Thanks for watching guys! I am currently sick as heck, but I did my best to push through! Definitely let me know if you have a suggestion for another monster you'd like to see on the channel. See you in the next one
Sorry that you’re sick, given everything currently, it’s not surprising. Stress is a terrible thing. Get well soon. The Google Doc link sends people to an art credits document.
I just love the mental picture of that one guy who lives slightly outside city limits just watching the entire city descend into the abyss and just being like “damn, that just kinda … happened in front of me. I think I need to move.”
but say, if the city phases into the abyss cleanly then you have a really nice location where you can build a new city. Now your game is a city builder.
not to mention this sort sums up what happens when the woke mob over runs a place. Honestly I hate politics but if you think about it California and every blue city should be sucked up into the Abyss by now.
My favorite thing about the City Corruptor is probably that it’s not actually the sole reason a city is evil. They’re just a catalyst for whatever evil was already present. So any heroes who kill the corruptor and expect the city to pivot back around to good are gonna be totally crestfallen to find out the people in that city do still be doing crime tho
I think it was MrRhexx who drummed up an idea of hags that influence people; I distinctly remember one that sets up a gambling den and people quickly become addicted to gambling, losing everything, disregarding their responsibilities. Then they become desperate for things to keep gambling with while their lives and lives of those around them just withers. I feel like that's a good setup to attract a City Corrupter that undermines the hag, and the city just continues to spiral further and further.
And the worst part is that because Demons do not die when killed outside of the Abyss, then they can simply just return to the city, because nothing has strengthened the veil between that city and the Abyss.
City corruptors are just here to speed up the process of cities figuratively going to hell, and once the once-noble people have had their moral fabric disintegrated, reducing them to animals, the city corruptor takes making the place go to hell to the literal extreme.
The city corruptor is not the root of the city's corruption; it is merely a symptom that threatens to accelerate the corruption and ultimate death of the city.
You know, this monster is even better knowing that there is one that complements or foils it (and one I hope this channel covers): The Zeitgeist. It's a huge incorporeal fey from the 3.5e book Cityscape, that mirrors a city's outlook, and acts as its defender. Also, it's CR 23, so pretty hard to ignore. It can act in one of two ways in combination with the City Corruptor: - It can be a secondary end goal for the corruptor. Like a force of nature (or kaiju) that it wants to bring under its control before sending the city to the black plains of the Abyss; a kind of monster-and-tombstone for the now defiled metropolis. In a relatively tame cloak-and-dagger campaign of a city (at least in terms of it being devoid of big, imposing monsters), it could be a combat-focused boss monster, that would shift the tone and make a win or loss feel definitive. - Alternatively, it could be a force opposing the city corruptor. If PCs are being tricked by the city corruptor into bringing said city to the Abyss, the Zeitgeist could subtly (or partially) manifest to show that something is amiss: mobs of fearless and unidentified citizens rioting, plumes of choking smog attacking the PCs in a vaguely humanoid shape, and finally a stone colossus made of the city's landmarks as a symbol of the very city's rejection of the corruptor's plot. Of course, these creatures do not speak so the PCs would have to infer all this from its behavior.
This fits a scenario I have been working for a while perfectly: A short while ago I wrote some lore for my own demon prince. His theme was "end of civilization", his realm the shattered ruins of fallen empires, some of which he may even have helped to create, just for the fun of watching them fall to the inevitable forces of entropy. The Evanissu give my guy a canon way to profit from his hobby, and for the cities to end in his domain. Thanks for this, saves me a lot of work.
It also sounds like your demon prince may have made a pact with Tiamat to enlist the aid of black dragons similar to how the Githyanki did with red dragons given how black dragons have a knack for felling cities and keeping relics of the ruined towns as part of their hoard
Expanded idea on the Summoner at a Dark Spot; they were left behind when the town was dragged into the Abyss and are trying to save somoene important to them. They become more desperate/deranged, a dark mirror to the party, willing to sacrifice anything to get into the Abyss.
My first thought at the idea of the 'Dark Spots' was for the adventurers to arrive to, what seems like, a crater; reaching the edge and looking in (because you know they will) they see lesser demons whipping slaves, forcing them to build scaffolding, with partial fortress aspects already finished. You know they'll go in. So deep inside they find tunnels dug out in what used to be the lost city's sewers, catacombs, vaults; and 'anchors' being placed by cultists; with the eventual goal of opening a rift that will open a direct path to and from the abyss. Players succeed; the anchors are destroyed and the slaves freed. But players fail without warning anyone else, and the anchors are set, portals are opened, combined to make a massive and stable portal that will be next to impossible to close short of a Wish spell. And then an invasion of Abyssal monsters will pour out, maybe build themselves a stronghold, amass armies, and set out to conquer the material plane. The worse it gets, the more the material plane becomes a post-apocalyptic setting.
@@nephicus339 I have a better more complicated idea for this, while they'r busy building a new demon gateway to the abyss, build a large gateway to the nine hells unleashing an army to combat the demons once they succeed in escaping the abyss, thus turning the entire planet into a post apocalyptic warzone that forces your players to hop on the nearest spell jammer and fly off as the planet is torn in half in the war with one half going to the abyss and another half falling to the nine hells 😈😈😈😈
Imagine a campaign that's a cross between Descent into Avernus and Out of the Abyss where a Evanissu is battling a Devil each trying to pull an evil aligned city into their respective lower planes
could you though? the nine hells may be evil aligned but its got order. its the chaotic nature of the abyss that allows the swallowing at all. i will grant the idea of a devil working along with him to make swiping the people for himself afterward easier is something.
@@pulsefel9210 Not really. The process of one city or settlement being pulled towards the plane that most closely emulates its alignment is derived form Planescape, in which it’s explained that this can actually happen to any town and any plane. Sometimes cities are even pulled into good planes, such as was the case with Heart’s Faith, which now rests in Mount Celestia.
Devils are more interested in maintaining status quo, and they already have plentiful connections in any large city. They wouldn't want to swallow it all - keeping the city as it is and exploiting the systems in place is what devils strive for. So they wouldn't be competing to drag it to their own plane, they'd wanna keep it exactly how it is and repel demons from destroying stuff. Of course... knowing the Blood War, I could see a group of powerful demons blending in with the city so they can get an easy entrance into the Abyss to cause some carnage. It'd be a helluva wild ride.
Any wheel of time fans, this'd be great to do something like shadar logoth. You could change the lore slightly and instead of dark spots make it leave behind a dark reflection of the city with a malevolent presence inside it.
Okay, so: a city that is showing signs of turning to chaotic evil can draw one of these city corruptors to it; and a city with a dark secret could lead to the creation of a false hydra. As such, it's possible that both could happen to same place, leading to an interesting conflict. The corruptor tries to bring corrupt the city until it can be pulled into the abyss, while the f-hydra is eating its citizens. Quick side note: at the DM's discretion, the corruptor could either be immune to the amnesia effect, allowing him to remember the missing people, but somehow unsure as to how it's happening (and has to be careful not to give away the fact it remembers when no one else does), or be under the effect fully, and just aware that something else is influencing the city. Each person eaten is one less soul for him to claim in the abyss. Regardless, it can also put the heroes in the middle of the situation. They are drawn to the city for one reason, but then catch glimpses of the other. Maybe they got word as to how bad the crime there had gotten, but when they arrive, the person who they were to meet had been taken, and the group has no memory of why they arrived. Or, if the Corruptor does remember, they bring in the heroes to explore why there are so many houses that look like they have been lived in despite no one EVER having lived there. While trying to investigate the strange situation, they keep noticing indications of how corrupt and crime-filled the city has become.
