#dnd-lore
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2e had them as quasi-accidental in a lot of cases. And weirdly, positive infused. It was supposedly why they were resistant to turning. They weren't 'undead' strictly speaking, the ancient dead were like a weird not-life
Yeah, the positive energy typo meant for some interesting lore implications, making AD&D mummies essentially 3.5 Undying years earlier.
Thematically it kinda makes sense that positive energy would rapidly empower the leprosy bacteria for its deadly touch.
The old untyped creature days were kinda fun because you'd have people arguing over whether something was 'undead' or just a monster
Like Devourers
Baelnorns too, the elven guardian lich things
yeah but those are less obscure, hence why instead i mentioned the Archliches
Does make me think of all of the 'not-actually-undead' monsters
Like the adherers
Who just LOOK like mummies
Not to mention pseudo-undead, which also look like undead.
-# I once ran a pyramid dungeon crawl where the upper levels had been taken over by pseudo-mummies who used adherers as guard dogs.
Is there an equivalent of how the feywild has fey to the shadowfell having a native creature type or something? Sorry if the question doesn’t make sense
Not really. There are many Undead associated with it, but also shades (Shadowfell-touched Humanoids) and sorrowsworn (Monstrosities that embody the negative emotions of the realm).
Sorrowsworn are probably closest as embodiments of the plane, but spells generally most closely associate it with Undead.
It also has more shadow-touched beings like shadow dragons (which are Dragons) and shadar-kai (which are Humanoids or Fey).
This is likely due to the fact that 4e essentially combined the Demiplane of Shadow, the Demiplane of Dread, the Demiplane of Moil, and a few other ideas into the Shadowfell rather than it being more or less a continuation of the Plane of Faerie like the Feywild is.
So it has less of a cohesive identity.
Interesting
What contributions have Vampires made to Faerun? I'm thinking a zealous god who came into power erased vampires on a conceptual level (aka vampires never existed)
But what would be lost if vampires never existed?
people would definitley be confused and surpised at the disappearance of Shulgi, may even draw the attention of his patron deity, Mask
he was how ever one of the less evil vampires, relatively speaking at least
Sorry I mean like a faerun where vampires had never existed, not that they ceased to exist
honestly a deity doing such a thing successfully would be unlikely in the realms, but they certainly could make the attempt
Like if the concept of dragons never existed, there would be no kobolods, dragonborn or advanced air defense systems
your guess is as good as anyone else's, vampires have been around for a long time and what is on the wiki is just what is known by some in universe sages
Because dragons were the necessity that prompted these inventions
not really
Yeah I'm trying to think of why this entity would try to make a world such as this and their justifications for doing so
the dragonborn, would be more tied to the existance of draconic life, but kobolds and advanced air defenses not so much
Like with more depth than just "oh I hate vampires"
besides even in the attempt they would not retroactively remove vampires from the setting, just cuz gods in dnd exist beyond linear time does not mean they can just change the past how ever they wish
You’re all good.
Anyway
Sorry I crashed this convo, what were you taling about? Im sure its interesting
Just what a world without vampires would look like if they were retroactively erased
0the more important thing to be thinking about is what kind of world devoid of vampires are they trying to make, not "what if they never existed" those are two entirely different questions
not.. much better.
Like if thirst as a concept was erased, drinking culture wouldn't be as significant
Since alcohol used to be a way to hydrate yourself safely
concepts in dnd lore don't just "get erased"
Unless the luminous being pulls out the red stamp.
and if you are using real world history and that to make some of these assumptions, you shouldn't as that is flawed logic
I'm thinking "what if they never existed" not "what if we killed them all" for this person's worldview
they wouldn't really know
its way easier to kill vampires in 2024
True I just wanted to provide a similar analogy for this situation
True but consider this guy is a hater of the highest degree
Fair enough if it's difficult to pinpoint I'll probably just have to logic it out
By assuming all notable vampires don't exist and just subtract a good amount of their contributions to society
Right okay this guy is a professional umbracist and he wants to like purge all vampirism.
Yes and since as long as a concept exists, it may come back, he wants to purge the idea itself
Like there'll almost certainly be some guy who's like "I wanna bring back vampires"
at most they may remember a time before vampires came into existence, but that is different and to my knowledge we don't have any one singular sort of answer to such a hyper specific question, if you want to even hope for such an action, i suggest asking the creator of the forgotten realms setting, which includes the world of toril and it's continent of faerun, Ed greenwood, via twitter/X or something
though if you ask me there is no real point to trying to figure out such a difficult thing unless you are explicitly trying try to make a version of the forgotten realms where vampires never came into existence
Fair I think I can have the entity's thought process be a little more shallow
shallowness has nothing to do with it
I mean shallow as in he doesn't explain his reasoning as deeply
vampires are undead predators and thus unnatural in nature and hostile to life like most undead, for a god especially one tied to things not rooted in evil, undead, or necromancy that is plenty of reason
gods and equally powerful entities are not ment to be judged by mortal standards, they function beyond what mortals as people do
most mortals who have become deities had to abandon their "humanity" for lack of a better term to actually do their duties as a god more effectively and properly, the exception to this mainly being the dead 3 which to my knowledge are the only mortals turned deities in the realms that still think and opperate much like just really powerful mortals
and gods like kelevor have clear dislike for undead in general, not just vampires
Do spell level system exist in lore? Or the spells are learnt based on their difficulty?
not to my knowledge, i could be wrong though, but stuff that was above 9th level in the realms was known in universe as high/epic magic
and besides to my knowledge there is not even any sort of universal standardized education in dnd, let alone specifically for magic, and such info would at best be dependant on the setting in question
Hi so I have a question
go on
Sooo i am reading about the tiefling I have 5.5 edition so yea im new and I was seeing that they are humanoid creatures of fiendish parts yada yada so im confused were they born into it or they made a deal with a devel type thing to become a tiefling
Like i am confused
In 5e/5.5e, it's more or less a matter of ancestry: somewhere along the line, a fiend and some other species produced offspring.
Ohh ok
they can be either
Or you became “irradiated” by the energies of a Lower Plane, so to speak.
and also neither, as they could be also exposed to extra planar energies, in this case those of the lower planes
and this is nothing new lore wise, it has been in the lore for a long while now
Im still new to dnd I got into it from the hit game bg3 mainly cuz of karlach
they much like their celestial counter parts, the Aasimar, are what it known as planetouched
tieflings sadly often get unfairly treated do to assumptions people tend to have on their nature, which are not even correct to be clear, similar to half-orcs, but possibly even worse
The tiefling entry on the Forgotten Realms wiki: https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Tiefling
the 5.5e stuff in the core books is basically setting agnostic, the lore that is not bound to any specific setting, as the lore of specific settings can change the context of something drastically
for example how orcs are seen in the forgotten realms and similar settings compared to the likes of the eberron setting
for context, bg3 is set in the forgotten realms setting
and largely sticts to the established lore pretty well with minor deviations
Ahhh
So let's say for forgotten realms the people there are really (im not a Yulazd trying not to get [redacted] or [data expunged] from here use lingo jam dnd abyss translator the upcoming parts) Zi as dtx puy yxuqkz kizd yulx uyx yulazdz dinuywz daxpqasf
Yeah I use abyss language to try to be pg 13
well i have no idea what you are saying
I will note that Rule 7 of this server is that you must send all messages in English.
None of that is words
If for some reason you want to hide text, just use the spoiler tags
also, can't really expect a response if nobody knows what you are saying
So they don't say "i cast 4th level spell" and such
They don't have concept of level in spells in lore?
