for up to 1 hour after the name is spoken, and at any location when an event related to the deity's portfolio occurs (see the deity descriptions for details).

The remote sensing power can cross planes and penetrate any barrier except a divine shield (described in Salient Divine Abilities) or an area otherwise blocked by a deity of equal or higher rank. Remote sensing is not fooled by misdirection or nondetection or similar spells, and it does not create a magical sensor that other creatures can detect (as the scrying spell does).
A deity can extend its senses to two or more remote locations at once (depending on divine rank) and still sense what's going on nearby.

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However as it is called out specifically as a Supernatural Effect, turning off Magic in an area with an Anti-magic field, would be sufficient to stop it in this ruleset. And because it's a Standard Action to use in a ruleset where gods can do most things as nonactions (including walking, attacking, and even manifesting a magic item related to their portfolio into reality) this isn't exactly something the god does without consideration. For them this would be like taking 5 rounds worth of 5e Actions to do.

round umbra
#

This, is however, of an older edition, and thus I assume, timeline wise, before Ao's edict. Given Ao's banishment of gods from mucking things over, would they still retain this ability?

true patio
#

Well this is a power that's setting agnostic. So I dunno how Realmspace is interpreted in this lense

#

It's more like "something on a god's character sheet"

round umbra
#

Can you rephrase?

true patio
#

Well setting specific rules always trump general ones. This one is more a general rule.

#

But given how gods can still answer questions directed at them using Contact Other Plane in 5e I don't think Realmspace (the domain of Ao) has any rules turning this off.

true patio
round umbra
#

To clarify for 5e, contact other plane mentions demigods, but no other sort of deity. I know I'm rule-lawyering, but why mention demigods and creatures of the sort, but not simply use the words deities if the intent was to ecompass gods?

#

As for the setting, I'm referring to Toril/Realmspace.

true patio
#

That said I generally accept gods under the clause of " or some other mysterious entity from another plane. " being broad enough to call literally anyone on another plane of existence.

true patio
# true patio Likely because in function Contact Other Plane usually doesn't directly ask the ...

This nature of calling a god but actually getting one of their minions is directly called out in older editions as well. There's even a specific named NPC attached to each god that acts as their "Divine Emissary". There's even rules for a class for the PCs if they manage to get high enough level to do that job. To give an example, if you called up Bahamut you'd likely be answered by one of the 7 greatwrym gold dragons that hang around him. Or in the case of Tyr, you'd likely get a very senior Solar or dead paladin.

#

Finally we're talking Gods here. Them having some level of omnipotence sort of comes with the territory.

tepid hinge
#

Although in the end it could be the same source, idk

#

Like how EK and AT also get magic by studying like Wizards

jagged apex
# true patio For example Athas is pretty disconnected from the gods as a whole and as a setti...

in the case of athas i feel at least based on what i know and what was briefly said in the latest materials, it was abandoned by the gods, who did so partially if not mainly cuz how messed up the magic users of the world made it, so more so the gods just are not around to do anything, far as i know nothing is stopping from a god choosing to be involved in that setting if they were given the opportunity, given the latest description of the setting from 2024 in the settings table describes the darksun setting thusly "Heroes make their mark on a postapocalyptic world defiled by magic and forsaken by the gods." so at least in the current continuity the implications is the gods chose to abandon the world

calm crest
#

In 2e, Athas was left ambiguous—it’s unclear if there were ever gods there. I guess 5e’24 may be taking a different approach.

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Although if it was abandoned by gods, it presumably would’ve happened before the Green Age, given that the Sorcerer-Kings aren’t aware of any true gods existing, despite their extremely long lives.

#

Given that all of other humanoid species of Athas were created by halflings—with the exception of the thri-kreen and their relatives—and that there’s no evidence of divine magic during the Blue Age, I’m not sure what impact deities are assumed to have had on Athas.

#

Hmmm… perhaps the “forsaken by the gods” part is an effort to reconcile Dark Sun’s unique cosmology with the default multiverse in the 5e reimagining. Only time will tell, I suppose.

median furnace
#

What's a good disease or illness that can quickly kill off a character. Need my characters parents to to die of somthing

median furnace
#

Nothing traumatic or something just need them out of the story. They are dwarves

jagged apex
#

not really a lore question

median furnace
#

Oh my apologies!

woven moss
#

One thing I find fascinating about this game's interpretation of fiends is how they classify devils and demons as separate species, being based off very different interpretations of the otherwise synonymous "demons" across various mythologies.