Mayor, "Settlers have arrived to expand our city!" Boom, cultist outposts that begin the corruption that eventually seeps into the heart, and every street, converting or murdering and replacing people with cultists to continue the spread. Love it!
I could see having a couple of lieutenants be directly empowered. If you look at Van Rechtin‘s guide to Raven loft, there are two types of serial killer fiends that often times were once humanoids; relentless juggernauts (CR 12) and relentless slashers (CR 8). They might have simply normal serial killer found by the demon, or cultist that finally receive their Boons from their patron. Now for lower ranking minions to fill out things, BGDIA had Bhaal cultists. You could have have them as is having Bhaal as part of this deal, or re theme them. In any case you have Night Blade (CR 1/2), Reaper of Bhaal (CR 2), and Death’s Head of Bhaal (CR 5). All the Bhaal cultists cause creature within 5ft of them to be vulnerable to piercing damage (aura of murder) So you could have an entire evil organization of super serial killers working for a Demon trying to drag the city into 🎶✨Demon land✨🎶
I love the care and thought you put into these episodes. I can’t wait to see how you tackle Grendel. He’s long overdue for a return, and I love seeing these legendary horrors from real world mythology. Alongside skinwalkers and their progenitors, the Naadloshii, as well as chimeras and manticores, I love the idea of setting the party against the worst horrors humanity remembers from its mythologies.
This is my favorite d&d channel. I just love your content and the way you present it. Now, I was wandering, if a Evanissu can drag a city into the Abyss, could a group of them, spread across an entire kingdom ruling over every major city until they're all CE, drag the whole nation down?
Iirc, in 3e there was a demon, don't remember the name, who was trying to corrupt a whole series of towns and cities to form a demonic symbol and take a whole continent. It might have been a devil instead of a demon though, it was in a book my DM had like 15 years ago so I'm fuzzy on the details.
As I prefer the 'alignment as energy form' model, location-based alignment really tickles me. The idea that actions taken in a place sort of 'stain' it with that alignment, growing more powerful over time is intriguing, and makes an easy excuse for keeping your alignment-based organizations from stagnating. What do you do with a dark spot? Plant a church on it of course. And how many churchs can a religion have? As many as they can keep out of corrupt hands. You could even take the base concept and extend it across the board. Perhaps Celestials, Slaadi, Modrons, and all other extra-planar beings just get yoinked back home in similar circumstances while also causing the same effect?
What if a town made a pact with a City Corruptor to SAVE the town from certain destruction? Like a massive eruption or quake that would have devastated everything?
Would that make the town's inhabitants also be pulled into the Abyss? I will choose to evacuate the town rather than guarantee playthings for the demons.
Hear me out: A mafia vs the City Corruptor Think about it: Criminal organizations don't have to be all bloodshed and chaos. Crime families could have rules and regulations that basically say, "Hey, don't be a psycho and show some respect." A City Corruptor is the antithesis to a Crime Family's rules. It wants crime for the sake of crime, bloodshed for the sake of bloodshed. There totally could be a campaign where the adventurers are actually part of the mob who hear that some new gang is not just breaking the rules, but destroying them.
I imagine Sodom and Gamorrah is an example of the clerics' last stand actually working out. Sure, nobody made it, but the resource is denied to the abyss and those souls are going where they should
This actually reminds me of the Nurarihyon of Japanese folklore. He's supposed to be practically impossible to capture, treats other peoples' houses like his own home, often while the owners watch, & heralds/ commands a horde of yokai during their Night Parades. Basically a gentler herald of the apocalypse
I am reminded of 2nd Ed AD&D's 'Gate Towns'. These cities were literally built around the major portals to each of the planes, and attracted people of a similar mindset; that is to say, alignment. Every now and then, the city would embody the alignment so strongly, the portal would swallow the whole thing; people and buildings, adding to the plane in question, and the town was gone, only to gradually be replaced over time as a new gate town was built.
Cool idea: A city corruptor has been hard at work trying to shift a city to chaotic evil, so the overlord of the city sends in a Harvester Devil to fix things up, which one will win?
At this point I am a month into writing up a Majora's Mask style campaign, in which the party arrives the morning after the city disappeared and gets to travel six days into the past to save the city. I already have figured out how the time travel is limited and how I make it so they don't have to redo all the quests but manage to actually progress over time.
I could see running a campaign where the corrupter acted as the Devil from Needful Things. Imagine just this totally innocuous old shop keeper just manipulating everyone into doing worse and worse things and the players having to figure out wtf is going on.
This would be awesome for a murder mystery, corrupt government style detective themed campaign or arc with serious weight to it; on the other hand, if you have a group of murder hobo players sowing discord in a large settlement, maybe they unintentionally cause the city to plunge into the abyss and have to continue murder hoboing their way back to the material plane without demons and devils eating them first. Would also be great to see the Evanissu(?) take credit for the murder hobos work and maybe cause a rivalry, or more unexpectedly, an alliance between them; being chaotic evil and getting contracts from a city corrupter demon could actually make an interesting murder hobo campaign :D
I wouldn't trust any chaotic or evil being with a contract, execpt maybe chaotic good and lawfull evil. with chaotic good, I would antisipate they eventually break the contract, but in a way that actually works out for the best for everyone involved. With lawfull evil, I would just word the contract verry carefully.
Mad respect for that Ned Flanders clip. Even if you didn't say it in the comments, can tell in your voice how sick you are. Hope you get better soon. Did you ever watch "Angel", the spin-off of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"? There's an episode where Angel demands a corrupted ghost to take him to Hell, and the ghost simply opens the door to the outside world, for Hell is winning the war and the Earth is blending with Hell itself. This reminds me of that. There's also a 3PP Pathfinder 1e adventure path where there's an optional ending of the players getting tricked by a pit fiend, and an entire continent is pulled into Hell. Essentially, it's the bad ending to the adventure. Love seeing that these themes are not something overlooked by creators. Note: I like the friends cantrip, but I'm sad it's not SRD material. Makes it harder for design purposes and selling stuff, but thankfully charm person still exists. I miss the Bloodied condition for monsters. That and Minions. I know that these videos are supposed to be considered, Edited Lite, but I can't tell at all. In fact, if this is the Lite version, I like it. Don't need anything overtly fancy and complicated. Sometimes simple is better. During an episode of Critical Role, the was in the Shadow Fell and traversing a city that was sent to the Material Plane. It left a dirt filled pit that was miles wide. I definitely like the idea of the Dark Spot. I was only thinking of the dirt pit that Mercer thought up, but having a shaded sun while in the vicinity, or it be Ground Zero for a more effective demon summoning, is a fantastic idea. Again, huge congrats on the discord getting partnered. That's absolutely amazing.
I like the idea that physical remnants of the city's structures are left in the dark spot on the material plane...the structures might be falling apart or have brittle foundations, etc. So it's like the abyss swallowed up all the souls and energy of the place, and only a shell is left behind. It kind of fits with classic fantasy (Shadar Logoth in Wheel of Time, or Dol Guldur in LotR).