Some cultures, such as the Netherese, certainly seem to be aware of certain levels of spells.
yeah levels in regards to spells rarely if ever come up in the lore, honestly i was not even aware of the instance thanazrael pointed out
usually if you say anything when casting spell it is an arcane word for the verbal component, Ed Greenwood did a while back cover some popular incantations for some in the realms for some iconic spells, such as magic missile, fireball, and lighting bolt https://youtu.be/qE26csUK1Ic?si=NFafvh4YSKRKOnK6
he also describes the effects of the spells in detail, my favorite such details is regarding magic missile, so much more subtle yet brutal than one typically assumes form the game mechanics
an even then, i'd imagine it was arbitrary and determined by their system and teachings for magic that just happen to match the levels in game mechanics
Ah so basically spell scaling is similar to Skyrim (game) in DnD lore than the game mechanics in DnD itself?
They can cast it as many time they can as long as they have the mana?
No mana in DnD RAW, Vancian magic instead
It...varies how it's described in the fiction. The original inspiration comes from the works of Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories from...the 70s I think?
1950, actually.
Thanks!
Eyes of the Overworld was 1966, thus also predating OD&D, but it doesn’t focus as much on fire-and-forget magic as the original collection of short stories.
And Cugel’s Saga and Rhialto the Marvelous wouldn’t have come out until the 80s, well into the 1e era and used that system even less, with the final book focusing on sandestins as the main form of casting for accomplished magicians (essentially Wish magic using demons/genies).
Eyes of the Overworld as well as Leiber’s The Unholy Grail are the sources for thiefly types being able to cast from scrolls in D&D.
I'd be OK with some bound outsider magic in my D&D. I guess that's kinda the Warlock
Traditionally, (although this has been deemphasized with 5e’s spell slots,) a magic-user memorizes spells through special mental exercises each day, and the process of releasing a memorized spell is so taxing that it is immediately forgotten after performing the magic (thus necessitating further rememorizing).
certain spells are just known to be more powerful or use a lot more magic than others, rarely if ever will you see it reffer to in universe by mechanical terms like classes or spell levels
We also know that on Aelos, an alternate world in the Mystaran multiverse from module CM6, they are aware of spell levels, as the library of all magic there is sorted by spell level.
(Which seems to imply generally that BECMI characters are supposed to be aware of spell levels.)
found it on the realms wiki, https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Spell#Classifications but keep in mind this is specifically within the context of the forgotten realms setting, other settings may differ and such info would be setting speciifc lore
so at least in the realms, you'd hear them as being tied to circles of magic, rather than levels
higher level equals higher numbered and thus more complex circle of magic, if using that termanology
and as the note on the wiki points out "The term "circle of magic" serves as an in-universe equivalent to the mechanical term "spell level"."
so for example a 9th level fireball would likely be called a "fireball of the 9th" or something to that effect
-# So I did remember correctly that Circles are the canonical terms!
yep, at least we know this to be the case in the realms, other settings is debatable at best far as i know
Hmm i will look into it m. Thanks
Although in the time of Netheril, arcane magic was based on the number of Arcs expended rather than the memorization of spells (essentially a mana system) before Karsus ruined the Weave.
yeah but magic and how it works, especially on toril, has changed since then, so unless you time traveled to before karsus' folly such a system would be obsolute and not helpful at all XD
(I only bring it up as chronomancy has been expressly revived in 2024 via the new FR sourcebook.)
yeah, long story short, before the event in the realms history known as "karsus' folly" and the outcome of that event, magic on toril and how one used it worked fundamentally differently compared to modern times, is why you had terms like arcanist instead of wizard usually when reffering to casters of the arcane nature
i honestly kind of softly considered it revived once exandria content focused on it, treating the term used in that book as simply the in universe official term of that setting, like it was what was agreed upon by the most respected mages, kind of like when coining the term or name for something new in science in our own world, nice to know a more direct and formal first party source has confirmed the return of such magics
This is a lot to take in
TL;DR it depends on the campaign setting
and the time period of said setting
cuz as thanazrael pointed out, during the time of the netherese empire they had a different classification system that was presumably the most popular on toril at the time
Hmm so circles of magic for forgotten realms in current age?
yep
or well, the most recent era, as technically even the latest points we know of in the timeline are past tense, is weird, but for simplicity you could call it the current age, ie the 1500s DR
i believe the current books take place in 1501 DR to be precise if i am not mistaken
Is Vecna still like canonically in the entities realm from the game “Dead by Daylight”?
he is and he is also not
I do know that like in lore he IS supposed to like leave and/or conquer the realm
Also lemme guess it’s because of like part of him still being outside the realm (phylactery stuff I think?)
its due to him being a god
Oh right
that is a separate continuity and seperate itteration of Vecna
more likely because of him being a god, at best the entity snagged and trapped an avatar
but meta wise it is more so because it is a seperate continuity and version of him
dnd has always had multiple continuities, not everything is shared between 1 universe to another
it does not make either of them any worse
they are connected, just not in the way you thought
i will admit i know little about the lore of "dead by daylight" but from what little i know, vecna is both too old, powerful, and skilled in magic that that entity could hold him, especially with the situation being very similar to the time to dark powers held him captive in the domains of dread and he escaped that long ago
plus when you cross universes and continuities often time becomes near meaningless, especially since in dnd gods already exist beyond linear time
Unfortunately they don't allow pics in this server but in level 22 Dungeon of the mad mage, there exists these weird orbs in every room
What the heck are they???
have you read the book?
cuz it likely has some description somewhere, so i'd make sure you did not over look it first
Do you mean the 40-foot tall pillars in most rooms?
well they said "wierd orbs" does not sound like a pillar to me
I have not, no. I'm just stealing a dungeon level from them for my own campaign
There's 38 different orbs in just T2 of Shadowhusk
still seems worth reading, especially if wanting to know what they are if the info is potentially right there
Like I doubt it's pillars since some of them are just like...in the middle of hallways
If you’re referring to the circles on the map, they are explicitly support pillars for the vaulted ceilings.
That’s why they’re a bunch of circles colored the same as the walls and often in the middle of hallways or outlining a room.
Where do werewolves go when they die
same place as any other mortal
the is no "werewolf only" afterlife
certain gods in some settings may claim their souls though do to being associated with werewolves, for example in the realms we have selune for good lycanthropes and malar for evil lycanthropes
werewolves are a specific kind of lycanthrope, which in dnd despite what it means in the real world is a general category of werecreatures who's natural forms are some kind of humanoid
So, may I ask any lore about clerics?
So....I watched this documentary that exposed the false prophet and cult leaders, which would inspire the new background draft for my PC
Can Cleric do whatever these faithful healers do for real?
was it dnd specific?
if the documentary was not speciifcally clerics in dnd, then it basically holds no value
but yeah, clerics can heal people, healing magic is rather common among clerics
i suggest you read the class, flavor text, mechanics, the whole nine yards, as these things are more or less answered, especially with the newer setting agnostic books
I mean, curing cancer, making the blind people see, making the paralyzed people walk and even resurrecting the death. Can they do that?
In D&D game mechanics yes. As for documented official D&D lore about clerics... I can't think of anything beyond "it's just been a part of the game ever since there was a "healing" class."
yes, there are spells that can do that, which clerics get access to typically, but it is not necessarily gunna be like the stuff you are probably thinking, read the class and lore in the books first, get a grasp of the basics, then go from there
is a lot more productive and time saving in the long run vs just asking every possible little question based off a similar trope or archetype in media
What other books can I read beside the PHB?
a lot of other cleric lore is gunna be setting specific and range from mechanics and adventures to novels and other media
like i said, just worry about the basics first, odds are a lot of your questions will be answered from that
not every single subject is gunna have books upon books upon books to read, plus depending on the edition some may not even be relevant
In the Dragonlance novels there is Goldmoon, a barbarian princess with a mysterious magical staff, seeking clerics to explain the lost gods. The character has a lot of cleric flavor if you're looking for how some D&D media portrays them.
So, in a basic D&D setting....what makes a cleric a fraud?