#

This was the inspiration for my Warlock patron (formerly a potential PC) being a devil/demon hybrid.

feral lintel
#

Fiends, like other extraplanar, are embodiments of the plane theyre from. In the Great Wheel Cosmology, Devils are from the more Lawful Evil planes, and Demons from Chaotic Evil, with Yugoloths being the in between at Neutral Evil

jagged apex
#

fiends are basically any being native to the lower planes which in the great wheel cosmology are tied to the alignment concepts of evil

jagged apex
#

fundamentally, unless united by a stronger being, there is nothing that would keep devils and demons from ripping each other a part normally far as i know outside of specific individuals which are infinitely more rare compared to mortals to divert from the very alignments that are a fundamental part of their being

fringe terrace
#

Are there any other gods/deities that Drow tend to follow besides Lolth? Not necessarily non-evil, just not-Lolth

autumn temple
bleak bramble
round umbra
#

Speaking of drow, I imagine Lolth being banished by a male drow wizard for 100 years would cause some cultural collapse, no?

#

All drow history; males are nothing but slaves, Lolth and woman Drow power absolute...

bleak bramble
#

They have always been Matriarchal afaik.

frank marsh
#

So Does Ao blocks all the gods helping their followers

#

Like if there a catalysm does he go "No no no" to the gods letting them watch their followers die

jagged apex
#

no

#

to my knowledge the implication is that he decreed that they are not suppose to directly involve themselves in mortal affairs and the gods, save for the dead 3, know to obey as else there would be consiquences

#

at least in regards to most recent lore, prior they were allowed more direct influence

#

there are many ways for a deity to help their faithful, does not necessarily require them to get involved directly

#

one example, at least in my opinion is a good example, is gond rendering gunpowder inert across the realms because his followers kept accidently blowing themselves up

jagged apex
round umbra
#

So, is dead 3 + lolth it seems...

jagged apex
round umbra
jagged apex
#

well far as i can tell the aftermath was not until after 1487 or 1488 DR and seems the only potential exceptions seem to be Eilistraee and Vhaeraun who had appeared to their followers publicly via avatars with Eilistraee being witnessed dancing under the walls of waterdeep in 1491 DR

#

and seems the civil war was in in 1488 DR, so is possible that this happened just barely before the end of the second sundering thus would have not been something lolth could be punished for yet as the the decree was not yet made

#

though it says the second sundering ended in 1487 DR, so i can't tell what parts if any might just be incorrectly attributed to certain years or something, looking at it all having some trouble figuring out what is ment to exceptions to the rule or not, all i know is that the dead 3 were of the few who were greatly reduced in power do to basically ignoring the chances and continuing to be more direct in their influence

#

might be something better to ask ed greenwood about as apparently the part about Eilistraee and Vhaeraun is cited from a post of his on the candlekeep forums in/around 2015

round umbra
# jagged apex well far as i can tell the aftermath was not until after 1487 or 1488 DR and see...

The war was fought between Houses loyal to Lolth and those who remained allied to House Baenre. The following is a breakdown of the factions involved during the war. The Blaspheme was an army of resurrected drow based in House Baenre.[50][48] They were previously long-dead driders tormented in the Abyss by Lolth.[50] Their leader Mal'a'voselle Amvas Tol fell in battle against Malagdorl Armgo and was betrayed by former drider Aleandra Amvas.[51] Fane of the Goddess high priestess Sos’upmto Baenre offered refuge for those loyal to Lolth. She transformed into the first avatar of Lolth during the war.[52] House Faen Tlabbar abandoned their loyalty to House Baenre to watch the war from the shadows.

House Melarn's Matron Zhindia Melarn became the second avatar of Lolth during the war.[67] She and her house were destroyed when Gromph Baenre returned to the city[68] and detonated his staff, causing a large explosion[69] that banished Lolth and her handmaidens for a hundred years.[70]

#

Lolth wasn't casually meddling, she was literally using avatars to try to win a war.

jagged apex
#

well since unlike the dead 3 she seems to have not suffered any loss of power or punishment and is not like lord Ao would not know, so i can only presume she was not perceived as violating what ever Ao's new rules were, else idk

#

like far as i know any power she lost was more so from the previous dead gods of her pantheon coming back

round umbra
#

I mean, all that civil war happened in 'Lolth's Warrior' novel, so maybe the author just mucked up the lore, was not aware of Ao's degree, and therefore its not canon?

#

Or are all the Salvatore novels considered canon?