While it has its issues I like location alignments a lot more than character alignments because it's less specific and more based off vibe, so this is cool.
Another interesting angle on what happens to the material plane when this goes off is a swap, the city is exchanged for an equally sized area of the abyss, complete with all of its denizens now flooding into the area. Not knocking your answer; I rather liked it; just popped into my head when you posed the question as a transition, so you could answer it.
The dark spot idea is a fun one. Like an eclipse happens and the ppl inside that full circle, if there is something like that going on then it unknowingly switches places with the abyss. What ever was fighting there runs around in material plane and the Evanissu sits on its new crumbling throne.
I think I'm going to run something like a one-shot in the near future, as a sort of 'the city already fell timeloop'. Something like Richter from the Hotline Miami series, with the demon being more or less an accessory or something symbolic rather than just the BBEG.
I like the idea of one of these things with powerful mind altering illusion/charm magic who makes it's victems think there doing good things and there following an angel who will rapture this city to paradise. Only to painfully rip away the lie and reveal the truth to it's enthralled followers as the horrible realization of all they've committed hits them at once. I like my fiends to be evil with a capital EVIL. If my players don't look at me and say "Ian ... what the fuck" when I'm dun revealing the fiend, then I'm doing it wrong.
I like the dark spot idea. Having a city sized area with a connection to the abyss or the 9 Hells sounds like an incredible place for the party to investigate. Either because they need to go to the lower plane or they want to fix the corruption.
I love the image of this paired with something similar to the false hydra or other monster/magic that fucks with memory it would be terrifying to find evidence of a city that no one even remembers existing. Also was going to comment about the Joker but you covered that.
Now adding a Graz'zt cult led by a city corruptor fighting both the city leaders and the Glasya mafia to the Capitol City of the canton my party started in...
Just before you brought up the dark knight, I was thinking this would be great for a Batman No Mans Land styled campaign. Multiple villainous factions controlling the city, the only good guys having to break the laws they once stood for to try and bring peace, and a lunatic sowing seeds of chaos everywhere he goes.
Don't know if you take monster suggestions for vids, but I'd particularly like you to document the most interesting Undead I've yet to find, the Darklights, spirits that were "adopted" by the Plane of Radiance (both very strange given the usual effect on Undead & makes me feel there are very interesting implications there). The only in-depth description I found was from a difficult to work sight called Mojobob, so it seems a shame that there isn't more documentation on something as fascinating as this. Edit: I did not see the request for suggestions until after I wrote this 🙂
Sooo, I was gonna use Rakshasa for basically the same pourpouse, what sounds better: a cooperation between a Rakshasa and City Corruptor or just using some of the Evanissu traits for the Rakshasa? Cause Rakshasas are pretty cool... Also I play in Eberron and the Abyss/9 hells thing it's a little wack there so not sure of the interactions.
I... LOVE this thing, and the interesting stories it can create! The first thing this creature brought to mind was indeed a Gotham setting, and this demon just making the situation 1 million times worse. But as I listened, I thought "how can I subvert it?", and remembered my domain of dread homebrew campaign I am working on. What if in the city that is falling apart due to horrible leadership due to a soon to be Dark Lord, this demon comes to town ready to do its thing, only to be thwarted by the city he tried to claim be taken into a domain of dread instead in the Shadowfell. Not able to return home ever, it can still corrupt and mess with the chaotic evil city, but there is no joy or incentive, both from the lack of reward for doing so, unable to take it as his own over an all powerful Dark Lord, and from the lethargic effects of the realm itself taking what primal pleasure it could have from casual demon acts of mayhem and destruction. I like the sight of this beautiful humanoid, the city corruptor, chilling in the middle of town as other citizens are monotonely robbing stores for supplies, stabbing each other, and other horrible acts, bored and unreacting faces on everyone, including the City Corruptor, it's one goal in life taken from them forever. They could even side with the party to overthrow the Dark Lord, freeing them to continue their evil deeds, giving the party another moral quandary in a land full of even darker beings already. What evils are people able to forgive to take on a greater evil?
I don't see anything about shifting entire cities into the abyss in the original description, but... it has been done before, I guess. It mostly makes me think about the gate towns on the outlands, but there are several places on the material plane that have gotten a similar treatment.
Yes. There are a few suggestions on the list, but if there's anything specific you'd like, we can add that or just put a star beside one that's already been requested.
@@KevinVideo the GENIUS LOCI would be cool, especially with some variants relating the the terrain and creatures upon it. What would also be astoundingly useful is some of the old templates like psudonatural template sticking with the epic level handbook.
I see these guys as a higher level operative of a more powerful demon who would send them to a successful cult operating in an urban setting. In fact, I'm running a game right now that has some demon worshipper trouble. I might insert this monster in there at some point
I have a couple suggestions for things you could potentially cover, though arguably they could almost be considered cheating. They both *technically* exist in 5e D&D, but in a form which does not fit their lore and themes in older editions. 1. Ghouls. The ghouls of older editions are basically Romero zombies, even down to their specific need to feed on brains, and that some varieties of ghoul actually have full-fledged, usually pretty evil civilizations. 5e also forgets their infectivity, which is the big reason even a tiny amount of ghouls are so much more of a threat than even a large number of zombies can ever hope to be. 2. Nosferatu. The Nosferatu of 5th edition are something you can safely say are completely separate from the nosferatu of older editions. We're talking on the level of what happened with lamias in 4th edition. Whereas in 5th edition, they're effectively vampiric versions of the 5e ghoul: completely butt-ugly and so completely feral they can barely think, in older editions, they were basically more old-school style vampires with a bit more of a sympathetic twist. They didn't burn in sunlight (which is why a particular main character in a Ravenloft book series didn't die in his failed suicide attempt), they were capable of reasoning and morality, and IIRC were even playable. Also: hope you get well soon.
Long running campaign or set of campaigns, a powerful Evanissu or cabal of them is working together across multiple cities possibly across multiple material planes. The goal being to make a new layer of the abyss. A mega city made of multiple cities yoinked by the Evanissu. The single evanissu or cabal becoming the demon lords of this new layer (or maybe only one of them can ascend and now it's a free for all within the cabal.)
Gotham City was definitely the first thing that came to mind, but the second was all the hatred and ill will in New York condensing into mood slime in Ghostbusters 2. Maybe the City Corrupter could be harnessing some similar substance as a conduit for summoning demonic minions and the party has to somehow summon up enough good will and hope from the populace to neutralize his supply before they can assault him directly.
Could use this as a possible explanation for the Mourning in Eberron. Just scale it up to country instead of city, and the Mournlands that were left behind is an extension of the Abyss that filled the space that Cyre once occupied.
Imagine if the big baddies of a "chapter" were a City Corruptor and a Harvester Devil, and they made a city into a casino-esque like attraction to get the money out of neighboring cities and then the City Corruptor would take the other cities when they get really sad, and the Harvester Devil would take as many souls as he could, promising them "fame" beyond their dreams, and both of the baddies would also profit from all the money they would be stealing to go on and pull the same trick at other cities, only for the players to come in and stop all of this before their plot would unfold and save everyone. That would be awesome Batman-like sessions
There was a story arc in the Planescape: Torment video game that was basically this. Except, it was a celestial that did it instead of a fiend. I don't remember exactly what his motivations were (I think it was something about proving how inherently evil people are), but I remember thinking how interesting it was to have a Celestial villain.