My PC has a past enemy who is a cleric
Well, I guess I need a lot of brainstorming if I wanna align my PC backstory to any basic D&D setting
there are clerics of good and evil deities, they are not "frauds" like i said, that documentary has nothing to do with dnd, so has little to no relevants to a cleric in dnd
setting agnostic lore, that is the term you want
dnd has not had a "basic setting" or one singular one for a long time
and a lot of setting specific lore can change or be the same from a case by case basis, so if wanting to be able to fit into most settings as easily as possible focus on sourcebooks and info that is known to be setting agnostic, like the 2024 core books for example
not as much as you might think, your main issue is you are trying to do it all at once, without just learning the basic context of what a cleric in dnd is
?tag new cleric
Cleric
Invoke divine magic to heal, bolster, and smite
Clerics draw power from the realms of the gods and harness it to work miracles. Blessed by a deity, a pantheon, or another immortal entity, a Cleric can reach out to the divine magic of the Outer Planes—where gods dwell—and channel it to bolster people and battle foes.
-# Suggested Standard Array assignment
Str. 14
Dex. 8
Con. 13
Int. 10
Wis. 15
Cha. 12
Likes: Gods
Complexity: Average
Starting HP: 8 + Con. modifier
"Clerics draw power from the realms of the gods and harness it to work miracles."
^ If they are a cleric, they do that.
If they are fraudulent... then they pretend to do that.
and in some settings like eberron, it is less the gods, as unlike most settings the gods are not confirmed entities that factually exist, so they work more so in serivce of devotion to philosophies and principles than conventional deities
So, in other words....my PC backstory doesn't need to be strictly aligned with the material?
which is a valid take on a cleric for your games unless your dm specifically says otherwise but that is beyond the purpose of this channel
Well, we have much freedom
Even one of my friend's PCs come from Middle Ages
Great - but here in this channel we discuss official D&D lore from official sources
Oh, sorry. I guess I've been off the rail
Anyway, may I know what is basically Errebor?
I know it's the birthplace of Warforged
your backstory will be hyper dependant on the setting and the game they are being played in, which you work with your dm, as well as the whole shared narrative of a dnd campaign, this channel is for what is written in published lore and materials, for your own character, you want #character-discussion
eberron is a sepcifc setting with a selfcontained cosmology that is hidden a way and cut off from the rest of the multiverse
it has it's own rules of things like divine magic, it's own planes of existance, where as most other published settings share the same cosmology that makes up the various layers of dnd's multiverse
if you wanna know specifics, i suggest either exploring and reading the eberron wiki, watching lore videos on the setting and it's lore, or reading the eberron specific sourcebooks for which ever edition you are gunna be playing in
Speaking of multiverse, how vast is Multiverse in D&D?
vast
There’s not an exact number of worlds
infinite
the number of material planes is functionally infinite
and the likes of the outer planes are infinite if not near infinite in scale, and that is without counting multiple timelines, continuities, ect...
also the outer planes are basically metaphysical realms tied to combinations of alignments based on mortal believes and philosophies and are basically "the afterlife" collectively in dnd
there's different cosmology models across different editions which includes the material plane(s)
the outer planes, which are the realms of gods, devils, demons, and any number of otherworldly beings
the inner planes, which are composed of the elements & energies which make the multiverse (elemental planes, etc)
the far realm & beyond, which exist outside of everything else
the Planescape setting covers a lot of the non-material planes and is quite fascinating
again, i suggest just reading the core books espeically the newer setting agnostic ones, as it has a whole chapter decicated to explaining the core basics of the multiverse, ways to travel it, including between different planes of existance and not just different worlds, ect...
just elemental planes, these days, they really only contain more than those and the various combinations of elemental planes in 2e and older cosmologies
yeah the older editions have a wealth of books and info on all those extra planes
i like to think they still exist in my own personal headcanon for the cosmology
but each edition much like it each form of media, is it's own continuity
is just the editions semi lead into each other, newer editions going further in the timeline generally, but some specific details may differ from continuity to continuity
they had a whole article a while back that explained the whole continuity thing, but is way harder to find if at all possible these days for what ever reason
but just try to keep in mind that as far as your table is concerned, that is it's own continuity and regardless if you are using an established setting or not, that is your table's own version and is only as bound to the published lore as the dm and the players at said table force it to be, again this channel is simply what is and what isn't published in the lore they put and sell in things like adventures and sourcebooks
Sorry I know it's been 2 hours but does this make it into difficult terrain or something?
that is more of a rules question, but unless they are smashed to rubble or have certain spells emanating from them, there is no reason to believe they do
Ah gotcha. Must just be for cover then
unless said otherwise, they are just pillars so the room in the dungeon does not collapse and cave in
Yeah that's what I assumed but wanted to make sure since I don't have experience with that module
I'm making the entire map in Dungeondraft for reflavouring so it's a fun ride to guess their intent
well it can be used for cover, but as far as the in universe construction is concerned, it is just to allow the room to exist without the weight of everything above ground crashing through and crushing the entire contents of the room
they are just pillars, if you wanna sup them up in some way that is up to you
the owner of the dungeon may be known as "the mad mage" but being insane does not mean every little thing in his dungeon is some rediculous or convoluted trap, contraption, or what have you
||Its mostly empty rooms... Halaster really needs to populate rooms with more traps||
honestly, i'd say he needs a therapist or something more XD
but then who would populate and restock teh dungeon for adventurers
the intern
too busy ripping themselves apart
a less insane halister
pretty sure he was still operating out of it before he went mad
... i should have him go to therapy for my Mad Mage game.
that makes me realize, i have no idea if the realms even has the concept of "therapy" as a normal thing
i mean given he is insane and lives in a massive underground dungeon, i doubt he'd go to such a thing of his own free will even if they did have such a thing
plus he is a powerful mage, so there is the risk he'll just fireball or lightning bolt, or what have you his would be therapist if he gets annoyed or feels insulted
How does one travel from a universe into another?
generally by way of spells like Plane Shift or Gate
the former of which requires a specific item that acts as a 'key' to that plane, the latter requires a very expensive component (5000gp diamond)
there's also pre-existing portals in some planes which go places, those are up to the DM and can be setting-specific
Also kinda depends on what you mean by “universe.”
in some settings there's also Spelljammers, which are specialized ships capable of traveling through the Astral Plane, a vast void-like infinite expanse that exists between planes
some magic items may also be able to provide transport, such as the legendary item 'Cubic Gate'
If Xanathar can have an accountant, Halaster can have a therapist 😅
Can mimics change shape over time to fit different needs
what do you mean? mimics don't do things for any needs besides trying to get their next meal
and they are natural shapeshifters but in the lore their shapeshifting is a bit more limited than the game mechanics may lead you to believe
like far as i am aware your question does not make any real sense, so potentially need more context, else you may be misunderstanding some of the published lore, or potentially confusing it with someone's homebrew
It’s possible they mean the DM’s needs. Mechanically of course the answer is clearly YES considering it says so right in the stat block. But I’ll leave any lore related reasoning to Scarletsteam
well this is the channel for published lore, if speaking mechanics or a dm sepcific thing i'd ask in either #dnd-rules or #dm-discussion
Revivify
-# 3rd Level
You touch a creature-
wait a creature? not a humanoid? why is the restriction on who you can cast spells on so arbitrary? like this third level spell can be cast on any creature at all, but I can't cast hold person on a cat because they are not a person? ridiculous who made up these rules in lore.
"yes you can revive a dragon, but you can not hold the dragon still, even if the dragon IS SHAPED LIKE A PERSON, their still not one."
like is this even a lore thing who made these spells? did they do this one purpose? like do creature types matter for spells like this (hold person)? it just makes no sense to me, of course I know why like duh but also is this justified, I feel like in cases where a dragon changes to look like a human their should be consequences for that action they litirally get to have their cake and eat it to, they are treated like a dragon when they are a human, it just makes no sense really why would a dragon ever stay in their dragon form if they could still kick our butt in human form and keep most of their advantages, while being a smaller target? atleast that's what seth can do I don't know to much about other dragons lol.
hold person as the name suggests is specifically designed for holding humanoids
and yes there is lore behind the creation of spells, revivify it made no sense lore wise for it to be limited to humanoids
so what is the lore?