#

From what I know, a lot of readers were pissed off about the novel, where it tried to convey drow society as some sort of utopia or something?

jagged apex
#

or misinterpreting what "As social tensions rise and the demands for answers boom, a fight erupts between the adherents of Lolth's chaotic evil and those drow who demand more, demand better. In the Underdark there are only absolutes and no compromise will be found." means

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but as i said previously, continuity is a more nuanced thing and given Salvador is responsible for much of the drow lore we know today that made them a proper people and not just monsters to be killed, i doubt it is something just ment to be discarded, plus seems the exact rules of the decree are not fully defined, so perhaps she managed to get permission somehow, i am not sure, you'd probably have to ask Salvador himself about it

bleak bramble
jagged apex
#

not sure

#

might be, but i am not sure off the top of my head

bleak bramble
#

Basically he assumes that form and wonders Faerun and helps people out as the Grand Master of Flowers.

jagged apex
#

the same could have been said in general of his habit of wandering the mortal worlds in human form

dire olive
#

Is the only difference between dragons and wyverns in dnd the number of legs and the stinger that Wyverns have?

#

Is there anything about them that differentiates them interestingly from dragons?

grim siren
#

They are not intelligent what so ever.

jagged apex
#

also wyverns are a specific type of lesser dragon, unlike true dragons they don't grow more powerful and larger with age in the same manner

#

basically true dragons don't suffer the effects of old age, at least not until the near end of their life span if going by older lore

jagged apex
#

basically a true dragon is as intelligent, if not more often more intelligent than a human or other similar sentient being, lesser dragons, especially wyverns are not and are merely beasts, being largely unintelligent and aggressive, basically short of anything like a true dragon, they are likely to be the dominate predator in the area that they claim as territory

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to partially quote their latest setting agnostic lore "Opportunistic predators, wyverns are draconic ambushers that strike from above. These territorial hunters attack with their fangs and stinger-tipped tails. Wyvern stingers drip with deadly venom, a painful toxin feared by monster hunters and coveted by alchemists.
Wyverns are aggressive and claim sizable territories around the mountains, crags, and ruins where they dwell. Despite their considerable strength, they’re opportunistic hunters that target unwitting livestock and groups of encamped travelers. Wyverns usually land only to finish off creatures they’ve weakened with their poison and strafing attacks. Creatures that fight back or take flight might deter wyverns, convincing them to search for easier prey." end quote

#

even a white dragon, generally seen as the most beastly of true dragons, mainly cuz of their straight forward mindset and difficulty with abstract conceptions, are more intelligent than a wyvern by comparison and are capable of being motivated by reasons other than hunger or territorial disputes and are not nearly as aggressive being some of the most skilled hunters among dragon kind, where as a wyvern would more or less just attack you onsight unless you made it clear you were more powerful than it

#

like comparing a true dragon to a lesser dragon such as wyvern, would be like comparing a person to chimpanzee to give a bit of an analogy if that helps get the idea across

dire olive
#

Excellent, Ty

bleak bramble
autumn temple
#

Meanwhile the gods of Mulhorand are directly ruling the place via their chosen, or possibly avatars. Ao's restrictions on the allowable actions of gods seem to be ill defined and unclear.

bleak bramble
#

Sounds about right.

jagged apex
#

might even vary from god to god, at least the nuances and specifics might

bleak bramble
#

A lot of bending of the rules.

jagged apex
#

or like shiraxis said, could simply because they are not clearly defined and the most we get on certain details is from things that are not universallly canon like statements in bg3 or confusing wording like the dead 3 being described as mortal, which i am almost certain means something other than what one normally would assume with the word mortal just based on the context

#

like if it is in a sourcebook, is likely to be ment to be universal but other sources you run into the hurdles of the multiple continuities where one thing from one is not necessarily true in the same capacity if at all in another, especially between forms of media

glossy summit
#

is Driz'zt a fighter ranger? or a ranger?

calm crest
#

Both, depending on edition.

feral lintel
#

is there a name or title that is used to refer to bahamut's monk form?

glossy summit
median furnace
#

Hey so storm sorceries can use all different types of magic from fire to necrotic to illusion, but how. I thought it's only storm magic. Or is storm magic just their main arsenal

feral lintel
#

subclasses just show your specification/focus

median furnace
#

Oooh ok. So for spells that are not storm magic how does a sorcerer learn them? Just see it in use and practice?

ionic rivet
#

Please note that this is the #dnd-lore for discussing lore from official D&D materials and related sources

median furnace
#

Isn't this lore

ionic rivet
#

Your question is borderline mechanics and lore - you're fine but when it starts to veer into the more mechanical side of things, best take it to a more appropriate channel.

median furnace
#

Oooh sorry I'm coming at it from a purely lore perspective like canonically someone who specializes in storm sorcery shouldn't have an issue casting other spell types right? a sorcerer just has to learn by seeing

ionic rivet
#

Storm sorcery does not preclude use of other spell types in the lore as far as I know.