I'd have a city Corrupter arrive at the neglected slums of a city first, and slowly worm into the cracks that are already in the city. The biggest twist would be that the main local Temple and religion KNEW the City Corrupter was there before the party did, because they carefully orcastrated their arrival; They used their political power to secretly disenfranchise the poor and oppressed and the "undesirables" specifically to draw the City Corrupter to them so they could call for the complete destruction of the slums, take ownership of all the land and buildings, and take over the entire city. They planned to just let them do their work and then strike, with a backup plan where if the party discovered the City Corrupter's existence they'd publicly use that to declare war on it and the poor or even frame the party as one of their minions; Of course, since the City Corrupter IS corruption and has done this for who knows how long, they already know that and have their own plans to beat the Temple and bring everyone down with them. Like, imagine if it turned invisible during a party's second fight with them and it whispered about the Temple's plans into one party members ear to sow chaos. I'd also have it invest heavily in magic items that can let it escape or hide. Also, I recognize 7:15!
"Let's look at one specific instance to explain that's related to (how locations are associated with alignments)" Me, to my wall: Watch this, he's going to talk about Carceri. "The Abyss and the Nine Hells." Me: Fuck.
I actually had the thought of have a campaign taking place within a city that's already been pulled in to the Abyss. The last vestiges of goodness (or at least sensibleness) within the city, that being our adventurers and their allies, being forced to protect this now effectively lone chaotic evil city state from the objectively worse evils outside the walls. Perhaps there could be an investigation in to the mystery of how this city was pulled in, and a way to reverse the process.
I think that Ahazu the Seizer, demon lord of abduction, could be an ideal patron for these things, or might have been before he passed into Shattered Night and became more interested in taking beings of tremendous power prisoner.
Why can I see a DM using this to lean into a chaotic group of murder hobos to punish the players? Imagine a quest giver of an insidious violent nature and the more the players listen the more the players will all end up in the abyss.
A really cool monster group from pathfinder that definitely deserve some 5e attention are the Qlippoth, essentially pathfinder’s version of the Obyriths
Would love to see an action RPG where you play as someone coming from the outside trying to stop the daemon, but it’s already almost at the completion of the abyss ritual, and so the player has to fight (or sneak) their way through the citizens first.
In some ways the way a city can grow closer to a lower plane sounds like Tether building from In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas a French RPG by Croc & Siroz and adapted/translated into English by Steve Jackson Games as In Nomine. While a whole city can't be dragged into Hell there, the worse a location is the more likely it is to form a link to Hell and a specific Demon Prince who's Word it resonates most with. One nice thing in that setting is it works for both sides of The War so a place with enough GOOD associated with it can form a link to Heaven & they'll assign an Angel to guard that outpost. As that game is set in a version our world some examples of Tethers to Heaven & Hell are the steps of the Lincoln Memorial which has a special tie to the Archangel of Dreams due to the "I Have A Dream" speech, one shared Tether to Hell is a street devoted to Greed, dancing girls to inspire Lust, plenty of buffets to indulge in Gluttony, & the Dark Humor of thousands of people losing so much chasing after what they have been told are games not in their favor the Las Vegas Strip is a direct tie to a few of Hell's decadent Princes of indulgence & vice, exemplifying what they'd do with the world. I can only imagine a realigned City Corruptor brainwashed by a powerful Devil & trying to use his power to add real estate to one of the 9 Layers of Bator, a Lawful Evil city would be literally Hellishy corrupt & run in a state that would resemble the Axis Powers during WWII.
I really like this thing, i'ma change this a little bit where it tries to be summoned by pretending to be much weaker demons to encourage wizards to try and summon him for tasks, but lo and behold the summoning circle is too weak to hold him, finding freedom to begin its job. going about corrupting over generations, getting other demons summoned in, and installed in places of power. And for dragging into the abyss I want to make it slower, or like the whole city is a slow portal to the abyss, you get in and as long as you get out of the city in a couple hours your fine but stay too long and your in stuck there like the rest of the population,
I like the idea of Dead Spots in a world building kind of way. Like in the past, a city (or cities) got Sodom/Gamorah'd outta existence, and all that's left is an area of devastation and demonic incursion.
Thanks for watching guys! I am currently sick as heck, but I did my best to push through! Definitely let me know if you have a suggestion for another monster you'd like to see on the channel. See you in the next one
Sorry that you’re sick, given everything currently, it’s not surprising. Stress is a terrible thing. Get well soon.
The Google Doc link sends people to an art credits document.
@@KevinVideo like he says. same thing.
Love the content! You've given me so many good monsters for my new campaign
@@KevinVideo and the link is working right now !
@@Marpaws Yup. It was announced in the discord too.
City Corruptor: Wanna see me steal a city?
Demons: Do it, you won't!
City Corruptor: Does it
Demons: YOOOOO!
City Corruptor: Wanna see me do it again?
I just love the mental picture of that one guy who lives slightly outside city limits just watching the entire city descend into the abyss and just being like “damn, that just kinda … happened in front of me. I think I need to move.”
No, because if you look back, you'll turn into a pillar of salt.
You’ll definitely want to, now that you live next to the new hottest local for amateur (or gods forbid professional) demon summoners.
but say, if the city phases into the abyss cleanly then you have a really nice location where you can build a new city. Now your game is a city builder.
not to mention this sort sums up what happens when the woke mob over runs a place. Honestly I hate politics but if you think about it California and every blue city should be sucked up into the Abyss by now.
"what was in that ale?"
So the weakness to the demon's plans is the power of Friendship? Spreading enough good vibes so the town will not be teleported away.
Absolutely!
That or just going scorched earth on the city.
@@zenvariety9383 That...defeats the point of stopping the City from being pulled in.
And all you get is stopping a devil from getting a Promotiob
@@zenvariety9383 Exterminatus.
@@arnowisp6244 if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em 😂
My favorite thing about the City Corruptor is probably that it’s not actually the sole reason a city is evil. They’re just a catalyst for whatever evil was already present.
So any heroes who kill the corruptor and expect the city to pivot back around to good are gonna be totally crestfallen to find out the people in that city do still be doing crime tho
I think it was MrRhexx who drummed up an idea of hags that influence people; I distinctly remember one that sets up a gambling den and people quickly become addicted to gambling, losing everything, disregarding their responsibilities. Then they become desperate for things to keep gambling with while their lives and lives of those around them just withers.
I feel like that's a good setup to attract a City Corrupter that undermines the hag, and the city just continues to spiral further and further.
@@nephicus339 I think that was pointy hat
And the worst part is that because Demons do not die when killed outside of the Abyss, then they can simply just return to the city, because nothing has strengthened the veil between that city and the Abyss.
City corruptors are just here to speed up the process of cities figuratively going to hell, and once the once-noble people have had their moral fabric disintegrated, reducing them to animals, the city corruptor takes making the place go to hell to the literal extreme.
The city corruptor is not the root of the city's corruption; it is merely a symptom that threatens to accelerate the corruption and ultimate death of the city.
You know, this monster is even better knowing that there is one that complements or foils it (and one I hope this channel covers): The Zeitgeist. It's a huge incorporeal fey from the 3.5e book Cityscape, that mirrors a city's outlook, and acts as its defender. Also, it's CR 23, so pretty hard to ignore.