But these rules are not lore, they are gameplay mechanics
Hold Person is 2nd level while Hold Monster is 5th level
in ADND 1e Raise dead, the lowest level spell for raising a fallen charicter does specify races, and you cant raise an elf with it just human dwarf halfling gnome and half elf
i thought it was 4th level?
nope, hold monster is 5th level
Hold Monster allows you to target every creature type (except Undead in 2014, but that got removed in 2024)
yeah and there was no lore reason for the change even within 5e
i see.
Idk man it's a spell, there like thousands upon thousands spells in the DnD lore and more are being created by people every day, it just seems like the one we players can use are certain spells with certain restrictions
Is the redwood scar mystara? Where does it fit on the DA module timeline?
Nor half-orcs nor orcs, as those—along with elves—have spirits rather than souls.
Other than the DA series, the other stuff written for Blackmoor technically isn’t the same continuity as the Mystaran version of the setting. Arneson’s original Blackmoor is strictly different than both the BD&D (Mystaran) and AD&D (Oerthic) Blackmoors.
Makes sense, I assume its just the generic "blackmoor" setting
Is there any inherent continuity breaks fitting it in?
I’ll admit I’m not familiar with it, other than knowing it’s third party, I believe.
sounds like the kind of situation where you definitely should embrace the fact that one's own table is considered their own continuity
Is there a term (that isnt smallfolk) used to refer to the humanoid species of FR, much like how we have the word humankind?
many, usually their species
but if you mean version of like "mankind" but applicable to all humanoids, not to my knowledge
eh, if being something like a dragon or an extra planar being, mortals works well enough
small or little folk is more so only used to my knowledge when giants are reffering to the smaller races
So ive heard that lathander isnt as good of a god that he seems to be, could someone explain
depends what you mean by "good of a god"
if you mean his rather extreme and violent attempt to reshape the faerunian pantheon, this is likely do to the flaws he possesses that can have him do horrible things in the name of good, which are not necessarily justified https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Lathander#Personality
like being a good aligned deity does not make you infallible in your pursuit of that good, nobody is infallible, even the gods
if that is not what you mean, you will have to clerify what exactly you mean as it is otherwise a rather vague statement
Hullo there!
I got 3 topics of questions I’d love any help about. I’m asking about lore from the DM perspective and I’m curious how much I can do while keeping things really engaging and interesting for others.
I don't know if I would call it "horrible" Lathander is CG, he did something rash and stupid with good intent, which is pretty much CG right there
Are you asking how much of a lore dump you can do at a time ? That depends on how exactly you do the exposition
- As of the last two days, I learned that the patron of Warlock are more like a master/teacher to a warlock. For about a year now I was under the impression that Patrons literally give a portion of their powers/bestow it to their warlocks, which I now realise is how Clerics work not warlock. Even got that one interview where the DND writers mention how patron and warlock are like a master apprentice, except for payment they are pretty strict on what they want and they should be powerful enough to bind the warlock into ensuring payment, which is where the fiends find themselves most interested in. But overall this allows for more personal along with lots of other relationships with the patron and warlock.
But my question is, doesn’t that mean any powerful being who can “teach magic” and “enforce the contractual payment” can be a warlock? Including an arch mage, or even a powerful wizard, a lesser deity like Milil, a Fey (not archfey), etc.? And essentially the patron either teaches the Warlock how to do certain things (spells) or how to find the knowledge of how to do things?
So it can be anyone at least thematically and in terms of flavour?
- Tieflings are said to be from humans. But what happens if a cambion mates with a Drow, Elf, halfling or even dwarf? Perhaps the mating is part of the contract or they get their blood cursed by a contact done before.
Basically I’ve read of Fey’ri but it seems they’re more an older edition thing so what of 5.5e/revised 5e? What happens to non human and fiendish combinations? Are they also tieflings?
- Lastly, I’m a bit confused on how powerful Fey being can be and if it stops them from wandering the Material Plane. Can Titania, should she want, freely wander the Material Plane without using avatars or such? Or do they have rules similar to Gods?
he literally attempted to remake the faerunian pantheon in his own image and killed several gods, the attempt was even described as ill fated
and yes, he did do what he felt was right, as a chaotic good being tends to do, but he was willing to break the status quo with no valid reason but selfish goals and willing to kill his fellow gods to do it, that is pretty horrible if you ask me
Ill fated just means it wasn't going to work. Again, rash and stupid, not evil. Gods ended up dying, but he didn't actually kill them, theres a difference
a contract like payment is not entirely required, the relationship between warlock and patron can vary, but yyes milil can have warlocks, is just to my knowledge not known to have happened in published lore
Does that not mean the he becomes more chaotic even evil to an extent if he’s self serving?
alignment is a spectrum
Ah thank you so it is indeed a much more flexible relationship?
Tbh I understand how alignment can help with foundations but I feel a lot of more established characters shouldn’t have alignments because people change over time
... alignment can change tho
no it says he killed them, and at least one he indirectly destroyed, Helm's lover, Murdane
besides being good aligned does not make him infallible or his actions justified or morally correct
citation, please
3.5e's faith and pantheons page 38
Mystra continues to be called neutral but her activities so far often becomes selfish, even has nothing to do with magic. I guess to me it’s just confusing why put labels if the labels are going to change story to story
granted it does point to shar corrupting his efforts, but he could not do that had he not had similar plans to begin with, and he is described as having somewhat naivity towards evil deities such as bane and them, they are just as important as he is among the various gods of realm space
true neutral is about whats best for the individual...
and alignment is descriptive, not prescriptive
I cannot find anything on that page that says Lathander killed anyone, just as you said that he indirectly (meaning not him) destroyed Murdane. In fact, Lathander believes Shar was behind it (which seems likely to me, given Shar's nature)
the point is, his plan, knowingly or not, corruption or no, was dangerous to the balance of the realms and he was willing to kill and try to destroy fellow gods to attempt to remake the pantheon in his own image, that is pure self righteousness, to quote the cited page "With the return of Bane, many progressive deities believe that direct action must be taken to destroy evil once and for all, and that no unintended consequences of Lathander’s plans could be as threatening to the world as simply standing by and doing nothing." end quote
No, it expressly states that his intent was not to kill anyone'
that is not what indirectly in this context means, it simply means he did not directly do it
how is destroying evil once and for all, in a cosmos that has it as corner stone of existance and is integral to some beings, gods included's life, not gunna kill someone?
"Lathander believes that the Dawn Cataclysm occured because spies of the Lady of Loss secretly corrupted his efforts"
and intent is seperate from actions or willingness to do
i can not intend to harm anyone to get what i want, that does not mean i am not able or unwilling to do so if i feel i must or am in the heat of the moment
key words are he believes, gods in dnd are not infallible or all knowing
Actually this remind me, gods eventually wants souls who become either part of the god or do their biddings but to what ends? Is it just like irl nukes, to demonstrate who’s more powerful?
Or is there an ongoing war between gods or upcoming war?