#

At least I'm not aware of any specific instance in official D&D lore where that's the case.

median furnace
#

Right on

calm crest
feral lintel
#

Huh, is he old in that form? I thought Fizban was the old man

jagged apex
#

at least far as i know that is the name of that one and is the name of a high ranking monk of a specific monestary and is the one depicted in the mtg cross over

jagged apex
feral lintel
#

Yeah, i know of the old man disguise as good ol Fizzy

jagged apex
#

no, the two are sperate

#

at least far as i know the generic old man one is separate from both fizban and the grand master of flowers

proud moat
#

Anyone know what (or where) Rollem is? From: A carved set of dragonchess pieces from Rollem

jagged apex
#

never heard of it

main spoke
#

Could someone give me the rundown on the lore of the underground of DnD? I know of the underdark but like how do the layers work and what are they, and where are they

jagged apex
#

what setting?

true patio
# woven moss This was the inspiration for my Warlock patron (formerly a potential PC) being a...

Nothing agianst you or your character. Truely. Have fun. I as a DM, I look at this and shake my head however. To me it reads as "Hey this setting has very specific lore. Wouldn't it be really cool if I broke that lore?" To me it's just... disrespectful and makes me sad.

Also as a DM I'd do everything in my power to confirm to my players wishes to have a special unique exception but... I'll still be sad and feel disrespected.

#

Like, intellectually I understand you don't actually want to break the lore. You're just wanting to be fresh and unique and play into the cool thing you learned about the setting.

Emotionally however... I'm a grumpy old foogy treating the lore as sacred inviable texts

true patio
true patio
true patio
#

That said this specific form only really came to be upon the printing of said card. It uses a really loose connection to the Monastery of the Yellow Rose formed during an old AD&D adventure for some reason.

#

Maybe WotC wants to say Bahamut has chosen to become the leader of that organization going forward.

#

But that'd be really weird given it's a religious organization dedicated to Illmater.

#

Like before this card it was always just Fizben and an old unnamed human who acted like a traveling Oden-esque figure.

modest badger
#

(Also, the 'Grandmaster of Flowers' was the title given to the highest level of monks in AD&D. And was, unfortunately, based on Mahjong tile sets. Which is why there isn't much solid in lore universe for why these titles in particular.)

jagged apex
#

the implication i get from it being both the title for the leader of a specific monatery and a title attributed to one of bahamut's guises, suggests to me that there is some other reason and not that he leads the monastery of the yellow rose

modest badger
#

I think the wiki confuses things here because 'Grandmaster of Flowers' was a title for a 16th Level Monk (The highest possible level). And, by AD&D rules, there could only be one at a time.

The source saying Order of the Yellow Rose uses that title is for a sourcebook for AD&D 2e. They would use that title, because that is the official level title for monks in AD&D.

The sources saying Bahamut uses the title are modern and more a reference to the him being the highest level monk possible.

It's a bit like the title 'Archdruid' or 'Great Druid'. I wouldn't put much stock in a reference now calling a character 'The Great Druid' and going 'Oh that must mean they are the head of this Circle in this setting then, because that's the title they use'.

true patio
#

Nice

#

Ultimately however we have no name for the Monk Bahamut disguise given it's so new and the only info we have is that MTG card.

#

Correct?

modest badger
#

Fizban's has one of his guises be 'A young monk' (" appearing sometimes as an elderly sage or wizard, other times as a young fisher or monk." p45) But no title or name given. And we see a picture of such on p.9 which matches the design of the MTG cards. But only the MTG cards reference him as 'Grandmaster of Flowers' and this seems more a nod to the AD&D Monk titles and granting him the highest possible title for a monk.

silk gull
#

i have questions about the ethereal plane and the border ethereal

#

with truesight you can see into the border ethereal, but what would that look like exactly

#

everythings sort of hazy and grey right?

sharp pier
#

Wait old man fizban is a dragon???? O_o

silk gull
#

you can move through walls, but can you see through them?