It can act in one of two ways in combination with the City Corruptor:
- It can be a secondary end goal for the corruptor. Like a force of nature (or kaiju) that it wants to bring under its control before sending the city to the black plains of the Abyss; a kind of monster-and-tombstone for the now defiled metropolis. In a relatively tame cloak-and-dagger campaign of a city (at least in terms of it being devoid of big, imposing monsters), it could be a combat-focused boss monster, that would shift the tone and make a win or loss feel definitive.
- Alternatively, it could be a force opposing the city corruptor. If PCs are being tricked by the city corruptor into bringing said city to the Abyss, the Zeitgeist could subtly (or partially) manifest to show that something is amiss: mobs of fearless and unidentified citizens rioting, plumes of choking smog attacking the PCs in a vaguely humanoid shape, and finally a stone colossus made of the city's landmarks as a symbol of the very city's rejection of the corruptor's plot. Of course, these creatures do not speak so the PCs would have to infer all this from its behavior.
Added to the list a potential Monster of the Week.
Thanks for adding it to the list, and thanks for the recommendation!
I could definitely see a city corrupter fighting with devils over taking Baldur‘s Gates souls.
I'm going to run the Balor’s Gate campaign setting soon, and I think that this would make a great twist.
There’s a minor villain in my campaign that I was struggling to fully flesh out the motives of. This is exactly what I needed to finish it! Thank you!
Glad I could help!
This fits a scenario I have been working for a while perfectly: A short while ago I wrote some lore for my own demon prince. His theme was "end of civilization", his realm the shattered ruins of fallen empires, some of which he may even have helped to create, just for the fun of watching them fall to the inevitable forces of entropy. The Evanissu give my guy a canon way to profit from his hobby, and for the cities to end in his domain. Thanks for this, saves me a lot of work.
It also sounds like your demon prince may have made a pact with Tiamat to enlist the aid of black dragons similar to how the Githyanki did with red dragons given how black dragons have a knack for felling cities and keeping relics of the ruined towns as part of their hoard
Expanded idea on the Summoner at a Dark Spot; they were left behind when the town was dragged into the Abyss and are trying to save somoene important to them. They become more desperate/deranged, a dark mirror to the party, willing to sacrifice anything to get into the Abyss.
My first thought at the idea of the 'Dark Spots' was for the adventurers to arrive to, what seems like, a crater; reaching the edge and looking in (because you know they will) they see lesser demons whipping slaves, forcing them to build scaffolding, with partial fortress aspects already finished.
You know they'll go in.
So deep inside they find tunnels dug out in what used to be the lost city's sewers, catacombs, vaults; and 'anchors' being placed by cultists; with the eventual goal of opening a rift that will open a direct path to and from the abyss.
Players succeed; the anchors are destroyed and the slaves freed.
But players fail without warning anyone else, and the anchors are set, portals are opened, combined to make a massive and stable portal that will be next to impossible to close short of a Wish spell. And then an invasion of Abyssal monsters will pour out, maybe build themselves a stronghold, amass armies, and set out to conquer the material plane.
The worse it gets, the more the material plane becomes a post-apocalyptic setting.
@@nephicus339 I have a better more complicated idea for this, while they'r busy building a new demon gateway to the abyss, build a large gateway to the nine hells unleashing an army to combat the demons once they succeed in escaping the abyss, thus turning the entire planet into a post apocalyptic warzone that forces your players to hop on the nearest spell jammer and fly off as the planet is torn in half in the war with one half going to the abyss and another half falling to the nine hells 😈😈😈😈
Imagine a campaign that's a cross between Descent into Avernus and Out of the Abyss where a Evanissu is battling a Devil each trying to pull an evil aligned city into their respective lower planes
could you though? the nine hells may be evil aligned but its got order. its the chaotic nature of the abyss that allows the swallowing at all. i will grant the idea of a devil working along with him to make swiping the people for himself afterward easier is something.
@@pulsefel9210 The module Decent into Avernus involves the city of Elturel getting pulled into the Nine Hells by an Arch-devil
@@AnonymousJohnAutobon ah so an upgraded form of this
@@pulsefel9210 Not really. The process of one city or settlement being pulled towards the plane that most closely emulates its alignment is derived form Planescape, in which it’s explained that this can actually happen to any town and any plane. Sometimes cities are even pulled into good planes, such as was the case with Heart’s Faith, which now rests in Mount Celestia.
Devils are more interested in maintaining status quo, and they already have plentiful connections in any large city. They wouldn't want to swallow it all - keeping the city as it is and exploiting the systems in place is what devils strive for. So they wouldn't be competing to drag it to their own plane, they'd wanna keep it exactly how it is and repel demons from destroying stuff.
Of course... knowing the Blood War, I could see a group of powerful demons blending in with the city so they can get an easy entrance into the Abyss to cause some carnage. It'd be a helluva wild ride.
Any wheel of time fans, this'd be great to do something like shadar logoth. You could change the lore slightly and instead of dark spots make it leave behind a dark reflection of the city with a malevolent presence inside it.
Watching this I had the exact same idea. Great minds I guess
Okay, so: a city that is showing signs of turning to chaotic evil can draw one of these city corruptors to it; and a city with a dark secret could lead to the creation of a false hydra. As such, it's possible that both could happen to same place, leading to an interesting conflict. The corruptor tries to bring corrupt the city until it can be pulled into the abyss, while the f-hydra is eating its citizens.
Quick side note: at the DM's discretion, the corruptor could either be immune to the amnesia effect, allowing him to remember the missing people, but somehow unsure as to how it's happening (and has to be careful not to give away the fact it remembers when no one else does), or be under the effect fully, and just aware that something else is influencing the city.
Each person eaten is one less soul for him to claim in the abyss.
Regardless, it can also put the heroes in the middle of the situation. They are drawn to the city for one reason, but then catch glimpses of the other. Maybe they got word as to how bad the crime there had gotten, but when they arrive, the person who they were to meet had been taken, and the group has no memory of why they arrived. Or, if the Corruptor does remember, they bring in the heroes to explore why there are so many houses that look like they have been lived in despite no one EVER having lived there. While trying to investigate the strange situation, they keep noticing indications of how corrupt and crime-filled the city has become.
The evanessu has a very good bonus on wisdom saving throws, so they would easily escape the song's effect most of the time.
Why stop at just a tower, why not have a whole group of Cultists show up and set up a new city of evil in the same location?
Mayor, "Settlers have arrived to expand our city!"
Boom, cultist outposts that begin the corruption that eventually seeps into the heart, and every street, converting or murdering and replacing people with cultists to continue the spread.
Love it!
I could also see druids taking residence on a dark spot, attempting to heal it.
That could be an adventure in and of itself!
I could see having a couple of lieutenants be directly empowered. If you look at Van Rechtin‘s guide to Raven loft, there are two types of serial killer fiends that often times were once humanoids; relentless juggernauts (CR 12) and relentless slashers (CR 8).
They might have simply normal serial killer found by the demon, or cultist that finally receive their Boons from their patron.