By using wording such as "horrible" you are ascribing intent
i was not describing him, but his actions, i think this is you mistaking me for doing the what is am not doing, ie you thought i was describing him and his intent rather than the actions
is killing your peers just to remake something in your image not a "horrible" act generally? last i checked it tends to be viewed as such
i ceretainly would not call it anything good, moral, justified, ect...
especially in a universe where those evil deities are despite their morality and alingments just as important as the good aligned ones
So paladins and anyone else who kills evil are themselves evil, then ?
that is not what i am saying
that is precisely what you are arguing
i am calling his actions of being willing to kill and destroy other gods to remake the pantheon in his own image "horrible" not his intent or that killing evil in general is itself evil
he was taking the concept to a cosmic extreme where things are objectively not that clean cut as destroying evil is always good and not doing so is always bad
Yes, as I said, rash and stupid. Not "horrible"
else asmodeus would not supposidly be waging the blood war if going by his origin that most of the multiverse tends to agree apon
so you are saying cosmic murder is not "horrible"?
cuz that makes no sense if you ask me
murder assumes intent
you're ascribing him ill intent, yet again
this is pointless
I think it all boils down to whether Lathander killed everyone for his own personal gain and not for the good of others
And if his work was twisted by Shar, that does make him tragic
🤦
looking at he cited source, only the one during the dawn war, helm's lover seems to be attributed to when shar twisted him into doing so, thus the use of the word indirectly
regardless of intent, murder or not, attacking and potentially killing a peer not caring or even considering the consiquences, seems pretty horrible if you ask me, especially on such as cosmic scale where his actions drastically effect far more than just him and the individuals associated with him
and the description of the fate of his lover and his plot at the time, does not paint him in a good light and it it is cited with a proper source https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Lathander#History
and technically again, just because his earlier efforts were corrupted by shar as per his belief, does not mean he is correct in his belief
plus it seems he tried to remake the pantheon in his image not just once as after the first it notes him plotting a second one, so he is still potentially gunna try to do this despite what happened the first time and the fact that he was not as in the right as he thought given his own lover at the time disagreed with him and refused to be involved in his power grab
Idk the details but why particularly in his image?
the vanity in his personality
as well as his other flaws https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Lathander#Personality
basically in his mind he presumably believed he should be the one in charge and the gold standard for the gods and that everything would be so much better if they followed his lead, and presumably just destroyed the evil deities once and for all, key word here being "believed" as just because he thinks it is true, does not make it objectively true
basically if this analogy helps, he was thinking much like the emperor of man kind from 40k, or at least the dogma of the imperium
And yet Kelemvor wasn’t allowed to remove the soul wall… :/
you mean the soul wall, i don't believe it was ever said he was not allowed to, it was simply his call, and other gods had no say in it as it was part of the duties of the god who judges the dead specifically
often when gods are involved in dnd things get a lot more complciated especially on matters of morality
and lathander's negative qualities and behavior of attacking first and not worring about consiquences was not making things any easier on anyone
basically it is seemingly do to the reckless nature he has and the lengths he has been shown to be willing to go for what he believes to be true, regardless if it is actually true or not
I’m not big on Lathander lore but about gods in general, I do think a good balance can be “if you follow a god, you get boons. Not just clerics, even regular folks can get it, if you please a god”, whereas “if you don’t follow a god, you essentially are on your own unless a god takes interest in you”
This means a follower would have a higher chance of being helped by a god in things allowing gods to still have their stream of prayers (in this case only the most loyal devotees so prayers would be more severe) and non believer can chill as well
Idk why writers don’t just do this, this way gods don’t have to disappear
thankfully as per Ao's decree in more recent years gods are not suppose to get involved directly in mortal affairs, and those that did not listen, ie the dead three mainly, were drastically reduced in power as punishment for not listening
cuz if lathander could just at any time choose to go in an avatar and lead a crusade or something, things would be a lot more messy than they are these days
That still doesn’t solve the “all souls either goes to the wall or becomes part their divinity” issue. And some people can murder and pillage in Bhaal’s name and still end up going to their “heaven” cause thy got accepted to Bhaal’s domain
The whole afterlife feels like a doom end
the become party of divinity thing to my knowledge is not confirmed, that is a theory at best
and far as i know it is ambiguous and unclear if the wall is still in use these days, besides do to the nature of the realms not believing in any gods at all is extremely rare, plus these days many mortals tend to go to planes that match their alignment in life when they die, unless a god, devil, or similar being has a claim on their soul be it via a deal, contract, or veneration
now that is closer to something I can agree with
well, "heaven" might not be all that great for followers of the evil deities, particularly not the chaotic ones. Making deals with devils and all that
well traditionally in the natural process of passing a mortal's soul and their memories are separated from one another, leaving only vague emotional echos, so these people would just fundamentally in their soul have genuine believe in the philosophies of these evil deities, and while a god or similar being can restore these memorize, it usually is difficult and takes a great deal of power and effort, so rarely do people get these privilege, and is not like they have those memories to make them realize they are missing that, when you become a petitioner you more or less are somewhat a new being, a metaphysical one like the outer planes and the creatures native to them , but you are still similar enough to your original self that your soul can be restored to your body if you are willing for the purposes of resurrection magic
What does become of a Bhaalist or Sharran after death? I assume a Sharran dissolves to nothingness which would be heaven by their standard despite committing atrocities irl
And on that note, why does gods want souls exactly?
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Shar#Divine_Realm
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Throne_of_Blood
bhaal's realm has practically nothing to go off of saddly
Who is the lady of pain? I’m lowkey confused about it.
they are are often said to be considered currency, else they are troops, resources, ect..
There’s Loviatar and the other one is the lady who is Raven Queen’s roommate
the absolute master of the city of sigil and potentially very embodiment of pain the multiverse that not even the gods can normally touch
no
also loviatar is the maiden of pain
Ah, makes sense
The sigil one is known to have some connection to raven queen
People joke they were roommate xD
The Lady of Pain is a mystery wrapped in an enigma
no one knows who or what she truly is, or if she is even a she
no, she is theorized to, but in actuality the only thing connecting them are they are both enigmatic and mysterious entities
Currency/resources for what? An upcoming war or just currency to demonstrate power? What does gods do these days, seemingly there’s no war right?
She is the absolute authority over Sigil, and her power prevents gods from entering or interfering with its affairs
despite her power, she does not accept worshipers, and anyone attempting to do so dies horribly
and what ever she is, touching her shadow historically inflicted a construct, a being normally unable to feel pain, to scream in utter agony
you do not draw the attention or interact with the lady of pain in any way if you are smart, is why devils and demons and the like can all be in sigil and there is no worry about it just becoming another front for the blood war
for reasons unknown, it is said the only one who knows the true identity of the Raven Queen is the Lady of Pain, but beyond that, no one knows the true connection between the two
well they don't die, they suffer pain comparable to having the skin peeled from their bones, most usually stop before it get lethal
interestingly enough the Wish spell calls her out directly as an entity that will step in if your wish reshapes reality in a way that threatens Sigil
it's theorized she has the power of an Overgod, and may in fact be the Overgod of The Outlands
Are mortals allowed to enter Feywild? I assume it requires a spell or some manner or power level?
yes
mortals may enter but may not necessarily be welcome
there is not rule about who is an isn't allowed to enter the feywild, most people wind up in the feywild by accident, do to fey crossings
unprepared, it is a dangerous place where one mistake can lead to a tragic demise
at least in some parts
but you can get there with plane shift, if looking for a spell
as it is a plane of extremes, it has places of extreme beauty, extreme ugliness, good, evil, etc.