tepid hinge
#

Ok, so the runes from Rune Knight are based on the six main giants, the Dod rune is based on Death Giants which came from Cloud Giants and Wyrm rune is based on Giants and Dragons rivalry

Does the rest of the runes (the other 12) have any lore explanation or they kinda just exist?

jagged apex
jagged apex
jagged apex
# tepid hinge Ok, so the runes from Rune Knight are based on the six main giants, the Dod rune...

the runes are entire concepts https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Giant_language or as bigby's describes it giving us more context "When Annam created the giants, he also taught them language and gave them runes of power. These symbols are pictographs: each symbol represents a whole word or concept rather than a single letter or sound. Each rune holds latent magical power, much like the glyphs inscribed in magic circles of protection, teleportation circles, and magical traps like the glyph of warding spell. Thus, the first giants treated these runes as a sacred secret and rarely wrote them." end quote

#

they are not based on any one thing, unless that one thing is the very broad concept they are ment to represent

#

and besides the rune knights are mainly using the runes of these giants with specific context and intent behind them and are not solely tied to giants exclusively, poper rune magic is a lot more broad

#

plus on some worlds cetain lore is not the same, ike on eberron the dragons and giants did not have the iconic war against one another most other worlds have if i remember correctly

#

and even the death giants coming from cloud giants, that is but one origin, historically there are other origins that tied them to the likes of ash giants

jagged apex
#

to even do that you would have to actually be in the ethereal plane or the border ethereal or otherwise need certain spells

runic cave
#

Have there ever been any spells that were named in D&D but never printed?

autumn temple
#

Hmm. Karsus' Folly (Karsus' Avatar) actually did get a printing... twice. I'm sure there's something, but it's probably very esoteric. Namedropped in an old Dragon article or novel with no stats.

desert aspen
#

Think a few of the higher level spells

#

Most things having to do with prime Netheril

autumn temple
#

a whole bunch of those actually did get published back in second edition, there was a whole subsetting for mythic age netheril with 12th level spells and arcanists.

desert aspen
#

Idk what they mean by ‘printed’ in this context

modest badger
#

Some of the epic spells were like that, but then eventually someone had to try and stat them. Twin Cataclysms in Greyhawk setting (Rain of Colourless Fire, Invoked Devastation) shouldn't have any definite stat blocks on how they work, but there are certainly items/spells that exist now that try to do so.

desert aspen
#

I assumed anything described but not given actual stats

autumn temple
#

interesting how many of the ones we come up with are major cataclysms... the other place I was thinking of looking was some of the Dark Sun stuff the sorcerer kings got up to.

modest badger
#

Yeah I think 'Cataclysmic' magic is intended to be narrative only and you really don't want to make stats for it because then players will try for it. Like the adage 'If it has a stat block, you can kill it' but for spells it's 'You can get it'.

It's harder to think of spells that might have come up in a novel or somewhere that were either not given a name or were named but weren't an existing statted spell. Rituals can sometimes in lore also be more narrative. They sometimes get some descriptions and spells as part of them but sometimes it's more 'And the Cormanthor High Mages turned the Green Elves into Baelnorn in a never attempte before ritual'. One would assume it follows the same ritual as normal Balenorn, and we have some information for that.

Or it might be things like 'And this wizard used magic to make a spider-horse' and, for better or for worse, we are never told what magic exactly is used to merge a spider and a horse into a mount.

#

Plenty of 'A Wizard did it' explanations in D&D and if Players ask how the answer is 'Forbidden Knowledge, don't try at home'.

true patio
#

Well there's plenty of narrative magical powers expressed in the lore of monsters but not reflected on their sheets

That might be the closest to non-cataclysm "spells" I can think of

#

There's also whatever magic was used by the Valsharess to summon and bind Mephistopheles using his True Name in Neverwinter Nights.

hollow apex
#

Hey, can I ask a dumb question for you all? I've been kinda diving through older depictions of efreeti while making some tokens and wondering how you all depict them. 2e gave them blue skin, modern goes for red, devil vibes.

#

I was thinking of homebrewing some lore that different parts of the plane of fire make different hues of efreeti

calm crest
#

They appear to be almost universally red in their various depictions.

hollow apex
#

2e is what sparked this thought, in the old monster manuel art.

calm crest
#

Yes, the 2e Monstrous Manual appears to be the only exception I'm seeing.

hollow apex
#

Yeah. It might of been a flash in the pan to be honest.