Now for lower ranking minions to fill out things, BGDIA had Bhaal cultists. You could have have them as is having Bhaal as part of this deal, or re theme them. In any case you have Night Blade (CR 1/2), Reaper of Bhaal (CR 2), and Death’s Head of Bhaal (CR 5). All the Bhaal cultists cause creature within 5ft of them to be vulnerable to piercing damage (aura of murder)
So you could have an entire evil organization of super serial killers working for a Demon trying to drag the city into 🎶✨Demon land✨🎶
I love the care and thought you put into these episodes. I can’t wait to see how you tackle Grendel. He’s long overdue for a return, and I love seeing these legendary horrors from real world mythology. Alongside skinwalkers and their progenitors, the Naadloshii, as well as chimeras and manticores, I love the idea of setting the party against the worst horrors humanity remembers from its mythologies.
This is my favorite d&d channel. I just love your content and the way you present it. Now, I was wandering, if a Evanissu can drag a city into the Abyss, could a group of them, spread across an entire kingdom ruling over every major city until they're all CE, drag the whole nation down?
Iirc, in 3e there was a demon, don't remember the name, who was trying to corrupt a whole series of towns and cities to form a demonic symbol and take a whole continent. It might have been a devil instead of a demon though, it was in a book my DM had like 15 years ago so I'm fuzzy on the details.
Sound like you got a whole campagn here
As I prefer the 'alignment as energy form' model, location-based alignment really tickles me. The idea that actions taken in a place sort of 'stain' it with that alignment, growing more powerful over time is intriguing, and makes an easy excuse for keeping your alignment-based organizations from stagnating.
What do you do with a dark spot? Plant a church on it of course. And how many churchs can a religion have? As many as they can keep out of corrupt hands.
You could even take the base concept and extend it across the board. Perhaps Celestials, Slaadi, Modrons, and all other extra-planar beings just get yoinked back home in similar circumstances while also causing the same effect?
I think something went wrong. Instead of a stat block I got greated with the art credit.
Good that it's there but the stat block appers to be missing.
Same I'm waiting for it to be updated.
it's now updated.
@@redgamemaster it's now updated.
Hey its one of the monsters I suggested on a previous poste!!!!😁😍😍😍❤💕 Thank you SO MUCH for covering this Dugeon Dad!!!❤
DM: I think I am going to play a city corruptor in this city.
Me: It's Warhammer time! **Gloomstalker ranger equips pilgrim hat**
What if a town made a pact with a City Corruptor to SAVE the town from certain destruction? Like a massive eruption or quake that would have devastated everything?
Ah yes, the ol' "lesser of two evils" plot. Or "The devil you know" thing..
I know you meant just self preservation, though.
Would that make the town's inhabitants also be pulled into the Abyss? I will choose to evacuate the town rather than guarantee playthings for the demons.
@@francestod.tandocjr4092 That's the whole point of this monster, it drags cities wholesale into the Abyss.
Hear me out: A mafia vs the City Corruptor
Think about it: Criminal organizations don't have to be all bloodshed and chaos. Crime families could have rules and regulations that basically say, "Hey, don't be a psycho and show some respect."
A City Corruptor is the antithesis to a Crime Family's rules. It wants crime for the sake of crime, bloodshed for the sake of bloodshed. There totally could be a campaign where the adventurers are actually part of the mob who hear that some new gang is not just breaking the rules, but destroying them.
"Chaotic? I don't think so. We got your evil right here though, pal."
*Opens up with Tommy gun*
Sodom and Gomorrah: *exists*
Evanissu: It’s free real estate.
I imagine Sodom and Gamorrah is an example of the clerics' last stand actually working out. Sure, nobody made it, but the resource is denied to the abyss and those souls are going where they should
This actually reminds me of the Nurarihyon of Japanese folklore. He's supposed to be practically impossible to capture, treats other peoples' houses like his own home, often while the owners watch, & heralds/ commands a horde of yokai during their Night Parades. Basically a gentler herald of the apocalypse
Sounds like the shopkeeper from needful things, sowing chaos and corruption in the city turning everyone against each other
I am reminded of 2nd Ed AD&D's 'Gate Towns'. These cities were literally built around the major portals to each of the planes, and attracted people of a similar mindset; that is to say, alignment. Every now and then, the city would embody the alignment so strongly, the portal would swallow the whole thing; people and buildings, adding to the plane in question, and the town was gone, only to gradually be replaced over time as a new gate town was built.
This creature and its schemes could fit nicely into a game I'm running, as a several session arc of sorts.
I’ve been waiting to do this. I wish that I could make her see, she’s just the monster of the week.
Cool idea: A city corruptor has been hard at work trying to shift a city to chaotic evil, so the overlord of the city sends in a Harvester Devil to fix things up, which one will win?
At this point I am a month into writing up a Majora's Mask style campaign, in which the party arrives the morning after the city disappeared and gets to travel six days into the past to save the city. I already have figured out how the time travel is limited and how I make it so they don't have to redo all the quests but manage to actually progress over time.
Note to self, unleash a false hydra into a city in the grips of an Evanissu.
I could see running a campaign where the corrupter acted as the Devil from Needful Things. Imagine just this totally innocuous old shop keeper just manipulating everyone into doing worse and worse things and the players having to figure out wtf is going on.
I really like this idea. So much in fact that I am now officially stealing it. Thank you for your donation.
Hi,This Is The Other User Of This Account I Cant Belive My Dad Wrote This-Its So Long
This would be awesome for a murder mystery, corrupt government style detective themed campaign or arc with serious weight to it; on the other hand, if you have a group of murder hobo players sowing discord in a large settlement, maybe they unintentionally cause the city to plunge into the abyss and have to continue murder hoboing their way back to the material plane without demons and devils eating them first.
Would also be great to see the Evanissu(?) take credit for the murder hobos work and maybe cause a rivalry, or more unexpectedly, an alliance between them; being chaotic evil and getting contracts from a city corrupter demon could actually make an interesting murder hobo campaign :D
I wouldn't trust any chaotic or evil being with a contract, execpt maybe chaotic good and lawfull evil.
with chaotic good, I would antisipate they eventually break the contract, but in a way that actually works out for the best for everyone involved.
With lawfull evil, I would just word the contract verry carefully.
Ever heard to the Andeloid? It’s a spelljammer Ooze released in one of the old dragon magazines. You might find it cool.
Funny enough, it's actually on the to-do list, and looking it up, you were the first to request it however long ago.
Mad respect for that Ned Flanders clip.
Even if you didn't say it in the comments, can tell in your voice how sick you are. Hope you get better soon.
Did you ever watch "Angel", the spin-off of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"? There's an episode where Angel demands a corrupted ghost to take him to Hell, and the ghost simply opens the door to the outside world, for Hell is winning the war and the Earth is blending with Hell itself. This reminds me of that.
There's also a 3PP Pathfinder 1e adventure path where there's an optional ending of the players getting tricked by a pit fiend, and an entire continent is pulled into Hell. Essentially, it's the bad ending to the adventure.
Love seeing that these themes are not something overlooked by creators.
Note: I like the friends cantrip, but I'm sad it's not SRD material. Makes it harder for design purposes and selling stuff, but thankfully charm person still exists.
I miss the Bloodied condition for monsters. That and Minions.
I know that these videos are supposed to be considered, Edited Lite, but I can't tell at all. In fact, if this is the Lite version, I like it. Don't need anything overtly fancy and complicated. Sometimes simple is better.