and even the good areas may be dangerous
though some mages may go to the feywild to practice magics they normally can't cuz historcially not only is arcane magic super charged in the feywild compared to the prime material plane, but also the ban on toril on epic magic does not extent to other planes of existance such as the feywild, though most people don't have the knowledge of such spells so is not like they can even try normally
The Witchlight campaign is an official module set primarily within the Feywild and is a good crash course on the plane and its mechanics
Will have a look at it
yeah the feywilds is a world of alien nature in the ways of folk lore and fairy tales, stories, and bountiful amounts of magic, nature, and life
but not all life is good or nice, after all hags, most hags, and other evil fey are of the feywilds natively
I play an Eladrin druid from that plane and thus have spent a lot of time researching it
quite an interesting but often underused space in the D&D multiverse
and some of the oldest beigns in the feywild are shaped of the first stories mortals told, of the wild savage terrors of the wilds when we were but mere simple cavemen and the wilderness was viewed like stepping into a realm of nightmares and unknown terrors, but made manifest and turned to the extreme
the jabberwock in dnd is arguably a good example of this
the 'first elves' originated from the feywild, with every elf subspecies branching from them after traveling to different planes
with the Eladrin being the descendants of the ones who chose to stay in the feywild, which is why they were shaped by it, specifically
Yeah I’m writing up a fey patron. Tho I’m unsure if I want them to be an Archfey or a fey powerful enough to be a warlock patron yet not an archfey yet and they travel along with the warlock (stored in the ring) purely for flavour and rp, no mechanism boost but I’m having still new to feywild lore
there are different types of fey, so i'd suggest settling on what kind of fey, like are they the more primordial nature spirit, or the folktale creature or story book being shared across countless worlds
Like can the fey be curious and even critical about pantheon wars and certain mortal affairs? I’m usually fey don’t care and mostly are whimsical and all about court stuff
there are many kinds of fey
Tbh I wanted a nymph but idk if it’s allowed as a fey patron since the dnd beyond page states I need archfey
the unseelie ie winter court are known for being ratehr grim and gloomy or at least some among them
fey can be good or evil (sometimes even neutral) but they are almost always chaotic
a nymph can definitely work
i dont see why there cant be a nymph archfey that simply isnt recorded
after all if devils can use imps as inbetweens, i see no reason the fey can't do the same with their subjects
though in dnd a nymph may present it's own issues lore wise, as memory serves looking at one with your naked eyes can kill you and round about things like seeing them via a reflection can paralyze or blind you https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Nymph
So I was planning chaotic good creature who doesn’t like either seelie or unseelie court and is more obsessed with the lack of spotlight on the greater divine affairs that happens outside Feywild. Particularly since the second sundering they started growing suspicious and curious but their peers don’t care about such
They got into a fight, was pretty much cast out of Feywild, found themselves beaten and weakened in Dire Woods and I wanted to play that their depressed emotional state essentially was fatal and nearly killed fhem were it not for a tiefling who nursed them back unaware of the nymph’s true nature till much later. They initially thought the nymph was just a beautiful tiefling
saddly those details don't seem to be documented on the wiki, so may have to check direct sources
Oh dear…
you may if using the realms wish to consider https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Verenestra who is a goddess of nymphs and is very nymph like and in a known archfey but has not been used in published materials since 2e it seems, though they are of the seelie court, while there are fey and archfey of neither court, such as hags, most belong to both, so a nymph or nymph like ones might be difficult if wanting to stick to being of neither court
Tbh sinc I want them to be thinking about non feycourt matters, I really need them to be unaffiliated or at least recently ostracised
And idm if they are not nymph, maybe just a fey being who is good looking?
So I'm a little behind on vecna lore, and I have been thrusted into having to quickly deal with vecna. I only have a couple fragmented scraps of lore, and looking it up keeps giving me conflicting answers.
Idk if this is the right space to ask this, but can anyone give me a quick rundown of the lore?
Vecna is a lich who became so powerful he ascended to godhood
he is among the most evil characters in D&D canon
he likes killing other gods to increase his own power
Lovely.
he generally loves spreading evil and is believed to be the author of the legendary Book of Vile Darkness
wizards who come across his artifacts or teachings are often corrupted to evil, especially as he loves leaving traps for curious ones
Great, 90% of the party is screwed
summoning Vecna is generally a bad move
for further information, consult his data entry
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Vecna
Yeah uh, that already happened but this one wasn't my fault
Bro wrote a book called that instead of “epic deeds”? Did he like feel guilty or is he just emo?
well there is a book that's its opposite, the goodest book in the multiverse
The Book of Exalted Deeds
also i realize i confused the name, Vecna's book was the Book of Vile Darkness, not Vile Deeds
What is up with nerds and emos in this world
You got Ilmater begging to be bullied
You got Bhaal, wannabe emo begging to be bullied
And now book of vilest deeds and exalted deeds
Still no redemption, if any of my characters meet them, vicious mockery and a self cast of tasha’s hideous laughter
Imagine writing a book and going “yeah, it’s my book of vile darkness”
the book itself is dangerous to any non-evil creature
it physically damages you if you touch it, worse if you try to read it, and even being near it can corrupt your personality to turn towards evil
it emanates an aura that prevents life from growing
generally not a pleasant thing
Can I make a demon/devil to read it? Or a lich? They’d read it loud enough for me to hear
I don't believe anyone is capable of comprehending what's in the book without attuning to it
Hmmm
the book itself is also an intelligent, sapient item, and capable of understanding if someone is trying to cheat the system
Then
Can you bind Vecna into a contract to read it or impart all its content?
I wish you the best of luck in attempting this most impossible of tasks
Every body wants something, especially the people with so much power
Wait is Vecna even known to anyone in Forgotten Realms???
known to few, the ones that are powerful enough to comprehend the threat he poses to the multiverse, and the ones stupid enough to believe he will ever share his power with someone else
I only know one thing about Vecna, so I’ll use that xD
That he’s looking for Raven Queen’s name and identity
fun fact, Vecna is the only deity to have ever invaded Sigil, a place that is generally impossible for gods to breach, due to the Lady of Pain
who happens to be the only one who knows that identity
Aha, so he has enemies there too
he has plenty of enemies 😅
way more than allies for sure 🤣
City of Doors
See? Powerful dudes always got more to lose
he's practically the most evil being in canon so yes most things are by default enemies of him
All it takes is one mf who is just happy to be there
Thank you for this , seriously @oblique dirge @unkempt torrent
idk if it’s “impossible” to, but yeah, surely they leave it alone…nobody wants to FAFO with the Lady of Pain…
impractical or so difficult it is not worth the effort
gods just send their liasons to Sigil to do business
I’ll just say I met adventurers who told me Vecna wrote a stupid book title and apparently I can’t read its content. So my whole life’s mission is to make him share it all, what do I got to lose?
Vile Darkness… pffft
do you intend your character to be “evil”? 👀
Chaotic Good, they enjoy playing the other side just for the giggles
Ik it sounds stupid but somehow bro made it this far
crossing Vecna is not just a path to a horrible death, but an eternity of suffering fates worse than death
Ik a lot of people don’t like butchering serious established characters but I think this just makes it better. Why beat an enemy by force when you can make a fool of them?
True that. To this day I never had any interest in Vecna but you mentioning how reading that book is… beyond possible… really put it on #1
more than anything else, making him “share” the content of his book, would change reality permanently to a VERY EVIL place…
the content of the book is literally every act of evil ever committed 😅
you sure you want THAT to be your chaotic good character life goal?
So any time he shares the content, the world will be destroyed?
Okay so, what if… he shares it in Bhaal’s domain? My character can die in the end, Vecna shares it, Bhaal’s domain is destroyed
not destroyed per se, just changed to a very F evil place 🤣
So yeah Bhaal’s domain. It’s already trash. Send in more garbage
As long as my character can cast vicious mockery before death
i don’t think you’re comprehending the scale of how “sharing” the book of evil darkness would compromise things 😁 but it’s okey you do you 😁 cast your Vicious Mockery at him
Ofc I don’t wanna condemn innocents
My character can die too
It’s just funny af to trick him into a contract that compels him to share his secrets
yeah, than you definitely don’t want anything of the book of evil darkness ever be shared, with anyone, good or bad 🤣
who said he named it?
well if memory serves the book of vile darkness will just teleport to somewhere else randomly in the multiverse if you don't commit an evil act "The Book of Vile Darkness remains with you only as long as you strive to work evil in the world. If you fail to perform at least one evil act within the span of 10 days, or if you willingly perform a good act, the book disappears, your Attunement to it ends immediately, and you lose all benefits granted by it. If you die while attuned to the book, an entity of great evil claims your soul. You can’t be restored to life by any means while your soul remains imprisoned." end quote
plus technically in more resent versions it says "Most believe the lich-god Vecna authored the Book of Vile Darkness. He recorded in its pages every horrid idea, every corrupt thought, and every example of foul magic he came across or devised." vecna if not the author is the most infamous contributor to it's sinister contents
“This book I leave as a testament to my service to evil”
This just oddly reminds me of every black metal band from Mayhem days. Even if he didn’t name the book, that’s the intro he wrote. He should be laughed at for that line alone even if it ends in the death of the laughing person
He can’t write something that dumb and not face causality
also if you are a good aligned character, i'd say you are more suited for the book of exaulted deeds, one could think of it as a sort of counter part "The definitive treatise on all that is good in the multiverse, the Book of Exalted Deeds figures prominently in many religions. Rather than being a scripture devoted to a particular faith, the book’s authors filled the pages with their own visions of true virtue, providing guidance for defeating evil.