#

I still think it's a cool look.

jagged apex
#

"Efreet were humanoid in appearance. They were very tall, generally reaching heights of 12 feet (3.7 meters), and massive and solid, weighing 2,000 pounds (910 kilograms). They were well-muscled, and had red or black skin that was always burning. For this reason, many resembled devils and were often mistaken for them. Their bodies were supposedly composed of basalt, bronze, and solidified fire." cited from monstrous manual of 2e

#

blue could pretty easily be seen as a possible in between that described range of red or black

#

and if you mean the 2e art that is on the forgotten realms wiki, since i heard older printings sometimes ink and colors could be tricky, much like the drow they could have been trying to depict it as having black skin but it came off looking somewhat blue at least to some people

#

and either way, for your own games, especially if homebrewing something, you don't have to bind yourself to the published lore

calm crest
#

Good points, all of those.

glossy summit
#

so... what are some ranger lore?

jagged apex
#

look at the flavor text and descriptions in the newer dmg and phb, otherwise is largely gunna be setting specific as they are the sort of person ment to keep the peace in some cases between the natural world and the civilized world

#

otherwise is too broad a question to really offer an answer if there even is one

glossy summit
#

Are there rangers in the dnd lore?

calm crest
#

Yes. Drizzt is the most famous.

glossy summit
#

I love Drizzt!

jagged apex
#

hand full of others of note in the realms

#

and yes, minsc, despite acting what you'd probably expect from a barbarian, is a ranger

glossy summit
#

Yay! more rangers to obsess over

teal rock
#

What is the lifespan of a half-vampire?

true patio
jagged apex
inner trellis
#

I have a Question about Aarakocra!

When they were first released for play in 5e (elemental evil), they were stated to only get to about 30 years of age, but in the re-release (MOM) that is no longer mentioned anywhere.
But nothing is really mentioned in the re-release about any race, so now I am wondering if that is intentional or not.
Like, is the current Aarakocra supposed to get older than 30, or not?
(And I know I can just do whatever I want, but I am just interested in the official stance :D)

feral lintel
#

The typical life span of a player character in the D&D multiverse is about a century, assuming the character doesn’t meet a violent end on an adventure. Members of some races, such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries. If typical members of a race in this book can live longer than a century, that fact is mentioned in the race’s description.

inner trellis
#

They did do that indeed. But its just a copy paste on every race, so I was wondering if this is actually real, or just.. you know..

Thanks for your answer!

worn schooner
#

Is it normal to incorporate D&D lore into player character backstories?
I just made a tiefling fighter who is the secret heir to the throne of Neverwinter based on "The Ruining" that happened to that city.

feral lintel
#

Yes. although its not really a question for this channel

jagged apex
#

not really a lore question, but yeah, if your character is from that world, it would literally be the place they live and grew up in

jagged apex
gentle scaffold
#

Besides Bahamut and Tiamat, who do you think is the strongest dragon? There is one player who say Protanther, the golden dragon in Waterdeep council from Tyranny of Dragon. Is this accurate?

feral lintel
#

probably one of the greatwyrms

gentle scaffold
#

Ok, that’s right. Protanther is one of the greatwyrm.

versed hare
clever path
jagged apex
#

else is not really something that that can accurately be answered especially when dnd has an infinite multiverse

#

but likely candidates would the oldest of gold, red, and amethyst dragons, or arguably the the most powerful time dragon who ever that may be

#

honestly is probably too subjective unless there was a formal and official statement on the matter

pallid flower
#

Additionally, there are lairs, minions, ability to revive, and more that can be accounted for

fluid atlas
#

Is Asmodeus a baatezu?

calm crest
#

Yes, probably. He is the god and master of all Baatezu, but his origin is shrouded in lies and mystery.

eternal arrow
#

Does anyone know some lore on harpys?

jagged apex
# eternal arrow Does anyone know some lore on harpys?

to quote their latest setting agnostic lore "Hate-filled creatures, harpies strive to cause pain and bring an end to love and life. These monsters combine humanlike features with the talons and wings of avian scavengers. Their notorious songs compel listeners to follow them, heedless of danger. Creatures captivated by a harpy’s song frequently meet their deaths on harpies’ vicious claws or amid natural perils.
Harpies dwell in remote, dismal places tainted by tragedy and despair. Some tales claim harpies offended the gods and were transformed as a punishment; harpies might also be the descendants of such cursed souls.
Every harpy sings a distinct song. While some songs are said to be heartbreaking in their beauty, others are wretched squawking and compel only the magically enthralled." end quote

buoyant mulch
#

Hellooo

#

Anyone know what is the lore of centaurs in D&D? I want to play one.

feral lintel
#

what setting?

sterile breach
buoyant mulch
# feral lintel what setting?