During an episode of Critical Role, the was in the Shadow Fell and traversing a city that was sent to the Material Plane. It left a dirt filled pit that was miles wide. I definitely like the idea of the Dark Spot. I was only thinking of the dirt pit that Mercer thought up, but having a shaded sun while in the vicinity, or it be Ground Zero for a more effective demon summoning, is a fantastic idea.
Again, huge congrats on the discord getting partnered. That's absolutely amazing.
The Ned Flanders Clip should be used at least once with Clerics and Paladins. XD
Ok so this monster seems like a perfect stat block for a Ledger style Joker
I like the idea that physical remnants of the city's structures are left in the dark spot on the material plane...the structures might be falling apart or have brittle foundations, etc. So it's like the abyss swallowed up all the souls and energy of the place, and only a shell is left behind. It kind of fits with classic fantasy (Shadar Logoth in Wheel of Time, or Dol Guldur in LotR).
Now that you've done the plush and chocolate golem, we need for see the chia golem
While it has its issues I like location alignments a lot more than character alignments because it's less specific and more based off vibe, so this is cool.
Another interesting angle on what happens to the material plane when this goes off is a swap, the city is exchanged for an equally sized area of the abyss, complete with all of its denizens now flooding into the area. Not knocking your answer; I rather liked it; just popped into my head when you posed the question as a transition, so you could answer it.
Since spelljammer released I kinda miss the Grommam race not in this edition and out only "Deck Apes" are Hadozee.
Added to the list.
The dark spot idea is a fun one. Like an eclipse happens and the ppl inside that full circle, if there is something like that going on then it unknowingly switches places with the abyss. What ever was fighting there runs around in material plane and the Evanissu sits on its new crumbling throne.
I think I'm going to run something like a one-shot in the near future, as a sort of 'the city already fell timeloop'. Something like Richter from the Hotline Miami series, with the demon being more or less an accessory or something symbolic rather than just the BBEG.
Dungeon Dad implies the existence of Dragon Mom
Sound like a good master mind for a "The Purge" plot hook
Awesome vid as always! Love me a Graz'zt shoutout lol
When the crazy homeless guy who yells "The end is near!" is actually on to something.
Demons Souls world tendency immediately comes to mind with the idea of country alignment
13:50 I love this monster so goddamn much.
I love anything that has other planes bleeding into the material. Big fan of this whole vibe.
Interesting how several times I have found monsters on your channel that fit right in thematically with the current game I am running.
So Dark Knight + Angel: After The Fall just performed a DBZ fusion dance lol
The link to the D&D 5E stat block for this monster seems to lead to the Art Credit page instead of the stat block.
Thankfully got fixed.
This looks like a kind of impending disaster that a sibyllic guardian would try to prevent.
I like the idea of one of these things with powerful mind altering illusion/charm magic who makes it's victems think there doing good things and there following an angel who will rapture this city to paradise. Only to painfully rip away the lie and reveal the truth to it's enthralled followers as the horrible realization of all they've committed hits them at once.
I like my fiends to be evil with a capital EVIL. If my players don't look at me and say "Ian ... what the fuck" when I'm dun revealing the fiend, then I'm doing it wrong.
I like the dark spot idea. Having a city sized area with a connection to the abyss or the 9 Hells sounds like an incredible place for the party to investigate. Either because they need to go to the lower plane or they want to fix the corruption.
NEW EP LETS GOOOOOOO
I love the image of this paired with something similar to the false hydra or other monster/magic that fucks with memory it would be terrifying to find evidence of a city that no one even remembers existing. Also was going to comment about the Joker but you covered that.
5:09 so Gotham city
Love this and anything Abyss. Hope to see more.
This is a really neat concept!
The fun part of DMing is that I always come across just the right video to juice the skull meat when I get stuck...
Now adding a Graz'zt cult led by a city corruptor fighting both the city leaders and the Glasya mafia to the Capitol City of the canton my party started in...
Just before you brought up the dark knight, I was thinking this would be great for a Batman No Mans Land styled campaign. Multiple villainous factions controlling the city, the only good guys having to break the laws they once stood for to try and bring peace, and a lunatic sowing seeds of chaos everywhere he goes.
I'm just imagining the demon trying to chlorophorm an entire city. Also, how much duct tape does it take to silence and hobble an entire city? 🤔
This would make an excellent Patron for an idea I have for a corrupt politician character I'm working on.
Don't know if you take monster suggestions for vids, but I'd particularly like you to document the most interesting Undead I've yet to find, the Darklights, spirits that were "adopted" by the Plane of Radiance (both very strange given the usual effect on Undead & makes me feel there are very interesting implications there).
The only in-depth description I found was from a difficult to work sight called Mojobob, so it seems a shame that there isn't more documentation on something as fascinating as this.
Edit: I did not see the request for suggestions until after I wrote this 🙂
Sooo, I was gonna use Rakshasa for basically the same pourpouse, what sounds better: a cooperation between a Rakshasa and City Corruptor or just using some of the Evanissu traits for the Rakshasa?
Cause Rakshasas are pretty cool...
Also I play in Eberron and the Abyss/9 hells thing it's a little wack there so not sure of the interactions.
I... LOVE this thing, and the interesting stories it can create! The first thing this creature brought to mind was indeed a Gotham setting, and this demon just making the situation 1 million times worse.
But as I listened, I thought "how can I subvert it?", and remembered my domain of dread homebrew campaign I am working on. What if in the city that is falling apart due to horrible leadership due to a soon to be Dark Lord, this demon comes to town ready to do its thing, only to be thwarted by the city he tried to claim be taken into a domain of dread instead in the Shadowfell. Not able to return home ever, it can still corrupt and mess with the chaotic evil city, but there is no joy or incentive, both from the lack of reward for doing so, unable to take it as his own over an all powerful Dark Lord, and from the lethargic effects of the realm itself taking what primal pleasure it could have from casual demon acts of mayhem and destruction.
I like the sight of this beautiful humanoid, the city corruptor, chilling in the middle of town as other citizens are monotonely robbing stores for supplies, stabbing each other, and other horrible acts, bored and unreacting faces on everyone, including the City Corruptor, it's one goal in life taken from them forever. They could even side with the party to overthrow the Dark Lord, freeing them to continue their evil deeds, giving the party another moral quandary in a land full of even darker beings already. What evils are people able to forgive to take on a greater evil?
I don't see anything about shifting entire cities into the abyss in the original description, but... it has been done before, I guess. It mostly makes me think about the gate towns on the outlands, but there are several places on the material plane that have gotten a similar treatment.
i love how it just has an ability that might as well be named puppy dog eyes lmfao
Awesome! Have you thought of converting some more monsters from the epic level handbook? For high levels of play.
Yes. There are a few suggestions on the list, but if there's anything specific you'd like, we can add that or just put a star beside one that's already been requested.
@@KevinVideo the GENIUS LOCI would be cool, especially with some variants relating the the terrain and creatures upon it. What would also be astoundingly useful is some of the old templates like psudonatural template sticking with the epic level handbook.
I see these guys as a higher level operative of a more powerful demon who would send them to a successful cult operating in an urban setting. In fact, I'm running a game right now that has some demon worshipper trouble. I might insert this monster in there at some point
I have a couple suggestions for things you could potentially cover, though arguably they could almost be considered cheating. They both *technically* exist in 5e D&D, but in a form which does not fit their lore and themes in older editions.