The Book of Exalted Deeds rarely lingers in one place. As soon as the book is read, it vanishes to some other corner of the multiverse where its moral guidance can bring hope to an endangered world. Although attempts have been made to copy the work, efforts to do so fail to capture its magical nature or translate the benefits it offers to those pure of heart and firm of purpose." end quote from it's latest listing
who says it is dumb, seems more so him being poetic or philosophical, which ever fits more
I say, I’m the one laughing in this case
also he is the god of evil secrets and did many evil and horrible acts in his time even before becoming a god, as the old saying goes "go big or go home" so makes sense he would dedicate himself to evil
and given his ambition is that his plan is to rule the multiverse one day and become the god above all other gods, going big seems like the logical choice for him
It’s a race then
eh, not really, cuz as both an undead and a god and basically having a self-sustaining existence, he basically has until the natural end of the multiverse, plus i am not even aware of any other beings with the same goal, as most other big bads wanna destroy the gods, the multiverse, or both or something more small scaled relatively speaking
are there other residents of nine hells that are not considered Fiends?
All kinds of creatures. Some fire/cold-leaning creatures like giants and elementals. But in the descent into avernus book you get to see that theres even fey, humans, beasts, undead. giants. So you could make anything work depending on what explanation you can give
Great!
So question but are worgs, hellhounds and blink dogs, animals or are they fey/fiend?
As i said before in #dnd-rules
Fey feind fey
Is this where we discuss characteristics and personalities of Worlock Patrons?
No this is the channel for discussing official D&D lore (e.g. lore from official D&D sources)
Try #character-discussion for character-related discussion including warlock patrons
When a monster that innate spellcasting which specifies that they don't need material compoment, does that apply to costly material compoments? Like the diamond for revify
yes, as the diamond is a material component
My dm argues that it only works for material compoments that are not consumed
But i can't find any rule saying that
if it only worked on non consumed material component, it would say so
They cannot be argued with
thats on them
Then what we say here won't matter they are running the game
How common/uncommon is it for warlocks to actually sell their souls as part of the contract/patron bargain?
Feels like something only the Fiend Patron would really wanna steal from you
Celestials should all be good natured creature, so indentured servitude sounds like the worst case scenario.
Archfey is more of them same but more cruel and probably for an eternity.
fey, fiend, fey, in that order
depends if you mean natives or not when you say "residents", those that live long enough in the plane would become fiends over time
Yes, there are some very rare individuals you can find there that are not fiends
though over time those beings typically will eventually become fiends, as they are warped by the energies of the plane
similar reasons are how the fey based firbolg came to be, and such lore is nothing new to the way the energies of the planes effect visitors over time
Even if you are mighty creature like a dragon for example?
Is it an irresistible process?
it will happen eventually, to my knowledge only possible exception is a god
Yes: in the Shadowfell dragons steeped in that energy become Shadow Dragons, and eggs left in the Feywild become Moonstone Dragons
granted i could be wrong, but the vast majority of creatures would be effected by such phenomenon, and honestly it makes extra planar adventuring intereting
You can check out the 5e materials for Planescape, I believe the answer here is “yes”
and the hells have helfirewyrms historically https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Hellfire_wyrm
I do remember that one module giving you DC 15 Charisma Save or become evil or something every month(?), which I found pretty messed up to do to your PC's
not really
is not as messed up as you think unless you were under a false assumtion of something
besides alignment is fluid especially for mortal beings, so a sudden shift can very much be undone unless the effect says otherwise
Forced personality change sound pretty crazy to me thb, you can be righteous paladin but some nasty hell fumes makes you an evil person
it does not change personality
also, tbf, those are nasty hell fumes youre being corrupted by
Fair enough
The Outer Planes are metaphysical realms of philosophy: why wouldn’t getting affected by a blast of energies from it change the way you see the world?
alignment is more so your worldview and outlook
A chaotic good person is not the same as a chaotic evil one, worldview and outlook very much are a large part of who you are
like a massive part
alignment is descriptive, not prescriptive
I wouldn’t necessarily say that; they could end up performing the same actions for different intellectual reasons
like your priorities, like neutral evil, is the sort of mindset of only looking out for yourself, and your own survival, regardless of any harm it causes others, and again alignment is fluid, even more so these days than in prior editions, over time based on your actions, behavior, and such, can change, it is easiest to do as a mortal like the player characters, for metaphyiscal beings of the outer planes it is a lot more difficult to the point of being just shy of impossible because their alignment is so fundimental to what they are
like just because you are forced to an evil alignment does not mean you can only do evil acts, thoughts, and deeds
Character who believes in altruism vs "Chaotic evil characters acted according to whatever their greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drove them to do."
Descriptive of a characters attributes, whether they are good or evil, altruism vs selfishness.
It's literally good and evil and chaotic or lawful
And both can end up saving an orphanage from a fire if circumstances demand it
and?
One does it because they hope for a reward and couldn't care less about who is in danger while a good person wants to save people
And yet the impoverished orphans are saved nonetheless
the fact is alignment is not as limiting and constraining these days as people tent to treat it, most people tend to not bother to change alingment when their actions sufficently show a change in morality because of this, and since the dm does not note any alingment change, many people are often not gunna change them cuz there is no approval from the dm else people would be changing it just to suit the specific situation they are in
Irrelevant. This is about whether saying that a person with the Good aligment is good and a person with the evil aligment is evil.
If your alignment changes to evil it's a personality change as your good nature is replaced by selfishness and empathy and other attributes considered evil.
the truth is it is far more nuanced and fluid than people give it credit for
Should've been clearer, I am not a fan of a nigh inescapable personality change (Wisdom 10 Save) of your character without your consent every time you finish a long rest.
-# I looked it up it's the Descent into Avernus Module.
I hate the way this mechanic is written, it should be a thought out corruption system.
that is your opinion, if you want detailed lot of systems that risk being clunky, i'd suggest playing pathfinder or older editions of dnd, but that is neither here nor there as this is the lore channel
If you aren’t a fan of it, don’t run this type of mechanic?
or make such things clear when getting together with your dm before you even start playing, that is the ideal time for such things to be brought to attention
Obviously
just seems tha conversation when down this way after i asked about the specifics of the Plane tranforming you
The planes are embodiments of their respective alignments/concepts
Yeah, evil and good, chaotic are real forces in the DnD universe and so on and so forth
they are metaphysical in nature
to quote 5e planescape's lore on "planar influences"
"The Outer Planes are home to powerful forces of good and evil, chaos and order. Over time, these forces can alter creatures exposed to them. Due to their proximity to the Outer Planes, the inhabitants of the Outlands’ gate-towns and nearby regions often exhibit traits associated with specific Outer Planes. Creatures might also have such traits if they dwell in other realms steeped in the energy of an Outer Plane—whether such a place be in the Outlands, on the Material Plane, or elsewhere." end quote
and these can include creature traits, physical attributes, morality/alignment changes, ect...
and to quote what the 2024 dmg has to say on the outer planes
"If the Inner Planes are the raw matter and energy that make up the multiverse, the Outer Planes provide the direction, thought, and purpose for its construction. These are realms of spirituality and thought, the spheres where Celestials, Fiends, and deities dwell. The plane of Elysium, for example, isn’t merely a home for good creatures or where spirits of good creatures go when they die. It is the embodiment of goodness, a spiritual realm where evil can’t abide. It is as much a state of being and of mind as it is a physical location.
When discussing anything to do with deities and their realms, the language used must be highly metaphorical. Their actual homes aren’t literally places at all but exemplify the idea that the Outer Planes are realms of thought and spirit.