I don't know, I don't know when I'm going to play her. I do know that she is an former racer, her coat is red chestnut and out of every horse breed she mostly resembles an English thoroughbred. And she gets annoyed easily 😠

#

That's her face when she's annoyed ^

buoyant mulch
feral lintel
#

The 2024 MM has this to say:

Centaurs are defenders of forests, plains, and sites of primeval power. With upper bodies like humans’ and the lower bodies of horses, centaurs charge into battle against those who would harm their allies.

buoyant mulch
#

Their large bodies are clearly not built to live in forests, as it would be hard for them to maneuver around trees. It would also be hard for them to run in the forest.

feral lintel
#

DnD isnt trying to be realistic

buoyant mulch
#

It would be very hard for their large bodies to maneuver or run around trees

feral lintel
#

If were gonna be realistic, dragons arent going to be able to fly

buoyant mulch
#

Besides, horses, which is what most of their body resembles, evolved to live in plains and their body reflects that

feral lintel
silver sphinx
buoyant mulch
#

Alright alright

silver sphinx
#

Your centaur can live on the plains though, your character doesnt have to be an exact representative of your race

feral lintel
#

Thats also talking about a specific group who lived in a certain forest

silver sphinx
buoyant mulch
#

We're still talking about lore, aren't we?

feral lintel
#

In the 1200s DR, a plague affected the numerous centaurs in the Cormanthor forest, causing their left hind leg to become three inches (7.5 cm) shorter than the others, and, as a result, they could not easily escape from predators such as dragons. The elves and halflings of the forest refused to help, fearing that the dragons would turn on them too.[14]

buoyant mulch
#

I see now

feral lintel
buoyant mulch
#

Isn't Forgotten Realms official?

feral lintel
#

Yes.

silver sphinx
buoyant mulch
stoic rain
#

Is there any accessible lore for me to read about individuals enslaving/using elementals to do their bidding?

feral lintel
#

theres a lot of that in lore, might be worth to check out the Elemental Planes, Azers, or Genies

stoic rain
unkempt merlin
#

Its the entire concept behind elemental binding in eberron

vestal basin
feral lintel
#

Are there yugoloth equivalents to the Demon Lords or Archdevils?

jagged apex
deft mist
#

How are planescape and spelljammer connected?

glossy summit
#

I love spelljammer and barrier peaks! um... idk but i think theyre in the multiverse. I will allow others to answer

calm crest
#

Spelljammer, as of the 5e continuity, is based out of the Prime Material and Astral Planes. Planescape is based out of Sigil, but features the outer planes heavily.

jagged apex
#

this is even accurate with the 2e iterations, since it gets the major points across despite the chances to the cosmology between editions

#

there are basically 2 non-traditional settings that are used as much as a means of connecting the various parts of the dnd multiverse as they are being a campaign setting

true patio
jagged apex
#

they are just more directly connected in 5e

#

also the astral plane and astral sea were already interchangeable last i checked so it didn't really turn into the astral sea cuz it already was, unless i am mistaken

true patio
#

The astral sea was just another name for the astral plane

#

Were they connected? 100%. Could a spelljammer go to another plane of existence unaided? Not normally no. You'd have to have found a (usually very rare) portal to do that. The default was to have the spelljamming wizard cast Planeshift instead.

calm crest
#

Is the demonym for Krynn’s Holy Empire of Istar “Istaran” or “Istarian”? Does one refer to the empire as a whole and the other to the capital city specifically, or are both just used interchangeably?

jagged apex
#

best i can think is to use your best guess or see if you can reach out to the original setting writer and if they are willing to answer your question

jagged apex
calm crest
#

I'd noticed that the 5e continuity exclusively uses "Istarian," while 2e seems to use both, with a preference for "Istaran."

jagged apex
#

could be a product of it's time where such things were not well understood when trying to depict different cultures, even fictional

calm crest
#

Well, my best guess is just inconsistent editing.

jagged apex
#

eh, potato patato 😛

modest badger
#

I think in this case more likely that different writers went with different spellings- similar to how we got 'Lolth' and 'Lloth', because Salvadore misremembered the spelling, so went with it being a regional dialect.

-an and -ian are the same suffix from Latin roots (Roman, Norwegian, American).