1. Ghouls. The ghouls of older editions are basically Romero zombies, even down to their specific need to feed on brains, and that some varieties of ghoul actually have full-fledged, usually pretty evil civilizations. 5e also forgets their infectivity, which is the big reason even a tiny amount of ghouls are so much more of a threat than even a large number of zombies can ever hope to be.
2. Nosferatu. The Nosferatu of 5th edition are something you can safely say are completely separate from the nosferatu of older editions. We're talking on the level of what happened with lamias in 4th edition. Whereas in 5th edition, they're effectively vampiric versions of the 5e ghoul: completely butt-ugly and so completely feral they can barely think, in older editions, they were basically more old-school style vampires with a bit more of a sympathetic twist. They didn't burn in sunlight (which is why a particular main character in a Ravenloft book series didn't die in his failed suicide attempt), they were capable of reasoning and morality, and IIRC were even playable.
Also: hope you get well soon.
An entire school for demonologists and warlocks, built at a dark spot.
Long running campaign or set of campaigns, a powerful Evanissu or cabal of them is working together across multiple cities possibly across multiple material planes. The goal being to make a new layer of the abyss. A mega city made of multiple cities yoinked by the Evanissu. The single evanissu or cabal becoming the demon lords of this new layer (or maybe only one of them can ascend and now it's a free for all within the cabal.)
Damn, a content warning in a _Dungeon Dad_ video? This is gonna be good lol
Gotham City was definitely the first thing that came to mind, but the second was all the hatred and ill will in New York condensing into mood slime in Ghostbusters 2. Maybe the City Corrupter could be harnessing some similar substance as a conduit for summoning demonic minions and the party has to somehow summon up enough good will and hope from the populace to neutralize his supply before they can assault him directly.
Could use this as a possible explanation for the Mourning in Eberron. Just scale it up to country instead of city, and the Mournlands that were left behind is an extension of the Abyss that filled the space that Cyre once occupied.
Imagine if the big baddies of a "chapter" were a City Corruptor and a Harvester Devil, and they made a city into a casino-esque like attraction to get the money out of neighboring cities and then the City Corruptor would take the other cities when they get really sad, and the Harvester Devil would take as many souls as he could, promising them "fame" beyond their dreams, and both of the baddies would also profit from all the money they would be stealing to go on and pull the same trick at other cities, only for the players to come in and stop all of this before their plot would unfold and save everyone.
That would be awesome Batman-like sessions
I’d do a pair of them competing with each other in Ravnica only to find they’re both having their strings pulled by Lazav.
There was a story arc in the Planescape: Torment video game that was basically this. Except, it was a celestial that did it instead of a fiend. I don't remember exactly what his motivations were (I think it was something about proving how inherently evil people are), but I remember thinking how interesting it was to have a Celestial villain.
I'd have a city Corrupter arrive at the neglected slums of a city first, and slowly worm into the cracks that are already in the city. The biggest twist would be that the main local Temple and religion KNEW the City Corrupter was there before the party did, because they carefully orcastrated their arrival; They used their political power to secretly disenfranchise the poor and oppressed and the "undesirables" specifically to draw the City Corrupter to them so they could call for the complete destruction of the slums, take ownership of all the land and buildings, and take over the entire city. They planned to just let them do their work and then strike, with a backup plan where if the party discovered the City Corrupter's existence they'd publicly use that to declare war on it and the poor or even frame the party as one of their minions; Of course, since the City Corrupter IS corruption and has done this for who knows how long, they already know that and have their own plans to beat the Temple and bring everyone down with them. Like, imagine if it turned invisible during a party's second fight with them and it whispered about the Temple's plans into one party members ear to sow chaos. I'd also have it invest heavily in magic items that can let it escape or hide.
Also, I recognize 7:15!
"Let's look at one specific instance to explain that's related to (how locations are associated with alignments)"
Me, to my wall: Watch this, he's going to talk about Carceri.
"The Abyss and the Nine Hells."
Me: Fuck.
I actually had the thought of have a campaign taking place within a city that's already been pulled in to the Abyss.
The last vestiges of goodness (or at least sensibleness) within the city, that being our adventurers and their allies, being forced to protect this now effectively lone chaotic evil city state from the objectively worse evils outside the walls.
Perhaps there could be an investigation in to the mystery of how this city was pulled in, and a way to reverse the process.
I think that Ahazu the Seizer, demon lord of abduction, could be an ideal patron for these things, or might have been before he passed into Shattered Night and became more interested in taking beings of tremendous power prisoner.
Why can I see a DM using this to lean into a chaotic group of murder hobos to punish the players? Imagine a quest giver of an insidious violent nature and the more the players listen the more the players will all end up in the abyss.
A really cool monster group from pathfinder that definitely deserve some 5e attention are the Qlippoth, essentially pathfinder’s version of the Obyriths
I only just joined D&D Beyond and found out that one of my favorite monsters hasn't even been "homebrewed" into 5e: the Hullathoin.
I'm going to use this in a modified form in my campaign.
Would love to see an action RPG where you play as someone coming from the outside trying to stop the daemon, but it’s already almost at the completion of the abyss ritual, and so the player has to fight (or sneak) their way through the citizens first.
Dark spots basically turn city corruptors into the backstory of a horror film
I was expecting the shadowfelll to be near the dark spot, but the abyss makes sense too.
What a cool creature and what exciting plot points!
In some ways the way a city can grow closer to a lower plane sounds like Tether building from In Nomine Satanis/Magna Veritas a French RPG by Croc & Siroz and adapted/translated into English by Steve Jackson Games as In Nomine. While a whole city can't be dragged into Hell there, the worse a location is the more likely it is to form a link to Hell and a specific Demon Prince who's Word it resonates most with. One nice thing in that setting is it works for both sides of The War so a place with enough GOOD associated with it can form a link to Heaven & they'll assign an Angel to guard that outpost.
As that game is set in a version our world some examples of Tethers to Heaven & Hell are the steps of the Lincoln Memorial which has a special tie to the Archangel of Dreams due to the "I Have A Dream" speech, one shared Tether to Hell is a street devoted to Greed, dancing girls to inspire Lust, plenty of buffets to indulge in Gluttony, & the Dark Humor of thousands of people losing so much chasing after what they have been told are games not in their favor the Las Vegas Strip is a direct tie to a few of Hell's decadent Princes of indulgence & vice, exemplifying what they'd do with the world.
I can only imagine a realigned City Corruptor brainwashed by a powerful Devil & trying to use his power to add real estate to one of the 9 Layers of Bator, a Lawful Evil city would be literally Hellishy corrupt & run in a state that would resemble the Axis Powers during WWII.
I really like this thing, i'ma change this a little bit where it tries to be summoned by pretending to be much weaker demons to encourage wizards to try and summon him for tasks, but lo and behold the summoning circle is too weak to hold him, finding freedom to begin its job. going about corrupting over generations, getting other demons summoned in, and installed in places of power. And for dragging into the abyss I want to make it slower, or like the whole city is a slow portal to the abyss, you get in and as long as you get out of the city in a couple hours your fine but stay too long and your in stuck there like the rest of the population,
Awesome! Ever taken a look at Spellgaunts or Jahi?
Both have been added to the list.
I like the idea of Dead Spots in a world building kind of way. Like in the past, a city (or cities) got Sodom/Gamorah'd outta existence, and all that's left is an area of devastation and demonic incursion.
Your channel got recommended. I like it too.