The planes with an element of good in their nature are called the Upper Planes, while those with an element of evil are the Lower Planes. A plane’s alignment is its essence, and a creature whose alignment doesn’t match the plane’s alignment experiences a sense of dissonance there. When a good creature visits Elysium, for example, it feels in tune with the plane, but an evil creature feels uncomfortable." end quote
besides the hells are lawful first and evil second, and looking at the book, it is very much in line with that and it can be undone rather easily
even more so if your party happens to have a cleric or paladin with access to the spell, "dispel evil and good" which makes perfect sense
granted rather easily for adventurer, if this was just some random person on toril that would be a separate matter, and the hells are well known and if people are insightful enough they reasonable could figure these things out if they were not already aware of this risk when venturing into another plane
honestly the newer dmg has a whole section of chapter 3 dedicated to this sort of thing and would probably be worth a look
to quote
"Actions Indicate Alignment
A character might think they’re good and profess to believe that senseless slaughter is wrong, but if that character repeatedly engages in senseless slaughter, the character’s beliefs aren’t what they profess.
Alignment doesn’t limit the actions characters can take; rather, the actions they take indicate what their alignment is. It’s OK to stray from the tenets of one’s alignment now and then, and players can (and should) change their characters’ alignments if these alignments no longer describe their characters." end quote
and it has more on the topic including one literally called "Good and Evil Can Cooperate"
Hey quick question. Where dors the magic outside Abeir-Toril come from? it is said that the weave is limited to those two world so does the magic outside just exist unsupervised?
Other settings have their own ways magic works: in Eberron it’s a ambient energy field that can be studied like science, and in Greyhawk it’s a natural energy generated by the ley lines of Oerth
ok dac thanks
also magic is a fundamental aspect of the dnd multiverse, same as things like time and gravity irl
things like the weave and ley lines are more so ways to harness magic and use it safely
in most worlds do to this something like the weave will wind up coming into existence as a means of accessing or expressing it
makeing places like earth an outlier
ok I see that explains a lot
On Athas, magic is channeled from the elements/landscape or the Sun itself.
On Mystara, modern magic is derived from ||the nuclear reactor of a crashed spaceship turned artifact.||
im sorry what
In the setting of Mystara/the Known World, the present era’s magic is ||heavily tied to the Radiance, a special (radioactive) energy derived from the Nucleus of the Spheres, which was originally the power source for the FSS Beagle of the Galactic Federation.||
||Which crash landed during the Blackmoor era and eventually lead to the downfall of their civilization.||
You just casually dropped the biggest spoiler in the entire setting 🙂
My mind was blown when I first read about that in one of the Gazeteers
I forgot Mystara was before people started worrying about things like “genre” in their campaigns
Hang on…
-# Although I suppose a 30-year-old spoiler for a setting hardly any current players of D&D had heard of is not as much of a spoiler.
Fixed it! 
And not for nothing is that world's Mageocracy located right on top of said in-universe explanation for magic, and also ||the core is unstable, and may blow at any time...||
Just you wait; in 2030 WoTC’s gonna release Adventures in Mystara and you’ll have a new group of players just flooding the setting
Oerth has a crashed spaceship (likely a fragment of the Warden?), Toril has cowboy saints, Krynn has tinker gnomes…
The genres were just forced onto these settings much later than they were conceived.
Pretty much every 1e or prior D&D setting would be considered speculative fiction as its closest genre (or maybe gonzo).
I consider myself a bit of a genre purist, but that doens't mean to say there can't be some genre-bending elements, variety is the spice of life
dnd is objectively science fantasy
people assuming it is just medieval fantasy or only fantasy, is a misconception if anything
And the in-game explanation for magic as above is I think one of the more elegant and plausible, if that's the right word, one's I've seen.
(also acted as an intro to Spelljammer)
I’ve got to edit my setting then
not really
as worlds can vary but the dnd multiverse as a whole is most accurately science fantasy
Verisimilar?
a specific genre can be more so the tone and level of a world, many worlds vary, such as the eberron setting as an example
basically stuff like technology as we think of it, firearms, ect... are not as out of place in the dnd multiverse as people tend to assume
is a 6 year old video at this point, but i feel that AJ Pickett's video on the topic explains it well and helps debunk those annoying common misconceptions https://youtu.be/KmNF3gEb7As?si=StZ2HYs0vvVb7J3v
-# The fact that D&D’s magic system is Vancian kinda goes along with the assumption that magic relies on space-warping supermathematics.
It does at that
(Admittedly the system hasnt been true vancian for quite a while)
Indeed. Fire-and-forget hasn’t been a factor since 3e, and technically OD&D surpassed the true Vancian half-dozen spell limit.
hello, I'm with really huge doubt about one thing. Is the forgotten realms the wildspace that Toril is located (realmspace)??
Realmspace is the term used for the 'solar system' that Toril is located in. Toril being the planet that contains Faerûn
'Wildspace' is the empty void of nothingness that exists between celestial bodies (planets, star, moons, asteroids, etc)
Does anyone wanna hear my campaign lore?
I see, so forgotten realms is basically a setting focused in Toril, in Faerun continent, right??
Basically, yes
there's other continents on Toril too
You can see more here https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Toril
I see, thank you
better place for that sort of thing would be #dm-world-building
this channel is for talk of the published lore you find in the novels, sourcebooks, ect... published for the game by the ip holders, in this case, wizards of the coast
I’m trying to write a chaotic good/lawful good (chaotic leaning sweetheart types) Fey creature. Is there any character I can read up on to know how they behave and such? Other than the usual “they’re chaotic” of course? I’m not sure how to faithfully write a chaotic fey character without fully making him childlike or something
have you looked into some of the characters from Wild Beyond Witchlight ?
No, is there a particular character I should look into that book? Assuming it’s a book?
Is it available online ebook purchase?
so this other continents aren't part of the forgotten realms setting right?? This is something that is confusing me a little
Gillygib or Hanzie Ygolt can be exemples
Yes it s a book
I’ll start with FR wiki
they are, but retroactively, ie they were not originally but have since been rolled into the setting and now are
the short answer is, they are part of the forgotten realms setting now
Does House Alagondar have an heir that survived? I was thinking of making a character who is the "true" last heir of House Alagondar who wants the throne of Neverwinter, but I'm not sure if it'd be lore-accurate.
okay, thank you
there is one confirmed descendant, at least at the time of 1479 DR https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Alagondar#History
I can work with that. Thank you
question but does the dire worg has more of an canine nose or hyena one?
I would describe it as looking more canine like, but it’s not particularly important
ok, beeg fey doggo incoming then
it varies from edition to edition, sometimes even depiction to depiction
in their latest depiction they are described as "Sometimes mistaken at first for giant wolves, worgs are vicious hunters. These sapient predators can speak and often taunt their prey, enjoying the taste of fear in their meals." and the artwork shows their nose looking a bit like a cross between a canine and a pig
descriptions don't clarify anything that hyper specific as a snout
question but why winter wolves are categorized as monstrocity and yet worgs became fey?
Winter Wolves are associated with giants and the elements; Worgs are basically only associated with Goblins, and as such got shifted to Fey when they did
the more i learn, the more i start to bielieve that pf2e has better clasification of their monsters
Monster classification doesn’t need to actually mean anything; you’re allowed to shuffle things around as you see fit for your table
the two systems likely judged things differently besides it has varied from edition to edition and pathfinder especially a system has no influence on the lore of dnd, plus monstrosities are "unnatural creatures with strange origins, such as mimics and owlbears." as it in latest version where as fey are "creatures tied to the Feywild or the forces of nature, such as dryads, goblins, and pixies."
the worg having natural connections to goblins likely are of the fey, this is supported as they can be encounter in the feywilds
plus winter wolves are described as "supernatural predators that prowl frigid wildernesses in deadly packs."
and supernatural creatures that don't better fit other categories historically thus fall into the monstrosity category
besides the differing in lore between the two IPs make it flawed to try to compare their classification systems as they likely opperate differently and the lore supporting some of these choices also is likely to differ even in subtle yet important ways