It doesn't really lend itself to one culture too much:

  • ish/ch is germanic (irish, Scottish, English, French, Dutch)- Tends to evoke a connection to Europe.
  • -ese is romantic but more used in Portuguese and words loaned from it (Japanese, Chinese). As such tends to evoke an Eastern feel.
  • -i is more a conflation of Semetic and Persian (Hindi, Pakistani). So evokes more a connection to Middle Eastern cultures.
  • -ite is Greek in origin. Typically evokes an older, historical feeling.

-ian/an then is one of the more neutral suffixes to chose for a demonym.

In universe of course there isn't really these etymologies, and it's likely to just be what the writer is trying to evoke/ thinks sounds better. 5e exclusively using Istarian sounds like that is now the current official term.

fading oasis
stoic rain
#

How common are owl bears? would teh average farmer know what they are? (assuming its in a region they live)

vestal basin
unkempt merlin
#

Depends on the setting overall though

jagged apex
jagged apex
#

to quote some of their newest setting agnostic lore "Created long ago by misguided mages, owlbears combine keen avian eyes, thick feathers, and a tearing beak with a mighty bearlike frame. Despite their magical origins, owlbears have propagated and spread to wildernesses across the multiverse.
Owlbears dwell in distinctive dens....
... Owlbears are tenacious hunters that might track prey over miles and rarely give up their hunts." end quote

true patio
#

Yes/no. They're known for being aggressive but not "kill everything in my area" aggressive. Their demeanor is closer to "Look for food like a bear, give no Fs about anything else. I will start and end every fight I have to." If the Farmer doesn't try and be a hero to save the cow the damned thing just grabbed then he'll be fine even if his barn has a hole in the wall now.

#

They're sort of like honey badgers but with the size and strength of a bear.

#

Treat them with the respect you'd give a polar bear and you'll probably be fine... probably...

jagged apex
#

to my knowledge they also in lore historically are known to be able to snap the trunks of trees with a solid bear hug, which i just find neat cuz you'd probably assume you are safe if you can get up a tree

true patio
#

100%

stoic rain
#

im asking because a farmer is going to be giving a description of an animal that has taken over his northern field/woods. I dont know if I should describe it as an "owlbear" or some large monster and hand the playuers a doodle of an owlbeaer

#

bear**

#

right now this is what im going with.... Iget this is more a DM question butt its abotu presenting lore.... soo yeah lore channel

#

"There’s a monster taken to my north field. A hulking… thing, bigger’n any beast I ever laid eyes on. It don’t roam much… just stands there in the crops most the day, soakin’ up the sun like it owns the land. The cows won’t graze, the goats keep bleatin’, and the soil’s all trampled where it sits.

Come nightfall it starts movin’ hootin’ and snarlin’, tearin’ at fences and pens. I don’t set foot outside after dark, not with them eyes burnin’ red out in the fields. Lost stock already, and I’ll lose more if this keeps on. I beg the Hunters’ Guild. Rid me of this beast ‘fore it ruins my farm."

#

in this form

crimson echo
#

Does the Deck of Many Things have lore? Like how is a set created?

autumn temple
#

It got a big pile of lore in the new(ish) book, including info on its creation. I don't have a copy to reference unfortunately.

stoic rain
autumn temple
crimson echo
jagged apex
jagged apex
#

plus they are size large, the newer primeval owlbears, they are literally size category huge to quote their setting agnostic lore "Ancient forests and Feywild demesnes steeped in magic can give rise to particularly large and vicious owlbears. These primeval specimens can fly—albeit poorly—and emit thunderous screeches that can rattle foes and even tear them asunder." end quote

#

so yeah, an owlbear is bad enough for a normal person in most settings to deal with, but it can be even worse/more dangerous than even that even on average since there are also primeval owlbears

stoic rain
#

its why we use it for building. its weight to compression strength is amazing

tepid hinge
#

Are most Giants dumb brutes or is that only true for Hill Giants?

calm crest
#

Most true giants are of human intelligence or greater.

tepid hinge
#

True Giant like, one of the main 6 types?

calm crest
#

One of the six with “Giant” in the name, yes.

tepid hinge
#

Hill Giant (2025 at least) has an Int of 5 though

#

Isn't the average for humans like 8 or 10?

autumn temple
#

Average human stat is ~10. Hill giants are the only low outlier. Storm giants are notably intelligent, and the rest fall in the 9-12 range. At least for average examples of their species.